28mm Elite Miniatures Napoleonic Spanish Cavalry

Today I finished the Spanish cavalry unit for Black Powder … they turned out alright, a little too heavy on the dip, so they do have a very dirty appearance. The figures weren’t that bad to paint up and for the most part I liked painting the Elite Miniature cavalry figures.

The main problem with the figures came up when I was basing the unit. I realized quickly that the posing of the figure, in particular the sword arm being posed down, was a going to be a problem.

Generally three cavalry figures to a base is already a tight fit, the arm pose increased the “width” of the figure by about 15% which meant that I would not be able to fit them in a line but had to stagger them. Even then the figures do not really “fit” as those swords would be cutting up their neighbors’ horse! I am hopeful that no other cavalry figures have that issue.

I am done painting Spanish for a while, and so next up is a unit of Hungarian infantry for my Austrian army. These are Perry figures, so expect to paint them up quickly.

On the Road to Denain - July 1712

We had another game of Beneath the Lily Banner last Saturday. This was our first “big” game, in that there were six gamers and one moderator (me). Some people  had a good time, some didn’t … kind of what you expect for the first play through with multiple people at the table.

The forces arrayed for battle, Dutch far side, French near side.

(Dutch commanders from left to right, Bob, Pat & Mike)

Each side had fourteen battalions of infantry, four squadrons of cavalry and three batteries. In hind sight I should have cut out a battery and at least three battalions of infantry per side. The French commander was rolled as a gifted leader, and was commanded by Troy, with Wes and John acting as sub commanders. While the Dutch commander, played by Bob, was rolled as competent; Mike and Pat acted as sub-commanders.

English in Dutch service from Bob’s collections (top), with columns of French infantry from Troy’s collection (bottom).

The French battalions advanced all along the front (they almost always had 100% orders), while the Dutch commanders kept the right flank stationary and attacked with the troops on the left .

A few Spanish battalions showed up to help the Dutch out!

The Dutch are making some headway, but the woods anchoring the French right, made it difficult for the Dutch cavalry to turn the flank.

The French had closed the distance and firing commenced all along the center of both armies.

An overhead shot near the end of the game, you can see on the left that the French cavalry is in the process of smashing the English horse.

Overall the game went as well as can be expected considering that most of the players had never played BLB2. As is the norm, there were a couple of game questions that the rules could not answer. But I am still very keen on the rules and look forward to running another game next month.

Napoleonic Spanish Militia

I have finished my battalion of provincial militia my Spanish contingent (still deciding on a flag, but will most likely go with the standard red X cross). As you may have read these are in fact figures from the Perry Carlist wars range.

Just enough red showing to add a little color to the unit.

 

 
 You’ll notice a priest is accompany the battalion … which fits in well with the militia theme.

 
I had some figures left over, so made up a skirmishing unit of Spanish guerillas.

And finally what Spanish army would be complete without a tiny unit of armed Monks!

Next up is a unit of Spanish cavalry … after which I may take a break from the Spanish. I’ll either work more on my Austrian contingent or get sucked into the Wars of the Spanish Succession that is sweeping the store!

Beneath the Lily BannerGame Two

Bob and I had our second game of Beneath the Lily Banners this week. It was a slightly smaller game, in that we cut out a couple of infantry battalions as we wanted to focus on cavalry actions this game.

We each had four battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry and an field battery ... again the British were Platoon fire for infantry and Blade for cavalry. While the French were Rank firing and Bullet cavalry. All units were classed as Drilled as well. Both Commanders were rolled as Competent.

 



The Battle
The start of the battle saw about half of each side advancing ... under the cover of long range artillery fire. The second turn saw our first cavalry clash (our last as it turns out!).

 

The bonus for being blade tipped the balance to the British cavalry who won the first round 5 to 3. We each reinforced the battle with a second squadron. Even so, as both sides were disordered, we each only rolled a couple of dice. 

 

The British still won, 2 to 1. This brought up a few issues (aka problems!) as the casualties inflicted eliminated the French squadron. With much reading we moved on through it, which resulted in the British squadrons overrunning the other French Squadron.

 

Bob now set out to send his infantry forward, ... that was the plan, but he had several bad turns for orders, so only a couple battalions of infantry advanced.

The sluggish nature of the advanace allowed the French Artillery to pour fire onto a lead battalion, eventually reducing it to half strength and shakey morale. By then though we each had two battalions of infantry blazing away with musketry.

The British cavalry had reformed and charged into a fresh French battalion, who issued their opening volley onto the foolish cavalry ... one hit was inflicted.  I though that was the end of infantry, but in the combat they managed to draw with the horse 3-3. Now reduced the horse only rolled one die, while the infantry rolled two ... and won 2-1! With the British Horse eliminated we decided to call the game.

After Action Report
While we still had a good time with the game, we did run into several issues/problems. While I do still like the morale checks we have to make, they did not seem to impact the game much. We must have taken over twenty five checks for various reasons ... and only had one unit become Shaken! Basically you need a 4+ to pass and it is real easy (especially in a small game) to get positive modifiers. The thing with casualties' is that they don't kick in until the unit is really starting to get beat up, so I suspect most units will simple be destroyed before they ever Rout.

The other issue that came up was with multiple units in close combat. There is some vague wording about it. the first is what happens to the reinforcing unit if the primary unit is destroyed? It implies that it is treated as a Lost Combat, but is that for the round or the whole combat? ie does it just take a morale check as normal or does it rout. Also what happens to the reinforcing unit if the primary unit is wipe out AND lost a number of combat rounds to auto Rout? Also are casualties spread upon all units or just the primary unit?

We also found that Cavalry is very brittle ... basically they have one good charge in them.

I am really keen to try a game with a scenario and multiple people ... While I know it will bring up other issue we will have to work through, it will be more entertaining to have a reason to attack/defend then just to "test out" game mechanics. :)

Napoleonic Spanish Infantry

Finished my third battalion of Spanish infantry for Black Powder. Overall they came out as expected ... not great, but not bad.

I just realized I missed the buttons!

I need to touch up the flags, edge the sides black, as well as the bullet holes.

Grenadiers bearskin bag came out pretty well ... I like the light blue in it.

 

 

I am working on a fourth battalion, a militia battalion. Had some issue finding figures, until Mark suggested I look at the Perry Carlist figures ... only about 20 years off, but militia is militia!

My little workstation at the shop.

About 50% done ... might cut down on the red.

To left you'll notice some armed monks/priests,

I thought one or two would be a good fit with a Spanish militia unit :)



 

 

Austerlitz to Waterloo - 28mm Napoleonics

We played a Napoleonic rule set called Austerlitz to Waterloo last weekend. The rules are a home brewed set created by Wes R. Even though he has doubled the number pages of rules, from two to four, they are very easy to play and get into the game. They are geared toward 28mm, but really any scale of figures would work.

 

 

 

The scenario involved an Austrian force assaulting the French who were holding a line of villages behind a wooded stream. The Austrians needed to take three of the five objectives (bridge, two fords, & two towns) or just break French units to win.

 

Mark S. commanded two brigades of cavalry supported by infantry and a battery of light guns. He had the task of capturing the French right village and ford. James M. had the bulk of the Austrian infantry supported by two batteries, one light and one medium. The main attack would come from his troops and was focused on the right center of the French line.

 

Wes R. commanded several battalions of infantry supported by a battery and cavalry regiment. He was to hold the center and left flank of the French line. I commanded three battalions of infantry (one an elite Light battalion), three cavalry regiments (Hussars, Dragoons & Cuirassiers) as well as a medium battery. I was to hold the right flank, made easier by a large wooded area.

 

The Austrian attack against the right center took a bit of time to get going as they were slow to shake out of their march columns. It did not help that long range French artillery fire played havoc on the Austrians. It was at first looking like the Austrians were really going to have tuff day crossing the stream.

 

Mark’s command of cavalry quickly advanced up and over the hill, and I realized I needed to buy as much time as I could so sent in my cavalry piecemeal against his massed cavalry. Over the next few turns the cavalry from both sides clashed in the open area before the small village that held the French Light Battalion. Eventually the Austrian numbers won out, and all three regiments of French cavalry were broken. I was however, able to set up my foot battery in a good firing position and promptly blasted the worn out Austrian Cuirassiers from the battlefield!

 

In addition, I had during this time also moved a battalion of infantry through some woods and they engaged the Grenz battalion at the other end. After a turn of dismal firing by both sides, I charged home and drove the grenzers from the woods with the bayonet. This effectively ended the Austrian attack on our right flank, and I felt secure in my position to send off a battalion of infantry to help out in the center.

 

It seems that the Austrians finally sorted themselves out … under the cover of two artillery batteries! They then proceeded to advance with a couple of the large infantry battalions and pushed out all three defending French battalions. On their right, the artillery had swept away most resistance, and to secure the ford, another battalion of Austrian infantry crossed the creek and cleared away the remaining French forces. With the center and left broken, the remaining French forces retreated from the battlefield.

 

Overall the AtoW rules were fun to play and easy to master. After the game, we had a rehash session of the game. The result of which has Wes thinking of toning down the artillery fire, especially long range. In addition he might tweak the cavalry melee, as they were very destructive in a short time frame (four of the seven regiments were destroyed in one round of combat).

Beneath the Lily BannerWar of the Spanish Succession

Bob M. and I put out his 28mm War of the Spanish Succession figures onto the gaming table and had our first game of 2^nd Edition Beneath the Lily Banners last Friday. I was keen on playing an “old school” system, after years of playing Black Powder. Bob would play the attacking Allied force, while I commanded the French. 

Below is the order of battle we used, all troops were drilled unless otherwise marked. The Allied foot was rated as Platoon Firing, while the French foot were rated as Rank & File Firing. Allied Horse was classed as Blade and French were classed as Bullet. We rolled for our Commanders ability, and Lt General Ross of the allied army was Skillful (up 1 level), while Lt General De Vivans was Competent (no modifier).

 

British: Lieutenant General Ross   Brigade Brigadier General Sabine 4x Foot 1x Elite Foot 1x Light Gun   Brigade Brigadier General Borck 2x Foot (Dutch)   Regiment 2x Horse

French: Lieutenant General de Vivans   Brigade Brigadier General Mirabeau 5x Foot 1x Elite Foot   In Redan (under Defend orders) 1x Foot (Raw) 1x Field Gun   Brigade (reserve) Brigadier General Nangis 4x Horse

Bob’s objective was to drive the French off the table, while having to pass under the guns of a French field battery on their left flank. I had to hold on until the French Cavalry reserve arrived.

 

 

 

Turns 1 and 2

Bob was able to roll pretty well for orders and most of his force advanced. The French guns did manage to cause a couple of causality on the lead Dutch battalion.

 

Turn 3

Bob was able to advance 75% of his troops, while I only had 50% of my troops active this turn. I decided to move up some battalions on my right flank, while most of the British, less the cavalry and elite battalion advanced toward us.
 

This movement brought us into extreme musketry range … and of course we both decided to let lose our initial volleys’ from several of our battalions J, we both managed to inflict several hits. The field battery scored several more hits on the Dutch battalion and these were beginning to mount up for the battalion.

 

Turn 4

Alas Lt General De Vivans did not cope well with the close proximity of the enemy, so he focused on his center battalions and had them move to close range musketry. The French commander was also getting a little nervous as his cavalry still had not arrived; fortunately the allied Regiment of Horse remained in the rear.

 

More fire was piled onto the Dutch battalion and it finally routed from the continuous artillery fire. Light casualties sprung up along both lines of infantry, as most frontline battalions were now in effective or close range.

Turn 5

The French cavalry arrived … and promptly held steady. The lead English battalion was Shaken last turn by French musketry fire. Noting this, Brigadier General Mirabeau rode over to his center battalion and personally led them in a charge to drive off the English battalion. Firing continued to ply back and forth along the battle line as Brigadier General Sabine attached himself to his battalion which was under some difficulty. As the French Battalion steadily marched toward them, he calmly issued an order to hold their volley till the last moment…

 

Close Combat

Round one saw both sides fight well in the initial clash, with the French just getting the better of the English, 3 to 2. Each side now reinforced the combat by adding in a fresh battalion, but the shaken status of the English started to tell as they lost the round 4 to 2. The English were on the verge of routing when Brigadier Sabine was felled from his horse … but miraculously he stood back up and dusted himself off without a scratch. His troops rallied around him and fought on! Round three saw a draw (2 to 2). The French so sure of victory beforehand, were now a little nervous and tired from the ongoing combat as the casualties mounted. Round four saw again another draw (2 to 2) and alas the French had enough and retreated from the combat, their “easy victory” left behind them!

 

 

We stopped at this point as we had accomplished most of what we set out to game that day. The only thing we did not get to was a cavalry charge/combat.

 

Overall I had a good time and will play BLB again. There were a few issues that needed to be resolved, but only the hits/stands issue is important to game play. It took some time to adjust to the slow pace of the game, infantry only moves 4” a turn! And you need to be much more careful and precise when placing and moving units than a game of Black Powder.

 

I think our next game will be a multi-player per side scenario, but don’t foresee adding more troops as 6ish units per player is plenty.

Papelotte Farm

I just finished the Papelotte farmhouse for our upcoming Waterloo game. I did a few things differently than the La Haye Saint building and for the most part like the outcome of the farm. Still things need to be improved, especially the execution of the build.

 

As most units are a battalion, I like to scale down the size of the building to comfortable fit one 6 stand unit.

 

Next up is the road that runs by La Haye Saint, including the sandpit. I think I'll make them the same as the road that runs across the ridge. If I have time, I'll work on the fields for the whole battle.

Uncle Duke in the Shop

I was fortunate to meet Duke Seifried today. As some of you may know, Duke used to put on extravagant display games at Historicon. I had met him in the early 2000's, well really just saw him at Historicon, when he put on the Babylon I game in 2005 (see below). So it was really great to actually meet and discuss the hobby with him today.

I was contacted by a local film and video production company (Hostile Work Environment) that is working on a short documentary/bio of a miniatures sculptor and painter from the ‘60s and ‘70s who is no other than Duke Seifried. They needed a historical miniature game store for backdrop and asked if they could film at The Panzer Depot. I of course agreed and so was able to spend a few hours talking “shop” with him. I was surprised by how many aspects of the hobby he has been involved with and look forward to seeing the finished video next year to get the full story.

Duke is going to be in an online movie/series set in the world of Chaldea, as the “Toy Maker”. The world was created by Peter Adkins (the founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast), who was also was at the shop. I don’t have many details on it but it should be released at next year’s GenCon.



What they were shooting today was additional content for the website, in this case bio information on Duke. It is even possible that a few seconds of myself might make it into the video … I might literally have 15 seconds of fame after the editors are done with the several hours for shooting! I’ll let you all know when I get more information on the project.

 

To help out with his medical cost (he is a cancer survivor) he is selling off those Historicon displays.