Painting Update - Napoleonics, WWII

Here's a look at what I've been painting lately. 

I've begun the next part of the Napoleonic project with more skirmisher bases for two infantry brigades. 

I also finished the command elements of the 1940 German battalion. 

As well as artillery support bases.

And machine-gun support bases.

To finish up, a pair each of anti-tank and infantry guns. 

The only pieces that I need to complete now are some horse-drawn wagons for the French and Germans for moving their guns around the battlefield. 

Return to Osma - General d'Armee AAR

This past weekend, Kelly hosted a game of General d'Armee (first edition) at his home.

We were refighting Osma, which I have played before with Ted and the others in the New Jersey group (using the second edition of the rules).

The scenario was the same as before; three French brigades attempting to hold back a combined force of four British and one Portuguese brigades. The British had 10 turns to break the French.

Kelly GM'd, Larry and I commanded the British, and Scott and Jeff commanded the French.  

The game started with the British pushing forward as quickly as possible, with the Portuguese using a Forward! order to move up their flank.

The French elected to have one brigade defend the wood-covered hill that extended across half of the table, while the other brigade was split between defending a line of hedges and the small town. 

On the other British flank the King's German Legion light brigade moved in skirmish lines towards the French brigade that was quickly taking position on the hilltop. 

The French garrison, on seeing the waves of British uniforms approaching, realized it was likely better to move up from their position to halt the enemy advance. 

Both sides exchanged skirmish fire as battalions moved into position. 

In an incredible feat of dice-rolling, Larry managed to secure a Retire from an opposing French brigade through the Destiny table! This gave the British a chance on their right flank to keep advancing. 

Meanwhile, I was making a hash of things on the left. A failed infantry assault saw the KGL light brigade pushed back and out of firing position, while a battalion of KGL line infantry was being battered by two French battalions. 

Unfortunately, the Portuguese brigade hesitated, giving their French opponents time to recover and shake back out into formation. The third French brigade advanced up the center. 

The battle for the hill continued. The KGL cleared the French skirmishers, but the formed enemy battalions held strong. 

The British center advanced towards a strong French presence. 

And the Portuguese were having trouble following up on their earlier success, as they exchanged fire with French skirmishers. 

While the British had gained an extra two turns from the Retire result the French had rolled earlier, the scenario wasn't looking good for them overall. The French still held the hill, keeping two British brigades checked. And none of the French brigades were likely to end up Faltering without some very lucky dice. 

And I definitely didn't have that luck! My hope of a successful infantry assault from the KGL line brigade went up in smoke, despite attacking a pair of French battalions that had lost fire discipline. 

The British decided to call off the attack at the top of turn 12, as there wasn't a likely avenue to cause another French Retire or Sauve Qui Peut result. 

My impression of this scenario from the last time I played it holds; this is a tough scenario to get a historical result with. Though I've seen other online reports with the British succeeding. I wonder what they're doing differently? I may have had more success had I been more aggressive with the KGL light brigade and fed them Skirmisher taskings for the game. They can really throw out hits, especially against formed battalions. 

Maybe we'll return to Spain at some point and try it again. 

A Schleiz of the Action - Wars of Eagles and Empires AAR

Last weekend, HAWKS hosted their Cold Barrage convention for the second year. Cold Barrage was originally created when HMGS' Cold Wars fell through in 2024, and so a single-day event was launched to fill the void. It was so successful they decided to do it again!

I went up originally planning to play in two games based on the same system: Wars of Eagles and Empires and Wars of Ozz. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling all that well, so while I managed to soldier on through the morning, I left early.

However, I did get a chance to play in Buck Surdu's new rules, Wars of Eagles and Empires, which are a Napoleonic outgrowth from Wars of Ozz. Buck himself was running the game, so between his guidance and my familiarity with Wars of Ozz, learning the system was pretty easy.

The scenario was a refight of the Battle of Schleiz, the opening clash of the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806.

A mass of French infantry and cavalry was marching towards the town of Schleiz, with a mixed command of Prussian reserve infantry, conscripts, and cavalry in their way. 

The French's goal was to push through the Prussian defenders, while the Prussians hope to delay the French advance. 

The Prussian players (myself included) went with an ahistorical approach compared to the dithering commanders of the past and stepped up, with two brigades swinging out to either side of Schleiz. I was controlling a reserve brigade, which I decided to move up the Prussian left flank.

French and Prussian infantry first clashed as the Prussian attempted to shift the French from a hill. In the background, you can see French battalions trying to clear out from each other's way. 

As the French had heavily weighed their assault on their left, the Prussian left was faced with only a few battalions.

Halfway through the battle, the fight on the hill was still going. I continued to bring up the reserve brigade, while French light infantry filtered through the woods. 

The battle for the hill ended with a French win; however, the Prussian battalions fell back in good order towards the cover of the woods. 

On the other side of the battle, French and Prussian cavalry clashed. I managed a decent run of wins with a hussar unit, but after several breakthroughs the unit was blown and routed from the table. 

The battle came to a close after about four hours of game time. While the Prussians had put up a valiant defense, their casualties (especially from highly accurate French artillery) gave the victory to the French. 

Overall, Buck ran a great game. The rules seem to work for what they aim for, and I still enjoy the loss of control that can occur thanks to the reaction charts. It's a fun way to depict the loss of overall army cohesion as smoke engulfs the battlefield and casualties mount. 

I've picked up a pdf copy of the rules for myself, as well as the Mexican-American War supplement. 

Painting Update - Napoleonics, Starship Troopers, WWII

 Here's what I've been painting as we approach the end of the year.

Arachnid swarms in Sector Sweep act as five warriors bases moving together. When a Warrior is killed, the swarm splits up. 

Here's another French line battalion for the 1813 project. 

And more French! Here's a pair of 25mm anti-tank guns for O Group. 

Painting Update - Napoleonics, WWII, Starship Troopers

 I've not had a lot of time to play games recently, but I have been painting.

This is a second battalion of the 10th Legere, post stripping and repainting

I copied Storm of Steel's patrol markers for O Group, using 2" bases with miniatures and bases colored to match the company they belong two. I think they look very nice compared to just having paper markers.

I also completed the mortar base for the French battalion. While not necessary, it's a good reminder for when your battalion mortars run out of ammo.

Here's a trio of French HMG bases, which are useful to either attach to platoons or use independently. And some 60mm mortars, which can be attached to French company commanders. 

And a pair of 75mm field guns, which act as artillery barrage markers. 

I've also started a new project (gasp!). Little Wars TV released a secret set of rules for gaming in the Starship Troopers movie setting. They're meant for solo or co-op campaign play as you take a platoon of Mobile Infantry through a series of missions, trying to keep your platoon commander alive through their deployment. 

The above is a standard Mobile Infantry platoon of one command team and seven infantry teams. In the back row are a media team that can be added as a side objective while playing, and support options; a recon team, a heavy weapons team, and a Marauder power armor team (a nod to the original Starship Troopers Mobile Infantry).

I've got a second platoon to finish as well as plenty of bugs, so expect more Starship Troopers in future posts. 

Painting Update - Quar, Napoleonics

 I've been away from the hobby for a bit, but I'm back to painting! Here's what I finished.

I decided to work on the Crusader company first for my Quar 15mm project; Here's the Company Command Squad. They're wonderfully characterful models, especially the pistol-wielding Caerten and the "musician" carrying a gramophone.

One of the models in the Command Squad is a Pykpyk handler (pykpyks being small furry squirrel-like mammals that the quar use to relay messages to squads). The 15mm rules use these animals as a means to issue orders.

Rounding out the basic Crusader company is a weapon squad, which adds both anti-infantry and anti-tractor firepower via H-11a LMGs and Splagen torpedoes (the Quar version of a rocket-propelled grenade). 

I also, finally, picked the Napoleonics project back up, finishing a couple batteries of foot artillery. 

The Wizard of Osma - General d'Armee AAR

As I was back in New Jersey over the past weekend, I met up with Ted, Chip, and Steve for some classic Saturday night gaming.

The guys have been focusing on General d'Armee V2 for the past couple months. I was happy to hear this, since I had purchased the rules but not had a chance to play them yet. 

We were refighting Osma (during 1813 in the Peninsular War), with four British and one Portuguese brigades clashing against three French brigades. The game would last 10 turns, with both sides trying to break the other. 

Chip and Steve commanded the British and Portuguese, while Ted and I commanded the French.

The British were deployed a fair distance from the town (which gave them a tactical advantage if they managed to take control of it, giving a negative initiative modifier to the French), with the Portuguese anchoring their right flank.

The French defenders seemed somewhat anemic on the ground, with a decent gap between the two brigades and my own left flank wide open.

Ted put his veteran troops into skirmish lines to try, giving him a wider front against Steve's advancing battalions.

Meanwhile, my troops were backpedaling as fast as possible while also trying to shift to the left. Apparently garrison fire is much more effective in this version and I was hoping to get a clear line of fire for the battalion in the town.

Chip's British brigade was hot on my heels, but the Portuguese seemed less enthused about the whole affair, lagging far behind.

I realized that I wasn't going to get a chance to shift my battalions like I wanted and instead elected to stand and fight.

Of course, that would have been easier had Chip's counter-battery fire not forced my artillery battery (and the only artillery battery on the French side) into retreating behind the town.

Ted and Steven continued to skirmish, with Steven slowly forcing Ted back.

With some forceful language, Chip harangued the Portuguese into finally moving forward. Once in position, he was able to use one of the new C-in-C commands; Flank Manoeuvre! This allowed Chip to bring in another infantry brigade, threatening to overwhelm the French flank.

Luckily, I was able to bring on and double-time a third brigade of Nassau troops (low quality recruits, but hopefully enough bodies to throw into the British lines!) to cover my flank.

My dice were pretty good that night, and Chip's British brigade was forced back after losing a battalion. I also lost a battalion, but was able to keep my brigade from faltering by using a C-in-C command.

Steve's advance had brought him into range of my recovered guns, allowing me to rout one of his battalions. Ted's troops had formed a solid wall and were exchanging fire with the British.

We reached the end of 10 turns with two badly mauled British brigades. The French had taken casualties as well, but came out of the fight better off and were still in control of the town. This gave them an non-historic victory.

Apparently it's quite a tough scenario for the British to win. While they have the numbers, the British have a good distance to cover. Even a single British brigade becoming hesitant during the advance (especially a flank brigade that restricts the placement of another flanking brigade!) helps the French.

I appreciated Ted, Chip, and Steve helping me learn the new version of the rules. My first impression is that I like them! Fire combat (skirmish, volley, and artillery) seems much deadlier. Modifiers for fire combat have been drastically reduced; instead of needing to balance negative and positive modifiers on both hands, negative modifiers just reduced the effectiveness of your fire chart and positive modifiers give you extra casualty dice (which have been standardized across the board to 4+ effectiveness). 

I also really like the C-in-C Commands and Ammo Caissons. An issue of the previous version was the feeling of never having enough ADCs to do anything but make sure your brigades wouldn't go hesitant. With Ammo Caissons able to affect your artillery and C-in-C Command giving you that pivotal extra boost, the lack of ADCs at critical moments can be circumvented.

I think this has reinvigorated my interest in my Napoleonics project, which was sorely needed. And I always appreciate gaming with Ted, Chip, and Steve. 

Painting Update - Napoleonics

Here's what I've been painting.

I've finally started on my French for Weissenfels, starting with test light and line infantry battalions. The above is the first battalion of the 10th Legere. 

Beginning a series of units always takes the longest time, as I need to double check my references and figure out how the miniatures have been sculpted. A few more units in and the process tends to speed up. 

As an example, it took a little work to figure out that these miniatures (from Viking Forge) have shako covers on with their chin straps folded up. 

The standard bearer doesn't come with a flagpole, so I've purchased some from Essex Miniatures. Not perfect, but fine from arm's length.

I also finished the light infantry brigade's complement of skirmishers.

The second test unit was a line battalion, this one being the first of the 14th Line. I have another 11 battalions to paint up like this!

Overall, I'd say I'm aiming for about 70%-80% historical accuracy. These won't be a perfect recreation of French troops, but I think they're a pretty good overall effort. 

And to round out the post, here's the first line brigade's skirmisher bases.