Top Director, A Giant of History, Unbelievable choice of scope, Big Budget – what could possibly go wrong?
Cinema backers expect a financial return – its a money business. They do not actively back failure. So empty auditoriums are not in the plan.
This summer by most measures Oppenheimer was a surprise hit with live audiences. And Barbie packed the cinemas as well – I think most people would have said beforehand “that will not fly”.
I enjoyed both films and was entertained.
I enjoyed Asteroid City, Mission Impossible was an easy watch, while Indiana Jones was what I expected – tired out series ending – mind you the battle scenes at the end were unexpectedly impressive, if seemingly out of context, to my mind, with the two leads comedy show. Then again up to that point the film had no obvious series ending climax.
I went to see Napoleon with foreboding – history films generally fail me – as opposed to war films which sometimes succeed. The critical reception had already put me on edge. Would I be looking for failure?
No – I hoped I would at the least be entertained.
The film failed me on most counts.
I then started to think of everything I could say about Napoleon – a film, I even started to write lots sentences and paragraphs and then I stopped. I felt I needed to explain why a film subject right up my street left me tempted to give up and walk out.
Napoleon was poor entertainment for me so it failed the basic cinema test.
I did not feel entertained – and neither emotionally moved
It had no purpose for me – presumably this was deliberate
It was miserably coloured – presumably this was intended
Many scenes made no sense or did little to build a useful storyline or made no sense in the context of other scenes – the cannon balls, dying soldiers and the icy waters – simply reminded me of the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan.
On the plus side the film seemed well made to me (well funded?), special effects blended with real life material showed technical quality (VFX Team was sizeable – yes I stayed for the credits!). Historical accuracy is always an issue – overall the uniforms and dress seemed ok and individual actions felt plausible. The real problems were the ideas/settings/battles/focus – I will leave it to others to point out all the glaring errors.
Except – the production team will have “deliberately chosen all of these” which is far more fascinating – why? One example will suffice.
Henry Ford was apparently quoted – “All history is bunkum”. And history is deliberately not archeaology – one is subjective the other tries for objectivity.
I don’t tend to go to the cinema in pursuit of History – I find it far better in a book.
As for the Napoleonic theme you could try Horseman on the Roof or Time Bandits or even the Scarlet Pimpernel (in Black and White!) or give up on the silver screen and watch an episode of Sharp or Hornblower.
Great war history on the silver screen remains more often than not illusive.
Napoleon – a film – best forgotten
A more satisfying illustration of napoleonic troops in action? CLWC at Recon in Pudsey – definitely a lot more fun!
A 1970’s 4VEP British Rail commuter train of slam door stock – what is going on?
A tenuous link I admit but I could not wrench it from my mind. I don’t think I have any older figures unpainted so this is my sort of painting record.
basing – using my current preferred style of 3 layers brown, ochre, cream highlights plus some foliageI am basing these guys on 40mm square bases and normally have 4 bases to a unit. Perfect for Neil Thomas or Piquet – amongst my favoured rulesetsI always liked the Kleber dragoons as red coated French Dragoons are a not so common
These figures are by Warrior Miniatures and are sold as french dragoons in their 25 mm napoleonic range. They are a slim 25mm and contrast with their then contemporary overfed minifigs from the 1970’s. I guess they were more like early hinchliffe before those got taller and bulked out somewhat.
I still love them after all these years so I am pleased they finally got a coat of paint!
Funcken books have remained popular with me – the artwork seems more aligned to my painting ideas – I bought these 4 volumes in the 1970’s before I discovered Osprey. In a way Funckens have aged better than Ospreys to my mind. Maybe it is because the style is more simplistic
I painted them as kleber dragoon’s and my inspiration is from the Funcken 18th century to modern times volume.
tucked away on the Egyptian campaign page is the red coated french dragoon
My intention is to use them in early campaigns of my Fauxterre Mythical Realm which covers 1815 to 1870 at present. It is all because of Fauxterre and Faux Napoleonics that they got painted anyway!
Thats another thank you to Renaissance Troll and his fantasy napoleonics post.
Although war with VinAlba was inevitable, the Duke Constantius Regent of Zarland knew that Maximilian of Nuringia was likely to act in 1817. The Elector had marched to war in 1816 yet then suddenly withdrew his troops.
The Duke’s concerns about Nuringia were well founded. In spring 1817 the Elector of Nuringia, Grand Duke Maximilian resumed his attack on Greater Zarland.
In a series of skirmishes he engaged with Eastern Zarland forces now commanded by General Kratzen – who had been praised for his success at Kloster Arens the previous year while fighting the combined VinAlban/Davarian army.
Almost at every turn the Zarland forces found themselves outfought in these skirmishes. Eventually Maximilian’s General Paskievich manoeuvred the Zarlanders to battle.
In a small action General Kratzen attempted to hold the village of Baumdorf. The Nuringians needed something to show for their efforts beyond successful skirmishing. General Paskievich ordered his forces to take Baumdorf once he realised the Zarlanders were not retiring.
The resulting encounter saw the two forces fight for Baumdorf with its nearby hill also the focus of attention.
Sharp Action at Baumdorf. This battle was fought using Table Top Battles by Mike Smith using has “Grid” option.on land, on sea, even fantasy – these grid rules are in their second edition – my first edition is shown here
King Karol of VinAlba had other things to occupy his mind which meant Prince Otto and the Zarland succession would have to wait another day.
Both Nuringia and Genachia would no doubt be pressing their claims.
As 1816 closed VinAlba remained officially at war with Zarland although relations had cooled with Davaria. King Karol did not expect any help from that direction after the Kloster Arens fiasco. His view was that, had the Davarians committed all their forces to his attack things would have fared better. Instead they had pursued their own small war to little avail.
The mechanical map – each link provided a viable invasion route between the nodal countries
Nuringia also remained at war with Zarland.
And Davaria seemingly had lost interest in taking some of Zarland as trouble brewed with its south eastern neighbour – Verbonia.
In Nuringia the Elector, Grand Duke Maximilian had been building his forces waiting for an opportune moment to strike. His objective was a land grab – well recovery of historic Nuringian lands. The broader objective was to acquire control of Zarland.
Maximilian decided to attack once the Zarlanders were fully occupied by the VinAlban/Davarian actions in the west. In the event his troops were marching only as the VinAlbans were failing at the battle of Kloster Arens.
This meant the Zarland Regent, Duke Constantius, was able to move quickly against Maximilian.
When both sides began to make contact their respective scouts reported the following numbers.
Nuringian Scouts estimated 11,000 Zarlanders in the field – this was not what Maximilian had expected.
Zarlanden Scouts estimated 9000 Nuringians in the field.
These estimates* were not far wrong and Maximilian realised his opportunity was gone. He ordered his forces to retire.
In just a few months the apparently tottering Zarland regime had repulsed three attacks on Greater Zarland.
Duke Constantius was well pleased with this outcome at the close of the first year of Princess Maria’s reign. He did not expect matters to improve though.
*for my campiagns I use various systems to create “establishments”. These are then subject to availability based on the turn of events. To add to the uncertainty for solo games I then use variable assessments by the enemy of the opposing forces. In this case Zarland actually did not field 11,000 men.
They had a lot less than Nuringia. It was just poor information and and misreporting that gave the high figure. The fog of war so to speak.
For solo gaming narrative campaigns its all grist to the mill. And it throws up more variety in terms of battles and forces.
My Greater Zarland story fed the belligerents and circumstances
Each state has a relationship varying between allied, peace, neutral, disputes and war. With disputes these are irritating affairs of state that erode the capability of the state to mobilise for war. I randomly (1d6 123 = 5% or 456 = 10%) chose the part of the establishment diverted to deal with each dispute. Equally the reverse applies for allied states routinely supplying supporting forces.
Each dispute or war is diced for in terms of its occurrence and sequencing (one after the other or in parallel).
Disputes are a series of major or minor skirmishes with the possibility of a small action
Wars extend to larger actions and even greater engagements – possibly big set piece battles.
I used my campaign rules to generate the campaign forces available.
The campaign duration was made up of 32 segments. After each campaign turn a 1d6 determined how many segments were consumed. Once all 32 segments were consumed this campaign sequence ended.
In this case 7 turns had been played and 28 of the 32 segments consumed. Autumn was approaching and both sides had only a series of skirmishes to show for their efforts.
Each turn either a skirmish, action or engagement could occur – skirmishes most likely and engagements (large battles) least likely.
Now on this eighth turn an “action” was drawn. As it was a “small action” each force would have 8 units available to fight.
In this case I randomly selected the 8 units from each establishment.
Zarland defended the village because they had lost the skirmishes up till then.
I fought the battle using Table Top Battles on a grid. The rules generated the terrain. I used 50mm multi figure element bases representing a battalion of infantry or regiment of cavalry. One gun represented a battery of artillery.
The playing area measured 28″ x 40″ – 70cm x 101cm marked with a 5cm or 2″ grid.
The forces were
Zarland Eastern Army commanded by General Kratzen
IR 8th Adelburg CF5 (2)*
IR 6th Nurtberg CF5 (1)
2nd Tuttingen Skirmishers CF2 (1)
Pioneer Regiment 2nd Eyachdorf CF5 (2)*
5th Gellenstein Cavalry CF6 (2)
Artillery Regiment 12th Pinkenfels CF6 (2)
8th Filstad Skirmishers CF4 (1)
IR 4th Beckendorf CF6 (2)
Despite constant harrassment and losing many of the skirmishes the Zarlanders were in surprisingly good spirits. The last two units had just joined the army when the action commenced. Two units with * against them upped their morale rating on the day.
The Nuringian Army commanded by General Paskievich comprised
IR Von Rechten CF3 (1)
IR Von Ryssel CF5 (1)
1st Sharpshooters CF5 (1)
CR Prince Clement Dragoons CF6 (2)
CR Polenz Lancers CF14 (3)
1st Field Artillery Battery CF4 (1)
2nd Field Artillery Battery CF5 (1)
1st Pioneer Regiment CF14 (3)
The units were allocated cards which randomised their deployment.
The Nuringian advantage lay in their artillery and cavalryThe Zarlanders were blessed with an advantage in infantry – ideal for holding Baumdorf
Again the Blue Kingdom Navy had word of the Red Squadron and despatched the same successful squadron, now repaired, to intercept the Red Squadron. The Bellona was added to the squadron.
The two squadrons met again near Tinckermann Bay, scene of the recent Blue Navy victory.
The Red Squadron approach Tinckermann Bay with trepidation…………
This time it was the Blue Squadron who were in a full line and met the Red Squadron dispersed in three groups. The Blue Squadron attacked immediately led by Abellino and Lyra.
The Blue Squadron sail into action confident of victory
The ships present were
The Red Squadron
Centre line
Elven – a single decker 3 masted FAST frigate
Neptunus – a 3 decker 3 masted ship of the line
Right Line
The Meshuda – a 3 decker 3 masted ship of the line
The Triton – a single decker 3 masted FAST ship of the line
The Allart – a single decker brig with a Carronade
Left Line
The Zugarte – a 2 decker 3 masted FAST ship of the line
The Sarpen – a sloop of war
The Blue Squadron
The Chippewa – a 3 decker 3 masted ship of the line
The Allegheny – a 3 decker 3 masted ship of the line
The Abellino – a 2 decker 3 masted FAST ship of the line
The Firefly – 1 decker 3 masted FAST Frigate
The Lyra – a 1 decker 3 masted FAST Frigate
The Bellona – a 3 decker 3 masted ship of the line
The Red Squadron seemed too spread out to present a threat and as the Abellino bore onward the frigate Elven turned, fired a broadside and scuttled to join the Zugarte.
As it happened both outer lines of Red Squadron ships fired on the Blue Squadron line who returned fire with mixed results.
The Neptunus presented a broadside to the lead ship Abellino who returned the favour. Behind the Blue Squadron quickly broke its line pursuing the seemingly disordered Red Squadron.
The Blue Squadron break their line
In the process Abellino found itself isolated as did the Lyra. Again luck was against the Blue Squadron ships as the Lyra and then the Abellino had their masts shot away leaving them adrift yet still able to fire.
Elven, Neptunus and Sarpen had done the damage.
Further back down the line Firefly joined the action at the head of the line while Bellona and Allegheny became isolated in the rear. In the case of the Allegheny it appeared she would soon be defeated. Bellona destroyed the Allart’s sailing gear leaving her adrift.
The lines are broken into a series of small ship to ship actionsNow Bellona and Sarpen (top left) began their own singular battle while Meshuda and Triton closed in on Firefly, one of the few Blue Squadron ships still intact.
The Allegheny could still make sail but was now disarmed, so she made much sail with Zugarte vainly pursuing her. Elsewhere the final reckoning was taking place.
Firefly managed to evade the Meshuda and Triton before being pursued by the Zugarte. The Allegheny had sailed away with Bellona close behind.
The Firefly fought a gallant final action against the Zugarte with the Triton now closing again (see bottom of picture).
Finally Firefly fled having lost all her guns.
The Red Squadron had defeated the Blue Squadron in the second battle of Tinckermann.
The Red Squadron had captured the Chippewa, Lyra and Abellino while the Sarpen and Allart had been demasted and had to be towed back to port.
The Red Squadron return to port with their prizes………
I had used the basic TTBnaval rules described in my previous posts including amendments in the Battle of Tinckermann post.
This time I introduced some variation on the ships themselves and added another weapon class – a carronade.
A carronade required the ship to be in contact with its target – point blank range and it throws on the broadside to hit column. The value though was always to be +1 on the respective broadside hit result. The carronade being just +1 on the to hit column meant throwing 12 +1 to get 13 and achieve the maximum 3 hits (2+1). Very damaging but not easily achieved. This combination of close range only + difficulty to hit, I think would prevent the carronade being too overly powerful.
In the event the Allart (a two masted Brig) had her masts destroyed before she could get into action and was left adrift with her shiney new carronade unused.
Another new ship for the Red Squadron was a “sloop of war” fast and well armed. The Sarpen did do some damage early on but was eventually brought to a standstill, her masts and sailing gear being destroyed.
Victory was secured in move 11 so again the game, with my changes, was contested between sides of differing numbers and capability. It could have gone the other way if the Blue squadron had not lost ship manoeuvreability early on.
Finally I have kept the “outcomes” unaltered because this is where the tempo of the game is achieved – brisk but not too brisk! And that is what makes TTBnaval fun to play.
After the clash of advance guards it was now the turn of the Zarland and VinAlban main bodies to seek to control the River Hase.
The River Hase passes the Kloster Arens on its eastern bank ridge while on the west bank is the Arensburg and its no less imposing Rittergut.
The Royal Zarland Army was commanded by General Kratzen an above average General whose chief of staff General Klettern was in fact an outstanding Officer.
As dawn breaks the Zarland pickets see movement on the west bank of the River HaseGeneral Sumpf has elected to hold what he has – Kloster Arens and keeps his few forces east of the River Hase
The VinAlban army was commanded by General Geflugel (an average general) who had been delayed along the route of the march. General Modistin commanded the Davarian force sent to support Prince Otto’s latest attempt on his fathers crown. Modistin was a poor general and very much concerned with his own importance. General Geflugel had sent his Chief of Staff General Nelke (an above average commander) to meet Modistin and try to contain the unreliable General until he could arrive.
Both Zarland and VinAlban forces descend into the river valleyThe Davarians are on the right flank, south of Kloster Arens and in force
The VinAlban and Zarland commanders had broken up their main bodies so as to push on to support their advance guards.
General Klettern had arrived with
7th Cavalry
5th Artillery
He sent these north west beyond Kloster Arens as it appeared the enemy were massing to cross the river Hase. General Sumpf had also mentioned the defeated VinAlbans had retreated north the previous evening – no doubt back onto their main body?
General Nelke had likewise brought some troops to reinforce the advance guard of General Stute. He had
10th Infantry battalion
2nd and 3rd Artillery
4th Cavalry
11th Skirmishers
General Nelke dispatched General Stute north with part of this force as reports had been received of enemy movements from that direction.
He then pushed a force across the river Hase in readiness for the arrival of General Geflugel and the main body. Its orders were to secure the flat ground north of Kloster Arens.
The force comprised
4th Cavalry
12th Infantry
10th Infantry
3rd Artillery
He then rode to meet General Modistin who had already arrived from the south west with a substantial force of Davarian troops.
both sides are bold with their artillery!
Earlier at 0400 am General Sumpf again sent patrols north to check on the VinAlbans whose advance guard had withdrawn in that direction the previous day. The 19th of March had dawned very cloudy but still dry. General Kratzen would soon arrive with the main Royal Zarland army.
The forces gather their courageIt is the Davarians who are across the river first as the VinAlban 4th cavalry also begin their crossing
General Klettern had in fact arrived earlier to take over from General Sumpf who took some rest in the Kloster Arens. General Klettern had been surprised to see not just VinAlbans across the Hase river valley but Davarians. He had immediately sent a courier to General Kratzen to hasten forward.
Vin Albans cross north of Kloster Arens as the first attack is made directly by the Davarians on Kloster Arens itself. Ouch!Today the artillery are seemingly ineffective General Nelke watches as the assault on Kloster Arens developsVin Alban skirmishers and infantry take artillery hits as the Davarians attack across the old sawmill bridge to the south
On the west side of the valley General Modistin had arrived at the Rittergut, meeting General Nelke and immediately demanded to know where General Geflugel was.
General Modistin was noted as a poor General yet he had sent his forces straight into attack showing an unexpected degree of boldness. General Nelke viewed the developing frontal attack with dismay.
The combined VinAlban and Davarian forces had descended the valley and made for the Kloster Arens and its ridge.
Finally both sides begin to see the attrition build from firing exchangesThe Davarians are seemingly undeterred by the steepness of the Hase river valley sides
General Klettern spreads his weaker forces across the ridge to contain the advancing VinAlbans and Davarians, feeding in the main body troops as they arrive on the Kloster Arens road. General Kratzen is now at the Kloster Arens and discovers a General Sumpf slightly the worse for sampling some excellent Kloster wine. Even so General Kratzen is pleased with Sumpf’s work the previous day.
As the afternoon beckons the grey day turns darker under heavy rain clouds. The Zarland forces have crossed the river Hase north of the Kloster bridge while the 3rd artillery deployed at the bridge and luckily for them. Opposite the 2nd Zarland Artillery, an elite unit, are under orders not to fire on the bridge which must be taken intact!
Today the elite artillery are off colour anyway as they fail to get the range on the advancing VinAlban 10th Infantry.
The fordable river is no barrier to the advancing troops. But it is the persistent light rain that is now affecting events.
The 14th Davarian Infantry are driven back across the old sawmill bridge
As the 14th Davarian Infantry seek the ridge line to the south of Kloster Arens they meet the 14th Zarland Cavalry and are driven back across the river Hase – with few casualties but suitably shaken.
Meanwhile north of Kloster Arens the VinAlbans turn the Zarland flank. Is this the moment the position becomes untenable?
Attrition is working through all the units in the battle. In the far distance the VinAlbans outnumber the Zarland right wing
At 1800 hrs the heavens open and a mighty deluge of rain slows movement and impacts firing. Although the Vinalbans are now making progress General Geflugel decides to withdraw across the river Hase as the weather shows every sign of getting even worse.
And so the battle ends with the Zarland Royal Army still holding Kloster Arens.
That evening General Geflugel held a review with his senior commanders including a frustrated General Modistin, the Davarian General. Everyone was informed that there would be no resumption of the attack as new orders from VinAlba required a withdrawl from Zarland.
An incredulous General Modistin stormed out of the tent into the torrential rain. He mounted his soaking wet horse and rode away cursing VinAlba and her useless Generals. At least he could say he had shed Davarian blood for Prince Otto in the so called battle of Kloster Arens.
……………as darkness gathers at the Rittergut, under leaden skies, the thoroughly soaked General Modistin grabs the last spotlight by staring hard to the east at Kloster Arens………………..
In my case – creating a Mythical Realm is not normally a problem because I tend to invent some totally separate location that just happens to have the same oxygen, societies, nature, science and warfare of the period I want to plunder.
And then occasionally real history just cries out to be used. Italy is a regular case in point for me. Most recently I was on a Normans in the South (NitS) splurge before crashing into Faux Napoleonics by Renaissance Troll.
One thing has led to another and one minute I was on the Wars of the Italian Unification (WotIU) – kepis, garibaldi and kettels, next I am thinking how to do Napoleonics without Napoleon, Wellington or Blucher etc.
Well I have solved the problem – it is a Vardoger Planet – ok maybe it is a sort of doppelganger.
The story is this.
Once upon a time there was a planet – called Earth and in front of it so to speak was another planet called Earth which experienced everything just that bit earlier. And so the worlds trundled along except that one day there was a small ripple and it was a very small ripple.
No one noticed because no one knew. Well I guess someone knew because I would not be telling you this.
We live on the first planet, or lead planet. The “Vardoger” one. Now our following planet is just slightly different.
Welcome to “Fauxterre” where things are just slightly different.
The hill of Moulet-Arles at the Gap of Moulet-Arles
Yep crease lines show up in pictures – at least I know the centre line of the battlefield though.
This battlefield is a take on a few where a road junction provides the focus of the action as forces collide due to poor scouting. I quickly drew a map looking to create a bottleneck to be fought over.
On this scrap of paper Moulet-Arles appears from nowhere. Maybe it will just as quickly be forgotten?
Narrative
Savelonia has been wracked by insurrection and revolution. Nothing new here as the region has been fraught with instability. Sabaudia and Savelonia occupy the western lands of the Empire which had seen better days.
Yet the Emperor Raymond has seen his fortunes improve in recent times and feels compelled to show some strength in the region.
Meanwhile King Nikola of Sabaudia sees opportunities to expand his kingdom and influence.
The provisional government of Savelonia had already appealed to King Nikola for assistance so it was easy to frame his response as coming to the assistance of downtrodden peoples still living under the hard boot of the Imperialists.
The Emperor ordered his forces to mobilise.
General Gutenstein marched south and west through the Crownlands of Pommardia and through some minor duchies before reaching the borderlands of Savelonia. It is a pity his majesty had not thought to build his very new fangled railways where the army needed to march, the General thought, as his forces struggled through the mud under grey and darkening skies.
He had sent ahead General Hartmann a promising young officer. General Hartmann had 2 battalions of riflemen along with 2 squadrons of light cavalry plus 2 horse guns.
His orders were to seize the road junctions around Moulet-Arles. Local guides informed him the area was known as the “Gap of Moulet-Arles” owing to a dense forest to the west and some high ground to the east. three roads came together at Moulet-Arles and just one road led south west into the Savelonian heartlands. Hartmann noted that his maps did not show these features as significant. He pushed his men on as the grey clouds dispersed a little.
To the South West General Forlan cursed the weather, the people, the roads and the Kings Logistics Corps or rather lack of one.
His forces had been late leaving their concentration points and then the revolutionaries in Savelonia had been creating havoc. At least he had corralled the rebellion to just the three major cities in the Grand Duchy. This had given the Provisional Government some order. It was little time in which to prepare for the inevitable response by the Empire.
Now he had word of Imperial forces gathering to the north east. He had sent General Ducrot forward to secure what looked like a key road junction at Moulet-Arles.
General Ducrot was your average time served officer of the Empire who had opted to make his later career with the kingdom and frankly this explosion of activity late in the year had not been to General Ducrots’ liking with his plans to enjoy the spa towns of the Drabzan Mountains now put on hold.
And the weather was turning bad it would seem.
General Ducrot considered his orders again. Take the two road junctions of Moulet-Arles driving off any enemy. His battalion of Chasseurs were key and were supported by 2 squadrons of light cavalry and 2 battalions of line infantry. His one horse gun left him vunerable but from what he had heard the Imperialists were only “demonstrating” – a bit of sabre rattling.
As he came within sight of Moulet-Arles the rain seemed to intensify, it certainly darkened despite it being late morning already.
Ducrot’s chasseurs deploy north of Moulet-Arles towards Petit Moulet-Arles. HIs light cavalry push west by the Forez en Moulet and to the west his other squadron climb the hill. The first line infantry battalion arrives in the village. Job done!Ducrot carelessly reconnoitres beyond his forces as an Empire cavalry force rides towards Petit Moulet-ArlesWith the Sabaudian forces almost all in position the Imperialists find their use of the road congestedThe light cavalry under their respective Generals face up to each otherFirst blood goes to the Imperialists as the Sabaudian Light Cavalry have the worst of itHeavy Rain slows all activity and the heat has gone out of the battle – literally
Heavy rain now sweeps across the battlefield and movement all but ceases. Both armies main forces are coming up but with the light fading fast General Hartmann concludes that his day is done. Leaving a battalion of riflemen in Petit Moulet-Arles he withdraws a little way away and seeks new orders.
Later that evening the Imperialists retire leaving General Ducrot and the Sabaudian forces to enjoy the dubious delights of Moulet-Arles on a very wet and sodden ground.
The Wargame
The narrative was built largely from the wargame outcomes with only the naming, origin of the war etc. being necessary additions.
Setting up the game
With my latest wargames fad being post Napoleonic warfare I just had to get some games in.
So there was a degree of improvisation necessary.
Currently I am painting armies for the 1850’s and with none complete that could not be my starting point. Help was at hand through Charles Wesencraft’s Practical Wargaming (WPW). While I was looking at his Franco Prussian rules I realised they were a build on his Napoleonic rules in the same book. Added to that I had some Napoleonic Figures ready to use and the decision was made.
This was a Faux Napoleonic game. Thank you Renaissannce Troll!
The idea for this game was the Franco Prussian scenario set out in chapter 14 of section 6 entitled “how many generals?”. And the book was Donald Featherstones Advanced Wargames (DFAW).
The scenario written for multiple players sees two forces collide having sent out advanced gauards. The question is who can feed in their main elements and rear gaurds most effectively.
Also objectives are defined by the ongoing campaign – so you don’t play fast and loose “one game” tactics.
The Imperial Forces were
Advanced Guard led by General Hartman (+1) with Staff Officer Kroos (0)
2 Battalions of Jagers (M2, M2)
2 Squadrons of Light Cavalry (M2, M2)
2 Horse guns (M2, M2)
Main Body led by General Gutenstein (+1)
1 Battalion of the Imperial Guardsmen
2 Squadrons of Heavy Cavalry
7 Battalions of Line Infantry
2 Field guns
Rearguard
Not specified
These forces had become broken up and were all heading on different roads which converged at Moulet-Arles.
In the “WPW” rules staff officers provide some variation and control when playing face to face opponents giving each staff officer a temporary +1 on die rolls with the unit they are with. I tweaked this by making staff officers themselves variable to introduce some more friction for solo play. And Generals were included to account for any decisions they made.
General/Staff Officer 6 on a D6 = +2
General/Staff Officer 4 or 5 on a D6 = +1
General/Staff Officer 1,2 or 3 on a D6 = 0
So the Imperial forces were well blessed with leaders
Turning to the Sabaudians we had
The Adavanced Guard led by General Ducrot (0) with staff officer Hautois (+1)
1 Battalion of Chasseurs (M3)
2 Squadrons of Light Cavalry (M2, M2)
2 Battalions of Line Infantry (M2, M1)
1 Horse Gun (M1)
The Main body led by General Forlan (0)
2 Battalions of Guard Infantry
5 Battalions of Line Infantry
2 Squadrons of Heavy Cavalry
3 Field guns
The M and number value for each advanced guard unit denotes their morale classification on the day. WPW assumes that top notch units can underperform and raw units out perform themselves on any one day. This helps with Campaigns or the sort of narrative gaming I do. Not much use to the “lists” gamers though – far too confusing.
So M3 denotes a unit in top form, M2 average condition and M1 – well you need to roll your dice high when testing morale!
I diced for all the units in the main bodies – when they would arrive and by which road (3 options for the Imperial forces!)
In the event the game ended swiftly because of some timing decisions and the weather.
Now there has always been something different to me about Charles Wesencrafts’ rules. Maybe it is because back then my wargames rules were from basically one author – Donald Featherstone: Gavin Lyall, Terry Wise and Charles Grant all passed me by for example.
Anyway WPW gives you a package – nothing outrageous – it is a complete package and everything has its place. With Donald Featherstone I always felt I could emphasise rule aspects sacrificing others with little thought to the overall game. With WPW I basically take them as presented and play them. Yes I do tweak a bit because solo play requires that extra friction in the absence of another human player.
Well the weather started off wet and just got wetter. I had also randomly found the action started part way through the day. So instead of say the example 12 move battle duration shown in the book I reduced it to no more than 6 moves. And once the rain had set in with the Sabaudians in possession of the crossroads it just seemed logical that the Imperial forces would withdraw and consider their options.
So that ended my first post Napoleonic wargame. And was it a damp squib? if you play only the individual games then absolutely. If on the other other hand you play for campaigns and narratives it was good and in fact immediately suggests other courses of action.
Will the Imperialists now exploit the fact that the Sabaudians have concentrated on the road junction. Maybe they will attack from a new direction. Or maybe mask this position and attack elsewhere to draw the Sabaudians from the crossroads altogether. Maybe the crossroads are now no longer important to the Imperialists.
Finally I will cover a few other points about WPC.
Firstly I used written orders – well simple pictograms and crucially I wrote them at least one move ahead. This immediately adds more friction for the solo game as well as making the staff officer element of the rules even more pertinent.
The rules were for their time, in my view, very good in approaching control and morale. The text at 180 odd pages is quite heavy when the basic rules can be condensed into just a few. This is especially so when you consider the rules cover 6 key periods (ancients, medieval, pike and shot, Eigtheenth Century, Napoleonic, ACW/Franco Prussian). Add to that three variations – two large scale game options and a skirimish option.
The point is the whole book is also the design philosophy into the bargain with explanation alongside the relevant part of the rules.
The rules are therefore stripped of unnecessary features yet have the right blend of “kept rules” so you get a good feel for the game.
The figure removal technique in the game, with what was then an unusual multi figure basing approach, is easily replaced with a value solution such as promoted by the Neil Thomas AMW or OHW rulesets. This allows the figures to stay on the table and as Charles Wesencraft says himself it is not obvious which units are degraded until they do something. Here his morale rules take care of that – so be prepared to move units to the rear rather than just remove them. And it follows rallying can still play a part with those staff officers effectively representing the efforts of all the leaders of the army at whatever rank attempting to keep men in the line.
You can still buy these rules here being part of the John Curry Wargaming Project.
The Wargaming Erratic 