"Gotta Love Wargaming!" Topic

One of the best things about wargaming is how you can put things in perspective. You can choose to go to the finest detail down to individuals or you can choose to draw out to the 40000 foot level and look at how Corps or Army Corps work.

A fine example of this is the latest two games put on by two Canadian wargamers at opposite ends of the country (well almost) both commemorating the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Thomas decided that he wanted to go with the 87th Battalion's attack on Hill 145, at the battalion level of course, I did the entire battle.

Both tables looked fabulous and although we in Ottawa didn't get to play due to the number of folks asking us questions and wanting to know historical roles of their relatives in the battle, it none the less is a great game to play (I have done it about a half dozen times when I was designing Great War Spearhead).

The details are still details but it depends on what you are looking at and for!

Thomas's table had individual trenches extremely well painted and designed, as well as the MG posts etc. His troops looked the part and it gave a stunning view of the action of the Canadian Grenadier Guards.

The table we put together in Ottawa gave a different perspective on the whole battle (the red box I added to the photo shows the area covered by the 87th). The scale you see of the action is again stunning, the detail is there as well, but its at a different level.

Where Thomas had to concern himself about how many Lewis Gunners, Grenadiers and Riflemen he had, I was concerned with how many off table 6" howitzer brigades were available.

No matter the scale, detail and planning need to be done – and this is what I really like about wargaming! You can go as small a scale – 1 to 1, to as large a scale 1 to 1000, and its not right or wrong – good or bad, its about what you want to see and delivers from the sense of what you want to achieve!

Well done Thomas on a great looking game, and thanks for giving the 87th a moment in the spot light.

Cheers
Shawn

The Red box is just down and slightly to the right of the Hill 145 Marker.

Both tables look great.

Very cool and you are absolutely right, being able to zoom all the way out or all the way in is quite fantastic!

Thanks Shawn! That is very kind and appreciative.
Your game looks fantastic! I also appreciate your pointing out where the 87th battalion was situated. This is an excellent example of the varying games we can play. I would say your perspective would be excellent for open field battles, such as the early or very late.

Cheers,
Thomas

Hi

can we get some more pictures of your game please.

Who are you talking about Wack? Me or Thomas?

If you meant me – go here:
link

Don't know about others, but I enjoy pics of both games!
Great stuff, both of you guys!

That's a really awesome comparison, and I really like being able to see the little red box where Thomas' game took place. Great to be able to put that into perspective in the broader attack. Also kind of mind blowing.

This article of the two games is fantastic. I have enjoyed each submission from either of you over the last couple of months regarding your respective games. The Northwest Historical Miniatures Gaming Society will have the opportunity to see and perhaps for a lucky few participate in Thomas's game which he and the fellows from the White Rock Gamers will present at Enfilade 2017 game Convention being held in Olympia Washington over the Memorial Day weekend. We are very much looking forward to this.

The comparisons become even more interesting when you compare the Canadian advance on Vimy Ridge with the D-Day landings. Shawn has some interesting information around this aspect too.

Robert

True Robert, trying to give our visitors a sense of the compact nature of the WWI battle field. At Vimy in an area roughly 10k by 6k there were 175000 British Imperial troops (Canadians, Australians, Indians and British – note the Australians and Indians both supplied elements of artillery), facing up against about 40000 to 45000 Germans. Compare that to the landings on June 6 1944, where you had 150000 – 210000 Allied soldiers/sailors and Airmen involved against 50000 Germans on day, one over a 50 MILE (80 Kilometer) front.

The other contrast was with modern day deployments. The visiting Canadian army recruits were staggered to see the narrow frontages of company-size stands. An entire battalion today will take the frontage of a division then. This distinction was further emphasised by the labelling of a battalion as a division now.

Robert