Salute 2023 – World at War

Kicking off the World War I and II coverage is a pseudo-historical game in Mark Copplestone’s ‘Little Soldiers’ inter-war setting, staged by the Cornwall Wargames Association. If I understood/remembered correctly, the rules used were an adaptation of the Memoir ’44 boardgame.

Moving on to the ‘real’ war, 1/72 Wargames recreated a section of the Kaiserschlacht 1918 with the 36th Ulster division under German attack.

The Zagory Rebellion by Cornwall Wargames Association

The Zagory Rebellion by Cornwall Wargames Association

Kaiserschlacht 1918 by 1/72 Wargames

Hugo’s Heroes created scenarios during World War II inspired by classic Airfix model sets from the 1960s, and brought some of the original plastics along as well.

Getting my Airfix by Hugo’s Heroes

Getting my Airfix by Hugo’s Heroes

Getting my Airfix by Hugo’s Heroes

The Retired Wargamers Reloaded had constructed a massive and beautiful board for a 15mm scale battle around Carentan 1944 using Rapid Fire rules.

Eagles and Lions at Carentan by Retired Wargamers Reloaded

Eagles and Lions at Carentan by Retired Wargamers Reloaded

The Lard Zone had its debut at Salute this year, and WWII was well represented by games of Chain of Command.

Saint Côme du Mont 1944 by Joe Bilton

Saint Côme du Mont 1944 by Joe Bilton

Holding Oosterbeek 1944 by Nick Skinner and Rich Clark

Salute 2023 – Horse & Musket

After Ancients, the second period of wargaming that usually makes tabletops buckle under the sheer weight of lead is Horse & Musket.

A number of prime examples of this were on show again at Salute 2023, starting with the Battle of Domstadtl 1758 by Ardhammer Group. The unusual aspect of this game were the flat figures, giving the game a suitably old school feel.

Battle of Domstadtl 1758 by Ardhammer Group

Battle of Domstadtl 1758 by Ardhammer Group

Crawley Wargames Club put on Ferocious Fighting at Ferozaphur 1845, fielding the East India Company against the Sikh Khalsa Army in 15mm scale.

Ferocious Fighting at Ferozaphur 1845 by Crawley Wargames Club

Ferocious Fighting at Ferozaphur 1845 by Crawley Wargames Club

The Battle of Austerlitz 1805 was the theme for a 28mm game of Command and Colours by The Old Guard.

The Battle of Austerlitz 1805 by The Old Guard

The Battle of Austerlitz 1805 by The Old Guard

Warlord Games presented their Pike and Shotte Epic Battles figures and terrain for the Thirty Years’ War and English Civil War of the 17th century.

Pike and Shotte Epic Battles by Warlord Games

Pike and Shotte Epic Battles by Warlord Games

The Wyre Forest Gamers and Roll a One blog brought the fruits of a lockdown project for charity, during which 50 wargamers each painted a base of 6mm figures to make up two imaginary 17th century armies.

17th century fictional battle by Wyre Forest Gamers

17th century fictional battle by Wyre Forest Gamers

Hugo’s Heroes staged the Battle of Oravais 1808 in 6mm for a strategic view and in 28mm for the decisive clash of arms.

Battle of Oravais 1808 by Hugo’s Heroes

Battle of Oravais 1808 by Hugo’s Heroes

The Battle of Dirschau 1627 by The Friends of General Haig was fought over a battlefield with beautifully executed terrain features.

Battle of Dirschau 1627 by The Friends of General Haig

Battle of Dirschau 1627 by The Friends of General Haig

Stunning terrain recreating the frozen Thames and old London Bridge in the 1650s provided the backdrop for the London Wargaming Guild’s Cold Doings in London.

Cold Doings in London by London Wargaming Guild

Cold Doings in London by London Wargaming Guild

The Death Ride of Gustavus Adolphus 1632 by The Officer’s Mess honed in on a specific course of events during the Battle of Lützen.

The Death Ride of Gustavus Adolphus 1632 by The Officer’s Mess

Last but not least and somewhat pushing my definition of the era, Too Fat Lardies launched their latest offering What a Cowboy!, a game of gunfights in the Old West.

What a Cowboy! by Too Fat Lardies

Salute 2023 – Ancients & Renaissance

Salute 2023 marked the 50th time that the South London Warlords put on their wargames show this April. Public attendance was strong though it is clear that the event is now unfortunately only a UK show, with companies and clubs from continental Europe sadly missing.

Colourful spectacles from ancient times were put on by To The Strongest!, the Society of Ancients (sorry I couldn’t find info about the actual battle being staged) and Miniatures Wargames Magazine. Strength & Honour is a new system for 2mm scale battles, presented at the show by its author with the Battle of Cannae.

Ipsus 301 BC by To the Strongest!

Ipsus 301 BC by To the Strongest!

Carthage vs Rome by Society of Ancients

Carthage vs Rome by Society of Ancients

Battle of Leuctra 371 BC by Jon & Diane Sutherland with Miniatures Wargames Magazine

Battle of Leuctra 371 BC by Jon & Diane Sutherland with Miniatures Wargames Magazine

Strength & Honour with the Battle of Cannae 216 BC by Mark Backhouse

Skipping over the Dark and Middle Ages this year, Masterstroke Games showcased their new ruleset Force of Virtue while Wargames Illustrated put on a game of Never Mind the Billhooks during the Italian Wars.

Italy 1495 by Masterstroke Games

Italy 1495 by Masterstroke Games

Never Mind the Billhooks by Wargames Illustrated

Never Mind the Billhooks by Wargames Illustrated

Never Mind the Billhooks by Wargames Illustrated

Never Mind the Billhooks by Wargames Illustrated

Salute 2020/21

Salute was a bitter sweet event this year. My main motivation for attending has always been to be impressed and inspired by the gaming and display tables, with shopping opportunities as a bonus. This year I had a shopping list, consisting largely of new rules systems (Oathmark, Stargrave, Gaslands Refuelled), a box of Fireforge peasant zombies for my necromancer to summon into his Warhammer 8th edition army, plus the obligatory new KR case to carry the latest forces I managed to paint.

All that purchasing luckily distracted from the lack of photo opportunities. For some years now the number of jaw dropping displays has been steadily declining, and this year they fell off a cliff. My respect goes out to anyone who manages to build and bring a table full of terrain and opposing forces to a wargaming show, especially as a club effort without any related rules or miniatures to sell. Still, the amount of empty floor space due to missing traders, and worse, tables that had been set up but remained vacant on the day, didn’t inspire my photo journalistic fervour of previous years. Therefore I only took some snapshots of two displays in attendance.

The first was created by the Loughton Strike Force, who are consistently bringing amazing looking games to Salute. Their ‘Stalingrad – Fire on the Volga’ was played using the new ‘O’ Group set of battalion level WWII rules. You can see many more photos of it on their website.

The second display that stood out to me featured World of Twilight. The creators have been attending Salute for many years, and I always enjoy looking at their unique miniatures and terrain. I believe this year was the first time they brought a ‘full size’ table, with lots of buildings and little vignettes.

I guess next year, with the show scheduled to be back in its regular April slot, will tell what the new normal for Salute is going to be.

Doubling Up

The second mob of 35 Night Goblin spearmen is complete and joining the fray. As before, I have added netters and a Fanatic to the ranks for maximum mayhem.

A thicket of spears greets any attackers

I have more Fanatics to paint up that are not included in my starter army list. In battle, each mob will be lead by a Big Boss, turning it into a respectable fighting formation. A standard, full rank bonus, five extra spear attacks, a 5 in 6 chance of the attackers losing a point of strength – as long as they don’t have to take a leadership test, these guys are doing alright.

You don’t want to play catch with this ball

The battle line is drawn