Battle Reports – Page 3 – Steve’s Hobby Blog

Mortal Gods – Play Testing

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Mortal gods play test event at Boards and Swords in Derby last Sunday. The venue is well worth a visit and if you are anywhere near to the Derby/Nottingham area, you might consider using the venue for a gaming event or hobby day with your mates. There are plenty of tables and the venue is very easy to get to by car, with safe free car parking on site. I think that the growth of such venues is good news for the hobby. Not everyone can find a local gaming club but a venue such as this can soon provide contacts and of course opponents! We have ‘bookmarked’ the venue as a possible location for one of our future Black powder grand scale games! The web site address is at the bottom of the page.

As usual, I digress, back to Mortal Gods. The demo games were organised by Andy Hobday and Mark Farr of War banner, so there was plenty of expertise to help facilitate the games. The game is based on the same game engine as Test of Honour, with all the Samurai background and flavour stripped out and of course, plenty of Ancient Greek flavour added back in! If you are not familiar with Test of Honour, it’s worth explaining that the game is essentially a skirmish game built around small war bands. This makes the game an ideal entry point into a genre that perhaps you hadn’t considered before. I certainly had not planned to start a Samurai Army, but Test of Honour facilitated the start of my collection and allowed me to try the period without having to commit to buying and painting hundreds of figures before I could start gaming.

Test playing Mortal Gods

Test of Courage will do the same job for Ancient Greece. If you have been tempted by such films as ‘the 300’ – the Battle of Thermopylae – or other such or tales but never had the enthusiasm to paint a massive Ancient army, then this game will help to scratch that ‘itch’. A typical war band or Lochos will consist of around 20-30 figures, although it is possible to use more or less, depending on the scenario and the players involved. The other point to make about the game is that it is designed to be exactly that, a game. Whilst Test Of Courage is firmly set in the Ancient Greek realms, it is not designed to be a simulation or does not claim to represent an accurate view of combat in the Ancient world. Andy Hobday is very much focused on producing an enjoyable, cool game with some clever gaming mechanics, whilst Mark Farr and the War Banner team are steeped in the detail of the history and keep the game close enough to the period, with the appropriate troop types and weaponry, to make it feel like you are battling in Ancient Greece.

Not the best dice roll!

And so back to the play test game. I played two games, the games being superbly umpired by George and Jade, who were there to help with the rules and offer guidance when required. Having played Test of Honour, it was easy get get the general thread of the rules and we were soon focusing on the game rather than the rules. Your units or heroes are activated by drawing tokens and placing them on the appropriate card. The cards of course contain most of the stats and character rules that you need to play, so there is little need to refer to a rules book once you get going. Most of the action is decided by rolling the special test of Courage dice. Three swords will give you a pass, Medusa’s are bad news! One of the cool changes is the ability to form your hoplites up into a ‘mini phalanx’ making them very tough to take on from the front. However, if you can get around the back….. The other change I like is the ability of your Hero or commander to use activation’s to give orders to other close units. Another mechanic is the fate tokens that are much more influential on the game but easier to come to terms with than drawing extra cards as in Test of Honour. Fate affects everyone in the game – watch out!

Combat begins.

So when is the game released? Well actually not until March of next year. Which is another cool thing about the guys at War Banner. They are giving the basic game plenty of exposure to gamers and therefore the opportunity for the community to be involved in it’s development. The basic framework is there but in the light of play testing and feedback from gamers they are open to ideas. An example of this was on the day, the test for giving orders was moved from the receiving units stats to the hero giving the order, making it more likely that the order would be passed but still leaving the possibility of a fail occurring.

My Lochos is under way!

The other point to make is that whilst there may be some changes to the rules, Andy and Mark are working hard to ensure that the presentation of the game is top class. The Art work for the cards, rules tokens and all the other kit that you will need is already looking brilliant. With Stavros Zouliatis busy scuplting figures for the game to supplement the superb Victrix range that is already available and Sarissa Precision in the wings working on some evocative scenery, I can guarantee that the final product will be amazing!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you would like to visit Boards and Swords here is the link to their website:

BOARDS & SWORDS

If you would like to know more about Mortal Gods: A test of Courage, checkout the Facebook page here:

MORTAL GODS

If you would like to make a start of a mortal Gods Locos, we have some great models in our range of Vitrix Models, available POST FREE to most worldwide locations!

VICTRIX RANGE

Happy Modelling!

June 15th, Jumet – a Black Powder Battle Report

I have previously noted that I have been reading John Husseys’ splendid book, ‘Waterloo, Volume 1’ covering the Campaign of 1815. Although somewhat drier than some accounts, the book is a detailed account of the campaign and new to me, was the forensic detail in which Hussey has examined the lead up to the more familiar Battles of Ligny, Quatre Bras and of course, Waterloo. Inspired by what I had read, and motivated by the delivery of my copy of the second edition of Black powder rules, I put together a very simple scenario, very loosely based on the French attack into Belgium, prior to the main battles that were to come later.

The briefing to the players was as follows:

You are commanded to lead the advance Corps into Belgium to split the Allied and Prussian Army. Having crossed the Sambre successfully and moved past Charleroi you have encountered a small force of Prussians that are holding the route onto Brussels as well as preventing access to the Brussels – Liege road. You must push on and brush aside these defenders. Time is of the essence.

Your scouts have informed you that the Prussians consist of approximately 2 brigades of Infantry, some artillery and a small brigade of Cavalry. There are other Allied and Prussian units in the area but you are confident that it is unlikely that they will give support.

The Prussian detachment has already deployed and is barring your advance.

You have one brigade of 3 regts of Light Cavalry already in position as well as one brigade of Infantry (including one light infantry battalion). These units do not have artillery. They are deployed as you wish anywhere within 8 inches of your table edge.

As the attacker, you will have the first move.

On your turn two you may deploy an additional brigade of 4 Battalions of infantry + One Artillery piece OR a brigade of 3 regiments of Cavalry + One Artillery piece of your choice. They must enter the centre of the table through a 12″ window depending on orders thrown. All French units within 12″ of their own table edge (on or off the table) will benefit from a re roll in the case of a failed order. Blunders excepted! Your command level is 8 – no ‘pa de charge’ but column movement bonuses apply.

On turn three you may repeat the above, and so on until the end of the game.

It is not possible for the French Army to be Broken….French Brigades that are broken will Rally automatically at their table edge and any casualties reduce by one and any disorder removed. Routed units will be removed and will not return.

All French INFANTRY units will roll off disorder on a 5+.

Victory will be achieved if you can remove the Prussian barrier before turn 5….

I had anticipated the battle would be between myself, playing the Prussians and Pete Harris, playing as the French. I knew that the table that we would be playing on was 8’x 4′, so I was concerned that the scenario might favour the French, with their ability to advance so quickly in attack column.

However, a new dynamic was introduced when we were joined by a couple of extra players! So Andy Callan took control of the Prussians with no other briefing than the above and Jaz Storey-Smith took command of the advance guard of the French, with Pete commanding the reinforcements as they arrived.

I had thrown in a bit of mis information in the briefing, hinting that Allied units might be available – they would not be.

The Prussian deployment, the two Lancer regiments are to the far left of the artillery, out of camera shot.

Having seen the Prussian deployment, the French then deployed their units. The first surprise was that the French commander decided that the main threat was to the advancing flank and so deployed the entire advance column of 4 battalions of infantry and three regiments of cavalry to the far left flank facing just two regiments of Prussian Lancers.

Initial French deployment – the coffee mat was not there to inhibit the move to the flank!

Turn one saw a very cautious advance by the French…It was at this point that Napoleon (well me) sent orders reminding the French that the object of the battle was to clear the Prussians from the table by turn 5. This had the effect of galvanising the Prussians into action and their Lancers charged the French Light cavalry.

Prussian lancers charge home!

The Lancers charge was devastating! The first unit of French cavalry lost the combat and failed their morale check routing from the table. One of the supporting units also routed and the final unit was shaken by the sweeping advance that followed. So turn one and the French infantry were isolated on the flank, the French Cavalry had run away and the Prussian lancers were confidently holding the flank!

There’s Jaeger in those woods!

Turn Two and the French brought on the next brigade which advanced in the centre toward the woods. The French Brigade on the Flank, continued with it’s slow advance but perhaps stunned by the loss of their Cavalry made little progress, being pushed into square by those pesky Prussian Lancers. The Prussians, in reply simply blocked the pass engaging in combat with the leading French unit.

Prussians hold the road to Brussels!

Turn three saw the French bring on a brigade of Cavalry to try and put pressure on the Prussian right Flank. However, despite orders to the contrary, the cavalry appeared to be in no great hurry… In the centre, the deadlock at the road junction continued with the Prussians holding firm and the French throwing more units into trying to dislodge the small unit of Jaegers in cover and force the road through the trees. On the left, the French continued with a rather ineffective advance whilst the Prussian Lancers smugly looked on! The Prussians were happy to hold, whilst in the French camp there was growing disquiet at the lack of progress.

Here come the cavalry.

Turn Four and at last the French, in some desperation brought on the next brigade and force marched past the woods to threaten the Prussian Landwehr. The cavalry had moved out to the flank, pushing the Prussian infantry there into square but deadlock remained at the woods! Still the French on the left were unable to move!

The French Column pushes forwards

The Prussians were now feeling quite confident of winning the game, if not the battle and the French morale was somewhat shaky.

At last, the French engage the Prussian

Turn 5. At last the French columns closed with the Prussian Infantry Line in the centre and although casualties were heavy on both sides the Prussians were now under pressure. With the right flank tied up with cavalry and now facing artillery at close range, something would have to give. However, despite numerous rounds of close combat the Prussians at the road held on, stopping the advance here. As to the left flank, well the Prussian Lancers were still in the ascendancy whilst the French infantry here were unable to progress.

The French march to Ligny!

It was a tactical victory for the Prussians! The French would march on but somewhat delayed by a stout Prussian defence.

POST BATTLE ANALYSIS

My concern was that with the quick movement rates in Black Powder, the game would have been over by turn three. However, a combination of some timid decision making by the French Commanders combined with some unlucky orders rolls meant the it was only turn in turn five that the French really managed to push though and engage the Prussian infantry.

With hind sight, the French were overly concerned with the brigade of Prussian lancers on the left (Although to be fair – they did soundly beat the French lights in combat) and taking the narrow road through the woods was asking for trouble. Had they bypassed them as they eventually did so, the French would have engaged the Prussian far more quickly than they actually did.

That all said, there were two other factors that made the battle more difficult for the French. The commanders natural caution to preserve their forces as with ‘normal’ battles meant that perhaps they could have taken more risks with their troops. There were plenty of reinforcements available and they couldn’t be broken as an army, whereas the Prussians would have to accumulate any casualties and could be broken.The second factor was the time limit and the umpire (me!)goading them to go faster! this added to the pressure and lead to some errors – forgetting to give units orders, forgetting to rally off casualties and even forgetting to order units to fire, all in the ‘heat’ of battle!

I think that the players enjoyed a different type of battle. The Prussian commander went home happy and I certainly had some fun. May be next time for the French!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Just a reminder that orders from Arcane Scenery are post free to most worldwide destinations!

You can visit the shop here:

ARCANE SCENERY

If you would like a copy of Black Powder or any item from the Warlord Napoleonic range, we are offering 10% off plus free delivery worldwide for the next week until 19/10/2018. Enter black2 into the coupon code as you go through checkout – click here for Black Powder:

BLACK POWDER RULES SET

Click here to see the Warlord Napoleonic range:

WARLORD NAPOLEONICS

Battling with Black Powder

In what could be the last battle with the ‘old’ Black Powder rules set before the relaunch of the new version on the 6th October, I faced off against my long term gaming buddy Pete Harris in his new gaming room. We are both great fans of the Black powder rules set, having fought many a battle with them and enjoyed the easy going social atmosphere that the rules set bring to our games. We tend to play the ‘Vanilla version’ with very few of the extra rules from the supplements. We find that this makes for a simpler, fairer game, with less need to refer back to the rule book and fewer contentious issues to resolve. Our games are played in the course of an evening, on a smaller 6 x 4 or 8 x 4 foot table and so we use 66% movement and ranging distances. We also use half size units on the smaller tables for these ‘club’ battles. My British Battalions are actually split into 2 x 12’s, two units for the price of one! Pete has organised his French infantry into 16’s for club battles – the French are more likely to form column and 16’s look nicer. Cavalry are 6 per regiment, we simply split the full regiment of 12 for the club games. We still use one gun for our artillery but when we do get the chance to play larger battles, then we find that batteries of two guns look nice! Once on the table, there are enough figures to give the ‘feel’ of a decent sized battle but there is still space for the armies to manoeuvre.

French Army deploy into line after a rapid advance.

The only flavour that we have added to the basic game is to Give the French ‘Pas de Charge’ which effectively means that a level 8 general will pass orders for infantry columns on a 10. The British get first fire for their battalions but must fight in line. We do not give the Brit’s counter charge, or use any other of the rules in Albion Triumphant. These two simple changes are enough to ensure that the French will tend to be quicker to move around on the Battlefield and the British will tend to fight a more defensive battle.

The British Heavy Cavalry Brigade and the First Infantry Brigade.

Another change is our points system. It is very much simplified with standard Infantry battalions and Light Cavalry worth 2 points, Artillery 1.5 points, Lancers 2.5 points, Heavy Cavalry 2.5 pts. Add one point for D3 Heavy cavalry, Add 0.5 point for light Infantry, add 0.5 point for rifles. We also adjust by a point or so for elites, large units, small units etc. It is by no means a perfect system and how we got to those values is lost in the mists of time. However, it works and allows us to bring approximately equal forces or if required, deliberately unbalance the forces. For our battle tonight, Pete had 30.5 points and I had 31 points. This gave us both 2 Brigades of infantry and one Brigade of cavalry. If that sounds as though the forces were identical, the detail will show that this is not quite the case. For example, Petes’ cavalry brigade consisted of two regiments of Lancers and one regiment of light Chasseurs plus a Horse artillery gun. I had two regiments of Household heavy cavalry. There were other differences in the make up of our Infantry Brigades but I wont detail them here. You can see our original points system in an older blog here:

BLACK POWDER FOR CLUB NIGHTS

There’s one other rule we usually follow for a club night battle – we go off to the pub for a nice meal and a drink before settling down to play – We find this helps to put everyone in the right frame of mind! We don’t like to battle on an empty stomach!

THE BATTLE

The French Infantry occupy the Farm House

The French won the initiative and immediately advanced to capture the Farm house on the British Left. The general push forward saw them advancing on the Central pass between the hill and lake and attempting to capture the large hill that would dominate the battle. The British in reply decided that the French could have the Farm complex and moved their army to the open ground on the right. This would allow them to flank the French with the heavy Cavalry brigade and a strong infantry brigade, leaving the Rifles to defend the left wing and the rest of the brigade to hold the central pass.

British Move to the right

It was now that the French ran into trouble. The artillery battery trying to gain a dominant position on the hill stalled, failing it’s orders to move thereby hampering the rest of the French brigade from moving. A blunder on the left also meant the the other brigade was not moving. Even though the French Commander was able to intervene, the French were unable to fully implement their plans. The Brigade on the far left was now playing catch up in pursuing the British, whilst the French cavalry were divided and vulnerable on the right.

Brish hold the pass – Rifles hold the flank!

The British Cavalry seized the initiative and the full Brigade charged a regiment of French Lancers. The ensuing combat saw the Lancers shaken and withdrawing in disorder. Although the lead British cavalry regiment had taken wounds, it was still able to follow up and charge the French Light Chasseurs. The resulting combat saw them forced from the table and the French Cavalry Brigade were now broken.

On the left, the Rifles had taken a pounding and before too long, they were unable to stand the pressure exerted by the full French Brigade on the left, resulting in them breaking and leaving the table. They had bought just enough time for the British to bring reinforcements to the centre to hold the pass and rout the lead French infantry unit.

The British Left under pressure. Can they hold?

For 5 turns, the French Artillery unit attempting to ascend to the top of the hill failed it’s orders, stalling the brigade and frustrating the French army in its attempt to dominate the centre of the Battlefield, whilst the British continued to press from the right. The French Commander was heard to shout ‘must I do everything myself?’ in frustration, as order after order was failed by his brigade commanders!

Withe the artillery stalled on the hill, the French infantry march into a trap!

With the artillery stalled on the hill, the French infantry march into a trap!

Eventually, the large French infantry unit ascended the hill only to find that they were in the jaws of a trap and facing two gun battery’s and five battalions of British infantry. They too were routed. With the British Heavy Cavalry now rested, they were now threatening the rear of the French army. Although the French were taking a heavy toll of the British brigade on the left, the game was up for the French. The Second Infantry brigade was broken and the Army decide to pull back, leaving the British in control of the field!

Heavy Cavalry break through! Fench rear under threat.

POST MATCH ANALYSIS!

Once the French had captured the farmhouse it was pointless to try and challenge on the left. It is difficult to take on infantry in fortified positions, so a move to the right was inevitable for the British. The surprise was how effectively the British were able to execute their orders. Conversely, the French had appalling luck with their orders rolls, leaving the commander to pick up the pieces and do the best he could. This gave the British the opportunity to exploit their numerical superiority on the right flank, whilst holding the majority of the French infantry on the left and in the centre. For once, the British Heavy Cavalry did as ordered and were more than a match for the Lancers. The real bonus was catching the French lights on the edge of the table, they were always going to loose the combat and get pushed back from the field of battle. With the French Cavalry gone, the British were free to move their infantry without threat.

Merde! Le Gun est stuck in ze mud…

The French gave the British Brigade on the left a good mauling, breaking them in the final turn but it was too late to save the battle. The French commander was going to have a serious talk with his Brigadiers!

French Infantry advance. These guys did their job!

It’s nice to win a battle but in fairness to Pete, I should point out that the last time our forces met, he trounced my army in three turns! The dice gods can be very fickle!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

It’s no secret that I am a great fan of the Black Powder Rules set. I think that it facilitates a great game without losing sight of the fact that the hobby is about having fun with friends whilst playing with toy soldiers.

The new version of Black Powder is due to be released in Early October, provisionally on the 6th. If you would like a copy post free, with the exclusive miniature then simply click here!

BLACK POWDER VERSION 2

What a Distraction!

What a Tanker rules set.

I’m not going to moan about the lovely weather and the Football again! No, I’ve been introduced to a new game, “What a Tanker!”. Written by Richard Clarke and Nick Skinner of Too Fat Lardies fame, the game is a simple and fun game of tank combat in World War Two. Fortunately, the game only really requires Two tanks per player ( you can of course just use one) and most wargamers will have a couple of tanks kicking around their collection somewhere! In my case I have some pre painted 1/72nd scale tanks that I had picked up cheaply as part of yet another of my ‘collections’, so I was good to go! I dusted off my late war Churchill and Sherman 75mm and trotted off to my mates house for a game. That in itself was a pleasure – no hernia inducing lifting of my growing Napoleonic army. Just two tanks, some dice and a ruler and set of rules and I’m sorted!

Sherman and Churchill ready for action

To be fair, Andy had set up the table with plenty of scenery, including the obligatory scattering of dead cows that were found over Normandy battlefields. He had also visited the Toofatlardies web site and downloaded the dashboard and other bits. You can see them here:

WHAT A TANKER DOWNLOADS

By the way, as far as I can see the downloads work perfectly- the people making the comments saying that they will not work may need to look at their own computer….

There are plenty of other reviews of the game out there on the net and ‘play through’ videos on Youtube but the one that I found the most useful is the one put together by the Lardies themselves. At just over thirty minutes long , it’s well worth a watch and you will be up to speed with the rules in no time.

The only thing is that I am unable to show you pictures of our game. I was so engrossed with the action, I forgot to take any! What I can tell you is that we had great fun playing the game and once we had got through a couple of turns, most of the rules/gameplay became second nature. The Lardies are experts at ensuring that their games are playable and create the sort of fun that most gamers will enjoy. The idea that initiative changes with each turn encourages players to take risks and creates those ‘cinematic’ show downs to produce high points ( or low… depending who wins through!) that keep the players engrossed in the game and provide the talking points afterwards.

My Sherman seemed to take on the character of a certain Brad Pitt movie, dicing with death and being constantly in harms way. It managed to survive most of the game- clearly there was a contract for a sequel in the offing! Andy’s star tank, a Jadgpanzer IV, quickly dealt with my Churchill, despite the superior armour of the Churchill but then he was promptly forced back into a wood and sat there as no movement dice were available! I think the correct word is schadenfreude as I watched Andy get ever more frustrated that his tank wouldn’t move. Eventually, it was the Jadgpanzer that won through, lumbering out of the wood (pun intended) and finally giving Brad Pitt the heroes ending that he was looking for! He who laughs last and all that…I only needed a small beer to overcome my brief disappointment at losing the game. Brad will no doubt be back again, perhaps next time with something more ‘shooty’ than the Churchill – pass the tank catalogue…

May be I need a bigger tank!

So we have another game to add to our repertoire. A slight distraction from Napoleonics and Samurai but with very little needed to get into the game, a welcome change. If you have a couple of Tanks gathering dust in your collection, I thoroughly recommend this game to you.

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you would like to get hold of this rules set, they are available post free, worldwide, at the time of writing, here:

WHAT A TANKER!

We have a huge range of 1/72nd scale tank kits in our shop. For a fast build, I recommend the Armourfast range, with two tanks per box, you only need spend £8.50 and you are in the game!

ARMOURFAST TANKS

ALL 1/72nd Scale Allied Tanks

ALL 1/72nd Scale Axis Tanks

Finally, if it’s scenery that you need we have plenty! However, We have just added some very nice 20mm or 1/72nd scale buildings to our range!

1/72 scale Buildings

I hope that you have as much fun as we did with these rules!

The Battle For Papelotte

One way or another, March has been a beast of a month! What with two bouts of snowy weather causing disruption both at home and work, a radiator bursting ( old age not cold…) flooding the bedroom and dining room, a brace and a half of significant Family Birthdays (Father in Laws 80th, Wifes 60th and Granddaughter’s 5th) all topped off with yours truly going down with a nasty dose of man flu, Hobby time has been at a premium.

Despite all of that, the month started with my attendance at the Bingham Napoleonic weekend on 3rd March. I was there with my two gaming buddies , Pete and Andy to run a demo wargame based on the action around Papelotte, Waterloo 1815. The previous year we had run a similar game based on the action at Quatre Bras with some success, so we thought a continuation into the next day would be fun. Andy, who does the organisation & research had decided that the action around Papelotte is very much under represented in favour of the other ‘big’ moments in the battle. I also had a very nice Sarissa Precision model of Papelotte lying unfinished in my garage so it was an excuse to get on with the model for the day!

You can read how I went about finishing the model for the Demo game here:

PAPELOTTE IN PROGRESS

The other attraction of basing a game around Papelotte was that most of the Allied Soldiers fighting there were actually Allies, not British Redcoats, so a force of Nassau, Dutch-Belgium’s and Hanoverian troops would be taking on the might of France. Of course, we didn’t follow the exact script or order of battle. Andy likes to have a bit of ‘what if’ in his battles – it gives us armchair generals something to pontificate about whilst munching our mid morning bacon cobs….

The rest of the blog is a bit picture heavy but should guide you through the battle as it unfolded.

Dutch Jaeger deployed outside of Papelotte.

2nd Nassau were deployed inside the farmhouse – hold at all costs!

French cavalry scout the battlefield

Once the French Cavalry had scouted the area, the French Columns deployed to take the Farm house and capture the ridge, pushing Wellingtons left flank back and preventing him from reinforcing his centre.

The French Advance!

Despite reaching the road running across the ridge, the French advance is held by the Hanoverian Landwehr.

Hannoverian Landwehr hold the line!

At Papelotte farmhouse, the light Jaegers were quickly overcome and the assult of the farmhouse began.

The skirmishers are overcome

Despite taking casualties, the Nassau hold on.

The road was fiercely contested!

The French were very determined!

Meanwhile, the Dutch & Belgian troops had managed to redeploy and march to relieve the pressure on Papelotte.

Dutch – Belgians save the day

Catching the French attackers in the flank, they push them back, and Papelotte is held!

Papelotte is secure!

If Papelotte is secured and with it, the corridor for Prussian reinforcements to arrive, the battle is still in the balance. The French General decides to ignore the farmhouse in favour of a push on the ridge.

Take the ridge!

Advance!

French Pressure begins to win

The determined French attack on the ridge now began to have it’s effect and despite reinforcements, the Hanoverians were pushed back. As yet, there were no signs of the Prussians arriving to help out either. Clearly they had be delayed! Wellington would be forced to shore up his left wing to hold the French back. Would this have made a difference to the overall battle? Well, it was a good time to stop for cakes & coffee and consider the position!

The battle is ours!

And so the battle drew to an end. We had played the game at a very lazy pace although we had few opportunities to talk to visitors – the bad snow fall had meant that visitor numbers to the show were very low. The show had been held on the same day as Hammerhead and despite Hammerhead being cancelled, this seemed to have the effect of dissuading anyone from travelling to Bingham, even though the major roads were open.

It was a shame that the event was so quiet as there were some very interesting speakers and guests on through out the day. Perhaps if you are free next year, you might like to pop along, weather permitting!

Whats on the workbench?

You can tell that I am struggling to get anything finished by the title of this weeks blog. It’s been one of those busy fortnights where my painting and modelling has had to take a back seat to the other things in life. Mind you I did manage a Black powder game last Thursday, during which I was comprehensively thrashed by my opponent, Mr Grant. I wished that I had taken pictures of the game just to remind me of how one over confident move can end in disaster.

Cavalry charge!

I had charged a regiment of Cuirassiers with two regiments (a brigade) of British household cavalry. The combat went very badly and both of the British regiments were pushed back leaving the Cuirassiers nicely positioned behind a brigade of three battalions of my British infantry within initiative charge move… The brigade was wiped out as they lost the one sided combat and then failed their morale tests. ‘Game over, man’ as Hicks or Hudson would have said! In future, if I have a cavalry regiment positioned to protect a flank, maybe I’ll think twice before committing it to an attack and leaving the flank so exposed!

Perry’s Ammunition Wagon

So back to the work bench. I had started work on a Perry’s British ammunition wagon. As usual, the sculpting, poses and detail on the model is superb and everything that you would expect from the Perry’s. However, the casting quality was not so good. I expect to do some cleaning up when starting a model but the amount required on this piece was considerable. In fact, after two evenings scraping and filing, the model is still not ready for priming. The annoying thing is that in cleaning up the casting, I have inevitably spoilt some of the lovely detail – the wheels and horses were particularly poor. The up shot was that I have put the wagon aside and started another model. I will get back to it when I’m in the mood for some more filing….

My next project - a small loop fpr naval engagements.

My next project – a small loop for naval engagements.

No such problems with the resin ship that I purchased from the last Partizan show. I have managed to loose the name of the company from whom I bought the model – I will find it and include it in a future blog or edit this one. The model is worth recommending! Once I had washed the model down using soap & water, I primed it with Army painter brown as you can see.

Sloop ahoy!

The next task was to paint her. I used Vallejo paints; Mahogany Brown 70846 for the interior woodwork, 310 Old wood for the deck, Biege 70917 for the upper hull, Off white 70820 for the lower hull and Black 70950 for the trim etc. I gave the interior, including the deck, a wash with army painter dark tone and then dry brushed the deck only with 310 old wood and then a further coat of 50/50 old wood 310/Iraqi Sand. The grating was painted in Chocolate brown and washed in Dark tone. I painted the stern panel in 70961 Sky Blue with Brass trim.

Stern of the Sloop

As you can see, I’ve also painted one of the cannon that will arm her. The cannon is from Arcane Scenery – the link is below. There is still quite a bit of work to do before she is ready for the table. Obviously, the mast, bow sprit and rigging will all need completion but I think that she will make a nice addition to my Caribbean collection. Incidentally, I haven’t got too hung up on how accurate the colours are. Although the sloop (?) will be crewed by the Royal Navy, it seems that even when it comes to such an iconic ship as HMS Victory, there is some controversy as to the actual colour:

RESTORED VICTORY CAUSES CONTORVERSY

So I am not going to be too precious regarding the colour scheme of a fictional boat designed to go on a wargames table! The other dilemma that I have is what to name her – I think I will resist indulging my sense of humour and perhaps steal a name from an Alexander Kent or Patrick O’Brien novel…

The view from the stern

So, the next job will be to fit her out – hopefully, I’ll make a bit more progress now that the clocks are about to go back.

More Jungle Scenery

In between painting the Sloop, I’ve been making three more pieces of scatter scenery for the table using a slightly different variety of palm tree. They are waiting for a coat of paint and some scatter but are nearly complete. If you missed how I make these, check out last weeks blog ‘ Desert Island Discs’. Although you can never really have too much of this sort of thing, I think that this will do me for the time being. I have plans to make some area bases to incorporate these pieces. If it works, I’ll include this in a further blog.

That’s it for now, here’s the usual links. Remember, if you are buying from Arcane Scenery, at the time of writing, postage is free to most worldwide locations!

SHIPS CANNON AND FITTINGS

VALLEJO PAINT & TEXTURES RANGE

PALM TREES AND JUNGLE PLANTS

STOP PRESS! I’ve just remembered the supplier of my boat. the Web site is Games Of War, you can see their excellent range of boats here:

GAMES OF WAR

Test Of Honour New Scenario – Battle Report

The club that I normally attend is having a bit of a summer break. It seems that everybody is busy at the same time this year. So rather than go to the club, I hosted a game in my newly tidied games room AKA the garage, with Andy Callan as my opponent. When Andy organises a game at his place, he usually comes up with a well thought out scenario, usually based on an actual historical battle, so I thought that I better put some preparation into our game. The plan was to play Test of Honour and as we have fought our way through the scenarios in the book, it was time to think of something new.

As it was, I went for a variant of the Spy scenario, so not too original, but it did present some extra challenges and once again, this simple game provided a very enjoyable evenings play. The scenario was as follows. A samurai and four retainers were defending a shrine from marauding war bands. This small band of fighters were unsure as to where their allegiance lay and could be persuaded to join one of the warbands and fight on their side to protect their property. All a player had to do to recruit the defending warriors to his band would be for the Hero Samurai to persuade them that they were the force for good!

Do You want to be in my gang? I’ll give you this head…..

The Set up was quite simple. The ‘neutral defending’ Samurai and his warriors were set up on a mid line, in cover, exactly between the two players forces who were allowed to deploy anywhere along their base lines up to 6 inches into the table. The cards and tokens for the ND force were placed to one side of the table. Apart from blocking line of sight, they would not be part of the game unless ‘recruited’ by one side or the other. This process was quite simple. To recruit a neutral warrior, the hero samurai from either side would have to make base contact with the warrior. On the next activation, he would then take a test of wits. If passed, the warrior would be successfully recruited to his warband and the neutral warriors card and token would be moved to the successful warriors side of the table. On the next turn, the token (or tokens, in the case of the samurai) would be placed in the bag and he would be activated as normal and fight for his new master.

The neutral warriors were deliberately spaced across the table to allow both attacking warbands the chance of recruiting extra men. Obviously, the prize was the neutral Samurai. However, the game would only be won if one of the hero Samurai were slain or one of the opposing forces were driven back to their side of the table and the shrine secured. We set the turn time for 6 moves but if there was no clear outcome, we were happy to keep going. As it was 6 turns was enough! We were using 21 points for each opposing warband.

Archer for hire.

So how did it play out? To start with, both of the hero Samurai charged towards the shrine in an attempt to recruit the neutral Samurai. However, once it became clear that I was going to win that race, Andy decided to draw back and concentrate on moving up his war band in support of his Samurai. I had chosen bowmen as my ‘fire support’. Andy was using musketmen. I was dubious as to how effective that musketmen would be in groups – I was about to find out! I quickly persuaded the neutral Samurai to join my band and leaving him and the wise Samurai to defend the temple, the Hero moved off to attempt to recruit more reinforcements.

Wise Samurai and his new best friend under fire!

This turned out to be a big mistake! My two samurai were now unsupported as Andy’s warband closed the gap on them. To make matters worse, my warband was lagging behind as I used any activations to allow my bowmen to shoot rather than moving up troops. My archers were somewhat ineffective as they were shooting at long range. The opposite was the case for Andy’s musket troops. When used in a group of three, they benefit from having four dice to hit, and then four dice to kill, all at 20 inches. So musket fire combined with Andy’s Samurai both charging in meant that I lost my newly recruited Samurai and my wise Samurai in one blood thirsty turn!

Are you sure you are a wise Samurai? It’s feeling a bit lonely out here!

My hero Samurai had managed to recruit an extra bowman but this was small consolation. In my rush to gain recruits I had split my warband and my Hero Samurai out of position and isolated. Even worse, Andy’s musket men were now working extremely well as a team, one group firing, the other reloading and causing damage with every shot.

Newly recriuted Samurai faces the opposing hero.

Newly recruited Samurai faces the opposing hero samurai, his new best friend having already been dispatched!

My archers continued to be ineffective even as the range closed. Despite their best attempts to keep Andy’s Samurai at bay, they closed in on my hero.

Archers fire!

With his spearmen drawing my archers fire, my own Hero under musket fire, his Hero and wise Samurai closed for the kill and cut down my hero Samurai to win the game. The moral of the story being never listen to a man who wants to be your friend if he is holding someone else’s head….

Once again, Test of Honour had delivered an excellent evenings entertainment and this apparently straight forward rules set has enough depth to keep you coming back for more. Maybe I need some more musket men….

Incidentally, once we had finished that game we moved onto a game using mounted Samurai. I know from the feedback on facebook there is a feeling that these are over pointed in the current rules. I certainly feel that this is the case, so we made some minor changes to their rules. First up, we allow charge at 9 inch range – it seems daft not to. We allow a 6 inch move and fire for mounted archers. We also allow an extra dice for avoid when targeted by missile fire. It all worked very well but to be fair, we both had mounted Samurai. It will be interesting to try these amendments when one player has a warband on foot only and see if the game is still balanced.

If you haven’t had a go with Test of Honour and would like to try it, we have all the sets currently available as well as the superb Sarissa scenery in my shop here:

SAMURAI

Why are you still playing Black Powder?

Redcoats!

I had intended to write an updated guide to batch painting British Napoleonic figures based around my latest project, the 28th North Gloucestershire Regiment. I’ve even gone so far as to make some step by step videos that I hope to post. However, rather than jump right in to the painting, I thought that I would first give some context and background to my project. I’ve been prompted by the number of questions that constantly appear on the social media feeds and forums that I subscribe to, as much as anything else and I hope that the series of posts will be useful to newcomers to the hobby.

I think that veterans in the hobby forget just how difficult and daunting it is for newcomers to get into this strange hobby of collecting and painting Napoleonic figures, or for that matter, any period of history. There is so much material out there and whilst the internet makes it easier to access this material, there is a lot of conflicting advice and some very forthright views that can be counter productive. I hope that the following helps although I am conscious that I am just adding my own forthright views to the mix!

To be clear, I have decided that I am painting and collecting 28mm war games figures to be used primarily to ‘play’ wargames with my friends using Black Powder rules. So before you even buy a pack of figures you need to decide what scale figures you are going to use and what rules set you will use. A good place to start would be to talk to the people that you intend to wargame with and see what rules sets they are using.

Why Black Powder?

When I first came back to the historical side of the hobby, following a long period spent playing Sci Fi games, I was looking for a rules set that I could easily learn and play. I actually started with Sharp Practice version one. This had two attractions. First of all you don’t need that many figures to start gaming. Indeed, I started with just 24 Victrix figures. Most importantly, there were a couple of guys at the local club who were playing Sharp practice and they helped to explain the rules and provide some extra figures when I needed them. Additionally, the rules had a certain charm, humour and playability about them that resulted in a great game, time after time.

Stand fast the 27th

However, as my army grew, I was looking for something that would allow me to field a brigade or division. Black powder happened to be published at that time. It was and still is, one of the best looking rules sets out there. It was also easily readable and obviously designed for the joy of playing rather than simply trying to recreate every drill tactic and nuance of the Napoleonic era. In fact, it’s not even a rule set specifically set in the Napoleonic era, more of a general guide to playing war games in the whole of the ‘Black powder’ era. Brilliant! I would only need to learn one basic set of rules and I could be gaming the AWI or fighting Zulus a hundred or so years later. Even better, it was co written by Rick Priestly and Jervis Johnson and those two know more than a thing or two about not only how to write a rules set but also how to set the right tone.

We are playing a game!

In a recent blog I mentioned that I was part of a demonstration game at a Napoleonic Day in, of all places, Bingham. Most of the people that visited were ‘non wargamers’ and were fascinated by the spectacle of so many model soldiers on the table. The game was very loosely based on the Battle of Quatre Bras and most of the figures were representative of the combatants present during the battle. That is about as close as I have come to refighting a historical battle. Most of the games that I play are at the White Hart pub on a reasonably sized table, covered in a battlemat with a few bits of scenery placed around. Occasionally, we set up a scenario, a river crossing or delayed deployment of troops being the two easiest but rarely is the game based on a real battle.

The Quatre Bras Demo game

Back to the Demo game. The visitors were intrigued to know just what we were doing. We replied ‘we’re playing a game with Napoleonic soldiers representing the playing pieces’. I don’t think that they believed us. They wanted it to be more serious than that. Some of them eventually got it. This was a group of friends enjoying each others company whilst playing with toy soldiers set in an historical context. That’s all it needs to be. If you want a competitive tournament game, there are much better rules sets out there. If you are looking to recreate the minutiae of detail of what may have actually happened in a battle, you may be better off joining a re enactment group. That way you get to trudge around the fields & mud for real. The good news is that you wont get shot…

However, the Black Powder rules provide you with a great introduction to Historical wargaming with simple rules to learn and an emphasis on enjoying the game.

Table top General directs his troops!

Next Question…

Once you have decided on a rules set, some of the decisions are then made for you. What scale of figures do I use? Black powder is designed for 28mm but will work with most scales including 1/72nd scale or 15mm. I like 28mm scale. There’s a fantastic range and choice of figures out there in 28mm, both in plastic and metal. If you prefer something else, go for it. Again, I suspect that you will need to consult with your existing or prospective gaming buddies. If they are already using 20mm figures it makes sense to join them. But, I don’t think that you will go far wrong with 28mm.

Basing is a thorny subject – but guidance appears in the rules and I’ll pass on my advice in this series of articles later.

So, how many figures do you need in a unit? Again, the answer is in the rules set. A normal unit is 24 figures but this isn’t as rigid as you may think. We often use half sized units to play big games on smaller tables. The only important issue is that there should be some parity with your opponent. I’ll pass on my thoughts on this in a later blog when I cover basing.

Load Canister!

The really BIG question!

What army are you going to build? To a certain extent this is the most difficult decision that you may have to make. Are you going to be collecting British, French, Austrian, Russian, Prussian, or one of the myriad of other Napoleonic states that were involved in the conflict. This decision is further complicated by having then to choose a campaign period. In my opinion, as far as the wargaming goes, it doesn’t matter. We happily play games where Pennisular British fight Waterloo Prussians. We have even had a Mexican unit on the table!

It’s a difficult decision, because once you have committed, you will be painting an army and that will be a long term project. To be fair, there’s no reason why you cant have a pick & mix army with a unit from every nation. However, when it comes to research and collecting an army, I think that it will help if you have a common thread running through it. You don’t have to pick the ‘best’ army either. For many years of the Napoleonic period, the French were in the ascendancy and could beat all comers. At the other end of the scale, the Spanish Army, although potent on their day, don’t enjoy the same reputation in battle – they do have some lovely uniforms though! The beauty of Black powder is that the rules aren’t precious about this. There are some optional rules that you can give certain qualities one to army over another but there is nothing to stop you playing a ‘vanilla’ rules game where Spanish troops happily face, say, Russians on equal terms. Not realistic? It doesn’t bother me. As I keep repeating, the wargame is the social side of the hobby. It’s the chance to get those lovingly painted troops onto the table and see if the dice are kind enough to let you win a battle.

Charge!

In conclusion

If you are looking to start collecting and painting troops to wargame in the Napoleonic period, my advice is to start with the Black powder rules set. That is what my wargaming army is based on and whenever I start to paint a new unit, it is with these rules in mind. It means that I am clear about how many figures I need to make a unit, how to base them and what they will do in the game. Next week, I’ll explain how I research how to paint my figures. Regardless of which rules set that you do choose, I hope that you enjoy your gaming with your buddies as much as I do!

Incidentally, the pictures used in this blog were supplied by Wargames Illustrated. The figures are from my own collection and they will feature in issue 345, the theme being Wellington and the Napoleonic period. Which leads me to an after thought. I’m a great fan of Wargames Illustrated (and was long before they accepted my article) – if you are thinking of entering the hobby, go and get yourself a copy of the magazine! it’s a great way to get an overview of what is happening in the hobby and I still think that the physical magazine is better than flicking through the interweb!

You can get your copy of Black Powder Here:

BLACK POWDER

You can get the Waterloo starter set here:

Waterloo Starter Set

You can get Wargames Illustrated magazine here:

War Games Illustrated

Hammerhead 2017

Just a brief report on the latest Hammerhead show held at the Newark showground on Saturday 4th of March. Hammerhead is just one of three shows that are held in Newark, the other two being Partizan 1 and 2. So why a third show? Originally, I think that the idea was to have a show that was dedicated to the Fantasy and Sci-Fi elements of the hobby. Over the years, this emphasis has diminished and as you will see, there is plenty to occupy war gamers what ever their taste. What distinguishes Hammerhead from other shows is the games are all participation games so if you so wish you can join in with the fun and try out some of the superb games on offer.

The event has expanded this year and now occupied both the large George Stephenson exhibition hall as well as the Cedric Ford Pavilion. The two locations are just a short walk away from each other and this was certainly no hardship on the day. The weather was kind and it was nice to grab a breath of fresh air and take a break from looking at all the goodies on offer. Both locations had catering facilities, which meant that queuing for refreshments was in my experience, non existent. Even better, the food on offer was better than many shows that I’ve attended and not too expensive.

The Bunker game close up.

I wont cover the traders that were at the show – the usual suspects were in attendance, so there was plenty to tempt you to part with your money! I gamely resisted opening my wallet but eventually was tempted into buying some flags and a set of ladders – they will appear in a future blog project no doubt. The real stars of the show were the games on offer and here are just some that caught my eye. Perhaps the biggest, with the most figures on a table was the display from Shaun and Terry of the Bunker fame. Shaun is a master at creating scenery and always manages to pack the table with figures so there was plenty to look at!

Just one of the castles on the table!

Just as impressive, was the game by Reveille, the battle of Pellenor Fields. How many Oliphaunts were there?

Attack of the Oliphaunts

Another ‘wow!’ moment for me was the Bolt Action game. I’m afraid that I would fail as a reporter. I was too busy admiring the 1/56th (?) scale U boat that formed just part of the action to write down who was running the game…

Plenty going on here! Look at that U Boat!

I also liked the V1 that was incidental to the game.

It’s a V1!

And so, senses overloaded with the gaming goodness on display, I ventured across to the other pavilion where I joined Andy Callan, Ian Callan and Peter Dennis to play the latest ‘Paper Soldiers’ game ‘The Spanish Armada’. Ian and I were the British. Peter Dennis the dastardly Spanish. As with all Andy Callans rules, they are straight forward and simple to pick up, so within a turn I was immersed in the Game. Although Andy was giving his brother Ian a bit of stick for losing the Admiral and his flag ship, Ian and I continued to chip away at the Armada, reducing many of the Spanish transports to drifting hulks. It was all part of a cunning plan, as with the Admiral out of the way, the British would have more prize money!

As you can see, the game looks great and the book, which contains all you need, other than a pair of scissors, some PVA and access to a photocopier, retails at just £12.50 – amazing value and great fun. Having seen off the Spanish, it was back to the main hall for another look at the games.

Sands of the Sudan

Sands of the Sudan caught my eye, again, plenty of figures on the table and great scenery. Perhaps I will have a go at this period.

Beautifully painted Naval detachment.

By now, it was a case of sensory overload and constantly being distracted. Ooh look Daleks!!

and then Wow! Tripods!! With A10’s!!!

You get the idea, there was plenty to admire and my short blog post has barely scratched the surface. In fact I have missed many of the super games that were on offer. I’ll leave you with a look at another very well designed game. Who built it escapes me (bad reporter!) but what a temptation to start gaming this period.

Aces High!

So, plenty to see. Plenty to inspire. Plenty to motivate. All in all, a very good show , very well executed. I look forward to next years show. In the meantime, if you do fancy going to Partizan in May, I will be there with Arcane Scenery, so come along and say hello.

Belgium 1815: The Battle for the Crossroads

British Napoleonic uniform on display at the show.

I’ve mentioned before that I believe that some of the smaller shows for wargamers can be more enjoyable than some of the traditional war games shows that we all know. The latest example being the Napoleonic Day held in my home town of Bingham in Nottinghamshire. It was organised by the writer, Peter Youlds, and was focused on the Napoleonic period. To be fair, it wasn’t the usual wargames show, packed full of demonstration games and Traders but a small scale celebration of the Napoleonic period by like minded individuals. In fact, the only real pressure to buy anything was from the ‘Corsican Cafe’ that had been set up for the day. The home cooked bacon cobs and homemade cakes were just too tempting to avoid.

Belgic and Stovepipe shakos

The other goodies on offer were a selection of books (most of them signed copies) from the attending authors, Peter Youlds, Andrew Bamford, Carole Divall, and Micheal Kirby and some very nice original prints and paintings from the Napoleonic artist Chris Draper. In addition, a contingent from the 21st Regiment de Ligne re-enactors were on duty, as well as regency dress expert Laura Short. To round things off, Myself, Andy Callan ( of Paper Soldiers fame) and Pete Harris were running a demonstration war game, using Black powder Rules, loosely based on the Battle of Quatre Bras. There was also a series of talks throughout the day, from the various experts and authors, focusing on the Napoleonic era. The cost of entrance to this event – nothing! Yes, the whole day, including attendance of any of the lectures and access to all of that expertise was free.

A fine example of Regency costume

Belgium 1815: The Battle for the Crossroads

The demonstration game was based loosely on the battle of Quatre Bras. The scenario involved a combined force of Dutch -Belgian and Brunswick troops holding a crossroads against a French advance force. The French and Allied forces would both receive reinforcements as the battle progressed. The game spanned most of the day but the slow pace was mainly due to the number of questions that we were answering from the public, many of whom had never seen a wargame before. I’ll perhaps revisit some of the comments and reflect on the nature of our hobby in another blog, as it was fascinating to hear how the ‘public’ perceived this strange past time of ours. In the meantime, here is a brief account of the battle. The report is somewhat picture heavy. As usual, as I was playing, it was difficult to make notes and take pictures at the key times. You should get a general idea of the battle though.

The deployment before the battle

The initial turns saw a French steady advance towards the centre, held by the Brunswickers and Dutch brigades. A French Cavalry probe on the left was easily seen off by the Brunswick Lancers, although in truth, both sides were somewhat mauled. On the right, the French advanced cautiously along the main Brussels – Charleroi road between the farm house and the woods. They were harassed by the fire from a small contingent of Jager who had taken cover in the farm house.

The Brunswick Brigade prepare for battle

The British encampment at the edge of the Bossu wood

Initially, it was the French reinforcements that arrived on the Battlefield, adding to the pressure in the Centre and again threatening the Left with their Calvary. Perhaps somewhat disheartened by the previous skirmish, the French cavalry refused to move and any threat to the Brunswick infantry was averted for the time being. More of a puzzle was the French cavalry’s’ reluctance to cross the stream and try to take the longer route around the pond… They clearly didn’t want to get their boots wet! On the right, The Belgians were more than holding their position and actually saw off a Battalion of French infantry with superior musketry. The Allies were gaining the upper hand.

Belgians Advance!

Brunswickers hold steady, whilst the French Cavalry are waiting to pounce!

French pressure in the centre continued to grow as more reinforcements made their way to the front. Despite this, the Allied line appeared to be holding well and the first British reinforcements were appearing from Brussels along the main road. Even better, the French on the right crumbled under fire and the whole brigade broke, leaving the right wing free for an Allied advance. The battle was going well for the Allies, victory was in sight!

The Belgians clash with the French!

British Reinforcements are arriving from Brussels.

Th French are pushed back on the Charloi road but the first hint of trouble - the farm house has fallen!

The French are pushed back on the Charloi road but the first hint of trouble – the farm house has fallen!

Now at this point, The Allied General (me) appeared to have lost the plot. Somewhat distracted by questions from the public and the thought of what cake to eat next, I failed to exploit the advantage gained on the right flank and actually helped to shore up the French position by forcing the retreating infantry into square, thereby anchoring them on the battlefield. At the same time, the French Generals’ (Pete Harris) persistence and greater tactical awareness paid off. Spotting a weakness in the Allied line, the French bravely charged a Brunswick Artillery battery, routing it from the table and breaking the Allied line.

French pressure has forced the Dutch & brunswickers back from the stream.

Congestion on the Brussels – Charleroi road as more British reinforcements arrive.

Continued French pressure forces the Allies back.

As if this wasn’t enough, The French Cavalry on the left charged en mass, breaking the allied cavalry and pushing them off of the battlefield. The Allied advantage on the right was further diminished as the French had forced the Jagers out of the farm house and had occupied it themselves with a full battalion! Suddenly the Allies were on the back foot. The saving grace was that a steady stream of British reinforcements were now arriving from Brussels. There was now a major traffic jam at the crossroads as the British tried to deploy. Fortunately, the remains of the Brunswick and Dutch contingent, bolstered by a Hanoverian Brigade were able to delay the French long enough for the British Infantry to begin to get into position along the road and form a new defensive line.

The Hanoverians halt the French advance on the crossroads buying time for the Allies.

French Cavalry now dominate the left wing!

The British form a new defensive line along the Nivelles-Namur Road

As nightfall approached, the British had managed to secure the crossroads and despite being pushed back they had inflicted sufficient casualties on the French to stem their advance. However, it was the French that had had the better day. They had severely mauled the Allied army and pushed them back to the crossroads. They now held the majority of the field and could further harass the Allies withdrawal to Waterloo!

The French hold the battlefield but are exhausted after beating back the Allies.

All in all, thoroughly enjoyable battle where the French gained boasting rights and Pete Harris proved to be a better General than Ney. Unfortunateky, I didn’t quite manage to live up to Wellingtons standards! Of course, the unsung hero of the day was Andy Callan, who put so much into organising and running the battle whilst keeping our visitors so well informed. I hope that the guests had as much fun as we did.

Once again, our thanks to Peter Youlds who organised the day and I look forward to the next one.

Napoleonic Saga?

The joy of wargaming with friends is that every now and then, someone comes up with an idea that you, yourself would have just dismissed as crazy. So when Duncan said that he wanted to do a Napoleonic version of Saga, I was a bit sceptical that it would work. There are already enough Napoleonic Skirmish games out there, why do another?

But before we get to that, perhaps a bit of back ground. I’m lucky enough to be wargaming each week with a group of great group of friends at a local pub. I suppose that we are a club, there’s no subs or secretary or chairman or anything like that. We just meet at the pub for a meal and then get on with the gaming. The pub, the White Hart, very kindly allows us to use their function room for free, so long as we have a meal & a couple of drinks. A great arrangement for both parties!

The nearest thing to formality is the gathering at the end of the evening when we have a brief discussion about who’s playing what next week. This spirit of informality also extends to the way that we play our games. We are happy to tinker with rules sets so that they play to our liking and are more interested in enjoying the game than worrying too much about the rules. ( we have our moments though…)

An Intro game of Black Powder for a new member at the club

We tend to play a lot of Black powder, all of us having large Napoleonic armies built over the last few years. However, we also alternate with other rules sets and tend to use skirmish rules sets to explore new periods or perhaps give us an excuse to paint yet more models! At the moment, one of the rules sets that we are trying out is ‘The Men Who Would be Kings’. Its’s written by Dan Mersey and based on the ‘Lion Rampant’ rules engine. So far we have had a good deal of fun with these rules – here’s the latest game at the club.

This weeks set up for the Men Who Would be Kings

And so back to Napoleonic Saga. I asked Duncan why go down this route when there were already so many good skirmish games out there, Sharpe Practice and Muskets and Tomahawks to name but two. The answer was that he wanted to create some rules for the ‘small revolutionary wars’ that took place as part of the wider Napoleonic conflict but give them their own flavour. A skirmish type game would give people the chance to build smaller armies but the Saga boards idea would be a way of introducing unique qualities or ‘flavour’ to the particular protagonists.

A British force observes the Itish Rebels as they advance!

A British force observes the Irish Rebels as they advance!

The Irish uprising of 1798 being a case in point. Not everyone would want to build a huge Irish Army or British Militia and refight the Battle of Castle Bar or even the Battle of Arklow , as featured in Wargames Illustrated issue 319, now sadly out of print. However, a smaller game would allow scope to build and paint a few typical units and refight some of the smaller skirmishes or simply enjoy gaming with the particular units of that conflict.

With this in mind Duncan put together a set of embryonic rules. Now these rules will possibly feature in a future Wargames Illustrated release, so I can only give you a flavour of the game here. As with Saga, you will use your points to purchase a small mixed force of Regulars (Hearth guard) Militia (warriors) or ‘Local rebels’ and support units (Levy) and these in turn will generate the Saga dice for your army. The Commanders (warlords) have a slightly different function as they will not get so involved in the actual fighting as a Viking warlord might! They are key to keeping your force moving, rallying, if fatigued and of course encouraging them in battle!

Contact! The Irish Pikes Block charges the British line.

As usual with Saga, the limited number of Saga dice mean that you have to decide which units that you will activate and whether you will use any special abilities on the Saga board. The Saga boards for our game were still not quite complete but I can tell you that the abilities are fairly straight forward and down to earth, giving your units an edge in a particular aspect of combat. What is clever is that they are based on specific quotes or events from the Irish uprising.

Dragoons impetously charge a Pike block!

Dragoons impetuously charge a Pike block!

Movement and shooting is very similar to the original Saga rules set, with fixed Long, Medium, Short and Very Short distances being used for both movement and to modify firing effectiveness. Fatigue also played it’s part as a measure of a units morale. The game played surprisingly well for a first outing and copious notes were made for the next play test. It was the Irish rebels that won the day – their more numerous pikemen overrunning the Government troops. Duncan has much work to do before bringing a full set to publication but the good news is that if it works with the Irish, the game can be adapted to other areas with new battle boards for say, the Chouans and Vendee rebellion or may be at last I will get my Caribbean game…

If you are interested in purchasing any of the rules sets mentioned above, Arcane Scenery has a comprehensive selection in our shop here:

Rules for Wargaming

We currently post free to most worldwide locations.

Are you Napoleon or Wellington?

Before anyone gets too excited, it’s worth pointing out that the question is aimed at Black Powder players and is somewhat rhetorical. The question arose from my last battle at the White Hart with Duncan. A battle that I lost and as is often the case, as I drove home, I reflected on the turning points of the engagement. Of course the dice could have been kinder but that is often the first thought when you lose a battle. You remember all those failed saves, poor rolls to hit, command rolls that failed and of course the dice imposed blunders.

Sir Sydney Ruff- Diamond watches on as Private James Riddles rebukes the French!

However, there was a moment when I recognised that some of my frustration should have been reserved for the way in which I had been managing my army, in particular the use of my Commander, Sir Sydney Ruff-Diamond.

The battle between Duncan and I was a pretty standard club game, although Duncan had chosen to make one of his Brigades reflective of a French Avant Garde brigade. It was composed of four small light battalions, three small light cavalry regiments and two horse artillery guns. A strange mix to be sure and not from the standard Black powder order of battle. To add to the unfamiliar line up, another brigade was composed of ‘large’ units of Polish Battalions, with a further brigade of French Infantry, supported by Heavy cavalry. I was fielding my usual British force of 3 Brigades of infantry in the centre, supported by a brigade of Light Cavalry on the left and a brigade of Heavies on the right.

The battle at first followed my usual plan. Form a decent defensive line, hold the flanks with the cavalry, threatening when there was an opportunity and break the opposition with fire power. There was a problem though. At first the French Avant Garde brigade (or light Brigade), was just a nuisance, picking away at my superior numbers. It was also somewhat cumbersome in that with so many units to move, brigade orders were not suitable and inevitably a failed order resulted in many of the units not moving.

Napoleon takes charge!

That changed when Duncan committed his commander in chief ( Napoleon no less) to the far flank of his army to support the brigadier. With two attempts at command rolls, the brigade stated to function even more effectively. Not only were the units moving as they should but there were two commanders on the spot to rally shaken units and send them back into battle again.

Meanwhile, the British continued with the time honoured method of leaving the army commander some where in the middle of the battlefield just in case he was needed to move a unit. Of course the problem being, the further you are from your units, the more likely you are to suffer a penalty on your command roll and fail. By not committing my Commander he became ineffective, whereas Napoleon was right on the spot, controlling the critical thrust of the French attack.

Polish Artillery supported by infantry

The outcome of the battle was resting on either flank. To my left, I was losing to the French Light Brigade who were gaining territory and gradually shaking more units than was healthy. To my right, I was enjoying a certain amount of success, although in driving back the large units of Polish Infantry I was again taking casualties. Things came to a head when my right flank failed to sort itself out from repelling the Polish and began to fall back. Had Sir Sydney been on hand, he may have been able to rally a unit or order a spare battalion to plug the gap. He was however, sitting serenely in the centre, just in case he was needed…

The balance tilted in favour of the French and it was Napoleon himself who was on hand to observe the final casualties forcing the British from the table!

So in future, I will remember that the Commander figure of my army is not just there as decoration. He needs to be near to the critical action to support the brigadier should things not work out as planned.

As we all know, at Waterloo, it was Wellington who was the ‘hands on’ General, riding up and down the Allied Lines all day, bolstering his troops where necessary. On the other hand, it was Napoleon that was ‘hands off’ delegating control of the Battle to his Marshals. Perhaps in future, Sir Sydney will be more like Wellington!

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THE COMMERCIAL BIT

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

THE BATTLE

POST MATCH ANALYSIS!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Belgium 1815: The Battle for the Crossroads

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