Gritty Goblin Games Wings of War/Glory, 9 January 2025 Trains & Drachens

[CrashCraig]

Austrian Armored Train January 2025 AAR #1:

It is a bitter, snowy night here in Maryland at the Gritty Goblin-perfect for a fight in the Italian Alps.

An Imperial-Royal Austrian State armored train has been ordered to advance to the village of Trento in support of an advance in the Italian theater. Enroute, the train is attacked by Italian aircraft.

Modeling the scenario after those run by the late Baltic Bob, we have the following rules:

Victory –

Austrian Train/Air Support: fight off the Italian aircraft (cause more point damage then they suffer) and reach Trento

Italian: Destroy/significantly damage the train/aircraft (inflict more point damage than incurred)

Draw: Train does not reach Trento* but Italians/RFC receive more damage.

*If train engine receives 20+ damage points it is immediately immobilized.

 

The train is composed of four cars plus an engine/coal car in the middle for a total of 50 damage points. Each car’s value is:

Armored lead/end car – 10 points

Armored box car – 5 points

Armored engine/coal car – 20 points

       

Italian/RFC aircraft points are equal to their specific damage point values for a total of 53 damage points:

Hanriot HD.1 = 14 points

Two Nieuport 17s = 12 points each

RFC Sopwith Camel = 15 points

 

The train moves at a speed of one card width per maneuver turn just like the aircraft. Train speed is reduced to half a card width if the engine suffers 10 or more points of damage.

Each armored lead/end car contains a forward firing, B-firing, anti-aircraft machine gun (MG) with 180 degrees of fire. Each armored box card has A-firing MG with 360 degrees of fire. The train MGs do not get the short-range bonus of two cards.

Shooting is measured from red dot on car.

The engine/coal car has no weapons.

The train’s anti-aircraft MGs only suffer gun jams. No other special damage.

Italian/RFC Aircraft:

Attack the train with machine guns per normal game rules. To attack, the aircraft must draw a line of fire from the aircraft peg to the red dot on top of the target train car.

To attack the engine/coal car, the aircraft only needs to draw a line from the aircraft peg to anywhere on the engine/coal car.

 

So Irish John was in one Nieuport 17 with French markings and Jim W was in the Nieuport 17 with Italian markings. Todd was in an Italian Hanriot and Todd’s son was in a RFC Sopwith Camel disguised as a red doghouse!  I had just presented it to him along with one for his sister in honor of last month’s Santa game. I ran the Austrian train.

                                                                                                         

Staring down the Austrian train coming out of the “Alpine tunnel” are Snoopy’s Camel on the left, Irish John in the Nieuport 17 in the center and Todd in the Hanriot on the right. Jim’s Nieuport 17 is beyond the train to the left of the tunnel.

                                                                                                    

The armored train. An armored lead car with B-firing MG (180 degree field of fire) followed by an A-firing box car with 360-degree field of fire. Next is the locomotive with coal car, followed by another A-firing box car (360-degree field) and finally another B-firing armored car facing to the rear (180-degree field).

Full engagement on move 2 with the front box car taking minimal damage from three aircraft and firing all MGs on the Hanriot in turn.                                                                        

 

Next turn, more Italian fire on the lead box car and more Austrian shots on the Hanriot.

 

Hanriot continues with firing on the lead armored car and Jim’s Nieuport gets into the action on the trailing cars.

Jim’s Nieuport finishes off the rear boxcar and armored car. The only consolation for the Austrians is a jammed Nieuport.

   

  

More shots on the lead cars result in the loss of the armored car.

And then the lead box car. But not before the box car returns the favor on the Hanriot.

So the Austrians are down to the locomotive and coal car with minimal damage so far.

 

So now it’s a dash to Trento.

The Nieuports pour more fire into the locomotive causing 10+ points of damage and cutting its speed in half.

As the train pulls up to the station an accounting shows the Austrians suffered 45 points of train damage. The Italians received 22 damage points (French Nieuport=7 points;  Italian Nieuport=0 points; Snoopy’s Sopwith=1 point and Hanriot=14 points). So under these conditions it’s an Italian victory.

[CrashCraig]

Gritty Goblin Games Wings of War/Glory, 9 January 2025 Trains & Drachens AAR #2

To Down a Drachen January 2025 AAR #2:

For our second game we had an Austrian balloon guarded by a red Triplane flow by myself versus Jim W in the A-firing Nieuport 17 with Italian markings, Todd in the Italian Hanriot and Todd’s son in his beloved RFC Sopwith Camel disguised as a red doghouse! 

My triplane comes out in front of the balloon to confront Todd’s Hanriot.

Snoopy’s Camel fires on the balloon for 2 points of damage on the balloon’s right. Jim’s Nieuport flies straight in while Todd’s Hanriot circles to the balloon’s left.

 

 

I get another shot on the Hanriot which is closing on the balloon.   

    

Jim’s Nieuport gets off his first shot and BOOM! That’s all she wrote for the balloon.

 

But because he’s under the balloon, Todd takes a C-damage card and he goes BOOM too!

 

So in 3 turns the Italians destroy the balloon in one of the quickest games that I’ve been in.

            

 

[RJG173]

That second game was nasty. Were you using N-scale track and trains?

[CrashCraig]

Robert- I used Z-gauge track & buildings. The train cars are comparable at 1:200 scale. With the demise of Shapeways I could only find 3-D printed WW1 trains at Historical Board Games. They were very reasonably priced and with some adaptations fit the bill. The “box” car is actually one of their WW1 Russian tanks. I modified their smaller locomotives and added turrets from Red Eagle’s French Renault F17 tanks for the lead and tail-end armored cars. I miss Shapeways.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

That first game should allow you to add to your monica Craig. You can now be accorded the title of "Train Crash Craig"

I like your use of range sticks with national markings. It really helps the reader to see which aircraft is firing on which.

Rob..

[RJG173]

3 hours ago, Flying Officer Kyte said:

I like your use of range sticks with national markings. It really helps the reader to see which aircraft is firing on which.

Rob..

The fantasy butterfly AARs use sticks with chevrons pointing in the direction that the bullets are flying. I don't know if they are range-stick size, but they are also very effective.

[hokusai]

Cool to see a train scenario. Will try to do something similar using some simple paper model train.

2 hours ago, RJG173 said:

The fantasy butterfly AARs use sticks with chevrons pointing in the direction that the bullets are flying. I don't know if they are range-stick size, but they are also very effective.

Yes, they are standard range-stick size

[Bi-Winged Hussar]

Apologies again Todd.  For some reason everyone was shooting you down that night, even your teammates.

[CrashCraig]

9 hours ago, Flying Officer Kyte said:

That first game should allow you to add to your monica Craig. You can now be accorded the title of "Train Crash Craig"

I like your use of range sticks with national markings. It really helps the reader to see which aircraft is firing on which.

Rob..

I like it Rob !😀 

"Train" Crash Craig

[Hu Rhu]

Great pair of AARs Craig, especially the train scenario.  Your group put a lot of thought into the missions.