The Islands of Gurensey, Herm and Sark (left to right) seen from space (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernsey)
Scenario
After the conquest of Sark, the High Command of the German Empire planned to expand its base in the English Channel by taking the larger island of Gurnsey. Guernsey was protected by the Royal Guernsey Militia, a force that the Germans did not take lightly. In 1898, the Militia won the Kolopore Cup, a shooting competition open to all countries in the British Empire, excluding the mother country. In 1899, the Queen's Prize was won by Private William A. Priaulx. The Queen's Prize was considered to be the most coveted shooting prize in the world.
The strategic goal for the Germans, obvious to all, was a strong position in the Channel from which the German Empire could monitor and perhaps threaten both the British Empire and the French Republic. A secret objective was known only to a few: capture of the Blue Rhinocorn. The rare Blue Rhinocorn, like the Guernsey cow, was a species uniquely developed in Guernsey. German physicists theorized that the milk of the Rhinocorn could be used to synthesize a powerful laser. They intended to use the laser in a handheld weapon to be named the Blue Ray Gun.
Order of Battle, Battle Plans and Rules
The Royal Guernsey Militia is composed of four units of infantry; all are expert marksmen. The German force contains six units of marines. Each unit is represented by four figures mounted on a four-inch base.
The German Sky Marines were dropped from their airship on the southwestern shore and advance toward the center. One objective is to take the lighthouse and the other is to take the village.
The Militia is based on the northeastern shore. They will attempt to prevent the Germans from taking either the lighthouse or the village. They will send some units toward the center despite being outnumbered and deplete the German forces with expert sniper fire.
One Hour Wargames rules for the machine age are used (Thomas 2014). There is no hand to hand combat. Shooting range is 12 inches. One D6 determines hits for the Germans but for the Militia hits are D6+2 because they are sharpshooters. Cover reduces hits by 1/2. Flank and rear attacks double the hits. Neither side has artillery or cavalry. Movement is six inches (8 inches on the road). Units are removed after 15 hits.
Figures are 1/72 Airfix soldiers. The Militia are in brown and the German Marines are in black. No event cards are used.
Round 1.
Militia units advance 6". 4th Militia heads toward the village. 1st Militia heads toward goes toward the lighthouse.
German units advance 6". 1st German goes toward the lighthouse. 4th, 5th and 6th German go toward the village.
Round 2.
4th Militia reaches the village. 1st Militia gets to the hill but cannot touch the lighthouse. 2nd and 3rd Militia hold on the road.
1st German touches the lighthouse and takes cover in it. The other German units advance 6".
Round 3.
1st Militia fires on 1st German - 1 hit
2nd Militia fires on 2nd German- 7 hits
3rd Militia fires on 3rd German- 3 hits
4th German moves to flank 3rd Militia.
1st German fires on 1st Militia - 3 hits
2nd German fires on 1st Militia - 4 hits
3rd German fires on 3rd Militia - 4 hits
Round 4
1st Militia withdraws 6"
3rd Militia withdraws 6"
4th Militia fires on 5th German - 4 hits
1st German fires on 1st Militia -1 hit
2nd German fires on 2nd Militia - 1 hit
5th German fires on 4th Militia - 2 hits
6th German fires on 4th Militia - 1 hit
Round 5
1st, 2nd and 3rd Militia move
4th Militia fires on 5th German - 8 hits
1st-4th Germans move
5th German fires on 4th Militia - 2 hits
6th German fires on 4th Militia - 1 hit
Round 6
1st Militia fires on 2nd German - hits
2nd Militia fires on 2nd German - 3 hits
3rd Militia fires on 3rd German - 7 hits
4th Militia fires on 5th German - 5 hits (destroyed)
2nd German fires on 2nd Militia - 4 hits
3rd German fires on 2nd Militia - 4 hits
4th German fires on 4th Militia - 1 hit
6th German fires on 4th Militia - 3 hits
Round 7
1st Militia fires on 2nd German - 5 hits (destroyed)
2nd Militia fires on 3rd German - 6 hits (destroyed)
3rd Militia fires on 4th German - 4 hits
4th Militia fires on 6th German-7 hits
2nd German fires on 2nd Militia - 6 hits (destroyed)
6th German fires on 4th Militia - 4 hits
Round 8
1st Militia fires on 1st German - 6 hits
3rd Militia fires on 4th German - 3 hits
4th Militia fires on 6th German - 4 hits
4th German fires on 3rd Militia - 5 hits
German fires on 4th Militia - 3 hits
Round 9
1st Militia fires on 1st German - 3 hits
3rd Militia fires on 4th German - 3 hits
4th Militia fires on 6th German - 4 hits (destroyed)
1st German fires on 1st Militia - 6 hits
4th German fires on 4th Militia - 4 hits (destroyed)
Round 10
1st Militia fires on 1st German - 6 hits
3rd Militia fires on 4th German - 6 hits (destroyed)
1st German fires on 3rd Militia - 2 hits (destroyed)
Round 11
The Militia retreats to the village and the Germans retreat to the lighthouse.
Total elapsed time: 33 minutes. The Germans did not see the Blue Rhinocorn.
Conclusion
This battle ended in a draw. The superior marksmanship of the militia saved them from complete destruction by the Sky Marines. However, I confess that I had to play through twice to achieve this result. The Sky Marines did not attempt the flanking maneuver in the first game and the militia did not withdraw soon enough. As a result, the first battle ended after only 12 minutes with a lopsided German victory.
This game was the first One Hour Wargame (OHW) I have played this year with several figures on a base. This method is classic OHW. Previously I had only one figure per unit. For some reason, I confess to being more satisfied with four figures per base.
The other change from recent games is the decision to include less terrain. Once again, this is classic OHW. The sparse and 'clean' battlefield has visual appeal.
Lastly, I must confess that my notes were incomplete in places and I had to back-fill a few elements in the round-by-round report. Hopefully, the insertions were accurate.
References
Thomas, Neal (2014). Kindle Edition. Pen & Sword.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernsey
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