Welcome to a new period, well the return to an old one.
Like many gamers, I have a small pile of bits and pieces that may one be useful. They are those things gathering dust in the five corners of the games room and anywhere else they can be hidden away from prying eyes. The guilty parts in this case were two off cuts of MDF and some polystyrene, just waiting for some inspiration to become terrain. Inspiration finally came after I had finished off some fieldworks for my WWII desert forces, they would become trenches. Nothing wrong with that you can always use trenches, perhaps I might get onto building that Lace wars fortress I have always fancied.
No it was not to be. First I dug out some some old 15mm Minifigs and Irregulars that I had collected from previous explorations of this period. They weren't enough for an army but they had been a taste of the period. Finally last weekend there was little wars down here in Melbourne and the bloke from MikesMetalModels showed up with his Peter Pig figures. Now I did go there with plans to get a few packets of Peters figures, because I had never had any before. I will also freely admit that the figures I was planning to get would be either for WWI or the SCW, but no it would not be that simple.
The only figures he had on display were German WWII. Beautiful I say I can get some some novelty packets such as Germans surrendering, some Volksturm and a dug in Panther turret but just as I was preparing to hand over my money I looked down and asked innocently about some non-descript limps of resin sitting in plastic bags. Why they were British Mk IV tanks and were very pretty. This then led to an inquiry as to if he had brought some infantry with him, which were duly added to the growing pile.
Yet this is not an end to my tale of new love. At another stall there was Olympian games offering QRF at 50% and he had a German A7V tank and I had enough change in pocket for it.
Suddenly I have more figures and I am gluing the tanks together. This is my fourth attempt to get into this period. You think that I would have learnt my lesson by now, but no I can still be seduced by an unpainted figure.
Oh, I am a weak, weak man, I am a wargamer.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The adventures of Commordore John Rodgers pt 1
The first offensive launched during the war was not at land but at sea when the US Navy sortied from its base in order to take the war upto the British. Got across the Atlantic, had a rethink of their strategy and turned round and sailed home again.
From a wargaming perspective it is a boring campaign as there no actions or battles at all. But from a strategic perspective it interesting and it is that viewpoint and what could have happened that makes it worth exploring.
Historically the nicest thing most historians most say about the Adams cruise is that it forced the British to start protecting their own merchantmen thereby allowing the American merchant fleet to get home safely. This then allowed for American privateers to then go to sea to give the British a headache at sea.
But what else could have happened to the squadron that could have impacted on the course of the war. Firstly and perhaps the most interesting was that Rodgers set sail before an order arrived that would have tied the fleet to harbour defence duties at New York. This at the very least would have led to the blockading of the fleet by a larger British squadron. Probably meant no offensive actions until 1813 at the earliest and possibly broken up those elite crews that the Americans have.
Secondly there was the strategy behind the cruise in the first place. While the senior officers of the navy including Rodgers had favoured this expedition across the Atlantic. The long lonely sail across the Atlantic caused a rethink of this strategy and they turned around and arrived home safely. So while they lucky enough to avoid contact they were also clever enough not to push their luck. So there is plenty of room to explore the squadrons adventures in Europe if they had not turned back. Though I think the most likely outcome is either sunk or bottled up in a French controlled port.
Most options seem to involve the early demise of the the American fleet. So what would this have meant to the war. Well the first is no victories over single British frigates, except for the USS Constitution over HMS Guerriere. These victories were pretty much the only good news for the Americans until 1814, so the war may end quickly as the American will to fight collapses. Another point to consider is that many of these crews would eventually make their way to the Great Lakes to assist in winning the battles of Lake Erie and Plattsburg while also ensuring a stalemate on Lake Ontario. So if they are not available? Though if they are on the other side of the Atlantic they may encourage a French naval adventure.
So there are many options to explore as we recreate the adventures of Commodore John Rodgers.
From a wargaming perspective it is a boring campaign as there no actions or battles at all. But from a strategic perspective it interesting and it is that viewpoint and what could have happened that makes it worth exploring.
Historically the nicest thing most historians most say about the Adams cruise is that it forced the British to start protecting their own merchantmen thereby allowing the American merchant fleet to get home safely. This then allowed for American privateers to then go to sea to give the British a headache at sea.
But what else could have happened to the squadron that could have impacted on the course of the war. Firstly and perhaps the most interesting was that Rodgers set sail before an order arrived that would have tied the fleet to harbour defence duties at New York. This at the very least would have led to the blockading of the fleet by a larger British squadron. Probably meant no offensive actions until 1813 at the earliest and possibly broken up those elite crews that the Americans have.
Secondly there was the strategy behind the cruise in the first place. While the senior officers of the navy including Rodgers had favoured this expedition across the Atlantic. The long lonely sail across the Atlantic caused a rethink of this strategy and they turned around and arrived home safely. So while they lucky enough to avoid contact they were also clever enough not to push their luck. So there is plenty of room to explore the squadrons adventures in Europe if they had not turned back. Though I think the most likely outcome is either sunk or bottled up in a French controlled port.
Most options seem to involve the early demise of the the American fleet. So what would this have meant to the war. Well the first is no victories over single British frigates, except for the USS Constitution over HMS Guerriere. These victories were pretty much the only good news for the Americans until 1814, so the war may end quickly as the American will to fight collapses. Another point to consider is that many of these crews would eventually make their way to the Great Lakes to assist in winning the battles of Lake Erie and Plattsburg while also ensuring a stalemate on Lake Ontario. So if they are not available? Though if they are on the other side of the Atlantic they may encourage a French naval adventure.
So there are many options to explore as we recreate the adventures of Commodore John Rodgers.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Some thought about gaming the naval war
I have just finished reading the "Lords of the Lake", Robert Malcomsom's book about the war on Lake Ontario. So here follows some thoughts about what I need in a set of rules in order to fight the battles or at least the represent the character of these battles.
Scale
Ignoring HMS St.Laurence for the moment you need a set of rules that goes from gunboats to frigates. This is smaller than any set of rules that I have seen. It does reverse the order of most age of sail which focus on the battleships and not the little boats. Here they are the centre of attention and not an add-on.
Cannons & Carronades
Each fleet developed a unique characteristic in its armaments with Americans favoring cannons while the British carronades that influenced their tactics.
I think the most the extreme example that needs to be modeled is HMS Detroit at the battle of Lake Eire which carried the following armament.
Carronades
Both fleets could include the traditional square rigger, schooners and even row powered gunboats.
Crew Management
Both sides could find themselves short of crew thereby restricting the ability to fight their ships. Most rules I can think either ignore crew management as being to complex or include as an add-on
There that's it for the moment. I will look at the various rules I have got to see if they will do the job or can be bashed into shape. This ship has just set sail.
Scale
Ignoring HMS St.Laurence for the moment you need a set of rules that goes from gunboats to frigates. This is smaller than any set of rules that I have seen. It does reverse the order of most age of sail which focus on the battleships and not the little boats. Here they are the centre of attention and not an add-on.
Cannons & Carronades
Each fleet developed a unique characteristic in its armaments with Americans favoring cannons while the British carronades that influenced their tactics.
I think the most the extreme example that needs to be modeled is HMS Detroit at the battle of Lake Eire which carried the following armament.
Carronades
- 1x 24s
- 1x 18s
- 2x 24s
- 1x18s
- 6x12s
- 8x 9s
Both fleets could include the traditional square rigger, schooners and even row powered gunboats.
Crew Management
Both sides could find themselves short of crew thereby restricting the ability to fight their ships. Most rules I can think either ignore crew management as being to complex or include as an add-on
There that's it for the moment. I will look at the various rules I have got to see if they will do the job or can be bashed into shape. This ship has just set sail.
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