A Gentlemans War or “Glossy Coats and Tin Bayonets” is a bit different to the previous rules tested. It is much more towards a skirmishing style and is definitely for enjoyment of the game. These rules are aimed at the period 1875 to 1914 so are a bit later than my interest.
The losses are per figure so the units were
12 man infantry brigades
4 man field artillery batteries
6 man light cavalry brigades
I used their 1850-1875 shooting modifications to the rules
Essentially it shortens all the ranges giving you just rifled muskets or smoothbore cannon.
I ran out some new playing cards for this game.
Modern playing cards in a victorian style.
With a normal playing card deck red cards work for one force, black for the other.
numbered cards allow singular activitions
court cards allow brigaded activations ( I did not use these) or singular activations
ace allows double move and cannot be held in the hand
cards in the hand are used as hold cards to be used as above
cycle ends when every unit on one side has activated
first joker end all cycles – with all disorder markers removed
both sides start new cycles
second joker – cycles end plus all held cards are discarded and packs reshuffled for a restart
Marshall Radetzky squares up to the Rebels led by General Durando. On the left is the Austrian line – Hussars, Benedek Line Infantry, No1 Field Artillery with Erzherzog Albrecht Line Infantry in the distance. On the right the Milan Infantry Brigade with A battery field artillery next then the Bersaglieri di Vignola and finally in the distance the 3rd/6th Line Lancers.
The set up was identical to previous tests and the Orchard was inaccessible to all arms, while the road offered some benefit.
The Empire Forces were
left flank – Erzherzog Albrecht Infantry
centre left – No 1 field artillery battery
centre right – Ritter Von Benedek Infantry
right flank – Graf Radetzky Hussars
The Republican Forces were
left flank – Milan Brigade
centre left – “A” battery field artillery
centre right – Bersaglieri di Vignola
right flank – 3rd & 6th Line Lancers (combined)
The action was swift with the rebel lancers charging first……
The 3rd/6th Line Lancers charged the Erzherzog Albrecht Infantry inflicting alittle damage but taking heavy casualities from the Austrian Firing and then in the melee.
As they charge in the Austrian Infantry fire scoring on 5 or 6 on 1d6
Rebel saving throws on a 5 or 6 mean only 2 hits make a mark. Yet this meant 1/3 losses 2 out of 6 men killed so a morale check was required which said the Lancers were “bothered” but continued their charge albeit “lukewarm”.
In the melee the “advantage factors” were with the Austrians meaning the Lancers needed a 6 to hit against 3-6 for the infantry. 6 hits on the cavalry halved meant the remnants of the cavalry ran away (1 cavalryman!) while the infantry were reduced by 1 man to 11.
I did not do figure removal but either way the Lancers are in full retreat. The Beraglieri are arriving to engage the Austrian artillery in the foregroundMeanwhile an exchange between the Von Benedek Infantry and the Piedmont Artillery resulted in the artillery being “disconcerted” so they ran away. In return the Milan Brigade fired on the Von Benedek Infantry
The Bersaglieri attempted to rush the Austrian artillery but became “bothered” and had to retreat. while a fierce firefight took place between the Von Benedek Infantry and the Milan Brigade.
Eventually the Von Benedek Infantry became “disconcerted” – morale test on 50% losses, and ran away.
Von Benedek infantry flee after firefight with the Milan BrigadeThe Austrian left flank is relatively unscathedIn the distance the General Durando returns having failed to rally the piedmont artillery while in the foreground the Austrian Hussars have lost almost all their men to the Milan Brigade firing and then repelling their chargeThere is still possibilities of action on the Austrian left flank. Again the Austrian Artillery “bother” the Bersaglieri who run away again only to be rallied by General DurandoFinally the Hussars are destroyed by the Milan Brigade – in this game I used dice to show accumulated damage for a change!The Milan Brigade now move against the Austrian left flank, getting favorable cards they fire on the Austrian Artillery who are “disconcerteed” and fall back.
With just one infantryman left in the Erzherzog Albrecht Infantry the game is up for the Austrians as the Milan Brigade still numbers 10 men and the Bersaglieri have 8 although they keep running away!
So General Radeztky decides to quit the field. General Durando celebrates a great victory largely down to his Milan Infantry brigade which destroyed the Hussars, routed the Von Benedek Infantry and drove off the Austrian Artillery almost single handedly.
Every now and then I get a bee in the bonnet and have to paint a figure or unit not in the plan.
In this case my sizeable paint queue from last summer has reduced, yet there are still units now 12 months on the table, and counting.
So of course it’s madness to start a new set of figures. Undeterred I have managed to get these six completed in a day with the help of high temperatures drying the paint rapidly.
This is my take on the fusiliers of Brigata Fanteria 1852, reflecting the Duke of Parma’s decision to go Prussian in his reorganisation of the army after the Austrians victory of 1849 at Novara.
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.
I opted for individual basing plus I went with my pale grasses again.This second shot shows some back figures in focus including two riflemen complete with blanket rollsThe men all carry moustaches – whiskers were a trademark of the period. Here are the 14 figures which allows me four per gun plus the two riflemen.The figures are from the Strelets Russo Turkish War of 1877 range. They have some great animation as long as you like the chunky style.
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……..
The Battle of Symmetry Ridge
The French led by General Charles Oudinot (looking suspicously like Napoleon) were deployed looking to exploit the road on their left flank. None other than Garibaldi himself was leading the Republican Army you can see at the top of the picture.
French Forces
Left Flank – 36th Regiment of the Line – Infantry Brigade
Left Flank – 13th Battery 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
Centre Right – 66th Regiment of the Line – Infantry Brigade
Right Flank – Some Austrian Hussars (I decided the French Expedition was short handed in 1849)
The French left flank benefited from road movement
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.
The 66th Regt formed in column of march while the Austrian Hussars formed up in the only formation they were permitted – in two ranks. Because I use deep bases the formations used by Neil Thomas show as very elongated. This has no real affect on the game mechanics although visually it is probably a bit jarring. Note I also have some 50mm base width units alongside 40mm base width units. Ho Hum…….The Orchard on the ridge: (inaccessible under my rules and an “obstruction” under NT19e firing rules) effectively divides the battlefield.Garibaldi leads his soon to be famous red and blue shirts!The Parma National Guard Lancers provide the right flank of the Republican Army joining the Blue shirts
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.
roll on 1xd6=5,6 – allows 4 units to activate
roll on 1xd6=2,3,4 – allows 3 units to activate
roll on 1xd6=1 – allows 2 units to activate
The scene is set.
Garibaldi has his red shirts on the left, blue shirts on the right. The Duchy of Parma 1848 Provisional Government has sent some Lancers to defend the newly declared Roman Republic. Garibaldi’s artillery are dressed in Austrian uniforms but are italian troops who have strayed from the Imperial Armies………Garibaldi won the first turn and commanded 4 units forward, General Oudinot could only manage 1 unit in his turn.On move 2 both sides could activate 4 units while on move 3 General Oudinot moved first and fired his artillery on the blue shirts column scoring 1 hit.
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.
On move 4 Garibaldi could only move 1 unit and the French artillery failed to hit the Blue shirts. Oudinot got back to back initiative scores on moves 4 and 5 moving his forces with vigour……………On move 5 the Austrian Cavalry destroyed the republican gun while the French artillery did yet more damage to the Blue shirts. However the republican artillery had in its turn severely damaged the Austrian Cavalry whose morale failed (extra base lost). To add to their problems the red shirts fired on the Hussars leaving few to return alongside the 66th Infantry Regt.The Austrian Hussars are decimated while the republican artillery has been silenced. On the French left things look ominous as their flank is turned.
On move 6 Garibaldi had the advantage, but little happened except…………in move 6 & 7 the Blue shirts destroyed the french artillery while the 66th Infantry Regt began to attack the red shirts. The Parma Lancers were decimated by the firepower of the 33rd Infantry Regt.
It looks like the republican strike on the French left has failed………The decisive moment as the red and blue shirts aided by the remnants of the Parma Lancers attack both the 33rd and 66th Infantry Regts.On move 8 the Parma Lancers are destroyed by the 33rd Infantry Regt. Heavy losses on both sides in the infantry melees follow………Move 9 fire exchanges between the Infantry units cause more casualties. The 66th Line practically cease to exist while the Republican right flank has been severely mauled. The republican blue shirts paid a price for not getting into a firing line. On move 10 Garibaldi attacks taking more fire damage but decimating the 33rd Infantry Regt and causing the morale to collapse for the 66th infantry Regt
It is a characteristic of Neil Thomas rules that units are visibly destroyed yet even at the end still have some effect.
Move 11 Oudinot has remnants of the 33rd left while Garibaldi still has elements of both his blue and red shirt brigades
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 bases use my standard three colour (burnt sienna+yellow ochre+ pale yellow white dry brushed) with on this occasion some pale gamers grassesBases use 3 figures to a base promoted by both Peter Pig and PiquetI generally use 4 bases per unit which might scale up as a battalion, regiment or brigade depending on rule set used.The Tuscans fought in 1848 but were defeated alongside their Piedmontese and other allies
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……….
The Austrian Right Flank
Austria
Left Flank – Brigade Von Baden (Orange Facings)
Centre Left – No1 Field Artillery Battery
Centre Right – Erzherzog Albrecht Brigade (Red Facings)
Right Flank – 5th Graf Radetzky & 8th Ferdinand, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha Cavalry Brigade
Piedmont Left Flank
Piedmont
Left Flank – National Guard Milan Brigade
Centre Left – “A” Battery Field Artillery
Centre Right – Bersaglieri di Vignola Brigade
Right Flank – 3rd & 6th Piedmont (Lancers) Cavalry Brigade
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.
a 4’x4′ table set up works just fine for these tests. Alas these excellent light weight but sturdy german made Lidl sourced picnic tables have been OOP for 4 years. Crikey they even have 4 height settings in the legs…………….my Kloster Arens encounters made good use of this variable height capability The Orchard on Symmetry Hill (some of the model trees were planted in the 1970’s!). The Austrian Artillery have Unit Integrity of 2 (most infantry have 3) with a Defensive Dice 1xd6 (like all other units) plus Combat Dice 1xd10 again like most of the units in this battle
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.
you can still buy 2nd edition card decks, I have yet to consider moving to 3rd edition.
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.
The forces all elected to “march” with the Austrian left using the road benefit
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.
Piedmont have already secured the ridgePiedmont right wing crash into the Austrians strung out on the road, a now regretted ploy.
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.
The Piedmont Lancers won the melee going out of command while the Von Baden Brigade lost unit integrity and the army morale lost 1 point. The Bersaglieri were not so fortunate……
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 No1 Austrian Field Battery made short work of the impulsive Bersaglieri.
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 Piedmont Field Artillery open fire on the Erzherzog Albrecht Brigade.
“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.
On the Austrian Left Flank things were heating up
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.
Artillery fire caused more damage to Brigade Erzherzog Albrecht
another round had no effect though
no other cards could be played
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.
firepower was at first ineffective from the Bersaglieri and Milan Brigades
Bersaglieri then managed to attack the Austrian artillery again causing 1UI damage along with 1 army morale reduction
The Milan brigade then blasted the Piedmont Cavalry Brigade inflicting 1UI loss and a further army morale point deduction.
LULL and ARMY MORALE and MANOEUVRE cards followed
The Austrian response was
their artillery again damaged the Bersaglieri who lost 1UI and army 1 morale point
but then ARMY MORALE came up for the Austrians who had to die role their leadership dice of d10 against a d12 because their Army Morale rating was already reduced to zero.
the throw was lost
As a result of losing this throw the Austrians quit the field.
A victory for Piedmont and King Victor Emmanuel.
The faster attrition through loss of army morale eventually worked against the Austrians
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 Milan Brigade eventually got into action and probably delivered the losses that tipped the balance in favour of Piedmont.
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.
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 start of the action – the infantry are in attack columns meaning better melee potential sacrificing the firing line. Piedmont in the foreground await the marching Austrian Imperialists.
The Forces are
Austria
Left Flank – Brigade Ritter Von Benedek (Green Facings)
Centre Left – No1 Battery Field Artillery
Centre Right – Brigade Von Baden (Orange Facings)
Right Flank – 5th Graf Radeztky & 8th Ferdinand, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha Cavalry Brigade
Piedmont
Left Flank – Pinerolo Infantry Brigade
Centre Left – “A” Battery Field Artillery
Centre Right – Bologna Volunteers Infantry Brigade
Right Flank – Piedmont Lancers 3rd & 6th Regiments
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 Piedmontese advance in lineThe Austrian line becomes slightly raggedModified opposed rolls of d10 are at the heart of Fire & Fury. This is a contrast to more recent tastes for d6 roll to hit and saving throws. Actually there is something about the instant dice off. Especially as it did not feel like my memory of opposed dice rolling under WRG 6th edition where the factors made most throws pointless – accurate maybe but not enjoyable.The Austrian No1 Battery drops into action and disorders the Bologna Volunteers. To their right The Hussars drive back the Pinerolo Brigade in disorder, while the Austrian Brigade Ritter Von Benedek silence the “A” battery piedmont field artillery. Brigade Von Baden issue a “telling fire” disordering the Lancers.
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).
everywhere the Piedmontese managed to rally. But “lively” and “telling” fire from the Austrians continued to cause problems.The Piedmontese “A” field battery hold their own.Finally Brigade Ritter Von Benedek chase off the Piedmontese Artillery while Brigade Von Baden move on the Bologna Volunteers and “drive” them back with loss. The resulting breakthrough took the infantry into the Lancers who were “swept” from the fieldEffectively the Austrians have the advantage and as evening falls the Piedmontese retire
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.
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.
ruletest A – just infantry
ruletest B – infantry plus cavalry
ruletest C – infantry plus cavalry plus artillery
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 righthand Brigade comprised the Bologna Volunteers in red banded kepis
The lefthand Brigade comprised the Brigade Pinerolo
The Austrians were amazingly led by Marshal Radetzky (brought out of retirement yet again)
The righthand Brigade comprised IR28 Green facings: Graf Latour
The lefthand Brigade comprised IR59 Orange facings: Leopold, Grossherzog von Baden
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.
King Victor Emmanuel marched confidently towards the Austrian Line. Marshall Radetzky was confident these Piedmontese would be driven from the field.The Generals are not attached. Attaching Leaders to brigades confers benefits to events.Both forces changed formation (requiring a D10 + modifiers against a manoeuvre table of results). They adopted field column formation.Each turn starts with an initiative test – the winning General has the advantage of moving first as the ruleset is a IgoUgo turn based game. The rules are actually set up for refighting Gettysburg so each scenario defines the order of play. My solution was to assume both Leaders to have equal effectiveness through opposed rolling an unmodified D10 each.Both forces were very close now and the next initiative would give significant advantage. So far the Piedmontese rolled high…….The Piedmontese rolled high again opted to move and fire as well as changing from field column into line. The Austrians got their fire in first (opportunity fire) but this was “desultory”. I like the terms used to describe outcomes. The Austrian brigade leaders were not used to measure firing effects.Desultory fire all round and generally a lack of manoeuvre……….until the Austrian Brigade Von Baden disordered their Bologna Volunteer opponentson Move 3 the Austrians now managed to get into line and charged the Piedmontese. The Pinerolo Brigade managed to disorder the charging Austrian Brigade Graf Latour whose own fire was desultory before their charge was a success.The Pinerolo Brigade were driven back with significant losses (this is always a randomised value so can lead to interesting follow ups)Meanwhile the Austrian Brigade Von Baden were outstanding with their “elan”, charging home. The Bologna Volunteers were swept from the field, one base skedaddled (ran away), one stand was captured and the rest retreated a full move in disorder
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……….
I have been searching for rules that offer that “something” – that dimension that enhances gaming a certain era. You could call it flavour because most rulesets are basically the same – dice throwing, card turning, measurement, maths, probability and movement around a table sized gaming space.
And of course we all like different flavours.
The Po valley in Northern Italy has seen great armies and leaders pass through, throughout the centuries. Mid 19th century warfare as an era is probably seen by most as a backwater – certainly when it comes to Italy. I guess the wars that get remembered are the Franco Prussian War and of course the American Civil War. These wars it could be argued, framed the next 100 years of global history and perhaps still do.
Back in the Po Valley it was the case of an old empire in retreat.
It was also the time that got us from Napoleon to Kaiser, musket to rifle if you like. Smoothbore and Rifled guns operated side by side.
Battles in the Po Valley in the mid 19th century were short and hurried affairs. But some incurred great loss of life that was noticed. Notable for their apparent lack of professionalism – something about no scouting, lots of surprises and a distinct lack of strategy. The accounts – many contemporary bear out the first two criticisms.
The great strategist Napoleon fought in the Po Valley at the end of the 18th century and his battles were very much confined by the geography. I think his Napoleonic Grand Strategy is more about what went on in the whole of Europe. His wars should been seen in that context. So I would argue Radeztky in 1848 was no less able than Napoleon in achieving his strategic victory in the Po Valley. The difference is that Austria was not fighting a pan european war. But it was fighting battles in the Po Valley.
The issue of poor scouting and too much surprise actually makes for more interesting wargames and throws up opportunities to make a game more interesting. It perhaps beckons to the more erratic ruleset?
For many the war across the Atlantic in the United States is not to be compared – different continents with different outlooks, society and geography.
And yet to my untutored eye while the ACW might have had a grand strategic aspect (western and eastern theatres?), it also seems to have had some campaigns driven by geography limiting the options available to a General. Perhaps there were similarities between these apparently very different wars fought on separate continents?
Even so I had set my mind against looking at the American Civil War as a rules source for my mid 19th century European interests: A case of less is more – something wargamers are often not very good at – me included.
But……
The very nature of limited professional armies, volunteer forces, often with ineffective leadership and disorganisation plus similar technology means that the wars in the Po Valley, seemed quite complimentary to those of the Amercian Civil Wars (ACW).
A bit of a ramble to explain how belatedly, I have considered using ACW rules for my Wars of the Italian Unification (WotIU) battles. In particular Fire and Fury.
The Wiki Commons licensed image shown here is to be found in an excellent Wikipedia page about the Italian Unification Wars. The image shows a classic hill top town – in this case being attacked by the Sardinians (Piedmontese) while defended by Austrians.
This game was thrown in firstly because Battles with Model Soldiers was the source of my original ruleset test scenarios for Fire & Fury.
Battles with Model Soldiers is really a 200 page design/ideas book with rules dotted throughout.
The rules I used are explained briefly at the end of this post. A key aspect is alternate moves with losses incurred before any responses. Initiative (who goes first in each turn) therefore matters.
Donald Featherstones book provides basic rules for American Civil War actions. he shows the mechanics through three stepped up siutations
infantry only
infantry plus cavalry
infantry, cavalry and artillery
In this game I used the last stepped up situation of infantry, cavalry and artillery.
Narrative – Near Rome in 1849
In this confused affair a wargaming Napoleon faces off against Garibaldi – I suppose the nearest real conflict would be 1849 at Rome where Garibaldi gave the French a shock defeat.
The forces were
Roman Republic (Garibaldi) on the left
Red Dragoon Volunteers in foreground left
White Legion Volunteers
Roman Artillery (in liberated Austrian uniforms!)
Milan Sharpshooters in distance
The French were led by General Oudinot looking a bit like the great Napoleon himself.
33rd Line Regiment right foreground
Austrian Artillery on loan
66th Line Regiment in distance
French Cuirassiers
In terms of “ground” the battle was fought on a low ridge (no effect on movement) crossed by a rough track (no benefit) and the fenced orchard (inaccessible to all forces).
The rings denote remaining strength – red = 4 artillerymen/5 figures, yellow = 10 figures, blue = 20 figures with green showing 15 figures in value.
What you see is almost what you get – counting actual figures equals strength. I don’t do figure removal normally – using rings and dice to show remaining strength. So 8 cavalrymen on show were actually 10 in value. I also did some selected base removal in this game (for visual effect) just to confuse matters!
The action was brisk!
This game is a bit short on images – it was quick – almost done in 3 moves really……
Move 1
Both forces deployed and marched forward to drive the other from the ridge otherwise known as Orchard Hill.
Move 2 – Oudinot won the initiative
the 33rd Line fired on the Red Dragoon Volunteers inflicting 3 casualties at medium range
The Austrian artillery opened up on the White Legion Volunteers missing them completely
the 66th Line fired on the Roman Artillery and the artillerymen promptly ran away (die throw = 6 hits versus 4 figures in strength)
The 10 French Cuirassiers charged the 20 Milan Sharpshooters.
Basically a melee is headcount times 1 point for an infantryman or 2 points for a cavalryman.
So this fight was on equal points. 1 d6 is rolled per 5 points – 4 dice each. Cavalry get +1 on each dice throw (2 to 7 range possible) for charging.
Cuirassiers scored 17 versus Sharpshooters 20.
The points tally HALVED equals the damage. So 17 points halved and fractions rounded down meant 8 points of damage to the Sharpshooters. Thats 8 figures lost from the 20 that started the fight.
Meanwhile the 20 points of damage halved was 10 and divided by 2 points per cavalryman gave 5 cavalry killed.
The survivors represent their basic morale – 10 points of Cuirassiers x 1d6 throw of 5 = 50 while the Sharpshooters at 12 points x 1d6 throw of 6 = 72.
The Sharpshooters won while the Cuirassiers retreated with 50% losses. (bit of Roman gloss there…..)
Garibaldi responded
The Milan Sharpshooters hit the 66th Line with 4 hits
The White Legion hit the Austrian Artillery for six literally – destroying them
The Red Dragoon Volunteers charged the 33rd Line
7 remaining Dragoons x 2 pts versus 20 infantry x 1 pt meant 14 points versus 20 points or 4 v 3 dice (round up half or better fractions – 14 points becomes 15 points = 3 dice)
Cavalry get +1 for charging. The Dragoons inflicted 16 points damage halved = 8 infantrymen killed
The 33rd Line threw 12 in all = 6 Cavalry points damage or 3 actual dragoons killed
Now the Dragoons had already lost 3 casualties to firing so were now down to 4 dragoons
4 cavalry x 4 die roll versus 12 infantry x 2 die roll was 16 v 24 or a victory for the 33rd Line
The Cavalry retreated
Move 3 Garibaldi won the initiative to move first
The Milan Sharpshooters fired on the 66th Line scoring 1 hit
The White Legion fired on the 33rd Line scoring 8 hits – destroying the 33rd
Oudinotin Move 3 sent his 66th Line against the Sharpshooters. In the melee the 66th won reducing the Sharpshooters to just 4 men who retired.
The game is almost over!
Move 4 Oudinot moved first
The 66th fired at the Sharpshooters but missed
The Blue Cuirassiers now returned to the fray
Move 4 Garibaldi
The Red Dragoons also returned to the fray
The White Legion now closed on the 66th Line
The Milan Sharpshooters scored 2 casualties on the 66th Line reducing them to just 10 men.
Move 4 the french right is now under attack – the french left having been destroyedMove 5 the French Curiassiers charge in as the infantry trade fire
Move 5 Oudinot took the initiative
The French Cuirassiers made one last valiant charge into the Milan Sharpshooters.
The Sharpshooters killed 1 Cuirassier in turn receiving 3 casualties
The Cuirassiers won the melee driving off the Sharpshooters
The 66th Line fired on the approaching White Legion scoring 6 casualties (I allowed liberal firing arcs!)
Move 5 Garibaldi
The White Legion fired on the 66th Line inflicting 5 casualties in return
Move 5 the French Cuirassiers chase off the Milan Sharpshooters
Move 6 Garibaldi won the initiative
The White Legion fired on the 66th scoring 4 more casualities
Move 6 Oudinot attacksin desparation
The 66th Line and Cuirassiers charge home against the White Legion.
The White legion suffered 2 casualties
In return they inflicted 4 infantry casualties with 1 cuirassier loss
Move 6 The last knockingsMove 6 – the 66th Line break leaving the Cuirassiers alone to hold off the White Legion and the Red Dragoons
Oudinot knows the games up and in Move 7 his Cavalry retire covering the rest of his routing forces.
General Garibaldi triumphs capturing the ridge.
Rules used in the Battle of Orchard Hill
Donald Featherstone distributed his many periods (10) rules within the 200 pages of text. The basic rules presented were for horse and musket and his three stepped up situations used an American Civil War example.
My Summary of Rules from Battles with Model Soldiers
The Wargaming Erratic 