Last night we took a trip down "Memory Lane" by rolling out my 40mm Prince August semi-flat figures(which we are taking to Falkirk in May 2017!) and what a game it turned out to be.
Paul and Brian were French commanders and Dave and Graham were in charge of the British.
This is the simple scenario-Brian ended up in charge of the Bavarians in Moet,whilst Paul had the French and the village of Chandon.
Against Brian,Dave took command of the Dutch,and Graham opposed Paul,all was set for an epic struggle!!
Dave opened the proceedings with a grand attack on Moet-Brian responded by moving Infantry forward to meet the attack,whilst firing his guns at anything that moved!!!
This shows Dave's determined attack on Moet,and Brian's brilliant defence-great stuff!
We call this the "club pose!!"-however if you look at the serious faces,you can tell that they are thinking about their next moves!-both Graham and Paul were manoeuvering their forces to gain the flank,leaving all the fighting,for the time being,to Dave and Brian.
The fight for the flank begins!-Graham has retired back to form a formidable line,of infantry,guns and cavalry-Paul now has a real fight on his hands.
Suddenly,all hell is let loose as the British charge forward,trying to split the French and Bavarian armies-this move was met by the French and Bavarian cavalry,combined with some French infantry-what a spectacle!!-eventually the French were forced back,but with the village of Chandon still in French hands,it was a bit of a "stalemate"-but what of Moet??
This shows the whole table towards the end of move number 10(or 11 if you're Brian!),the village of Moet has fallen to the victorious Dutch,who are now moving to help the situation in the centre.
A draw was called for as Moet had been won by the British and Dutch,but Chandon was still in the hands of the French-a fair result I would say!!
A last defiant shot from Brian's Bavarian infantry,before they retired!
This was a great game,played in good spirit-there may be a few more games before Falkirk!!
Brian has been painting some WW2 British Paratroopers,from Artisan Design,and has done a great job........................
These are lovely figures,loads of movement and detail,and of course nicely painted!
Roll on next Sunday,hopefully a WW2 game,using Brian's figures and Dave's rules.
I'm feeling a bit under the weather today(man flu!!) so this blog will be short and sweet-mainly photo's of last night's game.
Brian and Graham were in charge of the Romans whilst Paul and I commanded the British tribes.
It was action all the way,with both sides putting up a brilliant fight!
This was a good game,not without it's lighter moments,for example Brian was testing the morale on one of his cavalry units,and claimed support from another cavalry unit stationed behind him-however it had to be pointed out to him that the cavalry unit behind him was an enemy unit!!!!-the language was choice to say the least!!
Rorkus Driftus?????-the British tribes eventually won the game,but not before both sides lost their commanding officers,causing all kinds of laughter and rude banter!!
7YW 40mm Austrian Heavy Cavalry.finished,flocked and based-what next???
Roll on next Sunday-don't know what we'll be playing,but could just be a 7YW 40mm game!
By the way,it's two months to Christmas Eve today!!!
I have been painting like a mad thing(no comments!!) my 40mm Prince August figures,which we will be using in May at Carronade show at Falkirk-we have decided to put on a game as an "Homage" to Charles Grant, and his son and heir, Charles.S Grant-the rules we use are very similar in content and thought to the "Grant Rules",and we hope that the game will be spectacular, having an "Old School" feel about it.
I have made another two Prussian regiments,which are completely finished and based,and am working on two Austrian Cuirassier regiments,which will be followed by three Austrian Infantry regiments and an Austrian gun battery.
Top photo shows first regiment painted and about to get based,bottom photo is second regiment about to be under-coated.
Both regiments,standing beside the Prince August catalogue(down-loaded and then printed!) awaiting to be flocked(the figures,not the catalogue!!)
A close-up of the figures showing the "Toy Soldier Style" of painting,that suits me down to the ground!!(that's my excuse,and I'm sticking to it!!)
Flocked and on parade,two regiments of 24 figures each.
Yet another shot of the line!!
But what of the heavy cavalry?
These were caste last night and under-coated this morning............................
Horses and saddle-cloths painted,now to add some colour..................
Now they're taking shape,I'll probably get another couple of colours on tonight,and finish them tomorrow,so I'll include them in Monday's blog,after our game on Sunday(which will be an Ancients game).
Last night saw a good turn out for our first full World War 2 game,using some rules that Dave has devised,and a damned good game it was too!!!
This is the scenario,Paul and Brian opted to be the British,whilst Dave and Graham were the Germans-I sat this one out due to my very limited knowledge,combined with an urge to learn and watch at the same time-and it worked!
Before the game started,Dave and Brian balanced the sides,putting the Germans in a good defensive position,with the "Lone Tiger" guarding the bridge-however,what they didn't know was that I had written into the scenario that it was broken down and couldn't move,but could still fire!!(sneaky)
The Tiger!!-all of the figures in tonight's game were painted by Brian,and are only part of his vast collection(which is growing as I type!!)
The game gets under way,the "recce patrol" has come under fire from a hidden anti-tank gun,and "retires"-it's good being retired! and the Germans begin to cross the Bridge.
This photo is taken from the British side of the table-"smoke" has been laid down in front of the Anti-Tank position,and Brian is sending some "Kamikaze" infantry to try and find out what is in the Farmhouse!!-he did find out and was shot to hell for his efforts!!!-meanwhile Paul is sending three tanks and two infantry platoons to the left to try and take out the Tiger.
"BANZAI!!!"-lovely painted figures though!
Brian eventually captured the Farmhouse,using a combination of mortar and machine gun fire,and knocking out the supporting Tank(I can't remember the make,and that is one of the problems I have with WW2-I can't tell the difference between a Panzerfaust and a Cromwell!!,but I will learn!)
Graham husbanded his troops well,and held his position for the whole of the game,and Dave's Tiger stood the test of many shots from the British tanks,so that at the end of move number 8(or 10 if you are Brian!!) it was,I suppose a draw,but very well played by all.
Throughout the game Dave took notes and will ammend the rules accordingly,until we have a good,thoroughly tested set of simple,but realistic rules-well done Dave.
Roll on next Sunday,when I will be rolling out my 40mm figures,which I have been adding to at an alarming rate-artillery,cavalry and infantry-I have really got the "bug" now!!!
This Prussian regiment was finished yesterday,and this one will be under-coated and started today.........................
I also have plans for two more Austrian regiments,plus cavalry!!!!
Last night we decided to fight an actual battle from the Seven Years War,pitching Prussians against Austrians.
This is the simplified scenario,Paul and Dave commanded the Austrians,whilst Brian and I commanded the Prussians-the troops were in position as shown on the map,and all was set for a grand game!
Before I could advance on my left flank,I had to clear the "Lobosch" which was being held by light infantry-this proved a costly affair which was only achieved by troops taking heavy casualties.
In this photo,Paul is lining his Austrians up ready for my assault-Or was he???-no of course not!!-he began to attack me!!!!
The whole of the left flank is ablaze with artillery and musketry fire-Dave is moving his troops from behind the Morellenbach Marsh to reinforce the Austrian centre-we,initially, thought this might be a feint,so hung back with our right flank,commanded by Brian-in hindsight this was a mistake,as it gave time for the Austrians to mass their forces,and put a wide gap between them and our right!!
The gap!! Brian has started his advance,but he may be too late to support my troops.who are taking a right old hammering!!
Whilst a cavalry battle is beginning in the centre,Paul charged Brian's horse artillery battery,situated on the Homolka Mound,and despite being cannistered,he managed to destroy the battery!!!-Brian now had to move fast to restore the situation,which he did in fine style,sending cavalry and infantry over to the left-hurrah!!
The situation is in the process of being restored in this shot,but my flank is being sorely tested,as is Paul's in front of Lobositz-what a game!!
This shows my left flank-not much of it left!-however, I have captured the Lobosch hill,putting Paul's troops in peril-hurrah!!
Dave ,on the other flank,is giving Brian a good old-fashioned beating,but Brian kept up his attacks,hoping to save the day for the Prussians-come on Brian!!!
This shows my troops on the Lobosch,flanking Paul,who,wisely, began to get his troops across the Elbe,as per "objective set"-great wargaming!!
Dave's "immaculate" use of artillery is pounding Brian's line-he is now feeling the full weight of Dave's combined artillery,infantry and cavalry attacks-this is the pivotal moment that in all wargames, will determine the winners and losers!!
Whilst a furious fire-fight was going on on Brian's flank,Paul was extricating his troops across the Elbe,thus achieving the Austrian objective-well done!!
Farewell Austrians,there'll be another time,and another battle!!
This was another great game,played with grand humour,banter,and adhering to the correct tactics-we all enjoyed the game,which is what it's all about.
Roll on next Sunday!
I'm back,bronzed and beautiful(well two out of three anyway!!) My holiday in Las Palmas,Gran Canaria,is over and I found the whole place full of iconic architecture,interesting museums,fascinating castles and wonderful cathedrals-I won't bore you with loads of holiday photographs,but I think I have captured the essence of the Canaries in the photo which I have printed at the end of this blog......................
To get back into the swing of things,Graham,Brian and I had a fast and exciting Macedonians vs Indians game last night.
This is the scenario,I was in charge of the whole Indian army, Graham was in charge of the Macedonian Phalanx,and Brian was no less a man than Alexander the Great,c/w his Companion Cavalry!-all was set for a great game.
Brian lost no time in sending his cavalry forward against my outnumbered and lighter types!
The battle for the gap had started!!-But what of the dreaded phalanx??
It was moving,step by measure step, forward into my Elephant line(much weakened by archery shooting!!) and a brief melee took place,in which my Elephants suffered too many casualties,had to take morale-and then fled!!!!
The "fleeing" elephants stopped the phalanx from moving forward,and gave me time to re-organise my lines,however the phalanx was only "scratched" and would pose a considerable threat to my infantry-a familiar pattern is emerging here!!!!!
The cavalry battle for the gap has turned into a mass brawl,with both Brian and myself throwing all caution to the wind and sending squadron after squadron into the fight!!!!
No one has gained the upper hand yet,but it could be just a matter of time before the superior weight and training of the Companions prove too much for the Indians.
As the two infantry lines close,I loosed my bow shots and prepared to meet Graham in mortal combat-I knew that a couple of his units had been weakened by the elephants and bow shots,so was not too down-hearted by the prospect!!(fool!!!!)-Brian,in the background,is looking pensive,perhaps he is deciding if he should put Alexander into the melee for the gap!!
Despite a couple of minor "victories",the Phalanx has smashed its way through my line!!
Is this the end??
Brian's "Royal Squadron" has beaten my remaining cavalry and has turned on my ,retiring but victorious squadron,and is making mince-meat of them!!
With both cavalry and infantry beaten,I had no option but to ask for a draw!!!!-of course this was refused and the Macedonians were declared the winners-good game and well played.
Here is a photo of the Official receipt from the British Legion,for our recent contribution...
We will get it framed and hung on the Garage wall-well done to everyone who helped us to achieve the sum of £160.
Now onto the photograph which encapsulates the Culture,History and Sophistication of my stay in Las Palmas.....................................
Now that would be worth watching on "Britain's Got Talent!!!"
Roll on next Sunday.
