This article was the first article ever published in MWAN Magazine. Hal started his first magazine with an explanation of what Historical Miniature Wargaming is. It's from this article that 133 issues of MWAN Magazine have come. Without this first step, there could be no second, or third, or 133rd. With this being the last issue of MWAN Magazine, we felt it appropriate to return to the first issue. Just like Hal, this article has stood the test of time. It is as relevant today as it was back when he began the Midwest Wargamers' Association Newsletter (MWAN).
Hal Thinglum, we salute you! We regret that MWAN Magazine will close its doors, but as many readers have pointed out, this old place is just not the same without you. We've made our own place now, with Historical Miniature Gamer Magazine. We shall sully the name no more.
Well done, Sir! Well done! -Don Perrin, Editor
Everything You Wanted to Know About Historical Wargaming...But Were Afraid to Ask
Historical wargaming with miniatures is a relatively recent activity which became known to some degree in the 1890's/early 1900's through the literary efforts of such well known writers as Robert Lewis Stevenson and H.G. Wells who played with 54mm figures and rudimentary, to current standards, rules. Wells published a book "Little Wars" which provide the rules for his games while Stevenson published several magazine articles about his hobby. It was not until the late 50's and early 60's that the hobby became more popular in the United States. It was, and probably still remains, more popular in England. Jack Scruby of California was one of the early wargamers in this country and still turns out figures in a number of periods. War- gaming actually became more popular in the late 60's and early 70's with a number of companies turning out figures to cover virtually any period of history.
Picking out an historical period is the most important issue for the new wargamer. This is best done by reading about various periods to supplement one's base of knowledge and attending games in various periods to assist you in determining whether or not it will be of interest to you. Figures, as stated before, are available in almost all historical periods as well as future periods, however, it is historical wargaming that we are concerned with here.
Once one has identified a period of interest, the next issue is that of determining the scale one wishes to game in. The early figures were 54mm in size or the size of our early plastic/rubber childhood figures (Fort Apache, The Alamo, WWII sets, etc.) and are too large for wargaming. The next size developed was 30mm which is still available to some limited degree. Continuing the smaller size, 20mm was then marketed followed by 25mm size figures which remain, perhaps, the most common wargaming scale. This was followed by 9mm or N gauge figures as well as 5mm and then 15mm, the scale that many felt would replace 25mm which had been the most popular sized figure for some time. However, the verdict is still out on the 15mm vs 25nm scale issue with both being quite popular.
Paintability is also a factor in scale as 25mm figures may have more detail, thus requiring more time to paint, while smaller figures require less time. one's scale may, in a way, be dictated to some degree by those individuals he selects to game with. If, for example, people you game with have 25mm figures in your particular period of interest, you may not want to purchase 15mm if you are interested in gaming with them. Many groups of wargamers pool their figures, for example, in the Napoleonic Era, someone may collect French, another person British, etc. This has some disadvantages should you decide to move or play solo games but is a very good way of building large armies to game with.
In determining which scale you will select to game with, the issue of price may have some influence on your final decision. Thirty millimeter figures run about $1.25 each with cavalry figures probably double that, while 25mm figures average about $.70 with cavalry about $1.25. Fifteen millimeter infantry are about $.25 while cavalry are about $.50. How many figures are needed? In wargaming, each individual figure represents about twenty real men. Figures are usually fixed to bases of plastic/balsa wood in groups from two to six which facilitates movement, one does not want to move 300 individual figures each game move. The number required depends upon many variables, including the size of the game, i.e. one does not fight the battle of Waterloo with only one regiment to a side; the level that the player wants to wargame at, i.e. skirmish being a minimum of two figures to tactical/strategic where whole armies are moved about. Very enjoyable games can be played with one or two regiments of infantry (20 to 40 figures), a squadron/regiment of cavalry (6 to 20 figures) and artillery (one gun) on each side. If one is wargaming with a group that is using the same period one is collecting, one does not need any figures to begin with.
Painting is the next step. Most wargamers do not paint one figure at a time, usually a whole regiment is painted at once which may be approximately 20-25 figures dependent upon the ratio of figures to real men, i.e. I to 20, 1 to 25, etc. The usual method is to coat the figures with a primer to protect the figure, followed by a coat of white paint which serves as an artist's canvas to provide a better painting surface. After this, all the figures you are painting have their coats painted, followed perhaps by the color of their pants. In this way, an entire regiment can be painted over a period of time. How long does this take? It depends on the individual.
I tend to paint very quickly and my figures show it, while other more deliberate painters' final results can be most impressive. Painting guides can be purchased or borrowed from libraries or from fellow wargamers.
Now, suppose that you have a few regiments of infantry and cavalry and a few guns and you want to try a war game. Wargaming consists basically of four factors, namely, (1) movement; how far a unit can move over a given period/length of time, (2) firing; how effective is a unit's fire, (3) melee; actual hand to hand combat which was usually quite rare, and (4) morale; the sum total of a units willingness to fight. The wargame is divided into moves or bounds, which represent a certain amount of time ranging from two to about 30 minutes usually. Let us try a basic game between two armies of equal strength (one infantry unit of 20 figures, one cavalry unit of 10 figures and one gun with four gunner figures on each side). Listed below are some very basic rules designed to introduce the newcomer to the hobby of wargaming.
MOVEMENT
Infantry: 6" line, 9" column
Cavalry: 12" line, 18" column
Artillery: 0" unlimbered, 9" limbered
FIRING
Infantry: Throw one die for every 5 men firing and subtract 3 from die roll for long range (l2"-18"), 2 for medium (6"-12") and 1 from close (0"-6"). The number remaining is the number of casualties inflicted upon the enemy.
Cavalry: For mounted cavalry firing, divide the die result by 2. For casualties to cavalry/artillery men, divide die result by 2.
Artillery: Throw 1 die per gun. Casualties equal the number of spots on die for long range (24"-36"), and medium range (12"-24"), and two times the die at close range(O"-12").
MELEE
When enemy stands touch, total up the number of figures on each die for each side, throw a 6-sided die for each side and multiply the result by the number of spots on die for number of men on each side. High number on the total wins, low total retreats one move. Winner throws two dice, which reflects the number of casualties on the enemy while losing 1 /2 as many. Cavalry are worth two points while infantry and gunners worth one point.
MORALE
When a unit has lost 1/2 of its men or has lost a melee, it must checking morale. It does this by throwing two dice. If a total of less than 5 are is thrown, that unit must rout two full moves and after one move has elapsed, it may try to rally by tolling two dice again and rolling a 7 or above.
ORDER OF EACH MOVE
1) All movement
2) Firing (artillery fire first followed by infantry fire. Remove casualties caused by artillery before firing infantry.
3) Melee
4) Morale checks
Below are outlined the positions of the units discussed above. Assume that there are no trees, hills or buildings which could provide cover to the units and thus, complicate this basic game:
The game starts with an objective, in this very simple game, each side has orders to push the other back so that it occupies the field. Each player writes orders for each unit for each move or turn. In this game, each player writes the same initial orders for the first move:
Player A and B
Infantry: Advance 6"
Cavalry: Charge enemy cavalry
Artillery: Hold and fire at enemy infantry
MOVE ONE
Movement: All movement takes place.
Fire: Artillery fires first, at 18" A rolls a 6 and thus inflicts six casualties on BC infantry while B rolls a 3 or 3 casualties to AB infantry from his gun.
These casualties are marked with some type of marker. AB infantry (17 strong as 3 were artillery casualties) has three dice to throw (one for every five men, under 3 ignored) and throws a 5, 3, and 1. At medium range (9") two are subtracted from each die so 4 casualties are caused to B (5-2=3, 3-2+1, 1-2+0; thus 3 + I = 4 casualties). B fires back with 14 men (6 were casualties from artillery) simultaneously and throws three dice scoring a 4, 6 and 5 for 9 casualties (4-2-p2, 6-2=4, 5-2=3; thus 2+4+3=9). At this point, A has 10 men left and B has ten as well, a rather bloody and unrealistic encounter.
Melee: The two cavalry units are touching, thus melee takes place. Each has 10 men for 20 total points (10 x 2 = 20). @. throws a 4 (20 points x 4 = 80) while B throws a 2 (20 points x 2 = 40) so A wins the melee and throws two dice (3 + 1 = 4) for four casualties caused to B while B divides the throw of 4 and causes 2 casualties to A. B retreats one full move which takes up the movement for his next move.
Morale: Each infantry unit must check morale since they both are down to one-half strength while BC cavalry unit must check since they lost a melee. AB infantry throws two dice totaling seven so they pass; however, BC infantry throws a 3, failing their morale toss. They then must rout (run away) two moves back (their movement for the next turn). BC cavalry rolls a 10 so they pass morale.
MOVE TWO
Player A
Infantry: Advance 6"
Cavalry: Charge gun
Artillery: Fire at infantry
Player B
Infantry: Cannot write orders as it is retreating
Cavalry: still routing back.
Artillery: fire at cavalry.
Movement: All movement takes place.
Fire: AB gun throws a 2 for I casualty to BC infantry (@ effect at long range). BC gun throws a 6 at close range (die x 2) for 12 casualties to AB cavalry, however, firing at cavalry is at one-half effect (as there are two possible targets, the man and the horse) for six actual casualties. AB infantry elect to fire on the gunners and throw two dice (10 men) for a 2 and a I at close range for a total of 3 x 2 (close range x 2) for 6 (further divided by 2 for firing on gunners) which equals 3 casualties to the gunners.
Melee: AB cavalry hits BC gun with AB 8 cavalry (B men x 2 because they are cavalry) for 16 points against BC one gunner. A throws a one (1 x 16= 16) while BC lone gunner throws a 6 (6 x 1=6), thus A wins the melee and throws two dice (3 + 1 = 4) so BC gunner is automatically eliminated but takes two cavalry with him (1/2 of 4 = 2) and AB cavalry captures BC gun.
Morale: No morale checks are necessary.
At this point in the game, AB cavalry and infantry have moved into BC position and have pushed back BC forces while capturing the gun. BC cavalry may begin moving toward AB cavalry if they desire next turn and BC infantry will have to attempt to rally by throwing a 7 or above. If it does so, it can return to the battle; if not, it keeps moving back two moves each turn it fails.
BASICS
This has been the most basic representation of wargaming with miniatures. one would probably quickly tire of such simplistic rules after a short time, but it does provide a flavor for what wargaming is actually like. Most wargames would have modifiers for many events such as allowing better trained units to perform at a higher level for firing, have higher morale and more melee ability.
The best way to learn how to wargame is to play with people who already know something about the hobby. Most wargamers are very understanding of newcomers who have a limited amount of knowledge about the hobby or, for that matter, military matters. They are only too willing to take the time to explain the basics/finer points and/or assist in planning/painting an army. There are other factors which add to the enjoyment of wargaming as a hobby. These include reading about your period of interest, sharing your knowledge with others, enjoying the fellowship of others who are interested in wargaming and seeing the effect, or lack of effect, of your well laid out plans on the enemy.
Wargaming with historical miniatures is, thus, fighting out battles with painted metal figures which are endowed with historically accurate capabilities.
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© Copyright 2005 by Legio X
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