Monday, July 25, 2016

The Battle of Oran

Building upon the struggle that had been raging for quite some time between Spain, Portugal and the ruler of Oran, the final stage was played out on my basement table jokingly referred to as the
'War Room". The first view is off the harbor district with the Bey of Oran and his forces located to the left. The Portuguese will be attacking from the wall in the background, while the Spanish have to find a way to cross the river emptying into the harbor.
The Spanish place their fire support troops along the waterfront to cover their attack as some of their men try to utilize the native fishing vessels. (you can just make out this at the 2nd boat from bottom) 
The Portuguese make the first major move, pouring out of the houses they already occupied inside the wall. At the University (center), resistance is spirited, and the first casualties are suffered. Then a major militia force ambushes the Portuguese at the end of the street (bottom) and numerous Portuguese go down (can see two such figures down near bottom
Meanwhile, in the northeast sector, the main Portuguese unites approach and enter the courtyard of the Great Mosque...and there is no apparent opposition
After surviving the ambush mentioned earlier, the Portuguese fight through heavy resistance into the University grounds, where they destroyed all opposition
Back in the great square near the Mosque, heavy fire is taken from the Palace and homes to the west. Casualties mount quickly
As the Portuguese reach the enemy posts to their front, a large force of fanatical militia pour from the Great Mosque and take the Portuguese in the rear! The Portuguese commander is not amused!
Fortunately for the Europeans, the Spanish finally (after suffering significant casualties as they crossed the river) add their numbers to the fight and begin to break the Arab resistance. The first men are seen in center of photo:
Interestingly as men attempt to flee the Palace (seen to left of palms)as fires set by the Spanish and Portuguese begin to rage out of control, others try to escape (?) by pushing into the Palace! (as seen at bottom)
One lone brave (but foolish) Arab gunner stands by his piece, firing one last round into the advancing Portuguese pushing out of the now cleared University (seen above) Note the Spanish casualties on the boat bridge...that was the result of one incredibly accurate Arab volley from the Palace (as the fire rages)
Back at the Harbor basin, more Spanish have now pushed across the river and are in the process of eliminating the opposition (You have to excuse the British Sailors filling in for Spanish...was a little thin on the ground for this massive fight!) You may notice an official Turkish contingent sent by the Sultan himself in the building rooftop by the ship they were attempting to escape on
As more Allied soldiers arrive near the Palace, the Janissary Guard prepare for a last stand. That is a lone militiaman standing in front of the Janissaries...he will not survive)
The Turkish officer, witnessing the death of the Turkish ambassador on his ship, realizes it is hopeless, and orders a surrender. The Bey and his family are executed on orders of the Portuguese commander in return for nearly a year of struggle, treachery and death. Oran has fallen! It was one of the grandest fights the group held in our 21/2 year colonial campaign!

Monday, June 27, 2016

Shanghai Information

To be used for our Shanghai Adventure:
FINANCE & BUSINESS
ENTERTAINMENT
CLUBS OF SHANGHAI

GAMBLING
MARTIAL ARTS
GANGS OF SHANGHAI

WHITE RUSSIANS
THE OPIUM TRADE











Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The Spanish are attacked in Oran

After gaining possession of one of the gates (to the left out of the picture) leading to the interior of Oran, an attack is launched to throw the Spanish out. It meets with a bloody repulse!
Note the presence of a Turkish flag in the courtyard of the house located right of center. It turns out there is a delegation from the Sultan present in the city! That will be played out in the next chapter!

A little conflict at Beni Walid

The Portuguese had been having troubles with various Arab towns staging attacks on their possessions and allies. The small desert village of Beni Walid finally saw they were being taken advantage by the ruler of Oran and his allies, and now have sworn allegiance to the Portuguese. The Sheikh of the nearby town of Remeda has sent a raid to persuade the people of Beni Walid of the errors of their ways! The men of Remeda (in white) are about to force Beni Walid to accept their argument!
Shots are fired, and the elderly headman of Beni Walid is gunned down.
But with the assistance of two Portuguese adventurers who have just arrived, the men of the village quickly gain the upper hand
It was a brief, costly engagement, with the eldest son of the slain headmen and a handful of his men surviving. But vengeance is soon to be unleashed upon Remeda. To be continued!


Monday, June 20, 2016

Black Hawk Down

Looking to recreate the conflict in Somalia?. You may want to see GameCraft Miniatures for this awesome structure to stand in for the Olympic Hotel. If you watched the movie, you will certainly recognize this model. It is huge!!






Japanese Embassy to the Viet Court in Hue

After losing their colony to the Moro, the Japanese player in our Colonial Adventure, went seeking another location. Settling along the border of what turned out to be SE Asia, he sent a small group to open contact with the Nguyen Dynasty at their capital of Hue
Unknown to the Japanese, a representative form the Middle Kingdom (China) has also arrived with an escort of the Black Flag. He is adamantly opposed to any outside contact for the Nguyen

The Japanese will be attacked by the Black Flag, despite the Nguyen promise of safe passage. (The Chinese ambassador is actually in command of the Black Flag(!) and wants the strangers destroyed. However the Japanese fight their way clear

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Forbidden city

I love building things if you hadn't noticed. One project which hasn't been gamed with yet (The Convention fell apart the year I prepared this) is this rendition of the Tartar and Forbidden City around 1900 to about 1925. Those 3d puzzles I mentioned earlier were purchased with this in mind, along with scratch-built walls and other provided by Curtey's.

We are looking past the main gate in the Tartar City Wall towards the main (Meridian gate) permitting entrance into the Forbidden City. to the right of center you may recognized the Temple of Heaven (blue roof) which is actually located further away in Peking, but the model was so gorgeous, I had to place it here
Looking over Hall of Supreme Harmony towards the Meridian Gate
The West Glorious Gate to the Forbidden City. Since I took the previous photo, I've since added the Gate of Supreme Harmony with the statues in front
Outside the Forbidden City I've been adding the various 3-d Puzzles mentioned earlier to make a very believable Tartar City
A Qin Military Parade
Officials overlooking the gate to the Tartar City
The Troops look so 'pretty', too bad they will fight so badly for the Qin
Even added a metal model of a Korean Turtle ship...not very historical...but it looked cool
As earlier stated, was hoping to unveil this at TactiCon 2015 but perhaps this year if they can get the Con off the ground