Friday Night at the Fights

Philippoteaux' Combat de Montebello

Yes, once more into the breach of the Battle of Montebello.  Having faced off against Jake in two earlier battles for Montebello, one more replay is in the offing.  In the third of our running battle series fighting over the ground in the foothills of the Apennines, sides will be switched and I take the role of commanding the French and Sardinian forces under Forey.

View towards Voghera with Genestrello
and Montebello in the far distance

In the second of our FtF games (see Battle of Montebello), Jake's French penetrated the Coppa River line using lightning strikes from his Sardinan cavalry with support from the French Chasseurs d'Afrique.  Will I, as the French commander, experience the joy of running amok in the Austrian backfield?  Will Jake's Austrians muster more resistance than I managed when commanding The White Menace?

Initial deployments

With Jake visiting Spokane and a free Friday evening, what better test than to reset the troops onto the table and give Montebello 1859 one more trial.  The prior two FtF games against Jake have been tough fights and the scenario's continuing interest has not dulled.

Besides the camaraderie of a one-on-one game night, a bite of dinner, and conversation, the rules have been enhanced with the recent frequent outings.  Processes thought sound when developing a system in isolation can be refined quickly when tested against an active opponent.  While it is said no plan survives contact with the enemy, I find a corollary might be that rules' development thrives on contact with the enemy.  Of course, that enemy ought to be a live opponent willing to stretch the confines of the rules.

Combat de Montebello

Given the two previous FtF encounters, the QRS for Friday's game will see slight modification.  Visualization of the Response Test results has been molded into a matrix making results much easier to see at a glance.  Emergency Response actions have seen modification to include Opportunity Fire range determination on a probabilistic basis, and an upgrading of artillery from Very Small to Small BMU.

Likely the biggest change to undergo testing Friday night is the introduction of the notion of an Enemy Zone of Control (EZOC).  To allow mid-19th Century cavalry the ability to perform a more "sticky" screening task, EZOCs will be enforced.  I thought cavalry screening worked well before to slow, hinder, and harass an advancing enemy.  We will see if this change makes a difference.  The EZOC rule itself is simple and should cause little increased overhead to game play.  Finally, Reinforced Line (Attack Column) has been given a little more punch and resiliency in Close Combat.  Perhaps this modest upgrade will encourage attacks or defense in depth?  We will see.  That is about it for the changes.  Really, all of these amendments are minor tweaks to the game engine.  The QRS still fits on one double-sided 5" x 7" card.

This might be the last replay of Montebello 1859.  With an OB for Montebello 1800 in place, it may soon be time to switch attention from the western half of the game table to the eastern half.  The eastern half of the game table (battlefield) will likely see the brunt of activity when we turn back the hands of time and tackle the 1800 Battle of Montebello.  First, I must plot a strategy for tonight's game.

BTD German Gebirgsjager - Section 3

A third section of Black Tree Designs' German Gebirgsjager marches off from the painting desk.  With these thirteen mountain troops, a full three section platoon can be fielded for Chain of Command.  Remaining in The Lead Pile are two more officers and one more LMG team for the German Mountain infantry.  I may add these four remaining figures into the painting queue with expectations of pressing them into service as platoon HQ. 

As with the two sections before, the BTD figures are really an easy painting diversion without a lot of complications from uniform or equipment accouterments.  Great figures with much character.  Oh, and good value when snatched up when on sale!

Added into the painting queue along with the German platoon HQ are two British mortar teams.  Having completed two German platoons and at least one British platoon, thoughts ought to turn towards getting these lads into a game.

Celt Slingers from BTD

A variety of projects continues marching its way across the painting desk.  Today's offering is no exception.

Returning to the 28mm Ancients project are two skirmisher stands of Celtic or Gallic slingers.  Figures are based for Impetvs and manufactured by Black Tree Design.

Having recently fielded a warband stand of Celts (see Warband), I figured a little light infantry support was needed for the slowly growing Celtic/Gallic contingent. 

While the 28mm Ancients project only saw one unit mobilized in 2016 (see War Elephant), already three units have mustered out in 2017.  A second war elephant is working its way into the painting queue with the Libyan runners likely being the first out of the blocks.

In other news, the ACW Pickett's Charge game scheduled for Saturday was postponed due to a number of factors not least of which was the appearance of the hometown University's men's basketball team in the mid-afternoon NCAA National Championship semi-final game.  Woot!

I am delighted to report that the Gonzaga Bulldogs pulled out a nail-biting victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks to move on to the National Championship game on Monday night.  Quite a feat for a small Jesuit school in Eastern Washington State.

Go Zags!

Foundry Black Bande Arquebusier Skirmishers

After having pushed out 46 Artizan Landsknecht to represent the Black Bande (see Landsknecht Black Bande), a four-figure stand of arquebusier moved across the painting desk to finish off the pike block.

Unlike the Artizan Landsknechts that these four hand gunners will join, these figures are from Wargames Foundry's excellent and venerable Renaissance range.  Truly first rate sculpting and the models have held up very well over the years.   

In addition to these arquesbusiers, a nine-figure stand of Landsknecht hand gunners is seeing action at the painting desk.  These nine-figure, when finished, will be fielded as an Impetvs 'T' stand of missile troops carrying the Black Bande motif of red/black.  

Remaining in The Lead Pile are enough pikemen to field at least one more Foundry Landsknecht pike block, nine TAG Italian crossbowmen, three stradiots, a couple of guns, and a couple unopened bags of Old Glory arquebusier and crossbowmen.  A number of odds and ends remain but the available inventory has been worked through.  The cavalry remaining, besides the outstanding Perry Stradiots, are Foundry late medieval Men-at-Arms.  Since these are much smaller than either Foundry's Gendarmes or Perry, I may pass on painting these.  Several units of the Foundry late medievals have already been fielded but the size differences are noticeable. 

BTD German Gebirgsjager in 28mm

A second section of German Mountain troops marches off the painting desk.  These nicely sculpted 28mm figures are from Black Tree Design and follow closely on the heels of the first section painted back in late February (see BTD Gebirgsjager).

Now, I am two-thirds of the way through fielding a platoon of mountain troops for Chain of Command (CoC).  Once the platoon is finished, time to consider preparing for a CoC game with these figures thrown into the mix.  In which theater of operations will these lads see service first?  The last playing of CoC was quite distant and I have likely forgotten every rule.

Painting desk is still in a state of chaos as more than a half-dozen units are readying themselves for exit.  That is "chaos" in the best sense of the word since recent painting activity has figures figuratively flying across the painting desk from bare lead to painted.

Getting a WWII skirmish game back on the table would be enjoyable but my gaming table is presently fully occupied with Montebello 1859 awaiting a fourth trial.  On Saturday, an ACW game in 28mm is on the gaming schedule as Scott rolls out his beautiful ACW collection and we give Pickett's Charge a test in Kevin's lair.

Assyrian Chariot Pass-in-Review

With the Assyrian chariot refurbishing sub-project having been completed for a few weeks, high time for a Pass-in-Review.  Having pushed the planned nine chariot review onto a back-burner, Peter's Canaanite chariot review (see Gonsalvo's Chariot Review) prompted action on my part.

The nine, four horse chariots are all from Wargames Foundry's excellent 25mm range.  Each chariot is a massive playing piece with much heft.  Collectively, they represent a colorful and impressive force to field onto the gaming table.  When these are all deployed upon the battlefield, they will present a fearsome force to face.  

With a chariot core of nine vehicles, the new 25mm Biblical project is off to a very good start.  Having laid a solid foundation for an Assyrian Army, attention must now turn towards calling up a number of supporting units.  While many other projects are seeing their turn at the painting desk, at some point Assyrian foot and horse units must begin to find their way into the painting queue pipeline.  A large lot of Assyrian lead has found its way into The Lead Pile awaiting attention.  Until that time, I have these fine fellows to admire. 

Spring in Spokane

Spokane Falls

Spring has arrived in Spokane!

Foot bridge to Canada Island closed due to high water

After a seemingly long, snow-packed winter, temperatures increased last week and the last of the snow has melted away.  With the rapid increase in temperatures, the regional waterways are engorged with water.  The Spokane River bifurcating Spokane is no exception.  With the downtown and Riverfront Park situated astride the river and surrounding the falls, to observe the power of Mother Nature pushing its way over the falls is an awesome sight.

With the river at flood stage, high volumes of water present a spectacle at the falls.  This fleeting spectacle will not last long.  Taking the opportunity to catch the high water in action, Nancy and I walked around Riverfront Park to see the natural commotion for ourselves.  We were not disappointed.

Springtime also coincided with the first outdoor cycling of the year.  While it was along my typical post-work cycling route of about 24 miles, it felt very pleasant to have the sun on my face despite the 45 F air temperature.  I am happy to report that body and bike fared well on this first outdoor cycling outing of the year.  I could discuss the uncountable number of pothole features left in the roadways after the winter glaciers retreated but that is best left unsaid.

The Route

The Stats

With partial sun this morning and temperatures expected to hit the mid 40s F, perhaps I can make it outdoors on the bike this afternoon?  Still a bit cold for my tastes but with sun, tolerable.