Wargame Map Tool: A beachhead map for my mini-campaign board

Recently, I began thinking about setting up a beach landing wargame on my mini-campaign board and decided to design the terrain using the Wargame Map Tool. It took me less than ten minutes, and the result looked like this:

I have begun to play around with some of the tools and discovered that I can scale things to fit the hexes ... and that I can set the size of the hexes up to 50mm, which is half the side of my Hexon II hexes.

This is really turning out to be a great map drawing tool ... and the more I use it, the easier I am finding it to use. 

Wargame Map Tool: My Operation Barbarossa Mini-campaign Maps redrawn

The next step in my 'learning how to use the Wargame Map Tool hex map drawing program' was to see if I could use it to redrawn the maps I used for my Operation Barbarossa Mini-campaign. These date back to the 2015s and included:

• Operation Barbarossa Mini-campaign: Crossing the river (15th February 2015)
• Operation Barbarossa Mini-campaign: Counter-attack (17th February 2015)
• Operation Barbarossa Mini-campaign: Defence line (20th February 2015)

Below are the original maps, in each case followed by the relevant redrawn maps created using Wargame Map Tool hex map drawing program

The original 'Crossing the river' mini-campaign map.

The redrawn 'Crossing the river' mini-campaign map.

The original 'Counter-attack' mini-campaign map.

The redrawn 'Counter-attack' min-campaign map..

The original 'Defence line' mini-campaign map.

The redrawn 'Defence line' mini-campaign map.

As can be seen, the redrawn maps are simpler than the originals and lack some of the finer details ...

... BUT ...

... once I set up the basic hex map, I managed to produce the redrawn maps in less than fifteen minutes, and that included uploading the original exported PNG images into MS Paint to tidy up one or two minor problems and to save them in JPG format.

I am still on an upward learning curve with this program, but the more I use it (and make mistakes as I do!), the more I am learning the strengths and weaknesses of this hex drawing program.

Model railways, mini-campaigns ... and another ghost of an idea

After I wrote my recent blog post entitled MODEL RAILWAYS, MINI-CAMPAIGNS ... AND THE GHOST OF AN IDEA I remembered the plot of Antoine Vanner's most recent book in the DAWLISH CHRONICLE, BRITANNIA'S BLUFF.

The plot of the book revolves around an attempt to draw Turkish attention away from Gallipoli in the run up to the Allied evacuation and involves a landing and temporary occupation of part of the Turkish coast in the Gulf of Alexandretta.

The main means of communication in the area is a railway line, and it plays an important role in the defence of the landing area.

Now, this would make another excellent railway-based mini-campaign, as the maps from the book show.

© Antoine Vanner

© Antoine Vanner

Notes

In the book, the two redoubts (Wellington and Marlborough) were constructed by the landing force and were served and supported by the railway. They were intended to be the outer defences for the landing area at Alexandretta.

The defensive Clapham Perimeter around Toprakkale Junction was constructed by the landing force to protect its improvised airfield and the local railway depot. It was also the base for an extemporised railway gun.

The Turkish force that was sent to attack the landing area comes from the direction of Ceyhan.

So, this is yet another ghost of an idea that may never come to fruition ... but it certainly has the sort of potential that makes it worth investigating further!

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BRITANNIA’S BLUFF: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: NOVEMBER 1915 – JANUARY 1916 was written by Antoine Vanner and published in 2025 by Old Salt Press (ISBN 9781 943 40470 4) and can be purchased via Amazon in paperback or Kindle editions.

Wargame Map Tool: My first attempt to draw a map

Having recently downloaded the WARGAME MAP PROGRAM hex map drawing program, I have managed to start playing around with it. I decided that my starting point would be to produce the sort of map I used for the Operation Barbarossa Mini-campaign that I staged last year at my local game club, Dice on the Hill. It took me a couple of attempts to get it the way I wanted it to look, and the result looked like this:

It is by no means as detailed as I hoped it might be, but for a first attempt I was quite pleased with the result.

Wargame Map Tool: Is it the hex map drawing program that I need?

First, a big THANK YOU to Pete Forster, who sent me a link to WARGAME MAP TOOL hex map drawing program. As the following images from the relevant page on Board Game Geek website show, it seems to meet all my requirements ... and possibly more!

I have now downloaded the program, and hope to try it out over the next few weeks.

Model railways, mini-campaigns ... and the ghost of an idea

Looking at the map of the Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railway ...

... I was struck by the similarity to the sort of maps found in Donald Featherstone's book, WAR GAME CAMPAIGNS. This set me thinking ... and I remembered the 'Long Live The Revolution!' mini-campaign that I included in my book, DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME.

The campaign was a linear one and players moved backwards and forwards from one map to another, thus:

Regional Capital

Provincial Capital

Railway Station

Capital City

Now, the last two maps had railways of them, and it would not be that difficult to add some railway track to the others. I could easily build four small, self-contained baseboards (in the style of those featured in the Budget Model Railway Challenge) that I could then use to fight a mini-campaign on, based on the 'Long Live The Revolution!' one ... and I could also connect all four together to create a small model railway.

I don't know if anything will come of this idea ... but it is certainly an interesting mini-campaign to think about!

Making progress ... but not quite in the direction I expected

I recently wrote about my experiments with various terrain-drawing programs. One of my regular blog readers (Mike C) suggested that I look at the Memoir '44 scenario map editor ... and I tried to, but discovered that it seems to have been withdrawn by the publishers, Days of Wonder.

In the conclusion of my earlier blog post, I outlined the three options I had:

1. Carry on using Hexographer ... and working as best I can with the screen size problem.
2. Wait until HexDraw2 become available.
3. Draw my own hex grids and individual tiles using MS Paint and accept the inevitable delay that this will cause.

Well, I have tried using Hexographer but I am finding the screen size problem just too much of a strain on my eyes. At present, there seems to be no published release date for HexDraw2, and I could easily have to wait for months (if not years) before it becomes available. I am therefore left with the third option ... to draw my own hex grids and individual tiles using MS Paint.

I've done this in the past, and I used my home-drawn hexes in my book, A WINTER-ISH WAR.

I thought that I had lost my original drawings when I had a computer memory failure a couple of years ago, but I found that I had saved a copy of them on a memory stick and I now have a starting point from which I can work.

My Belle Époque project is currently stalled ... but there might be a way forward

As I have not mentioned my Belle Époque project for some time, I imagine that it will come as little or no surprise to my regular blog readers to discover that this project is currently stalled.

Now, I could come up with all sorts of valid reasons why this has happened, but to be truthful, the project has reached a point where it really should be coming together and a conclusion should be in sight, but I just could not seem to get the enthusiasm together to push things forward ... and in particular, to create the maps that I need. I had hoped that taking a break would help, but it hasn't.

So, what could I do to overcome this impasse?

What I chose to do was to begin by looking back at one of the things that inspired me to begin this project, namely, John Ruddle's garden wargames. One paragraph stood out:

'John's garden was laid out to represent six countries: Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, and Turkey, and areas that include Flanders, Africa, Arabia, and Northern Italy are regularly fought over. The actual layout was in no way geographically accurate, with the lawn acting as the 'sea', the paths as 'rivers', and the various flowerbeds and rockeries as the countries.'

My Belle Époque imagi-nations almost coincide with John's even though I have called them by different names:

• Austria = No Belle Époque project equivalent ... as yet
• France = The Republic of Burgundy
• Germany = The Kingdom of Schwarzenberg
• Great Britain = The Commonwealth of Britannia
• Turkey = Sultanate of Khakistan
• India = The Principality of Hyderapore & Emirate of Khyberistan
• North Africa = The Khedivate of Zubia & the Sultanate of Sahel
• South Africa = The Kingdom of the Obele & the Kingdom of Ashona
• Arabia = The Sultanate of Harabia
• Northern Italy = The Principality of Stalbania

Although my project is not going to be a garden wargaming one, I decided to look at the layout of our garden to see if I could get any inspiration for an imagi-world map.

A (very) rough sketch map of our garden. The house and patio are to the left.

Although the layout of our garden is not suitable for 'conversion' into a Belle Époque imagi-world map, it certainly made me think that a U-shaped layout – similar to that seen on some model railway layouts – had distinct possibilities.

A map of the famous final version of P D Hancock's Craig & Mertonford model railway layout. It took up a room that was approximately 14' 6" x 10' 6"  (4.4m x 3.20m) (© P D Hancock)

After a brief period of time – during which I entertained the idea of building a permanent or semi-permanent model railway-like terrain for the entire Belle Époque imagi-nation project – I decided that it would take up far more room than I would ever have access to, even if we moved house to a much bigger home. (It was, however, something that I would have loved to have done; in other words, to replicate a quarter-sized, indoor version of John Ruddle's garden wargames.)

So, I decided to start with a U-shaped layout for my imagi-world map and add to it.

A simple working diagram that shows the relative positions of the various imagi-nations to one another.

The result wasn't quite U-shaped, neither was it like our garden ... but the relative positions of the various countries seemed to work.

I now had a starting point for my imagi-world map ... and I began thinking of adopting a style of map for each country that is similar in style to the one that I used when I produced a version of the PORTABLE WARGAME rules that I could use to fight SHAMBATTLE-style mini-campaigns.

The map I drew for the play-test of the version of the Portable Wargame rules that I developed to fight Shambattle-style mini-campaigns.

The terrain as seen from the Blue City end of the tabletop battlefield.

The terrain as seen from the Blueburg/Red City side of the tabletop battlefield.

The terrain as seen from the Redton end of the tabletop battlefield.

I think that each imagi-nation's map could comprise a number of these 8 x 6 hex grids. For example, by using six of the hex grids it is possible to create a map that is 16 hexes x 18 hexes:

I now have a starting point from which I can now move forward with regard to the maps I need for this project ... and more importantly, my enthusiasm to do so seems to be returning.

Lone Warrior No.231

I recently resubscribed to the Solo Wargamers Association, and over the weekend a PDF of the association's journal, LONE WARRIOR arrived attached to an email. I read it with great interest, especially as two of the contributors are people I know; John Curry (who is a long-time member of Wargame Developments) and Carl Luxford (who is a regular reader of this blog)

John's article examines the various ways in which solo wargamers can use AI such as ChatGPT, including designing solo adventures for RPG and solo wargame rules.

Carl's article is entitled GAMING THE KELJA MOTTI (KELJA BRIDGEHEAD OR SALIENT) 1939 and contains a brief history of the events leading up to the outbreak of the Russo-Finnish War and the opening months of the war. It then describes the ten stages or phases of his refight.

1. The bombardment of the Russian 2nd wave of attackers.
2. The Finnish counter-attack on 2nd battalion 220th Rifle Regiment by 8th company 29 Infantry Regiment.
3. The Finnish counter-attack on 2nd battalion 220th Rifle Regiment by 2 further companies of 29 Infantry Regiment as well as 8th company 29 Infantry Regiment, the battalion’s HQ, and a heavy weapons company.
4. The Finnish counter-attack by 6th company 30 Infantry Regiment on the remnants of 2nd battalion 220th Rifle Regiment.
5. The Finnish counter-attack by 9th and 7th companies, 3rd battalion 28 Infantry Regiment on the remnants of 2nd battalion 220th Rifle Regiment.
6. The Finnish counter-attack by 8th company 3rd battalion 28 Infantry Regiment.
7. The bombardment of the Russian 3rd wave.
8. The Finnish counter-attack by 1st and 3rd companies 6th Independent Infantry Battalion.
9. The final Finnish assault led by a rifle company of 6th Independent Infantry Battalion.
10. Any surviving Russian forces capable of retreating try to escape from the Kelja Motti.

I was very pleased to read that he used the PORTABLE WARGAME to fight his solo mini-campaign. He adapted the rules to give each Finnish company and Russian company (or, in the earlier stages, each Russian battalion) its own Exhaustion Point.

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A one-year membership of the Solo Wargamers Association entitles you to four PDF issues of LONE WARRIOR. It costs $15 per year and payment must be made in US currency only via PayPal using the following email address: lonewarrior.editor.man@gmail.com.

Other people's Portable Wargames ... sort of: The Battle of Xylonduo

I recently had the opportunity to take part in an online wargame that continued the action covered in Professor Gary Sheffield's recent Battle of Caesar's Hill.

I took on the role of Sultan Chor Durrai of the Seljuk Turks, who, following the defeat of the Seljuk army at the Battle of Caesar's Hill, has rallied the defeated troops and lead them forward in a last attempt to expel the Byzantine invaders from Seljuk territory.

The troops available to Sultan Chor Durrai were as follows:

• 1x General (Sultan Chor Durrai/me) = 6 SPs
• 1 x Heavy Cavalry unit = 3 SPs
• 4 x Bow-armed Light Horse units @ 2 SPs each = 8 SPs
• 1 x Bow-armed Light Infantry unit = 2 SPs
• Total = 19 SPs (Exhaustion Point = 7 SPs

The Byzantine forces included:

• 1 x General (Demis Roussos/Gary) = 6 SPs
• 3 x Heavy Cavalry units @ 2 SPs each= 6 SPs
• 1 x Bow-armed Light Cavalry unit = 2 SPs
• 1 s Bow-armed Protected Infantry unit = 2 SPs
• 1 x Spear-armed Infantry unit = 2 SPs
• Total = 19 SPs (Exhaustion Point = 7 SPs)

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The strategic situation:

After the Battle of Caesar's Hill, the Byzantine army advanced towards the city of Edessa. When the local Seljuk governor received new that Sultan Chor Durrai had rallied the army and was advancing from the north, he refused to surrender. As a result, the Byzantine general, Demis Roussos, settled down to besiege the city of Edessa, but his army was soon affected and weakened by an outbreak of dysentery. The city was therefore able to hold out in the hope of relief, even though food supplies were running out. News eventually reached Sultan Chor Durrai that unless the siege was raised soon, Edessa would be forced to surrender.

The Seljuk objective was to decisively defeat the Byzantine army, thus allowing Edessa to be relieved. If the Byzantines were able to win or even draw the battle, Edessa would be forced to surrender and the Seljuks would have to seek a peaceful end to the fighting. The fate of the entire levant was in the balance ...

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The battlefield:

The battlefield was a 7 x 10 square grid with two wooded areas.

The Seljuks entered from the top edge of the battlefield and the Byzantines entered from the opposite edge.

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My battle plan:

My plan was simple. I placed two of my Bow-armed Light Horse units on my left flank, the other two on my right flank, placed my Bow-armed Light Infantry unit in the wooded area, and co-located myself with my Heavy Cavalry unit in support of the Light Horse on the left flank.

I hoped to entice the Byzantine Heavy Cavalry facing the two Light Horse units on my right flank into a battle, and then using the Light Infantry in the wood as a pivot, outflank and roll up the Byzantine units facing my left flank.

Initially the plan worked ... but the Byzantine Heavy Cavalry proved to be a tough nut to crack, and they soon destroyed my Light Horse unit. On the other flank, my Light Horse units made some progress against the Byzantine forces opposing them, but the Byzantines fought harder than I had expected and before my troops could prevail, my army reached its Exhaustion Point and I had to fall back.

The Byzantines had won and it looked as if I would have to negotiate a peace settlement ... but I still had some troops left should the Byzantines choose to continue the fight.

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The following are some of the photographs Gary took of the battle.

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Please note that the photographs featured above are © Professor Gary Sheffield.

The Portable Wargame at Dice on the Hill YouTube video

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.

Tony Bath’s Ancient Wargaming: Including Setting up a Wargames Campaign and the Hyborian Campaign

There are some books that I think are an absolute ‘must haves’ for wargamers … and TONY BATH'S ANCIENT WARGAMING: INCLUDING SETTING UP A WARGAMES CAMPAIGN AND THE HYBORIA CAMPAIGN is one of them.

I owned a copy of the original SETTING UP A WARGAMES CAMPAIGN that was published by WRG (the Wargame Research Group) but somewhere along the line I lost it. (I think that I lent it to someone who failed to give it back, but that person is adamant that they did return it … so it could be anywhere.) I also had copies of some – but not all – of the records of the famous Hyboria campaign. This book brings both of these together in one volume, along with the text of Tony’s PELAST AND PILA Ancient Wargame Rules.

The campaign rules contains the following chapters:

• Map movement
• Contact, battles and after effects
• Playing with umpires and without Supplies and replacements
• Guidelines on running campaigns in other periods.

The campaign rules are worth the cost of the book, as is the record of the Hyboria Campaign (the LEGEND OF HYBORIA) … so anyone who buys a copy will certainly get their money’s worth.

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TONY BATH'S ANCIENT WARGAMING: INCLUDING SETTING UP A WARGAMES CAMPAIGN AND THE HYBORIA CAMPAIGN has been edited by John Curry and published by the History of Wargaming Project and is available in Kindle, paperback, and hardback editions (ASIN B01N2HI27I, ISBN 979 8 4999 9076 6, and ISBN 979 8 3951 7552 6 respectively for £9.99, £16.95, and £21.95; I opted for the hardback!!).

The Portable Wargame at Dice on the Hill

Last week I took my PORTABLE WARGAME to the local gaming group, Dice on the Hill. I chose three interlinked Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War World War II scenarios and a slightly simplified version of the rules.

Several of the gamers had expressed an interest in the rules, and I had not difficulty in recruiting a willing volunteer (KenM_7!) to give the rules a try. He usually plays Frostgrave, and before we started he was a bit apprehensive that it would take him a long time to learn the rules, and he was shocked when I replied that I would be surprised if he need to look at them much after the third turn. As it was, by turn 3 of the first game he was pretty well au fait with the rules and only looking at them very occasionally.

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The scenarios I chose were as follows:

BARBAROSSA MINI-CAMPAIGN: BATTLE NO.1: CROSSING THE RIVER

Both sides had six units plus a commander available to take part in the battle.

The invading Germans have:

• Four infantry units (= 16 SPs)
• One artillery unit (= 2 SPs)
• One machine gun unit (= 2 SPs)
• A commander (= 6 SPs)

Note: The Germans will become exhausted when they have lost 9 Strength Points.

The defending Russians have:

• Three infantry units (= 12 SPs)
• One artillery unit (= 2 SPs)
• One anti-tank gun unit (= 2 SPs)
• One machine gun unit (= 2 SPs)
• A commander (= 6 SPs)

Note: The Russians will become exhausted when they have lost 8 Strength Points.

The Germans advance from the bottom edge of the terrain and the Russians enter from the opposite edge.

BARBAROSSA MINI-CAMPAIGN: BATTLE NO.2: COUNTERATTACK!

Once the Germans had broken through the Russian front-line, they advanced as rapidly as they could into Soviet territory. The Russian response was to send all available units forward to meet the invaders, to defeat them, and then to throw them back across the border.

The Germans have:

• Three infantry units (= 12 SPs)
• One machine gun unit (= 2 SPs)
• Two tank units (= 6 SPs)
• A commander (= 6 SPs)

Note: The Germans will become exhausted when they have lost 9 Strength Points.

The Russians have:

• Four infantry units (one of which is militia) (= 15 SPs)
• One anti-tank Gun unit (= 2 SPs)
• One tank unit (= 3 SPs)
• A commander (= 6 SPs)

Note: The Russians will become exhausted when they have lost 9 Strength Points.

The Germans begin with three units occupying the built-up area. The rest enter after the battle begins. The battle begins when the first Russian units (led by their tank unit) enter the terrain.

BARBAROSSA MINI-CAMPAIGN: BATTLE NO.3: DEFENCE LINE

After the Russian counter-attack, the Germans continued their advance into Soviet territory. By this stage Russian resistance was weak, and the Germans knew that if they were to reach Moscow before the snows of Winter arrived, they had to push on and destroy all remaining Russian forces. In response, Stalin issued Order No. 227 on 28th July 1942. It was intended to help stiffen resistance and included the command 'Not one step back!' (Ни шагу назад!/Ni shagu nazad!), an order that was ferociously enforced by blocking detachments of the NKVD. Soldiers (including officers) who retreated without written permission were liable to be shot on the spot or sent to a penal battalion (штрафной батальон/shtrafnoy batalyon).

The Germans have:

• Three infantry units (= 12 SPs)
• One machine gun unit (= 2 SPs)
• One artillery unit (= 2 SPs)
• One tank unit (= 3 SPs)
• A commander (= 6 SPs)

Note: The German will become exhausted when they have lost 9 Strength Points.

The Russians have:

• Two infantry units (= 8 SPs)
• One machine gun unit (= 2 SPs)
• One artillery unit (= 2 SPs)
• A commander (= 6 SPs)

Note: The Russians will become exhausted when they have lost 6 Strength Points but as they are defending and will obey Stalin's 'Not one step back!' order, this will not seriously affect them.

The Russians start in their defences. The battle begins when the leading German units enter the bottom edge of the terrain.

TROOPS AND TERRAIN REQUIRED

• Germans: sixteen infantry figures, a machine gun + two crew figures, a gun + two crew figures, two tanks, and a commander.
• Russians: Twelve infantry figures, three militia infantry figures, a machine gun + two crew figures. an anti-tank gun + two crew figures, a gun + two crew figures, a tank, and a commander.
• Terrain: 8 x 6 green Hexon II hexes, 6 x 1 green Hexon II hexes, 6 x 1 Hexon II blue hexes, 1 x 2 Hexon II hex hills, 6 tree bases, 5 lengths of barricades, 2 bridges, and 3 small buildings.

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During the course of the evening, several other gamers paid visits to the table we were using and expressed an interest in giving the rules a try in the near future. I had taken several copies of the rules and scenarios with me ... and they all went!

As to my opponent (KenM_7!)) ... well, he enjoyed the experience and took several photographs, and these are shown below. As the German player, he also beat me very, very soundly!

One of the interested spectators (Leon!) also took some photographs.

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Please note that the photographs shown above are © KenM_7! and Leon! of the Dice on the Hill gaming group.

The initial clash of the Spartan-Athenian Naval War of 1890

In obedience with his orders, the captain of the Artemis set sail from Crete at daybreak. He ordered his ship to sail toward the northwest with the intention of intercepting the Spartan battleship off the coast near Cape Spatha..

Just before the end of the forenoon watch, one of Artemis’s lookouts spotted smoke on the horizon. The ship’s captain ordered the helm to be put over so that she was on a course that would intercept the unknown vessel. Just as eight bells was sounded (i.e. it was midday and the end of the forenoon watch and beginning of the afternoon watch) the lookout reported that the unknown ship’s white upperworks were visible, and that it was a battleship.

Some minutes later the lookout reported that the ship’s hull was now visible and that it was black, indicating that it was painted in the colours of the Spartan Navy.

The First Lieutenant remarked, ‘It sounds as if it’s the Leonidas, Sir.’

‘I hope so, Number One … otherwise we’ve been wasting our time and our coal!’

Soon afterwards, the lookout confirmed that the approaching ship was flying the ensign of the Spartan Navy.

‘Yeoman, make the following signal. Please heave to as I have a message to pass to you.’

‘Aye aye, Sir!’

The signal flags were quickly attached to signal halyard and hoisted aloft.

‘The other ship is replying Sir. Signal reads C-A-N-N-O-T C-O-M-P-L-Y S-T-O-P A-M C-A-R-R-Y-I-N-G D-I-P-L-O-M-A-T-I-C D-E-S-P-A-T-C-H F-O-R A-M-B-A-S-S-A-D-O-R S-T-O-P.’

‘Yeoman, repeat our signal.’

‘Aye aye, Sir!’

The signal flags were again hoisted aloft and the Yeoman kept his telescope trained on the other ship.

‘The other ships has replied, Sir … and repeated their previous message.’

‘Guns!’

‘Sir!’

‘Prepare to fire a shot across the bows of that ships if he does not comply with my next signal.’

‘Aye aye, Sir!’

‘Yeoman, make the following signal. Be advised that I am acting on orders from the Cretan Government who require you to remain outside their territorial waters.’

The signal was made, and a reply was not long coming.

‘Sir, reply reads C-A-N-N-O-T C-O-M-P-L-Y S-T-O-P.’

‘Guns, fire a warning shot across the bows of that ship!’

‘Aye aye, Sir!’

A shell was fired from the Artemis’s forward turret, and a shell splash was seen some distance ahead of the Leonidas.

The Yeoman spoke. ‘Sir. The ship is not replying by signal but I can see that she is hoisting battle ensigns!’

Looking around the bridge the captain of Artemis said, ‘Gentlemen, it seems as if we have a battle on our hands. Bugler, sound battle stations! Yeoman, hoist our battle ensigns. Guns, prepare your men for action. Number One, move to the aft conning position and prepare to take over if I am incapacitated.’

A chorus of ‘Aye aye’ sounded around the bridge as the bugler began to play the call to action stations and the Yeoman supervised the hoisting of the battle ensigns. Minutes later, the battle began.

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THE BATTLE OF CAPE SPATHA

Initial Positions

Artemis was sailing on a roughly north-westerly course and Leonidas was on a reciprocal south-easterly course.

Turn 1

As they were both still out of range of each other, the ships maintained their existing courses.

Turn 2

Although the distance between the two ships was shortening, they both remained out of range of each other.

Turn 3

Artemis turned to starboard in the hope that she could shorten the distance between the two ships whereas Leonidas continued on her existing course.

Turn 4

Leonidas opened fire with both her main guns as Artemis was now abeam of her and within range. She threw 2D6 dice and scored 3 and 4, thus scoring a minor hit on the Artemis and reducing her to 11 FPs.

In reply, the Artemis fired her forward main gun at the Leonidas. She threw a D6 die and scored 6, thus scoring a major hit on Leonidas. Leonidas immediately lost 1 FP and a second D6 die was thrown. The score of 1 meant that the ship suffered an additional loss of Flotation Points and was reduced to 10 FPs.

Leonidas now turned to starboard to ensure that she could continue to engage Artemis and the latter also turned to starboard in the hope that she could use both her main guns against Leonidas.

Turn 5

Both ships fired at each other with their forward main guns. Leonidas threw a D6 die and scored 2 and Artemis threw a D6 die and scored 3. Both ships had therefore missed their targets!

Leonidas continued its starboard turn and Artemis maintained its existing course ... thus reducing the distance between the two ships quite considerably!

Turn 6

Both ships were now able to fire broadsides at their opponent.

Leonidas threw 2D6 dice and scored 2 and 2 and missed! In reply, Artemis threw 2D6 dice and scored 6 and 4. The 4 - being a minor hit - caused Leonidas to immediately lose another Flotation Point and the 6 - being a major hit -required Artemis to throw a D6 die to see what additional damage had been caused. The D6 die score was 2, causing Leonidas to catch fire! Leonidas was now reduced to 8 FP and was on fire.

Both ships continued on their existing courses, thus passing each other as they did.

Turn 7

Now that the range was much closer, both ships threw 4D6 dice to determine the effectiveness of their gunfire.

Leonidas scored 2, 2, 2, and 1 ... which was appalling shooting as they missed Artemis completely! In reply, Artemis scored 6, 4, 3, and 2, thus inflicting a major hit and a minor hit. Leonidas was immediately reduced to 6 FPs and had reached her Critical Point. In addition, the D6 die thrown by the Artemis to determine the additional damage scored 5, knocking out the ship's aft main gun turret.

The range was so close that both ships were also able to fire their secondary armament. Leonidas threw 2D6 dice and scored 4 and 3, thus causing Artemis to lose a Flotation Point. In reply, Artemis threw 2D6 dice and scored 5 and 1, thereby reducing Leonidas to 5 FPs.

Artemis turned to starboard in the hope that she would now be able to rake Leonidas, and Leonidas did the same ... but only so that she could withdraw as quickly as she could from the battle!

Leonidas attempted to put out the fire and threw a D6 die and scored 2. This was not enough to douse the flames and the fire continued to burn.

Turn 8

Both ships were now within torpedo range of each other, and each fired a torpedo at the other. Leonidas threw a D6 die and scored 3, thus missing Artemis. Artemis threw a D6 die and scored 5. As this was another minor hit, Leonidas lost another Flotation Point and now only had 4 FPs.

Both ship fired their main armament at their opponent. Leonidas threw a D6 die as she only had one main gun still in action. It scored 4 and this minor hit reduced Artemis to 10 FPs. Artemis threw 2D6 dice and scored 4 and 1, thus inflicting another minor hit on the Leonidas and reducing her to 3 FPs.

Leonidas attempted to put out the fire that was raging aboard her and threw a D6 die and scored 1. This meant that the fire reached her main magazine and she exploded and sank in a matter of seconds.

Artemis immediately hove to and lowered her boats in the hope that she could rescue any survivors ... but only a dozen souls were rescued.

Artemis had done all that had been asked of her and had stopped Leonidas from reaching Crete ... but an all-out war with Sparta was now in full swing and the Spartans would want their revenge sooner rather than later.