28mm Honey Tanks for the Desert

I've continued with my recent drive to get the "to do" box of early war 28mm Desert Armour to the point where the box can be recycled. The latest addition to the "painted" pile are these 3 lovely Blitzkrieg Miniatures M3 Honey Tanks.

With the addition of a Perrys Miniatures Tank Commander (this is one of the standing figures that i have cropped in half to use as a tank crewman) and some decals from various sources these have turned out not half bad.

As the Caunter Scheme Paints were out from the Mk VI Light Tanks I finished last week I just kept rolling with the Official colours.

These are the second batch of tanks I've used the decal names on, they were a nightmare to get anything like straight on these but I do prefer them to trying to hand paint letters on the turrets.

For our Desert games these tanks are the pinnacle of British Armour (our end date is 31st Dec 1941) and when we get to use them on the table it will be a nice change to have a gun that isn't a two pounder!

Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad 1916 - The Action

A few weeks ago I set up the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad with a post on the back ground of the fight along with some details on how we planned to refight the action. The actual battle took place over two days, on the second the numbers were virtually equal so my scenario is designed to reflect the action on the first day when the British and Empire Forces had a reasonable chance of success.

The dip in numbers visiting the site when I post about WW1 Mesopotamia is massive, these posts get a third of the traffic a similar WW2 or Napoleonic post would attract. Which is a real shame as this area of conflict is so much more interesting than the Western Front. Please see the link below for the previous post.

https://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.com/2020/02/battle-of-sheikh-saad-1916.html

As with previous AARs I will let the pictures do the talking, above we see the Highlanders moving off from their start positions toward the as yet unseen Turkish lines. Figures 28mm, table 12 x 6, rules If the Lord Spares Us by toofatlardies.

Indian Troops advance forward and start to come under fire from Turkish Artillery and Machine guns, the small black marker representing one point of suppression.

The first proper action happened on the far right of the British Lines as the British Cavalry pushed forward towards the Marsh Arabs who had decamelled (got off) and were furtively skulking around a patch of rough ground, no doubt up to no good.

It led to our first ever WW1 Cavalry charge, onwards the Cheshire Yeomanry !

The irregular Arabs were no match for the Cheshiremen and were wiped out in the attack, the British Cavalry held the ground after the melee but the unit of Turkish Lancers were looking very interested in the smaller British squadron.

Meanwhile one of the Indian Battalions in the middle of the table had pushed forward to within close range of the Turkish trenches, the Turkish figures were placed on the table and the combat began in earnest.

Attacking trenches is never easy and it's even worse when there is no cover.

The Highlanders are plodding on steadily but they are a move behind their Indian Allies.

What looks like a lot of figures at the start begins to thin out, the Buffs, closest to the camera are already a long way behind the main attack.

There is no subtlety in the centre as the Turkish defenders fire everything they can at the attacking Empire Force.

Hopefully no one will notice the hole in the Turkish defences.

On the left bank the Indian Troops had set up a pair of Machine Guns to support the attack.

Missed a few photos actually playing the game, but the MG support helped the 56th Punjabi Regt get a foothold in the front trench on the Empire left bank, but the Punjabis and supporting Sikh unit have taken some damage on the way in.

In the centre the Highlanders make their bid for the trench.

It's a tough battle but the Scots are in the trench line.

Further down the line the Buffs are still under heavy fire and struggling to advance.

As the Highlander attack goes in the Dogras try their luck in the centre only to be shot off by the Turkish defenders.

But the Highlanders in the front line trenches didn't hàve it easy, both sides threw company after company of troops into the fray and casualties where high on both sides.

A general view down the trench line, in the foreground the Buffs have closed on the Turkish positions but they have plenty of suppression and are unsupported on their flanks. A Turkish reserve Battalion is approaching the lines to make things worse for them.

But that open flank was going to be a bit of a problem, whilst they were concentrating on the lines ahead the Marsh Arabs have reupped and are snorting towards the suppressed Brits.

Meanwhile the fight between the Highlanders and the Turkish Infantry goes on...

Oh Matron, I've been cameled in the flank  !

Still fighting in the trenches.

And a second company of Buffs get the hump !

I realise that I don't have many photos of the fight on the Empire left, the units on that side of the table managed to capture the front line trenches with some heavy casualties, but they were brought to a halt by a fresh Turkish Battalion in the second line supported by Machine Guns and Artillery.

In the centre the Highlanders broke through the lines with their last company, casualties were very high on bothe sides. The attack on the Empire right had stalled with the Buffs unable to advance.

The Turkish Commander in a spot of bother.

We had set a time limit for the game (2 of our very lazy game days) representing the first day of the Battle. The Empire troops had done slightly better than in real life having gained foothold in trenches on both sides of the river.

In the actual battle the Empire forces withdrew from the Trenches over night and attacked again the next day, attacking in fog the Empire left broke through the Turkish defences forcing the troops on the other bank to retire also.

Losses were high for the Empire, over 4000 (around 1/3 of the troops engaged), the Turks lost 1200, very illustrative of the danger of attacking in WW1.

That's the Mesopotamia collection away again for the year, see you in 2021 for the Battle of the Wadi.

28mm Mk VI Light Tanks for the Desert

I haven't posted any new stuff for a while as I have been having some nightmares with paint flaking on a bunch of Blitzkrieg Miniatures and it's kind of put me off painting a bit.

The troop of three tanks has two Mk VI B and 1 Mk VI C the former armed with a Vickers and a Besa MG whilst the Cupola less C has a 15mm Besa.

My early war British Forces are for late 1940 and 1941 so most have the famous Caunter Camouflage Scheme. I tend to vary the colours I use to reflect the alterations in hue due to the harsh desert conditions but with these I have used the Official colours from the AK Interactive Caunter Paint Set.

I've added decals from a number of sources but a few weeks ago I picked up some Tank Name decals from Warlord Games and have used them for the first time on the rear of the turrets on these.

We have a Desert game coming up next so I will get these on the table nice and quick.

To add a bit more character I've added some Perry Miniatures tank commander figures, I do love the Perrys stuff, it really compliments my painting style and a splash of the right colour in the right place and they just come to life.

I think with these smaller tanks the Caunter Scheme breaks up the shape of the vehicle as a it was designed to do, in a similar manner to the Dazzle camouflage that started on ships in WW1.

Lots of new tanks coming soon.

Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad 1916

It's Xmas Time, or it was a month or two ago, and Xmas means Mesopotamia here at YG. Over the years we have fought our way up from Basra to the outskirts of Bagdad only to be forced back to Kut where our last game saw the Turkish forces trying to break into that town.

With the Poona Division tied up in Kut we move to the newly formed Tigris Corps and their attempts to relieve the siege.

Highland Regiment waiting to attack

Historical Background 

South of Kut at Ali Gharbi, Lt Gen Alymer was putting together a force to save Gen Townsend and his besieged men. Pressure from above was strong to get the relief force in motion and Alymer set off on the 4th Jan 1916 with just three Brigades of Infantry and some Cavalry, around 10000 foot and 1340 Cavalry supported by 42 guns of various calibre.

British Cavalry waiting for the off

The Turkish Forces had settled into a siege at Kut, the German Commander Von Glitz over ruling the Turkish Officers who remained in favour of taking Kut by force. A substantial amount of the soldiers in the area were needed to keep the British hemmed in. It was down to Colonel Pasha and his XIII Corps to move down river and position themselves to block the advancing Empire Force digging in just south of Sheikh Sa'ad.

Turkish Lancers

The British and Indian Troops were advancing blind, the weather preventing any air Recon and the Cavalry not immediately available. Younghusband, in charge of the leading troops said "with no means of reconnoitering and the country as flat as a billiard table, the only way to find the enemy was to bump into them". On the 5th of Jan 1916 word came from local tribesmen that the Turks just up stream, the next day Younghusband did bump into the Turkish positions.

Turkish troops wait patiently for the Empire troops to advance into range

Set Up and Terrain 

The game was played on our usual 12 x 6 table using the Too Fat Lardies rules "If the Lord Spares Us" which are specifically designed for Mesopotamia Palestine etc using 28mm figs from a variety of companies, mostly Woodbine Design Company but with Artizan, Great War, East Ablaze and Empress added in.

Above shows the Turkish positions, empty of figures for the moment, the picture below is the Empire side.

The terrain is very sparse, the odd area of scrub with a couple of low rises randomly placed. The river Tigris has been considerably shrunk in width to give more playable area, it had no effect on the Battle other than splitting the attacking and defending forces. Below is the only map I have found of the battle, pretty sparse as you can see.

British Briefing and OOB 

The British task is simple break through the Turkish positions in front and race to Kut to rescue the besieged troops there. The game represents the initial attacks of the 6th.

Each Empire Battlion is represented on table by a 2 Fig HQ, 4 x 8 men Companies and 1 MG base, not all units present on the day are represented.

Army Command - 4 figs rated Eton.

28th Brigade - 2nd Leics Regt (with 1 Lewis Gun per Company), 51st Sikhs and 56th Punjabi, set up on the left bank (as viewed from the British Lines).

British Signallers with urgent Tea supplies

19th Brigade - Seaforth Highlanders (with Lewis Guns), 28th Punjabis with the 92nd Punjabis in support off table. Centre of the lines.

35th Brigade - 1/5 Buffs (no Lewis Gun Teams), 37th Dogras and the 97th Deccan Infantry in support off table. Right side of Empire lines, as shown in set up photo so flank is about 2/3 of the way down the table,  with 1 Sqn of Cavalry on right flank (thats all 1 have painted).

Artillery 4 Batteries (1 gun model each) , 1 with each Brigade and 1 spare.

Empire Supports arrive on a throw of 9 or more on 2d6 any turn after the 5th.

Empire troops are unaware of the exact location or strength of the Turkish Troops and at the start of the game all they can see are empty trenches. Turkish troops become visible at 20", and cannot be fired at from a range great that that by none artillery units.

British units are give a Rating of 0, Indian 2, Highlanders are classed as Aggressive.

Turkish Briefing and OOB 

Unbeknown to the Empire leaders on the 6th January they outnumbered the defenders quite considerably nearly 4 to 1. The Turkish troops initially will struggle to cover the whole frontage.

It's not Mesopotamia without some random Marsh Arabs 

Army Command - 4 Figures rated Young Turk

Initial on table units are 3 Battalions each with,

1 HQ Section 2 Figs, 4 x 8 Fig companies with 1 MG base in support.

Also there are,

2 Batteries of Artillery, 1 unit of Lancers (12 figures) and 1 unit of Camel Mounted Marsh Arabs.

The Infantry can set up (hidden) anywhere in the trenches, the mounted units on the left flank.

Turkish troops fire and spot as normal with no restrictions. Turkish Troops are all graded 2.

There are two Battalions of Infantry in reserve, organised as above. They are activated if the British get a foothold in any of the Turkish trenches. The Turkish Commander must decide which side of the river each battalion is before the game starts.

In the next post I will have a look at how our game went compared to the actual event.