Monday 4 December 2023

RECON at Pudsey

Initially the show was cancelled as the club was having difficulty finding someone to organise it, however, Matt from the Pit Gaming Shop stepped in to take over.  So, on a cold and frosty morning we set out over the Pennines to Leeds.  The tables and chairs were all set up when we arrived so setting up our game was straightforward.  Once the doors opened, it wasn't exactly a flood of people coming in, but sufficient to give a good atmosphere.  A reasonable spread of traders were present and they seemed to be busy in the morning, but after lunch the usual decline set in.

We were putting on our usual 'Lion Rampant' participation game, this time a fictional clash from the 1396 Danube Crusade, which ended in the crushing defeat of the Crusader forces at Nicopolis.

Let battle commence: Crusaders on the right

In the first game the Crusaders struggled against the Ottoman centre and although they did some damage, the Ottoman archery was effective in whittling the knights numbers down before they were able to charge into melee.  The Crusader left also fared badly and by the close of the first game...

All that remained of the Crusader centre, about to be encircled

The mounted knights and men at arms had been wiped out and only the foot knights remained and they faced four Janissary units.  Losses on the flanks took the total of lost units to 8 and with over half of the army lost the Ottomans claimed victory.

After lunch we played through again and once again the knights fared badly.  Even though they were only required to achieve a score of 3+ on two d6 they still contrived to fail a morale check and had to fall back.  Coupled with repeated failures to charge (5+ required on two d6), they suffered from the repeated showers of arrows.  Nevertheless, with defeat seemingly inevitable, a last desperate  charge by the men at arms managed to inflict a casualty on the Sipahi of the Porte, who were led by the Ottoman army commander.  There is a chance of killing  a general involved in melee (double one is required on two d6), the Crusader player rolled the dice... double one.  Victory dragged from the jaws of defeat!!

During the lunch break I managed to have a look at two nearby games.

Peterborough Wargames "What a Pirate"




   These were taken before the group re-set for a game in the afternoon session.

East London with two games using the "Emperor of the Battlefield" rules 




Many thanks to Andy, Bob, Steve and Will for helping with the game and to John, a willing volunteer who tackled our version of 'Lion Rampant' 

 

Sunday 26 November 2023

Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' : A quart into a pint pot?

 When I first saw the trailer for this film and having in mind his previous hits 'Gladiator' and 'Kingdom of Heaven' I thought this is a film I will enjoy.  Well, I went to watch it last Thursday and left feeling somewhat underwhelmed.  Overall, the film felt disjointed, scenes in Paris being followed without any explanation by battle action.  For instance, Napoleon was crowned (or crowned himself) emperor and before you know it, he is at Austerlitz.  The battle scenes were well presented, though, as usual, the cavalry charges were long distance gallops, rather than the more measured advance the regulations prescribed.  In addition everything felt rushed, perhaps the subject matter was too great for just one film?  One curious move was to have the infantry digging shallow trenches at Waterloo, not something I have ever come across when reading about the battle.  Also, at the end of the battle the Prussians seem to be coming from the French left (ie the west) rather than the right. 


Joaquin Phoenix is too old to play a 24 year old at the siege of Toulon (1793) indeed he doesn't seem to age at all between then and Waterloo, over 20 years later.  This again would support a two film approach, however, given the costs involved this is unlikely to happen.  As a spectacle the film succeeds, as a film about Napoleon, I feel it misses the mark. 

Thursday 2 November 2023

A day out to FIASCO at Leeds

 At the weekend, for the first time in over a decade, Steve and I visited Leeds to attend the Fiasco show.  In the foyer, Ken Riley (aka Yarkshire Gamer) was putting on an AWI game portraying the Battle of Germantown.





Once inside the show proper the majority of the games on offer were much smaller and often demonstrated particular rule sets.  One such was this Dark Ages game by the Wargames Shop.


Kirklees Wargames Club brought their Wars of the Roses, Battle of Ferrybridge game, using the Basic Impetus rules




A game I saw at Phalanx in June by All Hell let Loose, was also present.  Once again the dramatic presentation drew lots of attention.  



Legendary Wargames presented a Sudan game





There has been a lot of interest in the Black Seas models and rules  produced by Warlord Games and the SRWGC had a game on show.


A handy way of keeping track of the individual ship states


One thing I liked was the 'pared down' treatment of the ship models, no ratlines and reduced rigging.  Giving one of the models the suggested levels of rigging etc is a stretch for my meagre model making skills.  These models are still very presentable, so it may be a way I can at last tackle the backlog of work at the wargame amatuer shipyard.


The trade was well represented and I was particularly glad to see two particular traders.  Firstly Irregular Miniatures who provide an excellent service, but I normally only see at the Vapnartak show each February and secondly Stonewall Figures.  Now, I haven't seen Stonewall since the days of the Triples Show at Sheffield.  Their 15mm Napoleonic range is very extensive and the figures have a good 'presence'.  Chatting to the owner, it seems that the Fiasco show is the only one he attends in the North, being based in Cornwall, it is hardly surprising.  However, it was nice to be re-acquainted with the  range and it sparked an urge to fill some of the gaps (real or otherwise) in my Napoleonic collection.

The bonus of the Fiasco show is that the Armouries is very close and the two venues can be seen on the same day.  All in all, a Grand Day Out.

Thursday 26 October 2023

"Recover those stores" : a Sudan scenario using Black Powder rules

 For our latest game Steve set up this scenario where a force of Egyptian troops (3 brigades of foot and 1 of cavalry) were given the task of recovering a cache of arms and stores which Emir Khat had 'liberated' from several defeated Imperial forces.  Information received suggested that the arms and stores were located in a village deep in enemy territory.  The Dervish had a small force protecting the village, but reinforcements could be expected.  The time and point of entry of each element of the reinforcements was the subject of a dice roll and so was unpredictable.

After a hard march the Egyptians were nearing the village.  After several battles in which the Imperial troops had been surprised by hidden enemy troops catching their extended lines, the Egyptian commander decided to hold one infantry brigade back as a reserve, to meet contingencies.  His cavalry were to carry out a sweep around the enemy left to check for concealed enemy units.  The remaining infantry brigades were to advance to two hills and use their firepower to reduce the enemy numbers before a general assault was launched.

The Egyptian cavalry move off to the right

The cavalry brigade set off to the right and for the first two turns met no problems.  On the next turn, as they crested a low hill the were met by the sight of a mass of Dervish infantry moving towards them.  As the cavalry commander looked around the landscape he saw a second mass of enemy infantry to his left.  There was no way he could tackle such numbers, his job was to get back and report the weight of numbers heading towards the village.  He ordered his rear unit to turn around and head back, to be followed by his other two units in quick succession.    Unfortunately, his rear unit did not receive, or misunderstood his order and remained where they were.  To buy time he ordered his leading unit to attack the Dervish troops in front of the brigade.  Gallant though they were, they could not make any headway against the mass of enemy troops and as they struggled, the second regiment of cavalry was charged in the flank by a unit of Hadendoa from the second group of Dervish.

The Hadendoa strike

By now, the rearmost unit of Egyptian cavalry, the Bashi Bazouks had turned to retire towards the centre.  However, they saw that a unit of Dervish was swinging round on their left hoping to prevent any escape for the cavalry.  They charged them and manage to keep the way back open, at least for the moment.  

Behind them all order was breaking down.  The leading unit, unable to hold the mass of enemy infantry routed after the brigade commander was killed.  Then the unit hit in flank did the same.  At least the efforts of the Bashi Bazouks had left open an avenue of escape but the victorious Hadendoa now charged into the back of the Bashis sealing their fate.


The rout of the Egyptian cavalry brigade

As the mayhem was unfolding on the Egyptian right, the leading infantry brigades continued forward.  The left hand brigade established itself on their hill, put out a flank guard, deployed the artillery and then deployed two infantry units forward to fire at the defenders of the village.  In the centre, the second brigade was almost in position, ready to cover the village and the compound.

The infantry brigades move into position

Perhaps encouraged by the rather ineffective fire from the nearest house one unit of infantry charged forward and tried to force their way in.  They met stern resistance and had to fall back to lick their wounds.

Egyptian infantry attack the village

In the centre the second Egyptian brigade had reached its position.  As the leading unit crested the ridge they were charged by enemy cavalry.  Their fellow units were still in column so it was vital that they hold their ground.  This they did, driving off their attackers.  

The second brigade comes under attack from cavalry...

Other units of cavalry swept around the hill heading for the remaining Egyptian formations.  This gave the rest of the centre brigade to form up facing outwards and the left hand unit was just in time to receive a charge from one of the Dervish units in the village

and infantry

On the left, the situation was deteriorating. The unit which had attacked the village had fallen back to regroup, but took further casualties from enemy rifle and artillery fire.  This caused their nerve to break and they routed. To their left, their supporting unit had run low on ammunition and as their rate of fire declined an emboldened enemy attacked them.  Perhaps shaken by their lack of ammunition the Egyptian infantry faltered as the enemy charged.  They could not hold their ground and had to fall back.  This meant that the supply mule sent forward to resupply them fell into enemy hands.  The brigade commander moved forward to steady the wavering unit and the Sudanese, who had been covering the flank, took up position behind them offering support.  It was to be in vain.  The enemy charged again, totally routing the Egyptians and killing the brigade commander in the process.


Surging forward, the Dervish then took on the Sudanese.  These proved to be made of tougher stuff and not only held their ground but forced the Dervish to retreat.  At the same time a unit of cavalry was charging the brigade artillery.  Fortunately, the artillery fire was enough to stall the charge and save the brigade.

The left hand brigade under severe pressure

As all this was happening the final act in the drama that was engulfing the Egyptian cavalry was played out.  Attempting to restore some order, the Egyptian C in C galloped over and rallied one unit of cavalry.  With no other commanders available, the other units continued their rout and left the battle.  The rallied unit was still reforming when it was hit by the pursuing Hadendoa infantry.  Carnage ensued with many of the cavalry and the C in C falling beneath the swords and spears of the enemy.  Only a few cavalry remained to follow their comrades who had left the battle.

The end of the Egyptian cavalry

Behind the Egyptian cavalry, the commander of the reserve brigade had formed up his men in a firing line to drive back the approaching enemy.  The Hadendoa charged the unit on the right of the line, which refused to stand and fell back in disorder.  Fortunately, the other units held and prepared to fire.  However, something was amiss with either the ammunition or the supply held by each soldier because the two battalions and the artillery all fired and found that not only had they had inflicted no casualties, but they had all gone low on ammunition as well.  The brigade still had its supply mule, but it would be a nervous time before all were resupplied.


At this point we had to end play as we had run out of time.  Victory was given to the Dervish, because the Egyptians did not really have the strength to push forward and capture the village.  Added to that the C in C and two brigade commanders were dead, and, two more supply mules had been captured to further boost the supplies available to Emir Khat.


A most enjoyable game.  Thanks to Bob for handling the Dervish so well and to Steve for devising the scenario.

Friday 20 October 2023

Battle of Lindenau 1813, a scenario using General d'Armee

 It has been some time, but I have eventually sorted out a further test run for the General d'Armee rules.  This Lindenau scenario came from Steve Shann's book "Lets fight Leipzig".  A review of this book can be found on the Yarkshire gamer you tube channel .  The scenarios in the book provide all you need to play the game, a map, order of battle, objectives and terrain detail.

The Austrian General Guylai was attacking the village of Lindenau which sat astride Napoleon's line of retreat from Leipzig.  His troops were in three separate columns and he planned a concentric attack which would overwhelm the defenders of the village ( a small independent division under the command of General Margaron).  Some redoubts had been erected to strengthen the defence, but Margaron's troops were stretched.  Fortunately for the French, reinforcements were on their way.  Bertand's IV Corps  consisted of the infantry divisions of Morand and Fontanelli and the cavalry brigades of Quinette and Jett. These are on the table as the Austrian columns arrive.  On the Austrian left is Hessen Homburg with 6 battalions of infantry and a 'streifkorps' of light cavalry and cossacks.  In the centre is the column commanded by Guylai  with 5 battalions of infantry and two regiments of cavalry.  Finally on the right is Csollich with 9 battalions of infantry and a 'streifkorps' of light cavalry and cossacks.

Csollich prepares to advance on Plagwitz on the French left

The Austrians' objective for a complete victory is to hold at least half of Lindenau by the end of the game; holding Plagwitz and the three redoubts will give them a tactical victory.  Failure to achieve either of these objectives gives victory to the French.

The scenario special rules create the chance of a uncoordinated attack by the three Austrian columns by making them dice to see if they arrive.  In our case this worked and it took Hessen Homburg three turns to arrive giving the French right ample time to prepare themselves and also meaning that the French commander could concentrate his Adc's on helping Margaron and the artillery.  Csollich's skirmishers took heavy casualties from  Margaron's skirmishers and also the artillery facing them , meaning  he had to deploy one of his light battalions to bolster the line.  nevertheless his battalions moved forward.  In the centre Gyulai was also making progress, though his troops were also taking heavy casualties from the artillery in the redoubts.  His skirmishers tried to pick off the gunners, but suffered severely from the volleys of canister.  The infantry battalions began to engage Margaron and Morand's battalions but made little progress, both sides losing their fire discipline.

Morand's troops move through Lindenau

Hessen Homburg's troops had now arrived and deployed to attack Fontanelli  and Quinette.  

Csollich's leading battalions moved to the left of Plagwitz, pushing back the French skirmishers, but this opened them up to attack by Jett's light cavalry  This caused them to halt and form square stalling the advance.


The Austrian right flank Plagwitz


The developing attack on Lindenau

Csollich at last deployed for attack and  stormed the redoubt to the right of Plagwitz.  His men captured the redoubt but were disorganised in the process and were vulnerable to counterattack.


The Plagwitz redoubt falls

The village of Plagwitz was also attacked and after a prolonged struggle the Austrian infantry forced their way in and ejected the French defenders.

Plagwitz falls

As Hessen Homburg advanced he was attacked by Quinette's dragoon brigade.  Von Mensdorf's light cavalry tried to hold them off but were defeated.  Quinette wanted to push on, but the serried ranks of the  Austrian squares deterred him.


Quinette's dragoons drive off the Austrian cavalry

Gyulai had also managed to capture a redoubt in the centre so the Austrians were edging towards a minor victory.  However, there were still several game turns to go and their gains were vulnerable to counterattack.

It was at this point we ran out of time so a draw was declared.  In retrospect the scenario as I put on was perhaps too big for a 6 x 4 table.  The Austrian deployment areas in particular being too cramped.  Once again the rule mechanism regarding Adc's caused severe problems.  All too often a brigade would advance one turn and then the next would become hesitant.  Now I appreciate that the Napoleonic battlefield, with all its smoke and noise could cause confusion; but once an order to advance had been received and initiated, why would the troops stop, especially if they were outside musketry range and were not threatened by cavalry?  Just getting the adcs in the first place proved difficult for both sides; then there is the additional hurdle of  managing to roll 3+ on a d6 once you have managed to get your adcs.  Both commanders had multiple occasions when a brigade would go hesitant in successive turns, even with an adc attached to give a re-roll.

It will be interesting to see what GdA 2 is like when it is published.

Friday 15 September 2023

Another Deluge scenario: the Battle of Wojnicz, 3rd October 1655.

 It has been a while since my last post, real life intervened as it is prone to do from time to time.  This scenario is a follow up to my previous one and concerns the campaigns of King Charles X of Sweden against the main Polish Crown army.  Details have again been taken from volume 2 of "Charles X's Wars" by Michael Fredholm von Essen, which is published by Helion.   

Having heard that the Poles were in and around Wojnicz, Charles led a force of c 5,200 men, (the vast majority being cavalry) in that direction.  The Polish army under the command of Hetman Stanislaw Lanckoronski was slightly larger, numbering c 6,200 men all mounted.

After an initial skirmish between the outposts the two forces deployed.  The Poles deployed in three divisions, pancerni on the wings and hussars and pancerni in the centre.  A regiment of dragoons was ordered to defend the camp.  The Swedes placed their cavalry on the wings and the centre was held by dismounted dragoons and a few infantry, which took advantage of "a defensible gorge"


A view of the table with the Swedes on the left

.The objective for the Poles is to drive back the Swedes and protect their camp; for the Swedes, they would like to break this part of the Crown army and capture the baggage, so both sides need to attack  I rated the Swedish horse as slightly better than the pancerni, but not as tough as the hussars.  There was only one small unit of hussars and the bonus for lance only counted in the first charge.  To account for the "defensible gorge", any defenders would gain the benefit of the attackers charge bonus being nullified.  The dragoons in the Polish camp counted as being in hard cover.  The cavalry wings each had 4 regiments and the Polish centre had one unit of hussars and one of noble levy.  I used the levy mainly because I didn't have enough pancerni.  It did weaken the Poles slightly, but they did have more units.

First the Poles win


Then the Swedes

The Hussars prevail

The Swedes won the initiative and moved forward, as did the Poles.  Battle was soon joined and the Swedish right, which had two veteran units began to gain the upper hand.  The Polish centre decided not to charge the Swedish dragoons, but moved to bolster the Polish right which was coming under pressure from the Swedish left.  As usually happens the Polish hussars charge proved  unstoppable and they overcame two Swedish units.  However, they became isolated and were overwhelmed.  By now the Polish left had disintegrated and losses on the right were high so a Swedish victory was declared.

A rare sight, routing hussars


After lunch we swapped sides and ran the scenario again.  Once again the Polish right was in trouble and needed the centre to help them out.  One notable event was when a fresh unit of Swedish horse charged a small, shaken unit of Polish noble levy.  In the melee the Poles inflicted no hits on their opponents while receiving 8 in return.  Against the odds they managed to save all 8, but as they were shaken in a drawn melee they had to take a break test.  This came up double one so they routed.  Once lady luck proved how fickle she can be!

Historically the battle was a Swedish victory and the Poles lost their baggage and also parts of their army changed sides.  The catalyst for the loss was the unsuccessful charge by the hussars against the dismounted dragoons.  The leader of the hussars was Prince Dymitri Wisnniowiecki and being young and inexperienced perhaps his enthusiasm overcame his common sense.  Among the Poles who changed sides was one Jan Sobieski who later went on to be king of Poland.




Saturday 29 July 2023

The Battle of Golab (Golomb) 1656. An Eastern Renaissance scenario for Pike and Shotte

 This week's game is a scenario set in the 'Deluge' when Poland/Lithuania was beset by enemies on all fronts.  The basic details come from Michael Fredholm von Essen's book "Charles X's Wars, Volume 2 The Wars in the East, 1655-57 which is publish by Helion in their Century of the Soldier series.

In early February 1656, King Charles X of Sweden moved south with an all cavalry force, hearing that a Polish force under Czarnieecki was close he set out to attack it.  On the 18th February he crossed the Vistula (which was frozen) and surprised and defeated a Commonwealth unit.  This retreated north, pursued by the Swedish vanguard commanded by General Henrik Horn.  At the village of Golab (or Golomb as it was known to the Swedes) they met the remainder of Czarniecki's force.  A general battle developed, with both sides receiving reinforcements.  Eventually superior numbers allowed the Swedes to outflank the Commonwealth troops and threaten their line of retreat.  When Czarniecki ordered a retreat it became more of a rout, as the Commonwealth troops were vigorously pursued by the  Lithuanian and Tartar units in the Swedish force.

The view from behind the Swedish vanguard

It is difficult to determine exact numbers involved in the action.  Charles had approximately 11000 men in his force when he set out, (8000 Swedes/Germans and 3000 Polish, Lithuanian, Tartar and Ruthenian  allies).  This will have dwindled during the campaign and not all the force was present at the battle.  What can be said is that the Swedish force was certainly more numerous than the c2500 Commonwealth troops under Czarniecki's command.

For the scenario I decided on the following forces

Swedish vanguard

2 standard units of Swedish Horse                 2 standard units of 'Cossack' cavalry

Swedish reinforcements

2 veteran units of  Swedish Horse (1 standard, 1 small)        1 standard unit of Lithuanian pancerni

2 standard units of Polish noble levy cavalry 


Commonwealth vanguard

2 standard units of Pancerni                       1 standard unit of Transylvanian light cavalry

1 very small unit of veteran Hussars

Commonwealth reinforcements

2 standard units of veteran pancerni                 1 small unit of veteran Hussars

Notes

Veteran Swedish and Commonwealth pancerni units were  rated 'Stubborn'

Hussars and the Lithuanian pancerni were given 'lance', but this was only available for their first charge.

Polish Noble Levy and Transylvanian cavalry started as trained but dropped to raw after they became 'Shaken'

Overall, the Swedes had a 3:2 advantage in numbers, but the Commonwealth had more veteran troops. 

The Commonwealth vanguard at Golab

Our battle began with a rather uncoordinated advance by the Swedish force, which was met by a determined move forward by the Poles and their allies.  The first clashes took place between the pancerni and the Swedish horse and each side had a unit routed.

First round to the pancerni

With Cossack support, the Swedes prevail

The Cossack units continued forward, and into the Transylvanian light cavalry.  Perhaps the Transylvanians were rather unwilling allies, because they were driven off in no time at all with one unit of Cossacks hot on their heels.

The Cossacks gang up on the Transylvanians

Meanwhile the Polish Hussars now entered the fray  They were too late to save their allies, but they made short work of the unfortunate Cossack unit that was in their way.  Continuing forward, the Hussars now made a nuisance of themselves disrupting the advance of the main Swedish force which was now reaching the battlefield.

The Polish Hussars in action

At the opposite end of the battlefield a unit of Cossacks could also see the main enemy body approaching.  However, there was little they could do to delay them and so they fell back towards their supports.

A second wave of encounters now took place with units charging and counter-charging across the field.  Units became shaken and or disordered and by the time we had to call a halt it was the Poles who had the advantage.  

The Lithuanian Noble Levy attack the Pancerni

Looking back, I perhaps made the Poles too strong in proportion to the Swedes, another two units of Swedish horse would have made a significant difference.  The use of 'stubborn' for the veteran units seemed to work well as did the amendment to the morale state of the Lithuanian Noble Levy and Transylvanian units. Definitely food for thought for future scenarios for this period.