Historical and Modern Wargaming – Where the "Fluff" is Real Life

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French Indochina War, 1951 – Assault on Vinh Yen (15mm Wargame)

It’s back to the miniature table, with a recreation of the Viet Minh assault on Vinh Yen during the French Indochina War of 1946-1954.  We’re using Mark Ritchie’s “Tactical Combat” system in 15mm.

Although this war had been ongoing for some time, Vinh Yen was one of the first open battlefield engagements between the communist Viet Minh and the French.  General Vo Nguyen Giap wanted to take this town, thus cutting the Route 2 highway leading into Hanoi from the northwest.  The French, needless to say, were determined to stop them.

In this game we will see many of the same elements in the later Vietnam War, with massed communist infantry and artillery assaults smashing into entrenched defenses backed up by heavy use of Western airpower.  Indeed, the French Indochina War was in many ways the Vietnam War’s “bad prequel.”

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Hobby Build – 1:72 MH-6 Little Bird Helicopter Model

Oriskany Jim sits down to build the 1:72 MH-6 “Little Bird” model from Italeri, with plans to use it as a gaming miniature in an upcoming “Black Hawk Down” wargame set in Mogadishu.

An extremely prolific aircraft, this OH-6 Cayuse, AH-6, MH-6, MD-500 Defender (at least 12 variants in all) has seen service with the militaries and police forces of at least nine nations, as well as widespread civilian use.

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We had an awesome game of Force-on-Force at the Das Krieg Haus club today. I tried to recreate a small part of the Battle of Mogadishu, 03 October 1993.

 

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AirWar C21, Dogfight over Ukraine 2022 Wargame
“Oriskany Jim” sits down with Jennifer to play AirWar C21 by Wessex Games – to recreate one of the few documented air-to-air dogfights to take place over the Ukraine in the ongoing conflict. Here we see Stepan Tarabalka of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade in his MiG-29 go head to head with Russian Sukhoi Su-35 strike fighters on March 13, 2022 over Zhitomir Oblast in the opening months of the current invasion.

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Been chewing on these this weekend.
*15mm (1:100) “Sho’t” Centurions for use in upcoming 50th Anniversary wargames of the Yom Kippur War.
*As you may have seen on last week’s Hobby Stream.
*Changed the hue to more of a “Golan Green.”
*Added what .30 cal machine guns I had. Should all be M1919 Brownings, some of FN-MAG / M240s and M60E3s.
*Also, I know my platoon/vehicle tacticals are technically inverted. This is how I like them.
*Originally Centurion Mk3 with 20 lbr guns, up-gunned to L7 / M68A1 105mm rifles.
*Added headlights
*Added stowage
*Added radio antennae

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Here are the completed T-62s from last night’s stream. I tried to paint these in such a way as they can be used as either Syrian 1973 or Iraqi 1991 … Egyptian 1973 in a pinch.

(Primarily they are in 1991 Iraqi markings, minus the platoon markings that would go one the fume extractors)

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German Counterattack at Salerno (Panzer Leader – 80th Anniversary)

This weekend marks another important 80th Anniversary in World War II history: Operation Avalanche and the Allied invasion of mainland Italy in September, 1943.  More specifically, on September 12, 13, and 14 we saw a powerful German counterattack mounted by elements of 16th Panzer Division (XIV Panzer Corps) that damned near could have driven a big part of the Allied bridgehead back into the sea.

This is the counterattack we’re recreating in a game of Avalon Hill’s classic Panzer Leader, with “Kampfgruppe Stempel” of the 16th Panzer Division hitting 143rd US Infantry Regiment, 36th Division along the Calore River near Salerno, Italy.

 

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Black Hawk Down 30th Anniversary: Force-on-Force 20mm (P1)

October 3 marks the 30th Anniversary of the “Day of the Rangers” – the Battle of Mogadishu. To mark the anniversary, I put together and ran a 20mm game of Force on Force by Ambush Alley Games and Osprey Publishing.

In our scenario, the Olympic Hotel has been hit and the target prisoners captured, but now the Black Hawk helicopter “Super Six One” has been hit by an RPG and crashed. It’s up to Lt. Colonel McKnight, SFC Norm “Hoot” Hooten and SSgt Eversmann to get to the crash site and secure it for the supporting UN convoy.

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Black Hawk Down 30th Anniversary: Force-on-Force 20mm (P2 Conclusion)

We’re back to finish our 30th Anniversary wargame of the Battle of Mogadishu!

October 3 marks the 30th Anniversary of the “Day of the Rangers” – the Battle of Mogadishu.  To mark the date, I put together and ran a 20mm game of Force on Force by Ambush Alley Games and Osprey Publishing.

So far, the Americans have eliminated about 20 SNA militia, but have taken two casualties themselves and lost their first humvee.  Making matters worse, their supporting MH-6 “Little Bird” gunship is now out of ammo and has returned to base.  It’s still up to Lt. Colonel McKnight, SFC Norm “Hoot” Hooten and SSgt Eversmann to get to the first “Black Hawk Down” crash site and secure it for the supporting UN convoy.

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