"Reload the Cannon!"

     Well, that was certainly a wild ride! 2016 is almost gone – imagine that. I have to admit, I certainly had some amazing battles, painted up some glorious miniatures, and read through quite a few rulebooks. Remember all those?!

One of many Blucher games I played.

     Some 2016 highlights:

·         painted aprox. one thousand 10mm Napoleonic figures;

·         researched many different uniforms, flags, and organization for French and Russian armies;

·         learned all about the 1812 French invasion of Russia;

·         and reviewed and played some fantastic Napoleonic’s rules:

o   General de Brigade;

o   Blucher;

o   March Attack;

o   Black Powder;

o   Drums & Shakos: Large Battles;

o   Sharp Practice II.

     Wow! That was quite a journey. I have to say, it was a wonderful ride. All those BatReps I had fun playing and making in to videos. Also had some of the best LIVE Plays I have ever had over on the Tabletop Commanders community – that last one was amazing fun.

Some GdB action.

     I have to wonder though, is that it? Wargaming is what it is… a hobby. Am I done with this little journey of mine? No way!!!

     So what is next in 2017?

·         Expand my collection of models – 10mm, of course – to account for the 1813-14 campaigns,

·         expand my French army to include more allies – Saxon grenadiers and cavalry, Poles, and Swiss,

·         try out some newrules sets, such as ESR,

·         explore collecting for navel battles of the era – 1:1200 scale,

·         get a start on collecting 28mm scale troops for smaller, skirmish-level, games.

     Not bad, eh? You didn’t think I would say, “Oh… that was fun. Now I will set it all aside for something else new and shiny!” Not a chance!

Test-trays for use with future Blucher games I am currently working on.

     To be quite frank with you, I have truly fell in love with this era. The thoughts of researching the era, collecting Napoleonic miniatures, and recreating the great battles of the black powder era just draw me like no other era has. I am not just looking forward to 2017, but the many, many years ahead in my hobby-life. Of course, plans can quite certainly alter over the course of 2017. As always, time will remain an issue for me. Embarking on a writing career early in 2017 will demand much of my free time. However, this hobby - Napoleonic miniature wargaming - will always remain an important part of my life. We shall see how well it all blends together in the coming months and years. Onwards, as I like to say.

Saxons and French assault! A wonderful game using the March Attack rules I tested earlier in 2016.

     There you go. My reflections, and my plans, have been revealed. I hope you have some fun plans brewing in your head too. Hopefully, this infrequent blog will continue to both provide some inspiration for you – the reader, and log my own progress as I travel down this long and fascinating “Napoleonic” path – some would call this a never-ending pit!

     Till next year…

~K

Defense in Depth - Testing L'Art de la Guerre

       So, how effective was Roman deployment in multiple lines anyway? Or, more specifically, how well does deploying in depth work using the L'Art de la Guerre rules?

Both armies are deployed! The Romans have a very narrow front, depending on their cavalry to protect the flanks.

       During the Roman republic it was quite a common for Roman armies to deploy in multiple lines - in this case three.

• The first line was made up of the less well armored hastati.
• The second line was made up of legionaries with a tad better armored - chain shirts in this case, called principe.
• The third and final line was made up of not only the best armored troops, but the most veteran - the triari.

One might also count the velites - light skirmish infantry - as a separate line as well, being well positioned ahead of the army ready to pitch their javelins at the advancing enemy.

The Gauls were a good mix of warriors on foot and on horseback.

       Curious as I am, I wanted to see how well my favorite ancient rules hold up using a deployment such as this. I saw right away I would have to make some adjustments to the rules, although minor. For one, I would not be using the standard rules for deploying armies in left, right, and center corps. I would still divide the army in to three corps, just not being so strict as to where each was deployed. In addition, since I would be using only two legions, I decided that each legion would be a separate corps. The third and final corps would be the armies general, consisting of only the two units of triari. These would be positioned in the third line and in the center. Each of the remaining two legions would deploy on the right and left and would both be deployed in two separate lines, representing the first/hastate line, and the second/principe line Each of these two legions also included some non-legionare troops in the form of cavalry - both Roman and Numidian. Each legion also had a couple of units of velites. These were deployed ahead of the hastate/first line. In addition, to avoid front units routing and causing cohesion hits on rear friendlies, I left gaps between each line of just over 1UD each.

       The Gaul army had a nice mix of med. and hvy. infantry which were impetuous. They also have a good number of cavalry on both flanks - more than enough to handle the meager Roman cavalry.

As the attacker in this scenario, the Gaul army surges forward on all fronts, quickly engaging the flanks of the Romans

       Right from the beginning I knew that I would have issues protecting the Roman flanks, preventing an envelopment of the legions - thoughts of Zama spring to mind here. However, I decided to carry on with the battle.

As the Roman flanks are engaged, the initial wave of Gaul warriors crashes in to the Roman defenders. This first wave was made of the med. infantry. Also note the intense and close run cavalry fight on the Roman left. The Numidians went toe-to-toe with the Gaul cavalry here for some time during the battle.

Although the Roman right flank was defeated in detail, the first Roman line remained intact after losing a unit and receiving heavy losses. I knew at this point that I would have to commit some rear line troops to defend that right flank. Not exactly what I wanted to do.

It was obvious to me that the flanks would play a huge role in the battle's outcome. Of course, this is not unlike what occurred historically in many battles.

The Gaul left penetrates deep on the flank of the Romans, pushing back the velites, forcing a unit of triari to commit. Also note the first line of Romans has weathered the initial assault and

At this point, with no on-board camp to worry about, I considered going on the offensive with the legions in order to hasten the fight in the center. However, since this was more of a test to see the value of the defense in depth, I chose to stay back and see how effective the rear ranks would be in defending against flank attacks.

As the main Gaul infantry approach, the rear ranks become more and more engaged as the Gaul cavalry defeat the Roman left wing as well! Both triari have been committed, as well as the second line. Not what I expected.

At this point in the battle the fighting was all over the place. The first Roman line, although battered initially, still was intact. The rear lines were all but fully engaged and committed to the fight on the wings.

The battle was pretty much over at this point, with the Gauls withdrawing from exhaustion. The Roman first line is once again assaulted - this time by the more worthy heavy Gaul infantry.

The Romans are engaged on all fronts! There is no doubt that the Romans at this point were in trouble. However, being less resilient than their opponents, the Gaul forces initial impetuousness was spent. It was only a matter of time before they would fatigue and withdraw from the fight.

       The battle was over. It should be noted that I kept playing the fight longer than I should have. The Gaul army was defeated a tad earlier, but I kept the game up regardless. Even so, it was a close fight for both sides.

       Although the test didn't go the direction I wanted - testing out the defense in depth against a frontal assault, it did show how effective the deployment was at protecting against flank attacks. The Romans were able to shift forces relatively quickly against the less able Gaul cavalry, dealing with them quite effectively.

       Realistically, having a much smaller frontage, the Romans would often deploy rear ranks to extend the front. Optionally, the flanks could have had more troops as well.

       Overall, it was a fun battle. Exciting throughout - as the L'Art de la Guerre rules tend to be, I enjoyed every bit of the fight. Although not having been able to test out the durability of the three lines against heavy frontal assaults - at least in the manner I planned, I did learn a lot about the effectiveness of the system to adapt as needed. I also learned the vulnerability of the flanks! Again, I kept thinking Zama as the flanks each crumbled.

      
       I hope you enjoyed the article. I hope to have another like this soon. In fact, I am already planning some scenario type battles for use with L'Art. More on these in the coming months.

Until next time...

~K

Rome v. Gaul: L'Art Action Online!

       Last week I saw myself fully engaged in running a fantastic game of L'Art de la Guerre for some of the members of the TtC community. This was basically a two player game, although several different players took command as the battle raged. I myself also took command of one side to fill in for a missing player. Was a really enjoyable battle that really brought out the best in the L'Art rules.

The rushof the Gauls on the Roman battle line.

       This was a 200 point battle featuring the Republican Romans against a Gaul army. The battle lasted a total of nine turns and saw the Roman army under the command of David Nickols pull off a close contested win - Gaul exceeded their break point by four points.

The Gaul army quickly defeated the Roman elephant and gained control of the Roman right wing.

       I really enjoy the L'Art rules system. It seems a perfect blend of some other well known and popular sets of rules, such as DBx, FoG, and Impetvs. Not only that, it allows for small armies for the beginner, as well as larger battles on a typical 6' x 4' table, or larger. These rules have really caught my attention and I am pretty sure they have now become my "go-to" rules for ancients gaming, along side DBA and Impetvs. I still need to try the Hail Caesar rules, however.

Some things I really enjoy about the L'Art rules:

• foot elements - called 'units' in L'Art - look more impressive, being 2-3 bases deep;
• allows for small DBA-like armies, as well as bigger armies;
• lots and lots of army list included in the rules;
• analytical rules without being overly complex;
• similar feel to both DBx and Impetvs;
• feels like an ancients battle!

These Numidians would be soon driven from the field.

       Of course, the rules are not perfect. I always liked unit reactions to combat, such as push-backs, recoils and retreats. L'Art has none of that - it does allow some limited disengaging from melee, however. The rules themselves could have been better organized and written in some respects. It can be a chore remembering some of the more fiddly things. All minor complaints really.

We used these markers spread between the various commands as a visual aide for players.

Late in the fight. You can see the Romans have completely defeated the Gaul right, and Gaul has all but broken through the Roamn right!

The Romans cleaning up the Gaul right flank.

Very early on the Gauls were very aggressive and launched head-long into the Roman lines.

A close up of the Gaul troops breaking through the Roman right. All that remains is a lone Creten unit.

Last turn of the fight! Rome wins!

        With the battle over, I have now moved on to another scenario - a SOLO affair. Perhaps I will post this one later. I will be pitting my Republican Romans against the horde of Gaul once again, this time using some historical deployments to see how the Romans fair. Stay tuned.

Until next time...

~K

Narrative and Team Yankee

One thing I really enjoy about Flames of War is how dependent on the narrative of WW II history it is. To be honest, the narrative is what it's all about for me - as far as playing a game anyway. I crave a good back story and purpose to my battles. Having the entire history of WW II as your backdrop makes the FoW rules really shine for me. However, when it came to the cold war era of the 1980's I definitely had some reservations. For one, open war never happened! This dance with the hypothetical was something new to me in wargaming - at least in terms of known history. It was in fact something more along the lines of a hard sci-fi type of background. Anyway, I decided some time ago to give it a shot, fan that I am of FoW.

The new rulebook is really high quality - to be expected from Battlefront. Although

smaller in dimensions to the core FoW rules for WW II, this baby packs a lot of detail!

Boy was I surprised when I got the Team Yankee rulebook today. After a quick read - focusing on the initial pages covering the history and background of the conflict, I was drawn in to the story big time! Take note that I have never read the Team Yankee novel itself, so I am pretty much restricted at the moment to the information provided for Battlefronts rules themselves. Regardless, after a read all I can say is I am hooked! In fact, I have decided that I need to get a copy of the Team Yankee novel ASAP! Of course, marketing is what it is, and I am sure all those concerned with the sale of this product will be pleased. However, all I can say is that it is worth it. That narrative and back story is exactly what I was hoping for with this new set of rules in the FoW family.

Anyway, as I peer through my new and shiny rulebook with a giant smile running across my face, I realize that I haven't been this excited since I first got back in to the hobby four years ago. How amazing is that?! With such a fascinating background how could I resist playing this with my favorite set of rules. Again, backstory and narrative is everything to me. Flames of War offers much regarding that, for me anyway. The game play is almost always full of drama and story. Of course, not everyone can see it, perhaps too caught up in the game-play itself. But for me, I like to hang back a bit, take my time, and absorb it. That is my play-style.

I hope to get more stuff up on this soon. I already have my tokens all bought, and the Leopard book on its way - I am going for the West Germans and Russians initially. After a good read of the Leopard book I will be buying my actual units. So stay tuned folks, good things come!

Until next time,

~K

Team Yankee!

Finally took the bait and tried a game of Team Yankee! Wow! What a fun game with a really interesting background. I have been thinking about having a go with these rules for some time - if for anything, to see how well the rules have been adapted. I really feel Battlefront has done an excellent job regarding this. It is still FoW, but much more streamlined in certain respects. I should have more details on this new era in the coming months. I have already ordered the rules, the West German supplement, markers, etc. - and yes, I will be playing West Germans to start with :() Should have pics up soon.

In other news, expect some additional content for FoW in the coming weeks as well. I have an interesting game coming up soon - in Normandy once again, as well as a full campaign in Italy. Yes, this Italy campaign is the same one I have been trying to get a start on since last year! For some reason I have yet to play out a beach landing! So this is something I am looking at doing as well. Again, I should have more pics up soon.

Anyway, just a short update. Lots coming soon.

~K

The Saxons on Parade!

Finally finished off my first regiment of Saxon infantry on a 1:5-8 figure to men scale. Quite big units I must say. Like the Russians, the infantry companies are mounted on the bigger 4cm frontage bases; four companies to the battalion. Keep in mind I have not included a fifth grenadier company for either battalion in the regiment - at least not at the moment. This is mainly due to the fact I just don't have any proper figure to represent them. Unfortunately, the Old Glory "Allied" elite infantry pack does not include the shako with tall plume! Of course, the grenadiers have such a tall plume. So, it looks like I have to buy another pack of elites, this time with a proper shako.

The Saxons so far. Note the battery of Saxon med. field guns deployed to flank.

I also painted up some third-rank skirmishers for the regiment as well - only two stands, which is equal to a single platoon in General de Brigade rules. So, I still need to paint up some more of these. Note that these men are basically "line" troops pulled from the battalion - not proper light troops like the French voltigeurs.

A platoon of third-rankers deployed as skirmishers.

I have been asked how I am representing my units in General de Brigade, in terms of figure scale and mounting. Basically, I use the 15mm scale basing system described in the GdB rules (p. 9). However, since I am using 10mm scale figures I am actually able to get more models on a base. In my case, I am fitting two to three times the normal amount of models on a base, including adding a third rank! This equates to about a figure to man scale of 1:5-8. This look awesome, not to mention realistic. Such is the benefit of using 10mm scale miniatures. Of course, when I am actually playing a battle with GdB, I still count each base as holding the proper number of 15mm scale miniatures - I ignore the fact I have all those extra models on the base. So, in the case of my Saxons, each base counts as eight models in two ranks during play.

The 1st and 2nd battalions of the Prinz Anton regiment.

In other news, I still have my 10mm scale trees and some Blucher trays awaiting completion. I plan on getting an order out to LITKO soon for some more properly sized wooden bases so I can continue the project. For the moment, I have these still to be finished. This of course means I will be holding off my next battle using my beloved Blucher rules. Not to worry, I have some games of Black Powder planned for the next few weeks. :)

Some Black Powder scenario action on the way! :)

Speaking of Black Powder, I am currently working up some army lists for the 1812-1815 campaigns for these rules. This is the kind of stuff I love doing, as it involves a bit of research and referencing. I may post these up to the blog when I am done with a preliminary listing. I plan on maintaining this list as I expand it over the years. Will be fun. Interested in seeing such a list?

The French advance in strength. Note the Saxon brigade to the rear.

The might of imperial Russa advances on the French.

The Prinz Anton regiment parades past the great Napoleon I.

After a long day of parade! :()

Until next time,

~K

Blucher Movement Trays

As I mentioned in my previous post I was considering making some movement trays specifically for the Blucher rules. So taken was I to the use of the cards during play, I thought trays were an excellent idea. Thus, here I am making a little prototype tray.

The prototype I am working with is made from some old bases I got for the Impetvs rules years ago. The tray measurers 8cm wide by 6cm deep - a little smaller than the standard Blucher cards. I also set a smaller 8cm x 2cm base on top of the rear of the base to help line up the troops and provide a place to set dice pods and an information strip.

I decided that I wanted the trays to fit TWO stands of my troops - all my troops are based for the General de Brigade rules, which will set in the center of the tray. I used spackle, or joint compound/filler, to sculpt the actual outside edges of the tray to allow me to add flock later. The stands of troops would fit perfect on the tray. Lastly, I sculpted a couple pods for two dice. These will come in handy for keeping track of current elan, as well as artillery dice representing number of shots left and number of dice to roll.

The trays are designed to look good while standing out on the tabletop. They will make moving about the individual stands much easier. In addition, all the most important information for a unit will be right there before me - something that I was really impressed with in my last game using those cards. Of course this one is just a prototype. I am planning to alter it by making the strip containing the information a little longer. Note that this strip is actually cut from a card protector sleeve so I can actually place a piece of paper in it just as if it was a little playing card. This will keep the information in place, allow me to fill out any information I deem important, and can be swapped out as needed. The most important information here will be the corps designation, unit type - grenadiers/elites, line, heavy guns, etc. I could even add a little icon to make note of any attached guns to an infantry unit.

The size of the trays. I got these from LITKO.

I sculpted the borders with spackle - with some brown paint and white glue added to the mix. This makes the spackle like concrete when dry.

I can fit two - three of my GdB bases side by side within the tray - a 6cm x 3cm area. Perfect for all of my bases.

Little dice pods are added. Nice touch I think :)

All textured and flocked up. Note the little sleeve to hold a small paper note.

A couple of my separate dice pods I use with various games. These are made from 2cm square bases.

A look at how I lined up the troops to fit perfectly on the tray.

Works perfect for all my troops, including this massed battery of cannon. Two micro dice are used to represent current shots available, as well as the dice to roll when shooting - the red die

Looks pretty good all flocked up. I would like a little more color. I have been thinking of adding a national flag or something to the paper slip that will help.

The notes of paper can be anything - hand-written, or printed out. Also, the plastic sleeve protector allows me to actually use dry erase pens on these  if I so choose.

So there you go folks. I hope this little article will inspire you to make your own little trays. Of course such is not needed to play, but having all that information to hand is definitely a plus. Oh, and I think they look great and are quite fitting for the Blucher rules :)

Till next time, take care.

~K