Chasseurs of the 6e Legere and a Windmill for Them to Shelter Within

 I learned a lot and picked up some pointers when playing the test game of Muskets and Marshals with Wellington Man.  One of the guiding principles of these rules by Ian Spencer is to keep it simple and not over-complicate unit organization.  To that end, players of Muskets and Marshals have battalions dedicated to a skirmish role, rather than peeling off companies of voltigeurs from full strength battalions.  What this does is standardize the size of the battalions as well as the "skirmish units".  For my larger 36 figure standard battalion size, skirmish units should be nine figures each, which represents roughly two companies of infantry (which coincides with the number of voltigeurs an infantry regiment of two battalions would throw forward).  For the French at Rolica I needed to have two legere battalions, one of which could be played in a close order formation or a skirmish formation.  To this end I modeled three battalions, 2 in close order and one that has smaller bases for skirmish duty.

Fortunately I already had 24 extra legere from the Tennant collection, so only needed to add 12 more.  The additional figures are Der Kriegspielers #12 - French legere battalion, 1812 firing.  The same figure is used for carabiniers, voltigeurs and chasseurs.  In this case I modeled the chasseurs as I already had the voltigeurs and carabiniers waiting.

In a bit of a cheat, I painted on a vest to appear as though a pre 1812 uniform was worn, to better match the voltigeurs and carabiniers. 

The DK figures are sometimes really quite crudely cast, and it took a lot of shaping and filing to get them in reasonable shape for painting.  Almost all had lost their bayonets, so I am hoping the super glue and varnish will create a strong enough bond to be durable with the replacement bayonets (plastic and metal).

Finally, apparently no old school wargame is complete without this plastic model kit of a windmill that shows up everywhere.  It is still available from Dapol in the the UK, along with the equally ubiquitous thatched cottage and village church:  https://www.dapol.co.uk/shop/model-accessories/self-assembly-oo-kits/c016-windmill-545

In the background you can see I have made some progress with the roads leading up into the hill beyond Rolica.  Despite having tested the battle a month ago, there are still a few scenic elements to complete, and a brigade of Portuguese, who may or may not show up during the course of the battle.  Still lots of fun to be had getting this battle ready for a local springtime debut.

Wellington's General Staff and the Duke of Brunswick

 As promised, to celebrate a quarter million page views, I have featured the newly spruced up and varnished commanders of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, as well as the Duke of Brunswick and escort.  The figures were originally, and masterfully, painted by Richard Tennant.  I have added some rudimentary shading and highlights.  Additionally I have made a few modifications to some figures, as well as a general cleaning and refresh on some of the paint that had dulled or chipped over time.  I Hope you enjoy!  As I am late in getting these posted I am going to add the pictures and then work on the commentary in the next day or so.  Blame the Tennessee Titans and their stunning come from behind, over-time victory against the Baltimore Ravens for the lateness of my post.

The General Staff of the Anglo-Portuguese Army: The Duke of Wellington, The Prince of Orange as ADC, General of Artillery Sir Edward Howarth, General officer of the Staff Corps of Cavalry, Orderly to the General Staff (16th Light Dragoons), and Royal Life Guard Escort

Though never actually present in the Peninsula to my knowledge, what Anglo-Allied army would be complete without the Duke of Brunswick?  At the very least he should have made a visit to check on the state of the infamous Brunswick Oels (who will be featured in another post in the future).  He is escorted by a Colonel of Brunswick Lancers and a detachment of troopers.

For the following individual shots of the command staff, I constructed a small light box from Kenex toys and parchment paper.  My inspiration for doing so was the extraordinary brushwork and photography on Alistair Morrison's blogsite and his description of his photo technique here:  https://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/search/label/Photo%27s?m=0

Sir Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.  This is an Alberken figure, one of the precursors of the Miniatures Figurines line, likely sculpted by Peter Gilder before he started sculpting for Hinchliffe miniatures, but that is just supposition, as it could have been others associated with the early days of figure design.  This particular figure has had the characteristic rectangular base reshaped to be more in line with the Hinton Hunt figures that make up the bulk of the collection.  The original telescope was also removed, the arm re-positioned, and a new telescope fashioned from wire and epoxy putty "Green Stuff".

The Prince of Orange, or "Slender Billy" as he was known to the senior generals, was an Aide de Camp to the Duke of Wellington.  This figure is a Hinton Hunt ADC figure BN 261, slightly modified with decorative touches on his fore and aft hat, as well as his service ribbon as shown in his official portrait.  While unlikely he would have worn these elements in the field, as a lover of toy soldiers I am guilty of dressing them up a tad.

The portrait on which this is based can be seen here: http://www.kyrackramer.com/2017/12/06/slender-billy-william-ii-of-the-netherlands/

Brigadier General of Artillery Sir Edward Howarth - Hinton Hunt figure BN 107.  Wellington apparently had little use for his Generals of Artillery who were not under his direct command.  The British artillery was under the control of the Board of Ordnance rather than Horse Guards which controlled the army.  It was not until 1813 that Wellington got his way, and Alexander Dickson was promoted to command of all Artillery in the Peninsula.  Dickson had actually served under Howarth as a brigade-major of artillery in 1809, before transferring to Portuguese service.  Thanks to Dick Tennant and Nick Lipscombe for helping to identify the list of those who served in this capacity and providing the historical context.

Officer - Staff Corps of Cavalry, Hinton Hunt BN 264 on BNH4.  The Staff Corps of Cavalry were essentially Wellington's enforcers and served as a gendarmes, or a military police force.  This uniform is a tad speculative, but would represent a high ranking officer of that arm.

You can see here how fresh the paint is still, as some of the white glue under the base is still not dry.  The varnish sometimes takes a couple of weeks to fully cure, so the opaque white glue beneath it will turn clear shortly and essentially disappear.

Hinton Hunt BN 60 Royal Life Guard charging, modified by Richard Tennant to serve in a less aggressive pose!

The orderly to the General Staff from the 16th Dragoons is actually an Alberken figure, once again with a trimmed rectangular base to be more reminiscent of a Hinton Hunt base.  This figure bears a remarkable resemblance to a Hinton Hunt figure, and may very well have been a direct copy of a Hinton Hunt figure that was re-cast and re-labeled as Alberken.  Apparently early figure manufacturers were not above a little bit of copyright infringement...

The Duke of Brunswick was so much fun to transform.  Originally a Prussian General, Hinton Hunt PN64, in a peaked hat, I trimmed his hat and added "Green Stuff" mutton chops.  He now bears an extraordinary resemblance to his portrait! 

His portrait can be seen here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William,_Duke_of_Brunswick-Wolfenb%C3%BCttel

The Colonel of Brunswick Lancers is a slight modification of Hinton Hunt FN 40, French Lancer of the Guard charging - officer.

The Troopers of the Brunswick lancers are likewise two slight conversions of Hinton Hunt French Lancers - FN 41, and I believe FN303 from the dismountable two part casting series.  Richard Tennant made the original conversions.  By the time they made it to me, the lances were a little beaten up and the pennants in sad shape so I replaced with more robust wire lances and new pennants.

While not a part of the General Staff, I haven't had a chance to show this command stand for the 50th Royal American Rifles.  The two figures on the left are actually SHQ figures with their bases removed and replaced by a spare Hinton Hunt or Der Kriegspieler base for the sake of a consistent look.  The rifleman one the right is a Der Kriegspieler casting.

Even though Lt. Colonel Cameron of the 92nd Gordon Highlanders has graced these pages before, I wanted to take advantage of the better lighting and feature him again.  He had considerable modifications including a head transplant, and "Green Stuff" tartan shoulder swag and sheep skin holster cover.

Lt. Colonel Macara of the 42nd "Black Watch" Highlanders started life as a newline Designs 20mm British Colonel.  He also had a head swap and a command sash worn over the shoulder which was a distinction allowed only to the Highland officers.  His basket hilted Claymore is also a custom addition.  While the small Der Kriegspieler head on the more robust casting style of the Newline Design figure makes him look a bit stout (portly), I figure not every commander was tall and elegant in their appearance.

The prominent right hand (in part an optical illusion due to the proximity to the camera) seems to be beckoning to the viewer - come join me in the madness that is collecting Napoleonic toy soldiers.  If you have made it this far you may already be there.  :)  Hope you have enjoyed seeing this collection of Generals and Officers.  Until next time, David

 

A Quarter Million Pageviews! Celebrations Abound!

 Thanks to everyone who has visited my blog and especially those who follow my work and send comments on the posts.  The comments are really what keep me going, so I appreciate all of the kind words!

I will hit a quarter million page-views shortly, or may have already gotten there as I type.  I wanted to celebrate this milestone, but it also has occurred on a great day of celebration for our nation, which was all the excuse I needed to open up a very special bottle of Balvenie double cask 12 year old scotch!  I'll save the next sip for the inauguration!

We had our usual Sunday morning church of the outdoors with a walk in Warner Parks.  It was an extraordinarily beautiful day and the trees are turning golden.  My wife and daughter spent the walk chasing falling leaves and trying to catch them, an extraordinarily difficult task actually!

Saturday night after the US election results were officially announced, we celebrated outside with a nice campfire in the back yard, and for me, a wee (well not really so wee) dram of a special scotch.

The Balvenie double wood 12 year old is an expensive treat, but oh so nice.  I have just enough left for one more special celebration.

To celebrate the quarter million page views, I wanted to start a special little project, and have decided what better way than by giving Wellington and his staff, including The Duke of Brunswick and the Prince of Orange, the spotlight and getting them all cleaned up and ready to join their forces on the battlefield.  His staff includes the Commander of the Royal Artillery, the Commander of the Royal Army Staff Corps, 16th light dragoon orderly, Royal Horse Guard escort, The Prince of Orange as Aide de Camp, The Duke of Brunswick and his staff and escort, and of course the Duke of Wellington, ole "Nosey" himself.

As a father of two wonderful young adults, a proud long time Democratic party member, a social worker, and health disparities researcher, I would be remiss to say that the news of Biden's victory was not a huge relief.  I truly hope we can start to heal the divisions this divisive campaign fueled, and once again become a nation that values the strength of our diversity and the beautiful complexities that diversity brings to our common experience.  We have always been known as a melting pot and I can not help but believe that variety of experience will be our strength as we tackle the future together.

An Eclectic Miscellany of Completed Figures

 Over the last few weeks I have finished a number of smaller efforts so thought it might be fun to feature them in a quick post.

First up, the 2/24 Warwickshire Regiment of Foot

The heroes of Rolica 2020, even without my special basing, I thought it high time to give them their glossy coat and a thicker base to aid in handling the figures safely.

Lietenant Colonel William Kelly reviews his Regiment.  He is an SHQ/Kennington figure.

Mr. Tennant tells me the flags were made from toothpaste tube metal originally.  The metal foil/sheet is actually quite robust and so I was able to save these flags.  Nice to be able to retain his original work.  For the figures I touched up any paint that had chipped off, added a very thin black wash to the trousers for a little bit of shading, and various bits of white and red highlighting before giving them a good brush on coat of glossy varnish.

Since I am only using four figures to man the British guns to distinguish them from their larger six figure crewed French battery opponents, I had a few extra British gunners.  I added this SHQ/Kennington horse team and limber as well as a 6 pounder to round out the battery.

SHQ does not actually make a driver for the horses, so those seen here are actually the same castings as the riders seen on the limber, but with their legs cut off and replaced by some miscellaneous extra riders legs I found in my cast offs box.  This whole set was very difficult to get trimmed, cleaned and assembled.  While I am fond of the end result, it is definitely not a set for the faint of heart!

The Battery deployed with the Hinton Hunt gunners painted by Mr. Tennant.

 

28mm Perry Miniatures French 7th Hussars for Waterloo

I am continuing to slowly build the elements necessary for the Waterloo scenario of DBN put out by Alex Testo and Bob Carter:  http://www.dbnwargaming.co.uk/

As much as I love the Perry castings, I have gotten so fond of their smaller, older, glossy cousins, that when I look at these now they seem somewhat incomplete.

Nevertheless, the nature of the elements allows an almost diorama like basing which is a real joy to work with.

Only forty or fifty more of these to go...

The Fantasy Trip - 40mm Dungeon Crawl

Inexpensive hard plastic bears and a couple of Tom Meier metal masterpieces make up the "monsters" in this dungeon encounter.  The Viking is a wonderfully sculpted miniature by V&V: https://vminiatures.com/40-mm/vikings_40/vikings_set

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you're surrounded by that many monsters the only thing to do is run!  The wolf featured in this encounter was painted by my daughter.  She did a great job on her first miniature!

This beastie was a gift from my children many Christmases ago.  I am pleased to have finally gotten "Slug Eat Your Face" appropriately and disgustingly painted.  This was the first time I have ever tried to model drool, which was a pretty fun experiment!

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