Small Napoleonic Armies in 28mm: Second HFG Game, Northern Italy

Bob & I had our second HFG (Horse, Foot, & Guns) game, this time using Revolutionary French vs the Austrians. We used Bob's French Revolution period 28mm French & Austrians, supplemented by some of my 1800-1807 figures. 

Instead of a battle where we were deployed on the field, we had a meeting engagement where both armies marched onto the board. Both armies had average generals this time. 

Below was our Order of Battle:

French:
8 x Bayonets (Line infantry Demi Brigades)
1 x Elite Bayonet (converged Grenadiers)
1 x Foot Artillery
2 x Light Cavalry (Gendarmes)
1 x CP (Massena)
Total: 13 elements/70 points

Austria:
8 x Muskets (German Infantry Regiments/Brigades)
2 x Inferior Light Infantry (Grenz)
1 x Foot Battery
2 x Light Cavalry (Uhlans)
1 x CP (Alvinczi)
Total: 14 elements/70 points

Above - Early in the game. Both sides have marched using road column until they were in proximity. The HFG rules use DBA mechanics. A road column's first march move of a bound costs 0 pips, so it didn't take long for both sides to close. The cultivated fields on the battlefield have no effect in the game.

Above - Both sides have deployed from road column into line formation and are marching towards each other. The French had their artillery as a leading element (top left) and had a lucky long range shot (doubling) against one of the Austrian Uhlan Brigades near the town (left center), destroying it. The Austrians now have only one cavalry brigade.

Above-another view of the same positions/. Note the Austrian infantry (foreground) in Casquet headgear.

Above - The Austrians (foreground) are closing on the French. A gap has developed between the French right (above left) and the rest of the army. The Austrians have anchored their right flank against the small woods (right). The Austrian foot battery is in a position to provide rear support for close combat to 4 infantry elements - the 2 the artillery is in contact with to it's front, plus one element on each side of them. This represents the battery being deployed among the 4 brigades. Also, the Austrian left has evened the score by destroying a French Gendarme brigade with Grenzer musketry.The other Gendarme brigade has fallen back to it's guns after an unsuccessful charge.

Above - The Austrians have destroyed another Gendarme brigade with combined musketry of Grenz and Infantry fire. The Austrians have closed near the gap in the French line.

Above-Another view of the same point in the battle.

Above - The Austrians are closing on the French center-right. The Austrian brigade with the white battalion flag has recoiled from musket fire. On the left, the Austrians have lost a Grenz brigade to punishing fire from the French battery, while the Grenzers caught the French grenadiers with flanking musketry fire, destroying them. Flanking fire is devastating (-3 to the die roll of the flanked unit).** At this point in the game, the French have lost 3 brigades, the Austrians 2.

** This is an addendum to the description above. We realized afterwards that we were using a few old modifiers on our HFG playsheet from earlier versions. Enfilade or Flanking fire is no longer -3 to the die roll to the victim. It is now -1 in the latest version of HFG. Therefore the French Grenadier brigade would have survived, though it's loss did not effect the outcome of the battle. Distant shooting in HFG is generally deadlier than DBA, especially at close range, if the target marched, or is enfiladed. Infantry in HFG have lower combat factors than in DBA, which makes them easier to kill. However, when you have supporting shooters in HFG, you add +1 for each support to the shooter's die roll, which is unlike DBA, where you subract 1 from the target's die roll for each support shooter.

Above - a close-up of the main battle-line.

Above - This was the scene when the Austrian force reached break-point, having lost their other Uhlan and Grenzer brigade at the hands of the deadly French artillery battery. It helps when the French player keeps doubling his opponent's die roll. In the center, the Austrians lost another brigade due to French musketry fire, reaching the break-point of 5. The French kept out of Austrian musketry range while the French were able to engage at longer distance due to their brigades having integral skirmishers (abstracted for play by giving the French longer musketry range). The French lost a total of 3 elements/brigades.

Above - A closer view of the remains of the Austrian army.

Lessons learned: 

The Austrian artillery never engaged because it was deployed to assist in close combats, which never happened. Distant Combat is deadlier in HFG than in DBA. Light Cavalry is particularly vulnerable to musketry & artillery fire. Marching elements can march outside of command range, requiring the general to spend a pip to relocate to keep up with them, or spend extra pips to keep marching them. However, marching in general, especially on roads, makes an army very mobile. Elements can keep marching as long as they have pips and remain outside of 1.5 BW of the enemy.

Small Napoleonic Armies in 28mm: First HFG Game

My friend Bob & I had our first HFG (Horse, Foot, & Guns) game. Bob played Austrians & I played the French. It was sort of an encounter battle, with 68 pts/side. The French had 13 elements, while the Austrians had 17. Below is the order of battle:

French:
7 x Bayonets (Line Infantry)
1 x Inferior Muskets (Dismounted Dragoon Brigade)
1 x Elite Bayonets (Converged Grenadiers)
1 x Foot Artillery
2 x Light Cavalry (Hussars)
1 x Command Party

Austrian:
7 x Muskets (Line Infantry)
2 x Bayonets (Hungarians)
1 x Inferior Light Infantry (Grenz)
1 x Marksmen (Jaegers)
2 x Elite Bayonets (Converged Grenadiers)
1 x Foot Artillery
2 x Light Cavalry (Hussars & Uhlans)
1 x Command Party (Inert)

The above represents approximately a corps sized force per side, though the French had fewer elements though both sides had equal points. The break point for both sides is 33%, or 5 elements for the French, 6 for the Austrians.

Bob set up first on his half of the board. The French set up second, within 3 BW (base widths) of the rear edge.

 Above is the set up, French to the left, Austrians to the right. Bob deployed his entire force in line without a reserve, anchored on the built-up area on his right flank. Bob also had cavalry across the river by the bridge. I had grenadiers & dismounted dragoons in reserve.

Above is the far left flank of the Austrians, where Bob has detached an element of Marksmen and Grenzers (top of photo near woods).

The game began slowly, especially for the Austrians, as Bob had a run of bad luck with PIP rolls, getting several ones & twos, subtracting -1 due to his general being inert. Not many pips to work with.

Above, the French advanced with march moves. The Austrian cavalry crossed the bridge (see top of photo), while the Grenzers and Jaegers approached the French right (lower right).

Above, the Austrians had enough pips to charge their cavalry against the French cavalry.

 The cavalry battle above was an even trade, as both sides lost an element of cavalry. The French deploy their dragoons to cover the right flank.Both sides have recoiled elements from artillery fire.

The French repulsed the remaining Austrian cavalry with a supporting infantry element (top). French artillery fire has recoiled 2 Hungarian and a Grenadier element (right).

The French have moved into distant shooting range for Bayonets, however they squandered an opportunity to keep out of Austrian musket range for a turn.

Above, the shooting and close combats have not gone well for the French. They have lost another 2 elements, bringing their total to 3 lost, 2 away from break point. The Austrian Hussars have driven the French Hussars back. Bob, due to his general's inert status, never had enough PIPS to move his Grenz & Jaegers, who spent the rest of the game where  they are (lower right).

Above, a close-up of the action in the center.

Above, the end of the battle as the French broke after losing thier 5th element. The Austrians lost 2 elements.

Observations - HFG has many of the same game mechanics as DBA. However, there are some important differences from DBA:

• Movement Rates - much slower than DBA. Muskets move 1 BW, Bayonets 1.5 BW. However, all troops may make March Moves.
• Ranges - Much shorter than DBA: Muskets fire 0.5 BW, while Bayonets, Light Infantry, & Marksmen fire 1 BW (represents skirmishers out in front, not better weapons). Artillery shoots 4 BW, Heavy Artillery shoots 5 BW.
• Command Radius: A Command Party only has a range of 2 BW, but can move 5 BW. An Army Headquarters (representing the King/Emperor & entourage) can move only 2 BW, but has a command radius of 5 BW. The much shorter command radius means keeping troops in and moving in groups close to the general to minimize PIP expenditure.
• Infantry & Cavalry cannot move directly into contact with enemy foot if they begin their move more than 0.5 BW (1.5 BW for cavalry) away. This means that the enemy should be able to shoot at them for at least one turn.
• Infantry advancing into distant shooting range can hold their fire, possibly making them eligible to press forward (an outcome move) into close combat if they equal/beat their distant combat opponent's fire.
• Cavalry can pursue beaten opponents within a specified distance option, and end in contact, causing a new close combat. Multiple close combats by one element in a turn are possible.
• There are additional outcome results other than Recoil, including Repulsed (retreat), Halt, Silenced, Routed, and Spent.
• Instead of acting as a grand battery, artillery can provide rear support for up to 4 elements, causing a -1 to close combat opponents.
• Game scale is 400 paces/BW. An infantry element is 1500-2500 men. Artillery is 18-24 guns. Cavalry is 1250-1500 troopers.

Overall, it was a very satisfactory game. The quick reference sheets I made were very helpful. We are learning the nuances of play, so play took a little longer than normal (2-2.5 hours). Bob has Revolutionary Period French & Austrians, which go well with my troops. We may use his troops in our next game.

Small Napoleonic Armies in 28mm: Finally Ready to Play My First HFG Game

I finally received enough painted French troops from my painter, which I have based, to play my first HFG game. I have the following French elements available:

4 x Light Cavalry (Hussars)
4 x Dragoons
9 x Bayonets (Line Infantry)
2 x Inferior Muskets (dismounted Dragoons)
3 x Elite Bayonets (Oudinot's Grenadiers)
2 x Field Artillery
1 x Heavy Artillery
3 x Command Parties

Above are the French. They are comprised mostly of Victrix plastic. The Grenadiers and Marshals are metal Perrys and the Cavalry is plastic Perry.

In preparing to play HFG, I was unable to find a good quick reference sheet on the HFG Yahoo Group. I wound up making my own using Excel, though it is 4 pages. I did simplify it by placing movement, distant shooting, close combat, and miscellaneous items on their own sheet. I also converted the "paces" measurements in HFG to Base Widths (BW) as in DBA 3.0.

I still have over 60 French infantry still at the painters. When finished, I should be able to match the 3 Austrian Corps with 3 French ones. I have started a Russian "Column" of 2 Divisions as reinforcements to the Austrians. The Russian 2 x 12# Heavy Batteries and 2 x Horse Gun Batteries are below.

Russian Guns are Old Glory. Foot & Horse Artillerists are Casting Room Miniatures. At some point, probably this winter, I will flock or "tuft" the bases with static grass.

Small Napoleonic Armies in 28mm: Austrian Army Augmented & Completed

In my last post, I indicated that my Austrian Army was completed. However, I came across some additional figures that I didn't send off to be painted. I assembled/painted (Victrix Austrians) them as Hungarians (see below). 

So now, my Austrian Army organized for Horse, Foot, & Guns (HFG) contains the following:

2 x Armeekorps, each comprised of:

8 x Muskets (fusiliers)
1 x Inferior Light Infantry (Grenz)
1 x Artillery
2 x Light Cavalry (Uhlans & Hussars)
1 x CP (General)

I now have a third, reserve Armeekorps comprised of:

4 x Bayonets (Hungarian fusiliers)
1 x Inferior Light Infantry (Grenz)
5 x Elite Bayonets (massed/converged Grenadiers)
2 x Elite Marksmen (Jagers)
1 x CP (General)

Each Armeekorps contains 12 elements and a general, for a total of 39 elements, not unlike a BBDBA army in size. The corps structure above is similar to that found in the HFG rulebook for 1805 Austria. In the future, I will add a few dragoon/chevaux-legers, and cuirassiers. The force I have allows for reasonable "what-if" encounters between Mack's army & Napoleon's army in Bavaria. It also gives me enough troops to do Caldiero (Archduke Charles vs Massena in Northern Italy) and the Marengo campaign. The battle of Hohenlinden (Moreau vs Kray) in 1800 is also a possibility.

I am considering rating Hungarian infantry elements as Bayonets, instead of as Muskets in HFG. Christopher Duffy remarks in his book "The Army of Maria Theresa" that the Hungarian regiments of the Austrian army were particularly known for their aggressiveness. Phil Barker already rates the Hungarians during the 7 Years War as Bayonets, while the rest of the Austrian infantry are Muskets. I tend to think that the Hungarians hadn't changed much during 1800-1805, although in HFG, P. Barker makes all Austrian infantry "Muskets." I would be interested in what others think.

My French infantry & artillery are still in the early process of painting at the painters. I've also started a small Russian force (about 20 elements) that I am leisurely painting myself for now.