Mud on the Zaragoza Road - March, 1937

(Italians in panicked retreat...a sign of things to come...)

My gaming buddy Alex and I met up to have a go with Five Core Company Command and the Spanish Civil War. The scenario, Mud on the Zaragoza Road, is similar to the battle of Las Olivas (and also designed with the assistance of ChatGPT). The Italian CTV (played by myself) were tasked to push through a crossroads defended by elements of the International Brigade (played by Alex). The Italians intended to get units off the northern edge and also drive the Republicans from the intersection. The terrain layout is slightly different from the previous battle and the Republican forces are provided with some different support weapons (a 37mm AT gun instead of a mortar and 2nd HMG). The Republican goals were to stop the Nationalist assault and their secondary objective is to knock out the tankettes.

Some special rules:

The tankettes will begin on the road and can move normally on the road. Because of rainfall and muddy grounds, if they move off the roads, they must conduct a D6 task roll. A "1" stops movement immediately, a "6" results in the tankette getting bogged down. A task roll must be conducted to clear the bog and the tankette can resume movement attempts next turn. 

The International Brigade has high morale so will have two chits to overturn bad shock die results. 

The Italians have brittle morale. After the first base that is removed as a casualty, the Republican side will be given two chits to induce shock die rolls on their opponents.

The CTV began with initiative and start their advance from the southern table edge and the road. The tankettes led the charge with a platoon of infantry behind them and a platoon on either flank. The International Brigade had two infantry sections deployed behind each olive grove flanking the road intersection. Their 37mm anti-tank gun was position between two hills on their right flank. They had an infantry section behind the farm house and another infantry section with the HMG as reserve in the rear,

The Italians began their advance trying to take advantage of what cover and rough grounds that were available. They didn't do a very good job of that. Very quickly, Alex began laying down a withering fire from the olive groves. In Company Command, rolling 1s and 6s when shooting is a good thing. Alex warned me he has a knack for rolling ones and he wasn't kidding. An Italian infantry section on the left flank received a "1" from a shock die which induced a flinch and soon after received a "1" from a kill die which placed it in "men down" status. 

As seen above, the Italians begin a disjointed advance covered by ineffective fire from their Carcano rifles and Breda machine guns.

The first kill occurred when some Republicans opened fire on an Italian infantry section advancing on the road in support of the lead tankette. To make matters worse for the Italians, one of their tankettes turned off the road and promptly rolled a "6" getting bogged down in mud. 

On one of Alex's turn, he rolled for a firefight and took advantage of the opportunity. The Republican 37mm anti tank gun kept unloading roads at the tankettes and eventually a round struck home brewing the little Italian tomato can in flames. The Italian infantry responded back with rifle fire on the gun crew and drove them off for the moment. Accurate Republican rifle fire drove back the advancing Italians.

The tabletop at about the midway point with the Italians on the left and the International Brigade on the right. The advance is faltering. The little Italian Brixia mortars managed to cause some minor suppression and discomfort to the Republican infantry on the left flank, perhaps one last push will change the fortunes of the CTV?

The second tankette managed to extricate itself from the mud and advance to the crossroads but were quickly assaulted by Republican infantry armed with grenades. The second tankette was destroyed. Alex, feeling confident sent another section of International Brigade to charge the Italians with bayonets. Finding some pride and fury, the section of CTV repulsed the assault and wiped out their enemy. At this stage the Italians had lost two sections of infantry and two tankettes while only killing off one infantry section of International Brigade.

Things went from bad to worse for the Italians. A section of infantry panicked (dice rolls of 6s) on consecutive turns and fled from the battle.

In an attempt to make one last rally, I attempted to rally a few units suffering from "men down". Above, an infantry section with a LMG attached rolled a "6" on their attempt which wipes them out. The Italian HMG was also dealing with "men down" and also rolled a lethal 6. 

Alex and I played 8 turns in about two hours and had a clear conclusion (i.e. Italian defeat). In hindsight, I probably should have tried some different tactics, spreading my infantry further out on the flanks to put pressure on the flanks of the smaller Republican defenders. Something out of my control was Alex's timely rolling of 1s and 6s. Even with a numerical advantage, the Italians seem to have a tough time in the assault against a defender with better morale. The tankettes aren't exactly an armored fist either. They are protected against small arms fire but are only armored with a HMG and aren't big enough to overrun infantry. They are essentially mobile, armored HMGs and I didn't use them as such. Unlike my previous game "Las Olivas", I managed to play the rules correctly for the most part and thoroughly enjoyed the game. 

Company Commander is a solid ruleset and I think they really shine when you add some special rules in the scenario to better capture the flavor of the conflict you are trying to replicate. I don't what the next game I play will be but I won't be upset if it's Company Commander again.

Battle of Las Olivas - February, 1937

I was supposed to wargame a battle from the Spanish Civil War with one of my gaming buddies today but real life intervened with a schedule conflict and he couldn't make it. I decided to try to run through the scenario anyway since I had booked a table at my local gaming store.

The scenario was generated with ChatGPT and was titled Las Olivas. The scenario involved an infantry company of CTV backed up with a couple of tankettes advancing north trying to secure an intersection at the village of Las Olivas (named after the nearby olive groves). Opposing them were two platoons of International Brigade. Both sides could count on some HMGs and mortars, although only one side would really utilize their heavy weapons.

Above is an overview of the battle map and deployment. The Italians are at the bottom of the picture with two tankettes leading the advance. An infantry platoon is marching behind them with a platoon on either flank advancing through the fields. Since the ground was muddy with ran, the tankettes would have to roll if they wanted to leave the road. A "1" would stop movement and a "6" would get them bogged down.

I placed a good amount of scenery: small copses of trees, elevated area, hills, rocky outcrops and of course some olive groves. On occasion, I would even properly modify the shooting because of this scenery....more on that later.

The Italian right flank an infantry platoon of three sections, attached LMG and an attached leader. An LMG attachment gives an infantry section an extra shock die whereas a leader can be used for an extra activation.

Italian left flank and center ready to begin their advance towards Las Olivas.

The International Brigade left flank. All units are waiting hidden which means they can't be shot at or do any shooting.

The International Brigade right flank. Three sections of infantry (one with an attached LMG, another with an attached grenade team) and a HMG with attached leader.

The CTV had initiative as attackers to start the game off. They rolled a D6 and scored a 5, this means a normal game turn where they can activate four bases. I inadvertently moved all of them. An infantry section on the International Brigade opened up with reactive rifle fire on an advancing CTV infantry section. They rolled two dice (one shock die and one kill die), scoring 6 on both! The 6 on the kill die meant the Italians were wiped out. (GAME NOTE: I probably did this in error as there was a small rise in the ground in between the shooter and the target, probably should have been rolling with just a shock die).

The Italians fired back with an infantry section supported by a light machine gun and scored a 6 on one of their shock die which drove the same International Brigade section off the hill in panic.

Meanwhile, an International Brigade HMG on their right flank lays in hiding on the hill....

The Italians kept trying to advance but were taking incoming fire which often drove them back with "men down" or in "panic". Luckily both of these can be rallied from...

Since the Italians were rated as a bit unmotivated, the International Brigade side had two white chits they could use to induce a shock die roll on an Italian unit of their choosing. An attempt on the lead tankette yielded a "5" which did nothing.

The section of International Brigade that recorded the first kill of the game attempted to rally from their panic and rolled a "6"! Not good! They panicked again and departed the table edge.

The Republican side activated their light artillery and managed to score some hits which caused panic in a section of Italians.

And now it was the Italian side's turn to lose a rally and have a section of infantry (as well as a leader and LMG) panic off the table.

As the Italian tankettes drove forward, the Republican HMG caused a flinch on the section of infantry providing the tankettes support. A section of infantry with a grenade attachment decided the time was right to assault the lead tankette.

With their infantry support driven off further than an inch away (and thus unable to intercept the Republican assault), the tankette was on it's own. The Republicans had a +3 and rolled a "6" for a total of 9. The tankette rolled a 3 which meant the little tin can of a tank was knocked out!

With a tankette KO'd and supporting infantry driven off in panic, the Italian center was struggling.

On the Italian right, another Italian infantry section was wiped out when the Republican infantry and a LMG opened fire from the olive grove (scoring a "6" from the black kill die).

The remaining Italian tankette unloaded their 6.5mm machine gun on the Republican position responsible for mowing down their infantry support and cleared them from the olive grove (rolling a 6 on their kill die).

An overview of the relative positions at this stage of the game. The Italian central thrust to secure the intersection and olive grove has faltered. The Italian right has had the most success in their advance but has also seen casualties. At this point, the Italians have lost a platoon's worth of infantry (three sections/bases) and a tankette. They also have two infantry sections with "men down". The International Brigade has lost two sections of infantry in defense of Las Olivas.

I played out one more turn and the Italians suffered two more "men down" results on the right flank infantry sections. At the end of this turn (I lost track of turns but it was probably around six or seven), I decided the Italians had failed in their push to take the cross roads at Las Olivas. Two thirds of their infantry required rallying and they suffered enough losses as it was.

A hard fought victory for the brave volunteers from the International Brigade! Despite playing solo, I had a most enjoyable time. There were things I did wrong (i.e. some of the shooting modifiers, forgetting to limit activations for normal turns and forgetting to roll every turn to see what kind of turn type it is ) and there were some things I was uncertain of (does initiative alternate or whomever rolls the turn type?). Next time around, I will be better prepared.

On a side note, it was a fairly quiet day at the gaming shop but I had the opportunity to chat with some younger gamers around 12 or so. I thought they were playing Warhammer from a distance but to my surprise they informed me they were playing Baron's War scenario using Daniel Mersey's Lion Rampant rules and using Perry HYW plastics as proxies. The paint jobs and scenery were quite impressive (as seen above), as was their grasp of the rules and history (certainly all superior to my skills and knowledge at that age). With all of the concern about the graying of the hobby, it was really nice to see some younger gamers embracing historicals.

Moroccan Regulares

Back at the end of December I travelled to Morocco, the experience motivated me to paint some miniatures in honor of that trip. I opted for some Moroccan regulares from the Spanish Army of Africa during the Spanish Civil War. That decision motivated me to complete my partially painted International Brigade and CTV contingents before tackling the Moroccans. I am pleased to say that the Moroccans are finally "complete". 

As can be seen above, I have enough for a company of infantry and some support weapons: three HMGs and two mortars. 

Pictured above are the three platoon command stands. Two have European officers and the other has a Moroccan NCO.
 

The fellas pictured above are "bombers", they are equipped with grenades and in Company Command rules, they confer a bonus during assault. Below are the mortars and Hotchkiss heavy machine guns.

Last but not least are the grunts, the infantry. If, I am being honest I am a bit disappointed with how this contingent turned out. I purchased sculpts in a mix of winter and summer kit as I plan to recreate battles from February/March of 1937.  I think the mix of uniforms with djellabas and tunics and tarbouche and turban makes them appear a bit too ragtag. Additionally, in my haste to get them completed I may have inked them before the varnish cured which created some "dirty" looking paint jobs. 

I don't think I will be too motivated to try to rectify the issues so these are how they will be. I will ultimately add some artillery and some Panzer 1s to the collection. For now, this is it and I look forward to getting these guys on the tabletop sooner rather than later.

One final off-topic note...I have absolutely no idea how to properly format the paragraphs and photo alignment on this blog. I have tried many different things to make it more uniform and aesthetically pleasing but it never seems to get fixed. I apologize for the haphazard layout and I hope you aren't as annoyed by the appearance as I am. 

Thoughts on Ambushes

My default ruleset for 20th century, company level wargaming is Nordic Weasel's Five Core Company Command (that's quite the mouthful). Company Command has undergone some revisions over the years but it's still a very simple, quick play game with very interesting and innovative mechanics (check out this incredibly helpful YouTube short by "Skirmishin" for brief explanation. 

With most quick-play, simple games there will be certain little bits streamlined or not addressed. Earlier versions didn't really address disparities in troop/command quality however the most iteration uses the ability to add or subtract order results though the use of chits (allowing or forcing a reroll). I think this is brilliant in its simplicity. 

I plan to use the rules for asymmetrical conflicts where ambushes were common like the French Indo China War. I want to add a simple mechanic into the game to allow for such instances. My initial thought is to provide a limited number of chits or cards that can be played to set an ambush. During their activation turn, the ambusher will spend the chit/card and be allowed to deploy one unit/base within a certain amount of inches of an enemy unit. The ambusher is allowed one initial chance to shoot at a target and then the opponent can immediately conduct reactive fire. 

I think it is a simple approach to solve a potentially complex instance. Any thoughts? 

Pendraken Painting Competition 2026

 Around this time of the year, I am hurriedly painting up 10mm Pendraken figures to enter into their annual competition. Recently, I have in fact been painting Pendraken figures however there was no intention of entering the competition. I was really just trying to get projects to completion. After talking with Leon from Pendraken at Cold Wars 2026, I decided to enter my International Brigade into a few categories.

I will toss my hat in the ring for the 20th Century Foot, Vehicle and Army categories. I told Leon that I don't have high hopes of recapturing past glories...the competition has really stiffened and my eyes are slowly starting to lose the battle to age.

I'm currently painting up some Moroccan Regulares for the SCW...I don't think they will be ready for the competition. If they are then perhaps they get entered as well. Anyway, wish me luck!

UPDATE: I managed to paint up an entire company of Moroccans. I pushed the proverbial hobby pedal to the metal and painted up the company in the span of 4-5 days (it took about three years for me to complete the CTV!). 

Unfortunately, I think I pushed things too hard...in addition to a stiff back and tired eyes, I had a mishap during the inking phase. Usually after I finish painting, I apply a gloss varnish to the figures. This provides a protective veneer over the paint and a smooth surface so the ink doesn't "stain" the paint and just slips into recesses allowing for definition of depth. I usually let this varnish cure for about 24 hours. In this case, it was about 5-6 hours. To make matters worse, I had recently made a new batch of my magic wash. The wash is ideally 8 parts medium, 4 parts AP Strong, 4 parts AP Dark and one part AP Blue Ink. I think I made this particular batch too strong.

Whatever the cause, the end result was that the figures ended up with a dirty appearance after inking. I attempted to clean up some of this grimy look with touch up paint. At this point, I have only based up one platoon with an officer base, bomber base and an HMG support base.

And here they are, in their flawed glory. I selected sculpts in various parts of the Regulare uniform: tunics, djellabas, turbans, tarbouches, etc. Perhaps I made them a bit too rag-tag. 

I entered these little buggers in the "20th Century Foot" category. The competition this year is pretty stiff (almost as stiff as my aching back). I don't expect to place but we will see....