Chris Harrod and I played my Carabanchel Scenario. Chris played the attacking Nationalist Moroccan Regulares and I played the Republican Militia.
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War (La Guerra Civil Española) of 1936-39 pitted the Republican government backed by the Soviet Union against the Nationalist rebels backed by German and Italy. So far I’ve restricted my efforts to the Nationalist March on Madrid in late 1936.
Moroccan Knives – A Crossfire Battle Report
Andrew Coleby and I tried out my Moroccan Knives scenario set in the Spanish Civil War. Andrew wanted to try a Spanish Civil scenario for Crossfire and I wanted to experiment with a small table and lots of terrain; like the 2 Foot City but in the countryside. We only get a couple of hours to play when Andrew comes over so the game had to be small. All this meant we had small companies facing each other on a 4’x3′ table covered in woods features. It turned out to be a good little game.
Moroccan Knives – A Crossfire Scenario in the Spanish Civil War
This scenario came about because Andrew Coleby wanted to try a Spanish Civil War for Crossfire, or more specifically my variant called Fuego Cruzado. We only get a couple of hours to play when Andrew comes over so the game had to be small. Aside from keeping the forces small I also thought I’d experiment with a small table and lots of terrain; like the 2 Foot City but in the countryside. So this game has small companies facing each other on a 4’x3′ table. The title, “Moroccan Knives”, is because the militia were generally terrified of the Moroccans and their knives.
Ring of Iron – A Crossfire Scenario in the Spanish Civil War
A scenario for Fuego Cruzado – my variant of Crossfire for the Spanish Civil War – set in the Basque Country. The Nationalists are trying to penetrate the “Ring of Iron” around Bilbao.
Fuego Cruzado: Crossfire House Rules for Spain’s Wars
Fuego Cruzado is my Crossfire variant for early 20th century wars involving the Spanish, notably the Spanish Civil War and Rif War. All of my normal Crossfire House Rules apply. These house rules are additions specifically for Fuego Cruzado.
Andalusian Motorcade – A Crossfire Battle Report
Chris Harrod and I played my Andalusian Motorcade scenario with Chris as the defending Militia and me as the advancing Column Ascensio.
Battle of the Ebro – A Rapier Offensive Scenario
I keep getting inspired by Martin Rapier and in particular his ideas on operational level games. Most recently what captured me was his article “The Battle of the Ebro, July 1938: A Spanish Civil War Megablitz Scenario” (Rapier, 2007). I’m not too interested in Megablitz but I am into the Spanish Civil War and this seemed like a good opportunity to try out Martin’s own rules which I’ve summarised previously on my Rapier Offensive page.
Using Egyptian Figures for Spanish Civil War Regulares with Fez
All the Moroccan Regulares figures I’ve seen for the Spanish Civil War have a turban. But some Moroccans in Nationalist employ just wore a Fez without a Turban. For these guys you could use Egyptians from the Sudan campaign (1882 – 1898). Of course the gun is wrong so this doesn’t give a perfect match but would give the right rough look and get some more variety in your Moroccans. This might be for whole units rather than individuals.
Steven’s 2nd Tabor of Regulares of Tetuán
I’m building up the 2nd Tabor of Regulares of Tetuán from Column Asensio of 1936. Battalion Code = “T” for Tabor or Turban or Tetuán within the Unit ID for Crossfire.
As long as you led from the front
where they [the Moroccans] could clearly see you upright,
they would follow.
Alferez Juan Crespo.
Andalusian Motorcade – A Crossfire Scenario in the Spanish Civil War
A scenario for Fuego Cruzado – my variant of Crossfire for the Spanish Civil War – as the Nationalists drive north through Andalusia towards the distant Madrid.
Base Sizes and Number of Figures in Crossfire
New comers to Crossfire often ask how to base their figures. This is my approach for 15mm figures – see my musing section for how other people base. In general I went for 30mm square bases, rather than the official 32mm, as this is standard for other game systems. and is, well, tidier
45 Pesetas – A Crossfire Scenario in the Spanish Civil War
A scenario for Fuego Cruzado – my variant of Crossfire for the Spanish Civil War. 45 Pesetas was the bounty the Nationalists put on a Republican T-26 tank. The Moroccans were keen on this offer and through their endeavours the Nationalists built up their own T-26 units. Somehow this seems like a potential game.
The Late Queen: 15mm Wargaming Figures for the Spanish Civil War
The Late Queen are a recent new comer to the list of 15mm figure manufacturers. They specialise in Spanish Civil War (SCW) and essentially want to supplement the existing SCW range from Peter Pig.
Rapier Offensive – A Multiplayer Operational Game
Martin Rapier has created a simple set of rules to allow a group of players to play operational level games. His rules are embedded within the context of Operation Uranus (19 Nov 1942). I’ve abstracted his rules so I can then apply them to different settings (and tweaked them a bit as I did so).
These rules are ideal for a typical offensive where the attackers have three to one odds against the defenders – something that is not possible in most rule systems. One of the beauties of this system is that it is a cooperative effort more than competitive; the players are the attacking team, and fight against the umpire who runs the defenders. Given the odds the attacking Division is going to beat the defending Division. The question is, will they beat them fast enough and well enough.
This isn’t a long game to play, taking a couple of hours at most. You’ll also need stands of miniatures (~65), counters (~16), a small table, some way of marking off a grid on the table, a map, and 5-6 people. An intercom and telescope are optional.
