1st Afghan War: A Battle Using Commands & Colors

Afghan Natives man the outpost

As a follow-up to the game two weeks' prior (see Commands & Colors: EIC 1840), Kevin reset the table and the same battle was tackled this past Sunday.

A refresher from the earlier game shows the initial setup and deployments.  Almost all would remain as before in this contest.  Almost all.  The differences from the first game are that EIC firepower has been reduced for infantry and the Natives have upgraded one of their batteries from light to heavy.  The EIC will be attacking in the face of three heavy batteries.   

The Table

The Natives

The East India Company

With the EIC winning the two previous battles 8-7, 8-7, Kevin chose to take command of the Natives.  Since both games were very close, he figured it was about time for the Natives to taste victory.

The battle opened with a protracted long range artillery duel.  Both sides held a seemingly handful of Bombard cards.  When the smoke and dust settled, two Native heavy batteries had been knocked out of action.  The EIC suffered one damaged battery in their center.

Gaps in the Native line where two batteries stood

On the Native left, the heavy battery caused more than its share of destruction among British  formations to its front.  The British light infantry screening to the fore was obliterated and three infantry battalions were severely mauled.  That one gun and crew were deadly.  Hey!  Those guns look like a couple of my old Frontier Miniatures' cannons.

Native heavy gun on the left

Having silenced the opposing Native gun line in the center, the British step off on their advance to defeat the enemy. 

British advance begins

As the British advance, their guns keep a lively fire upon the enemy line.  The Natives, being composed of a mix of drilled and undrilled troops, are forced to withdraw to avoid the constant harassing fire from the guns.  Natives holed up in the Mosque on the Native right cause a number of casualties to the advancing British regulars.  With casualties mounting, the British veer off to bypass the Mosque in the main assault.

The British advance

Frustrated by the English guns, the Natives have had enough.  First, a Short Supply card is played forcing one British gun to fall back to its baseline.  Second, they launch a cavalry charge against the weakened battery in the center.  Unsupported, the British guns are able to repulse the hard-charging Natives with a great loss of horsemen.

Tribal cavalry charge the guns

The battle rages for more than two hours as units are destroyed and the banner count climbs.  Not a one-sided banner escalation at all. Quite an orderly back and forth advance in the casualty count as each side takes opportunistic volleys to wipe out an opponent.  The Natives continue falling back in the center as pressure mounts.  With the Native militia suffering a two-grid retreat per flag, more than one unit is destroyed as is runs out of real estate in which to retreat.  

Center belongs to the English

When a Native leader falls in battle, the EIC scores its last needed banner.  EIC wins eight banners to five.  The Natives are still searching for their first victory in this encounter.  Maybe next time?

Another interesting clash.  The game was a long one with each side likely playing at least 30 activation cards.  With the to-and-fro of the banner count and the pushing and shoving of troops, this contest felt like a real chess match as each maneuvered in an attempt to gain the upper hand.  The kaleidoscopic grid added to the feel of chess.

The British came out on top in the early artillery duel and their early success may have set the stage for the direction of battle.  Can the Natives stand up to the EIC in a toe-to-toe clash?  I hope to find out.

After the game, talked turned toward another refight.  Having built up a Russian and Native force for a potential Great Game project years ago, perhaps, my Russians and their native warlords will take to the field some day?  With two gun models per battery deployed, I need to increase my Russian artillery arm if I want to approach parity with the English.  

Commands & Colors: EIC 1840

Over the weekend, Kevin hosted an early colonial game set in 1840's India.  The gridded battle was to be fought over a huge 15 x 9 tile grid using Kevin's large 28mm collection of British colonial figures.  The method in which the tiles were painted provided an Old School look to the battle.  The variety of units provided a very pleasing spectacle.  Many of the units were set to receive their first taste of battle.  With the stone fireplace flanked by a wall of books on one end of the room, smoking jackets and ascots would not have been out of place.  Yep.  Civilized gaming with a very Old School feel, for sure.   

The Natives

The rules of engagement would be governed by Commands & Colors: Napoleonics (CCN) with some modifications.  One necessary modification was the translation of movement and combat from the hexagonal grid of Commands & Colors to the squares of the gaming table.  Changes from hex to square were minimal with how to compute diagonal distances the major consideration.  Otherwise, play was guided by CCN rules as written.

The battle would be decided by the elimination of eight units of your opponent.  With the ragtag composition of the Natives and the superior firepower of the British EIC, I did not expect a close game.  With that bias going in, I was surprised by the outcome.

The East India Company

The battle, as laid out, pitted the British India Company against a wide variety of Natives fielding an assortment of guns and cavalry.  An eclectic bunch, for sure.  Quality on the Native side was suspect but with flanks secured by two fortresses, the British would be forced into frontal assaults. 

The Natives

In Game 1, the Natives got off to a great start and bombarded and shot my poor EIC troops to pieces before I could close.  I scored a few banners but the situation looked grim for the British.  I was ready to through in the towel and admit defeat.  My opponent convinced me to fight on, so I reluctantly did.  Luckily, I pulled two RALLY cards in quick succession from the card deck and put them into play to bolster my troops.  With those reinforcements, the EIC turned the table on the Natives and managed to press on to a very close 8-7 victory.  Did my opponent ease up on me?  We may never know.

EIC

In Game 2, I took command of the Natives and in a similar fashion to Game 1, my troops were being manhandled by Kevin's EIC early on.  By mid-game, the situation looked hopeless.  Sticking with it, I was able to hold my right while concentrating on the British right.  Using combined arms and playing a well-timed Cavalry Charge card, the British right was turned.  Unit after unit fell to the tenacity of the Natives.  In the end, the Natives rolled up the British line to take control of the middle of the table. With the banner count standing at 7-7, the Native flanking maneuver finally ran out of steam and the British won the game 8-7.  

Usually, a game of Commands & Colors can be fought to conclusion in under one hour.  In Game 2, the hard-fought battle lasted more than two hours.  That was a titanic struggle and good fun.

Looking forward to trying this again.

A Gun for the Italian Wars

While I have more than enough guns and crew for most Italian Wars' battles, one more gun was uncovered in The Lead Pile.  Similarly, four crewmen were found which could be pressed into service to operate the gun.  Mustering one gun and crew would be quick work so why not get the lead out (of The Lead Pile)?  The last of the Renaissance guns and crew depart the painting desk, I think.      

Guns and crew from Old Glory.  Figures, as expected from Old Glory, are animated and energetic.  They should be perfect for bringing this weapon to its best use.

A real mix of units is working its way through the painting queue.  Glancing at the next six or seven units to make their way through the painting queue shows figures for six or seven different projects.  A fine example of diversity and inclusion at the painting desk.  

Finally, I enjoyed three games of Assaye using Kevin's custom Commands & Colors: Napoleonics set up over the weekend.  The Assaye scenario has been expanded to play on a board about double the regular size with a corresponding increase in the number of units.  The English and Natives, under the command of Wellesley, took all three victories.  Kevin won the first game handily. I won the second game decisively.  The third game was quite close at the end but I managed to claim victory scoring 8 banners to 6.  I failed to take any game photos of the battle set up but the game presents an impressive sight with troops deployed all across the board in two, seemingly, unending lines.  Next time, I will snap a photo or two.  Fun afternoon!

To read about my first attempts at gaming Assaye with Kevin's game, see CCN: Assaye 1803.

CCN: Assaye 1803

Initial deployments

Commands & Colors: Napoleonics (CCN).  That was the system on the docket for the Saturday gaming session.  Not your run-of-the-mill CNN, either.  Saturday's battles would feature the 1803 Battle of Assaye during the Second Anglo-Maratha War in India.  To me, an unknown battle during an unknown war.  Arthur Wellesley and elements of the East India Company confront the artillery heavy Maratha force under the command of Anthony Pohlmann.  On the battlefield, the river on the Maratha right is only fordable near the two villages where the British cavalry are initially deployed.  To bring these four cavalry units into the main battle arena, the British cavalry holding the ford must first be driven off.  Not an easy task since the Maratha irregular horse hold many disadvantages.  First player to gain six banners wins.    

The battle was not the only unusual aspect of this fight.  Kevin commissioned artwork and stickers to create his own module for CCN.  Besides the usual mix of British blocks, fielded in today's battles were native infantry (Sepoys and Maratha), irregular cavalry for the Maratha, and native artillery.  No need to use ersatz troops for this match-up.  All of the appropriate units are on the table using Kevin's custom-made blocks.  An unusual but interesting force to deploy.

Now, Scott and Kevin fought Assaye five times on the Saturday prior with the Maratha going down to defeat in all five encounters.  Kevin considered the plight of the Maratha desperate with the British capable of causing quick and widespread destruction to Pohlmann's army.  With the odds seemingly stacked against the Maratha, I opted to give them a try in the first encounter. 

In Game 1, Wellesley advanced his force and began shifting his cavalry through the villages to cross the river to join the main army.  As the British advanced, the three Maratha guns began weakening the attackers.  With one or two blocks removed from many of the British, the Maratha infantry advanced.  First getting within musketry range the Maratha concentrated fire on the British grenadiers to wear them down.  Then, the natives attacked all along the line doubling up against one opponent at a time.  Before the British could get their cavalry firmly into the fray, East India Coy troops were seen streaming from the field.  Victory to the Maratha.  Kevin was shocked at the result. 

To remove the chance of a fluke victory by the Maratha, we reset the battle and began again.  I took command of the Maratha one more time.  Game 2 resulted in a similar outcome hurried to conclusion by an opportune elimination of Maxwell and his attached cavalry.  A devastating defeat to Wellesley and the British.

After a break for lunch, we reset the table and switched sides.  In command of the British, I set to work on destroying the weak and isolated Maratha irregular cavalry on the far side of the river.  Holding a Cavalry Charge card, the British cavalry went into their opponent and cut them apart before they knew what hit them.  Four banners to the British as all four irregular horse went down.  Needing only two more banners for victory, the British found two easy targets and it was over before it started.  Banners 6-0 British.

Reset.

Game 4.  Still commanding the British, I applied the same tactic as in Game 3.  Yep.  Same result.  A quick British victory with a Banner count of 6-1.   

Game 5.  With time for one more match, we maintained the same sides and dug in for a rematch.  The British, again, employed the same cavalry tactic but had a harder time as Pohlmann diverted some of his right line to harass the British cavalry on the opposite bank.  During this phase of the battle, only two of the Maratha irregular horse were destroyed before the British cavalry fell back with heavy casualties.  In the main battle, the British advanced on their right with cavalry and grenadiers.  After weakening the Maratha line from musketry, the cavalry and grenadiers fell upon their foes.  In quick succession, four more native units were destroyed.  British victory.

In under four hours including a break for lunch, the Battle of Assaye was fought five times.  For those keeping score, I managed to win all 5.  Great fun!  Too bad I did not take any photos of Kevin's custom armies.  The blocks with custom artwork were sweet and looked terrific deployed in the two long lines of battle.   

Warrior Monks in 15mm

Off the painting table this afternoon is one stand of Peter Pig Warrior Monks for the Samurai Battles' project.  The monks were part of a Peter Pig order that Jake presented to me for Christmas.  Warrior monks have not featured in any of the Samurai Battles' scenarios gamed thus far, but they must have a useful purpose at some point.  Besides, they will break up the sea of Ashigaru on the battlefield.

Jake has a couple of units of monks so I figured I ought to have a unit or two to counter his.  It will be interesting to see if they claim any special attributes.  Also, this was a nice change from painting the more numerous Ashigaru and Samurai.  I believe I have enough monks to field one more stand. 

In an unrelated note, I met Kevin and one of his childhood buddies for a quick and impromptu game of Commands & Colors Napoleonics Sunday afternoon.  Having recently picked up the Austrian expansion, Kevin suggested a scenario featuring Austrians.  I chose Teugen-Hausen.  Commanding the Austrians, I was narrowly bettered by a 8-7 banner count.  The loss was decided by majority control of the first line of hills.  Losing the majority of hill hexes in the French portion of the turn, the Austrians were unable to either take out enough French or retake the heights in the bottom half of the turn.  Good game against a player not familiar with the system.  Kevin's classmate picked up the mechanisms of the game without issue and fought to a victory.  Very close match!

Straggling Packages and CC: Napoleonics

Kevin and I met to give his newly arrived and stickered Command & Colors: Napoleonics expansion "Austria" an initial test.  The scenario selected was Wertingen.  Wertingen occurred at the beginning of the 1805 campaign where Oudinot's Advanced Guard caught the Austrians off balance.  Initial deployments have the French with an elite force heavily dominated by heavy cavalry.  Austrians are spread across the board with limited cavalry but numerous infantry.

Initial deployments

In the initial phase of the battle, both forces advance towards the center.  Artillery exchanges cause some casualties.  On the French right, Austrians advance to within small arms range of the French grenadiers and begin a harassing fire.  Weakened by musketry, the grenadiers are charged by the lone Austrian heavy cavalry.  In a protracted melee, the grenadiers are destroyed.  Austrian line occupy most villages and prepare their defense.  

Combatants advance

With the right under threat and French cavalry taking fire from the villages, the French shift the bulk of their Advance Guard to the right.   In retaliation for the destruction of the French grenadiers, French cuirassiers hit the weakened Austrian cuirassiers.  The Austrian horse is destroyed.  Having most of the French occupying the right sector meant the French player would lose the initiative as unplayable cards were discarded one after the other. 

French make a right shift

Taking advantage of the French paralysis, the Austrians bring their gun and infantry up to musketry range.  Large, five block Austrian infantry coupled with little armed French opposition ensure that Austrian infantry excel in any protracted fire fights.  Pounding continues until the French breakpoint is reached.  Austrian victory! 

In the mail this week, several stragglers and replacements arrived.

First, Wargaming in History Volume 8 on the 1866 Austro-Prussian appeared after a lengthy back order.  Looking forward to spending time with this work over the holidays.

Second, a straggling pack of Crusader Miniatures' Spanish Spearmen for the Reconquista project arrived.  Great figures!  I would like to get a few more of these.  This single pack followed the main Caliver order by two months.  A couple of emails to Caliver were needed to keep this missing pack on the radar.

Finally, my earlier report detailing a Minden Miniatures' purchase with eight musketeers having broken bayonets was resolved.  Jim kindly sent eight replacement Prussians in a well-reinforced pack.  No damage with this batch.

On the painting desk, a number of different projects are seeing activity. They are:

• Napoleonic British dragoons in 28mm
• AWI British infantry in 28mm
• Campanian hoplites in 28mm
• Samurai foot in 15mm
• Reconquista African spearmen in 28mm
• Rebasing Spanish for SAW

Most of the above should move off the painting desk within the week.

Projects Update

Kevin invited me over Friday evening for a game of CCN. When I arrived, Kevin had Bailen set up on the table. Given Kevin's Francophile tendencies, I selected the Spanish. In short, the Spanish took the victory 7-3 after the French-allied Swiss broke and ran, followed up by playing two Spanish Cavalry Charge cards. The first Cavalry Charge either eliminated or weakened and pushed back a number of French units. The second Cavalry Charge card effected a mopping up of the remnants from the first Cavalry Charge card.

My French Intervention in Mexico collection is gone! I made Kevin an offer he couldn't refuse and now he is the proud owner of the collection. As a consolation, I still maintain visitation privileges and perhaps, will see them on Kevin's gaming table occasionally.

I picked up a neat terrain piece from eBay this week. I usually build my own terrain items but this one caught my eye. The piece is a two foot escarpment or cliff which will work well with various scales of figures. Two shots of the piece are included below.

10mm ACW Project:

The Musket Miniatures' fences have been assembled, based and painted. Excluding a few left over sections to later use as corners and gates, I was able to produce 60 linear inches of ACW snake-rail fence. Although gluing the fences together was a bit tedious, the resulting product turned out nicely. I mounted four fence sections onto a 3" x 1" painted and flocked strip of balsa.

15mm Second War of Italian Independence Project:

Kevin asked me about rules I plan to use for this period. I really couldn't provide a definitive answer. There are a number of rules that I have examined and many of these have bits that I favor.

As often happens, I may take ideas from all of them and write my own. Some rules considered include 1859, Fields of Honor, and Fire and Fury variants. With each base representing one battalion, both Fields of Honor and F&F would require modifications to comply with my desired basing scheme. 1859 has one battalion per base but my base size is variable based on actual battalion strength while 1859 puts all combatants on the same frontage regardless of actual battalion strength. Also, 1859 infantry bases have at most 8x15mm figures in double rank while my French and Sardinian line infantry are based 12 figures per base. Austrian line battalions field 18 figures per battalion. This figure ratio works out to about 50:1 man-to-figure.

My original attempt at creating Piedmontese flags was based on the flag without the crown. Seeing more period paintings and illustrations showing the flag with the crown prompted me to recreate the flags. The original flag is on top with the new flag below. All of the 'old' flags have been removed from existing infantry battalions and have been replaced with the new, crown design.


 

Progress on adding painted units to the project continues. Recently completed figures include 18 Bersaglieri, 12 Austrian hussars, and 4 Austrian mounted commanders. All figures are Mirliton. Two battalions of Austrian infantry are just now moving off the painting table. These two Austrian line battalions have exhausted my stock of Old Glory Austrian line. I'll need to place an order to replenish these figures. Likely to be included in an order from 19th Century will be a few bags of French. I haven't painted any of the Old Glory French so it is about time to field a few French units on the battlefield. 

Commands and Colors: Napoleonics

I joined Kevin and Dylan on Saturday afternoon for three hours of Command and Colours: Napoleonics. Scott had planned to join but was sidelined my a recent medical procedure. The three of managed to fit in three games in the three hours. Barossa was fought twice: one victory going to the French and one victory to the allies. I was victorious in both games. In the final game of the afternoon, Kevin's French faced off against Dylan's British/Portuguese in the action at Coa. The victory conditions for the allies are either to exit six unit across the bridge and off board, take six banners in combat or any combination of the two. The allies won Coa but it was a near run thing with the British winning 6 banners to 5.

The Allies began the game pulling back their right flank and giving up the earthworks protecting the bridge as the Portuguese made a beeline towards the bridge. Before the French could maneuver into position, both Portuguese infantry had exited the board. The French brought up their cavalry on the flanks and attacked aggressively on the right while maneuvering for position on the left. The British exited one British command with leader. Two more banners to the British.

With the British right now precariously exposed, the French launched cavalry charges into the crumbling position forcing two British infantry units into square. British light cavalry countercharged and stopped one French cavalry unit while the second French cavalry tore into a weakened, square. The square was destroyed and the French cavalry hit the weakened British light horse. This unit, too, was destroyed. The second British square was destroyed by French infantry.

In the end game, French forces cut the British off from the bridge and their escape route and were advancing on Almeida. The British remaining on the Almeida heights would have to cut their way through the French in order to open passage to the bridge. With banners 5:5, the British were able to destroy remants of a French cavalry unit to win the game. Very close game and a scenario I'd enjoy seeing again.

10mm ACW Project:
Rebasing of the artillery begins and I painted two stands of infantry (20 figures) following my proposed basing in the 27 JAN posting. At present, I still lean towards the aesthetic appearance of my current 23 figure infantry stand over the 10 figure, "half" stands. Jury is still out on rebasing to RFF equivalents.

Projects Update and CCA/CCN

I finally managed to get the stickers affixed and blocks sealed on my Command and Colors: Ancients game. On Scott's recommendation, I purchased the small, five compartment Plano tackle boxes to use to store the game blocks. Sorting through the blocks and labels, I discovered that the block mix was incorrect. Rather than having a mix of Roman and Carthaginian large blocks for elephants, I only received the elephant-sized Carthaginian blocks. I considered repainting four of the brown blocks to gray but Scott suggested dropping GMT and e-mail and requesting replacements. I followed Scott's advice and GMT responded to my e-mail promptly and I had the replacement blocks in my mailbox within one week. Great service from GMT! Now, I am ready to host Roman vs Carthage games. While I will not likely buy the supplements, it will be useful to have the base game in hand. My plan is still to use the base CCA system and convert it over to 6mm miniatures' gaming.

We have been enjoying our CCA/CCN games and I'll be joining Kevin and Dylan Saturday afternoon for a few games of CCN. Kevin received the Spanish supplement a few weeks ago and we gave the Spanish their baptism during our gaming on JAN 7. The Spanish, although not as powerful as the French, have a powerful capability of launching a guerrilla attack at the most inopportune time. As for tactics, in the games we played, redoubts seem to fall much too easily. In my game against Scott, he hesitated not in launching an attack against emplaced guns without any preparatory softening up. In cases, the guns in the redoubts fell without any difficulty due to the attacker marching up to the redoubt and rolling hits against the defender. Perhaps, one idea to consider is to allow the defender to throw one half of his dice prior to the attacker's throw as a closing fire on the approach. If the defender is still able to battle back after the attacker's assault, the defender would then only throw one half of his dice. I would like to give that a try and see if that small change improves the game.

18mm Napoleonic Project:
Recent orders have arrived from Campaign Game Miniatures (CGM) in Spain and Old Glory. From CGM, I picked up sample units from CGM's Napoleonic line and Warmodelling. First off the painting table is one unit of CGM's Austrian line in helmet. Nice figures that are slightly more chunky than Old Glory and much more chunky than Battle Honours. The mounted officer is from AB.



Next off the painting table is one unit of Warmodelling's French in bicorne. The figures are larger than Old Glory and carry less crisp detail but will look fine on the gaming table. Actually, the figures in the picture below look quite good.



From Old Glory, I picked up sample bags of Blue Moon French in full dress. I painted three, 13 figure units and the figures are quite nice with good detailing and pleasing poses. For mounted officers, I used AB French.



Also won an auction for about a dozen AB Miniatures' LaSalle packs. These packs consisted of about an equal number of French and Peninsular British infantry, each having about 40 figures.

18mm SYW Project:
Painting on one battalion of Blue Moon's AWI Hessian fusiliers is complete and the battalion will be fielded as Prussian Fusilier Battalion #46. As noted in an earlier post, the Blue Moon figures match closely in size to Eureka's SYW Austrians but are slightly smaller than Eureka's Prussian fusiliers. Also crossing the painting table was one battalion of Prussian musketeers.







 10mm ACW Project: 
Having gamed many of the large battles of the war with each base equating to about 1,000 men, I am considering tackling the small actions using Regimental Fire and Fury (RFF). While I could fudge the recommended RFF basing to accommodate my brigade-level stands, I am contemplating rebasing the collection to (more or less) conform to the standard RFF basing. However, in the spirit of tinkering, under consideration is one RFF infantry base (0.875" x 1.125") equalling two 10mm bases. Each new base would hold two, five-figure strips and count as a reinforced line (i.e. two stands in depth). Thus, each 10mm base will be able to take two casualties before removal. The first casualty on each stand will require a small marker to denote the loss. For extended line, my thought is to use the skirmish figures I currently have mounted on each brigade stand and making a bunch of 'Extended line' markers to denote the correct frontage when the infantry is deployed in extended line. Artillery and cavalry will remain on the same size base as the infantry.

15mm Second War of Italian Independence Project: 
Two squadrons of Sardinian light horse and one gun with crew are finished. I spent Thursday evening creating flags for the Sardinian and Austrian infantry. Up to now, all of the foot battalions have carried no colors. Now I have enough flags to outfit each battalion with one color and will spent part of the weekend affixing flags. Although only the first battalion of each regiment carried a flag in the field, I am adding one color to each battalion.

Command & Colors + ECW Books

Kevin is hosting a Command and Colors: Napoleonics (CC:N) session on Saturday. Scott and I are planning to attend. The Command and Colors system is a fast playing and eloquent system. My impressions of the Napoleonic version are limited to only a couple of playings but the ancient version is first rate. I have found in the Napoleonic sibling that play is much slower than its older brother, ancients. Part of the speed decrease could be due to the more nuanced tactics in the Napoleonic set. Rather than a unit maintaining the same firepower regardless of losses, CC:N has a unit's firepower degrade as losses mount. Another nuance that requires further test games is that it appears that melee is a preferred tactic for the French over British. Anyway, looking forward to an enjoyable day of gaming.

With the introduction of CC:A and CC:N into our gaming rotation, actual miniatures' gaming has been reduced. Looking back at the Events page, I may have only played six or so miniatures' games outside of my solitaire activities in 2011. Still, that yields more than one game per month. For me, that's about the right pace. Once I get the hex map created, I plan to give CC:A in 6mm a try.

I popped over to Scott's on the 26th to pick up my portion of the Old Glory order and get in a few games of CC:A. I think we got in four games with each of us winning two. The highlight for me was skunking Scott in the Battle of Marathon with the Greeks sweeping the Persians from the field. Scott is a very good CCA player but I was able to repeatedly pressure and drive back the Persian right flank forcing a collapse of the Persian line. Of course, as the victor, I get to write the historical account of the battle.

New Shipments of ECW Books:
Over the holidays I received a number of ECW books at sometimes bargain prices via eBay and AbeBooks. These new library editions include:

Haythornthwaite, The English Civil War 1642-151 an Illustrated History

Wanklyn, Decisive Battles of the English Civil War (gift from my daughter!)

Atkin, Cromwell's Crowning Mercy, the Battle of Worcester, 1651

Sherwood, The Civil War in the Midlands 1642-1651

Foard, Naseby, The Decisive Campaign

Denton, Cromwell's Soldiers, The Moulding of the New Model Army 1644-1645

Atkin, The Civil War in Worcestershire

Clark, Marston Moor, English Civil War - July 1644

I have much reading to do!

18mm SYW Project: 
As mentioned above, I picked up the Old Glory order. In the order were Blue Moon packets of AWI Hessians (fusiliers and jagers) to be fielded as Prussians for my SYW project. The BM fusiliers are smaller than their Eureka Prussian counterparts but match closely with the size and heft of the Eureka Austrians. I bet when painted and fielded on the table, no difference will be noticeable.  Also in the order, were sample packs of Blue Moon British FIW infantry and Napoleonic French infantry.

2011 was a very productive year wrt the SYW project. As shown in the 03 JAN 2012 post, nearly 600 figures were painted last year. That brings the totals for the project thus far, to about 2100 figures and 18 guns. That's quite a sizable collection awaiting their initial baptism by fire. One goal for 2012 is to host a game and (finally) get these figures onto the gaming table. The project is approaching optimal scale but I could add more guns and bolster the Prussian OB. Nevertheless, the SYW project is likely 90% complete. Painting towards this project in 2012 should be greatly reduced. 

For books, I recently picked up copies of Summerfield's Austrian Seven Years War Infantry and Engineers and Dorn/Englemann's The Infantry Regiments of Frederick the Great, 1756-1763.

15mm Second War of Italian Independence Project: 
Resupply of Mirliton miniatures from CGM in Spain arrived just after Christmas. In addition to more Piedmont artillery, cavalry, and bersaglieri, I also ordered samples from Dermot's Napoleonic line of 18mm figures. In 2012, I would really enjoy getting this period onto the gaming table. I think I made the same statement last year too.

Projects Update

I won auctions for a few items on eBay recently. Most notable, is a collection of 6mm rivers from JR Miniatures. NIB sets containing a good assortment of shapes, including,

• 1-#3402 - River Y
• 1-#3403 - River Ford
• 1-#3405 - River Turn
• 1-#3406 - River Curve
• 1-#3408 - River S Curve
• 2-#3420 - River set

Nice looking pieces that appear quite durable. I would have preferred more straight sections but the collection is a welcome acquisition. The addition of these pieces will allow me more flexibility in scenario layout.

Command Colors Ancients/Napoleonics:
The CCN games continue. Although Scott was unable to attend, Kevin, Dylan, and I will met Friday evening for two battles. We missed Scott's rules' expertise but those are the vagaries of war. Game One was a continuation of Kevin and Dylan's Waterloo game. Kevin's expert use of the French artillery blew big holes in the British defenses exterminating enough British units to take the win. Game Two saw Dylan and I face off in Rolica (Second Position). Despite managing to squeeze the British through the narrow ravines on each flank and threaten the French defensive positions, the firepower of the batteries and lights destroyed enough of the attacking British to take the game. This is an interesting puzzle for the British. How do you advance up three narrow defiles and attack the strong French positions at the top of the ridge in a coordinated fashion? Clearly, I failed in the first attempt. Rolica deserves a second chance.

15mm Napoleonic Project: Albuera
The final two regiments of Spanish foot are ready to be fielded. Now, all participants for La Albuera are mustered and ready for battle. Of course, the allies will be without artillery limbers but so be it.

18mm SYW Project:
Both Austrian cuirassier squadrons noted in the earlier post are finished. Picked up a resupply of Eureka Austrian and Prussian foot from Scott at our game on the 9th.

6mm Ancients (2nd Punic War):
Basing the Baccus 6mm collection continues and I painted 12 Spanish cavalry that I had laying around. One correction from an earlier posting: The base size is actually 24mm x 45mm rather than the 30mm x 45mm I noted. Of course, elephants are mounted singly on a 25mm x 30mm base. On order from Baccus are a small assortment of 2nd Punic War figures from their retooled range. I'm getting a bit excited about getting these forces together for a miniatures version CCA. While not my longest running, orphan project, this Carthaginian collection began in 2002. With a little luck, these 6mm ancients will see the table top in 2011. Not quite 10 years between concept and execution but pretty close.

28mm Napoleonic Project:
Work begins this weekend on the sample battalion of early French from Brigade Games. The facial features and bicornes on these figures really provide much character. Looking forward to seeing these painted. In addition to the 16 Brigade figures on the production line, are two Front Rank French skirmishers that I had neglected to paint in fielding an earlier battalion.

CC: Napoleonics and Projects Update

Command Colors Ancients/Napoleonics:
Joined up with the group as Austin packs up the remainder of his Otis Orchards belongings and places most in storage. By the time I arrived, most work was completed (excellent timing on my part) and CCN was on the table. The guys had played Rolica twice before my arrival so I challenged Scott M. to a game. Scott took the French and I, the British. The game was quite lengthy in comparison to the CCA games we've played with much punching-counter punching as both combatants jockeyed for position. The French had good success on their left flank while the British commanded the center. Stopping the French cavalry on the British right, the British made coordinated assaults in the center and left to eventually win the game 5-4.

We had a very good evening of CCN at Kevin's on the 8th. In the first game, Kevin as Napoleon was down 6 flags to none against Scott only to come back and claim victory with a miraculous turn of events. Probably, still smarting from his narrow defeat, Scott (as Napoleon) thrashed me eight banners to three. My game wasn't even close. The third game of the night saw Kevin face off against Dylan. Game three was adjourned before a decision could be reached but at the stopping point, the game was evenly contested.

15mm Napoleonic Project: Albuera
The 5th Cacadores regiment is finished and when I began affixing labels to the bases, I realized that I am lacking two Spanish foot regiments. Rats. I have 10 regiments painted but need 12. I left out de Espana's command. Twenty-four Spanish figures have been primed today and painting will begin once I clear the painting table of the Austrian cuirassiers. The tabletop is covered by a facsimile of the battlefield spread out over an area 6' x 7'.
 
15mm Second War of Italian Independence Project:
The two battalions of Piedmontese infantry are finished. The 19th Century Miniatures order arrived with a box full of goodies. A cursory exam of the French Chasseurs d'Afrique shows that these will work for the Piedmontese light horse. Two more battalions of the 6th Line are in the painting queue.

18mm 1799 Italian Project:
Finishing touches on two battalions of Austrian infantry regiment, Mittrowski are being applied this weekend. These two battalions bring the total number of battalions completed for this project to 26 allocated as 10 Russian, 10 French, and 6 Austrian.

18mm SYW Project:
Following the 1859 Piedmontese on the painting table are two squadrons of Austrian cuirassiers. These two squadrons will be fielded as Cuirassier Regiment #3 and will bring the existing regiment up to its full complement of six squadrons.

Project Updates

 Command Colors Ancients/Napoleonics:
I returned from two days in the Renton office with a terrible cold/flu. The primary purpose of my trip to the office was to upgrade my laptop thereby sliding in under the IT deadline of upgrading to Windows 7 by Mar 31. Due to my illness, however, our CCN game was cancelled and rescheduled for April 9. Kevin has the labels for Waterloo mounted and ready for our trial.

28mm Napoleonic Project:
A sample order from Brigade Games' French Revolutionary War range arrived. I ordered enough French to field one battalion for myself and one for Scott. The figures are very nice and will match quite well with Front Rank in size but are a little less well-fed. The animation of the drooping bicornes gives one the sense that these troops have witnessed hard campaigning. The skirmishers are exquisite! Below are a few samples from Brigade Games' website.

15mm Napoleonic Project: Albuera

Spanish command consisting of two Corps/Army command stands (two figures each) and six division commanders are painted and ready for flocking. I used this activity to rebase all of the French divisional command from one inch rounds (from Joanne's Fabrics) to 30mm Litko rounds. Now, the French divisional command mountings will be compatible with the Spanish and British commanders. One more unit remains to be painted for Albuera. That is, one stand of Portuguese 5th Cacadores. I originally had planned on having the cacadores distributed throughout the Portuguese foot regiments but the 5th Cacadores were an independent unit thus requiring a separate unit.

18mm SYW Project:
Rob from Eureka USA announced that the SYW French are now available. The listing is quite extensive and some of the codes have as many as 60 variants. Below is the French listing:

300SYW400 French musketeer, no turnbacks, marching (60)
300SYW401 French musketeer, turnbacks, marching (60)
300SYW402 French drummer (5)
300SYW403 French officer (5)
300SYW404 French standard bearer (5)
300SYW405 French NCO (5)
300SYW406 Grenadier de France, marching (60)
300SYW407 Grenadier de France drummer (40)
300SYW408 Grenadier de France officer (4)
300SYW409 Grenadier de France standard bearer (4)
300SYW410 Grenadier de France NCO (4)
300SYW411 Mounted officer (5)
300SYW412 Mounted officer in cuirasse (5)

300SYW412 12lb cannon (5)
300SYW413 4lb cannon (5)
300SYW414 Artillerymen (16)

300SYW415 Hussar in mirliton (24)
300SYW416 Hussar Officer (3)
300SYW417 Hussar Standard bearer (3)

300SYW418 Chevau legers, tricorn (24)
300SYW419 Chevau legers tricorn Officer (3)
300SYW420Chevau legers tricorn, standard bearer (3)
300SYW421 Chevau legers tricorn, trumpeter (3)
300SYW422 Chevau legers tricorn, kettle drummer (3) >
300SYW423 Chevau legers bearskin (24)
300SYW424 Chevau legers bearskin Officer (3)
300SYW425 Chevau legers bearskin, standard bearer (3)
300SYW426 Chevau legers bearskin, trumpeter (3)
300SYW427 Chevau legers bearskin kettle drummer (3)

300SYW428 Dragoons in tricorn (12)
300SYW429 Dragoons in pokalem (12)
300SYW430Dragoons in tricorn Officer (3)
300SYW431 Dragoons in tricorn Standard bearer (3)
300SYW432 Dragoons in tricorn drummer (3)

300SYW433 Cuirassier du Roi (24)
300SYW434 Cuirassier du Roi Officer (3)
300SYW435 Cuirassier du Roi Standard bearer (3)
300SYW436 Cuirassier du Roi trumpeter (3)

300SYW437 Mounted general staff (3)
300SYW438 Dismounted general staff (3)

Although I didn't request any of the French, I did place an order through Scott to resupply the Austrian and Prussian musketeers.

15mm Second War of Italian Independence Project:
On the painting table are two battalions of Piedmontese infantry. These two battalions (24 figures) clear out the inventory of the unpainted Italian line infantry until the resupply from 19th Century Miniatures arrives. Currently, my order is in Pending status.

March 2011 Painting Totals:
March painting activities centered on the Albuera project and SYW project. The Blue Moon French figures were really a joy to paint.