Sengoku Japanese: Ready for Big Battles

A big week in the progress for my Japanese armies as I completed the last of the models required for the big battles. These have pretty much all been from the Fireforge Games range of models with the very occasional metal miniature added in. I started these back in August so it's been a decent length of time I've been painting these up and I'm still enjoying getting paint on them.

So off the bench this week are the artillery pieces for each side, using Fireforge chaps as crew and a 3d print I found.

We also have the last of the cavalry for the Shimazu clan forces including three mounted commanders. I've made one up with a head and arms from the Sohei box to make up a mounted monk commander. I'm not sure the armies really needed any extra colour, but I've done it anyway!

So that's the bulk of the painting done now, 300+ plastic Samurai, Ashigaru, and Monks ready to fight a big battle. Never Mind the Naginata's hasn't been released yet but Billhooks the rules they are based off will fill the gap until they are.

The Shimazu forces:

Both Clans:

The Mori Clan:

I still have about 30 metal miniatures I picked up to paint and some terrain so it will be a while before this project is complete.

Fox & The Rat: Day 11, The Final Assault?

Capt. Rohrstock shook his head in shock and disbelief as him men trudged back past him off the field of battle. Benghazi had been within his grasp but instead of victory fate had dealt him a stinging defeat. 

The battle had started well enough with his advance guard seeming catching the enemy unaware and short of men, though well dug in. He decided to concentrate his efforts on one side of the enemy perimeter and try to use superior German firepower to blow them out of their defences. 

His men had poured a withering fire into the enemy but their deep defences had protected them from any serious harm and the fire coming back from the enemy lines had been unusually accurate. So accurate in fact that the machine gun team of no. 3 section was cut down to the man.

But the assault pressed ahead and no. 2 section braved the fire of a newly arrived Sikh 6pdr to launch a bayonet charge which sent one defending team flying backwards. This however exposed them to a withering return fire from the defenders.

His battle hardened men kept at their task even though the enemy Vickers was causing havoc in their ranks and indedd the rest of no. 3 section eventually gave their lives trying to oust the enemy from his position.

The concentrated fire of the two remaining sections did eventually cause a second Sikh unit to abandon it's defences but it was all too late. His own men had largely become exhausted from their efforts and Capt. Rohrstock reluctantly called off the attack rather than push them over the edge. He would need to think of a better way to oust the defenders of Benghazi, or come back with overwhelming force.

Fox & The Rat: Day 10 - Kleiner Flugplatz 'zwei'

 0200 hours 19/10/1942

Location - Western Desert; Undisclosed location west of Benghazi, Libya

Roster: Acting Lieutenant Stirling

Sergeant Sadler

Troopers Carstairs; Walker; Crabtree; Flashman

Light cloud, waxing gibbous moon, light winds.  Unknown number and quality of DAK sentries.

Sub unit of L Detachment led byA/Lt. Stirling - promoted in the field as a result of the heroics of both Cpt. Mayne and Lt. Tonkin seeing them in the bag - charged with attacking an isolated airstrip and attendant aviation fuel.  This was the second party L Detachment had gone to at this particular venue.  First time, a few days earlier, Sgt. Almonds had managed to destroy a fuel truck but was injured before attacking the grounded Stukas.  Lt. Tonkins had bravely picked up the mantle but was seriously hurt taking out one of Jerry’s vicious attack ‘Hunds’ and both had ended up captured for their efforts.  A/Lt. Stirling - having debriefed the team who had managed to scramble back to the lines - thought he’d devised a more solid plan although it was still going to be a very tough nut to crack indeed!

Intelligence indicated there was a small airstrip servicing an unknown number of Stukas guarded by a mixture of DAK Gendarmerie and sentries plus reserves of aviation fuel.  Objective was simple - to destroy as many aircraft, fuel facilities and auxiliary vehicles as possible.

L Detachment approached from the north-east.  The demo charges were allocated to A/Lt. Stirling himself and Sgt. Sadler.  They both approached the perimeter from a north-east/east direction - there were two aircraft hangers on this axis with Stukas at the far end of both.  Beyond these, in the centre of the compound, was a fuel truck.  Stirling and Sadler would be supported by Troopers Crabtree & Flashman while Carstairs and Walker would approach from a north/north-east route to act as a diversion and provide support.

Crabtree & Flasman moved into position at the outer edge of the first hanger before Stirling and Sadler moved up to join them.  Stirling weaved his way to the rear of the Stuka in Hangar 1 while Sadler positioned himself to make a similar move against the Stuka in hangar 2, although this was was further into the compound and more tricky to get to.  Ideally they would synchronise their explosions however Stirling was in position too quickly and waiting in situ while the Hun were on their patrol was a risky business - perhaps it would be better to blow the first kite and rely on the confusion to attack the second - the fuel truck would probably be a bridge too far……  

An improvised plan but not an unreasonable one.

Stirling carefully primed and placed the demo charges at the base of the tail section of the Stuka………..but disaster.  The fuse was faulty and detonated immediately.  The blast knocking Stirling off his feet and backwards onto the dust floor.  Alas he was to play no further part in the mission and went into the bag.  He later reflected it could have been worse, much worse.

That was it, the Bosch were fully alerted now and Sadler was still some distance from his quarry.  He did his best to skirt the edge of the hangar but there was a sentry in his path - he gave a burst from his Thompson but unbelievably he missed!  A DAK sergeant was bearing down on him from the other side of the hangar.  This was it……Sadler launched himself at the obstructing sentry with just cold hard steel and despatched him, auf wiedersehen Fritz, but the sergeant now caught him out in the open and cut him down with his SMG.  This was the first fatality suffered by L Detachment.  It wouldn’t be the last.

Carstairs and Walker were covering the north side of the perimeter and a couple of DAK sentries sent out a speculative burst, more in fear than intent following the explosion, but this caught Walker and he slumped beside Carstairs.  He was bound for the Elysian Fields.

This was the signal for the rest of the group to melt back into the desert night.  What had started as a well planned operation had turned quickly into something of a disaster for L Detachment.  Damn their cursed luck.  Goodnight Sgt. Sadler and Pte. Walker.  Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori…..or is it?

Test of Honour: The Battlefield

The third of our Test of Honour games saw my Mori Samurai once again face off against Stu's Monks.

This time we met after a larger engagement and needed to search the fallen for a family member. This involved rolling against our Wits to search an objective.

Both sides had two easily reached objectives which we successfully searched on the first attempt and then focus turned to wards the central objective. It would probably have been more sensible to have three objectives across the middle but having one guaranteed a big fight in the middle.  

My chaps spent the first few rounds of combat critically failing and stabbing themselves to cause light wounds, not the best of starts. But I did manage to keep models within 3" of the objective which stopped the Monks from being able to search it.

We then had a grinding fight in the middle with the Monks generally rolling better so they wore down my companions and Ashigaru until it was just my hero left.

He did manage to rouse himself to cut down his opposite number and the Monks also lost their higher Wits companion which was to prove all important.

Despite my hero eventually dying the Monks couldn't pass a Wits test to secure the last needed token so the game ended in a draw with honours mostly even.