Saturday 27 February 2021

Spanish Civil War Game and Salamanca

 Phil very kindly invited me for a virtual game last weekend, they are fun to put on but it is nice to sit quietly with a cup of coffee and play as well, less to pack up afterwards. It also meant I got to command some of his lovely Spanish civil war collection. A period I quite like and has a slightly romantic feel to it, although as I already do Russian Civil War I don’t think I need a new 20th C project.

We had a fairly simple scenario and played using bolt action, I understand Phil normally plays nationalists so we swopped over and I could play as the ‘bad’ guys. The photos I have taken were captured screen shots so quality is limited, for a closer look check out Phils Blog NEWS FROM THE FRONT.

Lovely Spanish civil war set up, the objectives for my Nationalists is simple, kill as many revolutionary dogs as I can, get across the railway and if possible capture the Railway station. The set up was hard for the revolutionaries as they came on from a single corner, this put them at a bit of a disadvantage from the start. The nationalist force split into three from left to right, 3 infantry units supported with light machine guns look to get to the wall to cover any movement across the battlefield. 2 mortars get into the vineyard hoping to cover enemy on the bridge. The rest look to get down the right flank through the wheat field.
Covering fire across the railway into the woods. In the distance the revolutionary’s  spread across the table
If a plan is working stick with it !
Finally the mortars are in place and can open up but nothing hit initially, we have made it across the table to capture the railway station. Confidence is high so the left flank starts to advance as well, overwhelming the Revolutionary’s 
Final shot, the Pzl as drawn fire from the Revolutionary howitzer. In the end it was pretty much a sacrifice that needed to be made to protect the men but eventually it is hit and bursts into flames. On the left the gun crew and attacked in revenge and tackled in hand to hand combat.

We didn’t need an extra turn to decide the victor, the Nationalists had overwhelmed the Revolutionary’s on this occasion. We agreed the setup had been harsh for the defenders but it was a very enjoyable game and fun to play. Looking forward to the next and probably tougher context !

Also played the next Pennisular battle Salamanca phase one attack on the French left.
Thinking this was the rear guard the french attack only to find it was half of the British army !
The french advance down the left and the British counter on this occasion with a determined cavalry assault on the french. It turns out to be an even battle and no clear advantage is gained.
The french then turn to their right flank and wipe out the British rifles who had moved onto the hills
The overall position, french pushing on the right, stalled on the left, but the British ahead 4 to 3 so they send forward the Portuguese division
Nervously the french play a reform card allowing them to carry out a quick but significant adjustment to their battle line and focussing everything they have on the right
The french overwhelmed the British light infantry on the far right and have to flee, but they are still countering effectively with the Portuguese infantry in the centre, a very close battle with 5 to 5 and victory needing just 6 flags !
The french throw everything in the get to grips with the Portuguese high risk and are lucky not to be wiped out
The french lucky for a change are able to charge home with bayonets and rout the Portuguese claiming victory !

Two in a row for the french but it was the dice that helped in the final couple of turns.

Thanks for looking a unit nearly painted this week and hopefully another AWI outing. Lockdown is a real drag but hobby stuff is keeping me going, looking forward to summer and I am officially part-time now. Not certain my wife is as happy with that as I thought she would be, perhaps i should have said it would give me more time to do jobs around the house rather than painting soldiers 🤣

KBO




24 comments:

  1. Nice pair of battles, challenge is in the final 3 weeks so would nice to catch up soon

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    1. Thanks mate, yes hoping the weather and lockdown will ease up and we can get a game in the shed which is good for social distancing.

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  2. A nice battle to play and play again, splendid games!

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    1. Thanks Phil C &C is certainly a game which is replayable and we have shown you often get very close battles

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  3. I like the simple focus that the SCW scenario gives at that scale and space, plus a nice change to see a Pz I on the table.

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    1. A lovely little game Norm and Phil’s collection is lovely if I didn’t have RCW it would be very enticing as a period, but they are quite similar. We toned down the guns on the Pz1 as in bolt action they are surprisingly effective, until they are blown up of course !

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  4. Phil sets a fine looking table too! After working so hard in hosting so many games, being an onlooker must have been a treat. French victory at Salamanca? Great job!

    As for reduced work hours, a step forward, I think.

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    1. Thanks Jon yes fun just to get a pleasant game played, and Phil’s collection is really nice/characterful. Well the french won the left wing but sadly last night lost the right flank battle ! Dash it Salamanca a draw in the end. Reduced hours definitely the way ahead 😀😀😀

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  5. Very cool SCW game, Matt. I hosted a Salamanca game using Black Powder several years ago at our annual big convention - the rules seemed to work out nicely for this kind of gaming - here's a link to my blog post about it if you are interested https://wabcorner.blogspot.com/2012/05/black-powder-at-enfilade.html

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    1. Thanks Dean.....I will definitely try and check your game out 👍

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  6. A couple of nice but different looking games...

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly yes two ends of the spectrum, beautiful figures and terrain vs wooden blocks but both very enjoyable to play.

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  7. Two very fine but very different looking battles Matt. I got slightly confused by the nomenclature used in the SCW report, as the Nationalists had actually revolted against the legitimate, elected left wing government! The usual term for them is Republicans...I figured out what you meant though😊

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    1. Thanks Keith....you can tell it isn’t my period 😀 thanks for correcting me 👍

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  8. Glad you enjoyed the game, I like the mark up on the game shots, I never think to do that. Your C&C games are going at a fair lick and "jobs around the house and garden" the hobbyists curse.

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    1. Thanks Phil and thanks of course for hosting 👍 with my son in lockdown in London we are effectively playing C&C once a week. Working our way through the pennisular scenarios and then on to the Prussian expansion !

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  9. Phil's SCW collection is second to none in my view. Beats a few wooden blocks all day long😁

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    1. Both quite rewarding to play, but nothing quite beats a well set out figure based wargame😀

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  10. Thanks Neil, the SCW is of course all Phil’s doing I just rolled the winning dice 😀

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  12. SCW games always interest me! A period I’d like to game but I’m not buying another range of figures so I’ll just be a voyeur and watch great spectacles like yours!
    😃

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