God's Own Scale

The arrival of the Strength and Honour ancient rules has led me toward 2mm wargaming, 'God's Own Scale'. You may ask, why bother? Why not play a board game instead? The scale loses much of the grandeur of the larger scales, and you cannot distinguish between the 5th foot and the 38th or identify the various shield designs of an ancient army. Indeed, the scale is probably not for you if you enjoy fielding immaculately painted armies. However, the impact of these blocks can be stunning as you can field armies of 30,000 plus men on a 6-foot by 4’ table.

Armies in a Shoe Box

One of the advantages of the scale is its limited storage requirements. Two armies in a shoe box. This is a godsend for a wargamer like myself who always needs more storage space.

The Other Benefits of 2mm.

That leads nicely into the benefits of 2mm gaming.

The scale allows you to recreate massive, army-sized clashes on a 6 x 4' table. In 28mm, a 6 x 4' table equates to roughly 110 x 75 yards - a snapshot of any battle except a skirmish. In 2mm, a 2 x 4' board works out at about 2 x 4 miles. You can recreate much larger conflicts with much less space. Minor battles, for example, the Napoleonic battle of Vimero (1808), will easily fit on a four-foot square table. Despite 17 divisions potentially being involved.

The regiments marching across these small spaces look like regiments, divisions and corps on the move. One of the changes in painting and modelling at this scale is that you are conscious of the tactical formations employed. Taking an ECW example, you can show a cavalry unit in Swedish and Dutch formation and vary their appearance differently. These alternative designs will probably not impact play, but they make your battlefield look realistic.

Battles are easy to set up and play. The armies are tiny, and a base can represent anything from a Roman legion to a whole Germanic tribe. For later periods, a division or event corp. Therefore most battles can be played with under 24 bases per side. This makes set-up quick, and labels attached to the base help identify the unit and speeds up gameplay.

God's Land

Of course, then there's the terrain. Little terrain is produced for this scale, although some manufacturers now make some buildings. With a few bases of buildings placed side by side, you soon get the impression of a large town or city. See below for some links.

This means that roads, rivers and forests are usually handmade. Forests are just clumps of bath mats, sprayed and placed on a textured base, and they look the part; rivers and roads are just painted strips of card or other cheap basing material. I use self-adhesive floor tiles obtained from pound shops. If you are like me and want to get a game to the table asap, this terrain-making process takes only a little bit of time. Also, because the terrain is cheap and quick to make, you can spend time mimicking the landscape for the battle you are refighting.

Economy Wargaming

Finally, the venture is low-cost. Breaking into a new period in 28mm gaming can be expensive. Irregular Miniatures sell army packs with a staggering quantity of troops (tens of thousands) for £12.50. I recently decided to start an English Civil War campaign (more on that soon), and I fielded two sizable armies for an initial investment of about £30 each.

Current Projects Using God's Scale

I am currently using 2mm on several projects where I want to recreate full scale conflicts or where I want to try a period out without a massive investment in time (painting) and money.

The current projects of the workbench are;

Ancients 

I currently have an imperial Roman army and Gallic/Germanic tribes.  I am now working on phalanx-based armies in anticipation of refighting Rome's expansion into the Greek East.

English Civil War

The objective here is twofold. First, a desire to refight the Sheraton, 1644. Second, test out the Twilight rules for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Period I have in the past ignored. Therefore, this little project could expand into the Thirty Years War or Wars of the Spanish Succession. 

Napoleonic and the Peninsula Campaign.

This is a classic wargaming period, which I have not played for years or decades. I have always been turned off by needing to understand the tactics of the era and the complex painting demands. However, recently reading about these conflicts led to a desire to refight the battles of Wellington's Peninsula Campaign. The 2mm scale has enabled me to build two armies fairly cheaply and quickly. 

Just a Little Bit More

Recently, 3mm has started appearing, and I have seen some fantastic 3mm American Civil War miniatures. At the moment, I am holding off launching yet another project, but they do look good. 

Some Links

Irregular Miniatures - a wide selection of 2mm miniatures, including terrain.

Warbases - 2mm Ancients cast in white metal.

Korhyl Minatures - 2mm Ancients in resin blocks.

Forward March Miniatures - STL files for all periods for 3d Printing.

Magister Militium - for 3mm.

Lastly, a Facebook Group is dedicated to 2mm Wargaming and other small scales.

The Adventures of Slade Horton

Currently, I am playing a pre-made campaign from the Pulp Alley partnership. Here my intrepid adventures, Slade Horton and other members of Department E6 uncover the mysteries that surround an ancient Egyptian serpent god, Apophis. The campaign is broken down into four chapters. The story starts in various locations worldwide but ends in the Egyptian desert. starts

The Cast

Sir Francis 

Head of the Department of Ancient Esoteric and Magical Practices (Department E6) at the Mace Insitute. A war hero who is well connected with the government and some more unusual assets.

Slade Horton 

Socialite archaeologist is the lead academic of the Department of Ancient Esoteric and Magical Practices at the Mace Institute. He was known for several famous discoveries but was also a source of jealousy and ridicule by some of his colleagues.

Dr Laura ‘Honey’ Middleditch

Dr Honey is the linguist in the department and has worked with Slade on several digs/adventures. Despite his academic pedigree, she was also the Home Counties pistol champion in 1924, 26 and 27.

Thwaites

Sir Francis, old batman and now his chauffeur and protector, and a noted boxer being the army champion during the Great War.

The Honourable Daphne Wells.

A socialite turned reporter and adventuress. Originally, she joined Mace to get a scoop but soon became enmeshed in the strange world of Department E6. Her beauty is deceptive because she is handy with the pistol and fears little. A modern girl from the post-war revolution.

Alfie Lindenhurst III

The son of a rich American industrialist, he has come to London to study with Professor Horton, but has soon been recruited by Department E6 because of his enthusiasm and marksmanship. Alfie is accident-prone but has the constitution of an ox. He is a bit soft on Daphne. 

New Age Comics

Rather than write a traditional battler report, I turned Chapter 1, 'The Evil Lies Below', into a pulp comic. This has allowed me to build up the background of some of my characters, which is always a good idea when playing solo. Here is my attempt at a 1930s Pulp mini-series. I hope you enjoy it. Click the front cover to download the story or press here to continue Slade's adventures.

Battle of Nidbodmar

The Purity Crusades

This battle report is the last part of my three campaigns that will be fought in the world of Telemar. The idea is that sometime in the future, the three strands will join to reveal the true villain behind these conflicts.

See, The Shadow Wars; The Ancestor War.

The Conclave of Caelthyr

Aenarion II, ‘The Pious’, Lord of the Hidden Light, High King of the Five Realms, 1087, summoned the Elven High Lords to a conclave at Caelthyr. Aenarion stood before the great and good of Elven Kin and preached a crusade against the Unbelievers. His speech would change the isolationist strategy the Elves had adopted for two centuries and launch a series of holy wars.

Kin and the Kindred.

Aenarion II’s first was the hated Kindred or Umbrians, a tribe of Elves that had broken away from the Hidden Light to walk a much darker path. The rivalries between the Kin and the Kindred had lasted centuries since the Wars of Division when the Elven path to enlightenment separated. Ever since those ancient days, both sides had raided the other land in search of plunder and as a coming-of-age ritual for the younger Elves. Therefore, it was easy to use one of these events for Aenarion to claim the moral high ground to launch a significant retaliatory ‘raid’ against the Kindred.

The First March of 1088

In late spring the following year, Aenarion’s army marched towards the river Nidmar, the boundary between the ‘lands of the sun and shadow’. However, despite the speed of Aenarion’s advance, the Kindred’s Triumvirate despatched one of its number, Mor ‘a Gul, the Lord of Beasts, to intercept the High Elves' advance. The two armies met where the Old Way crossed the river Nidmar, close to the now-ruined watchtower, Nidbodmar.

The Battlefield

The river Nidbod runs east to west across the battlefield and is spanned by a substantial stone bridge. Close to the bridge is an old watchtower, which is now in ruin and not ideally situated to guard the bridge; the river must have changed its course since the tower was last used. The Nidbod is fordable to the east and west but not within 18 inches of the bridge. Low hills feature on either side of the river, and small woods dot the landscape, incredibly close to the Old Road that runs north to south across the battlefield.

The Strategies

Aenarion concentrated his attack on the bridge, utilising his spearman supported by the deadly elf archer regiments. Enior, the mage, would also support this attack. The fords further up and down the Nidmar course created a problem because they would allow a possible outflanking movement. To counter this, Aenarion stationed smaller commands on the low hills, with orders to defend and protect his flanks. If they thought the attack was blunted, the commanders could counterattack to draw the Kindred away from the centre.

Mor a’ Gul decided to attack the right to turn the High Elf’s left. The centre, Mor a’ Gul, deployed sufficient forces to contest the bridge without committing too many resources. The aim was to buy time to allow him to defeat the enemy's right flank. On his left, he placed a small command composed of Dark Reavers and Saurian Riders. Their instructions were to make a nuisance of themselves, but if they hit strong resistance, to fall back across the river and defend.

The Armies Advance

Both armies were noted for their speed, but the striking opening moment was the Kindred’s War Hydra that rushed to devour Elven flesh. The Great Eagles seeing a creature that for them sickened the laws of nature, flew to intercept. However, the Nargutun knights intercept the eagle’s flight, and their long-necked lizard mounts make short work of the feathered host.

In the centre, things were going better for the High Elves. Here the elf spearman forced a passage across the bridge, despite coming under heavy fire from the Kindred’s crossbowman. Trying to protect the Kindred lives, the crossbowman withdrew, and the Slave Legion charged home. However, these enforced troops were no match for the Elf spearmen and were brutally dispatched.

In the meanwhile, on the flanks, the skirmishing continued. Both commanders had orders to probe the High Elf’s left flank, and a series of ongoing skirmishes broke out. However, on the other flank, the Nafgutun knights defeated the High Elf knights, and Aenarion’s left battle slowly had to disintegrate.

The Unstoppable Elf Phalanx

In the centre, Aenarion phalanx of spears continued to push up to the road. Combined with their inherent strength and fantastic dice rolls, they destroyed all comers. The road was soon clear of the kindred. However, the High Elf’s flanks continued to collapse as the superior Kindred number took its toll. On the right, the hastily recruited crusader elves and their knightly support routed. On High Elf's left flank, Mor ‘a Ghul was now only kept at bay by a thin line of elf archers supported by the light cavalry. The total collapse was a matter of time (one or two rounds). Aenarion started to withdraw. Mor ‘ Ghul suffered heavy losses and decided he could not threaten Aenarion’s retreat.

Aftermath

Overall the battle was a draw, although either side at one point could have achieved an outright victory. However, Mor ‘a Ghul held the battlefield and gained his triumph. Aenarion’s first battle of his Purity Crusade was not the success he wanted, but neither was it a disaster. Several frontier towers had been regarrisoned, including Nidbodmar. He now knew he needed the power of his regular forces rather than relying on some over-enthusiastic ‘crusading’ volunteers.