Category: wargaming

wargaming is everything from gaming on the table top with dice, painting figures, reading history, collecting figures, scenery and rules through to geography, politics, art, crafts and imaginative writing……..

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Take two Magazines

Wargames in Print has been on a rocky road – I was a subscriber to Battlegames (BG) not long after I found it by chance on a WHSmith railway station stall back in 2008. I abandoned that journey when it really disappeared into Miniature Wargames (MW). MW had always been a mixed blessing for me while Wargames Illustrated (WI) had been a favorite before leaving the hobby.

Henry Hyde and BG brought me back into the hobby. And I returned to the Wargames Publication world transformed by the Internet with Blogging/Being online all the rage.

I started reading blogs about 2011 and the print market now seemed terminal although BG helped sustain my interest. WSS I luckily discovered at another WHSmith when that shops footfall was in serious decline.

Today I am fully erratic! If I buy at all, it is mainly WSS but occasionally WI and MW.

This month both MW and WSS caught my eye (last month it was WI425 and what a cowboy).

The WSS focus was Hundred Years War and although at the wrong end of the war for my latest interest I decided to take a punt. I enjoyed it and I liked the range of scenarios/actions.

The Slap Chop/Grisaille method painting article was a bonus. I have read quite a few online articles on this subject yet some printed paper words and pictures were still enticing. That is the “print preference” still in me. I could contrast it (sorry) with the Speedpaint article in WI425, but I won’t, it was another very effective print article on a subject I have read round on the internet.

Now MW484. The last word was by Brenden Wheatley who talked about the importance of the Solo Wargamers Association and solo wargaming that sustained his hobby which he now pursues in both Budapest (see some hussars and music at the end of this post in Budapest) and Brecon!

Mid 19th Century warfare was a topic in WI425 – Perry French Franco Prussian War (FPW) plastics painting class while MW484 led with the Schlieswig Holstein Question.

Dave Tuck gave an excellent taster for the two wars – 1st and 2nd (1848 and 1864 respectively). Given MW style and content he did the subject justice and I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a clear straighforward way into the subject.

FREE RULES – Dave Tuck offers his ruleset via a link on the MW web page. FREE WARGAME RULES

Interestingly Dave Tuck started his journey before the FPW range from Perrys appeared and after the Helion range had ceased production. He had also used the North Star range. For coverage of the second war (1864) the one he opted to develop, he also resorted to conversions.

And I do think you should not be put off by the lack of a “go to” range. in 28mm 1864 can draw on Perrys FPW and any number of ACW ranges as well as other mid century wars in the Americas as well as the Crimean war of 1854.

If you are a uniform purist then that lack of exact replicas will probably drive you mad!

For the 1st war in 28mm, if you want to literally start at the beginning you can steal lots of Napoleonic era forces. 1815 to 1848 saw new uniform ideas but a lot of conservatism while weapons technology appeared to have stalled. A few months into the 1849/50 war and its all changing with kepis and pickelhaubes gathering pace alongside frockcoats, breechloaders, rifling and even the very early machine gun. Given quartermasters stores and regulations were never up to the minute, you can have lots of leeway in my view. You can borrow both back, forward and sideways for these wars!

I have grown to like the 1st Schlieswig Holstein war period simply because I get the best of both worlds – with the early versions of FPW uniforms and weapons still mixed up with Napoleonics. You have tailcoats, frockcoats, all types of shako, kepis, pickelhaubes, flat caps, smoothbores and rifled weapons in the mix plus of course emerging railways and telegraph.

If I was doing 28mm I would follow Dave Tucks approach and start with 1864 (the 2nd War) using FPW/ACW resources.

If your more Napoleonic in outlook opt for the 1848 or slightly earlier uniforms – the Danes are clearly still Napoleonic as are many German Confederation troops which just leaves the Prussians and Bavarians in their iconic pickelhaubes and combed helmets to be sourced from ACW/FPW era. And you don’t need fancy rifled/breechloading artillery yet – smooth bores will still work. You can also consider Crimea War for 1850’s era uniforms.

I would look at Ed M’s Wargames Meanderings for further inspiration if Dave Tuck’s article does not convince you.

I wanted as, with many of my projects, a low cost option. 1/72 plastics used to be low cost. Now they are no longer so cheap. Yet you can still pick up around 50 figures for £10. The key issue is sculpting quality, figure poses and paintability. You have to love the sculpts, I have grown to like their roughness in an age of 3D marketed perfection. To get the repetitous poses you may want you have to buy multiple boxes. My advice then is that if multiple poses is a problem go with 25/28mm sector metals. Finally paintability – the internet provides an astonishing window into the art of those who wash, prime and then successfully paint bendy plastics. My favorite site for inspiration is Pauls Bods – he can even make venerable airfix ranges look compelling. Also Philotep is worth a look. And you can always look at weather like Crimea, being winter wars there is a greatcoats crossover which can hide a multitude of things. Tumbling Dice Miniatures do ranges of 1/72 sculpts which are excellent – cast in pewter. I prefer the figures in summer gear with greatcoats packed away and blankets rolled. So Crimea ranges might also help here for those who want correct season clothing. Also Jacklex relaunched a few years ago in 20mm.

I opted for 20/25mm and have accepted a complete mash up of ranges both plastic and metal and the inevitable conversions.

20/25mm or 1/72 is small enough to hide the imperfections at 3 feet yet not so small that you can’t enjoy each figure in its own right. The scale remains my perfect compromise for the “table top” game.

I have bought from

Irregular Miniatures – they do a vast range of figures – Danish Infantry (1850 and 1864) from repaints of WW1 Austrians plus Danish Bell Shako Infantry and Artillery (1848 – 1850) from their Colonial Range
SHQ Miniatures – Danish Dragoons repaints from their Kennington Range Belgian Napoleonics and Dutch/Allied Infantry become Saxon Infantry
Newline Designs – via Colonel Bills – Flat Cap Prussian Landwehr repaints to Bavarians
Hat – Prussians from Zulu War British and ACW mash ups while WW1 Germans just get a repaint to become German Confederation troops. Nassau troops become well Nassauers for 1848 and offer also another take on Danish Bell Shako infantry.
Strelets – 1877 Russian dragoons become Danish Sharpshooters, 1806 Prussian Hussars become 1848 Prussian Hussars with a repaint
Airfix – WW1 British flat caps join ACW frock coats from strelets/hat to become Danish Riflemen in 1848
My latest addition is B&B Miniatures SH Rebel Dragoons and SH Rebel Artillery (in Prussian gear)
All this 20/25mm focus spun out of my Italian Wars of Independence 1848/1859 project (Italian wars of independence) when again I baulked at 28mm metal costs as the project was only meant to be a minor detour…….

Alas the sheer variety of infantry types has overun my imagination and SHQ remains a questionable (sorry again) project with slow yet very enjoyable progress! Most units and figures are stuck on the paint table because I keep being distracted by mechanised warfare, medievals, Sci-Fi and yes even some FPW french figures daliance – Emhar – You can’t keep a good kepi down.

Which brings me back to WSS125 again and the 100YW. I have succumbed to yet more diversity in my painting – digging out my various unpainted medieval figures. My aim had always been Italy for this period, but it seems alighting on the battle of Shrewsbury 1403 while reading a biography of Henry IV caused me to re-examine an english force.

Who can avoid Hotspur…..thin end of a new wedge?

It remains to be seen what progress I make. And of course the next butterfly moment armed with a chance magazine purchase is probably just round the corner………

Two enjoyable editions for me………whatever next?

Tags 100 years war, 19th century wargame rules, colonel bills, Dave Tuck, Ed Ms Wargaming Meanderings, First Schlieswig Holstein War, jacklex miniatures, lead adventure forum, mid 19th century wargames, miniature wargames, MW 484, pauls bods, Philoteps 172 minis kingdom, schlieswig holstein, Second Schlieswig Holstein War, the schlieswig holstein question, wargames, wargames soldiers and strategy, WSS 125

Mid 19th Century Wargaming wargame rules wargaming

Buildings Blast 2: Joe Morschauser – no grids

Post author By lorenzoseventh
Post date 16th Jul 2023
4 Comments on Buildings Blast 2: Joe Morschauser – no grids

The Second battle using my “Buildings Blast” set up saw a mid 19th century action with Austrians and Piedmontese in play. It was a solo play this time.

I used the rules published by John Curry and the “history of wargaming project” with some adaption for solo play.

Using Neil Thomas grading of troops I adjusted the firing and melee rules.

I also used the Roster system unaltered. Infantry got 4 circles and a cross while Artillery got just 2 circles in this game. Essentially in the basic game a hit meant a unit (= 1 base) was destroyed. Roster rules gave units/bases lives in the form of circles and crosses on the roster which you ticked off as they were lost.

The Scenario was that the Austrians were retreating and the force here was ordered to hold the bridge in the town. The crossing was one of only a few that allowed artillery and logistics easy crossing of the river. The Piedmontese advancing from the north west had orders to seize the bridge as quickly as possible.

Forces were randomly assigned using playing card allocations along with a portion of blank entries

Units deployed in contact and units were recognised as such at about 6 inches – the card only turned on a 2-6 D6. Here the right hand Piedmontese were certain nothing was in front of them – a heart was a dummy card while the left hand unit was not so sure so hesitated (on a d1) with no card turn.

The right hand units poured forward towards the “old millhouse” spotting some real Austrian defenders

The lefthand Piedmontese units were suddenly exposed to Austrian infantry fire from a slightly sunken road

on the east side of the main road two piedmontese artillery batteries dropped into action again to be surprised by enemy troops in a slightly sunken and walled road. These were riflemen and on good form – one battery was quickly silenced

However infantry units (white coated British Legion 1860) quickly drove them away

fierce fire was exchanged between the Bersaglieri and Austrians in the sunken road while Garibaldeans stormed the defended houses at the entrance to the town

On the east side 1859 Piedmontese infantry stormed the defended houses

Elsewhere Piedmontese forces had pushed on meeting little resistance (= dummy cards) to their front. A lone Austrian Artillery battery on the west side of town faces artillery and some more Bersaglieri

Stubborn resistance at the Old Millhouse

Finally the sunken road defenders are driven off

And the west side Austrian defenders give up rather too quickly

exchange of fire results in another Austrian loss

Even as west side Austrian defenders gather but………

The Piedmontese quickly move towards their target – the river crossing. Another Artillery Battery blocks their way

On the west side the Austrian defenders put up a good defence and with support nearby………

The defended houses at the north end of town finally are overrun

The mill house and its defenders are abandoned by the Austrians who can retreat

Austrian artillerists put up a stern defence

Crunch time at the town square as the Austrians are hemmed in

The Bersaglieri try to rush the Artillery

The Bersaglieri inexplicably turned tail on the west side while Lancers arrive to their rear. The British Legion finish off the town centre defenders on the left picture

The Artillery of Piedmont watch as the last Austrian defenders in the town square are defeated

The defended westside town square buildings are assaulted

in a last desparate throw Austrian Hussars ride up the main street to halt the Piedmontese tide.

The Hussars beat off the Lancers but to their rear the Artillerists are finally beaten while the East side is alive with Piedmontese. Everywhere Austrian defenders have melted away into the fields or across the bridge.

The Hussars beat a retreat across the bridge bringing to an end the defence of the bridge

The defended buildings were randomly determined and contained one unit each – no other benefits were given the building defenders. So they simply were a delaying factor assisting the mobile defenders fighting outside.

The scenario I played used a 25 step countdown and 1xd6 reduction per turn. The Austrians had to retire at countdown 16 from the edge of town, 7 – the town square and at 0 abandon the north river bank. Victory to Piedmont required they took the bridge before the countdown reached 0.

The game turns 1 to 3 were spent on the edge of town, then turns 4, 5 and 6 fighting over the town square. Turn 7 forced the Austrians back to the north bank but here ended the action as the Austrians actually ran out of defenders.

So the victorious Piedmontese captured the bridge intact and within the timescale set. There were no Austrian Engineers with a lit fuse to spoil their day! Anyway the Austrians would be back soon enough they thought…. Do I hear a Radetzky March in the distance?

For a very old ruleset Joe Morschauser’s rules played easy as I guess you would expect. With the tweaks to aid solo play they actually played very well.

I had bought the rule book for the Grid rules both the originals and Bob Cordery’s modernised version – Bob co edited the book with John Curry.

So this was a pleasant surprise to find a very playable set of “measurement based” rules into the bargain.

Tags austrians, austrians 1859, bob cordery, grid wargaming, joe morschauser, john curry wargaming project, Neil Thomas, piedmontese, scenario, Scenery, solo wargaming, Vienna Treaty Wars, wargame rules, wargames, wargames rules, wargaming

Mid 19th Century Wargaming wargame rules wargaming

Grids in progress

I have slowly started to look at some grid gaming set ups. My starting point has been that they would aid campaigns and to that end allow quicker solo games. I opted for two 3’x2′ boards which could then give me a 4’x3′ table which also figures in Neil Thomas rulesets.

ideas still in play – how to represent rivers and buildings? hills are simply another gridded block shape to suit.

As a bit of a test I used a Neil Thomas scenario from the C19th European Wars book (NT19e) – the Cristinos v Carlists, in my case Piedmont squared up to Austria.

I use 40mm square bases for my 19th century games and I have chosen a 50mm grid – i.e. no perfect fit of base to grid square. And for this test I used essentially formations from Neil Thomas NT19e. The exception being that my square 40×40 basing really distorts the column or line option choice.

Garibaldeans march in my attack column option – I reserve a single base wide column of 4 bases for marching only. Firing lines are 4 bases side by side and don’t advance or retreat, but can wheel.

I have Artillery men both on one large base and also individually as shown here

Abstraction – these Neapolitan Riflemen in a built up area may still simply be on a block of a different colour or with buildings/features!

I quite like Neil Thomas unit conditions – Fire and Fury and other rulesets in mid 19th century warfare also seem to opt for this type gradation

I did not find the grid a problem and it did the job of of having a tape measure on the board at all times everywhere. Also manoeuvring is hard work once you move to multi based units. NT19e allows turning (spinning)on the unit centre (abstraction again) so fits nicely with a grid approach.

The undersizing of base to grid feels right for me.

Neil Thomas rules do not feature command bases but other rules I like do – so I plan to use single grid base for lowest discrete command with next up having two grids covered and the top man having three of even four bases covered. The bigger the command base the further back from the action is better for them – having no attack or defence values if contacted.

Bare bones – right now it feels like I am heading in the right direction.

Tags 1850 Austrians, abstraction, garibaldi wargaming, grid wargaming, gridded wargames, Neil Thomas, Neil Thomas Wargame Rules, piedmontese, wargaming with grids

Mid 19th Century Wargaming Scenery wargaming world war two

Buildings Blast

One scene – two battles – thats efficiency for you.

But our world loves colour – sort of – the unity is lost

With my regular “What a Tanker” opponent I took the allies and a makeshift bunch of tanks – churchill, stuart, grant and a “shy” firefly

Surprise surprise the german mechanics and fuel operators were on top gear – out come a tiger, a panther and a sturdy PzIV – needless to say flashy turrets were also on display. Its a pity there is not a special rule in WAT for complicated tech risk due to supply and logistics problems….. but this is just a table game like monopoly.

We took the long table set up with tank groups arriving in diagonally opposite corners – here the germans creep into the centre

rather brazenly the churchill and firefly just drive up the main street

The weaker allied tanks stayed out of town

The churchill caught a sight of movement – fired and took out some buildings

The stuart caught the PzIV in its sights and fired

Despite hugging the old mill house the the stuart was spotted by the panther but no fire………

The king tiger broke ground and took the Churchill head on……..

The firefly got a line on the King tiger

The stuart was now being targetted by both the Panther and PzIV – no one was getting any hits on anything except a barn door

Finally some allied success – the Grant crept up on the King Tiger – in my last WAT game post the Grant had been the “dark scary dog” for the big german cats.

not this time – those roller bearings and cogs? (Frank Tank Rants has fantastic tank tech data to keep you happy for hours) were well oiled as the Grant failed to fire……Another allied tank gone

Meanwhile the Stuart was holding its own against the “B” team of the Panther and PzIV. The problem was the Stuart was hitting its target without any impact

If that was not enough the big tiger with two kills already turned up

Retreating – the stuart almost escaped before a fatal shot landed.

The Firefly finally put in an appearance but was nochantly disposed of by the king tiger

The Firefly was last allied tank standing – game over. This one was quite quick which was useful as my regular opponent does not get much game time. That is why WAT is an excellent pick up game. Also I had time and the idea to get almost all my model buildings on the table.

The buildings are a right old mix – some date from the 1970’s complete with enamel paint through decades old paper buildings where the damage is due to little insects! when in storage – ok the steeple was down to straight crushing. and some are ceramics from germany

The next battle involved Austrians and Piedmontese/French so I got good use from the temporary set up.

Tags 19th century wargame rules, mechanised warfare, Scenery, tanks, too fat lardies, what a tanker, world war two

wargaming

Strada Bianchi 2023

A bit in arrears on cycling and to be honest a bit thin on castles too.

Best I can offer was monteperti featured in the strada bianchi circuit this year

They could almost pass for an army on the March

Not a lot to see these days or the helicopter would have picked it out

Difficult to disguise your arrival on these roads

Tags historic sites, medieval Italy, Pro Cycling, strada bianchi

Military History wargaming

Castles in the Air – Basque ing in the sun

Post author By lorenzoseventh
Post date 24th May 2023
4 Comments on Castles in the Air – Basque ing in the sun

Every year I get a smattering of castles in my house courtesy of GCN+ and pro cycling coverage of racing.

With helicopter views of the peleton weaving its way through the land the cameramen get bored and snap the odd castle.

These castles to my mind look different to those I visit and if nothing else, for the modeller in me, show the variety of designs that were built. Of course a lot of these differences are due to a few hundred years of subsequent occupancy but even so you can see that the location often dictated the floor plan and levels.

Here are some previous years efforts even including Hussars in Hungary!

2021 Giro in Tuscany – Bianchi Roads

https://wordpress.com/post/thewargamingerratic.home.blog/2610

2021 Le Tour – France north to south

https://wordpress.com/post/thewargamingerratic.home.blog/3056

Hungary kicks off Giro 2022 Hussars and all

https://wordpress.com/post/thewargamingerratic.home.blog/4860

Giro 2022 including Hawkwoods territory

https://wordpress.com/post/thewargamingerratic.home.blog/5104

Basque Region Tour 2023

Now I have often missed this race and also its less castellated imagery.

Just one castle this year and an obligatory monument to modern design – a modern “castle” equivalent in its impact.

Tags basque castles, basque cycling, basque region, castles in the air, giro d'Italia, hussars, john hawkwood, le tour de France, medieval warfare

Scenery wargaming

Abstract or Impressionism?

A constant theme of my interest in art is the variety of techniques on show.

My Weekend Open Studios visits prompted me to dig out some wooden offcuts I had minded to fashion into buildings.

The idea for “woodtown” was to provide my grid gaming with appropriately sized buildings. And they would be in keeping with the abstract nature of grid boards. In terms of the art they are definitely inclined towards Paul Nash. Ferens Art Gallery can be found in Kingston Upon Hull and an interesting painting by Paul Nash can be seen there.

They make their first contribution in my recent Neil Thomas 1864 Minigame. Ironic that the game did not use grids…………

Tags 1864, abstraction, art and wargames, Ferens Art Gallery, grid wargaming, Hull, Hull City Art Gallery, Kingston Upon Hull, Neil Thomas, Scenery, scenery modelling, Table Top Battles, wargames, wargaming, wargaming with grids

Mid 19th Century Wargaming Vienna Treaty Wars wargame rules wargaming

The Second Battle of Oeversee 1864

Post author By lorenzoseventh
Post date 10th May 2023
6 Comments on The Second Battle of Oeversee 1864

Having played out Neil Thomas’s minigame scenario I was left wondering if the unlikely Danish victory was just that.

In the first battle with this scenario the Austrians attacked straight up the road that was to be cleared yet they simply ran out of time.

This second battle was again run exactly as per the basic scenario suggestion by Neil Thomas.

same board size
same terrain
same units
units deployed at the start in the same way as the first battle except as below

At least the Danish Artillery put in an appearance.

The Austrian units arrived at the same point on the road but moved differently.

The Hussars charged up the road as before……..

You will have to settle for the Hungarian March instead and some Hungarian Hussars.

Budapest and visiting dignatories

A close run to the end but this time the expected outcome.

The Skirmishers had more effect by circling the eastern flank of the Danish. The dice throwing favoured the Austrians at critical moments – triggering morale collapse amongst the danish. As the danes were mainly levy this was to be expected and again its was more a case of their saving morale throws that meant the action went to 9 of the 10 permitted moves.

Another enjoyable run through of this scenario.

Tags Neil Thomas, Neil Thomas Wargame Rules, Vienna Treaty Wars, wargame rules, wargame scenarios, wargames, wargames rules, wargaming

Book Reviews wargaming

Supermarket Surprise

I don’t normally dwell on editorials when reading a wargames monthly – its all about the content itself for me.

Today I chanced upon a WI when looking for some other non wargaming publication in a rare trip to a supermarket magazine aisle. I guess it was the ship sampler on the cover the caught my attention.

Anyway having been hooked I was reeled in by the prospect of an article on the Perrys Franco Prussian War figures. I am not sure what all those painted Prussians have been doing for the past year waiting for the enemy?

Having bought the magazine – not one I regularly buy – I scanned the pages and found some promising material on Flags. I am always interested to read about cowboy games even though I don’t play them – don’t ask! And there was an interesting article on homespun fantasy figure creation resulting in a product launch – “imaginations gaming” in any genre normally piques my interest.

The Hammerhead painting competition results show that there are also plenty of artists at work producing tremendous pieces to inspire. On that last point it is questionable whether it really sells a print magazine though.

Actually the speedpaints article also shows the challenge for print magazines. I happened upon a blog post recently complete with video which compared all the recent companies who have piled into the “contrast” market. Having said that the article (which I read first) was well put together and had some useful ideas and perspective. I liked the mix of “newbie” and “professional” painters trialling the product.

Barry Hiltons Naval rules article has compelling models on display – Langtons – but I can resist despite the enjoyment they give. How about that sampler that caught my eye in the first place. Its just one ship so no risk of hobby drift – and it occurred to me I might just knock it up and pass it off as Danish ship. The thing about the Schlieswig Wars is the proximity of the sea and the Danish ability to use the sea as another front even if only for logistics. You never know when you might need a ship or two.

And what of Dan Faulconbridge and his editorial? It turns out my usual source of wargame magazines is charging Dan far too much and as he says markets are markets. So in this case it worked – I found WI where I did not expect it and bought it into the bargain. Also Dan is looking to broaden his customer base – I am not really sure the magazine aisle is being randomly browsed. If anything supermarkets are heading to be a glorified logistics warehouse where customers are spending the least amount of time they can, to get what they need.

Of course any leverage over WHSmith who still dominate over the counter print sales will help Dan’s cause.

That ship sprue just might land a few interested souls yet.

Will I switch from WHSmith to the Supermarket? Well no actually, I like still finding a shop on a high street thats open and sells something useful.

Tags franco prussian war, naval wargames, perry miniatures, wargame magazines, wargames illustrated

Mid 19th Century Wargaming Vienna Treaty Wars wargame rules wargaming

The Battle of Oeversee 1864

Post author By lorenzoseventh
Post date 28th Apr 2023
4 Comments on The Battle of Oeversee 1864

Neil Thomas offered this battle as an example of a small action using his mini battle setting. His rules assumed a 2’x 2′ or 600mm square. So thats board game sized.

His rules say you do not need to rebase. Always a positive these days.

I have a mixture of units – a result of my lock down era painting activity tending to paint what I fancied than worrying about actual armies!

The action is straightforward – the Danes are retreating and use a bottleneck on the key route north towards Jutland. The Danish rearguard are buying time for their main forces to retreat to their last defence line in Schlieswig – the Duppel fortifications.

Their opponent was the geographic “Empire” effectively still the Holy Roman Empire but now really the German Confederation post Waterloo with Austrian and Prussian interference/support.

In this case the Austrians were attacking the rearguard.

The Danish Rearguard

Infantry Unit A
Infantry Unit B
Infantry Unit C
Infantry Unit D
Artillery Battery E

The Artillery was Bronze Rifled while the Infantry were all Levy in loose order armed with rifled muskets.

The Danish troops are all deployed in the bottleneck.

The Austrians Attack starting at the river line comprise

9th Hussars – Average
Artillery – 2 batteries both with bronze rifled cannon

Their main forces arrive from move 1 on the main road

Jaeger Infantry unit – elite, rifled musket, loose order
Skirmishers – elite, rifled musket

On moves 2 & 3 the following units arrive via the same southern road access

Infantry Unit 6 – move 2 – average, rifled musket, loose order
Infantry Unit 7 – move 3 – average, rifled musket, loose order
Infantry Unit 8 – move 3 – average, rifled musket, loose order

Battle Narrative

With the objective to clear all danish forces from the road (at least 12cm from the road) essentially the Austrians simply went through the Front Door.

They had 10 moves to do it in with a win lose outcome and no draw.

Special Rules as suggested by Neil Thomas were used

Colonel Muller personal leadership of the Danes means any one unit at the start of any turn can be elite.
The Danish Artillery were quite ineffectual so get half the nortmal values in defence and attack
The Austrians fresh from rough handling by the French in 1859 adopt bayonet charges in preference to distance firefights. They stay in column the whole game and can charge without restriction (no unit base quantity advantage required)

Some shots of the action

The stream has no effect on movement except Artillery must use the bridge. The town can be accessed only by Infantry. The lake is impassable to all troops while infantry can move through the wood.

The Danish front line are in line and not moving, supported by more mobile Column units behind. If infantry want to move in Neil Thomas’ rules they must be in column.

Note in this game I chose not to field the woeful Danish Artillery ( i.e. I forgot to place them on the board!)

An Austrian victory seemed to confirm Neil Thomas’ view that history repeats itself with his suggested set up. In his notes he offers several options to up the defence capability of the Danes.

In this case a very narrow Danish Victory suggests a well thought out scenario by Neil Thomas. Generally I have found Neil Thomas scenarios are fun to play because they tend to lead to a lot of action and no quick outcomes. So although asymmetrical in set up they seem to be well balanced games.

Footnote:

The Figures are Irregular Miniatures and Hat for the Danish

Elsewhere in the photographs the regular Austrian Infantry on show are Waterloo1815 1859 Austrians in their white coats – in 1864 it was bitter winter weather so soldiers actually fought in their greatcoats.

Neil Thomas offers the mini game as a quick affair and it certainly was. Lots of enjoyment from a two foot square, scenery, dice and some figures.