Never Mind the Matchlocks trial

 Steve, Bob and I have played quite a few games of 'Billhooks', so we thought we would give this set of rules a go.  As you would expect they are very similar, though matchlocks replace bows and cavalry are more numerous.  Brigades replace Battles as the element of command.  One interesting change is that there is now an army commander, who can either carry out an action himself, or, give an extra action to one of his commanders.  As with 'Billhooks' it is a card driven system so not all commanders will have the opportunity to act each turn.

An infantry brigade ready to advance

Preparing to exchange volleys

We tried out a simple scenario featuring a roadside inn.  The two cavalry forces entered combat fairly quickly and it was fairly bloody!  Starting with 4 brigades, each with 2 units in no time half had been eliminated, having failed their morale tests or had been wiped out.  Of the remaining four, three were below half strength.

The remains of two cavalry units after a round of melee

Cavalry charging a gun

Infantry are either musketeers, pikemen or forlorn hope skirmishers.  Ammunition for formed musketeer units (including those in composite units with pike, is limited to 6 rounds (with an extra one on the basis that the unit is assumed to be already loaded.  This does encourage advancing into close range (9" or less), as at long range hits are only scored with '6's.  Saving throws are 5+, so hits can 'stick' and build up quickly.  Interestingly, on mixed pike/musket units all the hits are assumed to fall on the muskets, which some may find odd and wish to change.  

Morale is the same as for 'Billhooks'.  The composite matchlock and pike units add 2 to their morale test so only a double 1 spells disaster.  Nevertheless, I did manage it.

Very rarely a good result

Our first attempt seemed to run ok, and with use I can see we could easily play a game in a three hours.  If you have played 'Billhooks' and like the system and also have some Pike and Shot troops they could give a small scale action alternative to Pike and Shotte or one of the other rule sets available.  

My apologies for the grommets in use as casualty counters.  The rules require figure removal and all our figures  are on multiple figure bases.

Not been a particularly productive year on the blog, but I hope to post more frequently next year.  In closing, I would like to wish all my readers a peaceful and prosperous 2025.

RECON Show 2024 at Pudsey

 Fortunately, the weather was not as severe as anticipated for the trip over the Pennines to Pudsey for our final wargames show of 2024.  Our game was positioned just by the door in the main hall so we were the first game seen as the visitors entered.  Quite a few stopped to ask questions and a few joined in the game.  As usual the show was busy in the morning before quietening down later.  There was a reasonable mix of traders and I was able to obtain the few items on my shopping list. The majority of games were participation and here are some examples.

First a game based on the film "Hot Fuzz" which was just being re-set for another run.

Then a game set during the Battle of Britain

and one based on I think "Space Cadets" with some insects you would rather not meet!

In the upstairs room Ken Riley (aka Yarkshire Gamer) had his Battle of Mentana game which has been at several shows this year.

We ran our game twice with the morning game going down to the wire with both armies on the brink of defeat and resulting in a narrow English victory.  The afternoon game was slightly more in favour of the English but was called a draw.

Thank you to Andy, Simon, Steve and Will for helping with the game.  Also Charles, Jim, John and Oliver for joining us.

RECON Dec 2024

 Next weekend it is the RECON Show at Pudsey, the traditional end to our wargaming travels.  Once again Steve, Bob and I will be at the show putting on a game in support of the Lance and Longbow Society.  This year our game will be a fictional encounter from the short-lived War of Saint Sardos which took place in the 1320's between England and France.  The action takes place in Gascony where a dispute over rights to establish a new town resulted in the destruction of the town and the violent death of a French sergeant.  Armies have been despatched by Charles IV of France and Edward II of England to resolve the dispute.

Below are a few photos from our test run of the scenario, the top two were taken before we introduced the stakes to protect the archers.

 If you are attending the show please drop by and say hello.  Or even better, join in as it will be a participation game.

Summer 2024

It has been some time since I posted on the blog.  Some games have been taking place, but I just haven't got around to reporting them.  Being summer other commitments come to the fore and so this is by way of a postcard from my travels.

At the Riverside Museum in Glasgow I came across this display featuring the Glasgow built ships which ran the Union blockade to trade with the Confederate states,

The last picture was a trip down memory lane.  Way back in my youth a company which produced bubblegum decided to boost sales by including rather graphic picture cards depicting the ACW.  In addition the packs included facsimiles of Confederate currency.  Now I have never liked bubblegum, but like all my classmates I collected the cards and the money.  The latter was used in games of pontoon, fortunately not leading to a life of gambling.

I have posted about the Riverside Museum before, and included photos of ship models, but here are two more

On another day, further west we visited Tarbert on Loch Fyne.  Of interest to me here were the remains of the castle.

It was quite a climb, but the view over the harbour was worth it

Earlier ion the summer we went to Cornwall and while there we visited St Michael's Mount.  In the museum there were several artefacts collected by the family.

Flag captured at the battle of El Teb

A shield from the same source

San Cassiano; a return to the Italian Wars

 For the last 3 or 4 weeks we have been trying to become better acquainted with "Sharp Practice" and we have now (hopefully) reached the stage where games are no longer interrupted by pauses while a particular rule is checked.  With two players and and a 'chit drawer' there is no time for the photos or making notes on the progress of the game both of which inform a post on the blog.  However, this week, we returned to more familiar territory, courtesy of a scenario devised by Steve.

The scenario is set in Italy during the Italian Wars and those two old protagonists the Duc du Merlot, commanding the French forces and the Count of Tempranillo commanding their Imperialist opponents, are both seeking a decisive battle.  The two sides met in the vicinity the minor settlement of San Cassiano.  The French, with their Swiss allies, have a slight advantage in cavalry, whereas the Imperialists have slightly more infantry.  Both commanders deploy in the classic way, cavalry on the flanks and infantry in the centre. The Duc du Merlot entrusted his right wing to the Comte de Malbec and the left to the Comte de Chardonnay.  In the centre were the Swiss and French pike blocks,  two units of crossbowmen, a light gun and a unit of halberdiers, all commanded by Lord Landroter.  Tempranillo entrusted his right wing to the Duke of Barbera and his left to Count Trebbiano.  In the centre Graf von Spatburgunder commanded the landsknecht pikes, a light gun, a unit of halberdiers and two units of arquebusiers.

The view from the Imperialist right wing

The battle began with a relatively slow advance by both armies, with the exception of Chardonnay's stradiots, who galloped forward, intent on driving off Barbera's mounted arquebusiers.  Minor casualties were inflicted by the arquebusiers, but this did not deter the stardiots from charging and unwilling to cross swords, the arquebusiers evaded, falling back in disorder.

The stradiots drive off the mounted arquebusiers

On the opposite flank Malbec continued his rather lethargic advance, perhaps heavy going slowed his gendarmes, but Trebbiano did not mind, as he was reluctant to advance too far and offer a broader front for the French to attack.  A desultory skirmishing between the mounted crossbowmen and mounted arquebusiers began, with the arquebusiers having the better of the exchanges

Little action on the Imperialist left

With his gendarmes seemingly happy to sit on their horses and await events and a messenger arriving from his commander demanding "What are you doing?" Malbec ordered a charge by his light cavalry

This resulted in an inconclusive melee, where both sides ended up having to fall back to reorder.

Meanwhile, in the centre, both bodies of infantry had advanced and the crossbowmen and arquebusiers had begun exchanging fire.  Behind them, the pike blocks had advanced, though to Lord Randroter's chagrin, the Swiss advance had been much slower than that of the French; later, accounts circulated that  reassurances regarding pay had been sought before the Swiss would commit to battle.  In any event it was the French pikemen who charged first and initially pushed back the landsknechts facing them.

The French attack

A second shove by the French caused some wavering in the landsknecht ranks and a third completed their defeat, the remnants streaming from the field.  The Swiss had now begun their advance and as they neared the Imperialist lines the Imperialist arquebusiers shot at them.  This had little effect and in a rather desperate attempt to buy some time, Spatburgunder ordered his halberdiers forward 

The Swiss close in

On the Imperialist right, Barbera's struggle with Chardonnay was reaching a decisive point.  Two units of gendarmes had charged each other and fought to a standstill, both having to withdraw to re-organise.  A second unit of Imperial gendarmes now charged a French unit of men at arms and routed them, but became disordered in the process.

A victory for the Imperial right wing

However, now the French began to gain the upper hand.  First one of their gendarme units charged and routed a unit of Imperial men at arms; then a re-match between the two units of gendarmes resulted in the rout of the Imperial unit. 

A French one...

two...

This left Barbera with a battered unit of gendarmes and a unit of mounted arquebusiers to try and hold back the French attack.  This he was unable to do and soon the gendarmes were threatening the flank of Spatburgunder's infantry

Chardonnay's units threaten the Imperial centre

They already had their hands full.  Spatburgunder had ordered forward a second landsknecht pike unit to try and halt the French advance, but they had fared no better than the previous unit and the survivors were soon streaming to the rear.

The unit of halberdiers had made no impression on the Swiss pike block; the Swiss barely missing a step as they rolled forward.

The halberdiers rout

The Swiss also made short work of the arquebusiers and this left Spatburgunder with only one formed body of troops, his third pike block.   However, they faced not only the now rampant Swiss, but also two units of gendarmes.

As do the arquebusiers

On the Imperial left Trebbiano was having some success.  Not only had he despatched the French mounted crossbowmen, but some unusually quiescent French gendarmes had simply stood as his heavy cavalry charged.  The French had routed and Trebbiano was contemplating a general advance when a rider arrived from Tempranillo ordering a retreat.

A decisive victory for the Duc du Merlot; and the Graf von Spatburgunder will have some explaining to do about the sorry performance of the landsknechts.

Gentleman Pensioners Sunday Game

 A couple of weeks ago I posted (link) that our Sunday game following the Phalanx Show would be an Eastern Renaissance battle.  What follows is a brief resume of that battle.  The situation was that an Allied army of Muscovites, Poles and Cossacks was trying to stop an Ottoman army (with some Tartar allies) from attacking the city of Kiev.

After a fairly ineffective exchange of long range artillery fire, the Ottoman forces began their advance.  The two Ottoman cavalry wings, preceded by a screen of skirmishing horse archers attempted to drive off the Allied horse archers.  In the centre a number of Azab units, both missile and melee moved forward, with Janissary units in a second wave.

Azab units about to cross the gully on the Ottoman right

The Ottoman advance was not very well co-ordinated (the Azabs could not be given brigade orders, so had to test unit by unit for movement), but did draw the fire of the Allied infantry, which was the Ottoman commander was hoping would happen.  One Azab unit did pay a heavy price, being routed before it could even fire it's opening volley.

An Azab unit routed by losses from artillery and musketry

On the Ottoman left, the cavalry battle was fierce, with several units destroyed, but the Ottoman commander was drawing more and more of the Allied cavalry into the fight. 

As the Ottoman infantry neared the Allied centre the Allied units were tempted to attack piecemeal, with varying results.

Ottoman infantry bearing down on the Allied centre

It was on the Allied left that the first real crisis came.  An Azab unit charged forward against the line of wagons covering the right flank of the Allied centre.  Through oversight, or ineptitude, the infantry commander had not garrisoned the wagons, so the only defenders were the gun crew.

They didn't offer much resistance and the chance was there for an attack on the flank of the Allied infantry.  Fortunately, the Azabs faltered and a small unit of Haiduk and a unit of Polish levy were able to drive them back.  The Allied left wing cavalry were also struggling.  After an initial success, they were repeatedly driven back, giving space for more and more Ottoman cavalry to cross the gully

The Ottoman right wing cavalry crossing the gully and pushing back
the Alliance left wing cavalry

In the centre, one unit of Soldatski had been routed, but a unit of Streltsy moved forward to attack the Azab advance.

That Streltsy attack was successful, the Azabs routing.  However, behind them were units of Janissaries and they proved a tougher nut to crack. 

Not invincible though, as a unit of Cossacks proved on the left.

By mid - late afternoon, after 4-5 hours of gaming the Ottomans had made some progress.  On both flanks their cavalry had the upper hand.  In the centre, although they had taken losses, the Allied formation had broken up with units making un co-ordinated attacks.  A third wave of janissaries and the Sipahi of the Porte were available to exploit any gaps.  For their part, the Allied army had committed most of their infantry and also some of their cavalry reserve.

The Allied left

The Boyar cavalry on the Alliance right are committed to hold
back the Ottoman light cavalry

However, approaching are the provincial sipahi

The participating Gentlemen Pensioners
Will, Chris, David, John and Steve

A most enjoyable game.  Thanks to Steve for hosting and organising things and to Gwen, his wife, for the lovely lunch.   Thanks also to Will, Chris and John who although not familiar with the rules made the game the success it was.