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……..
My current preoccupation is mid nineteenth century warfare. You can’t travel far without meeting the resurgent French Empire. Here is my offering on french artillery around the time of the Franco Austrian War of 1859. Being a few years before the American Civil War it can be argued that conflict obscures the war which inflated French self belief and probably contributed to their Prussian undoing by 1870.
This is one of a series of ruletests for mid 19th century warfare. Neil Thomas published a book specifically looking at the wars between 1815 and 1877. With a European focus these should be the go to ruleset for my Italian Wars of Unification which either run from 1815 to 1870 or 1848 and 1861 depending on your preferences.
The usual set up has been followed. But this time the Austrians have made way for the French. The Piedmontese have been displaced by the Italian Nationalists of the Roman Republic. It is 1849 somewhere near Rome……..
French Forces
Neil Thomas 19th century European Warfare rules (NT19e) are based on 1d6 dice throws to hit with saving throws for both firing and melee. Generally you don’t save on melee hits though. That means close combat can be very damaging.
Morale tests are a simple 1d6 throw against a quality rating – a roll of 4-6 being required by all the “average” units fighting. For this test all units had this common rating.
Alternate movement was in operation and as with previous tests all units and leaders were the same quality/common value.
Opposed 1xd6 rolls determined who moved first each turn. This rule is I think is essential for this ruleset. It did have an impact and altered the game. This “initiative” roll has become a common theme in rulesets.
1xd6 roll determined command effect for that turn. This rule is optional and in the test did have a material impact.
In NT19e each unit comprises 4 bases (artillery have 1 base) and each base can absorb 4 hits. So after 16 hits on Infantry or Cavalry or 4 on Artillery the unit ceases to exist.
Taking hits has added risk in that for every base lost a morale test is required and if failed a further base is lost. Artillery can only lose firing hits as they get automatically eliminated if they lose a melee.
It is a characteristic of Neil Thomas rules that units are visibly destroyed yet even at the end still have some effect.
General Oudinot quits the field.
Garibaldi has triumphed for now – but he could ill afford such heavy losses in this victory.
Neil Thomas provides victory conditions within his scenarios. His book offers a separate set of game rules as well as numerous scenarios to use them in.
In 1848 the Tuscan Army headed north with other contingents to join Piedmont in expelling Austria from the Italian Peninsula.
Their uniform was really a throwback to Napoleonic times. Unlike some other troops the soldiers wore a Shako – bell shaped. With white tunics and blue trousers there was a nod to Austrian influence.
Like the Danish Infantry in Painting Pedestal 22c, these figures are 20mm metals from Irregular Miniatures. They are sold under their Colonial range as Regular British Infantry serving in India.
This unit is part of an occasional series that aims to paint many of the units described in Osprey Men At Arms No. 520 Armies of the Italian Wars of Unification 1848-1870 (2).
The flag is homemade using dried out lens wipe paper and permanent marker pens – very quick. Well the Tuscan rebels like most had to rustle up their armies in quick time.
The Battle of Symmetry Ridge
Following on from three simple battles using Fire & Fury, Piquet Field of Battle is the next ruleset for consideration. Published in 2011 – 20 years after Fire and Fury and card driven the ruleset should give a different feel.
The battle comprised the same forces that were used in the Fire and Fury ruletest A3 covered in a previous post.
The objective was to secure the ridge and drive off the opposing force.
The Forces this time were……….
Austria
Piedmont
The Battlefield itself is slightly altered from that used in the Fire & Fury battles.
The road bisects the battle field on the diagonal but notionally there is a ridge which it crosses and where an enclosed Orchard is located.
The Orchard is inpenetrable to all arms for all the remaining rules to be tested. So in effect it is a flank and divides the action into two areas.
The fence supplier is unknown but the orchard dates from the early 1970’s – by german model railway company Noch, not bad for 50 years of play.
In Field of Battle (FoB) terrain is classed for its impact on the game.
This means the orchard is a Class II line of sight blockage and a Class IV movement restriction.
Unit integrity is the key variable for each unit in the game. It reflects status/morale/strength as a variable.
Combat Capability is defined as a Dn (where n=an even value in the range 4-20) so thats D4,D6,D8,D10,D12,D20.
Opposed rolls is the way results are determined.
Command radius determines the limit of a leaders influence on the battlefield and is a variable (Dn x 10 = command radius in inches)
Initiative is determined by opposed rolls of the two Leaders respective dice. The difference equals the total initiative each side can use in this part of a turn. Turns get complicated but the game does not!
The winner of the opposed roll decides order of play.
The game is card driven and a deck for each side needs to be determined. In this case both sides used the exact same variables so ended up with identical card decks. In most games the playing decks would be asymmetrical.
Piquet is essentially an asymmetrical game. Therefore winning has to be defined to ensure the asymmetry does not simply distort the game one way each time.
On Turn 1 Step 1 the Austrians scored 9 on d10 against Piedmont just 4. This gave the Austrians 5 initiative points as the ACTIVE player.
In the event the Austrians drew 5 cards none of which were for movement. Essentially the army just stood transfixed.
Piedmont (REACTIVE player) now promptly drew some excellent cards for move and melee.
The opposed roll dice off in Piquet is usually with different dice as factors peculiar to that melee move the players dice up or down the scale of d4/d6/d8/d10/d12/d20.
The Lancers went from d12 to d12+3 scoring 3 on the dice and adding 3 = 6
The Von Baden Brigade went from d10 down to d6 mitigating some negative factors through a discard of a tactical advantage card drawn in the ill fated Austrian Initiative as the ACTIVE player. Von Baden scored 3 on the dice.
The difference = 3 hits on the Austrians. This equated to 1 unit of integrity which is the value of 1 UI for all arms.
Each Army started with an Army Morale Rating of 4 – determined by the make up of the Army x a variable 1xd12. The range being 3 to 50.
The Bersaglieri threw their defensive dice in the opportunity fire step. A 1 on the die!
The Austrians had their eye in, with a D10 moving to D12+1 and with a die roll of 4 scored 5. So 4 hits on the Bersagleri meant 1 unit of integrity lost plus a spare hit.
The Bersagleri retired 4″.
Piedmont also now saw their Army Morale drop from 4 to 3.
Piedmont still had initiative and the next cards drawn were Artillery Firepower and Infantry Firepower. Firing is permitted at any time a unit is ready to fire, these cards tell you a unit has reloaded. Hence the puffs denote units who have fired and cannot fire again until they get a firepower card from the deck.
It means you don’t know if that unit will be able to fire when charged…………the sort of randomness that many “face to face” gamers quite simply will find too constraining.
For the Solo Wargamer such an approach offsets the lack of the live opponent uncertainty and simply adds to the narrative.
“A” battery went up 2 from d10 to d12+1 threw 6 = 7
In response to this fire the Erzherzog Albrecht Brigade threw 4 on their d6. with 3 hits they lost 1 unit of integrity and another army morale point and went out of command.
The first round of initiative ended. And we are still in game turn 1!
The Austrians won the dice off again and gained 5 initiative.
The Austrians drew another 5 cards which included a lot of LULL’s – basically nothing happens.
They did managed some movement cards to get their troops into line.
The Piedmont initiative started badly with an Army Morale card which meant testing for the army morale. failing the d12 throw meant all units went out of command (OOC).
“A” battery opened up again OOC but had no effect.
No other cards were of use and some more LULL put paid to the Piedmont initiative.
The next initiative die roll saw Piedmont win 8 to 2 giving 6 initiative points to them.
The Austrians had a mixed hand and did manage to inflict some more unit integrity loss as well as army morale reduction.
The next dice off saw the Piedmont grab the initiative again with 5 points advantage.
The Austrian response was
As a result of losing this throw the Austrians quit the field.
A victory for Piedmont and King Victor Emmanuel.
In effect this was all one game turn if you say the exhaustion of the deck is a game turn. Both sides had unturned cards.
The game did feel different to Fire & Fury however it did play at the same sort of pace. I had played Field of Battle Piquet before which certainly helps as the processes are unusual.
I have some more reports coming, before concluding this rules test series.
So far this year the Painting Pedestal has been a bit wonky with some units not even reaching the pedestal
So belatedly my third offering this year finally makes it to the pedestal.
The First Schleswig Holstein War was fought between the Danes and the Prussian driven German Federation – aka the Holy Roman Empire. The Danes won but the Prussian steamroller was just getting going – in 1864 the 2nd war with Danish defeat, heralded the misery of 80 odd years of German led mayhem across Europe. However it is reported, you can argue it was weakness on the part of France and the United Kingdom to stand up for territorial integrity, that condemned Europe to decades of Prussian agression.
In 1848 the Danish Infantryman was clad in red tunic and blue trousers with a bell style shako plus white belts and straps. The bell style shako had evolved from the Napoleonic era shako, both of which were also to be seen in civilian fashion changes on the journey from tricorne to bowler hat.
Almost as soon as the war started the soldiers ditched their shakoes and donned their fatigue hats – bright blue kepi’s. Add in the new all dark blue uniform with black belts and straps gets you a soldier looking not out of place in the American Civil War that was raging 15 years later.
This Piedmont unit from 1859 gives you a rough idea of the transformation in 1848 danish military uniform. The Danes led the way, not just the Prussians.
The metal figures are from Irregular Miniatures. Being 20mm they are at the small end of 1/72 so they get some extra basing to reduce the height disparity with the many 1/72 and 25mm figures I have.
Irregular Miniatures sell them under their Colonial range.
Here are some more views of the unit.
The units are set up for Piquet rules – 4 bases equals a unit.
The 3 figure basing was an idea I picked up from an article in Lone Warrior – magazine of the Solo Wargames Assocation. The article was a cost cutting exercise for DBA armies where the advent of element basing undermined the need to consider figure scale and to have full ranks. Peter Pigs Conquerors and Kings also advocated 3 figure basing as did their Bloody Barons medieval ruleset.
I am quite taken with this unit so will probably add to this force.
I will probably use Neil Thomas’s book – European C19th Wargames which gives you rough army lists to play his rules and scenarios from the book.
For the basing I used my standard three colour paintwork (burnt sienna + yellow ochre + very pale yellow/white dry brush all over budgie grit/pva. This time I have gone for paler washed out grasses. And I am quite pleased with the result.
The flag was an afterthought. I suddenly realised I had the flagstaff from Irregular with no flag! Now I could probably have bought a Danish flag online. But I had started to make crude flags from dried out screen wipes (basically I bought some wipes and found that they had lost their alcohol content). The end result is a rough paper that takes colour easily. I simply used some permanent ink colouring pens. Marking out was the longest task. So very quick – but I suspect I will change them if I get a chance.
So that is the 1848 Danish Infantry unit ready to march!
Partizan at Newark Showground made a welcome return for me in 2022. Last visited in 2019 this show or rather the pair – “the other Partizan” that happens in the Autumn, had both become a regular destination for me.
This years show built on my trips to Vapnartak (masks still very evident as well as much caution) and Hammerhead (obvious relief as constraints eased) so I should not have been surprised that Partizan was “many in earnest”. I felt there was a lot of catching up conversation going on, which maybe meant slightly less participation? Yet the enthusiasm was so obvious – people discussing, looking and yes playing games – simple pleasures throwing dice and moving pieces.
And there was the other simple pleasure of admiring other peoples work. Conversations seemed easier and the enjoyment palpable.
For once I had no shopping list – 2 years of on online buying had emptied my pockets? Well no – quite simply I have been sticking to my projects and actually painting my figures and even gaming. That has meant less erratic moments for the Wargaming butterfly.
First up are the games that were on show. I concentrated on just a few for photos. on reflection mats seemed to be a theme for me!
The 40mm Mr Ian Smith and friends was a glorious display of Napoleonic soldiers and fantastic scenery.
The Immortals presented an excellent medieval action
Over to another Eastern European battle – no details gathered
Fast forward to 1833 and Westbury Wargames with their “two brothers war” in Portugal where all manner of nations piled in for another go just a few decades after Wellington and his Portuguese allies had fought their way through to Spanish held France.
And thats it. Well I did get distracted by mats and terrain this year. The terrain mats are a gift for the time hungry and space hungry gamer which is the most common type of wargamer I suggest. I think it is more the case that, at shows where displays are a product of a different amount of effort the textured cloths seem to be the better bet for “a look”? However I have seen some tables where the “hirsute” cloth swamped the poor figures who looked as though they were wading through 2m high grass.
All in all the displays I found were excellent and inspired me to wargame, which is what it is all about.
What did the other big sell do to me – the trader tour!
I impulsively fell for some pendraken and warbases material – invariably so. Usual suspects being bases plus some dice.
The man in the “corner” shop hailed from Birmingham and brought many an interesting box for the 1/72 gamer. They were at T22 in the trader zone – see map at the end.
I fell for this station……..
But was too late for its mate the Italian church – curses.
If you cant wait for me to paint these then try visiting https://comitatusgaulois.wordpress.com/
Chariobaude offers up a great range of painted Late Romans.
My current preoccupation is middle nineteenth century where in plastics you get the “plastic soldier review” much disliked Austrians. Failing this in 20-25 mm its really just Irregular Miniatures at each end so to speak 20mm or 28mm. I have posted a picture of 20mm Neapolitans posing as 1848 French at Rome elsewhere on this blog.
I will be back in the Autumn for the Other Partizan
This is the third of a series of battles testing the simple aspects of Fire & Fury (1st edition).
As before Marshall Radetzky and his Austrian forces are engaged with the Piedmontese of King Charles Emmanuel.
The commanders are equal rating under the rules and each move initiative is diced for on opposed d10 dice throws.
All the units have the same Brigade effectiveness rating of 4/3/2 Fresh/worn/spent. As the battle rages units decline in effectiveness going from 4 though 3 to 2 rating. This value modifies the opposed d10 dice rolls which are characteristic of the game rules.
The Forces are
Austria
Piedmont
The initiative went with the Austrians who as one “well handled” moved forward in one line.
In response some “desultory fire” came from the Piedmontese.
in turn the Piedmontese line move forward “well handled”.
The Austrian Hussars had achieved a breakthough and promptly fell upon the Piedmont “A” battery field artillery.
The attack “faltered” miraculously for Piedmont, as it looked like their whole line was about to collapse under the first assault. (hussars rolled modified = 4 against artillery unmodified max die throw of 10).
It was all over so quickly – one swift attack by the Austrians and the Piedmontese turned tail! The Empire is restored, the rebels suppressed and folk can return to drinking coffee and smoking in the cafes of Lombardy…….
Victory Points are usually won by destroying enemy units. The emphasis is not on objectives. Not surprising as a 1990’s era ruleset rarely made objectives the focus. Not so today where often it is the dominant aspect of working out the winner.
Here Austria accrued 7 victory points versus 2 for the Piedmontese.
Just to be clear – no arrangement was made in these battles – the die rolls were as you see them. I suspect it was such as the hapless artillerymen holding off rabid hussars that caused so much ire when these rules were first published.
The rules contain outcomes with descriptions that feed a narrative easily. Telling fire or desultory? you know which one is having an impact.
The Fire and Fury rules (FaF1ed) use scales to help the gamer play Gettysburg on the table top! So the Brigade is the key unit size. Battalions and Regiments don’t figure. This actually also narratively worked for me, which I had not expected.
All in all three very enjoyable games.
Before I conclude my thoughts on FaF1ed, I will run some more rulesets out for a canter.
King Victor Emmanuel gathered some more troops and returned to the battlefield, this time his infantry were supported by some cavalry.
The forces were
Piedmont
Austrians
I used Fire & Fury Rules 1st Edition with no amendments. Again each unit had identical Brigade effectiveness 4/3/2 fresh/worn/spent ratings.
Initiative was diced for with unmodified d10 opposing rolls.
Again Charles Emmanuel and Marshall Radetzky faced each other. As it happens the 5th Hussars were already being renamed Marshall Radetzky given Piedmont had turned its back on the Empire.
The Marshall won the initiative no doubt buoyed by success in the previous engagement.
However both infantry units were “tardy” in moving to contact while the Hussars galloped ahead.
In the opposed rolls using modified d10’s the results were
In the melee there is nothing between the Lancers and Von Baden so a “desparate struggle” begins.
The Lancers charged home against the Austrian Hussars. The Hussars “checked” the Lancers charge forcing them back.
The Bologna Volunteers held and the “attack faltered” for the Austrian infantry who lost many men.
The Hussars drove back the Lancers inflicting heavy casualties, and they achieved a “breakthrough”. Yet it was hollow and the Lancers were able to retreat intact.
As evening draws in the Austrians quit the field. No victory celebrations for the Marshal tonight.
This rules test used the 1990 1st Edition ruleset called Fire & Fury. No rule amendments were applied except to deal with the minimal number of units on the board.
My starting point was actually Donald Featherstones Battles with Model Soldiers and his three battle scenarios to show rules in action.
So first up is the all infantry affair. Having never used these rules before it was an easy way into them.
The table set up is shown below in the first photo with two brigades per side each of 4 bases.
Piedmont Forces led by none other than King Victor Emmanuel comprised
The Austrians were amazingly led by Marshal Radetzky (brought out of retirement yet again)
Uniforms are anything but, as my figure painting interests have ranged from 1848 to 1870! So 1848 uniforms will jostle with those of 1859 or even 1866/70. It was a period of much change in weapons and warfare which in turn influenced what soldiers wore.
The Brigade Effectiveness table is your starting point.
I gave all units a 4/3/2 rating = Fresh/Worn/Spent. This factor which declines during the battle modifies the basic die rolls for manoeuvring and combat. You can see this is a key way to show uneven forces from actual battles.
This last event was I guess, what a lot of complaint was about when the rules first landed. Evenly matched forces could play out a massive swing on the “opposed rolls”. The Austrians rolled 7 up and 4 up to get the Bolognese “swept from the field” and “driven back”.
In the Wars of Italian Unification forces often melted away before renewing an attack with more vigour.
So maybe these rules might bear further examination
Narrative
On this occasion King Victor Emmanuel decided to lick his wounds and retired from the field damaged but not yet defeated. He would return to the fray……….
Which rules are best for mid 19th century warfare. Of course it helps to know which continent your on because apparently the North America Civil Wars were nothing like those happening in Europe…..
My current preoccupations are with the Italian Wars of Unification that, depending on your viewpoint, ran from 1820-1871 or 1848-1870 or even just 1859-1861!
Whichever timeline you choose the events threw up numerous conflicts across the Italian peninsula.
My previous rules shortlist included
I guess I had settled on the Neil Thomas set with Mike Smith’s Table Top Battles offering a solution for larger battles generated by my mythical campaigns.
The thing is I had not actually tested Piquet for this period so that was still an unknown. And so was A Gentlemans War for that matter.
And then at Hammerhead 2022 I played Fire and Fury. It reminded me that this ruleset had caught my eye the odd decade ago (!) only to fade away.
I enjoyed the participation game and to cut a long story short, tracked down a 1990 1st Edition courtesy of Dave Ryan at Caliver Books. It included some photocopy extracts of post publication comments which suggested a lot of improvements! There were a lot of complaints at the time it would seem. Nice touch from Dave Ryan to include these contemporary articles with this ruleset.
With so much negative noise why bother with them though? Well they have continued to be published. And it seems they have been morphed into other era’s. My Hammerhead participation game was for the Renaissance: Perhaps this endurance shows the core mechanics work for lots of gamers.
I thought, just maybe an ACW (American Civil War) ruleset might suit my 19th century European wars in Italy after all.
The Italian Wars of Unification fit between the Crimean Wars and the Franco Prussian War while they also bracket the American Civil Wars.
Next up will be some simple tests of Fire & Fury to start with.
*In 2020 I was all Anglo Saxon and shieldwalls and tested a few rulesets to see which might work for me.
This image is to be found in an excellent Wikipedia page about the Italian Wars of Unification.
The Wargaming Erratic 
