Battle of Domyoji - Part 4 - Unit planning.

 I've started assembling my units for the battle.  They're based for my modified One-Page Rules Sengoku-Jidai variant.  The bases are from Warbases.  They are sized 120mm X 85mm for the regular unit bases and 120mm X 45mm for skirmisher bases.  Here are a few examples.

Date Hatamoto

Date Ashigaru Teppo

Only 65 unit bases to go! :-o

The Battle of Domyoji - Part 3

This past weekend, a friend helped me test out my Battle of Domyoji scenario. The set-up was simple. I ordered a 4x6 foot banner printed up with the map on it and I had printed card counters for my units that were proportionately sized for the map.

The photo above is the view from the Osaka Army side of the table. Below is a view of the Tokugawa lines.

Surging across the field in a wave of fluttering banners, the Tokugawa race towards the Osaka lines.  Harkening back to days of old, the first to meet their thrust is a lone unit of Takeda cavalry.  Now only a shadow of their vaunted predecessors, nonetheless their bravery is on display for all to see.  Straight into the Date lines they ride.

Feeling the pressure on their frontline units, the Osaka army begin calling up their reserves.

Fighting is fiercest in the village of Konda where Date forces face the combined weight of both the Sanada and the Mori sonae.

Then, from out of the smoke and confusion of the battlefield, a dark figure strikes.  Ninja!  The dastardly Tokugawa have sent an assassin to kill the leader of the Osaka army.  But Sanada Yukimura is no fool, prepared for this very eventuality, his own shinobi leapt forward to block the killing blow and foil the evil plan.

As the battle rages all along the front, in spite of the support from remnants of the Goto tai, the valiant Takeda are defeated, though they die with their honor intact.

The fighting concludes with with the Susikida facing off against the Murakami.  Disgraced before the battle, Susukida Kanesuke attempts to reclaim his honor in a death ride at the forefront of his tai.  Though he bests Murakami Yoshiaki in single combat, he is robbed of redemption as the Honda forces are crushed but he still remains alive.

As the battle concludes, the Tokugawa firmly hold the town of Domyoji while the village of Konda is contested.  The remaining villages are controlled by the Osaka army, but due to the casualties they've endured the game ends in a draw.

All in all this was a very successful playtest of the scenario and the rules.  There are a few things that need to be tweaked and clarified, but the balance seems good.  A random rule is that the Goto forces, and possible Goto Motosugu himself, may be available for the battle.  Those that were available for this playthrough through were pivotal in supporting the defense north of Konda.  there may be another play test so we'll see how history unfolds a second time.  Additionally, none of Tokugawa Tadateru's sonae made it on the field.  The force is very large and could have turned the tide of the battle if they'd arrived on time.  Interestingly enough, however, in real life Tadateru was exiled by his father after the battle for not pursuing the Osaka army quickly enough?!

The Battle of Domyoji - Part 2

Goto Mototsugu and Sanada Yukimura during the battle of Domyoji

Here is the remainder of the One Hour Wargames Sengoku-Jidai Rules, the cards for the Optional Rules.

Combat Cards - Front (you'll need TWO sets):

Combat Cards - Back:

Ninja Cards - Front (you'll only need ONE set):

Ninja Cards - Back:

Please note that the cards are set-up so that if you flip the sheet over and print the back the card colors should line up.

The Battle of Domyoji Using One Hour Wargame Rules

 

The Summer Screen about the Siege of Osaka, 1615

 The Battle of Domyoji

I've always been interested in the Sengoku-jidai period in Japan and the samurai armies that fought.  For Williamsburg Muster 2026 I'm planning the Battle of Domyoji (or Battle Amoung the Tombs).  Fought during the Osaka campaign in the summer of 1615 it is an interesting though indecisive battle.  The forces are somewhat balanced (or at least are able to be balanced enough for a good game).  I've omitted the defense of the Kamatsu-yama by Goto Motosugu, however, the Goto forces may be available during the battle to varying degrees depending on how well the Osaka forces player rolls.

Here is the map I'm basing the scenario on.  It comes straight out of WSS 67.

Game Map for the Battle of Domyoji, June 5, 1615

The map is gridded for an 8' x 5' tablet.  I find that 5 feet wide is comfortable enough to reach miniatures in the middle of the tablet without having to lean on the edge too much.  

I'm planning to build the board specifically for the battle using either four 2' x 5' sections or eight 2' x 2&1/2 foot sections.  Each has it's pros and cons.  With the exception of the area of the Kamatsu-yama, the rest of the sections will only be a couple of inches thick.  Maybe 4"? Past the mountain the rest of the board is a shallow depression through which runs the Ishikawa river and then a slight rise and fields and villages beyond.  The two kofun tombs as well as the villages and trees will all be separate and removable.  

The villages will be scratch built.  There's PLENTY of great Japanese/samurai terrain, but I want the buildings to be somewhat compressed to minimize their foot print.  The board will be crowded enough with both armies fielded and I want a reasonable amount of  space to maneuver.

The rules I'm using are a heavily modified version of Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames rules.  I think these will give a relatively quick game that can fit into a 4 hour convention time slot while still providing a satisfying game that captures the flavor of the period.  I've included a copy below.  Note that these rules may be updated as I continue to play test them.

One Hour Wargames Sengoku-Jidai Main Rules

One Hour Wargames Sengoku-Jidai Optional Rules

If anyone would like or has the time to play test them I'd enjoy any constructive criticism.  The bases I'm using are 11cm X 8.5cm for all units except skirmishers where those bases are 11cm X 4.5cm.

The Order of Battle

(such as it is - there's not much specific info in English-speaking sources aside from general numbers in Osprey's Osaka Campaign)

EASTERN ARMY

TAI    COMMANDER

A/C1  Date Masamune
            Hatamoto - Elite
            Samurai
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Skirmishers
           Sub Commander 1 (Katakura Kagetsuna)
            Samurai
            Teppo Ashigaru
           Sub Commander 2 (Kokuban Morishige)
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Skirmishers
            Teppo Ashigaru
           Sub Commander 3 (Hasekura Tsunenaga)
            Cavalry
            Cavalry
1         Honda Tadamasa
            Samurai
            Teppo Ashigaru
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
2         Murakami Yoshiaki
            Samurai
            Samurai
            Elite Skirmishers
            Elite Skirmishers
3         Matsudaira Tadaaki
            Samurai
4         Mizoguchi Nobukatsu
            Cavalry
            Cavalry
5         Mizuno Katsushige
            Samurai
A/C2  Tokugawa Tadateru
            Hatamoto - Elite
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Teppo Ashigaru
           Sub Commander 1
            Samurai
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Teppo Ashigaru
           Sub Commander 2
            Young Samurai
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)

OSAKA ARMY

TAI    COMMANDER

A/C1  Sanada Yukimura
            Cavalry - Elite
            Samurai
          Sub Commander 1 (Kitagawa Nobukatsu)
            Teppo Ashigaru
          Sub Commander 2 Yamagawa Katanobu
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
1        Akashi Morishige (Takenori)
            Cavalry
            Ronin
2        Fukushima Masunori
            Young Samurai
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
          Sub Commander 1 (Watanabe Tadasu)
            Samurai
          Sub Commander 2 (Ogura Yukihara)
            Elite Skirmishers
3        Otani Yoshihisa
            Cavalry
          Sub Commander 1 (Nagaoka Masachika)
            Skirmishers
            Skirmishers
          Sub Commander 2 (Igi Tokatsu)
            Samurai
4        Miyata Tokisada
            Samurai
            Teppo Ashigaru
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
5        Mori Katsunaga
            Samurai
            Teppo Ashigaru
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)
6        Susikida Kanesuke
            Samurai
            Elite Skirmisher
            Elite Skirmisher
7        Yamamoto Kimio
            Ronin
8        Inoue Tokitori
            Ronin
            Ronin
9        Takeda Eio
            Cavalry
10      Goto Mototsugu
            Samurai
            Teppo Ashigaru
            Skirmishers
            Skirmishers
            Yari Ashigaru (Nagae-Yari)

Each unit is one base in the One Hour Wargames Rules.

Hopefully some painted unit examples soon.  Cheers!

Rommel - Mustering the Troops

Grinding along.  I've got the base coats on both the Americans and the Germans, the latter of which I think is going to take the most time.  The Americans are all olive drab so should go relatively quickly.  I'm planning on painting the German units in a combination of dunkelgelb camouflaged with a few dunkelgrau pieces for variety.  The camo patterns with vary some too.  I don't expect to be perfectly accurate at this scale but to at least give the impression and feel of late war Wehrmacht and SS units.  Here's what I've got so far.

I'll add some more when I'm further along.  Until then, Merry Christmas!

Wargaming Sam Mustafa's Rommel

I have some board gaming friends who I am trying to tempt into miniatures gaming.  I was also looking for a higher level WW2 game so I think Rommel fits the bill nicely.  Not to mention it's one of Sam's games so I know it's going to be a quality product.

I'm just at the beginning of the project so here's what I've got to start.

All Forces Arrayed

 Americans

Germans

I think I ordered too many infantry.

These are 6mm miniatures by Heroics and Ros: American and German.

I'm not going for any specific scenario at this point.  I want to get a feel for the rules first before I start tinkering with things.  To this end I used the army lists in the book (Late War) and designed two fairly large forces.  This will also give me a cadre of units to draw from when I start designing scenarios (historical or otherwise).

It took about 3 weeks to get the package from H&R but it was a big order and they had just relocated. So I think that's pretty good.  And with H&R you can order just what you need.

The units are going to be based on 30mm x 30mm bases from Litko.  These will be magnetized for storage.

I've left space for unit details and game stats to be put directly on the base.  I don't mind having it like this.  The units become 3 dimensional counters this way.  AND I have a lot less paper work to keep track of.  I can put some clear tape over the hit track and use an erasable grease pencil or such to mark off damage.

Here's what I've got in mind.

This is just a mock up for now.  The final product will probably have some changes.  I want a unique ID # for each piece (e.g. the "1234" as seen above) as well as a unit type symbol.  The latter will be for game purposes (e.g. differentiating between "foot" and motorized infantry or denoting assault guns) as well as for my own edification.

I want as much info on the left hand side (or bottom for foot infantry and some artillery) as I can get so as to leave room for texturing the side of the base that the miniature is on.

Next step is now is to get some pain on these.  Until next time.

Battlefleet Gothic - Hivefleet Leviathan

HIVE FLEET STALWART!!!!!!!

Well here at the Emporium the Tyranids have invaded.  I've never been a big 'nids fan but when the new plastic models came out I thought it would be a great opportunity for conversion work.

It will also be a good opportunity to improve my skill in using green-stuff.

My first ship is a cruiser - torps up front and acid batteries on the flanks.  This model uses a Carnifex body primarily with a warrior torso for the "head" - though I don"t intend for it to be a head in the traditional sense.  On my future cruisers I may try magnetizing some of the weapons to allow more flexibility.

This far I've got my fleet lists drawn up so it's now time to get them built. After looking at available models I've decided on the following as a general guide for which base models to convert and for the general sizes of different ship classes in my fleets:

Hive ships:             Each unique; generally large monsters

Cruisers:                Carnifex

Kraken:                  Hive/Tyrant Guard

Vanguard Drones:  Tyranid Warriors

Escort Drones:       Hormagaunts/Gargoyles

These will be somewhat larger than the older Hivefleet models but, oh well, they've just eaten really well and consumed A LOT of biomass!

My intent is to try to use pieces consistently to represent different weapons/systems/organs on the ships (e.g. barbed stranglers for pyro-acid batteries, devourers for torpedo launchers, large adrenal glands for spore clouds, etc).

At present I have five separate 1000-1250pts fleets planned.  By the end of the summer or sometime in the fall I'd like to be able to do some sort of planetary invasion with orbital defenses, escaping civis, and random reinforcements along with whatever ships my local game store can muster - a real grinder.  So off we go!