I have now created and uploaded a short (i.e. just over eight minutes long) YouTube video about the rules and Operation Barbarossa mini-campaign scenarios that I used at my local gaming club, Dice on the Hill, to my Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
You can view the video here.
The editor of THE NUGGET sent me the original of the latest issue on Sunday evening, and I sent it to the printer (Macauley Scott Printing Company, Welling, Kent) on Monday. I hope to be able to collect it later this week and post it out to members of Wargame Developments by the end of the month.
IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the seventh 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.
Today marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Varsity, the largest single airborne operation of World War II.
Operation Varsity was part of Operation Plunder, the Allied operation to cross the northern Rhine River and enter Northern Germany. It was mounted by US XVIII Airborne Corps, which was commanded by Major General Matthew B Ridgway. The Corps comprised British 6th Airborne Division, US 13th Airborne Division (which did not take part in the operation), and US 17th Airborne Division. Their drop zones were located between the Diersfordter Wald, the River Issel, and the towns of Hamminkeln and Wessel. It was the largest airborne operation ever conducted on a single day.
The objectives set for the two divisions that took part in Operation Varsity were as follows:
Despite some confusion due to elements of US 17th Airborne Division landing in the wrong places, the objectives had been captured, and by nightfall the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division had linked up with British 6th Airborne Division. By morning of the next day, the first of twelve bridge had been constructed across the River Rhine.
My father took part in the operation as a member of 53rd (Worcestershire Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery, and he was the only veteran who attended the special commemorative event held at Firepower, the Royal Artillery Museum, in 2006.
He was treated as an honoured guest by the museum staff and the members of the 89th (Parachute)/317th (Airborne) Field Security Sections re-enactment group. The latter were portraying 53rd (Worcestershire Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery at the event, and my father had several photographs taken with them.
I must admit to an interest in the way that the German Army adopted and adapted captured armoured fighting vehicles during the Second World War. As a result, it made lots of sense for me to buy a copy of Steven Zaloga's recent BEUTEPANZERS OF WORLD WAR II: CAPTURED TANKS AND AFVS IN GERMAN SERVICE when I saw it on sale ... so I did!
The book is divided into eleven sections:
I particularly enjoyed the section that dealt with the conversions undertaken by Hauptmann Alfred Becker's Baukommando, which included conversions of both French and British tanks and AFVs. (His first conversions were based on the chassis of British Mark VI light tanks. He removed the existing turrets and read bodywork which he replaced with an open-topped casemate in which a 105mm leFH 16 howitzer was mounted. He also modified the same chassis as a command/reconnaissance vehicle and ammunition carrier as well as creating ammunition carriers based on the chassis of captured Bren carriers.)
The 10.5cm leFH 16 auf Geschutzwagen auf Fahrgestell Mk VI 736 (e) self-propelled gun.
The Mk VI Beobachtungspanzer command/reconnaissance vehicle.
The Mk VI Munitionspanzer ammunition carrier. The trailer it is towing appears to be a Renault UK tracked trailer that has had its original wheels and tracks replaced by a simple two-wheeled axle.
The Munitionspanzer auf Fahrgestell Bren-Carrier (e) ammunition carrier. The trailer it is towing appears to be similar to that towed by the French Renault UE 2 Chenillette and was known as the Renault UK tracked trailer.
It is interesting to note that although the Germans captured large numbers of Russian tanks and AFVs, they did not use them as much as one might have expected, mainly because they did not have access to supplies of spare parts etc. This was not the case with the French and Italian tanks and AFVs they captured and reused, and in the latter case, they actually continued to produce vehicles in the occupied northern part of Italy after the Italian king deposed Mussolini and the country changed sides and joined the Allies as a co-belligerent.
BEUTEPANZERS OF WORLD WAR II: CAPTURED TANKS AND AFVS IN GERMAN SERVICE was written by Steven J Zaloga and illustrated by Felipe Rodriguez and published by Osprey Publishing in 2024 (ISBN 978 1 4728 5938 9).
On Wednesday I carefully rested for most of the day in order to conserve my energy so that I could set up and take part in a battle using the Portable Ancient Wargame rules from DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME. My strategy worked, and I had a very enjoyable evening introducing my opponent (Richard) and an interested bystander (Ian) to the joys of THE PORTABLE WARGAME system.
I provided the terrain and Richard provided the figures ... and it turned out that although he had been assembling his collection for some years, he had not had the opportunity to fight a wargame with them. The terrain looked like this:
I chose to field a Spartan army ...
The right of the Spartan army. It comprised a unit of slingers and two units of Helot spearmen.
The center of the Spartan army. It comprised eight units of Hoplites.
The left of the Spartan army. It comprised a unit of slingers and two units of Helot spearmen.
... and my opponent chose the Athenians. (He even provided a suitably ruined temple for Athena to occupy and oversee her city-state's army.)
The Athenian army.
Two units of Athenian Hoplites.
Two more units of Athenian Hoplites.
The Athenians took the offensive ...
... and after both sides used their light troops to try to disrupt their opponent's Hoplites ...
... the battle soon became a trial of strength between the rival bodies of Hoplites.
It was a hard fought battle ... but the Athenians eventually prevailed and the Spartans withdrew after losing their slingers and Helot spearmen in order to preserve their elite Hoplites.
The battle took just under an hour to fight, and once it was over we reset the forces and re-fought the battle twice more, firstly using the 'two hits = unit destroyed' rule and 'two hits plus hit effect' rule. The Athenians won both battles, and they even managed to kill the Spartan commander during the last battle.
By the end of the evening Richard and Ian were both enthusiastic converts to the whole PORTABLE WARGAME concept ... and I hope to be able to give them a chance to try the PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME rules soon.
Last Wednesday I was asked if I could stage a Portable Ancients Wargame at the Dice on the Hill club on the following Wednesday (i.e. today). The request was from the member of staff who is usually on duty on Wednesday evenings and who is - it turns out - both a railway modeller and a wargamer. He has an extensive collection of mainly 28mm Napoleonics and Ancients and as he has read DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME, he would like to tryout the Ancients rules from the book.
After I had agreed, I suddenly realised on Sunday that all my terrain was in storage in Dartford and that I would have to visit the storage unit to collect everything that I need. Unfortunately, the virus I have been suffering from made that rather difficult, and rather than disappoint my opponent, I had to come up with an alternative fairly quickly.
My first thought was to get hold of a felt cloth that I could make up with the necessary grid of 10cm x 10cm squares, but none of the suppliers I looked at could fulfill an order in less than a week. Instead, I ordered a pack of 30cm x 30cm 6mm-thick cork tiles from Amazon ...
... and they were delivered on Monday. I have now marked the corners of the grid squares with a small crosses drawn using a red Sharpey pen, and have enough cork tiles to set up a 9 x 9 grid of 10cm x 10cm squares ... and still have a spare cork tile!
I also needed some hills, and I made these by trimming some IKEA cork pot stands to shape.
I now have a set of portable terrain that I can take to the club this evening, and assuming that I am well enough to go, I hope to be able to take some photographs and share them on my blog later this week.
Even though I am still rather unwell, I just could not pass up on the opportunity to mention Antoine Bourguilleau’s modern version of the PORTABLE WARGAME rules. He staged a game using the rules at the recent Paris Defence and Strategic Forum alongside his own game, DUEL TACTIQUE.
Antoine Bourguilleau's wargame, DUEL TACTIQUE.
The cover of the rule book from Antoine Bourguilleau's wargame, DUEL TACTIQUE.
Antoine Bourguilleau has kindly uploaded French and English language editions of his modern version of the PORTABLE WARGAME to the files section of the PORTABLE WARGAME Facebook page.
Two French defence journalists – Clément Daniez (of L'Express) and Laurence Defranoux (of Libération) – playing Antoine Bourguilleau's modern version of the PORTABLE WARGAME. It was the first time either of them had tried wargaming!
A close-up of Antoine Bourguilleau's modern version of the PORTABLE WARGAME.
Another close-up of Antoine Bourguilleau's modern version of the PORTABLE WARGAME.
Antoine Bourguilleau is a historian, wargame designer, reserve officer in the French Army, and lecturer at the École de guerre and the Institut d'Etude de la Guerre et de la Paix en Sorbonne. He was also one of the authors of THE PORTABLE PIKE AND SHOT WARGAME.
One of the side effects of having ongoing medical problems is the impact on one’s motivation to do anything. Since the end of last year I seem to have lurched from one minor illness to another, and it has been very wearing.
Luckily, I've been able to go to regular games at Dice on the Hill and to take part in the weekly Virtual Wargames Club Zoom meeting, and this had helped me to stagger on. However, I have now come down with a really unpleasant virus that seems to have been sweeping across the UK since the start of the year. The symptoms are a fever, continual tiredness, a runny nose, a sore throat/croaky voice, and a persistent and unpleasant hacking cough that often goes on for several minutes at a time. The latter can be so bad that it wakes the sufferer up multiple times during the night and contributes to the feeling of continual physical tiredness, mental lethargy, and an inability to concentrate.
Over the past few days matters seem to have come to a head, and I feel as if my fuel tank is almost empty and that I am running on fumes. I hope that this marks the point at which the virus has done its worst and that from now on things will gradually improve. However, until they do, I will be keeping my head down and concentrating on getting better as quickly as possible. I will continue to blog as and when I feel up to it, but don't expect anything earth-shattering to appear here for some time!
Last Friday, Sue and me went to our local community centre – Shrewsbury House – to listen to a talk by local historian and modern conflict archaeologist, Andy Brockman, about the house's secret history. We have heard him speak before, and have always enjoyed his talks.
Shrewsbury House.
In fact, the talk covered much more than the secret history of the building, and included lots of information about the role of Shooters Hill in recent conflicts.
In the run up to the outbreak of the Second World War, Shrewsbury House was selected to act as an Air Raid Precaution (ARP) local control centre, and it performed this extremely useful function during the London Blitz (7th September 1940 to 11th May 1941) and again during the V-weapon attacks (13th June 1944 to 29th March 1945).
A slide used during Andy Brockman's talk about the secret history of Shrewsbury House.
A slide used during Andy Brockman's talk about the secret history of Shrewsbury House. It shows Greengarth (No.28 Mereworth Drive) which backs onto the Shrewsbury House site. It was constructed as part of the Air Raid Precautions Control Centre and converted into a bungalow in 1950.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, Shooters Hill – which at a height of 132m/433-foot is one of the highest points around London – formed part of London Stop Line Central (Line B). This was the last line of London’s defence in the event of a German invasion. As the main road between Dover and London (Watling Street) ran up and over Shooters Hill, it was the obvious place to try to block any German advance, especially as its southern slop is covered by dense woodland that would funnel any attackers up the road. Almost all the local roads on the western side of the hill (i.e. on the reverse slope of the hill) were fitted with roadblocks and flame fougasses.
(Flame fougasses were usually constructed from a 40-gallon drum filled with a mixture of petrol and oil that was dug into the roadside and camouflaged. They were usually placed at points where vehicles would have to slow down, and when set off, they would shoot a flame 3m/10 feet wide and up to 27m/100 feet long.)
A diagram from an official publication showing how to set up a flame fougasse.
A barrage balloon – which was operated by 901 County of London Barrage Balloon Squadron – was located in Eaglesfield Park. It formed part of a line of such balloons (the so-called Field Scheme Nosecap) that were intended to protect London from aerial bombing by forcing attackers to fly at a higher altitude – and thus drop their bombs with less accuracy – or into areas where anti-aircraft guns could shoot at them.
The local Home Guard had their headquarters in the local golf course clubhouse – Lowood – just below the crest on the eastern slope of Shooters Hill. Downhill from it was a battery of anti-aircraft rockets (No.7Z Battery, Royal Artillery) which were mainly crewed by members of the Home Guard. The units that operated these anti-aircraft rockets were called Z Batteries and fired unguided solid-fuel 3-inch/76mm rockets that were known as UP-3s (Unrotated Projectile). Because they were unguided, the rockets were fired in salvos … and this proved problematic as the proximity fuzes they were fitted with were unreliable, and unexploded rocket often caused considerable damage when they ran out of fuel and fell to the ground. In fact, the Z Battery on Shooters Hill engaged a number of V1 cruise missiles and shot them down, but the unexploded UP-3 rockets that they fired ended up causing considerable damage and the battery was stood down.
The area occupied by the Z Battery was eventually cleared but the huts that had been erected to serve as accommodation for the crews were used to house prisoners-of-war. The camp was called Camp 1020 and was formed on 26th June 1946 to house up to 1,000 German POWs. Besides undergoing de-Nazification, the prisoners undertook educational and cultural courses when not being used to perform manual work. The latter included working on local farms, digging the foundations for the Cherry Orchard estate in Charlton, and clearing snow during the winter.
Prisoners at the camp were allowed to move freely within 5 miles of the camp during daylight hours, and Sundays they could attend either the Protestant Welling Church or St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church in Welling. They were also allowed to attend football matches at Charlton Athletic’s ground, The Valley. The camp only existed for less than a year, and POWs were repatriated during the spring of 1947.
Although Shrewsbury House was no longer needed by the ARP after the Second World War had ended, once the Cold War began it was decided that its location would be useful in a Civil Defence role, and a rectangular concrete blockhouse was built next to the existing building in 1954. It was called Woolwich Sub Control and reported to the main Woolwich Borough Control in New Eltham. It was re-designated as a Sector Station in 1965 and stood down in 1968 when the Civil Defence Corps was disbanded.
An 1934 aerial photograph of the top of Shooters Hill. The locations of Shrewsbury House, Eaglesfield Park, Lowood, and the Z Battery/POW camp are labelled. The photograph is orientated with the top approximately pointing north. © Historic England.
An contemporary aerial photograph of the top of Shooters Hill. The locations of Shrewsbury House, Eaglesfield Park, Lowood, and the Z Battery/POW camp are labelled. The photograph is orientated with the top approximately pointing westward. © Google Earth.
At the very end of his talk, Andy Brockman showed everyone a pair of very old and used Nairn boots that had been found in an obscure part of the loft space when the roof had been repaired some year ago.
Pages from a 1923 newspaper were found inside the boots, and he speculated that they were placed there by some of the builders when the current house had been constructed in 1923. This is in keeping with the ancient superstition that concealing a pair of old shoes in a building would ward off witches or evil spirits.
I have just uploaded a new YouTube video to the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
It is entitled JOSE MARIA BUENO CARRERA: SPANISH MILITARY UNIFORM EXPERT AND ARTIST, lasts just under nine minutes, and includes examples of his beautiful illustrations.
The video can be found here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
