Meanwhile, in the Origawn

 Recruiting parties are busy.

In the meantime, check out this blog with some most attractive, up to date, gridded,  54mm toy soldier games inc this recent game.   

The blog is  portlandlittlewars.blogspot.com , for some reason, I can't seem to add it to my blog list or publish an active link to it, so you'll have to get there manually.

A Reward for Bravery in Battle .

 At last the flag is done. It seemed only right to reward the 40th for their brave charge on the highlanders followed by their repulse of the flank charge by the Scots Greys.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate painting flags? Especially intricate ones? I did consider downloading some from the excellent and most useful warflag.com but our printer is struggling to maintain a minimum essential service until its replacement arrives. So, I opted for the old handdrawn and painted option. 

I can't help but suspect that the 15mm ones I did in the 80's were better drawn and painted but its probably the effect of those rose coloured glasses often worn when looking back. Anyway, THIS one is a toy soldier flag, not a model soldier one.

The design is based on the relevant example in Arco's Military Flags of the World 1618-1900. First I drew both sides on paper, changing the regimental number, painted it, cut it out, folded it around the pole, then varnished it. 

I really don't get the whole white cross on a white background. Seen in real life, there are no black lines around the cross but the difference is visible, up close anyway. In the end I ended up painting over the lines when applying a base colour of  a light Cream and added the cross in a whiter shade of pale. (Sorry... )

The Battle of Bagatelle

A minor but memorable fight.

Mid game, the French skirmishers have been having a hard time but the 3rd Battalion is moving forward with plans to demonstrate the effectiveness of a column charge against a unit that has already taken 50% casualties.

Unfortunately for the 3rd, the Erbprinz Regiment instead demonstrated the effectiveness of artillery close support, a tight formation that allows a player to complete a cycle quickly (and thus getting in more shots), lucky card draws, and steady troops (ie ones that roll high for morale tests and in melee). 

On the far flank, the combined operations plan appeared to work better. Skirmishers and artillery fire had worn down the Highlanders and British artillery. The French Hussars sacrificed themselves to distract and tie up the British Dragoons while the French Infantry columns struck hard (ie had decent movement and combat rolls.) The colour party was all that was left of the Black Watch and it was forced to retreat to safety.  

The newly formed, white coated 40th Infantry was hit in flank by the Greys but calmly formed square, saw them off and resumed their advance.   A handful of the Hessians were all that barred their way but these soldiers fought to the last man in a fierce fight that saw both commanders fall in the melee. (They both rolled a 1!) 

It was enough, as the day drew to a close, the Emigres, Jaegers and Greys were all still disputing the crossing while the French had run out of men and daylight, not to mention card cycles.  A victory for the Duke of York. (Not that he was anywhere near the battlefield).

The game was played using A Gentleman's War and homecast 40mm French Revolution figures. (all conversions from SYW castings) using a scenario from One Hour Wargames. The scenario calls for certain units to become active on a particular turn and also has a time limit. Since AGW doesn't have set turns, I have struggled with meshing the two approaches but this time I counted cycles for each side and that worked like a charm. I'll try the same approach with a CS Grant or Stuart Asquith scenario next time.

 

Rushing to the Front

 These patriotes were so keen to fight the enemies of the Republic that they rushed into battle without waiting to be issued washer bases or uncase their colours.

The fighting has ceased at nightfall, before they saw action, but will resume in the morning.

Stand To!

Time to exercise the troops. The 1794 Battle of Boxtel is similar enough in a vague, generalized way, to the "Blow from the Rear" scenario in One Hour Wargames.  In any case, river crossings, widely spread  "columns" (adhoc divisions), and sudden flank attacks were all common features of the fighting in Flanders.

Of course, once I started deploying the French I realized that the 2 skirmisher units I had counted were actually a single unit deployed as detachments. So, the 4th French infantry unit has now been assembled and primed. Battle will begin once they are painted and varnished.