First outing for the Ottomans

By no means a big battle, more a small scale action to try and settle on the relative factors between the different armies/troop types.  Although there was an element of getting a few troops on the table to kick start the painting needed to get a balanced force together.

After an incursion into Ottoman controlled territory a  portion of the Cossack force has been forced back against a river.  Hastily forming a defensive line with their wagons the Cossacks have turned to face their pursuers.

The wagons are 'garrisoned' by two small units of registered Cossacks supported by two light guns.  One of the wagons has a very light gun.  This is based on the cart shown in film 'with fire and sword' which uses light, short-range guns to drive off a Polish cavalry attack.  Behind this line of wagons are the two reserve units, one of moloisty and one of registered cossacks.

The Ottoman force has two units of levy infantry (my apologies for fielding them with unfinished bases) and four small units of janissaries, backed up with two medium guns.  Steve brought along a couple of units of cavalry to round out the force.

The Janissaries

One of the levy units

The Ottoman commander sent forward the levy to soften up the defence before the janissaries finished off the job.  At least that was the theory.  The levy did attack, but not in any co-ordinated way, and the janissaries were at first reluctant to advance.  By the time they got forward the levy were attacking the wagons and although not pushing the Cossacks back, they were wearing them down.

The struggle for the wagons

The Ottoman light cavalry were trying to help, but the terrain prevented any flanking manoeuvre.  Eventually the inevitable happened and the levy infantry routed, leaving the way open for the Janissaries.  However, they fared no better, their attacks foundering against the wooden walls of the Cossack line.

The Ottoman light cavalry

The scenario had a couple of Cossack cavalry units arriving after a number of moves.  Perhaps surprised, the spahi unit did not attack immediately, allowing one of the cavalry units to  destroy a fleeing levy unit..  It then followed on to threaten the rear of one of the janissary units.

Success for the Cossack cavalry

At the wagons all the janissary units were on the brink of collapse, indeed one routed.  With this the Ottoman commander conceded victory, there was little hope of breaking through the line of wagons. So Steve and I had lunch and mulled over how things had panned out.

The janissary unit has had enough and routs

Refreshed, we reset the scenario, swapped commands and ran the game again.  This time the Ottomans had a bit more success.  One of their levy units did rout after several rounds of melee, but the other managed to break through with the janissaries in close attendance.  However, the disorder caused by making its way through the wagons left it vulnerable to counter-attack and it was duly routed by the moloisty unit.  An injudicious attack on a jannisary unit which had occupied the wagon line resulted in the moloisty unit routing, leaving an inviting gap in the Cossack line.

Even the arrival of the Cossack cavalry did not affect affairs.  The Ottoman commander calmly ordered the spahi unit to charge nearest unit.  This it did and routed them without suffering any loss itself.  Following up it dispatched the other unit with similar disdain.  This time it was the Cossack commander who had to concede defeat.

This was an interesting little action in which we tried out some new troop types and rule tweaks.  The factors for the Ottomans were an amalgam of those in Pike and Shotte and also the "Last argument of Kings" supplement.  We also used the 'bloodthirsty' rule, but limited it to the first round of the first melee.   The Cossack wagons gave cover from musketry and a +1 modifier to the melee result.

Mockern April 1813

A Shako scenario this week, it is a long time since the Napoleonics managed to get on the table.  This is not a totally historically accurate scenario, the terrain has been tweaked and the OOB's come from a League of Augsburg weekend game (link ).  That was spread over three tables using 25mm figures, so I had to make some changes to get it onto one 6 x 4 table.

Strategically Eugene has been driven back from the line of the Oder river and is now trying to hold the line of the Elbe.  His task is to hold the Russian armies back whilst Napoleon creates a new army around the survivors of the 1812 disaster.  Eugene had advanced a couple of divisions eastwards, pushing back the Prussians of Borstell's brigade.  The allied army under Wittgenstein which was facing Eugene had been ordered to move southwards towards the other allied armies.  Concerned that Eugene may be advancing on Berlin he ordered Borstell to retake the villages he had lost, supporting him with Bulow and Berg's divisions.The two forces clashed in the vicinity of Mockern, but without a clear victor.  However, Eugene decided to pull back to the Elbe, allowing Wittgenstein to continue his march south.

The map above shows the terrain for the battle.  The river Ehle is described by Nafziger ( in his book Lutzen and Bautzen), as "not wide or deep but having banks that were swampy and difficult to cross".   Later he says it is 2 - 3 feet deep and c12 feet wide.  We therefore decided that formed units crossing the river (cavalry and infantry only) would become disordered, or 'staggered' in the Shako rules.  On the French side of the river, roughly half way between the villages is an area of marsh which is impassable to all troops.  There are two lakes near the western edge of the table and near the road junction an area of rough ground passable only to skirmishers. (Gamers may find this restricts the field too much and prefer to ignore it).

Vandamme sends off his aides with orders for his divisional commanders

For the French, General Morand holds the northern village of Vehlitz with his Westphalian division (6 battalions, a foot battery and one skirmisher stand).  The village of Dannigkow is held by Grenier's Wurttemburg division (7 battalions and a skirmisher stand).  Marshal Vandamme has the divisions of Puthod (6 battalions, a foot battery and 2 skirmisher stands), Fontanelli (6 battalions and a skirmisher stand) and Bianchi (4 light cavalry regiments and a horse battery) marching east from Magdeburg.  They can arrive from turn 4 onwards depending on a d6 die roll, 6 at the end of turn 3, 5/6 at the end of turn 4 etc.  NB a '1' is always a fail.

Morand prepares to defend Vehlitz

Wittgenstein's forces are as follows.  General Borstell's brigade (5 battalions, a regiment of hussars, 2 skirmisher stands and a field battery) will attack Vehlitz.  Von Roth's advance guard, (4 battalions, 2 regiments of cavalry, 2 skirmishers and a field battery) will attack Dannigkow.  Berg's division (8 battalions, a skirmisher and an army gun) arrives at the beginning of turn 5 between Borstell and Von Roth.  In addition, the divisions of Denisov (4 regiments of cavalry,( 2 uhlans, 2 dragoon), and a horse battery) and Bikov (4 battalions of infantry and 2 skirmishers) will arrive on the road from the north.  Their arrival is on the turn following that on which Wittgenstein accumulates a score of 16 or more from rolling a single d6 at the end of each move from turn 2 onwards.

Borstell prepares to attack

The French will win if they can hold both villages and maintain their lines of communication back to Magdeburg.  Their opponents win if they can capture the villages and block the road west.

With the 1st Silesian infantry regiment leading the way, Borstell sent a column of infantry over the bridge towards Vehlitz.  Two more battalions moved forward towards the Ehle covered by skirmishers.  Morand's Westphalians also advanced and soon musketry volleys echoed across the river.  The Silesians had almost crossed the bridge when the first volley swept through their ranks.  A few men dropped but the remainder swept on, increasing pace, charging towards the white clad line opposing them.  A point-blank volley stopped them in their tracks, but they regrouped and charged again.  Another volley caused them to falter, but urged on by their officers, the battered battalion came on a again.  This time it was the Westphalians who faltered, their ragged volley being totally ineffective and they routed as the Prussians crashed into them.  The Silesians had little time to recover, Morand quickly ordered a battalion to move out of the village and take the place of the unit which had routed.

The 1st Silesian infantry trying to capture Vehlitz

 To the left of the Silesians a battalion of Pomeranian militia had crossed the river.
Supported by skirmishers and artillery this had forced back another Westphalian unit and created the space for the Hussars to cross. 

Von Roth was making slow progress towards Dannigkow.  His first push across the river, by the Pomeranian infantry regiment, had been repulsed and the fire from the 1st battalion Prinz Friedrick regiment inflicted severe losses on the 1st battalion of the Brandenburg infantry regiment as it crossed the bridge. Nevertheless it pressed on and charged  the Wurttemburg battalion, but was repulsed, falling back behind its supports.

Von Roth's first attack

 Von Roth had ordered his cavalry to stay in reserve until a secure footing had been secured across the Ehle, but the commander of the Frei Korps cavalry was keen to prove himself and rashly took his regiment across the river.   He spotted the Konig Jaeger battalion which was supporting the flank of the battalion opposing the push up the road and decided to charge, even though his men had not had time to re-order themselves after crossing the river.  The jaeger colonel was alert and spotted the cavalry and ordered his men to form square.  This was done with precision and the enthusiastic but barely trained Prussian horse galloped to their doom.  They could make no impression on the square and having lost many men they retreated back across the river, too battered to take any further part in the battle.

The ill-fated Frei Korps cavalry charge

Berg's division now began to arrive, the grenadier brigade moved to support Borstell's attack on Vehlitz, whilst the line brigade moved south to aid Von Roth.  The leading grenadier battalion managed to cross the Ehle unopposed and it moved forward to allow more to cross in its wake.  However the 1st battalion New Ingermanland had more difficulty.  It was opposed by the Konig Jaeger who lined the bank of the Ehle and held firm against the Russian infantry.  As more battalions 'stacked up' behind them the Russians tried again and again to dislodge their opponents but to no avail.  The battered remnants, utterly spent, fell back their work done.

Vandamme could draw comfort from the gallant defence offered by his Westphalian and Wurttemburg troops, but his lack of cavalry and inferior number of guns would make prolonged resistance difficult.  Therefore he was glad to see the first squadrons of Bianchi's light cavalry appear along the road from Magdeburg.

Bianchi's division arrive

 St Priest, the allied commander also saw the cavalry arriving and hoped his flanking column would not be long delayed.  He urged his three divisional commanders to redouble their efforts to take the villages and the response was immediate.  Von Roth, supported by Berg's artillery pounded the Wurttemburg troops in front of Dannigkow.  The 1st battalion of the Prinz Paul regiment was badly hit, losing half its men to canister fire and then plagued by enemy skirmishers.  As it attempted to pull back a final blast of canister drove the remnants of the battalion from the field.  Also suffering were the jager battalion Konig.  They too were subjected to canister and skirmisher fire, before being charged by a fresh battalion of Russian infantry.  Much reduced in numbers they could offer little resistance, being wiped out as a fighting force.  Just as there seemed to be a chance that the Russians would advance further westwards Bianchi's cavalry appeared before them.  This checked Berg's infantry but his artillery now targeted the nearest enemy cavalry, the Westphalian Hussars.  They stood and took the punishment, losing over half their number, but still posing a threat to any advancing Russian infantry.

Bianchi had ordered two of his regiments, plus his horse battery, to move north towards Vehlitz to contain the advance of the Russian grenadiers.  This they achieved, as the 2nd battalion of the Siberian Grenadier regiment formed square against the light cavalry and were then subjected to canister from the horse artillery.  Morand moved one of his battalions to support Bianchi, hoping its volleys would inflict further casualties on the grenadiers.  Unfortunately for the Westphalians this move opened them to attack by the Prussian Hussars.  Just in time the infantry colonel saw the enemy cavalry and ordered his unit to form square.  Undeterred, the cavalry closed and sensing a nervousness amongst the ranks of the infantry hacked their way into the square.  Once breached, the square was doomed and barely a man escaped.  Command was lost as the Prussian horsemen galloped on towards the Bavarian Cheveauleger who were behind the square.  Their impetus broke the Bavarian formation inflicting significant loss on them, forcing them to fallback to recover.  Their job done, the Prussians fell  back to reform.  Before this could take place, the Polish Hussars, who were supporting the Bavarians charged and drove the remains of the Prussian cavalry back into the river, finishing them as a fighting force.

The Prussian cavalry break the Westphalian square

Borstell's attack on Vehlitz was making progress.  Led by the Pomeranian Grenadier regiment the Prussian infantry smashed the battalion defending the approaches to the village and then cleared the village itself. 

The Pomeranian Grenadiers capture Vehlitz

Morand had now lost his artillery and one third of his battalions and another third were reduced to shadows of their establishment.  The troops he had were insufficient to recapture the village and the proximity of the Russian grenadier battalions could spell disaster.  He was therefore mightily relieved to see Puthod's leading battalions heading towards him.  Four fresh battalions could swing the balance again.

Puthod's leading battalions

The Russian flanking column had at last arrived and Denisov's cavalry had almost reached the road. Puthod had had to leave two battalions plus his artillery to block the defile between the woods and the rough ground to protect his rear from the Russian cavalry.  Bisov's infantry was making for the crossroads to block the road back to Magdeburg.  Vandamme had placed Fontanelli's division behind Dannigkow to support Grenier, who now faced a renewed attack from Von Roth's division.  The 2nd Brandenburg infantry regiment now crossed the bridge with cavalry and artillery in support

Von Roth's final attack

With game time running out Steve launched Puthod's battalions against Vehlitz.  Two were stopped by volleys from the grenadiers, but the third closed to melee and in a finely balanced melee just edged a victory.  The grenadiers were forced out and the French re-garrisoned the village.

At this point we had to call time and adjudicated a tactical victory  to Vandamme as he still held both villages.  However, with the Russians blocking the road back to Magdeburg, Vandamme would have to find an alternative route back across the Elbe, so strategically the allies had forced him to pull back.  Honours even?

Vapnartak 2019

Our first show of the year was, as usual, Vapnartak last Sunday.  For a change, the weather gods were favourable and the trip over the Pennines went without a hitch.  The Lance & Longbow stand was in it's usual location and setting up went smoothly.  The York club had members on hand to help transfer things from vehicles to the stands and that was much appreciated.

Once the doors opened things got busy very quickly.  Attendance was good with lots of eager shoppers working through their lists.  There didn't seem to be as many games on offer as in previous years, certainly on the ground floor.  I think that at this show there is a move away from large 'eye candy' type games towards participation/join in games, certainly the majority of the games on the upper floors were of this variety and very busy they were too.  What was evident was the number of younger gamers who were keen to try out these games.  We were busy with our 'Stamford Bridge' game, running it three times and attracting customers for each one.  Being so busy meant that I only had one brief opportunity to take photos.

Next to us was an ECW set up "The Queen's arrival in Bridlington". 

The ships were impressive and the overall effect was very good, but the same kind of thing has appeared under different titles for a number of years.

Close by was what looked like an "Indiana Jones"  themed game.  Plenty of nice detail and modelling on view.

Nearby were a WW2 airborne action

and a WW1 Middle East game featuring a very impressive castle

I managed to get a couple of photos of another WW1 game, this time set on the Western Front

The other times I glanced over the table seemed to be fully occupying several players.

I mentioned earlier that the upper floors had mostly participation type games and they all seemed very busy.  One larger game was put on by Yorkshire Renegades, it used Pike and Shotte rules and was based on the Siege of York during the ECW.  My apologies for the photos, the light flooding in through the large windows made life difficult.

Nicely painted figures and a well presented game.

The York club has once again produced a very welcoming show with plenty on offer for those visiting.  Steve and I were very happy with how our game was received and we would like to offer our thanks to Adam, Danny, George, Jim, John, Jonathan and the two Pauls for giving our game a try.  Andy and Will manned the society stall and Dave and Lynne provided welcome refreshments.

Lessie's Moor an ECW scenario

For our most recent game (actually roughly 4 weeks ago), Steve used this scenario by Andrew Brentnall, which can be downloaded free from here .  It is set up for the "For King and Parliament" rules by Simon Miller, but Steve adjusted it for our in-house version of "Pike and Shotte".  It was also an opportunity to try out some different formation depths.  There has been a fair bit of discussion on TMP and elsewhere regarding the way in which we, as wargamers, deploy our units and we thought we would try and get the cavalry a bit nearer the formations depicted on contemporary mid-seventeenth century illustrations of battles.

The action takes place in the fictional (unless you are an Archers fan), county of Borsetshire, which lies just to the south of Kelhamshire.

The view from behind the Parliamentary right wing

The scenario map shows that over half the parliamentary cavalry is deployed  in enclosures on the left wing, rather restricting it's ability to manoeuvre.  A roll of the dice allocated command of the Royalists and the persona of Lord Nigel Pargeter to me, whilst Steve was General Edward Grundy.  My plan was to attack with my right and hold in the centre and left.  Steve opted for the same plan, meaning the two armies were pivoting around the small copse seen in the photograph above.

My right wing cavalry made good progress advancing across the moor, but the trained bands were less keen, plodding slowly forward, whilst Perk's regiment became disordered trying to get across a hedge.  Fortunately, the enemy left wing cavalry seemed to prefer to wait on events and remained in position.  It was only when the leading Royalist regiment approached the opening to the enclosure that Elliot and Bellamy's regiments turned to face them and a prolonged melee took place in the narrow opening.  My infantry had now come under fire from the commanded shot placed behind the hedges on the parliamentary left and the first volley caused the Penny Hassett trained band to waver.  David Archer quickly moved over to steady them and together with the Ambridge trained band they fired a volley back at the musketeers.

The fight for the enclosure

Grundy's plans for his right wing were not progressing as he had hoped.  Fairbrother's cavalry lacked cohesion, one unit had been driven back by fire from D'Arcy's musketeers whilst the remainder had been charged by Josh Archer's regiments.  The melee swung back and forth but it was the Royalists who had to give ground, one unit routing, the other falling back to reform.  Archer tried to rally his fleeing troopers, but was swept from the field in the rout; only returning some time later.  Meanwhile Lord Pargeter had re-aligned the infantry in the centre to cover their flank.  He was able to do this because Sterling's brigade of infantry were reluctant to advance, (with the exception of Grundy's own regiment) and Carter's brigade of trained band units were also keen to remain in reserve rather than face the enemy.

D'Arcy's musketeers

Lord Frederick's rout

Although Fairbrother was able to drive off the remaining Royalist cavalry on the Parliamentary right, he was exposed to fire from the musketeers ensconced behind the hedges.  To his left Grundy's regiment had been broken by musketry and Sterling's had been forced back to reform.

On the Royalist right the cavalry fight for the enclosure continued as fresh regiments made their way forward.  Neither side could gain an advantage, but the Royalist infantry now began to exert an influence.  The two trained band regiments had gained the upper hand against McCreary's musketeers and a determined charge broke the small unit.  Perks' unit also overcame Tichener's musketeers and was able to advance to the hedge bordering the enclosure.  Now the Parliamentary cavalry faced charges from the enemy cavalry and also volleys from the infantry lining the hedge.  One by one the cavalry units routed threatening the collapse of the Parliamentary force.  Grundy ordered Fairbrother to move his cavalry quickly to bolster the left, whilst the remains of Sterling's command also moved left to counter the Royalist advance.  This left Carter's untried brigade to hold off the Royalist left and centre.  Grundy's mood was not improved by the sudden demise of his artillery, the axle shattered under the strain of discharging a shot.  Surveying the scene, he ordered a withdrawal.  For his part Lord Pargeter was happy to claim victory by right of possession of the field.

The Ambridge trained band advance

Snell's regiment charge Fairbrother's regiment

The cavalry melee in the enclosure

The trained bands and Perks' regiment line the enclosure hedge

Carter's brigade reluctantly move forward

An enjoyable game, surprisingly won by the Royalists although they were outnumbered.  Steve was hampered by most of his commanders having a lower command factor and thus failing more tests.  The greater depth of the units somehow looked 'right' at least as far as being more like contemporary illustrations.  A bit more testing is required to establish whether they work in practice.

All being well Steve and I will be at the Vapnartak show on Sunday, running our Stamford Bridge game on behalf of the Lance & Longbow Society.  If you are attending the show please drop by and say hello and maybe even join in the game.