Colonial Blockhouse

Stillwater Blockhouse Plan

 Last October, I decided to take part in the Little Wars TV Discord "Secret Soldier."  Basically, this was the group's version of a traditional Secret Santa swap, where wargamers picked names and traded gifts with each other.  I don't remember the exact parameters, but the idea was to keep the cost low, and buy/build something that your recipient would like.

28mm Colonial Blockhouse

For my gift, I decided to build a colonial blockhouse, such that may be found in New England during the French & Indian War or American Revolution.  I'd been wanting to build one anyway, being fascinated with the Battle of Shelburne Blockhouse, so I had much of the material on hand.

Early in November, I had a day to myself, so I traveled over to the Saratoga, NY area to visit the Stillwater Blockhouse, a replica that resembles what I've always pictured the Shelburne building to look like.

Stillwater Blockhouse on the Hudson River

Based on photos I took there, I started building, tier by tier, with 1/4" dowels, cut to length as I went, to give a log construction look.  I was on a time crunch, so I didn't square off the dowels to get a perfect fit, but I still achieved the look I was going for.  I used a 28mm figure from Perry Miniatures Civilians pack to size the doors, windows, and ceiling heights.

First floor before stain and paint.

With the first floor finished, I stained the wood with a dark brown, then drybrushed with grey, trying to recreate the color of the Stillwater blockhouse.  I then moved onto the second floor.  Somewhere along the line I also decided to add a fireplace, made from card stock and stone patterned styrene.

First floor fireplace.

Patterned styrene was also used to represent the shingled roof.  With my deadline looming, this was the portion of the project that I rushed the most.  When all else fails, add more glue.

Second floor in progress.

Unfortunately, I missed the Christmas deadline for my recipient.  I did, however, finish the project in January and send it out to him.  Though the build was a bit tedious, adding courses one by one, I really like the look, and may build a second one for myself at some point.

Second floor complete.

Casa del Priolo

Had the privilege today of playing a game of "I Ain't Been Shot Mum" on this beautiful table by Dan Albrecht. The scenario was Casa del Priolo, Sicily, 10 July, 1943. My partner Shane and I took on the role of the Italians, while Hunter Myers and his partner Jon played American paratroopers. 

Sicily, 1943

The Italians began the game in column along a road. The paratroopers began in hidden positions, though we highly suspected they'd be manning the pillbox and trenches on our left. Our mission: Move our tanks off the opposite end of the board.

Italian scouts lead the column.

The first turn opened with our lead scouts, mounted on motorbikes, getting hammered by off-board artillery. Apparently the Navy had zeroed in on the road ahead of time.

Artillery hammers the road.

To make matters worse, we stepped right into an ambush, with paratroopers firing from behind stone walls lining the road. One motorcycle squad made it through, one was destroyed outright, and the others were forced to dismount in order to return fire.

Bringing on the tanks.

To our left, we brought on our first tanks, which we advanced along the base of the hill. The Americans on that side stayed hidden.

Artillery and firefight.

A short firefight ensued on the road while artillery exploded around both sides. The paratroopers, having dealt out some death, moved back to a gully, giving them cover, and a route to the center of the board.

Infantry support arrives.

 

The road is nailed again.

We kept advancing our tanks, keeping an eye on the top of the hill. Our infantry, to their left, arrived by truck atop the hill. Dismounting, they attacked the end of the trench line. Upon entering the trench, they were immediately hit by the buzz saw of a hidden machine gun nest, quickly halting that advance.

 

The paratroop commanders strategizing.

On our right, the head of the column along the road collapsed, but we kept advancing. In the center, more truck mounted infantry arrived to support our tanks.

At about this point, my partner had to leave, so I was left to my own devices.

Fortification attack.

Thankfully, the artillery cleared a bit, or hit far enough away for a round or two to not cause issues for either side. I continued advancing the tanks and infantry below the hill, while the infantry along the ridge engaged the enemy. Some time around this point, a machine gun opened up from within the far pillbox, and paratroopers within the trench revealed themselves by opening up.

Moving the tanks.

Artillery in the distance.

 Responding to the new threat, the lead Italian tank engaged the pillbox, scoring hits with its machine gun. In a wonderfully cinematic moment, the infantry supporting the tanks leapt from their trucks, swarmed up the hill rifles blazing, and stormed the trenches, destroying a large number of the defenders and driving the rest away.

Dismount!

 

CHARGE!

Here, the paratroopers began to pull back, moving toward or into the gully on both sides. On the right, my motorcycle squad had dismounted and set up a machine gun, covering the end of the gully. My infantry on that side moved forward, following their opponents into the small ravine.

BOOM!

As we cleared the top of the hill and the rest of the fortifications, the tanks came to a halt. In the center a bazooka team had revealed itself, bouncing a shot off the lead machine's armor. We swung our turret to engage.

View from the gully.

 
More paratroopers began to reveal themselves, having been hunkered down in foxholes or taking cover in the gully. Along the road, my second set of tanks arrived. Just in time for the artillery to open up again. The bazooka fired again, scoring a direct hit, but, miraculously, I rolled a save of four 6s, saving the tank.

This never happens.

Though randomized by dice, the naval artillery had an uncanny ability to land right on my deployment zone. One of the fresh tanks was temporarily immobilized, while a truckload of fresh infantry was destroyed.

Around this time, we had hit the five hour mark and called the game. The paratroopers, whose actual win condition was to withdraw a number of their troops in good order, had begun to complete their task, with one squad only a couple of inches from the table edge. While my tanks were able to advance about halfway up the board, I wasn't able to flank the paratroopers like I had hoped. 

Trucks? Didn't we have trucks?

 

The naval bombardment, while dangerous for both armies, really did a number on both the opening and ending moves of the Italians. In the end, we decided that neither side really won, but neither lost either.

A very enjoyable and closely fought game.