23rd Free French Flotilla for Torpedoes and Tides

A few years ago I was having a crack at Cruel Seas, with a focus on the 23rd MTB flotilla in and around the Channel Islands c1943-44. However, having played a few games of Cruel Seas I decided it wasn't for me, partly due to the scale (too big) but mainly down to the rules themselves (too silly in a 'gamey' way). I shelved the models I had started on and decided to drop the project, apart from completing my S-boote flotilla, at least until a decent alternative set of rules turned up.

Cruel Seas Flotilla

Now it's looking like a viable project again, this time in 1/600th scale using Torpedoes and Tides. The 23rd Flotilla was equipped eight Vosper 72'6" boats, which unfortunately are no longer available from Heroics and Ros, but I do have six already painted and ready to use, give or take a tart up, re-base and re-label. This means I can set up some historical scenarios and also, potentially, a solo campaign using the system in the rules and based on actions around the Channel Islands.

Skytrex 1/600th Vosper 72'6" MTB's

I'll need to sort out some Kriegsmarine coastal forces, as my stuff is mainly early war, but I have quite a lot already assembled and ready for painting which will speed things up a lot. The opposition was primarily the 5th S-Boote flotilla based in Cherbourg and small, heavily escorted convoys, with the focus on night actions in and around the treacherous waters of the Minquiers. I already have a good source of historical information for these ops, so can pull something together fairly easily.

https://www.polejeanmoulin.com/resources/-THE-FREE-FRENCH-IN-KINGSWEAR.pdf

Good stuff!

East Coast Convoy Extras

V & W class and Flower class

Colliers and Tramp Steamers

The Convoy

A busy afternoon gluing together and adding wire masts to four additional 1/600th scale merchant vessels in order to expand my coastal convoy to realistic proportions. Two of the new models have resin hulls rather than metal, making construction quicker but the wire masts and booms were still a pain in the arse to glue together, replacing the flimsy metal castings for durability. 

I also assembled a V and W class escort destroyer in WAIR configuration and tarted up a second hand model of a Flower Class corvette, which I acquired ready built from eBay but which needed some remedial work to correct some errors and replace a few broken parts. I've run out of grey primer so both of the escorts have a white primer coat, which I actually quite like the look of.

Torpedoes and Tides East Coast Convoy

East Coast convoy shipping already assembled 

A few years ago I assembled a selection of 1/600th scale Skytrex, now Heroics and Ros, merchant shipping for East Coast convoy duties c1939 - 1943. This was an eclectic mix of tramp steamers, colliers, coasters and barges, with a big tanker to round it off. It isn't really enough for a proper convoy game so I'm going to build four or five more models, mainly duplicates but with some individual variations in layout and deck features, so that I have a proper convoy of shipping. The plan will be to use these with Torpedoes and Tides as British merchants for the East Coast and English Channel routes, with some German shipping to follow on later. In the summer I'm also hoping to run a solo campaign set in the early war and featuring a fictional MGB or E Boat flotilla.

Pointy Sticks and Shifty Shields

In the One Hour Wargames medieval rules, archers get a +2 bonus for shooting but a -2 penalty in combat, reflecting their firepower but also their vulnerability. In order to factor in the use of defensive stakes and pavises in the Hundred Years War, I've decided to add a couple of rule tweaks.

Longbows

Longbow units may deploy defensive stakes but must be stationary and not shoot for one turn to do so. This will cancel out the -2 penalty in combat but only against mounted opponents. After they are deployed, the unit may not 'up sticks' and carry them off to redeploy somewhere else 

Crossbows

Crossbow units may deploy pavises but will also have to be stationary to do so and may not shoot in the process of deployment. This will count as cover, having any hits, but only against missile fire. Unlike longbow units, the pavises may be 'unstuck' and carried away but the unit will have to be stationary and not shoot for an entire turn to do so.

I think this will work without unbalancing the system but also accurately reflect how things were done in the Hundred Years War. I'm also going to modify the range of missile weapons, with longbows shooting out to 12 inches and crossbow range reduced to 9 inches, which seems a bit more realistic.

The Battle of Mauron in 2mm

I've been looking for a suitable historical scenario to try out the One Hour Wargame medieval rules using my 2mm Hundred Years War armies. This small battle was fought very near to my French in laws, who live ten minutes down the road, so it's an obvious choice. In fact, I've actually driven right through it, inbetween the lines of the French and English armies, without actually realising it was there!

The forces on both sides were limited to a few thousand, with dismounted men at arms and longbows for the Anglo-Breton defenders, while the Franco-Breton force consisted of men at arms on foot, backed up by mounted men at arms on the left flank. Its likely that the French also fielded spearmen to back up the men at arms, as the army outnumbered the defenders three to one. 

I'm considering a four unit army for the Anglo-Breton contingent, consisting of two men at arms and two longbow units, with a six unit army for the Franco-Bretons, probably consisting of three men at arms on foot, two spear units and one mounted men at arms. This may change but I think will reflect the disparity in numbers on the two sides and still give the Anglo-Bretons a fighting chance. 

The English are currently on the workbench and I have already glued together three units for the French, so I'm just waiting for a resupply of Antonine Miniatures to get that sorted. The terrain will be a quick fix using my Hexon tiles but I'll leave the town of Mauron itself off the set up to avoid having to model it, especially as it didn't actually play a role in the battle.

You can read about the background to this clash and the battle itself here:

https://www.britishbattles.com/one-hundred-years-war/battle-of-mauron/

2mm HYW Longbows Test Base Finished

It's not going to win any prizes but the test base of longbowmen is finished, taking less time than I thought and looking good enough for wargaming purposes. These are the core of the Anglo Breton army but fairly dull to look at, given their utilitarian clothing and equipment, with no colourful liveries or banners to brighten them up. I have three more bases of these to paint, as well as two men at arms on foot, so will get started as soon as I've textured the bases.

Trying Out Torpedoes and Tides

I'm looking forward to trying out the newly published Torpedoes and Tides coastal warfare rules soon, using my old 1/600th scale models that have been gathering dust for years. These are a mix of the Skytrex, now Heroics and Ros, and Tumbling Dice range, with some merchant shipping set aside for painting too. They need rebasing and a bit of tidying up, perhaps adding some masts from brass wire, but otherwise they're good to go. It's a bit of a diversion from my medieval focus but why not?

2mm HYW Test Base Painting

A bit of trial and error base painting this evening, using a range of paint shades and washes that I've used before on my 2mm ECW units. I'm not completely happy with the end result but it's not too bad and will do the trick, at least for this project. The next step is to block in the figures in matt black as a basecoat for painting at the weekend.

Torpedoes and Tides

This new set of rules for coastal warfare, based on the Galleys and Galleons system, is now available on Wargame Vault. I've been following the play testing for this for a while on The Stronghold Rebuilt blog and it looks really good. I'm going to grab a copy, print it out and see if I can dust off my old 1/600th scale early war coastal forces for a few try out games over the holidays in a couple of weeks. You can read more about the rules and how they work here:

https://wargamingraft.wordpress.com/2025/08/06/designing-torpedoes-tides/

2mm HYW Longbowmen Test Base

Fiddling about with a test base for the 2mm early HYW Anglo-Breton Army to see how I can achieve a realistic yet straightforward result. The base was given a coat of fine sand then spray undercoated with Halfords Ultra Matt Camo Brown. After this I wet brushed some very cheap and very old Earth Brown acrylic artist paint, as a basecoat, followed by a heavy dry brush in Vallejo USA Tan Earth. 

The question now is do I use fine flock to cover the whole base, leaving a few earthy patches, or do I use another wet brush / dry brush approach for the grass? In the past I've just used flock patches for my Strength and Honour bases but they were for Parthia and similar arid locations, so probably not a good option, considering the HYW project will focus on an often soggy Brittany.

I'm going to try a three stage wet brush and dry brush in Vallejo green colours, which I've tried out on my 2mm ECW units before, with a final wash of Citadel Athonian Camo Shade for definition. If this looks okay, I will then add a few patches of light grass flock to represent bushes, brambles and other foliage, just to give the whole thing a more organic look. 

If it looks rubbish...I'll have to try Plan B!