The Battle of the White Hart 1815

Well actually it was nearly half past six (1830) by the time we had laid out the table and decided who was battling who. As it was some six weeks since my last wargame, I was very much looking forward to a game of Black Powder and a chance to deploy my troops on the table. My opponent, Keith Tait, was fielding a force of Austrians against my usual force of British. Neither of us was particularly concerned about points and as we each had the same sized  Really Useful troop boxes, we decide to just put everything on the table and commence battle. As far as deployment went, we just got on with laying out the troops as they came out of the boxes without worrying too much about what went where in relation to each other. If that all sounds a bit too casual for some, I can assure you that sometimes the best wargames can come from the worst preparation. This Battle was a case in point. As I had low expectations of the outcome I didn’t actually take any photos of the game as it unfolded so you will have to use your imagination as to how the battle looked. Fortunately, I can include some pictures of the troops involved on my army and I have attempted to draw a simple map showing the general deployment of the troops.

deployment

The map above shows the deployment with the Austrians at the top of the page, with the light blue depicting light cavalry, dark blue the heavy cavalry and the grey blocks are the infantry brigades. The British are deployed at the bottom of the page, but in this case, the red blocks are the infantry brigades. The green ovals represent woods on the battlefield.

The Austrians had superiority in cavalry, with two additional regiments and had decided that their plan would be to break through the British left flank threatening the rest of the line. In the meantime the two centre brigades of infantry would advance to engage the British centre whilst the largest Austrian brigade would secure the right flank, preventing the British Infantry brigade and cavalry from threatening.

The British plan was simply to hold the Austrian cavalry as best that they could with 4 regiments of lights facing a total of 8 regiments of Austrians. In the centre, the two infantry brigades would secure a defensive line between the two woods, with the final Brigade and heavy cavalry , holding the right flank and attempting to break the Austrians here.

Two problems arose for the Austrians. Despite their numerical superiority in cavalry, they were unable to bring their numbers to bear to any great effect and by committing both brigades of cavalry they simply got in each others way. Even worse, the heavies failed to charge home leaving themselves exposed to the british infantry and artillery fire, resulting in heavy casualties for one of the regiments, which was to break and retire from the battlefield.

The british hussars charge!

The british hussars charge!

The British Cavalry were able to beat off the Austrian Light Cavalry and for once, held their discipline, regrouping to face the next charge.

In the centre, the British infantry were able to form their defensive line but a blunder fractured the left hand brigade as two battalions mistakenly moved to the left of the woods and formed square. In the event, this worked well for the British as they were able to constrict the space preventing the Austrian cavalry from maneuvering and protecting the flank of the remaining battalions. In addition, a small detachment of 95th Rifles were able to take up position in the woods to give covering fire and further harass the Austrians. Seeing that the centre needed reinforcing, the British brigade on the right flank moved across to the centre, effectively conceding this flank to the Austrians. However, the two regiments of British Heavy cavalry were able to charge the opposing Austrian infantry, forcing two battalions into square and pushing the remaining infantry further to the right, relieving the pressure on the centre. The two centre Austrian brigades pushed forwards regardless and the battle began to reach it’s climax.

Battle situation at half time!

Battle situation at half time!

With the Austrian Cavalry snarled up on the left Flank and the Austrian infantry brigade held up on the right flank, the decisive fight would take place in the centre. Initially, the British fire power stopped the Austrians in their tracks. The British first fire was extremely effective, causing numerous casualties and disordering many of the Austrian battalions attack. Even worse for the Austrians, the large brigade out on the right simply refused to move and remained pinned by the British cavalry and a failure to pass command rolls. Despite this, the next round of combat saw the British fail to inflict any further damage to the Austrian centre and at last the Austrians were able to charge home. The outcome remained in the balance.

Btish fire superiority proves effective!

British fire superiority proves effective!

The Austrians smashed into the British lines and were able to break through, breaking one British battalion and pushing back the rest of the brigade. The cost to the Austrians was to lose two of their own battalions and to take further casualties. Even as the Austrian Infantry broke through, on the left, their heavy cavalry had accumulated sufficient casualties to shake the whole brigade and to the Austrian armies dismay, they withdrew from combat. On the right flank the Austrian General was becoming increasingly frustrated with his Infantry, who, despite all attempts, refused to move to support the centre and continued to be harried by the British heavy cavalry.

The Blues are not for moving.

The Blues harry the Austrian Infantry!

The Austrian success in the centre was short lived. Despite being pushed back and losing a further battalion, the British had inflicted sufficient casualties on the Austrians to break the Infantry. Both sides brigades were fragmented but it was the British who had sufficient reserves to recover and reassert their dominance in the centre.

The Austrians break through but are fragmented. They are nice easy targets!

The Austrians break through but are fragmented. They are nice easy targets!

The Centre of the Austrian army had lost all impetus and was picked off battalion by battalion until the two brigades broke. This was effectively the end of the Austrian army, with three of the five brigades now broken. Victory for the British! For once, the British Cavalry had kept it’s discipline, holding both flanks whilst the infantry used the superior fire discipline to beat off the opposition. No doubt the Austrian Brigadier in command of the right will have questions to answer as to why he failed to support the centre!

95th rifles were a thorn in the Austrians flank throughout the battle!

95th rifles were a thorn in the Austrians flank throughout the battle!

A most enjoyable battle for me, particularly as I had such low expectations, having been away from the wargames table for some time. Once again, I am convinced that Black Powder, whilst not the most accurate representation of Napoleonic warfare, is certainly one of the most ‘playable’ games that I have come across and as far as an evening club game, I think that you would be hard pressed to find a better rules set.

 

The Retreat from Fort Josephine, St. Ailleurs 1810.

I couldn’t resist posting another battle report using the Sharp Tomahawks rules set that Andy Callan had produced for the club. It was one of those battles that had plenty of talking points and had us both chuckling at the situations created. Afterwards, I drove home with a big smile on my face, thinking this is why I enjoy this daft hobby of ours! As usual, Andy had written a short scenario to set the game up, here it is:

THE ISLAND OF ST. AILLEURS

East Of Madagascar, December 1810.

After the fall of Ile de France (Mauritius) and Ile Bourbon (Reunion), earlier in the year, the surrender of the isolated French garrison on the remote island of St.Ailleurs was only a matter of time.

The small inland post at Fort Josephine has been under a desultory siege by British marines and irregulars loyal to the Sultan of Zanzibar (the former ruler of the island). Now word of the general surrender of French forces in the Indian Ocean has arrived with orders for all regular troops to march back to the island’s capital, Port George (formerly Port Bonaparte), the British to return to their ships and the French to embark for re-patriation.

The prospect of leaving this god-forsaken hell-hole has been welcomed all round and everyone concerned is looking forward to a return to the fresh air on the coast. The former Austrian Grenz soldiers – reluctant servants of the French Emperor- have even raised their old flag in honour of the occasion. (our usual French figures weren’t available!)

But the Zanzibaris are not so happy. They were expecting rich pickings from looting the fort and its garrison and now it seems the perfidious British are planning to annex the island for their own purposes. The alliance is over. Death to the unbelievers!

Capitaine Vachequirit and Colonel Cheshire will have to put aside their former differences and work together to fight their way out.

The French (Capitaine Vachequirit – he cannot order British troops)

2 companies of the 124e regiment de Ligne (@12 figures) (rated “Average”)

2 companies of the 15e provisional colonial battalion (ex-Austrian) (@ 12 figures) (Average)

Mule train (carrying the garrison’s pay chest, powder supply and rum rations). It moves down the road whenever a “Special Event” card is drawn.

The British (Colonel Cheshire and Captain Lester : roll 4+ to give orders in French)

Marines (12 figures –Elite)

Naval landing Party (12 figures – Average)

The Zanzibaris (all troops start off hidden- randomly deployed, with dummies – in woods)

Osama bin-Liner, Mustafa al-Qorbyn

4 x bands of Irregular Skirmishers @ 10 figures (rated as “Raw” troops)

1 x band of Pygmy (25mm!) tribesmen @ 10 figures (rated as “Indians”)

Special rule : Any Zanzibari unit that routs will immediately be replaced by a fresh unit on the baseline for a roll of 4+. An individual unit can only be “resurrected” once in this way.

British forces gather to start the retreat.

British forces gather to start the retreat.

We started the game with a new idea. Instead of drawing the cards. Each side was allowed to move one unit in turn until contact or the first exchange of fire was made. This meant that the game moved along at a faster pace whilst units took up their positions. For my part, I started to organise my column, the French were assigned to escort the mule train, whilst the British would act as the vanguard, dealing with any threats that emerged from the jungle. Andy had a different set of problems to solve. Although he knew where his commanders were, his troops were deployed at random on the table. Each location was marked by a scrabble tile and to activate the troops, the commander had to move into command range of the tile. The problem for Andy was that the tiles with consonants had no troops, vowels indicated that troops were there. So initially, Mustapha al- Qorbyn was running around the table like a man looking for an empty seat on a crowded train.

Eventually, he was able to muster his band and the action started with a flank attack on the Austrian troops guarding the mule train. To add to the drama, the pigmies charged out of the jungle to engage the rear of the formation.

The Austrian Grens fight off the first attack!

The Austrian Grens fight off the first attack!

Although the Austrians were able to shake off this attack and repulse the Pigmies, they had suffered a few casualties and to make matters worse the pigmies had disappeared back into cover still intact! It wasn’t clear to Captaine Vachequirit where they had disappeared to but the grass was shaking ominously out on the flank again! Meanwhile, the mule train had moved off down the road with the British contingent acting as vanguard as planned. All went well until they reached the bridge over the stream. At this point, Osama Bin Liner ordered his troops forward to engage the Brits and capture the Mules.

Ambush at the stream!

Ambush at the stream!

Bin Liners Zanizibaris were no match for Captain Lesters Marines or the shore party commanded by Colonel Cheshire and they were soon chased off. There was just one problem…the mule train was panicked and started to stampede down the road on it’s own. With the French and Austrians engaged to the flank and spooked by the Pigmies, and the British busy engaging the Zanzibaris at the stream, no one had taken control of the mules…

Somebody stop those mules!

Somebody stop those mules!

With Osama Bin Liner rallying his troops to the front and Al- Qorbyn causing problems on the left, the column was suddenly in trouble. The French and Austrians were ordered to cease fire and try to catch up with the column, whilst Colonel Cheshire ordered the shore party to catch up with the mules. The Zanibaris took full advantage of the lull in the firing to close once again with the Marines under Captain Lester. In a fierce fire fight he was badly wounded and although able to continue, he was only able to command of his own troop of Marines. Those pesky pigmies had also reappeared and were once again threatening the mules!

Theres more trouble ahead!

There’s more trouble ahead!

In a desperate attempt to save the Mule train, Colonel Cheshire threw caution to the wind and led his troops the front of the column. Immediately, he was set upon by a large band of Zanzibaris and a ferocious melee took place. Despite his best efforts, Captain Lester was unable to come to the aid the brave Colonel –  and the shore party was overwhelmed.

A desperate fight for the mule train!

A desperate fight for the mule train!

Captaine Vashequirit, managed to bring up reinforcements but the damage had been done. The shore party was no more and the Marines had suffered terrible casualties, even the gallant Captain Lester was wounded. Although the Mule train was now back under control, there was nowhere for it to go. The Zanzibaris vastly outnumbered the survivors. Bin Liner and al Qorbin were triumphant! Terms were called for. The Zanzibaris agreed to let the survivors continue back to their ships so long as the Mule train and it’s spoils were left behind. So with their dignity still intact, the Allies continued on towards the safety of the harbour. What was that though…a rustling in the bushes… the damn Pigmies were still out there!

If you would like to have a go at using Andy’s rule set, the latest version is available her in PDF format for you to download:

SharpTomahawks

To make life a bit easier, here is todays scenario, also as a PDF:

St.Ailleurs

and if you enjoy it, here is last weeks scenario, ready to download:

Scenario

If you look at the last couple of weeks blog entries there is a bit more information as to how the rules were put together and how you can use them. I hope that you enjoy them as much as we have.

 

Rules for Old Wargamers with Short Attention Spans!

Having played Black Powder for some years now, our group has been looking for a set of Skirmish rules for the Black powder era that would enable us to game using a limited number of figures. We all have quite large Napoleonic Armies but when it comes to, say, the AWI, French Indian Wars and similar periods, some of us are still playing catch up with painting. So skirmish rules are the way to go. We had been playing Muskets and Tomahawks but in truth, the groups enthusiasm to learn a new set of rules was on the wane. The other issue was that we were playing M&T’s fairly irregularly so the rules just weren’t sticking in our brains….

muskets & tomahawks from Studio Tomahawk.

muskets & tomahawks from Studio Tomahawk.

The first Skirmish game that actually introduced me to the hobby was ‘Sharp Practice’. With the launch of the new version, complete with the cards, this seemed to be the answer to our problems. The Sharp Practice rules set has a depth to it that really encourages you to develop characters and scenarios and provides a ‘rich’ game play ( no pun intended) that develops into a story line of it’s own.  Unfortunately, we encountered the same issues. Although we were familiar with the rules mechanism, the lack of experience and consistency meant that we were having to constantly refer back to the rule book to resolve queries. Of course, it didn’t help that half of our group had sort of read the new rules and the other half played in blissful ignorance, happy to do what ever they could get away with!

sharpe practiceThe group decided that we needed a simple set of rules that would allow us to play a skirmish game on a Thursday evening that would not tax the brain too much and would be something that could be read quickly and absorbed. Step forward, Andy Callan, veteran rules writer, who volunteered to put the two rules sets together and simplify them down to two sides of A4 paper. Andy has been writing rules and war games scenarios for many years. His rules set ‘Loose Files and American Scramble’ appeared in the very first edition of Wargames Illustrated ( why the hell we aren’t using these at the club is another mystery to me…..) and his current joint project with Peter Dennis is the Paper Soldiers rules sets & armies published by Helion Books that I have previewed here

The rules are not an attempt to replace the other two rules sets. In fact, I would suggest that either are a mandatory addition to war gamers collections but Andy’s rule set serves two purposes. Firstly, it is a quick, playable set of rules that will allow you to explore either a Black powder period or campaign without committing to vast numbers of figures. Secondly, the rules are a good introduction to Card driven activation games. Many players are not familiar with this style of play and are more used to the  U Go – I Go turn sequence of most rules sets. The card driven rules activate units in a random sequence on either side. This can be frustrating to players that like to implement carefully made ‘chess like’ strategies. However, if you would like a more ‘cinematic’ type of game, with tense stand offs and risky gambles, the card mechanism is one of the best ways to achieve this.  If you do like the way Andy’s abridged rules play and would like more detail, including army lists, either of the two rule sets, Muskets & Tomahawks or Sharp Practice are ideal. Once again, I would heartily endorse both!

So if you fancy a go at this style of play, the rules are contained here in a PDF in the link below. Hopefully, if I have the technology working correctly, you should be able to click the link and down load these for free. If you are worried about how to make the cards, there are a couple of simple solutions. First of all, just cut them out of card board – an empty cereal packet will do – remember to write on the blank side though… If you prefer a less ‘Blue Peter’ approach, use an old deck of cards and place stickers on them with the Officers names, and the other miscellaneous card types written on. If you don’t have an old ceck of cards, pop down to the local pound shop and get one. You should be able to pick them up for a pound….. Anyway, I hope that you will give the rules a go and have fun playing them:

SharpTomahawks

 

‘Sharp Tomahawks!’

Sharp Tomahawks

Sharp Tomahawks

Last week, following our game of Muskets and Tomahawks, our resident rules writer Andy Callan went away to see if he could come up with a simplified version of the game. Here is Andy’s explanation of how he went about the task :

‘The Nottingham White Hart wargamers regularly play a number of different games – Sharpe Practice and Muskets & Tomahawks amongst them. Whilst these are games we can enjoy playing, we don’t play them often enough for the rules to get fixed in our minds and we often find ourselves getting the two sets confused and then wasting time trying to find stuff in the rule books.

So, I set myself the task of taking inspiration from these two sets and coming up with something that we would have a chance of remembering (two sides of A4, tops!). I was aiming for a set of hybrid rules with a card-driven turn sequence and simple but consistent rules for Firing and Hand to Hand Combat.  The cards would be usable in any “Black Powder era” setting and the “stripped-down” rules would serve as a core set to which any “period-specific” bells and whistles could be added, on a game by game basis. Army lists and scenarios could either be made up or adapted from published sources.

The result is “Big Skirmishes/Small Battles – rules for old wargamers with short attention spans”  (or “Sharpe Tomahawks”, if you like…).

See what you think…’

Andy not only produced a simple set of rules but also went to the trouble of designing a Scenario that would let us put the rules to the test. In this weeks blog, I’ll show you the way the scenario played out with a short battle report. Next week, I will include the rules that we used along with some clarifications, so if you fancy giving it a go yourselves, you can download the rules and scenario. First of all, the players briefing from Andy:

The Emmenemmthal Valley, Austrian Tyrol, 1809

A long battlefield, dotted with woods, with a road and a stream down its length, crossed by a stone bridge at the half way point. The game is played end to end, down the length of the table.

A French foraging party has been sent up the valley to seize stocks of the local cheese and whatever else they can lay their hands on. Their commanding officer, Capitaine Vachequirit, has a sideline acting as an agent for Marshal Murat, with orders to “liberate” any fine artworks suitable to decorate the new royal palace at Naples.

Apart from its cheese, the valley is famous for a jewel-encrusted statue of the Virgin Mary (known locally as “the Madonna with the big rubies”), so the godless French have seized her and slung her in a wagon along with all the looted food and schnapps.

Having accomplished their dirty deeds, they are now making their way back down the valley, somewhat encumbered by an over-loaded, ox-drawn wagon. But the church bells are ringing out and armed men can be seen gathering on the hillsides…

Cast list :-

The French : Caporal Camembert, Sergeant Rocquefort, Lieutenant Brie, Capitaine Vachequirit.

The Austrians : Corporal Strudl, Sergeant Schnitzl, Leutnant Lauda, Captain von Trapp.

The French column advances, receiving fire from the defending Austrians in the woods.

The French column advances, receiving fire from the defending Austrians in the woods.

The Battle 

The initial Austrian deployment was hidden from the French at the start of the game. As the French column moved down the road, Tyrolean Landsturm skirmishers opened fire from the woods on the head of the French Column. The French response was to send their Skirmishers into the woods in an attempt to drive the Austrians out.

Skirmishers engage at the woods edge.

Skirmishers engage at the woods edge.

Despite the bravery of Sergeant Rocquefort, the French were repulsed by the gallant Corporal Strudl and the Austrians held their ground. However, enough time had been bought to allow the French Convoy to by pass the woods. Once again the French were surprised by the appearance of Sergeant Schnitzl leading the Tyrolean Landwehr who was concealed in the village. They took up position by the road and attempted to halt the column.

Austrian Militia take up position

Austrian Militia take up position

The Militia bravely stood against the elite French Grenadiers led by Corporal Camembert but despite their best efforts the French bullied their way past with the convoy, mauling the Austrians in the process.

The French convoy presses forwards

The French convoy presses forwards

It appeared that the French were in the ascendancy, Capitaine Vachequirit was licking his lips at the thought of all of the Cheese that he would be enjoying. However, Austrian reinforcements were on the way! First of all a Cavalry Regiment led by Leutnant Lauda galloped onto the field, threatening the French Flank.

Hussars!

Hussars!

The Austrian optimism was somewhat short lived, Leutnant Lauda was somewhat of a dullard and despite a gallant charge, failed to press home a decisive attack. The French were shaken and the Militia were gradually taking a toll of the French Column. Although the French had now reached the bridge, yet another Austrian reinforcement column had arrived in the shape of  Captain von Trapp and two units of regular line infantry.

The French crest the bridge

The French reach the village

With the light fading ( literally, the room in the pub could do with a few extra light bulbs!) the French convoy had finally made the bridge and French Skirmishers were in possession of the village. The bad news was that open road lay before them and three fresh units of Austrians, including the rifle armed Tyrolean Jagers were patiently waiting. With a somewhat weakened force and the Austrian militia snapping at their heels, the French were feeling vulnerable.

The French gain the Village

The French gain the Village

A truce was called and it was agreed that the French could leave the valley with their Arms and honour but the Cart Stayed! With terms agreed, the commanders retired to the bar to discuss the game!

Post match analysis!

For a first run through the game played very well. As a result of some of the play, Andy has modified the rules slightly, to make the cavalry a bit more effective when charging and to tighten up the hand to hand combat rules. As with all Skirmish games, too many players can slow things down and with six of us involved there were times when players were left with too little to do. The rules set certainly has the advantage of being straight forward and I think will be an ideal ‘Beer & Pretzels’ rules set for an evenings relaxed gaming. In next weeks blog, I’ll publish the full rules , along with the full scenario details.

The Scenario is broken!

I desperately want the Rules set, Muskets and Tomahawks, to work. I see it as a key part of my Gaming toolkit. The idea is to have a number of rules sets that both myself and my wargaming buddies are familiar with that will allow us to play games across the Historical breadth of the hobby without having to spend too much time having to refer to the rules whilst actually playing. In theory, as we are all building armies, it makes sense to start with a set of skirmish rules and grow from there So we have graduated from Sharp Practice to Black Powder for Napoleonics, We have Saga for Dark Ages (none of us yet have a huge collection of Dark age figures), Lion Rampant for Medieval and WOTR and the idea was to use Muskets and Tomahawks as an alternative to Black powder  for the Indian Wars and the War of Independence. These are the main periods that we are collecting, although there is talk of American Civil War, the First & Second Afghan war, 55 days in Peking and so on! That is the nature of wargamers, never enough figures! But I digress…

Muskets and Tomahawks set up.

Muskets and Tomahawks set up.

We have successfully played a number of large scale games using the M&T’s rules, very much thanks to the fact that ‘Nice John’ at the club has been able to provide some superb scenery and placed his AWI figure collection at our disposal. However, we thought that rather than play another one of the large games, we would try a smaller scenario using a limited number of figures with even sides and just two players involved. The rest of us would look on and learn how to play the game properly! Jaz had kindly chosen the scenario, an Indian raid on a settlers homestead, From the M&T’s rule book and had evenly pointed up the opposing forces, provided the scenery and set us up all ready to go. The two sides comprised of four small Indian warbands on the ‘American side’ versus one friendly Indian war band and two units of British Militia.

All is peaceful as the villagers tend to their farm, unaware of the Indians sneaking up!

All is peaceful as the villagers tend to their farm, unaware of the Indians sneaking up!

The first couple of moves or so went without too much action. The Indians began to close in on the homestead, using all of the available cover to sneak into range. A two pronged attack was planned. Three bands of Indians would advance directly towards the houses, engaging the militia if necessary, whilst the fourth band would circle from the flank to engage the traitorous Mohawks that were aiding the British!

The Indians stealthly approach the Village.

The Indians stealthly approach the Village.

The Militia immediately responded by moving through the Village to take up a defensive position near to the houses. However, in the initial exchange of fire it was the Militia that were pushed back and the Indians that appeared to have the upper hand.

Militia take up position to defend the houses

Militia take up position to defend the houses

On the flank it was the Indian raiders that were getting the better of the bow armed Mohawks, and they too were forced back under fire.

The musket is more than a match for bows!

The musket is more than a match for bows!

Emboldened by their initial success, the Indian raiders pushed on towards the settlement, ready to put it to the torch. The only concern was that they had now left the cover of the surrounding woods.

The Indians race towards the houses ready to loot and burn!

The Indians race towards the houses ready to loot and burn!

At this stage, the Indian chief realised that there was a problem. Not only had he lost cover but he was running out of cards to activate his units…. The result was inevitable, the Militia poured volleys into the exposed Indians who immediately turned tail and ran. Game over man!

Militia open fire!

Militia open fire!

And as they say, that’s when the real fighting started! Well, actually it was more of a friendly debate. Could the Indians actually get to the settlement and burn it to fulfil their mission? We ran through the scenario again, with different players and even more cover for the Indians. The result played out the same – once the Indians attempted to get to the houses they were shot to pieces. The debate continued. Was the card activation the problem? We turned to the rule book and it seems as though we had made up the deck correctly. However, there was an imbalance. The Indians only had 4 cards. The British had 8. However, whilst this meant that the Indians had 16 activations, (4 cards x 4 units), the British only had 12 ( 4 cards x 1 unit and four cards x 2 units). The view was though, that the more frequent activations of the British side gave them an advantage in being more flexible to threats and more likelihood of being drawn to activate before the Indians. It was pointed out that this probably was a fair reflection of what happened when trained local militia came up against an Indian war party. Whether this was true or not, it does make it difficult to persuade someone to play the part of the Indians in a club game!

The result of all this was that we began to question the rules in general and the card activation process in particular. I’m not sure that we have used all the options for the Indians and would need to play through the rules a few more times to ensure that we are using them correctly. For the time being though, the consensus at the club was to come up with our own variation of the rules and so our Veteran Rules writer has gone away to polish up his version of ‘Sharp Tomahawks’. I’ll keep you updated!

 

And the Wooden Spoon Goes to….

I mentioned in my last blog that I would be attending the Wargames Illustrated event ‘Saga Iron Man’ held at WI HQ in Nottingham. The Saga Iron man Tournament format was such that all you had to do was pay your entrance fee and turn up on the day. Everything that you needed would be provided, from well painted armies, tables and scenery through to the Saga dice and measuring sticks. Even refreshments and dinner was provided! To make matters interesting and to really test your knowledge of the game, the Armies would be assigned randomly on the day and each game would be played with a different army. There were to be four games for each player in total, each against a new opponent. The word ‘tournament’ usually has me running for cover. I’m not a tournament player and don’t really like the idea of competitive wargaming – it can bring out the worst in players and nothing is quite so sad as grown men arguing over toy soldiers – I speak from shameful experience here!

However, events held at Wargames Illustrated HQ have in my experience been extremely good-natured and thanks to the friendly, approachable nature of Danny, the owner of WI, the Event days are well worth attending. They are as much a social event and a chance to meet like minded people from across the hobby. I put aside any concerns and signed up for the day as a chance to play Saga with armies that I had not used before and an opportunity to learn more about the game. My expectations were happily fulfilled although at times, I was well away from my wargaming comfort zone! The battle scenarios were fairly straight forward. Each side had 5 points of troops and the idea was to kill as many of the enemy as possible. The player with the most points at the end the battle won the game and the player with the most points at the end of the day would be the Saga Iron Man. Here is an account of how the battles went.

Battle 1

Your Byzantine Army awaits you.

Your Byzantine Army awaits you.

Having drawn a random rune, which gave me my starting position, I moved to the relevant table to see which army I had drawn. Flipping ‘eck! I was playing Byzantines and my opponent was using Pagan Russ. Both armies feature in the Varjazi & Basileus supplement which I had not even read , let alone played the armies. Fortunately, my opponent, Nick Simmerson was almost as inexperienced as I was and was prepared to be patient as I blundered along trying to get to grips with my new battle board. Nick lived up to his deserved award of ‘Most Sporting Player of the day’ and patiently explained how he thought both armies would work and the best strategies to use. We got on with the game and thanks to some decent dice rolling I did manage to inflict some damage on my opponents army. At times,  the battle felt a bit like two drunks fighting in a darkened room as we got to grips with our respective battleboards. Nick used the Pagan Russ control of the weather to slow my army and limit the effect of any ranged attacks. However, as the two sides closed and went on to the attack, it was the Byzantine side that edged the contest and gained a narrow victory 11 points to 9 points. Still, a win was a win and feeling a bit more confident, I moved to the next battle, hoping that I would get something that I was familiar with.

The Pagan Russ advance into range

The Pagan Russ advance into range

Battle 2

My next force was the Strathclyde Welsh. Oh dear! I knew very little about this army other than the main advantage it had was that you could deploy off table and still use these units to score hits on your opponent. Furthermore, you could enter at any point to surprise your opponent and outflank him. My opponent, another Steve, was using Jomsvikings, with whom he seemed remarkably comfortable. It turns out that they are his army of choice…bugger! I decided to deploy a large unit of mounted warriors off table in the hope that I could outflank my opponent and roll up the wing of his army before he could react to the danger. With hindsight, I would have been better off splitting this unit into smaller units to gain more abilities from my battle board. I also underestimated the power of the Wrath of the Jomsviking. Initially, I was quite happy to let him build up his store of wrath, thinking that I would be able to punish him before it could be used. Oh boy, was I wrong about that as well. I had a big unit of Levy and for all the good that they did in the battle, I could have sacrificed these guys to keep the Jomsvikings quiet!

Strathclyde Welsh take the flank.

Strathclyde Welsh take the flank.

In the second turn, I unleased my out flanking move by bringing on the large unit of warriors and supporting them with a unit of Hearth guard. The combat was a qualified success as I wiped out all of a warrior unit except one man – this turned out to be critical as the wrath of the Jomsvikings was now unleashed on my army. The counter attack saw the remains of my warrior unit killed out right as well as a unit of hearth guard. By protecting the last man in the Jomsviking warrior unit, my opponent still had his full quota of saga dice to roll, whereas by the end of this turn I had lost two dice and in effect half of my army. From there, it was all down hill as the wrath of the Jomsvikings built, I had very little left on my battle board to fight back with and so the Strathclyde were ground down until just the levy were standing. I conceded defeat and although my initial success had gained 8 points, my total for the morning had left me firmly in the bottom half of the tournament table. Surely things could only get better.

The last charge of the Welsh.

The last charge of the Welsh.

Battle 3

The Russ Princes face the Steppe Tribes onslaught

The Russ Princes face the Steppe Tribes onslaught

After a very nice lunch of meatball stew, potatoes, bread, cheese followed by a lemon meringue tart all washed down with a diet coke, my carb levels were restored and I returned to battle. Any optimism that I had quickly evaporated when I found that I would be commanding  a Russ Prince army and fighting the Steppe Tribes. The Steppe tribes are an official Saga army but their stats only appeared in Wargames Illustrated issue 311. To make matters worse, there was only one copy of the battle board so through out the battle I had no idea what was coming. To go back to my analogy of two drunks fighting in a dark room, it felt like I had one arm tied behind my back as well. To make matters worse, all of the good fortune that I had had with my dice rolling in the morning turned to bad luck. In three rounds of rolling saga dice I managed to roll all crosses, or the worst symbol on the board. If I had been playing yahtzee, my score would have been brilliant. I could barely get my units to move and  as for the abilities on the saga board, they remained a mystery. My combat dice were just as bad. If there was a prize for rolling 1’s, I would have won it in this game. It’s fair to say that I took a hammering and scored a mere 3 points.

Battle 4

I moved to the next table with some trepidation but cheered up a bit when I saw that I would be commanding Normans. They are an army that I have some familiarity with even though I have not played them. Even better, I would be facing the Anglo Danes, my army of choice and at least I knew exactly what they were capable of. Maybe now I could get some points on the table. That initial burst enthusiasm was some what tempered when I found that my opponent was Andy from Ainsty castings, the current Saga World Champion. I was about to get a lesson in how to manage a Saga army!

The normans confidently advance

The Normans confidently advance

Rather foolishly, I decided to take the fight to the Anglo Danes, although I tried to pull them out of position by attacking along the flanks. I underestimated just how effective levy slingers could be against mounted troops. Within a couple of turns, I had been badly mauled, losing hearth-guard to mere sling armed levy. The Anglo Danes were solid and were able to keep their defensive shape and resist any attempt to isolate a unit or charge it down. At this point, I realised that my own bow armed levy had the ability to double their range and that by using some of the other saga abilities on the board it could have been my archers that were whittling down the Anglo Dane army whilst they slogged across the table to me. Of course the other ability was that the Norman hearth guard could have been shielded behind the crossbow men and archers ready to charge through them at the right moment. This at least would have given me the initiative in combat. In the event, though, I was goaded into charging the very solid Anglo Dane line and it was again my misfortune to be on the wrong end of a beating! The Anglo Danes had a well prepared battle board and what ever small success I enjoyed was quickly punished by a fierce counter attack. My warlord was eventually pinned and over come by the Dane Axe wielding enemy hearth guard. Once again, I was nearly wiped out to a man but I did manage to score 9 points, a better haul than my previous two games.

The Norman Army attempts to pull the Danes out of position.

The Norman Army attempts to pull the Danes out of position.

Results

Unsurprisingly, I had accrued the least number of points on the day with the exception of one other player, Jon, who also had a total of 31 points as well. The winner, Andy, had 80 points so that will give you some idea as to how far behind the pack I had fallen. If this all sounds like a bit of a disaster, it wasn’t by any means. I had had a great day and whilst I had been on the end of three thrashings, the games were all very enjoyable and I had learnt a tremendous amount about the game of saga. I know have a basic working knowledge of six armies that I had never even considered using and I had been given a masterclass in how to use the battleboard to maximise an armies ability. Furthermore playing against four new opponents had given me a far greater insight into the way in which a Saga army could be deployed and used. Up until the day, I had always discounted levy as being a waste of points, particularly as they do not generate saga dice. I now know differently!

I am confident that should I get the opportunity to play in another such tournament, I would improve not only my points haul but also the way in which I manage my army. I think that I will be a much improved player! I guess the final thought is that if you play like General Custer: carry out insufficient recon; underestimate your enemy; split your forces; fail to capitalize on your strengths and charge in like a bull at a gate, you will get massacred!

The Campaign has started!

At long last we have started our Black Powder Campaign. The idea is that the campaign will provide an  ongoing narrative to our regular Thursday night Club battles and encourage us to try out new scenarios and of course build our armies. This week there were three battles happening and to give you an idea of how the campaign works, I’ll describe the battle that my General, Sir Sydney Ruff-Diamond was involved in.

The first part of the campaign was to randomly choose one trait for each of our Commanders. Fortunately, all of my brigadiers were ‘normal’ with the exception of my Light Cavalry commander, Rowland Hill, who came up with Timid for his aggression Trait meaning that he will have a -1 when issuing a charge order. My opponent, Wayne, or rather his General, Michel Loup, the infamous French commander also had just one Brigadier with a unique trait. One of his Brigadiers, Colonel Cantona, had the High Decisive Trait giving him the option of a re roll for failed commands but failed re rolls will result in a blunder!

We were using our own points system, which although imperfect, is quick and easy to use and allows us to put similar sized forces on the table. If you would like to know more, I’ve covered this in a previous blog here:

http://arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk/black-powder-for-club-nights/

Tonight we were gaming with about 40 points a side.

We then chose our scenario by rolling a D6. Again, we use a simple list that I have previously posted here:

http://arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk/scenarios-for-black-powder/

Tonight’s battle would follow the ‘Off Table Deployment’ rules.

With the scene set it was on with the battle. The British started well, deploying onto the table successfully in two turns and they quickly formed into a defensive line ready for the French. Except the French failed to arrive. On the first turn, none of the French brigades deployed and it was not until turn three that the French Army was actually on the Table.

The French Army finish a leisurely meal before deciding wether to give battle!

The French Army finish a leisurely meal before deciding whether to give battle!

With the French arriving so late on the battlefield, they were unable to use their superior mobility to out manoeuvre the British but found they had to commit to a full frontal assault. To make matters more difficult, whilst they were superior in Cavalry strength and Artillery, they lacked infantry support should things go wrong. Sir Sydney Ruff-Diamond had anchored his right flank against a wood, preventing any break though here by the French. He deployed all of his Cavalry on the left flank, opposing the main bulk of the French cavalry. Although out numbered, Sir Sydney was confident that the British Heavy cavalry would be up to the task of holding the French.

French Cavalry threaten the British left flank.

French Cavalry threaten the British left flank.

General Loup ordered his Cavalry forward but due to a misunderstanding ( failed order…) the French Light Cavalry found themselves leading the charge whilst the heavies sat back and watched. The British response was immediate and the Scots Greys charged into action, mauling the French Lights and pushing them back, masking their own artillery.

On the right, a  French Hussar unit was holding the entire British flank in position but unfortunately, despite Colonel Cantona’s decisive orders, he was unable to get his brigade into position to take advantage of the situation. So rapidly did he give orders, that eventually, some of the French blundered and moved in the opposite direction! Sir Sydney, as cool as ever, held his position, wearing the French down with artillery fire awaiting the inevitable French charge.

The British left holds firm.

Once again, the French Cavalry surged forwards and once again, they were met by the counter charge of the Scots Greys. The French Heavy’s had the worst of it and even though they were led in a personal charge by none other than General Loup himself, they were pushed back, the General barely surviving the combat.

General Loup leads the French into battle only to be repulsed by the Greys!

General Loup leads the French into battle only to be repulsed by the Greys!

The British, encouraged by the success of the Cavalry began to edge forward into musket range and the French line started to take casualties. Goaded by the impertinence of the British and still still battle crazed from the abortive cavalry charge, General Loup ordered his infantry brigade to charge the British line. When a clear head is required, Colonel Cantona is the wrong man to have as your advisor. He too, ordered his Brigade to charge and the French Infantry smashed into the British. After some initial success, the French now paid the price for their lack of infantry. The British line held and the subsequent counter attacks allowed them to outflank the French Brigades, counter charging to great effect.

Pressure relieved as the British charge home to the flank

Pressure relieved as the British charge home to the flank

General Sydney Ruff-Diamond looked on with pride as the French were repulsed in disarray. General Loup had gambled that he could break the British line and allow his Cavalry to mop up but he had under estimated the British resolve. There was nothing left but to surrender the field.

Sir Sydney gratiously accepts the French surrender.

Sir Sydney graciously accepts the French surrender.

A great start to the Campaign, with certain Commanders already making a name for themselves and in Cantona’s case, living up to the name that he had been given! Both army commanders will gain an experience point for their Army that in time will allow them to improve that traits of their commanders. The British also gained a French flag, a victory marker that will, if sufficient are accumulated, allow Sir Sydney to upgrade one of his units.

I hope that more battles will follow!

 

 

Trouble with Cavalry

The Charge of the Scots greys... or not!

The Charge of the Scots greys… or not!

It’s strange how a narrative can develop over a series of otherwise unconnected games. I play Black powder regularly with a group of friends on a Thursday night and one of the themes that has developed has been the poor performance of my Cavalry regiments. Now they are subject to the same whims of fate inflicted on my dice throws for as for all my other units but time and again, it is the Cavalry that refuse to do as they are told!

The Blues are not for moving.

The Blues are not for moving.

We tend to use a rather generous fixed leadership value of 8 and so you would expect the orders for these units to be passed more times than they are failed. Not with my beauties! I have lost count of the number of times that my nicely painted regiments of Scots Greys and ‘Blues’ have sat at the back of the table refusing to budge or even worse, blundering and withdrawing from the action, playing little or no part in the battle.

Charge to the rear Boys!

Charge to the rear Boys!

Things came to a head at last weeks club battle. To be fair, because we were a bit short of participants the mix of opponents was rather strange. A combined Austrian and British force was facing a combined British and French force – the French force being made up of a number of units of Lombardy Legion and Polish battalions. I suspect the purists out there will be reaching for their caps lock on the keyboard just at the thought… Anyway, I digress, back to the battle. My opponent, Pete, had rather misjudged his advance and had left his guns limbered within charge distance of my cavalry. I was about to order the charge when Wayne, who was spectating said “are you going to do a ‘follow me’ order?” Well, Pete wasn’t too impressed by this coaching from the side-lines but it was sound advice. By passing this order I would get three moves and the charge would be pressed home. And to my surprise, it was! A glorious victory for the British Cavalry right at the start of the game and the opposition Artillery routed and off the table, Huzzah!

Follow me boys!

Follow me boys!

So far, so good. Except that was the end of my good fortune. I proceeded to throw six blunders during the course of the game, constantly throwing away any advantage that had developed. On top of this, at one point in the game, my light Cavalry were presented with a flank to charge by a rather enthusiastic enemy infantry unit. Hah! I thought, I’ve got him now, I’ll do another follow me order and rip the centre out of his army. I rolled eleven… order failed. Despite this, my luck held. Even though Pete was now aware of the danger, his units failed their orders and were still vulnerable to a flank charge. Brilliant! ‘Follow me boys’ charge! Again, the dice roll was eleven. Good grief, my infantry units looked on in disbelief as the Cavalry just sat there and the game was gradually lost in the continuing blunderfest! Ah well, there’s always next week…

11th Light Dragoons on the workbench

11th Light Dragoons on the workbench

Mind you, this poor performance on the Battlefield isn’t exactly inspiring me to get on and finish my 11th Light Dragoons. To be fair, I have been somewhat distracted in other ways, the arrival of a new Granddaughter, Eleanor, and a spot of decorating in the house have curtailed my painting time. Progress has been made though. The Horses are finished, with a grey for the trumpeter and the officer will have a nice Black mount. The main colours are now on the troopers with just the detail to do. It’s surprising how much difference a coat of Quick shade will make to how they look and of course once the basing is finished they will be ready for the table. Perhaps this Regiment will move when ordered to!

Trumpeter & officer of the 11th dragoons await the final details to be painted.

Trumpeter & officer of the 11th dragoons await the final details to be painted.

 

 

The Retreat from Bitteburg 1816

As I mentioned in my last blog, our gaming group, the White Hart Gamers, played another of our mega games two weeks ago. Once again the battle was based around the fictious town of Bitteburg and following the Allies defeat in the first battle of Bitteburg, we had decided that this would be the last in the series! The scenario was that the French, having driven the Allies from the field of battle at Bitteburg had caught them and would attempt to destroy the last allied army in a final set piece battle.  The set up was very straight forward. There were three players per side, each player having his own Corps Commander as per normal Black Powder rules. In addition, the player in the centre was the overall army commander, who could give three additional orders with no distance penalty. The idea being that, the overall commander could use his influence to link the three ‘Corps’ together.

Set up and ready to go!

Set up and ready to go!

We held back at least two brigades each in the initial deployment. They could be deployed, a brigade at a time, on the Corps Commanders orders, but only within D6 of the centre of the players deployment zone.

Set up complete, the battle commenced. For the French, it was simply a matter of pushing the Allies from the table to win. The Allies were tasked with breaking the French Army. As with all of our previous games, once we were started, the game effectively broke into three separate ‘mini games’ with very little overlap. As the French forces in front of me quickly advanced, I became engrossed in the battle in my sector, paying little attention to what was happening elsewhere!

Joint Anglo Prussian Forces await the French onslaught

Joint Anglo Prussian Forces await the French onslaught

My immediate plans to form a defensive line between the woods and church was thwarted by the refusal of my infantry brigades to move! In fact, the light infantry and Artillery had moved into position only to find they had no support at all from the rest of the army. Even the capture of a French Spy was of no comfort.

A French spy is apprehended!

A French spy is apprehended!

To make matters worse, two of my Artillery batteries blundered, limbering their guns and advancing straight into the waiting enemy!

Under Pressure from the French.

Under Pressure from the French.

As the two Armies closed to engage, a relentless fire fight ensued but on this occasion the British were out fought. The forward British units were picked off and the rest of the army refused to move! Perhaps the previous battles were beginning to undermine morale! Fortunately, I had reinforcements to bolster the Allies and the Prussians deployed in an attempt to relieve the pressure.

Here come the Prussians

Here come the Prussians

The French Brigades began to waver under the Allies numerical superiority and at last their central brigade broke, retreating in disorder. Well, almost… Despite this small success, the Allies were unable to capitalise on the break in the French line and through blunder and failure to move, found themselves again in trouble. Unable to rally the troops, it was now Allied brigades that began to break and create panic in the Army. Matters were brought to a head when a French Battalion blundered and charged the British defensive line. It should have been a bloodbath for the British but the French carried home the charge destroying the Battalion of Hanoverians facing them and causing the supporting battalions to rout as well. Even a late charge by the Scots Greys could not halt the French.

The Scots Greys prepare to charge

The Scots Greys prepare to charge

The British line was stabilised by the introduction of yet another reserve brigade. The French were pushed back but this temporary success was short lived as the French brought up their own reinforcements. As the battle came to a close, it was the French that remained in the ascendancy – the British had decided the day was not theirs and withdrew from battle.

Time to survey the battlefield and plan the final assault!

Time to survey the battlefield and plan the final assault!

The French had edged a victory. If my battle on the left had not gone so well, things were even worse on the right where after some initial success, our Austrian allies had also been pushed back and badly mauled. The battle in the centre was not quite so decisive but overall it was clear that the French had won the day.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, this was the last battle in this series and a 3 -0 score overall for the French was a pretty emphatic victory. The next big day will be slightly different. Having experience of running these mega battles has given us food for thought as to whether we can run a campaign in a day with several smaller engagements taking place on different tables. Watch this space to see how this works out.

To Battle with the 11th Light Dragoons.

Perry Light Dragoons - the first 6 troopers are finished.

Perry Light Dragoons – the first 6 troopers are finished.

To be honest, the blog post title is a bit of a tease. As you can see, I have finished the first 6 troopers in the regiment and they did indeed see service on the wargames table this weekend. However, time constraints this week prevent me from writing up either a full battle report or a comprehensive guide to painting the troopers. Just to say that I followed my usual process for troops, of block painting the main colours onto the figures, painting them with Army Painter Strong tone ( the black) quick shade, and then once they were dry, spraying them with antishine matt varnish. The final stage is the most important though, I give all of the lighter colours and metallics, a highlight, particularly the white as this makes these areas really stand out. I also used a new trick to help me to get the lines on the troopers overalls. The main buff stripe was first painted and then I painted a grey line down the middle to separate the two stripes. However, rather than thin the paint with water, I used Vallejo thinning Medium, 70524 to thin the paint. It gives a slower drying time but more importantly, allows the paint to flow from the brush, making it easier to paint a long line. You still need a fairly steady hand ( No Jack Daniels for me when painting!) but there’s no doubt it makes a real difference when using a fine brush.

A detachment of the 11th Light Dragoons

A detachment of the 11th Light Dragoons

The basing was done to my usual process, although I treated myself to a pot of Vallejo Dark Earth textured paste to speed things up. So with the first six troopers done, they were deployed in the latest of our war gaming groups’ mega Battles, the retreat from Bitteberg. As is often the case with new units, they attracted quite a lot of attention. In this case, most of it of the wrong sort. Their first task was to defend the flank of an errant foot battery that had advanced without support, the rest of the brigade refusing it’s orders. My opponent, Pete couldn’t believe his luck and proceeded to shoot the unit to bits! Fortunately, it was able to rally but played very little part in the rest of the battle.

The Light Dragoons are a bit exposed!

The Light Dragoons are a bit exposed!

I’ll perhaps add a few more pictures to my next blog, along with an outline of the battle. That’s all for now though – time has run out!

An Ongoing Saga!

This blog post should have been my last post of the year but due to the  busy time of the year it was never published. Never one to waste work, here it is as planned:

No, I’m not going to do another post about my attempt at modelling Napoleons Carriage. I have made some more progress but this post is about my recent battles with Jasmin using our Saga armies. I hadn’t played these rules for some time, so when Jasmin asked if I fancied taking on her Irish warband it was too good an opportunity to miss. To be fair, I had also been thoroughly enjoying the Last Kingdom on TV, so any chance to shout ‘Shield Wall!’ seemed like a good idea!

Jaz is a new comer to saga and had never played before. I hadn’t played for at least a year and had not come across the Irish before, so to start with, things were a bit slow. After a few games though we are almost up to speed and the games are becoming just a little bit more competitive. The Irish have some really tricky abilities that can be quite lethal when used in combination. The most recent game was the River scenario where points are scored simply by getting your warband across the river and , of course, keeping them there.

My strategy from the start was to hold one bridge, to prevent the Irish from crossing, whilst forcing the other bridge to get as many of my warband across as possible. The Warlord and a unit of Hearth Guard were chosen to hold one of the bridges. The rest of the warband, a unit of Hearth guard and two units of warriors, would force the other bridge.

The Anglo Dane warband push on!

The Anglo Dane warband push on!

It was then a case of using the battle board to break up and slow the Irish to ensure that they were divided and unable to resist my steady advance. Jaz tried to use her unit of war dogs to score an early victory and get across the river first. However, the unit of Hearthguard soon put paid to these, although in doing so were nearly wiped out themselves.

The Danes force the river crossing!

The Danes force the river crossing!

Although just one solitary Hearth guard remained he lead the Warriors across the table and then on his own held off the Irish reinforcements!  The Warriors, despite taking random arrow fire, held their nerve, crossed the river and staked their claim to the available victory points!

Death or Glory!

Death or Glory!

If all was going well at this river crossing, things were not so straight forward at the other. Jaz had decided that she would use the main bulk of her army to force a passage here so my Warlord and second unit of Hearth Guard faced off against their Irish counterparts who out numbered them two to one. Despite a valiant fight, my warlord and his retinue were massacred to a man but prevented the Irish from crossing the bridge.

Irish Warlord and Retinue

Irish Warlord and Retinue

It is here that the game ends as time had run out and the game had run for it’s scheduled 8 turns. On counting the victory points, the Anglo Danes have won the scenario, having got the most troops across the river. However, the Irish had the satisfaction of killing the Anglo Dane Warlord and all but one of his Hearth Guards. If there was to be a sequel, the Irish were in the stronger position. So in the end we considered the game to be honours even as we both had our victories to boast about!

We’ll definitely be playing more Saga in the future. It’s a great rules set for a club night game and with a good number of scenarios to choose from, there’s plenty to keep you occupied. Even better, there’s not too many figures to paint to put a retinue together. So may be I might just try some of those Irish warriors my self – Footsore do an excellent range…..

And so we are into a New Year! I did spend a few moments planning my next projects but first there’s Napoleons carriage to finish…

Napoleons carriage - still work to do!

Napoleons carriage – still work to do!

 

The Battle of Bitteburg Part 2

In the last report, I explained the background and set up to our fictional game ‘The Battle of Bitteburg’ In this article, the focus is on the battle itself. As a player, it is quite difficult to write an entirely impartial view of a battle. Not only are you very involved with the battle as it unfolds around you, but it is easy to lose touch with the detail of what is happening elsewhere. In my case, I could see what was happening to my immediate left and right, but our far right wing was very much out of sight. I could only rely on the reports of the general commanding the Division there. Those reports tended to be somewhat vague. When asked how it was going, the standard reply appeared to be ‘OK’. There was very little detail to flesh out the situation and to be fair, once I had ascertained that things were OK, I was happy to focus on my own problems!

Now if I was having trouble working out what was happening on a large wargames table, goodness knows how they managed it in real life! So with that in mind, on with the battle report.

Turn 1. The armies advance

Turn 1. The armies advance

Turn 1. Having started the game with a blunder on the far left wing, the Allies seemed to hesitate as orders were failed all across the left wing and the two divisions involved simply stalled. On the French side, progress was much faster as the whole Army advanced in good order, taking up positions in the woods and buildings that occupied the centre of the table. On the Left, the French advanced in good order to the river, taking advantage of the confusion in the Austrian Division. The only firing was from a solitary British rocket battery. No casualties were inflicted but the French were rattled at the range and potential damage that could be caused.

Turn 2 French advance to the River

Turn 2 French advance to the River

Turn 2 saw the Allied army making slow progress forward, with the first reinforcements arriving on the battlefield. On the left, the Austrians had started to sort themselves into some sort of battle line. The Prussians had occupied the village in the Austrian deployment zone and the rest of the Prussian brigade in this sector attempted to bolster the weaker wing of the Austrian Division. In the centre, the British and Hanoverians had successfully advanced and joined with the main Austrian force on their right. The French in reply, continued with their remorseless advance, their army looking the more cohesive of the two. The first Cavalry skirmish resulted in a minor victory for the British Hussars as they shook their French equivalents forcing two French Cavalry Regiments to retire shaken.

Turn 3 French cross the river

Turn 3 French cross the river

Turn 3 The battle for the centre

Turn 3 The battle for the centre

Turns 3 and 4. As the armies closed in the centre, the action really started and the game began to take shape. On the left an Austrian Cavalry charge ended disastrously, with the Austrians being soundly beaten both in the initial combat and the follow up move, resulting in the loss of a brigade of heavy cavalry. This allowed the French army to confidently cross the river, putting even more pressure on the Austrians. Left of Centre, the British and Prussians closed with the French, initially with some success as a French Battalion was broken by fire power and many casualties were inflicted. The French reply was equally devastating, with the Somersetshire Battalion broken and the Prussians occupying the village hammered by artillery fire and forced to evacuate. Frustratingly, the main body of Austrian troops in the centre, commanded by the Supreme Commander were struggling to move and make their numbers felt. The ‘Grand Battery’ of 5 guns that had been set up was largely ineffective and was becoming masked by Allied troops, limiting the targets available. On the far right things were going ‘OK’…

Turn 4 French are pushed back on the right.

Turn 4 French are pushed back on the right.

Turn 4 things are getting hot in the center

Turn 4 things are getting hot in the center

Turn 5. The Austrians on the left were trying desperately to hold back the advancing French but refused all aid offered. They were convinced that the tide would turn and that Callans first rule of wargaming, ‘He who crosses the river first will lose’ would apply. The British and Prussians were ready to deliver a killing blow to the French Centre. Unfortunately, the firing was ineffective and the French weathered the storm, their morale intact. Once again, the Superior Austrian forces in the centre were unable to engineer a break through and the majority of their forces were snarled up in the rear of the battlefield. Meanwhile, on the right, the Austrian division had pushed forward and although four battalions were forced into square they had effectively bottled up the French on this wing.

Turn 5 The pressure mounts on the Austrian Right

Turn 5 The pressure mounts on the Austrian Right

Turn 6 The British are held - The French Cavalry plug the gap

Turn 6 The British are held – The French Cavalry plug the gap

Turn 6. Left of centre turned into a blood bath! A whole British brigade was broken and effectively wiped out. The French also lost a brigade but managed to retire in good order as replacements were on hand to cover them. The Prussians in the ‘hinge’ were also severely mauled and on the point of breaking. The Austrians on the left were now crumbling in the face of the French advance. The French had now secured all of the river crossings and were moving up the reserve artillery. In the centre, the main Austrian army remained deadlocked, unable to exploit the few small gaps that had opened up. At least over on the right things were ‘OK’…

Turn 6 The French cut the hinge

Turn 6 The French cut the hinge

Turn 7. The French tighten the noose! Despite there being clear gaps and weaknesses in the French line, the Allies seemed unable to exploit them or break through. A clever redeployment of French Heavy cavalry plugged one gap and the continued arrival of reinforcements kept the allies on the back foot, penned to the edge of the Battlefield (table!). The Austrian Left flank had all but failed and was desperately holding on. The Prussians holding the ‘hinge’ between the Austrian and British divisions were now on the back foot, holding as best they could. The strong Austrian centre had pushed forward but was unable to relieve the pressure on the left. The only good news was that these Austrians were now in contact with French forces on the right and the Allies right wing was now secure and making progress.

Turn 6 at last the Austrian Centre is on the move

Turn 6 at last the Austrian Centre is on the move

Turn7 the Austrians threaten the French Flank

Turn7 the Austrians threaten the French Flank

Turn 8. There’s a certain look that winning players have as the game swings in their favour and I could see it across the table. The French confidence was high, their strategy had worked, the dice had not been too unkind and the end was in sight! On the left, the Austrian division was fading away and to make matters worse, they had been cut off from the rest of the army as the French had now secured the village guarding the  ‘Hinge’. The British and Prussians had been badly mauled, losing two brigades of infantry and were effectively pinned with their left flank badly exposed. The main Austrian force in the centre was largely untouched but had been unable to fully deploy or break through any gaps that appeared in the French lines. The only good news for the allies was that things were ‘OK’ on the right… Well, to be fair they had steadily fought their way into a winning position but were unlikely to be able to influence the outcome of the battle.

Turn 8 The Austrian right pushes the French back

Turn 8 The Austrian right pushes the French back

With the French winning in two sectors, drawing in one and only under pressure on the far right wing a victory was declared and once again, Napoleon had triumphed. The Allies were retreating in reasonable order although, it was possible that one wing of the army would be entirely lost in the retreat.

Turn 8 Napoleon watches the French advance

Turn 8 Napoleon watches the French advance

It was time to mull over the battle, the victors enthusiastically planning the next meeting, the losers holding a ‘post mortem’ to work out what had gone wrong!

We will be back again in the New Year!

 

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