Leipzig Table C Setup - Napoleon's Battles

While pursuing the Allied Army of Bohemia, on 16 October 1813 Napoleon finds himself at the centre of a concentration of Allied armies.  

Napoleon's Battles provides a scenario for this battle spread over four tables.

Table C is the fight against the Allied Army of Bohemia. This is the big one we have been aiming to recreate and for which we did the setup today.

Table D is the fight against the Right Wing of the Allied Army of Bohemia (Kolmberg Hill?).  See AAR from August 2012.

Table A is the fight against the Allied Army of Silesia (Mockern). See AAR from December 2011.

Table B is the fight against the Left Wing of the Allied Army of Bohemia (Lindenau) .  See AAR from October 2011.

Signature shot.  

The scenarios are from the fabled red book.  In the picture are the villages of Probsthayda and Meusdorf with the French First, Fifth and Fourth Cavalry Corps.  The Galgenberg Hill is at the top right hand corner.

The left flank of the Allies resting on the River Pleisse.  There are a few too many Poles (VIII Corps) facing the Prussian II Corps, one brigade and the Corps' artillery is actually not present in this scenario.

The Allied right with the Russian I Corps facing the French V Corps.  In the centre is the Russian Guard light cavalry division backed by many, many Cossacks.

Russian II Corps featuring my recently acquired musketeers making up its two much reduced divisions.

My Prussians.

I am trying out an alternative way of using labels based on dedicated stands.  They are still in the prototype stage at present and this game will be the first trial of them.

The depth of field.  

The table is 9 x 5 foot and all the action takes place at one end.  The Russians are nearly all artillery.  The village of Guldengossa is in the immediate foreground.

Russian Guard cavalry (figures are mainly Old Glory with some ABs, War Modelling and Essex miniatures).

Napoleon coming down the road.

Another shot of Napoleon, perhaps thinking he better attack quick... 

Russian Napoleonic Grenadiers

Three units of beautiful AB miniatures painted by Dragon Painting Services.  All I've done is given them new flags (St Petersberg, Little Russia and Fangoria from Warflags), a rebase and a coat of PVA on their bayonets.  The only thing I'm not happy with is how the officer is sculpted with his sword outstretched,  The swords got two coats of PVA glue, but I think they ain't going to last too long...

St Petersberg to the fore.

St Petersberg, Fangoria and Little Russia (left to right).

I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to have a black and hot pink flag, but it was a hard choice, but the ladies in my household helped with the decision process.

Trying to keep all the bayonets and rifles straight on already painted figures was a challenge.

The Xmas haul is now much reduced with only four British, a French legere and hussar units left to do.  As long as I get them done by Xmas I will be okay.

Trailer for Waterloo l'ultime bataille

Not sure about the bicornes, but looks great.  I hope it gets international distribution and I'm more than happy to watch it in French (English subtitles would help though).

Prussian Napoleonic Uhlans - 3rd Brandenburg

This was also part of my Christmas haul, although I would classify them as used (possibly even well used).  I um'd and ah'd over whether they were regular or landwher.  Originally they had yellow facings.  Prussian lance armed cavalry uniforms being in an advanced state of flux at the end of the Napoleonic wars they could be taken as all sorts.

However with the aid of Rafael Pardo's post:
http://www.rafaelpardoalmudi.com/prussian_uhlans.html

And the great work done by Paul Alba:
http://napoleonicsinminiature.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/brandenburg-uhlans.html

I settled on repainting them as the 3rd (Brandenburg) Uhlans.

The figures were already painted, not sure if they were by Dragon Painting Services as the technique looks different.  I left the horses alone and concentrated on painting facings and patching up chips and straightening lances as well as the standard rebasing.  They have come up a bit glossy in the photos.  They make an interesting comparison to Paul's figures which appear much cleaner (my guys lack facial definition for example) and Paul has done an excellent job on the buttons.

I had on guy with saddle sores, but it just didn't look right so I pried him off and re-glued him.

Getting lances straight is hard work.  I've given these a double coat of PVA glue to strengthen them as they had seen a lot of bends.

Getting the figures to "sit" on the horse had also been a battle.

A Sail in Flames

Last night at the NWS I orchestrated a game of Sails of Gory involving four ships:

• HMS Unite captained by Simon;
• HMS Goliath captained by Mark B;
• Le Success captained by Stephen; and
• Genereux captained by me.

We were each running our own ship with counters and damage chits from my starter set.

I got off to a good start and gave the HMS Goliath a bow rake causing it to spring a leak.

MAD.  The two third rates came along side and traded broadsides.  A second leak occurred on the HMS Goliath which also caught fire, while on the Genereux two fires broke out as well as a leak.  It was only a short time until they were both reduced to sodden burnt wrecks.

The frigates traded long range blows and were able to repair their damage as quickly as it was inflicted.  It seemed that the two third rates had picked all the nasty chits from the A and B bags...  Early on Le Success was able to get a good bead on the HMS Unite, only to find that they had double shot loaded and couldn't make the distance.  Telling, as the game finished when the frigates finally closed and the HMS Unite was able to get a  double shot broadside on Le Success.  Leaks occurred and the boat went down. 

Observations

If more boats were involved would need a second set of counters and damage chits.

Even with just the four, and finally two, boats in action, it was still necessary to police the turn sequence.  I earlier used the term "orchestrated" and I really felt a bit like a conductor as I waved the firing stick around trying to keep everything in order.

Final comment: note that I have started to paint the yards and crow's nests on my boat.  Just the mizzen mast so far, but it does stand out and provide better definition.

I took my paper boat along, but after its previous poor performance I decided to give it a rest. Sadly on the way home my torch fell out of my pocket... the paper boat softened its fall.  Luckily nothing seriously damaged, but it seems my paper boat is in need of a carrying box to protect it from life's thrills and spills.

Russian Napoleonic Infantry - Dniepr Musketeers

My second unit of Russians now rebased and with a new flag.  Same story as the last lot. Just tried some different background shots for this post, as well as some of the tried and trusted pictures on my "parade ground" (which is actually mt DBA game board).

Now it is on to late war Russian Grenadiers.  Researching their flags is doing my head in so I think I will just go with the most flamboyant ones I can find.

2 4 6 8 Prodomoi

For my WRG 7th Edition army I need three elements of lance armed light cavalry for my Alexandrian Macedonian army.  Move forward twenty years and I need four elements for my Fields of Glory army.  Two figures short.  I had the metal.  Could I match the paint job?

Yes I think I have, but sadly not the flock...  The original has yellowed with the passage of time.

Punic DBA

It wasn't planned, but our DBA games on Friday took on a bit of the theme of the Punic Wars.

The Romans started it (this time round).  Here we see them attacking Saguntum.

After taking the BUA, the Romans, II/33, go on to defeat the Iberian Spanish II/39(a).

Our second game became the Battle of Trebia, with the Romans, II/33, with the river at their back facing the Carthaginians, II/32.

Hannibal was able to fight the Romans in the woods and secure victory.  Not shown in the photo is a band of Numidian Light Horse moving round the Roman left flank (lower right hand corner) having successfully sneaked through the forest. 

Two games in two hours.  All figures from Mark's collection, but most of the terrain was mine.  The material for the river was made by cutting up a piece of non-slip fabric when we realised we need a waterway for the littoral Carthaginian defenders.  The length was a perfect 600 mm and we just took a 600 pace strip and then cut a wiggly line up the middle thereby producing a waterway for each of us.  Nothing like improvisation on the spot.  I have been without a waterway forever (lots of ideas, but never got around to actioning any of them).

Things of Glory

Today Mark and I started with a Sails of Glory game (his first) and then went on to a Wings of Glory game before having a couple of DBA games (which will be covered in a separate post).

The Sails of Glory game used Mark's sea broad and was also a time to try out my Warartisan paper boat that has now been based and sports a minimum of rigging (and a good set of coats of PVA glue).

Ship ahoy!  My boat (using the credentials of Genereux spies the HMS Defence).

We come close, but no cigar...

HMS Defence gets in the first shot.

It's a bow rake!

My boat returns fire using those new fangled fire markers.

What do you mean fire larboard?  Didn't I say starboard?  Oh F!  After inflicting fabulous damage it has to be all taken back went it is found that my boat wasn't actually manning its starboard guns.

My boat getting the worst of it.  Why always crew hits?  :-(

The killing blow.  HMS Defence gets in a full broadside and my boat sinks.  The HMS Defence was severely damaged, but it lived to claim victory (I think we had experienced just about every kind of special damage there was, but sadly mainly on my boat).

I think I prefer the look of cotton wool to denote a broadside.  I have to remember that for my basing, white is orange and light blue is the new green.  Probably could use a more sea green colour than the light blue, but I need to produce some sea boards of my own (and finish rigging my boat).

After our nautical game (which took about two hours including chat and game introduction) we took to the air.

I pilot a Yak into a late war Japanese plane which was much more heavily armed than I realised.  No matter, I got some good shots on it, but in a final pass we each received so much damage we were both done for.

Dog Ate My Plane

Not my excuse for not going to the club tonight, but what I was greeted with when I got home.

Scratch one Fiat CR.42 Falco.  Wheel missing (believed eaten), base crunched and maneuver cards chewed.

Chief suspect being detained for questioning.

He claims he didn't do it, but then said he was put up to it by a much smaller dog.  Unluckily for us he has form.  Personally I blame Christmas.

Last Christmas a gingerbread man was wrapped and put under the tree.  Dog, who goes by the name of Pierre, rips wrapping apart and devours most of the gingerbread man.  We learnt by this and put any edible gifts up high.  Dog did not learn and later semi chewed up some cosmetics.  Bad doggy.

Of course it was really my fault for leaving my toys on the floor in their boxes, the door to my study open and the dog alone in the house.  At least the poor plane can be easily replaced.

Russian Napoleonic Infantry - Azov Musketeers

I was going to title this as "The Russians Are Coming!" but given world events I thought it might be misinterpreted.  However, as an aside, I grew up in Adelaide and that city is protected by two forts that were built as I understand it to defend against the Russians in the late nineteenth century. So...

On with the post.

Another of my Christmas present batch of figures from Dragon Painting Services rebased and ready for action.  All I did for these chaps was give them a new flag (their uniform from around 1810 seems a bit generic - which is good - but the pom pom seems prescriptive and a little research came up with the Azov Musketeer Regiment from the Brest-Litovsk Inspection and Warflag had their flag for easy downloading, resizing and printing) and coat of satin varnish (and of course the rebase).  They look like they mean business!

This was a bonus figure - an early war Prussian general.  He can be in Russian service.

Yakkity Yak

My second game at the NWS Games Day.  This time I took a pair of Yaks against a ME109 flown by Steve and FW190 flown by Stephen.

I kept my Yaks together hoping to get some combined damage on the enemy, but ...

One Yak down to the Fockewulf.

Last Yak down to the Messerschmidt.

Well, a quick game is a good game.  The hitting power of the WW2 planes is pretty awesome compared to the WW1 counterparts.

The Yak on the gimbal was mine, but all the other models were from Stephen's collection.

Wings of Glory - NWS Games Day

In between rushing about yesterday I was able to get two games in at the NWS games day: http://napoleonicwargamingsociety.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/napoleonic-wargaming-society-gaming-day.html

First up early World War One engagement between three Airco DH2s flown by Stephen and Steve and a pair of German scouts, a Halberstadt CL.II and an Albatros D.II, flown by me.  All from Stephen's collection.

The Halberstadt (red and yellow stripes) gets one of the DH2s in its sights.

A short burst sets the DH2 on fire.  (Note:  The burning town in the background was just for visual impact).

A proper dogfight.  

We were playing with the altitude rules but after a while all settled down to the same level.  Except for perhaps scenario set up and escaping when damaged, I'm not sure the use of altitude is very helpful.  It can easily be dispensed with.

One DH2 down and the Albatros has another in its sights.

But it ends badly with the Albatros last seen on fire and flying off in the distance.