Blue vs Grey - Battle Report

 Phil paid a visit recently and we decided to have a go at an American Civil War game.  We used a set of home grown rules that smacked of Featherstone/Grant, but with a twist.  An idea borrowed from Perry's Travel battle, we increased the importance of brigade commanders, them having to be in close proximity to units for orders to be issued. This added a new dynamic and interest to the game as units carried out orders then stopped awaiting new direction, although they can engage enemy units that threaten when required.  Deploying the commanders forward increased the likelihood of their becoming casualties and complicating the command process.

I played blue, while Phil played grey.

An overview of the battlefield, with the grey forces on the left; blue to the right

The Federal commander deploys his forces on the right, with the idea of sweeping up the Confederate left flank.

Confederate cavalry, some skirmishers and the Alabama regiment hold their left, with two batteries of guns in the field towards the centre.

A whole Brigade of infantry in column begin to move forward on the Confederate right flank.

The Confederates quickly occupy a farm, which will later be supported by artillery and this position will become a thorn in the side of the Federal army.

Concerned about the Confederate build up on the left, federal reserves are called forward, while the guns fire into the Alabama Regiment and the Confederate artillery.

Phil pushed out the Alabama Regiment to threaten the Federal right, supported by his artillery:

However, I had deployed the Federal Sharpshooters into a wood and they picked off the grey troops, forcing them to halt and withdraw.  During this action one of the Confederate brigade commanders falls, causing some chaos:

The Sharpshooters were supported by a regiment of cavalry that trotted around the Confederate left.  For some reason the Confederate cavalry had moved off over to the other side of the field, giving the federal cavalry the freedom to move around the flank:

Seeing the Confederate brigade moving around the threaten the Federal left flank Pennsylvania Regiment is deployed up against the rail fence in support of the New York Zouaves, who by now had taken quite a few casualties from rifle and cannon fire.

Early on one of the federal batteries is destroyed and the unmanned gun can be seen on the left in the field.

Two regiments of Confederate infantry are now approaching from the the Federal left, moving through a wheat field.  In the far distance another federal regiment attempts to attack the Confederate guns, supported by Sharpshooters and cavalry.  However, the field is being swept by close range artillery and casualties mount.

The federal cavalry sweep into the remnants of the Alabama Regiment and see off some Confederate skirmishers, but hindered by the rail fence and suffering casualties from the guns, their success is short lived; however, the Confederates lose another commander, leaving just one general to command the whole army.  Things slow down for the Confederates 

The Confederates emerge from the wheat field and are met by federal volleys causing some casualties amongst the Texas Regiment and the Kentucky Volunteers.

Without leaders, the Confederate advance comes to a halt and Phil decides to call it a day, which was a shame as the Confederates looked to be in a strong position.  

BUT

After a beer or two, we decided to return to the game, allowing the Confederate Army Commander to take tactical command of the units on the Confederate left. The one remaining brigade commander could now reengage around the wheat field.  Soon the Confederates gained the upper hand and the result of the game was reversed.

This was a most enjoyable game, played with my old Spencer Smith troops and simple but effective rules.

        
    

Plastics in Action

 Having spent a fair bit of time renovating the plastic battalions, I thought it would be good to test them out on the table.  The idea was that a French Corps would probe forward and attempt to force a river crossing to allow the main army to advance deeper into enemy territory.  In an attempt to prevent this  an Austrian Corps has deployed along the river, covering the various crossing points.

The Austrians are strung out along the river bank, occupying villages and woods, seen here as french cavalry probe forward:

The French plan was to feint on the Austrian left and push across the two fords on the Austrian right.  french cavalry and artillery move forward to occupy high ground that dominates the river valley:

A French division arrives to force the two crossings.  The troops are mostly Airfix French:

The game was being played with Command and Colors rules and like most battles, the French plan did not survive first contact with the enemy.  The French did not have a single card for their left, and so the action switched to the right, which was to be a feint. A spirited French attack against the Austrian left saw the defence crumble:

Austrian light infantry were evicted from a wood and an infantry battalion collapsed under pressure.  Suddenly the whole Austrian left was in disaray.

The French supported by cavalry quickly cross the river and the Austrian commander, feeling that he had done his duty in delaying the French decides to withdraw; his forces being too widely dispersed along the river.

The troops looked good and it was quite a spectacle seeing them set up on the table.

Camels and Fokkers

 Phil vcame to visit me for a couple of days and we were able to get some troops on the table for a game or two. Just for fun we tried out a World War 1 air combat game.  We used rules from the 'Portable Colonial Wargame' book, slightly adapted for our needs.  We changed the firing from 3 dice per gun to just one dice.  That was because the Germans shot down all of the British aircraft on the first move! The other thing we did was moving single aircraft alternatively, although we need some markers so that we knew which aircraft had moved that turn. A final change was that ones an aircft had started to move the player was not allowed to retrace the move to get a better firing angle, This worked well as estimating where, after 12 moves/turns, the aircraft would finish up.  We had several occasions where aircraft overshot or did not finish up in the correct position to take a shot.

We played the game on a 3" hex mat with six aircraft each.  The dogfights were chaotic with aircraft peeling off in all direction:

A camel arrives at the wrong angle an misses the green and red Fokker.

Aircraft all over the place and the Red Baron has a Camel on his tail!

The aircraft models are all Lledo 'Pioneers of the Air' WW1 fighters.  These were purchases from eBay for a few pounds and a box of clear plastic stands came from the same source.  Having enjoyed the game, I plane to find a better hex mat that will show off the aircraft better; the Camels are quite hard to spot on the WW1 battlefield mat.

Hinchliffe British Fusiliers

 It may be recalled that I had decided to refurbish a group of Hinchliffe 25mm British Fusiliers. The job is now complete and these fine looking troops can take to the field.  The standard bearers are converted musketeers, having had damaged weapons.  The drummer is the same, with a drum scrounged from a Russian figure.  The officer needed a new sword, sourced from a bean can lid.

This is what they were like prior to painting.  The picture was taken before I found a Hinchliffe officer.  In the photo a Lamming officer is in command:

Here is the finished unit:

These will go off to join Phil's collection, which consists of early Hinchliffe figures.

Personality Figures

 Two more personalities join their armies. The first is a Minifigs 25mm model of Marshal Murat in one of his more flamboyant outfits.  I put him on a Hinchliffe horse as I am not too keen on Minifigs mounts:

The second figure is a Hinchliffe model of Prussian General Gneisenau, in contrast wearing a rather drab uniform:

I do enjoy painting these personality figures, there's quite a bit of research regarding the uniforms and it is fun painting a single model.

Atlantic 1/72 Egyptian Chariots

 I have been working on these chariots on and off for a few weeks and last night I finally completed 10 of them.  It was quite a complex task, as although plenty of crews are provided, the small chariot crew compartment will only hold one figure.  I had to cut the bases of the crew figures down to a slither and squeezed them in.

I have a box of Egyptian infantry, also by Atlantic and I may paint and base these indue course.

An enjoyable little project:

Hinchliffe 25mm Personality Figure - Prince Poniatowski

 This is another of the Hinchliffe Personality Figures (PF 17), Prince Jozef Poniatowski.  He rose to fame as one of Napoleon's best commanders, leading the Polish contingent of the French army.  He was made Minister for War by Napoleon and was a notable commander during the 1812 invasion of Russia, where he commanded the largely Polish 5th Corps. He was made a marshal of the empire by Napoleon.

At the battle of Leipzig in 1813, Poniatowski was charged with holding the the rearguard as the defeated French army attempted to withdraw over the Elster river.  Poniatowski and his men fought bravely during which time the Prince was severely wounded while leading several counter attacks.  Unfortunately the Elster bridge was demolished early and the rear guard was trapped on the enemy banks.  In the confusion as his men attempted to cross the river, the weakened Prince was thrown from his horse and was lost under the water.  His body was found five days later.

Another lovely casting from Hinchliffe: