Almost done - Against Spain

 What do you do when you are relaxed and have plenty headspace? 

Catch up on the project you've been working away on for ages and finish it! 

The text is done, the pictures are in place and sources referenced, the scenarios and maps are in place. Lossiemouth has been a place I can relax and unwind since we started coming here when my wife was doing her training in Elgin. So I took my laptop up and finished off the bits I have been meaning to for so so long. 

When I get home I will put in the last reference books and papers I used and get a spell check and then get in touch with the printers. All going well this should be ready very very soon. 

Keep your eyes peeled. 

Some new reading material - The Canadian Rebellions

 I've been reading up on the 1st Afghan War recently and like any other wargamer wondered where else I could use figures in those in those uniforms. I stumbled across the Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada as being suitable for bell shako wearing Brits and decided to find out more. 

Wikipedia has a few articles about the rebellion and the battles which ensured, but working out who, when and where with what wasn't always easy so a little more digging threw these two books up. So I ordered them thinking it would be January before I saw either of them.

But this week the both popped thru the letter box and so I have some 

Rebellion - The  Rising in French Canada by Joseph Schull cover the lower Canada rebellion. It's an older book, written 1971 but it has an easy style to it which is making it a good read. There is plenty background  on the history, politics and personalities and some excellent illustrations and maps. It will probably provide the deeper background and context that I'm looking for and hopefully won't skimp on some military info that isn't in the Wikipedia pages. 

Guns along the River - the Battle of the Windmill 1838 by Donald Graves is a very detailed and very well illustrated book about an attack lunched across the St Lawrence river from the US to Canada by a clandestine militia seeking to establish a republic. The occupied a stone windmill and fortified the position and were attacked by British regulars and Canadian Militia over 5 days. This has just arrive but it is packed with info and maps of what is in effect a mini campaign.

Sooo....what figures and how?

For the British - easy. I have a couple of units of Foundry Afghan war troops in bell shakos. Iron Duke do excellent figures in greatcoats or there is the taller Studio range also in greatcoats. Several actions were fought late in the year in very low temperatures amongst the snow and ice, so greatcoats are important. Perry also have their Carlist War British who may have some useful bits. 

For the Patriot Hunters and other "rebel" groups there are two possibilities. War of 1812 frontier militia seem to be a good match, especially Knuckleduster. Since these skirmishes took place a couple of years before the Alamo, figures for that campaign will be useful too - Old Glory and Artizan spring to mind. Possibly some blanketcoat clad FIW French Coureur de bois might suit for skirmishers too.

Rules? Rebels and Patriots obviously! 

Terrain and scenery? A white cloth and snowy trees seem essential and I have some plundered from Xmas villages which look nice. AWI buildings seem to fit the illustrations I've seen well too and I have a few of those around as well as split rail fences. I also have plenty redoubt sand fieldworks. Might have to think about a large stone windmill though! There are also some boats and paddle steamers featured in the latter book which might give an interesting dimension. I have the rowing boats but a steamer sounds good! 

Flutter fluttter.....uhoh!😂 Let's see where this leads!

Colonial Campaign - simple rules and mods.

Folks, for those interested you can download these simple campaign rules which we used for our colonial campaign at the club. 

They are set in the 1830's and 40's with lists for HEIC, Afghans and Sikhs. But you could use the basic flowchart for later campaigns too. 

Hope you enjoy!

Two Games - The Crimea and Corrichie

 I had the chance to catch up with some mates this week. Two games played - the first, a brief Crimean war game with Graham H whose British Guard saw off my Russians.

Over lockdown last year I built up my Crimean war armies. These comprise of  plastic Warlord Russians supplemented by a few Great War Miniatures metal figures picked up on eBay and Great War British Guards and some accompanying Rifles, Artillery and Hussars. Just enough for a game. I have some modifications using Rebels and Patriots so we played through with those. The double 1's and 6's seemed somehow apt for the mismanaged campaign and as you can imagine popped up a couple of times during the game. We played with everything I had, rather than it being points balanced, (the British came in around 66 points while the Russians were in the 40's had we been counting), it was a fun game after all. 

My Russians chewed up Grahams flank, but then his hussars swept in and drove off my Cossacks and captured a gun. Grahams artillery cleared my skirmishers off the hill, but my chaps got their revenge and whittled down the guards as they advanced. However even with Russian reinforcements coming up the battle was lost. It was good fun though. 

The second game was a trial refight of the battle of Corrichie - a local encounter between supporters of Mary Queen of Scots under her half brother Moray and the forces of the rebellious Duke of Gordon and his followers. This is a battle which I have been researching for some time and this was my first opportunity to trial my order of battle and classifications using Pikemans Lament. 

To say that it went well and followed history to a great extent is an understatement. True to form Gordon's men beat up the raw Aberdeen militia and drove them back, but when they tried to take on the veteran Lothian men they came up short and on the very last turn of the game, I rolled a double 1 and Gordon was slain.....

...However here's the twist...Moray's pike also took casualties....and Bill also rolled a double one....so both leaders were killed!! 

Quite what affect the death of Moray would have on Scottish renaissance politics is anyones guess, but it would have been considerable. The Gordon's fate may have been largely the same or they may have suffered all the more in retaliation. It's certainly set me to readying the other battles to try using the rules. 

I don't have pictures of the actual game...being a trial we didn't bother too much with scenery and the battle took place on a bare hilltop...but here is a shot of  the mix of Foundry, Graven Images/Timeline and D'Arlo/Vendel figures which I've used for this period. I'm quite happy to mix them all!

A North West Frontier mini campaign

 Over the past few weeks I have been running and playing a loose North West Frontier mini campaign with the Oldmeldrum Wargames Club. This set around the time of the First Afghan War and is a series of linked games based on the advance to, and retreat from Kabul in 1830-42

Using The Men Who Would Be Kings, I've tweaked some of the stats for troop types, giving the British/HEIC troops muskets and allowing the Afghans to add some jezail armed snipers. I've classed the Sepoys as regulars, but made them unenthusiastic, so they lose the +1 discipline. We also used one or two leaders per side with a 4" command radius and lowered the activation score to 7 for units without leaders. We have a house rules that a pinned unit may withdraw rather than needing to reform. 

This made for some interesting and challenging games. Some where units frustratingly refused to do quite what was asked of them, other where units melted away when we needed them in place. Units cut down to the last man when ammo ran out and positions captured with the lightest of casualties....in short a series of decent, fun and fulfilling games. The British just scraped through with most victories but each battle and moments where things could have gone either way. 

The club can now put on large games using these rules with multi players per side for the NWF, Sudan and the Zulu War, so I can see similar sets of games in each location coming next year. I'll be sticking to India and in particular the campaigns up to and including the Mutiny....but not just in the 19th Century...

Pickets

 "The Picket Guard is a Body of Men always to be ready, lying with their Arms in their Hands, to turn out in case of an Alarm; but are not commanded by the next Officer on Detail, but such as are appointed by the Picket; but must march either faster or slower, to sustain Out-posts, Foraging, Escourts, or any other Service; and it shall be allowed them in their Tour of Duty"

These are men of the 36th, and accompanied by a member of the 10th dragoons. They are keeping an eye out for Jacobites as they were painted for the '45. In November 1745 there was snow on the ground and Carlisle had fallen on the 15th, captured because Wade had been held up by the weather.

The weather has taken a cold snap here too and rather than a trip south to see my son we too were turned back. It was bad enough driving...quite how 18th century armies made it in the snow and driving wind beggars belief. 

They are Warrior Miniatures, from the club's collection and rebased by me as these are the only such figures which we received from this manufacturer. As such there is just enough to represent men on picket duty. 

Stuff from the Lead Pile

 Rotten weather this weekend meant a chance to catch up with some painting. My 19thC kick continues with these Rifle Brigade figures from Great War Miniatures. They've been kicking around half done for ages, so I decided that had to change.

Getting the dark rifle green was a little tricky but I added a wash of Citadel Contrast Dark Angels Green and that seemed to get that "darker than bottle but not black green" colour I was after. The poses are excellent - lots of movement and action in them, perfect for skirmishers. 

Raking about in the drawer I found an RA artillery pack and 17 Warlord plastic Russians.....17...one short! If anyone has a Warlord or Great War Russian officer going spare let me know!!!

Once those are finished all of my Crimean War figures will be done - another project nailed.

Painting will slow now. I have some writing to do, some 18thC figures to base and some photos to take. 

Sikh Wars - Akali Warriors.

 Some time ago I bought a box of Sikh Wars figures from Graham Cummings. I have almost finished painting all of that little treasure trove and have been adding to it here and there and expanding into the earlier Afghan War of 1839-42. 

The most colourful figures in there were these Sikh Nihang or Akali warriors, clad in blue and yellow. Graham started off a couple of them and I've now finished off the rest of the unit. 

The Akali movement saw themselves as the armed protectors of the Sikh faith and used traditional weapons including sharpened steel quoits which were spun and cast towards the enemy. Their colourful clothing is depicted in several superb paintings one of which is shown below. 

These figures are from Wargames Foundry. Studio Miniatures also make Sikh wars figures but they are very tall 28's and sadly incompatible, I feel, with Foundry's well sculpted but smaller 25's. Iron Duke's Indian Mutiny figures also provide some useful figures and are much more similar in size to Foundry, albeit in a more dynamic and modern style, sculpted by Paul Hicks. These two ranges will provide what I need to finish this project, supplemented here and there with choice bits like the Carlist Wars Rocket Battery and plastic Afghans from Perry and the Afghans from Wargames Atlantic. 

 For The Men Would Be Kings, this unit of tribal infantry will be Fierce. It will lead from the front, for at the time of the Sikh wars the Sikh leadership saw them as a group of fanatics who should be allowed to sacrifice themselves and thus rid them of potential troublemakers.

We've already had a Sikh Wars game at Oldmeldrum and have another one planned this week. I've made up a campaign which I hope to run shortly and I understand that the Quartermaster in Chief has spoken to the Colonial Steamboat Company and some scenery is under construction for Xmas delivery. See what you started Graham!😁

Before I sign off, some 18thC news. My mojo has much returned of late and I'm now all but finished Against Spain. Proof reading highlighted some changes that were required and a few tweaks were needed to the scenarios. Stay tuned! 

The Wargames Annual 2022 - a wee plug!

 I got an email this morning to say that Graham and I's Partizan demo game made it to the pages of Charles Grant's "Wargames Annual 2022" and that he also mentioned this blog. 

For those of you not familiar with it, this really is an excellent publication and for anyone seeking inspiration, an excellent stocking filler for the upcoming winter solstice seasonal celebration! 

Copies are available on eBay and from Caliver books.

My copy is on its way!

40mm Austrians v Prussians

This weekend it was time to catch up with Graham H and have a game with his 40mm collection, which is never a chore. 

Graham sent me a map to which I was to sketch my deployment, internet gremlins made this more difficult than it seems and for a while it looked like my Prussians would be lacking orders as the courier (ie email) was not getting through! 

Not being sure of what I was expecting I set up a fairly balanced deployment. Two lines of infantry with my heavy cavalry on my right and my lights and grenadiers on my left, these to capture a village on that side of the table while the cavalry were to deny any flanking moves by the Austrians until such time as I was able to shift my rear line to one flank or the other to decide the battle. 

Graham with the Austrians began the game with his troops in March column, intent on moving across the table quickly to take the high ground in the middle of the table. While his Hungarians to the village to his left while two big units of infantry threatened the village on the right 

Graham's centre was this bunched up and didn't have a lot of room to deploy. This meant I was able to pick them off with musketry with the odds in my favour rather than facing units one to one in a line similar to my own. The deployment of Austrian cavalry as the "hinge" between the Hungarian left and the rest of the Austrian army at times masked the Austrian guns which otherwise would have carved up my right. 

On the left my freikorps were able to get into the village, but facing two full infantry regiments they and their supporting grenadiers were outnumbered and the flank march was quite a ways from the main body. So instead of fighting it out they looted the village and set it alight ! Their accompanying dragoons demonstrated and kept the Austrians in place long enough for them to be kept out of the battle.

Back in the centre the decisive moments of the game had been reached. I'd lost two units of Prussian infantry from my front line but my second had come up in support and stabilised things. These now poured in a weight of shot and caused the Austrians in their turn to break. On my right I was able to bring an artillery battery and battalion guns to bear and staved off involvement from the cavalry. 

The odds had shifted in my favour. The Austrians on the hill were shattered and my centre stabilised, my left flank was secure and my right had occupied a village and was sitting with three fresh heavy cavalry units. Graham had recalled units from his right, pulled his central cavalry back to cover the hill and set his Hungarians in place on his left, but it was clear that he had nothing to attack with and would, with the arrival on the rest of my heavy artillery from flank duties on my left, would have to quit the field. 

Huzzah! Victory for Prussia!

Good to be playing a big game once again. We will be getting together for another game in December.

Afterwards we chatted about the demo game at Partizan and kicked around some ideas for what to do for next year. No details or indeed firm plans yet, but we shall be making an appearance at what was a great show. I understand from Graham that there will be photos and details of the game in next months WI and MW. 

Partizan - Thank you.

 A quick post - just to say thank you to the organisers, attendees and traders at Partizan today. I had a fantastic time and I can honestly say it was the best show I've been to. Everyone was very friendly and it was great to catch up with so many people and to chat to many many more. 

As the Friends of Am Military Gentleman, Graham Hilditch and I put on a demo game of a "Descent on the French Coast" featuring Graham's rather excellent 40mm figures and buildings and of course his wonderful ships. Thanks to all of these the game won Best of Show. 

Watch the wargames press for more on this game, meantime there are a few pictures below. 

Hello to Colin and Katherine, Roddy, Peter, Graham, Steve, Stuart, Mark, Dave, Phil, Martin, Dave, Henry and everyone else I talked to!

Quick update - https://www.facebook.com/427825860606117/posts/4301381749917156/