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Edinburgh Wargames Journal
Issue 24 - July 2008
Periods featured in this Issue: Marlburian, 1866 Austro-Prussian War,
Seven Years War (all 28mm) & Second World War (20mm)
Sorry if this page is slow to load - it was a busy wargaming month, and I've put a lot of pictures on here!
Latest Rant: Foundry have just put up their prices. Right now, Front Rank, Perry, Dixon, Crusader, Sash & Saber or Bicorne are all £1 ($2) a figure, while Elite and Copplestone are a little dearer, at £1.10 or £1.15 a figure. Old Glory figures might sometimes be a bit basic, but they remain a bargain at 73 pence apiece. Well, Foundry now charge £11 per pack (£12 for cavalry)! Worse, there's no logic in their blister packaging, so you don't always know if you'll get 8 figures in a pack, or just 6. For instance, my Indian mutineers in trousers come 8 to a pack, but if they wear the nappy-like dhoti you just get 6. It's bloody silly!
Well, the price increase means that a typical pack of Foundry infantry now costs you £1.38 a figure. If you find yourself ordering a six figure pack, that jumps to an absolutely outrageous £1.83 per figure! Now, I've been a loyal Foundry customer for years, but this is really too much. They argue that the price of lead has increased? Well, it has for everyone else as well, but you don't see them indulging in this kind of price hike.
It reminds me of when I lived in Key West, Florida, during the aftermath of a hurricane. One corner shop raised the price of its 75 cent bottled water to $3. Surprisingly enough, people refused to tolerate the price gouging, and within a few months the store went out of business. While I'm not advocating a boycott of Foundry, I just want you to think about the bottled water story before you click... Rant Over!
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The Advanced Column 2 - Seven Years War (Die Kriegskunst) 28mm
Last week, after my miserable defeat in the Advanced Column scenario, the Prussian commanders laid down a challenge. They said that if the Prussians had been attacking and the Russians defending, then they would have captured their objectives without any problem. Consequently we decided to repeat last week's game, and swap forces. This time the Russians were on the defensive, charged with defending the river crossings, while the Prussians advanced through the woods to capture the bridge. The only real difference was that instead of Cossacks, the Prussians used small forces of hussars and jaegers.
It all began well for them. While the Russians spent the first few turns failing to roll a successful order change, the Prussian hussars advanced as far as the river, and their infantry deployed to attack the Russian blocking force in the woods. It got even better for them when the Russians did start to react - the regiment of Russian horse grenadiers charged over a ford into the smaller force of hussars, and was hurled back in disorder. The Prussian hussars pursued into the river, and chopped up a supporting battalion of Russian foot. The Russian cavalry spent the rest of the game dealing with those pesky hussars, which meant that half a dozen Prussains kept five times their number of Russians out of the game.
Back in the centre, things weren't going so well for the Prussian commanders (that's Dougie and Matt above, starting to look a little worried). The problem was, the Russian defence was pretty determined, and halted the Prussian advance using artillery and musketry. Then, despite being isolated, and ignoring the jaegers nipping around their flanks, the Russians charged the enemy. Amazingly they pulled it off, and by the end of the game the Prussians in the centre were in retreat. That left the rest of the Russians near the bridge, who repelled a charge by Prussian dragoons, and successfully held their position against all comers. The game ended with the Prussians conceding defeat. Once again the attacking force had failed - only this time it was the Russian commanders who were left looking smug.
I put the victory down to the inspiration offered by Simonski Smithov and his dancing bear, pictured below, who offered encouragement from behind the Russian lines!
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The Advanced Column - Seven Years War (Die Kriegskunst) 28mm
I blame Charles S. Grant. He seems like a nice chap, a mild-mannered retired brigadier, but he's really a sadistic individual, hell-bent on making a wargamer's life an unpleasant one. Anyone who thinks this a bit harsh obviously hasn't seen his Scenarios for Wargames (1981). You see, we decided to play out a Seven Years War game using one of his published scenarios, called "The Advanced Column". It seemed well-balanced, so we gave it a go, with the Prussians (the Blue Force) defending, and the Russians (the Red force) on the offensive. That's when it all went horribly wrong.
I led the Russian force, assisted by a motley collection of brigadiers. The game started when our column came into contact with a small enemy blocking force, ahead of a defended river crossing. Well, we spent a few turns trying to issue new orders, and meanwhile the Prussian reserves were moving forward towards the river. We had a few units of cossacks, which had probed forward as far as the river, but there they stopped (Cossacks not being known for their initiative). Our one success came when a Cossack unit on our left charged and routed a Prussian infantry battalion on the bridge. However, we had to pull back after, and we couldn't exploit the advantage.
Meanwhile the rest of our Cossacks lined a secondary river crossing, but were charged and routed by a unit of Prussian dragoons, which actually charged in column across the bridge and into our Cossack mob. Well, the Cossacks ran. However, this bought time for our Horse Grenadiers to move into postion, and they charged the first half of the dragoon regiment, catching them at the halt and routing them. We pursued, only to be charged in the rear by the Prussian reserves, who galloped over the bridge into the fray. Not to be outdone the rest of our Horse Grenadiers promptly charged them in the flank, The result was a great big cavalry stramash, where everything turned on the die roll. We rolled very low, and the Prussians rolled high, and our Horse Grenadiers broke and ran.
Meanwhile our infantry was trying to assault the Prussian blocking force, but because of the woods we could only attack one battalion at a time. Inevitably the result was less than successful, and we took heavy casualties but failed to budge the enemy. The game ended as the Russians threw in their reserves - the Cossacks. While they actually defeated the Prussian dragoons, the rest of them near the bridge failed to achieve anything.
The Russian objectives were to capture the river crossings, and it was painfully obvious that this wasn't going to happen any time soon. We conceded defeat, leaving the Prussians to point out all our mistakes. Inevitably we took up the challenge, and as a result the game will be replayed next week, only with the sides switched around, so I'll have the Prussians. I still swear it can't be done, and I still blame that sadistic brigadier for coming up with such a seemingly innocuous but secretly devilish scenario!
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Lislet, France 1940 (Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier) 20mm
This was a scenario from the "Battles for the West" scenario book for Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier, but I suppose it would just as well for any other similar rules. It involved a rare French attack (launched by General de Gaulle) against the flank of the advancing German columns. In fact, this game involved the French launching a combined arms assault against a village occupied by German infantry - with German tanks coming on as reinforcements.
The French players came on with spirit, advancing quickly towards the village, their infantry spread out across the table. the poilus were supported by two groups of tanks - one attacking the village along the road from the west, the other moving cross country form the south-west. However, this was one of these games where the odds were stacked from the start. Both sides rolled for artillery support. The French got one mission (105's), while the German player rolled high, and got six missions, all with 155's! As if that wasn't enough, the Germans also rolled successfully under air power, and got two dedicated air attacks with Stukas.
Despite all this the Germans were badly outnumbered, and at first everything went well for the French. While the German artillery failed to register, French mortars pounded the outskirts of the village - an area occupied by a platoon of Germans, causing fairly heavy casualties. A Stuka attack against one tank column was also pretty ineffectual, destroying one Renault light tank, and suppressing a Char B. However, this was where the French were at a real disadvantage. Their tank crews were rated as "Militia", and their infantry wasn't much better. This meant that once a stand was suppressed, it was really difficult to get them moving again.
As soon as the French reached the outskirts of the village all hell broke loose. First, two German artillery missions caught the French infantry in the open, causing horrific casualties, and pinning the survivors. The second Stuka attack achieved nothing, and a French assault gained a foothold in the western edge of the village, but by then it was clear that the French weren't going anywhere. Their infantry had been severely mauled, leaving their armour out in the open. At that point the German reinforcements arrived - a small column of tanks. Common sense dictated that the French survivors would withdraw, leaving the Germans battered but unbowed, and still firmly in control of Lislet. The game was a clear German victory, but with different artillery and air support rolls the outcome could have been very different.
I don't really like playing the Germans, and you can't really gloat about your victory afterwards, especially if all the casualties were caused by artillery and aircraft. However, as ever the real victor was the rules. Once again, Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier provide itself to be an excellent, realistic and playable set of wargame rules, and the game ran smoothly and quickly. For an enjoyable game, a combination of 20mm figures and these rules are very hard to beat.
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Battle of Bad Kissingen, 1866 (Blood and Iron - a late 19th century Warhammer variant), 28mm
A few years ago wargaming pal Dave O'Brian developed a variant of Warhammer for the late 19th century in Europe. He uses them them to refight the battles of the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Despite their dubious pedigree his rules work really well, and seem to capture the flavour of the period. I'm still not convinced that his chosen figure ration of 1:100 is really the way to go, as what he calls regiments I see more as battalions. However, I suppose the aim is to avoid the games getting so big that they couldn't easily be fought to a conclusion. Well, Dave brought along his figures and the rules again, and laid on a superb little game, with about a division a side.
This engagement was a refight of the Battle of Bad Kissingen, fought between the Prussians and the Bavarians, who were allied to the Austrians at the time. I thought I knew my military history, but I have to confess I'd never heard of the battle until today. As the Prussians our objective was to cross the River Salle to our front, and to engage the enemy. Well, there were three crossings over the river, and on inspecting two of them our troops discovered the bridges had been blown. Actually, there was another bridge - a railway span - but Bavarian engineers blew it up as the Prussians approached. While we could span the wreckage, that would take a fairly long time, so we opted for a more direct approach.
Yes, we launched a frontal assault over the one remaining bridge! The Bavarians had a brigade or so of troops dug into the town behind it (Bad Kissingen itself), and while guns were dug in which could sweep the bridge with canister, others covered the long, open approach road. Well, bravery is pretty easy when the only casualties are toy soldiers, so we decided to charge. Our leading regiment was badly cut up, and was driven back with heavy casualties. Fortunately a small battalion of Prussian jaegers took up the challenge, stormed the bridge, and captured the guns at the far end. That bought the attackers a breathing space, allowing another Prussian regiment to charge across, while artillery, skirmishers and riflemen poured fire into the buildings dominating the far bank.
Success hung in the balance for a while, but eventually the superior training of the Prussians won through, and the Bavarians fled. With Bad Kissingen in Prussians hands the outcome was no longer in any doubt. While the Bavarian gunners were distracted a plucky horse artillery battery unlimbered and opened fire on the enemy batteries, taking them by surprise. By that time the remnants of the Prussian jaegers were firing on the guns from their flank, and the Bavarian commander had little choice but to order a general withdrawal. Dave proved to be a surprisingly impartial Bavarian player come umpire, and the game flowed beautifully. As a result it was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.
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The "Marlburian" Era, Flanders, c.1708 (Under the Lilly Banners), 28mm
I like games where I don't have to bring along hundreds of figures. When someone suggested playing a "Marlburian" game, to try out Barry Hilton's new rules set Beneath the Lilly Banners, then I was delighted. That's because other people had whole armies, while I just had three battalions. That's them marching through the village. Many of the rest were old Minifigs dating from the 1970's, but the figures have aged better than many of the rest of us, and en-masse they looked the part.
This was a straightforward meeting engagement, with both sides lining up on the table edge - a small Franco-Bavarian army on one side, and an Allied force (Dutch, British and Danes) on the other. Actually, Bill Gilchrist (pictured in the lurid mauve stripes) seemed to sneak a couple of units of Russians onto the table, posing as German troops in French service, but nobody seemed to mind. Another novelty was a visit from Peter Tauscher, a German wargamer from Hamburg. That's Peter in the white shirt. A regular visitor to this site, Peter was on holiday in Edinburgh, and came along to meet us. He seemed a natural commander for the Bavarians!
Actually, if like Peter, any of you find yourselves in Edinburgh on a Thursday evening, do please get in touch, and join us. We'll try to involve you in a game.
Both sides advanced to contact, hindered by Barry's mechanism where only a portion of each force can move if you roll poor movement dice - and we all did. the cavalry on both flanks raced ahead and charged each other - as is their wont - leaving the infantry to plod towards each other.
My British and Dutch had occupied a village on the Allied left, and held the buildings against the Bavarian hordes, despite quite atrocious casualties. The British brigade on their right was commanded by a "plodder", who consistently rolled bad movement dice, so for much of the game my guys were on their own. However, they rest of the British line eventually moved up in support, and the crisis passed.
Little happened in the centre, as the same inertia caused by the dice prevented both sides from doing more than conducting a long range artillery duel. However, the real battle took place on the flanks, where the cavalry were fighting it out.
On the left, a squadron of my Danish horse was routed in its first clash, and its supports were charged at the halt by the French cavalry. Amazingly I saved the day by rolling a bucket-load of "6's", and over the next few turns the French horse were comprehensively chopped to pieces. The same happened on the Allied right, where Dave O'Brian's pride and joy unit of Scots and Irish horse routed their French opponents.
At that point the Franco-Bavarian commander decided to withdraw. The only place where his troops still posed a threat was on the Allied left, where his Bavarian grenadiers were in contact with the Allied foot. However, they were isolated, so a general retreat seemed the only sensible course.
As for the rules, this was our first game using Beneath the Lilly Banners, so we spent a lot of time poring over them, cursing Barry for not including an index! However, we managed to figure it all out eventually, and the game ran fairly smoothly - and quickly. Of course, it helped that several of us were familiar with Barry's unpublished "Napoleonic" rules, which uses similar mechanisms. The important thing was that despite a late start we managed to fight a mid-sized game (about 300 figures a side) to a conclusion in an evening, which is more than I can say we usually achieve using my Seven Years War rules! We'll certainly use the rules again, and in the meantime I'll be digging out my unpainted 1690's lead, in an attempt to increase the size of my own contingent.
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Update:
Die Kriegskunst
Wargaming the Seven Years War
Based on the General de Brigade system of brigade-level rules
Hurrah! They're out!
They were published by Partizan Press on 1st July - you can buy your copy here.
See the Die Kreigskunst page for more details about the rules, and how they work,
or to read about other games we've played then visit the Seven Years War page.
Stop Press: An article on the rules will appear in Battlegames magazine, Issue 14,
along with a brand new scenario - "Gotha, 1757"
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