A massive hard drive failure!

Yesterday, my laptop’s removable hard drive failed!

I have no idea how or why this happened, but without any warning my laptop was suddenly denied access to the hard drive. I tried all the recommended methods of repairing this … but none of them worked.

This could have been a massive disaster, but luckily I’d done a backup before Christmas and I’d only lost about a month’s work … which made it somewhat less of a disaster!

However, I’m so long in the tooth that I dredged my memory and remembered that I could get access to the files on the hard drive by using command lines, and that once I had done that, I should be able to copy the missing files onto a new hard drive or USB memory stick. The only problem is that this is not the quickest method of copying files and it looks as if I have a couple of days of laborious work ahead of me.

I suppose that I could have avoided this by putting everything in my cloud memory, but every time that I’ve tried to do this, I’ve failed. I have now learned a very valuable lesson, and once I have salvaged what I can from this mess, I will try again, hopefully with greater success!

Adding some chrome to my simple late nineteenth century battleship vs. battleship naval wargame rules

Even before I playtest my recently drafted rules, I decided that the gunfire results needed a bit of tweaking.

Currently that section of the rules read as follows:

• Results:
• Dice score = 6: Major ‘hit’: target ship loses 2 FP.
• Dice score = 4 or 5: Minor ‘hit’: target ship loses 1 FP.
• Dice score = 1, 2, or 3: Gunfire has been ineffective.

I have changed this to the following:

• Results:
• Dice score = 6: Major ‘hit’: target ship loses 1 FP plus throw another D6 die.
• Dice score = 6: target ship’s bridge is hit and the target ship must maintain its current course and may not fire for three turns.
• Dice score = 5: one of the target ship’s main turrets is hit and destroyed.
• Dice score = 4: the target ship’s engines are damaged and her movement is reduced to 1 grid area per turn.
• Dice score = 3: that part of the target ship’s secondary armament that is closest to the firing ship is hit and destroyed.
• Dice score = 2: the target ship catches. At the start of each subsequent turn, the target ship throws a D6 die. If the score is 5 or 6, the fire is extinguished; if the score is 2, 3, or 4, the fire continues to burn; if the score is 6, the fire has reached the ship’s magazine and the ship explodes.
• Dice score = 1: target ship loses another FP.
• Dice score = 4 or 5: : Minor ‘hit’: target ship loses 1 FP.
• Dice score = 1, 2, or 3 = Gunfire has been ineffective.

I think that this is a distinct improvement and will result in a much better battle.

The Battle Rules in Joseph Morschauser's 'Frontier' rules

I have recently been re-examining Joseph Morschauser's 'Frontier' (i.e. Colonial) wargame rules and his Battle Rules have been giving me a few problems. The wording of the relevant sections of his rules are as follows:

TROOP TYPES

Infantry: 2 squares; Battle Power: 5; Range: Adjacent Squares.

Cavalry: 2 squares; Battle Power: 5; Range: Adjacent Squares.

Maxim Gun: Move: 2 squares; Battle Power: 6; Range: Adjacent Squares.

Light Field Artillery: Move: 2 squares; Battle Power 1; Range: 4 Squares.

Field Artillery Move: 1 square; Battle Power: 1; Range: 6 Squares.

Position Artillery: Move: None; Battle Power: 1; Range: 10 Squares.

Command Unit: Move: 3 squares; Battle Power: 6; Range: Adjacent Squares.

Notes

Infantry & Cavalry: Native State units of this type have 1 point less Battle Power.

Other units: will not move forward to replace enemy after successful attack.

No Battle Power will drop below 1 regardless of other rules.

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BATTLE RULES

1. Battle contact is made when one piece faces an enemy in an adjacent square. A piece may fight only one battle during its turn, that is attack only once during its turn.

2. When attacker moves into contact with flank or rear of enemy the latter is faced to meet attacker at once. If several attackers contact one enemy, enemy faces last attacker to be moved into contact. If attacker loses battle it is faced attacker that should be removed.

3. If attacker is successful, remove defender at once. Then move attacker whom defender faced into defender's square if desired (optional). If this results in new contact attacker still may not conduct another battle this turn. If defender is successful attacker re faces should be removed as noted above in (2).

4. When several attackers assault one, defender's Battle Power is reduced thus;

2 ATTACKERS – defender's Battle Power reduced 1

3 ATTACKERS – defender's Battle Power reduced 2

4 ATTACKERS – defender's Battle Power reduced 3

The Battle Power used for several attackers is Battle Power of attacker defender faces.

Battle Conduct

Side taking turn (attacker) rolls one die for its piece (or pieces), a different coloured die for enemy piece.

Roll only once per attack.

(a) Both dice show Battle Power number pertaining or less – remove both (if several attackers against one), remove defender and attacker he faced.

(b) Neither dice show Battle Power number pertaining or less – stalemate, all pieces remain on board in position.

(c) One die shows number pertaining or less, other does not – remove other piece (if loser is several attackers, remove attacker faced by the defender's tray).

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The Frontier Rules in use with Britains 54mm figures. The original rules were designed to be used with a 12 x 12 square grid. In this photograph the playing surface appears to be marked off with a 24 x 16 square grid, allowing for more troops to be deployed on the tabletop.

The Frontier Rules in use with Britains 54mm figures on a 12 x 12 square grid.

Whilst reading this, I kept feeling that it was a counter-intuitive mechanism ... so I decided to do some worked examples.

Example 1

A Native Infantry unit (Battle Power = 4) attacks a European Infantry unit (Battle Power = 5). Each Infantry unit throws a D6 die and they score 6 and 3 respectively. The Native Infantry unit does not get a score that is equal to or less than its Battle Power. the European Infantry unit gets a score that is equal to or less than its Battle Power. As a result, the Native Infantry unit is removed.

Example 2

Three European Cavalry units (Battle Power = 5) attack a European Infantry unit (Battle Power = 5, reduced to 3 because it is being attacked by three enemy units). The European Cavalry unit facing the European Infantry unit and the European Infantry unit each throw a D6 and they score 3 and 2 respectively. The European Cavalry unit gets a score that is equal to or less than its Battle Power. The European Infantry unit gets a score that is equal to or less than its Battle Power. As a result, both units are removed.

Example 3

Three European Cavalry units (Battle Power = 5) attack a European Infantry unit (Battle Power = 5, reduced to 3 because it is being attacked by three enemy units). The European Cavalry unit facing the European Infantry unit and the European Infantry unit each throw a D6 and they score 5 and 6 respectively. The European Cavalry unit gets a score that is equal to or less than its Battle Power. The European Infantry unit does not get a score that is equal to or less than its Battle Power. As a result, the European Infantry unit is removed.

Example 4

Two Native Cavalry units (Battle Power = 4 each) attack a European Light Artillery unit (Battle Power = 1 ... but not reduced as no Battle Power can be reduced to less than 1). The Native Cavalry unit facing the European Light Artillery unit and the European Light Artillery unit each throw a D6 die and they score 6 and 5 respectively. The Native Cavalry unit does not get a score that is equal or less than its Battle Power. The European Light Artillery unit does not get a score that is equal or less than its Battle Power. As a result, the fighting is a stalemate and neither unit is removed.

Example 5

Two Native Cavalry units (Battle Power = 4 each) attack a European Light Artillery unit (Battle Power = 1 ... but not reduced as no Battle Power can be reduced to less than 1). The Native Cavalry unit facing the European Light Artillery unit and the European Light Artillery unit each throw a D6 die and they score 2 and 4 respectively. The Native Cavalry unit gets a score that is equal or less than its Battle Power. The European Light Artillery unit does not get a score that is equal or less than its Battle Power. As a result, the European Light Artillery unit is removed.

Example 6

Two Native Infantry units (Battle Power = 4 each) attack a European Maxim Gun unit (Battle Power = 6, reduced to 5 because it is being attacked by two enemy units). The Native Infantry unit facing the European Maxim Gun unit and the European Maxim Gun unit each throw a D6 die and they score 6 and 3 respectively. The Native Infantry unit does not get a score that is equal or less than its Battle Power. The European Maxim Gun unit gets a score that is equal or less than its Battle Power. As a result, the Native Infantry unit is removed.

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These examples show that although the mechanism still feels counter-intuitive, it seems to work. Perhaps I need to try it out in a proper wargame to be firmly convinced that it does.

Some simple late nineteenth century battleship vs. battleship naval wargame rules

Having acquired some Monopoly Battleships, I decided to write some simple naval wargame rules that I can use with them. I already had a vinyl Chessex Double-sided Blue and Green Battle Mat that is marked with a grid of one-inch squares, and decide to use that as my playing surface.

The rules are based on the Ironclad and Pre-Dreadnought rules in my GRIDDED NAVAL: WARGAMES book and have been adjusted slightly to reflect the fact that the Monopoly Battleships only have a single gun in their fore and aft turrets.

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Some simple late nineteenth century battleship vs. battleship naval wargame rules

Ship Flotation Values

• Ships have 12 Flotation Points and a Critical Point of 6 Flotation Points

Rules

• All hits are cumulative.
• When a ship’s Flotation Points (FP) are reduced by gunfire, torpedo hits, or ramming to the ship’s Critical Point, the ship must break off from battle and sail towards safety. It may engage enemy ships as it passes them but may not initiate any aggressive action.
• When a ship's Flotation Points reach zero (0), it sinks.

Turn Sequence

1. Both sides fire their main armament.
2. Both sides fire their secondary armament.
3. Both sides fire their torpedoes. (N.B. Firing guns and torpedoes is deemed to be simultaneous, and a ship that has been hit and sunk may fire its guns and/or torpedoes that turn – as it sinks – if a suitable target is in range.
4. Both sides throw a D6 die. The side with the highest score moves its ships first that turn.
5. Once the first side has moved its ships, the other side moves its ships.
6. Once both sides have had the opportunity to fire and move, the turn is complete, and the next turn can commence.

Firing Guns

• Main armament has a range of 6 grid areas and a maximum of 6D6 dice per gun.
• Secondary armament has a range of 4 grid areas and a maximum of 4D6 dice per gun.

Rules

• All ranges are measured in grid areas, thus:

Firing arcs. The forward and aft firing arcs are coloured white; the abeam firing arcs are coloured grey. The numbers in each square indicates the number of D6 dice thrown per gun at that range. Where there are two numbers, the one after the slash refers to Secondary Armament. The white arrow indicates the orthogonal and diagonal direction in which the firing ship is travelling.

• No ship may fire its main armament at more than one target each turn.
• No ship may fire its port secondary armament at more than one target each turn.
• No ship may fire its starboard secondary armament at more than one target each turn. (N.B. Ships are not obliged to fire their main and secondary armament at the same target.)
• No ship may fire its guns at a target that is not in direct line-of-sight. (N.B. Secondary armament may only fire at targets that are abeam of the firing ship.)
• Results:
• Dice score = 6: Major ‘hit’: target ship loses 2 FP
• Dice score = 4 or 5: Minor ‘hit’: target ship loses 1 FP
• Dice score = 1, 2, or 3: Gunfire has been ineffective.

Firing Torpedoes

Rules

• Torpedoes have a range of three grid areas and throw a maximum of 3D6 dice.

Torpedo firing arcs for fixed torpedo tubes. The numbers in each square indicates the number of D6 dice thrown per torpedo at that range. The white arrow indicates the orthogonal and diagonal direction in which the firing ship is travelling.

• No ship may fire more than one torpedo each turn and a maximum of 4 torpedoes during a battle.
• Results:
• Dice score = 6: Major ‘hit’: target ship loses 2 FP
• Dice score = 4 or 5: Minor ‘hit’: target ship loses 1 FP
• Dice score = 1, 2, or 3: Torpedo has been ineffective.

Movement

• Ships move up to 2 grid areas per turn.

Rules

• Movement is measured in grid areas.
• Ships may turn 45-degrees after moving forward one grid area. The turn 'costs' the loss of one grid area of movement.
• No ship may end its movement in the same grid area as another ship.
• Any ship that attempts to end its movement in the same grid area as another ship is deemed to have accidentally or deliberately rammed the other ship.

Ramming

• Ramming occurs when a ship either accidentally or deliberately tries to enter the same grid area as another ship. In both cases the rammed ship (i.e., the ship that is in the grid area) and the ramming ship (i.e., the ship that is trying to enter the grid area) may be damaged.
• Results:
• Dice score = 6: Ramming has caused major ‘damage’: ship loses 2 FP
• Dice score = 4 or 5: Ramming has caused minor ‘damage’: ship loses 1 FP
• Dice score = 1, 2, or 3: Ramming has been ineffective.

Rules for a head-on ramming

• A head-on ramming occurs when the ramming ship hits the rammed ship from directly ahead or astern.
• If the ship that is ramming the other is equipped with a ram, the number of D6 dice thrown by the rammed ship is 4 and the number of D6 dice thrown by the ramming ship is 2.
• If the ship that is ramming the other is not equipped with a ram, the number of D6 dice thrown by the rammed ship and the ramming ship is 2.

Rules for a side-on ramming

• A side-on ramming occurs when the ramming ship hits the rammed ship from the side.
• If the ship that is ramming the other is equipped with a ram, the number of D6 dice thrown by the rammed ship is 6 and the number of D6 dice thrown by the ramming ship is 2.
• If the ship that is ramming the other is not equipped with a ram, the number of D6 dice thrown by the rammed ship is 3 and the number of D6 dice thrown by the ramming ship is 2.

A Monopoly Battleship ... or two

Whilst I was on my recent cruise, I began thinking about whether I could produce a naval wargame that would fit in a small box. This was inspired by the recent 'wargame in a matchbox' challenge ... and especially American Civil War naval wargame devised by Peter of the Grid Based Wargaming – but not always blog.

Rather than just copy what Peter had done, I wanted to create a naval wargame that used ironclads or pre-dreadnoughts. The homemade Greek and Turkish fleets that I made for my version of Jane's Naval War Game are in storage and were not immediately available so I looked around for another source of suitable models ... and remembered that years ago I'd considered building a scaled-up version of the Monopoly battleship token for my wargame navy. (The end result didn’t turn out to be that similar to the original, but it did feature in a number of battles.) A quick search of the Internet showed that these tokens are available to buy online ... so I bought twelve!

Once these arrive, I hope to play-test some rules that I have been drafting. When I have, I'll write a post on this blog.

Broadside and Boarding: Small scale action in the Age of Fighting Sail 1740 - 1815

I have been a fan of Antoine Vanner's writings since his first book about the fictional British naval officer Nicholas Dawlish was published. Recently he has published his first non-fiction book entitled BROADSIDE AND BOARDING: SMALL SCALE ACTION IN THE AGE OF FIGHTING SALE 1740-1815, and I reaad it whilst I was on our recent cruise.

The book is a collection of short articles that take five to fifteen minutes to read, some of which originally appeared on Antoine's blog. Most of the actions feature frigates and small vessels acting alone or in the company of other small ships. A number of cutting out operations are included as are a few attacks on coastal fortifications.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in naval warfare during the latter part of the eighteenth and the early years of the nineteenth centuries. It describes the different tactics used by the participants and also covers the sort of technical details that will appeal to those who want to understand how small warships fought each other. For example, the French tended to fire at masts and sails to reduce their opponent's ability to manoeuver whilst the British tended to fire at the hull to punch holes in the side of their opponent's ship and disable their armament. For the naval wargamer, this book contains a wealth of potential scenarios that they could easily reproduce on a tabletop.

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BROADSIDE AND BOARDING: SMALL SCALE ACTION IN THE AGE OF FIGHTING SALE 1740-1815 was written by Antoine Vanner and published in Kindle and paperback formats in 2024 by Old Salt Press (ASIN B0DNBDFZDR/ISBN 978 1 9434 0455 1)

Soldiers of the Queen (SOTQ) Issue 190

The latest issue of the Victorian Military Society's SOTQ (Soldiers of the Queen) arrived by post just before the end of last year, and I have been reading it on and off ever since.

The articles included in this issue are:

• The Dooar War, a British Expedition into Bhutan 1864 by David Howell
• 'Polishing the Handle of the Big Front Door': W.H.Smith at the War Office by Professor Ian F W Beckett
• The Incident at Bushman's River Pass: 'The expedition can scarcely be called a success' by David Snape
• Sir Ian Hamilton (1853-1947): The Limits of Leadership by Kevin Lockyer
• Book Reviews by Jim Tanner, Steven Broomfield, Roger T Stearn, and Andy Smith
• Officers of the Victorian Military Society

Yet again there is lots in this issue for anyone with an interest in Britain's military history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The article about W.H.Smith brought back memories of my schooldays. Every year we put on a Gilbert and Sullivan light opera, and I well remember the song that included the line 'Polishing the Handle on the Big Front Door' from HMS Pinafore.

The article about 'The Incident at Bushman's River Pass' gave some interesting insights into Major (later Colonel) Durnford's attitudes to the native people of South Africa, and the one about Sir Ian Hamiliton gave me food for thought about the relationship between leadership - a quality much prized among British generals during the latter part of the nineteenth century - and command. It certainly goes some way to explain why those generals who had the former in abundance in 1914 did not always do well when commanding troops during the First World War.

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The annual cost of membership of the Victorian Military Society is:

• UK: £30.00
• Overseas: £40.00 (except for Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore: £43.00) for a printed issue and £20.00 for an electronic issue.

As I have written many times before, in my opinion it is well worth it.

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Coincidentally, yesterday I was watching the Redcoat History channel on YouTube ...

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... and Chris Parkinson, who created the Redcoat History channel, endorsed the Victorian Military Society. He is a filmmaker, journalist, and qualified battlefield tour guide based in South Africa. He has a particular interest in the campaigns of the British army between the Napoleonic wars and World War Two.

Nugget 368

I collected the latest issue of THE NUGGET from the printer (Macaulay Scott Printing Company of Welling, Kent) yesterday, and I hopefully will be putting it into stamped and addressed envelopes and posting it out to members tomorrow.

I will also send the PDF copy to the webmaster as soon as I can, and members should soon be able to read this issue of THE NUGGET online.

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IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the fifth issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2024-2025 subscription year.

If you wish to subscribe for the 2024-2025 subscription year and have not yet done so, please request a PayPal invoice or the bank transfer information from the Treasurer or follow the instructions on the relevant page of the website.

Feeling slightly better

After spending most of Saturday and Sunday sleeping, dozing, trying to watch TV (without falling asleep!) and trying to cope with the general debilitating effects of the bug we have caught, Monday found Sue and I feeling a little bit better.

This is just as well as we were almost out of fresh food (especially milk and bread) and needed to replenish our supplies. We managed a quick trip to the local supermarket in the morning, and in the middle of the afternoon we felt well enough to go the local hospital for me to attend an appointment to have a DEXA bone scan.

By the time we got home we were both feeling exhausted and fell asleep in our armchairs for nearly an hour … and when we woke up, the general debility had returned.

For most of Tuesday Sue and I repeated what we had done over the weekend, but by the evening we were both feeling somewhat better. Perhaps we are now over the worst of the dreaded lurgy … but we aren’t counting our unhatched chicken eggs quite yet! (People have reported feeling better and then getting worse again, and in some cases this pattern has been repeated for several weeks.) Let’s see what today and tomorrow bring before we do …

Nugget 368

The editor of THE NUGGET sent me the original of the latest issue on Sunday evening, and despite feeling decidedly grotty, I managed to send it to the printer (Macauley Scott Printing Company, Welling, Kent) yesterday. I hope that I will be well enough to be able to collect it later this week. I will then post it out to members of Wargame Developments.

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IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the fifth issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2024-2025 subscription year.

If you wish to subscribe for the 2024-2025 subscription year and have not yet done so, please request a PayPal invoice or the bank transfer information from the Treasurer or follow the instructions on the relevant page of the website.