Recruiting is complete

Now for the training!

These lads will shortly painted up as Gorham's Rangers.  Hopefully the forecast of rain will be accurate, 

Sometimes, Ya Just Gotta Try it......

Well, that experiment is over. 

What triggered this bustle of reorganizing and re-basing a portion of my "horse and musket" armies, was something simple: not being able to divide a 3 stand unit into two half units when a scenario called for it!

Instead of looking for all the Cons of the new units, or the Pros for the existing system, I just reorganized and re-based, with enough units for a small skirmish. game. Both games went well, but......visually, the troops looked like they were in loose order since I didn't want to paint another 6 figures for each battalion, I went from 3x6 figure bases to 4x4 figures. Yup wider frontage with fewer figures and the maximum number of units on the table were diminished.

Given that I wanted to have a choice of smaller or larger games, I decided to just restore the old order but since I had the materials at hand, I cut new bases from thin plywood cut into 2”x2" squares, (I know, but I learned the old Imperial way first and they're my toys!)

All the current painted infantry are done on both sides as are some of the light troops but there are plans for more infantry, sappers,  light field guns with crew, some siege/fortress guns, more Canadian/Acadian militia, possibly a single stand of French dragoons, and, well  time will tell.

And yes, the small portion of 1790's troops who were the first guinea pigs, will be rolled back to standard as well

I have a feeling there'll be another game on the table this weekend.

Rangers Training

 Another step towards being ready for action.

Given they'll likely be used for historical fiction games, I just call them 'Ross's Rangers'

For My Next Act...

 (Anyone remember Rocky and  Bulwinkle? ) 

Anyway, since my current focus is a history inspired version of the fighting in Acadia, I need some of Gorham's Rangers. 

Volunteers anyone? ?.…....

Proposed bits from several Prince August moulds.

Thank you gentlemen! (Hmm, not sure on the standing, firing guy).  Now to dress you.

Hurry Up And Wait

That's the old army saying, but it's all over now. 

Its been 8 months since my last game set in Acadia but the world turns and things are slowly returning to normal. Its also been a wee bit over a week since the table was set, but now the game has been played. Mostly it was the outside world interfering but when I was free, I found that the rules I had spent so much time fashioning and tweaking over the last few years, worked ok, but.....weren't satisfying.  

The games tended to be too fast or too slow, dice had too much effect and the General (ok, player) had too little influence on what his troops were going to do. So, I spent some of my time reviewing a number of old wargame rules, mostly by early wargamers who had fought in real life as well as studying history, and a few newer sets of rules. However, I also revisited bits of various 18th and 19thC memoirs and also a few recent, relevant, history books. Then I tried again.   When they have been tested in a couple of games and consist of more than a one page quick reference, I'll post them. 

Here's how the test game went: 

_____________________________________

Somewhere in Acadia in the 1740's  where the Duc d'Anville's force was still under orders to secure Acadia and evict the British.  Spring has arrived, the snows are gone and the roads are sort of dry most days, but word comes from  Mi'kmaq and Acadian scouts that an army of Redcoats have landed at Pisiquid, and are marching Nor'east. The Brigadier Sieur de St. Lambert was ordered to stop them!   

A Raven took this shot as he flew away from the first "BANG". Honest!

The 'armies' meet at the little village of Nullepart.

 

In short order, the British seized the Church and graveyard as well as a wealthy merchant's  Stonehouse but the French and their allies soon seized 3 buildings, some on each side of the river.
The British had no real option but to push on.

The 27th Foot pushed forward and unleashed a crashing volley! The Mi'kmaq warriors ducked and then began shooting British officers. 

The order to "Hurry up with the Damned Gun!" was acknowledged but the ground was soft and it was hard going, even with a battalion gun. In the village, the Mi'kmaq were picking off redcoats while making good use of their cover. Behind them, the beating drums of Lally's Irish gave all a warning that they were coming. Soon it would be Redcoat vs Redcoat. The British Colonel sent off an officer to request support from the Massachusetts Bluecoats.

Eventually, the British battalions were forced to fallback into cover to avoid destruction, and a lengthy but ineffective firefight ensued. As the sun sank, a firm order came to "Drive those savages out of that town!" The Colonel suspected he was talking about the enemy Irish and ordered the 27th forward to the stonewall, and the Rangers to support them on their right.

The firefight between Irish and Irish was indecisive but the Rangers, judging that the remaining Mi'kmaq were wavering, decided not to stop and stormed the building then turned their accurate fire on the enemy Irish.  

 
The French general surveyed the field and eyed the sun. His force was split across the river and was down to 1/2 strength plus stragglers and the wounded who could no more attacks today. The British had nearly as many casualties but their battalions were still capable of defending and had artillery and the village, stocked with full cellars. 

It was time to withdraw, regroup and send for reinforcements, 

Now The Battle Is Lost and Won....

 But, while we're waiting for the official report, here's a bird's eye view as the armies started to deploy: 

The rest to come soon.

..

Now The Irish Engage

 Interruptions, always interruptions!  But the game carries on.

Friday should see the end of this affair, but another game should follow soon after..  

Now The Battle Has Begun

 Taxes are done, and the battle has begun in earnest.

.......to be continued

So! It Begins.

As the armies deploy, and the Commanders begin to form a plan, the morning quiet has shattered by musket fire.

The game will resume in a day or two, when our annual tax forms have been submitted.

It Was A Quiet Sunday Morning.....

The men were gone, summoned to do their duty to God and the King in the militia, but the women and the older boys did the men's work on the farm or there would be famine come next winter. But, it was Sunday. Mass had been held by the priest, and now the women visited with their neighbours before resuming chores when suddenly the bells rang out again and the priest appeared, looking hurried and calling out to them! 

"Les anglais arrive!! Dépêcher  vous au forêt et vite!!"

to be continued....

En avant!

 Alright!  The French and their allies now have enough troops ready to march to war again.

(More than this and even more getting ready to mount the new bases.)

Somehow, I doubt that I'll be able to restrain the two lots from getting into a scuffle this weekend......

Once More Unto The Bases

 Yup. 

These veterans have been on various bases from individual washers to various multi-figure bases, often more than once. Having shaken the 60mm wide base habit, this arrangement of four 40mm infantry on a 2" sq. base worked well in the last game, gives a better impression  of a long thin line, and lets me deploy 1/2 of a battalion or even a single stand. 

Its going to be a busy weekend, 

Somewhere in Flanders, 1793

My 1793/94 Flanders campaign armies having spent most of the last 3 years in Brittany, the West Indies and Egypt, I thought they might want to head back to their original fields to have another go at a quick & easy, generic, set of Horse & Musket rules.   (More on these rules later, but this 1st game finally gave me what I've wanted but its only 1 game......)

The 40mm figures were all converted from other things. For many, it was mostly just a new homemade head with a 1790's hat added to homecast Prince August SYW or Meisterzinn Napoleonic castings. The exceptions were mostly the British light dragoons converted from Scruby ACW cavalry and my F&IW Highlanders that I had had cast more than 25 years ago.

The scenario was Scenario 13 from C.S. Grant and S. Asquith's Scenarios For All Ages. The opposing armies march on with orders to find and seize a ford over the river. Six markers were placed on the board, one marked as the ford. When a unit reached a marker, they could peek at it. If there were 2 players, they'd have had to guess what the other player found out when they reached the marker. 

Playing solo, I didn't bother trying to fool myself but as it happened that 5 of the 6 markers had been checked and none of them were the ford. Both sides realized that the marker at the extreme end of the table had to be the ford and the race was on!   

The Highlanders got there first on a turn where the British got the initiative, but they didn't quite have enough movement to cross over and deploy into line but the French were close on the other side. They deployed and poured a heavy fire into the Highlanders struggling through the water.   

There wasn't much for either side to do but blast away and bring up support. 

The sun was starting to sink towards the horizon and casualties were heavy on both sides but the British general sensed that the French were wavering and ordered the Highlanders to form column and have another go at the ford.

HUZZAH!!!

Both sides had taken heavy casualties but the French had taken slightly more, as well as their battery which had been shattered by the Royal Artillery. It was time to call back his men and retreat while he still had an effective rearguard.

Now The Hurley Burley's Done

 While we're waiting for the full battle report, a little glimpse of the action:

.......

The Battle For The Ford Rages

 Somewhere in the Low Countries c1793..........

A truce has been called to allow for the armies and umpire to have lunch ..............

Time For The Same But Different

 Yes, we're back to the 1790's. 

Somewhere in the Low Countries ....

Scenario 13 from C.S. Grant and SA Asquith's Scenarios For All Ages. 

To be continued...

Back To The Present

Well, that was worth testing but I think I've gotten into a comfy pattern and after a few turns, I decided to go back where I had been and make a few minor tweaks.  That seemed to make a difference, especially on getting in a full game with a good chance of a clear victory for one side and within the sort of time I can usually muster, but not being tooo quick.

By the book, the game ended up a draw since both sides had troops on the hill, even though Blue was on the edge of breaking.

A cavalry clash was indecisive and the sun was setting.

Time to clear the table and start looking for another scenario..

Going Back To Go Forward

After various futile efforts to make a new, successful, simple, quick play, one page, set of Horse & Musket rules, I decided to go back in time to seek inspiration. 

Eventually, it was inevitable that I turned back to my first wargame book. I had purchased it with one of my first paycheques at Military College but had to wait till the end of the century to play a proper game with hordes of 40mm homecast figures. (Here's a link to one of our multi-player Charge! games, part of our 2010 play through of "Raid on St Michael". (On my rather dormant "Not Quite The Seven Years War" blog)

Battle renewed.

Now, I'm not actually playing using Charge!, just taking a different approach, inspired by it.

To be continued.,...

The Battle (Conclusion)

It was Saturday afternoon when the battle resumed. It didn't take long for the skirmishing to turn to massed musketry at close range.

At first the Republican army appeared like a mighty wave rolling in to smash a seawall.

The torrent of fire from the Redcoats didn't seem to bother the Greycoats at all.

But the Republic's troops must have been rattled and fired over the heads of the redcoats on the hill, or into the hillside. Soon the battered attackers were streaming back done the hill, covered by their cavalry supports. 

_____________

The game went quickly, with a decisive end, one side breaking with 2 turns to go out of 15. (It was a One Hour Wargame scenario.) However, the game lasted way longer than it should have for such a simple scenario with few units and some simple rules and the rate at which stands were removed just didn't look/feel right. Having a look at what stats I could find for War of 1812 battle casualties, my rules seem to allow units to take many more casualties than is right, despite my claims that my "hits" include fatigue, fear, ammo shortages and so on. 

The One Hour Wargame way is to track hits on a unit without weakening its fighting ability until it collects 15 hits and then suddenly disappears. That doesn't 'feel' right to me either so I've been pondering other options. One idea I'm thinking about is to have a higher number of hits before a stand is removed BUT force the unit to retire when it has lost 1/2 of its stands, OR maybe just take a morale test each time it loses a stand, with penalties for each stand lost. 

It'll need more thought. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

The Battle Rages

There are no more reinforcements to come, and the day is half spent. The battle must be won
 by those who are already engaged or not at all.

To be continued.....

The Armies Deploy

At last, the armies have arrived and begun to deploy while the light troops and Dragoons have already begun to fight.

More to come.....

Here They Come!

 Several weeks had passed since the affair at the crossroads. Both armies had fallen back, reorganized, abandoned the new drill and resumed the old ways. Now both were ready to engage again. 

Various outposts were established to warn of the approach of the enemy. The Buff's had the luck to be posted near to Lindie's where those who were off duty could quaff some ale and get a decent meal until the call to arms came. 

To be continued.

For My Next Act.....

 Reforming my Oberhilse and Faraway troops has begun!  

A game will follow shortly.

Conclusion

 Quick and easy, but engaging. That was my goal and the first test game did that. The question is, "Will it do it again?"

Mid-game: The French skirmishers and artillery are inflicting more hits than they receive but they are a long way from taking possession of the village unless some of the infantry can seize their objective and then come to finish the job. The British commander had been holding his Dragoons in reserve and decided to send them to do what they can on the far side.  

On the hill, the French infantry are taking heavy fire from the Coalition infantry and artillery but they are making steady progress.  As they push back the enemy and start climbing the hill, the Dragoons suddenly appear behind them! 

Despite a heavy fire, the Dragoons break the right wing French infantry. However, on the hill, the deadly fire of the French silences the guns. The Brigadier rides over to rally them but is shot. Suddenly the hill is threatened.  

The cavalry, without orders, rest their tired horses and watch the battle on the hill from afar. 
(How many 1's can one roll in a row?)

The French infantry are tired but face the allies. However, the firefight does not last long and the French are suddenly running.

Meanwhile, back at the village, both sides have also taken heavy casualties but when the word comes of the defeat on the hill, the gunners limber up and retreat while the skirmishers cover their withdrawal. 

So? Conclusion? 

Basically, this game met the criteria that I set out.  There were the usual interruptions and splitting the game into two sessions but the game was enjoyable with engaging action and decisions to make. The setup, play to the finish and and the cleanup, added up to about 3 hours.  The 4 stands of 4 infantry were definitely what I wanted and I can't exactly remember why I switched to 3 bases of 6, probably it was to get the flag in the centre and to shorten the foot print of a battalion so I could field more battalions on my 5'x5' table. 

Anyway, that's just one game, and more games are needed before I reach a "final" decision. So, I'll just have to get some more games on the table!  

Engaged!

I've wasted spent too much time trying to figure out what I really want these rules to do and what it is that I'm looking for.  However, the time spent has helped. 

Oddly enough ("who woulda thunk")  I eventually figured out that I've basically been trying to write rules for smaller, shorter games while my subconscious still wanted the feel of games from decades passed when there would be a 6'x8' table full of 15mm figures with 4-6 (or more) players and 4 to 6 hours to play.

Skirmishers and artillery in action as the infantry on both sides deploy.

So, having gone back over some newer, quicker, hugely simplified rules, (One Hour Wargames for example but also some older rules, such as Charge!) I started over to simplify my rules a little so as to speed up my games, a little bit at least.  After all, the ultra-simple rules I took down to my last Huzzah! convention, still led to a 4 hour game that I had to call when time ran out  before there was a definite victory on either side.

The armies deploy while the skirmishers and artillery engage.

I'm not sure when I'll next run another multi-player game but even my solo games would benefit from being able to set up, play a game, and tidy up, all within 3 or 4 hours.

(Not necessarily the tidy up bit, I like looking at the table full of troops!) 

An assault on the hill has begun.....

.......to be continued!

Interruptions! Always Interruptions!

 But that's another matter. 

The armies were deployed and the French advanced. Artillery and skirmishers engaged. The infantry are about to engage and..........

Hopefully, tomorrow we will find out how it goes.