Modern Warfare Archives - Page 2 of 11

2021 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

15 Aug 20222 Jan 2021 by Steven Thomas

Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian - Banner

2020 was a good year for wargaming projects and I thought I should lay out my plans for 2021. Crazy megalomaniac plans, of course.

As usual I’ve done a brain dump of my active projects, i.e. those all projects that are more or less “in progress”. No off the wall fantasy here. They are all active but I have to admit that some of them are on a slow burn. A very slow burn. So I’ve split the list into parts: likely in 2021, unlikely, and background activity. You get to have a say in the priority order – see the aside.

2020 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

16 Aug 202219 Dec 2020 by Steven Thomas

Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian - Banner

My Confessions of a Megalomaniac were my 2020 aspirations. How did I do? Not too shabby I reckon, despite “the Virus”.

ANZACs in Vietnam – Steven’s Wargaming Project

17 Aug 202125 Jul 2020 by Steven Thomas

Project - ANZACs in Vietnam - Crossfire - Banner

When I was a kid, New Zealand troops were still fighting in Vietnam. I knew we had engineers, artillery and SAS over there. What I only realised recently is we also had infantry fighting alongside the Aussies. In fact New Zealand contributed one or two companies to an ANZAC battalion from May 1967 to Nov 1971. That is enough national connection for me, and I instantly started collecting figures for a new wargaming project. For Crossfire of course.

Making Bamboo Groves for Wargaming

1 Aug 20224 Jul 2020 by Steven Thomas

I’m already doing the Portuguese Colonial War. Adam got me interested in Burma. Chris and Jamie are talking about Vietnam. So, inspired by Brett Simpson, I thought I’d make some Bamboo groves to extend my on-table jungle.

Portuguese Painting Guide for the Portuguese Colonial War

15 Aug 202118 Apr 2020 by Steven Thomas

Caçadores - Painting Guide for Portuguese Colonial War - Banner

This is both a uniform guide and a painting guide for the Portuguese Colonial War. It covers all of the Portuguese forces. It is an update of an earlier post, primarily adding a graphic on painting ‘french’ camouflage.

Making Rice Paddies for Wargaming

12 Jun 202214 Mar 2020 by Steven Thomas

2020 is the year of the Rice Paddy – at least I’ve declared it the year of the Rice Paddy. So I thought I’d make a few. I need them for Burma Campaign, Portuguese Colonial War, First Indochina War, and Vietnam War. Mine are for 15mm wargaming figures, but the same principles apply for other scales.

2020 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

15 Aug 202211 Jan 2020 by Steven Thomas

2020. New year. New decade (depending on how you count these things). 2019 was a good year but I want 2020 to be even better. My crazy inner megalomaniac demands I monologue about my world conquering (i.e. overly ambitious) list of what I’d like to get done this year. Get ready for the ride …

2019 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

19 Aug 202221 Dec 2019 by Steven Thomas

My Confessions of a Megalomaniac were my 2019 aspirations. How did I do?

French Ground Force Organisation in the First Indochina War (1946 to 1954)

17 Aug 20216 Jul 2019 by Steven Thomas

French Ground Force Organisation in the First Indochina War - Banner

Jamie shared some great resources for the, the war in French Indochina (19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954). This has let me put together an outline of the French Ground Force Organisation in the First Indochina War (1946 to 1954). The main source is the thesis written by Major Peter Jackson on the “French Ground Force Organizational Development For Counterrevolutionary Warfare Between 1945 And 1962” and I’ve quote liberally from this book. At some point I’ll turn this organisation into a order of battle for Crossfire.

2019 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

15 Aug 20225 Jan 2019 by Steven Thomas

So here we are. 2019. My inner megalomaniac is as crazy as ever. I’ve talked about my recent successes in 2018 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian. Now it is time for the overly ambitious, world conquering even, list of what I’d like to get done this year.

2018 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

19 Aug 202222 Dec 2018 by Steven Thomas

Continuing my Megalomaniac tendencies, this is my reflection on 2018 and how I did against my world conquering goals. Check out my 2018 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian for my overly ambitious aspirations.

African Ambush 3 – A Crossfire and Fogo Cruzado Battle Report

31 Jul 20223 Nov 2018 by Steven Thomas

Chris Harrod and Adam Landa played my African Ambush – A Crossfire and Fogo Cruzado Scenario twice in one evening. I’ve already posted their first as Play Test 2. This was their second game of the evening. Of course it is for the Portuguese Colonial War.

Summary: Intense game with thrusts and counter thrusts. Although considerably outnumbered Adam’s Portuguese Commandos successfully ambushed the Insurgent patrol.

Steven’s Convoy for the Portuguese Colonial War

1 Aug 202227 Oct 2018 by Steven Thomas

A key element of the Portuguese Colonial War was convoys. Either military convoys to supply fortified posts or civilian convoys travelling through dangerous areas under government guard. I’ve been building up a convoy to put on table. Both armoured cars and armoured personnel carriers using my Painting Guide for Recce Vehicles of the Portuguese Colonial War. But I’ve also been painting civilian trucks. This is a bit of a gallery of the result = Steven’s convoy.

African Ambush 2 – A Crossfire and Fogo Cruzado Battle Report

18 Aug 202123 Oct 2018 by Steven Thomas

Chris Harrod and Adam Landa came over to experiment with my Ambushed Patrol – A Crossfire and Fogo Cruzado Scenario. So, for a few hours, we went back to the bush in the Portuguese Colonial War. It was an experiment and we learnt a bunch of things.

Summary: Short and brutal game. Adam’s Portuguese successfully fought their way out of the ambush.

African Ambush – A Crossfire and Fogo Cruzado Scenario

18 Aug 202120 Oct 2018 by Steven Thomas

PCWA05 Portuguese patrol entering village – Close up

An armed patrol walks into an ambush somewhere in Portuguese Africa. The action starts seconds before the bullets fly. Will the unsuspecting targets spot the danger before it is too late? This is a Crossfire/Fogo Cruzado scenario for the Portuguese Colonial War. The scenario uses a cinematic premise, i.e. start the action when there is action.