On Saturday Tom Zwirn handed me a box of 15mm Napoleonic figures that he painted for me, included were 100 Austrian Landwehr, Charles Legion (Prague Students and Mahrisch's Battalion) and Viennese Volunteers and 50 French Young Guard and 16 Sailors of the Guard.
Always nice to get more painted figures in the collection, wish there was more interest in the period.
Showing posts with label Napoleon's Battles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Napoleon's Battles. Show all posts
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Painting Plan - Napoleonics
Well I really need Plans (and Painting Plans) for a number of periods I have made my semi-official not going to change my mind plans for at least another week plans for the Napoleonic period. Historically I have changed plans every time the winds blow. Which has caused me to get like ten tonnes of lead and not whole crap load of that lead is unpainted.
That doesn't mean I don't have a a lot of figures painted, I just don't know what to do with everything anymore, since so many projects died. (I can say the same for a number of periods, but this is the one I have the most lead for.)
Wars of the Second Coalition (1798-1800)
General de Brigade (1:20) in 15mm
Mounting figures for Napoleon's Battle for Infantry and Artillery and 1/2 stands (2x1) for Cavalry.
Alexander Suvorov's Italian and Swiss Expeditions
Please note I am still looking for a partner in crime for this project. Jim is interested but time and figures are limited.
Crisis on the Danube (1809)
Napoleon's Battles (1:120) in 15mm
Mounting figures for Napoleon's Battles with 1/2 Stands for Cavalry
I am painting up the Austrian Army and the French Allied (starting with Bavarians and Saxons followed by the less units of the French Allied.) Will be using my 1815 French Infantry for the French.
I find this probably the most interesting campaign as the Austrians suffered from poor leadership is certian places but good quality troops capable of going toe-t0-toe with the French. For a wargamer a lot of possibilities.
Wars of the Sixth Coalition (1813-1814)
Napoleon's Battles (1:120) in 25mm
This is sort of a lie, units actually will be organized at 1:30 but the math of 1:30 and 1:120 allows us to play either scale. My Goal however is to have this the dominate game (NB) in 25mm for a number of reasons. (Size of the table needed, space requirements, figure requirements...)
The killer in this plan will be the 240 figures of cossacks needed to do something along the size of Leipzig.
I have Austrian and French (plus some minor French Allies), Fitz has British, Russian and French, Joel Gregory has Austrian, Prussian, and French. There are some others with British, a few Russians and some French.
It would be Assume to do Leipzig in 25mm for Napoleon's Battles on October 16-19 in 2013, the 200th Anniversary. But that will take a lot of work and coordination. It is definetaly doable, the more I think about it the more doable I think it is.
100 Days Campaign (1815)
Horse Musket and Gun (1:30) in 15mm
For this I am planning to have the entirety of the campaign painted by 1815. I have Two French Infantry Corps, the Guard Corps, 1 1/2 of the Heavy Cavalry Corps completed. I have the Hanoverian Army Complete and one Division of British Infantry and the Heavy Cavalry Completed. In addition I have all the odd ball units completed. For the Prussians I have most of the Artillery Completed and a good start on all the landwehr. An odd assortment I know, but it happened to be organized around the figures I owned and what we needed for other games.
I am not sure WHY I got dragged into this campaign in the first place, oh yeah I remember a failed Campaign, not really a very interesting campaign but I now own the figures and I am committed.
Other Armies
That leaves two Armies/Figures that I really need to figure out what to do with.
Russian Army 1807-1813. I have a large number of figures both before and after the uniform change.
Austrian Army 1813. A fairly complete force.
I plan on looking at the Austrians for the Invasion of France 1815 in Horse Musket and Gun and what the reorganization would take. The Russians I am leaning towards completing painting and selling them off. I have a goodly number of figures in a variety of paint jobs. But they just aren't going to be any sort of focus for me.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Storm over Bavaria
On Saturday May 8th, at the Levee Café in Hastings, MN five members of the Centurions gaming group meet to refight the Battles in Bavaria during the “Storm over Bavaria” April 19-23, 1809. I would like to thank Fitz, Joe, Chris and Noel for an incredibly enjoyable game.
Austrian III Corps, IV Corps, V Corps, IR Corps and IIR Reserve Corps, slightly more the 1000 figures representing approximate 90,000 Men squared off against Oudinot’s II Corps (partially commanded by Lannes), French III Corps, Two independent Divisions, the Bavarian Army (VII Corps) and the Württemberg Army (VIII Corps), slightly less than 1000 figures representing 90,000 Men. The Austrians had great number of Infantry, but fewer Cavalry, and was on equal footing for Artillery.
For those keeping track at home, the Austrian Organization made one tiny-tiny mistake, we doubled up V Corps. So the Austrians had III, V, V, IR and IIR as an organization Louis (4) activation was going to sort of haunt the Austrians throughout the game. However for clarity purposes I will be call command of Austrian command of Joe IV Corps, which it was supposed to be.
The battle was played on three tables. The two outer tables were 18’ x 30” wide and the central table was 18’ x 6’ giving a total playing space of dang near 200 square feet. The outer tables which were separated physically from the inner table by 3’ were considered directly connected for game purposes.
The game started on the morning of April 19th with Austrian III Corps moving into position near Hausen. Davout’s III Corps was in position, a defensive position, near Teugen. For game purposes each of the Corps rolled a D10 to determine when they marched on. A Score of equal or below the turn number allowed you to march on. While Oudinot’s II Corp marched on on turn one, most of the rest of the forces were closer to turn 8.
April 19th was a boring day as Troops marched into position across the board. It was interesting given free will (and for the most part not a lot of knowledge on the specific campaign) how the players tended to follow the historic precedent. Had we actually had a bigger tabletop (something at some point I would love to try) I think we would have ended up with actual historic battles, not approximations.
We did movement during the night, turns represented 2 hours, all command radius were cut in half and activation numbers reduced by 1 and units could move no closer than 12”.
The Austrian players discovered a small whole in their plan. It took so long to move Austrian III Corps into place, two turns at night, that moving V Corps from their planned river crossing was out of the question mathematically. The problem with the low activation numbers and the decision to focus on the Austrian Center was tactically sound but a strategic mistake. In retrospect as the Austrian player the biggest single error I made.
April 20th, using the weather rules opened with down pouring rain. V Corps attempted to take the river crossing south and west of Hausen. We knew at 9PM turn that it was a bad idea, and yes it was. The Cavalry attempted to open a hole in the French Line was repulsed and what little bridgehead we had was gone. The decision was made to leave a brigade plus the shattered Advance Guard Division to hold the far side of the bridgehead and move the rest of the V Corps east to another bridge head.
The Austrian II Reserve Corps sat waiting for the time to move against the French Reserve Division holding the second bridge head. They waited most of the day trading fire but never able to disorder the French Legere brigade that held the bridge. Late in the day the First Grenadier Battalion went forward in an ALL-OUT attack and was defeated, the second Grenadier Battalion took the bridge later in the same turn.
On the other wing the Austrian IV Corps battled with the Bavarian Army. An early charge of the Bavarian Light Cavalry Brigade seemed to open a hole in the Austrian Line, but in their exuberance the Bavarian Light Cavalry ended up a mile away from the battle (failed control roll with no target to their front).
Later the Austrian Light Cavalry Charged the center of the Bavarian Army, breaking two brigades and opening a good sized whole before swinging around and taking two Bavarian 12# batteries from the rear. By the end of the Day the Bavarians were strung out and the Austrian IV Corps was attempting to reorient itself to attack the flank of Davout’s III Corps.
In the Center Oudinot’s stripped down II Corps and Davout’s III Corps made a slow plodding move against the Austrians. In a well coordinated attack the Cavalry from Oudinot’s II Corps charged home, forcing the Austrians to square before bouncing home. The French Attack in the next turn caught three Austrian Brigades in Square. Across the line the French Attack was successful, four Austrian Brigades Routed as well as their light Cavalry Brigade in the center. The Center Collapsed.
Charles attempted reorganize the line but it was too late. The Austrians were forced to retreat, the initiative Charles had in the campaign gone.
We called the game a minor French Victory, while they were able to defeat the Austrian Forces, the Austrians retreated in good order with realitivily minor losses (two to three thousand) most of which would be reconstituted in the coming days.
http://s433.photobucket.com/albums/qq56/the_goldy_gopher/2010%20May%2008//
Austrian III Corps, IV Corps, V Corps, IR Corps and IIR Reserve Corps, slightly more the 1000 figures representing approximate 90,000 Men squared off against Oudinot’s II Corps (partially commanded by Lannes), French III Corps, Two independent Divisions, the Bavarian Army (VII Corps) and the Württemberg Army (VIII Corps), slightly less than 1000 figures representing 90,000 Men. The Austrians had great number of Infantry, but fewer Cavalry, and was on equal footing for Artillery.
For those keeping track at home, the Austrian Organization made one tiny-tiny mistake, we doubled up V Corps. So the Austrians had III, V, V, IR and IIR as an organization Louis (4) activation was going to sort of haunt the Austrians throughout the game. However for clarity purposes I will be call command of Austrian command of Joe IV Corps, which it was supposed to be.
The battle was played on three tables. The two outer tables were 18’ x 30” wide and the central table was 18’ x 6’ giving a total playing space of dang near 200 square feet. The outer tables which were separated physically from the inner table by 3’ were considered directly connected for game purposes.
The game started on the morning of April 19th with Austrian III Corps moving into position near Hausen. Davout’s III Corps was in position, a defensive position, near Teugen. For game purposes each of the Corps rolled a D10 to determine when they marched on. A Score of equal or below the turn number allowed you to march on. While Oudinot’s II Corp marched on on turn one, most of the rest of the forces were closer to turn 8.
April 19th was a boring day as Troops marched into position across the board. It was interesting given free will (and for the most part not a lot of knowledge on the specific campaign) how the players tended to follow the historic precedent. Had we actually had a bigger tabletop (something at some point I would love to try) I think we would have ended up with actual historic battles, not approximations.
We did movement during the night, turns represented 2 hours, all command radius were cut in half and activation numbers reduced by 1 and units could move no closer than 12”.
The Austrian players discovered a small whole in their plan. It took so long to move Austrian III Corps into place, two turns at night, that moving V Corps from their planned river crossing was out of the question mathematically. The problem with the low activation numbers and the decision to focus on the Austrian Center was tactically sound but a strategic mistake. In retrospect as the Austrian player the biggest single error I made.
April 20th, using the weather rules opened with down pouring rain. V Corps attempted to take the river crossing south and west of Hausen. We knew at 9PM turn that it was a bad idea, and yes it was. The Cavalry attempted to open a hole in the French Line was repulsed and what little bridgehead we had was gone. The decision was made to leave a brigade plus the shattered Advance Guard Division to hold the far side of the bridgehead and move the rest of the V Corps east to another bridge head.
The Austrian II Reserve Corps sat waiting for the time to move against the French Reserve Division holding the second bridge head. They waited most of the day trading fire but never able to disorder the French Legere brigade that held the bridge. Late in the day the First Grenadier Battalion went forward in an ALL-OUT attack and was defeated, the second Grenadier Battalion took the bridge later in the same turn.
On the other wing the Austrian IV Corps battled with the Bavarian Army. An early charge of the Bavarian Light Cavalry Brigade seemed to open a hole in the Austrian Line, but in their exuberance the Bavarian Light Cavalry ended up a mile away from the battle (failed control roll with no target to their front).
Later the Austrian Light Cavalry Charged the center of the Bavarian Army, breaking two brigades and opening a good sized whole before swinging around and taking two Bavarian 12# batteries from the rear. By the end of the Day the Bavarians were strung out and the Austrian IV Corps was attempting to reorient itself to attack the flank of Davout’s III Corps.
In the Center Oudinot’s stripped down II Corps and Davout’s III Corps made a slow plodding move against the Austrians. In a well coordinated attack the Cavalry from Oudinot’s II Corps charged home, forcing the Austrians to square before bouncing home. The French Attack in the next turn caught three Austrian Brigades in Square. Across the line the French Attack was successful, four Austrian Brigades Routed as well as their light Cavalry Brigade in the center. The Center Collapsed.
Charles attempted reorganize the line but it was too late. The Austrians were forced to retreat, the initiative Charles had in the campaign gone.
We called the game a minor French Victory, while they were able to defeat the Austrian Forces, the Austrians retreated in good order with realitivily minor losses (two to three thousand) most of which would be reconstituted in the coming days.
http://s433.photobucket.com/albums/qq56/the_goldy_gopher/2010%20May%2008//
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Napoleon's Battles in December
It’s the day after Christmas; you know you are going to be bored of your relatives and looking for a lot of GAMING EXCITEMENT.
Well look no further….
Saturday December 26th,
10 AM until we can’t take it no more.
The Source Comics and Games
Napoleon’s Battles in 15mm
Wagram (Light!)
Well look no further….
Saturday December 26th,
10 AM until we can’t take it no more.
The Source Comics and Games
Napoleon’s Battles in 15mm
Wagram (Light!)
In a desperate attempt to avenge his first defeat Napoleon has called up every military asset he could muster and is now ready to throw everything, including the KITCHEN SINK, a few BATHTUBS and if he had them a couple of Hot Water-Heaters at the defending dogs. Those mangy mutts won't know what hit them.
The Archduke Charles knowing that Napoleon and the entirety of the Military Might of France is crossing the river is counting on the Imperial Army, two dozen drunken collegee students on summer break from University of Vienna who think they are going to Key West, a couple of pickle farmers from down the street, and 12 boys from Siiberwald to hold them smelly froggies off. We'll see who lets the dogs out! Where oh Where has that little Archduke John gone?
I must be honest, it won't be completely Wagram, as we would need nearly 250 square feet of table space and we only have 100 square feet, but gosh darn it we will make do. Besides I have a freshily painted Bavarian Corp that needs to see the tabletop for the FIRST TIME, not to mention like 30 Regiments of Austrians that have never been on the tabletop.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Weekend Painting Projects
I spent the weekend at my in-laws which meant I had some quality time with figures and paint. My in-laws leave an hour from no-where and other than visiting family and friends there isn’t anything else to do, so to keep out of trouble yelling “Packers Suck” in the local bars I paint figures.
This weekend I worked on 25mm Napoleonic Figures, specifically Austrian Figures.
I finished up the Austrian 33rd Infantry Regiment, or Infantry Regiment Graf von Colloredo-Mannsfeld if you prefer, a Hungarian Infantry Regiment in Dark Blue cuffs. I don’t remember why I choose this regiment years ago to paint I am guessing because it routinely was attached to the Reserve Corps over the years. However I finished up the last few figures I own and will probably pick up a few more to truly complete both Battalions at 1:30.
The Figures turned out pretty well, other than the Dark Blue Cuffs look black from more than 6-inches away. I have historically chosen a lighter blue for situations like this but I just went with the more correct color this time.
The other figures to get paint were Austrian Artillery, I completed three batteries or six stands. This includes two stands of 12-pound Artillery, three stands of 6-pound artillery and one stand of a small howitzer.
I am not sure why the Artillery took so long to paint, I only had 18 figures but it took a lot of time on Saturday and I am not the most happy person in how they turned out. For such a well sculpted figures (Foundry) they detail was all lost in the painting. I blame the painter, what that’s me.
I really should focus on the Austrian Cavalry since that is what we are indeed short, but I have such a hard time getting excited about painting something so pointless on the tabletop as 25mm Cavalry. At 1:30 we just don’t have enough space to put out too much more cavalry than we already have and since people don’t want to play Napoleon’s Battles I can’t get excited about painting the Heavy Cavalry.
I have about 45 Austrian Dragoon’s half painted, I suppose about six to eight hours worth of work left to complete those figures with a game coming in April maybe that enough incentive.
This weekend I worked on 25mm Napoleonic Figures, specifically Austrian Figures.
I finished up the Austrian 33rd Infantry Regiment, or Infantry Regiment Graf von Colloredo-Mannsfeld if you prefer, a Hungarian Infantry Regiment in Dark Blue cuffs. I don’t remember why I choose this regiment years ago to paint I am guessing because it routinely was attached to the Reserve Corps over the years. However I finished up the last few figures I own and will probably pick up a few more to truly complete both Battalions at 1:30.
The Figures turned out pretty well, other than the Dark Blue Cuffs look black from more than 6-inches away. I have historically chosen a lighter blue for situations like this but I just went with the more correct color this time.
The other figures to get paint were Austrian Artillery, I completed three batteries or six stands. This includes two stands of 12-pound Artillery, three stands of 6-pound artillery and one stand of a small howitzer.
I am not sure why the Artillery took so long to paint, I only had 18 figures but it took a lot of time on Saturday and I am not the most happy person in how they turned out. For such a well sculpted figures (Foundry) they detail was all lost in the painting. I blame the painter, what that’s me.
I really should focus on the Austrian Cavalry since that is what we are indeed short, but I have such a hard time getting excited about painting something so pointless on the tabletop as 25mm Cavalry. At 1:30 we just don’t have enough space to put out too much more cavalry than we already have and since people don’t want to play Napoleon’s Battles I can’t get excited about painting the Heavy Cavalry.
I have about 45 Austrian Dragoon’s half painted, I suppose about six to eight hours worth of work left to complete those figures with a game coming in April maybe that enough incentive.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Why do we "DO" Napoleon's Battles at the Levee Cafe Games
It is one of the few periods that we have enough figures for that I can easily organize and we have enough interest in players to actually play a big game.
There are two or three other options on that we could do today, Fitz and I also own enough figures to run a “massive” Clan War game and a largish American War of Independence game, but I doubt Fantasy Japanese Mythos would attract a large enough crowd to be worthwhile, and interest in the AWI period is lagging locally and without other players figures (Tom Zwirn most notably) we are stuck at maybe a 12 player game.
Besides those games if we aren’t there yet with the number of figures needed to run Koenig Krieg we are darn close, but again there is a huge dependence on Tom Zwirn to provide most of the Prussian Side.
We also are probably close or getting close to number of figures needed for American Civil War
but everyone appears to be painting Confederates. Um Guys we need UNION forces. We have several thousand Confederate stands already painted, but Union maybe a couple hundred at most.
There was some discussion on a Field of Glory themed campaign or tournament set int eh Punic Wars. While no one has a completed army at the moment several of us are within spitting distance (dozen stands here, fitz needs one or tow stands). But I am left "cold" by the concept of a tournament no really my cup of tea.
Another option would be 15mm Spearhead, but again I doubt we could get enough interest to make such a game worthwhile. However I will be able to do the entire Bridge to Far Scenario in the very near future.
There are two or three other options on that we could do today, Fitz and I also own enough figures to run a “massive” Clan War game and a largish American War of Independence game, but I doubt Fantasy Japanese Mythos would attract a large enough crowd to be worthwhile, and interest in the AWI period is lagging locally and without other players figures (Tom Zwirn most notably) we are stuck at maybe a 12 player game.
Besides those games if we aren’t there yet with the number of figures needed to run Koenig Krieg we are darn close, but again there is a huge dependence on Tom Zwirn to provide most of the Prussian Side.
We also are probably close or getting close to number of figures needed for American Civil War
but everyone appears to be painting Confederates. Um Guys we need UNION forces. We have several thousand Confederate stands already painted, but Union maybe a couple hundred at most.
There was some discussion on a Field of Glory themed campaign or tournament set int eh Punic Wars. While no one has a completed army at the moment several of us are within spitting distance (dozen stands here, fitz needs one or tow stands). But I am left "cold" by the concept of a tournament no really my cup of tea.
Another option would be 15mm Spearhead, but again I doubt we could get enough interest to make such a game worthwhile. However I will be able to do the entire Bridge to Far Scenario in the very near future.
Levee Cafe' Game Followup - Part 2
Here are a few random or at least somewhat random things about the scenario we played at the Levee Café and my opinions on the topics:
I have/had attempted to keep the issue that George had scheduled Recon on the same day as minor or back burner issue. However as much grief as I caught about it I will be much more “open” about it this time. We scheduled our date for this game about a month before George scheduled Recon however too many people believe it was the other way around. Fitz has been an adamant about stepping on this as soon as he sees/hears it, I know think that is what I must do.
I had personally kept the much of the scenario under wraps as I didn’t want one side or the other to have any advantage outside of the historical context of the Scenario. I think that was a great plus, the game turned out very much like I had anticipated, the allies would try two different approaches to the virtually the same situation (concentrate on one board in one side and spilt forces on the other to fight on two boards.) The French would begin by being cautious and continue feeding corps into two of the boards.
In the context of the overall Campaign/Scenario they chose to do what Napoleon decided against doing, Napoleon fell back towards Leipzig and concentrate his Army. The result however was much the same, the French basically one the battles but lost the war and would be forced to retire taking the same amount of casualties just in a different series of battles.
I wish I would have given the players more options to move (more arrows and intermediary boxes) as it would have greatly increased the challenge for both sides overall.
Marching on to the boards was a challenge; of course my decision on how it would work was implemented 18 different ways from Tuesday. I obviously need to be much clearer. I had to laugh because I knew Jim who was so focused on the words “march column” would be the most vocal about the ‘rules changing’ during the course of the day and I told a couple people early on I would hear about it later in the day. I tried an approach I thought would get the least amount of abuse, of course I was wrong.
In the next game I already have a plan for a different approach; one I think will get a better result. Now to just to be clearer in explaining how it works.
The Scenario was designed for 18 to 24 players, we had approximately 36 players indicate they would be in attendance, so I figured cutting that number in half was a safe bet. We ended up with 14 players, while it was playable, it would have been a lot faster with even two more players four additional players would be even more bonus.
I got too caught up in the number of players telling me they planned on attending, so I kept expanding the scenario and making plans for what happens if everyone shows up. Thus instead on concentrating on the things I should have I was working on other things. Russian Light Cavalry anyone, oh we have 20 stands too many.
For some reason I thought we had a lot more “regular” French available than we did, otherwise I would have flocked up more bases, not that would have helped the other problems in the order of battle, but at least there should have been fewer unpainted stands.
I will be adding a few more Saxon and Italians to my forces over the next few weeks, but we need to get other German states and French Allies represented, Berg, Danes, Hamburg, Westphalia, Neapolitan, and of course Swedes for Allies side as well.
I am in talks with Jack Ladd to see how much it will cost me to get a Bavarian Army painted, I own the figures, but just like my 12,000 other unpainted figures I need to get them done and having an outside painter do it might be the fastest and only guaranteed way to get it done.
I did a lot of hinting to players about things on Saturday, next time there will be less hinting and more “Here is exactly what I think.” While I purposely avoid stopping people from mistakes (make the mistake, learn from it and move on is my attitude) in several instances it would have helped move the scenario along. And that goes for both sides.
I have/had attempted to keep the issue that George had scheduled Recon on the same day as minor or back burner issue. However as much grief as I caught about it I will be much more “open” about it this time. We scheduled our date for this game about a month before George scheduled Recon however too many people believe it was the other way around. Fitz has been an adamant about stepping on this as soon as he sees/hears it, I know think that is what I must do.
I had personally kept the much of the scenario under wraps as I didn’t want one side or the other to have any advantage outside of the historical context of the Scenario. I think that was a great plus, the game turned out very much like I had anticipated, the allies would try two different approaches to the virtually the same situation (concentrate on one board in one side and spilt forces on the other to fight on two boards.) The French would begin by being cautious and continue feeding corps into two of the boards.
In the context of the overall Campaign/Scenario they chose to do what Napoleon decided against doing, Napoleon fell back towards Leipzig and concentrate his Army. The result however was much the same, the French basically one the battles but lost the war and would be forced to retire taking the same amount of casualties just in a different series of battles.
I wish I would have given the players more options to move (more arrows and intermediary boxes) as it would have greatly increased the challenge for both sides overall.
Marching on to the boards was a challenge; of course my decision on how it would work was implemented 18 different ways from Tuesday. I obviously need to be much clearer. I had to laugh because I knew Jim who was so focused on the words “march column” would be the most vocal about the ‘rules changing’ during the course of the day and I told a couple people early on I would hear about it later in the day. I tried an approach I thought would get the least amount of abuse, of course I was wrong.
In the next game I already have a plan for a different approach; one I think will get a better result. Now to just to be clearer in explaining how it works.
The Scenario was designed for 18 to 24 players, we had approximately 36 players indicate they would be in attendance, so I figured cutting that number in half was a safe bet. We ended up with 14 players, while it was playable, it would have been a lot faster with even two more players four additional players would be even more bonus.
I got too caught up in the number of players telling me they planned on attending, so I kept expanding the scenario and making plans for what happens if everyone shows up. Thus instead on concentrating on the things I should have I was working on other things. Russian Light Cavalry anyone, oh we have 20 stands too many.
For some reason I thought we had a lot more “regular” French available than we did, otherwise I would have flocked up more bases, not that would have helped the other problems in the order of battle, but at least there should have been fewer unpainted stands.
I will be adding a few more Saxon and Italians to my forces over the next few weeks, but we need to get other German states and French Allies represented, Berg, Danes, Hamburg, Westphalia, Neapolitan, and of course Swedes for Allies side as well.
I am in talks with Jack Ladd to see how much it will cost me to get a Bavarian Army painted, I own the figures, but just like my 12,000 other unpainted figures I need to get them done and having an outside painter do it might be the fastest and only guaranteed way to get it done.
I did a lot of hinting to players about things on Saturday, next time there will be less hinting and more “Here is exactly what I think.” While I purposely avoid stopping people from mistakes (make the mistake, learn from it and move on is my attitude) in several instances it would have helped move the scenario along. And that goes for both sides.
Levee Cafe' Game Followup - Part 1
To begin with I would like to thank the people who made this great weekend possible, our spouses and significant others. With so many of us married and with children the fact that our significant others have had to spend so much additional time being the good parents to allow us to attend our “geekfest”. Without their support none of us get to come out and game.
Many thanks are also in order for those that provided figures (Fitz, Joe K., Trevor, BJ, Dave, Mark, and whoever else I may have forgotten), the Terrain (St. Paul Irregulars) and Levee Café for putting up with a group of geeks.
Finally I would like to thank everyone who participated in last Saturday’s 1813 Campaign Game at the Levee Café, hearing nothing but good things we already have a tentative plan for the next game at the Levee Café. Gaming to me is a social event and it is almost just as important to have people push figures as it is to have people paint figures.
We had 14 players playing four games on four tables and the possibility of the fifth game on a fifth table. For as complicated as the scenario was it went fairly smoothly, a few tweaks to the system are coming and for those that played if you have any thoughts please let me know.
For me it was an extremely busy weekend as I had to work overnight on Friday/Saturday to bring a crashed server back on line so I was going on 2 hours of a cat nap Saturday. As good as the games were (both visually and competitively) I had very little problem staying awake once the dice started rolling.
Overview of the French Vistory:
And I must say in the end it was a disastrous victory for the French.
The French stopped the Army of Silesia from crossing at Wartenburg, but at the Cost of 2 Infantry Corps and 2 Cavalry Corps plus un-totaled damage to the first young guard Infantry Corps that was marching on. A third French Infantry Corps was well on its way to getting wrecked. The Army of Silesia lost one Russian Corps and One small Russian Cavalry Corps. The rest of the forces in the Army of Silesia were well bloodied would be able to continue the fight. The slow grind of Prussian Artillery Grand Battery destroyed the French IV Corps and the a second French Corps was getting mauled by the repeated movement forward by the Russian Right Wing. If the Russian Grand battery could have been saved (lucky for the French it was destroyed early) the table would have been a huge meat grinder for the french rather than just a large meat grinder.
On the Torgau Board (the one ignored by the Allies) two French Corps were tied up just waiting for the Allies to show up.
On the Dresden Board the Right Wing of the Army of Bohemia captured I and XIV corps a little sooner than historically setup, but the terrain really slowed down the Allies and what Jim was expecting to do in the morning/early afternoon took all day.
On the Erfurt Battlefield Jack and Trevor were locked in mortal combat. Jack had a great plan and did everything right except roll decent dice coupled with the fact that Trevor rolled his equivalent of his decade quota worth of 10’s in one day. By the end of the day the French were planning to pull from the board, two Corps effected wrecked. I didn’t do the finally count on the allies on that board but I think only one Allied Corps was in the “wrecked” state and another was damaged but would be back in the fight in a few days.
So while the French won the day it was at an extreme price, 4 Infantry and 2 Cavalry Corps wrecked, 2 Infantry Corps surrendered out of 12 infantry Corps and 5 Cavalry Corps. Not counting the damage to 1 Young Guard Corps. The Allies lost 3 maybe 4 Infantry Corps and 1 small cavalry corps with 1/3 of the Army of Bohemia not engaged.
Many thanks are also in order for those that provided figures (Fitz, Joe K., Trevor, BJ, Dave, Mark, and whoever else I may have forgotten), the Terrain (St. Paul Irregulars) and Levee Café for putting up with a group of geeks.
Finally I would like to thank everyone who participated in last Saturday’s 1813 Campaign Game at the Levee Café, hearing nothing but good things we already have a tentative plan for the next game at the Levee Café. Gaming to me is a social event and it is almost just as important to have people push figures as it is to have people paint figures.
We had 14 players playing four games on four tables and the possibility of the fifth game on a fifth table. For as complicated as the scenario was it went fairly smoothly, a few tweaks to the system are coming and for those that played if you have any thoughts please let me know.
For me it was an extremely busy weekend as I had to work overnight on Friday/Saturday to bring a crashed server back on line so I was going on 2 hours of a cat nap Saturday. As good as the games were (both visually and competitively) I had very little problem staying awake once the dice started rolling.
Overview of the French Vistory:
And I must say in the end it was a disastrous victory for the French.
The French stopped the Army of Silesia from crossing at Wartenburg, but at the Cost of 2 Infantry Corps and 2 Cavalry Corps plus un-totaled damage to the first young guard Infantry Corps that was marching on. A third French Infantry Corps was well on its way to getting wrecked. The Army of Silesia lost one Russian Corps and One small Russian Cavalry Corps. The rest of the forces in the Army of Silesia were well bloodied would be able to continue the fight. The slow grind of Prussian Artillery Grand Battery destroyed the French IV Corps and the a second French Corps was getting mauled by the repeated movement forward by the Russian Right Wing. If the Russian Grand battery could have been saved (lucky for the French it was destroyed early) the table would have been a huge meat grinder for the french rather than just a large meat grinder.
On the Torgau Board (the one ignored by the Allies) two French Corps were tied up just waiting for the Allies to show up.
On the Dresden Board the Right Wing of the Army of Bohemia captured I and XIV corps a little sooner than historically setup, but the terrain really slowed down the Allies and what Jim was expecting to do in the morning/early afternoon took all day.
On the Erfurt Battlefield Jack and Trevor were locked in mortal combat. Jack had a great plan and did everything right except roll decent dice coupled with the fact that Trevor rolled his equivalent of his decade quota worth of 10’s in one day. By the end of the day the French were planning to pull from the board, two Corps effected wrecked. I didn’t do the finally count on the allies on that board but I think only one Allied Corps was in the “wrecked” state and another was damaged but would be back in the fight in a few days.
So while the French won the day it was at an extreme price, 4 Infantry and 2 Cavalry Corps wrecked, 2 Infantry Corps surrendered out of 12 infantry Corps and 5 Cavalry Corps. Not counting the damage to 1 Young Guard Corps. The Allies lost 3 maybe 4 Infantry Corps and 1 small cavalry corps with 1/3 of the Army of Bohemia not engaged.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
25mm Napoleonics
A hot topic amongst a group of local gamers is 25mm Napoloenics. After much talking, and not enough listening, I would like to try and enunciate my position as clearly as possible.
I like 25mm Figures, they are extremely beautiful scale. Regardless of manufacture an army of painted 25mm figures is damned impressive.
The problem with 25mm Figures is there is no consensus on a number of issues.
For the Napoleonic period there is no reason to mount the figures individually. In my opinion Napoleonic Skirmish is a pointless exercise. There are two problems with Napoleonic Skirmish:
The first is mission or game creep. No one wants to do a small skirmish action rather they want to recreate larger actions that are well beyond the scope of the rules. I listen to people tell me that you only need “sixty” figures yet when you listen to their plans they want hundreds. You move into the realm of an unplayable game when you go even one figure beyond the scope of the rules. If a game is a one-on-one game and requires sixty figures a side it is NOT PLAYABLE as a six-on-aside game were everyone has 120 figures.
The second is people only want to recreate “Sharpe’s Exploits”. I shouldn’t need to go any further with that complaint.
A semi-third issue, one that most over looked, what rules do you want to use? Have you read the rules you are suggesting? Yes that is directed at all three parties. If you are really interested in Napoleonic Skirmish, try Flintloque I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how the rules work and the fun you can have with the game. And heck you can even buy the figures painted.
So moving beyond Skirmish mounting the figures make the most sense in some sort of multi-figures per base scheme. It took us ten years to decide on the current schema in use and now at least three parties are suggesting other “better” plans. To those let me ask the simple question, why is your plan better than what we already have; why should I remount hundreds of figures?
Of course the only answer I have received from those three parties so your figures match up with mine. Wait you (might) have sixty figures that you are painting and I have 1100 tell me again why I need to match yours? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
Finally I listen to a number of people who tell me why my “plan” and or “opinion” is wrong. I listen politely and then ask a simple question. “Do you realize that is neither my plan nor opinion you are ripping into?” I wonder how people who have jumped to such conclusions expect me to take them seriously?
What would I like to do?
I really enjoy Napoleon’s Battles. It is a nice solid system which allows me to recreate fairly large battles in a short amount of time without requiring a gym floor to play. Yes I want to play Napoleon’s Battles in 25mm. This has been my goal and objective for years. However it doesn’t necessarily jive with others in the area desire with 25mm figures. Several want to play battalion level games in 25mm and others company level games.
So it is all about compromise, and I think I have been on the winning end of those so far.
Others want a 1:30 scale game, let see if I paint up my figures at 1:30 that gives me four units at 1:120 in infantry and two cavalry units at 1:80.
In the end there are virtually no rule sets I can’t play with my mounting and everyone else is who is painting 25mm figures is working towards my end goal as well as their own. I really would like to do Leipzig in 25mm for the 200th Anniversary of the battle. But that is four years away. First we have to get through the Peninsula and Russian Campaigns of 1812.
But what about my 15mm Napoleon’s Battles Armies?
My French are actually organized at 1:30 and like my 25mm armies it means I use a battalion to be a brigade. And so on and so forth.
I have been expanding my 1809 Austrians to 1:30 as well.
In the end I should be well positioned to play lower scale games (1:30) in 15mm and my larger scale games in 1:120 using 25mm figures.
Well enough venting for now. Later all.
I like 25mm Figures, they are extremely beautiful scale. Regardless of manufacture an army of painted 25mm figures is damned impressive.
The problem with 25mm Figures is there is no consensus on a number of issues.
For the Napoleonic period there is no reason to mount the figures individually. In my opinion Napoleonic Skirmish is a pointless exercise. There are two problems with Napoleonic Skirmish:
The first is mission or game creep. No one wants to do a small skirmish action rather they want to recreate larger actions that are well beyond the scope of the rules. I listen to people tell me that you only need “sixty” figures yet when you listen to their plans they want hundreds. You move into the realm of an unplayable game when you go even one figure beyond the scope of the rules. If a game is a one-on-one game and requires sixty figures a side it is NOT PLAYABLE as a six-on-aside game were everyone has 120 figures.
The second is people only want to recreate “Sharpe’s Exploits”. I shouldn’t need to go any further with that complaint.
A semi-third issue, one that most over looked, what rules do you want to use? Have you read the rules you are suggesting? Yes that is directed at all three parties. If you are really interested in Napoleonic Skirmish, try Flintloque I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how the rules work and the fun you can have with the game. And heck you can even buy the figures painted.
So moving beyond Skirmish mounting the figures make the most sense in some sort of multi-figures per base scheme. It took us ten years to decide on the current schema in use and now at least three parties are suggesting other “better” plans. To those let me ask the simple question, why is your plan better than what we already have; why should I remount hundreds of figures?
Of course the only answer I have received from those three parties so your figures match up with mine. Wait you (might) have sixty figures that you are painting and I have 1100 tell me again why I need to match yours? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
Finally I listen to a number of people who tell me why my “plan” and or “opinion” is wrong. I listen politely and then ask a simple question. “Do you realize that is neither my plan nor opinion you are ripping into?” I wonder how people who have jumped to such conclusions expect me to take them seriously?
What would I like to do?
I really enjoy Napoleon’s Battles. It is a nice solid system which allows me to recreate fairly large battles in a short amount of time without requiring a gym floor to play. Yes I want to play Napoleon’s Battles in 25mm. This has been my goal and objective for years. However it doesn’t necessarily jive with others in the area desire with 25mm figures. Several want to play battalion level games in 25mm and others company level games.
So it is all about compromise, and I think I have been on the winning end of those so far.
Others want a 1:30 scale game, let see if I paint up my figures at 1:30 that gives me four units at 1:120 in infantry and two cavalry units at 1:80.
In the end there are virtually no rule sets I can’t play with my mounting and everyone else is who is painting 25mm figures is working towards my end goal as well as their own. I really would like to do Leipzig in 25mm for the 200th Anniversary of the battle. But that is four years away. First we have to get through the Peninsula and Russian Campaigns of 1812.
But what about my 15mm Napoleon’s Battles Armies?
My French are actually organized at 1:30 and like my 25mm armies it means I use a battalion to be a brigade. And so on and so forth.
I have been expanding my 1809 Austrians to 1:30 as well.
In the end I should be well positioned to play lower scale games (1:30) in 15mm and my larger scale games in 1:120 using 25mm figures.
Well enough venting for now. Later all.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Message to the Centurions Mail Group
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended Saturday’s Napoleon’s Battles Game at the Levee Café in Hastings. We had eight players (Fitz, Joe, BJ, Crow, Elliot, Dave, Jim and myself), I am fairly certain everyone who attended had a good time and there was a resounding request to do another game soon.
It has been a while since I have organized and run a larger game, we used to do it all the time, but I was too involved in running other events, so some things did not go as smoothly as I would have like. I have learned from it and will attempt to apply those things to the next game.
As I am a problem child when it comes to cameras, Fitz and Joe have provided some pictures of Friday and Saturday's action which once organized and notated will be added to my blog.
We have scheduled another Napoleon’s Battles game for the last weekend in February at the Levee Café. We will be using the 1813 stats and army organizations but instead of using a set scenario will be a little bit more dynamic using a system we talked about to build scenarios. Several of us are fleshing out the system and hope to have the final rules in place shortly.
On Friday Evening, February 27, we will be setting up the Terrain, pulling figures and hopefully doing the first few moves. Than on Saturday the 28th we will be doing the big games. Yes I said games.
Another change is that we hope to be using the Third Edition of Napoleon’s Battles; we have been informed that they should be available starting next week.
Several individuals have asked what they can do to help for the next game. As always painting figures is a big help. If you’d like to volunteer to paint something up and need some help choosing drop me a line and I can point you at several interesting choices.
As always everyone is welcome to come down and play all figures will be provided. However for the event in February there will be a hat for donations to cover the rental cost.
Jeff
It has been a while since I have organized and run a larger game, we used to do it all the time, but I was too involved in running other events, so some things did not go as smoothly as I would have like. I have learned from it and will attempt to apply those things to the next game.
As I am a problem child when it comes to cameras, Fitz and Joe have provided some pictures of Friday and Saturday's action which once organized and notated will be added to my blog.
We have scheduled another Napoleon’s Battles game for the last weekend in February at the Levee Café. We will be using the 1813 stats and army organizations but instead of using a set scenario will be a little bit more dynamic using a system we talked about to build scenarios. Several of us are fleshing out the system and hope to have the final rules in place shortly.
On Friday Evening, February 27, we will be setting up the Terrain, pulling figures and hopefully doing the first few moves. Than on Saturday the 28th we will be doing the big games. Yes I said games.
Another change is that we hope to be using the Third Edition of Napoleon’s Battles; we have been informed that they should be available starting next week.
Several individuals have asked what they can do to help for the next game. As always painting figures is a big help. If you’d like to volunteer to paint something up and need some help choosing drop me a line and I can point you at several interesting choices.
As always everyone is welcome to come down and play all figures will be provided. However for the event in February there will be a hat for donations to cover the rental cost.
Jeff
Sunday, November 23, 2008
We have a date for the Next Game at the Levee.
Feburary 27th and 28th.
I have an interesting plan for a larger game.
Jeff
I have an interesting plan for a larger game.
Jeff
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Leipzig Game - Friday
I made my way to the Levee Cafe at 4PM yesterday. Meet with my younger brother Brian who helped me arrange the tables.
I was caught a little off guard as the tables were not what I was expecting. The tables were divided into two sizes. Six 8' x 36" and 8 8' x 30" rather than the 6' x 30" I was anticapating. So I had to rearrange my layout.
I screwed up the green cloths I had purchased earlier in the week. I though I bought two 6' x 12' and one 6' x 9' table coverings but it turns out all three were 6' x 9'. Again more rearranging.
I had purchased brown electrical tape to lay out the roads as I could not find the brown masking tape. The electrical tape was difficult to work with as it had a tendany to stretch and contract at in oppertue times. So it took a couple hours to do the lay out.
For the rivers I left the 1 inch wide blue masking tape at home so I had to cut the 1 1/2" tape in half to do the streams.
Afterwards I began pulling troops. I got through the French Guard and three French Infantry Corps when my head began to hurt. So I went off to pull the Austrians and paint their bases.
Just as I got started painting bases Crow showed up. I never look a gift horse in the mouth so we put him to work putting labels on the French Bases.
So as Crow work hard on the base labels, Fitz painted his bases green and I flocked mine we listened to electorica trance and busted hump for several hours.
Jim had to drive back to his place to pick up the Russians he left at home.
Crow left at midnight and I was kicked out closer to 1.
I have to remember 4 stands of Austrian Landwehr and 1 stand of Austrian Heavy Cavalry.
I was caught a little off guard as the tables were not what I was expecting. The tables were divided into two sizes. Six 8' x 36" and 8 8' x 30" rather than the 6' x 30" I was anticapating. So I had to rearrange my layout.
I screwed up the green cloths I had purchased earlier in the week. I though I bought two 6' x 12' and one 6' x 9' table coverings but it turns out all three were 6' x 9'. Again more rearranging.
I had purchased brown electrical tape to lay out the roads as I could not find the brown masking tape. The electrical tape was difficult to work with as it had a tendany to stretch and contract at in oppertue times. So it took a couple hours to do the lay out.
For the rivers I left the 1 inch wide blue masking tape at home so I had to cut the 1 1/2" tape in half to do the streams.
Afterwards I began pulling troops. I got through the French Guard and three French Infantry Corps when my head began to hurt. So I went off to pull the Austrians and paint their bases.
Just as I got started painting bases Crow showed up. I never look a gift horse in the mouth so we put him to work putting labels on the French Bases.
So as Crow work hard on the base labels, Fitz painted his bases green and I flocked mine we listened to electorica trance and busted hump for several hours.
Jim had to drive back to his place to pick up the Russians he left at home.
Crow left at midnight and I was kicked out closer to 1.
I have to remember 4 stands of Austrian Landwehr and 1 stand of Austrian Heavy Cavalry.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Figures from Tom Zwirn
Today Fitz handed me a nice little gift box, my painted figures back from Tom Zwirn.
Included were:
30 Peasant mounted Cossacks
16 Infantry with Rifle at the Ready
16 Infantry firing Musket with Bayonet
56 Militia with Musket at the Ready including 8 Command
16 Infantry with Halbreds
In addition Fitz handed me
6 Austrian 12# Batteries
2 Austrian 12# Canons.
it was almost my birthday.
Included were:
30 Peasant mounted Cossacks
16 Infantry with Rifle at the Ready
16 Infantry firing Musket with Bayonet
56 Militia with Musket at the Ready including 8 Command
16 Infantry with Halbreds
In addition Fitz handed me
6 Austrian 12# Batteries
2 Austrian 12# Canons.
it was almost my birthday.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Figure Count
Below is my letter to Fitz with my figure count.
My Counts as of Tonight
French
1 4 Figure Command Base
3 3 Figure Command Base
5 2 Figure Command Base
18 1 Figure Command Base
8 1 Figure Command Base (Detail Work Needed)
Old Guard Cavalry
5 Grenadiers-a-Cheval
5 Empress Dragoons
2 Gendarmes
5 Chasseurs-a-Cheval
6 1eme Lancers
1 Mamlukes
Young Guard Cavalry
2 Grenadiers-a-Cheval
2 Empress Dragoons
2 Chasseurs-a-Cheval
2 1eme Lancers
7 Guards d’Honneur
Guard Infantry
6 Grenadiers a Pied
6 Chasseurs a Pied
5 Middle Guard
11 Young Guard
Guard Artillery
4 12#
5 6#
Cavalry
15 Cuirassier
2 Carabineers
4 Light Cavalry
4 Light Cavalry (Detail Work Needed)
Line Infantry
210 Line
37 Light
Artillery
14 12#
4 12# Detail Work Needed
4 6#
Italian
1 2 Figure Command
1 1 Figure Command
4 Guard Infantry
9 Line Infantry
Confederation of the Rhine
15 Line Infantry
Saxon (1809)
5 Heavy Cavalry
1 Light Cavalry
4 Grenadier
7 Line Infantry
2 Line Infantry (Detail work needed)
1 12#
1 12# Detail work needed
Austrian
1 4 Figure Command Base
4 2 Figure Command Base
14 1 Figure Command Base
14 Cuirassier
29 Light Cavalry
12 Grenadiers
86 Line
16 Grenzer
10 Jager
4 landwehr
12 12#
10 6#
Russian 1798
4 Cossack
9 12#
6 12# Need Detail Work
4 6# Need Detail Work
Russian 1810
TBD
Russian 1813
TBD
11 Cossack
Prussian
22 Landwehr
4 12#
11 6#
I have far more Austrian Figures; however as that is the Maximum we need for this Scenario that is as much as I listed.
For the Russians I have a large number of Figures for the Russo-Swedish War of 1810. All these figures would need to be mounted.
Additionally I have a large number of Figures for 1813 that need to be mounted again (originally mounted on card stock that is falling apart).
If you can send me a final list of what w are short I will focus on completing the detail work on that.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
We are down to one Week
Too many people who don’t understand my fanatical behavior when it comes to whatever I do or in this specific case my almost obsessive behavior towards miniature gaming they really have no clue what kind of an undertaking it is to put on a big game. When Jim and I decided to put on a large Napoleon’s Battles game because we had already schedule the weekend off for MGCon I really thought we were a lot closer than we are.
We won’t be able to do exactly Leipzig and I am okay with that. Rather we are going to do a close approximation of the first day with some substitutions of some units. I am fairly certain that both Jim and I will have a very good time setting up and playing the game. There will be great stories to tell after the game no matter what the outcome.
Today I started doing a troop pull and final counts. I may need to paint a few figures over the next week so this pull helps me get everything in order.
What I discovered:
- I actually have enough Austrians to do all Four Corps and the Two Reserve Corps, in Shako even.
- I have a large number of French Stands that need to be flocked
- I wonder where the Italians went.
- I know I have more painted Saxons
I also hope that my order from Fernando ships early this week. Knowing my luck it will arrive next Monday. Not that we really need anything from the order since it is primarily Austrian and French Light Cavalry.
I’ll have to call Tom Zwirn this week and see if the Cossacks I sent to him for painting are done. Be nice to get the Cossacks since I believe they will really help determine how the game will turn out. Yes Schwarzenberg (aka Me) has a plain for the Southern Front. Strange after hours of looking at it, it all comes down to about a half-a-dozen dice rolls.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
My Evil and Nefarious Plan
I admit to being a sucker for the slightly off beat projects that come up from time to time and of course I may have found one true to my tastes.
Chris Combs (The great Pasha Beybey) has a fully painted Ottoman Army that he uses in a number of games and periods. Considering the Ottoman costumes haven’t didn’t change from before the Seven Years War until after the Rebellions in the 1850s (A period of over a hundred years). I think this is a great plan and good reuse of figures. However Chris’ problem is that his Army is completely over matched against Non-historical opponents. IE he always is fighting Regulars in weird settings.
So I pulled out my collection of unpainted lead and went what the hell can I paint up that would be interesting to fight The great Pasha Beybey.
In searching I found I have the order of battle for the Austrian, I mean Hungarian, Army that fights the Turks from 1808 to 1812. And then I started looking at the list and going I bet this would be a great game if we can find the right rules.
The Core of Hungarian Army is Two Hungarian Infantry Regiments and a battalion of Hungarian Grenadiers. I assume there is some artillery in this group but none was listed.
The cavalry is a Dragoon Regiment (called the Hungarian Dragoons so I am doing some research on that one) and the other two Irregular hussar Regiments that were virtually taken on the regular roles.
Other units involved include several Border (Grenz) Regiments including four battalions of Grenzer Landwehr. There is also several Hungarian Insurrection units. And if Hungarian Insurrection wasn’t bad enough I also get Hungarian Militia which are untrained Insurrection troops. I am not sure who would have the worse army. The Ottomans or the Austrians?
To make matters worse I have made an agreement with Tom Zwirn to get the whole thing painted. What have I done…..
Wait this could be entertaining. The big challenge will be finding rules since neither side mustered very large forces.
Chris Combs (The great Pasha Beybey) has a fully painted Ottoman Army that he uses in a number of games and periods. Considering the Ottoman costumes haven’t didn’t change from before the Seven Years War until after the Rebellions in the 1850s (A period of over a hundred years). I think this is a great plan and good reuse of figures. However Chris’ problem is that his Army is completely over matched against Non-historical opponents. IE he always is fighting Regulars in weird settings.
So I pulled out my collection of unpainted lead and went what the hell can I paint up that would be interesting to fight The great Pasha Beybey.
In searching I found I have the order of battle for the Austrian, I mean Hungarian, Army that fights the Turks from 1808 to 1812. And then I started looking at the list and going I bet this would be a great game if we can find the right rules.
The Core of Hungarian Army is Two Hungarian Infantry Regiments and a battalion of Hungarian Grenadiers. I assume there is some artillery in this group but none was listed.
The cavalry is a Dragoon Regiment (called the Hungarian Dragoons so I am doing some research on that one) and the other two Irregular hussar Regiments that were virtually taken on the regular roles.
Other units involved include several Border (Grenz) Regiments including four battalions of Grenzer Landwehr. There is also several Hungarian Insurrection units. And if Hungarian Insurrection wasn’t bad enough I also get Hungarian Militia which are untrained Insurrection troops. I am not sure who would have the worse army. The Ottomans or the Austrians?
To make matters worse I have made an agreement with Tom Zwirn to get the whole thing painted. What have I done…..
Wait this could be entertaining. The big challenge will be finding rules since neither side mustered very large forces.
You could also throw in Marmont, Russians and a few other items and you get trouble with a capital T.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
What a way to spend the day
I spent much of Sunday mounting and rebasing Austrian Napoleonic Figures.
From previous shipments to and from Fernando Enterprises:
From previous shipments to and from Fernando Enterprises:
- Kaiser Franz Infantry Regiment
- Erzherzog Carl Infantry Regiment
- Deutschmeister Infantry Regiment
- Freiherr von Schroder Infantry Regiment
- Erzherzog Ludwig Infantry Regiment
- Furst zu Liechtenstein Infantry Regiment
- Freiherr Reisky Infantry Regiment
- Freiherr von Klebeck Infantry Regiment
- Freiherr von Zach Infantry Regiment
- Graf d’Aspre Infantry Regiment
- TBD Infantry Regiment
- TBD Infantry Regiment
- TBD Infantry Regiment
- TBD Infantry Regiment
The reason I have four TBD Infantry Regiments is that I made a mistake in painting. I painted up Freiherr von Hiller (IR2) as an German Infantry Regiment rather than a Hungarian and repeated said issue with three other Regiments. I have to figure out what I can do with the units if I can use them as other reigments (that I haven't already got painted).
Figures that I rebased:
- 10 Austrian Heavy Artillery Stands
- 15 Austrian Light Artillery Stands
- Kiaser Franz Hussar Regiment (12 Figures)
- Stipsic Hussar Regiment (16 Figures)
- Dragoon Regiment #4 (8 Figures)
- Dragoon Regiment #6 (8 Figures)
I was shocked at how time consuming this project is. I suppose takening the time to make sure each base is properly labeled and organized correctly isn't helping the process.
I have four more regiments of Infantry to base up, which were painted by Fernando, and about 200 figures of Grenadiers that need to find a base.
In addition I got about 300 Figures from an Empire Corps that need to get rebased. This is going to take some more time.
Things to do for the November 22nd Game.
- 60 Cavalry React Markers
- 120 Disorder Markers
- 120 Rout Markers
- An undetermined number of Casualty Markers
- Table Rental
- Setting Up Terrian
- Mount Austrian Figures
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Napoleon in Spain - 1812
As the warm morning sun rose across the Spanish field that clear October morning in 1812 Napoleon stared at the distance and daydreamed about cold and snow.
“My Lord” an unnamed Aide de camp broke the silence. “General’s Reille and Junot are here for their orders.”
“Will be a hot day today, have my horse saddled and ready. The British are making a mistake, while it is bad form to interrupt them I prefer not to leave them long enough to realize it.” Napoleon turned and smile that smile he always did, he was after all Mr. Happy. “Send in the Generals”
The Emperor spoke “General Reille you will command the leftwing moving against the British under Lord Hill. While Genral Junot you will take my right wing and move against those washed and freshly bathed Ottomans. I’ll never understand what they are doing here, it Spain for goodness sakes.” He looked at the two Generals and continued “We have no heavy cavalry so we must use Artillery to force the enemy to do our will.”
After a pause General Reille spoke up. “I’ll send the Light Cavalry Corps against the Extreme left, Lord Hill has massed his cavalry between his command and the Center. My two infantry Divisions will form the center with the Light Cavalry Division on my right towards the center.”
Napoleon switched has gaze from Reille to Junot he spoke up “I plan on using a similar plan against the Ottomans. My Light Cavalry Corps will be on the Right, Two division of Infantry in my center and light Cavalry division on my left towards your position in the center.”
“My boys that is a good plan. We will drive the enemy from our Spanish Soil.”
To be completed later
The cast in order of appearance
· The Emperor Napoleon – Jeff Johnson
· General Reille – Joe Knight
· General Junot – Jack Anderson
· The Duke of Wellington – Noel
· Lord Hill – Jimbo (Whose last name I will learn someday)
· The great Pasha Beybey – Chris Combs
· The Final Arbitrator – Jim Fitzgerald
It was unfortunate that the two most experienced players were on the French Side. Noel and Jimbo were overmatched and unable to handle the moves and countermoves that Joe Knight and I did.
“My Lord” an unnamed Aide de camp broke the silence. “General’s Reille and Junot are here for their orders.”
“Will be a hot day today, have my horse saddled and ready. The British are making a mistake, while it is bad form to interrupt them I prefer not to leave them long enough to realize it.” Napoleon turned and smile that smile he always did, he was after all Mr. Happy. “Send in the Generals”
The Emperor spoke “General Reille you will command the leftwing moving against the British under Lord Hill. While Genral Junot you will take my right wing and move against those washed and freshly bathed Ottomans. I’ll never understand what they are doing here, it Spain for goodness sakes.” He looked at the two Generals and continued “We have no heavy cavalry so we must use Artillery to force the enemy to do our will.”
After a pause General Reille spoke up. “I’ll send the Light Cavalry Corps against the Extreme left, Lord Hill has massed his cavalry between his command and the Center. My two infantry Divisions will form the center with the Light Cavalry Division on my right towards the center.”
Napoleon switched has gaze from Reille to Junot he spoke up “I plan on using a similar plan against the Ottomans. My Light Cavalry Corps will be on the Right, Two division of Infantry in my center and light Cavalry division on my left towards your position in the center.”
“My boys that is a good plan. We will drive the enemy from our Spanish Soil.”
To be completed later
The cast in order of appearance
· The Emperor Napoleon – Jeff Johnson
· General Reille – Joe Knight
· General Junot – Jack Anderson
· The Duke of Wellington – Noel
· Lord Hill – Jimbo (Whose last name I will learn someday)
· The great Pasha Beybey – Chris Combs
· The Final Arbitrator – Jim Fitzgerald
It was unfortunate that the two most experienced players were on the French Side. Noel and Jimbo were overmatched and unable to handle the moves and countermoves that Joe Knight and I did.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
More Cossacks
Well BJ has found 4 stands of Cossack Infantry. I think that puts us at 24 of the 70 stands needed.
I know I have a bag of Black Sea Cossacks sitting around my place somewhere, heck I bet they are half painted. That would be like seven more stands.
I know I have a bag of Black Sea Cossacks sitting around my place somewhere, heck I bet they are half painted. That would be like seven more stands.
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