28/8/08 Uploaded scenario for battle of Biscke (January 1945).  I was not able to make this game but Andrew Wheeler has provided a detailed battle report with pictures.  Another rumble in the snow at the home of Tim O'Connor.

7/7/08 Uploaded scenario for the Battle of Sittang (Burma) - 22nd February 1942.  Played this game on Sunday 6th July 2008 at Brad Smith's place (photos in the scenario).  Great game and definitely a change from NW Europe.  Allies held out with Japanese forces to get near enough to the high ground overlooking the vital bridge. 

3/7/08 Uploaded heavily revised scenario for Op Comet.  Many thanks to the many gamers who provided constructive and useful suggestions.

21/6/08 Have just uploaded the final result of 6 months of research around the planned but cancelled Operation "Comet" (precursor to Operation Market Garden).  The scenario is historically based but is a "what if" hypothetical based around the earliest date that it could have occured and the arrival of II SS Panzer Corps troops in the Arnhem-Nijmegen area.  Many thanks to Colin Rumford for permission to use maps and rules from his Rapid Fire Operation Market Garden campaign book and to Alan Sheward for permission to use his photos of Alan McCoubrey's Nijmegen terrain from the Operation Market Garden "Big Game" in 2006. The scenario can be played as (a) 1 day or (b) 2 day.

20/6/08 Added photos of our Sword Beach game to the gallery page.  Based on the original scenario in Colin Rumford's D-Day campaign book for Rapid Fire I compressed the British arrival times to fit the main assault into 10 moves.  A close final result with neither side able to claim outright victory.  A great game featuring all my British landing craft (over 16 vessels) and pride of place the two emplacements painted by Colin Rumford.  My friend Ian Fainges provided the flank protection for the landing (2 x brilliantly painted Royal Marine Commandos).

26/4/08 uploaded scenario by Brad Smith for the battle of Rimling (Operation Norwind 1945) to the scenario page. Not the Bulge but Americans and Germans in the snow. Also more photos available in the gallery page.

2/4/08 Operation Bluecoat - Armoured Clash at Chenedolle - played my Op Bluecoat scenario on Saturday 28th March 2008. A battle report can be found: www.worldoptions.com.au/fourpipers/rapid/gallery.html In particular check out the photo of SS Captain Grabner holding off a British Armoured Regiment and Motor Rifle Battalion with his pistol after having his halftrack shot out from under him. Shades of Tom Hanks in "Saving Private Ryan" www.worldoptions.com.au/fourpipers/rapid/chenedolle16.jpg

24/3/08 Added a link to my Rots scenario (hosted on Colin Rumford's website) to the scenario page.  This is a smaller but interesting companion to the Le Mesnil action on the same day. A battle report can be found in the gallery section.

26/2/08 uploaded new Eastern Front scenario for Lissjanka (16th February 1944) to the scenario page. Another snow game this played well on the day with Soviet forces required to prevent a successful breakout by German infantry on foot.

7/2/08 First of my games set during Operation Bluecoat.  This scenario based on the clash between elements of 11th Armoured and 9th SS Panzer Division represents the British high water mark.

3/2/08 Uploaded revised version of my Operation Epsom scenario to the scenario page. The ORBATs and scenario rules have been completely revised and the map is heavily modified and set out in a similar format to the maps in the excellent Bulge book by Richard Marsh.

9/1/08 Added the excellent novel of the Battle of Kursk - Last Citadel by David L. Robbins to the sources of the Prokohorovka scenario on the scenario page.  The novel charts the stories of a Soviet T34 crew and a German Tiger tank culminating in the battle around Prokohorovka on the 12th July 1943.

4/1/08 Uploaded revised Prokhorovka scenario with corrected map to match forces used in the final version of the scenario. No other changes.

31/12/07 Uploaded Prokhorovka 1943 scenario to the scenario page. Added extra photos to gallery page from Ian Fainges (the Artiste !)

30/12/07 Added a battle report to the gallery page - Battle of Prokhorovka (Eastern Front 1943).  A MEGA-GAME played at the home of Brad Smith.  Also uploaded revised version of Le Mesnil Patry (minor changes only) to the scenario page and the latest unofficial clarifications revised to match up with "Richard's Rapid Responses".

23/12/07 The new Battle of the Bulge book for Rapid Fire by Richard Marsh is now shipping from Colin Rumford.  Hopefully I will have my copy soon so that I can give it a review.  Also available on Colin's site is "Richard's Rapid Rule Responses" (summary of official replies to queries from RF players around the world).  Has some new rules as well. All in all a good collection of Christmas cheer for RF enthusiasts.  On the 29/12/07 my friend Brad Smith is hosting a Kursk "mega-game" at his place.  He has promised death and destruction on a large scale.  As usual scenario, photos and battle report in the new year.

8/12/07 The NEW Battle of the Bulge book for Rapid Fire is now available for pre-order on the Rapid Fire website.  Details of the scenarios etc and a sample page (British in the Bulge !!) also available.  Costs including postage are UK = 18 pounds, Europe = 21 pounds and the rest of the world = 24 pounds.  Shipping is stated as "mid-december".  The site also promises "extensive support" over the following months with extra stuff on the website.This is a long anticipated title for RF enthusiasts and while the rest of the world may not get their copies before Christmas it will be a popular purchase I'm sure.

Also on the website are some new "ready to roll" vehicles (some suitable for the Bulge scenarios):

1/12/07 revised with new maps 3 scenarios (Hill 159, Polish Defence of Driel and Merville Battery) to the scenario page.  I will continue to revise and update my older scenarios as well as producing the occasional new scenario.  As usual any scenario originally designed for RF1 will be removed from the scenario page once updated to RF2.

25/11/07 revised and uploaded St Lambert sur Dives scenario incorporating several suggestions from people i.e. no Sherman Fireflies, Canadian and German arrivals etc.

24/11/07 Have just added a RSS feed link on the site webpage ( RSS feed).  Information on how to subscribe can be found here:  http://www.whatisrss.com/.  What this will hopefully do is "push" out updates to subscribers.

24/11/07 Uploaded a NEW scenario for the Canadian defence of St Lambert sur dives towards the end of August, 1944 during the closing of the "Falaise Gap" to the scenario page.  There were two allied "plugs" in the gap - this one and the Polish position on top of the "Mace" to the east.  The Polish defence is included in Richard Marsh's excellent "Scenarios for NW Europe 1944/45". 

20/11/07 Uploaded revised scenario for the Le Mesnil Patry to the scenario page.  To adjust the balance of the game after playtesting I have advanced the on-board Canadian forces by 1 turn, delayed the German armour by 1 turn, made the 3rd objective the high ground in the centre of the German Pioneer position and added 1 turn to the length.

19/11/07 Played Le Mesnil Patry from the scenario page.  Photos available on gallery page.

8/11/07 Inserted a link to the excellent "Slouch Hats & Stens Public House" forum. A brilliant response to the demise of the Gentleman's lounge.  Has sections for World War two gamers and modellers as well as many Rapid Fire postings.  Join up, contribute, enjoy !

4/11/07 uploaded NEW scenario for the German landings at Leros in 1943 to the scenario page.  This is a scenario I have been working on and off for a number of years. Played on a 10' x 6' table with a mixture of troop types on both sides.  The actual battle was a close call although finally the Germans managed to force all of the allied defenders to surrender. Sources are scarce but "Churchill's Folly" by Anthony Rogers is very good. The board game "Leros - The Island Prize" has some excellent LARGE and DETAILED maps.  Makes a change from those D-Day or Crete games.

3/11/07 uploaded NEW scenario based on the Canadian battle for Le Mesnil Patry to the scenario page.  Inspired by a detailed account and maps in the excellent "Holding Juno" by Mark Zuehkle this scenario requires the Canadian armoured force to navigate through the narrow streets of Noreey en Bessin BEFORE being able to shake out into attack formation and assaulted dug-in infantry from 12th SS Panzer Division (not an easy task).

21/10/07 uploaded revised versions of Bras and Cagny scenarios to scenario page (both Operation Goodwood).  Have just finished the excellent "Over the Battlefield - Operation Goodwood" by Ian Daglish and took the opportunity to update orbats, maps and scenario rules.  I also have his excellent companio title for Operation Epsom (so expect some revised scenarios for those battles as well in the future !).

19/10/07 fixed up minor error in points in Son Bridge scenario (refers to Firefly and Shermans - should be Challanger and Cromwell).

14/10/07 Uploaded NEW scenario for action at the Son Bridges (101st Airborne vs 107th Panzer Brigade) to the scenario page.  Quite a challenge for both sides.  In our play test the Germans struggled to get enough armour through Son and off the board.  The US Paratroops need to hold the buildings of Son without much in the way of armour support and only a few AT guns.

6/10/07 Uploaded NEW scenario for the Defence of Rauray (July 1944) to the scenario page.  This scenario was inspired by the excellent book "Breaking the Panzers" by Kevin Baverstock.  Makes a great companion game to the Operation Martlet scenario in the RF rules.

 4/10/07 Uploaded heavily revised Worthington Force scenario to the scenario page.  Also latest unofficial RF2 "clarifications".

15/9/07 Jeremejewska scenario now available on the scenario page.  This was an interesting little scenario which played right down to the last turn.  Here is a link to a battle report from Matthew Coombes of Battlescape fame.

7/9/07 Uploaded photos from a winter war game - Jeremejewska (Russia - 20th February 1943) to the gallery page.  Great game and something different from our usual fare.  Terrain looked great with "winterfied" vehicles and troops as well.

22/8/07 Uploaded photos from our Rots / Le Hamel battle report from a game played on Sunday 22/8/07 to the gallery page.  Canadians and Royal Marines versus a single German SS panzer grenadier regiment.  Also uploaded latest version of unofficial RF2 "clarifications".

5/8/07 Uploaded revised version of Hill 112 and Operation express scenarios with new maps to scenario page.

4/8/07 Finally completed my Japanese force and pages added to the Japanese project page.

3/8/07 Corrected an error in the Operation Jupiter (2) 130th Brigade attack on Maltot and uploaded to scenario page.  The terrain description was the same as for Etterville !!!

28/7/07 Uploaded latest version of Operation Epsom scenario (revised orbats) and Operation Goodwood scenarios (Bras and Cagny with revised orbats and new maps) to the scenario page.

28/6/07 Uploaded revised scenarios for Operation Jupiter to the scenario page with new maps and minor changes.

27/6/07 New scenario for 129th Brigade's attack on Hill 112 during Operation Jupiter. Also updated Etterville and Maltot scenarios as well.

26/6/07 Added photos to the gallery page from our Ranville game played on Friday 22/6/07.  Also updated 6 scenarios for battles in the Odon valley to the scenario page. You can also access them from an interactive map.

23/6/07 Colin Rumford has kindly done up a version of my Villers Bocage scenario and posted on the Rapid Fire website.  As always Colin's graphics and maps really dress this up.  Thanks also to Dale Dawson, Steven Goodhand and Ray Haskins for providing the photos of vehicles. Photos of our playtest game can be found here.

21/6/07 Uploaded latest clarifications sheet.

17/6/07 Fixed the link to the Merville battery scenario on the scenario page.

12/6/07 added a revised RF2 scenario to the scenario page for the British airborne assault on the Merville Battery to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of D-Day. Also added a battle report to the gallery page for our Juno Beach (Nan Sector) game played on 10th June 2007.

6/06/07 Added a Frappr map to the index page.  Feel free to add your location.

14/5/07 Added a page about the construction of the "sea wall casemates" for my Juno game.

13/5/07 Added a SUBSTANTIALLY revised scenario for "Wittman's Last Battle" to the scenario page.  It now also includes an almost totally new map (based on a excellent tactical map on page 416 of "No Holding Back" by Brian Reid.

9/5/07 Uploaded photos of a mock-up of Juno Beach (Nan Sector) to the gallery page. Hopefully this will be our next game and is based on the Colin Rumford scenario.

6/5/07 Uploaded photos of our "Wittman's Last Battle" games played at my place on Saturday 5th May 2007 to the gallery page.  Great game with lots of equipment on an 8' x 6' table.  After ou debrief I am in the process of updating the scenario to post soon.

21/4/07 Uploaded a revised version of Wittman's last Battle to the scenario page.  I have had to make major changes since I read "No Holding Back" by Brian Reid.  Great read, excellent maps and wonderfully illustrated throughout with line diagrams of all the kit used on both sides including the "defrocked" Priests used as APCs.  I have this game set up on my table at home and we will be playing on the 5th May 2007.

15/4/07 In response to questions on the Rapid Fire Support group I have posted some photos of examples close assault to illustrate the different situations that might arise.  Also added a suggestion on how to represent HE "casualties" against buildings to the aids page.  Also added revised Operation Epsom scenario in RF2 format to the scenario page.

13/4/07  Updated links to Wargames Journal articles on the scenario page.  Some of the original scenarios do not appear to be available any more. Many thanks to John Ward for pointing these out.

11/4/07 made some minor orbat and rule changes to Kustrin Corridor.

10/4/07 Added scenario for Kustrin Corridor to the scenario page.

9/4/07 Added photos from Kustrin Corridor (March 1945) scenario to the gallery page.

6/4/07 Added the scenario for Sidi Bou Zid (2) - Tunisia 1942 - to the scenario page. Photos of this game earlier this year can be found on the gallery page.

1/4/07 Added a third page to my Japanese project.  I know have a based and undercoated 3 company battalion suitable for SW Pacific theatre.

14/3/07 Added a PAYPAL donation button to my scenario page. While all my scenarios are FREE to download I would appreciate any donations (no matter how small) to help support my wargaming habit.

26/2/07 Added a review page for new Eureka 20mm Japanese figures to the gallery page.  Also updated Japanese ORBATs and Isurava scenario. These now include a heavily revised Japanese order of battle based on 3 companies with integral 50mm knee mortars and 70mm Mountain gun.

25/2/07  Added a link on my homepage to the excellent new website of the Grimsby Wargames Society.  Plenty of RF stuff here as well as terrain hints.

14/2/07 Corrected the obvious error in my Japanese project page.  The labeled "70mm" Regimental Infantry Gun is actually the Emhar gun ( a temporary part substitute until I get a SHQ gun).  The much smaller 70mm gun will also appear in the battalion orbat.  Also added some more Japanese ORBATs from Terry Tolhurst (Sydney, Australia) to the  orders of Battle page. On further reading I think I will need more 50mm mortars (1 per company ?)

14/2/07 Added a new page to document the genesis of my WW2 Japanese force.  So far this covers organising figures, basing and undercoating.  Next I'll start on the uniforms.

13/2/07 Added a compilation of Japanese ORBATS to the orders of Battle page.  Taken from a range of sources the intention is to form the basis of an unofficial "Unit Organisations for the Pacific 1941-1945".

11/2/07 Added a scenario for the Battle of Prison Valley in Crete to the scenario page.  A different tactical situation to either the Maleme (Crete) or Corinth Canal (Greece) scenarios.  The Allied forces dominate the high ground and the Germans land in the natural "cauldron" formed by Prison Valley. There is a very evocative illustration of the Glider assault on the British AA position on the cover (inside as well) of the Crete 1941 Osprey Campaign title by Peter Antill.

27/1/07 Almost final version of Wittman's Last Stand (I have separated the two escort companies and relocated them and the Jagdpanzers to the right of the main Panzer IV force.  Last thing to do is to revisit the "balance" and victory conditions.  Then I will leave this one sit until we play this one here at my place soon.

15/1/07 Made changes to the German ORBAT for Wittman's Last Battle (in light of comments on Showcase20 forum - Thanks Bob McKenzie and others) and updated the version available on the scenario page.

14/1/07 Have just come back from a short holiday away.  Had the opportunity to re-read Michael Reynold's excellent "Steel Inferno" and noticed that the 1st Battalion / 25th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment at the time of "Wittman's Last battle" was of course motorised not armoured.  Have substituted the correct organisation and uploaded to the website.

 5/1/07 Uploaded revised "Wittman's Last Battle" with new scenario map replacing the original generic version. 

1/1/07  Uploaded revised versions of Primosole Bridge (mostly formatting), Isurava (major revision) and Wittman's Last Battle (major revision now with scenario map) to the scenario page. Also updated our "unofficial RF2 clarifications" (latest changes in read) - suppression tests and half tracks, rolling for obstacles and aircraft strafing.

31/12/06 Uploaded photos from a Sidi Bou Zid scenario played yesterday to the gallery page.  This was the first of our North African games and we were very happy with the overall effect.  The final result was a draw with US forces managing to hold on until the last move when the US air support inflicting casualties on the deployed German infantry. I have the scenario (by Brad Smith) and will make available on the website soon.

24/12/06 Updated my Primosole Bridge scenario (Operation "Fustian") based on playtesting and discussion on the showcase20 forum.  I've also added DRAFT versions of the "Battle of Isaravu 29th August 1942 - New Guinea" and "Wittman's Last Battle 8th August 1942".

13/12/06 Posted a link to a wargame blog site ("The Mad Major").  This is an experiment in a different way to interact with visitors to my website and to discuss various games topics (mostly related to recent or future games or projects). Also posted some photos of a recent Villers Bocage game to the gallery page.

29/11/06 Uploaded revised RF2 scenario for Primosole Bridge action - Sicily 1943 to scenario page.

28/11/06 Uploaded revised RF2 scenario for Cagny (Operation Goodwood) to the scenario page.  Also removed vehicle charts and casualty point charts from aids page.  For the official RF2 charts go to RF rules page.  Also added local "unofficial" RF2 "clarifications" document to the aids page.  This is a reflection of our local "interpretations" but combines information from various internet groups.  Seems to cover most situations in our games without getting too carried away.

05/11/06 Uploaded revised RF2 scenarios for Arnhem and Primosole Bridge to the scenario page

25/10/06 Moved website to new server - old address redirects to www.worldptions.com.au/fourpipers/rapid.  Tidied ups some pages.  Scenarios now only available as PDFs to save space.

18/9/06 Posted a scenario for the battle for Primosole Bridge - Sicily 1943.  British Paras, German FJ, British infantry and armour etc.  What more could you ask for ???

19/6/06 Played the Maleme scenario at home on Sunday 18th June 2006.  Have uploaded some pics to gallery page

5/5/06  Colin Rumford has posted a revised version of his Corinth Canal scenario from the original Rapid Fire book.  I have placed a link on the scenario page.

25 / 3/ 06 Colin has just added Japanese a vehicle and guns chart and an article on constructing a Pacific Island to http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com/.  Great stuff.  If only I hadn't started on my Mediterranean project.  Well maybe I can use some of the modelling techniques for Crete and Leros !!!  Also a great Maleme battle report from the Elheim forum added to the scenario page.

24/02/06 Have just added an updated version of my Breville (Normandy) scenario in RF2 format to the scenario page. This is a simple scenario but with most of the elements of a larger game.  We have used it to introduce new players to RF.

14/02/06 Colin Rumford has posted a new scenario of mine based on the German Airborne assault on Maleme Airfield on Crete (1941).  You can get to the page from my scenario page.  Hopefully this will the first of many Fallschirmjager themed scenarios.  I notice that Flames of War are bringing out a new version of their Diving Eagles supplement.

31/01/06 Updated several links and tidied things up a bit.  Posted some photos of Mediterranean buildings to the gallery page.

30/01/06 Posted a PDF file with additional information for playing my Lake Commachio scenario. I have draft scenarios for Maleme 1941, Primosole Bridge 1943 and Salerno 1943 in the pipeline.

23/11/05 Colin Rumford has posted one of my new scenarios (Lake Commachio - Italy 1945) to the "official" Rapid Fire website.  I have added a link to the scenario page. I have just started a new project based on German Fallschirmjager in the Mediterranean prompted by the excellent AB figures.  At the moment I am basing and painted my first battalion as well as some scratchbuilt buildings suitable for Crete 1941.  I hope to have some photos on this site in the next week or so.  I already have  a scenario roughed out for Maleme (Crete) and hope to do one based on the assault on Corinth (Greece) similar to the one in the original RF book.  My project will eventually cover Greece, Crete, North Africa ??, Sicily, Italy, Aegean.

28/10/05 Posted a completely revised version of my Bras scenario (Operation Goodwood) to the scenario page.  We played this a few weeks ago.  Quite a challenge for both sides but in the end the Brits were able to capture and hold 2 out of 3 villages .  I am currently updating the companion Cagny scenario from earlier on the opening day of Operation Goodwood.

23/10/05 Colin Rumford has posted an official response to an instance of "unauthorised use" of the Rapid Fire ! trademark.  Although I feel it is clear that my site is an "unofficial" site I have added a statement on my homepage as well as slight change of emphasis on the title of the site.  You can find Colin's statement here http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com/books.htm

25/09/05 Posted links to the Franqueville and Bretteville scenarios (from the official Rapid Fire site) to my scenario page.

17/9/05 Posted the first of the newly upgraded "RF2" scenarios to the scenario page (Operation Windsor - Assault on Carpiquet Airfireld in Normandy).

21/05/05 Added a link on the homepage for a new (unofficial) RF2 support Yahoo Group set up by Aussie gamer Simon Ford.  I have posted a few things to get the ball rolling.  Colin has some great extras on the official RF website (play sheet, vehicle and weapons sheets, template).  Look out for errata sheet out at the end of May as well as a new scenario for the Battle of Franqueville.

30/4/05  One week after the official launch of the second edition of Rapid Fire at Salute 05 in the UK. The heavily revised new edition of the rules is ready to set the standard fro WW2 gaming at Brigade / Regimental for another 11 years !!! For more details including downloads go the official Rapid Fire website http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com/ .  Look out in an upcoming issue of Wargames Illustrated for a refight by Colin Rumford based on the battle between the Canadians and the 12th SS at Franqueville on the 8th June 1944. I am in the process of updating some of my scenarios to RF2 format (coming soon !!!)

2/1/05 Finally have added a scenario for the Battle for Cagny by the British Guards Division during Operation Goodwood.  A tough nut for the British without adequate infantry support.  The Germans also get to field some Tiger Is as well as a single King Tiger.

18/12/04 Added a scenario from the Battle of the Bulge to the scenario page.  This is a large game designed by Brad Smith and played recently by us.  A challenge for both sides.

7/10/04 Added a highly modified version of my Driel scenario (Polish Paras and XXX Corps versus German "Sperrverband Harzer"). An interesting scenario it is meant to fit in with the Elst scenario in Colin Rumford's Operation Market Garden scenario booklet.

9/7/04 Added photos to the gallery page of our recent re-fight of the Defence of Ranville scenario from Colin Rumford's D-Day book. This was a great scenario but in the end the Brits were overwhelmed by the German assault.  Also check out Colin's clarifications for Hedgerows.  We play tested them for the Ranville game and they worked well.  Also if using "bocage", vehicles cannot cross except with hedge cutters.  Certainly a feature of most Normandy games.

15/6/04 Added photos to the gallery page of our recent re-fight of the Periers Ridge scenario from Colin Rumford's D-Day book. Also check out Colin's great modelling tips for making DD tanks from the HAT Armorfast Sherman models http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com/dd.htm. Colin also has some great photos of the Gold Beach game in action http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com/elvington2004.htm.  Richard Marsh also has some photos for his Vernon game from the NW Europe scenario book http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com/vernon.htm.

9/5/04 Added a St Lo scenario for Normandy 1944 to the scenario page.   Smaller than usual street fighting.  Thanks to Brad Smith for this one.

29/4/04 Played the first of our beach landing games from Colin Rumford's D-Day book.  A brief battle report and photos are on the photo page

11/4/04 Coming soon Battle of Cagny scenario - Operation Goodwood (18th July 1944). King Tiger versus the Shermans of the British Guards Division.  The "trailer" below features the excellent Dragon diecast Tiger II about to be rammed by a British Sherman (factor that into Rapid Fire !).  Compare this to the David Pentland print of the same action http://www.militaryartgallery.com/HTML/prepare_to_ram.htm

28/3/04 Uploaded a new scenario for the Battle of Dompaire (French versus Germans, Lorraine 1944) to the scenario page. Also some photos from the same game to the Gallery page.

26/3/04 Check out the new NW Europe scenario book by Richard Marsh at http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com/nweurope.htm 

13/3/04 Uploaded revised scenarios for #2 Etterville, #14 Hill 159, #16 Mace, #17 Maltot, #19 Windsor, #30 Franqueville, #34 Fontenay to scenario page.  

11/3/04 Uploaded two experimental "image maps" (a) West of Caen  - June / July 1944 and (b) Odon Valley - June / July 1944.  The idea is to give some perspective of where my scenarios are located in relation to each other.

10/3/04 Uploaded revised Scenario 7 "Battle for the High Ground - Hill 112" to the scenario page. Includes an enlarged 8' X 6' map and some minor modifications to scenario rules.  This map hopefully will give me at least 3 games:  (a) the initial attack by 11th Armoured Division on the 28th June, (b) the attack by 130 Brigade on the 10th July and (c) the German counter-attack by the 19th SS Pz Grenadier Regiment on the 11th July.  A taste for the terrain etc can be viewed at http://www.fireandfury.com/conventions/fallin2001.phtml

 7/3/04 Uploaded revised scenarios for Operation Epsom and Polish Brigade at Driel to the scenario page.  Modified maps to follow.

6/3/04 Added a link on the scenario page to the excellent "11 Days in a Bunker" RF scenario by Darren Makepeace found at www.wargamesjournal.com An excellent attempt to simulate a little chronicled battle that outlasted all other D-Day objectives.  Well worth checking out. Also 6 other RF scenarios from the same site.

27/2/04  Uploaded the second group of my heavily refurbished scenarios (Franqueville, Hill 159, Operation Windsor, Hill 112, Battle of the Mace, Worthington Force) to the scenario page. I have attempted to make the scenarios more consistent with each other both historically and scenario rules.  Sometime in the future these older maps will be redone to match the 8' X 6' table I now use. I'm also playing with image maps at the moment and may produce a map of the Normandy area with "hot spots" that will allow gamers to navigate to different scenarios by pointing with their mouse.  Doesn't make the scenarios any better but does give the bigger picture.

23/2/04  Uploaded the first group of my heavily refurbished scenarios (Hill 112, Operation Jupiter 1 & 2, Operation Express) and a new scenario for Operation Martlet (battle around Fontenay) to the scenario page. 

14/2/04  Added some photos of  British 79th Armoured Division "funnies" to the gallery page.  I am also in the process of updating all of my Normandy scenarios (some 12-15 !!!) to be consistent with each other. Also a new Fontenay scenario to be posted soon. More information to come.  Also check out the great pics etc on Colin Rumford's Rapid fire site at http://www.rapid-fire.uk.com

16/1/04  Simon Ford informs me that his excellent WW2 site has now moved to www.simonswwiiwargames.com  Well worth checking - lots of great photos of his games and terrain.  I have updated the related page.

16/1/04 Added a series of photos showing how I modeled WN 31 coastal defences at Juno beach (as per Colin Rumford's scenario book) to the gallery page.

10/1/04 Added the St Julien WWI scenario to the WWI page. Thanks to BradSmith for the great effort in developing the variant and the scenario. Certainly different to both WW2 and the 1914 games.

9/1/04 Added some photos of the Revell WW2 german artillery and horse limber to the gallery page .

.4/01/04 Played on Saturday a large WWI game "Gas Attack at StJulien". Photos are now available from the gallery page. I'll post the scenario to the WWI pages when Brad Smith sends me a revised electronic version.

4/01/04 Played my "Defence of Hill 300" scenario on Friday night.Turned out to be a good balance of forces and a hard nut to crack forboth sides. Updated scenario posted to scenario page. Photos of this game added to the gallery page.

23/12/03 Added a new scenario for the British Airborne assault on the Merville Battery on D-Day.

7/12/03 Updated scenario 1 Road to Arnhem with word and pdfversions.

6/12/03 News of Colin and Richard's "official" RF website has prompted me to do a bit off spring-cleaning of the site. I have disabled the FAQ page as it has not been changed for almost two years and does not reflect the current gaming approach of the local group. I have also included some links to pages on the new RF site.

6/12/03 Colin Rumford has just informed me by email of a new "official" Rapid Fire web site at http://www.rapid-fire.uk.comCheck it out - nice layout with room for expansion. Of particular note is reference to a 10th anniversary 2nd Edition of the rules anda scenario book of North-West Europe battles! Expect a lot from this site in the future. Sections on the History of Rapid Fire, News,D-Day guide, RF books, Photos, game reports and links.

5/12/03 A bit retrospective but check out the excellent article on the exploits of the 1st Airborne Recce Squadron at Arnhem by Darren Makepeace and Rich Jones in the October issue of Wargames Journal.Includes an updated version of one of my original "Road to Arnhem" scenario including one of their signature high quality maps. I have also been approached to write some more original scenarios for themin the future.

5/10/03 Added a 1915 WWI scenario form Brad Smith to the WWI scenario page. Brad informs me that he will be researching more of the 1915 battles for future games.

6/9/03 An e-mail from James Field in Germany about my Etterville scenario prompted me to revisit this scenario and I have heavily revised and expanded the original including the scenario map.

5/9/03 Check out the September issue of War Games Journal (free subscription !!) In this issue - review of Colin Rumford's new D-Day supplement, review of the Dragon die cast 1/72nd Tiger I, Jagdpanther and Panther, review of Mick Sewell's "custom" village / town AND a Pegasus Bridge scenario for RF AND a 28mm Ardennes game. Certainly worth signing up for. I knew there was a reason I had started building those "broom stick" Horsa gliders. I have roughed out a Merville battery game at a slightly larger scale and will have this done in a few weeks.

1/9/03 Added another scenario by BradSmith for the Lorraine campaign of 1944. We played this game just recently and it is s finely balanced scenario that could have gone either way right until the last turn.

23/8/03 Added photos of my scratchbuilt LCI(L) to the gallery page and a link to a page on improving Airfix LCMs by Nikolas lloyd.

17/8/03 Added a link to the excellent on-line Wargames Journal to the related page.

16/8/03 Added scenarios for battle of Juvelize during Lorraine campaign and updated Franqueville (Normandy 1944) to scenario page

5/8/03 Added updated versions of vehicle classification charts for Allies and Germans NW Europe to the AIDES page. Also a modified casualty point system used with our scenarios.

4/8/03 Added photos to the Photo Gallery of my growing fleet of landing craft and a quick setup for an Omaha Beach scenario

18/01/03 Added an Arnhem scenario forthe defence of Driel by the Poles. Should be an interesting game -also another excuse to use those airborne figures !!!

29/12/02 Added links to Simon Ford's exclellent WW2 gaming page and the Britannia Minatures page.

28/12/02 Added a scenario for a late war river crossing near Arnhem, Holland. Also added a link to the Canadian History page on the Related page.

21/12/02 Added a trilogy of related games for the1st Airborne breakout from Normandy August 1944. Also added a link to an excellent Operation Epsom Mega-game in 15mm using Spearhead rules. Also a link to the Wargames Jounalsite including a sample issue with some RF links, e.g. a D-Day photo section and a "Tigers in the Snow" scenario for the Battle of the Bulge. Promise to have more RF in the future (only available to subscribers)

3/10/02 Added a new Night Attack on Breville scenario to the Scenario Page. This is played on a smaller table but is a night action so should be interesting to play. This is also another British Airborne game. In real action the Brits won through but took horrendous casualties in the process. It also signifies scenario #25. Hopefully the years will allow me to continue with more ways to enjoy Rapid Fire and historical gaming !

21/9/02 Updated Hill 159 and added anew Defence of Ranville - Normandy scenario.

8/8/02 Updated my Hill 159 scenario to the Scenario Page. This game will be used for a demo on the weekend of 24/25 August so I should also have some photos to post on the site soon.

25/7/02 Replaced the Grimsby banner on the home page with their new one and the appropriate link.

18/7/02 Added a new scenario for the British crossing of the Seine. Interestingly enough this occurred much sooner after the Falaise battles than I had appreciated and has sparked my interest in operation between Normandy and Holland. The article by Huber Essame and the historical information in the Platoon Leader campaign module are very good. Read these for a more detailed account of the battle. Larry Nelson's photo site was also very useful.

12/7/02 Loaded two new scenarios and updated one scenario for the Battle of Mons. This trilogy of games is by Brad Smith using the WWI variant of the RF rules that we have developed locally. There are also modifications to the variant that I Will update to this page in the near future.

10/7/02 Updated my Operation Windsor scenario. Biggest change is a modified map based on an excellent air photo supplied to me by Rich Baier ofwww.spearhead1944.comfame. Many thanks Rich. I'm "eying off" one of the old Airfix airfield tower kits at the local model store. Also noted on the RF list that 1940 and Normandy Supplements are with Ian McFarland for future publishing (later this year ??).

7/7/02 Added a new scenario for Operation Goodwood. Really just an excuse to field my new Cromwell tank squadrons. So far I only have two. In this battle that's all I need. Also fixed link to Alexis Webb's Rapid Fire site (a typo) on the related page.

4/7/02 Updated alternate Panzer Grenadier orders of battle for Normandy (based on 12th SS Division). Main change is the disbandment of MMG company and movement of MMGs to rifle companies. In gaming terms this reflects the substantial firepower that a German rifle company was able to produce. Colin Rumford did a similar thing with his alternate orders of battle for 21st Panzer Division that appeared in an old issue of Wargames Illustrated. Also added a Rapid Fire orbat for4th US Armoured division (from the files section of the Rapid Fire Yahoo groups site - Author unknown !

2/7/02 Added a scenario for TF Butler during the breakout form the Dragoon landings in Southern France, 1944. Taken from the excellent US Army in WWII book on Riviera to the Rhine. When searching for information on the internet I found a scenario for the computer game Combat Mission that covers the battle as a series of min-campaign games. Note that we have upgraded the US recon coys to 2 X M8 not 1 XM8 as in the rules. This is based on historical data and Colin Rumford appears to have downscaled so as to not exceed the max unit size. When fielding an entire recon squadron the lt tk coy could be fielded as a separate AFV unit to avoid this problem.

30/6/02 updated Hill 159 scenario. Added two new scenarios (1) Operation Windsor - Canadian attack on Carpiquet airfield west of Caen, Normandy. (2) Debut at Caumont - three Jagdpanther models versus fourteen Churchills. I've been waiting forages to field three Matchbox Jagdpanthers I inherited somewhere along the line. Uses a 1:1 scale and should be something different.

24/6/02 Uploaded an updated version of my Operation Jupiter scenario. Brad Smith& I played this one on the weekend. An interesting game with the potential for a "mini-Stalingrad" over Maltot. Also added a new link to my related page for Paul Reed's excellentWW2 Battlefields website. Paul has put together a lot of useful information for war gamers with links to other WW2 sites. I'm still "ploughing" my way through this one. Next project in draft form at the moment is the Canadian battle for Carpiquet Airfield in Normandy.

15/6/02 Added a new scenario based on British assault on Maltot during the Hill 112 fighting. follows on from my Etterville scenario and uses the same table layout as my Operation Express scenario (fighting west to east rather than north to south !!!).

14/6/02 Added a new scenario based on a Polish force attempting to prevent German forces escaping through the Falaise Gap while being attacked on both sides. Something a bit different from my usual Canadian - German games.

13/6/02 Added a new scenario based on the assault by the British 6th Air-landing Brigade near Hamminkeln,Germany in 1945. Some details still to be added but unusual in that gliders were used on mass to deliver the brigade onto the two vital bridges. I have scanned some good colored illustrations of British gliders (Horsa & Hamilcar) and intend printing these on a color printer (about 6" long) before pasting on to thick card. A bit 2-Dbut should come up well - I've been using black & white versions of the German glider from the same source for years. German counter-attacks were vigorous and casualties high on both sides. Makes a change from the Arnhem style scenarios.

8/4/02 Added new Hill 159 scenario and updated Worthington force.

30/3/02 Added 11th Armoured Division Organisation to Orders of Battle page. Also added a new section for 1914 variant and resources.

29/3/02 Added links to Rapid Fire web site & RF organsations for Vietnam War in Related Page

17/3/02 Removed the modified reference cards as they were untested and somewhat controversial. More play testing required before these are useful.

2/3/02 Found an excellent site http://www.davidpentland.com/with a lot of NW Europe paintings of Allied and German tanks. great resource for painting models.

1/3/02 Added reference cards for German & Allied NW Europe forces to Playing Aids page.

21/2/02 Added link on home page to Grimsby Wargames Society -original club of Rapid Fire !!!

19/2/02 Added Maltot (Normandy) and Xanten (Rhineland) scenarios to scenario page. By coincidence both scenarios feature the same British brigade in action (just approximately 8 months apart) !!!!!Many thanks to Brad Smith for his useful comments and feedback. Also added link to my companion Zulu War Colonial Battles page.

12/2/02 Added excellent World War Two Rostov Front picture gallery by Andy Watkins Andrew. Watkins@ventelo.com . Beautiful terrain, vehicles and figures.

28/1/02 Redesigned home page. Tidied up many other pages.

27/1/02 Added a second page to gallery section for Aussie gamer Simon Ford. Photos from a recent fictional British attack on a German defended ridge.

25/1/02 I'm currently reading "Citizen Soldiers" by Stephen Ambrose. I don't have a US army (both my friends Brad and Bob have though). Lot's of good info about both US and German doctrine. I revisited the Fire and Fury WW2 website recently and found some good resources for late war gaming - potentially of use to RF players. Late war orders of battle and Unit quality in zip and PDF formats. Also scenarios designed for Battlefront but some large enough to be easily converted to RF.

17/1/02 Added a scenario map for Worthington Force (Canadians vs Germans near Falaise). Modified some details of scenario.

16/1/02 Added a scenario for Worthington Force (Canadians vs Germans near Falaise). Also added a battle report for my Hill 112scenario by Craig Curtis.

13/1/02 Added scenarios for Halfaya Pass (courtesy of Tim Clark) and a reformatted version of Colin Rumford's Battle for the Woods scenario from the Operation Market Garden campaign book.

13/1/02 Added scenario for Marche Highway (US vs German - Battle of the Bulge) Adapted from the old GDW Command Decision Campaign book for the Battle of the Bulge. Unfortunately the photos are not the best. A small but enjoyable game that I played some time ago at Robert Fletcher's place using his US and my Germans. Also link to Adobe Acrobat Reader download site.

8/1/02 MOVED FROM EIS.NET SERVER TO AUSTRALIS SERVER !!!!!!

5/1/02 Added more screen shots from my computerised version of Hill 112 scenario.

4/1/02 Added photos from Australian gamer Simon Ford. Also screenshots from a computerised version of my Hill 112 scenario.

23/12/01 Updated FAQ page, Added link to Matt Pavone's new war games site (Very good - Some of Matt's photos are featured on this website). Added link to WW2 British and Canadian sites for computer game "Combat Mission".

13/10/01 Added a link to an excellent site with a very detailed scenario for the Action at Pegasus Bridge on 6 June, 1944

22/9/01 Updated FAQ page.

13/9/01 Added scenarios for Rhine Crossing and Hill 112 in word and PDF formats

17/6/01 Added some rules and modified others. Also a new playing aids section.

15/6/01 Posted some additional rules to FAQ page. Mostly official rule changes or from NICON or BRITCON.

14/6/01 Posted some rules for NICON 2001 - a 15mm comp in NZ.

13/6/01 Posted German Panzer Grenadier Regiment 1944 to Orbats Page. Some minor changes to other orbats.

11/6/01 Fixed errors in posted ORBATs and improved format.

10/6/01 Posted alternative Orders of Battle for German Panzer Grenadier Battalion 1944, British Motor Battalion 1944, and American Armored Infantry Battalion 1944.

17/6/01 Posted vehicle MG stuff to the FAQ page. Also a link to the BRITCON UK National Wargames Convention rules.

27/5/01 Fixed some broken links to Tobruk scenario. Also My site is now part of the Wargamer's Ring !!

26/5/01 Posted a scenario and battle report based on the German Assault on Tobruk by Tim King.

23/5/01 Posted some Rapid Fire Desert War photos from the collection of Canadian gamer Tim King to the Gallery Page . Also more photos from Matt Pavone.

21/ 5/01 Updated additional clarifications, amendments and FAQs.

12/5/01 Added Operation Market Garden and Battle Depot US maps

11/5/01 Added additional clarification, amendments and FAQs.

10/5/01 Added links to Pegasus Bridge and Saving Private Ryan Campaign sites from Napoleon Nuts group in Singapore.

10/5/01 Posted a Clarifications, Amendments and FAQs page.

4/5/01 Posted some Rapid Fire Eastern Front photos from the collection of American gamer Matt Pavone to the Gallery Page

4/5/01 Posted Canadian Attack on Franqueville Scenario (with some excellent photographs from Matt Pavone (watch out for more in the Photo Gallery Page) and Stefane Bouccanier

11/4/01 Reorganized Photo Gallery section and posted more photos. Added links to Related Topics page

5/4/01 Posted Photo Gallery page

5/4/01 Posted Gavrus Scenario (once again an older game based on a scenario from the Critical Hit ASL game - "Scotland the Brave")

31/3/01 Posted Arnhem Scenario (one of my older games - but very enjoyable, I hope to update the map to match the other scenarios)

01/3/01 Started Rapid Fire website