Xenos Rampant Quar Crusaders and the Crymuster - and Sad Tidings.

 A couple of weeks ago my oldest friend and wargaming partner Tony Pidgeon went and died peacefully in his sleep.  This has rather knocked the wind out of me sails as the next-in-line OGAM posts featured him.

So please bear with me.  I will do them, it's just going to take a wee bottle of rum and a box of tissues.

Meanstwhile I've been plugging away at me Quar.

Biggest difference betwix 15mm and 28mm plastics "Oh look I've completed 3 more!".

Me - here's a Company or two sorted and getting ready for play.  I had some time as 'er in doors was away for a week so I could make a mess!  Bad news, hot and very humid - over 80% and my left hand doesn't work so it's scenery and vehicles, not infantry detail.

"But you didn't do---"  no I didn't everything I'd have included is in this one or the next, so, you know---. 

The organisation of each is based on the TOE given in Songs Of Our Ancestors.  This tells me that the Crymuster is designed to hold ground, so perfect Xenos light infantry.  Plus they have a LMG per section which was enough to give them heavy weapon.  Crusaders  concentrate their support in heavy weapons teams (field artillery, mg's, mortars long rifles and anti vehicle) and have better NCO's.  Thus I made them heavy infantry.  Command teams are small, and support weapons have about 5 crew.  I mounted these on 2p's, 2 to a base and this differentiates betwix them and the regular single based ryflers.  Knowing that at some stage I'm going to run into a complete - fan, so I arranged the squads in correct TOE and painted the base of each unit a specific colour.

Command units for Crymuster - included cooks and musicians.  The ryfler base can be used with heavy weapons support teams or as part of a command.

A Company - 4 sections of 10.  This left me with enough to make another section, but no MG or officer.  So I selected all of the marching figures.  Adding the spare mounted figure gives the perfect militia squad with a local um, dignitary.

Vehicles are a bit different and mostly based on look and trying to make a difference.  

I took the scenario out of the book* and tried to convert.  Went OK, but the rules for night fighting are - well, you look at them.*

I'd halved the movement & shooting (and got earache for my troubles) which means that the bulk of the crusaders move 1 1/2 inches per.

Minefield going bang!  We'd never done this before.  Matt suggested each unit rolled 1 dice per Quar moving through, with a 6 tripping a mine, another roll needing a 6 to kill.  This wos fun when units pushed  back.  

Poor sods in trenches roll to activate, then spot.  If there's a bang then there's a target.

The costing worked, though.

Game 1  The Thin Blue Line

Crusaders		4 Ryfler 16,  2 Trench,  4 Cav, Support & CO		Scenario 1 Night Trench Raid.
4P   Ryfler HI 10	4	Move 5+ 3”		Attack 6+ Attack v 5+ Defence 4+
Courage 4  Armour 3		Shoot Free (6+)  5+ 9”		Firefight.  Go to Ground.  Inc. Squad.
2p Trench raiders (bers) 5	2	Free Move (6+) 4”		Attack 5+ Attack v 4+ Defence 6+
Courage 4  Armour 2		Shoot (7+)  6+ 6”		Wild Charge Countercharge.  Firefight.  Open order/ranger.
4p  Support Anti Vec   2 as 5		Move 6+ 3”		Defence 5+
Courage 5  Armour 2		Shoot Free (7+)  4+ 6”  Tank armour halved.		Firefight.  Spotters. Anti Tank.  Close Q.  Undisciplined as a new weapon.

* Defender selects 3 points  within 12”  of centre no closer 6” Trench gives +2 armour.		Attacker chooses to deploy 9” of that edge but not closer than 12” of enemy troops. Storming defence p 68		** Night Shooting:  Any shooting 6”+ gets +1 armour. LOS 12” Stealth Period.    Attackers move as normal until an attack or shoot action. Defenders -1 all activations.  No shoot or attack actions.  Movement halved. See p 152.
5p  Ryfler LI Command 2 as 5	1	Move Free (5+) 4”		Attack 6+ Attack V 5+ Defence V 4+
Courage 4  Armour 2		Shoot 6+  5+ 9” 6’s=2		Firefight.  Go To Ground  Fire Support as activation.
Indirect fire support		Shoot Free  (7+)  3+ 24”		Immediate action after initiation.
4p  Ryfler LI Squad 10	1	Move Free (5+) 4”		Attack 6+ Attack V 5+ Defence V 4+
Courage 5  Armour 2		Shoot 6+  5+ 9” 6’s=2		Firefight.  Go To Ground  Heavy Weapon.  Undisciplined (green)
3p  Militia Ryfler LI Squad 10	1	Move Free (5+) 4”		Attack 6+ Attack V 5+ Defence V 4+
Courage 5  Armour 2		Shoot 6+  5+ 9”		Firefight.  Go To Ground.  Undisciplined (green)

Open your missive to page 109 Hotel- Night Raid is the basis for the game.  Each tile is 30cm, 12" or wotever.  Small, cramped and 'orrible.  Starting positions, to reflect a night move* diced for.

* took part in a famous Norse Film & Pageant Society once-the-publics-gone bit.  About 200 of us filtered into this small wood.  The rules were, you went in alone, don't team up, have a fight and the loser comes out (has a brew) then goes back it.  Gorrit?  So after an hour or so, when its beginning to get dark - people start coming out.  No-one had run into anyone.

The furthest trench raiders get mined, shot, then artilleried, pushed back and mined again.

Which was nice.

Mutual shoving - but the bleep trench raiders at the back!  Move Your Tails!

Most dangerous thing on the battlefield?  An ooray Henry orrificer with a map.  But this one can do the work.

Into the trench!  By now the trench raiders have 'opped it.  I could have lined 'em up along the trench to look good, but on the base is more useful.

In range of the enemy command team.  "one last push lads!"  A 4.  Arse.

Command team vs command team.  Crusaders come off worse.

Into the trenches!  Support exchanges fire, Crusaders command loses more.  Red = broken.

So close!  But shoved back.

Crusader command done in by artillery.

So it ends - that was - bloody.  Glad we did it, but will need a good reason to do it again!

Game 2   Page 99 Scenario Alpha:  Sweep and Clear.  

Wonder what happened to Sooty?  Did he succumb, like Hammy before him, to his celebrity status?

Crusaders				4 Ryfler. 2 Support. 2 tractor.  Com. 36p
4P   Ryfler HI 10	4	Move 5+ 6”		Attack 6+ Attack v 5+ Defence 4+
Courage 4  Armour 3		Shoot Free (6+)  5+ 18”		Inc. Squad.
2p Command 2 as 5	1	Move 5+ 6”		Attack 6+ Attack v 6+ Defence 5+
Courage 4  Armour 3		Shoot Free (6+)  6+ 18”		Firefight.  Go to Ground.
6p  Support Long Gun   2 as 5	1	Move 6+ 6”		Defence 5+
Courage 4  Armour 2		Shoot Free (7+)  4+ 24”		Firefight.  Spotters. Armour piercing.
3P Ailthean Lt Tractor  1 as 5	2	Move Free (6)+ 8”  All Terrain.		Attack 6+ Attack v 6+ Defence 5+ Blades armour -1.
Courage 3 Armour 5		Shoot 6+  4+ 12” Anti tank armour halved.		Light Vehicle. Close Quarters
4p  Support Anti Vec   2 as 5		Move 6+ 6”		Defence 5+
Courage 5  Armour 2		Shoot Free (7+)  4+ 12”  Tank armour halved.		Firefight.  Spotters. Anti Tank.  Close Q.  Undisciplined (new weapon)
Crymuster				3 Ryfler, 2 tractor, cav.Com.  36p
5p  Ryfler LI Squad 10	3	Move Free (5+) 8”		Attack 6+ Attack V 5+ Defence V 4+
Courage 4  Armour 2		Shoot 6+  5+ 18” 6’s=2		Firefight.  Go To Ground  Heavy Weapon.
1p Command 2 as 5		Move Free (5+) 8”		Attack 6+ Attack v 6+ Defence 5+
Courage 4  Armour 2		Shoot Free (6+)  6+ 18”		Firefight.  Go To Ground
8P Chyweethl Light Tractor  1 as 5	2	Move Free (6)+ 8”  All Terrain.		Attack 6+ Attack v 6+ Defence 5+ Blades armour -1.
Courage 3 Armour 5		Shoot 6+  4+ 18” No bonus for cover.   Move & shoot no -.		Light Vehicle. Area effect. Veteran crew
4P   Cavalry (HI) 5	1	Move 5+ 10”		Attack 6+ Attack v 5+ Defence 5+
Courage 4  Armour 3		Shoot Free (6+)  6+ 12”		Firefight.  Go to Ground.  CQ.  Assault. Mobile.

Set up for game 2, 2 & 3 use forces above.

Starting positions:

My phone charger died, so bit of a problem!  Let me give you an overview:  

Infantry vs Infantry.  Usually the Crymuster get the upper hand as they have an attached MG.

Crusader support weapons are excellent, usually knocking one life off a tank.  Beware of using long guns at shorter range 'cos firefight is a bitch!

Tankettes - the difference in quality made little difference.   The Chyweethl Light Tractor's "shotgun" was vicious against infantry.

Cavalry are, well, cavalry.  More next week, but in game 2 I took them around the Crusaders flank and threatened 2 sections.  On that note I've mislaid my Crusader cavalry.  I had them at the beginning of the week and they've-just-disappeared.  This earns them the first unit name of 1st Foot & Mouth deserters.  Let's who'se the first one to get the reference and the name of their commanding officer.  Hurts, 'cos Tony would have got it in one.

Game 3  We did Scenario Bravo, Secret Mission.  We (Matt 'n Me) did swapsies and I took the Crymuster.  He marked the targets as laid out and he rolled No.5 which was on my right flank.  He came on "hell for leather", ganging up 2 tankettes on my one for area superiority.  Unbeknowst to me, my outflanking cavalry caused a considerable delay in reaching the objective.

This was at the end.  The  Chyweethl Light Tractor's just finished off it's counterpart (smoke) and is maneuvering to shoot the Crusader command team. Dice indicates that it's down below 1/2 strength (2 out of 5) as is the command team it's going to engage.