One Hour Wargames - Maryes Heights

Last weekend I played out a solo game of the American Civil War rules in One Hour Wargames using my muddy fields wargaming mat.

I wanted to see how the different units performed on the battlefield. The battle map was loosely based on the Battle of Marye's Heights, December 1862. General Burnside hurled the Army of the Potomac against Confederate defensive works around the town of Fredericksburg. After sustained and costly frontal attacks the Union offensive was repulsed and another period of relative stalemate followed in the Eastern theatre. It would not be disturbed until the Battle of Chancellorsville the following year. 

For this scenario I used a hill, trench and my hasty barricades to form the Confederate fortifications, and selected an Rebel army of three infantry and two artillery units to fend off the Yankee attack.

I then rolled a dice to decide the composition of the Union forces. The 1 rolled resulted in three infantry, two artillery and one cavalry unit to throw at the Rebel strongpoint.

To summarise the battle, the Union attackers divided to flank the Rebel position, but despite supporting artillery fire chipping away at the Confederates, the defences held out. Union volleys and cannon fire could not make a decent impression on their opponents. 

Lessons learned? Units in hard cover (behind barricades, halving incoming damage) are bloody tough, and one infantry unit in cover can take on two enemy infantry units quite effectively, especially as the rules prohibit close combat. My main mistake was to field 5 units with hard cover against just 6 attacking units who only had a small hill to screen their advance. I also learned that artillery is no battle winner - many round of shooting on both sides did absolutely nothing! So much for accurate rifled cannon!

The one main issue I have with the ACW rules in One Hour Wargames regards cavalry's inability to draw swords and put them to good use. For future games I intend to allow close combat in line with Napoleonic cavalry, as their mobility counts for little when they can't shoot a barn door at 10 paces! Infantry units in comparison do far more of the fighting - and dying - making them the most decisive participants in the field.

German medical team with casualties

These are German medics from Zvezda, another small Art of Tactic box set. I decided not to include the red cross on the helmets as it was a little too fiddly. The wounds and bloodstains are achieve by using the GW paint "blood for the blood god". These may be used during my Wargames as casualty markers, or just to add a little flavour to the battlefield. 

My Early War Germans now need their infantry units. I'm getting a little bored of all the grey and drab colours-.once the Wermacht have their footsloggers I'll be focusing on my English Civil War armies, with some slightly brighter colours. 

Early War German anti tank units and Mortar teams

My Early War Germans for One Hour Wargames are slowly coming together. I've now added the two anti tank units and artillery units (referred to in OHW as mortars). 

The anti tank units comprise of a Zvezda Pak 36 anti tank gun with two crew, and a converted Armourfast Hanomag Halftrack fitted with a Pak of the same calibre from the Plastic Soldier Company. The crew and furniture are also PSC. The difference between the delicate, detailed Zvezda gun and the thicker, more durable PSC one is considerable, but I doubt on the wargaming table they'll be deployed close together and clash.

The mortars are from a small Zvezda Art of Tactic box set. I altered one of the crew's arms to differentiate the two teams. Lots of grey, and black ink, but worth it in the end. 

Martian Assault Tripod 1

This is my first of the Martian Assault Tripods from All Quiet on the Martian Front manufactured by Alien Dungeon. This white tripod is a Martian embodiment of a battlefield leader. It's main weapon is a heat ray located in the "crest" of the tripod head. It also has a pair of tentacles for interaction with objects and people on the ground, and a pair of vicious claw like hands for close combat.

The scenic base was made from cheap blu tac "sealed" and painted with GW paints. The trees were spare plastic ones and the sign for Grover's Mill farm, a nod to Orson Welles's War of the Worlds, was a metal trench accessory from Early War Models.

As seen in the photo, my tripods will be able to be dismantled into several pieces for storage purposes. As I currently have very limited space in Bristol I can't have these bad boys on display, so I feel another Really Useful Box will be needed!

I have already started my second tripod, armed differently, with another scenic base. This time it's an abandoned mortar pit, and the weapon is a Black Smoke launcher, a weapon as feared as the Heat Ray...