Nimitz: The Fight for the Fjords

For our last game of the year I wanted to put on something big and fun and not too demanding. Nimitz rules always give a fast and exciting game but just for the hell of it we crammed as many 1/700 ship models on the table as we could. A scenario set in a narrow and winding fjord addresses many of the table size issues in this scale. 

Balancing the scenario was a challenge. I only have 4 German DDs so far, whereas Darren has more Royal Navy destroyers than, well, the Royal Navy! 

Despite promising sceptics of this unfeasibly large scale that we would limit ourselves to destroyers, surely just one small Light Cruiser - Konigsberg - couldn't hurt and would push the Kreigsmarine needle up to half the British points... 

The British/Polish/Australian flotillas entered the fjord... 

Z-43 was duty guardship, patrolling the stretch between the two narrows and quickly spotted the oncoming armada. The officer of the watch's knuckles whitened on his binoculars as he leant over the voice pipe:  'Kapitan - Officer of the Watch. Multiple hostile vessels entering the fjord at Green Zero One Five - range 15 cables - speed fast. Am maintaining course and speed'. 

History does not record the skipper's response, but it is said he broke all records for ladder climbing as he immediately materialized on the bridge - without spilling a drop of his kaffee! After the Funkmeisters had broadcast a contact report, the remainder of the German flotilla anchored at the head of the fjord got under weigh.

Meanwhile Z-43 had scored a hit and some minor damage on the lead English destroyers, but had taken damage in return. The helm was thrown over and an attempt made to steal a lead over oncoming armada

Failing to draw clear, and with damage mounting...

Z-43 came about in a bid to launch torpedoes prior to beaching herself. The first salvo missed...

Reinforcements would not be forthcoming for some time!

Just as she was in position for a second launch, critical damage wiped out the remaining launcher, and she sank prior to making it to the beach... She had failed to make any worthwhile impression on the Allied flotillas!

At last the rest of the German force was arriving at the scene of action, 

struggling to form into formation.

With so many targets it was decided to simply attack the nearest formation...

The German gunnery was fair, and despite all torpedoes missing the lead British destroyer was sunk. Only 11 more to deal with!

As for Konigsberg by dint of a handbrake turn around the narrows she was able to bring all nine of her guns to bear, causing heavy but not crippling damage to HMS Afridi.

Meanwhile British gunfire, only sporadically accurate but causing massive damage when hits were scored, had sunk the remaining German destroyers.

Hard up against the granite edges of the fjord by the narrows, Konigsberg was unlikely to be able to come about and rejoin the action in time to influence events, so made a break for the open sea. 

This left the Allied fleet free to take their time knocking out the Heavy Water storage tanks with no opposition. Another setback for the Nazi Atomic program!

2024: A wargaming retrospective

Mercifully, perhaps, this will be a very short post, since I have made a video of all the Wollongong Wargamers' games throughout the year:

But I just wanted to also highlight what in reflection appear to be the trends this year (2024), on a personal basis.

The highlight of any wargaming year, big 'Mega Games' take a lot out of me. Particularly in the last few days prior to the event, I often think - this is the last one I do! I only ran two this year, Talavera back in April and Borodino in November. I think both were successful, although there are always lessons learnt. My reflection is that  the key to success is to be selective about who you invite, and leave plenty of time between games. If someone has strong views about an alternative approach to the one you are taking, then have the wisdom to politely invite them to run their own game. This need not be divisive, simply present it as a 'Battle of XXXX Day' with a display of varying approaches/scales/rulesets. On the other hand, being surrounded by enthusiastic, willing and helpful players is incredibly energizing. Already I have an appetite to run two more in 2025, ideally coinciding with the 210th anniversary of Waterloo and the 220th anniversary of Austerlitz. June and December are probably far enough apart! None of us is getting any younger and it is within the power of us all not to have any deathbed regrets when it comes to wargaming epic battles!

A perennial issue is the long and frequently predicted death of the hobby, owing to the aging profile of wargamers. 

Whilst taking no credit myself, dare I say the Wollongong Wargamers are bucking the trend in this department. Aussies are generally non-judgemental or 'sniffy' about fashions and trends, but in particular we welcome a very diverse range of games/rulesets and approaches. Gaslands, for example, is by far our most popular and frequently played game. At the same time we publish a calendar of our 'core' games to tempt folk who have to make a bit of an effort to come in, but can expect and plan for a particular game to be 'laid on'. 

MaK - dystopian Sci Fi.

No matter how much of a dyed in the wool Grognard you may be, once you take a closer look there is always something to admire in anyone's approach to gaming, and often I am left quite jealous at the modelling skills and brushmanship involved in less traditional genres.

Scale issues cropped up repeatedly this year. Entirely selfishly, moving to a smaller property, I have downsized my core scales to Warlord Epic for horse and musket, and 1:144th / 12mm for Cold War and WW2. 

Young Daniel's Prince of Wales Own Volunteers - epic painting!

Initially I was alone in this and had to provide both sides for any game I laid on, but 2024 has seen a slow but steady increase in the acceptance of these smaller scales, to the extent that my Waterloo bash will be in Epic scale.

However, the advent of two new rulesets this year have set me on a retrograde path! Achtung Panzer! is an entertaining set of WW2 tank skirmish rules that are designed for 1/56th - 28mm scale models...

and Clash of Steel is an innovative and exciting set of rules set in an alternative post war epoch redolent of interesting and evocative AFVs - all in 1:100th - 15mm scale!

So best wishes for 2025, and please remember the wise words of that soldier poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr:

Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.