Convention Gaming and Works in Progress

Last weekend we had our local miniature wargaming convention, Nashcon, after a year's hiatus due to Covid. It was great to be back with friends I had not seen in a long time!  The convention was in a new location that worked well and the organizers of the event did a masterful job.  Due to Delta, many of us were still in masks just as an extra precaution on top of vaccinations.  While most folks felt safe enough to game without the masks, there were a number of folks wearing them and everyone was very considerate of each others choices.  

Getting a a game of Triumph in with Carson Greene under the helpful gaze of Brian Caskey, who helped walk us through some of the nuances of Triumph

Here my Romano-British tried to hold the hill against Carson's horse archers, while on the opposite flank, I had lured his elephants into some bad going.

 

https://www.wgcwar.com/

Triumph is a DBA variant with the addition of a point based army system, that adds a nice layer of complexity to the 12 on 12 model of DBA.  The combat tables are a bit more easily navigated than DBA 3.0, with situational modifiers being more readily assessed.

Rod Cain with the help of William Hupp and Brian Caskey, hosted a wonderful Grand Triumph battle of Hydaspes.  I played Poros and my elephants were roundly spanked.  Clearly I still have a lot to learn!

Here you can see Poros on his elephant all alone, his elephant riding compadres having all been dispatched by the Macedonians or by a confused retreat into more elephants.  It really was ugly for the Indians!

Beautifully painted armies!

In addition to playing Triumph I have been enjoying L'art de la Guerre.  This game ramps up the complexity level by the addition of more troop types and variations among troop classes, as well as the addition of shooting and evasion on horseback.  A great set of rules once you get the hang of it, but more complex to set up and build armies for.

http://www.artdelaguerre.fr/adlg/v3/?/en/overview

My game with Chris Greene convinced me it was time to invest in the latest edition of the rulebook.

After Nashcon it was time to clear my desk of some projects that have been hanging on and to get started on the next addition to my shiny Napoleonic armies. 

The units on deck and ready to be painted are already piling up.  Chomping at the bit are the French Imperial Guard Grenadiers and Marines, a Spanish artillery battery, a Bavarian artillery battery, additional figures for the French 13th Cuirassiers, and a skirmish unit of Bavarian jagers.

I am also working on the Legion du Midi who were brigaded with the Legion Hanovrienne.  More on this unit later, but here is a quick teaser.  These illustrations were sent to me by none other than Phillip Haythornthwaite in answer to a question I had posed to him regarding the shakos worn by the legion.

When phillip Haythornthwaite tells you there is no evidence of shako cords having been worn by the rank and file, it behooves you to get out the clippers and files.  Also note the addition of epaulets, shako plates and carrot shapped pompoms.

Just a few more little tweeks and this battalion will be ready for priming and painting.

As you can see, lots of painting is in my future.  Thanks to everyone who helped with and attended Nashcon, with a special thank you to all those who ran games.  Was great to see everyone again!

Rolica Revisited

 Rolica Revisited!

With the CDC indicating that vaccinations against COVID are highly effective, we thought it time to have a gathering of fully vaccinated gamers for the first time since the Pandemic started.  Interestingly one of the participants let me know my last Muskets and Marshals game held in early 2020, was his last game before the pandemic struck, so very fitting that we should reintroduce social gaming with  a Napoleonic Muskets and Marshals reprise.

For this latest test of Rolica I tweaked a few of the rules for the larger battalions yet again, and all worked out very well.  I reduced the fire power of skirmishers a bit, and moderated the effect of disorganization in melee. Neither tweak had any effect on the length of the game or the fun and  speed of a combat or firefight resolution.  Many, many thanks to Striker over at the Hinton Hunt Vintage Wargame Figures blog for his work on these fantastic and fun rules.  I love the old school feel of the simultaneous movement, which really helps speed the game along.

The Likely suspects: James, Stephen, Eddie, Mike and David - a great crew to open up the garage to and have some fun.

A quick review of the historical situation, a very brief review of the rules, and we were off the the races.

Jockeying for position under the glow of the Miller Lite Billiards fixture.

British canon fire opens the ball.

The 71st moves forward - they would play a crucial role in the actions ahead.

Wellington briefs his staff for his first at bat in the Peninsula.  The French on the hill in the background ready to repel the invaders.

Four companies of the 39th take up position at the top of the hill over-looking steep cliffs.  Two of the battalion's six companies have been sent to garrison a small village where one of Wellington's flanking columns have been seen approaching.

To the right of the cliffs two British battalions Come into assault position.  The Gordon Highlanders will assault up a steep slope while the 50th follow the creek bed into the valley to hopefully come up behind the 39th.

On the left the Black Watch attempt to form line while the 24th makes a run for the village.  Unbeknownst to the Brits, The two companies of the 39th garrisoned in the village have sallied forth and burst through the trees right as the Black Watch is forming into line, throwing them into confusion.  In thew distance the 42nd can hear the drums of another French battalion striking the Pas de Charge.

But wait, what is this, just as the 42nd are thrown into confusion, the Legion Hanovrienne (playing a Swiss battalion), reverse muskets and surrender to the British.  They have had enough of the mistreatment by their French overlords!

While this creates a hole in the center of the French line, the British are not well placed to take advantage, as they have to spend a while assessing the situation and finally spin off several companies from the 58th battalion to escort the Legion Hanovrienne to the rear.

On the left there is more bad news for the 42nd Black Watch Highlanders.  Their illustrious Colonel Macara is knocked from the saddle by well aimed musket ball from the ever present French Voltigeurs.  The loss of their Colonel, the surprise and fierceness of the French attack, and the impending arrival of another French battalion, is just too much and the Highlanders rout away in panic.

The sacrifice of the highlanders was not in vain however.  Having drawn the French forward, they would find themselves completely cut off from the rest of their army.

Meanwhile in the center, the 71st, spurred on by the impetuous Lieutenant-Colonel Cadogan, charge up a ravine in march column hoping to get up the steep hill and behind the bulk of the French forces.  Both the defection of the Swiss (Legion Hanovrienne), and the impetuous charge up the gorge, were historical events.  In this case the roll of a 1 on a die at the beginning of each turn triggered the start of 1 of 3 special events.  The last was yet to come...

Back on the right, despite the steepness of the hill, the Gordons have charged home, disordering the remaining four companies of the 39th.

Unknown to the Gordons, two squadrons of Chasseurs have just charged some British riflemen who unwisely burst into view on the top of the hill in good ground for the Chasseurs.  Some were able to flee to the woods, but about half of the riflemen were ridden down by the merciless Chasseurs.

The Gordons, flush with victory pursue the routing 39th unaware of their danger, and are hit in the flank by the Chasseurs, who ride them down and rout them.  At the same time the 71st Highlanders are charged by the 1st battalion of the 39th.  The 71st were almost able to form line, but the French assault was well time and once again sent another British battalion packing.  Just out of the frame on the bottom right, the 50th were gaining the top of the hill behind the French lines unopposed!

The battle hangs in the balance, but what is this - 2 battalions of Portuguese suddenly appear and begin their inexorable march to the rear of the French formations.  Another "1" at the beginning of the 8th turn has triggered the third special event!

To make matters worse for the French, with the Legere out of position and the Legion Hanovrienne gone, the British light dragoons bolt up the road past modest skirmisher fire which is ineffective due to the pine scrub which gives the horsemen some small protection, but most of all they just got lucky!

The light Dragoons will gain the top of the hill, just as the last of the French guns guarding the road are silenced due to some counter-battery fire that finally found its mark.  Almost simultaneously the 24th British line battalion also gained the top of the hill, putting a strong force of infantry and cavalry in place behind the French blocking the road, with more troops coming up fast on both flanks!  The British paid dearly for their victory, with three battalions chased from the field, but in the end the French were left unable to withdraw and reinforce the army at Vimiero.  So while the French made a good showing, loosing only 1 battalion, based on the positions at the end of turn 10, very few if any would have been able to avoid being made prisoner.

Suddenly the closeness of the battle is explained, as old Nosey apparently left the field of battle to go have a chat with the village laundresses!   Clearly that happy event was suppressed in the history books of the time...

What a fun day it was!  A special thanks to my friends who sacrificed being outside on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to spend time around a games table.  Fortunately we were able to leave the garage doors open, so it almost felt like being outside.  A special thanks to David R for taking some absolutely wonderful photographs, and to Eddie and his son James who drove eighty miles each way to join us!  Thanks to Mike for providing good beer and a thorough reading of the rules and to Stephen, whose humor when half of his force defected kept a smile on all our faces.  Can't wait for the next time!

British Napoleonic Artillery Comparison and Works in Progress

To kick off the new year I thought I would do a long promised comparison of artillery models.  Thanks to fellow enthusiast "Goya" for providing the scaled down measurements of actual British artillery pieces.  If you have other metal 1/72 scale makes and feel inclined to measure them, send me the measurements and I will add them to the file for reference.  Below is a sampling of artillery pieces in my collection that shows the wide variety of what is interpreted as 1/72 scale. 

From left to right: Der Kriegspieler, Hinchliffe 20mm, SHQ (all 6 pdrs), Hinchliffe 20mm, Hagen, Der Kriegspieler (all 9 pdrs) - of note is that Hagen guns come with both barrel sizes, and as they are heroically scaled, the 9 pounder I have shown here is actually the smaller 6 pounder barrel, so I have taken some license to make a reasonably scaled Hagen artillery piece.

 

A comparison shot for axle width and wheel height.  Note the absence of ammunition chests on the DK gun carriages.

 

As can be seen from the chart, none of the pieces is spot on for 1/72 scale.  The Hagen is by far the cleanest casting and is currently available.  SHQ is also currently available, but the mold is aging and getting the artillery piece into reasonable condition took some work.

 

A New Colonel for the Legione Hanovrienne

 

Colonel Louis-Cyriac Striffler resplendent in his new cutting edge style uniform.

SHQ makes this lovely little model.  The shako cords are a custom addition however.

Leading his battalion

 

Works in Progress

I have spent over a month prepping these Der Kriegspieler figures of the 3rd Dutch Grenadiers of the French Imperial Guard for painting.  Wellington Man provided the initial 24 figures and command which were in great shape, but the core of these were actually from an eBay find and required a great deal of TLC.  I plan on modelling both battalions so am hopeful that getting the figures from Wellington man ready for painting will not be nearly as painful!  Most challenging is that I have re-positioned the figure, turning the head sideways and clipping off the front foot and turning it 90 degrees.  This put a lot of stress on the metal at the ankles and knees, so all of those areas have been strengthened with super glue.

I just wanted an excuse to try out my new light box so this Dapol model of a windmill gets to make a second appearance on my blog.

Apparently you could rotate the whole upper portion of the windmill using the lever positioned next to the stairs.

The Von Kinkel Regiment of Bavarians will be complete once the second battalion is done.  Last night they got their jackets painted so they are coming along nicely.

I forgot I had purchased a couple of Hagen Bavarian Colonels as part of my artillery order.  I prefer the Franznap mounted Colonels below.  Franznap figures are a little more slender and realistically proportioned than the Der Kriegspieler/Hinton Hunt figures, and the Hagen models are much thicker and heroically proportioned.  Both would work, but given the choice I prefer the Franznap's realistic style.

You can see the Franznap Colonels here, with some infantry from the first battalion on deck to serve as a color reference.

Putting the finishing touches on a Royal Horse Artillery battery from the Tennant collection. 

Lastly I have a shot of the new light box that was my Xmas present next to my home-made one.  The extra space and collapsible design are appreciated!

Rolica 1808 - Collapse! - The Battle Concludes

 Fortune is a fickle mistress, and in the final hours of the battle she abandoned the General de Brigade of the French force for the greener fields of Britain.  General Antoine Maucune (playing the role historically assumed by Delaborde) attempted to rally what was left of the French 39e, only to be carried away, along with the remnants of the Chasseurs, and was not seen again.  While the French sought vainly to rally their troops all along the battle line, only the Hanoverians remained as a formed battalion, but as they charged out of the woods to meet the threat of the 92nd Highlanders they were meet with the unexpected crash of musketry and the thundering boom of artillery...

 

While the French struggled to rally, the British, with the aid of General Howard, rallied the 42nd highlanders and rushed 6 guns of the Royal Horse Artillery into position.  The guns were perfectly sighted along the road, directed right into the flank of the charging Hanoverians.

From this bird's eye view of the field, the sheer size of the 92nd Battalion can be seen on the lower left, in contrast to the smaller Hanoverian battalion, bravely forming in the woods.  The disorganized 6e Legere, failing two sequential rally roles, has retreated into the area just inside the curve of the road, while a great arc of British skirmishers has begun to encircle the French forces.  On the bottom right can be seen the 71st Highlanders attempting to position themselves to be the anvil, on which the stroke of the 92nd will fall.

The Hanoverians, sensing the trap, charge out of the woods hoping to take the 92nd by surprise, but in so doing are exposed along the road in open ground to the raking fire of British canon.  As the Hanoverians charge, the British dragoons cautiously advance up the gully, hoping to cut off any chance of French retreat.  The charge of the Hanoverians is halted by the fire of the canons and British skirmishers lining the trees.  The 92nd charges home into the confused ranks of the Hanoverians (That's a fancy way of saying the British won the initiative for the turn and the Hanoverians took significant casualties as they counter charged.  This was a crucial risk for the French, they had to win the charge initiative and then lady luck had to favor their combat dice, neither happened, quite the opposite actually, with the 92nd rolling 6s for each of their combat dice!).

 

 

The Hanoverians retreat from the crushing attack of the Gordons, right into the ranks of the 6e legere who are trying to reform while facing the enemy.

The 92nd pursues the defeated Hanoverians, spurred on by the hatred of the loyalist French who sided with their hated enemy instead of the true crown prince of Hanover, King George III of Great Britain!  The Hanoverians literally evaporate under the pressure of the pursuit and scarce a soldier escapes.  The reckless pursuit lands the Gordons right into the waiting arms of the 6e Legere.

The 6e legere, while the pride of Napoleons army, have lost nearly half their strength in the fight and have just watched the horrifying slaughter of their comrades from Hanover.  It is just to much for the exhausted legere and they rout after a brief combat with the elated Highlanders.  The Gordons are unstoppable at this point and pursue the routing Frenchmen, decimating their ranks.

Only a thin line of skirmishers from the 2nd Battalion of the 6e Legere remains to protect the French troops routing from the field.

Realizing the necessity of saving the guns, the French artillery limbers and makes a mad dash for the road before the hated British Dragoon can deploy.

On the French left the story is the same as detached voltigeurs from the 39e Ligne form a firing line to protect the artillery and remaining two companies of the 39e from utter destruction.

Lt. Colonel John Cameron, rightly leads the victorious 92nd Gordon Highlanders past the pitiful cries of the wounded from the 6e legere onto the top of the Rolica ridge.

What is left of the 6e Legere's skirmishers sent to face the overwhelming attack of the 5/60 are taken prisoner.

Similarly, the last of the combined skirmishers from the Hanoverians and 6e Legere's 1er Battalion are squeezed between the Gordons and the advancing 71st Highlanders, as well as the remnants of the valiant British light troops who opposed them, and taken prisoner.  Fortunately for them, their stay in the prison hulks of the British Navy will be brief, as they will be sent back to France at the conclusion of the battle of Vimiero as a condition of the Convention of Cintra.

The Valiant 58th held their ground throughout the battle, tying down French resources that were needed on the French Right.  Their sacrifice was great both in the number of casualties, but also in the loss of their valiant Lt. Colonel Buckby, who was shot through the heart.  A fitting wound as the severe casualties of the 58th had already broken his heart.

The field of Battle from the French perspective.  Control of the road in ten turns was the victory condition of the scenario, and despite the severe casualties endured by the French, it was not enough to prevent the British Dragoons from reaching the top of the ridge and claiming possession of the road.  Victory belonged to Wellington and the brave, and costly assault up the ridge.

The remnants of the French force trying to slip away.  Fortunately the dragoons are in march column and exhausted after the difficult ride up the narrow track of the gully, giving the French a fighting chance of organizing a fighting retreat, but it is by no means guaranteed they will reach the safety of Zambugeira.

Some of the resources needed to pull this off.  A big shout and thanks to Ian Spencer for his brilliantly simple and fun rules, Muskets and Marshals!  These are available as a free download on his blog for those interested: http://hintonhunt.blogspot.com/

Some morale tokens I created for the game inspired by Ian.  I took his template and altered the size so as to fit on 40x30mm Litko 3mm thick wooden bases, which made them easy to use for my fumbly fingers!

Most especially I want to thank Wellington Man of the Hinton Spieler fame (https://thehintonspieler.blogspot.com/), for his guidance, patience, and an unexpected friendship that developed from all the way across the world.  Through all of the hiccups with the map, miss-reads of the rules, and my struggle with accurate numbers, he was the most gentlemanly and delightful opponent.  Till next time WM!

As the Victor in this affair, he of course has the right to compose the victory dispatch.

Dispatch To Horse Guards

HRH the Prince Regent

Dear Prinny

An engagement took place near Rolica on the 17th of August against an enemy force under General Delaborde, who occupied a wooded slope just outside Columbeira. On encountering the French, your Royal Highness's Portuguese allies muttered something about 'making a strategic pincer movement' and then swiftly disappeared. The victory was thus secured entirely with the British forces under my command.

The infantry were victorious at every point, with the sole exception of the 42nd, who appear to have lost their way in the woods, only to re-emerge looking somewhat flustered and facing in the wrong direction. At no stage were my forces inconvenienced in any way, although the 58th had neglected to tie their shoelaces and were momentarily delayed.  Realizing his error, Lieutenant-Colonel Buckby quite correctly took the only honourable course and has been buried with full military honours. The victory would have been all the swifter had not General Delaborde been borne away by his fleeing cavalry while attempting to surrender.

It is my sad duty to report that the unimpeded progress of the infantry was unaided in any way by the Royal Artillery, who declined to advance, preferring to spend the engagement bowling over harmless trees. As I have said before and will no doubt say again, this disgraceful insubordination is only to be expected for as long as they remain under the exclusive control of that bumbling Poltroon, the Master General of the Ordnance.

I look forward to unwrapping my dukedom by return of post,

I am, etc.

Wellesley