A very Civil War game 26.2.2012.

Because of the many periods we fight as a club,a few exciting and colourful periods tend to get put on the back boiler,for example the English Civil War.On Sunday 26th Feb,I decided to "dust off" the ECW figs. and plan a game,this coincided with a new member to the club,Robin, showing an interest in this particular period.
The set up was a typical defence/attack game with the Royalists holding a hedged area and a hill,topped with a windmill.The Parliamentarians were to attack all along the line, and on move number 4 a hidden force was to come onto the board opposite and on the flank of Windmill Hill and attack it.

This shot shows the Royalists centre and right flank with Windmill Hill being defended by a mass of infantry supported by a gun battery.
This was a very exciting game with Cavalry attacks,Infantry fire fights and push of pike.In the end the Royalists managed to hold their positions and were declared the winners,however the Parliamentarians had given them a very bloody nose and were still strong on their left flank.

This is our new member (if he comes back next week!) Robin,welcome to him.

This photo shows Graham trying to cover up the Cavalry trooper who managed to jump off his horse!! We saw you do it!!!!

A welcome visitor on Sunday 19th Feb.2012

Our old mate Michael came down from Aberdeen to see us last Sunday and stayed for a game of Marlburian,Bavarians and Irish vs Austrian and British!! Quite a mixture but it makes a nice and colourful change.This picture shows Mike and Paul discussing tactics (successful tactics as it worked out)

This is a shot of the usual and un-usual suspects before the game started,a good night was had by all.Michael won't be able to get back down to see us until April again,when he is going to bring part of his enormous collection of beautifully painted Napoleonics,hurry on April!

Napoleonic head to head,Dave vs Paul,the report.

Before I write the report on the battle,a few words on the mechanics and troop numbers,Paul had 10 British regiments of infantry,4 of cavalry,and two gun batteries.Dave who was French had 7 infantry,3 cavalry and two gun batteries.(one of which was located on his far left flank hill).Paul was to come onto the table in two waves (no pun intended) on move number 1 and move number 4,Dave could not move any of his troops from inside the city until move number 4,he did have 2infantry regiments behind gun hill and one behind his central hill-both hidden
This shows Paul's first wave about to land,he elected to have all his cav.3inf. and his horse artillery in the first wave,these troops were to approach the city from his right flank.It took longer than expected for him to get these troops into position due to half moves over the hill and through the woods.

This photo is out of "sync" but shows the dificult route Paul elected to take.

This is move number 4 and shows the French debouching from the city to take up defensive positions between the city and the central hill and woods.

The second wave has landed and is mounting a grand attack on the French centre and left flank hill.This attack was costly to the British and was temporarily halted by an audacious cavalry charge upon the leading column,culminating in arout for the British inf, involved and subsequently for the French cavalry involved!!

This is aview from the French central hill after the British first wave attack had faltered on the left due to a combination of Lancers,Horse artillery fire and well aimed volleys from the troops which Dave had hidden in the woods.

This shows the "audacious" and unexpected,charge of the French dragoons upon the leading British column.

This is a good photo of the main fighting areas on the table,the British are regrouping on their right flank whilst starting to mount an attack on the French right flank.The hidden troops have exposed themselves from behind the hill and the gunners are firing cannister into the leading British infantry.The attacks against this hill cost the British too many casualties in the long run,and possibly cost Paul the game.

This shows the second wave landing on move number 5,their objective was to attack the French central hill and gun hill.

A French counter attack!! This ran into difficulties from British infantry backed up by cavalry,the lancers were successful in a melee with British light dragoons but were asked to take a morale test and failed.

This shows the final stages of the game,Paul is trying to regroup his cavalry in the centre,however his infantry is being "hammered" by musket fire and cannister fire from the gun hill.

Paul and Dave decided,mutually ,that the British were in no fit state to achieve their objective and that they would return the boats to lick their wounds.

This was a tremendous game,played in a good spirit,involving realistic Napoleonic tactics,swift and bold movement,and the elan you would expect from these two very experienced players.
Doesn't dave look serious in these photographs ??

Napoleonic head to head. Dave vs Paul.

This game was designed as an attack-defence game with a bit of a difference,a British force was tasked with landing in a bay and attacking a city, which was defended by a French force.The city was supported by two hills,one of which had a gun battery placed on it,and a wood .The British objective was to capture these two hills prior to investing the city.

This shot shows the gun emplacement which dominated the centre of the table.

This shows the centre hill and wood and the city approaches.

This wonderful photograph shows the magnificent city.(some time must have been taken to get this in all its glory)

This is a view from behind the gun emplacement looking towards the bay and landing area.

This is a general view of the whole table taken from the city,showing the rather difficult terrain that the British first wave decided to take towards the city.

The next "blog" will be a report on the game,which turned out to be a classic,not only for the way it was played,but for the time it took,we started playing at approx. 6pm and finally finished at 11pm !! after about 21 moves (I lost count at 19, and I was the referee!

Super Star Celebrities visit WWG.

As you can see from the above photo George Clooney and Tom Cruise both "popped" in on our Thursday night Zulu vs British game,of course Paul and I are too modest to notice the similarity !! However the Mrs Coutts had to take this shot before she "swooned"

This shows my Left Horn regiments sweeping towards a pass on the British right flank, guarded by a very nervous troop of NNC.

This is the view from the British central position looking towards the Zulu centre,which is just starting to trundle forward.The Zulu centre was traditionally made up of veteran (old) warriors, and you almost smell the Fiery Jack and hear the wheels of their wheelchairs squeaking ! However it was the old men who proved to be the undoing of the British in the end.

This is the view the Zulu centre had as it moved to the attack,a well defended position with British companies and artillery in support.

This is the left horn in full attack,driving the NNC away and smiling in the face of the British rifles aimed at it !

The Zulu right horn and centre moving forward,the right horn got into a bit of a mess due to a company of Marines c/w Gatling gun and dismounted dragoons and the dreaded 17th lancers. The game was as usual very exciting and the British held their own until the very last move when the Zulus in overwhelming numbers crushed them and washed their spears in blood.

New playing surface.All change

This is a view of our new playing surface,and it cost half of what I was going to spend with TSS at York.This is a sort of Astro-Turf, purchased at B&Q,Isuppose it is designed to be laid instead of grass,however at £9.98 per sq.metre, it worked out at just under £60 to cover our 10 by 6 foot table.The benefits I have found so far are that it is seanless,jointless and totally flexible,there's bound to be a drawback like having to cut it in the summer months, or getting rid if moles etc.Paul and I had a game on it on Thursday and found the figures slid easily across it, and of course our hills and river sections look good on it too.( I have actually bought a little bit more to make hills with-they look good as well.)

Here is a shot of the "grass" complete with river sections,palms and a temple.

Here is another photo of some Bavarian,Marlburian, infantry and cavalry passing in front of a farmhouse,just to show how the colour stands out.
Also below is a shot of Dave ,in the snow outside the Vapnartak show on Sunday.It looks quite cold !!!

Finally a shot of my Iron Agehouses and my Windmill,on the painting table,undercoated and hopefully they will be completed by Thursday or Friday.An existing house is shown so I can copy the painting style and colours that I did about a year ago.

Vapnartak 2012

After a very chilly and snowy start,Graham,Dave and I arrived at York to find it even chillier and alot more snowy !!
However after eventually getting parked on the roadway,we were greeted in the usual friendly manner by the "boys" on the door,and we started our spending frenzy.
I got off to a good start and spent what I had intended to spend at the Hovels stand; two Iron Age huts and a Windmill later,(as they say in Holland,"you can't have too many windmills",I could relax and enjoy the show.There were some good demo games,and the majority of the participants made time to talk to us and explain what they were doing.The B&B was good with reasonable prices being asked for good quality figs.We bumped into our good pal Chris who was putting on a participation game based on the old TV series of Stingray.never mind Chris,professional help is available on the NHS !!!
Dave started his spending activities by getting some pre-ordered and pre-cut bases for his latest projects,followed swiftly by paints and brushes,and then onto the Reiver Castings sdtand to get some cavalry and infantry for his Great Northern War project.A mention must be made about the guys on the stand,helpful,friendly and most welcoming,a credit to your trade fellas.
Graham got alot of brushes but resisted the "urge" to get a regiment of GNW infantry to paint up to fight alongside Dave's lot.
We left York in minus 3.5 degrees but were soon back in God's country having had a very enjoyable day out,to learn that the Toon had won too!what a day.