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Page 1: Sample file - Wargame Vault · This magazine and other publications ofThe Courier ... MAY/ JUNE 1984 VOL. V, NO.3 THE VANGUARD EDITOR'S NOTES We will soon be entering the convention

y,y,-\\)\ y,y,_\\)'l. y,y,-\\)'

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Page 2: Sample file - Wargame Vault · This magazine and other publications ofThe Courier ... MAY/ JUNE 1984 VOL. V, NO.3 THE VANGUARD EDITOR'S NOTES We will soon be entering the convention

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~ ] ~·~utt.i~tt NORTH AMERICA'S FOREMOST MINIATURE GAMING MAGAZINE

FEATURE ARTICLES

COLONIAL WARGAME CAMPAIGN IDEAS DOUG JOHNSON describes several ca mpai gn techniques ....... .. . ... . . . ... . .. .. . . . .•.. . ...... . ...... . . .. .... . .•....•...•... •.......• ... .... 3

ESSEX 25MM COLONIALS LYNN BODIN reviews this range of figures ......•....................... .• .. . ... . ........ . ... . ..........•.......... . ....• . ... • ...•. . ....... 13

KATASTROPHE VON 1806-PART '" PETER HOFSCHROER rebuts the first two parts . .... . .. . •....... .... .•. .. . . .....•.. ...•. .. . .•.. . . . • . . . ..........•....•... .. ... . .. .• .. . •.. .. . 17

ARRIAN'S ARRAY AGAINST THE ALANS JIM VIDLAK offers a fascinating translation . . .. ..•... . . . •. . ........ . . . . . ..•..............................•...... . ................•... . .... . 35

A COMPLETE INDEX FOR VOLUME IV TOM DESMON D performs his annual chore ..... • ..... .• .... . ..............................•........ . ....•........ . . . .. . . •..•... . . . ....... 40

IMPROVISED DEFENSE AT BRZEGI M ICHAEL CANNON presents a batt le report & review of TAC FORCE RULES ........•.....•.....•... . .•.... . .••.....•... . .... . . ........ . . .• .... 43

TWO SCENARIOS FOR ONE TO ONE GAMING N ICK NASCA TI describes skirmish scenarios . ....... .. ..•.. . .. .. ...... . ..... . . ..•..... • ............ • .....•...............• . .. • . .. • .. . .•... . 53

ZULU UPRISING-A MINI CAMPAIGN WA L TER SIMON with a Colonial sk irmish act ion . ... . ...•... . . . . ... . ... . .. .. ... .. .....• . ... .•. . . .. ... .. . . .......•. . .. • . .......... .. .. . •.... S5

BURNING THE BRIDGES ROBIN PECK explains a skirmish game from England .. ... • . ... . •. . . . ..•..........• . ... . • .. .. . • ... . . . . .. ... . . . .. . . • ....•..... . . . ........•.. .. 60

DEPARTMENTS

THE MARTIAL ART OF PAINTING Dry Brushing with Mike Gilbert .. .. ..•......... . •.. . . .•... . .•......•.. ... . ... . . . ..... •.. . . . ..... ..... . • .. . . 2S

THE REVIEWING STAND with Jay Had ley ... . .... . . . ..... ... .. . .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. . .... ... . .. ... .... .. .... . . . . . ..... ........ . .. .. .. . ......... .. 27

ALEXANDER'S TENT Quest ions & Answers about Ancie nt Topics w ith Kruse Smith . . ...... . • . ... ... . . . . .. . . .. . . .. • . ...... .. . . .. . . .......... • ... . 39

THE COURIER DISPATCH News of the Hobby with Rob M acl ea n ... .. . . .. . .. ... . .......•. .. . .• . .... •.. . ..... .... . . ........•...•... .....• ... . 49

DISPATCHES FROM THE FIELD l ette rs to (or at) the Editor . . . .. .. ..... . • . . . . . ......... . ...... . . . .. .. ... . ... . • .. ...... ... .. ..• . . •... .. .. . •... . 63

VOLLEY FIRE What do you like (or hate) about the issue ... ......•. . ...•.....•.... . •.. . . . •... . • . ....••......•• . . .. . •...• ... ....•.... ... . .. ... 64

27 55

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Page 3: Sample file - Wargame Vault · This magazine and other publications ofThe Courier ... MAY/ JUNE 1984 VOL. V, NO.3 THE VANGUARD EDITOR'S NOTES We will soon be entering the convention

m:be

~(lu·tt.it:tt MANAGING EDITOR: Richard L. Bryant

BUSINESS MANAGER: Leo Cronin ART DIRECTOR: Joseph Miceli

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Bruce Milligan THEME EDITOR: THE SUDAN

Lyn n Bodin

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS William Abrams; Ken Bunger; Phi l Barker; Robert Beattie; Rodman Burr; Steve Carpenter; Pat Condray; Tom Desmond; Jay Hadley; Steve Haller; Peter Hollinger; Ian Knig ht; Paul Koch; Doug Johnson; Robert Mosca; N ick Nascati ; Eric Ritchie; Cliff Sayre; Kruse Smith; Walter Simon ; Ned Zupa rko.

STAFF CARTOONISTS: Jon Rettich Jose Niera

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS: Pat Condray Tom Desmond

THE COURIER DISPATCH: Robert Maclean

STAFF ILLUSTRATORS A lan A rchambau lt , A I Karasa

John Thull , Joe Matthews, Larry Schuman

THE COURIER PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. Richard L. Bryant, President

DIRECTORS Richard Brya nt, Leo Cronin , G lor ia Miceli

THE COURIER is published approximately bi-monthly at Brockton, MA 02401 USA.

SUBSCRIPTIONS USA - $14.00; CANADA & S. AMER ICA, surface rate -$17.00. UN ITED KINGDOM & EUROPE write to: Ath ens Books , 20 St. Mary's Road; Doncaster S. Yorks DNl ZNP, England . AUSTRA LI A & N. ZEALAND write to: The Tin Sold ier, 424 George St. , Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.

BACK ISSUES Recent back issues are available fo r $3.50, USA; $4.00 Canada & Foreign surface; $5.00 Foreign airmai l. See last page of issue for listing. Monies in US funds drawn on US banks o r intern ational Postal Money Order. Subscriptions start with NEXT published issue after receipt of pay ment.

No responsibility is assumed for statements of fact or opinion made by the aut hors. No respons ibi lity .is assumed for unsoli cited manuscripts, but all sub­missions are welcome, no query necessa ry. A ll sub­missions shou ld contain a se lf-addressed STAMPED envelope large enough to return the submission .

This magazine and o ther pub li ca tions ofThe Cou rier Publishing Company are sold with the understanding that every reasonable attempt is made to deliver them sa fely th rough the mail s. The Courier Publishing Company is not responsible for items lost in the mails. Replacements will be provided at their usual cost.

ALL DEALER INQUIRIES, ADVERTISING COPY AND INQUIRI ES, SUBSCRIPTIONS AND ARTICLES to THE COURIER, Box 1878, Brockton, MA 02403.

Enlire Contents Copy right © 1984 by The Courier Publishing Company, Inc.

MAY/ JUNE 1984 VOL. V, NO.3

THE VANGUARD

EDITOR'S NOTES

We will soon be entering the convention season. It is that time of the year when those who want to give something to the hobby besides only taking from it come to the fore and offer their services to these conventions to put on tournaments, demonstrations and seminars. Often taken for granted, they participate in 'this money losing proposition every year. When I say " taken for granted", I do not mean only by those who participate in the events but especially by the conventions which are helped so much by these selfless indivduals. It has always been a demanding, money losing, thankless effort but nowadays the larger conventions are charging these people money up-front to put on their event with a promised reimbursement from ticket sales. For this fee, the convention provides prizes and collects tickets.

I hope that the movers and doers in the hobby, dispite this attitude of some of the conventions, will continue to put on their events and that the rest of us will support them, for without them there is no point in going to a convention 1500+ miles away from home. For those still interested the major conventions need Historical Miniature events and solicit your help.

NAME: HMGS ORIGINS ATlANTICON GENCON DATE: JU LY 27-29 JUNE 21·24 AUG 3·5 AUG 16·19 PLACE: WASHINGTON DC DALI.AS TX BALTIMORE MD KENOSHA WI Miniature Event Contact: PAT CONDRAY AL PARE NONE ANITA ROCKWELL PHONE: (703) 360·6240 (214) 241·2113 (301) 298·313S (800) 558· 2420 Seminilrs fec : 0 $10 25';;. of Ticket Sales $25 Tournaments fee: 0 $45 $40 $15 Demos fce: 0 0 0 $15 "One Shol" event fee: 0 l' N /A $15 Organizer free entry NOTE 1 NOTE 2 NOTE 3

1. One shots gel refundable entry fee. $5 entry fce fo r extra judges. All others get in free. 2. Refundable entry fee for free demos. Others must make it from ticke ts. 3. Charges include entry fee which is refunded when event takes place. 4. If organizer charges fec, convention takes 25'){, . Organizer gets in free for PAYING events.

STOP PRESS

MAJOR HISTORICAL MINIATURES GAMING CONVENTION Since the above was written, the Historical Miniature Gaming Society (HMGS) has decided to run a large Historical Miniature ONLY gaming convention the weekend of July 27-29. This decision was not taken lightly but only after an agonizing appraisal of what the East Coast had to offer to Historical Miniature Gamers this year. You will note that - breaking the unfortunate trend of the last few years - one does not have to pay this convention fo r the right to put on an event - AND - if you put on a paying event, you get in FREE! No ifs, ands or buts! As of this writing, some 22 tables have been reserved by Historical Miniature manufacturers and suppliers. If you want to see the latest in Historical Miniature Gaming THIS is the convention NOT to miss - 2.5 days without a Dungeon, Orc or cardboard counter in sight - Think of it!!

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COLONIAL W ARGAME CAMPAIGN IDEAS

INTRODUCTION

Wargamers, especially Victorian Era wargamers, quite often have trouble creating much realism with their wargame campaigns. The Victorian colonial campaigns are especially difficult to portray accurately in a simulated campaign . Huge battles with massed armies were few and far between. More often than not, the outcome of such battles was pretty much determined before the first shot was fired. Small, seemingly insignificant skirmishes were far more common and often played a more critical role in the final outcome of the campaign . The Sudan campaigns are a fine example of campaigns where there were a few really big battles, but lots of small skirmishes. Doug Johnson, acutely aware of the problems which could kill a Colonial campaign before it even got off the ground, presented some of his ideas in the following two articles, which appeared several years ago in Savage and Soldier. Thanks to the rising popularity of Yaquinto's The Sword and the Flame rules and the overall increased general interest in wargaming the Colonial era, perhaps it is time to reprint Doug's ideas. Beginning in the next issue of The Courier, I will ~ presenting some battle reports of a Sudan wars campaign which has been fought here in the greater­Seattle area by the Western Washington Wargamers. The campaign utilizes several of Doug's suggestions, so I felt it appropriate to print Doug's ideas as a sort of prelude to the actual campaign articles.

- LYNN BODIN, THEME EDITOR .

WARGAMES OF SURVIV AL (reprinted from Savage and Soldier,

Vol. X No.4, Oct-Dec 1978)

I was put in a reflective mood recently when going over some back issues of Savage and Soldier; specifically by issues VI / 4 through VII / 3 when a controversy raged within our pages over wargame rules and the nature of colonial wargaming. It was a controversy prematurely brought to an end, and unfortunately so, for the questions it raised have not been taken up again by this or any other journal.

3

The controversy was ostensibly about a set of rules published in an earlier issue. Some New England wargamers had tried them out and were dissatisfied with them, and their complaints were forwarded to me by a man who was, among other things, a professional rule writer. His main complai nt seemed to have been that the ru les were poorly written, and his criticisms were aimed to help improve their clarity. While granting some of his claims, I was intrigued by what he presented as the main proof of the unworkability of our rules. In the game he referred to, the British player found himself forced (by our rules) to dismantle an unwieldy square and go after his opponent, maximizing his firepower by deploying in line. The native player, apparently unprepared for such a tactic, was mopped up without (so my critic informed me with great disgust) giving the British a chance to "bloody their bayonets." This was clearly no way to fight a colonial warga me!

I was then, and I remain now, extremely pleased by this criticism, for it seems that our rules forced at least one player to fight a colonial wargame as most colonial battles were fought instead of the way he thought they should have been fought. But what perplexes me now, is that to fight the battle the right way caused such extreme dis­satisfaction.

This same paradox arose at this year' s (1978) National Wargame Convention at Reading (U .K.) The competition regulations produced head-on collisions for all battles, including colonial competition . There were only three of us fighting colonia l battles (so my coming in second can be seen as second from the top or bottom) , and I think we all agreed, after the dust and shouting was over, that colonial wargames had to be set up differently from conventional (or convention?) wargames. Some recognizable objectives had to be introduced, even if negatively; i.e. to prevent the opponent from achieving something within a time limi t. One of the players pointed out to me that in his warga me circle such a game would not likely be popular, as most wargamers wanted to fight to the finish rather than accept a tie, or a defeat when most of their army was sti ll intact. I replied that that sort of warga mer would be unlikely to be

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interested in playing colonial wargames.

But what sort of player does Ii ke playing colonial wargames, and what sort of wargames are colonial wargames? It is my firm conviction that no enjoyable colonial wargames can be played if it is a refight of Ulundi or Omdurman or any other battle of such massive firepower. It was the best strategy of the Imperial army to try to maneuver its enemy into such a battle, just as it was the best strategy of the native army to prevent such a battle from coming about. In wargames something else needs to be tried which can allow the native army to claim a strategic victory, even if its casualties are higher than the I mperial army.

What is a strategic victory? Let us look at two battles of the Desert Column of the Sudan for an example. By all accounts the British won the battles of Abu Klea and Abu Kru (or Gubat) . By all accounts the Mahdists thought they had lost them as they certainly hoped to annihilate the Camel Corps and their own losses caused the Mahdi great distress. But what was the ultimate effect of those two battles? First, the British lost enough men by rifle fire and melee to force them to revise their plans and delay their next move. The commanders of the column lost faith in the Heavy Camel Corps after Abu Klea and removed them from the front line of battle; thus reducing the amount of troops in front line fighting. The column did not have enough men or supplies after both battles to take Metemmah when it finally got to the river. It had lost most of the Naval Brigade, so it was unable to employ Gordon 's steamers as soon as they hoped. I n this condition the Desert Column ws unable to do anything to avert or delay the fall of Khartoum, which was its sole objective. With " victories" like that in 1896-98, the Anglo-Egyptian Army would never have taken Omdurman. In a wargame reconstruction of the battle of Abu Klea, I would suggest that the natives would win if they depleted the Imperial force by a certain percentage before it was able to get off the board , while maintaining a certain of their own troops intact.

This may not appeal to many commanders of Imperial troops, but if our rules are to reflect a certain accuracy in firepower and expense of troop types, should not our wargames reflect more closely the conditions of colonial warfare? Should we revise our ideas of wargame " victory", and should we set up our colonial wargames in a different way?

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4

The idea of introducing " strategic victories" to the warga me table is not new and indeed has been used in many board games. It does not seem to be a popular idea among wargamers using figures. If wargamers, as someone told me recently, like to fight to a clear finish, and that finish is indicated by seizing ground and killing the enemy, few wargamers having taken most or all of the important positions on a table and having inflicted more casualties on the opponent than they have received, will accept at the end of the game that they have been defeated. For campaign purposes they might admit to a Pyrrhic victory, but it is to them a victory none the less.

As most wargamers fight in conventional periods where the opposing forces are more or less equal , this reluctance to turn victory into defeat is understandable for such a reversal is unnecessary. For those who fight in the colonial period where opposing armies must be balanced inequal­ities, the consideration of such a strange outcome is necessary. While not wanting to turn colonial wargames into a donkey race where the loser wins, we must consider the nature of colonial campaigns and battles in order to recreate the essence of colonial warfare in individual wargames.

Colonial strategists frequently urged that the aim of the Imperial army in a colonial war was to inflict so heavy a defeat on their enemy as to make him acknowledge defeat and submit. This was done by forcing the enemy into battle where severe casualties could be inflicted. The seizing of villages, crops or herds was done primarily to bring the enemy to battle, but the most favored method was to establish oneself in a strong defensive position in the enemy's territory and provoke him to attack . A successful campaign might consist of a series of battles where the I mperial troops used a defensive position (such as a square) aggressively, or at least provocatively, and which ended in one large battle such as Ulundi or Omdurman in which the enemy's army and his will to fight was completely and decisively destroyed. Many of the best known and best loved colonial campaigns followed or tried to follow this pattern.

There are other less well known and less well loved campaigns where the I mperial strategy was thwarted by the enemy refusing to conform to what was expected of him. I n these campaigns the native forces either denied the Imperial troops a chance to engage in a decisive battle, or managed to force the I mperial troops to stretch thei wn resources to the limit and thus be obliged to break off hostilities, at least temporarily. This was especially so of campaigns conducted on the frontier of an empire, or guerilla campaigns in parts of the empire that were too distant or undeveloped to defend properly, or where Imperial policy was one of maintaining a presence only, or of containing hostility to a manageable level until such time as the full resources of the empire could be turned on the problem.

As wargamers, we are primarily concerned with the military aspects of colonial wars - of weapons, training, logistics and tactics. These are the elements that can most easily be transferred to the wargame table. Since most wargames are isolated battles and not part of a campaign , our objectives are restricted to those that can be used on the warga me table as well. I n general we have not considered what motives and objectives of the different sides in a colonial campaign might have been, because we cannot see how

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" ..... "'.:':-

does a game dare to be truly different and abandon old concepts while striking out to chart virgin territory in game design. Rarer still are the instances in which these games succeed in presenting a

simulation of unparalleled realism in an easily understood, playable format. Up Front is just such a game! $25 Retail

Gone are the hexes and charts of conventional wargames, replaced by innovative and attractive game components which have distilled a wea lth of technical data into one of the most p layable, yet detail laden, formats ever devised!

UP FRONT is a game of man-to-man infantry combat set in INWII Europe and is based loosely on the popular SQUAD LEADER game system. Players need not be familiar with any of the various SQUAD LEADER games or rules to p lay. The basic theory behind the design remains the same; only the mechanics of p lay differ. UP FRONT is a far simpler adaptation of SQUAD LEADER principles designed to a card game format. Yet, in many ways, the game is more realistic than its predecessor in that its inherent mechanics simulate the fear and confusion of the battlefield and the inability of leadership to assert itself far better than any tactical combat game yet published.

There is no playing board; it has been replaced by Terrain cards which become the " hexagons" of the game as players maneuver their forces via Action cards over constantly changing terrain. The scale of the game is measured in terms of relative

ranges between opposing forces, with most combat occurring within a scale distance of 500 meters during the course of player turns measured in varying seconds of actual time.

UP FRONT is a game player's game, rich in detail yet easily playable within the space of a lunch hour. However, it also con­tains engrossing Multi-Player and Campaign Game versions which could last a week or more. Like SQUAD LEADER, its famous predecessor. UP FRONT is an open-ended game capable of depicting endless Design-Your-Own variations of small unit actions between American. German and Russian combatants. Tanks. Assault Guns. Smoke, Anti-Tank Rifles. Demolition Charges. Pillboxes. Partisans. SS. Entrenchments. Anti -Tank Mines, Infantry Guns. Flamethrowers. Armored Cars. Halftracks, Panzerfausts. Bazookas. Panzerschrecks. Wire. Ambushes. Radios. Artillery. Minefields. Mortars. Snipers. Stars hells, Heroes. Prisoners and Fords are all accounted for .

UP FRONT encompasses a lmost everything that the SQUAD LEADER game system has taken four gamettes to do. and does so in a far more playable format. The game can be summed up in four words: innovation. playabi lity. detail and realism . That's an unbeatable combinatio n.

Up Front-the Squad Leader card game-is available in leading game stores everywhere, For quick

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