World War III 1958

[irishserb]

I’m finally starting my third world war campaign set in 1958 and have posted several blog posts over the last week with the back story leading up the war.  For those who might be interested, the page at the following link is a list of links to the posts;

http://irishserb.blogspot.com/p/cold-war-hot-wwiii-1958.html

I start the first tabletop battle tomorrow, and will add AARs to the page above as I play out the battles.

Thanks for looking.

irishserb

[Oh no….]

Terrific terrain boards!! I like the thinking behind the background, it does seem plausible.

I’ll be watching as the fighting unfolds.

Great stuff.

[deephorse]

Thanks for this, the background made interesting reading.

I’ve long had an interest in NATO v Warsaw Pact conflict, from SPI’s boardgame ‘NATO’, through books from people like Sir John Hackett, to being part of the British Army in the late 70s and early 80s.  I had fond memories of playing ‘NATO’, so I recently played it again.  My memory must be faulty because it was nowhere near as much fun as I remembered it being.  Consequently I bought Compass Games ‘NATO’ last year, hoping for a better experience, though I have yet to play it.

I have little idea of what kit would be in use in the late 50s, Centurions and Conquerors maybe?  So I’m looking forward to seeing your battles.

 

Play is what makes life bearable - Michael Rosen

[jeffers]

I was going to joke “whatever was in the 1969 Dinky catalogue”. Then I found it online and realised it’s not far from the truth…

Yes, Centurions, Conquerors, Saracens, Saladins (just) and you might sneak in some Comets (they were still hanging about in the mid 60s as my father in law did his apprenticeship on them). Hawker Hunters! 🤩

Great time to do Cold War – beats the usual 80s thing.

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[Jonathand Keepers]

Write more soon!!!!

[jeffers]

Some coincidence…

I picked up a Miniature Wargames last night (Number 5 for an article on Leipzig) and at the back there is a British army list for 1958 by Bruce Rea-Taylor!

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[Darkest Star Games]

The tension in these background posts is palpable!  Really looking forwards to how this shakes out.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[kyoteblue]

Dude, you have to post more!!!

[irishserb]

Thanks, the response is much appreciated.

Currently the British Army of the Rhine (6AD) is receiving 10th Guards Tank Division on my table.  The battle has been  slowed by a shoulder problem that is stealing a little joy from my day, but still moving along.

The sitation is very fluid, and I’m not sure if this is going to turn into two or three battles in rapid succession, and a single battle on a rolling table top.  I’ll post an AAR or a series of updates as soon as I can.

Jeffers, I’m going to have to look for a copy of the that issue of Miniature Wargames.  I don’t remember the article, so suspect that I don’t have that issue.  I’m curious to compare it to the book of 1950s and 60s TO&Es that he put out a little later.

[kyoteblue]

I will have a new battle report on Brave little Denmark tonight. I need one from you Dude!!!

[jeffers]

I can scan or photo it for you. It’s only half a page.

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[irishserb]

Sorry it took so long, I’ve been a little sick, so the game was interrupted.  The first battle of WWIII is posted, a small skirmish between recce units.  On my blog here:

https://irishserb.blogspot.com/2022/01/world-war-iii-begins.html

A small battle on a bit table, the Soviet view at the start below.

[Tony S]

Wow!  Gorgeous table!  Playing on that ground for a much later WW3 battle (that is, with missiles, laser rangefinder and effective stabilizers) would be scary.  As you say, not much cover to be had.

What rules are you using?

And glad you’re feeling better.

[McKinstry]

Great table and I really enjoy seeing forces reasonably spread out. I am looking forward to the follow on battles.

The tree of Life is self pruning.

[irishserb]

Thanks guys.

The rules are homebrew. Kind of old school with lots of numbers and dice.

Eventually I hope to run WWIII in ’68, ’77, and ’82, so will get a taste of some of the technology down the road a little.

This was a bit of a shocker, as the last time I roamed the north German plain was with late model Chieftons and T72s run about 35 years ago.  I felt a little lost with PT-76s and AEC Mk IIIs being the most lethal critters on the table.

[Darkest Star Games]

Sharp little scrap there, seems the Sovs came off the worse.  Poor little Ferrets have zero chance against those PT76, I felt bad for it!

I really like how sensible the Allied force was in pulling back before it got too involved or locked up, or obliterated by arty for that matter.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[irishserb]

I finally posted part 1 of the AAR of my first big battle of WWIII.  The battle was played out over five days, and took 15-16 hours to reach a conclusion.  Here’s a pic of the table:

And the AAR is located at:

https://irishserb.blogspot.com/2022/03/aar-2a-wwiii-1958-first-big-clash-part.html

Sorry this took so long, and thanks for looking.

 

[Darkest Star Games]

Rough battle so far, that’s for sure.  How many T-55s were knocked out in Pt1?

The sheer amount of arty the Soviets can throw is quite scary, but I’m guessing they have to get onto the field before most of them can fire?

And kudos to that bazooka team, I hope they can make it back into action again soon!  Or maybe sit out the rest of the war on some nice little farm rather than in a gulag.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[irishserb]

I think the dead and immobile T-55 count was at around 23 at this point, for the cost of 8 British tanks.  Had they engaged at just slightly greater range, the T-55s would ahve gained an advantage, as the 20 pdr performance would have dropped off omewhat against the T-55s.

A lot of the arty is 122mm towed, much of which was pretty close, though not on board, a couple of batteries were lost to UK counter battery fire, but the Soviets had so much, that it didn’t matter a whole lot.

The Bazooka team was a fun little thing.  They and maybe other stranded infantry could become the subject of a separate 15mm mini-camapign in 15mm.

I’m working on part 2 of the AAR now, should be posted by this evening.

[irishserb]

Got part 2 of the after action report up at:

https://irishserb.blogspot.com/2022/03/aar-2b-wwiii-1958-first-big-clash-part.html

The Soviets balanced things out a bit.  Conquerors were impressive, but Soviet artillery ruled the day.

Thanks for looking.

irishserb

[Tony S]

A bit depressing for the poor bloody infantry, in the days before ATGM.  But I can also imagine a Centurion troop commander, seeing his rounds bounce off the T55s, getting a strong sense of deja-vu from a decade before, watching his Sherman ineffectually fire at Tigers.

Nice battle and figures.

I know British doctrine in WW2 used smoke effectively, as did the Soviets in your battle.  What if you used smoke to lower the ranges for the British to point blank – would the Centurions stand a chance then?

[Darkest Star Games]

I think you played this one just as a real General would have.  You start with a plan and when you’ve seen that it could have gone better you learn and apply that to the next one.  Of course, the Soviet forces couldn’t have known what all laid in wait for them, so taking on the fight without metagaming is probably the hardest thing you had to deal with.

The whole “quantity vs quality” in the East vs West dichotomy is still a bit of a trip for me, especially with how long it has lasted.

I would love to see that 15mm infantry campaign, I have very fond memories of playing Twilight 2000 “escape from behind the lines” games back in college.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[irishserb]

The Centurions did have a narrow window, where they seemed to have a distinct advantage, I’ll have to look at that and adjust accordingly.

Regarding the smoke, I don’t think the UK had enough artillery to use it to much effect, given the size of the units.  I also need to look at the available arty for the UK, seems like there should be more available, thinking I’ve lost track of somebody in the paper shuffle.

Regarding quality v. quantity, it is interesting going from one school of thought, and stepping into the other, and in the contrast in how a given event is or might have been seen through the eyes of each.  I’m alway fascinated when situations occur that both sides might call a success or failure due to difference in approach and thus expectations.

Thanks, the comments are much appreciated.

[irishserb]

A year and a half late ( I lost a little fire for this project after world events february), but I finally played the next battle in my WWIII-1958 campaign, so AAR-3: West of Ohrum has been posted on my blog.

It was a follow-on battle between elemts of the British 6th  Armored Division and the Soviet 10th tank Division.  Basically a big fight between Centurion IIIs and T-55s.  Here are a couple of pics:

Above, early in the battle, three battalions of T-55s lead the attack.

Much later, the British have stood their ground, given better than they’ve received, but the red hoarde keeps on coming.

The full after action report is on my blog with a lot more photos.

I hope it might be of some interest and thanks fr looking.

irishserb

 

 

[6mmwargaming]

Fantastic, I’ve been following the progress on your blog and it is very inspirational.

its great to see so many forces on the table at once!

My 6mm Wargaming site https://6mm.wargaming.info

[willz]

An excellent AAR, I don’t know how I missed it when you first posted.  Thanks for sharing a very good read.

[Darkest Star Games]

Epic battle.  That poor, brave bazooka team, hopefully someone witnessed their gallantry so a posthumous award can be passed to their families.  If those T-10s had gotten in amongst the Centurions it could have been a bloodbath.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[irishserb]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I thought that the bazooka team had them, but then it only tracked the PT-76 and they were in trouble.  It was witnessed, though whether the witnesses will have a chance to report what happened, I don’t know.  It was a cool little mini-battle in the big battle.  The PT-76s were just trying to get into some cover, and found themselve in a even more frantic situation.

I’ve been kind of surprised how well the 20pdr armed Centurions have stood up to the T-55s, but I against the T-10, they can really only penetrate the power hull front.  The T-10 has to get close to hurt them, so maybe, if and when that encounter happens, the Centurions will be able to mix it up, maneuver and get some flanking shots.

There is going to be at least one more of these big encounters between ^6 AD ad 10 TD, and i’m going to try something a little different on the Soviet side.  British forces will likely be about the same, though I don’t know where that battle will take place yet.  I’m trying not to get too far ahead in any one sector.

The next battle will involve West german forces equipped with M47s and infantry in Borgward B2000 unarmored transports.  I’m hoping to find a way to execute the more mobile German phylosophy in the game, but we’ll see.

 

[Author]

Posts