Bolt Action St. Nazaire Wargame
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มี.ค. 2020
- In this episode, Little Wars TV joins the British commandos for a daring raid against the German-controlled dry-dock at St. Nazaire on March 28, 1942. THANK YOU to "World of Warships" for sponsoring this episode--use our link go.thoughtleaders.io/170752020... to get a bunch of bonus game goodies!
St. Nazaire has been called "the greatest raid of all," but today we'll call that claim into question. After debating the history of the St. Nazaire raid, our club sets up the port in 28mm scale with tons of 3D printed terrain, using the rules Bolt Action by Warlord Games.
Can the commandos set demolitions charges on the key port facilities, or will the German garrison react quickly enough to stop this raid in its tracks? Let's find out!
A special thanks to Sean Clark for his narration. We are fans of his podcast, “God’s Own Scale,” and encourage you to add it to your regular diet of wargaming podcasts!
Next week we'll be back with a review of Bolt Action to dissect the strengths and weaknesses of this very popular set of rules. As promised in this episode, you'll also join us for a day at the range to compare the 1928A Thompson and the British Sten gun.
If you want to print a lot of the same scenery we used in this episode, check out www.3dprintterrain.de for the STL files!
And if you want to see more of the best historical wargaming videos on TH-cam, please SUBSCRIBE and share our videos with your history-minded friends. - เกม
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The raid of St Nazaire, to me, should be regarded as the greatest raid of all. The bravery, the determination, every objective achieved, the cliche war one liners that actually happened, what a story!
You forgot Operation Biting (a.k.a. The Bruneval Raid 1941) in which British airborne troops captured and dismantled a German Wurzburg radar unit and successfully escaped by sea. That also would make for an interesting wargame scenario.
Great idea! That has the makings of a brilliant scenario.
@@LittleWarsTV interesting trivia the senior British commander during operation biting was John Frost who would latter rise to the rank of brigadier general and commander the 1st battalion of paratroopers at Arnhem bridge during market garden
...and the bridge over the Rhine was renamed the John Frost bridge in 1978. Played superbly by Anthony Hopkins.
Warlord has a free version of this operation for Bolt Action.
www.warlordgames.com/scenario-operation-biting-the-bruneval-raid/
and the Raid on Alexandria (1941) by italian divers sinking 2 royal navy battleships, a tanker, and a destroyer, and killing 8 british crewman
5:15 I would argue that hindsight shouldn't be applied to whether the raid should have happened. Either way the docks were knocked out and removed important options for the German Navy.
Definitely
"Fun" fact, my grandfather's cousin was in one of the demolition parties that disembarked from HMS Campbeltown, and is buried in the Escoublac la Baule cemetary.
I take my unworthy hat off to him, D. Every man on the raid was a great man.
On the subject of "greatest raids of WW2" I'd like to offer up the less well known Operation Jaywick where 14 British and Australian soldiers and sailors of a special forces unit later known as Z Force, sank or severely damaged six (maybe seven) Japanese ships in Singapore Harbour. All the attackers escaped, so tactically it was a complete success. However, it's strategic value was minimal and it also led to brutal reprisals against the locals by the Japanese.
Was just about to mention this operation also later a X craft attack against Singapore in which a Victoria Cross was awarded to the Irish diver.
i'll always remember Massie's description of Tirpitz, an old man, with a white, forked, beard, resembling Poseidon, who would say when given the opportunity, "Germany must have battleships!" and so when Wilhelm II, having dismissed Bismarck, called his admirals before him and said, "I have not heard a single creative idea here today," Tirpitz stood up, slammed his fist on the table, and said "Germany must have battleships!" and that's how the fight started.
If you guys want raids that involve British troops, try the Battle of Fishguard in 1797 - the Revolutionary French landed 1.400 men in Wales, and were met by local British militia plus 150 sailors. Should be an interesting scenario, and will allow you to pull your Napoleonic minis out again :)
Love that you got a British guy to narrate. Always makes me feel as if I am listening to a nature documentary
An East Midlands accent at a guess , Nott's/Derby ish....
Love hearing the "Where Eagles Dare" score.
Thanks. I was trying to remember what that score was.
This channel is great.
Only problem is, I've greedily consumed all of your content and am left hungry for more.
Good job guys from a cousin across the pond!
Agree. This plus my expenditure on rules & figures seem to expand after every episode (runs off to order Bolt Action rules).
By the way, as great as this raid was... the disaster of Dieppe 1942 might be even more interesting. Especially if the (hypothetical?) Enigma raid were included. All in my humble (and non-participatory) opinion, of course.
I love to see Little Wars getting an sponsor! With some luck, Diageo will sponsor you soon!
PD: For those not familiar, Diageo is a distiller that owns a ton of different whisky brands.
Here’s hoping for an endless supply of sponsored Scotch!!
Raid: Shadow Legends
that HMS campbelltown looks like a Fairmile B motor launch of which there were 16 at St. Nazaire
A good video with genuine excitement at the end. Perhaps the argument about it being the "greatest raid" and it's immediate effect misses the point that such raids would cause the Germans to commit many troops to defending the Atlantic coast rather than being deployed in active battle areas. At a fairly low point in the war it would be a boost to British morale that the fight was being taken to the enemy. Finally, I think the Commandos were an army unit whereas SOE dealt with agents and saboteurs in occupied territory.
Good points, Roy. The SOE bit made me go ??? too.
Your photo of HMS Campbelltown is wrong, it was a Town class destroyer, which was a variant of the US Wickes class destroyer.
Thanks!
@Jefferson Tong2 funnels were removed entirely, and the others cut at an angle so as to better resemble a contemporary German destroyer. It was necessary to lighten the ship fairly significantly, to ensure it didn't ground on sandbanks, as it had to stay out of the dredged channel to get the speed and angle of impact on the gate right.
I was about to mention the Bruneval raid but it seems someone already point it out. It was successful, with minimal casualties despite the horrible predictions and allowed the british to see the german advancements in their radar technology and effectively counter them. Great video as always, only discovered your channel a few days ago and I totally love the structure of the vidoes, with historical background first and then the interesting wargame (often with funny things and references, love that).
This is probably one of the most interesting Bolt Action reports I've seen. Great scenario, pacing, and camera work. More please!
Haha love this one! Great battle report, nice table! Enjoyed seeing you guys have fun and love the funny intro but also the historical background you've provided us with!
Glad you enjoyed!
Gorgeous table, and sounds like it was tremendous fun! Great work on the scenario too, coming down to the last turn!
Sean as Guest Narrator Superb! Great job chaps, excellent table.
I think St Nazaire was "The Greatest Raid of All" in scale, the commitment of a reinforced battalion, destroyer, and 18 craft, and not in terms of its success.
I disagree with the comment that it failed in the sense that it did not get the men home. They knew it was essentially a suicide mission. You don't go into a mission which is ramming a ship into a dry dock and then assaulting the port without thinking you might get back. Very very brave men. But enough of that! Great set-up and video. Really enjoyed the report.
3:33 Wrong HMS Campbelltown.
i thought the same thing when i saw it
Great to see Sean narrating! I love God's Own Scale.:)
We are big fans of his podcast! He very graciously agreed to narrate for us on this one.
I love to see you guys playing some Bolt Action! I am an avid Bolt Action collector, and World of Warships is also one of my favourite games too ;) Great job as always guys!
21:00 Nice! 20mm cannon from 'Saving Private Ryan'
Good ear!
A fantastic game with gorgeous minis/board and phenomenal narration!
Great game on a beautiful table. Thank you gentlemen.
They should do an alamo wargame
I feel like the Raid at Cabanatuan is a contender for "greatest raid". Might also make a good wargame.
Meh, its a pretty subjective term. St. Nazaire is usually given the title due to its military impact.
@@edwardaugustus9680 I know it's subjective. That is why I said contender.
Being from belgium and a great fan of the paratrooper attack on Eben-Emael i'm glad to see you guys talk about it.
I wouldn't be against a video about that particular battle which is fascinating for a lot of reasons or on the invasion of belgium to be honest :)
Super freaking awesome vid!! 😎
Makes me want to break out my Dad's old paperback "The Greatest Raid Of All" by C. E. Lucas Phillips that I read as a kid eons ago!
This was so well done, superb to all involved. Oh, Dieppe was a successful 'raid' ! It served several priorities at once.
A very good episode! Some lovely terrain pieces there and a good commentary of the gameplay
Ooh, they are playing my favorite system
3:35 oh god that laugh!
I only knew this raid by name and had no idea what would be going on in this episode but that laugh made me really worry for the commandos.
I’m still in the history section right now but this episode is already one of my favorites of yours.
So entertaining ! Keep it up guys!
Super game folks. Everytime I think you've made your best scenario you raise the bar again. Terrain is superb & great painting on the figures. 👍👍👏👏
Was there a competition to spot the random photographs of unrelated warships? Seriously, another great video and game. Obviously a lot of work put in producing a most attractive layout and a lot of great figures (including the video). Well done, guys! Much appreciated.
Excellent and thoroughly entertaining video guys. The gaming board looked fantastic and the narration really helped keep up the pace. I'm looking forward to seeing the review of the rules.
Thanks again 👍
I always enjoy your videos, but particularly liked this one as Bolt Action is one of my favourite games - and I particularly like to see games involving British forces as I am British both in reality and on the gaming table :-)
If I had to go with a very successful British Raid, I’d say: Raid on Sidi Haneish Airfield. Conducted by members of the British SAS and French Commando, the raid managed to destroy 40 German planes (the Commandos only reporting 25 as it was customary to understate the true numbers). And the cost of this raid? 2 men Kia (1 during the raid and 1 after during the escape) and 3 jeeps.
Loved the guy who did the narration! Wouldn't mind him doing it again. Great game also. Also would love to see some what if scenarios. Like if the Germans attacked at kursk right away instead of waiting like they did. Keep up the great work!
His name is Sean Clark and he has a wargaming podcast you might enjoy, as well!
Great video!!! Love the models and terrian. The naration was on point.
I don't think anyone in the Royal Navy thought HMS Hood was their most powerful warship. It was becoming out of date by the start of WW2 and was technically just a battlecruiser, not even a battleship.
JohnyG29 yeah I think they just misunderstood the term flagship
The Hood was far from the class of the Royal Navy by this point, but her loss was considered a great shock nonetheless.
@@LittleWarsTV She was the Pride of the Fleet, and far ahead of her time for 1918, but aging in 1941 none-the-less. She was still far from out of date like these guys were suggesting though, the much older and obsolete US Standard Type Battleships that only made 21 knots were in service still!
Hood was an aging vessek at that point but it was very important symbolically. It however had the misfortune of going up against a modern ship with much more sophisticated tech at the time.
Umm. Battle cruiser is not a ship type like battleship or destroyer it is a class like the Alaska or fletcher class
There were 2 other than hood in the battle cruiser class of battleships
Awesome wargame! The board looked amazing!
fabulous game, fabulous Scenery, and good chaps playing. really enjoyable. This has decided me to get some Bolt action rules
Great looking board, and excellent battle report.
I’m gonna disagree with the guy complaining about the sponsor ad. It’s easy enough to skip through, and it’s not that long to sit through. Do what you guys have to so you can keep making these awesome videos!
Awesome table and seemed to be total fun. Great game!
Great looking set up! I play the Konflikt 47 variant. They have some additional rules that IMO make it a more enjoyable game.
Nice terrain. Good scenario and Bolt Action is a good, fun game! Thanks for sharing.
I consider myself a superfan of LWTV and I must say - it was worth the wait. Thank you! One suggestion for future shows... could you put together a video on game management at some point in the future? You are masters at it (from clipboards and fog of war at Antietam to briefings and after action reports) and I would love some tips on a well run game. I am not a novice to wargaming per se (with a love of Avalon Hill), but I am to the tabletop variety. Anyway, thanks again for all that you do.
An informative and beautiful video, and a gorgeous table, congrats from France!
Thanks, Phil!
Love this type of thing, would love to get into this but am currently travelling the world teaching English lol! Play Axis and Allies and memoir 44 a lot but I love this more historical stuff. Maybe when am older I can build my dream pub shed for this in mind haha
The last time I was this early, France was a military powerhouse.
Glad to know you are always early!
Hah! Just the kind of vicious historical dig we find funny around here!
Chaps, chaps, chaps,,,,, superb terrain--elite figures - horrible red plastic things thrown all over it. ! Markers can be scenic items, jerry cans or pallets etc. even just paint them earth/green . Great vid.
Thanks for the game. Always a good time.👍🏼
Great looking table, thanks for the recap.
phenomenal table and report!
I play Bolt Action at my local club. We use a different coloured die for each player (if more than two players) and restrict the total number of dice to 12 per side even if there are more units one each side than that to keep the game moving.
Also 'A Bridge too Far' is a Para quote not a Commando one!
we do that too for large scenarios
Using Hex Wars iPad as an AI for my Civil War 15mm miniatures. Fought day 1 of Gettysburg solo converting hexes to inches. Very satisfying with no rolling of dice. The north lost 3 objective points but held Cemetery Hill at the end of the day. Played at brigade level on a 36 by 36 table.
Great battle. Bolt Action is always fun to watch or play!
really like your format of history and game play
The fight for the officer’s quarters was so epic!
Fabulous looking game - I do love a bit of Bolt Action!
That was a great looking table and a good scenario. Thanks.
Absolutely fantastic stuff!
Once again a great job, Looking for more
Another awesome game play video! Love the opening and the commentary guys...great job...add to the flavor of the game. Not a fan of BA, is this scenario available? Would like to re-create it for BIG Chain of Command. Thanks to Steve, I have a U-boat, and it needs some table-top time. Thank you.
Having a grandad serve in the paratroopers during the war, (he fought in Norway and later on in Burma), I would love to recreate his war.
Excellent looking gaming scenery as always.
From what I've studied of the Raid, it seemed like it was more complicated than it needed to be. The core of the plan was the ship filled with explosives ramming into the dry dock. The addition of the Commandoes didn't seem as necessary. Yes, they successfully set explosives to do extra damage to the port facilities, but if the dry dock was was rammed and destroyed, doing additional damage to the surrounding area wasn't vital.
I remember reading somewhere the suggestion that the Commandoes were added as something of a public relations effort. The newly formed Commandoes were looking for a way to get into battle and make a name for themselves. The war wasn't going particularly well for the British, and the idea of tough looking Commandoes coming back from a successful raid would be good in the newspapers and help improve British morale at home.
The addition of all the smaller craft to carry the Commandoes would seem to increase the chances of the raid forces being detected earlier. Not a good idea, considering that the mission heavily depended on surprise. Once the British had stirred up a hornets nest of German defenders, there was little chance the Commando forces would be able to be picked back up and evacuated.
Great game guys. Brilliant table.
I did clock tho that your playing second edition but quick reference sheet you showed (and possibly used) was 1st edition. Meaning that LMGs and MMGs had 1 less shot. Meaning the germans missed out on 1 extra shots. If so them MMGs could have possibly held on that bit longer.
But still a brilliant game gents!!
“Didn’t know” describes most military failures. Finding out is often expensive. The Brits did not know Tirpitz would dash the Chanel for Norway. Still, they could not afford the risk of leaving the Atlantic open. It was a necessary raid. Well-played all!
Looked like a lot of fun!
Another great episode! Down to the wire!
Interesting fact - British Admiralty initially proposed to Polish Navy use of its ORP Burza destroyer as the "ramming unit", as it was already pretty worn out and equipped with mainly french armament and equipment, which caused supply and maintenance issues. This was pretty quickly rejected by Polish Navy, mainly co`s it was finally our - not borrowed - ship :)
"You want to do what with our ship?"
Several others already noted the discrepancy with the tagged photo of the HMS Campbeltown. I would also point out though that the vessel in that image is in fact the same type of Fairmile motor launch (identified as ML) that accompanied the Campbeltown. So the photograph is still relevant to the topic.
You fellas seem like you have a lot of fun! I hope to build up a similarly dedicated wargame group.
This looks like so much fun.
Just got to watch this again and thought a comparison Vlog using the Lardies Chain of Command would be interesting 🧐
Great video kept me interested
The Bruneval raid was probably the most important and sucessful !
3:33 interesting looking HMS Campbeltown, I’m sure it was a lend lease Wickes class destroyer and not a torpedo boat
11:24 under half range doesn't give you the point blank +1, that only applies within 6" range.
I hope that error doesn't colour their view of the rules in the review as, naturally, it would make things much bloodier.
Where Eagles Dare music on a Little Wars game? Appropriate but now im looking for "Broadsword" and "Danny Boy"
Been waiting to see this one since the trailer was posted - great job. btw, the WSS magazine podcast opens with "Broadsword calling Danny Boy".
@@Vlad65WFPReviews Solid "spy" movie. I remember watching it as a kid and just appreciating the fireplace scene so much.
My Viking ancestors has something about sizes of raids, they would like to discuss with those claiming St. Nazaire was the largest.
My vote for one of the greatest raids in WW2 would be the coup de main glider operation by the Ox and Bucks to capture the two bridges on the eve of D-Day. Perfectly executed, minimal casualties, and held the bridges until they were relieved.
We did actually talk about some of the D-Day related operations when putting this episode together, but the consensus was that they were part of a full scale invasion and perhaps a bit more than a "raid." But certainly some of the glider and paratrooper operations June 5th were wildly successful.
The Brits didn’t know the Tirpitz was going to Norway. And even if they did, it’s about reducing your adversaries options - which this did.
Also - Taranto was brilliant but the Japanese had already worked out how to attack Pearl. Taranto just emphasised their ideas were right .
Which shoots down my ‘The Fairey Swordfish won the war’ theory…
Great video. I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions on WWIIhammer next week.
Hah yes indeed, we have some thoughts on that subject...
another interesting one would be the WW1 zeebrugge raid
The Zeebrugge raid in the first war was alot more dramatic but achieved very little.
Anybody else love this raid from Medal of Honor European Assault?
Man, I want to like Bolt Action more than I can.
The terrain is great in this episode! Any chance of a quick tutorial on how you created the excellent bit of rugged coast? Cheers
It’s a sheet of polystyrene insulation board carved up in a jagged manner. But yes, we will have a tutorial of sorts showing lots of behind the scenes production elements of this episode sometime after the season wraps up!
Thanks so much. love learning about battles like this.
No Italian heavy cruiser was sunk at Taranto. 2 of the Italian battleships were returned to service very quickly. The one that wasn't returned to service, Conte di Cavour, was refloated and sent to dry dock for updating which it needed anyway.
Raids...the Italian raid on Alexandria. 2 battleships out of action.
7:05 you guys totally left out the part of the raid when the dragon shows up
Also, why the stock footage of either Graf Spee or Admiral Sheer when talking about Bismark?
The british assault on pegasus bridge has to be up there