Tuesday 17 March 2020

North Africa campaign preparation tasks

Having completed the campaign map this past weekend, I am planning to begin the campaign with the first game this coming weekend. But before I can start the games I have three areas I need to complete:

  1. Terrain cards
  2. Orders of battle
  3. Scenario options for the games.

I used terrain cards during my English Civil War campaign and they worked out really well. A new series of terrain cards is needed. To create them I used the same approach as with the campaign map, felt tipped pens and colouring pencils.

Desert terrain cards depicting hills, escarpments, swamp, rough ground, open ground, roads and town.
For orders of battle need to be finalised, I am trying to gauge what is a suitable starting size for a good game and for during the campaign when there are losses which cannot be resupplied. The order of battle represents a portion of a division, rather than the whole division, which maybe trying to a breakthrough or capture key terrain.

The rules used are based upon Lock 'n' Loads boardgame Tank on Tank. Naturally for such a tank oriented game all the Infantry divisions will all have supporting tank elements.

German Panzer Division is represented here.
A portion of am Allied armoured division
Allied Infantry Division with tank support
The final task is to determine a small range of 6 scenarios which will be played (selection based on a D6 dice roll). So far I have four taken from "Wargaming An Introduction" by Neil Thomas:

  1. Encounter Battle
  2. Frontal Assault
  3. Surprise Assault
  4. Escalating Engagement
  5. ?
  6. ?
I am going to look thought the scenarios in One Hour Wargaming to fill the final two types of game.

13 comments:

  1. I look forward to seeing your rules for this join the growing range at the top of your home page!!

    Simon

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    1. I am hoping the campaign will firm up the rule variations to Lock n Load's Tank on Tank game. These living rules are available online at their web site.

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  2. Your Western Desert campaign is looking very good!

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    1. Thank you. I am looking forward to commencing the campaign.

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  3. This all looks very interesting and a theatre that we first games as kids way back in the '70's.

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    1. My WWII theatre of choice as kid in the 70's too!

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    2. I too collected this WW2 theatre in the 70"s after reading John Sanders book. All Airfix kits with conversions.

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    3. I didn't discover wargaming until 1980. I'm practically a young 'un with you guys LOL

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    4. we are all young at heart :-)

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  4. I recall using the Airfix RAF rescue set to make soft-skinned vehicles!!

    Simon

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  5. Very much enjoying the development here. You've taken a lot of the minutiae out of more complex games and systems with your design ethos.
    A lot of correlation with modern campaigns across the board can be based on this - from NW Europe top Modern perhaps.

    Additional scenarios might be Ambush or logistics interdiction perhaps?

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    1. I find the process of writing down the campaign rules helps shed any surplus rules. Thanks for the scenario suggestions.

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