For a bit of a break in-between English Civil War games I decided to get out my old Peter Laing WW1 15mm figures for a game. To get some inspiration for a scenario I looked up "Command and Colours The Great War" for some maps and found Cambrai (Bourlon Village & Wood) - 23-25 November 1917. Then setup the tabletop as best I could.
One of the challenges with WW1 games and the tabletop are how to represent trenches. My troops are on fairly large 3x4 inch bases and do not fit into any constructed trench. So my latest attempt is to use dark brown felt, an zig-zag template over which is sprayed a sand colour
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| A template is placed over the felt and spayed with a sand colour |
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| The end result from spaying is starting to look trench like (note - the over spray helps to disguise the weeds in the lawn) |
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| A black marker is used to share up the trench outline and give the impression of duckboards in the bottom. |
I am using a grid for my WW1 game, so troops occupying a length of trench are placed just behind the trench to show occupation.
A few more photos of the game set up. I plan to use a D3 version of One Hour Wargame rules on a 6 inch grid.
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| Balsa wood tanks support the assault |
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| Bourlon Village |
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| Bourlon Wood |
Fantastic job on the tanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Once upon a time I did have some Peter Laing tanks, but they were lost when moving. Alas.
DeleteThis a good solution to your trench conundrum. With infantry stands larger than the trench itself, does touching the trailing edge of the trench constitute being in the trench or does a stand fit entirely in the same footprint as the trench marker?
ReplyDeleteThe positioning of the stand is more aesthetic and it is assumed any unit in a square with a trench will be occupying it for cover.
DeleteSplendid game - are the tanks home made?
ReplyDeleteYes scratch build with balsa wood. Post on them here https://gridbasedwargaming.blogspot.com/2015/09/ohw-machine-age-wargames-with-peter.html
DeleteEffective and beautiful job on the trenches, a great looking and atmospheric table!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am thinking of trying the same approach to create some shell holes.
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