The Great War In Greyscale - British Despatch Rider

I've been having a wonderful time following the Lead Adventure Forum's Pulp Painting Club and thought I'd kick-in with this WWI despatch (dispatch?) rider which also serves as an incremental addition to my greyscale Great War project.

While doing a little reading on the subject I discovered that many of the British despatch riders were early motorcycle enthusiasts who took their own personal machines to France being that the British army was hard pressed to provide enough of their own. Intrepid fellows indeed!

This fabulous little model is from the Great War Miniatures range (28mm). I had a huge amount of fun working on it. The sign to Le Cateau is magnetized so I can swap it out with something else if I wish. I thought I could use the figure for Pulp gaming as well and so for a little bit of fun I'm making up a sign that will point to a little town in Massachusetts called Arkham...

'Worst Case Scenario' #7: SAS vs The Exocets - The Battle for the Falklands, 1982

SAS in Falkland-era uniforms and kit - 28mm Gripping Beast Miniatures

Back in the day I really enjoyed playing TSR's espionage role-playing game 'Top Secret'. I know many who played the game liked James Bond themed scenarios but I preferred to create environments that were based on historical or current events. So, for a little nostalgia, I decided to put together a small TS campaign for my old role-playing pals that focuses on the time in which we were playing these games back in the 1980s and thought I'd share it with you as one of my 'Worst Case Scenarios'.

It's May, 1982. The setting is the Falklands War. The scenario is based around a set of actual planned SAS operations which were to be conducted on Argentine soil. I have adjusted the premise somewhat and extrapolated the forces from information I managed to gather from various sources.

The player characters are members of a four-man SAS Patrol from Mountain Troop, B Squadron of the 22 Special Air Service Regiment (SAS). 

BACKGROUND
On May 4th 1982, a Royal Navy destroyer HMS Sheffield was attacked by two Argentinean Dassault-Breguet Super Etendard strike fighters each carrying a French made Excocet air-to-surface missile. One missile missed the destroyer but the other struck and fatally crippled her.

The British military was completely stunned by the attack, discovering that the point defence systems of the entire British naval force involved in the Falklands was unable to provide an adequate screen against these surface-skimming missiles. To underline the situation: The British military found itself facing a potentially fatal technology gap with their opponents.

Diplomatic discussions with France had revealed that the French had delivered 5 Exocets to the Argentinians  (with 2 used on the attacks against HMS Sheffield) and were about to close a deal with Peru (an Argentine ally) for several more. Prime Minister Thatcher strongly requested that the shipment be cancelled or at least delayed until the end of hostilities. After a few heated exchanges the French reluctantly agreed to interrupt their deal with the Peruvians. Nonetheless, even with the additional French missiles out of the picture the MOD knew that there were several other powers which were willing to sell Exocets to the Argentineans and it was assumed that these additional missiles were either en route or already in place in Argentina.

It was estimated that if the Argentineans could mount a successful Exocet strike against either of the two British aircraft carriers (HMS Invincible or HMS Hermes) it would almost certainly place the entire Falklands mission in jeopardy of failure. As such the SAS was tasked to remove the Exocet threat by whatever means possible, no matter the cost.

The location of the Exocets along with the Super Etendards was known to the SAS due to the size of airfield required by the fighters and their operational range. From this it was deduced that they were located at an airbase near the small regional city of Rio Grande on the southern tip of Argentina. The SAS were tasked to strike the airfield in order to remove the Exocet threat. 

OPERATION PLUM DUFF
On May 16th the SAS flew a observation team from HMS Invincible into the Tierra del Fuego area. Their mission was to observe the airfield, determine locations/targets and report their findings. It was understood that it was a one-way mission as the Westland Sea King's operational range would not allow it to return to the carrier. The plan was for the helicopter to set down the SAS team and then fly into Chile where the chopper would be destroyed and the aircrew surrender to Chilean authorities claiming that they were on an anti-submarine mission and had been blown off course. 

The Sea King managed to reach the Argentine coast but ran into bad weather and had to put down just across the border in Chile. The SAS team decided to continue on but the aircrew surrendered to Chilean military forces. Interestingly, the fate of the SAS team is still a guarded secret by the Ministry of Defence. I think this is a great scenario in of itself (and the one our group is currently playing out).

SAS on the assault.

Argentine Commandos not having any of it.

While Operation Plum Duff was being played out two plans were drafted for the main effort, one was a virtual suicide mission while the other was only marginally less insane. Thankfully neither plan had to be implemented as the war drew to a close before the Exocet threat fully manifested itself. Nonetheless, we, as ghoulish wargamers, often like to ponder on these little 'what ifs' of history and so I present an outline of the two plans below. 

OPERATION MIKADO

Similar in concept to the 1976 Israeli raid on Entebbe, the first plan (codenamed 'Operation Mikado') called for a direct assault the Rio Grande airfield, with two teams of SAS operators (55 men in total) being deployed by a pair of C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. Both Hercules would approach the airfield under radar, land directly on the tarmac at Rio Grande Airfield and the SAS personnel would storm the airfield to pursue their missions (hopefully) in a coup de main.

Once on the ground the SAS had three objectives in descending order of importance:

1. find and destroy the remaining Exocet missiles;
2. disable/destroy the Super Etendard strike fighters;
3. kill the Super Etendard pilots.

The assault troops would then board the C-130s and fly to a nearby Chilean airfield. If the C-130s were unable to take off (a highly likely possibility) then the SAS were to disperse and make their way to Chile on foot.

Note: In test flights over Scotland it was discovered that the C-130s were frequently spotted by surface radar, no matter how low they flew. In fact the overall sketchiness of the plan ultimately forced one sergeant to resign in protest and the squadron commander to be replaced by the Regiment's second in command. 

OPERATION ONYX
Ultimately it was admitted that Mikado would have a slim margin for success and so British planners reworked the operation so that the SAS teams would be taken near the Argentinian coast by submarine (HMS Onyx), paddle ashore by inflatable boats and then conduct the same assault. Again, after the assault was concluded the SAS men were to yomp for Chile.

No matter which plan was pursued, it is now understood that the Argentineans had up to four battalions of Marines in the Rio Grande area, some of whom were trained by the SBS in the UK. Admittedly they probably wouldn't have been all based at the airfield but I think we can safely assume that one battalion would have been stationed nearby (if not onsite) and the others available within an hour or so.

Argentinian Marines

Pretty crazy stuff, eh? As I mentioned before I've opted to recreate Operation Plum Duff as it's quite contained and well suited to the role-playing aspect of 'Top Secret'. Nevertheless, I think any of the above operations would make an excellent scenario for 'Force on Force', 'Skirmish Sangin' or even a modified version of 'Bolt Action'. 

For figures, I picked up a bunch of 28mm Gripping Beast castings from their Mo-Fo range. These are excellent models, very nicely sculpted, with great animation and a pleasingly chunky feel to them. I'm not a modern uniform expert by any means but I managed to muddle my way through them all, though the British camo scheme was a bit of a challenge. For the groundwork I decided to try to reflect the tall grass and scattered snow terrain that we saw in many of the photographs and footage taken during the conflict (assuming the ground conditions between the Falklands and the Tierra del Fuego would be similar).

Another pic of the Argentinean Commandos

Thanks for reading!

Post-Apocalyptic Warriors from Lead Adventure Miniatures - Inspired by 'Metro 2033'

'Road Guards' from Lead Adventure Miniatures.

Dmitry Glukhovsky's 'Metro 2033' (2005) is a post-apocalyptic novel set within the Moscow subway system about 20 years after a worldwide nuclear/biological war. The story focuses on the adventures of a young man, Artyom, as he struggles to both find his own path and save the people from his home station at VDNKh (a metro station, from what I understand, in the Ostankinsky District of north-east Moscow). His odyssey through the metro system sees him meeting neo-nazis, hard-line communists, cannibalistic cults, religious fanatics and terrifying mutants with psionic powers. Yes, the lad is kept very busy!

Since its release the book has enjoyed substantial success in Russia and Europe, has had many fan-based stories based upon its setting, and has had two XBox videogames released over the past few years (which, as an unrepentant geek, I have played both). Probably the most telling barometer of its success is that in 2012 the movie rights to 'Metro 2033' were purchased by MGM - with a producer already having stepped forward to lead the project.

Hobby-wise, the novel has also inspired several sculptors, probably the most notable being the talented 'Ratnik' from Lead Adventure Miniatures. As soon as I saw this range of figures I knew I had to give them a go. These five lads are from the 'Road Guards' pack.

I had a great time working on these figures as there are really no rules to how they can be painted. I knew it would be relatively easy to keep these guys dark and muted to match the theme, but I decided to buck the trend and go a little punchy with the colours.  I chose a relatively high-contrast palette with discordant colours and some crazy camo schemes. In particular, I quite enjoyed painting the blue camo which was apparently worn by Russian infantry during the nasty fighting in Chechnya in the late 90s. 

Russian blue tone camouflage from the 2nd Chechen War.

For the bases I was inspired by the wonderful work of Sidney Roundwood who utilizes a high-contrast, colour-saturated approach to his Great War figures.  In this vein, I wanted to reinforce the idea of a nuked urban environment by using shattered red bricks, destroyed masonry and broken piping, all of which is contrasted against a background of light grey ash. It's a little over the top but I think I like the overall effect. 

I have several more packs from Lead Adventure to do (along with some Copplestone Neo-Soviets) so I'll post them as they come off the hobby desk.

Worst Case Scenario #6 - Chariot Race to Escape the Red Sea

'So it is written, so shall it be done... or is that the other way around? Whatever, surf's up boys - get stuck in!'

We had friends visiting from out of town last week so I was trying to come up with a game which could accommodate around seven to eight players, be fast moving while easy to pickup. After looking through my stuff and doing a little bit of thinking I decided to resurrect an old scenario that I had run about ten years ago, a biblical chariot race where the charioteers had to escape the floor of the Red Sea in the wake (literally) of Moses' miracle.

It's around 1440 BC. The setting is somewhere along the Gulf of Suez. Moses has parted the Red Sea (or 'Reed Sea' as some believe) and his Israelites have passed through to take refuge on the opposite shore. Not easily deterred, the Egyptian Pharaoh, Rameses I, has sent in his army in hot pursuit of Moses and the hebrew slaves. 

This army is led by a menagerie of inbred Egyptian princes, each mounted on a chariot, and each keen as mustard to gain fame and glory in the coming subjugation of the Israelites. Well, as we all know, the jig was up when Moses 'turned the taps back on' and the Egyptian army, which was fully arrayed on the sea floor, is subsequently destroyed by the closing avalanche of water. 

BUT, what of the Egyptian princes? 

Styrofoam 'water-walls' and craft paper sea floor - the hobby at its most rudimentary form.

The game begins with the princes, all realizing that they are in mortal danger, turning their chariots about in an attempt to madly dash back up the collapsing chasm of water to safety. Each player leads a chariot team whose only goal is to survive this watery doom by keeping ahead of the onrushing water and ahead of the pack, no matter what the cost.

'Waddya mean these things don't come equipped with a flotation device?'

The bright side to all this is that the survivor(s) will have a much easier time at the Egyptian court, what with the royal bloodline being so watered down... (ba-dum-pish! rimshot!).

So the players girded their loins, tightened their reins, and cracked the whip, knowing only a few (if any) would survive the closing of the Red Sea!

The water wall (to the left) moved forward during the game, slurping up charioteers in its path.

For rules I used the excellent 'Charioteer' by Two Hour Wargames which I shamelessly fiddled with in order to create some over-the-top Cecil B. DeMille action. Accordingly we had giant crabs spooking horse teams, seaweed 'road hazzards' and enormous sea serpent tentacles whipping from the water-wall to bash nearby chariots. Yep, completely silly but fun. 

'Charioteer' does a very nice job of abstracting the pell mell of racing by simulating the dynamic of the pack of chariots as they try to pass, whip and bash one another in order to gain the lead position. As you can see you don't need much room for the playing surface and it's dead easy to set up. I would think that in 15mm or 10mm it would be very transportable for club games. There are even campaign rules for running your own teams of chariots over a season of racing, with tracking of victories, defeats, betting and dirty tricks. Very cool.

All of the chariots are from the Wargames Foundry biblical range and painted by members of the Fawcett Ave Conscripts.

As I was trying my best to keep the rules straight in my thick skull most of the game's details became a bit of a blur to me. I do know that Sylvain took the lead and, except for a few challenges, never relinquished it for the entire race. Nonetheless, behind our hurtling Frenchman it was a mad scrum of charioteers, each vying for positions at the lead, all the while the onrushing wall of water inexorably nipped at their heels. 

Hey, can we turn back? I think I dropped my iKopesh back there...

I do remember poor Jeremy attempting to bash Chad's team with his chariot but having everything go horribly, horribly wrong. He ended up as a spectacular out-of-control wreck, who finally came to rest three lanes (and a few places back) from his original position. All-in-all, three of the charioteers made it back to safety, meeting Rameses at the temple of Set to give him the bad news about his pursuit.

The mad dash to safety.

Hey Boss, about that Moses guy...

It was good fun, with the guys very much playing to the spirit of the scenario and the rules holding up admirably well under my half-arsed modifications. I look forward to trying them again in a race set in a proper 'circus maximus'.

What?!  Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself?

Landsknecht Sharpshooter Team

I realize that its gone a bit quiet here on the blog these past few weeks. Summer has made its glorious appearance and so outside pursuits have taken priority at Schloss Campbell-Hanks. Nonetheless, I've not been completely idle on the hobby front and to back this up here are two lads ready for their puff-and-slash debut.

One of the things that wrapped up a little while ago was the Seventh Season of the Lead Painters' League. I had a great time participating in this event, managing to get a wide range of stuff assembled and painted over the League's 10 weeks. Some of my efforts were well received while others were, um, less successful, :) but that's how it goes and I had a blast working on each of my entries and especially enjoyed seeing the work of my fellow competitors.

At about the half-way mark of the League, an anonymous follower of the competition generously awarded three prizes to several submissions that struck his/her fancy. I was both surprised and delighted to find that my Spanish Civil War Moroccan Regulares was one of those lucky enough to be singled-out for a prize - a choice of a pack from the fabulous offerings over at Lead Adventure Miniatures. How very cool!

My fifth LPL entry: Moroccan Regulares

It took a little bit of hand-wringing as so many of the models from Lead Adventure are brilliant, but I finally made up my mind - deciding to choose a characterful Landsknecht Sharpshooter Team from their Bruegelburg range. 

These Lead Adventure miniatures are beautiful sculpts, crisp, clean and with loads of character. One reason that I went with this pack was the fabulous dwarf 'spotter', calmly teetering on his stilts, identifying the target for his colleague below. 

A pre-op shot of the dwarf spotter.

While on the whole I really liked the sculpt of the stilted spotter, I thought that his pose seemed a bit two-dimensional as the alignment of his body, arm, spyglass and stilts were all on the same vertical plane. So I cut him along his shoulders, under his gorget, and with the help of a little pinning and sculpting putty I repositioned his torso 90 degrees in an attempt to make his pose a little more dynamic (I also gave him a bit of a hunchback as I thought it would fit in with the sensibility of the period). Overall this mod seems to have worked alright, and as an added bonus his right-hand stilt now serves as an impromptu musket rest (I think they called them 'Swinefeathers') for his sharpshooter partner. (I also had to replace the stilt's foot-strap to allow the firelock's barrel enough room to pass through.)

As the figures have an almost cartoonish quality about them I wanted the groundwork to reflect this while also serving to compliment their colourful garb. So I added a load of grass, shrubs and flowers to give the base a verdancy bordering on the Disneyesque. It seems to work fairly well, with the tree also providing a backdrop for this garish duo. 

Again, my great thanks to the League's anonymous benefactor - I really had a wonderful time working on this vignette. Cheers!