Rematch of the Battle of the Tombs (Dōmyōji - 1615)

This battle report covers my second game of the Battle of the Tombs (Dōmyōji - 1615) remotely hosted by Jon of Palouse Wargaming Journal. In our first game from a few weeks ago (battle report found here) I commanded the Tokugawa forces, who were the historical victors. This time, we were switching sides and I would be leading the Osaka army.

If you've been following Jon's blog, you will know he has hosted this game several times with different wargamers. With the exception of one recent game, the Tokugawa army has been victorious every time. They do begin with the advantage of having an extra cavalry unit, and cavalry can be particularly powerful in these rules.

The game's objective is to reduce your opponent's army resolve, which can be achieved by:

• Destroying enemy units.
• Successfully pursuing after combat.
• Killing enemy leaders.

Additional resolve points can also be gained at the end of the game by controlling the tombs, making them potentially decisive in a closely fought battle.

The Rules

The game uses Jon's Samurai adaptation of the Basic Impetus rules. A few key features of the rules are worth noting:

• Successful charges, followed by pursuit, can wreak havoc on an army's battle line.
• Manoeuvring units is difficult and slow unless they are advancing or falling back (and disorganised units cannot fall back)
• The first activation is determined by a dice roll, while subsequent clan activations are decided by drawing coloured dice from a bag. Winning the initial activation can provide valuable attacking opportunities.
• Even when defending, you need to be prepared to counterattack and make full use of a unit's impetus bonus when charging.

The Plan

With these rule features in mind, my plan for the Osaka army was to refuse my right flank, withdrawing it slightly while repositioning my lone cavalry unit towards the centre, where it could hopefully launch a decisive counterattack. On the left flank, I intended to attack quickly in an attempt to disrupt the Tokugawa centre.

The starting positions with my planned opening moves in solid red arrows, and counter attacks in dotted red arrows. The original photo is from Jon's briefing pack. 

So, did the plan work?

Battle Report

Following a general advance by Jon's Tokugawa forces, I stuck to my plan and launched an attack with the Osaka left flank. The results were mixed. A Samurai unit was driven back after a bloody clash, but this opened the way for an Ashigaru unit to charge forward. They destroyed an enemy unit and successfully pursued twice before becoming isolated behind the enemy line, at which point they were swiftly cut down by the Tokugawa cavalry. 

Meanwhile, on my right flank, my lone cavalry unit continued its slow redeployment towards the centre.

The Tokugawa army advances and Osaka launches an attack from its left flank.

A unit of Teppo near the right-hand tombs inflicted damage on its Tokugawa counterpart, only to be charged and destroyed by Jon's second cavalry unit.

The Tokugawa army mops up the Osaka attacks.

After the initial charges on my left flank, Jon successfully reorganised his army and resumed an ordered advance. In the centre, I formed a defensive line. While Tokugawa's cavalry completed their destruction of my Samurai on the left flank. From that point on, my only real option there was to harass nearby enemy units with my archers positioned near the left-hand tomb.

A controlled retirement by Osaka units while archers harassed the enemy on the left flank. 

I was feeling a little bit apprehensive at this point in the game with my left flank all but lost. Although my right flank was still intact and my cavalry were yet to be committed.

Having initially fallen back, my right flank finally saw an opportunity to launch a counterattack (my only opportunity to attack). A unit of foot Samurai charged and destroyed one enemy unit and then drove back an Ashigaru unit. Unfortunately they were unable to follow up and finish the job. In the centre the Tokugawa continued to advance forcing back some of my units.

Tokugawa forces push forward in the centre and on their right flank with their cavalry.

My centre was now the focus and after initially giving ground they charged, lead by the cavalry, they forced back the Tokugawa line. Although one of my Ashigaru units was forced to retreat during the fighting. On the right, the foot Samurai charged again, this time destroying the remaining Tokugawa unit on that flank. 

The Tokugawa cavalry, having pursued so aggressively after destroying my Samurai, found themselves isolated and unable to influence the battle while they regrouped and turned back towards the fighting.

Tokugawa cavalry continue their pursuit, while the Osaka centre and right flank attack.

Sensing an opportunity, my centre attacked once more. This second assault destroyed another Ashigaru unit and drove back the remaining Tokugawa cavalry. These accumulated losses were enough to break the Tokugawa army's resolve, handing victory to the Osaka forces.

A final charge by the remaining Osaka units breaks the Tokugawa army resolve.

After game thoughts...

As much as I would like to say that everything went to plan, fortune certainly played its part in Osaka's victory. I won the initiative more often than Jon, allowing me to launch several timely counterattacks. Just as importantly, there were at least three occasions during the game when I rolled exceptionally well, resulting in Tokugawa units being either destroyed or badly mauled. By contrast, I cannot recall Jon enjoying the same run of good fortune. While the plan gave me opportunities, fate and the dice undoubtedly smiled on the Osaka army this time.

Here is a short poem of the battle. I did seek assistance from ChatGPT to help write this...

Beside the silent ancient tombs,

Where honour is echoed in the bones,

Banners met in clash and cry,

As arrows and smoke darkened the sky.

The battle swayed from hope to fear,

Each charge drew victory ever near.

The Tokugawa's strength gave way,

As Osaka seized the closing day.

The tombs looked on, unmoved by fame,

They cared not who would win the game.

For dust returns to dust once more—

Yet honour lives through battle's lore.

Next…

My next post will be a battle report from my Battle of Britain campaign. I opted to write about this game first as I have more notes on the Battle of Britain game to help me recall the events.

A few days of painting and a surprise package

I have managed to make some good progress with my painting recently, helped by my son visiting for a day of painting. While he worked on his Star Wars Legion collection, I finished a unit of mounted infantry for my Anglo-Zulu War project, adding to the infantry unit, a Nordenfelt Gun (which I may convert to a Gatling Gun later), and naval brigade figures which I had completed the the previous day. With the mounted infantry finished, I decided to paint some Star Wars Stormtroopers I have had sitting around for a while.

Mounted Infantry

Infantry unit.

Naval Brigade units

Stormtroopers

As having a painting day with my son was not enough, I also received a wonderful surprise in the post. James, of the Solo Slow Wargaming and The Chauvinistic blog blogs, contacted me a week ago to say he was posting through some miniatures that he thought I would find useful. When the parcel arrived, I eagerly opened it to discover some carefully converted Highlanders. There are enough figures for a small unit, and they will soon find their way onto the painting table.

Surprise package contents

Converted highlanders. I am looking forward to painting them.

The parcel also contained a selection of ESCI, Call to Arms, and HaT figures. The ESCI and Call to Arms figures include some interesting models, such as officers and buglers, which will be ideal for the command stands I still need to make, as well as adding a bit more variety to the officers leading my infantry units. The remaining HaT figures will allow me to add a couple more units to the collection.

There was also an accompanying letter, in which James explained the provenance of the miniatures, many of which had themselves had been gifts to him over the years. It was a thoughtful gesture and made receiving them even more special. Thank you, James. It was a wonderful surprise.

A blood Red Skies game for my Battle of Britain campaign.

I am not quite sure what my next post will be. Tomorrow I will be playing another remote Samurai game with Jon (playing the Osaka side) and have also completed the next scenario in my Battle of Britain campaign.

Wrapping up the Zulus and starting on the British infantry

For the moment, I have wrapped up painting my plastic HaT 20mm Zulu army with the completion of four command bases last week. They are based on 2 x 2-inch squares I cut out from a large sheet of 3mm MDF purchased from the hardware store. For one of these commanders, I converted a figure and used a spare horse so the commander could be mounted. This base will be used as the overall commander.

Zulu command bases

With the Zulu army complete (at least for now) I started painting some of the British infantry this past weekend (it was wet so no gardening). The first decision was what size of the base and number of figures per base?

Testing out base sizes and number of 20mm figures per base.

The Zulu army is based on 4 × 3-inch bases, which is the size I use for most of my armies. Each base has 12 figures, and a unit consists of two bases, giving a total of 24 figures. In the Black Powder rules and its Zulu supplement, which I plan to use for my games, units are classed as either Small or Standard. In my games, a Small unit will be represented by a single base, while a Standard unit will consist of two bases.

For the British, I wanted to give the appearance of the "Thin Red Line." So I kept the base width at 4 inches but reduced the depth from 3 inches to 1.5 inches. This allows eight figures to fit comfortably on each base, giving a Standard unit of two bases a total of 16 figures.

The completed 16 figure unit with 2 bases.

I originally considered making British units around half the size of a Zulu unit, but doing so would have required smaller base widths, not what I wanted. Although each British base only has a third fewer figures than a Zulu base, the shallower formation gives the impression of a much smaller unit and the "Thin Red Line" appearance I was hoping for.

A comparison between the British and Zulu bases.

As with all of my 20mm projects, I have used my usual block-painting approach with a glossy finish. I keep my painting simple, adding just enough detail to create the impression of straps and equipment. These armies are intended for the three-foot rule when on the tabletop rather than any close-up views. I also find that, at this scale, trying to pick out every tiny detail is becoming increasingly tricky with my eyesight.

A tabletop view.

This approach to painting is partly about speed. There are a lot of figures to paint, and I would much rather finish the project and play some games than end up with an incomplete project sitting on the shelf.

Remote game report and some board game fun

A few face-to-face board games and a remote wargame over the past week has meant I done very well on the gaming side of the hobby.

I will start with the remote game against Jon from Palouse Wargaming Journal. The scenario was the Battle of Domyoji, 1615, focusing on the fighting among the tombs between the Osaka and Tokugawa armies. I chose to command the Tokugawa army for no particular reason other than the tabletop photograph in Jon's briefing notes was taken from the Tokugawa side of the table, making it much easier to orient myself.

A photograph from Jon's briefing notes. The layout is based upon a scenario from Samurai Battles game.

For the game we used Jon's modified version of the Basic Impetus rules, which have been adapted for the Sengoku period and played on a hex grid. I had played these rules with Jon a couple of years ago and remembered two key things about the rules:

1. Turning (or pivoting) units is a very slow business and also causes unit disruption.
2. Charges can have dramatic consequences. A defeated unit that retires can be pursued, and if it is forced to retreat two hexes (representing a rout), it turns to face away from the victorious unit, leaving it in a very vulnerable position (especially with point 1).

Victory points would be awarded for controlling a tomb area without enemy units nearby, while each army also had an army break point—12 for Osaka and 15 for Tokugawa. Points were lost for any destroyed units, killed leaders, and successful enemy pursuits. In addition, after Turn 8 the Osaka army could score victory points by exiting units from its own table edge. This meant the Tokugawa army had little choice but to close with the enemy quickly and prevent Osaka from slipping away.

Battle Report

With the need to engage the Osaka army quickly, the Tokugawa line pushed forward on both flanks during the opening turn, advancing around both tombs in an attempt to bring the enemy to battle early before they could begin withdrawing.

Turn 1 - The Tokugawa army advances.

The second turn began exceptionally well for the Tokugawa army. On the left flank, Masamune led a determined assault that, with his cavalry, routed the opposing units through a series of successful combats and pursuits. In the process, the Osaka commander Kitigawa was killed. This all dealt a significant blow to the enemy resolve. Off the back of this success, the Tokugawa cavalry moved around the tombs and woodland to threaten the rear of the Osaka army.

Elsewhere, however, the battle proved far more problematic. The centre and right continued their advance but made little headway. The Osaka forces responded with a series of well-timed counter-attacks that left many of the Tokugawa centre and right flank units scattered as they were forced to retire.

Turn 2 - The Tokugawa centre and right flank are under pressure.

By the third turn, the victorious left flank was regrouping and manoeuvring into position for a flank attack. Meanwhile, the situation in the centre and on the right had become increasingly desperate as more units retired or fled. As the units attempted to rally, Tadamasa led his samurai cavalry in a charge to slow the Osaka advance. The attack inflicted some welcome damage on the enemy, but the cavalry were soon met and checked by the Osaka samurai cavalry.

Turn 3 - Cavalry to the rescue.

Turn four proved decisive. The Tokugawa left flank continued its advance, increasing the threat on the Osaka flank. When an Osaka cavalry charge was repulsed, Tadamasa immediately launched a successful pursuit. The cumulative losses finally pushed the Osaka army beyond its break point, shattering its resolve and bringing the battle to a close and a Tokugawa victory.

Turn 4 - A decisive pursuit cause the Osaka army to break.

Game Summary

The game took around two hours to finish and was most enjoyable to play. Even though the game only had four turns, the turns are broken up by drawing different coloured dice to randomly determine the order of activation of the battle groups (Sonae).

Victory points were awarded for controlling the tomb hexes. In the end, each side held one tomb, so these points effectively cancelled each other out, leaving the result to be decided by losses inflicted on the opposing army.

The cavalry proved to be the decisive throughout the battle. The Tokugawa horse dominated the left flank early on, creating the opportunity to threaten the Osaka rear. Later, Tadamasa's timely charges in the centre helped stabilise a collapsing centre and right flank. Without Tadamasa's successful attacks, Jon's counter-attack could easily have routed several more Tokugawa units and swung the battle in Osaka's favour.

Thank you to Jon for hosting a fun and exciting game. We hope to play this battle again, this time switching sides.

Board Games

A week earlier, my daughter visited for a day of gaming, and we managed to fit in three different board games. We started with the co-operative game Zombicide, where, despite being chased by the undead, our entire team managed to get all their objectives and escape alive.

Setting up Zombicide game.

I have painted up all the figures that come with the game.

Our second game was another co-operative game called The Captain is Dead. This is becoming one of our favourites. In the game you play as the crew of a spaceship under attack by aliens. The objective is to repair the ship's critical systems and get the ship's drive back online before being overwhelmed by aliens and failing systems. We played two games, with one victory and one defeat.

This game was a Christmas Present.

There is quite a lot to set up in the game.

We finished the day with a game of Space Hulk. I was commanding the Space Marines and I  unfortunately failed to complete the mission. I really should get around to painting the miniatures that come with the game.

Space Hulk game in progress.

A wonderful day spent with my daughter. My next post will cover my painting progress on the Zulu and British infantry units.

Battle of Britain Campaign - Game 6 Battle Report

A week ago I managed to find some time for another game in my Battle of Britain campaign, this one covering the week from 12–18 August 1940.

The Stuka finally gets to be used in a campaign game.

The mission, determined by a dice roll, was to Bomb an RDF (Radio Direction Finding) Installation. In the games I am using the Blood Red Skies ruleset adapted for play on a hex grid.

The mission is selected.

With the mission selected, the next steps were to determine the aircraft involved, the weather, pilot skills, and the arrival altitude of each formation. Details are all covered in the campaign rules, which can be found here.

Since starting the campaign, I have made a couple of minor change to the campaign scenario set up rules. The first concerns barrage balloons and flak. Rather than treat them separately I have combined the two, with all hexes surrounding the barrage balloons being treated as flak hexes. The second change relates to pilot skills where there can now only be one Ace in each force. If a second Ace is rolled, that pilot is instead now treated as a Veteran pilot.

Scenario

A Junkers 87 Stuka, escorted by four Messerschmitt 109s, has been tasked with bombing an RDF station. The Stuka is flown by a Regular pilot, while the fighter escort consists of one Veteran pilot, one Regular pilot, and two Novice pilots.

Intercepting the raid are two Hurricanes and two Spitfires. The RAF force includes two Regular pilots, one Novice pilot, and one Ace pilot. The Novice and Ace are flying Spitfires.

It is a clear day, with only two cloud markers on the table. There are two barrage balloons, supported by flak batteries defending the target.

Game Report

German aircraft, consisting of one Stuka dive-bomber escorted by four Messerschmitt 109 fighters, approach the coast and are intercepted by RAF Hurricanes and Spitfires who enter the action at low altitude.

Game set up.

A bank of cloud is utilised to conceal some of the intercepting RAF aircraft. Two Hurricanes and one Spitfire emerge from the cloud to make a head-on attack against the Stuka as it flies towards the target area. The Stuka sustains only slight damage and is able to continue on its course.

The RAF use clouds to conceal their initial attack.

The Messerschmitt escorts engage the RAF aircraft in a air melee. Both sides exchanging fire, causing minor damage to each side, after which the RAF pilots attempt to disengage and manoeuvre to make a second attack run at the Stuka, this time from the rear. Due to the close attention of the Messerschmitt escorts, these attacks will be less coordinated than the initial attack.

A confused air-melee as the Messerschmitt escorts engage the RAF aircraft.

A moment of relief for the Stuka as it finds cloud cover.

The attacks while unsuccessful did force the Stuka to lose altitude. However, it passed through the barrage balloon and flak defences without harm.

As the Stuka began to close upon its objective, one of Spitfires succeeded in delivering a decisive burst of fire, and the Stuka enters a steep dive and crashed to the ground before reaching the RDF installation. One member of the crew was observed to successfully bail out.

This was a good day for the RAF. They successfully defended the bombing target with no aircraft lost.

The attacks on the Stuka become piecemeal.

With the Stuka at low altitude a final attack forces it to crash.

Game Wrap Up

Both sides made good use of the available cloud cover during the engagement. The RAF exploited it during their initial attack approach, whilst the Stuka was able to escape some of the attacks. The RAF held a slight advantage in pilot quality, which proved useful for turn activation order and the number of dice used when shooting.

I made a mistake when setting up the scenario. Only one barrage balloon unit should have been available to the defenders, as Luftwaffe bombing activity had successfully struck London the previous week. Under the campaign rules, one barrage balloon unit would have been redeployed to the defence of the capital.

Campaign Situation

I am now 6 turns into the campaign, which runs for a total of 17 turns. Each game represents a key engagement within a given week, adopting this “bath-tubbing” approach keeps the number of games to a manageable level and makes use of my limited number of aircraft.

To win the Luftwaffe must achieve five successful bombing missions against London, industry, or convoy targets to win the campaign. So far they have achieved two successful raids, both against London. The campaign remains well balanced with eleven turns remaining. However, as it progresses, penalties to Luftwaffe pilot skill tests in the last 5 turns will take effect, reflecting the attrition on experience from sustained action over enemy territory.

Back to painting Zulus

After taking a break from painting Zulus, it has taken me quite a while to get back to them. A few real-life distractions have ended up extending the break to be longer than expected.

A Zulu army advances.

I have been painting the Zulus in batches of 60, simply because that's how many of these HaT 1:72 scale figures come in a box. A full batch can look rather daunting when they are all lined up on the painting table, and getting motivated to start can be an issue. This weekend I decided it was time to knuckle down and get stuck in, and I have now completed the latest and possibly last large batch.

60 Zulus lined up on the painting table.

With these recent additions finished, I thought I would do a bit of a parade and lay the whole collection out on just to see how much tabletop space they occupy. I have been re-reading Black Powder's Zulu supplement, which uses both standard and small units. With most of my collections I base my figures on 4 x 3 inch rectangular bases, so my plan is to use two bases for a standard unit and a single base for a small unit. 

With the Zulus I am able to fit 12 figures onto each base without them looking too structured or regimented. Most units will be standard sized and consist of two bases totalling 24 figures. They provide a good representation of a Zulu Impi on the tabletop. There may be occasions with smaller battles where I will use a block of 4 bases.

I do my best to make the units look unstructured with no obvious lines of miniatures.

So far I have 12 standard sized units and 1 small sized unit. When all laid out they take up a fair chunk of the tabletop.

When I get around to painting the British forces I suspect I will have between 8 to 10 figures to a single base, which I am looking forward too! However, next will be some Zulu commander bases to wrap up the Zulu army for the moment.

Battle of Britain Campaign - Turns 4 and 5

This weekend it was time to clear the American War of Independence armies from the tabletop and prepare for a game of Blood Red Skies as part of my ongoing solo Battle of Britain campaign. The campaign consists of 17 turns, and I am hoping to be able to play at least one game every fortnight.

A photo of the game changed to give a cartoon feel.

The mission for the next campaign turn, covering 29th July to 4th August 1940, was determined by a dice roll. A roll of 4 resulted in a Bomb Airfields mission. As this was a repeat of the previous week's mission, the campaign rules treat it as a period of bad weather with no flying activity.

The campaign therefore advances to the next turn, 5th August to 11th August 1940, and a roll of 3 has the mission to Bomb London.

Turn 4 resulted in bad weather as the dice roll was a repeat of the previous turn.

The campaign rolls on to turn 5 and a bombing mission on London.

With the mission selected, the following steps were completed to set up the game:

• Select aircraft
• Determine weather
• Determine pilot skills
• Determine aircraft altitude

Scenario

A Dornier 17 and a Heinkel 111 are on a mission to bomb London, escorted by three Messerschmitt 109s. The bombers have Regular pilots, while the fighter escort includes one Ace pilot, one Veteran pilot, and two Regular pilots.

Intercepting the raid are two Hurricanes and two Spitfires. The RAF force consists of two Novice pilots and two Regular pilots.

The weather is clear, with only two cloud markers on the table. Helping the defence are two barrage balloons supported by flak batteries.

Game Report

The intercepting Hurricanes and Spitfires belonged to a newly formed squadron whose pilots had limited combat experience, though they were eager for the up coming action. As the RAF fighters closed in on the incoming bombers, it became apparent that the escorting Messerschmitt 109s were flying at an unusually low altitude. This presented a rare opportunity to strike directly at the bombers before the German fighters could gain altitude to intervene effectively.

At the start of the game the RAF have the altitude advantage.

The normal tactic employed was for the Spitfires to engage the enemy escorts, allowing the Hurricanes to concentrate on the bombers. On this occasion, however, the entire RAF formation headed straight towards the German bombers. During the initial attack run, one of the bombers appeared to suffer light damage, though it maintained its course.

RAF fighters swoop in to attack the bombers.

The escorting Messerschmitts gain altitude and engage the RAF fighters.

The sky soon became a swirling melee as the Messerschmitts, having gained altitude, moved to engage the RAF fighters. With the RAF fighters occupied, both the Dornier and Heinkel sought refuge in a nearby bank of cloud.

The bombers get some relief as they enter the cloud.

The better turning ability of the Hurricanes and Spitfires allowed most of the RAF pilots to follow the bombers into the cloud, hoping to catch them as they emerged. Not all were so fortunate. One inexperienced Spitfire pilot was hit by enemy fire and was forced to bale out as his aircraft plunged earthward in a steep dive.

The attacks continue from the fighters and flak as the bombers emerge from the cloud.

A combination of accurate fire from the flak batteries and some determined attacks by RAF pilots inflicted further damage on the German bomber formation. Despite this punishment, the bombers continued steadily towards their objective. Then, without warning, the Dornier broke formation, banking sharply as flames erupted from one engine. The crippled aircraft began a slow descent, leaving its surviving companion to continue the mission alone.

The bombers are taking hits as they are tailed by the fighters.

One bomber breaks formation as it is shot down.

The Messerschmitts had not been idle. They positioned themselves behind the RAF fighters and pressed home a series of attacks. Their greater experience soon told, and a second Spitfire was shot down.

A second Spitfire is shot down.

With the remaining Hurricanes increasingly occupied by the German fighters, the lone Heinkel was able to slip through to reach its target. Although one bomber had been destroyed, the Luftwaffe would claim a successful mission, having delivered an attack on London while inflicting losses on the defending RAF squadron.

The Heinkel 111 reaches its target as the remaining RAF fighters break off their attacks.

Debrief

The RAF came very close to shooting down both bombers. They had an excellent start, catching the escorting Luftwaffe fighters at low altitude and exploiting this advantage. However, pilot experience plays a crucial role in this game, influencing both activation order of aircraft and the number of dice rolled during shooting attacks. The difference in experience levels proved telling. The RAF pilots lacked the additional dice for shooting on several occasions where successful attacks were made and failed to make the required hits.