Franco Prussian War

To Forres last Sunday for a chat with Graham H about a future project and a Franco - Prussian game. More about the former another time, but our Franco Prussian collection is getting large and whilst we wait for the Perry's to build up the range I now have 3 Divisions of French infantry whilst Graham's got about 2 Divisions of Prussians. We both need cavalry and artillery more infantry.

That didn't stop us having a game though, to test my home made rules which are a pastiche of bits of Osprey's blue book activation and other mechanisms. A few tweaks are required, and we worked out a way to represent off table artillery which helps give the battlefield the right sort of depth and the Prussians the ability to plaster the French, and negate the power of the Chassepot...although they still need to take the ground. 

Piccies below from what was a rather nice day.

The Battle of Portlethen - 1780

Whilst looking for an ex colleagues new business I stumbled across an account of a skirmish between Scottish Fencibles and French Privateers in 1780. Couple this with 6 hours in a train and I wrote a wee skirmish scenario for it. 

You can download it on the Free Stuff tab, along with an earlier scenario I wrote as an addition to the Sugar Islands Campaign book. 

Sunday was a sunny day so I had a quick play test in the garden. Let's just say things didn't go well for the Fencibles! 

The Black Colonel pt1

I'm collecting figures for a mini campaign set around the time of the 1st Jacobite Rebellion for an article which I will be writing. 

As a kid my Dad took me to stay at a bothy at Inverey, just up the road from Braemar.  Behind the bothy were the ruins of the "castle" of  The Black Colonel, a staunch Jacobite who blew up his own castle as the redcoats came to take him after Killiecrankie and then hid in gorge to escape. A great story for a wee kid.

More was revealed in a book I have mentioned before on this Blog - Fenton Wyness's Legends of North East Scotland.

However it wasn't until fairly recently that I stumbled across John Farqhuarson once again. This time his exploits were more detailed. Mr Wyness was never one to let the facts get in the way of a good story, but in truth the history was well worth following up.

Not only was there skirmish at Inverey, but at Braemar and another at Ballater too. 

Illustration and Re-enactors skirmishing in the woods at Braemar Castle

From Lesley Weston's blog

As I already have Jacobites it was a case of adding Williamite forces and as they seem to have been dragoons I started to look around for some. The venerable Dixon range is a little limited when it comes to dragoons. The obvious choice - Warfare - didn't come up with the goods either. I need horses as well as mounted and dismounted dragoon and I thought I'd have to make do with a mix of infantry and standing horses. However Ebor have now got Grand Alliance figures AND have dragoon units on foot with horse holders. Sorted! Even better they come with a mix of heads and poses so perfect for skirmish games and their Paul Hicks sculpts fit in with the older Warrior Miniature Jacobites. 

As these lads were far from the the campaigns going on in Ireland I have swapped two hats for highland bonnets and when it comes to painting breeches won't all be regularly uniform either.  These will be packed off and sent to the painter next week. 

For terrain I shall need a bastle house - the Colonel's "Castle". I already have a tower house suitable for Braemar, which didn't have its wall at this time, that's a later post Jacobite addition. For Ballater I thought I'd need more pine trees, but a hunt around the internet shows the pass of Ballater almost treeless in a 19thC photograph, it's carpet of pines is the result of later plantings. 

Whilst the figures are getting painted I will type up my notes into background and scenarios. These will be available later this year as part of a well known wargames publication. 

Napoleonics - French vs Russians pt2

After a few weeks gap I was up at Forres to see Graham H and finish off our napoleonic game. The first part is described here.

The Russians had suffered some losses but their force was now bearding down on the French, who were  now fully deployed to fight but further back from the road to the bridge.  The question was would the Russians be able to drive the French off completely or would the now prepared French cause too much damage. 

As Graham's Russian columns bore down I have to admit I wasn't feeling too confident. I had the upper hand in guns but no real centre to speak of, it would be a few turns til I could bring my Marines into position and I'd have to limber up and move my central battery to do that, I didn't think I'd get time...

On my left Grahams columns hit... and were brought to a halt. For the next few turns two regiments battered the hell out of each other, the combat flowing back and forth as each failed to drive home a decisive blow. Taking a leaf out of Wellingtons book I set one of the regiments of that brigade into line and it began to fire into the advancing Russian flank. 

Graham's cavalry was screening the bridge so remained in its position so my right flank was able to get time to form up. I was trading men for time and two French regiments were whittled down whilst I manoeuvred to a better position. But the battle had not reached its decisive turn. 

A combination of musketry and cannon fire stripped out three stands from Grahams attacking columns halting them on the spot. His battery in the middle was also destroyed and suddenly it was the Russians without a centre, not the French. 

It was time to head for the bridge. Graham's columns now had to turn and move across the table and it became a foot race. My lancers went forward into the open space but Graham pulled his screen of cavalry back and gained time for his wrecked infantry to escape. 

Great fun to play this scenario, based on the allied movements on Pirna in 1813 and good to get some Napoleonics out on the table.

Bakumatsu - From Samurai to Soldier

This lovely book arrived yesterday. I saw it mentioned on Mark Copplestones instagram and couldn't resist. It's best described as a very chunky Osprey with lots and lots of period illustrations backed up by very nice modern artists impressions and photographs of locations, buildings and original items of equipment and reproductions.

The period in question, from the 1860's to the 1870's, was one of massive change in Japan. Tradition, Culture and everyday life were being met by Western ideas and goods. For the Samurai it was to be their final and fatal flourish where traditionalists with armour and sword faced down modern rifles and artillery. 

Or at least that's the simple summary - there's a lot more to it than that. 

Coupled with the Last Samurai Rebellion Supplement for The Men Who Would be Kings and perhaps Ronin there is a wealth of gaming to be explored. 

Figures are available from Bac Ninh miniatures specifically for the period for and by converting Warlords plastic samurai or not if your taste is more traditional. Likewise Perry miniatures have plenty figures useable and some of the Steel Fist Samurai commanders would be particularly good for leaders. 

This ticks both my 19thC and samurai boxes and also dovetails nicely with my interest in Japan at the start of the 20th century and the Russo-Japanese war, when Japan completed its transition from introverted isolationist state to regional and belligerent power.