Peter Laing by the Numbers 4

This is the second to last of these posting. The last figures I still need to do a little more research on.

A715; Rolls Royce armored car.

I didn't want to open the package with all the small parts; this is an example that I already have in my  collection.

Medievals

F 901 longbowman shooting; F 902 longbowman marching; F 904  Man at arms standing, spear;  A 904 kneeling gunner (the envelope says A 905, which is Standing gunner).

Back of the above figures.

F 907 dismounted knight with sword; F 910 dismounted knight with axe; A 902 cannon on elevating mount.

The back of the above figures.

American Civil War and US/ Indian Wars

F 3001 Dismounted cavalry adv (hat); F 3010 Infantry adv (hat); F 3007 Indian with bow, firing; F 3009 infantry adv (kepi); F 3012 'butternut" adv.

Back of the above.

M 3008 Indian with rifle, charging; F 3008 Indian, war bonnet with tomahawk; M 3001 cavalry (hat) horse walking. 

Back of the above.

Peter Laing by the Numbers: Part 2

A704 Brit. officer kneeling, field glasses; A703 Brit. gunner kneeling, shell; A702 Brit gunner kneeling: A705 Brit gunner seated X2; A736 German mortar crewman

Back of the above figures. 

A735 Minenwerfer; A701 Brit 18 pdr field gun.

F712 German infantry marching; F728 German inf adv; F713 German infantry firing; F726 German jaeger adv; F714 German officer marching.

Back of the above figures.

F716 German m/g loader; F715 German m/g & gunner; F727 German inf lying, firing; F720 French chasseur d'Alpin adv.

Back of the above.

F759 Russian inf adv; F748 Brit inf adv, tropical helmet; F737 French inf adv, steel helmet; F758 Bedouin inf adv; F768 Austrian, Italian inf adv.

Back of the above.

F729 Brit inf adv, steel helmet; F735 U.S. inf adv, steel helmet; F743German inf adv, steel helmet; F763 German Schutztruppe pte adv.

Back of the above.

Peter Laing WW1 Wargame; the Finale

The British attempt to hold back the Germans was for naught. The Germans had at this point overwhelming forces and was turning the British left flank. What was left of the British line was ordered to fall back to the next line. The Germans lost 1 infantry unit,as opposed to the BritishLosing 2 cavalry, 3 infantry and 1 artillery unit. During the entire game the Germans lost 4 cavalry, 15 infantry and 1 artillery unit. The British lost 7 cavalry, 14 infantry and 6 artillery units.

The Germans keep pouring in fresh troops, including sailors.

The German massed their artillery in the center, including a large siege gun.

The German infantry overrun the last artillery battery, and threaten the British headquarters.

By adding the possibility of reinforcements, it made for an unpredictable and challenging game. I can  see using this in future games. I would think using a set number of replacement units, or else having a replacement depot where, when a unit gets depleted, it would go back to the depot to get replacements to bring the unit up to strength, would add to a game, especially a campaign game.  This particular game lasted around 6 hours, over three days.

Peter Laing WW1 Wargame: Part 2

While the latest British attack is pushed back, the British brings up a strong reinforcement of artillery, while massing new infantry units behind the ridge. Once the artillery softens the German line, the fresh British infantry will push forward.

What the British didn't realize is the Germans have brought up a large siege gun ( the Germans rolled two  "artillery" symbols, which allowed them to bring up one large caliber gun. I was using Bob Cordery's Memoir of Battle rules; this gun had a range of 10 hexes.)

The German bombardment was devastating to the British line. Two batteries was destroyed, along with a machine gun unit. In this game, machine gun units counted as artillery.

The Germans then pushed their own infantry forward.

On the British left, the Germans overran one battery and forced another battery to retreat.

The British push back the Germans, but don't have enough reserves to follow up.

The Germans continue to push more units forward. 

As the second day of battle ends, the Germans have a strong foothold on the ridge. The British have lost heavily; losing 2 cavalry, 5 artillery, and 6 infantry units. The Germans lost 2 cavalry, 1 artillery, and 5 infantry units.

Peter Laing WW1 Wargame

I have been thinking of a wargame,  where both sides would get reinforcements on a regular basis. That means I need two armies that I have plenty of extra figures. I have a large collection of WW1 Peter Laing figures that I haven't used in a long time, so these seem like the ideal armies. This was just to be an experimental game, to see if having random reinforcements entering game would add to it. The game has been going on for over three hours with no end in sight. Once the fighting began, each side would roll three BATTLE CRY dice (after a few turns I increased it to 4), whatever came up was the reinforcements the side would get. The "retreat" or "crossed swords"  would not count for anything.

The battle have been going on for several turns. The Germans have launched an all out attack  on the British line.  I have played several games this week without taking pictures of them . I was originally wasn't going to photograph this game, but as I was trying something different I figured to take some pictures.

The British receive much needed reinforcements that throw the German attack back.

The British counter attack.

The British are on the verge of turning the Germans' left flank.

The Germans mass their reinforcements blunt the British push.

The Germans launch another all out attack.

And once again the British stop the attack.

One of the British units, a fresh unit of Highlanders, wipe out one German infantry unit.

The battle has been one of attack and counterattack. I had to stop as my wife got stuck in the snow  and I had to get her dug out.  At this point both sides pulled back to reform their lines. The British had got some good rolls that bolstered their artillery, so that the British could spread them evenly along their line. The game will continue, hopefully tomorrow. At the end of the day, the Germans lost 2 units of cavalry and 9 infantry units, as opposed to the British losing 3 cavalry and 5 infantry units.

15mm Peter Laing WW1 African Campaign Figures

In another blog (unfortunately I can't find it now), the poster brought up the African campaign in WW1 and lamented about not having Peter Laing WW1 African figures, and if they were still available.  Unfortunately they are not available.  The posting made me think of the figures I do have and thought of showing a few of the figures.

Porter and two Askaris

The figure on left I believe is a European Schutztruppe soldier; I painted to use as  Boer War Imperial Yeomanry. The Schutztruppe pinned their hats up on the right.

A Boer War Imperial Yeomanry cavalryman, which could be used for the African campaign.