The Commander Series Forum

We're about to kick a "proper" AVBCW campaign at the club, replacing my ad hoc narrative and mostly solo efforts. I've written up a variant of the classic "Race to..." Campaign which Pete has kindly popped in the downloads section http://www.blitzkrieg-commander.com/Conten...

Comments are welcome! I think I may have written it with a bit too much "local knowledge" assumed so let me know if there's bits need explaining

Basic premise is that no one wants to play the fascists or the socialists, so the format allows all the players to play who they wan against the "main factions" who are run by me or whichever player is not running their own forces that nigh so we can play two games a night with all four players
Involved doing something each week.

Forces are intentionally small as it's cheap and the feel of the period lends itself to smaller actions!
Have a look!

Any Peaky Blinders? Bit late for them I suppose. Great idea for a campaign. Looking forward to following this one. AVBCW is something I fancy doing at some point in the future.

Bostin Man

It's an interesting "period". More toys than the SCW, and lots of scope for odd bits & bobs of stuff and factions, with an excuse to look into/make up some local history

Peaky Blinders - well, the BIrmingham Union Militia have a lot of Lewis Guns from some where and most of their ear looks like it fell off the back of a lorry! They've also proved handy in close combat...

The basic start point ran from my initial games - a SCUF-KGL two hammer blow into the north and south sides of east B'ham. They ran into the experienced and well up for it BUM who'd just cleared out the fash from the City proper on one side, and galvanised the otherwise wavering regular army troops around the south into declaring for Albert/King George and were also stopped .

At which point the BUM launched a successful diversionary attack from Erdington way up and across the Sutton Park defence line, drawing the fascist reserves out tothe north and away from the vital A34 and A5 links down to Coventry and Anglia/Home Counties/London. The Loyal Army of King George (Lack-Go) then launched a full scale cross country tally-ho to cut those links, cut off Sutton and take Coventry. They ran into the previously vacillating CRAPA - the Italian Expeditionary Force. As Italy & Germany have been at blows over Austria (similar to the real world early '30s stand off, but over Anschluss and lacking the bonding experience of the SCW they came to moderate blows instead of allowing Germany to swallow Austria!). The Italians defended themselves with spirit (and flame tanks. A9's and BGC's light up lovely...), and it took the BUM launching a full scale plodding WW1 attack to shift the heroic and deeply cut off Italians.

This meant the BUM stripped the northern defense lines, allowing the SCUF to breakthrough to B'ham proper. They pulled back the assault troops, and the Italians followed up. So B'ham proper is now back in a three way NPC dust up, CRAPA versus BUM versus SCUF-KGL.

The new factions have organised, got sorted and decided the city rightfully belongs to them. Nominally the Boys Brigade are Georgian royalists, whilst the Hreat Barr Fusiliers want an independent B'ham and the UEA want a Mercian Confederation, which can't afford either to own B'hams extensive munitions, vehicle, aircraft and other industries and rail links.

So all three are now striking into the city to clear out the rats nest and then hold it against the other two!

So, yesterday saw our first game in the campaign, the Solihull Boys Brigade in a break thru attack against Italian Expeditionary forces of the CRAPA at Knowle Hill Farm Garrison.

A platoon of three Conscript infantry and a MMG were dug in, with support from a 47mm ATG and two L3/33 tankettes. Mine fields (one dummy!) covered the flanks to channel attackers into the killing zone in front of the hill top farm and trench system over looking the east-west running A34. Wire should have been laid to further cover the front, but it appears the trucks with it on had been requisitioned and sent elsewhere (I forgot!).

The SoBBs moved a reinforced platoon (each three Boys Brigade Militia, one Royal engineer Regular, a Vickers MMG and a supporting 4.5" howitzer set up behind for covering fire) up through the fields either side of the A38, whilst the "armoured platoon" (two Carden-Lloyd tankettes, a Rolls Royce armoured car and an armoured lorry with a MMG team in) waited in the centre to motor up the road towards the farm and add their weight in.



Good use of smoke and preplanned HE from the SoBBs armoured artillery canal barges let them close to the road in front of the defence line without incident, whilst the Italians shifted their left flank infantry squads towards the middle to reinforce the MMG and ATG teams. Their observer shifted left to try and get a LoS out the smoke, but failed!

As the smoke lifted a confused firefight broke out, with much blundering about in a hail of bullets, shells and smoke, and resulting in the SoBBs losing an infantry squad and being mostly suppressed and forced back behind the line of the road and its fencing. The Italians nearly lost both the HMG and ATG, and did lose an infantry squad that got caught in the open.



A good trade for the SoBBs in numbers (CRAPA breakpoint 1 of 4, SoBBs 1 of 9!), but it's now turn six of eight, and they have yet to get into the objective line or even get anyone close to off table...



We called it there as was a late start due to me being late, but we should wrap up next week. Resolutely handled with sufficient push from the SoBB armour should see some heavy pressure on the Italians but it depends if they've got the intestinal fortitude to crack on!

Nice!

Was a good game, but we got just to the crunch when we had to call it time! I was really late, having had to bath the baby* very late when I should already have been out the house and set up, ready...

Hopefully we won't have lost the boil next week when we restart

*not a euphemism!

Looks great fun!


Where did you play & what are the giant pylon things?

Cheers.

I do so get a kick out of this game. The names of the units and formations are hilarious.

AJ, we play at a sports & social club in Stocklands Green, about half a mile from lovely Spaghetti Junction! Wednsday evenings

The over sized pylons are HO scale telegraph poles; they look ok in practise but seeing them on photo does make me think I should bite the bullet and chop them down! And get some more for 20mm+ games

Panzer leader - happy to provide a chuckle It could be a really gritty period but we're keeping it light

TP - I will be following this with interest. Picked up some 10mm stuff and have been thinking that I could use them for VBCW.

Slightly concerned about the empty pint glass

Had the bar closed?

Looking forward to this campaign progressing.

Cheers

Richard P

By the time I arrived one pint was about all I could manage! Especially given we got well stuck in & I couldn't leave the table

The beauty of AVBCW is being able to use a wide mix of toys; anythin from a fair bit of early WW2 kit to SCW improv stuff to interwar and WW1 gear!

And so, last night saw the SoBBs gain a Minor Victory on the very last turn! We set up according to the trusty camera phone pictures and led off into the SoBBs turn straight away.

This time, they had a doozy. Their armoured artillery canal boats got the call from FAO spot on, suppressing the CRAPA ATG and disrupting the MMG team protecting the road, then the HQ for the 1st platoon called in a barrage from the 4.5"'ers followed by vicious on target fire from his Vickers team which killed off both. Brave Italian gunners tried to right their pieces in a hail of .303 rounds and paid the ultimate price...



This left the way open for an armoured charge, so the CO deployed his column of tankettes and Rolls Royce A/C off the road and up towards the farm whilst trying to get 2nd Platoon to do anything - its HQ having a bit of a blue funk and failing to motivate!



Sadly most of the SoBB infantry was still Suppressed from the previous round of Eytie fire, so they couldn't press home their advantage immediately.

The CRAPA tried to reorganise, but the arty barrage had also suppressed the CO (their only command unit!) leaving them with little to actually do! One infantry squad dropped back further into the stone walled area bordering the A34 running north; although it wouldn't take further direct part in the battle, combined with the minefields it effectively locked down any chance of the SoBBs exiting northwards across half the board - they'd have to break the Knowle Hill Farm strongpoint for a major win!

In the following turns the SoBBs carefully pressed their advantage to position their militia (the Boys Brigade themselves!) for a well supported charge into the ruins of the Farm. Despite moving the tankettes up in support and some frantic fire from the infantry squad garrisoning the building (and the supporting arty who were starting to get fire in regularly!) the Boys went in. Italian courage was no match for a well turned British calf in baggy shorts, and the Boys Brigade cleared the farm almost at the last moment then exploited out to take one of the tankettes in the flank. Couple of shotgun barrels down the vision slot later and that was that...



The remaining tankette launched a last ditch counter attack into the flanks of the SoBBs assault, supported by the artillery in a stunning barrage but it was too little, too late - though battered the SoBBs had enough infantry to consolidate in the midst of the CRAPA defensive line and force the Italians to grudgingly retreat.



So, where does this leave the campaign? The SoBBs advance one towards Birmingham city centre, but remain outside the city proper. Quite a good result as it took them until the last turn to mount an effective assault on the Knowle Hill Farm position proper. I might have pressed harder, but unfamiliarity with the rules and a desire for force preservation meant the SoBBs commander didn't attack as aggressively as I would have...

You might notice some new toys - there's some nice Pendraken interwar tanks there, and a lovely conversion of an N gauge Bullnose into a "Leatherette" semi-armoured MG armed scout car, and the SoBBs have also acquired some Vickers Mediums and proper armoured canal barges for the future which should give them a lot more punch.

Sadly we're D&D'ing for the next couple of weeks whilst the other players sort some forces out, so no updates for a bit but soon as we're back on there shall be more!

Great game Nathan are there any more pictures available anywhere?

Cheers

Richard P

Sadly not, sorry Richard! We were a bit busy playing to take more photo's - and they'd mostly have been quite similar except for taking suppression dice on and off by that stage

One of the chaps did take some at the end as well, but they likely duplicate mine...

Is there anything you'd like better photo's of in particular? I can probably get some

I'd love to see some pics of your armoured canal boats, to see how they compare to mine.

They're club mate Roy's, but he's got most of the structure sorted so a paint job and basing can't be too far off! He also possesses a decent camera so decent photos might be had, too!

I'll post up the stats we're looking at for them when I'm at a proper machine tomorrow

Canal Barges would be great and also some closer shots of some of the vehicles especially the conversions.

Cheers

Richard P

I'll see if I can get him to get a few good photo's of the "Leatherettes" then, and the "paint conversion infantry I did. Pendraken do an "Upper class armed civvies" pack who are technically in hunting garb of some sort - baggy tweed knee trousers and walking socks, so I painted the legs flesh coloured and did the shorts/jackets in Boys Brigade blue



More on the linkee - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=ms...

And for the page as a whole with many and varied bits and bobs - https://www.facebook.com/jtppainting

Cheers Nathan, those Boys Brigade look great

Cheers Richard

So, we got a quick game in last night but not directly campaign related - club mate Alan has got his troops finished, but not based yet. As he hasn't played BKC before we just popped him a couple of infantry platoons with a Vickers each and a couple of improv armoured cars down, whilst I had one platoon of infantry with MMG and 37mm ATG, and two armoured cars and a PzrI under my CO.

Him as the Sutton Coldfield United Militia, me as the Sutton Coldfield Union of Fascists.

No set scenario, effectively an encounter battle which went as such things do - Alans side got better command rolls earlier, grabbed the best of the terrain and the Fascists paid heavily for trying to close. The Fascist armour (Lord Rothermeres Dragoons, paid for by subscription from Daily Mail readers) succumbed to 20mm Oerlikon & Boyes ATR fire, before being finished off by close assault, whilst the Fascist infantry blundered forward into rifle and MMG fire.

High points for the Fascists were dinging a couple hits into the Armadillos and machine gunning a couple of squads of infantry as they tried to find cover post grenading the Dragoons, but it was not to be and they broke.

Good rules tester, we had blunders, different doctrine, armour versus infantry versus guns versus other armour, linear and high area terrain and command choices aplenty.

Fingers crossed for a proper game next week, either the SoBBs or the SCUM!

Righty-o, tomorrow see's the SoBB's making a push up the Grand Union Canal past Hampden-in-Arden & Catherine des Barnes village to clear the Solihull docks and way north west into Birmingham proper.

I suspect it'll be the first outing for the Armoured Canal Barges so will make sure we get a couple of pics for you all!

Opposition may be harder than last time, as the CRAPA has been forced to pull back from the multi sided dog fight in the city proper to protect their lines of communication & supplu from the rampaging short wearers