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Post by zuludon on Mar 1, 2019 21:34:59 GMT
I'd like to try gaming the first couple of months of WW1, when the war was still a war of maneuver, pitting my red trousered Britains French against my "toy soldier" painted AIP Germans. I will try Howard Whitehouse's A Gentleman's War, as well as The Men Who Would Be King, as both use twelve figure infantry units. I am wondering if Neil Thomas's 19th Century wargame rules might work as well. Does anyone else game this period? I should mention that I'd like to use cavalry as well, even though they were totally useless against magazine rifles and machine guns.
Thanks! Nick Stern
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Post by spiritofethandune on Mar 2, 2019 9:46:12 GMT
Hi Nick,
Late 19th C rules tend (rightly) to make machine guns less mobile and effective than those used in 1914 were so that's one tweak you would have to make if you used any of the rules you mentioned. I'm currently building up early WW1 British and German armies using Fusilier Miniatures figures for use with the Portable Wargame, A Gentleman's War and anything else that takes my fancy!
By the way I once found a WW1 variant of The Men Who Would Be King on the net called 'Foch'-see theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=486535.
Best wishes
Anthony
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Post by zuludon on Mar 2, 2019 18:33:51 GMT
Hi Anthony,
I've tried the Foch variant. It's not bad, though the game I played in had masses of French attacking entrenched Germans, so not much fun for the French. I think the early war battles of the Frontiers up to, and including the Marne, offer more balanced possibilities for WW1 gaming. I looked at Neil Thomas's 19th Century European rules and they look promising. The way they deal with the French Mitrailleuse is to simply give an extra dice to the artillery, if the machine gun is brigaded with the artillery, or to allow two infantry stands to reroll a low dice roll if the Mitrailleuse is attached to an infantry unit. That might be the way to go for the early WW1 battles before more sophisticated MG tactics were developed. It would also prevent the MGs from dominating the battlefield.
Cheers,
Nick
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Post by brusilov on Apr 24, 2019 21:38:31 GMT
Hello Nick
I am also just getting into early WW1 in 54mm using mainly Irregular and Fusilier metal figures. Unlike you I am looking to reproduce some of the early battles in East Prussia and Galicia on the Eastern Front. I am designing my own rules that are based at a very strategic level with divisions and corps rather than companies and battalions. I hope to play test them this summer when I have enough figures ready so if you happen to be anywhere near southern England you would be very welcome. Let me know if you get this message because I have only just joined this forum and seen your post from almost two months ago.
Best regards,
Nick Palmer
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Post by macscrooge on Apr 24, 2019 21:44:59 GMT
Funny Little Wars works very well for this era. And yes, sending cavalry against machine guns is a character-building experience!
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Post by zuludon on Apr 24, 2019 23:15:57 GMT
Hello Nick I am also just getting into early WW1 in 54mm using mainly Irregular and Fusilier metal figures. Unlike you I am looking to reproduce some of the early battles in East Prussia and Galicia on the Eastern Front. I am designing my own rules that are based at a very strategic level with divisions and corps rather than companies and battalions. I hope to play test them this summer when I have enough figures ready so if you happen to be anywhere near southern England you would be very welcome. Let me know if you get this message because I have only just joined this forum and seen your post from almost two months ago. Best regards, Nick Palmer Hi Nick,
Thanks for answering my post. Your approach sounds very interesting. I recently played an early war scenario using Commands & Colors WW1 era game named: The Great War. C&C allows you to play at division level, the only drawback, for some, is that it's grid based. I avoided playing miniatures on grids for many years but I now enjoy the no nonsense mechanics of grids for movement and fire. Anyway, we played Le Cateau and it was a lot of fun and came to a decisive conclusion in under two hours.
Thanks for the invitation. Unfortunately, I live in California, so a little far to travel for a game. I attended art college in the London and do occasionally make it across the pond.
Best regards, Nick Stern
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Post by zuludon on Apr 24, 2019 23:18:32 GMT
Funny Little Wars works very well for this era. And yes, sending cavalry against machine guns is a character-building experience! Hi MacScrooge,
I own a copy of Funny Little Wars as well as the Campaign book. Funny, but I did not think about using them for early WW1, probably because they seem so whimsical. I'll have to give them a try.
Thanks! Nick Stern
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Post by brusilov on Apr 26, 2019 21:48:38 GMT
Hi Nick,
I'm sorry to hear you are so far away, I don't think there are many of us looking to game early WW1 in 54mm!
I do not normally game using a grid but made an exception for "Square Bashing" from Peter Pig, albeit in smaller scales at my local club. It gave a decent game.
But for me WW1 is all about the big armies - numerous divisions manoeuvring over large areas. It was the attritional nature of the fighting that interests me. There are few really decisive battles, rather the wearing down of one side such that they were forced into a tactical withdrawal. That is what I'm trying to recreate with my rules (eventually).
Good luck with your WW1 games.
Best,
Nick
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Post by chrisj on Aug 29, 2019 4:32:45 GMT
With regard to early war MG tactics, the German army was much more sophisticated in their use than were the Allies; so much better, in fact, that the myth arose that German battalions possessed many more machine guns than their British or French counterparts. In fact, all three armies assigned 2 MGs per battalion, but the Germans concentrated theirs into a 6-gun MG company at the regimental level, allowing for more flexibility as to how and where to employ them. (The company also had a replacement barrel in case of need, something which their opponents had apparently never considered.)
Interestingly, German infantry tactics did not follow suit, being little better than the French; the BEF was frankly amazed to be confronted by mass attacks. As one NCO asked an officer at Mons as solid blocks of German approached, "Are they kidding?!" Ironically, British rifle fire was so fast and accurate that the Germans thought the British had fielded whole battalions of Machine Guns!
A fascinating period--ignored for far too long.
Chris Johnson
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