Inducting a potential new recruit

My friend and neighbour (well, up the hill) expressed an interest a few weeks ago in having a go at wargaming. So this week I set up a small ACW game (one brigade a side plus a few extras) to let him see what its all about. I used Black Powder (my ruleset of choice) as they're pretty straightforward and easy to pick up.

My Confederates were tasked with attacking a small town held by the Federals which was known to have a large amount of much-needed supplies. I made the Confederates better than the slightly more numerous Federals in terms of command but in the end it made little difference as I managed to throw my usual run of rubbish command scores which meant that my incredibly excellent plan to isolate and destroy the enemy battalion by battalion didn't work! It also didn't help that Peter picked the rules up really quickly and managed to hold me off and disrupt my troops enough to turn my attack into a shambolic and bloody failure. One battalion was caught in march column and badly shot up, another was pinned and the third managed to at least hide in the woods and drive off a Federal attack. My cavalry were also isolated and as the federals had a spare unit of infantry and their cavalry covering their flank it had nothing worthwhile to do. It did however manage to throw double '6' and blunder, resulting in a charge towards the Federal cavalry. In the melee that followed the Federals were broken but the Confederates were shaken and unable to exploit this minor success.

In the centre, the Federal artillery destroyed the lone Confederate artillery battery. On the left the unit caught in column managed to shake out into line but was broken by the weight of fire the federals managed  to pour onto it.  The battalion hiding in the wood charged the Federal zouaves facing it and managed to get into hand to hand combat but were broken in the melee. The Federals had successfully beaten off the Confederate attack and the game came to a close. Beginners luck!

Well, I didn't put Peter off which is great and he'll be back for another game soon. I'll remember to take photos next time!

New games room and table christened with TYW scrap!

Well, as the title of this post suggests, my new man cave is ready for action. There will no doubt be a larger inaugural game to celebrate the occasion but Rob came up last night for a taster. I opted for Thirty Years War largely because I knew where all the troops were under the table but also because it is a colourful period and the rules are pretty straightforward (Pike and Shotte, love 'em or hate 'em they work for me). Rob took the Swedes and I led the Imperialists, in a simple encounter battle for possession of the river crossings.

 (Above, the armies deployed for battle. Below, a close up of the Imperial left wing)

 (Above, the Swedish army, with their Saxon allies on their far right flank, well out of the way! Below, Finnish horse pushing across the river to try and delay the Imperial advance. They failed and were broken after a hard fight with Imperial cuirassiers)

 (Above, the Swedish centre, the Blue Brigade and the Yellow regiment cross the river. Below, Imperial infantry in some confusion attempting to form up to receive the Swedish attack).

 (Above: Swedish dragoons before they dismounted to take pot shots at the Imperial right wing. Below, over on the other flank the Imperial Cuirassiers, Harquebusiers and Croats forced the Saxons into a defensive hedgehog).

 (Above, Imperial pikes stormed across the bridge, driving off the Saxon musketeers holding the opposite end.  Below, battle rages as the Swedes get in close).

 (Above and below, the hapless Swedish dragoons again. They dismounted just in time to be hit by Imperial Harquesbusiers, fresh from driving off all the enemy horse on the Swedish left flank).

 (Above, the main Imperial infantry line advancing towards the Swedish Blue Brigade, while below, four squadrons of Swedish horse held  in reserve are pushed forward after the Finnish and Livonian horse on their left had been drive off by Imperial cuirassiers.)

 (Above, Swedish cuirassiers move forward in support of their infantry while below, the left closed with the Swedes and crossed the river in strength). 

(Above, Croats harass the Saxons and keep them from deploying out of their immobile hedgehog formation. Below, opposing pike blocks clash in the centre). 

 (Above, the Imperial advance is halted temporarily by the elite Blue brigade. Below, the end of the action.)

This was a great game and when we had to finish it was still very much in the balance. My right wing had driven off and broken their opponents and were swinging around to engage the Swedish centre. My left wing was held up by the Saxons and the terrain. In the centre things were evenly matched except that Rob had six squadrons of uncommitted Swedish horse and his infantry were superior in quality to mine. We  shall never know........ and most remarkable of all, although we were both plagued by some dreadful command rolls as usual at the wrong time, neither of us managed to throw a double 6 and blunder during the entire game!

New games room and table ready for action!

Yesterday saw the completion of my new table. The man cave is also just about ready for use; I just need to sort everything out, fill the display cabinets and put some pictures on the walls. There's loads of space on the shelf under the table for all my stuff, indeed there's plenty of room for more stuff!

The table is 5' x 12' which while not as wide as my previous one is longer, higher and far sturdier. 5' is wide enough I guess, even for the massive Black Powder and Pike and Shot games I play. Another big advantage that it is well lit, heated and everyone can stand up straight without cracking heads on the ceiling. I can fit a 2' extension to the table if I really wanted to.

I have a new terrain matt on its way as the old one, apart from being too small for the new table, has seen better days and hasn't really survived the move.

I'll be glad when I can get back to some painting and especially basing as I have lots of troops completed but in need of basing. I will still be keeping my painting station upstairs in the 'office' so I don't have to disrupt the production line whenever I have a game. Now, where did I put my backdrop??????

New games room update

Just a quick picture of the status of the new games room. New roof, insulated walls and a floating shelf all round at just above head height. To do is a radiator, the new window at the back, new secure door, lighting and the door into the house, decorating, oh, and the new table with ample storage underneath.

Franco-Prussian War Tabletop Teaser Rearguard Action and the last game in the Dickensian garrett!

Conrad came up a couple of weeks ago for the very last ever game in my old games room. Most of my troops were packed up ready for the move but the Franco-Prussian figures were still out following the game earlier that week with Rob. I decided we'd attempt a version of "The rearguard action" tabletop teaser. In this scenario the French had to hold up the Prussian advance until a designated time and then extricate themselves off the central 4 feet of the rear table edge without the Prussians being too close or in a position to interfere with their withdrawal.

The forces were, to the best of my memory, as follows:

French (Me), CinC, Command 8

1st Infantry bde: 1 x Turco, 3 x line, 1 bty, 1 mitrailleuse (Command 8)

2nd Infantry bde: 2 x Zouave, 2 x line, 1 bty (Command 9)

3rd infantry bde: 1 x Marine, 3 x line, 1 bty, 1 mitrailleuse (Command 7)

Reserve artillery: 2 bty (Command 6)

Light cavalry bde: 2 Chasseurs a chevel, 1 Chasseurs d'Afrique, 1 bty (Command 8)

Reserve cavalry div: 4 x Cuirassier, 1 bty (Command 8)

Prussians (Conrad), CinC, Command 9

Advance guard: 1 jager, 3 line, 1 bty (Command 9)

1st inf bde: 6 line, 2 bty (Command 8)

2nd inf bde: 6 line, 2 bty (Command 9)

1st cav bde: 2 dragoon rgts, 1bty (Command 8)

2nd cav bde: 1 hussar, 1 cuirassier, 1 bty (Command 7)

Reserve arty: 4 bty (Command 9)

The French were deployed along the line of hills as can be seen in the picture below. The Seminary in the distance was garrisoned by a battalion of Turcos and the villages in the centre were each held by battalions of Zouaves. We both agreed to try and play the game in the spirit of the actual tactics of 1870, or at least as we understood them. Conrad pushed his advance guard brigade forward between the central village and the seminary on the French right. His artillery caused some damage to the French infantry but not enough to put them out of the battle completely. In true Prussian style his next brigade followed the advance guard straight into action, while their artillery joined the gun line forming on the hills opposite the French positions. The Prussian dragoons covered their left flank while the other brigade did the same on their right, lurking behind a wood out of sight. 

(Above, the French deployed awaiting the Prussian attack. Below, not long after, the Prussian advance guard surges towards the French)

The French reserve infantry and artillery proved very difficult to get moving but the infantry facing the main Prussian thrust were holding their ground (just!) despite being user a hail of artillery fire. The leading Prussian battalions attempted to charge the French; one battalion failed but the other succeeded but was driven off after a furious melee. The battered advance guard brigade was forced back broken.

(Above and below, the Prussian attack on the French right) 

Wave after wave of Prussians assaulted the French lines but fortune wasn't on their side. The Prussian artillery was unable to inflict enough damage on the French to weaken their positioning  as although my units were for the most part disordered, I rolled some useful saves. All the while Conrad's infantry were faltering under the withering effects of close-range chassepot fire to the front and the flank as my left-hand brigade had swung round to enfilade the Prussian assault. A regiment of Cuirassiers added their weight to the combat and although the Cuirassiers were broken, the Prussian brigade was forced to retire.

,

(Above, the ever expanding Prussian grand battery supports Conrad's ongoing assault, below, on the French-held hilltop)

(Above and below, while the Pussian advance guard and 1st brigade dashed themselves against the French in costly frontal assaults, they did however succeed in pinning the French while the 2nd brigade and the brigade of dragoons were able to move around the French right flank).

Meanwhile, Conrad's last brigade had moved round to the French right flank. Although an assault on the seminary was beaten off they continued round it to threaten the flank of the exposed French centre. The only troops facing the Prussians were the three remaining regiments of cuirassiers. These threw themselves repeatedly against the advancing Prussians but were unable to do anything other than halt them momentarily before being driven from the field.

(Above, the French cuirassiers threw themselves time and time again against the advancing Prussians, but only succeeded slowing them down at the cost of the division being shaken and taking no further part in the battle).

On the other flank my light cavalry foolishly decided to try and drive off the Prussian cavalry facing them. They failed miserably and two fine regiments of Chasseurs a Chevel were broken (ok, by Prussian Cuirassiers), leaving the remainder of the brigade to withdraw powerless to continue.

(Above, another shot of the Prussian advance on the French left, and below, another example of the French cuirassiers vainglorious attempts to to stem the tide and give the infantry time to withdraw.)

Conrad was within a gnat's whisker of conceding but as the last move had seen the removal of the French cavalry I was the one who threw in the towel and admitted defeat. Both my cavalry brigades were broken. My infantry brigades were badly mauled and several battalions were disordered and unable to move. Conrad's surviving infantry brigade was ideally placed to roll up my line supported by his unscathed cavalry  on each flank and his grand battery facing the French centre which was about to turn its attention onto the French infantry that had earlier moved off the hills to enfilade the second Prussian assault. The French would be unable to withdraw off the field unmolested therefore the game was a Prussian victory, albeit a hard fought one.

As the title suggests this was the last game played in my old games room. Normal service will I hope be resumed by the end of October.

Franco-Prussian War: the penultimate game

Before the current mayhem Rob came up one night last week for a game set during the Franco-Prussian war. The French had to hold off a Prussian advance long enough to get their forces across the river, while the Prussians had to stop them. The one fly (or one of many flies) in the ointment for the French was a brigade of Prussian infantry blocking the French escape route. The Prussians were hampered by not knowing  when or where their troops would enter the table and by the fact that their blocking force was made up of second class less than enthusiastic troops from the like of Anhalt, Lippe-Detmold, Saxe Coburg and Brunswick. (They were actually standing in for Bavarians but I'd not got them based up fully in time for the game).

The Prussians in total had three brigades of infantry and one of cavalry, totalling 15 btns, 2 regts and 8 batteries. Commanders were rated either 8 or 9. The French had three brigades of infantry, and a brigade of cavalry, 12 btns, 3 regts, 4 batteries and 2 mitrailleuse. Commanders were mainly rated 7 with a couple of 8's Sorry for being so vague but in the tidying up that followed the game I misplaced the orders of battle for both sides.

(Above, the French holding the river crossing and the hills in the distance. Below, the other end of the French line, centred around a village. French cavalry can be seen in the far distance).

 (Above, the Prussians advance in force. Below, the same view from behind the French cavalry brigade). 

 (Above, two battalions of French cross the river while below, the Prussians close with the French holding the hills in the centre).

 (Above and below, two successive attacks by the French cavalry. The first halted and pushed back the Prussian advance but was forced to retire. The second attack fared far worse.....)

 (Above, troopers from Hesse Darmstadt and Hannover advance. Below, the shattered French cavalry are powerless to prevent the Prussian advance).

 (Above, after their Hessian comrades were beaten off by the deadly chassepot, Hannoverian dragoons charge the disordered and battered French line, forcing them back across the river).

 (Above, Prussian infantry reach the river while their artillery in the rear bombard the French already across the river and at that time fighting off the Prussian cavalry. Below, the French line facing the Prussian onslaught).

(Above and below, the Prussian assault on the French line develops). 

It seems a long time ago now and my notes have been put away somewhere safe but here is what I think I remember happened. So, cutting a long storey short, the Prussian (allied N German) blocking force managed to keep the French pinned in the village while the main body proceeded to engage the rest of the French who were then unable to extricate themselves from the fight. Two battalions made it across the river but soon found themselves disordered, fired on from the front and rear and charged (unsuccessfully) by cavalry. They ended up being stuck in or just across the river, pinned under artillery fire and threatened by a further cavalry charge. Elsewhere, the Prussian artillery was effective at knocking out their French counterparts and the mitrailleuse batteries, and the French cavalry, i.e. both of my lovely  Chasseur a Cheval regiments, was equally effective at dashing itself to ruin in futile charges against the oncoming Prussian infantry, although to be fair they did achieve their objective of forcing back one battalion and holding up the Prussian advance for a couple of moves, long enough perhaps for some of the French to extricate themselves.

In the end we decided that the French would be unlikely to get away in any significant strength as the blocking force, despite being second rate troops, was just about holding its own, and the rest of the French were likely to be overwhelmed by vastly superior number of Prussian infantry and artillery.

Poor command rolls by the French (me) meant that I was unable to take advantage of the first two or three moves before the bulk of the Prussians made their presence felt to galvanise the main body into some sort of order and across the river where superior numbers and firepower would have driven the blocking force away. Anyway, that was the plan, indeed that was the premiss behind the scenario.

Again, the amended rules for disorder and break tests, taken from Hail Caesar, worked really well.

An empty games room and total chaos!

Not much more to say really. From the chair back to the wall is to become an en suite bathroom; the remainder of the room will be the new guest bedroom. Existing guest room will become the 'office' for us both (and maybe some overflow painting space for me).

Conversion of garage into the new games room progressing well. Photos to follow.