Tag Archives: Wargame

July 7th 1520 Battle of Otumba Wargame Scenario

The Battle of Otumba was the Aztecs’ last chance to expel the Spanish invaders from their homeland. Outnumbered 20 to 1, Cortés and his men fought bravely but were nearly crushed under the weight of numbers. In a last-ditch attempt to survive, Cortés sent his best soldiers to attack the Aztec command.

Wargame: any medieval skirmish game. Could also use Age of Sigmar or other rules.
2 Players
4×4 Table
6 Conquistador Models armoured and mounted
100 Aztec, lightly armed and Armoured, plus 1 leader

The scenario is simple: the Spanish want to kill the leader, the Aztecs want to stop them. use basic terrain, rocks, creeks, whatever you have.

Special Rules- Movement of the conquistadors should not be blocked by the Aztecs due to their mounts.

July 6th 1809, Battle of Wargram Wargame Scenario

The Battle of Wagram was one of the largest battles of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon took six weeks to prepare his offensive against Vienna, assembling an army of French, German, and Italian troops, 150,000 strong. Austria responded in kind, fielding 170,000 soldiers with 388 guns.

The battle was costly on both sides, with over 80,000 total casualties. Day two featured an interesting early engagement. An Asutiran column with 32 battalions, 40 squadrons, and around 60 cannons attacked the French flank. The French III Corps under Davout commanded 31,600 soldiers, 6,200 cavalry, and 120 cannons.

Both sides were to call reinforcements to the area. Our game will start in the early hours of the morning and proceed.

Rules: Use any corps-level Napoleonic Wargame Rules, ours is set for General D’Armee

2-4 Players

Models Needed: 34 French Battalions and 50 Squadrons. 50 Austrian Battalions and 40 Squadrons. 10 French artillery stands, and 8 Austrian Artillery Stands

Table Size 12×4

Terrain. Generally flat. The French should start with a height advantage while the Austrians assault.

Objectives

The Austrians surprised the French in the early morning hours, but underestimated the French numbers. Their goal will be to seize a French command post behind the French lines. The French must counterattack or the Austrian reserves will come into the field and overwhelm them. The French goal is to push the Austrian forces back to the heights.

Set-Up

The French should be in two separate commands, one for each Flank. Each command should have 12 battalions and 10 squadrons with four batteries. The remaining battalions should be in reserve. The Austrians should start on the offensive with 32 battalions in two columns on the table, along with the 40 squadrons. Each column should have three batteries for support. The remaining Austrian forces should be in reserve.

Special Rules

Reserves. Napoleon noticed the threat of the flank attack and sent over his heavy cavalry reserve. These should begin to enter the table after the 4th turn on a 6, then a 5, and so on.

After the 7th turn, Austrian reserves should enter the fray.

July 5th 1943 Battle of Kursk Wargame Scenario

The Battle of Kursk in 1943 remains the largest tank battle in history. The front line was over 1,000 miles long, and the fight itself lasted seven weeks. 3.4 million soldiers from both sides participated, with 10,000 tanks and 35,000 pieces of artillery.

The battle took place in two key areas. The North near Bolkhov, and the South around Kharkov. The center of the field bore a striking resemblance to the Battle of the Bulge. The offensive started out as a German operation. We are going to take charge of the Soviet counterattack.

Order of Battle
Germany
Gunther Von Kluge
941,000 Soldiers
3,253 Tanks
9,467 Guns
2,110 Aircraft

Soviet Union
Geogry Zhukov
2,500,000 Soldiers
7,360 Tanks
25,000 Guns
2,800 Aircraft

Wargame any 6mm Game like O Group or Baccus 6mm Rules. You could also go up to 15mm with Flames of War. You want the game to incorporate Airstrikes, artillery, armour, and infantry.
Player 2-20. This game is designed for many commanders in different areas, divided as you see fit, you could even put an umpire to work here.
Models Needed, as many as you want, literally. I doubt many people own 1,000 tanks, let alone 10,000
Table Size: The game can be played in two ways. You can use the above campaign map with different sectors and fight battles in the various sectors, changing terrain for each sector battle. Or you can put as much of the fight as you want on a single table (best in 6mm or 2mm).
Fighting Battles. The Soviets should have about 20% more units on the table, in terms of points, than the Germans.

Campaign Map,

Units should be able to move 2-3 squares, depending on the road situation. Discuss with your opponent.
Air support will only be available within 5 squares of the airbases marked.

Objectives
The Soviets want to retake the marked cities on the map. The Germans want to hold their ground.

July 4th 362 BC Battle of Mantinea Wargame Scenario

The battle of Mantinea in 362 BC was fought between two rival Greek city-states. Thebes and Sparta. While Sparta and Athens are the best-known city-states in ancient Greece. Thebes was renowned for its rich culture and esteemed educational institutions. It was located in the plains and had many agricultural exports.

Thebes was no slouch militarily either. In 371 BC, 8 years before our battle. Thebes defeated a Spartan army at the Battle of Leuctra.

The Battle of Mantinea was part of a larger civil war between the Thebans, led by the Boeotian League, and Sparta and Athens, which were aligned against their growing power. Thebes allied with the Spartans during the Peloponnesian War of 431 BC, which caused resentment in Athens. During the battle, the Spartans were able to slay the leader of Thebes. Although Thebes won the battle, they were unable to capitalize on their victory and achieve greater success due to the death of their leader.

Order of Battle
Thebes, commanded by Epaminodas
30,000 infantry
3,000 Cavalry

Sparta, commanded by Agesilaus II
20,000 Hoplites
2,000 Cavalry

Wargame Rules: Hail Caesar, DBMM, any other large Bronze Age battle system
2 Players
Models Needed
Two armies’ worth of hoplites and skirmishers with light cavalry. The Theban military should be about 20% larger than the Spartan army. For example, if you are playing DBMM 400, the Thebian should have 480. Historically, the famous Spartan warriors numbered only about 1,000, and that should be reflected in list building. Feel free to have many commanders and allies, as that was a common feature amongst the forces.
Terrain: The battle took place on a large flat plane flanked by two mountains.

Objectives:
The Spartans must try to kill the commanders for the Thebians. The Thebians must defend their commanders and rout the enemy.

July 3 1863 Gettysburg Day 3 Wargame Scenario

Day 3 of Gettysburg was marked by a massive artillery bombardment and Pickett’s famous charge. Two cavalry actions, Northeast and Southwest of Gettysburg, were less well-known but equally important.

Our game will focus on the Northeast action. The Southwest action was basically a slaughter for the Confederates with few Union casualties.

On the Northeast, three Confederate cavalry brigades and three infantry brigades attempted to assault the Union right flank. Five Union cavalry brigades met the onslaught of a very mobile battle covering 5 square miles.

Wargame
For use with Across a Deadly Field or Other Civil War wargame
2 Players
Equal amounts of forces for the Union and the Confederates
6×4 Table with woods, farms, roads, and small creeks

Set-Up
Set up a table, and each player picks a side. Place 3 objective markers around the battlefield. One should be at the center of the table, the other two on each side, wherever the table owner determines they should be placed.

Players should fight to control the objectives. At the end of 10 turns, whoever controls 2 objectives wins the game. Any forces that are destroyed should be replaced from the owning player’s table edge.

Extra Rule

The two objectives near the players should move each turn. Use a scatter dice with direction to move the objectives. The central objective should remain stagnant.

July 2nd 1863 Gettysburg Day 2 Wargame Scenario

On Day 2 of Gettysburg, dozens of theaters could be their own game. We will focus on The Wheatfield, a relatively back-and-forth part of the battle that should make for a good match.

Union 40 Brigades 5 Artillery Batteries (unless reinforcements were used the day before)
Confederates 36 Brigades 4 Artillery Batteries

Your initial setup should look like this: The Union has reserves about 6 turns away, and the Confederates have full forces bearing down. The Union line should look like a zig-zag, with various creeks, ridges, and orchards forming the defensive line. Of the 40 Union Brigades, only about 20 should be on the front line, ready to engage.

The game should proceed with the Confederates getting a free artillery barrage on the Union line, inflicting casualties. The Confederates should also have the initiative and be bearing down on the Union position.

The only unique rule for this scenario involves yesterday’s battle. If the union used reserves, then they will lose 4 brigades of reserves for today’s battle.

July 1st 1863 Gettysburg Day 1 Wargame

Our next three days will cover different points in the Battle of Gettysburg. I am not even going to attempt to write about the impact Gettysburg had on the Civil War or the momentous speech that was given afterward. Instead, I am going to focus on small actions that impacted the battle.

Gettysburg Order of Battle Day 1 (For Our Game)

Union
First Division of XI Corps
Brigadier General Francis C Barlow
1st Brigade Col Leopold Von Gilsa
41st New York
54th New York
68th New York
153rd Pennsylvania
2nd Brigade
Brigadier General Adelbert Ames
17th Connecticut
25h Ohio
75th Ohio
107th Ohio

Confederates
Major General Jubal A Early
Hays Brigade 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th Louisiana
Smiths Brigade 31st, 49th, and 52nd Virginia
Hokes Brigade 6th, 21st, and 57th North Carolina
Gordons Brigade 13th, 26th, 31st 38th, 60th, and 61st Georgia
Jones Artillery Battalion
35th Virginian Cavalry

The Confederates won the first day of Gettysburg at a key moment: Major General Jubal A. Early’s attack on the eastern flank against Brigadier General Francis C. Barlow and the pursuit action to surround the Union.

The above map shows the various deployments.

Rules
Across a Deadly Field or other American Civil War Game
2 Players
Models Needed: 8 Union Infantry Regiments, plus 1 Artillery Battery, plus 1 Cavalry Regiment
17 Confederate Infantry Regiments, plus 2 Artillery Batteries

Set-Up

The Union should be positioned behind a creek with strong defensive emplacements. The Creek should have a singular bridge. The union should also have a height advantage.

The Confederates should be across the creek with mild vegetation cover.

Objective
Confederates win the ground to surround the rest of the Union army. If you are the Union player, hold off as long as you can. For the Union, you should not want to fight to the death, as you have a fallback position near Krzyzanowski. You can also call on 4 or 5 regiments of reinforcements, however beware for the battle tomorrow as more union troops are arriving, and numbers are more important than territory.

June 30 1794 Battle of Fort Recovery Wargame Scenario

After the Revolutionary War but before the War of 1812, the United States and Great Britain still had their differences to resolve. The fur trade was a hot commodity in the Great Lakes Region, and both countries fought to maintain their business enterprises in the area.

The conflict was complicated by the presence of Native American tribes who were all too happy to side with a country on the other side of the world rather than the other side of a river. The United States maintained a series of frontier forts to bolster its presence. One such fort was attacked on June 10th, 1794.

Scenario

Game System: Sharpes Rifles or Other Black Powder Skirmish Game
2 Players
30 American Soldiers with supply carts and 50 Native Americans
Heavily wooded terrain with a road running down the middle

The battle started when an American supply column was ambushed near the Fort by Native Americans. The Americans should do everything possible to stay alive and return the supplies to the fort, where reinforcements are being held near the gate. The Native Americans should attempt to kill the entire column and prevent it from making it to the fort.

June 29th 1659 Battle of Konotop Wargame Scenario

The conflicts between Russia and Ukraine go back far longer than the last 10 years. In 1659, 80,000 soldiers met at Konotop during a portion of history known as the Ruin to most Ukrainians.

The battle started poorly for the Ukrainians, who were forced to flee the fortress. The Russians besieged the fortress for 70 days until 30,000 Cossacks under Mehmed IV Giray came forth to relieve the siege. At the time, Ukraine was controlled by many different factions who had loose alliances to defend each other when they were not attacking each other. It was closer to how Italy operated with the various cities and families than a unified country.

Crimean Khanate (Ukraine)
Mehmed IV Giray (relief force) 30,000
Krzysztof Laski (relief force) 4,000
Ivan Vyhovsky (besieged force) 20,000

Russia
Alexey Trubetsky 29,000
Ivan Bezpaly 7,000

Wargame Scenario
For use with Pike and Shotte or other similar systems
2 to 3 Players
Armies similar in points: The Ukrainian force, with relief, should have about 20% more than the Russians, who should have more elite troops.

Objective
Ukraine breaks the siege and causes the Russians to rout. Russia routes the relief force while keeping the Ukrainians in their fortress.

Set-Up
Create a small fort or castle and place the Ukrainian infantry inside with their command. The Russians should be in a siege position with artillery focused on the Fort. The relief force should be cavalry-focused with many horse archers/crossbows and placed on one side of the board.

Special Rules

It is not really a rule, but you want the armies to be highly mobile and have the battlefield be very fluid without much debris.

June 28 1575 Battle of Nagashino Wargame

June 28th, 1575 marked the beginning of gunpowder-based warfare in Japan. The 38,000-strong allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa leyasu handily defeated Takeda Katsuyori and his 15,000 soldiers. The victory united Japan for the first time in several centuries under Oda Nobunaga.

The battle was actually two different engagements: a siege battle of Nagashino Castle, and a battle about 2 miles away at Shitaragahara. We are going to focus on the siege battle.

Wargame Scenario

2 Players
For Use with Pike and Shotte
Models Needed: Use whatever rulebook you want, but the Nobunaga player should have twice as many models as the Takeda player, including a large portion of gunpowder armed forces. The Takeda player should have a medium-sized cavalry detachment positioned outside the walls.
Terrain: The battle took place on a peninsula, and walls for a castle are a must.

Set-Up
The Nobunaga player should have his army positioned in an attacking position. The Takeda player should be defending with their cavalry hiding in the woods.

Objectives
Simple siege attack and defend.