The Spanish Civil War, Contemptible Little Armies / Back to Barcelona, 20mm

Sometimes it’s nice when you don’t have to bring along any troops – someone else does it for you. Well, this game was staged by Bill Gilchrist and Colin Jack, using their collection of 20mm figures. The Republicans (Loyalists) had to hold a defensive line, as they were protecting the vital Talavera Bridge somewhere just off the table. The Nationalists (Rebels or Fascists) were attacking, using their elite Army of Africa troops as their spearhead.Frankly, victory was never in much doubt. Bill and his Nationalist co-commander seemed to prefer advancing in the open, and soon ran into a crossfire from loyalist machine guns. two of mine manned by the International Brigade were deployed on a crest, behind a small copse. They scythed through the advancing Moors, saw off another wave of Foreign Legionaries and their transport, and then the rest of the Moors went to ground.On the far side of the table the Republicans weren’t having things all their own way. This flank was held by Anarchist militiamen (mainly from the CNT), who held their ground in a small olive grove in the centre of the table, until driven back. A rather optimistic flank attack came to naught, and the hapless militiamen were duly ridden down by a unit of Moorish cavalry.However, just when things began to look a little shaky, Republican reinforcements arrived, in the form of a platoon of old tanks (Renault FT-17’s). While the Nationalists might have made some headway, they weren’t going to get anywhere near the road leading off the table towards the bridge. By the end of the evening the surviving fascists were in full retreat, and the bridge remained securely in the hands of the Spanish Republic. Oh, I forgot to say – aircraft appeared over the table, but apart from a little light strafing and a fruitless dogfight, neither the Republican Polikarpov or the Nationalist Messerschmidt achieved anything, apart from looking cool! I really like those little Polikarpov I-16’s…The rules – Back to Barcelona – are a variant of Chris Peers’ Contemptible Little Armies. Like any rules from this stable the combat was extremely bloody, the game mechanisms were unerringly simple, and the game itself moved along at a great pace.  I didn’t even have to call out my reserves; a French battalion of the International Brigade, who spent the game sitting behind a hill, waiting to launch a counter-attack which wasn’t needed. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable game, made all the better because the good guys won.

Tags: Contemptible Little Armies