Colours 2013: Show Report

I made the trip over to Newbury racecourse this weekend for the annual Colours wargaming show. Besides being a good chance to catch up with friends (Rich, Rob, Matt, Rob and Kelvin) it also gave me the chance to have a look around the games on display and pick up a couple of items. After all, what would a wargames show be without some loot to take home.

The show was pretty packed on Saturday as you can see from the following snap. The traders were doing good business, but manoeuvring around the trading floor took some patience and dexterity. Even without moving a few inches there was a fair chance of bumping into folk busily purchasing or chatting. Luckily, patience seemed to be in good supply on Saturday morning.

I managed to pick up some 10mm Pendraken Great War figures for the Indian Army and Cavalry, which I’ll paint up next year when I finish of my 10mm British forces. Three years on since doing the 10mm Germans and most of the 10mm French we still have not graced the table with them, mainly since we’ve been knee deep in either Dux Britanniarum or Chain of Command at my local club. Hopefully he advent of the Great War’s anniversary will spark some games, as I think 10mm is a perfect scale for First World War Brigade and Divisional sized actions.

I had a long hard and loving look at one of the fantastic modern Afghanistan ranges on display.  These did look super figures, although we’ve now plumped for Afghanistan 1919 with Empress Miniatures for the St Albans wargames club's foray into Afghanistan, Waziristan and Baluchistan next year.

Turning to the upper floors of the venue, there was a good leavening of re-enactors in the building, as well as outside. I know some people have mixed views on whether re-enactment and wargaming go together. Personally, I like the interaction between the two. Talking to any re-enactor always gives me an insight into a living part of history. And I don’t think that can hurt when you’re trying to create an atmosphere and a context for any wargame.

As for the games, there was a very splendid game depicting Thapsus, which was card driven and featured some wonderful troops, including elephants. The waterways at the end of the board, with the boats drifting by, really caught the eye.

Next up was a brilliant little participation game of Pickett’s Charge, by the Staines Wargamers. It was so crowded that the game was very difficult to photograph – proof of its well-deserved popularity and skillful design. 

There was a very clear introduction to the game on the display board, setting the scene for the action on the table (which I think was actually a folding board optimized for carrying and transport). The Union defenders were run by an umpire, while the participants played the commanders of the confederate battalions charging from Seminary Ridge. The aim of the game was simply to get to the stone wall defended by the Union troops, the first confederate commander doing this being the winner. 

As a game it looked simple, imaginative and a whole lot of fun. Players advanced through the turn of cards and dice.  I particularly liked the way the whole game was optimized for a wargames show:  easy to pick up, play and enjoy, but with a great feel of the history of the engagement itself.  I thought it was a great example of how to put on a top class game for wargamers and public alike at a leading wargames show.   

 
Other games catching the eye were a beautifully presented game from Russia 1944 by the Loughton Strike Force featuring some excellent destroyed buildings and terrain….

……a snowy Fraustadt 1706 board caught the eye and looked very fine indeed, the bight uniforms showing well against the snow…

……a very fine demonstration game using the Battlegroup Overloard rules, presented by Warwick Kinrade who very kindly answered all our questions…

….but the crown jewel of the show for terrain and presentation was Bruce Weigle’s wonderful game of Rossbrunn 1866.  Bruce’s terrain is well known for its high quality and it was a great honour to see it here in the UK. How Bruce got all that through customs and across the Atlantic is one question I didn't ask him about, but it was great to see it (and him) in person. 

As terrain goes it looks very effective, catching the undulation of ground through carved expanded polystyrene, a layer of felt and a cloth airbrushed on top. The trees are sponge, dipped in PVA, flocked and pinned on the board. It all sounds straightforward, but it takes a real craftsman to get these results. The figures are all 6mm Heroics & Ross, and complemented the game perfectly. Here’s a shot of the terrain, the players, part of the accompanying display and Bruce umpiring the game. My photos which really don’t do justice to what an excellent all-round presentation it was. 

 
So, all in all an excellent day out. 

Thanks, as ever, to the Newbury and Reading Wargames Club for hosting another top-notch show.

The Verdun Project: Gas-masked Veteran French Infantry

Just a quick update regarding the French veteran infantry I've been putting together. I had a good deal of fun on the first couple of sections, and I decided this weekend to add another two sections to make a full platoon. To make things a little more interesting, I decided to convert the two new sections to wearing the M2 gas mask. This was one of those "good ideas at the time", although hopefully I have not done too much damage to the figures concerned.

You'll remember that at the start of the year I grumbled a little that no manufacturer brought out late War French infantry wearing the M2 gas mask except Old Glory. Sadly, even the resourceful folk over at Gripping Beat and Forgotten & Glorious Company of Art haven't got around to making head swaps wearing the M2 gas mask. 

N'import, mes braves!  The French M2 gas mask is pretty easy to replicate in miniature (at least at a very basic level - which is, yes, my level!). It consisted of a single piece of material covering the whole of the face completely. The material had the same function as the filter cartridge on other masks, effectively neutralising the effects of gas. The M2 was used by French troops from April 1916 until August 1918, making it perfect for the forces I've been building up for Verdun. It seems that the M2 was effective for longer periods of time, even up to five hours, probably owing to the full-facial covering being slightly more comfortable and effective than some other masks during 1916.

Making the M2 mask on a model is simplicity itself. First, file down, or cut away the facial features on the model. It goes without saying that some care is needed here as you want to try to avoid damaging the remainder of the model. It helps if the face is left rough and not sanded down too fine, as the putty mask can adhere better.  Cutting, filing and sanding away to the edge of the helmet strap (if possible and if worn) seemed to me to be a good compromise. What seems like a fun procedure on one figure rapidly becomes a bit of a chore when you're doing 22 of them.  Your fingers will not be thanking you once you've done a couple of sections!

Next, mix the modelling putty of your choice and apply a flattened blob to the face of the model. I used "grey-stuff" and "brown-stuff" putties on the figures here - but "green stuff" should be fine as well. Manipulate the putty into place and sculpt to taste - that's the mask done.

The eyepieces are formed using a very small blob of putty. I found this easiest to cut from a blob on a flat surface, so you can be sure of taking a similar amount each time. Roll the tiny amount of putty into a ball, and add to the mask surface, then flatten and press the glass eyepieces with the blunt end of a modelling drill bit.  Keeping the modelling tool you're using wet helps the putty not sticking to the blade.

 
And yes, you do that 44 times - one for each eyepiece. It gets a bit boring by the end. However, after 44 eyepieces….you're done! That's it! You've now got a couple more hardened or veteran infantry sections with M2 gas masks. I also added a casualty figure in a gas mask for an additional, slightly grim, touch.

Leading on from my last post on the veteran infantry, I've also added a couple of photos of head conversions, trying to show the process for removing a figure's Adrian helmet before removing the figure's head. That way you get ahead swap, and also a spare helmet to fix to the back of the field packs of your other troops. Simple, but I think it looks quite nice.

Of course, all this could have been avoided by some enterprising manufacturer bringing out a more "campaign look" set of French figures wearing M2 gas masks.  But where's the fun in that?

Donald Featherstone – Rest in Peace

Another very sad day yesterday, with Donald Featherstone, the father of modern wargaming, passing away. I never met Don, although his personality shone through his books which were a huge influence in my, and no doubt, many other wargamers’ lives.

From the very fine tributes from a number of other wargames bloggers this morning, I know many, many others – Nate, Conrad, Lee, Bob, Mike and Grimsby Mariner – feel the same way.

Like many other wargamers born in the late 1960s, I grew up in the age of school wargaming clubs and the wonderful British public library system. When I think back, it’s hard to separate the two. I used to wargame at the School club on a Friday evening, and cycle down to the local public library before it shut at 7pm to swap last week’s library books around. I was very fortunate – the Hull librarians had the forethought to purchase many of Don’s books for the shelves (located somewhere around 793.3 in the duo-decimal system).   “War Games”, “Solo Wargaming”, “Advanced Wargaming”, “Skirmish Wargaming” – the list went on, and by cycling around the libraries in Hull, or using the inter-library loan exchange, I ended up reading almost them all by the time I left school.

The one which has a special place for me is “War Game Campaigns”. It’s a magnificent book, full of insight and the lure of wonderful campaigns of all sizes in different periods and places – some exotic, some close and familiar. I was simply beside myself when I bought the copy from my local library in 1988 for the princely sum of 25 pence!

I read a chapter or two now and again – sometimes for nostalgia, sometimes for inspiration, and sometimes for the sheer pleasure of reading something so clear and masterful by one of the giants of the hobby.

It’s hard to think of my hobby without Don Featherstone.

Thank you Don for helping me to build a lifetime of wargaming pleasure with my friends.

Rest in Peace.

The Verdun Project : “German Strategy and the Path to Verdun” by Robert Foley

“German Strategy and the Path to Verdun” is a clear, well-presented study by Robert Foley of the strategic options facing Erich von Falkenhayn, as German Staff Chief, during 1915 and 1916. Dr Foley’s book culminates in the battle of Verdun, but the greater part of his work examines the competing strategic theories and demands on the German High Command which led to the decision to launch the Verdun offensive and prosecute that offensive in a unique manner.

 
I’d recommend the book to anyone interested in obtaining a greater insight into German strategic theory in the First World War, Falkenhayn and his command objectives and the battle Verdun in particular.

The first part of Dr Foley’s book is an intricate and detailed study of different and competing themes within German military and strategic thought in the period between 1870 and 1914. The section focuses on strategic doctrine and military academic studies. The competing strategic doctrines of Exterminationskrieg (war of extermination), Vernichtungsstrategie (strategy of decisive victories) and Ermattungsstrategie (strategy of attrition) are clearly compared and distinguished. Foley’s argument is, very broadly, that during the 1870 to 1914 period the general tenant of German strategic thought was to seek a war of decisive victories, mirroring the campaign of 1870, and with recognition of the wars of Napoleon as their lodestone. The aim was to achieve “the war’s decision in a few mighty strokes; a peace in which the defenceless enemy was forced to accept the conditions of the victory without demur” (page 41). The apex of this strategy was represented in the Schilieffen Plan, the German strategic manoeuvre used in the event of a war with France. Decisive, crushing and dramatic, Vernichtungsstrategie was a strategic vision well suited to the late 19th century themes of nationalism and struggles between nations.

The second part of the book deals with the evolution of the competing German strategic theories in the light of the Russo-Japanese War and the experiences of the opening months of the First World War. The transition in the German high command from von Moltke the Younger to Falkenhayn is covered, together with a detailed examination of Falkenhayn’s strategic vision of war by attrition in the context of Ermattungsstrategie. I found this the most interesting section of the book, and a very subtle evaluation of Falkenhayn’s merits as a supreme commander. Essentially, Falkenhayn’s strategic objective was, Foley argues, based around convincing one of the major Entente powers (France, Britain or Russia) to accept in 1915 that the price of continuing the First World War was too great to pay. This led, in turn, to a focus on the Western Front as the place most likely to achieve that strategic objective (though defeating France and thereby knocking “Britain’s best sword [France] out of its hand”; page 187). This strategy would be complemented by a continued vigilance against Russia on the Eastern Front, together with a determination to achieve a diplomatic resolution through an armistice or capitulation of one of the Entente Powers. This part of the book identifies the complexity of German strategic thought in 1915, and also indicates the seeds of its own failure in 1916.

The third section of the book (from page 181) covers the offensive around Verdun. Foley places Verdun very firmly as the culmination of Falkenhayn’s strategic journey. From the inception of the battle, the Verblutung (or “bleeding to death”) of the French Army was Falkenhayn’s aim. Although the existence, or otherwise, of the Verblutung as a strategy has been vigorously debated (not least in German military and academic circles between the Word Wars), Foley makes a very convincing argument that the Verblutung was Falkenhayn’s aim at Verdun from the start. The methodology is chilling: “During an attack from the north and the east, the [French] positions will soon be so diminished that not even a mouse can live in them” (page 190). Verdun was chosen as a location on the Western Front which the French would defend vigorously. Falkenhayn made his decision to cite the battle at Verdun with considerable insight, with the French high command seeing the city as too important to cede to the Germans irrespective of the appalling casualties suffered.

Reading “German Strategy and the Path to Verdun” alongside Ian Ousby’s “The Road to Verdun” (which gives the French nationalist and strategic objectives for the battle, and which I reviewed in January HERE) provides almost all the answers as to why Verdun became such a titanic and horrific battle.

The fourth and final part of the book deals with the aftermath of Verdun, the failure of Falkenhayn’s strategy and the abandonment of Ermattungsstrategie. Above all, Falkenhayn was unable to discern that the First World War was not merely a struggle of nations in the context of the Napoleonic Wars or the Franco-Prussian War. It had become an almost total war, in which whole populations and industries would be harnessed as never before in a struggle to hold on at all costs, demanding previously unimaginable sacrifices from the combatants concerned. That transition in the nature of the First World War made it impossible for any Entente Power to even contemplate coming to terms with Germany in 1916, thereby condemning Falkenhayn’s strategy to failure.

Coupled with this fundamental transition in the nature of warfare, was the inability of the German High Command to achieve a consistent tactical solution at Verdun to breakthrough the French defensive positions.

For any wargamer interested in the origins of the battle of Verdun battle, Dr Foley’s book is excellent. It is written in a clear style, with helpful summaries at the end of each chapter. Although the themes are complex and sometimes dense, I sensed that Dr Foley appreciated this and was determined to write in a style which reduces that complexity to a manageable narrative. As I suggested before, the book really comes into its own when coupled with other books on Verdun, particularly Ian Ousby’s “The Road to Verdun” which focuses on the French experience of the battle.

There is not a great deal in “German Strategy and the Path to Verdun” about the nature of the fighting in the battle itself. But this is not an operational history. This, above all, is a book about the strategy of fighting a war, and how that strategy evolves and, in this case, can fail.

For a wargamer interested in the Great War, strategic thought, or the battle of Verdun – 5 out of 5 star shells, and highly recommended. For other wargamers, I’d say it’s a very worthwhile read – so 4 out of 5 star shells.