Empress Dragoons - 15mm

This was the last unit I needed so I can field the French side for the Battle of Austerlitz.  As an elite unit I tried my best to do them justice.

Based for Napoleon's Battles.

In this configuration they have the same foot print as the 6mm figures

that are based for Blucher (2"x3") (see previous post)

These chaps previously appeared on my blog

as the bays to chestnut fiasco.

Rump shot

Column, the pose of the officer is good,

checking his men are with him.

Column of march.

There was flash or molding to cut away from the musket housing.

And from between the sword scabbard and boot.

I also cut out all the reins, although that is not so easy to detect from the photos.

It was fun doing the 6mm figures at the same time, easy to reuse colours, but a challenge to decide on level of detail.

Empress Dragoons - 6mm

Using Heroics and Ros pack FN22 I've created this Blucher style base for the Empress Dragoons, or, to give them their formal title: Dragons de la Garde Impériale.

I'm still working my way through doing a stocktake of the 6mm lead mountain, but when I started doing this regiment in 15mm I thought I'd knock up the same unit in 6mm.

Here they are.

Galleys and Galleys and Monster Fish

Today Mark Woods and I did a bit of test (or retest) of Galleys and Galleons for Ancient naval warfare as we plan to run a big game for the next NWS games day.

Two evenly matched fleets deployed in two squadrons per side, as seen from my opponent's side.

Each force had: 

• 1 Royal Flagship Q4 C5
• 4 Quinquereme Q4 C4 
• 3 Trihemiolia Q2 C2
• 3 Trireme Q3 C2

All were considered to have bow and javelin shooting out to one short all round (no modifier) and the quins and flagship had Chaser Guns, eh, I mean Scorpio.  We thought of having different rules for catapults but decided it was getting unnecessarily complex.

And Mark Woods gets off to fine form on his first activation roll.

We used playing cards to represent the squadrons, he was King and Jack of Spades and I was King and Jack of Hearts.  Simple system works well for multiplayers as well.

My first activation was a bit of a fizz as well.

And then it got interesting...

The Hearts claim first sinking.

The Monster Fish, sometimes played by Simon who had joined us, has a chomp on one of my ships.

Lots of action.

One of the Spade's ships has even caught on fire.

That damn fish has come back for another bite.

End of game.

The Hearts lost two ships sunk and one captured.  The Spades lost two ships, captured one, but have three ships crippled.  The fish is still hungry.

I'm still amazed how well this rule system works and how adaptable it is.  

All that is needed for our big game is a tailored QRS and some ship identity cards.

The fish is truly ancient, having been in my family for as long as I can remember.  My guess is it was a souvenir from one of mum or dad's travels in the 1950s, possibly even earlier.  I reckon its Italian and therefore possibly mum's from the 1950s or maybe dad's from the 1940s.  Pity they are not around to ask, but I am sure they would be happy to see it still is around and bringing fun.

And I can't mention fish without referencing this:

The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) by Yes

Enjoy

War Between The States - Game Turns 64 to 68

The game continues.  The initiatives for the last turn of cycle 9/62 were 3 for the Union and 4 for the Confederates.  Nothing happened.

The Union production cycle after the start of 10/62.

There are troops coming, but they will need more training.

Just for the record the Union augmented a 3-3 to a 10-3, converted a 1-1 to a 1-3, built 34 garrison points, raised 12 militia and ordered two river flotillas.

It looks thin for the rebs, but a lot of battle ready troops will arrive soon.

A Union ironclad has penetrated the Mississippi, having come up from New Orleans.

Union river flotillas move down river, suffering casualties from the reb forts around Union City.

The scene of the big battle.

Beauregard had combined two armies to attack Wilson in the valley.

The attack went in, but the casualties were minimal (phew!)

Build for 11/62

Two river flotillas, a naval transport, five 4-2 militia converted to five 4-3 infantry, fifty garrison points converted to five 10-3 infantry divisions (yeah!) and a 2-2 militia.

The Rebs are coming.

Early Ptolemaic versus Thracian

Time for Big Battles Basic Impetus 2.

Deployment found my pike facing light cavalry.  

Not good.

But we had massed on our right.

Two identical commands under Mark B and Stephen N.

The big picture

The pike being very cautious.

Stephen's death ride.

Very little happens on the left.

The view from on top of the elephants.

Stephen's death ride required iron discipline and a desperate charge.

He had success, but it did not last.

The enemy centre proved elusive.

And their right never got in contact.

The Ptolemaic right wing command routed, but further success by the Thracians was doubtful, so we called it a draw, which was a very gentlemanly thing to do.

The Thracians were run by Andrew and Geoff.

I think I prefer Basic Impetus 2 as is without Big Battles.  If I want to do a big game I would use Impetus.  Regardless we had fun.

Roland C.IIA

I thought this was a nice looking plane

So nice I had to photograph it twice, this time without the flash.  

All I had to do was get to the other side and I'd be home.

I had the Albatross flown by Olivier as protection.

But a long range shot set my crate on fire.

As I fly past the damage only got worse.

But I might have made it...

This Camel got in a few hits which along with the mounting fire damage...

Sent me hurtling out of the sky like a fireball.

The vultures circle the still burning wreck.

The vultures were the Stephens.

War Between The States - Game Turns 57 to 63

Play resumes with a possibly too late decision by the Union to call a second draft.  The Confederates immediately do the same.

In October the Union will get more troops, 

but they will need to be trained and so wont be available till March 1863.  

The war might well be over by then.

For the record, I augmented a 3-3 to a 10-3 and a 2-4 to a 5-4, built 66 garrison points and a naval base.

The Confederates were better placed to build up their existing divisions.

They will arrive in December, four months before the Union's troops.

There had been a chance that rebel militia, still at some 20 factors strong, might have suffered disbandment, but no luck.  There is next to no Union militia on the map.

Crouch tries for an attack on Longstreet.

He gets a retreat result.  They are almost equal strength.

Lee ignores Rosecrans and invests Wilmington,

while Cleburne attacks down the Virginia peninsula.

One of the factors in Lee's decision was the building of a naval base at Morehead City that gave the Union an immediate 5 extra factors and that a 10-3 infantry division arrived (it pays to have the first initiative sometimes).

However in order to do those attacks,

the Rebs had to pull back from northern Virginia.

Big picture in the east.

Big picture in the west.

All is quiet, very quiet, too quiet... 

For those last four turns the Union initiative was 3,2,1,1 and the Rebs 1,5,4,3.

The Union keep building.

I converted a 5-1 to a 5-3, built two supply wagons, five 4-2 militias, 21 garrion points and a 4-3 infantry.

As do the Confederates.

Boom, bang, crash, wallop!

A Confederate ironclad sinks the Union river boats around Memphis.

It was not without loss as the Rebs lose their river boats in exchange.

Unlike the infantry combat table, the naval one is brutal.

For the three turns completed of the 9/62 cycle, the Union initiative was 5,3,5 and the Rebs 2,2,2. However there was little the Union could do except worry.  Rosencrans tried to attack New Berne in North Carolina but without success, although it has brought Lee back down.

Rule Change

We decided that the political point for a decisive victory is only awarded once, like that for fort capture.

Having now seen the Don Johnson enhancements (http://www.limeyyankgames.co.uk/resources/war-between-the-states-don-johnson-2015-edition-rules-charts) the change that the politcal point is awarded if a HQ is lost seems a good one.

"12.HQ loss is permanent and loses a Political point, representing a decisive battle.  No complex rules for determining when a battle is decisive."