More Picking Away...

More stuff accomplished this weekend. First, I built a second DBA base, this one for English medievals:

I ordered a handful of Fife and Drum figures. The Spirit of '76 vignette, and five minutemen. My plan is to paint them up for a work display - the theme for the whole year (not just summer) is America's 250th. So another excuse to promote miniatures in the library. I plan to paint two of the minutemen to represent a pair of free black colonists who - completely coincidentally - shared my rare last name. So I hope to do a good job painting them.

What I got was a bunch of figures, free overstock! Thanks! About half minutemen, half Continentals in uniform. That could make up two small regiments or one large one, with mixed appearance like Jim Purky's own 2nd New Hampshire. 

I haven't built or painted metal models in ages, so some filing practice is in order. I'll also have to use a pin drill on the standard bearer. As for basing... probably singly, for skirmish games. I have lots of round Wargames Atlantic bases.

I also bought some Games Workshop 25mm and 25x50mm square bases, for the Pike and Shotte starter set. Here's the first infantry sprue mostly made up:

Needs a few more hats, and there are also a lot of scabbarded swords on the sprue I haven't figured out where they go on the figures yet. I'm glad I just made these chaps to start with, as I found out specific arms go to specific figures. Also, gluing two arms onto a figure at once is a bit messy. A little filing and paint, though, and I'm sure they'll look good enough for the tabletop.

Finally, a painted Skaven done with Speedpaint pens. Fun and not too frustrating. I find it hard to tell the colors apart when they're bunched together, so (for example) some of the leather has a gold tinge...

I'll stop here, as I have two cats on my desk trying to interfere with typing and projects.

For comparison, here's the one I have to coax into letting me touch.
On the right: still unopened boxes of Warlord samurai.

'Til next time.

The Upteenth Battle of Blasthof Bridge

Countless gamers have fought across the fair fields of Blasthof in the last fifty years, and tonight it happened once more. Ron and Mark, two stalwarts of the South Florida Miniatures Gamers, kindly consented to be my guinea pigs for the evening. We met at The War Office (aka a small office suite) for the set-to.

As we were playing with my 18mm Wofuns and centimeters, rather than the classic 30mm Spencer Smiths and inches, the field needn't be large.

Unfortunately, we had neither a river nor a bridge in the club!

Due to the available terrain, Blasthof Farm and the Blasthofberg were relatively larger than the original, while the River Blast was reduced to a desperate trickle. At least the bridge was sturdier than the original paper.

The sides were drawn from, respectively, my WSS French and '45 British collections.

Ron:

• 18 1e Cuirassiers
• 32 1e Guard Francaise
• Anvre Battery (2 guns)

Mark:

• 12 Yorbourne Dragoons
• 40 Royal Kempston
• Halmouth Battery (2 guns)

As usual, I failed to take enough photos, but here's a representative selection.

Mark moves his guns to the hill as his Dragoons cross
the river; Ron moves stolidly towards the "bridge."

Mark spreads out his troops and opens fire (to no effect).
His light horse are already to midtable.

As Ron slowly moves upfield, the range closes and Mark's
guns start to pick off his infantry. Ron's cavalry are
angling towards Mark's dragoons, who are out of view behind
the farmhouse (out of LOS of Ron's guns).

Ron's Guard Francaise are on the bridge,
while his cuirassiers charge Mark's dragoons.
Unfortunately, both French units are under
short-range crossing fire...

The combat went badly for Ron (who spent much of the game
rolling nothing but ones and twos), and his defeated cuirassiers
are rallying in the field. Meanwhile his infantry, trapped on the
bridge, are at least fighting back while they get the crap
shot out of them.

No more game photos, but suffice to say that by turn seven, not only were both of Ron's regiments understrength (requiring them to retreat from the field) but his guns were charged and taken by the dragoons (despite a game blast of canisters that killed four horsemen. His infantry had to rally on the bridge in full view of Mark's infantry and guns and would probably not survive to retreat!

So a solid victory for Mark. Though, to be fair, Ron rolled badly all game, and even his heavier cav (+1 versus lighter cav) didn't help. Both enjoyed the game and seemed to like the rules despite the fiddliness of one-to-one melee alongside multi-bases.

They were also impressed by the look and feel of the Wofun miniatures. Which allows me to segue into the Paperboys I've built this week:

A DBA "camp" base for medieval Scots. As the miniature
soldiers are 3D, I removed the paper figures, but the tent and
shields look pretty good!

Added a light gun to my Continental troops guarding the
America250 book display at work. Unfortunately,
their command base was destroyed in action.

Til next time...

Binge Weekend, Part 2

Well, we didn't do Charge! today, but we had a good time. Five attendees this time, and we played Waterloo with Command and Colours, then a small action from Pontiac's War with Fistful of Lead.

I didn't participate much in the first game; I got the British "center," and most of the cards our team drew covered the left and right. But I did get a feel for the game. Card-driven games aren't my favorite, they feel like you have less agency. Though to be fair, that is the nature of Murphy in combat. What felt weirdest was moving units in less step with each other than they would have been in real life - it's easy to isolate a regiment here if you're not careful. That's why the rules allow you to avoid retreating if you are "supported" by other units in touch.

The figures are very attractive, the customized board more so.

I was tempted to "borrow" it for Portable Wargames.

The Prussians arrived quickly for the scenario.

We stopped around three hours in, once it was obvious
that the Allied reinforcements could flank Napoleon.

Mark Ritchie ran the Fistful of Lead game, with some lovely buildings:

The sides were about even - 25 assorted Indians with three chiefs (chieves?) vs. a mix of British line troops and Rogers' Rangers.

Based loosely on the Battle of Bloody Run during the siege of Detroit, in which a British relief force under Captain Dalyell was ambushed and driven back.

British start to cross the creek.

Appropriate card deck for the occasion!

Bloody melee at the crossing.

While Rangers and light infantry engage on the left.

My officer ably directs matters whilst exposed.

My partner really drew this hand!

The decimated British retreat back over the creek.

So the historical result achieved at any rate! A good game, and I've also familiarized myself with Command and Colours, a popular ruleset for Paperboys.

A busy weekend. See you next week!

Remote Charge!

Today I taught my brother Josh to play Charge! over Discord.

A bit tricky. But interesting, as it turned out.

I picked the classic Sawmill Village again for the scenario.

Like my previous Charge! game, I reduced the table
size, moves and ranges, substituting cm for inches.

Navarre Regiment, Bulkeley's Regiment and Royal Ecossais.

Essendale, Royal Kempston and Calein Highlanders.

Setup.

As per the scenario, we set up in opposite corners. In hindsight (given it took us three hours to do this) we should have set up across the long edges. The goal was either to seize the center of the field, or reduce two of the opposing three battalions to under 50%.

I took photos after each move and sent them to Josh over Discord. It may have been my phone, but I eventually found that Discord could not save photos I took to immediately post them - I had to go back and forth between Discord and my camera app. My brother was patient, though.

Turn One- we're both in column.

Josh, underestimating distance and moves, formed into line early.

Discovering he hadn't enough room between the buildings,
Josh "obliqued" forward and to the left, keeping his gun
on his right flank...

While my infantry debouched into the field from the hills.

By turn 6, my gun has found a commanding position
on the hill, but Josh has formed his line and is
plinking away at my gun with his own.

Turn 8: I have two regiments in line to Josh's three.
My third is hot-footing it around the tower.

Musketry begins. My gun is
down to one crewman.

The French line is breaking up
as Josh attempts to put all his men
in position to fight. Close-range
fire begins.

Turn 11: the firing is furious.
My gun is now unmanned.

Josh's left-hand regiment is down to half strength and
will have to fall back out of the battle. My 
nearly-equally-reduced right-hand unit forms into
column (meaning it can fight in four ranks to Josh's two).

As the French unit retreats,
Josh hopes to lay on to my
flanking column before his own
lads get into his line of fire.

Turn 12: My column is badly hurt by a volley but then
charges in...

And wins the combat, as my flanking column overruns
the left-hand French and manuevers...

... into position to charge a flank.

At top center, my center regiment is marking away out of range of Josh's swinging right flank, as it is one man from being half strength and thus losing me the game. This is because in front of the French line can be seen my worn-out assault column falling back out of the fight.

On turn 15, the 14-strong French
to the left are retreating; I've narrowly won.

End result:

• Two French regiments reduced under 50%.
• One British regiment reduced under 50%, another at 17 strong out of 32, and gun knocked out.

I'd say honours were about even.

Mistakes were made, of course. 

• Shooting is semi-simultaneous, so that those killed in a turn may return fire in the next. I thought that only happened during the same turn rather than the next, so that Josh (as the first player) lost troops to my return casualties fire, but could not in turn fire his own casualties in his next turn.
• Unit-retreating begins at 50% strength, not 50% minus one.
• An understrength unit is not simply wiped out when contacted, but still fights - if at half effect. This made a difference when my flanking column contacted Josh's understrength unit and we decided that, as in Warhammer, it was automatically eliminated.
• Finally, playing the game photo by photo was wearying, and video would have been quicker and clear. (The catch being that an overhead camera would make it hard to tell flat units apart...) I couldn't figure out how to start; a video call would have done the trick, but then I think I could not have taken photos for this blog.

Ah, well. It was a practical experiment, and above all I got to play a game with my little brother, which happens quite rarely. Even with voice and still photos only, it was enjoyable.

I am almost done with the Saxons for the 960 Project; just a flag or two and a handful of alternate shields to add and then I can send them off to Peter Dennis. (He's offered to base them for those of us across the pond, so shipping in an envelope shouldn't be too difficult.)

There will also be gaming at Das Krieg Haus 2 this weekend, and I'll try to make it. See you after.

Reading Again

As usual of late, I haven't got much gaming done. There was a TSATF game at the club last Saturday that I missed. I might get something in during the Fourth of July weekend, if I can clear off my table:

Hey, at least it's full size now.

Been reading a lot instead. Just today, I received one of my Charles S. Grant books that has taken three trips across the Atlantic to reach me, an old classic:

I've only taken a quick glance through it, but there is plenty of food for thought. Two of my favorite scenarios, for one - Fontenoy and Sawmill Village. I hope to try them out at Das Krieg Haus one of these days. Sawmill Village and a couple others provide a choice of units to the player and the first, with about six units rather than the original four, would probably be enough for two players a side.

Several of the scenarios require map-moves - not quite mini-campaigns as they are over the course of a single day and lead up to a single battle. Others are for specific periods (mostly 20th-century, with airborne and one specifically Vietnam scenario), and there is at least one small-scale skirmish game, with a dozen guerrillas, 50 civilians, and a middling number of opposing troops. Charge! isn't quite designed for it, certainly not with my Wofuns, but there are enough minis in the club collection for a try. There are even a couple scenarios that would work in The Sword and the Flame. Rest assured I will take a closer look at this book and see what I can make of it. Playing the 52 scenarios at the rate of one a week is, while a tempting prospect, sadly not doable here.

A better choice for an "ongoing" project would be my 30 BEF plastics, of which I've still only assembled five, one of which I reassembled after its arms fell off. One a day, thus finishing them within the month, seems an achievable goal... though a plausible excuse for not finishing will be that I sprained a finger at work. Physical therapy is going well, but I suddenly wonder what the physiotherapist and gamer Donald Featherstone would have suggested for wargamers with injured hands... he seems to mostly have dealt with sports and dancing injuries, though (maybe he had early members of the Sealed Knot in to see him?).

Enough asides; what else have I been reading?

The Siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1782 by Tom Guffie - part of a "British Battles" series by Batsford. Fairly short, but comprehensive. I'm unfamiliar with the siege, but I've always wanted to visit the Rock and this scratches that itch. I'll look for more of this series.

The Boy Generals, by Adolfo Ovies - the first two volumes of a three-volume trilogy (the third appears to not yet be published) about George Custer and his rival Wesley Merritt during the American Civil War. The first volume covers events up to the end of Gettysburg, the second the beginning of Sheridan's Shenandoah campaign; the third will go to the end of the war. Merritt, who has been forgotten because, unlike Custer, he wasn't interested in publicity, was two years senior to Custer at West Point. They were both promoted to brigadier just before Gettysburg and emnity developed from there. While they're also absorbing biographies, the series is largely about the development of the cavalry from riders with swords (which Ovies characterizes as hussars), to mounted infantry with carbines (characterized as dragoons). Custer was basically the former sort and Merritt the latter, except that Custer seems to have used mounted action as a partner to Spencer carbines. Two of his regiments used firearms to pin the enemy while the other two got into position to charge. So while he was famous for his charges, he's shown to have more depth than is usually depicted.

Unsung Hero of Gettysburg, by Edward G. Longacre, is recommended by approving mentions of its subject in The Boy Generals. It's a biography of David McMurtrie Gregg, another Union cavalry general, which I haven't started yet but looks quite good. While he commanded Custer during Gettysburg, like Merritt he was unassuming and led an unrecognized if busy career. I look forward to reading it.

Queen Emma and the Vikings, by Harriet O'Brien - A biography of a Norman queen of Saxon England, betrothed to Aethelred the Unready and the mother of Edward the Confessor. Another period I'm not very familiar with, but looks very involved with a great deal of intrigue and interesting characters.

In "fantasy" news, my coworker who was going to GM Dungeons and Dragons at an August library event has had to beg off, which may put me on the spot. There is a meeting tomorrow to discuss plans which I hope to attend; at this point, while I am expecting to do a painting program in the background of the gaming, I don't yet know the space I'll have or the people who'll be backing me up. I like to think I've learned lessons from previous tries, so I will have plenty to say!

Thanks for reading. Until next time...

Battle of Blasthof

This is a game I've wanted to play for close to thirty years. Well, to be fair, I did play it with my first pack of 28mm AWI Wofuns, years before I started this blog, but I was using the original "beginner" rules then. This time is with the Athena Books edition which I hope to run at Das Krieg Haus. All moves and ranges are converted from inches to centimeters.

The forces:

2nd Foot, Yorbourne Dragoons, and Blew's Battery

 Saillant Regiment, 1st Cheval and Jaune Battery.

Deployment. My apologies: closer examination
will reveal the refuse of the farmer's feline harvest.

I did not play a true solo game with intent to win, I simply put the "Electoral" Brits on the defense while the "Imperial" French aggressively moved to seize the bridge. As it proved, this wouldn't be good tactics, but it did provide opportunities to test all the mechanics.

Turn 1: Both sides move, Brits cautiously - except to
cross the river with cavalry.

Turn 2: Closer to bridge. French cav reforming,
with intend to hold off Brit cav from preventing
a crossing.

Turn 3: Brit cav tempt French to charge. Notice that
the British guns have been plinking at the French horse,
who thus far have three casualties.

Turn 4: Cavalry charge. French lose due to 4 casualties
from crossing artillery fire, though killed two Brits
in melee. Infantry crossing bridge.

I used the SCRUD method for the 1-1 fighting. One combat was 2-1, so its side got to double the score and I rolled separately. Infantry melee is simpler, one die-score of casualties per 10 men fighting.

Notice that until this point, the French battery was entirely masked. It fired its first shots and killed one British gunner, who was immediately replaced by a nearby infantryman.

Turn 5: French cav retreats one move past guns while Brits rally.
Infantry gets onto bridge but takes 11 casualties
from guns and musketry. I forgot that canister allows full score
to hit between 6-12", so it could've been even worse.

Turn 6: French horse retreats second move. French infantry charges. British canister causes only two casualties! Also I think I forgot to roll for British musketry on the way in - there should have been three dice of long-range (ie half casualty) fire.

19 infantry a side, at one die per 10 men (I'll use full dice, though the second ought to be halved). The French win the melee, 9 casualties to 3! (plus two prisoners), but are now at half strength of their original 32 and must retreat. They fail to capture the colour (on a 6), which would have been a consolation.

I should have tried column attack here, which would have allowed four ranks of the column (16 figures) to fight versus two (eight figures) of the line. It probably would have come out the same.

Brits, recovered, charge the French guns, taking two casualties to canister on the way. One gun is contacted. Gunners cannot fight and are automatically deleted.

Turn 7: French cav rally. Both sides' infantry retreat.
The Yorbourne Dragoons take the second French gun,
whose crew do not have time to spike
(would be hit during the spiking move).
Brit guns fire canister at the retreating infantry on the bridge,
again causing only two casualties!

Owing to the order of actions, in which artillery fires before charges go in, it would normally be possible for the French gun to get a shot off, but the cav are too close (less than 3cm).

Current casualty score: 

• Brits: 18 of 60
• French: 34 of 58.

Turn 8: The now understrength French have clearly lost, but as the bridge is the objective and they're still on it, we'll do one more turn. Infantry fall back again, Saillant are now off the bridge. To prevent them being charged by the dragoons, ten rallied French cav charge six Brits, meleeing among the guns. Three casualties to one, plus a prisoner - the British horse are down to two men and (at 1/3 strength or less) out of the game. This will give the French the opportunity to retrieve their guns, even under fire from the intact British battery.

Just for the heck of it, the British battery gets off two more rounds of fire before the French are out of range. They cause two more casualties to the infantry.

Turn 11: Both British units are done rallying.
They can both return to the bridge by turn 15,
so, like Soubise's Electorals, have thoroughly won.

End total: 

• Brits: 22 casualties, including three prisoners. Serious casualties to infantry regiment, cavalry almost eliminated.
• French: 38 casualties, including entire gun crew and over half an infantry regiment. Guns retrieved from field.

I think this went pretty well. And it was surprisingly fun. At this small scale, the inch-cm conversion worked very well. My first thought for playing this scenario at Das Krieg with more than two players is to raise each base to a regiment, thus having five battalions and two horse regiments against four and three respectively. The two guns would remain, being appropriate for the size of fight.

My other thought is to run "Kleine Krefeld" from Charles S. Grant's first Wargaming in History volume, but that is a less "setpiece" action. I may try it myself in the cm scale at home. 

Speaking of which, I found Grant's Scenarios for Wargamers on ebay and have a copy on the way. Looking forward to reading it.

Thanks for reading.