Roman Heavy Infantry in 6mm

After having recently finished a batch of 6mm Italian hoplites, I dipped back into The Lead Pile for more 6mm Punic Wars figures.  This time, enough figures to field three stands of heavy infantry hit the painting desk.  With heavy infantry mounted eight Baccus strips per base, the total figure count would be 96 in 24 strips.  My recollection is that these are the later sculpts.  As in the hoplites painted earlier, this batch of figures was completed in a couple of painting sessions.  Nice, quick work with no time to suffer the drudgery of painting a large number of the same figure.  My inventory only had enough command strips for two of the elements so the third will be without command.

The Punic Wars project is finished although I discovered in my recent CCA game that I could use a few more stands of light infantry.  Javelin armed, light infantry (velites) remain in inventory for the Romans but I may need a small handful of light infantry for Hannibal's army.  If anyone has a few to trade, let me know.     

British Limbers in 28mm

Are there items that you avoid putting into the painting queue?  Well, for me, limbers and limber teams top my list of units on which to procrastinate.  Not sure why limbers present such a mental block.  Perhaps it is because these are ancillary units with no real combat value?  Limbers are not much different from painting four (or six) cavalry plus a gun but, still, I really do not take much enjoyment from painting the darn things.

Be that as it may, I have two Front Rank British limber teams and limbers that have been in The Lead Pile for far too long.  These two limbers were part of my 2013 Project Declarations made back in January.  Back then, I challenged myself to paint these two limbers and get them out of the The Lead Pile and onto the table.  I have yet to put the traces on the teams since I was not satisfied with the look of the wire traces that came with the models.     

   

Battle of Gaugamela FoG BatRep

Terry hosted a Gaugamela game using Fields of Glory.  The v2.0 rulebook was out on the table so, perhaps, we were playing under the newer version.

Troops were laid out before we arrived.  After a brief historical commentary and troop orientation, we dove into the game.  Terry and Kim commanded the Persians while Allen and myself commanded the Macedonians.

Battleground was featureless so nothing to slow down or stop Darius' chariots.  With the Macedonian pike in echelon and their slow pace, it might be awhile before the phalanx will be in position to participate.

Initial deployments

Not wasting any time, both cavalry wings begin to close upon each other.  Persians seemed to have a superior force opposing Alexander.  For Alexander, quality will need to trump quantity today.

Both cavalry wings begin to close

Clash!  Almost immediately, action on the wing heats up.  The outnumbered Macedonian cavalry fall to disrupted while the Macedonian skirmishers begin to feel over extended.  Elite Companion cavalry ready themselves to act upon either threat.

Clash on the right

Companions are instead, themselves, attacked by a combination of Persian cavalry and chariots.  Skirmishers retreat back through the ranks before the enemy can close. In the following horse vs foot clash, Macedonian medium infantry are disrupted by the Persian cavalry while the delaying cavalry force on the right drops to fragmented.  Having failed to break the Macedonians, both Persian chariots scatter.

Melee expands

Defeating the small Macedonian horse unit on the right, the victorious Persian cavalry are immediately attacked by the Companions.  Alexander leads the way.  

Companions hit Persian cavalry

Meanwhile in the center, Macedonian pike blocks plod forward.

Macedonian pike blocks

While Macedonian right is embroiled in a whirlwind of activity, in the distance the Macedonian left comes under pressure from enemy cavalry, elephants, and chariots.

Early game overview

Greek cavalry on the Macedonian left are hit by large numbers of Persian cavalry while simultaneously Persian light cavalry attempt to outflank the Greeks.  Fortunately for Alexander, Greek cavalry are able to neutralize the threat on the left by driving off most opposition.

Cavalry clash on the left

Greeks attacked from two fronts

Stuck in combat with the Persian cavalry, Alexander and his Companions are unable to either breakthrough or break away from their opponents.  Unable to respond, Alexander gets reports that the Persians have broken the right and are streaming into his rear.

Alexander locked in melee

After spending most of the battle engaged in mortal combat with the Persian horse, Alexander finally vanquishes his foe as the heavy infantry clash in the center.  With his right in disarray and his left holding steady, the outcome of the battle falls onto the tenacity of his heavy infantry in the center.

Heavy infantry clash

Heavy infantry in melee

Alexander's phalanxes do not begin the melee well.  Most pike blocks are disrupted and then one by one each fails and then breaks towards the rear.

Clash in the center 1

Clash in the center 2

Clash in the center 3

With the collapse of the Macedonian center, Alexander's army morale breaks, leaving Darius controlling the plain of Gaugamela.

28mm Punic War - Libyan Veteran Infantry

Staying with the recent ancients' theme (although bouncing between 6mm and 28mm), a 13 figure stand of Libyan Veteran Infantry marches off from the painting desk.  The rank and file are Renegade with an Aventine officer.  Like its sister unit painted earlier (Libyan heavy infantry), the Renegade Libyan heavy infantry are really nice sculpts.  Again, this unit is based a la Impetvs with a 120mm frontage.  Rather than the bronze on black shield scheme as the earlier veteran foot noted above, I went with a white metal on African yellow scheme.  With a Minwax stain, the shields look suitably distressed to me.

This is the last of the Renegade veteran infantry I have until Renegade decides to reopen for business.  Brigade Games may have a few in stock  somewhere but I'll have to wait until Lon finishes with Fall-In before I can get confirmation.  I would especially enjoy getting more cavalry of the Spanish, Carthaginian, and Numidian variety to fill out the ranks.  Switching back to 6mm, I have 96 Roman heavy infantry on the painting desk along with 15mm Samurai and 28mm Napoleonics.

Tomorrow includes a game at Terry's.  Gaugamela is on the docket using Fields of Glory.  Although I have not played FoG in a long time, wrestling with the game mechanisms always seem like work to me.  

CCA: Agrigentum 262 BC BatRep

With no recent gaming activity, I decided to take myself up on an offer for a solitaire game of Commands & Colors Ancients using my 6mm miniatures and hex mat.  For the scenario, I turned to CCAncients.net.  Looking for something during the Punic Wars, I settled on the Battle of Agrigentum, 262 BC.

Battle of Agrigentum
Courtesy CCAncients.net

Historically, the Carthaginians under Hanno were defeated.  According to statistics from CCAncients.net, each side has won about 50% of the time.  Looking at the OOB and deployments, the Romans dominate Carthage in heavier foot.  Although outnumbering the Romans in cavalry (including elephants) 5 to 2, I find elephants difficult to utilize properly.  Each side gets five command cards and first to seven banners wins.

Initial dispositions

Carthage begins by pushing light troops forward with the light cavalry on the Carthaginian right advancing to within striking distance of the Roman line.  Rome responds by advancing two medium infantry in the center.  Continuing to press with the light cavalry, attacks against the Roman medium cavalry on the Roman left are made.  Rolling two flags, the Roman medium cavalry is unable to fulfill the retreat and is destroyed.  One banner to Carthage.

Romans counterattack one of the light cavalry and drives it off causing two hits.  The Roman left advances towards the Carthaginian line.  Hanno unleashes the two warriors and they plunge into the light infantry.  One light infantry is destroyed due to a combination of casualties and blocked retreat.

One warrior band follows up and hits the Roman medium infantry standing in reserve.  Both take casualties and the warrior is driven off from the Roman line.

Roman left advances and attacks the warrior unit that is slightly over extended.  Both combatants take casualties but hold their ground.

Attacks continue on both flanks as combatants close into contact.  The warriors are driven back with heavy casualties.

Playing a Order Medium Troops card, the Roman player continues pressing ahead with his medium infantry while his medium cavalry on the right attacks.

The Romans are victorious on both flanks.  One warrior is destroyed on the Roman left while the Carthaginian medium cavalry is destroyed on the right.  In follow-up, the Roman cavalry causes two hits on the light infantry and forces it to retreat.  Banner count is Rome 2 Carthage 3.

The Carthaginian center remains solid as elephants approach the front line.

Casualties mount as elephants enter into battle.  Elephant on the right pushes back medium infantry while the elephant on the left rampages and overruns the already damaged warrior to its rear.  Banners are now Rome 3; Carthage 3.

Vitulus follows up against the rampaging elephant eliminating it while Carthaginian heavy infantry takes out one Roman medium infantry.  Banner count Rome 4:4.

Vitulus pursues deep into the Carthaganian rear while center activity heats up.  In these clashes, Rome loses its medium cavalry while destroying two Carthaginian infantry.  Banner count now 6:5.

Hanno continues advancing the remnants of his line while Vitulus runs amok in his rear.  As a final blow, Vitulus destroys the light infantry and the Carthaginian army breaks.

Another fun game of CCA that was closely contested until the end.  The mix of light and auxiliary foot was no match for the heavier Roman foot.  Once both lines were engaged in the center, the lighter Carthaginians were ground down.  Besides the elephants, it did help Hanno to have his sole heavy infantry deployed in his first line of battle.  One bonus of CCA is that each game can vary greatly due to the card selection.  That way, replay value remains high.  I'll give this scenario another try.

Italian Hoplites in 6mm

Continuing my recent painting wanderings throughout a number of my projects, I conducted a rummage through The Lead Pile.  My hand came to rest on a couple of packs of Baccus 6mm ancients.  No addition to the 6mm Punic Wars project has been made in nearly a year so the project was due for a few reinforcements.  Since memories of my last Commands & Colors Ancients (CCA) game have faded almost entirely, I ought to drag the game out onto the table for a quick refresher.  Perhaps these new recruits can participate?

Four stands of Italian hoplites of 24 figures each are ready for combat.  The hoplites are based in three ranks of eight files.  Under CCA, the hoplites will be treated as medium infantry.  Rather than having these four stands form one CCA element as in the block game, I use one stand per CCA element and track hits.  Thus, each stand can absorb four hits before elimination.

When I first pulled these 24 stands from the bag, I thought 96 figures all at once may be too big of a bite to chew.  I was pleasantly surprised that this mob of figures was completed in only a couple of painting sessions.  Seeing how relatively painless the hoplites were to complete, 96 Triarii are in the painting queue awaiting the chance to follow their brethren. 

Anatomy of a Project - SYW in 18mm

The SYW collection has been tucked away in boxes for far too long.  With the recent addition of a Swiss battalion to the mix, I figured it was time to pull the figures from their holding containers and hold a review.

This project began as a means to satisfy my curiosity to purchase and paint a few Austrian battalions from Eureka's 18mm range.  My original intention was not to produce a gameable collection.  In the past, I had painted and fielded two SYW armies in 15mm using Old Glory figures.  During a desire to field 15mm Russians Napoleonics quickly, I traded the collection away in exchange for Russians.  I know, I know; I should have kept the SYW figures since they were painted to a higher quality than those Russians I received.  Also, I wouldn't need to begin again from scratch.  That is another story, though.  

In an attempt to qualify the stages of this project and provide a bit of history, I pulled data from the Painting Log and constructed the following graphic.

In 2006, I purchased a few regiments of Austrians to field a small, "sample" contingent.  At that time, I had no plan to turn this into a full-fledged project.  In 2007, I continued fielding more Austrians.  At some point, the draw to paint Prussian opposition overcame my original goal and a few Prussians were purchased and painted.  In 2008 and 2009, my thinking likely switched from the notion of fielding a "simple collection" to "hey, why not build two forces to game with!"

2010 saw the Austrians add allied foot support and an escalation of the cavalry and artillery arms for both Austrian and Prussia.  Another high output year occurred in 2011 seeing many new infantry regiments mustering out from their billets.  Productivity dropped in 2012 and 2013 as other "more pressing" projects came to the fore.

Current strengths of the project are,

                      Austria          Prussia

Infantry           37 bn             28 bn

Cavalry           44 sqn            50 sqn 

Artillery          13 guns           13 guns

Now, on to some photos of the collection.

Overall

Austrians Overall

Prussians Overall

Prussian Infantry, artillery, command

Prussian cavalry

Prussian cavalry

Prussian cavalry

Prussian Infantry

Prussian Infantry

Prussian Infantry

Austrian cavalry

Austrian Infantry, artillery, command

Austrian Infantry and artillery

Austrian cavalry

Austrian cavalry

Austrian Infantry

Austrian Infantry

Austrian Infantry

Austrian Infantry

Allied Infantry