FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE FIGHTS: NAPOLEONIC GAME

Last Friday, I had the chance to put my Napoleonics on the table. I haven't posted much about this collection, but this game will be the first in a series of Napoleonic familiarization games that I'll be putting on to prepare for our club's big "game day" game in October, which I'll be putting together using my French and Prussians--enough to float 20+ players (more on that as it develops). This was a quickly put together scenario that featured two Prussian brigades (division equivalents of all arms) against a full French division plus a Young Guard brigade and a brigade of light cavalry. As usual, in this report you may clix pix for BIG PIX.

The scenario was a hypothetical meeting engagement for control over a communications network located in a flat, open valley between two regions of forest and hills (which notionally stretch off table at the top and bottom of the picture). The scenario was structured to cause both sides to mix it up in order to exercise the rules and get players familiar with the forces (some of which we hadn't seen on the table in force before, like the Prussians and Young Guard)...

 ...towards these ends, both sides had exhaustion levels represented by a certain number of exhaustion points, represented by chips they had in a cup, one of which would be extracted for the loss of a battalion, battery, or pair of cavalry squadrons.  The aim was to crack the other side. The insidious thing in the scenario that turned it into a cage match were the on-table objectives.  There were two kinds. Situated in the middle of the table were objectives marked by a black and a blue chip. These either side could grab.  The side that had control of one, defined by having the only unit within 6" at the end of a turn, would gain an extra exhaustion chip (blue for French, black for Prussian)--and the other side would lose one. The exception was the town, which had to be occupied and uncontested to gain control (in these rules, both sides can be inside the town template fighting).  The deeper objectives, represented by two chips of the same color, were side-specific. The side that managed to cross the table and gain control of this deep objective gained two extra exhaustion points--and the other side would drop two...

 ...thus the table was set...

...and the players took the field. Playing the French (left) were left to right: AJ of AJ's Wargaming Blog fame (watch for his report on the game), Ralph, he of Hannibal at the Gates, and Charlie, the originator of Napoleon's Rules of War, which we were playing (and will be on game day). Playing the part of the Prussians (above right) were George (left) and Bob...

...green M&M candies found their way onto the table as improvised markers signifying limbered guns. We take our Napoleonics seriously in these parts...

...the sides converge, with AJ pushing the French 1st Brigade on the French right and Charlie pushing the 2nd Brigade on the French left, with Ralph bringing up the Young Guard Brigade in depth. One regiment of the French light cavalry brigade was assigned to each of the flanks. Meanwhile, the larger Prussian Brigades divided the action pretty much down the middle, with Bob's 1st Brigade on the Prussian Left and George's 2nd Brigade on the Prussian right. The image above captures the moment before both sides clashed--with gusto: the objectives were contested for the entire game, with neither side gaining one (I would recommend this scenario structure for anyone who wants to see a nice toe to toe battle).  We'll follow the action on the Prussian right/French left first...

 ...on the Prussian Right (left above) the Prussian 2nd Brigade pushes ahead in two lines, with the Landwehr following.  (Above right). Not being timid, Charlie launches the 70th Ligne and the 6th Chasseurs into the Prussian phalanx...

...with spectacular results (above left). Four Prussian battalions of the first line, including one of the regulars, the 1st Bn of IR 6, 1st West Prussian, are routed back, the 3rd Reserve Bn of the 3rd Reserve Inf. narrowly avoids being ridden down in pursuit by two squadrons of the 6th Chasseurs, who would earn their pay this day. The success of this action (above right), found the 70th Ligne  thrust into the Prussian 2nd Brigade position...

...with the Young Guard coming up behind to support...

...but at the same time, (above left) an ominous line of black, the Prussian Leib Hussars, starts wheeling towards the 70th Ligne. Charlie places the 103rd Ligne in echeloned squares to cover the gap to the 70th Ligne.  Meanwhile, the French put every gun available to the Prussian horsemen. But General Dice was not with the French gunners, and the Leib Hussars arrive (above right) and hit the 70th Ligne along with two battalions of the Silesian Landwehr [mis-labeled as the  Kurmarck Landwehr in the photo: oops. No difference in game terms]. The rest of the Prussian 2nd Brigade can be seen still in square in the wake of the charge of the 6th Chasseurs...

...the situation on the Prussian Right/French left shortly after the Leib Hussar charge (who have recalled for the moment). The French 70th Ligne has fallen back on the Young Guard, who are deploying. The 6th Chasseurs, weakened to their waver points, are moving back to cover the end of the line. The Prussian 2nd Brigade is spread out, with a line of recovering battalions out of the photo to the left and half of the forward units still in square. Neither side can claim control of the objective on this wing (which is near the tree on the hill)...

...eventually, George would reform the Prussian 2nd Brigade (above) and take up the advance again, with Ralph preparing to meet them with the Young Guard and Charlie reforming the elements of the French 2nd Brigade in support. The game ended just before we saw this second collision on this side of the table. You can judge the level of action by the wavering units (yellow markers) and the kill rings...

...a few in-game shots (above) capture the players in action and the look of the table (where you can see the contested objectives clearly)...

...meanwhile, on the Prussian left/French right, Bob and AJ were butting heads in and around the "La Haye Saint" of this battlefield (above, view from behind the Pomeranian National Cavalry Regiment--a unit I formed by converting Prussian Dragoons)...

...(above left) elements of the Prussian 1st Brigade and the French 1st Brigade about to collide. (Above right) the fighting in the orchard and building complex begins, with the French 103rd Regiment gaining the town first. This town template would be the site of continuous fighting for the entire game, with heavy action in the adjoining orchard as well. None of these objectives in this complex would be cleared and claimed by either side...

...the climax of the action on the Prussian left/French right. Bob's Prussians attack down the line, with the Pomeranian National Cavalry wrapping around and being countered by the French 4th Chasseurs. These were both dead even fights that went against the French (again, General Dice was not with AJ this day!). Meanwhile, the Landwehr, wavering, trades shots with the 2nd Bn of the 25th Legere (typo in the picture says 9th Legere: I have this legendary unit, but it's in my French 1st Division--this is the 25th Legere).  The 3rd Bn, IR 9 (veterans) and the 1st Bn of the 9th Reserve close with the 1st Bn, 25th Legere in the open. In the town, the fighting continues to rage, with the 3rd Bn, 25th Legere against the 1st Bn, IR 9--in a rarely seen turn of events, these two battalions would wipe each other out in the ensuing melee phase, leaving the town empty!  At that point, it was getting past 10 pm and we called it a night, with advantage to the Prussians...

 ...both sides played well, and I gained good insights for the upcoming game day, as well as valuable experience running an NRW game (I had only assembled and run a small 1 on 1 game before this).  Most of all,  it was a grand way to end the week, with toy soldiers and splendid company.  Thanks to all the players for their good sportsmanship and input and insights towards the game day event.

Excelsior!

A DIVERSION: "I WRITE LIKE"

For the observant, you may have noticed the appearance of a new gadget down the left side of this blog proclaiming that "I write like Daniel Defoe."   This is a bit of fun that I stumbled across on another blog (unfortunately, I forget which).  It's a website, I Write Like, where you slam some text into a box and it's run through a bot that matches your writing style to a famous author.  Of course, there certainly isn't a result that tells you that your writing is atrocious, or that matches you to some awful amateur poser ("You Write Like Blogger Ed M"). 

For this exercise, I input the text of a piece I wrote for the Foreign Correspondent, which is also on this blog .  It seems clear to me that the linkage to an author from an earlier period derived from the quaint style I used in that piece, with the bot picking up phrasing like "dear reader."  Given my background and current employment, I am very well versed in the limitations of language algorithms.  In other words, I should know better than to be pleased at such a comparison, but as a guilty pleasure, I'll take it. For those who read and spend their time banging on keyboards (I'm lookin' at you, fellow bloggers), this is right up your quirky alley. 

Just out of curiosity, I tried inputting another block of text, one that had less affected language.  This time around, it matched my writing to the late David Foster Wallace, which I found of infinite jest.

I wish that they had Samuel Johnson among their authors--if so, I would keep submitting until I was matched to the Great Cham. Who wouldn't?  

Back to gaming in the next post (I think).

Excelsor!

STEVE BARBER AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN 19TH CENTURY LINE GRENZERS

Following up on the completion of the Austrian command stands last week, I have gone on to finish a unit of Austrian Grenzers for my Choc Box Wars Austrians.  This will complete my Austrians (the remaining balance of which will be coming from a painting service later this summer).  The figures (above) are from the excellent Steve Barber Revolutions in Europe Line.  Being a relatively new offering, I had a hard time finding samples of how others had painted these--outside of the wonderful illustration of the figures on the Steve Barber site. So, I offer this study for anyone who might be interested in painting these figures themselves.  As usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX. 

Like my earlier observation about my Thirty Year's War horse, this was another exercise in shades of brown and gray.  The base color for the coat is Italian Dark Brown (Testors Model Master); the base color for the pack is Testors Model Master Dark Tan, and the base color for the bag is Humbrol Brown Yellow (all flat enamels, of course).  Each also has at least one or more drybrush coats of lighter brown/tan over those.  For the bag, pack, and the rolled greatcoat, I also did a dark wash followed by highlighting.  The greatcoat base color is Testors Model Master Gunship Gray, drybrushed with Testors Model Master Light Gray.  The trousers are Testors Bright Blue (again with some drybrush of lighter blue and a touch of light gray).

The complete 2-stand unit. One trick I use when mounting figures with a uniform pose (that aren't marching in close order) is staggering them just a bit to break up the lines and impart a bit of variety.  As far as the main unit effect, probably the thing that jumps out at you the most on the table is the yellow hat piping, the process of painting which caused me to be very aware of the difference between painting for the camera and painting for the table. Given how temperamental yellow enamel is to work with, it took took multiple passes to get the hat piping to come out decently for the lens--and there's still a bit of jaggedness to the lines that shows up on camera, whereas to the naked eye these aren't noticeable.  Were I painting more figures, I probably would not have taken these extra pains.

Speaking of extras, I usually include a few spare figures among my projects that I mount individually.  These come in handy as pickets, game markers, or just for looking nice on a bookshelf. 

1848-66ish AUSTRIAN COMMAND STANDS COMPLETE

Having come down with a rather icky rash (probably from moving brush in the yard last week), I was hunkered down over the recent holiday weekend. I remained inside and kept cool and dry.  The upside to this limitation was that I was able to distract myself by getting stuck in on the sudden surfeit of Austrian command figures I had on hand (mentioned in the previous WIP post). I entered into the project thinking, for some stupid reason, that this would be a low-effort project because these were "low density" command figures. The fact that I was painting 9 mounted figures in 6 different uniforms escaped me--had I entered into an equivalent  project of painting 1.5 mounted units, I certainly would have been braced for the effort.  As I got stuck in, however, it became clear to me that the job was more significant than I had anticipated (duh!). Anyway, above you see the completed group: an Austrian HQ stand (2 figures), 3 Austrian Individually mounted commanders (Chiefs of Staff for my Choc Box Wars rules), 1 Prussian individually mounted commander (also a Chief of Staff), and 3 more Austrian commanders, mounted generically on rectangular stands. I use the octagonal stands for my Chocolate Box Wars command stands.  I don't need this many chiefs of staff, but I figured that sometime down the road I might need more command figures for a Seven Week's War game using some other rules and in that case I'd have them ready. In the below studies, you may, as usual, CLIX PIX FOR BIG PIX.

For my Austrian general, I once again turned to my "go to" conversion figure (above left) from among the Perry Carlist War Isabelino Foreign Commanders .  I think I'll just make it a point to have one of these fellows on hand so that I can do other mods.  (Above Right) the modification of the Perry figure in progress...

 ...the two conversions of this figure side-by-side. Above left, the earlier conversion of this figure for the Danes. In the comparison, you can see that for the Austrian general I shaved down the ornaments, the major being the epaulettes, to give the clean lines of the Austrian uniform and added a more generous and lower-sitting feather plume to reflect the more prominent ornamentation on the latter.  Below is a study of the completed command stand...

...I am pretty happy with how the conversion came out. The plumage on the headgear departs from the other modification (I was concerned that after the effort involved that it would not be distinct from the other) and to me it nicely evokes a late Victorian/Edwardian style. I was originally intending to do up the conversion in white kittel, but given the length of the coat, I just couldn't bring myself to stray that far and instead went with the gray overcoat. By way of compensation, I took a bit of liberty with the girdle and sword straps. The Perry figure is paired with one of the OOP Helion Austrian 1866 command figures, also in overcoat. The Perry and Helion/Northstar figures go very well together. Which brings me to the next set, the individually mounted Helion/Northstar Austrian command figures...

...the above two examples (from Tobacco Cards) inspired the look I was trying to evoke..

...serendipity gave me one officer in the white kittel. He will fit in nicely with my Austrian infantry, who will also be in white (when those are done, that is). As I mentioned earlier, the package had the wrong horses, so all of these Helion/Northstar figures are mounted on Front Rank horses, which was a happy accident that worked out really well. The Helion/Northstar figures really live up to the "sculpt" label, and these command figures are a particularly fine set in that regard. I also, however, had those Eureka 1866 Austrian command figures on hand...

...which, you can see, are substantially smaller than the Northstar and Perry figures (above, the smaller Eureka figure to the right, which otherwise is an almost exact counterpart to the Northstar/Helion)...

...on their own, the Eureka are certainly fine figures and possess nice character, but I would put them into the "wargame figure" category (very good ones) as opposed to the "sculpt" category of the Helion/Northstar...

...this certainly didn't stop me from happily painting up the bunch! The above image conveys the effect of the Eurekas "on the table"--wargame figures doing what the best of wargame figures do: look good collectively. I'm sure that I'll find (or create!) some use for the spares. Right now, they are standing guard on one of my bookshelves and looking dandy while doing so. This left me with one more figure in the box that I hadn't yet done...

...a lone Prussian command figure, also Helion/Northstar (also out of production).  Above, this is a very clean figure that I would say also fits into the "sculpt" category.  I found that the simplicity of the uniform and the clean lines of this figure make the details all the more important. This fellow  goes along with the one other individually mounted Prussian command figure...

...that I had done earlier(above). In the above, you can see the Helion/Northstar horse. It's not bad, but the marriage of the Front Rank horses with the Austrian command figures is so much more impressive that it makes this combination look a bit pale in comparison.

And so, that concludes my latest foray into conversions, command figures, and the continental armies of the 19th Century. More anon...