What wargame rules have influenced my World War II wargaming?

Whilst I was waiting for my wargaming mojo to return, I spent some time looking at the World War II wargame books on my shelves and thinking about how much they have influenced my World War II wargaming.

The first was Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES ... and it was both his basic rules and Lionel Tarr's rules that I started using first.

My much battered copy of Donald Featherstone's WAR GAME. I do have a copy in much better condition and a copy of John Curry's reprint, but this volume has very fond memories for me.

In particular, the images of Lionel Tarr's Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War battle around Stalingrad ingrained themselves in my wargaming psyche and I still hanker to fight similar battles in my dotage!

The next was Charles Grant's BATTLE: PRACTICAL WARGAMING.

Once again, the battered cover of this book shows just how much usage it got in the years after I bought it.

The main text of this book had originally appeared as a series of articles in the long-defunct MECCANO MAGAZINE, and its influence on me was mainly the way in which Charles Grant organised his troops into units and sub-units and in his use of ROCO Minitanks. It is thanks to him that I have loads of T-34/85s and sWs half-tracks in my collection although most of them remain unpainted!

When it comes to showing how it was possible to model a whole variety of different military vehicles from the limited resources available at the time, John Sandar's AN INTRODUCTION TO WARGAMING stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries ... and his rules were bl**dy good as well!

Thanks to his influence, I have - over the years - converted all sorts of ROCO and Airfix military vehicles into something that I could not buy off-the-shelf ... as the recent photographs of my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War collections show.

Some examples of John Sandar's vehicles, as featured in a book edited by Peter Young and entitled THE WAR GAME. The book was illustrated with photographs taken by Philip O Stearns.

I know that my old friend Chris Kemp (the designer of NQM or NOT QUITE MECHANISED) was also inspired by John Sandar's book, and his rules had a profound influence on my World War II wargaming. The original draft of the rules (which were originally titled PANZERBLITZ OR NOT QUITE MECHANISED) were quite literally drawn many years ago and I have followed their evolution and development ever since.

The cover of the very first edition of NQM. My copy was the first of only twenty!

The cover of the recently published edition of NQM.

NQM led indirectly to the development of Tim Gow's MEGABLITZ!, a set of rules that I had a small part in helping to develop.

I took part in many wargames using these excellent rules, and putting together armies for them led directly to the creation of my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War collection.

A Megablitz battle that I staged at a wargame club in Norwich.

Finally, Frank Chadwick's COMMAND DECISION ...

... (and particularly his bathtub campaign book BARBAROSSA 25) ...

...made me realise that I could stage a large-scale Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War campaign if I felt so inclined.

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Other books that deserve an honourable mentions include LIONEL TARR'S MODERN WARGAMING RULES 1939-1945 (as recently published by John Curry as part of his 'History of Wargaming' Project ...

... and Gavin Lyall's OPERATION WARBOARD.

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WAR GAMES was written by Donald Featherstone and published in 1962 by Stanley Paul (ISBN 0 09 064901 X). It was republished in a revised edition in 2014 by the History of Wargaming Project (ISBN 978 1 2918 5142 7).

BATTLE: PRACTICAL WARGAMING was written by Charles Grant and published in 1970 by Model & Allied Publications Ltd/Argus Press Ltd.

AN INTRODUCTION TO WARGAMING was written by John Sandars and published in 1975 by Pelham Books Ltd. (ISBN 0 7207 0681 3).

NOT QUITE MECHANISED was written by Chris Kemp and published in 2024 by Lulu Inc. (ISBN 978 1 4452 7312 9).

MEGABLITZ! was written by Tim Gow and published in 2002 by Stratagem Publications.

COMMAND DECISION and BARBAROSSA 25 were written by Frank Chadwick and published in 1986 and 1988 respectively by Game Designers Workshop.

LIONEL TARR'S MODERN WARGAMING RULES 1939-1945 was compiled by John Curry and published in 2017 by The History of Wargaming Project (ISBN 978 1 3269 1498 1).

OPERATION WARBOARD was written by Gavin Lyall and published in 1976 by A&C Black (ISBN 0 7138 1646 6). It was republished in 2013 by the History of Wargaming Project (ISBN 978 1 2913 2352 8)

My first ever wargame article

I happened to be looking through my file of clippings when I came across a copy of the first ever wargame article that I wrote. It was published in issue No. 175 of the WARGAMER'S NEWSLETTER in October 1976, and was entitled BATTLE REPORT: THE BATTLE OF TAIPING ... and was a battle report about solo wargame set during the Sino-Japanese War.

I have reproduced this article below.

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BATTLE REPORT

The Battle of Taiping

Preamble: This battle came about as a result of reading several books about the Sino-Japanese War. I possess a small Japanese Army based upon the Fujmi Japanese Infantry set and a First World War British Army suitable for use as Chinese Army units, and therefore set up the following battle. It was fought solo using my own rules which are based upon ideas by Featherstone, Sandars, Wise, and Grant. I also tried out a new idea of my own regarding major tactical decisions to remove bias in my decisions. When a major tactical decision had to be made, I wrote down 6 alternatives courses of action. I then threw a die and the number on the die was the course of action chosen.

Scenario: Several small Japanese units have been fired upon, and the local Japanese commander has decided to take punitive action against Chinese units in and around the village of Hanlow. In order to do this he has sent the following forces to Taiping, just north of Hanlow -

• 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Infantry Coys.
• A Mortar section.
• A Machine gun section.
• 3 Infantry guns.

The Chinese forces in and around Hanlow are as follows -

• A, B, C, D, E and F Infantry Coys camped in the village.
• An artillery battery (3 18pdrs) by the line of trees to the east of the village.
• Sentries are at the railway bridge over the river and at the railway crossing.

Terrain: The terrain is a flat plain split be a railway embankment, which has paddy-fields to the north and south of it. A river (the River Tai) runs from north-east to south-west across the north-west corner of the plain.

The Battle: During the night, the 1st Japanese Company advance along the east bank of the river, whilst the 2nd and 3rd Companies, with the M.G. and Mortar sections moved towards the railway embankment along the Hanlow-Taiping road. The Chinese sentries were more alert than expected and were able to give a warning before being killed. The Japanese forces at the railway embankment now spead out along it, with the M.G. and Mortar sections sited to cover the road from Hanlow. The 1st Company continued its advance along the river bank after leaving a small force to cover the railway bridge.

The Chinese commander, on hearing the sentries' warnings, immediately alerted his men and dispatched A and B Companies towards the railway embankment, along the road. The Japanese held their fire until the Chinese were almost upon them, and then opened fire with all available weapons (rifles, light and heavy machine guns, 'knee' mortars, and 81mm mortars). The Chinese, who were becoming more and more visible in the growing light of dawn, now retreated to the paddy-fields after suffering heavy casualties.

In the meantime the 1st Company advanced further along the river bank and began to move into the southernmost paddy-fields. The Chinese C, D, E and F Companies now deployed towards those same paddy-fields, although unaware of the Japanese presence there. The Chinese battery opened fire on the embankment from their gun line near the trees, but only caused a few casualties on the well spread out Japanese forces there. They did, however, alert the Japanese commander to their presence, and he moved his infantry guns forward and formed a gun line to the rear of the embankment.

Using the paddy-fields as cover, A and B Companies had begun firing upon the embankment to cover the other companies as they advanced on the bridge. However, these four companies blundered into the Japanese 1st Company as it was deploying in the next field. The Japanese company commander did not hesitate in his actions and charged the Chinese, who, although superior in numbers, were shocked by the sudden appearance of the enemy on their flank. In the ensuing melee both sides suffered casualties but the ferocity of the Japanese attack had its desired effect, and the Chinese retreated towards Hanlow. The Japanese company commander, realising that the Chinese were only temporarily demoralised, and that he was considerably outnumbered, withdrew towards the river in order to make good an escape back to his own lines.

The Japanese infantry guns had, by now, moved into position and begun firing upon the Chinese gun line, who were still trying (in vain) to dislodge the Japanese on the embankment. The Japanese guns were, however, very effective, and within short time, had caused several casualties amongst the Chinese gunners. The Chinese now switched their attention to counter-battery fire, but without any observation their fire remained ineffective and wide of the target.

The Chinese commander now reviewed his situation. His artillery was not being very successful (especially in view of mounting casualties to the gunners) and although A and B Companies were in contact with the enemy, C, D, E and F Companies wee shaken after the skirmish in the paddy-fields He was also aware of a Japanese force on his flank (although unaware that this force was, in fact, retreating). He therefore decided that withdrawal was the best course he could take, and issued orders to the artillery to cease fire and move southwards with C, D, E and F Companies. He also ordered A and B Companies to slowly withdraw southward to cover the retreat. The Japanese 2nd and 3rd Companies , seeing this retreat, began to advance down the Hanlow-Taiping road, but were checked by A and B Companies long enough for the main Chinese force to withdraw, although the infantry guns were able to inflict some casualties upon the retreating force. When the Chinese finally withdrew off the battlefield the Japanese advanced and occupied Hanlow.

Conclusions and observations: The Japanese attack was not as successful as it should have been. The main advance down the Hanlow-Taiping road stalled as soon as the sentries alerted the main Chinese force. The flank attack also failed in its main purpose because of the size of the attacking force.

The Chinese counter-attack failed for two main reasons. Firstly the artillery support was bad as lack of observation made it impossible to adjust ranges, etc. Secondly the lack of reconnaissance by C, D, E and F Companies when advancing towards the railway bridge across the paddy-fields.

The battle was very enjoyable, and the new idea I tried out with regard to major tactical decisions worked quite well. An example of how well it did work is in the reaction of the main Japanese force when the Chinese sentries managed to give the alarm. I gave the commander the following 6 alternatives and then threw the die -

1. Withdraw to Taiping.
2. Leave a company to guard the crossing and send the rest of the troops towards the river.
3. Leave a company to guard the crossing and advance wit the remainder.
4. Stay put and defend the embankment.
5. Continue the advance.
6. Using the embankment as cover move the entire force toward the river.

The die score was 4 and this was the course of action which was followed.

By using such a system it is possible to have forces reacting to situations without bias on the part of the solo player, as long as he keeps the alternative options reasonable. I am going to use this system again in solo games as I found that it made this one more enjoyable than my usual games have been. If you are a solo player you might like to try it. Please do - you might find that it works as well for you as it did for me!

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This was the first of several articles that I submitted to the WARGAMER'S NEWSLETTER and when the latter ceased publication, it directly led to an invitation from the late Dr Paddy Griffith to attend the famous Moor Park 'New Directions in Wargaming' Conference (the first ever Conference of Wargamers or COW). By the end of that conference I had suggested the name of the new organisation we created (WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS) and become the Treasurer and Memberships Secretary ... a role that I still perform some forty-five years later!

The War Game ... edited by Peter Young

A recent comment that the terrain created by the late Peter Gilder for the film CALLAN was also photographed and used in the book edited by Peter Young and entitled THE WAR GAME made me look out my copy of the book ... and reminded me how much it had inspired me when I first saw a copy.

The book was divided into ten chapters (each of which covered a major battle and was written by a different author) and two appendices:

• THERMOPYLAE BC480 by Charles Grant

• AGINCOURT 1415 by Philip Warner

• EDGEHILL 1642 by Peter Young

• BLENHEIM 1704 by David Chandler

• LOBOSITZ 1756 by Charles Grant

• SARATOGA 1777 by Aram Bakshian Jr

• AUSTERLITZ 1805 by David Chandler

• WATERLOO 1815 by James Lawford

• GETTYSBURG 1863 by Clifford C Johnson

• EL ALAMEIN 1942 by Donald Featherstone

• Appendix 1: The Principles of War Gaming
• Appendix 2: Model Soldier Suppliers

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THE WAR GAME was edited by Brigadier Peter Young and illustrated with photographs taken by Philip O Stearns. It was published by Cassell & Company Ltd in 1972 (ISBN 0 304 29074 2).

In the acknowledgements at the back of the book it states that the figures came from the collections of David Chandler, Peter Gilder, Charles Grant, Lieutenant Commander John Sandars, Ed Smith, John Tunstill, and Brigadier Peter Young, and that the terrain was specially made for the book by Hinchliffe Models of Huddersfield.

Some more scratch-built/modified model vehicles

Back in early January I featured some of the scratch-built/modified models that John Sandars' had inspired me to build. At the time I thought that they were the only ones that I had left ... and then I began sorting out the figures I used for my Winter-ish War mini-campaign and remembered that they weren't!

Here are some of the Russian vehicles that I scratch-built/modified.

These heavy artillery tractors were built on the chassis of broken ROCO Minitank Pzkpfw IVs. The cabs came from Bedford trucks from the Airfix RAF Airfield Firefighting Set, the engine bonnets were made from Plasticard strips, the engine grills were from Airfix Matador kits, and the rear bodies were made from Plasticard and the sides of railway wagons.

The light artillery tractors were built on the rear halves of the chassis of Airfix US Half-track kits. The cabs came from Airfix Matador kits, the engine grills from Airfix US Half-track kits, and the rear bodies were scratch-built from Plasticard.

The supply tractors were also built on the rear halves of the chassis of Airfix US Half-tracks, and their cabs came from Bedford trucks from the Airfix RAF Airfield Firefighting Set, with engine grills from Airfix US Half-track kits. Like the light artillery tractors, the rear bodies were scratch-built from Plasticard. They are towing trailers from the Airfix US Half-track kits.

Some scratch-built/modified model vehicles

I recently wrote a review of MINIATURE WARGAMES WITH BATTLEGAMES ISSUE 393 in which I stated that Richard Marsh's article about John Sandars' wargames was the 'stand out' article in that particular issue. I also wrote that 'it is because of him that I built quite a few dodgy-looking World War II-era vehicles based on various ROCO Minitanks and Airfix kits, none of which would stand too much scrutiny as to their accuracy nowadays.'

When I wrote that I thought that I no longer had any of the models that John Sandars' had inspired me to build ... but I was wrong. Whilst looking for something else, I came across three of those 'forgotten' models.

The two trucks started out as broken ROCO Minitank SdKfz 7 half-tracks. The front ends and the chassis of the models were kept, but the original rear bodies were replaced by scratch-built bodies made from Plasticard sheet and the side panels from the body of a couple of Airfix Matador kits. The wheels also came from the Airfix Matador kits as did the main part of the tilt on one of the lorries. The rest of the pieces came from my spares box or were made from Plasticard sheet. The finished models were supposed to resemble the sort of 3-tonne 6 x 6 or 6 x 4 trucks used by the Wehrmacht ... and I think that they past muster when seen on the tabletop.

The 15cm sIG 33 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf) began life as the chassis and tracks from a broken ROCO Pzkpfw III. The original wheels were carefully cut away from the tracks and replaced by the wheels from an Airfix StuG III that had been turned so that the backs rather than the fronts of the wheels were visible. The rest of the body – with the exception of the front glacis plate and driver's compartment – was scratch-built from Plasticard sheet, tubing, and girders or using pieces from my spares box. I was pleased with the result, which looks reasonably accurate from a distance.