Phase 1 of the Krasny Bor Campaign is the Soviet attempt to breakthrough the Spanish Front Line troops and get as many troops as possible into the Spanish rear for use in Phase 2. It starts at 08.00 hours and is fought on the Front tables.
Wargaming
Wargaming and Military History are the interests I pour most of my spare time into. This section concentrates on the wargaming rules I’m interested in. I’ve got quite a lot on running wargaming campaigns. I’ve also got sub-categories on: Crossfire, DBx (including DBA and HOTT), Twilight of the Sun King, Engle Matrix Games, Megablitz, Liberators QPR, Field of Glory. All other rules are lumped together.
Krasny Bor Campaign – A Crossfire Campaign featuring the Blue Division
In mid-2003 the guys at the Shed asked me to set up a scenario for a weekend bash. The parameters they outlined were: WW2, Crossfire, 8-9 players (optional umpire), 4 tables, 2 real days of gaming, and BIG. Krasny Bor appealed to me for a number of reasons:
- It involves the Spanish Blue Division
- It is very BIG
- There aren’t many tanks
- It is seemingly one-sided, and I wondered if I could still make it a good game.
3 Round Campaign
I picked up the idea of a 3 round campaign from the BattleFront: Kursk Campaign and the BattleFront: Campaigns in Flames of War page on the Battlefront Miniatures website. Essentially it is a serious of linked scenarios, with some pre-determined logic for which scenarios are fought depending on the results of earlier games.
Operation Widgeon – A Crossfire Scenario
This Crossfire scenario is based on ‘Operation Widgeon’ where 1st Commando Brigade Crossed the Rhine to capture and hold Wesel.
Scots Plunder – A Crossfire Scenario
This Crossfire scenario is based on the 8th Royal Scots Crossing the Rhine as part of ‘Operation Plunder’.
Rhine Crossing ala Rapid Fire – A Crossfire Scenario
This Crossfire scenario is based on the Rhine Crossing scenario by Durston (1996) although I converted it from Rapid Fire to Crossfire. Since then I have discovered serious historical flaws in the scenario. It might work as a game but the historical bugs annoyed me so I started playing with a couple of alternatives:
Malmedy and Operation ‘Greif’- A Crossfire Scenario
A Crossfire scenario set on 21 December 1944 and featuring Otto Skorzeny plus Panzer Brigade 150 with German armour disguised as American. See also Dick Bryant’s Battle Report.
Steven’s Russian Rifle Battalion
Once I had my Grenadiers of the Spanish Blue Division I had to get somebody to fight them. Russians of course, and the default unit is a Rifle Battalion. And of course this is for Crossfire.
Steven’s Blue Division Battalion
The Spanish Blue Division is what got me into WW2. Officially the 250th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht and comprising Spanish Volunteers, this unit was also know as the Spanish Volunteer Division, Division Azul, or the Blue Division. They are Spanish, of course, but I use them as Germans when needed.
Arnhem 17-25 Sep 1944
In the English speaking world at least, Arnhem is one of the defining battles of World War II. Vince Lody from the Shed ran a multi-player Crossfire game based on the last stand of the Paras at Arnhem. A last stand poses certain challenges for a scenario designer, i.e. you know the defender has to lose, so I wondered what other aspects of the battle would make for interesting gaming. I’ve sketched out the course of the battle and outlined what I think might make interesting scenarios.
Wargaming Maps with Campaign Cartographer
The Crossfire supplement Hit the Dirt contains maps made using Campaign Cartographer 2 (CC2 Pro) (available from www.profantasy.com). Bill Rutherford, one of the authors of Hit the Dirt, kindly gave me some advice on using CC2 and the notes below are based on Bill’s advice and my own fumbling experiences.
Huge Crossfire Table at the Shed
For a couple of years I wargamed at The Shed. These guys specialise in multi-player games on a big table. They play all sorts of game systems but for most of the time I was there they played Crossfire. The table at the Shed is 14′ x 6.5′, which in Crossfire terms is quite big. The table, as you’ll see, absorbs a lot of terrain. Thanks to Vince for sending through the photos.