Tonight's game. A bit of nostalgia

I had forgotten how nice these figures are, last used over 25 years ago!

Encounter at McGonnigal's Farm, the Crimea, December 1854

Paul came over for our monthly game yestday and I thought we should dust off my Crimean War collection (well most of it) as they've not been on the table since before we moved to The Burrow.

The scenario involved a misdirected British supply column which had somehow found itself at McGonnigal's Farm (the owner was the son of a Scottish immigrant. There really was a MacKenzie's Farm close to Sebastopol by the way). Some sort of foul play or double dealing was suspected but Raglan was adamant that an English gentleman would never sell supplies for personal gain to the Russians, let alone the French or Johnny Turk. The priority was to recapture the farm and supplies, which had been taken by a strong Russian force the night before, especially as the winter snows were upon them.

"Due to a staff cock up or a conspiracy, your supplies were mysteriously taken to the abandoned McGonigal’s Farm to the North East of Sevastopol. The supplies include several new siege guns, powder and shot, officers’ personal consignments of food and clothing from the finest London establishments, horse shoes and fodder for the horses and blankets and greatcoats for the men. There might even be some food suitable for the rank and file as well. You must retake the Farm and drive off the Russian forces before they are able to remove the stores, which they MUST NOT be permitted to do!"

THE BRITISH: COMMANDER (7)

1st DIVISION: (8)

Brigade of Guards: (8)
3 btn Guards

Highland Bde: (9)
3 btn Highlanders
1 battery 9pdrs (3 models)

4th DIVISION (8)

Infantry Bde: (8)
Rifle Brigade ( 2 small battalions)
3 btn line infantry (SB)

Infantry Bde: (8)
3 btn line infantry (SB)

Light Cavalry Bde: (7)
5 small regiments

Heavy Cavalry Bde: (7)5 small regiments
1 troop horse artillery 6pdr (3 models)

The 1st Division is the finest in the army, and is armed with Minee rifles. The 4th Division are still armed with smooth bore muskets (except the Rifle Brigade of course who have Minee rifles). The entire mounted complement of the army was roused to go on this expedition and you have two excellent but poorly led cavalry brigades each of five weak regiments(little more than squadrons in reality). The only artillery available to join this force at such short notice is a battery of 9pdrs and a troop of 6pdr horse artillery attached to your cavalry.

The Russian orders were,  "Having overrun and captured the English supplies conveniently abandoned (as we had been led to expect) at McGonigal’s Farm during the night, your task is to hold the Farm for 6 turns to allow sufficient wagons to come up and remove the stores. They will take 1 D3+1 turns to load up. You may then withdraw if necessary after holding for another 2 moves to allow the wagons to get away."

RUSSIAN ARMY

VI CORPS COMMANDER: (8)

16th DIVISION: (8)
8 btns infantry
1 small btn riflemen
1 Battery 8pdr guns (2 models)

17th DIVISION (7)
35th Bde: 4 btns infantry

Reserve Bde:(7)

4 btns Reserve infantry

1 small btn riflemen

Reserve Artillery Bde: (8)
2 batteries 12pdr guns (4 models)

Cavalry:
Uhlan Bde: (8)
2 regt Uhlans

Hussar Bde: (7)
2 regt. Hussars

Cossack Bde: (8)
2 regt. Cossacks
1 battery light horse artillery (3 models)

We used Black Powder 2 and again switched the turn sequence so firing came before moving. Paul took the British leaving me with the Russian hoards. As usual I shall let the photos tell the story of how the battle unfolded.

The battlefield from the SE. 

Turn 1 saw the over-eager Heavy Brigade take three moves forward!

The Highland and Guards brigades advance, rather slowly. Paul was unsure whether to shot with superior firepower or get stuck in.

The Russian reserve artillery. Pretty ineffective as it turned out.

The Russian centre.

On the right the Russian cavalry charged the Light Brigade. It didn't go too well as one regiment was broken and another forced to withdraw shaken. However the Light Brigade also took heavy losses and became spent.

The Russian right. The remains of my cavalry in the foreground.

The Light Brigade, unable to advance as they were a spent force. Thankfully, as the Russian Uhlan brigade was also spent.

The British left was now held by two small battalions of riflemen, who caused a fair few casualties among the Russians facing them.

The Farm, stuffed with supplies and other goodies, held by a Russian Rifle battalion.

The British 4th Division advances, slowly, but not as slow as the Guards as they needed to get closer if they were to  get into range.

The  Heavy Brigade attack the guns! The Scots Greys were decimated and rout, but this allowed the Royals to charge my Cossacks and drive them back without being exposed to traversing fire from the canno. They followed up their victory and broke the second Cossack regiment. All of a sudden both Cossack cavalry regiments were gone, and  both cavalry units being broken or shaken this meant the artillery had to retire as well. Bum! My left flank was now up in the air!

As seen from the British right. The Russians have turned one of their batteries on the hill to face the threat to their flank while two battalions of Russian infantry hurry up in support.

The British 1st and 4th Divisions in the centre. Still preferring to take advantage of the Minee's superior range rather than advance. My artillery was causing a few casualties and disorder each turn while they  stood still.

The Russians holding the enclosure to the right of the farm.

Paul decided to throw caution to the wind. The Grenadier Guards charged the Russians in the enclosure but were unable to break in for two turns as even though the Russians lost each round of melee they passed every break test. Finally their luck ran out and the Guards made it over the wall and the Russians withdrew. The Russian battery was hit in the flank by the Scots Fusilier Guards and destroyed. The enclosure was captured!

The 4th Division in the centre deploys and begins trading fire with the Russians in the centre.

Paul (rather rashly I thought) charged the Russian guns. My closing fire was abysmal and I failed to stop him overrunning the battery.

After several failed attempts I managed to get my hussars and a battalion of infantry on my right to charge the British riflemen. I don't give skirmishers an automatic evade (they must pass a command test) and both failed. The unit facing the hussars stopped the charge in its tracks as the regiment became shaken AND disordered. With the other regiment in the brigade already shaken that meant the brigade was spent and out of the game. My infantry column made it through the closing fire, becoming disordered in the process. Some abysmal dice rolling by me and some excellent save throws by Paul  saw my battalion defeated. I rolled my break test and failed. Russian infantry are 'stoic' and get to preroll their first break test so I did, and threw even lower. In the box they went!

The Grenadiers followed up their victory and hit the retreating Russians again, this time breaking them.

At this point it was looking very bad for the Russians. Turn 6 had been and gone  but the wagons were still at the farm, and would be until turn 8. The Scots Fusilier Guards charged over the wall into the flank of a battalion of Russian reserve infantry, forcing them to retreat and leaving a nice hole in my centre. An attempt to carry out an all or nothing counter attack by the remaining battalions in my centre failed as they refused to move.

Very pretty.

The Russian centre was in a right pickle.

My left finally collapsed and with it my army reached its break point having lost  over half  of its brigades.

The annoying but relatively useless RHA troop.

The annoying and deadly RA battery that contributed to the collapse of my left.

HM 42nd Foot, the Black Watch.

HM 2nd Regiment of Footguards, the Coldstream Guards.

A rather empty and bleak looking battlefield.

A convincing British victory! The Russian army collapsed as over half of its brigades had been destroyed or were shaken. They were unable to prevent the recapture of McGonnigal's Farm and the wayward supplies so the officers of the British headquarters would dine well tonight! 

The game was fun and closer than the end result would suggest. The rules worked well and change in the move sequence worked nicely so I shall use it again. Paul isn't keen on the potential for doing three moves but it is simply part of the 'game' and helps speed things along, especially if one is not as specific as one ought to be when giving out orders! I also remembered how much I like the 'look' of my Crimean British in particular, and that I don't have enough Russians! Hurry up Warlord and get those plastic Crimean Russians done!

John the Red is coming over next week and we shall be doing something different.

Revolutionary Armies Austrian infantry

Latest out of the basing department are two battalions of French Revolutionary Wars Austrian infantry produced by "Revolutionary Armies" at http://emperortoadsemporium.com . I signed up to their Kickstarter for the three battalion deal (24 figs each plus some firing line), which enabled me to produce two battalions at my preferred size of 32 figures each. I think the castings really quite the bee's knees. They fit in well with the rest of my collection, but can they fight? The figures were painted by Barry and based by me. Flags are from Adolfo Ramos.

"The Most Heavy Stroke". The Battle of Roundway Down 1643

I am very fortunate to be able to review the odd book from Helion Publishing. Well, the wonderful Charles sent me another offering just over a week ago. Now, I am not an expert on the English Civil Wars and would never profess to be. I am aware of the overall series of events and the "why's and wherefore's", and have a passing interest based on quite a few years of re-enacting in my late teens and most of my twenties back in the olden days (most long forgotten perhaps due to excess pints of beer). It is unarguably an interesting and keynote period of our history but doesn't set my pants on fire. I've never even owned an ECW army! So this is my view; a lay persons view.

So here we go. Yes, there have been many books written about the Civil Wars and about Roundway Down in particular. Helion are to be commended on publishing this masterpiece by Dr Chris Scott. The book provides an almost clinical examination of the different phases of the campaign and the battle itself, which is described in substantial detail. Chapters on the troops and personalities involved together with detailed orders of battle make this a 'must get' book for anyone interested in the subject. The book is filled with a large number of black and white photos, maps and diagrams, as well as numerous contemporary illustrations. In addition there are several pages of original colour artwork by the talented Mark Allen. 

Like I said at the start, before I read this book I knew next to nothing about the events leading up to the battle, let alone battle itself, other 'than the good/bad guys won. While I wouldn't care to select the campaign as my chosen topic in BBCs Mastermind I do feel that I have enriched my understanding of the subject! I enjoyed it. What more can be said?

Banners of the King. Vendee Levee

This weekend I completed, from start to finish, about 20-odd assorted figures for my Vendee collection. While I was working out if I had enough melee-armed bases and musket-armed bases I thought I'd take a few snapshots of the entire Catholic and Royal Army. I think I have 54 bases of close order mob (50:50 musket or pitchfork/pike) which is just over 200 figures, 19 skirmish bases (around 60 figures), 10 mounted figures, plus several command bases. The castings themselves are mainly Trent, with the balance made up of Foundry and Casting Room Miniatures with a few Gringo Italian banditti thrown in for good measure. All I need to do is find a couple of cannon for the gun crews and add some wagons and maybe another vignette or two. I do have another 20 or so figures left to paint but I guess there's no rush. The figures were mostly painted by me, with help from my mate Barry and if I remember correctly, Northumbria Painting Services. I did all the basing.

The wonderful flags are all by The Flag Dude via Trent Miniatures. I understand that The Flag Dude is no longer trading; certainly he was expected as Crisis but was a no show.  I very much doubt whether they would carry such an array of banners into battle but they do look rather nice. I deliberately tried to make the best of the sun coming in through the skylights of the Burrow to add to the effect. Not entirely sure but the troops have disbanded and gone back into their boxes, er back to their villages and farms to prepare for the Revolutionary hoards.

Peter the Great’s a Revenge. Narva 1704

What a cracker of a book! It fair blew my socks off! The Great Northern War is a period I have had a significant interest in for many years. I used to have a pretty large and extremely gorgeous collection in 6mm but in a moment of madness sold it off some 15 - 20 years ago. This is IMHO one of the best Helion publications to date. Ok, that’s a fairly subjective view but for what it counts, and other people may think they know better, but it is my view. Boris clearly knows his stuff and knows it with a passion. The attention to detail is fantastic and the quality of the translation is good, and the text flows nicely. The book is stuffed full of a massive amount of information, on the build up to the siege, the armies, the commanders, the siege itself, then the aftermath and orders of battle. There is a pretty comprehensive bibliography too. To top it all it is well catered for in terms of some really excellent colour plates and a vast number of black and white illustrations and maps. Well worth the money and deserved of a place on my bookshelf at the very least.

Leuthen, 5 December 2018

As I mentioned in the previous post we were refighting the Battle of Leuthen yesterday on its 261st anniversary. I was joined by Conrad, Steve, Nigel and Graham for the game. Sadly Dave was unable to come but that meant I got to play.

Graham and I got to be the Prussians by virtue of the fact that all of the others wanted to be Austrians (for some weird religious, moral or socio-demographic reason no doubt). The Prussian objective was simple. Capture Leuthen and destroy the Austrian army. The Austrians had to hold Leuthen and avoid being made mincemeat of by the nasty Prussians. We used Black Powder 2 with a few house rules thrown in (which I will list at the end). I also changed the turn sequence so that moving came after firing rather than before it.

The scenario begins with Frederick's army having completed its flanking march, and after defeating the Austrian extreme left around Sagshutz (off table behind the Prussian base line) was now poised to attack Leuthen, while the Austrian army redeployed as fast as possible to face the threat to their flank. The Reichsarmee contingent that had been holding Sagshutz is on the table, retreating towards Leuthen, and is already carrying casualties. (These were randomly generated and Nigel could hardly have done worse, as a couple of his battalions began the game shaken!). I had a plan. Graham (Seydlitz) was to push forward with his cavalry on the right in order to keep the Reichs troops under pressure. His infantry was to ignore the church and attack the Austrian left, while my infantry would swing round behind them ready to attack the church from the east. Meanwhile all our artillery would deploy facing the church. My hussars were to cover our left flank, and my reserve cavalry were hidden off table on the extreme south west. I will let the photos tell the story as usual.

Turn1. The Prussian cavalry tried to charge the retreating Reichsarmee troops but  failed to make the distance, while at the bottom of the picture the first part of the Prussian main body arrives.

The centre of the battlefield at the start of the game.

Reichsarmee eagerly troops pulling back, before the advancing Prussian cuirassiers who gave them no room to manoeuvre..

Steve ordered his hussars forward in a wide sweep but they were slow to advance which gave me the chance to  move my own hussars round the wood and onto the hill to intercept them. In the combat that followed both Austrian units got the better of the Prussians but became shaken in the process. The Prussians pulled back over the hill while the Austrians retreated closer to Leuthen. Unless someone could be spared to rally them they would be out of the game.

Graham's cuirassiers charge the shaken Reichs troops.

A second Prussian cuirassier regiment also charged home but were beaten off. They failed their break test and fled.

One regiment of Nigel's Reichs contingent were riden down but the Prussians chose to pull back and rally.  The Hessen Darmstadt Leibgrenadiers had to test as they had been supporting the broken unit to their front. They too failed and took to their heels.

Rot Wurtzberg defending the church while Austrian reserves shuffle about in the village.  

Graham started to deploy his infantry ready to attack the eastern end of Leuthen while his cavalry reformed.

Two battalions of Austrians deploy at the western end of Leuthen.

Graham's cuirassiers pile the pressure on, forcing the Reichs battalions back almost to their base line.

The Austrian left is all but gone thanks to the sterling efforts of Zeithen's cuirassiers and dragoons.

In the centre a battalion of Prussian grenadiers is engaged in a musketry duel with the Austrians on the outskirts of Leuthen.

More Prussians assault the eastern end of Leuthen, held by a battalion of Reichsarmee Wurtemberg fusiliers. The grenadiers made several attempts to evict them but were beaten off each time.

Steve's shaken hussars await the arrival of someone to rally them. Out of shot two brigades of Austrian cavalry have appeared on the extreme right flank.

The first brigade were ordered to advance. Steve threw low and got three moves, which took him right to the Prussian base line where he was in a position to roll up the Prussian artillery deployed in the centre.

The Austrians moved their artillery off windmill hill while the second of Steve's cavalry brigades arrived. He ordered them to advance but managed to throw a blunder. Steve then threw a 1 so the entire brigade disappeared back off the table! 

Back over on the other flank Nigel's cavalry brigades finally made an appearance.; eight fresh regiments against  seven somewhat battered ones.

In the centre the Prussian attack had stalled slightly with the need to cover the left wing, but the battalions doing the fighting,, with the exception of the grenadiers who had been repulsed from their attack on the village, were still in good order.

Another massive cavalry battle began on the Prussian right, which was to go on for several turns as regiments were pushed back, rallied and thrown back into the battle.

The Austrians had the upper hand in quality and quantity but poor Nigel's dice throwing was abysmal, as it has been throughout the game.

By some miracle the Prussian cavalry were holding their own, although both brigade were close to breaking point. So, however, were the Austrians.....

The Reichsarme brigade had finally been driven from the field, leaving Graham's infantry with the opportunity to occupy  the western edge of Leuthen, which they did. I also charged the exposed Austrian battalion outside the church. After several rounds of melee it was driven back into the centre of the village.

Steve's errant cavalry brigade reappeared giving him a massive superiority on our left flank.

As luck would have it, Steve's mad dash across the table allowed me to activate my left wing cavalry, which made an appearance on the western table edge. Steve reacted quickly and swung his brigade round and our cuirassiers then went head to head. It didn't start well as my first unit was beaten, forced to retreat and then hit again by Steve's sweeping advance. My regiment was shattered and fled the field. 

I order a 'follow me' with my von Reusch hussars. We struck the just deployed Austrian artillery in the flank and overran the battery. My other hussar regiment charged and broke one of the Austrian hussar units. 

The cavalry fight on the Prussian left.

Despite initial reverses the Prussians slowly got the upper hand. The Reichs cavalry were driven back as were the surviving Austrian cuirassiers. The remaining hussar regiment was broken. 

Indeed, when we did a quick count up, the Prussian and Austro/Imperial brigades had both reached  their break points and were out of the game.

The Prussian centre begins to advance on the churchyard. Rot Wutzberg was under fire from five Prussian cannon and was suffering accordingly but kept passing its break tests. They got a bit of a breather when, trying to manhandle some of cannon forward I threw a blunder and ended up going back two moves! 

Two battalions of Prussians were detached to cover the left flank but were thankfully never needed.

My grenadiers' advance after their earlier was halted.

Steve's remaining brigade kept failing its command rolls,  even with the help of the new CinC. FML Daun had just arrived to take over from the less than competent Charles of Lorraine.

The foreground is rather empty of troops. The Austrians pulled the two battalions that had been posted outside the village back into Leuthen.

I was just waiting for our next turn so I could try another 'follow me' order with my hussars and take the enemy columns in the rear. But it was not to be. Both of Nigel's cavalry brigades and the Reichs brigade ware broken. Both of Graham's cavalry brigades were broken, as was mine on the left. One of Steve's brigades was also spent so with half of their army shaken or broken the Austrians had to concede defeat, especially as the brigade originally garrisoning Leuthen was also 0n the verge of breaking.

Prussian pyrotechnics.

The eastern end of the village coming under pressure.

Prussians edging round the eastern edge of Leuthen now that the threat from enemy cavalry  had been dealt with.

The Austrian rearguard covering their exit from Leuthen.

So. A Prussian victory. Not a crushing one though but a solid victory nonetheless. The rules worked well even if they can be very unforgiving (can't they Nigel). I/we did on occasion forget a few bits in the rules but I doubt they'd have made any significant difference to the eventual outcome. Switching the moving and firing phases produced an interesting game so I shall stick with it from now on. The thing with BP is their simplicity and the ability to tinker with them to your heart's content if you want.  They are also ideal for big multi-player games. They also work well when players (as in our group) play the period rather than the rules.

Overall it was a great game and I hope the chaps enjoyed it as much as I did.

Orders of Battle.

Prussian Army

C-in-C: Frederick II King of Prussia (9)

Right Wing Cavalry:  GL  von Zieten (9) Acts as an extra commander for the cavalry on right wing

GM Scipio von Lentelus (8)

Cuirassiers                 5

GM Czettritz, (8) T1 behind Lentelus

Dragoons                    3

Hussars                      1          

Infantry Centre:

Advance Guard: GL Prinz von Wurtemburg (8) on table right centre

Grenadier Btn                        1

12pdr Battery                       1 x heavy gun

Hussars                                  2

1^stLine:  GderI Prinz Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau (9) (T1 right half of baseline)

Guard Btn                              1

Grenadier Btn                        1 

Musketeer Btns                     2

Fusilier Btns                           1         

12pdr battery                                   1 x heavy gun

2^ndLine: GL Frederick William Quirin de Forcade de Biaix (8)  (T2 right half of baseline)

Musketeer Btns                     2

Fusilier Btns                           1

Grenadier Btns                      1 

12pdr battery                                   1 x heavy gun

Artillery: Colonel Moller (8) (T3 on Butterberg)

12pdr battery                       1 x heavy gun

Howitzer battery                   1 x medium howitzer

Fortress battery                    1 x super heavy ‘Brummer’

Left Wing Cavalry:off table SW short edge and enters after the right wing Austrian cavalry have exposed their flank, come within 30cm of Butterberg, or T5 on roll of 6 on 1D6 (+1 for each subsequent turn).

GL von Driesen (8)

Cuirassiers                 3

Dragoons                    2

Austro-Imperial Army

C-in-C:  Prince Charles of Lorraine 6

Assisted by FM von Daun 8 (off table, 2D6 to recall after T3 – any double needed then he takes over command in D3 turns)

Right Wing Cavalry:  OFF TABLE TO NORTH WEST enter right of Leuthen T4

Gen der Kav Lucchesi (8)

Cuirassiers                                         2

Imperial Cuirassiers                         2

GM Esterhazy (8)  T5 as above

Imperial Dragoons                            2

Cuirassiers                                         2

Right wing reserve: GM Herzog von Arenberg (8)

in column behind Leuthen.

Infantry btns                                     2

Right Wing Infantry: FzM Kheul  (7) (enter behind Leuthen in column T5)

Infantry btns                                     3

Left Wing Infantry: FzM Colloredo (8)(deployed in and around Leuthen)

Infantry btns                                     4(incl Rot-Wurzberg in church)

Grenadier btn                                                1                      

Artillery battery                                2 x 12pdrs (on windmill hill)

Hussars                                              2

Reichsarmee Bavarians/Wurtembergers from Nadazdy’s Corps: Marshal Spitnatz  (7) (On table withdrawing to Leuthen)

Grenadier btn                                                1(1D3 cas)

Infantry btns                                     4( 1D3 cas/ea.)

Left Wing Cavalry:Gen der Kav Serbellini (9) (off table NE corner enter T2+D3)

Cuirassiers                                         2

Dragoons                                            2

Marshal O’Donnell (8)(off table NE enter turn after Serbellini) 

Dragoons                                            4

 House Rules:

·     Change to sequence of play:

o  Initiative phase

o  Firing phase. All firing units to be marked as having fired this turn.

o  Command phase. Additional -1 command penalty to units that have fired earlier in the turn.

o  Melee phase 

Any commander throwing a blunder will be passed the dung heap of shame until such time as another player blunders. While holding the dung heap of shame command rolls get a -1 modifier

Cavalry v formed infantry. (Steel Wall)

Applicable to ALL infantry. Infantry are classed as being in ‘steel wall’ providing:

·     their flanks have friendly infantry within 6””, 

·     or are secured by terrain features, 

·     or there are no enemy in their flank arc within one move. 

Troops in ‘steel wall’ can deliver closing fire, add 3 to their melee result PLUS other support bonuses (i.e. flanks and rear).

Cavalry do not gain any charge bonus when attacking a ‘steel wall’ unless the target is already engaged, disordered or shaken.

Rear Rank Reversed. 

Is allowed as a charge response to better-trained infantry (Prussians) and is a permitted formation for all infantry. The formation is static. Infantry get half shooting and melee dice rounded up in each direction.