Small Scale Naval: Generic Dockyard

The recent successful construction of Fort Humpter had me thinking what else I could add in terms of scenics for the various Small Scale Naval projects that I currently have under my belt. Given that this is a range that now covers everything from 1/4800th Napoleonic to 1/3000th Pre-Dreds via 1/2400th Pacific War and now ACW Monitors, I wanted to have something that was generic enough to be of use to all, and whilst it might horrify scale purists, would make use of various buildings I had collected in scales between 1/3000th to 1/900th.

I decided to go for a Dockyard scene that eventually could sit on some coastline terrain pieces, and would allow the depiction of various eras in a general way.

The starting point, as always, was an amalgam of various bits of card and scraps, to be initially populated by some dock buildings that I obtained long ago from Navwar when ordering for the 1/3000th Boxer Rebellion Naval project, alongside some miscellaneous spars, timber and boxes, etc from Langton Miniatures in their 1/1200th range:

Navwar's 3MH5/5a Sailing Era strips of Store Houses and extensions, as well as the 3MH6/6a Workshops, made for a good base of various types of building, placed amidst the detritus provided from Langton's M47 Dockyard Misc. pack - overall not mixing too badly in purely visual terms.

These base pieces were then reinforced by the following motley crew:

In the foreground, we have three of Irregular Miniature's IKS10 2mm single house models, here with a 'Tudorised' paintjob that was originally for the 2mm ECW project.

In the centre, from Navwar's 1/3000th Harbour Pieces, the 3MH7/7a 20th Century Factory or Warehouse, and the Oil Tanks Group, which are somewhat basic, but paint up well; and finally in the rear, some of the smaller items from Langton's 1/1200th buildings range, I think here a combination of his M5 and M7 packs.

Adding in these in different combinations, then allows the 'feel' of the Docks to change with the era......

From Sail and Steam:

via Steam:

to Coal, Oil, and the dawn of the 20th Century:

At least that is the plan!

I've also got some small Dockyard cranes and a Coaling Dock from I forget exactly which manufacturer, (Scotia?) and these also might see the light of day once I can extract them from the depths of the Lead Mountain, which should really ensure a good span of possible uses for this scenic base.

Chemulpo: After Action Report

Rear Admiral Uriu's ultimatum to the two Russian vessels anchored in the Port of Chemulpo, Korea, is about to expire, when to the west of Yo-dol-mi Island, the silhouettes of two ships appear in line ahead, heading straight for the Japanese.

The after-action report then, on the re-fight of the last stand of Varyag and Korietz, using Phil Barker's "Damn Battleships Again" rules, with a few adjustments of my own thrown in here and there.

In order to balance the inevitability of the Russians being overpowered, we deployed a 'cunning plan' involving two of the neutral ships; as described in my last post, the French Pascal and the Italian Elba. These vessels made an interference run in the direction of the Japanese, ostensibly as neutral shipping under the rules.

I was hoping also that wind and weather might become a factor, but unfortunately, and perhaps typically, the die rolls gave us 'Light airs and calm', and of course the time of day also did nothing to mask the Russian breakout attempt.

Rudnev, commanding the Russian flotilla was rated as type 4 gallant/mad, whilst Uriu was type 5 cautious.

To further mask the strength of the historical Japanese fleet, I resolved to employ only the models I had for actual vessels, rather than using proxies for the remaining ships, so this served to limit the firepower available. The balance of Uriu's fleet, including the Torpedo Boats, were judged to be further out to sea, watching for any Russian reinforcements approaching from Port Arthur.

Meanwhile, to the East of the Island, Varyag and Korietz, make best speed for the open sea:

Much to his annoyance, the shapes of the ships approaching Rear Admiral Uriu's Naniwa resolve themselves into two neutrals, and he furiously crosses their bows in order to prevent them from masking his line of battle, and the all-important guns of the armoured Asama.

The Japanese battle line resolved itself into the Asama, Takachiho and Akashi, and a tentative long range shot from the 6" guns of the Varyag failed to make any impression on the armour of the foremost Japanese cruiser; things were not looking good when in reply, Korietz was immediately damaged. Instead of puffs of cotton wool, I am using the 1/2400 shell splashes, CM36, available from Quick Reaction Force.

Thunderous fire from the Asama and Takachiho bracketed the two Russian vessels, and in a few cruel minutes, both were damaged, whilst ominously the Akashi began to pull away from the Japanese line, moving to cut off their enemy's escape route ahead:

Not dismayed, however, Rudnev's gunners fought back against the smoke and flame, and loading their weapons like men possessed, found the range against the Takachiho: a hit!

The intervention of the neutrals had effectively put Naniwa out of the fight, and some inspired rolling meant the Russians could actually strike back against the better armoured Japanese, whilst they in turn had some hideously low rolls, failing to make a dent, even on the 4SP Korietz.

The bit between their teeth, the valiant Russians turned into the approaching foe, and the range narrowing all the time, let loose a barrage of torpedoes, only to be damaged in turn by a rain of Japanese shells:

Varyag was damaged for the second time by the Asama, but incredibly, both gun and torpedo hits were made on the Akashi, however, with her impetuous turn into the enemy, Varyag was now effectively doomed; the weight of fire incoming meant she was going to be in real trouble.

The only bright spot was it meant that Korietz was able to pull ahead, whilst her companion took the heat.

Then, disaster! Blinded by smoke and torn and wrenched by weight of shot, a cruel blow was inflicted on the valiant Varyag, and she is crippled by the fire of the enemy....

The nobility of Rudnev's sacrifice means that the weaker Korietz, bloodied but unbowed, can make good her passage toward Port Arthur and immortality:

To be frank, the Japanese at this point could have closed in for the kill on the smaller ship, which was going to be easily outpaced by the cruisers, but in good gentlemanly fashion, Uriu refused to engage such a weakened opponent; whether the TBs waiting out to sea would have been as kind, remained to be seen....

Honours, even, then, the vast armoured bulk of the Asama, unscratched by the lighter guns of the Russians, is chivalrous enough to allow the brave Korietz to pass:

The immortal Varyag and Korietz:

So, having weighted the game as much as possible away from favouring the Japanese, the Russians, mainly due to some very fortunate dice, gave not a bad account of themselves. In reality, however, just as historically, there was not a lot they could do against the ships with greater defence factors; closing the range gave them a better chance to hit, but of course this works both ways!

The combat ranges were adjusted downwards, to allow for the 1/3000th models, and the engagement easily took place on the 4x4 foot sea mat, although more shipping would have made things rather tighter.

The neutrals declined to take an active part, but had they got into the fight, things might have been more even, or at least made very interesting for the Japanese.

Good fun as a game, not least in paying tribute to the valiant and gallant fight put up by Rudnev and Belyaev, and of course things ended without the need to take on board the inevitable scuttling of the Russian ships that was to follow....

Chemulpo: DBA Scenario Ideas.

A look now at some ideas as to how to present Chemulpo 1904 as a 'Damn Battleships Again' Scenario, looking in particular at the various vessels, their classification, and how one might 'level the playing field' somewhat, in order to turn what was always going to be a one-sided encounter into something a little more balanced.

As I'll be using the ships that were present during the Boxer Rebellion from my earlier campaign, I don't have the requisite models to represent every vessel, but given that historically not all the Japanese vessels seem to have engaged fully, (I suppose the Asama alone could have done the job, in reality....) I'm going to work around that.

I think the battle could throw up some interesting outcomes, and depending if you extend into 'what-if' territory, the involvement of the four neutral warships could be crucial.

All the vessels in the photos here are Navwar 1/3000th, and eagle-eyed viewers will note that my Varyag is actually a masquerading French Chateaurenault - I ordered the wrong pack, so had to make do! All ideas relating to the scenario are not official, emanating from myself, rather than such luminaries as Mr Barker et al.

If you don't have an immediate reference like a Naval Annual or All the World's Navies, thankfully there are a number of sites online that have good information available for this period.

The always interesting battleships.ru website has a nice summary of statistics for the various participants here:

http://www.battleships.ru/Chemulpo_action.html

In addition to the major surface vessels, they mention eight separate Japanese Torpedo Boat types, although I have yet to see these particular ships confirmed by other sources; some say three boats, some six, and most have no detail as to which ones; certainly, historically, they seemed to have taken no part in the main action, although that doesn't stop you adding them in for maximum mayhem!

First up then, some basic ship statistics, starting with the Varyag, or 'Viking' herself:

HIRMS Varyag: 1st Class protected Cruiser

Speed: 23 knots

(I hasten to add that this was optimal, sources put her capability at more like 19 kt on the day.)

Armament: twelve 6"QF, twelve 3", eight 47mm QF, six 15" Torpedo Tubes.

Damn Battleships Again Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6 Ship Points.

Next, her consort, the sea-going gunboat the HIRMS Korietz or 'The Korean':

Speed: 12 knots (on a good day....)

Armament: two 8" L/35 muzzle-loading guns, one 6" muzzle loader, four 4", six 47mm QF. The website above also gives her a single 15" Torpedo Tube, but I have not seen this mentioned elsewhere.

DBA Class: Obsolete, this seems rather harsh, but in view of her weaponry and size.....2SP? Perhaps for the sake of balance, a 3rd Class Cruiser designation might hold, at 4SP - both these ships punched above their weight in terms of gallantry and bravado!

Now for the rather weightier opposition; first up, the impressive Armoured Cruiser, Asama:

HIJMS Asama

Speed 20.5 knots

Armament: four 8", sixteen 6" QF, twelve 12pdr QF, seven 2.5pdr QF, five 18" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 1st Class Cruiser, 8SP.

HIJMS Takachiho and Naniwa (sister ships):

Speed 18.5 knots

Armament: six 6", two 57mm QF, four 18" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6SP.

HIJMS Naniwa (Rear Adm. Uriu's flagship):

HIJMS Akashi (Suma Class):

Speed 20 knots

Armament: two 6", six 4.7", four 3", ten 47mm QF, two 15" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6SP.

HIJMS Niitaka:

Speed 20 knots

Armament: six 6", sixteen 3", four 47mm QF

DBA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser, 4SP.

HIJMS Chiyoda:

Speed 19 knots

Armament: fourteen 6", ten 4.7", three 15" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 1st Class Cruiser, 8SP.

HIJMS Chihaya:

Speed 18 knots

Armament: two 4.7", four 3"QF, five 18" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser, 4SP.

So, even discounting the up to eight TBs, Japan seems to have a whacking great advantage, but I think with some special rules, you could engineer in some interesting bonuses to give the Russian pair a chance.

Depending on whether you see Rudnev's mission as to go down in a blaze of glory, or to attempt to break the blockade, then DBA allows for some interesting impacts on play using wind and weather as well as navigation hazards. If you saw the map I linked in my previous post, you will notice not only the Yo-dol-mi island, but also the 5 fathom line across much of the eastern edge; this would play well as a shoal, for instance.

Next of course, we have to factor in the dash and elan of the respective commanders, Uriu certainly seems to have been relatively cautious and methodical, conservative, even, whilst Rudnev allowed himself to be caught in a situation that could only engender rashness - I like the Flag Officer's Classification no4: "He is a gallant officer and/or completely mad" - could have been written for him!

Then, of course, there is the potential involvement of the neutrals; this could take the form of running interference, as it were, with perhaps them behaving as merchant shipping under the rules, and just happening to sally out in line astern and covering the Russian pair in the process (Will Uriiu fire on/through them?), or even something more active.

Historically speaking, the U.S.S. Vicksburg was definitely erring on the Japanese side of things, geopolitically at this period, the two countries were, if not allied as such, benevolently disposed toward each other, and indeed, in terms of trade, the dominance of a victorious Russian Empire would perhaps not have been in America's interests.

Perhaps we could then discount her active participation, but what about the British HMS Talbot? Bayly had made his point as "Yours, disgruntled of Chemulpo....." with his protest letter, but surely, could not have gone further, attacking an ally at the expense of a global competitor?

I think, on balance, he will act as he did historically, although it would be nice to think he would come up with some sort of diversionary wheeze as I mentioned above to allow the Russians to leave without bloodshed....

Turning finally to the other two European nations, this is where I think that the best possibilities for action lie. The French, if anything, were natural allies of the Russians at the time, and how could they resist the romance of that last, gallant sally? In reality, they looked on, a la Charge of the Light Brigade, and shrugged "C'est Magnifique....mais ce n'est pas la Guerre!", but wouldn't it be great, if impassioned by the Russian example, they joined the fray?

Descartes Class Cruiser, Pascal:

Speed 19.5 knots

Armament: four 6.4", ten 4", two 18" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6SP.

Finally, the Italians; not to stereotype their nation, but could they stand idly by and watch the French go to glory and beyond without them? I say: "Avanti Italia!"

Lombardia Class Cruiser, Elba:

Speed 17 knots

Armament: four 6", six 4.7", eight 57mm QF, seven 47mm QF, two 14" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6SP.

Plenty to think about, there, I think, I'll be running a refight along these lines in the next few days, so keep a lookout for the After Action Report!

1/3000th Naval from War Times Journal

Unable to leave well enough alone following the conclusion of the collecting and painting phase of the '55 Days at Sea' Boxer Rebellion Naval project, I have found myself hankering after ways of expanding the scope of my use of 1/3000th pre-dreadnought minis.

Jim over at War Times Journal was kind enough to send me some samples of his always excellent output, and so this post will see me looking in some detail at these example vessels with a view to pinning down which direction I might take in the future, and most importantly, what minis I might employ.

http://www.wtj.com/store/gameshop/shop1/

Broadly speaking, I suppose things would break down into three main areas:

Firstly, of course, the Russo-Japanese War: everybody, of course, does this, and for quite understandable reasons - who could resist wanting to re-create the gallant last stand of the Varyag and Korietz, or the clash of monsters at the Battle of Tsushima?

Next could be a foray somewhat back in time for the Spanish-American War, this time with a 'what-if aspect' involving the Hapsburg allies of the Spanish, namely Austro-Hungary (might level the playing field somewhat....).

Finally another possibility would be a fictional war between the greatest of historical rivals, to whit the English and the French; a titanic struggle between ironclad dreadnought turret-ship types with all the bells and whistles from an even earlier epoch.....decisions, decisions!

With these ideas in mind then, let's turn to look at the samples so kindly provided by WTJ. First up, that incomparable example of turret 'en echelon' design, HMS Inflexible:

(All minis appearing in this post are in their natural state, no clearing up of flash, etc, - straight from the packet.)

This is WTJ0055117, a very nicely proportioned sculpt which captures in great detail the layout of the amidship turrets, as well as displaying some nicely engraved ships boats; the floating bridge so clearly delineated across the top of the turrets being a particular high point, of what is more in the way of a scale model, rather than a mere playing piece.

Clocking in at just shy of 33mm, she reflects accurately the 320ft of the original. Launched in 1876 and completed in 1881, she was the first battleship to have submerged torpedo tubes and compound armour, and took part in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882; an excellent summary of her exploits can be found here:

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/hms_inflexible.htm

The WTJ sculpt is equipped with their customary mast attachment points/holes, so 'rigging' her out would be a relatively easy undertaking, and the satin texture on the deck surfaces should paint up well to represent decking planks, again a charcteristic of these premier sculpts. Certainly the lure of a seascape full of these turreted monsters exchanging blows mid-Channel would be hard to resist....

Next we have the sleek lines of the five-funnelled protected cruiser, WTJ0022210 Askold, or the "Packet of Woodbines" as she was known to British sailors. This mini goes even further in the direction of scale-model, with brilliant attention to historical detail including the foremost funnel being more slender than the other four, the upward sweep of the bow-section, and some beautifully delineated turrets and ship's boats.

The offerings from WTJ are to a UK based gamer somewhat on the expensive side, but this vessel in particular is a tempting lure to move away from the safe and familiar represented by the characterful sculpts available from Navwar; its detail, finesse, and overall appearance far outdistancing the best that the UK firm has to offer.

To quote "quantity over quality" would be perhaps be a bit too harsh, particularly from someone, like me, who is a big fan of the output of latter company, but what would normally be put down to the necessary limitations of sculpting something as small as 1/3000th, is here effectivley undermined by this superlative model from WTJ.

A somewhat unfair comparison, but it is the only unpainted multi-funnelled Cruiser I had to hand: Navwar's HMS Powerful lies beside the WTJ Askold:

This is where the quality of the WTJ sculpting really hits home - the all too-visible central mould line on the Powerful, the lack of visible deck planking, and the slightly lop-sided proportions versus complete balance, and some detailed touches.

I suppose the reality is that I can't really praise the WTJ minis too highly, yet if you do a direct price comparison for a UK consumer, this is expensive territory; 2 x Powerful class from Navwar for £1.60, whereas a single one from WTJ is $3.75, perhaps £2.28 at today's exchange rates.

The Askold herself would be $3.25 from WTJ, her Navwar equivalent only £1.20 in the company of the Varyag. Yet to be clear, I don't think that in a paper exercise to work out the likely expense, you're really comparing like-for-like, so depending on the scale of the future project, a compromise might have to be made; a flotilla or so, and I could spoil myself with the Rolls-Royces from WTJ, opposing fleets and it's the Vauxhall Vectras from Navwar.

If further proof were needed for my typically indecisive mind, we move on to the WTJ0078210 Kaiser Franz Josef, again a masterful representation of proportion, with obvious detailing, as before:

Again, perhaps somewhat unkindly, next to an erstwhile ally from Navwar, namely the Almirante Oquendo/Vizcaya/Infanta M. Theresa sculpt; the bravura of one matching the finesse of the other:

All these ships would make an excellent addition to any collection, and give many opportunities to enhance the scope of any tabletop conflict, and yes, you've guessed it, I'm no nearer to deciding on which era to go with - I suppose the real proof of the pudding will be when I've put a coat of paint on the above, and see if this makes things any clearer - my only concern is that the Navwar sculpts will be more fun to paint, whilst I shall fret that I won't be doing the WTJ ones justice - more to come on all this I fear......!

55 Days at Sea: 1st Scenario: Ship Stats and OOB

Ship statistics and order of battle now, for the first scenario in the 55 Days at Sea Campaign: "Surprise Attack", using Mr Barker's 'Damn Battleships Again' rules.

I thought I would lay out the details of the various contenders here, as well as make some notes on certain points specific to this scenario; I've provided some general statistics that might be useful, and included the ship classification in line with my interpretation of the definitions according to the rules.

First off, the Fleet of the Great Powers, gathered at anchor off the Taku Bar:

Great Britain:

HMS Centurion and Barfleur (Centurion Class)

10,500 tons, Weapons: 4 x 10", 10 x 4.7", 8 x 6pdr, 12 x 3 pdr, Torpedo Tubes: 7 x 18"

Armour: 12' Belt, 2.5" Deck

Speed: 17 knots

Damn Battleships Again Ship Classification: Battleship

Endymion (Edgar Class)

7,700t, 2 x 9.2", 10 x 6", 12 x 6pdr, TT: 2 x 18"

5" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Aurora and Orlando (Orlando Class)

5,600t, 2 x 9.2", 10 x 6", 10 x 3pdr

10' Compound Belt, 3" Deck

16kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Austro-Hungary:

Zenta (Zenta Class)

2,300 tons, 8 x 4.7", 10 x 3pdr, TT: 2 x 17.7"

2" Deck

20kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

United States of America:

Newark (own class)

4, 083t, 12 x 6", 4 x 6pdr

3" Deck

18kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Italy:

Calabria (own class)

2,453t, 4 x 6", 4 x 4.7", 8x 57mm, TT: 2 x 17.7"

2" Deck

17kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Elba (Lombardia or Regions Class)

2,245t, 4 x 6", 6 x 4.7', 10 x 57mm, TT: 2 x 17.7"

2" Deck

18kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Japan:

Kasagi (Chitose Class)

4,760t, 2 x 8", 10 x 4.7", 12 x 12pdr, TT: 4 x 18"

2.5" Deck

22kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Suma (own class)

2,657t, 2 x 6", 6 x 4.7", 10 x 3pdr, TT: 2 x 15"

2" Deck

20kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Germany:

Kaiserin Augusta (own class)

6,218t, 12 x 5.9", 8 x 3.4", TT: 5 x 13.8"

2.75" Deck

21kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Hansa and Hertha (Victoria Luise Class)

5,660t, 2 x 8.2", 8 x 5.9", 10 x 12pdr, TT: 3 x 17.7"

4" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Gefion (own class)

4,275t, 10 x 6", 6 x 4.8", TT: 2 x 17.7"

Armour: unknown

20kt

DBSA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser

Russia:

Rossiya (own class)

12,500t, 4 x 8", 16 x 5.5", 12 x 3pdr, TT: 6 x 18"

10" Belt, 2.5" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: Battleship

(Given her size, weapon complement, and armour, this seems the best designation under the DBA rules, although she was actually a large armoured cruiser.)

Sissoi Veliki (own class)

9,000t, 4 x 12", 6 x 6", 12 x 57mm, 24 x 37mm, TT: 6 x 18:

16" Belt, 3" Deck

16kt

DBSA Class: Battleship

Gaidamak (Kazarski Class)

400t approx, 6 x 3pdr, 3 x 1pdr, TT: 2 x 15"

Unarmoured

17kt

DBSA Class: Torpedo Boat Destroyer

(DBSA actually calls for TBDs to operate/be depicted in pairs, but as these are historical, named ships, I'm foregoing this rule)

France:

D'Entrecasteaux (own class)

8,114t, 2 x 9.4", 12 x 5.5", 12 x 3pdr, TT: 6 x 18"

2.2" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Descartes, Pascal (Descartes Class)

4,000t, 4 x 6.4", 10 x 4", 8 x 3pdr, TT: 2 x 18"

2" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Now for the Chinese Navy:

Anchored at the rear of the Great Power's Fleet:

Hai Yung (own class)

2,680t, 3 x 5.9", 8 x 4", TT: 3 x 14"

Armour unknown

19kt

DBSA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser

Flotilla approaching from the South:

Hai Tien (own class, based on Elswick built Argentinian Buenos Aires Class Cruiser)

4,500t, 2 x 8", 10 x 4.7", 16 x 2", TT: 5 x 18"

Armour unknown

24kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Fei Ting (own class, officially a 'torpedo cruiser')

400t, 2 x 4", 4 x 2", TT: 5 x 18"

Armour unknown

20kt

DBSA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser

Fei Ying (own class)

Tonnage unknown, 2 x 47mm, TT: 3 x 13.7"

Armour unknown

25kt

DBSA Class: Torpedo Boat Destroyer

Kuang Ting (own class, 'torpedo gunboat')

Tonnage unknown, 3 x 5.9", 4 x 47mm, TT: 4 x 18"

Armour unknown

16kt

DBSA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser

The 'surprise package' emerging from the mouth of the Pei Ho river, obscured by the two Kwantung Junks:

Hai Hola, Hai Lung, Hai Nju, Hai Ying (Hai Hola Class)

Tonnage unknown, 6 x 47mm, TT: 2 x 18"

Unarmoured

30kt

DBSA Class: Torpedo Boat Destroyer

The two Kwantung Junks themselves are of course classed as Merchant shipping, although they could reveal themselves as 'Raiders / Armed Merchant Cruisers' in the sense that they mount 6 obsolete muzzle-loading 24pdr guns, and are crewed by fanatical Boxers. An attempt to board and inspect these ships by one of the Great Powers could result in a nasty surprise!

The Time of Day for the start of the scenario is decided at 6 spells before sunrise, therefore dawn.

You might like to depict the Taku Bar itself as a shoal under the rules, this is a hazard to navigation and blocks line of sight for Torpedo Boat Destroyers.

The Russian Rossiya is the Flagship of the Fleet.

The positions of the various ships are as depicted in the Russian diagram on the Taku Bombardment Webpage: (Scroll down...)

http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/ince/698/rurik/taku.html

The Chinese TBDs and junks approach from the top of the diagram, the Hai Yung is at position in the rear, and she will be joined by the flotilla moving from Wu-Sung after the first few spells of play.

As this is a surprise attack, I would award by default the initiative to the Chinese, and might hamper the Great Powers further by imposing a spell limit before they could either return fire or begin to move; this would obviously depict their unpreparedness and time needed to get up a head of steam.

Furthermore, it would give some advantage to the Chinese, who are, after all, outnumbered 2:1 by more capable ships!

Victory conditions should also reflect the strategic impact of interdicting the landing of troops by the Great Powers, and each loss to them, whether damaged or sunk, should be judged greater than one on the Chinese side, their likely losses being relatively immaterial in the sense of achieving the aim of closing the mouth of the Pei Ho to Western ships.

A further bit of fun might be to introduce a 'Confusion' dice roll, whereby if a ship of a certain nation receives fire from the Chinese in the near vicinity of another, competing nation, then they may mistakenly assume they are under attack by their rival power, and react accordingly.

Candidates for this that spring to mind would be mutually the Russians and Japanese, the Austro-Hungarians and Italians, and the British and the French; if the HMS Centurion receives fire within 5 cable lengths of the D'Entrcasteaux, she might think that it came from the French!

Phew!, quite an exhaustive list of things there, but should shape up into an interesting game....

55 Days at Sea: First Scenario: Surprise Attack

It is the 9th of June 1900. The upsurge in violence associated with the rise of the Boxer Movement in China has meant a gradual build up of forces by the various Powers who wish to gain influence at the expense of the ailing Manchu Regime.

At the point of entry at the mouth of the Pei Ho River, it has been a tense standoff; gunboats, transports and shallow draught vessels have gingerly threaded their way under the guns of the Taku Forts, wary of the private sympathies of the Chinese Imperial Troops who man them.

Luckily, in line with the public stance of their government, they have remained aloof, and the landing of troops bound for Tientsin and beyond, has so far gone on unhindered. The Boxers are to all intents and purposes still regarded as 'rebels'.

However, the tide may very well be turning against the Allied Powers, with the notoriously anti-foreign Prince Tuan having replaced the moderate Prince Chi'ing as Foreign Secretary, the noose has been tightening around the Foreign Legations at Peking.

300 or so reinforcements, both marines and sailors, have arrived there by rail on the 31st may, bolstering any likely defence, but perhaps this show of strength has done as much to heighten the tension as to calm it:

"The arrogance of these barbarians, trying to threaten the Imperial Court itself!".

Insistent messages, sent by the local Commander at Taku to the Imperial government, stating that he could prevent further Foreign intrusions by closing the mouth of the Pei-Ho, have finally received the following enigmatic reply:

"The Fox, when barred from the Hen House, is no longer a Fox...."

The Commander knows that the large ships of the Fleet cannot pass the barrier of the sandbank formed by the Taku Bar, and although the foreign navies posses some heavy calibre guns, if he can dissuade them from closing with the Forts, then landings up the Pei-Ho at Tangku will become impossible, and Tientsin and the Legations will be effectively cut off.

A strike force is assembled, made up of the four modern Torpedo Boat Destroyers, so kindly provided by the shipyards of Germany, of the Hai-Hola class, in addition to two Kwantung Junks to act as a deceptive screen on the approach:

From Wu Sung, to the South, a further group, led by the Protected Cruiser the Hai Tien, will be in position by dawn:

Finally, already a wolf amongst the flock, the Hai Yung lays at anchor a few cable lengths to the rear of the Allied Fleet, ostensibly to protect the interests of the central government, she will lead the surprise attack on the unsuspecting Foreign Devils:

At 05:00 hours, HMS Aurora, an Orlando Class Cruiser, reports the approach of two apparently friendly Junks, traders perhaps? The surprise attack has begun!

So that is the set up for the first part for the 55 Days at Sea campaign, a 'what if' scenario to mirror the actual historical combats that took place on land, with a spotlight on the naval elements that were in place in 1900. As you can see in the photos, the trusty old blue nylon tarpaulin is yet to be replaced by a nice sea scape mat, but once its replacement has arrived, I intend to do a run through using the Damn Battleships Again! ruleset. So stay tuned for an After Action Report in the near future.

Now just a quick look at some of the WTJ Naval ships seen in their unpainted state in my last post on this subject: The German Gefion:

The Russian Bobre:

And just for fun, the Spanish WTJ Lepanto in the company of Navwar's battleship Pelayo:

55 Days at Sea: War Times Journal Ships

Yes, I finally gave in, having more or less topped off the collection of Navwar ships for the 55 Days project, I couldn't shake the feeling of being bereft of certain key ships. I'd originally sworn off buying vessels from the excellent War Times Journal Miniatures due to the exchange rate between the £ and the $, but just a handful of ships wouldn't hurt - would it?

I can therefore, having received a large box from the good ole US of A the other day, wax lyrical for the first time about a comparison between the two manufacturers, and detail the ships that will be filling the gaps in my collection so far.

http://www.wtj.com/store/gameshop/shop1/

My order from the U.S. arrived promptly, around ten days or so after despatch, and came in a large box with plenty of cushioning material inside; in fact this more or less filled the whole box, given that I had only ordered eight ships! Each vessel was individually placed in a small plastic baggie, although with none of the information/specs that you receive with a Navwar purchase. On first examination, the casts were extremely clean, and flash was minimal to non-existent, unlike the models of some other manufacturers!

You can see all the vessels in their natural, untouched state here. Of course, WTJ has done the wargamer/collector the great service of having some close up, detailed photos of their products on their website, so I don't intend to duplicate their efforts here, rather merely relate what I bought to the 55 Days project.

First up we have a view of the Chinese Torpedo Gunboat Fei Ting, (WTJ 0012302) a very nice sculpt with her unusual twin-funneled layout; what is immediately apparent is the clean detailed lines of the model, and the detail visible on the ship's boats, a feature of all of WTJ's products.

I simply couldn't resist augmenting my Chinese Navy, and as I discussed in a previous post, short of buying the special, large scale packs from Navwar, I couldn't source these vessels from anywhere else. Only the funnels themselves might need a bit of shaping up with a small file; significantly, the base is entirely clear of flash, and has a deeply inscribed and therefore easily legible code number on the bottom.

Next we see the Torpedo Boat Destroyer Fei Ying, (WTJ 0012304) which was present in the Pei-Ho river during the capture of the Taku Forts. Another nice model with good details; the indented funnel tops are a nice touch, and the forward gun is clearly visible, if a little slight.

Moving over to the Russians, we have the Grozyashchi Class Gunboat, (WTJ 0022602) a number of which were present in 1900; beautiful detail on the ship's boats here, and great proportions overall; I'm actually going to use this as the Bobre, which took part in the assault on the Taku Forts. She was of a different class, but the Navwar version from the Khabry/Abrek pack has an unhistorical bow section, and is better suited as a model of the Mandjur class, so this model will be used to take advantage of the better depiction of the instantly recognisable revetted gun above the bow, a characteristic of many of these Russian boats.

The Chinese riposte with a contender of their own, augmenting the various TBDs with an actual Protected Cruiser, the Hai Yung (WTJ 0012211), which was recorded as being in attendance on the Allied Flotilla off the Taku Bar in 1900. No belligerent action on her part was historically recorded, but her anchor point, at the sternmost area of the fleet there, suggests intriguing possibilities for any surprise attack!

I must now confess that we are suffering from 'mission creep' somewhat on this project, in that having picked up the Don Juan de Austria to use in her American re-incarnation, I was attracted by the Reina Regente Class of Protected Cruiser (WTJ 0033230), with a view to allying her, in the form of the Lepanto, to Navwar's version of the Battleship Pelayo as a mini-squadron that might represent the fictional interests of Spain in the Far East.

With the Philippines lost after the Span-Am War, I was 'imagineering' that a good scenario would see the Spanish try to take advantage of the focus on China, and independence agitations in the Philippines themselves, to retake a measure of control: the Battle of Manila Bay Part II perhaps?

I had been disciplined in not widening the net too much with my Navwar purchases, but couldn't resist the detail and proportion of this excellent sculpt:

Next we visit Germany, and the sleekly designed Protected Cruiser the Gefion, (WTJ 0077215),

a notable absence from the Navwar catalogue, especially given her unique nature and long service in the Far Eastern theatre:

Hopping back to the Chinese once more, we introduce the 'big guns', which will make their fleet more competitive in any scenarios involving conflict with Allied Powers. Below we see the Protected Cruiser Hai Tien (WTJ 0012210), a sculpt noticeable for the visible deck planking, a characteristic of the WTJ minis, and the lack of any casting line, which can often disfigure the foredecks of some Navwar ships:

Sailing under the U.S. stars and bars, we have the war prize Don Juan de Austria (WTJ 0033231) an Unarmoured Cruiser that has a likeable 'tubby' look to her amidships:

Finally, a group of comparison shots that will go some way to represent the differences between the two manufacturers; overall, the WTJ examples are crisper and cleaner than Navwar, if perhaps a bit more delicate looking, the actual castings are definitely lighter.

The Grozyyashchi up against Navwar's U.S. 'Gunboat' Helena; note the casting/mould line so visible on the latter:

Navwar's Cissoi Veliki dwarfs the greyhound-like proportions of the Hai Yung, are perhaps WTJ's minis, although looking a nicely accurate and balanced 1/3000th scale, a tad larger than similar ones from Navwar? the Battleship was historically 106 metres overall in length, with the Chinese cruiser at 99 metres, so perhaps it is just to my eyes; certainly, on the tabletop, there will be no trouble mixing the two manufacturer's output.

Navwar's Navarin next to WTJ's Reina Regente class; although the former has great character, the mould line along her length is immediately apparent, and the detailing on the latter is obviously much clearer:

Finally, we see the Navarin straddled by the Chinese Cruisers; the detailed deck planking on WTJ's vessels jumps right out at you here, and of note are the dimples or nipples which the sculptor has added to indicate the proper position for masts, should you wish to scratch-build and include them.

Overall, I was very impressed with the WTJ ships, a lot of care and attention to detail has gone into their manufacture, although it might be said that in their unpainted state, they look perhaps a little to clean and sterile, lacking the gusto of some of Navwar's 'broad brush' approach. Being UK based, cost is a factor in deciding to invest in these ships, and of course no-one can yet compete with the sheer width and breadth of the British company's catalogue.

Yet if you are looking for those hard to get ships, or want a particular, special model, then I cannot recommend them highly enough; efficient, internet based purchasing, and quick service coupled with excellent little models is a hard to beat combination.

Certainly, I was very glad to have had the choice available to augment my variety of vessels for this somewhat under-exposed historical period (at least in Naval terms), and I understand that WTJ are looking to expand and update their ranges in the near future, alongside the "Battlefleet 1900" rules system that they have developed; furthermore, their website is a mine of useful information, research, tips and advice, which therefore offers you the whole package.

I'm looking forward to painting up these new additions, and adding them to my 'characterful' Navwar flotillas, and then finally getting down to the serious business of playing out my 'What-If?' campaigns, so stay tuned!