Return to action

A much longer lay-off than originally planned over the Christmas and New Year break. Three games were cancelled due to the weather and ill-health; but this week saw a return to the wargames table.

The action was set on the northern borders of the Roman empire, with a punitive expedition against some Pictish tribes. The Roman orders required the destruction of the barbarian village, the Picts had to stop the Roman advance and save their village. The Picts had gathered three warbands, a largish force of cavalry, some chariots and some missile troops, slingers and archers. Their opponents had 4 centuries of legionaries, two units of auxilia, three units of archers, two small units of cavalry and some scorpion missile engines.

The Pictish army may not have been totally historically accurate, but it made for an interesting game and it also gave us a chance to try out the chariots for the first time. As the Pictish commander I decided that my tactics should be to disrupt the orderly advance of the Roman force and if possible destroy the auxilia and missile units and then deal with the legionaries. To this end I placed all my cavalry on my right supported by the chariots. Two warbands defended the stream in front of the village, whilst a third was on the flankof the Roman advance.

As the Roman advance began my cavalry advanced hoping that their superior numbers would quickly overcome the Roman cavalry on that flank and thus threaten the legionaries' flank. Meanwhile the chariots manoeuvred around the flank of the auxilia hoping to get a chance to charge home. Unfortunately, I got too close to the auxilia and the main Roman archer unit and lost a third of the chariots to their javelins and arrows. The ground must have been too bumpy to allow for accurate fire from the chariots because the Roman were virtually unscathed. As the chariots withdrew the Roman commander (counting as heavy cavalry) charged them and caused even more casualties. However, some balance was restored as one of my archer units inflicted heavy casulaties on a unit of auxilia as they advanced. On the right flank, the cavalry melee was not going too well. Even though I outnumbered the Roman cavalry, I couldn't drive them backwards.

Even worse, two units of legionaries were coming to their aid. The melee dragged on with casulaties rising, yet the Romans held on. Then, the infantry joined in. Suddenly I had lost half the unit and breaking off seemed the only option. The remaining remnant of Roman cavalry did pursue, but losses inflicted by them were small in comparison to what the infantry had been causing.

On the left flank the warband on the hill thought they saw an opportunity to attack the advancing auxilia whilst they were preoccupied by the chariots. Surging forwards they edged away from the legionaries focussing on the auxilia. However, the second Roman cavalry unit had moved round behind them, threatening to charge them from the rear. The rear of the warband turned to face the new threat and managed to hold off the cavalry, but the pause in the advance gave just enough time for the legionaries to get into contact. Attacked in the flank the warband was in serious trouble. As the legionaries got to work butchering the warband, the cavalry withdrew, ready to intervene if necessary.

The unequal contest was over quickly, with the Romans barely losing a man. Although the Roman orderly advance had been disrupted my casulaties had been heavy and those of the Romans very light.

Perhaps emboldened by their success the auxilia pressed forwards towards the stream. One unit was destroyed by combined archery and slingshot, the other charged across the stream to attack the nearest warband and also fell to a man.

So,with the Roman main force nearing the stream, less two cohorts of legionaries who were moving around my right flank and the affair in the balance, battle will hopefully be rejoined later this week.

Action at Steinbrugge

Thanks to the thaw we managed to meet for a game this week and returned to the Seven Years War, with the Action at Steinbrugge; a small scale action in Pomerania. The Swedish army was advancing tentatively southwards, hoping to profit from the main Prussian army's pre-occupation with a large Russian force advancing from the east towards Berlin. All that stood in their way was a scratch force of second-line Prussian units who had orders to demolish the bridge at Steinbrugge. The Swedish force, commanded by GL Lantingshausen, comprised of 2 brigades of line infantry (8 battalions), a battalion of grenadiers, two units of light infantry, 3 batteries of atillery (two of which were light) and a brigade of heavy cavalry. This general view of the battlefield is looking towards the west, the complex of buildings in the centre represent Schloss Steinbruggen. The Prussian commander, Colonel Belling, garrisoned the Schloss with a battalion of grenadiers, a brigade of fusiliers covered the approaches to the bridge, supported by two light batteries. His two units of Hussars were posted to the east of the Schloss and a unit of Frei Korps 'secured' the southern approach to the bridge. All Belling had to do was wait for the sappers to do their job, then fall back over the bridge and then demolish it. Oh, and it would be useful to inflct heavy casualties on the Swedish forces, whilst minimising his own losses.


Belling felt reassured in his dispositions when a message arrived from the grenadiers that the Swedish army was advancing straight down the road from the north, curiously no cavalry was reported. Undaunted, he ordered the Werner Hussars to threaten the flank of the Swedes. No sooner had he ordered this manouevre than another report from the grenadiers reported that the Swedish cavalry was approaching from the west. Confident that the wood protected the flank of his fusiliers, Belling held his position.




















The Swedish infantry attack on the Schloss, nine battalions strong, was now forming up and Lantingshausen sent forward a small unit of skirmishers to test out the grenadier garrison. Concentrating on the Schloss, the light infantry did not see the Prussian hussars to their left flank. Seizing their opportunity, the hussars charged and dispersed the Swedes with little loss to themselves. Surging forward they then charged a line battalion, hoping to cause confusion and delay to the Swedish advance. However, the Swedes stood their ground and the Prussian charge failed and it was the the hussars who had to retreat in confusion. The grenadiers in the Schloss fired volleys at the advancing Swedish battalions, but this did not halt their progress. Seeing that he could not hold the whole of the perimeter the major of grenadiers decided to hold the main hall on the southern face of the schloss. Unfortunately his runner did not reach the captains of the flank companies and it was a rather disorganised 'fallback'. Seeing the enemy crossing the wall the Major countermanded his order and decided to charge. A surprisingly telling volley caused heavy casualties amongst the grenadiers and the determined Swedes were victorious in the resulting melee, causing an ignominious retreat on their more illustrious opponents.























Meanwhile the Swedish cavalry had moved forward towards the crossroads. One unit had moved near the river to pin the fusiliers' flank, whilst the light artillery and more light infantry moved up in support. The Swedish cavalry commander was impatient, after all, their opponents were mere fusiliers, not proper infantry. One charge could win the battle. Forming the dragoons into line the colonel then led them forward. The crew of the Prussian light artillery decided to seek security in the formed unit rather than fire a last minute salvo. Sweeping forward the dragoons were met by a devastating volley, which almost brought them to a halt. Before they could recover, a second volley emptied yet more saddles and they retired in confusion.


Belling was relieved to receive a message from the captain of sappers that the bridge was now ready for demolition. It was time to fall back before the Swedish infantry got too close, even now the enemy light infantry were sniping at his gunners. In addition, a second unit of light infantry had marched unobserved into the wood flanking the fusiliers' position. One battalion had formed up ready to march south when a courier arrived in great haste. His despatch altered everything.


Belling could not retreat. Just beyond the river a supply train was moving slowly eastwards to resupply the garrison at Stettin. He had to deny the enemy any chance to advance and capture this prize. Taking his aide to one side he dictated an order for the captain of sappers, "explode your charges now". He then told the aide to cross the bridge, witness the effectiveness of the demolition and then ride south to reaasure the commander of the supply train that the Swedes could not attack him.


Turning again to the battle he watched his gallant fusiliers try and stem the tide of Swedish infantry. They fought well, but once they heard the explosion and saw that the bridge was no more, the fight went out of them and surrender was inevitable. Lantingshausen could not savour his victory because he too received a despatch. A large Prussian force had sortied from Stettin and was threatening to cut him off from his base, so an immediate retreat was necessary. The day thus ended with both sides able to claim a victory, the Belling could point to the destruction of the bridge and the casualties suffered by the Swedish elite units. Lantingshausen had captured the majority of the Prussian force.

Match postponed

Like many other gamers our regular weekly meeting has fallen foul of the snow. Not that we had the amounts seen in the North East and Scotland, but what we had, plus frost, made the drive over back roads more than a little foolish. The weather also put paid to a planned visit to the Recon show at Pudsey; not that I am going to feel the 'pinch' as far as painting and other wargaming activity is concerned; my painting table is still groaning under too much lead.
Some months back I mentioned that I was going to read Zoe Oldenburg's book on the Crusades, well I started, but I found it hard going, however, I did find the book below.





















The Crusades have fascinated me since I studied them at university, the interplay of politics and religion through the medium of miltary campaigns generate all sorts of unlikely alliances and scenarios. As you can gather from the title, this book does not go into great detail on individual battles, but does give an idea of the background which framed the various campaigns. Having read this book over the last few weeks, I started wondering if a 'Diplomacy' type variant could be created for the Crusades. In addition to the 'national' players for the Latin states and their Moslem opponents, you could have the Papacy, Byzantium and Italian merchants; the uncertainty could provide plenty of entertainment. This period would also be suitable for a club campaign at various levels. The strategic would involve the national contingents, but there is also the possibility to game at 'skirmish' level, with individual knights and their retinues taking part in local raids. Not that crusading was limited to the Latin Kingdoms and the eastern Mediterranean. You could opt for the campaigns of the Teutonic Knights and their 'guests' against the peoples of Northern Europe (this is really well covered by Eric Christiansen in "The Northern Crusades"). Also you could try the campaigns to recover Spain from the Moors, or perhaps, the campaigns in southern France known as the Albigensian Crusade. The period also offers plenty of variety in troop types and army composition. There is also the opprotunity of using some figures 'out of period' to create the armies.

Lobositz part 2

Thanks for the comments on part 1 of this report. In reply to Stokes Schwarz, the figures are 25mm and the units of hussars and dragoons which feature are both Minifis. For another take on the battle try http://keefsblog.blogspot.com/. (thanks for the link Keith).

In our refight the battle for the Lobosch continued with the Prussian grenadiers making slow, but steady progress up the slopes. The Grenz defended each position, fighting it out, rather than firing and retiring. Due to the luck of the dice (the factors tended to even out in the melees, so it was down to the dice score rolled), the grenadiers pushed on. To their right the fusiliers were not faring so well. They were inflicting casualties, but with their lower morale value they were prone to retreating from the casualties inflicted by the Grenz's light artillery. (We use the Koenig Krieg rules which impose a morale test for atillery casualties, but delays morale tests for musketry casualties until battalions are half strength). The Austrian commander, concerned by the Prussian progress on the Lobosch despatched a battalion to reinforce the position.

In front of Lobositz village the main Austrian artillery battery continued to inflict casualties on the approaching Prussian line infantry. Advancing through the heavy fire to musketry range two battalions fired a telling volley. Over half of those crewing the guns became casualties and although the infantry suffered heavy casualties, the weakening of this battery eased the pressure on the Prussian line. A further Prussian brigade was approaching the Austrian defences in the centre. The defences were held by light infantry, but their supports comprised two battalions of grenadiers and two regiments of cuirassier. In addition their right flank was 'in the air' and two further cuirassier regiments were attempting to deploy to attack them. Fortunately, the Prussians had a grenadier battalion in reserve and this moved forward to block the cuirassier advance. A devastating volley emptied many saddles and when the remaining Austrians charged forward they were met by another volley and a determined hedge of bayonets. In a fierce melee the grenadiers prevailed and the Austrians retreated. The supporting regiment, seeing the destruction of their comrades were relieved to be ordered to join the cavalry reserve in the centre, rather than take on the victorious grenadiers. With their flank secure the Prussian infantry charged the Austrian defences and although suffering from Austrian fire meleed and defeated the defenders and crossed the works. They then saw the Austrian second line ready to advance.

On the Prussian left, between the Lobosch and Lobositz village, the Prussian artillery had been slowly grinding down the Austrian right flank. Of the 8 battalions originally deployed there 3 had been driven off and one sent to reinforce the Lobosch. Sensing the time was right, Frederick ordered the Dragoon brigade to charge and break the Austrian line. The chage of the Horse Grenadiers scattered one battalion, on their right the 'porcelain' dragoons rode through a determined volley and routed their opponents. Preserving their order, the cavalry turned outwards and attacked the flank of the next two units. Those facing the Horse Grenadiers broke and sought safety in the vine-clad slopes of the Lobosch. Their comrades, attacked by the ragoons were not so fortunate and caught unprepared, were dispersed by the charge. The Austrian left was in tatters, the troops on the Lobosch were isolated from the rest of the army and the main battery, facing an infantry attack from the front, now had cavalry on their flank.

Sensing that the day was lost, the Austrian commander ordered his cavalry and grenadiers to cover the retreat of the remanider of the army. For their part the Prussians were too exhausted to pursue. Only two fresh infantry battalions remained, the Guard. Opposed to them were 12 fresh Austrian battalions, all on the Austrian left and had played no real part in the battle. The close nature of the field prevented the cavalry engaging in an active pursuit, so they rounded up prisoners and secured the captured guns.

This was an enjyable battle, because both sides had a chance of securing victory. The Prussians had to attack, but faced the danger of being tied down to a firefight with superior numbers of Austrian infantry. The large number of Austrian light troops also posed a problem.

The battle was fought on a 10' x 6' table, but I neglected to take a photograph showing the overall set up; a failing I will try and avoid in future reports.

Return to the Seven Years War

Many thanks to DC who left a comment on my last post which signposts information about the Battleground series he has posted on his blog (http://unfashionablyshiny.blogspot.com/search/label/Battleground ). If you are interested in more information about this classic series please follow the link.

The battle this week was Lobositz and may well be the start of a series of SYW battles over the next few months. It is a fascinating scenario, giving plenty of scope for light troops and also sweeping cavalry charges. There is a map on the excellent 'Project SYW' website (www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Main_Page) . Frederick was expecting nothing more than a skirmish with the Austrian rearguard and the foggy conditions prevented him discovering that the whole Austrian army was present until he was embroiled in a messy action to try and clear the Lobosch Hill on his left flank and his cavalry had been reconnaissance had been pushed back by artillery and infantry fire and a counter charge by the Austrian cavalry.

Representing fog/mist is nigh on impossible on the tabletop so we started with the opposing armies in place and in view. The Prussians committed 7 battalions to the attack on the Lobosch.

Although they were only opposed by two units of Grenzers the nature of the ground, steep slopes, vinyards and walls made progress difficult. The leading Frei Korps battalion suffered heavy casulaties from the skirmishing Austrian troops and a close range salvo from a couple of light guns caused them to retreat. Their supporting grenadiers moved forward and managed to clear the first line of defence, but more hard fighting would be required to clear the heights. Seeing the Prussian progress the Austrian commander detached two batallions from his right wing near Lobositz village to reinforce the Grenz.

The Austrians had deployed four units of cavalry on the plain in front of the sunken road to the left of Lobositz. The terrain made retreat difficult and they were opposed by three brigades of Prussian infantry and their cavalry supports. Coming under attack from the Prussian artillery their only course seemed to be attack. On the left their light cavalry was completely overmatched by the Prussian Hussars with cuirassiers in support.

In the centre they enjoyed more success. The Zweibrucken Dragoons together with the combined Carabinier companies of the cuirassier regiments charged the Prussian infantry. Perhaps unnerved by the rapidly closing cavalry the musketry volley from the infantry was ineffective and when the Austrians charged home the first line of battalions were scattered. Thus encouraged the Austrian cavalry charged the second line of battalions and broke those also.

Fortunately for Frederick, he had a cavalry reserve behind his infantry and they moved to plug the gap. The Zweibrucken Dragoons were charged by the Prussian Gardes-du-Corps and after a fierce struggle the Prussians prevailed. The Carabiniers found themselves facing further infantry and elected to retire rather than risk further musketry volleys.

The main Prussian infantry assualt on Lobostz itself was thus stalled and the main Austrian battery was causing severe casualties; although the Austrian right was also suffering from the Prussian artillery. The crisis of the battle was nigh.

In conclusion I include a photo (apologies for the green hue) of the latest recruits to the Cossack army. I bought them at the Fiasco show; all nicely painted and based for 50p per figure. What a bargain.

Nostalgia

No battle this week, that dread word, (work), intervened. However, I did manage to squeeze in a bit of reading, mainly due to yet more juggling of space in the glory hole'. The reading consisted of some old copies of 'Battle' magazine, dating from 1977/78. I never subscribed to the magazine at the time, but was fortunate enough to acquire some a few years ago. Looking at them now you can see how far the popular front of the hobby has moved. It was far more uniform then, more inclusive. Alongside Stuart Asquith's articles on battles of the English Civil War and Tony Bath's story of Hyboria you have ones on kit conversions for AFVs, new military equipment entering service and product reviews covering figures, board games and magazines. Two things you don't find are colour photos other than on the cover) and masses of adverts for figures, paints and scenery.




















Here is Peter Gilder setting up Gettysburg from the cover of the issue from June 1978. I never did get to see the 'Battleground' series, but I have heard lots of my contemporaries speak about it. The accompaning article says that 100 wargamers were interviewed before the final line-up was arrived at. Those chosen were Duncan McFarlane, Peter Gilder, Paddy Griffith, John Braithwaite, Bob O'Brien, Steve Davidson, John Tilson, Steve Birnie, John Harrison and Gavin and Bernard Lyall. Six battles were recreated and Edward Woodward presented the programmes. I also include an advert for Games Workshop, listing the D & Drules and scenarios plus "White Dwarf" with a full year's subscription costing 4 pounds!.
One thing that hasn't changed is the enthusiasm of the contributors for the hobby; their willingness to share knowledge and give a helping hand to beginners.

Inverkeithing

We were north of the border last week refighting the Battle of Inverkeithing. The scenario is an attempt by the English to secure a bridgehead on the northern bank of the Firth of Forth and neutralise a Scots artillery position which has made resupply of the English forces by sea difficult. General Lambert had landed a force of 4500 men on the small peninsula near Inverkeithing, (roughly the site of the present Forth bridge), and the Covenanter forces, with similar, or slightly larger forces moved to neutralise this threat.

The advantage lay with Lambert as his men were veterans whilst the Scots Covenanter forces contained local militia forces. Lambert also had the advantage of some light atillery pieces which proved effective in unsettling the less experienced Scots units. As the Scots advanced the English moved to secure their flanks. General Holborne, comanding the Scots decided to concentrate his attack on the apparently weaker English right (below) and then swing round and trap the remaining enemy against the Forth.














On his left he posted Argyll's regiment and the link between the flanks was to be the Highlanders, who would use the broken terrain to try and flank the English positions. His first problem was the artillery which unnerved the Perth Militia and he therefore moved to rally them. In spite of the best efforts of the accompanying minister the militia struggled to regain their composure, no doubt worried by the approach of enemy cavalry whilst their own lingered in reserve. At least they were saved from further artillery casualties; as Stewart's regiment at last manoeuvred into position on the artillery's flank and fired a telling volley which killed , or drove off, all of the crew. However, this was not enough to save the militia, who were indeed charged by the English horse. They were unable to muster a volley, but under the eye of their general they managed to hold their position against the first wave and the Scots supports moved forward. Then the English reserve squadrons charged and the Scots began to waver. As they were pushed back the Militia colonel pleaded with the Scots commander to save himself and assist the units in the centre. He (the colonel), would order a fall back to some broken terrain where the foot would be safe from the cavalry. Reluctantly, the commander agreed and immediately they saw his move, the militia assumed all was lost and ran for the broken terrain. Nearly half of them reached it, but many were butchered by the cavalry.


Meanwhile on the right,Argyll had held his ground in spite of the galling enemy artillery fire. His command had lost a quarter of his effectives and now Lambert had decided to move forward, firing volleys as he did so. The Highland archers were casuing casualties, but not enough to slow the advance, so Argyll began to fall back, hoping to lure the Englsh on and give the Scots horse an open flank to attack. The Highland clan Maclean who were holding some rough ground in the centre had been spotted by Lambert and he ordered his artillery to open fire on them. Infuriated by this, the clansmen surged forward towards the nearest enemy unit, which happened to be some of the reserve cavalry. This was not what the Scottish commander had intended, but he could do nothing as the clansmen charged downhill at the English. Their initial impetus was absorbed by the veterans and as more reserves joined in, the Highlanders were pushed backwards.














In a last desperate gamble, the Scots general orderd his lancers to charge forward and breakthrough the English line. They managed to defeat a unit of dragoons, but, disorganised by the resulting pursuit they were totally outmatched by Lambert's last reserve. With his right and centre falling back and his left wing attack stalled, it was time for the Scots commander to try and extricate his troops, which he did under cover of darkness. Events on the table had followed history in producing an English victory.