Action in the Northwest Approaches

Dystopian Wars is a game that I came across by accident. I had seen the various adverts in the hobby press but I had resisted. However, at the end of 2023, I gave up on Legion Imperialis due to Games Workshop's poor logistics in getting the minis out to an enthusiastic fan base. This led to some store credits so I bought a few sets of Dysthopian Wars.

The Game

The game is set in an alternative timeline in the Victorian age, where steampunk navies fight for the interests of their empires. It has a great backstory but in my opinion aimed at the competitive wargamer. People who have read my previous posts will know that I dislike tournament Wargaming. For me, the hobby is about fun and a good narrative story. However, I thought the game had potential, although making it truly solo would be a challenge.

I had also been researching a WWII naval campaign in the Mediterranean, which I thought could be moved to a Dystopian War setting.

The Malta Crisis 1872

The opening of the Suez Chanel and its aerodrome nexus in 1867 led to increased competition in the Mediterranean. More about this  and each power's objectives will be discussed in later post. Here, we will concentrate on the Commonwealth and the old Tsarist claim to be the head of the Hospitaller order. This bit is is true in our timeline. The Commonwealth also needed access to more bases that allowed them to deploy their navel without fear of weather or rival powers, the Imperium (German Empire) and the Sultanate (Ottoman Empire), controlling vital straits that hindered the Tzar’s fleets.

Therefore, the Commonwealth High Command decided to move the Borodino battle group under the commander of Vice Admiral Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich Bolov to the Western Mediterranean. His secret orders were to develop alliances that would allow Malta to be taken over. In early November, the Borodino battle group left its Artic base to take up its new station.

Crown Intelligence

In London, Mycroft Holmes, head of British intelligence, received reports of the Borodino’s departure but had no idea of its intentions. Mycroft decided to instruct the Admiralty to send cruiser squadrons from the Home Fleet to find the Borodino and its escorts.

Hours later, Commodore Cunningham, the commander of the 5th Support Group, read his orders from Admiralty Arch. He was to locate the Borodino and delay her until the arrival of the Crown battleship Prince Regent.

The Storm

Nature intervened on these instructions when a fierce autumnal storm blew from the west. The Borodino lost most of her escort and was now accompanied by a single cruiser. The other elements of Bolov’s command were scattered west of the Faroe Islands. Cunningham had spread his command across the Northwest approaches, and it was two cruisers, HMS Albion and HMS Mercia with a squadron of frigates that stumbled across the Borodino and its solitary escort near some skerries west of the Faroes.

The Engagement

Harry Cunningham, his binoculars pressed to his face, bravely identified the looming silhouette of the Commonwealth battleship, the Borodino. Without hesitation, he commanded his communications officer to relay the discovery to his squadron, a mere 16.5 nautical miles west of the Faroe Islands.

Cunningham gazed at the majestic battleship. He knew his small squadron of two Albion class cruisers supported by three frigates would not be able to stop her. The only strategy was to delay her until the Crown battle group could reach the northern water.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Bolov spotted the Crown ships spread between the dangerous rocks that formed the outer reaches of the Faroes. He decided that there was no point taking on the small ships. First, it might cause a diplomatic incident and second, it would delay the regrouping of his fleet. Even a ship of the size of the Borodino could be vulnerable when isolated. He commanded his cruises Kushov to take an eastern approach around the scaries. The Borodino would continue on an unaltered course. His hope was that Kushov eastly approach would confuse the British commander and force him to divide his forces. 

The Commonwealth cruiser shifting to a new bearing forced Cunningham to deploy a line of  frigates to cover all possibilities. However, Commodore Cunningham continued with his original plan to hamper and slow down the Borodino, the main threat to the Crown in these disputed Waters

The Borodino slumbered forward and launched a salvo at the Crown’s frigates, quickly sinking two of the frigate squadron. Cunningham, shocked by the power of the salvo, started to reposition his cruisers. The Albion, came dangerous close to the rock as the two ships hit the Borodino with a broadside.  Borov answered the attack by firing his main guns at the Mercia, crippling the ships steering.

As the weather worsened and the rain lashed across the decks, both sides let off closing shots. The Mercia regained control of her steering and Cunningham closed with both his cruisers. Two further broadside seem to bounce off the Commonwealth ship’s armour. Now Bolov  brought the Borodino next to the Albion and fired its full armament. amazingly Cunningham’s ship survived, although badly crippled. Cunningham decided that he could not damage this monster and let her disappear into the growing storm. He instructed the remaining frigate, HMS Orb to follow the Commonwealth ships so the main battle group could engage at a later date.

What's next

A really enjoyable introduction to the game. The models are fantastic with a lot of character. However, the game was designed for a versus mode and not the solo wargamer.  Dystopian Wars at its heart a tournament/competition game. Despite this I want to play more, so I am now putting forward some solo mechanism. Here are my preliminary thoughts.

1. Group the ships into squadron cards with each card having a a value of 300 to 400 points. On ecard would be the flag group then the player would draw at random. This would allow some uneven forces and reflect that rarely did an admiral get the all ships he wanted.
2. I going to name the ships and introduce a few heroic captains that will give their ships and advantage. This captains can progress in a campaign and generic (non-hero) captions may become heroes as they earn experience. This I hope will improve the narrative aspects that is important to solo wargamers.
3. Look at some pre-battle movement system. The WWII came Nimitz has some interesting mechanism on this aspect.

Next will be another short game when the Crown fleet finds the other Commonwealth ships that became dispersed in the storm. 

Solo Wargaming

New books on solo wargaming are a rarity, so when one comes along, the author should be applauded. This year, Gregory Ward published 'Wargaming World Solo: Ancient to Modern Solo Wargaming' (WWS). As the title suggests, the book has taken on the ambitious task of writing solo rules that span human history.

Overview

WWS is divided into three parts. First, the author overviews his approach and mechanism to provide a unique solo opponent, a 'Virtual You' (VY). In the second part, the bulk of the book, he goes through the details of deployment, turn sequence, command and control, random events, flank marches and reserves, movement and combat, reactions and decision making and finally, morale. The book's final part contains examples, army lists and QRS. All in 80 pages.

Complete Ruleset for the Solo Gamer

As the above heading suggests, WWS is a complete set of rules. Concentrating on troop and leadership quality as the main driver allows Gregory to use the same primary mechanism for different historical periods, adjusting for technological advances in the movement and combat tables. These rules are self-contained and would allow gamers to set up a quick weekend game.

OR A Toolkit

However, like many, I am already attached to specific rules for my favourite periods. For people like myself, WSS becomes a treasure trove of tools to turn these rules into a better solo experience. These include how to set strategy, tactical approach, deployment, objective setting, hidden movement using markers, and reaction tests. In many instances, the pedigree of these ideas can be traced back to Donald Featherstone and Charles Grant, to name but a few. However, how they have been combined and redesigned makes this book an essential addition to a solo warmer's library.

Next Steps

My next step is to try WWS's tools with my favorite rules: Lion Rampant, Fantastic Battles, and Sharp Practice. Additionally, I plan to use them in my historical refights at Tel Danith (1115), Cheriton (1644), and Vimeiro (1808). This exploration has also sparked ideas for naval games like Dystopian Wars, and experimenting with pre-battle movements, sieges and campaigns. WWS has rekindled my interest in the genre and what can be done.

How long does all this take? Who knows? However, that is the beauty of solo wargaming.

Clyst Heath - 1455

The battle of Clyst Heath occurred on 15 December 1455 near Exeter. Although the battle was part of the wider conflict known as the War of Roses, a personal feud between the Courtneys and their regional rivals, the Bornvilles, was the leading cause. This scenario comes from the third volume of the Test of Resolve scenario books. It is an ideal learning scenario because it only involves a single battle; most battles in this period involved three. Also, the scenarios did not have special rules. 

Test of Resolve 

These rules were first published in 2021, and like many of my rule purchases, they have sat on my bookshelf. I have always fancied playing the rules dedicated to the War of the Roses. While this is not the place for a full review, please check out this YouTube video for more information. 

However, it is worth stating what drew me to them. They are part of a new genre in Wargaming where the rules are written for a narrow historical period, in this instance, 1455-97, allowing them to reflect more acutely late fifteenth-century warfare.
Second, the rules use a card activation system and a single d12 for most tests. This might seem to make the game too random, but this potential randomness is attractive for a solo player. 

WoFun Perspex Flats

The painting requirement became a barrier to playing during this period. Experiments with various scales ended up nowhere. I did not have the time to invest in something I remained uncertain about. I needed a cheap and quick method to put a good-looking game on the table. Enter WoFun Perspex Flats. These are designed and painted by Peter Denis. These miniatures can be simply slotted in a base, and they are ready to play. However, I took the option of edging the Perspex halo to provide a 3D look and flocked the bases. 

The Battle

Courtney opened with the initiative, but mistakes in his deployments led to chaos amongst his men (the first card drawn was flummoxed). Bornville used the confusion to move his army forward. However, Courtney’s red archers took first blood, leading to some of Bornville's archers fleeing the field.

Despite losing some archers, Bornville still had the initiative and launched an attack against Courtney’s longbow with mixed results. The archers soon dispersed, and the main retinues finally clashed. The Earl’s men held the initial assault, and one case pushed Bornville's retinues back. Now, the battle swung in Courtney’s favour as his superior number, despite the poor quality of some of his men, counted. Bornville found that his right flank had been turned, and his army started to bleed Battle Moral points.

The fighting continued for a few more cards, but it was now evident that Courtney would hold the field at the end of the day.

Comments 

I need to play this game again with three total battles aside because this will increase the commanders' choices. The cards tended to rule in this game, although I learned the importance of focusing resources and isolating the enemy. This is true for the period, but I am not an expert in fifteenth-century warfare.

Labels would be required to identify the units in larger battles, and I think they would add to the overall experience. 

Overall, it was an enjoyable game, and I cannot wait to try out a typical battle. Next on the table is Hedgeley Moor.