Author: bucksurdu

The HAWKs, mostly Kurt and Eric, ran a series of games on Schlegel’s Ferry.  The initial concept for Schlegel’s Ferry was to run a game on the same ground in various historical periods, and update the map for each battle.  Initially we ran early Indian vs. arquebus-armed settlers, French and Indian Wars, American Revolution, War of 1812, and American Civil War.

The last couple of years, Eric has run a series of games with a holiday theme, from St. Valentine’s Day to Christmas.  Using Blood and Swash, these games are always a crowd pleaser.

Zeb Cook and I ran a Winter War 1939 with Combat Patrol(TM): World War II and Zeb’s Winter War supplement.  The Russian objective was to advance up the road, capture some supplies, and hold open the road for later extraction.

The Russians were forced to advance across open ground.  Initially they only suspected the locations of the Finns, but they soon were taking withering fire.  The Russians received some very bad morale results.  While they inflicted some damage on the Finns, a combination of Finn good shooting and Russian poor shooting mad the game a one-sided affair.

Despite the one-sided outcome, I think the players still had a good time.

The HMGS Legion of Honor presented Don Hogge with an award for his excellent Congo game at Cold Wars.  The game looked terrific, and the players had a great time.

Three HAWKs won awards at Cold Wars: Don (for his Congo game), Greg (for his This is Not a Test post-apocalyptic game), and Eric Schlegel (for one of his Schlegel’s Ferry holiday games).

Geoff Graff once again ran his Lego pirate game for kids at Cold Wars 2017.  As usual, the kids had a terrific time!

I have been collecting Apple TV and iPod boxes for a year or so.  Borrowing an idea from Eric and Andrew Goolander, I wanted to make a space ship interior that is made from separate rooms that are placed in different configurations for different games.  These boxes are all about 3.6 inches tall.  I then covered them with “textures” I downloaded from different sites on the Internet to decorate the walls and give them a good appearance.

I put textures on the inside and outside of the boxes.  I mostly completed several today, but I need to scrounge more boxes of the appropriate height.  I have a limited amount of space ship interior furnishings, but over the next few months I’ll be looking for more.

These are the ones I “mostly” finished this weekend.  I figure this is about a third of what I need.  I will also be building some bigger rooms for a cargo bay, engine room, etc.  These will be placed on a based made of “granny grating” over MDF boards.

Since 2009, I have been hosting an evening of gaming on New Years Eve for the guys in my gaming club.  This year we began around 1500 and ran until about 0200 New Year’s Day.  The first game was a GASLIGHT game run by Chris Palmer, called the Twelve Doctors of Christmas, in which various incarnations of Dr. Who fight against goblins, Daleks, Cyber Men, and other baddies to free Santa from confinement.  The third game was a largish X-wing game.  I ran the middle game, a Combat Patrol(TM) skirmish in which US glider-borne troops assault a German-held bridge.

In the scenario, the Americans had a reinforced platoon of glider-borne troops.  Two gliders landed on the table, but the others, including gliders containing armored airborne jeeps, landed off the table at the bottom right of the picture (above) and entered the table in the first turn of the game.

The Germans had one squad on the “American” side of the bridge, and another squad deployed in the buildings on the far side of the stream.  There was also a bunker on the “German” side of the river that was initially unoccupied.  The stream was crossable (as rough movement) by infantry, but it was impassible to vehicles.  There Germans had another squad, a halftrack, and a headquarters section that entered the table on the first turn.

In the picture (above), one German team occupied what was thought of as a strong position behind a wall.  Unfortunately for them, the Americans opened fire first from “medium” range.  The Germans immediately sustained casualties and then struggled with soldiers seeking cover, being stunned, etc. for most of the game.

The Americans in the second glider encountered little resistance and moved to a position on the hill in the foreground to cover the target (bridge) with fire.

German reinforcements arrived in the form of a squad mounted in a halftrack.  The unexpected arrival of a fourth US squad that had landed on the “German” side of the stream caused the Germans to re-think their plan.  In addition to holding the bridge, the German’s main objective was to get to the American gliders and search them for plans and important documents for intelligence purposes.  When the Americans showed up on their flank, they had to focus on holding the bridge.

After dropping half a squad to delay the arrival of the American flanking force, the halftrack pulled back, eventually occupying a blocking position right on the single-lane bridge.  This left the German defenders with limited fires support, and the Americans’ accuracy was uncannily good, mauling the Germans.  by that time, the Germans from the closest glider to the bridge were close assaulting the halftrack, and one of the American squads that started off the table had waded across the river and prepared to assault a German-held bunker.

The game was a convincing US victory.  The German initial deployment could have been better, but in general the Americans just fired better than the Germans.  They also made good use of the ability of troops with Garands to conducting moving fire, keeping the Germans in a reactive mode most of the game.  Despite the lopsided outcome, I think this is a pretty good scenario, and I intend to run it again at a club night.

 

US Military personnel are deployed in over 120 countries.  Regardless of your feelings about the politics or wisdom of a particular war, action, or mission, Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen server their nation’s call all over the world.  We might complain about traffic or crowds at the mall.  These Americans face much worse every day until they return to their families and friends.

Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.

I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I’d seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I’d heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
“Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps.”

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night’s chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.

Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn’t want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said “Carry on, Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all secure.”
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.

Lance Corporal James M. Schmidt, 1986

Most of us are braving traffic and crowds to do that last-minute shopping.  Many of us think fondly of white Christmases and snow, of logs on the fire and roasting chestnuts.  These Soldiers braved bullets and bombs.  They spent Christmas in steamy climates.  Pause a moment to think of the Soldiers serving overseas and away from home this Christmas.

A great disappointment of my 30+ years in the military is that I never had the opportunity to see Bob Hope in concert.  Bob Hope is a real hero.  He never concerned himself with the politics of the war.  Wherever Soldiers served, Hope was there (pun intended).  Bob Hope spent many, many years having Christmas dinner with the troops and bringing a little joy to break up the monotony of the war.

Soldiers often find themselves in faraway places rather than at home with their family and friends.  Pause a moment this Christmas to think of those serving 120+ nations around the world this Christmas.

As we get ready to celebrate Christmas with our families and friends, let’s not forget how Soldiers have celebrated Christmas in years past in lands far away from their families and friends.  Freedom is not free.

This selection of photos is from World War II.  The images were gathered from various Internet sites and are not attributed.