Chris, Author at Day of Battle

July 5, 2023July 27, 2023

After Action Report – Russ Lockwood

November After Action Report – Russ Lockwood

First let me mention that I had a great chat with Russ at Fall In 2022 in Lancaster PA.

Hope you had a game or three during November. Mine was a little quieter on the gaming front than usual for the month, but hope springs eternal for December…and especially the last week. Stay tuned! In the meantime:

HMGS Fall-In: Host Hop for a Day
Battle of Kolín (June 18, 1757): Command and Colors Seven Years War

Kolin: A Game’s Photojourney
Roar of the Russian Bear: Snappy Nappy 1812 Campaign in a Day

Snappy Nappy Campaign-In-A-Day 2022: North Flank of 1812 Russian Campaign
Snappy Nappy 2022 Communications Chronology: Messages of Russia 1812
A Quintet of Dominion: A Festival of Cards
What’s C.S.? WWII
Soviet Bears: Armed Cosmonauts

Books I’ve Read

Porsche Tiger and Ferdinand Tank Destroyer
The Seleucid Army of Antiochus the Great
Bloody April 1917: Air Campaign 33
Charles X’s Wars: Volume 2 (Cent Sold 87)
Tanks in Battle for Germany 1945 (NV 312)
Roman Plate Armor: Elite 247
The Cactus Air Force: Air War Guadalcanal
The Erewan War: Vol 2: CIA in Laos 1969-74
Identifying Cap Badges: Family Historian Guide
Warship 2022: Variety of Articles
Chobham Armour: Cold War UK Tank Develop.
McDonnell XP-67 Moonbat: XPlanes 17
F6F Hellcat: Philippines 1944 (Dogfight 5)
Foreign Panthers: 1943-1958 (New Vangd 313)
The Hunt for the Storozhevoy: 1975 USSR
Japanese Conquest of Burma 1942: Campaign 384
North American T-6 Harvard/Texan: Duke H C02
The Real Gladiator: Maximus Decimus Meridus
Maritime Strike: UK Navy and Libya 2011
The Venlo Sting: MI6’s Deadly Fiasco
A Mighty Fortress: Lead Bomber Over Europe

Enjoy!

Russ

Download his AAR here >>>

July 5, 2023July 17, 2023

A Customer Thank you

I maintain a pretty active eBay shop. I also have an Etsy shop that does just 54mm.

Today I received a note from a multi-order customer on eBay.

I wanted to post it here. Thank you for reading 🙂

Chris

Dear greenknight4,

Thanks! Lazy bastid that I am have not gotten around to leaving feedback – my regrets. They are great minis, you provide exemplary service and the gift leader figures on both occasions were a most welcome surprise. I will not mention those in feedback as I dont want to create the expectation that free minis are standard

May not be ordering for a while because I got a good deal on some painted british and its a skirmish game

– sceej

July 5, 2023July 17, 2023

Free 18th Century Flags

Free 18th Century Flags – Not By Appointment Blog

Here is an outstanding blog that is an amazing source for flags of the Lace Wars.

The author and artist is David Morfitt

His flags are all free to download and use.

He does have a PayPal link for those that wish to donate to help him with his research.

I love these flags and can’t wait to deploy them in my new SYW Prussian army.

Visit his blog >>>

Donate to his research >>>

Being a uniform and flag design service to wargamers and to the imaginary crowned heads of 17th and 18th Century Europe, especially of the Seven Years War period – now By Appointment to the Court of Saxe-Bearstein! (But please note that the uniforms and flags presented here are not fictional – they are genuine 17th and 18th Century uniforms and flags that are as authentic as I can make them from my sources.)

July 5, 2023

Russ Lockwood AAR: June 2023

June After Action Report – Russ Lockwood

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Brittany Hill 103: Command Decision 1944
Medieval Germans vs SubSaharan Malians: ADLG
Steve’s Game Day: Space Base and Quacks of Quedlinburg
Frontier Rumble: Song of Drums and Tomahawks
6th Armored Drive In Brittany: Leave a Message
HMGS 2023 Board Election Results
Game Review: Desert Storm: The Hundred Hour War
Desert Storm Air War: Perspectives & Prospects 2002
Biding Time on Thebus: Brax – Traveller RPG
The Treasure Ship Caper: Traveller RPG
On My Mind: Little Wars TV Ideas
Ramming Speed: Greek Trireme Battle

Books I’ve Read:

The Battle of Rocroi: 1643 (Century of the Soldier # 94)
Men of Armor: US B Co, 756 Tank Bttn – Vol. 2
Alpini: Italian Mountain Troops 1872-Present
Battle of Leyte Gulf: Largest Sea Battle
The Shogun’s Soldiers: Vol. 2 (Century of the Soldier # 99)
HMS Formidable: Arthur Flint’s War (WWII)
Armies of the Italian Risorgimento: 1848-1870
The Hundred Years War: 1337-1453 (Ess Hist)
Italian Campaign 1941-1945: Images of War
Brit Frigates and Escort DDs 1939-45 (NV319)
Confronting Napoleon: Vol. 1 Pultask to Eylau
US Marine Corps 1775-1859 (Elite 251)
Tanks in Operation Bagration 1944 (NV 318)
The Redcoats of Wellington’s Light Division
Hydaspes 326BC: Campaign 389
Battle of Gettysburg 1863 (2): Campaign 391
The Spy From Place Saint-Sulpice (novel)
Skyfarer: The Drifting Lands 1 (fantasy novel)
Into Deepest Space (sci-fi novel)
Operation Rype: WWII OSS Mission Norway
Captain Empirical (sci-fi novel)
The Philadelphia Campaign: 1777
Such a Clash of Arms: Maryland Campaign 1862
Men and Machines (sci-fi short stories)
Military Low-Level Flying: From F-4 to F-35
8th SS Cavalry Division Geyer: Images of War
Stalingrad: Death of an Army – BattleCraft
The Historical Atlas of the British Isles

Enjoy!

Russ Lockwood

Russ Lockwood AAR: May 2023

April After Action Report – Russ Lockwood

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Here’s the latest newsletter for your gaming pleasure with ACW, British Colonial (The Men Who Would Be Kings), and Fantasy wargaming actions, the continuing Traveller RPG adventures of Brax and company, Tank Museum and other spots, and the usual group of book reviews.

The Memorial Day holiday is coming up and I hope you make some time for gaming of all types.

Contents

Runnin’ With The Devil: ACW Regiments
Historical Vacation: A CT and MA Week
Brax Rests Up: Traveller Space Battle
Simple Fields of Glory: Fantasy Battle
Gateway Game Day: June 24 – Abington, PA
Aerocatures: Jet Card Game and WWII Book
Lost in Translation: Hengist
WingSpan: Hello, Hello, Birdie
Ukraine Wargame: First Look
Battle of Ginnis: The Dice Who Would Be Kings (British Colonial)

Books I’ve Read:

Carthage At War: Punic Armies c814-146 BC
Japanese War Fantasy 1933: Future US-Japan War
Tiger Loose on an Ice Floe: 1914 Indian Brigade
Men of Warre: 1460-1600 Retinue to Regiment #16
Hellenistic Naval Warfare and Warships 336-30 BC
British vs German Coastal Weapons: Duel 125
2 CM FLAK 38 & Flakvierling 38: Camera On 29
Brit Lt Inf vs. Patriot Rifleman: Combat Men 72
Nakajima Ki-49 ‘Helen’ Units: Combat Aircraft 148
Henschel HS 126: Camera On 30
US Navy 1883-2019: V4 Pt1: Torp Boats, Destroyers
Battles of the Wars of the Roses
Boeing F-15 E/K/SG Strike Eagle: Duke Hawkins 26
Boeing B-1B Lancer: Duke Hawkins 27
Byzantine Cavalryman vs. Vandal Warrior: Combat 73
7TP: Vehicle Single No. 02
Tiger I: Vehicle Single No. 06
Armies of the Roman Republic: 264 – 30 BC
Bf 109 Jabo Units in the West: Combat Aircraft 149
The Dacians and Getae at War: Men-at-Arms 549
The Meadowlands: Wilderness Adventure
The Good Captain: Personal Memoir of America at War
HALO: The Flood (sci-fi)
Tales of Urath: Book 1 Of Dragons and Drakes
Bazooka Charlie: Maj. Carpenter and Rosie Rocketeer
A Photo History of Amphibious Warfare: 1939-1945
Warship 2023
Dragoons and Dragoon Operations 1638-1653 (Century of Soldier 99)

Enjoy!

Russ Lockwood

Russ Lockwood AAR Wargaming: April 2023

April After Action Report – Russ Lockwood

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The days are getting longer and so is my lawn, so I better send out this month’s AAR now and use the daylight to fire up the mower…

Here’s what’s in April’s AAR:

Raabid Combat: Shako II 1809 Wargame
The Unpredictable French Cavalry: Raab
Return of the Jedi: I Fly The X-Wing Again
Battle of Red, Battle of White: War of the Roses Tonight
Fantasy Battle: Simple Field of Glory
Face The Nation: Die Tosses of Fate
Historicon 2022: Attendee Number Correction
Fall In! 2022: ConDir After Action Report
Cold Wars ADLG Tourney: More Recaps
Balkans Gambit: More Info
AHIKS: Battle of Midway Analysis
Clash of Carriers: ATO Magazine Wargame Release
Accurate Simulations: New Wargame Company
Follow Up DBWR: Roses Renewed

Books I’ve Read:

Road to Barbarossa: Soviet-German Relations 1917-1941
Wars of the Roses: People, Places and Battlefields
Kitchener and the Dardanelles Campaign: Vindication
Russia’s Five-Day War: Georgia 2008 (Elite 250)
Bounty HM Armed Vessel 1787: ShipCraft 30
Forgotten Heroes: WWII Hungarian Aces
100 Greatest Battles
South China Sea 1945: TF 38 – Air Campaign 36
US Destroyers vs. German U-Boats: Duel 127
Assault on the Gothic Line 1944: Campaign 387
Soviet Tanks in Manchuria 1945: New Vanguard 316
Nambu Pistols: WWII Handguns Japan – Weapons 86
The Ark (sci fi)
Invasion: Book 1 Contact (sci fi)
The Stars Now Unclaimed (sci fi)
Dark Waters, Starry Skies: Solomons Mar-Oct 1943
Panzer III North Africa 1942-1943: TankCraft 40
Panzer Reconnaissance
Through Bitter Seas (WWII novel)
Dictionary of Fortifications: Illustrated

Enjoy!

Russ Lockwood

Columbia Games – “Napoleon” as a Campaign System

By Dr. Richard McMahon M.D.

Introduction:

Columbia Games wooden block game “Napoleon” is a classic, and quite honestly my favorite board game of all time (and my memory stretches as far back as Tactics II).

Few games have achieved a strategic play that is so elegant in its simplicity. The wooden blocks provide uncomplicated but effective fog of war and step reduction. The mechanics are straightforward group activation for town-to-town movement, with road limits affected by crossing rivers, and can be learned in minutes. However, the free deployment, wide open map, faster speed for cavalry and horse artillery, as well as forced marches can lead to sweeping maneuvers that can take years to master. No two games are alike. It is a great strategy game.

When enough forces have coalesced and both commanders agree to a battle, the blocks are moved, with their step reductions, to a stylized battle mat. The subtle “paper/scissors/rock” differences of the Horse and Musket and Cannon era are preserved. The campaign map allows for reinforcements to be brought on adding to the tension. The movement of the blocks on to and across the “battlefield” have a tactile sense that no other board game can match. It gives a feel more akin to a miniature battle than any cardboard counter/tweezer game could possibly provide.

The Background:

As satisfying as these battles have been, and I’ve fought hundreds, I’ve always thought “How cool would it be if I could move this battle to the table top instead of this little mat?”. The game provides an instant order of battle, with effective fog of war and a definite strategic context. With a proper table top road network set up, the reinforcements arrive at times unknown to the enemy, and on the flanks rather than just as a general Reserve-“Hey, what’s the dust on that road mean?”. What more can you ask for in a campaign vehicle?

I have long been a fan (acolyte actually) of Brian Stokes’ “HouseRules Napoleonics (HRN)” which we are currently revising extensively and renaming “Soldats de l”Empire!(SdIE)”. I use these for miniature battles and decided to come up with a way to fight the entire Waterloo Campaign using these two excellent gaming systems. I love HRN/SdlE, as it allows really big battles to be fought with a true “Napoleonic” feel to them. Please understand, though, that my idea can be adapted to any miniature rules.

Read the entire article >>>

May 16, 2022August 29, 2024

Helen of Toy Comic Book Toys

I have had a fascination for the Helen of Toys line since I was very young. My first recollection was getting the American Revolutionary War set when I was in 1st or second grade. They were of course the flat version with the canons molded together in two or three deep pieces. I have a set of these today.

I recently found a website that listed all of the games. I will place the link here but I wanted to recreate it so it would live on.

Link >>>

A celebration of the long running ads for various plastic soldiers

Read the entire article >>>

April 20, 2022April 21, 2022

Day of Battle Games Miniatures Are Here

Day of Battle Games Miniatures

I just wanted to mention to my readers (thank you) that I am now printing figures commercially. Well sort of but not in great quantities.

As such I have decided to focus on 40mm miniatures (what?) YAWN.

I know, I know – most people have no interest in this scale but since I have the scale, thought I would start to print up miniatures that no one else in the US is making. So there is the key right there. That no one else makes in the US.

As far as I know Chris at Sash and Saber is the only 40mm manufacturer in the US. Yes there is Irregular Miniatures (42mm) and Perry Miniatures in England and Triguard Miniatures Down Under but I can’t think of anybody else in the US.

So I have released into my Shop a number of troops that you can’t get in the US.

and more >>>

Prussian Infantry — 40mm Seven Years War Prussian Grenadiers

I am also selling painted miniatures and games. These are mostly from my collection right now but as I go to shows I will be picking up more and more items to lest here.

Fear not, this will not turn into a retail only operation. I will continue to support and release games and scenarios in the future, it is my passion.

Questions, drop me a note:)

See you all at Huzzah and HMGS Fall In cheers

Chris Parker

March 24, 2022June 9, 2025

Bagration to Berlin Released

“Russia’s final march to Berlin has begun”

Operation Bagration was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation, a military campaign fought between 23 June and 19 August 1944 in Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern Front of World War II. The Soviet Union destroyed 28 of 34 divisions of Army Group Center, and completely shattered the German front line.

Bagration to Berlin provides the TO&E for the German and Russian divisions that took part in this theater from Spring of 1944 to the fall of Germany in Spring of 1945.

Also included are designer notes and a scenario, The Battle of Targul Frumos, May 1944, where the Panzer Grenadier Division Gross Deutschland commanded by Lieutenant General von Manteuffel, AKA the Panzer Baron, made a gallant stand in Romania.

New rules include ranged fire by heavy anti-tank guns and tank riders. Includes designer notes and much more.

D-Day to Berlin is an operational-level miniatures game where players command divisions and corps.

Bagration to Berlin and all the other games from Chris Parker Games will be available at Adepticon at the Winged Hussar booth.

Print – $18.00 USD
Digital – $10.00 USD

More Information >>>

March 8, 2022April 20, 2022

The Battle of Targul Frumos – Rumania 1944

Myself, Art F. and my friend Mark, aka the GamesPoet got together this week to playtest a battle of my new D-Day to Berlin Sourcebook called Bagration to Berlin. This is the Eastern Front from Spring 1944 to the end of the war in 1945.

Of interesting note is that I took Russ Lockwood’s advice used 12mm scale pieces for all of the MECH units and 15mm scale pieces for the INF and ART units. We all thought it looked great for the scale of the game.

In the Gallery below you will see the Battalion single stand units. Many of them have colored dots. These are reminder of different rules. The key is below.

KEY

Pink: Detachment Strength
Green: Veteran Morale
Yellow: Poor Morale
#1: Engineer
US Halftracks: Russian Recon Battalions
Cards: These are staff cards that allow different special rules for the Battalion resting on top of them.
#7: The number denotes the Battalions parent Division. this is helpful when it is time to count up how many Battalions are on the field for a Division Morale Check.
Swords: These mark Division Boundary Lines
Tiles: I experimented with 4″ square tiles as my hills. We all liked them. I plan on cutting up 51/2″ squares from foam board and mounting the tiles on them. I will then fill in the gap between the two surfaces and after painting should have some nice looking hills.

The Bagration to Berlin rules are done and will be released in late March 2022.

ROMANIA, MAY 1944

As the German Army was being driven back west by the Soviet Army, the Division Grossdeutschland commanded by Lieutenant General Von Manteuffel AKA The Panzer Baron, made a gallant stand in and around the village of Targul Frumos, in northeast Romania. In this engagement the Veteran experience and skill of Grossdeutschland commanders and soldiers
halted the attacks of the Soviets who were seeking to deprive the Germans of the Romanian oil fields.

The Battle of Targul Frumos began on 2 May 1944 with a Soviet artillery bombardment followed by waves of T-34s and infantry across a broad front. The Veteran soldiers of the Grossdeutschland allowed the tanks to drive over their defensive positions and engaged the lagging infantry. The tanks, now without infantry support, were systematically engaged and destroyed by concealed anti-tank guns and assault guns.

During this battle the Soviet IS-2s appeared and the German tanks at a range of 2000 meters. A few escaped the Tigers but were pursued by a company of more Panzer IV’s and knocked out.

February 13, 2022April 20, 2022

Mixing Scales Part II

Mixing Scales in D-Day to Berlin Part II

Part I >>> More information

D-Day to Berlin>>>More Information

I have had a number of gamers write back to me on the subject and I really appreciate the feedback and Ideas.

My good friend John M. let me look at his 1:200 scale WWII collection. Most of them were Pendragon I believe. I brought a few home but compared to my 15’s I was disappointed in the smallness (sp) of them. I had rather hoped for something at about 60% in size. Seems to me the difference shouldn’t be so great.

Russ Lockwood Wrote

I have 6mm and 10/12mm and 15mm and the difference is noticeable…however, if you’ve ever played Axis and Allies board games (not the miniature-specific game), you’ll have played with roughly 6mm tanks and 20mm troops and who knows what scale (1/3000?) ships. As you use squares, not inches, perhaps the size of the figure matters less as long as you can place them inside a square?

I once had the idea for something like that in an ancients game — the bases were all the same size, but the figure size determined its ability, whereas 6mm used a d6, 15mm used a d8, 20mm used a d10, and 25mm used a d12. DM (die modifiers) of +1 for advantageous terrain and another +1 for advantageous training/quality. But I figured I would have to buy the different dice types in the same color (all d6s are white dice, all d8s are blue dice, all d10s are green, and all d12s are red — easy to confuse d8 and d10 without a color prompt), which I never did, and then paint up all the different figures…never did. When you lost a melee, you dropped down a size, so 25mm – 20mm – 15mm – 6mm — remove from table. So every unit needed multiple stands and figures. I’m sure there’s a fellow with better math than me about the odds of a 6mm defeating a 25mm, etc. I figured the heresy factor would preclude even trying it, although the fun factor of a 6mm whacking a 25mm would interest folks. I would recommend trying it.

Miniature Scale image — Wargame Drop zone Comparison

I was sent the above link to an interesting website. It had some good info on this subject.

Wargame Drop Zone >>> More information

In closing I must say i am unsure now if i want to pursue this. I was about to place an order with Pendragon Miniatures for Russians and German armor but when I compared the T34 I borrowed from John M. I was disappointed in the difference in sizes. Well I will wait a little while and ponder some more.

Meanwhile if anybody knows a brand or scale or armor that might be better suited for my quest please let me know.

Chris