IABSM AAR: The Road to Gravelines

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Tim Whitworth and friends are working their way through the Defence of Calais scenario pack. Here’s a quick AAR from Scenario #04: The Road to Gravelines.

The unenviable task facing the British was to get a massive truck borne supply consignment of rations from Calais to Dunkirk along the road via Gravelines. Early in morning the convoy left the Calais Gate and travelled the route until it reached the village of Le Beau Marais where 1 Panzer Division forward elements had set up a substantial roadblock on the village crossroads and billeted up for the night.

The game begins with the British reaching the roadblock and the Germans being alerted to their presence.

Click on the picture below to see what happened:

IABSM AAR: On the Northern Shoulder of Kursk

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A stupendous AAR from Just Jack from his excellent blog BlackHawkNet covering a game of IABSM set on the northern shoulder of the great battle of Kursk in July 1943.

This is well worth a read although, just to warn you, there are 175 captioned photos of the action!

So get yourself a cup of tea, settle down, and click on the picture below…

Blitzkrieg in the Far East Part One: Japan now available!

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Published today, and available to buy from the TooFatLardies shop, Blitzkrieg in the Far East 1: Japan is the sixth in the series of early war handbooks for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum. The handbook is 116 pages long and covers the Japanese army during the first phase of the War in the Pacific, December 1941 to June 1942, when its battle-hardened armies inflicted defeat after defeat on the Allies. 

Unlike the other titles so far in the series, the nature of Japan’s campaign of expansion means that the booklet is not divided into sections defined by the different types of division that fought, but into sections defined by the different geographical mini-campaigns: Malaya and Singapore, Burma, the Philippines, The Dutch East Indies and the South Seas. In effect, it is several theatre booklets rolled into one.  

There are a total of forty-eight different lists split as follows: 

  • Malaya & Singapore: 7 lists from 25th Army 

  • Thailand & Burma: 5 lists from 15th Army 

  • The Philippines: 16 lists from 14th Army 

  • Hong Kong: 1 list from 38th Division 

  • Borneo:  2 lists from 35th Brigade 

  • The Dutch East Indies: 15 lists from 16th Army 

  • The South Seas: 2 lists from the South Seas Detachment 

Finally, we have the usual ratings and armoury sections, and a note on air support. 

Although designed for IABSM, Blitzkrieg in the Far East: Japan contains a vast amount of information useful to gamers of other systems, and is really a must-buy for anyone interested in the early war period. 

Buy it here, now!

IABSM AAR: Taking Ochota By Surprise

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By the end of the first week of September 1939, the German 4th Panzer Division had advanced as far as Warsaw. Thinking the Poles would be knocked off balance by the speed of their advance, German commanders issued orders for the city to be stormed via the Ochota district on the western flak of Warsaw.

The Poles, however, had heavily reinforced the area, with units from the 40th “Children of Lwow” Regiment barricading streets and manning gun emplacements along all the approaches.

The Poles let the Germans drive into the city, and then opened fire with everything they had. Worse, many streets had been covered in turpentine, which was then lit on fire, destroying several German tanks and catching German infantry in the inferno that followed.

This then was the background for scenario #48 (Taking Ochota by Surprise) of the second September war scenario pack. The game would begin as the Poles (played by Dave) open their attack on the advancing Germans (played by John). The Germans’ objective was just to get as many of their units as possible back off the table; the Poles’ objective was to destroy as many German units as possible.

Click on the picture below to see what happened:

IABSM AAR: Decision at Le Mer, D-Day -1

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Bob Cockayne and friends have been playing out an epic Normandy game over the last month or so.

They only have a limited time each session, so tend to play a single game over a number of get-togethers, with Bob reporting on each one on a week-by-week “serial” basis.

You can see Bob’s original posts on the Beasts of War forum but, firmly believing in the binge-the-box-set mentality (I’ve just finished a Peaky Blinders marathon!), I’ve gathered them all together into one massive AAR that you can read here on Vis Lardica by clicking on the picture, below.

IABSM AAR: Cymru Am Byth #12: Let's Get At The B*st*rds!

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Mark Luther gives his very special treatment to the twelfth scenario from the Cymru Am Byth Welsh Guard scenario pack.

This is an attack for control of the little cluster of farm buildings on top of hill 242 overlooking Chenedolle at Le Haut Perrier on August 11, 1944.

Click on the picture, below, to see all:

IABSM AAR: Cymru am Byth #03: The Crossroads

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A great AAR from Tim Whitworth and the Like a Stone Wall group! This encounter is taken from the Cymru am Byth (Welsh Guards) scenario pack, and features a game based on their heroic but ultimately doomed defence of Boulogne.

See how the Guards stand up to the German Panzers by clicking on the picture, below:

IABSM AAR: Eastern Front Clash

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Desmondo Darkin and friends recently played an eastern front clash in 20mm using their dice-driven variant of IABSM.

Click on the pic below to see what happened, and to admire the superb winter terrain…

And as a reminder:

25% Off The September War Scenario Packs

To mark the 80th year after the accepted start of WW2 with the invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939, the TooFatLardies and I are pleased to offer a great discount on the two September War scenario packs for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! with a whopping 25% off when you buy them as a bundle.

Written by Robert Avery and Alexander Kawczynski, each September War scenario pack for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! provides thirty scenarios for the theatre, making sixty available in all.

Divided into eight mini-campaigns, the first pack (The September War Part One) begins with the battles at the border, then covers the fight for the Polish corridor, the Polish Thermopylae at Narew, the Siege of Warsaw, the climactic battles at Bzura and Tomaszow Lubelski, and the actions of the 10th Motorised Cavalry “Black” Brigade and the Independent Operational Group Polesie. There are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, desperate defences…there’s even an armoured train or two.

Divided into six mini-campaigns, the second pack (The September War Part Two) begins with four based on specific German units: Panzerdivision Kempf, the 1st GebirgsjaegerDivision, the 4th Panzer Division, and the 1st Kavallerie Brigade. Then there are two mini-campaigns based on the Soviet invasion of Poland: the Belorussian Front and the Ukrainian Front. Finally there are details of two stand-alone battles: Westerplatte and the Hel Peninsula. As always, there are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, and desperate defences, all containing a whole host of useful scenario mechanics that can be re-used elsewhere.

No need for any preparation: each scenario contains a brief background history, maps, a full game briefing, and a full briefing for each player. Simply print out the pages you need, make up the deck from the list of cards required, unpack your figures and dice, set up the table and away you go!

Click here to buy the combined bundle.

25% Off The September War Scenario Packs

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To mark the 80th year after the accepted start of WW2 with the invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939, the TooFatLardies and I are pleased to offer a great discount on the two September War scenario packs for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! with a whopping 25% off when you buy them as a bundle.

Written by Robert Avery and Alexander Kawczynski, each September War scenario pack for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! provides thirty scenarios for the theatre, making sixty available in all.

Divided into eight mini-campaigns, the first pack (The September War Part One) begins with the battles at the border, then covers the fight for the Polish corridor, the Polish Thermopylae at Narew, the Siege of Warsaw, the climactic battles at Bzura and Tomaszow Lubelski, and the actions of the 10th Motorised Cavalry “Black” Brigade and the Independent Operational Group Polesie. There are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, desperate defences…there’s even an armoured train or two.

Divided into six mini-campaigns, the second pack (The September War Part Two) begins with four based on specific German units: Panzerdivision Kempf, the 1st GebirgsjaegerDivision, the 4th Panzer Division, and the 1st Kavallerie Brigade. Then there are two mini-campaigns based on the Soviet invasion of Poland: the Belorussian Front and the Ukrainian Front. Finally there are details of two stand-alone battles: Westerplatte and the Hel Peninsula. As always, there are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, and desperate defences, all containing a whole host of useful scenario mechanics that can be re-used elsewhere.

No need for any preparation: each scenario contains a brief background history, maps, a full game briefing, and a full briefing for each player. Simply print out the pages you need, make up the deck from the list of cards required, unpack your figures and dice, set up the table and away you go!

Click here to buy the combined bundle.

IABSM AAR: The 4th Panssari Goes to War!

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Dave Lister had a lot of fun running a scenario based on the Battle for Honkaniemi (Feb. 26, 1940) at Broadsword 9 last weekend,. Honkaniemi is known as the only, and therefore largest, tank battle of the Winter War!

As you may know, while the Soviets had thousands of tanks at their command, the Finns had very few indeed. They threw them into a desperate attack late in the war that they hoped would throw back the Soviet forces that were closing on Viipuri (only 15km away at this point in the conflict) and spearhead a larger Finnish offensive operation.

Well, it turned out to be a terrible day for the Finns, from losing more than half of their thirteen operational tanks to mechanical trouble, to friendly artillery falling on the heads of the supporting infantry, to a complete lack of reconnaissance that could have revealed the Soviets were planning their own attack operation at the very same place and the very same time!

While a conventional victory was probably out of the question, Dave and friends decided to judge the results of this scenario against what the plucky and hopeless Finnish tankers achieved historically. And for all that, the Finns did very well during the game! Have a look and see what you think by clicking on the picture below: