H G Wells played the Portable Wargame ... according to ChatGPT!

I recently asked ChatGPT if it could find a photograph of H G Wells playing the PORTABLE WARGAME ... and it did!

Of course, it's a fake ... but in my opinion, it is a very good fake, and if he had still been alive, I sort of hope that he would have played a game or several with these rules.

H G Wells' Kriegspiel rules

The front cover of the first edition of H G Wells' LITTLE WARS.

The title page of the 1966 reprint H G Wells' LITTLE WARS. It was produced by Quantum Reprints. I own a copy of the 1970 reprint that was published by Arms and Armour Press.

As a follow up to my recent book review of Paul Holcroft Wright's latest book, I have transcribed the Appendix from H G Wells' LITTLE WARS and it is shown below.

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LITTLE WARS AND KRIEGSPIEL

This little book has, I hope, been perfectly frank about its intentions. It is not a book upon Kriegspiel. It gives merely a game that may be played by two or four or six amateurish persons in an afternoon and evening with toy soldiers. But it has a very distinct relation to Kriegspiel; and since the main portion of it was written and published in a magazine, I have had quite a considerable correspondence with military people who have been interested by it, and who have shown a very friendly spirit towards it – in spite of the pacific outbreak in its concluding section. They tell me – what I already a little suspected – that Kriegspiel, as it is played by the British Army, is a very dull and unsatisfactory exercise, lacking in realism, in stir and the unexpected, obsessed by the umpire at every turn, and of very doubtful value in waking up the imagination, which should be its chief function. I am particularly indebted to Colonel Mark Sykes for advice and information in this matter. He has pointed out to me the possibility of developing Little Wars into a vivid and inspiring Kriegspiel, in which the element of the umpire would be reduced to a minimum; and it would be ungrateful to him, and a waste of an interesting opportunity, if I did not add this Appendix, pointing out how a Kriegspiel of real educational value for junior officers may be developed out of the amusing methods of Little War. If Great War is to be played at all, the better it is played the more humanely it will be done. I see no inconsistency in deploring the practice while perfecting the method. But I am a civilian, and Kriegspiel is not my proper business. I am deeply preoccupied with a novel I am writing, and so I think the best thing I can do is just to set down here all the ideas that have cropped up in my mind, in the footsteps, so to speak, of Colonel Sykes, and leave it to the military expert, if he cares to take the matter up, to reduce my scattered suggestions to a system.

Now, first, it is manifest that in Little Wars there is no equivalent for rifle-fire, and that the effect of the gunfire has no resemblance to the effect of shell. That may be altered very simply. Let the rules as to gunfire be as they are now, but let a different projectile be used – a projectile that will drop down and stay where it falls. I find that one can buy in ironmongers' shops small brass screws of various sizes and weights, but all capable of being put in the muzzle of the 4.7 guns without slipping down the barrel. If, with such a screw in the muzzle, the gun is loaded and fired, the wooden bolt remains in the gun and the screw flies and drops and stays near where it falls – its range being determined by the size and weight of screw selected by the gunner. Let us assume this is a shell, and it is quite easy to make a rule that will give the effect of its explosion. Half, or, in the case of an odd number, one more than half, of the men within three inches of this shell are dead, and if there is a gun completely within the circle of three inches radius from the shell, it is destroyed. If it is not completely within the circle, it is disabled for two moves. A supply waggon is completely destroyed if it falls wholly or partially within the radius. But if there is a wall, house, or entrenchment between any men and the shell, they are uninjured – they do not count in the reckoning of the effect of the shell.

I think one can get a practical imitation of the effect of rifle-fire by deciding that for every five infantrymen who are roughly in a line, and who do not move in any particular move, there may be one (ordinary) shot taken with a 4.7 gun. It may be fired from any convenient position behind the row of five men, so long as the shot passes roughly over the head of the middle man of the five.

Of course, while in Little Wars there are only three or four players, in any proper Kriegspiel the game will go on over a larger area – in a drill-hall or some such place – and each arm and service will be entrusted to a particular player. This permits all sorts of complicated imitations of reality that are impossible to our parlour and playroom Little Wars. We can consider transport, supply, ammunition, and the moral effect of cavalry impact, and of uphill and downhill movements. We can also bring in the spade and entrenchment, and give scope to the Royal Engineers. But before I write anything of Colonel Sykes' suggestions about these, let me say a word or two about Kriegspiel "country."

The country for Kriegspiel should be made up, I think, of heavy blocks or boxes of wood about 3 x 3 x 1/2 feet, and curved pieces (with a rounded outline and a chord of three feet, or shaped like right-angled triangles with an incurved hypotenuse and two straight sides of 3 feet) can easily be contrived to round off corners and salient angles. These blocks can be bored to take trees, etc., exactly as the boards in Little Wars are bored, and with them a very passable model of any particular country can be built up from a contoured Ordnance map. Houses may be made very cheaply by shaping a long piece of wood into a house-like section and sawing it up. There will always be someone who will touch up and paint and stick windows on to and generally adorn and individualise such houses, which are, of course, the stabler the heavier the wood used. The rest of the country as in Little Wars.

Upon such a country a Kriegspiel could be played with rules upon the lines of the following sketch rules, which are the result of a discussion between Colonel Sykes and myself, and in which most of the new ideas are to be ascribed to Colonel Sykes. We proffer them, not as a finished set of rules, but as material for anyone who chooses to work over them, in the elaboration of what we believe will be a far more exciting and edifying Kriegspiel than any that exists at the present time. The game may be played by any number of players, according to the forces engaged and the size of the country available. Each side will be under the supreme command of a General, who will be represented by a cavalry soldier. The player who is General must stand at or behind his representative image and within six feet of it. His signalling will be supposed to be perfect, and he will communicate with his subordinates by shout, whisper, or note, as he thinks fit. I suggest he should be considered invulnerable, but Colonel Sykes has proposed arrangements for his disablement. He would have it that if the General falls within the zone of destruction of a shell he must go out of the room for three moves (injured); and that if he is hit by rifle-fire or captured he shall quit the game, and be succeeded by his next subordinate.

Now as to the Moves.

It is suggested that:

• Infantry shall move one foot.
• Cavalry shall move three feet.
• The above moves are increased by one half for troops in twos or fours on a road.
• Royal Engineers shall move two feet.
• Royal Artillery shall move two feet.
• Transport and Supply shall move one foot on roads, half foot across country.
• The General shall move six feet (per motor), three feet across country.
• Boats shall move one foot.
• In moving uphill, one contour counts as one foot; downhill, two contours count as one foot. Where there are four contours to one foot vertical the hill is impassable for wheels unless there is a road.

Infantry.

• To pass a fordable river = one move.
• To change from fours to two ranks = half a move.
• To change from two ranks to extension = half a move.
• To embark into boats = two moves for every twenty men embarked at any point.
• To disembark = one move for every twenty men.

Cavalry.

• To pass a fordable river = one move.
• To change formation = half a move.
• To mount = one move.
• To dismount = one move.

Artillery.

• To unlimber guns = half a move.
• To limber up guns = half a move.
• Rivers are impassable to guns.

NEITHER INFANTRY, CAVALRY, NOR ARTILLERY CAN FIRE AND MOVE IN ONE MOVE.

Royal Engineers.

• No repairs can be commenced, no destructions can be begun, during a move in which R.E. have changed position.
• Rivers impassable.

Transport and Supply.

• No supplies or stores can be delivered during a move if T. and S. have moved.
• Rivers impassable.

Next as to Supply in the Field:

• All troops must be kept supplied with food, ammunition, and forage. The players must give up, every six moves, one packet of food per thirty men; one packet of forage per six horses; one packet of ammunition per thirty infantry which fire for six consecutive moves.
• These supplies, at the time when they are given up, must be within six feet of the infantry they belong to and eighteen feet of the cavalry.
• Isolated bodies of less than thirty infantry require no supplies – a body is isolated if it is more than twelve feet off another body. In calculating supplies for infantry the fractions either count as thirty if fifteen or over, or as nothing if less than fifteen. Thus forty-six infantry require two packets of food or ammunition; forty-four infantry require one packet of food.

N.B. – Supplies are not effective if enemy is between supplies and troops they belong to.

• Men surrounded and besieged must be victualled at the following rate: –
• One packet food for every thirty men for every six moves.
• One packet forage every six horses for every six moves.
• In the event of supplies failing, horses may take the place of food, but not of course of forage; one horse to equal one packet.
• In the event of supplies failing, the following consequences ensue: –
• Infantry without ammunition cannot fire (guns are supposed to have unlimited ammunition with them).
• Infantry, cavalry, R.A., and R.E. cannot move without supply – if supplies are not provided within six consecutive moves, they are out of action.
• A force surrounded must surrender four moves after eating its last horse.

Now as to Destructions:

• To destroy a railway bridge R.E. take two moves; to repair, R.E. take ten moves.
• To destroy a railway culvert R.E. take one move; to repair R.E. take five moves. To destroy a river road bridge R.E. take one move; to repair, R.E. take five moves.
• A supply depot can be destroyed by one man in two moves, no matter how large (by fire).
• Four men can destroy the contents of six waggons in one move.
• A contact mine can be placed on a road or in any place by two men in six moves; it will be exploded by the first pieces passing over it, and will destroy everything within six inches radius.*

Next as to Constructions:

• Entrenchments can be made by infantry in four moves.* They are to be strips of wood two inches high tacked to the country, or wooden bricks two inches high. Two men may make an inch of entrenchment.
• Epaulements for guns may be constructed at the rate of six men to one epaulement in four moves.*

[* Notice to be given to umpire of commencement of any work or the placing of a mine. In event of no umpire being available, a folded note must be put on the mantelpiece when entrenchment is commenced, and opponent asked to open it when the trench is completed, or the mine exploded.

Rules as to Cavalry Charging:

• No body of less than eight cavalry may charge, and they must charge in proper formation.
• If cavalry charges infantry in extended order –
• If the charge starts at a distance of more than two feet, the cavalry loses one man for every five infantrymen charged, and the infantry loses one man for each sabre charging.
• At less than two feet and more than one foot, the cavalry loses one man for every ten charged, and the infantry two men for each sabre charging.
• At less than one foot, the cavalry loses one man for every fifteen charged, and the infantry three men for each sabre charging.
• If cavalry charges infantry in close order, the result is reversed.
• Thus, at more than two feet one infantry-man kills three cavalrymen, and fifteen cavalrymen one infantryman.
• At more than one foot one infantryman kills two cavalry, and ten cavalry one infantry.
• At less than one foot one infantry-man kills one cavalry, and five cavalry one infantry.
• However, infantry that have been charged in close order are immobile for the subsequent move.
• Infantry charged in extended order must on the next move retire one foot; they can be charged again.
• If cavalry charges cavalry: –
• If cavalry is within charging distance of the enemy's cavalry at the end of the enemy's move, it must do one of three things – dismount, charge, or retire. If it remains stationary and mounted and the enemy charges, one charging sabre will kill five stationary sabres and put fifteen others three feet to the rear.
• Dismounted cavalry charged is equivalent to infantry in extended order.
• If cavalry charges cavalry and the numbers are equal and the ground level, the result must be decided by the toss of a coin; the loser losing three-quarters of his men and obliged to retire, the winner losing one-quarter of his men.
• If the numbers are unequal, the melee rules for Little Wars obtain if the ground is level.
• If the ground slopes, the cavalry charging downhill will be multiplied according to the number of contours crossed. If it is one contour, it must be multiplied by two; two contours, multiplied by three; three contours, multiplied by four.
• If cavalry retires before cavalry instead of accepting a charge, it must continue to retire so long as it is pursued – the pursuers can only be arrested by fresh cavalry or by infantry or artillery fire.
• If driven off the field or into an unfordable river, the retreating body is destroyed.
• If infantry find hostile cavalry within charging distance at the end of the enemy's move, and this infantry retires and yet is still within charging distance, it will receive double losses if in extended order if charged; and if in two ranks or in fours, will lose at three feet two men for each charging sabre; at two feet, three men for each charging sabre. The cavalry in these circumstances will lose nothing. The infantry will have to continue to retire until their tormentors have exterminated them or been driven off by someone else.
• If cavalry charges artillery and is not dealt with by other forces, one gun is captured with a loss to the cavalry of four men per gun for a charge at three feet, three men at two feet, and one man at one foot.
• If artillery retires before cavalry when cavalry is within charging distance, it must continue to retire so long as the cavalry pursues.

The introduction of toy railway trains, moving, let us say, eight feet per move, upon toy rails, needs rules as to entraining and detraining and so forth, that will be quite easily worked out upon the model of boat embarkation here given. An engine or truck within the circle of destruction of a shell will be of course destroyed.

The toy soldiers used in this Kriegspiel should not be the large soldiers used in Little Wars. The British manufacturers who turn out these also make a smaller, cheaper type of man – the infantry about an inch high – which is better adapted to Kriegspiel purposes.

We hope, if these suggestions "catch on," to induce them to manufacture a type of soldier more exactly suited to the needs of the game, including tray carriers for troops in formation and (what is at present not attainable) dismountable cavalry that will stand.

We place this rough sketch of a Kriegspiel entirely at the disposal of any military men whose needs and opportunities enable them to work it out and make it into an exacter and more realistic game. In doing so, we think they will find it advisable to do their utmost to make the game work itself, and to keep the need for umpire's decisions at a minimum. Whenever possible, death should be by actual gun- and rifle-fire and not by computation. Things should happen, and not be decided. We would also like to insist upon the absolute need of an official upon either side, simply to watch and measure the moves taken, and to collect and check the amounts of supply and ammunition given up. This is a game like real war, played against time, and played under circumstances of considerable excitement, and it is remarkable how elastic the measurements of quite honest and honourable men can become.

We believe that the nearer that Kriegspiel approaches to an actual small model of war, not only in its appearance but in its emotional and intellectual tests, the better it will serve its purpose of trial and education.

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It is interesting to note that Wells recommends the use of 'a smaller, cheaper type of man – the infantry about an inch high' ... which sounds as if he advocating the use of 25/28mm figures! I was not aware that Britains had manufactured such small figures, but as the following scale guide from their 1940 catalogue shows, they certainly did so by the middle of the twentieth century.

Garden Campaigning

Before I write my review, I must make the reader aware that I have known the author for many years and have taken part in several wargames that he has organised. These include:

• A Funny Little Wars battle (an indoor floor battle between Army red and Army Dark Green) in 2015.
• Waterloo in 54mm (a Napoleonic battle refight to mark the battle's 200th anniversary) in 2015.
• Leipzig on the lawn (a Napoleonic battle refight) in 2017.
• The Siege of the Alhambra (a Spanish Civil War siege) in 2021.

As a result, the reader might think that my review will be in some way biased ... and in all honesty, it probably is, but only because I know how much thought has gone into this author's writing and how much fun his wargames have been to take part in!

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Back in 2013, Paul Holcroft Wright published FUNNY LITTLE WARS: A GENTLEMAN'S PREOCCUPATION ...

... and LITTLE CAMPAIGNS: RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF WAR GAME CAMPAIGNS IN MINIATURE ...

... to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the publication of H G Wells's LITTLE WARS in 1913.

The latter contained a wonderful campaign map …

… and a history of one of the campaigns that he had fought, The Herring War.

In 2022 he published a new, revised edition of his FUNNY LITTLE WARS book …

... and he is now going to publish a new volume in this series, GARDEN CAMPAIGNS: INCORPORATING THE KRIEGSPIEL SUGGESTIONS OF MR HG WELLS.

The author has taken H G Wells' Kriegspiel rules as his starting point for the rules in this book. Wells' original Kriegspiel rules were written in conjunction with Colonel Sir Mark Sykes and form part of Wells' LITTLE WARS. It was the intention of the authors that these rules would be used by the British Army in place of the existing kriegsspiel-based system that were described as being 'over-umpired' and 'very dull, lacking in realism, in stir and the unexpected ... and of very doubtful value in waking up the imagination'.

The book is split into two parts.

• Introduction
• HG Wells and Kriegspiel
• The Garden Campaign, yesterday
• Playing Garden Campaign, today
• Logistics and supply
• New Rules for Garden Campaigns
• Railways for Garden Campaigns
• The war in the air
• The campaign by the seaside
• The campaign as a siege
• Campaign scenarios
• The Edwardians depart

Garden Campaign notes

• The map-based campaign
• Campaign resources
• A Medical interlude
• Further Campaign reading
• Playing Aids

Although these campaign rules have been written for wargames that are going to be fought on a garden lawn or the floor of a large room, they are eminently suitable for use in any wargame campaign. In particular, the logistics and supply rules can easily be used or modified for any campaign set after the large-scale introduction of firearms.

It is worth noting that the chapter entitled THE CAMPAIGN AS A SIEGE is almost a separate set of wargame rules in itself, and covers the three main stages of siege craft:

• Investment,
• Bombardment, and
• Assault.

The CAMPAIGN SCENARIOS chapter draws heavily upon William Le Quex's book, THE INVASION OF 1910. Le Quex wrote the book as a warning about the growing threat of Imperial Germany and Britain's military unpreparedness to resist an invasion, and it was published in instalments by the national newspaper, the DAILY MAIL. (It is worth noting that this was not the only book that contained such warnings. Others include Sir George Tomkyns Chesney's THE BATTLE OF DORKING, Le Quex's earlier THE GREAT WAR IN ENGLAND IN 1897, Erskine Childers' RIDDLE OF THE SANDS, and Saki's (i.e. Hector Hugh Munro's) WHEN WILLIAM CAME ... the latter being published in the same year as Wells; LITTLE WARS.)

The author uses the Battle of Royston and the Siege of London as featured in Le Quex's book as the basis for two scenarios, respectively for a map campaign and three interlinked games covering the investment of, bombardment of, and assault on London. He provides a set of Army Lists and Victory Conditions for each, and in my opinion, these scenarios alone are worth the price of the book!

In conclusion, I have no hesitation in recommending this book to any wargamer who has ever contemplated fighting a wargame of their lawn or on the floor of a large room, or who enjoys fighting wargames set in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, or who enjoys reading well-written and thought-provoking wargame books.

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GARDEN CAMPAIGNS: INCORPORATING THE KRIEGSPIEL SUGGESTIONS OF MR HG WELLS has been written by Paul Holcroft Wright and will be published in 2025 by Battlefield History Ltd. (ISBN 978 1 4583 7005 1.

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Some notes

1. I have use two spellings of the German word for wargames, kriegspiel (the Anglicised spelling) and kriegsspiel (the original German spelling). Paul Wright favours the former whilst I prefer to use the latter ... but neither of us is wrong.
2. Colonel Sir Mark Sykes (Colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet, 1879 to 1919) was the heir to a baronetcy (an hereditary knighthood) and served in South Africa during the Second Boer War with the 5th Battalion, The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment; 19th Regiment of Foot). After working as Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Secretary for Ireland, George Wyndham from 1904 to 1905, after which he was honorary attaché to the British Embassy in Constantinople until 1906. Whilst serving in this role, he travelled extensively throughout the Middle East. Sykes was elected as a Unionist Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull Central in 1911. During the Great War he was selected to work in the Army's Intelligence branch and advised the Cabinet on Middle Eastern affairs. As a result, he was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Arab Bureau. It was therefore not surprising the he was chosen to be the British diplomat who was chosen to negotiate with the French regarding the post-Ottoman boundaries and spheres-of-influence. The result was the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Sir Mark Sykes died in 1919 during the Influenza Pandemic. At the time he was attending the peace negotiations in Paris.
3. The 1912 Army Manoeuvres revisited a similar scenario to that used in 1904, namely an invasion of England at some point along the coast of East Anglia. In 1904, the invasion area was between Clacton and Holland-on-Sea in Essex, and in 1912 it was between Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-sea.

D-Day … plus 80 years … and some thoughts by H G Wells

Ten years ago I wrote the following blog post:

Today marks the seventieth anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Over the past few days there has been extensive coverage of the events leading up to the landings, and today there will be ceremonies taking place in France and elsewhere to commemorate this anniversary.

There has been much mention of the fact that this will be the last big commemoration of the D-Day landings as the number of veterans is dwindling. Even the youngest of those who took part is in their late eighties, and each year the number grows less. The media has been recording their memories, and at times it has been hard to watch and listen to these old men and women remembering their part in this great enterprise. For a few brief moments they become young again.

On a personal level, one veteran will be missing ... my father. He died just over a year ago, and even whilst the dementia from which he suffered over his last few years was at its worst, his days as a young soldier were still clear in his mind.

My father served with 53rd Airlanding Regiment (Worcestershire Yeomanry), Royal Artillery right up until the end of the War. He was part of the forward observation team and eventually reached the rank of Staff Sergeant. Today, whilst we remember all those who took part in the D-Day landings and the Liberation of Europe, I (and the rest of my family) will be remembering our father and the part he played.

Ten years ago the world seemed to be a less dangerous place than it is today. The number of veterans of the Second World War in general and D-Day in particular are fast dwindling, with most being in their late nineties or centenarians. Perhaps today would it be a good idea for us to remember all those who served during that war, to think of the sacrifices they made, and to pray that today’s conflicts can be concluded as soon as possible so that more lives are not needlessly wasted.

As to my father … my memories of him and my mother (who lived and worked in London during the war and who predeceased him by eleven years) are still as strong today as they were ten years ago, and they will certainly be in my thoughts and prayers on this special day.

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For some reason, whilst I was writing the penultimate paragraph shown above, the words in the concluding chapter of H G Wells’s LITTLE WARS came to mind.

I could go on now and tell of battles, copiously. In the memory of the one skirmish I have given I do but taste blood. I would like to go on, to a large, thick book. It would be an agreeable task. Since I am the chief inventor and practiser (so far) of Little Wars, there has fallen to me a disproportionate share of victories. But let me not boast. For the present, I have done all that I meant to do in this matter. It is for you, dear reader, now to get a floor, a friend, some soldiers and some guns, and show by a grovelling devotion your appreciation of this noble and beautiful gift of a limitless game that I have given you.

And if I might for a moment trumpet! How much better is this amiable miniature than the Real Thing! Here is a homeopathic remedy for the imaginative strategist. Here is the premeditation, the thrill, the strain of accumulating victory or disaster—and no smashed nor sanguinary bodies, no shattered fine buildings nor devastated country sides, no petty cruelties, none of that awful universal boredom and embitterment, that tiresome delay or stoppage or embarrassment of every gracious, bold, sweet, and charming thing, that we who are old enough to remember a real modern war know to be the reality of belligerence. This world is for ample living; we want security and freedom; all of us in every country, except a few dull-witted, energetic bores, want to see the manhood of the world at something better than apeing the little lead toys our children buy in boxes. We want fine things made for mankind—splendid cities, open ways, more knowledge and power, and more and more and more—and so I offer my game, for a particular as well as a general end; and let us put this prancing monarch and that silly scare-monger, and these excitable "patriots," and those adventurers, and all the practitioners of Welt Politik, into one vast Temple of War, with cork carpets everywhere, and plenty of little trees and little houses to knock down, and cities and fortresses, and unlimited soldiers—tons, cellars-full—and let them lead their own lives there away from us.

My game is just as good as their game, and saner by reason of its size. Here is War, done down to rational proportions, and yet out of the way of mankind, even as our fathers turned human sacrifices into the eating of little images and symbolic mouthfuls. For my own part, I am prepared. I have nearly five hundred men, more than a score of guns, and I twirl my moustache and hurl defiance eastward from my home in Essex across the narrow seas. Not only eastward. I would conclude this little discourse with one other disconcerting and exasperating sentence for the admirers and practitioners of Big War. I have never yet met in little battle any military gentleman, any captain, major, colonel, general, or eminent commander, who did not presently get into difficulties and confusions among even the elementary rules of the Battle. You have only to play at Little Wars three or four times to realise just what a blundering thing Great War must be.

Great War is at present, I am convinced, not only the most expensive game in the universe, but it is a game out of all proportion. Not only are the masses of men and material and suffering and inconvenience too monstrously big for reason, but—the available heads we have for it, are too small. That, I think, is the most pacific realisation conceivable, and Little War brings you to it as nothing else but Great War can do.

A new edition of Funny Little Wars is on the way!

Yesterday I received an email from Paul Wright – the author of FUNNY LITTLE WARS – that informed me that he is about to publish a new and revised edition of his rules.

The cover art for the new edition of Funny Little Wars.

They are described as 'Edwardian garden wargames in the style of Mr HG Wells' and having had the opportunity to take part in some of the play test battles, I can assure potential buyers that they are great fun to use!

Once a definite publication date and price have been settled, I will write a more detailed blog post about this new edition.

Funny Little Wars armies

Back in 2013, Paul Wright published FUNNY LITTLE WARS: A GENTLEMAN'S PREOCCUPATION ...

... and LITTLE CAMPAIGNS: RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF WAR GAME CAMPAIGNS IN MINIATURE ...

... to commemorate the publication of H G Wells's LITTLE WARS in 1913.

Having had the opportunity to take part in some of Paul Wright's lawn battles using these rules, these two volumes occupy a special place on my bookshelves ... and it was whilst idly glancing through them again recently that I realised that they may provide an answer to my ongoing imagi-nations project.

In order to give the armies used by players a national flavour, each is based around the sort of army fielded by the major nations during the early part of the twentieth century ... BUT each is named by colour rather than nationality. So, for example, the British Army listed in the first book is called Army Red, and comprises:

• Divisional Staff Group
• An Infantry Brigade comprising:
• Brigade Headquarters
• A Guard Infantry Battalion
• Two Infantry Battalions
• A Light Infantry Battalion
• A Cavalry Brigade comprising:
• Brigade Headquarters
• A Heavy/Guard Cavalry Regiment
• A Light Cavalry Regiment
• Horse Artillery
• Engineers
• Field Artillery OR Garrison Artillery
• Army Service Corps

It would be very simple to reproduce such an 'army' to use with my PORTABLE WARGAME rules.

Looking at the other armies listed in the book, we find:

• Army Purple (the Belgians)
• Army Horizon Blue (the French)
• Army Black (the Germans)
• Army White (the Austro-Hungarians)
• Army Red/White/Blue (the Americans)
• Army Cerise (the Japanese)
• Army Dark Green (the Russians)
• Army Light Green (a Balkan army)
• Army Red/Gold (the Spanish)
• Army Red/White (the Swiss)
• Army Red/White/Green (the Italians)
• Army Red/Yellow/Blue (the Scandinavians)
• Ruritania (fictional, based on the writings of Anthony Hope)
• Grand Duchy of Gerolstein (fictional, based on the setting of Jacques Offenbach's opéra bouffe)

Whilst the all follow the same basic Order of Battle as Army Red, each has particular differences that reflect the 'national' natures of the army they are based on. For example, Army Horizon Blue includes Chasseur a Pied and Zouaves and Army Red/White/Blue has two rather than one Infantry Brigade.

The companion volume expands the list of armies, and includes:

• Army White/Red (the Danes): the army list is incomplete as Army White/Red features in the book's short 'Herring War' scenario
• Army Blue/Red/Blue (the Norwegians): the army list is incomplete as Army Blue/Red/Blue features in the book's short 'Herring War' scenario
• Army Khaki (the Turks)
• Army Saffron (the British Indian Army)
• Army Orange (the South African Republics)
• A generic Naval Brigade
• Army Primrose (the Chinese)
• Army Primrose/Blue (the Chinese ... but after being 'Westernised')
• Army Primrose/Black (a Chinese Warlord)

In addition to the campaign rules and additional army lists, LITTLE CAMPAIGNS: RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF WAR GAME CAMPAIGNS IN MINIATURE includes two copies of a hexed campaign map and counters ...

... and a 'copy' of the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS that tells the story of the 'Herring War'.

Re-reading these two books has given me lots of material and ideas to think about!

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FUNNY LITTLE WARS: A GENTLEMAN'S PREOCCUPATION and LITTLE CAMPAIGNS: RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF WAR GAME CAMPAIGNS IN MINIATURE were written by Paul Wright and published in 2013 by The (Virtual) Armchair General. Both books appear to be out of print at present.

Wooden Building Blocks

When I began to build my modular fortress, I started to look around for additional sources of suitable wooden bit and pieces for future projects. Surprisingly this turned out to be more difficult than I had expected. I visited several specialist toy shops, but they either did not stock suitable wooden building blocks (I wanted a selection of blank blocks, not ones that were all the same size with letters and/or numbers on them) or they were very, very expensive.

In the end I came across a company called TOYS & INTERIORS who had exactly what I wanted available online ... 100 assorted wooden building blocks in a linen sack.

A set of blocks was on sale for £14.92 including free delivery (they were originally on sale for £22.95) ... so I bought two sets.

One of the reasons why I found these particular sets of building blocks so attractive was their similarity to those used by H G Wells in his book FLOOR GAMES, as can be seen from the following photographs:

I am not sure how I am going to use these building block when they arrive, but when I do I will be able to think of myself as following in the footsteps of H G Wells.

Wooden warships ... and fun wargames!

One of the blogs that I follow is Foss1066's Skull and Crown. This features all sorts of wargames that use laser-cut wooden figures ... and wooden warships.

The most recent blog entry describes a naval battle fought at the South Bay Game Club. The two sides fielded a range of warships, including an aircraft carrier (and aircraft) apiece.

Judging by the write-up this was a wargame that was enjoyed by young and old alike, and struck me as being akin to the sort of naval wargame that H G Wells might have developed, had he ever got around to doing so.

Latest Funny Little Wars publications arrive!

Some time ago I ordered FUNNY LITTLE WARS and LITTLE CAMPAIGNS (both of which were written by the Reverend Paul Wright, Chaplain Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst) from Patrick Wilson at 'The Virtual Armchair General' ... and they arrived today courtesy of USPS!

FUNNY LITTLE WARS was originally published in 2009, and is on sale from 'The Virtual Armchair General' for $40.00.

Front Cover

Back Cover

The book is divided into seven chapters, seven appendices, and several extraneous sections.

• Chapter One - An historical introduction to H G Wells
• Chapter Two - Playing Little Wars Yesterday
• Chapter Three - Playing Little Wars Today (including sections on: 1. What You Need; 2. The Basic Points System; 3. Levels of Command; 4. Victory Points & Objectives; 5. Troop and Figure Types; 6. Basing Your Figures; and 7. Formations)
• Chapter Four - The Basic Game (including sections on: 1. Basic Precepts; 2. The Game Turn; 3. Movement; 4. Charges; 5. Artillery Fire; 6. Small Arms & Machine Gun Fire; and 9. Melee) [I don't know what happened to 7. and 8.!]
• Chapter Five - Optional & Advanced Rules (including sections on: Orders & Dispatches; Unknown Terrain; Morale; Quartermasters and Supply; Aerial Observation; Engineers/Sappers; Signalling; Bands & Chaplains; Spies; Field Hospitals; and A Word on Umpires: The last Word)
• Chapter Six - Some "Top Tips" for the Better Sort of Chap
• Chapter Seven - Two Classic Scenarios
• Appendix A: Building an Army
• Appendix B: Figure & Accessory resources
• Appendix C: Suggested Bibliography, Further Reading & "Talking Motion Pictures"
• Appendix D: A New Use For The Garden
• Appendix E: The Army Lists
• Appendix F: The Shape of Games To Come
• Appendix G: A Funny Little War from the Sidelines
• A Last Word
• A "Well Done You All Round!" to These Splendid Chaps!
• The Roll of Honour
• Game Playing Aids & Record Sheets

LITTLE CAMPAIGNS has only just been published, and it is also $40.00 from 'The Virtual Armchair General'

Front Cover

Back Cover

The book is divided into five chapters, six appendices, and several extraneous sections.

• Chapter 1 - War Game Campaigns
• Chapter 2 - The Map Campaign System: A Simple Model
• Chapter 3 - Some Enhanced Rules for FLW
• Chapter 4 - The "Ferree-Wilsonian" Computerized Video Battle System
• Chapter 5 - A Campaign Example, "The Herring War, 1908"
• A Last Word And Some Sound Advice From HGW
• Bibliography
• Appendix 1 - Additional Army Lists
• Appendix 2 - Miniatures Sources
• Appendix 3 - Top Tips for Titivating Terrain
• Appendix 4 - A Lady's Complaint
• Appendix 5 - "Mentioned in Despatches ..."
• Appendix 6 - Game Record Sheets

LITTLE CAMPAIGNS also comes with a LITTLE CAMPAIGNS GRAPHIC SUPPLEMENT.

This includes:

• A four page mock-up of the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS that relates the history of "The Herring War"
• The copies of a campaign map
• Four sheets of map counters (two in red and two in black)

The LITTLE CAMPAIGNS GRAPHIC SUPPLEMENT is also available from 'The Virtual Armchair General' for $12.00.

As yet I have only had the chance to skim through everything that arrived today, but there appears to be a lot of stuff that will be of great interest to me.

COW2013: A short photo-report

During COW2013 I ran/attended seven sessions ... and what follows is a photo-report of what I saw and did.

Gumbinnen 1914
This session was devoted to a recreation of the Battle of Gumbinnen in 1914. Ian Drury ran the session and used Richard Brooks' OP14 rules, and players were not allowed to deploy their forces onto the tabletop until they could see or could be seen by the enemy.

The battlefield before the session started.

Each player represented a Corps Commander, and they were subordinate to an Army Commander, with whom they could only communicate by written message. The messages were passed to and fro via a communications umpire, and my role in the game was to act as the Russian Communications Umpire, (The Army Commander was Michael Young, and his Corps Commanders were Tony Hawkins [XX Corps], Peter Grizzell [IV Corps], and Robert Plumb [III Corps]).

One of the innovations Ian introduced into the game was the use of a number of small pinboards, to each of which was attached a map of the battlefield. Each Corps Commander plotted the positions of the units under their command on the map, and this was used by the umpires to adjudicate when opposing and friendly units came into contact.

Peter Grizzell (the commander of Russian IV Corps) using his pinboard map to plot the positions of his troops.

Tony Hawkins (one of the German players) places his Corps on the battlefield. He and the umpire (Nigel Drury) are using the pinboard map to position each of the Corps's units correctly.

The battle is in full swing, and most of the Russian and German Corps Commanders are now sat around the battlefield. The German Army Commander (and his Chief-of-Staff) can be seen in the background, with their backs to the battlefield so that they cannot see what is happening.

Peter Grizzell moves some of his Russian units forward ... and into a swamp!

The Russians ended up losing the battle, but they were out-generaled on the day.

The battlefield at the end of the session.

Operation Vijay
I ran this session about the Indian 'invasion' of Portuguese Goa in 1961. Each team of players (one each for the Indians and the Portuguese) was given a detailed briefing of the background to the invasions, the forces under their command, and limited intelligence about their opponents. They were then sent off to plan what they were going to do.

The Indians ...

... and the Portuguese.

Once the planning stage was over, each side's plans were gamed through on a large-scale map of Goa, and any fighting was adjudicated by the umpires.

The Indian Army units are advancing whilst Indian Air Force aircraft bomb the only airfield in Goa. Off shore, the Indian Navy is preparing to strike.

The session went very well, and the result was very similar to what actually happened. This was the first time I had ever written and staged such a game ... and I certainly think that it will not be the last.

Fletcher Pratt on Grass
This game was staged by Wargame Developments Demonstration Team North (i.e. Tim Gow, John Armatys, and Martin Rapier) and was a recreation of a naval action that should have taken place in the Straits of Gibraltar on 11th September 1940. Three French cruisers, accompanied by three destroyers, passed through the Straits on the way to Dakar in West Africa. The Royal Navy misunderstood where they were going, and failed to stop them as they passed through the Straits. Once the mistake was realised, Royal Navy ships, led by HMS Renown, set off in pursuit ... but the French got away.

The French squadron.

In this game the British were on the ball, and realised what the French were trying to do ... and sailed out to stop them. The rest, as they say, is history.

To make the best use of the large lawn that is available at Knuston Hall, all the weapon ranges used in Fletcher Pratt's rules were doubled. In order to ensure that it was possible to see the model ships in the grass, they were all mounted on large blocks of wood so that they stood proud of the top of the grass.

Both sides used torpedoes in abundance ... but to little effect!

The War of Freedonian Succession
Jim Wallman organised a wonderful large-scale battle using a slightly simplified version of H G Wells' LITTLE WARS rules. Great fun was had by all ... and we have already decided that we shall stage another battle next year!

The Cordeguayan Army moves forward to assist its allies.

A peaceful hamlet is defended by two units of Infantry.

Two gunboats (FRS Firefly and FRS Cornetto), packed with troops, sail towards the port.

The Flying Column advances overland from the river towards the enemy.

The Infantry of the Flying Column are left behind by the rapid advance of the Cavalry and Motorised Artillery.

The gunboats FRS Firefly and FRS Cornetto.

The landing force disembark from the gunboats and try to advance inland.

One of the Infantry units defending the hamlet. This is a Line Infantry Battalion.

The other Infantry unit defending the hamlet are Guards.

Cordeguayan Cavalry move forward to engage the Flying Column. They are vastly outnumbered ... but they are Cordeguayans and do not know the meaning of fear!

The 'Monster of Walthamstow' (AKA Ian Drury) aims at the advancing Cordeguayans.

After quite a fight the remnants of the landing force begin to advance on the hamlet.

The Cordeguayan Cavalry charge home ... and get wiped out to a man!

The Motorised Artillery of the Flying Column. The driver of the towing vehicle (a Rolls Royce no less!) is a Mr Parker, who is thought to have driven for royalty during his career. It appears that he admits to having been 'at Her Majesty's Pleasure' on several occasions during the past.

Infantry vs. Cavalry: Who will come off worse in this encounter?

The Infantry manage to inflict some casualties, but are forced to retire. Only eight of the original twenty figures remain standing at the end of the melee.

The main body of the Cordeguayan Army arrives at the hamlet.

The two gunboats bring up more reinforcements. At this point both sides agreed a truce.

All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor
Jim Roche's session was based around his father's service in the Royal Navy from 1937 until 1949, and included such wonderful items as Lieutenant Commander Tommy Woodrooffe's famous/infamous description of the 1937 Spithead Coronation Review.

Jim Roche and a picture of his father, Paddy.

The session was interspersed with a lot of singing by the attendees, including such famous songs as 'WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE DRUNKEN SAILOR?', 'ALL THE NICE GIRLS LOVE A SAILOR' (including the ribald version!), and 'WE'LL MEET AGAIN'. It was a great evening's entertainment!

Ironbottom Sound
I had never used any of the versions of the naval wargame rules GENERAL QUARTERS, so I was really looking forward to Ian Drury's session about the attempts by the Japanese to disrupt the landings at Guadalcanal.

I was given command of a Japanese squadron that was tasked with making a night attack on the invasion fleet. My ships included the heavy cruisers Atago, Furutaka, Kako, Kinugasa, and Aoba, the light cruisers Tenryu and Yubari, and the destroyer Yudachi.

We brushed aside the American picket destroyer but later ran into a couple of Allied heavy cruisers and some destroyers, and in the short-range melee that took place both sides suffered losses. In my case my flagship (Atago) was sunk just after I had handed over control of the squadron to Chris James.

The fighting took place at extremely short range. The white arrows show the tracks of torpedoes.

The Japanese squadron appears to be chasing the off the Allied cruisers. My flagship (Atago) is already on fire (this is indicated by the red counter) and has been hit by at least one torpedo. She sank soon after this photograph was taken.

This was a great battle, and the rules produced a very realistic result in a relatively short time.

Wars and Rumours of Wars
This was a briefing/talk by John Bassett about the possible problems that are likely to affect international relations in the near future.