Greek army museums

I haven't had a lot of luck on this trip when it comes to museums run by the Greek army.

Firstly, the Lachanas museum was closed when it should have been open, according to the published opening time. Then up to Fort Rupel, but when I arrived at around 1:30 I was told it would reopen at 8pm. Yesterday I turned up at The Balkan Wars museum to be told it was closed because of a presentation ceremony. In contrast, sites and museums operated by the culture ministry have all been open and at sensible times. Frankly, if the army can't staff it's museums, it should hand them over to a department that can.

The one exception was the excellent War Museum in Thessaloniki. It could be better signposted, but once found it is a gem, and it was open! 

The exhibits are well organised in chronological order, with many panels in English. I found the uniform displays particularly useful, colours are always a challenge for the wargamer. There is a huge array of weaponry, some display cases are crammed full. Finally, a few interesting weapons on display outside the building. 

I think this was badged as a Marmon 2, which confused me. Not an expert, but looking at pictures I think it's actually the later Mk4. Anyway, I don't think I have seen one before.

Nice model of a Metaxas Line fort.

Well worth the effort to find it.

Lake Doiran 1916-18

I had the pleasure of visiting another battlefield I have read and written about - Lake Doiran on the Greek-Macedonian border.

In August 1916 the allied advance out of Salonika reached Doiran, a strong defensive position with hills rising from the lake. Three French and one British division attempted unsuccessfully to displace the Bulgarian 2nd Thracian division with heavy casualties.

Both sides dug in and conventional WW1 trench warfare ensued. In April 1917 the British amassed 43,000 men, 160 guns, 110 mortars and 440 machine-guns for an assault on Doiran, now defended by 9th Pleven Division. Successive assaults failed to make significant progress.

The Bulgarian positions

The third battle of Doiran in September 1918 followed a similar pattern, this time the British forces were reinforced by Greek divisions. However, despite a massive artillery bombardment and initial success, very little progress was made. It was the Serbian and French success in the Vardar Valley that forced the Bulgarian army to withdraw from Doiran.

Lake Doiran today is a beautiful sight, with little to remind the visitor of the dreadful events a century ago. The Doiran memorial stands on Colonial Hill in the centre of the British line and lists the casualties that include regiments from every part of the U.K. There is a cemetery further down the hill for the British dead and a sadly unkempt one for the Greeks. The Bulgarian positions are just over the border in Macedonia (FYROM), but their strength is obvious from the memorial.

The Memorial.

British cemetary

Greek cemetary.

Struma Valley

Over the years I have written about and played a number of wargames based on the Struma Valley campaign in Macedonia during WW1. Between 1916 and 1918 two British divisions and some Greek forces fought mostly Bulgarian and Turkish units on this front. 

It's attraction for WW1 gamers is that you can fight very open battles, far away from the trench warfare of the western front, or even a few miles up the road at Doiran. The Struma Valley was infested with malarial mosquitos that caused more casualties than the fighting. So the armies based themselves on the hills either side of the river and the war was one of patrols and skirmishing, with the occasional brigade size action. As I discovered, the mosquitos haven't gone away!

Yesterday, I visited the battlefield. I imagined the valley to be narrower than it actually is. The terrain is wide and flat, although even today very boggy. I visited the villages that were the target for one such action described Wakefield and Moody (Under the Devil’s Eye), then called Yenikoi, Karajakoi Zir and Bala. Between 30 September and 4 Oct 1916, 81 Brigade (27th Division) captured the villages after fierce fighting and fought off Bulgarian counterattacks.

The villages today are larger with mostly modern dwellings, so it is difficult to picture the action. Although this photo gives a flavour of the terrain. The hills in the background were the British positions.

You can also visit the Lachanas and Struma cemeteries where the British dead are buried. A bit off the beaten track, but beautifully maintained by CWGC. The Struma cemetary in particular is an oasis of tranquility. 

Sadly, not all the dead could be identified, but they are not forgotten.

Battle of Kilkis-Lachanas June 1913

Yesterday I visited the site of the Battle of Kilkis-Lachanas, fought between Greek and Bulgarian armies over three days in June 1913. 

This was the 2nd Balkan War, in which former allies, after defeating the Turks, fell out over the spoils. The Bulgarian 2nd Army commanded by General Nicolai Ivanov, had advanced into Macedonia in May and held the line between Kilkis and Lahanas with around 70,000 men. He faced a much stronger Greek army, commanded by King Constantine, totalling around 117,000 men.

Despite being outnumbered, Ivanov was relying on his more experienced troops and advanced towards Thessaloniki on 15 June. The offensive came to a halt by 18 June and the Greeks counterattacked. The Greek 10th division advanced toward the heights of Kallinovo north of lake Artzan, the 3rd, 5th, 4th and 2nd divisions attacked Kilkis, the 6th and 1st attacked Lachanas and the 7th the Karakoli saddle and Nigrita.

I visited the site of Lachanas battle that is marked by a fine memorial and a small museum, sadly closed despite published opening hours!

The Bulgarians prepared the area of Lachanas with defensive works, the low lying hills provide excellent fields of fire. The Greek 6th division attacked on 19 June and captured the line Dichalo-Klepe, losing 500 casualties, while the 1st division captured Vertiskos. On 20 June the two Greek divisions linked up near Lachanas. However, the Bulgarians spotted a detachment moving away to support the Kilkis battle and successfully counterattacked it. 

When Kilkis fell, the troop shift was cancelled allowing the two Greek divisions to successfully attack the Bulgarian position capturing 16 guns and 500 prisoners. The Greeks suffered 2,701 killed and wounded at Lachanas. 

The defeat of the 2nd Army was the most serious military disaster suffered by the Bulgarians in the 2nd Balkan war. The Bulgarian army suffered 6,971 casualties and the Greeks suffered 8,828 casualties. However, they succeeded in withdrawing through the Struma Pass before the outflanking Greek units reached them.

 

Platamon Castle

This year's Balkan tour is to Macedonia, mostly the Greek part. We are based in a good hotel right under Mount Olympus, home of the gods - I can feel Zeus and the twelve, looking down on us!

Day one includes some more earthly pleasures, with a very fine medieval castle just down the road at Platamon. It commands a strategic position between Macedonia and Thessaly. There was a Roman fort here, probably destroyed by the Galatians. Then Byzantine and Franks before it was held by the Ottomans. It had a mosque and a minaret in those days. 

It is in very good condition considering the New Zealand Division fortified it in 1941 as part of the fighting withdrawal from the Aliakmon Line either side of Mount Olympus. The Germans bombed the castle and the New Zealander's withdrew to the Pinios Gorge, the Vale of Tempe of antiquity. I followed their route through the gorge, which is an excellent defensive position. 

They had to abandon the position after fierce fighting against two German divisions and retreat down onto the Thessaly plains, when the Germans broke through on the other side of the mountain and threatened to cut them off at Larisa. So it was back to the next defensive line at Lamia and then Thermopylae.

Sharp Practice 2

My first purchase at Carronade was Sharp Practice 2 and today was the first opportunity to give it a go. I played the first edition, but wasn't entirely happy with it. In particular, I found it a little too random, with units hanging around for several turns without moving.

The new edition is without doubt an improvement. The use of command cards in addition to the leader cards balances out the random element and means you can at least move key units when the Tiffin card ends a turn. 

Each force is made up of a number of 8 figure groups for regulars and 6 figure groups for skirmishers. You start with a deployment move and then each leader can make one or more group activations, depending on their status. An activation allows two activities i.e. Move and shoot or shoot and reload. Movement distance is by dice, which I find a bit too random, but it's OK. 

The combat mechanisms are very straightforward and groups lose figures for kills and shock points. As units accumulate shock points they find it more difficult to move and firing becomes less effective. Not dissimilar to Bolt Action. 

Each force starts with a morale value and loses points for each incident e.g a group withdraws or breaks or a leader is wounded or killed. When you get down to zero the game is over.

The rule book is well laid out with some nice eye candy, without going OTT. You can purchase the cards separately or use chits in Bolt Action style. There is no QRF in the book, so I hope that is coming as a download.

The thing I most like about the new version is that it is no longer limited to the Napoleonics wars. It covers the whole black powder period 1700 to 1865. My trial game pushed that boundary a bit, using my Russo-Turkish War figures. It's 1877, but there are rules for breach loading rifles. I didn't use artillery and it looks like a house rule may be needed for the Krupp guns.

Here is the set up after deployment. There were 4 groups of foot and one of cavalry with three leaders per side. 

The Turks boldly advanced and shot up the Bulgarian group. Then, because three command cards were drawn in a row, the last active unit rolls for a random event. It this case a group of Turks decided their volley was so good they would charge in. They pushed the Bulgars off the hill but then got counter attacked and scattered by the Cossacks.

At this stage the cat intervened in his UN peacekeeping role! This was also the first outing for my new Deep Cut battle mat, which clearly met with his approval.

After the fisticuffs, the Russians got the better of the firefight until the Turkish morale collapsed.

Really good set of rules with lots of additional features like characters that I haven't used yet. They certainly live up to the positive reviews.

Venice - City of Fortune

Anyone who has visited Venice, with its fine buildings and waterways, probably thinks of the Renaissance. While Venice was of course a power during that period, its naval empire was won and lost in the medieval period.

It is those first five hundred years that are narrated in Roger Crowley’s book ‘City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire’. From the founding of the city in the lagoon around 1000, to 1500, by which time the Ottoman conquest had clipped Venice’s power, and the discovery by the Portuguese of an alternative route for the spice trade, damaged its commercial success.

My interest in Venice was sparked not only by a couple of visits to the city, but by the role it played in the history of the Balkans. In many cities and towns along the coast of the Balkan peninsular, you can see the typical Italian architecture and the lion of St Mark engraved into the walls and fortresses.

I have John Julius Norwich’s classic two-volume history, which is very readable. Crowley writes in a similar style, covering the Venetian focus on commerce and the steps they took to protect their trade routes.

Their role in the diversion of the 1204 crusade to Constantinople is well covered, but I was less aware of the siege that nearly finished the city in 1379/80, when the Genoese and their Paduan allies nearly captured Venice. The city recovered and it was only the Ottoman conquest that snuffed out their naval bases.

So, if you want a readable, single volume, narrative history of Venice in the medieval period – this is the book for you.

Mexican Revolution - support weapons

Back to some painting this week and the Mexican Revolution project.

First up, some machine guns for the Federales. Machine guns played an important part in the revolution. The Federales and later Constitutionalist forces made great use of them in their defensive battles. These were mostly medium machine guns as light machine guns were rare. The main types were French Hotchkiss M1896 and Colt 'potato-digger' M1895 weapons. The models below come from the Old Glory range.

The Villistas were stronger in artillery, even though they obtained most of them by capturing government weapons. The French manufactured 75mm gun was the most common as well as a number of smaller mountain and 37mm guns. The model below comes from the Outpost range.

Cavalry next.

Carronade 2016

Today was another excellent Carronade show put on by the Falkirk Wargames Club at a very good venue, Graeme High School in Falkirk.

There was good support from the trade with a wide range of Scottish and UK suppliers. I understand footfall was up on last year, so I hope they did well. I certainly picked up a few bits and pieces including the new Sharpe Practice 2 rules. The presence of Last Valley always means some additions to the scenery vaults.

Running a display game means you don't get as much time to look at the other games as I would like, but there were some very good ones this year.

GDWS did Salonika 1916 - Out of the Birdcage. This covered a typical engagement of the allied 1916 offensive designed to force the Germans to switch troops from Verdun. In the end it was successful in achieving that objective. The game used 28mm figures and Bolt Action rules. The array of different units on either side caused some bemused looks from the audience. Only in Greece would you get British, Russian, Greek and Italian troops, fighting Austrian, German and Bulgarian units. The Entente powers won the day capturing the objective - a ruined Greek temple on a hill in the centre of the table. The redoubtable Highlanders fought off all comers.

Here are few other games that I liked.

I like obscure games and Brazilians in WW2 qualifies!

The Durham club like their 54mm figures, this time ancients. Real big boys toys!

This was a colourful rendition of the Battle of Assaye, Wellington in India.

Bolt Action isn't losing any popularity with at least three games. This one presented by the Dunfermline club.

Kirriemuir did a big game of Gaugamela.

The Battle of Towton in the Wars of the Roses

Strong visual depiction of DDay by Glasgow Warthogs

I'm not a big fan of naval games but this pre-dreadnought game was very good. I think the models come from the Old Glory range.

Snow has been a popular theme in show games I have liked this year. This is the retreat from Moscow.

Ian and the Claymore castings team did a very fine ECW game.

I have no idea what this is from the painting competition. But it certainly catches the eye.

And some more conventional offers from the painting competition.

You don't see a lot of Spearhead played these days. Kharkov I think.

Good show and thanks to Falkirk for organising it. And thanks to the catering staff - the white chocolate millionaire shortbread was amazing!