New Recruits

I haven't posted in awhile because not much has been happening in my hobby. However, I just received some of my Casting Room 28mm 1805 Russians that I intend to use for Blucher, HFG (Horse, Foot, & Guns), and DBN. My friend Al Hulton painted these, and did a wonderful job. I just finished mounting them on 60mm X 30mm MDF bases, the artillery on 60mm X 60mm.

 Above are the Russians that Al has completed for me so far. 4 stands of artillery and 11 stands of infantry.

 Russian foot artillery. Licorne guns.

 Above are the Kursk Regiment (foreground), and the Old Ingermanland Regiment (Second row). Al painted the pompoms with the various battalion distinctives.

 Above is the Perm Regiment.

 Above is the Pskov Regiment (2 left stands) and the Archangel Regiment (2 right stands).

 A single stand of the Pavlovsk Grenadier Regiment. 4 more figures are pending.

 Rear view of the Pavlovsk.

Very impressive indeed. I have about 20 more figures pending.

I still need to terrain the bases (white glue, sand, paint, & flock) and add flags & poles. I have to obtain flags for the standard bearers from GMB Designs. 

I plan to use 2 bases of infantry per brigade for Blucher (which I hope will make the unit more aesthetically pleasing), while HFG & DBN use a single base for infantry brigades (though I suppose I could use 2 for them as well). I have also made labels for each brigade for Blucher, since that game requires maintaining a roster.

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.

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.

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

Blucher Rules

I recently purchased a PDF copy of the Blucher Napoleonic rules by Sam Mustafa. I felt that the Scharnhorst campaign system in the rules would be applicable to a variety of historical wargame periods. After reading various reviews of the rules, I also decided there was definitely potential to play them with my Napoleonic miniatures as already based.

Going to the Honour website & downloading the Blucher PDF was fairly simple. Once you pay with your credit card, you click on a button to download the rules. The download file is a compressed zip file, which you un-pack and gain access to the Blucher PDF. I placed all my Blucher files in it's own directory on my computer and transferred a copy of the PDF file to my tablet, which is more convenient for reading. The Honor website also has additional free download files for the game, including a nice QRS (called "Gneisenau," named for Blucher's talented chief of staff).

After reading through the rules, I find that the Blucher rules are compatible with my Napoleonic troops, which are based for Horse, Foot, & Guns (HFG), so I'm planning to try them out. Similarities between Blucher and HFG are: 

• Scale - units in Blucher and HFG are brigades.

• Measurements - Both rules use "base widths," which is very convenient. As long as all your miniature bases are the same width, you are in business.

• Command Control - Both rules use a method of command control for moving units. HFG uses the "pips" method as pioneered in games like DBA, etc. Blucher uses what it calls "Momentum" (or MO), which is actually similar to "pips," except that the phasing player doesn't know how many MO they have to use in any given turn, since your opponent rolls for your MO and lets you know (revealing the die score) when you've run out as you are moving your troops.

• Army break-point - Both rules use a 33% loss threshold for an army breaking. However, in Blucher if you have a CinC who is a "Legend" (Napoleon is one example of a "legend" in the rules), your army break-point goes up to 50%.

There are items in the Blucher rules I will have to work around, since my miniatures are not exactly based on the recommended dimensions, and I don't have any unit cards (which are purchased separately). Here are a few of them:

• Play without cards - The Blucher rules use cards to hide the identity of units until they are spotted. When units are revealed/spotted, you flip the card over to the unit side, which has all the data needed to play for that unit and track unit losses. You can also replace the unit card with miniature troops, or place troops on top of the card. If replacing cards with only troops, the troops should be based on the same frontage as the cards. The Blucher cards, however, are not the same frontage as my figures (Blucher cards are 3 inches wide, my troops are on 60mm bases). I could place one of my troop stands on top of a Blucher card. Conversely, instead of purchasing/using the Blucher cards or going through the trouble of making my own, I am going to use a single-page unit reference sheet that I made in MS-Excel, which will contain all the unit information needed to play for all units of both armies. I can track losses on each unit by using either a roster, or marking the unit with a small D6.

• Hidden Units - I decided that there isn't much realism to be gained by using or making the cards for concealment. You know when playing the game that a card represents a real unit (there are no "dummy" units), you just aren't sure exactly what kind.

• Reserve Units - Blucher allows you to place units that haven't been spotted or moved yet into reserve. Reserve units can be activated at any point in the game and move up to 12 base widths. I feel we can just mark miniature units that are in reserve without using cards.

• Battlefield dimensions - The rules indicate that a playing surface for a standard game is about  6' x 4.' This size is using units/cards that have a 3" frontage. My units will have 80% of that frontage, so it should open up the battlefield on a 6' x 4' board. It means I should have no problem playing games on my dining room table, which is 5' x 3.5.' 

The Blucher rules are supported rather well on the Honor Forums website, where you can ask questions about the rules, and read what others are saying. There is a great website by the Old Meldrum Wargames Group that has 19 historical Napoleonic battle scenarios for Blucher that they have developed. I can also use these scenarios for HFG. They also have an ACW variant for the Blucher rules and 2 scenarios.

I am looking forward to our first game of Blucher.

Links:

Honour Website

Honour Forums

Free Downloads for Blucher

Old Meldrum Wargames Group Scenarios for Blucher

Another HFG Game

We played another HFG (Horse, Foot, & Guns) game last week at Liberty Hobby Center. This time, Bob & Ron played French & Austrians, both sides marching onto the board (about 75pts per side).

Below are some pix of the action - the French entering on the left, the Austrians on the right. I have some new road sections that I cut out of medium sandpaper. Very stiff and realistic looking.

The cavalry is facing off against each other while behind them, both armies are deploying.

Below is a close-up of the Austrian main body, an Avant Garde corps with (from L to R) Jaeger battalions, 3 Grenzer Brigades, the Corps commander, corps artillery, 2 grenadier and 4 Hungarian Brigades.

The French main force has 7 brigades of infantry, 2 batteries of artillery, and a converged grenadier brigade, overseen by the corps commander. Ahussar brigade is to the far right.

Below is an out of focus picture after the cavalry had clashed in the center, both sides losing one brigade each and the remaining French Hussar brigade that was repulsed moving around the cover of the woods.

The front lines of both sides are closing. The French artillery has recoiled a Grenzer brigade (center). The remaining French cavalry brigade is gone...rounded the woods on the lower right & was blasted by Austrian artillery. The sole remaining Austrian cavalry brigade is threatening the French left, but the French commander has deployed infantry to face them. 

Below is after the last move of the game when we stopped due to time constraints. The French were behind 2 elements to 1.

The order of battle for our little game above is shown below:

French:
Bayonets x 7
Elite Bayonets (converged grenadiers) x 1
Field Artillery x 2
Lt Cavalry x 2
Command Party x 1
Total: 13 elements, 15 element equivalents. BP: 5

Austrian:
Bayonets (Hungarians) x 4
Inferior Lt Infantry (Grenz) x 3
Marksmen (Jaegers) x 2
Elite Bayonets (grenadiers) x 2
Field Artillery x 1
Lt Cavalry x 2
Command Party x 1
Total: 15 elements, 18 element equivalents. BP: 6

First Game of 2018

Had my first game of 2018 last evening, playing HFG (Horse, Foot, & Guns) with my friend Steve, who has never played HFG before. We tried a historical battle scenario, Caldiero from Oct. 30, 1805. We started the battle at 11:30am (when historically, the fog over the battlefield lifted). There was a protracted contest for the village of Caldiero and an entrenchment in the center of the battlefield, which forced us to learn the nuances of fighting in & around a BUA (built-up area). I'm not sure we really understood the rules in this regard, so will have to study them for next time. The scenario seemed workable, though we may give both sides an extra general next time, as each player was commanding 17-19 elements with one general each. The scenario was from Age of Eagles,  which I modified to HFG. We took our time playing & looking up things in the rules, so our game was not played to a conclusion, with the French getting the better of the Austrians, who were losing 3 elements to 0 (the Austrian break-point was 7).

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.