WAGRAM AT WELLINGTON BARRACKS

All,

Wagram was refought at last weekend in the Guards Officers Mess at Wellington Barracks, London.

25 players joined to refight this truly immense struggle on a table stretching over 35 feet, with over 12,000 15mm figures!

Rules were General de Brigade and all units were at 1:20 figure scale.

Player contributions saw the event raise £600 for the Colonels Fund 1st Bn. Grenadier Guards for wounded guardsmen.

See the Wagram game thread under the General de Brigade forum for more.

DB

BATTLEGROUP PANZERGRENADIER 2ND EDITION

2nd Edition Panzer-Grenadier remains firmly based on the original fire and movement mechanisms however there are differences in several areas, especially command and control.
New Command & Control!Completely new command and control rules permit players to attempt wider activation of units and Combat Groups within their Battlegroups, now influenced directly by the presence of command units, national ability and "command pressure" from the Battlegroup HQ.

The 1st Edition's sole reliance on Command Points for Combat Group activation has been replaced with an Activation Table which now relies on Command Units to activate Combat Groups and to allow for HQ Command Points to assist with these activation attempts. Those units without command may now only be activated as individual units (with the required assistance of a Command Point if they are not specialist troops), thereby placing a heavier emphasis upon the importance of command and the chain of command within the rules.
Thus the more flexible and well lead German army will have the ability to activate a good number of Combat Groups, while the less effective armies, such as the Russians, will find it harder to activate multiple Combat Groups. These armies will need to rely more heavily on activating the fewer Senior Command Units to move large numbers of troops, in order to achieve their aims.

Command Decisions! Players should not expect all their units to be activated each turn and are still forced to make command decisions as to where to concentrate command effort. Thus unrealistic situations where every single unit on the wargames table is permitted to move and fire without restriction are still avoided within the 2nd Edition.

Uncertainty is also introduced within the game turn, as any double one activation attempt automatically generates a Command Confusion result which provides the opponent with an opportunity to seize the initiative and immediately end the current players phase.

New Rules for Artillery; Machine Guns & AT Guns! Greater emphasis has also been placed on the historical differences between armies, for instance the revised artillery rules reflect each major nation's artillery doctrine and unique usage, while new rules covering MG area fire have also been included. Other new aspects include an intensive fire option for anti-guns and self-propelled guns, this increased fire rate now gives greater consideration to the threat such weapons posed to tanks on the battlefield. This greater emphasis on weapon and national differences will require commanders to play to the strengths of their particular Battlegroup, accepting that while they may be weak in one area they can take advantages of their strengths in other areas.

Japanese! Finally new rules and equipment lists have been introduced for the Japanese, enabling players to expand into the Asian and Pacific theatres.

Players will find the 2nd Edition more comprehensive but it nonetheless maintains a fluid game mechanism that still provides for a good range of "realistic" outcomes. The emphasis of Battlegroup Panzer-Grenadier is still firmly based on playability, after all wargamers usually prefer to see their miniatures on the table top and actually have something to shoot at during the course of a game!

The basic game tactical unit is the infantry section or squad supported by armoured fighting vehicles, artillery and ground attack aircraft. The rules are written for use with 15mm or 20mm figures, though work perfectly well for smaller scales.

Includes quick reference section, unit markers, templates and army lists plus 4 scenarios.

Available from Caliver Books @ £19.50.

SALUTE 2009 - STORMING THE REICHSTAG

This years LSF game at Salute was a Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier scenario - Storming the Reichstag. See the BGPG thread for more photos.

General de Brigade Scenarios 4

General de Brigade Scenario Book 4: Against the Ottomans is now available:

BRITISH GRENADIER!

See the current issue of Battlegames (Issue 16) for a fascinating scenario & write up of the two-day refight of the Battle for Long Island 1776.

WW2: ARNHEM CORRIDOR

A large Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier WW2 rules game recreating the action along the Arnhem Corridor as XXX Corps attempts to capture the Nijmegen Bridge and push onto Arnhem.

More on the Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier forum.

Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier: Operation Bagration Colours 2008

For a full report of the Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier Operation Bagration game put on at the Colours show - see the Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier forum.

Die Kriegskunst: Wargaming the Seven Years War

It's finally out!! Time to start painting a few SYW armies! Well done to to Angus Konstam & Dougie Trail for their efforts. As usual the rules are available via Caliver Books. Enjoy.

Forum Overhaul

Due to eighty-two percent of forum respondents approving of the idea, we have completely reshuffled the forums. There are now separate subfora for each era and its corresponding set of rules. Thus, from now on any new threads should be created in the appropriate subforum. The original “General Wargaming Discussion” thread will remain where it is for non-rules-specific discussion, but D. C. R. Brown will be transferring any rules-specific threads from it in due course.


The link has been updated to reflect the change, and everything should be up and running as of now. So, enjoy!

http://generaldebrigade.greatboard.com/

Salute 2008

Loughton Strike Force again took Waterloo to Salute 2008 but this time the eastern side of the battlefield to cover D'Erlon's Attack. Figures were a mixture of mainly Elite and Front Rank 28mm's painted by Doug Bernie and Andy Thomlinson. Terrain was constructed by Doug Bernie and Gary Williams. For more photos of the game see the Salute 2008 thread on the Forum.

The Battle for Hougoumont

See the forum of more pictures of the Battle for Hougoumont game that Loughton Strike Force put on at the Cavalier Show. Our next outing will be Salute - see you there!

Forum Problem

The discussion forum is currently experiencing a few problems. If you are receiving an error message, then you will need to delete your cookies and temporary files before you can gain access. (Instructions here.) You also may have to disable the automatic login feature on your account. Apologies for any inconvenience!

Colours 2007: Picketts Charge

The Pickett's Charge Demo game using Guns at Gettysburg Rules put on at Colours this year. For more photos click here.

Scenario News

The following scenario books are all in the pipeline for publication:

• British Grenadier! AWI = Ten more scenarios from Lexington to Yorktown.
  
• General de Brigade Napoleonic = Wellinton's Victories.
  
• Guns at Gettysburg ACW = Heartland - Battles for Kentucky & the Tennessee - out now!
  
• Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier WW2 = Battles for the Med.

Salute 2007

OPTIONAL RULES: Guns at Gettysburg!

OPTIONAL RULES FOR: GUNS AT GETTYSBURG.
Ordering the Regt. to Lie Down. The Brigade General or C in C within 15cms may order a Regt. to lie down. This must be done in the movement phase and takes ½ turn. However once prone the Regt. must roll successfully against the Gone to Ground – Get Up! Table to stand up again.

Very Small Regiments. Any unit that is 15 figures or smaller has the option to be deployed entirely as skirmishers. Once deployed entirely as skirmishers the unit may not be deployed as a close order unit later in the battle.

LIMBERED ARTILLERY - Rule Amendment

The Limbered Artillery modifier has now been amended and is included in the lastest reprint of General de Brigade 2nd Edition. See below.
PAGE 33 Last Paragraph. LIMBERED ARTILLERY
WAS:
Counts as a normal close order target with no modifiers
NOW:
Counts as an enfiladed target, applying the +2 modifier.

So, if you are keen to lead the advance with your artillery - you have been warned!

GUNS AT GETTYSBURG!

The new set of ACW rules "Guns at Gettysburg" is now at the printers/publishers, it is hoped they will be out late 2006.
They are a based on the General de Brigade Napoleonic rules system adapted to the ACW period and maintain the regiment as the basic wargames unit, catering for brigade, divisional and even corps actions.
Updates, rules questions and discussion forum will be housed on this, the joint GdeB website.

REVISED LARGE BATTALION RULING

1) LARGE BATTALIONS: Any battalion over 40 figures strong that is graded Veteran or worse, will require a full move to carry out any formation change. (Half from column to closed column.)

2) BRITISH BATTALIONS OPERATING IN WINGS. Any British battalion graded as Line or better may split into two “wings” of equal size and operate as two independent battalions – however both must belong to the same brigade. 1 Turn is required to split the battalion into wings and this must be carried out prior to the battle or on Turn 1. No wing may number less than 15 figures at the time of the split. The battalion may recombine into one battalion at any stage of the battle. 1 turn is required to reform the battalion and both units must be within 5cms of each other.

British Grenadier Revised Playsheets

Here are the British Grenadier Revised Playsheets in PDF format.

You will need a PDF reader such as Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader to view the files. If all else fails, try this HTML version.