Live Fire

 

Our range for the weekend.

Invited by Master Gunsmith Dave Person, several members of Warner's Regiment gathered at a private range for a live fire event.

At public events, we fire blank charges of gunpowder only, which is the spark and smoke you see at reenactments. This event gave us a chance to safely fire live loads of round ball, such as what was used during the American Revolution.

Your author, in winter hippie form (right) and one of my comrades.

A small selection of our arms.

We fired a variety of calibers and charges, both patched and loose ball, in a number of formations, including close, open order, and individual fire. We fired both smooth bore and rifled flintlocks. This gave us a small glimpse at what these historic weapon could do.

Some of us were experienced shooters. Some had never fired before. For my parts, the last time I live fired anything was 35+ years ago as a Boy Scout shooting a .22 rifle at summer camp. Because of that, I opted to start at the bench. I was soon firing off hand and at the knee (my most comfortable position)

My eyesight isn't great, so I couldn't tell where I was hitting on the targets. When we switched to pumpkins and onions, though, I was able to hit a pumpkin 3 out of 3 tries (one low, one high, one center) at about 35 yards. Later we did a timed shooting course of different sized metal targets at various ranges. Surprising myself, I placed 3rd out of 7 shooters. I hit 2 out of 6 targets. 3 of our shooters had misfires that dropped them from the running.

Another incredibly fun weekend with my Warner's family, and an amazingly relaxed weekend without needing to be part of "the show" for a paying public.

Examining the woods behind the targets.

An example of the damage done by a musket ball.

Panzer Ace, Normandy, July, 1944

Outskirts of Le Dézert, Normandy

On 22 October, I took part in another game of I Ain't Been Shot Mum (IABSM), by Two Fat Lardies. My opponent Steve and I arrived at the home of our host and umpire, Dan, at about noon. The day before, after having read the scenario, I opted to play the German side, which looked like it'd be a challenge.

The scenario comes from the book Heroes of Omahaand Panzer Lehr from SkirmishCampaigns. The scenarios appear to be game agnostic, so Dan would tweak things a bit, possibly adding troops to fit the IABSM rules set.

Scenario Map

Initial intelligence given in the scenario indicated U.S. troops just outside the village of Le Dézert on the road toward Saint Jean de Daye in Normandy, France, on the morning of 11 July, 1944. My task, as commander of two elements of Panzer Grenadiers and one armored section, was to move at least two armored vehicles through the hedgerows and off the east side of the board within 10 turns. As indicated on the map, the Americans may have reinforcements coming in on that side.

Based on the map, my initial plan was to put flankers out on either side of my main column, which would drive up the road. Not knowing how thick the bocage was, I also wanted to attempt to get a unit on top of the hill overlooking the manor house, to cover my movement as I crossed the bridge. The bridge looked like it would be the choke point, and most heavily defended.

Initial Deployment

Upon arrival, I was put in command of the following:

• One armored section containing a Panzerkampfwagen Va. tank (Panzer), a Sturmgeschütz IIIg tank (StuG), and a Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234 armored car (Puma).

• Two Panzer Grenedier infantry platoons, each with three sections of 10 riflemen and one Panzerfaust each, mounted on half-track personnel carriers.

• One truck mounted Quad 2.0cm Flak gun

• One headquarters unit in a Kübelwagen

• The armored and infantry sections each had a “Big Man” officer attached

For the terrain, the bocage hedgerows were impassible for vehicles, and would take infantry two actions to climb over, which would slow things down. The hedgerows also blocked line of sight, but could be fired out of and into. This would mean driving the vehicle column blindly down the road, at least to the houses and bridge. The good news was that the stream was shallow, and could be crossed by both infantry and vehicles. I wouldn't have to use the bridge to cross if pressed.

No sightlines? No problem!

The game began with my German troops lining up along the road. Since the Americans hadn't spotted us yet, blinds were used. Due the bocage, I knew I wouldn't get a vehicle to the top of the hill overlooking the houses, but, fearing a bazooka ambush from the sides of the road, I decided to stick with my original plan of sending out flankers. Infantry Platoon 1 was deployed in the field to my right. Platoon 2 was deployed to the left field, dismounted from their half-tracks. Along the road, I deployed in the following order: The StuG took point. With no turret, but heavy frontal armor, I figured it would act as my shield. The Panzer came next, able to fire to either side of the StuG. Lightly armored, the Puma was third, hiding behind the Panzer for protection. Behind the armor came the Quad truck in support, with the HQ unit bringing up the rear.

Lining Up

The dismounted Panzer Grenadiers on my left flank moved quickly up to the first bocage at the base of the hill and took an action to see if anything was on the other side. Spotting no troops, they climbed over the blockade and took up positions in the orchard on the hill. On my right, the half-tracks of Platoon 1 are spotted by the Americans, so the blind is removed. Steve now knows where half my infantry is. My armored column, not wanting to get ahead of the infantry, begins slowly moving up the road. The StuG, in front, spots movement on the second floor of a house to the left. Lobbing a shell into the house, the men there are pinned down by falling debris. The Panther follows suit, also targeting the second floor, which causes the Americans there to flee out of sight to the first floor. Panzer Grenadier Platoon 1, hearing the opening bursts, dismount from their personnel carries and move quickly up the the hedgerow in front of them.

On the move

Opening shot on target!

Pulling up to the end of the bocage along the road, the armored column takes a moment to look at the upper floor of the building to their right. The infantry on that side cross over the bocage into the orchard, checking the first floor of the house. No enemy are spotted. The Americans appear to have opted for a defense further back on the board. Light mortar fire begins landing in the orchard, but no damage is taken by the Panzer Grenadiers.

On the left, Infantry Platoon 2 moves over the hedgerow, from the orchard there, to the hill overlooking the buildings of the farm complex. Now in the open, they take fire from the Allied side, taking one casualty killed in action.

Clearing the flanks, and slow advance.

With the right flank clear, the tank crews move up and begin targeting the first floor of the building previously hit. The Americans, seeing the danger, and having already experienced two tank shots on the upper floor, evacuate the building, taking cover in the larger structure in the nearby farm complex. Platoon 2 on the left continues across the open hilltop, hoping to take cover against the hedgerow in front of them. They take another burst of fire from the buildings, losing another man killed in action. Platoon 1 continues to take light mortar fire, but they keep their heads down and out of danger. As they take cover up against a stone wall surrounding the orchard, they take infantry fire from behind the bocage on the opposite side of the stream that splits the terrain. They take their first KIA. As they set up to be on overwatch, two Allied M10 Tank Destroyers rumble into view, blocking the road ahead.

Anti-tank guns arrive.

Back on the right again, my infantry continues taking light mortar and small arms fire from Americans behind the bocage to the east. They suffer one more man killed, but return fire, blindly shooting into the mass of brush, rock, and trees ahead of them. Platoon 2 on the left flank presses ahead, crawling through the bocage, crossing a small lane and stream, and diving into cover behind a stone wall in front of the occupied buildings. They are fired on, taking another KIA for their effort. They fire on what infantry they can see on the second floor of the nearest house. My armored column, seeing the new M10 threat, begins to deploy for a fight. The StuG, in the lead, pulls to the right, clearing the road for the Panzer and lining up for a shot against the tank destroyers. Before the crew can take a shot, though, one of the M10s opens up with a direct hit. The StuG explodes in a massive fireball. The Panzer pulls up to, but not onto, the bridge, leaving just her turret exposed to the enemy. The second M10 fires, but the shell bounces harmlessly off the Panzer's armor. The Panzer fires back, causing damage to the M10's machine gun. The Puma, moving quickly, wheels around to the right of the burning StuG, lining up to fire its gun across the river.

Deploying for battle.

My infantry platoons on both flanks begin taking machine gun fire from the American infantry. Three more men are killed. On the left, from behind the farm complex, a small anti-tank gun rolls out of cover, firing two shots into the Puma, shocking it and pinning it in place. Things are beginning to look bad for my armor. We need to press on across the river and down the road, but the way is blocked, and we're taking heavy fire from all sides.

StuG down!

On my left flank, my Panzer Grenadier squad is furious. With one section firing on the 2^nd floor of the building ahead of them, the other two squads rush the building, coming into direct contact with the enemy. The Americans win the melee, throwing the grenadiers back to the edge of the stream. We kill four, but take five casualties of our own. A bloody affair with no gain. The M10 tank destroyers open up again. The Puma is missed at first, but a second shot lands square. The crew won't be doing anything this turn. The Panther also continues to take fire. A shot takes out the big cat's machine gun, but a second shot bounces off its heavy armor. Platoon 1, seeing the anti-tank gun, and taking infantry fire from their front, decides to advance into the cover of the small stream, lobbing a Panzerfaust toward the tank destroyers, with no effect. The American anti-tank gun also targets the sitting-duck Puma, but its shots have no effect.

At this point, the infantry of Platoon 1 on my right also begin taking sniper fire from the hedgerow ahead of them. Another man killed. We can't see them, but behind that bocage to our front are a mortar team, an infantry team with machine gun and rifles, and now at least one sniper. Who knows what else may be lurking there. The tank destroyers are blocking the road, and the anti-tank gun will have our left flank if we move forward. The stone buildings of the farm complex are occupied by infantry, and we're taking casualties on all fronts.

I haven't seen any bazooka teams, but I have a horrible feeling they are hiding in the houses, ready to hit my Panther in the side should I cross the bridge. Though the first assault went horribly wrong, I take a chance and rush the house on the left with my infantry again. Though they take another KIA, this time the Panzer Grenadiers are successful, dislodging an enemy machine gun and rifle squad from the building. My platoon occupies the structures themselves, with one squad on each floor, and another in reserve (and cover), just outside. On the road, the German Flak gun opens up. The fire is scary, but has no effect on the enemy. The American anti-tank gun continues firing on the little Puma, the crew of which, finally having had enough, quickly pull back to take cover behind the orchard house on our right. Their morale is super low, and they'll likely be out of the fight unless I can get them to rally. In my center, the big Panther stays put, being in cover behind the bridge crossing. A bazooka team finally reveals itself, but its shot bounces off the cat. It's time to open up. The Panther fires a shot at the M10 ahead and to the right. The shell hits direct, turning the tank destroyer into an exploding pile of parts. A second shot from the Panther hits the second M10, briefly immobilizing it. A third shot does the trick, hitting the second M10 again, causing it to withdraw as its crew panics.

Puma retreat.

M10 knocked out.

The road is clear, but we're still exposed on the flanks if we move forward.

Platoon 1, hunkered down in the stream, is getting whittled down. The anti-tank gun, having dealt with the Puma, switched to anti-infantry ammunition, killing one man in the squad. Machine gun fire from in front kills another. Poking their heads up, they fire into the hedgerow in front of them, and take another KIA from machine gun fire. On the left, Platoon 2 takes advantage of their new position in the house, firing with deadly effect into the flank of the American anti-tank gun. The crew abandons the gun and retreats. At this point, the Americans in the larger farm structure, and the Panzer Grenadiers in the house, begin firing back and forth across the courtyard at each other, both having heavy cover, but plinking away at each other. In an effort to clear any threat should we decide to move up the road (and we need to), the Flak gun blindly opens up on the corner of the bocage, hoping to inflict maximum damage on anything hiding in there. While we couldn't see it, we managed to take out half of the bazooka team. The Panther at the bridge once again fired on the remaining M10, this time knocking it out completely. Having been rallied by my Headquarters unit which had been creeping down the road during the firefight, the Puma recovers, and takes up position on the bridge in front of the Panther. At this point, the game was ending Turn 7. While I still had threats ahead and to the right, if I continued to move slow I may run out of time.

American AT crew takes rifle fire.

With the vehicle column reorganizing behind me, my infantry on the left kept up their gun battle with the Americans in the farm. Trading several bursts with each other, the American squad on the second floor finally broke and ran, while their men on the first floor continued to fight. On my right, in the stream bed, my infantry rallied their courage for one last push. With the overall commander of the mission shouting them on, Platoon 1 rose from the stream, rushed across the open field, and threw themselves over the bocage and into direct contact with three enemy units. A fierce hand-to-hand combat ensued, with the Germans overwhelming the right side, and the American winning on the left. This caused the combat to swing sort of counter-clockwise, with the remaining Germans taking on the remaining Americans, who finally gave ground. With the loss of both his armor and his left flank, my opponent conceded, withdrawing his remaining troops to fight another day.

The final push.

This was a great game, which really felt like it could go either way at any time. Had this been a campaign game, or, God forbid, actual combat, I probably wouldn't have made the three infantry assaults, but the time limitation pushed me to be a little more risky than I usually tend to be. At the end of the day, I had taken 20 KIA casualties, plus whatever men I lost in the final push, along with the StuG that was knocked out at the beginning of the mission. Given that I had two 30 man platoons, I took over 30% casualties. To their credit, my officers did their jobs well, and kept the men from breaking, leading to the eventual win. Had they not done that, I believe we would have all been captured without crossing the stream at all.

Big thanks to Dan and Steve for a great game!

Onward to St. Jean de Daye!

Water Craft Modification

The first scenario in the Pequot War book by First Command Wargames pits John Stone and his crew against a band of Niantic Indians.  The English start the game in the woods.  Their goal, on the opposite side of the board, is to reach their ship, anchored in the Connecticut River.  Since I was still waiting for some figure bases to arrive, I started thinking about terrain for the game.  The first thought, of course, was what to use for a ship.

Many years ago, on a visit to Plymouth, Massachusetts, I took a photo of the shallop that was floating in the water next to the reproduction of the ship Mayflower.  Thinking about what a band of English pirates may have been using as a landing craft in 1634, this image immediately came to mind.

Searching for "28mm shallop" didn't turn up much online.  Using more generic boat terms, I did find some terrain models, but they either cost more than I wanted to spend, or they were 3D printed, and my current printer is out of service.  My second option was to attempt to scratch build something.  I downloaded a few plans, and started to resize them, but then I remembered something.

Several years ago, I backed the Savage Frontiers Kickstarter campaign of French & Indian War figures.  Included with the Kickstarter rewards was a fur traders river boat, which I had assembled and painted up, then put on a shelf to collect dust.

Fur trappers river boat.

The cabin of this little craft is removable, so I considered an idea.  What if I could add sails to the hull, and make myself a more English looking craft for John Stone and crew to escape to?

Cabin removed.

 I didn't want to drill into the hull, or modify it in any way that would require cutting, so I thought that I might try building a sort of false deck, with masts and sails attached.  That way, I could easily convert back and forth between the French trapper's boat and the English privateer's boat.

Popsicle stick and dowels were cut to fit, using this image from the Royal Museums Greenwich as inspiration:

Pinnace sail plan.

Test fit with masts in place.

The original craft came with an arms for the rudder.  To more closely match the pinnace image, I used some of the stick cut-offs to create a small flat rudder that could slot into the back of the boat.

Rudder in place.

After some painting, sails were added.  I tried paper sails first, but didn't care for the look.  Some scrap fabric looked better, but was difficult to glue, and still needs a bit of ironing to flatten them out.  In retrospect, since I used fabric, I could have sewn the sails to the masts.  Live and learn.

Initial painting.

Sails in place.

Overall, I like the result.  It's not perfection, but it'll do for a single game, and I've learned what I can do to improve on the idea in the future.  I purposefully left off the rigging, which makes the scale modeler in me twitch a bit, but it helps with game play, as figures can be placed on the boat.  I think this will work well for the first Pequot War scenario

Ready to sail up the Connecticut River.

Character Cards

Being a skirmish game, Song of Drums and Tomahawks allows for individual figures to have their own statistics, sort of like a role playing game.  In the scenarios, each character or troop type is given certain values to represent their fighting and activity abilities.  While I was waiting for some round bases to arrive in the mail, I decided to make Collectible Card Game (CCG) style cards to go along with the figures I'll be painting up.  My hope is that this will make it easier for players to find the stats needed for their troop types during games.

John Stone and his English crew

The artwork is "AI Generated" using a couple of the free art generators available online these days.  I'm not crazy about the pirate-ness of them, so I'll likely replace the images with photos of the actual figures once I'm finished painting them.  These work for placeholders however.

Each card gives all the statistics needed for game play.  At the top is the character/troop name, and their point value as calculated using the standard rules.

In the main area are any traits and weapons the character may have.  For weapons, I've included the range and any modifiers the firearm may have (short, medium, long).

In the lower left corner, on the gold coin, is the character's Quality value, given as "X+" indicating the die roll needed to make a successful activation roll.  In the opposite corner is the character's Combat score, given as "+X," or the amount of points added to a combat die roll.

Finally, at the center bottom, is the character's troop type.  Depending on the troop type, characters may have certain abilities that differ from other troop types.

Overall, I like this first draft.  For the natives, I think I'm going to use a different background color.  I may also do this for different nationalities, for example, I may use dark orange for the Dutch, and change the English to something like dark blue.  For now, though, these will work for game play.

Building John Stone

I realized the other night that many of my friends don't know much about this little hobby of mine.  They've seen photos of painted minis, and maybe some AARs of games, but not much of the behind the scenes.  Below, I'll outline the steps for building one of these little figures that I'm so addicted to.

For the Pequot Indian War project, I've decided to use the scenario book from First Command Wargames, written specifically for the Song of Drums and Tomahawks ruleset.

The first scenario in the book represents the battle between the crew of John Stone, an English privateer, and a band of native Indians in 1634.  From my reading, this encounter seems to be the generally accepted start of the Pequot War.

Basically, John Stone and his crew were killed by natives.  There's some fuzziness about which tribe actually carried out the attack.  In fact, there's some fuzziness in who started the attack, Stone, or the Indians.  The fact, however, is that Stone was killed, and the English used that as a catalyst to attack the Pequot.

It didn't really start there though.

Apparently, in the early 1630s, the Pequots were on good trading terms with Dutch colonists around what is now called the Thames River in Connecticut.  Things went sour, however, when other local tribes also began trading with the Dutch.  Sometime around 1633, in a bid to gain back their trading power, a band of Pequot warriors killed some Narragansett Indians.  The Dutch, in response, took the Pequot Sachem, Tatobem, hostage.  The Pequot, to get their Sachem back, paid the demands of the Dutch, however the Dutch killed Tatobem, returning just his body to their trade partners.

Back to John Stone.  In 1634, John Stone, an English colonist/pirate from Massachusetts is killed, along with his crew.  Stone, to put it mildly, wasn't very well liked by the English.  In fact, he had been banished from their colony.  The English, though, seeing an opportunity, blame the Pequot for his death, though some sources think the killers may actually have been Niantic.  The English demand retribution from the Pequot, who state that, if the killers had been Pequot, the killing was revenge for the death of Tatobem.  The English point out that the Dutch killed Tatobem.  The Pequot say that they don't recognize the difference between the Dutch and the English.  And so, a series of back and forth revenge attacks starts.  The Pequot War.

To kick off my Pequot War project, I ordered a set of Warlord Games Pike & Shotte Infantry, designed for the Thirty Years War.  I also ordered a command sprue of four fancier figures, one figure on horseback, and some casualty figures.  These should give me everything I need for the campaign, though I'll probably have to do some customization.

The first figure I built is the hero/villian of Scenario 1, "Death of Stone."  John Stone's game stats show him to be carrying a matchlock musket, a pistol, and a sword.  Almost everything I needed was on the command sprue.

John Stone, in the Raw

In the upper left corner of the sprue was a suitable body in a dynamic pose, with a pistol arm, open arm, and sword.  The sprue also contained a number of floppy hats.  I'd have to do a bit of customization to have Stone carrying a musket and a pistol.

Parts removed from sprue. Body, left and right
arms, hat, and sword.  Base and musket arm from
my spare parts bin.

Step 1: Remove any mold lines or sprue bits

Steps 2 thru 4: Cut of molded base, glue to round
base, glue on sword.

 

Oops!  I grabbed the wrong arm!
There's a left, and a right.  Now I have a spare.

Steps 5 & 6 - Glue on hat and left arm.
All the standard bits are now in place.

With all the standard pieces from the command sprue in place, it was time to do a little customization.  As molded, the figures are set up to carry a single weapon.  Due to his stats, my version of John Stone needed to be carrying both a pistol and a matchlock.  With no suitable arms on the sprue, I went through my bits box and found an arm from a militia figure from the American Revolutionary War.  It's molded to be used on a figure with their musket propped against the shoulder of their left arm, but I could fix that.  Some people don't like plastic figures, preferring the heft of metal, but I really like plastic, exactly because it's easier to do things like this.

Steps 7 thru 9 - Customization.

First, the arm was cut from the musket.  The piece was a bit brittle, so it broke at the wrist of the musket, but that is what glue is for.  Next, the hand was carved away, leaving just the weapon.  Finally, the musket was glued into the open right hand of my John Stone figure.

John Stone, fully assembled

Now, time to work on the rest of his crew.