Thw Action at Sagewerkdorf 1866

Austrian forces are advancing northwest with the intent of capturing the disputed border town of Sagewerkdorf and, if possible, pushing on to take the adjacent industrial complex.  To counter this move a Prussian and Allied force, consisting of three Prussian line regiments, a Jaeger regiment, a regiment of dragoons, a regiment of Hussars and a gun battery are deploying, with four allied regiments; from Lippe, Brunswick, Bremen and Waldeck under command.  The Austrians have a similar size force.

Here is the area of operations:

Those knowing their wargame history will note the close resemblance to Grant's Sawmill Village setting!

The Prussians appear in the northwest, quickly taking the high ground of Sandig Hugel, where they set up their command post and artillery:

One of the Prussian Regiments quickly occupies the Sagewerk complex and the Jaegers move into the woods:

The Austrians, meanwhile, advance towards Sagenwerkdorf and set up their artillery on the high ground above Sonnig Schlucht:

The Prussians decided to go on the offensive by ordering two allied units, the Brunswickers and Bremen Regiment, up their left flank to envelop the village:

And the Prussian Jaegers were to take the Taube farm complex, which by now has been occupied by Austrian light troops:

Underestimating the power of modern artillery the brunswickers were forced back, suffering heavy casualties. They eventually break and rout off the field; first blood to the Austrians:

 All the time the Austrian numbers increase and soon Sagerwerkdorf and its church are occupied by Austrian and Hungarian infantry:

The Prussian artillery on Sandig Hugel opens fire on the area of the church causing devastating casualties amongst an Austrian infantry regiment in the open:

 

Having seen off the Brunswickers, the Austrian artillery turns its attention towards the Bremen regiment, but the Prussians open fire with their artillery in counter battery fire, causing some Austrian casualties.  An exchange of fire between the artillery of both sides results in the Prussian guns being silenced:

Whilst this is going on an Austrian Light Horse regiment charges down the Bremen Regiment causing some casualties, but the infantry stand firm forcing the cavalry to retreat:

The cavalry rally and charge again, this time sweeping the Bremen regiment from the field.  The situation is not looking too good for the Prussians with the advance on the left having been beaten and having lost their artillery:

Things do not go well on the Prussian right either; the Jaegers fail to take the farm, which has been reinforced by a further Austrian regiment and fall back and leave the field:

The Prussian commander decides on one last push.  He moves up his regiment of Hussars and an infantry regiment on the left and they see off the Austrian light horse with combined rifle fire and sabre:

The Prussian command then orders two regiments to rush up the road in the centre, supported by the Hussars, who are to distract the Austrian artillery:

The Hussars achieve their aim and the Austrian guns withdraw, but are forced back by rifle fire and the presence of more Austrian cavalry.  Soon the Austrian gun is back in action and rifle fire with artillery stops the Prussian advance in the centre. The Prussians decide that further attacks would be futile and withdraw back onto the area around the industrial complex.  A couple of attacks by Austrian infantry are pushed back, but Prussian casualties continue to mount. The Prussians consolidate in the northwest corner:

However, without artillery they cannot respond to the Austrians who simply sit in the village and bombard the Prussians.  The retreating Prussian infantry on the road are destroyed and that tips the balance and the Prussians call it a day:

The final score is a 6-4 win to the Austrians.  I used modified Battlecry rules.  I gave the Prussian infantry (not allied) the advantage of Needle Guns, which far outclass Austrian rifled muskets.  On the other hand, Austrian artillery is superior to the Prussians, which gave them an advantage in the end.

All the wonderful figures, which are mostly Minifigs S Range conversions, are from the collection of the late Alan Cook and, as mentioned earlier, the scenario is based upon Sawmill Village in CS Grant's 'The wargame Companion'.

Bavarian Light Horse

 

This little project has taken me too long to complete.  I have had these figures on the work bench for months, painting a colour as and when I have the tin open for something else.  Today, I finally finished them off and I think they will make a fine addition to my growing Bavarian force.

The figures are Minifigs S Range conversions.  The work was very kindly carried out by my northern based virtual friend Goya, who converted some RHA mounted limber riders. I am most grateful for his efforts, which reminds me what a generous bunch the Old School wargaming community really is.   

I think the officer is also an RHA figure, but I am not 100% sure.

 

Ros Austrians - Warrior Command

The quiet period over Christmas is always a good time to finish off outstanding projects, which is what I have been doing over the last few days, with 'time off' for a game or two.

First off the painting table were three units of Austrian infantry by Ros Figures.  They have Warrior Miniatures figures to make up the command element.  Added to my existing Ros Austrians, this gives me six battalions:

When paraded together with my existing Austrians it gives me a nice little force, ideal for playing Neil Thomas wargames scenarios.  There are two cavalry, three artillery, one jaeger and six infantry units:

Destroyer Action - Norway 1940

 I have always been interested in the Naval Battle of Narvik in April 1940, so I thought this might be a good scenario for a small naval wargame.  Now, the real battle was quite complex and there were actually two separate actions.  My battle is based upon the first action, which sees a British destroyer flotilla in Ofotfjord heading back towards Narvik harbour to finish off the German shipping that had been damaged during the British raid. My re-enactment ends here because there is no way I could replicate the confusion, the weather and misinformation of the day.  I have also ignored the presence of German U boats in the Fjord. 

Other factors of note are that the British believed there were just a few German destroyers in the Narvik area; in fact there were ten that had been delivering troops for the German invasion. Two were sunk during the first action (Wilhelm Heidkamp and Anton Schmidt)  Of the ten German ships, three were out of acton from the earlier raid (Hans Ludemann, Hermann Kunne and Diether von Roeder). It is also worth noting that German command had been disrupted as the German Commander Bonte died when Wilhelm Heidkamp was sunk). During the second action, when the German destroyers did show up they were initially mistaken for cruisers.

My battle begins with the British Destroyer Flotilla heading back towards Narvik harbour, commanded by Captain Warburton-Lee aboard HMS Hardy, with Havock, Hunter, Hotspur and Hostile in line astern:

The British intent is to close in to range of the harbour and finish off the three crippled German destroyers:

However, as they approach Narvik, Hardy spots three more German ships coming from the northeast and, mis-identifying them as at least one cruiser, the situation changes:

The new arrivals are in fact all destroyers, Wolfgang Zenker, Erich Koellner and Erich Giese. The British Flotilla, believing it is now out gunned, turns away to the west:

The three German ships open fire. Hardy is badly damaged and both Havock and Hunter suffer reduced speed due to engine and boiler damage.

The British ships now turn to engage, Hotspur and Hostile having to take evasive action to avoid the slowing ships ahead:

The British now completely out gun the three German ships, which are battered to destruction, however, in the fight Havock and Hotspur are out of action and on fire:

Thinking the road clear to escape the Fjord the damaged Hardy heads west, while Hotspur and Hostile try to catch up having been finishing off the German destroyers. To the British surprise, two more German ships appear out of the gloom and again these are mistaken for cruisers. It is in fact destroyers Georg Thiele and Bernd von Arnim, moving quickly to engage the lone, damaged Hardy:

Hardy is easy prey and quickly succumbs to the combined fire of the two German ships:

Shortly after, Hotspur and Hostile are in range and attack the German destroyers, causing major damage to both ships by disabling their engines.  However, Bernd von Arnim has lucky hits and the Hostile explodes:

In the exchange of fire though, both German ships are crippled and George Thiele sinks. Hotspur manages to slip behind Bernd von Arnim and pounds her with a broadside putting her out of action.

Hostspur breaks out of the Fjord at the end of a very expensive day for the British:

In the real battle Hardy and Hunter are lost and Hotspur is critically damaged, but is escorted out of the Fjord by Havock and Hostile.  Captain Warburton-Lee is killed on the Bridge of Hardy and awarded a posthumous VC. The Germans did not lose any destroyers in the second battle, but were forced to break off due to damage and lack of fuel.  They were later largely destroyed during the second battle.of Narvik.

As a wargame, I used Bob Cordrey's 'Gridded Naval Wargames' rules.  These provided a very fast and simple game.  Because the destroyers are only valued at 4 SP they quickly succumb to enemy fire, especially as a six counts as two SP hits.  If I play this again, I will adjust the combat and defence powers somewhat.  That said, it was a fun game that lasted less than an hour.

Wargaming Magazines - Do you buy them?

Is it just me or do others find the offerings in the periodical modelling and wargaming magazines lacking something?  I have just flicked through the magazine that dropped onto my doormat a few days ago.

Most  of the magazines that I liked to read have either shut down, been absorbed by another magazine, or morphed beyond recognition.  From the 1970s I have purchased a magazine or two each month, but in recent years I have found less and less in them of interest.

In earlier times there were articles that filled in gaps in my knowledge, provided modelling and painting detail and there were regular features describing battles and uniforms from a wargamers perspective.  I was never able to keep all of these magazines, but where an article appeared particularly interesting I would cut them out.  I created a large number of scrapbooks covering my main wargaming interests.  Here some examples of those articles:

Although similar articles can be found in today's magazines, with a few exceptions, they tend to be written to promote a particular set of rules, which I won't have and more than likely will have posed pictures of beautifully painted figures that have nothing to do with the game under discussion. The other issue for me is that a large portion of the articles are non-historical in nature, which reduces their nterest to me even further.

Now, I know that these days, much of the information that was contained in earlier magazines is available on the internet and in other places, and that ceiling tile hills and Airfix buildings are no longer at the cutting edge, but I wonder if I am alone in missing the old style magazine?

I would be very interested to know what magazines are purchased and whether they provide what the reader is actually looking for.  I would welcome any thoughts on this.

McPherson's Ridge - A Battlecry Game

I very much enjoyed my last ACW game using my Spencer Smith figures and have always fancied having a go at some Gettysburg actions.  I decided to try out one of the Battlecry scenarios, albeit one of the unofficial games. This time I used my old Airfix armies.

I picked a scenario that covers the first few hours of the Battle of Gettysburg when the Confederates from the leading brigades of Heth's Division run into the hasty defence set up by Buford's cavalry.  Here is an overview of the battlefield, the Confederates are at the top working their way across Willoughby Run, with Buford's cavalry brigades sitting on McPherson's Ridge, supported by a battery of guns.  Federal reinforcements can be seen moving down from Seminary Ridge at the bottom:

Initially the two Federal cavalry brigades of Gamble and Devin will have to hold the line until infantry support arrives. The Confederate attack begins with Davis's Brigade crossing the stream towards Devin, although one regiment is quickly sent packing by carbine fire near the bridge:

Despite causing some casualties Davis is unable to push Devin off the ridge and all the time the reinforcing Federal infantry is closing in:
 

Heth changes tack and orders Archer to send his troops into the Federal left flank, and three regiments wade Willoughby Run and advance up the slope:

 The rebels have a little more success on this flank as they have some cover from the Federal guns.  After a bitter firefight they force Gamble's men off the ridge and it becomes a race to see who can gain the ridge crest first:

The Confederates manage to capture this end of the ridge, but the federal artillery, despite heavy casualties, and Gamble's cavalry, who have now rallied, continue to pour fire into the grey ranks. The battle on the ridge ebbs and flows for a while, but eventually the Confederates consolidate their position.

On the opposite flank Davis launches a second attack against Devin and once again is pushed back by cavalry carbine fire:

At this point the first Federal reinforcements arrive and this end of the ridge is held:

Back over on the Federal left reinforcements are also arriving:

Also, the stubborn Federal artillery fights on at close quarters, but is eventually overun:

Gamble's Brigade, now rallied advances once more and engaes the Confederates on the ridge, unfortunately they are destroyed. Gamble is hit and falls from his horse.

 

Attention now shifts back to the Federal right, with Confederate regiments sweeping around the flank:

The last of Buford's cavalry are swept aside and Devin falls with them. The Confederates now control the entire length of McPherson's Ridge, earning vital victory points, which when added to the two lost Federal generals was enough to give the Confederacy victory - the final tally 5 -2.

This game worked well.  I played it with full Battlecry rules.  despite some rotten cards for the Confederates they managed to win the day.

 

 

Spencer Smith ACW Artillery Limber and Gun

In conjunction with Peter Johnson at Spencer Smith Miniatures, I have been developing a limber to go with the ACW artillery piece that is already available in the range.  The basis for this project is the horse and musket era limber that has recently been added to the Spencer Smith catalogue.

The main differences are that I have four horses rather than two, I have used larger gun wheels on the limber and have added some hand rails.  Peter has also sculpted some outriders, which I have added.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the results and these limbers (I have to construct five more) will add interest to games.