Here's a quick AAR from James Tree, taken from the IABSM Facebook page, featuring a recent eastern front game of IABSM played solo.
The Germans are defending a village as the Soviets move in for the attack. Click on the pic below to see who will triumph.
Here's a quick battle report from Ioannis Pavlidis, take from a recent post on the IABSM Facebook page.
It's 1941. A unit of Soviet soldiers has fallen back in disarray in the face of the overwhelming German assault. The German spearhead has now moved on, leaving a force behind to mop up the battered Soviets, who have fallen back to an abandoned barracks not far from the Niemirov Ferry crossing.
Click on the picture below to find out what happened.
I'm very happy to announce that Blitzkrieg in the West: The BEF, the second of the series of theatre handbooks covering the early war in the West is now available. It covers the British Expeditionary Force from 1939 to the fall of France in 1940. Designed primarily for use with IABSM v3, the handbook will still prove useful to all players of WW2 company-sized wargames.
This incredibly detailed guide to British forces, written by me, is 75 pages in size and is packed with data, including the following British forces:
With additional sections on the Second British Expeditionary Force, other British independent formations, fielding British forces, rating your forces and a comprehensive armoury.
Just in case people were wondering why it's all been a bit quiet on here lately, it's because I've been working hard on the series of Blitzkrieg in the West theatre books for I Ain't Been Shot, Mum.
The French handbook is already available from the TooFatLardies website, and I'm pleased to announce that the handbook covering the British Expeditionary Force should be available to buy on Thursday this week, 1st March.
Covering everything from the Regulars to the Territorials, from the Pioneers to the Searchlights, the BEF handbook will give you everything you need to field a British force in May/June 1940. There's a lot of background info too, so the handbook should be useful for players of other game systems as well.
Fellow Lardie Desmondo Darkin takes his panzers for a spin in the first scenario from the Bashnya or Bust! scenario pack set against Operation Bagration in 1944.
See how he gets along by clicking on the picture, below...
Those of you who are on Facebook might be interested in the Charlie Don't Surf group that I've just joined. It's been around since July last year but, I must confess, I've only just found out about it.
As a reminder, you can also find an I Ain't Been Shot, Mum group on Facebook as well. Click on the name to go straight there.
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When IABSM v3 was published, two late war handbooks quickly followed: Battle for Liberation and Vpered Na Berlin. I am very pleased to say that today sees the publication of the first of the v3 early war handbooks: Blitzkrieg in the West #1: The French.
The handbook is 73 pages long, and covers the French Army from 1939 to the fall of France in 1940. It has twenty-nine force listings in it, all looking at core company structure and then the possible battalion, brigade, regimental, divisional and higher level supports. It also has a guide to rating your French forces, and a comprehensive armoury.
Available only as a pdf from the TooFatLardies website, Blitzkrieg in the West #1: The French costs £8.40.
Handbooks covering the BEF, the Belgians and Dutch, and the Germans follow one per month in March, April and May this year.
Blitzkrieg in the West #1: The French contains the following lists:
Infantry Divisions
Infantry Company
GRDI Cavalry Squadron
GRDI Motorcycle Squardon
Motorised Infantry Divisions
Motorised Infantry Company
DIM Motorcycle Company
GRDIM Motorcycle Squadron
GRDIM AMD Squadron
GRDIM AMR Squadron
Independent Tank Formations
Independent Tank Company (R-35, H-35, D-2 or fCM-36)
Independent Tank Company (FT-17)
Colonial Infantry
North African and Foreign Legion formations
Light Cavalry Divisions
Cavalry Squadron
Mechanised Dragoon Fusiliers
Dragoon Mixed Reconnaissance Squadron
RAM AMD Squadron
RAM AMC Squadron
RAM Motorcycle Squadron
Cavalry & Spahis
The Cavalry Squadron
Corps Reconnaissance Groups
GRCA Cavalry Squadron
GRCA Motorcycle Squadron
GRCAm Motorcycle Squadron
Light Mechanised Divisions
Tank Squadron
RDP Mechanised Dragoon AMR Squadron
RDP Mechanised Dragoon Fusilier Squadron
RDP Mechanised Dragoon Motorcycle
RD AMD Squadron
RD Motorcycle Squadron
Reserve Armoured Division
DCR Heavy Tank Company
DCR Light Tank Company
BCP Fusilier Company
Here's a battle report from a game I played in last weekend, using the Tally Ho! scenario from the Operation Sealion scenario pack.
The report is not written by me, but by Dave...who had the unfortunate task of referring a game in which I was participating. John and Mark played the Brits trying to re-claim a small corner of the UK for Queen and country; I played the dastardly Hun seeking to expand the Third Reich over England's green and pleasant land.
Click on the pic below to see how it all turned out...
Desmondo Darkin posts another game report on the IABSM Facebook site.
The Brits are advancing through Normandy, the Germans seeking to hold them up. A devastating pre-game stonk is just a preamble to the Germans getting a thorough spanking!
Click on the pic below for the AAR:
Although just being published now, this AAR covers my last game of 2017.
It's the Libyan/Egyptian border in September 1940, and the Italians have finally got their act together and invaded. A huge column snakes its way down the desert strip towards Egypt. In their way are the Coldstream Guards and their supports.
Find out how the Italians did by clicking on the picture, below.
Last Friday, The Centurions Wargame Group played host to fellow Lardy Mike Whitaker, who volunteered to run a demo game of IABSM. The game was held at The Source Comics and Games in the Twin Cities.
A company of infantry with armor support on each side provided an afternoon of great entertainment. Click on the pic below to see all.
Here's a great AAR from the IABSM Facebook Group, posted by Desmondo Darkin and friends.
In a fantastic-looking game in 20mm, the Canadians attempt to push through German defences on the outskirts of Caen.
Click on the picture below to see all:
On 8th September 1939, German Gebirgsjaegers moving along the Carpathian mountain range bumped into a unit of Polish Border Protection Corps mountain troops near the Dukla Pass. After a short battle, the Poles withdrew, leaving the pass open for the Gebirgsjaeger to continue their advance.
That was the background to scenario #39: The Dukla Pass, taken from my just-published scenario booklet, The September War, Part 2: another thirty of so scenarios for IABSM covering the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.
The game would involve both sides wrestling for control of two objectives, with victory going to side that controlled both objectives on any appearance of the Tea Break card.
Click on the picture below to see who triumphed in the two games we had, and why one of them ended in a Steward's Inquiry!
I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear that the second part of the Poland 1939 scenario pack is now available for purchase.
Written by Robert Avery and Alexander Kawczynski, The September War, Part II is the second scenario pack for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! covering the German invasion of Poland 1939. It provides another thirty scenarios for the theatre.
Divided into six mini-campaigns, the pack begins with four mini-campaigns based on specific German units: Panzerdivision Kempf, the 1st GebirgsjaegerDivision, the 4th Panzer Division, and the 1st Kavallerie Brigade. Then there are two mini-campaigns based on the Soviet invasion of Poland: the Belorussian Front and the Ukrainian Front. Finally there are two stand-alone battles: Westerplatte and the Hel Peninsula.
As always, there are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, and desperate defences, all containing a whole host of useful scenario mechanics that can be re-used elsewhere.
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!
To see a list of scenarios, click here.
To see a sample scenario briefing, click here.
To buy the pack, click here.
Whilst I'm waiting for the go-ahead to publish my latest scenario pack, The September War, Part II, giving you another thirty early war scenarios covering the invasion of Poland in 1939, here is a battle report from one of the play-test games.
It's late September, and a mixed bag of Polish troops are holed up in the village of Jablon. They want to slip away over the border, but there's a fast-moving column of Soviet tanks and infantry heading towards them. They'll have to hold out until nightfall...
Find out if the Poles held off the Red Army hordes by clicking on the picture, below, and don't forget to keep a tenner of your Christmas money back to buy the pack once it's out!
Here's another great battle report from Mark Luther. This time the action is in Hungary, 1944, near the town of Pestszentimre: giving Mark a chance to roll out his new Hungarian figures.
Click on the picture, below, to see all:
Following up on Monday's post about Part 2 of the September War scenario pack, I'm pleased to say that that is now finished. Huzzah!
Just waiting for Big Rich to sort a few details out, but it should be available at the end of this week...so keep a few of those Xmas Pounds/Dollars etc back for a last minute present for yourself. Should work out at about a tenner (£10 or about $13) for another thirty Poland 1939 scenarios, just under half of which involve the Soviets.
Exciting!
Sorry about the lack of posts for the last few days: I've been busy with another of Jack's amazing after action reports. This one weighs in with an extraordinary 239 photographs, each of which I've had to individually download and label!
The report is taken from Jack's blog, BlackHawtHet...and you'll be pleased to hear that he and I are working on a better way to transfer the content from there to VL.
Anyway, this time Jack takes Kampfgruppe Klink on a trip to the cabbage fields of Moiste: using the IABSM scenario that I wrote for the TFL 2005 Summer Special "Moiste Cabbage and a Quick Cognac".
The background is simple: The Germans have found a ford that gives them access to the French flank, the French dispatch a force under the eponymous Captain Cognac to close the gap.
Jack seems to have had a cracker of a game (239 pictures!), so click on the photo below to see all:
Another quick battle report from the pen of Burt Minorrot, taken from his great Spanish-language blog Las Partidas de Burt, or 'Burt's Stuff'.
Here, British troops attempt an advance against a strongly-held German position.
See how they did by clicking on the picture, below:
Here is our first I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! After Action Report from Jack, taken from his blog BlackHawkHet.
And what an AAR it is: fully 169 photographs with a comprehensive accompanying text. It's taken me a few days just to get it all loaded up on here!
Having been in contact with Jack, I'm pleased to say that the inspiration for the game actually came from VL, and from one of the other battle reports posted here. To be specific, it was from James Tree's Pushing On game, taken from the Operation Martlet scenario pack for CoC.
Click on the pic below to see Jack's epic work...
Here's a quick and somewhat fuzzily-photographed IABSM microarmour AAR from Mark Luther, this one covering action in France 1940 as the French counteract with Somua tanks.
Click on the pic below to see all:
Mark based the game on another AAR from this site: this one from Brian Cantwell. You can see Brian's version (in 15mm) by clicking on the pic below (opens in a new link).
And now a quick request.
I am running out of battle reports to post up here on Vis Lardica.
I am getting the occasional report sent direct to me for posting, and many individuals are kind enough to have allowed me re-posting rights to their blog entries, but it is becoming more and more difficult to keep the flow of reports coming.
So here's the request: if you are playing one of the TFL games covered by Vis Lardica*, and don't have a blog of your own or anything like that, take a few pictures of the action, scrawl down a few notes on what happened, or even just captions to the pictures, and send the lot through to me at admin@vislardica.com. Don't worry about format or tidiness or anything like that: I can turn the raw content into a report for you.
That way you have a record of the games that you have played, a record that you can come back to and browse anytime you feel like it. I certainly enjoy reminding myself occasionally of the great tabletop encounters I've enjoyed in the past, and judging by the traffic stats for the site, so do the rest of you!
So don't delay and get scribbling!
*The site covers TFL's company-sized games - I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! (WW2); Charlie Don't Surf! (Vietnam); and Quadrant 13 (sci-fi) - along with their variants Rock the Casbah (the Arab/Israeli wars of the '70s); B'Maso (Africa in the 60's) and the various adaptions for Moderns.
Finally, one thing that did catch my eye earlier today...
I was trawling the Internet looking for interesting wargames content to read, and came across a Russian-language site with a battle report on it. A quick Google translate came up with the usual pidgin English, but one sentence particularly caught my eye:
"well, where in the truhistori vargeim without homruli"
It's like reading Chaucer, or listening to Grendel/Grendel's Mother speak in the Ray Winstone Beowulf film, but expresses a sentiment we should all take to heart: is a wargame truly a wargame without home rules!
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Vis Lardica is a website devoted to wargaming and military history, with a special emphasis on the company-sized rulesets produced by the TooFatLardies: I Ain't Been Shot Mum (WW2); Charlie Don't Surf (Vietnam); and Quadrant 13 (science fiction)
Welcome to Vis Lardica, a not-for-profit website mostly dedicated to the company-sized wargaming rules produced by the TooFatLardies, but encompassing my other gaming interests as well.
If you need to contact me, you can do so at:
vislardica@gmail.com
If you have enjoyed visiting this site, please add a link to it on your own wargaming blog: www.vislardica.com.
