IABSM AAR: Operation Martlet Game

In addition to publishing the company-sized WW2 game  I Ain't Been Shot, Mum, the TooFatLardies also publish the very popular platoon-sized WW2 game Chain of Command.

In addition to the rules, TFL also publish a series of "pint-sized campaigns": scenario booklets for CoC that cover very specific actions over the course of 6-8 games priced, as the name suggests, at the price of a pint of beer.

One such booklet covers Operation Martlet:  the combined arms operation launched by the British 49th Division immediately prior to Operation Epsom to seize the Rauray Spur from the defenders from 12 SS Hitlerjugend.

The pint-sized campaigns can be fairly easily translated for use with IABSM, and this is what James Tree has done for his latest AAR, lifted from the TFL Facebook page.

Click on the picture below to see how he got on...

IABSM AAR: All American #10: Neuville au Plain

Another great after action report picked up from the IABSM Facebook page.

This time, Desmondo Darkin leads his Luftlande Grenadiers into action against the 82nd Parachute Infantry Regiment in a scenario taken from the All American scenario pack.

Click on the picture below to see all:

Summer Special 2017 Arrives

This year's TFL Summer Special is now published and available for purchase. Here's Big Rich on what's in it:

"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Because the Summer Special has arrived!

"So, allegedly, said W.H. Auden when we released the contents list of one of our earlier Specials and this one is just as packed with Lardy fun as any we have seen before with great scenarios, rule ideas and variants and plenty for Lardies old and new to enjoy.

"Let’s take a look at the contents:

  • Flashman and the Emperor: Give yourself top billing as you step into the shoes of Harry Flashman. Can you guide our hero to a safe outcome in this campaign-launching tale of derring-do set in Mexico in 1867.  Will Harry Save the Emperor Maximilian or will he face an untimely death at the hands of the Juaristas?
  • Holding the Line:  Internationally famous wargaming celebrity and lover of gnomes, Mike Hobbs and his chums take us to Normandy 1944 for this Chain of Command scenario with some fun rules additions to tickle your fancy.
  • Sacker of Cities: If the only Homer you know is on the Simpsons, allow “The Colonel” Dave Parker to introduce you to the excellent Trojan Wars expansion for Dux Britanniarum produced by the intellectual giant which is the Durham Wargames Club. “Beware the Wrath of the Gods” says Dave.  I have enough trouble keeping the missus happy…
  • 1745:  David Hunter leaves the safety of the Crossroads Motel and parties like it’s 1745, taking Sharp Practice for a Highland Reel north of the border with unit Rosters and rule adjustments for the Jacobite Rebellion.
  • Cracking the Westwall: Big Rich heads for the Siegfried Line and reveals all you could ever want to know and more about this vision in concrete.
  • Build a Bunker: Inspired by his research, Big Rich shares a step-by-step guide of how to turn polystyrene to concrete.
  • Achtung! Big Rich completes his West Wall trio with a bunker assault scenario for Chain of Command.  Pick your squad, choose your tools and see if you can break through the West Wall.
  • Using Field of Glory Renaissance Armies in Sharp Practice. In the first of our two articles looking at extending Sharp Practice into the age of Pike and Shot, Carole gives us some interesting rule suggestions as she expands Sharp Practice for her evil ends.
  • The Battle of Frank Sanbeans Farm:  This ACW Sharp Practice scenario from Jim Ibbotson, as seen at OML5, wins an award for the worst ever punning title for a game, but we forgive him for his wonderful brush-work.
  • Action in the Valle Delle Marie A hard fighting scenario for I Aint Been Shot Mum from the pen of Mike Whitaker as he heads for the hills and valleys of la bella Italia.
  • LRRP teams in Charlie Don’t Surf:  Charles Eckhart gives top tips on using LRRPS in CDS, plus a scenario to test your new skills.  Can you find Charlie?
  • The Attack on Sochaczew:  Robert Avery pushes his panzers to the limit with an Early War scenario for I Ain’t Been Shot Mum
  • The Bridge at Saindoux:  Fat Nick goes Commando with a scenario for Chain of Command and the outcome is, predictably, explosive.
  • Unternehmen Rollshufahren.  An German airborne assault on a critical British installation see the LDV fighting for their lives as criminal elements assist the naughty Nazis in this Operation Sea Lion scenario for Chain of Command.  Nothing if not topical!
  • Sharply Buffed:  Our second foray into Pike and Shot with rule ideas and force rosters from Nick Worthington
  • Sharpening Up I Ain’t Been Shot Mum:  Frugal Scot Wee Derek Hodge squeezes two rule sets into one Page in a remarkable fusion of ideas.
  • The Roundwood Report Sidney brings up the rear with a topical look at Command and Control the key trends in the hobby.

"At 123 pages in total this is packed with some great ideas as well as the usual mix of scenarios and other Lard-based fun.  When we first produced the Specials in 2004 we tried to make them the best value in wargaming.  Thirteen years on we are still doing the same, holding the price at just £6 for the sixth year running."

You can buy the Special by clicking here or on the picture of the front cover, above.

IABSM AAR: Bashnya or Bust #5M: Near Bashnya

Here's a cracking AAR from the Norseygamer blog: scenario #5M: Near Bashnya from the Bashnya or Bust! scenario pack.

The Germans have their backs against the wall: well, Bashnya's walls to be exact. Here they attempt to stop the Soviet advance one last time.

Click on the pic below to see all:

IABSM Scenario Book Sale

No, not mine, before you ask!

Fellow Lardy Chris Stoesen has written several scenario books for Lardy products, including the excellent In the Name of Roma covering the Italians on the Eastern Front:

"In July of 1941, the 80° Roma Regiment of the Pasubio Division boarded a train bound for Romania. Along with the rest of the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano), they would advance through the Ukraine alongside their German allies. In the coming months, the 80° would be engaged in brutal fighting across 1400 miles of the Eastern Front – covering most of that on foot.

"IN THE NAME OF ROMA is a wargame supplement that contains 30 company and platoon level scenarios covering the actions of the 80a Roma Regiment from August to December of 1941. You’ll follow the 80th from the open steppe to the Donetz industrial basin, including the amphibious attacks across the Dnieper, and the fateful decision of Column Chiarimonti to attempt to seize Nikitovka."

This normally sells at $11, but is currently available at just $5.50 from Chris' website at Wargamer's Odds & Ends.

Incidentally, my scenario books are, from today, now available from this website using PayPal to buy them (previously you had to use a credit card). They are available from the BUY IABSM SCENARIO PACKS page of this website, available by clicking on the link or in the NavBar above.

As a reminder they are:

HISTORICAL

  • The September War, Part One (the invasion of Poland, September 1939)
  • The Defence of Calais (the defence of Calais, May 1940)
  • Operation Compas (action in the western desert, June 1940 to February 1941)
  • Fall of the Lion Gate (the fall of Singapore, December 1941 to February 1942)
  • Bloody Burma (the fall of Burma, December 1941 to May 1942)
  • Sicilian Weekend (the invasion of Sicily, July 1943)
  • Anzio: Wildcat to Whale (the Anzio campaign, January & February 1944)

FICTIONAL

  • Vyazma or Bust! (Eastern Front, 1941)
  • Bashnya or Bust! (Eastern Front, 1944)
  • Blenneville or Bust! (Normandy, 1944)

All my scenario books are fully IABSM V3 compatible.

IABSM AAR: The Assault on Gela, 10th July 1943

Had a great game of IABSM yesterday, using the first Gela scenario from the Sicilian Weekend scenario pack.

The game involves a composite force of US Rangers and combat engineers carrying out an opposed landing against a company of troops from the Italian Coastal Defence Battalion.

Click on the picture below to see whether the Italian commander got to finish his breakfast...

IABSM AAR: The Battle of Pszczyna

Played a great game of IABSM earlier this week, using the fifth scenario from my newly-published scenario pack for Poland 1939, The September War.

The game covers the German 5th Panzer Division's attack on the town of Pszczyna, held by the Polish 6th Infantry Division.

Click on the picture below to see whether the Invader's assault succeeded...

CoC: Storming the Citadel

Although this site is mostly dedicated to the TFL company-sized games (IABSM, CDS, Q13) I like to publicise what else is going on at Lard Island. It therefore gives me great pleasure to announce the publication of the latest pint-sized campaign for Chain of Command, the platoon-sized WW2 game.

Here's what the TFL website says about Storming the Citadel:

"This Pint Sized Campaign for Chain of Command is the first covering the attack of PanzerGrenadier Division Grossdeutschland at Kursk.  The action here covers the build up to the attack, with actions in no-man’s-land as the Germans attempt to seize observation posts and clear minefields, followed by the first day of this epic battle as the Germans storm through the Soviet outpost line and the first line of defences.

"Six battlefields provide a campaign up to ten games long, by which point you’ll have a clear winner and be set up for the next campaign in the series which is already being prepared and follows Grossdeutschland into the second line of Russian defences and attempting to break into open ground beyond.

"This classic Pint Sized Campaign is designed to be run using the campaign rules in At the Sharp End and with Chain of Command rules.  Can you breach the Russian defences and seize the initiative in the East, or will you defeat the fascist invaders and restore the safety of the motherland.

"Twenty-seven pages long, this Pint Sized campaign provides the background history to the campaign with situation maps.  Uses period maps to show the location of the actions and then provides a complete campaign with forces for both sides, support options for players to select from and full victory conditions for all six battles and the campaign as a whole."

You can buy Storming the Citadel for the pint-sized cost of £3.80 by clicking here.

IABSM AAR: Charge at Krojanty...Twice

It’s off to Poland, 1939, again, as Bevan, Dave and I play another action from my scenario book for IABSM: The September War.

This time, the game was from scenario #03:  Charge at Krojanty. Based on an episode from the larger fighting around the Tuchole Forest that took place over the first couple of days of September 1939, the action would involve a large force of Polish cavalry surprising a German infantry platoon that had paused for a rest. Each side would then gradually be reinforced, developing into quite a large encounter.

There are several object lessons here for would-be Polish and German commanders. Click on the picture, below, to read all...

Polish Tankettes

To finish off Polish week on Vis Lardica, celebrating the publication of The September War, my new scenario pack for IABSM covering the German invasion of Poland in 1939, here's a picture of some painting I completed last weekend: a unit of five Polish TKS tankettes.

These are Battlefront models and, as you can see, I have built two of them with the 20mm cannon and three of them with the standard MMG.

Now these things are small: significantly smaller than an Italian tankette or a Bren gun carrier. Although I can see that it would be nice to have a bit of protection against smallarms fire, I think you'd have to be crazy to ride one of these into battle against panzers!

Whilst I was researching The September War, I came across the fact that every year there is a big military re-enactment in Poland celebrating one of the battles of the campaign. Here's a couple of pictures of a TKS tankette from two of the re-enactment days.

As I said: these things are small!

Blinds for the September War Campaign

Following on from yesterday's launch of The September War, my new scenario pack for IABSM covering the German invasion of Poland 1939, I've now added a set of Blinds for the campaign, downloadable free from the Poland 1939 page of the IABSM section of this website. Or click on the image to the right to get there!

There are four Blinds available: the Polish ones shown to the right, Soviet Blinds, and two sets of German Blinds: one using the historically accurate plain white cross; the other, my preferred version, using a more late war version.

I just pop a few sheets of stiff paper into the printer, print them out, then cut them out, and away you go. You can laminate them if you like, but I usually don't bother these days.

Objective Markers

And whilst we're on he topic of useful things, check out my new Polish objective markers:

These are resin disks 2-3 inches across that you can buy from Army Group North. They don't appear in the AGN webstore at the moment, but if you e-mail them on info@agnminiatures.com, Andrew will sort. They are $10 for three markers and paint up very easily.

A recommended buy, especially as many of the the September War scenario pack scenarios have two-four objectives in them.

The September War Publishes Today!

The German invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939 precipitated the greatest conflict the world has ever known, ending the lives of some 60 million people across the globe.

Written by Robert Avery and Alexander Kawczynski, The September War is a collection of thirty-three scenarios for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum covering the German invasion of Poland 1939. It is priced at £9.50.

Divided into eight mini-campaigns, the pack begins with the battles at the border, then covers the fight for the Polish corridor, the Polish Thermopylae at Narew, the Siege of Warsaw, the climactic battles at Bzura and Tomaszow Lubelski, and the actions of the 10th Motorised Cavalry “Black” Brigade and the Independent Operational Group Polesie. There are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, desperate defences…there’s even an armoured train or two.

No need for any preparation: each scenario contains a brief background history, maps, a full game briefing, and a full briefing for each player. Simply print out the pages you need, make up the deck from the list of cards required, unpack your figures and dice, set up the table and away you go!

Click here or on the picture of the front cover to buy The September War scenario pack for IABSM.

To see a list of scenarios, click here.

To see a sample scenario briefing, click here.

IABSM AAR: The Bridge at Urk

Nice to see someone playing a scenario from Vyazma or Bust! 

Here, fellow Lardy Vaggelis plays #2A: The Bridge at Urk in 6mm. Will the Germans manage to find a way through to outflank Sychevka? Will the Soviet commander survive the disgrace of his last battle? It all happens around the bustling metropolis that is Urk.  Click on the pic below to see the story unfold...

You can visit Vaggelis' excellent looking blog Wargames and History by clicking here.

IABSM AAR: The Defence of Arras

Many of you will have seen some of Egg's beautiful models in the pictures from the TFL Painting Challenge. Here's a chance to actually see them in action, with a quick AAR covering Scenario #01 from the Cymru Am Byth Welsh Guards scenario pack: the Defence of Arras.

Click on the pic below to see all:

New Scenario Pack for Chain of Command

Chris Stoesen, author of the Campaign for Greece, Call this a Ruddy Picnic (East Africa), and In the Name of Roma scenario packs for IABSM, has just published a new supplement for Chain of Command.

For those interested, here are the details:

"The Campaign for Kharkov contains two pint sized campaigns. One covers the advance of the German 57th Infantry Division and the other the German 101st Light Division. The attack came in October of 1941. This city would be the site of three major battles for the city. The interesting aspect of the October 1941 battle is in the nature of the troops involved. The Soviets had superiority in armor. The Germans advanced with only a single STUG battalion in support of the 57th ID. The Soviets fielded the T34 as well as several improvised armored vehicles such as the KhTZ-16. While not a success on the battlefield, it demonstrated the Soviet inventiveness under the extreme pressure of the blitzkrieg.

"There are twelve total scenarios in the campaign. Full force lists are available for both German Divisions and the Soviet troops present. Maps are based on aerial reconnaissance photographs taken by German troops in September 1941.

"The scenarios are availible from my blog at $6.00 US. PayPal the money to cstoesen@corecard.com and I will email you the PDF. Or you can order them from Wargames Vault for an instant download for $7.00 US.

Note that a Kindle and a hard copy will be available on Amazon within the next couple of days. Stay tuned."

Click to go to Wargames Vault

Click to go to Chris' blog