Bavaria 1805 - A 28mm Blucher AAR

Recently, my friends & I gathered to play a large 6-player game of Blucher in 28mm. The scenario was a fictional encounter in Bavaria. The Austrians had 3 corps that were trying to break out north from Ulm into the French rear. Meanwhile the French had 3 corps, and were trying to contain the Austrians until the Grande Armee could complete it's encirclement of Austrian General Mack's army. To spice up the scenario & even the points, a flying column of Russians appeared to reinforce the Austrians.

Below is the order of battle we used for our game:

Austrian Army (411 pts, breakpoint 11):

Riesch's Corps, Poor, 1D6+4 activations.
8 x Veteran Line Infantry
1 x Veteran Grenz
1 x Hussars
1 x Uhlans
1 x Foot Artillery

Werneck's Corps, Poor, 1D6+4 activations.
8 x Veteran Line Infantry
1 x Veteran Grenz
1 x Hussars
1 x Uhlans
1 x Foot Artillery

Kienmayer's Reserve Corps, Hero, Inspiring, 1D6+7
4 x Hungarian Line (Impetuous)
4 x Grenadiers
1 x Curassiers
1 x Dragoons
1 x Foot Battery
1 x Horse Battery

French Army (453 pts, breakpoint 11):

Soult's Corps, Hero, Inspiring, 1D6+6
8 x Ligne/Legere Infantry
2 x Foot Batteries
2 x Lt Cavalry

Lannes' Corps, Inspiring, 1D6+8
5 x Ligne/Legere Infantry
3 x Grenadiers (Oudinot's Division)
1 x Heavy Battery
2 x Lt Cavalry

Ney's Corps, Inspiring, 1D6+9
8 x Ligne/Legere Infantry
2 x Foot Dragoons (Ligne w/o traits)
1 x Foot Battery
1 x Horse Battery
2 x Dragoons

Russian Flying Column (64 pts, breakpoint 2):

Miloradovich, Steadfast, 1D6+4
2 x Jagers
2 x Cossacks
1 x Chevalier Guard (Elite Cavalry)
1 x Dragoons
1 x Horse Battery

We again used a variant from the Honour Blucher forum for generating momentum by grading the corps commanders. The player would roll a die for their commander and add a factor unique for that commander, which would indicate the number of activations the player had for his corps. The factor is ghenerated from a spreadsheet which weights the number and quality of the command and the commander's historical ability. We did not use Corps or CinC activations as in the regular Blucher rules, as all activations are individual. The system is simple, fast, & effective. 

Pictures of the battle below:

The French are to the left, the Austrians on the right. Soult (near) & Lannes' corps (center) coming out of the woods and deploy. Ney's corps is top/center. The Austrians have approached, with all 3 Austrian corps leaving reserves behind (cards). Kienmayer's reserve corps is in the center.

Just prior to Kienmayer & Lannes closing into action. 

Kienmayer has inflicted heavy losses on Lannes (left center). The Russian flying column has appeared as reinforcements (far right). 

 The Russians deploy.

The end of the battle.

We played about 12 turns, with the Austrians holding an advantage in inflicting casualties & forcing retirements. Both sides had numerous brigades retire due to casualties, but neither army was near the breakpoint. 

Most of my friends were new to Blucher, but learned the game very quickly. One set of situations that arose during the game causing discomfort for some was that in Blucher when infantry is required to retreat due to a combat, it does so unless it is fighting any cavalry, in which case the cavalry retreats instead of the infantry. Sam Mustafa has argued in the Honour Forum that he believes infantry in real life would either stand or break to cavalry, and not retreat.

Some details about our game:

Figures are 28mm, mostly Victrix & Perry plastic, & Perry, Brigade Games, & Castingroom miniatures metals.

Bases are 60mm wide (DBN, HFG compatible).

Blucher cards - homemade.

Table dimensions: 6' x 5.'

Fatigue/Ammo recording: used small (10mm) dice to mark fatigue & ammo level next to stands.

Battle of Elchingen 1805, a Blucher AAR

My friend Bob & I had a chance to play a small Napoleonic game of Blucher on my dining-room table. We used the 1805 battle of Elchingen as a scenario. The order of battle I used was adapted from a Napoleon's Battles scenario I obtained here: Link. There is also an excellent account of the battle on the Obscure Battles Blog here: Link. The order of battle we used is shown below:

French At Start
Marshal Ney, excellent, hero, (1D6)+5, (+8 starting on turn 7)
5 x Line/Legere brigades
1 x Lt Cavalry brigade
1 x Dragoon Brigade
1 x Foot Battery
1 x Horse Battery
Army Breakpoint: 3

Reinforcements Turn 7:
4 x Line/Legere brigades
Army Breakpoint: 4

Austrian At Start
General J. Riesch, poor, (1D6)+4
8 x Veteran Line brigades
1 x Cuirassier Brigade
1 x Lt Cavalry Brigade
1 x Foot Battery
Army Breakpoint: 4

Comments on the Order of Battle above: 

1. We used a modified momentum system for our Blucher game that I obtained from the Honour Forums Website. The system rates individual historical commanders and, based on the composition of their force and some built-in "friction," gives a variable on how many units that general can possibly activate in a turn. You simply roll a die at the beginning of your move and add the general's "plus" number to get the number of units you can activate for that turn. For example, on turn 1, Marshal Ney rolls a 2, adds the +5, and can therefore activate 7 individual units that turn. Corps & CinC activation's are not used as in regular Blucher. Overall, while this method doesn't have the uncertainty of knowing how much momentum a player has each turn as in the regular Blucher rules, however it is simpler, allows better commanders to consistently activate more units, and works better for a multi-player game. 

2. Due to the small number of guns available at this battle, I reduced the effectiveness of artillery for this scenario by halving the number of dice available. So an artillery unit had 6 shots of the following number of dice: 3,2,2,2,1,1.

3. In the actual battle, the Austrians had a few Grenadier battalions mixed in with their line infantry. However the line infantry was, by the time of this battle, in a somewhat demoralized state. Therefore, I opted to not give the Austrians any concentrated grenadier brigades, but raised the morale of the line to regular to take into account the presence of the grenadiers among them. Similarly, the Austrians had a Cuirassier Regiment split-up by squadrons among their infantry, a peculiar early war practice. For this game, the Cuirassiers were assumed to be concentrated into a single brigade.

The Battle:

Napoleon ordered Ney's Corps to cross to the north side of the Danube river to prevent the Austrians in Ulm from escaping French envelopment. The battle begins with the French having repaired the Danube bridge and crossing the river in force, while the Austrian covering force had already fallen back from the river. 

The above photo shows the start of the battle...snow covered the battlefield. Ney's corps is crossing the Danube on the right, while Riesch's Austrian corps is deployed on the ridge overlooking the valley between the villages of Ober & Unter Elchingen.

The French crossing the bridge. The infantry are Essex 28mm metal figures. The artillery is Victrix plastic. The troop stands are 60mm wide.

The Austrian infantry occupying Ober-Elchingen, supported by a battery of guns & Hussars to their right. The Austrian infantry is Victrix 28mm plastic, the guns and cavalry are Perry 28mm metal. The buildings are pre-painted from the Miniature Building Authority.

 Above, the Austrians have come down from the ridge towards the French in an attempt to keep them bottled up near the bridgehead. Historically, the Austrians stayed on the ridge and allowed the French to deploy opposite the entire ridge.

The French & Austrian artillery has fired, shown by the dice next to them, indicating how many shots they have left.

The Austrian player has activated the infantry in Ober-Elchingen to become a "garrison."

The above photo is several turns later. Malher's Division infantry has arrived and crossed the bridge, reinforcing the French (lover right). The Austrian infantry nearest Ober-Elchingen charged the French, and were generally repulsed. The Austrians in the right of the photo are still pressing the French, who will have to use creative movement to extricate some of their units. Generally, Marshal Ney was able to move most of what he wanted for much of the game.

A few turns later, the photo above shows the French have the upper hand, driving back the Austrians. The final tally was 3 Austrian units broken, 1 retired. No French units were lost or retired. One telling event was after the Austrian had launched another set of charges, the French won most of the melees, then poured volley fire into the Austrians in their next turn.

We may re-fight this scenario again using another set of rules, like HFG, DBN, or DBA-HX, & see how they compare.

Small Napoleonic Armies: French Army Ready

My French Army for my Small Napoleonic Armies project is finally where I want it to be. My figure painter gave me 36 painted figures last month, though he still has another 36 or so to go. In the mean time, I found some Essex 28mm figures that I had purchased over 25 years ago and had completed some and started some. I decided to finish these (36 figures) and now my army is ready for some large scenarios.

Above is the army as it stands now. I have 27 stands of regular infantry (about 2/3 Victrix plastic, about 1/3 Essex metal). The Essex figures are in the center infantry group between 2 groups of Victrix. In the background are 2 stands of dismounted dragoons (Perry plastic) & 3 stands of Perry Line Grenadiers (metal). To the right are 8 stands of Perry plastic Dragoons & Hussars. In the foreground are 15 gunners & 3 guns (Victrix plastic) and 2 metal guns (Old Glory). The Marshals are Perry metal figures. All the figures are mounted on 60mm frontage stands, originally intended for the HFG (Horse, Foot, & Guns) rules. This scheme (with each stand = brigade/grand battery) will also work for the following rules: DBA-HX 3.0, DBN 2.1, Volley & Bayonet, Grande Armee, and the Blucher rules by Sam Mustafa. The single 4 figure stands of infantry may not look impressive as a brigade. However, I can double up the stands to make 8 figure brigades for smaller battles, and use single stands for larger battles. My French army still needs cuirassiers & chasseurs a cheval, so that is something to do for the future, along with the Imperial Guard. That is the plan for now, anyway.

 
Above, I also completed more Austrians, a stand each of Cuirassiers and Dragoons. The figures are Casting Room Miniatures in 28mm. They were fun to paint, as well, with a lot of nice detail. This now brings my Austrian army up to 16 stands of regular infantry, 3 grenzer, 4 artillery, 6 cavalry, 5 grenadier, and 4 stands of General officers. I have 1805-7 Russians waiting in the wings to do next.

Battle of Flodden, Sept 9, 1513

A few weeks ago, six of us played using a variant of the Big Battle DBA rules for a re-fight of the Battle of Flodden. My friend Bob has the figures for this battle, and we also used his modifications of the DBA rules. Modifications included:

• Allowing the English artillery to fire in the enemy bound because many of the English artillerymen were sailors experienced at naval gunnery.
• Penalizing archery due to the rain.
• Scottish Highlanders were treated as 3Wb, with a 3Bw ability to shoot.
• Adjusted the break point for commands and winning the battle to 50%.

The historic battle was fought on Sept. 9, 1513 between the English & the Scots. You can read more about the historical battle here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flodden 

Above: A map of the battle.

Below are a series of photos of our game:

The initial deployment for the battle. The English are on a low ridge at the right in the photo, the Scots on the left.

Another view of the initial deployment. The ground cloth we are using is called "Teddy Bear Fur," which really makes the miniature battlefield look like grassland.

A photo from behind the English right flank & the Howard's command, as the Scots begin their advance.

A close-up of King James's command group.

A close-up of the Earl of Surrey's command.

A close-up of the Lord Admiral's command, with Baron Dacre's horse in reserve.

Lord Home's Scots advancing on the Howard's.

  Errol's Scots (right) advancing on the Admiral's forces.

Lord Stanley's force appears on the far left English flank. Baron Dacre's cavalry has moved across the stream ahead of them to threaten the Scot's right flank.

A view of the developing battle. The fenced area is a dice box.

Errol's & the Admiral's troops outflanking each other.

Errol's & the Admiral's troops turning/facing in a new direction as the rest of the Scots try to close. The square walled area is another dice box.

An overview of the previous picture.

The remains of Howard's command.

The Admiral's command has broken while the Scots close on the Earl of Surrey.

Baron Dacre & the Stanley's have not closed fast enough with the Scottish right to effect the battle.

A win for the Scots this time around.

Epic History TV Napoleonic Videos

I came across some YouTube videos on a channel called: Epic History TV. They have some well done videos on some famous Napoleonic battles: Jena 1806 (includes Auerstadt), Austerlitz, Toulon, & Waterloo. Below is the Jena 1806 video:

A link to the Epic History Channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvPXiKxH-eH9xq-80vpgmKQ

They also have videos on other subjects. The ones on Alexander the Great look promising.

Summer Projects

So this summer, I've been busy with family activities, going slowly & intermittently with my miniatures painting. I am finally finishing more early Napoleonics in 28mm for my small Napoleonic armies project.

The first group are Russian Don Cossacks. The figures are Perry metal 28mm, and are very nice indeed. I have mounted them on 2 figure bases as Light Horse for the HFG (Horse, Foot, & Guns) rules. Don Cossacks were present at Austerlitz, Eylau, and Friedland.

The next stand of cavalry are the Kharkov (Russian) Dragoons, from the 1805-7 period. During this period, Russian Dragoon and Jager Infantry Regiments wore a pea green colored tunic rather than the more familiar dark green that they would wear later. After reviewing numerous illustrations & paintings of Russian Dragoons, I settled on Craftsmart Spanish Olive for the green color. The 28mm figures are by Brigade Games, sculpted by the same sculptor who did the Victrix 28mm plastic Napoleonic range. The Kharkov Dragoon Regiment had orange facings and fought at Austerlitz, assigned to Uvarov's Brigade in the 5th (cavalry) column commanded by Prince Johann von Liechtenstein.

The Chevalier Guard is the next stand of figures completed, with figures also by Brigade Games. The Chevalier Guard was a Cuirassier Regiment, but did not wear the Cuirass during the 1805-7 campaigns. During this period, they would be considered Elite Heavy Cavalry, on par with the Horse Grenadiers of the French Imperial Guard. Many illustrations show the Chevalier Guard with yellow & black stripes as trim around the border of the red horse blanket. However, my research has found that the yellow & black stripes did not appear until 1811. The Chevalier Guard was part of the Russian Imperial Guard Corps at Austerlitz, commanded by the Grand Duke Constantine. At Friedland, the Chevalier Guard was assigned to Kogine's Cavalry Brigade, attached to Osterman-Tolstoi's Division.

Russian Jagers are the next stands completed. They are also by Brigade Games. You get three poses in an 8 figure pack. The figures are "cast on demand" when you order them. The Jagers are in the same green as the dragoons, and also wear a unique double billed shako. The Russians were new to light infantry tactics at this time and not as advanced or experienced as their French opponents. In HFG terms, the Jagers would be considered inferior light infantry. There were 4 line Jager regiments at Austerlitz, and 8 regiments present at Eylau & Friedland.

Russian mounted officers are next, figures from Brigade Games.

The last stand I completed is an Austrian 6pdr "Wurst" (sausage) gun by Perry Miniatures. It is definitely one of the oddities of the Napoleonic wars, with the artillery crew riding on the "wurst" gun carriage. I'm guessing it was a rough, uncomfortable ride. I will use the model as a horse gun.

My source of information on the Russian Army of the Napoleonic Wars is Jonathan Gingerich, whose excellent website is here:

http://zaotlichiye.net63.net/allfacings.html