To the Skys of Yesteryear: More Wings of War

I love this game!  Wings of War from Fantasy Flights Games is a fast, simple to learn but hard to master game of aerial combat during World War I.  For movement, each plane selects three movement cards per turn to use in order; one of the best mechanisms I have seen for simultaneous movement.  The cards are selected from a movement deck and each plane uses a different deck depending on its capabilities.

Line up the arrow with the line on the card and move.

 Recently I was challenged by Honorable Son #5 over the skies of World War I Europe.  He was going to try out his new UFAG C.1, a two-seater reconnaissance plane escorted by an Albatross D.V. 

 The UFAG C.1 and the colorfully painted Albatross D.V.

The allies, played by yours truely, would have a Sopwith Camel and a Spad XIII.

The Sopwith is on the left and the Spad on the right

The Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, also known as UFAG C.1 , was a 2-seater armed single-engine reconnaissance biplane designed by Ernst Heinkel.   The C.I had similarities with the earlier B. 1(Type FD, also designed by Heinkel), including inward-sloping interplane bracing struts. Like other early-war Austro-Hungarian reconnaissance aircraft, such as C-types of Lloyd or Lohner, the Type LDD had a communal cockpit for its crew.

  

The UFAG C.1

The C.I served in the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops in visual- and photographic reconnaissance, artillery observation and light bombing duties from early spring 1916 to the end of World War I. The aircraft had good handling characteristics, and steady introduction of more powerful engines in successive production batches (see below) enabled the improvement of performance and thus the continuing front-line service.

Armament of the type consisted of a free-firing 8 mm (.315 in) Schwarzlose machine gun at the rear for the observer, and at least in some aircraft for the pilot there was also a similar fixed, non-synchronised forward-firing gun in a pod above the top wing. This latter weapon was replaced in later production examples by a synchronised 8 mm (.315 in) Schwarzlose gun on the port side of the fuselage. The normal bomb load for the C.I was 60 kg (130 lb), but some aircraft could carry one 80 kg (180 lb) and two 10 kg (20 lb) bombs.

 Albatross D.V.

 Since it had been a while since we had played, our flying (especially mine) was less than spectacular as we started the game.  The Sopwoth Camel and Spad XIII had several near collisions while the Albatros had difficulty staying near the action.

Another near miss!

  The UFAG C.1 performed admirably, it's rear machine gun reminding the allied planes that it would be difficult to tail unless they got into the rear blindspot caused by the tail.  The allies were being hammered as smoke and rudder malfunctions took a toll on their aircraft.  Unfortunately for Honorable Son #5, a few stray bullets ignited a fire on the Albatros which resulted in a spectacular explosion.  It was then only a matter of time as the two allied aircraft ganged up on the remain two-seater and the pilot of the Spad got his second kill of the day.

 

Yes, the Allies have another near collision!

Perry French Artillery in Overcoats - Finally done!

As the Emperor said,

 "Où est mon artillerie?"

The artillerymen have been lounging around the depot while waiting for the guns to be completed.  

For the guns, I went with a speed painting technique:  Primed Black, wood painted with Games Workshops Goblin Green, and then washed it with GW's Flesh wash.  The final look I think gives it a weathered, used look - like artillery actually in the field.  

The barrels were primed blacked and "wet washed" with GW's Shiny Gold.

As usual, they are mounted for Volley and Bayonet.  I like the wood bases which gives some space for hands to grab without touching the figures; in addition, with the scale of the game, I like the "Kriegspiel" look it gives!  It feels good to be painting and getting the forces moving again!

American Civil War Reenactors

Wow.  It's been a busy spring and summer!  I've been behind not only in my painting but also in gaming and working on this blog.  But the great news is all the time I've spent with family and friends.

During the 2012 Memorial Day weekend (USA), I grabbed Honorable Sons number 3 and 5, along with Honorable Son number 3's girlfriend, and traveled to nearby Tannenhill State Park near Birmingham, AL for their annual American Civil War reenactment. 

The reenactment, though not large compared to the famous battle reenactments, is still an enjoyable opportunity to watch "living history" and talk to individuals that are very informative and passionate about their reenactment hobby.  Two fictional battles are fought each year:  on Saturday the Confederacy wins and on Sunday the boys in blue win.

This year, as I walked around in the 95+ degree farenheit heat (35 degrees celcius) with my ice cold root beer, I couldn't help but notice how the participants in wool uniforms were faring!  Many times that day I was thankful for the "modern" uniforms I wore during my military service.  During the battle, we sat comfortably in the shade under trees while the participants fought the battle.  Prior to the fight, I noticed more soldiers in full uniform:

Prior to the start of the battle, jackets were shed and gear reduced:

Fortunately there were no incidents with heat injuries.  Still, it reminded me how brutal weather can impact military operations.  I thought of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought July 1st - July 3rd; it was hot and men needed water.  During my own military career, dehydration is always a concern.  My hats off to the participants fighting in the Alabama heat.

Three other thoughts from the battle:  Guns are noisy, they make a lot of smoke and it is hard to give orders when it's noisy and there's smoke!  I hadn't fired a weapon in years, and when I did (except when deployed) I always wore ear protection.  So you are leading your company, which is deployed in line and you want to point out the enemy that just appeared and  . . . BOOM! BOOM! BOOM AND ANOTHER BOOM!   "  . . . No, I said Company  . . . BOOM! BOOM! BOOM AND ANOTHER BOOM!  I think you get the idea.  Trying to control hundreds and thousands of men on a hot and smoky battlefield is not as easy as it looks.

Here are some pictures of the fight with forces advancing and firing.  The hazy pictures are not bad pictures, that's the smoke. 

 The Union had 3 cannons and the Confederacy had 2 cannons.  

 Note the smoke covering the battlefield when the 2 Union cannons fired.

 

 

 Makes command and control very interesting.  Fog of war anyone?

Great time.  Here are some other photos I snapped to use as painting guides for future American Civil War armies.

Fort Gaines

     I recently traveled with my family and friends to lovely Dauphin Island, Alabama for a relaxing vacation.  

      Dauphin Island is a beautiful beach community which is not overly commercialized; a few eating establishments, a bakery, great seafood, the Dauphin Island Sea lab and museum plus miles and miles of beach.  So let's recap: beach, great food, cool museum and the bonus of an American Civil War fort.  Sweet.

 

     Located in Mobile Bay, Dauphin Island had been home to the Native Americans and was first settled by the French in 1699.  Fort Gaines is on the eastern tip of the island and was built between 1821 and 1848. It was occupied by Confederate forces in 1861, and captured by Federal troops during the Battle of Mobile Bay.The phrase, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead," was spoken by U. S. Admiral David Farragut just a few hundred yards from Dauphin Island's shore.  Exhibits include the huge anchor from the USS Hartford Admiral Farragut's flagship during the battle.  

USS Hartford

The fort also has the original cannons used in the battle, five pre-Civil War brick buildings in the interior courtyard, operational blacksmith shop and kitchens, tunnel systems to the fortified corner bastions, and similar features.  A self-guided tour is available which took us approximately 1 hour to complete.