British Army on Mars

The British settled their first trading colony in Parhoon, and after establishing good relations with the canal royal family, claimed a regency on the throne after an assassination was made on the ruling prince. Gorovaan, a neighboring canal city, and the presumed perpetrators of the assassination,  launched an attack on Parhoon, which the British repelled with their Parhooni allies, leading to the  eventual defeat and annexation of Gorovaan. 

A second war of succesion broke out, against a coalition of three canal cities located to the south, Syrtis Major, Haatt and Avenel. A full detachment of the British Army sent to the Martian colony was able to repel the attack, and ultimately all three cities were integrated into the Crown Colony of Syrtis Lapis. 

All of my British Forces assembled.

The total British forces available to me so far include 3 units of Regular infantry, 2 team weapons (machine gun and gun), 1 unit of human Irregulars and unfinished unit of Regular Cavalry. The units have been put together with the Men Who Would Be Kings (TMWWBK) rules in mind.

Unit 1 of Regular Infantry.

First up is a basic unit of Regular Infantry, made from plastic Warlord Games and Perry Afghanistan British infantry. The flag bearer is scratch built flag held by a Warlords figure, and the unit leader is a Perry metal miniature. I seem to be a few models short of a full 12-man unit.

Unit 2 of Regular Infantry.

This unit is meant to represent a veteran unit of space-experienced infantry, equipped with gas masks, metal body armour and electro-weaponry. The figures come from the Northstar "Redcoats in Space" range, and Artizan's Victorian Sci-Fi range. Again, I am 1 model short of a full sized unit.

Unit 3 of Regular Infantry.

A last unit (for now) of British regulars. Like the first unit, these are Warlord and Perry plastics, and a Perry metal unit leader. This brings me to a total of 4 models short of 3 full sized units, it shall be added to the "to-do" list.

Incomplete unit of cavalry.

Although the harsh Martian environment proved difficult for horses to live and work, I am envisioning that the European powers would have tried to bring their Earthen cavalry forces with them (at least to begin with). Quite quickly the advantages of the native steed - the gashant - would have become apparent. Nevertheless, in my current TMWWBK rules, there is no difference between gashants or horses, so I will complete at least my first cavalry unit using horse models. These 3 are the Perry metal 19th Hussars command, although I've painted them as some generic dragoons in red. Another 5 will need to be put together to complete the unit. 

9-pounder gun and crew.

A complete unit of Royal Artillery, armed with a 9-pounder gun. All metal model from Perry Miniatures. I will admit I am not much of an anorak when it comes to military history, so cannot say if it is accurate to equip Royal Artillery with this weaponry, but the 9 pounder is the model I bought, and I was happy to paint some blue uniforms for a change. In terms of TMWWBK rules, all guns have the same effect anyway. 

Team weapon, Maxim machine gun.

The Maxim machine gun was a cutting edge piece of technology at the time, invented in 1884 , but if humans could make the journey through the ether to reach the inner solar system, I see no reason why a British Army unit couldn't get their hands on a Maxim gun. Still, my unit is 1 model short of a full unit. The additional loader figure is an improvised model, using a Warlord infantryman.

A group of plucky individuals representing the British forces on Mars.

Last up for the British is a group of models I usually class as Irregular Infantry with Modern Rifles - the models are Northstar Hunters and Explorers, Artizan Martian Explorer, Foundry Old West (mounted figure) and lastly a RAFM Martian colonial artilleryman. They can be used to represent the adventurers and pioneers who may lead an expedition into the Martian hinterland (or be required to be rescued from such locales).

So that wraps up the current progress on British forces campaigning in my Martian scenarios, however I plan to add many more models and units, to have bigger battles and have some more flexibility in my forces.

Projects Planned:

• 4 more Infantry men to finish my units (at least). I may switch up the uniforms, so far I've used solely the classic red uniform, but I know that Britain started to phase it out during this period in the late 19th century, in favour of more camouflaging khaki. What colour do you think the British army would have used on the Martian sands? The Space 1889 Soldiers Companion simply says "red uniforms, but often khaki on campaign".  
• 5 more Cavalry models. I'm gonna make them in red uniforms, even if its not totally accurate. It will look dashing on the table.
• 7 more explorers and hunters models. To round out my Irregular unit to a full 12 man squad.
• Full unit (maybe units?) of colonial martian regular infantry. I have already started on these, but nothing is painted yet, more info to come in another post.
• An aerial flyer, real VSF stuff
• A special vehicle/crew weapon project, more VSF stuff.

Long term/Non-priority goals:

• A Royal Navy Gatling gun crew.
• Naval Brigade infantry.
• Gashant Mounted Infantry.

Martian Legions and TMWWBK Rules

From the "Mars Sourcebook", Oenotrian
military figures.

If one has read the original Space 1889 source material, you would see the terms "Shooters" and "Choppers" mentioned regularly - to summarise, a traditional canal martian infantry company is made of 50% musket armed Shooters, and 50% melee armed Choppers (including swords and pikes). 

To properly reflect this characteristic on the gaming table, some heavily home-brewed rules are quite necessary. I saw a discussion of such home-rules on a Facebook group for Space 1889, and decided to try sharpen them up and use them myself. 

(Apologies in advance for what is quite a wordy and essay-like post about to come 😂. Also, at some point at writing this I seemed to have forgotten whether the correct term is Cutters or Choppers? We can therefore assume I use the terms interchangeably...)

The original comments I found were as follows:

"First thing to note is that each Martian Legion has between two to six Companies. Next important aspect is that each 'Company' is split between a 'Shooters' and a 'Cutters' half-company. So those half-companies are the basic unit in TMWWBK.

To then be able to encompass other Martian types later, I'm setting these as Regulars - and then using the Special Rules & Options to further refine their abilities.

So to reflect that 'Shooters' are mainly armed with muskets - smoothbores and/or rifled - an obvious option is 'Poorly Armed'.

For the 'Cutters' there is no Firing factor, as they are the 'Up-Close-&-Personal' troop-types. To enhance these further, you could then give them the 'Fierce' Option.

As for personal Armour, I'm keeping with the general ethos that mass-manufacture of metal on Mars is not possible due to limited metal/mineral resources. But, to then include the famed 'Shieldgunners', we can permit the 'Shooters' of the 1st Company (only) of each Martian Legion to be the 'Shieldgunners' - and to provide a simplistic benefit for the armour worn or carried, they can ignore the first and/or second Hit, depending on the range from the Firers. This would be a specific Option that would have to be purchased for that unit.

The important consideration in all this is that I wanted a format where Martian City States should be able to fight against the forces of other Martian City States. And that would be something that has developed a form of warfare between them over centuries - long before the 'Red- Men' (humans from Earth) arrived. That in turn provides a whole new element for when you introduce the Earthmen's warfare of modern weapons and different tactics."

I did not note the name of the author of these comments, if you are reading this and do know their identity, please feel free to comment and I shall give the credit where it is due.

The comments follow as such:

"The next new aspect was to give Martian infantry a specific tactical advantage, something distinct. This was to follow examples from other races, e.g., Ashanti ambushes, Dervish 'jehadiya' marksmen, Zulu 'fighting buffalo' formations, etc., etc.

I settled on an idea to give the Martian Company (so both Shooters & Cutters) an initial 'Phalanx' formation. This is where both the Cutters & the Shooters units are deployed attached, one in front of the other. This Phalanx can be activated as one unit to then move together. If the Shooters are the front unit, it can fire at enemy units. As a mass of infantry, it may be a slightly better target to hit, but it can also 'shrug off' a Pinned marker once per turn. The Phalanx has two specific special actions too - it can switch which of the two units is the front unit as a special Move action - and it can also 'split' or separate into it's two usual units, either deployed side-by-side, or by dropping one unit back. And only 'Elite' quality troops can reform a Phalanx in a battle once that 'split' has been made.

Hit allocation to a Phalanx works on a 'two-thirds & one-third' manner. E.g, if 3 hits are inflicted on a Phalanx, two are on the front unit, one on the rear unit."

So with these concepts in mind, I set about writing up a specific ruling that could really reflect the canal martian Legionary warfare. Note to readers, I play using centimeters, where I always double the number inches as written in the rulebook, to give a distance in centimeters (i.e. NOT a mathematical conversion of Inches x2.25=cm's).

My current collection of Oenotrian legionaries.

Martian Legion Rules

Company Deployment: If legionary units are deployed in an army list, they must be deployed as at least 2 units of half-companies, to form one full company. Also, they must be deployed as shooters and cutters units in a 1:1 ratio.

Elite: Companies of legionaries can be deployed as Elite; if so both half-companies must be deployed as elite.

Shield Gunners: For +2 points, the Shooters unit may replace up to 3 models with Shield-Gunner models. The unit (or combined phalanx) adds +1 to hits required to take casualties from firing at long-range (like cover). Any received casualties must be taken first from the shield gunner models, until they are all taken out. From then on, the unit receives no extra protection from enemy fire.

(Credit to Paul James Blogspot for the idea to replace models with Shield-gunners to increase hits required and require them to be taken out first from the unit).

Phalanx: 

• Shooter and Cutter unit may deploy together at start of game, in Phalanx and Close Order, one in front of the other. Either unit may take the front rank, and the phalanx maximum speed is 8cm. No At the Double allowed. 

• Front rank unit is the only unit allowed to fire.

• Unit may make a special Split/Merge/Switch move. Instead of a move action, the units may swap position (front to back) or split side to side or front and back into separate units (no movement rate allowed in conjunction). Units may reform into Phalanx if moved adjacent to each other and they both have the Elite quality. Either half-company may initiate the merge maneuver, if the other unit is a maximum of 1 inch away. 

• Phalanx always counts as Close Order, therefore the Shooters unit may Volley Fire (Firing +1 at units in short range), both units increase fighting value by +1, may only fire into the front 180 degree arc, and only the front unit may fight in Attacks. 

• Half-companies may form Close Order when deployed separately (if at least 6 models remain).

• Enemy units targeting the Phalanx receive +1 to their Firing value.

• The Phalanx may ignore the first pin received from firing casualties in a turn. A company in Phalanx does not lose Phalanx status if it does become pinned, but must rally as usual to lose the pins.

• Hits are allocated with the first 2 inflicted on the front unit, and 1 to the rear unit. If the Phalanx is attacked from the flank, the hits are evenly split (defending player chooses the last odd numbered hit). If attacked from the rear, all hits are inflicted on the rear unit.

• A Phalanx attacked from the flank or rear does not receive the +1 benefit to fighting.

• Phalanx requires both units involved to have at least 6 models.

A formed phalanx of Martian legionaries from a recent
game. Note the front unit has taken 6 casualties
already.

Phalanx: Speed 8cm (4 inches)

Firing: Cutters 6+, Shooters 5+ (Volley Fire at short range, 4+)

Weapons: Shooters =Antiquated muskets (12/24cm), Cutters =hand missiles (12/12cm)

Fighting: 5+; Discipline: +1; Points: 5

To summarise these attributes, here is a TMWWBK style stat block for each unit:

Classing the Shooters as Antiquated Muskets could be a little harsh, and maybe next time I play I'll give them Obsolete Rifles range of fire (18/36cm) for no additional points cost. Nevertheless, a full Martian Company of shooters and cutters has a basic cost of 10 points, while an Elite company costs 12 points.

Another point to consider is whether these units should be considered Regular or Irregular units - the original Space 1889 Soldiers Companion calls all European units "Regular", and all Martian native units as "Irregulars", i.e. it does not use the term "Tribals" as seen in TMWWBK. The units should have the ability to form Close Order, as they are well-drilled for Martian standards, but putting them in same category as European Regulars doesn't seem 100% correct.

Discussion

I will admit firstly this is a lot of rules to introduce for just one type of unit, but I have tried to create the rules in a fashion that follows the spirit of TMWWBK rules and playstyle. Certainly they should be tested and modified as necessary - I sadly don't have much gaming space to play often and test these rules out. 

A typical pike and shotte formation, "p's" 
represent the pikemen at the centre, "o's"
represent the musketmen at the wings.

As following the original spirit of these rules, they could provide a framework for Martian vs Martian warfare, in traditional legionary and pitched battle scenarios. I feel as though these battles could have followed a similar style to Earth renaissance era "pike and shotte" battles, with quite inefficient firearms fighting in support of deadly melee weaponry. In this regard, perhaps my rules should allow for a different formation type, with Shooters aligned at the wings of melee Cutters, to allow some more flexibility to the phalanx and fight more effectively. 

In my experience with the rules, as described in my previous post, the condensed block of infantry was able to advance towards modern European infantry and shrug off long range fire well. But as soon as they reached the British rifles short range, the legion was decimated by the effective volley fire, and then routed as the remaining Martians attacked the fortified British position. Maybe this means my Legion rules are not well balanced enough, or perhaps, marching a legion towards a fortified British position was just a terrible tactical decision...

An ideal test for these rules could be a full Martian vs Martian battle, probably with about 3 companies each. Obviously moving 24 model-strong units is a bit of a pain, so movement trays are probably quite necessary. I think before I focus on really testing and working these rules out further, I'd like to spend some more time researching pike and shotte era wargames (for example, Pike And Shotte by Warlord Games) to get a better understanding of how the combat should work; how the different infantry types can support each other effectively. 

For my next game, I will probably keep things simpler, and play out a skirmish style game (as TMWWBK is designed for), classing Shooters as Irregular Infantry (12 models) and the Choppers as Tribal infantry (16 models). I'm planning to paint up a second Oenotrian Martian Legion company soon, so once its ready I could play out a battle versus the British regulars on a more open landscape.

Battle report: Martian assault on the British outpost

 

After a furious few months of painting, ordering miniatures, and more painting, I was ready to pit my first full scale battle on the Martian steppes. I play the Men Who Would Be Kings (MWWBK) ruleset, and have put together a British force and a mixed Martian force. 

My miniatures are a huge mix of brands and manufacturers, the core of my units are based on the original RAFM metal miniatures for Space 1889, but those figures are expensive and not easy to get in France where I am based. So to fill out the ranks on the martian side I have used a mix of Perry and Wargame Atlantic plastics to kitbash and headswap dozens of hill martians, canal martians and Oenotrian regulars. In another post I will go into lots more detail of the models I'm using.

My British are mostly Warlord Games british regulars for the Zulu-wars. In addition I have few Perry Sudan war plastics, and some Perry metal NCO's. 

I set up the game as described in scenario C of MWWBK (To the Last Bullet), in which the regular forces are holed up in a small amount of fortified cover (a ruined farm compound), and pursuing Martian forces must attack the settlement and take out the British units. The leader of each unit has their leadership rating rolled at random before starting the game; this rating is the target to roll on unit orders tests, pinning tests and rallies. 

The army lists were as follows:

British (Defenders 18pts)

x3 Regular Infantry (6pts each), all Leadership 6.

Martian (Attackers 24pts)

x2 Regular Infantry Oenotria 2nd Legion (5pts each)* Leadership 6 for "Shooters" and 5 for "Cutters".

x1 Irregular Infantry Six Cities League, rating 7, 4pts.

x1 Irregular Infantry Sanwar, Poor Shots, rating 7, 3pts.

x1 Tribal Infantry hill Martian, rating 7, 3pts.

x1 Tribal Infantry high Martians, Fierce, Flying**, rating 5, 4pts.

*A Martian classic legion company is formed in two "half-companies", one armed with martian muskets (obsolete to humans), the other armed with only melee weapons. The homebrewed rules I'm using for this unit will be explained in detail in another post.

**High Martians are a tribal, sub-species of the martian race, capable of flight. I determine they are limited to short bursts of flight (like a chicken) and can hop over obstacles usually considered impassable or difficult. In game terms, I allow them to pass through difficult terrain or low lying impassable terrain at full speed, and when attacking a unit defended by low obstacles or terrain the defender does not receive any of the usual defensive bonuses, as the high Martians use a hop, flight and diving attack method of attack.

All the forces on the table.

Three units of British Regular Infantry holed up in the abandoned Martian farmhouse.

The coalition of martian forces gathered under Oenotrian 2nd Legion command were to pursue the isolated company of British Infantry spotted in the region, and destroy them or force them out of the area completely. Oenotrian 2nd Legion 1st Company approached the farmhouse and decided to split their auxiliary forces to each side, while the legion would hold back ready to exploit a weakness once broken through.

To the left flank they sent canal martian irregulars with high-martian tribal infantry, and to the right they sent Sanwar irregulars and hill martian tribals. Orders were to set up the irregular infantry into firing positions in the small vegetation cover, lay down some pinning fire, then attack each side with a tribal unit, attempting to storm the British unit firing from the farmhouse corral barricades.

The attack of the right flank by the Sanwar/Hill units is is marred by inaccurate firing from the Sanwar unit as well as poor unit leadership that is unable to maneuver the Sanwar irregulars quickly into firing positions from the Martian shrubbery. The Hill Martians take a few casualties from the British, who take none at all.

On the left, the preparation is much better, the canal Martians are able to take a few British casualties, as the high Martian unit goes to ground out of range of the British rifles.

High Martians suddenly appear from the scrub, screaming, running and sailing through the air towards the British position! They all make diving attacks at the humans behind their barricades and launch a fierce flurry of blows and axe swings - the attack is a bloodbath for the British, who are forced to fall back from their positions.

2nd Legion decide now to follow the high Martian attack and enter the battlefield taking aim at the left flank. The shooters form the from of the legion, the cutters at the rear.

The center British unit lay down accurate rifle fire on the legion first ranks, whilst the Oenotrian shooters have little success of their own. But the legion commander remarkably keeps his men's order and continues the march, shrugging off pins and casualties (leadership rating 5).

The kraag warriors finish off the last of the western British platoon, and prepare to leap and fly over the ruined farmhouse building, and storm the British centre platoon's position.

The legion company finally reaches the British barricades and launches their fierce attack of pike and spear thrusts. But the human defense is vicious, and wipes out the legion down to their last man.

The high Martian warriors immediately start their attack on the British centre unit, and fly over the ruins into the courtyard. Meanwhile the 3rd British unit, receiving so far no pressure from the ineffective Martian right flank, decide to move into the courtyard in support of their countrymen.

Hill martian tribesman capitalize on the open position and surge forward into the now undefended eastern cattle corral. Their Sanwar allies continue to flounder in the rough ground behind. 

The kraag attack is brutal, and even with sustaining heavy losses, forces the British centre unit into retreat out of the compound. The eastern British unit (still at full strength with 12 riflemen) take their skirmishing shots through the green oasis overgrowth, and the kraags are down to their last 2 warriors.

The retreating British riflemen from the centre unit fall under long-range fire from the canal-martian levies, still perched in hard cover out in the steppes. The conscripts have refused repeatedly to move from the relative safety of their hard cover.

Hill Martians swarm into the compound, and assault the British rifle unit. Fighting through a small opening, I decided to fight the attack with 2 dice per side, as the opening was only about 2 models wide. I would make this attack a multi-turn affair, after 5 turns of combat between the two sides, the side that had lost the most casualties, would finally retreat from the lost combat.

The result of the melee went towards the Martians, who forced their way inside the compound, and the British into retreating against the southern barricade. The remains of the British defense were now split between sides of that southern barricade, as the Martians pressed from all sides.

Another brutal attack from the steppe Martian warriors against the already pinned British finishes the unit to its last man, Sergeant Barkley, who retreats through a compound door.

At last the Sanwar have escaped the viny undergrowth and make an advance on the remains of the British. They open fire on the unit...

Along with their canal-martian allies from the west, and the effect is brutally effective, wiping out the British unit.

With the defense a complete disaster, the lone British survivor Sergeant Barkley runs for the hills, hopefully he can live to fight another day!

Overall a very enjoyable game, the preparation to the attacks felt quite tense, and the tribal attacks required good cooperation and planning to have a chance to beat the European regulars. Some of my home added rules will need some clarifying and tweaking, but it was a great game! Clearly a major victory for the Martian side.

Space 1889

Space 1889

 

The year was 1870 and the daring expedition of Thomas Edison on the back of his invention, the ether propeller, was able to cross the stars and discover the ancient Martian civilisation. 

For many millennia, this ancient people had fathomed out many a secret, and sadly forgot a good few of them as well. They crossed the skies with flying ships; built cities inhabited by thousand or even millions long; and in the Grand Canals, constructed a planet-wide feat of engineering that would save their civilization from every encroaching desertification. Yet by the time Edison and Armstrong reached Mars, the Martians’ knowledge about their ancestors’ technical relics was lost, and nobody today is capable of building those Grand Canals that the ancient Martians had once constructed.

The setting we're talking about is the Space 1889 RPG and table top wargame, meaning a new venture into the Victorian Sci-Fi genre. In this imagined setting, the great European powers have invented intra-solar system travel and discovered intelligent life and civilizations on Mars and Venus, and begun to colonize and exploit the new territories.

I decided to start collecting the miniatures and necessary scenery to play this setting in 28mm scale - the choice is just much wider and better than compared to 20 mm (1/72 scale) when it comes to fantasy and non-historic ranges. Unfortunately that means the hobby is going to get more expensive...

 World War II German Army Waffen-SS platoon

Built in 1/72 scale

Italeri 6068 German Elite Troops

Zvezda 6111 German 81mm Mortar

Zvezda 6106 German MG-34 

Italeri 6096 Pak 40 AT gun

Italeri I7514 x2 Panzer IV Ausf F1 

 Deployable Platoon

Loadout options:

• HQ Waffen-SS officer and infantry
• Three full-sized squads of SS-Waffen ,with assault rifle, SMG, rifle, panzerfaust and LMG.
• Panzerschreck team (Waffen-SS)
• Sniper team (Waffen-SS)
• 81 medium mortar (Heer infantry)
• MG34 medium MMG team (Heer infantry)
• Pak 40 heavy anti-tank gun with 4 Heer infantry crew (Zeltbahn uniform)
• Panzer IV Ausf J (medium tank, medium anti-tank gun)

Creation Process

First attempt at modelling WW2 era infantry units, and second attempt to model infantry in the 1/72 scale. First batch of soldiers were painted with overly-approximated uniforms, and some of the colour schemes aren't 100% representative of the historical references.

After a pause, I came back and modelled the second part of the platoon's infantry, using some new painting references and guides. This time the results were closer to the desired appearance, I have attempted to recreate specific variations of the historical camouflage designs: oak leaf spring, oak leaf autumn, and pea-dot camo styles. Focusing on specific styles I believe helped produce some better figures.

This is a non-realistic squad loadout, but it is just to highlight the improved figures. All are uniformed in camo oak leaf or pea dot, or some plain late war Wehrmacht uniform. Note the head-swapped NCO/leader figure in the foreground, given an officers peaked cap, and the also scratch-built loader figure. Secondly, the bases were decorated with some home-made grass flock, which pleases the eye better than the first batch of infantry figures.

The team weapon units sniper and Panzerschreck were modelled using the Italeri troops, whilst the MMG and mortar teams are modelled with Zvezda Art of War mini-sets (2-man models). Two heavy weapon loader figures will be represented by spare Pak 40 crewmen, whilst suitable third-crewmates for the MMG and mortar will be modelled from the second sets included in the Zvezda sets (to be modelled).

Lastly a look at the heavy weapons. The tank is an Italeri "quick-build" model designed for wargames. Construction was easy, and detail is fair. Turret's however become fixed to the hull - this has advantages and negatives. I think the camo paintjob should have had a heavier wash, the highlight the recesses, the model looks a little "flat". After, there is the Italeri Pak40 model, also a x2 model pack, which has been painted in late war dunkelgelb, designed with the western Europe theatre of war in mind.

Lastly, a sneak peak of the first assembled wargame layout, and a last look at the SS platoon. For my wargaming of 1944 Normandy, I will test infantry squads specialized into suppressive fire (LMG and rifle), and squads specialized into assault (assault rifle and SMG). Also, I would like to simulate realistic conditions for the games, highlighting the well-known man-supply issue with Germany in the late-war, and will probably field undersized, but well-armed infantry squads.