A Return to the Sugar Islands... in 40mm

 Last weekend I had the opportunity to catch-up with Graham H and we decided that it had been a bit too long since his excellent 40mm SYW figs had been on the table. So we decided to play the Ambush scenario from my Sugar Islands book. 

The scenario was designed to game the British struggle to get their men through rough country to be able to capture Fort Royal. The British advance was hindered by the narrow road to Fort Royal and the fact that the French were able to continually harass them with swarms of skirmishers taking advantage of the home ground. The British sent their Grenadiers and highlanders forward to clear the way and capture overlooking high ground. 

In  our game a unit of Grenadiers, one of Scots and a supporting unit of line infantry were advancing towards a hill with large house on it. They were attacked by three French units, one of line and one each of marines and militia. 

The game went very well, with the British finding it difficult to engage the French, casualties were not overly high, but Graham suffered from some poor morale rolls which disordered his grenadiers and highlanders and even had them scuttling back to the road in what could otherwise have been said to have been a rout! But there they reformed and the French decided it was time to head for the hill and call it a day. 

A great game, with a few surprising twists. We used Graham's 40mm figs and Jim Purky of Fife and Drum's AWI rules to play. Piccies below - 

Both Wargaming the Sugar Islands and Against Spain are still available , directly from me, from Caliver or from On Military Matters. The UK's postal woes continue at the time this post was written, and a recent order to the US took quite a long time to arrive safely. However it did arrive - thanks Brett for your patience! 

They're Here.....

 

Despite storm Eunice, the books have arrived! 

Full detail of costs, postage, etc will be on the blog tomorrow.

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/

Cojimar Beach, Cuba, 1762.

 A few test shots. These are some bits and pieces I have been working on over the last couple of weeks. The figures are all CrannTara. The fort is from Slug Industries. The battery from Blood and Plunder. The mats are from Tiny Wargames. 

 

I'm currently working on a scenario for the landings and as for the book, the British now stand outside El Moro and the siege is underway. The rest of the book is sketched out and moving forward fairly quickly. 

Stay tuned!

The Engagement at Holzende

Yesterday I had the pleasure of catching up with Graham Hilditch again and after discussing my progress on the Sugar Islands book and his plans for a display we played a short game in what I hope will become come a series of linked battles over the next few months.

Graham has a wonderful collection of figures for many period but his pride and joy are without much doubt his 40mm SYW unit's. I've not really played with 40mm but the detail and variation in the figures together with the realistic proportions gives them something much more than just extra height as I think you will see from the pictures below.

Graham had set up a few units of Prussians and Austrians from his collection and with only a few hours to play I had taken two copies of Jim Purkey's Minden Miniatures SYW rules with both Graham and I played at the Wild Geese get together in June this year. They're well worth checking out if you like a quick game with plenty of ebb and flow.

Graham commanded the Austrians, 2 regiments of foot with a battalion gun, a regiment of Croats and a regiment of Dragoons, supplemented by a single light field piece. I took the advancing Prussians, leading a converged grenadier battalion, infantry regiment with a battalion gun and a fusilier regiment . As we both hope this will be the first in a series of games I have added a little narrative which will give us a theme to fit the games into.

The Austrian troops formed a bridgehead at the small village of Holtzende, just across the river Mosset. Placed on the west side of the road were the Dragoons of Rgt Althann and IR4 Deutchsmeister with the gun in support. Across the village IR3 Carl Lothringen had deployed, tramping the kitchen gardens of the villagers. Beyond them, in the light woods and fields south of the village a battalion of Likaner Croats lay in wait.

Advancing toward them was a small Prussian force hoping to seize the river crossing and unaware that the Austrians had already got there first. It was not until the 2nd Hussars trotted across some open ground that they noticed the Austrians were in possession of Holzende. The grenadiers of battalion 26/13 blundered round the corner of the road and immediately took fire from Croats on either flank and shot from the battalion gun of Carl Lothringen.  They hastily deployed off the road and into line but not before a further volley hit them. This was too much for the surprised Grenadiers, who could see little of the Croats and only the long white line of IR3 deployed and awaiting them, wreathed in smoke from its gun. They turned and scattered back down the road, straight into the horse of Prince Moritz who tore a strip from their commander and sent them to the rear to reform. The advancing fusiliers of Rgt Von Rohr gave them a few catcalls and whistles as they marched past, ready to deploy into the Croat haunted orchards on the Prussian right.

The Prussian Hussars had heard the gunfire and knew the battle had opened. Ahead of them they could see the Dragoons of Althann formed up and decided that they would be the ones to take the battle to their foe, drew sabres and charged. The caught the surprised Dragoons at the halt, but the charge was in haste and poorly formed, the bigger men and horses of the Dragoons gained the upper hand. Although casualties were even the Dragoons remained steady but the Hussars were shaken and forced back in disorder. 

Back in their fields the Prussians had managed to deploy IR14 Von Lehwalt and it began to advance while the Fusiliers of Von Rohr began their advance through the woods on the right. Between them the two regiments drove back the Croats and restored some order to the Prussians. 

On the left however the Austrian Dragoons were not done with the Hussars. Both sides had reformed and when the Dragoon sounded the charge the Hussars galloped toward them. The two sides clashed and again it was the Dragoons who got the upper hand and again the Hussars were sent back. Desperately their commander tried to rally his men but it was not to be and the left the field in some disorder. The Dragoons had moved too far forward however, the Hussars defeat had unmasked the Prussian gun which no fired into the Austrians. Exposed and without support they turned and retired somewhat precipitously toward their own lines.

The crisis point of the battle had now been reached, the Austrians had brought up their second infantry regiment and their cannon and were awaiting the Prussians who were now moving through the wheat fields on the left, having finally cleared the Croats from their path. Von Lehwalt emerged from the crops and opened fire with its battalion gun and fired a volley into Deutschmeister. The Austrians replied causing the Prussians to waver but hold. On the right Von Rohr fired to clear the remaining Likaner Croats, but failed to do so and they remained in place, screening the men of Carl Lothringen from theFusiliers  advance.

The next turn would decide the engagement....

But you'll have to wait because that's all we had time for!

Thanks for the game Graham, look forward to continuing it. Hope you liked the place names!