It's not my intention to go into any excuses or hand wringing over gaming the conflict in Ulster. It was a brutal counter-insurgency war but no more so than the French experience in Indo-China and Algeria, the US effort in Vietnam or the current conflict in Helmand.
From my own experience the effort focussed in the Bandit Country of South Armagh allowed the British Army full scope of tactical deployment and was completely at odds with the public perception of the Army patrolling the streets of urban estates.
This then is what I'll be gaming, the British Army's effort in South Armagh against the Active Service Units of PIRA's South Armagh Brigade.
"The" book to read is without doubt "BANDIT COUNTRY-The IRA and South Armagh" by Toby Harnden, the Amazon link is below;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bandit-Country-The-South-Armagh/dp/034098094X/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
You can only really game the Army in Armagh using a low level skirmish system, for a long time my system of choice for this sort of engagement had been Phoenix Command. The system was produced by Leading Edge Games in the 80's and 90's, its no longer in production but looking around you can still pick copies up, the link below is for the unofficial support site;
http://www.phoenixcommand.com/
Phoenix Command is a highly detailed system for playing out any modern firearms engagement but unless you're very experienced with the system it can tend to be quite slow. However I've recently picked up a copy of "Normandy Firefight" by Warwick Kinrade, this is a low level skirmish system for Normandy that actually transfers fine to South Armagh, with the Blackthorn hedgerows replacing the bocage. Warwick does mention Phoenix Command in the Designer's notes and you can see the same flavour. More details of my adaptations later.
Scale and figurewise we're at 20mm, my Falklands Brits will drop straight into South Armagh and for opposition Rolf Hedges Liberation Miniatures do some perfect figures in their Urban Terror range.
To end this post I'm recommending a BBC dramatisation from 1985, "CONTACT!" by A.F.N. Clarke. Originally a book by an Airborne officer this was aired in the mid 80's but I don't think its been repeated often, if at all, probably due to its content. I haven't been able to find it on Amazon and it may be the BBC may not have released it. The DVD copy I have was originally recorded on my VHS top loader in the 80's! If you get a chance to see this film grab it with both hands. I managed to find some information on the film on BFI Screenonline, the links below;
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/439385/index.html
As a figure tester some PIRA players, Liberation 20mm. Dougie
And I thought I was the only one interested in gaming the troubles in Northern Ireland. Beautiful figures BTW. I was wondering what vehicles you are using. I have a few vehicles by B&B Models. The British Army Landrovers, a Saracen, and Humber "Pig". I havea few photos of them being used as a VCP if you would like to see them. I was hoping that someone would offer the RUC Landrover and figures, but no luck so far.
ReplyDeleteHi Patrick, yup don't suppose many folks are looking at Ulster, I've got an imminent post involving a 1/76 Ford Cortina thats gonna be a target vehicle, haven't considered any Brit vehicles yet but I'm looking, be interested to see your photos! Dougie
DeleteHi Dougie,
ReplyDeleteI don't recognise the liberation guy with the shotgun - is he a conversion?
Cheers & keep up the good work,
Xander
Thanks Buddy, he's not a conversion just one from my Liberation stash which is years old, don't think Rolf does him anymore. Dougie
DeleteI look forward to seeing what you come up with. I've always been put off gaming NI- not from any moral perspective- I agree with all the points you made but rather that I can't find any decent sized engagements to replicate or even base a game on. Have you read Urban's 'Big Boys Rules'? Plenty of action in there but all pretty one sided....
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Pete.
Pete, you're looking at quite small engagements, Army patrol putting in an intelligence driven ambush, or perhaps PIRA/INLA engaging a patrol and the subsequent reaction. I've read big boys rules, again small actions one sided but thats what tends to happen in intelligence driven reactions. Keep watching! Dougie
DeleteHave you looked at the rulesets from 2 Hour Wargames? I can definitely recommend the Vietnam set FNG. It would with a few tweaks make a great campaign moderator. You might find the combat system a bit light if you like Phoenix Command though. My only run in with that system has been through the old Aliens RPG.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Pete.