Testing the Rules, Part 1

Bridgehead: A One Hour Wargame

In my last post, I described a set of rules for battles with 54mm figures that appeared to be both comprehensive and fast.Written by Dirk Donvil and available from Caliver Books (Partizan Press), they are called About Bonaparte. In this installment and the following, I will report on a battle fought using these rules (with a couple of tweaks for the War of 1812). The scenario is drawn from One-Hour Wargames by Neil Thomas and is #5 Bridgehead. I copied the map although I enlarged it somewhat to an area of 4 feet by 3 feet (my dining area table is 5' by 3'). The map is shown below:

The American Army will be entering from the South, the British from primarily the North and East

One of the things I like about OHW is the provision for randomly selecting the forces involved. By rolling a D6, players (or player--great for solo games) will be assigned if you will a force of between three and six units, depending on the scenario. This particular game required 6 units to a side. Rolling for result, the following were given:

Red Force (British) rolled a 5 on a D6 giving them a force of 4 infantry, 1 artillery, and 1 skirmisher.

Blue Force (Americans) rolled a 1, giving them a force of 3 infantry, 2 artillery, and 1 cavalry.

Further dice rolls determined when and where the troops would enter and initially deploy. This gave the American force 1infantry unit, north of the bridge and within 6 inches of it at the very start of the game. On Turn One, the British would roll to determine who comes on and where. Their result was two units (1 artillery, 1skirmisher) entering at point B. On turn Two, one blue unit would arrive at point D.

So, here we have it. But before finishing up for today, let me give you some of the tweaks I mentioned earlier. Under the rules, all of the British (after 1809) are considered Veteran troops and additionally have an officer attached (this is critical when your opponent rolls a "flag" on one of his/her dice). Americans are Regulars/Trained, and have an officer with every two units, leaving one dangling if a flag is rolled against it. Otherwise, each unit of non-skirmishers may deploy 1 figure as a skirmisher. I hold to this for the British whose organization (historically) included a Light Company. The Americans at the time followed along to a certain extent except the "elite" companies in American Regiments included 2 flank companies, both often lights, whereas the British had one light, and one grenadier company for its "flanks". Thus, I allow an American unit to deploy 2 figures in a skirmisher role.

Next time: The Battle!

New Ideas, New Rules: War of 1812

It's been a few months, but as we are now in high summer, and despite the fact that most of Massachusetts is open after the recent pandemic, the temperature outside would indicate that some inside (air conditioned) activities might be warranted. In my last post I wrote about my original interest, later revived, in the War of 1812 (as it is known here). In perusing the net, I came across a blog I would highly recommend:PMCD-Mobilisatie

This group seems to specialize in 54mm wargames and although located in Belgium (Flanders), most of the postings are translated to English. The photos and postings are well-done. Check it out if you get a chance.

Now, one of the issues that seems to be more common with 54's than other scales is a lack of rules that both provide a satisfactory game and can accommodate lots of troops. In perusing the pmcd-mobilisatie postings, there was mention of a set of Napoleonic rules that they used called About Bonaparte by Dirk Donvil and available through Partizan Press (Caliver Books ). I think they may fit the bill very well! As much as I enjoy Charge! and All the King's Men (ATKM), they have their drawbacks. In the case of  Charge!, large units and rules that can be, and often are, a bit confusing. Having no quick access or summary sheets certainly doesn't help. ATKM is straight forward, but the use of large amounts of dice and colored status markers does tend to slow things down.

About Napoleon is promoted as fast play, and I think that is true. Units are eight figures on 4-6 stands. The dice are customized, marked by having I (infantry), A (artillery), C (cavalry), F (flag), along with a blank side. Still, I was able to purchase a dozen blank dice on line easily, and marking the letters with permanent markers took only a few minutes. The rules for movement, command, firing, and contact (melee) are straight forward. They are fairly comprehensive and include sections on national characteristics, a simple set of campaign rules, as well as specific rules for other musket era wars including FIW, AWI, ACW, (even nineteenth century colonial wars!)

Now, I was skeptical that Napoleonic warfare could be represented well with such small units and in such a large scale, but I was, happily, wrong. I've included some photos of my War of 1812 Americans and British.The figures are both AIP and ATKM. They are organized for the About Bonaparte  rules. More next time!

Sometimes, You just need a Change

Old Haunts, and New Projects

Many years ago, when Jack Scruby's miniatures were state of the art, and Donald Featherstone's Wargamers' Newsletter was the magazine to read on the hobby, I discovered the War of 1812. Scruby carried a line of 30mm figures both American and British. At the time, the late 60's, my friend Tom and I were just discovering that there were actual rules available, and we could use them to fight battles! The rest, as one might say, is history.

Flash forward fifty plus years: Tom and I, along with other members of our club, still meet and game on a regular basis, at least until recently. With the COVID-19 pandemic, such things are put in abeyance, hopefully soon to resume our normal daily pursuits. Yet it did rekindle my interest in the War of 1812...and painting figures for future battles in better times.

For those who have read my musings over the last couple of years, know that the AWI and 54mm figures are pretty much all I write about. But sitting at home, only going out for a daily walk or trip to the supermarket, does tend to concentrate one's mind. This renaissance for 1812 began a few years back when I discovered Ken Cliffe's company and his 54mm figures, now sadly no longer in production and sorely missed. I still have some of his 1812 line waiting, like so many others, for the brush.

Next time I'll go into more detail and discussion, but for now I will leave you with some photos from a game I put on at Huzzah 2016. I don't remember the outcome, but everyone seemed to have a good time.

A New Normal?

New Horizons, Ideas, and Games

As I write this, we are about halfway through the second week of "stay at home" advisory ordered by our governor to cope with the current troubles. All but "essential" businesses have been ordered closed, although many (at least hobby suppliers) are still fulfilling online orders. Indeed, I just received yesterday an order of HaT figures that I put in just on March 23. If you need any figures, paints, or accessories, I highly recommend this vendor,  The Hobby Bunker (and, I have no ties to this firm other than that of a satisfied customer!).
I am sure that many of us have tried or toyed with the idea of solo games or even campaigns. With everything that's going on, this is the perfect time! I mentioned one earlier in my postings, namely the Wars of Franconian Succession. What troubled me for awhile was the need for a suitable map, showing the relative positions of the various powers involved in this imaginary campaign. Having found this online, I figured it was perfect: Europe, about 1000 A. D.

Well, now I had a map! As for troops, the Hessians that I have used in previous games and published at various times in this blog would do for the Duchies of Swabia and Franconia. My Saxons would do for those of Thuringia and Saxony, while the Kingdoms of Burgundy, Lombardy, and Duchy of Upper Lorraine would be represented by my French and Spanish SYW figures. Pictures and organizations of the contending armies will be the topic of next time!

The Battle of Freeman's Farm, Part 2

As mentioned in my previous post, the British were initially outnumbered by nearly two to one. Von Riedesel and the Brunswick contingent  were off-board and required to remain so until at least turn three. The Continentals were presented with an opportunity to bring superior numbers to bear against Hamilton's Brigade. With that in mind, the American Commander began a rapid advance to close with and hopefully drive back Hamilton before the Royalist reinforcements could make their presence felt. But that was not the only problem the Americans faced.

The American forces advance against Hamilton's Brigade. The Brunswick contingent can be seen in the upper right. The American skirmishers near the artillery piece are the LOD figures I wrote of in an earlier blog.

Under the AWI variant of the Charge! rules, the lack of bayonets among the Continentals and Militia would produce a significant disadvantage (-1 to melee die rolls) should they enter into hand-to-hand combat (melee). Generally, a difference of 2 or better on each die roll was needed to win the combat. Thus a Continental in combat with a British Regular would need to roll, let's say, a five  (5-1=4) in order to win against the Regular rolling a two (2). Melee is generally figure to figure.

About half of the American force was without bayonets.

Things were going fairly well for the Continentals...until turn 3. At that point, Von Riedesel came on between the redoubt and Hamilton.

Von Riedesel arrives! Now the battle became a one of attrition.

 From that moment on it became a firefight, with a couple of melees thrown in. Hamilton was eventually driven back, but the casualties among the Americans were mounting and the advance was halted as a number of units were forced to fall back. Tactically, the battle was a draw. Strategically, Burgoyne's campaign was stopped, and the rest as they say, is history.

The final positions--it's now a stalemate as neither side has the strength to advance.

The Battle of Freeman's Farm, Part 1

Freeman's Farm: Preparation and Opening Moves

For those of us of a certain age, Young and Lawford's Charge! Or How to Play Wargames, was the holy grail as far as many of us were concerned. They were a relatively simple set, with both an "Elementary Game" and an "Advanced Game" sections. Many of the innovations we have seen in gaming had their roots here.

But time went on and new ideas, procedures, and eras proliferated.  It made the late 1960's and early 1970's and even into the 80's a veritable crucible of new and better ways of doing things...or so we thought. Things got more complex. Was it really better? That is a loaded question. For me...well it's been a mixed result. I've gone from simple to complex and finally back to simple. At my age simple is better!

Freeman's Farm is a return to my roots: toy soldiers, simple rules, and lots of dice. The scenario was simple: the Americans needed to drive Hamilton's Brigade off the table. Von Riedsel could arrive with his Brunswickers (cleverly disguised as Hessians) any time after turn four. Once that occurred, Frasier's Brigade in its redoubt would be allowed to actively move in support of the Royal forces. It was a race. Initially, the Americans under Morgan and Poor had an almost 2:1 superiority in numbers (not quality, however).

Morgan and Poor begin their advance. Frasier's Redoubt can be seen in the upper right

Off-board Movement: On the map given to both sides, there was a series of blocks. Each block required a full move to pass through before finally moving onto the table. The Germans were required to spend the first two turns in a "strategic reserve". Starting turn 3, they could begin to move toward the game table. The earliest they could arrive was turn 4, the latest (if they tried come on the flank) would be turn 6. Does one come on early, through a limiting space behind the British, or be more daring, and come on either the left of right flank forcing the Americans to face a fresh and relatively strong force of German Regulars?

Hamilton's Brigade awaits. Freeamn's Farm is just behind them

Frasier's Redoubt

Basic Training (Sort of...)

Forming a New Regiment

In the last couple of installments, I reviewed some recent acquisitions produced by LOD (see link in previous postings). A minor criticism was the variety of poses that came with each set (16 figures, 8 poses). While absolutely outstanding for skirmish level games, many of us prefer our units to consist of the same pose, save of Officers, NCO's, Drummers, and the like. One reader went so far as to contact Ken (of LOD) about the possibility of producing sets of the same pose. I am happy to report, that he didn't say no...or yes for that matter. But hope prevails!

Today, however, I would like to talk about raising (painting) new regiments for our armies. Now, many of us belong to gaming clubs or have a few friends with which we carry on on miniature recreations of history. And so we plan games, draw maps, and collect the troops to be used in the scenario...and inevitably find that if we had just one more of this or that, things would be better. So frantically, we paint those few figures we want, and field them with the varnish only recently dried. At least that is what I found just be a recent Thursday night game with my local club (Old Colony Wargamers). I'll be publishing that battle report shortly.

But, at the same time after a game, I find myself inspired to paint up something new and perhaps make a dent into the many figures I have sitting in boxes awaiting the brush (a common situation for anyone who been wargaming for years...and years).

Below are two units just recently primed (yesterday) and soon to be painted. Both will become part of my AWI British contingent.  I am also trying something new by using Model Master (tm) Enamel primer, instead of my more frequent Acrylic type by the same company. The original switch was unintentional (I ordered the wrong type from my hobby supplier), since I have used water-based paints for some twenty-five years now. But I do kind of like the enamel. It covers well, provides a smooth semi-gloss surface that takes acrylics very well. Unlike water based primers, which sometimes leaves bare spots indicating areas you missed when washing off the release agent, these cover everything and ultimately saves time, although I have also found they take a bit longer to cure. The units are a RA light howitzer section and a British Foot Regiment (I haven't quite decided which one yet). Both are produced by IMEX whose figures I highly recommend. As they are completed, I'll post some pictures.

IMEX RA artillery crew with a light howitzer

The Colonel supervising the swordsmanship of the new company commanders

 

The RSM working with the recruits, along with a drummer trying to be as inconspicuous as possible!