Mystify, Mislead, and Surprise - Bingfa AAR

I was once again at Kelly's place for a game this weekend last. 

Rocky had offered to run a newly modified version of Bingfa, which incorporated some of the suggestions us players had offered up at its last outing. The main difference was an adjustment how units fought. 

Previously, a unit would fight each enemy unit in it's front three squares. This often led to lines of troops clashing and then instantly leaving the battlefield thanks to the combat system, which then lead to entire commands evaporating thanks to the Stay Test system. In order to keep troops around on the battlefield longer, each unit now gets a single attack that must go to the enemy unit directly in front, or to a side if there is no enemy unit directly to the front. 

John and I commanded the Chu forces for this game, while Kelly commanded the Qin. The Chu army consisted of a smattering of chariots, horse and skirmishers, with most of the force made up by a mass of low-morale infantry. 

The opposing Qin army had a sampling of everything available to the Warring States general; chariots, cavalry, horse, nomads, skirmishers, and higher-morale infantry (thanks to the Qin's military pension system, according to Rocky). 

Deployment was masked by a thick mist, though both sides knew the general terrain of the area; a valley split by a river with an urban area in the center. Open fields were scattered around the valley, and a temple complex dominated the hills on one side. 

Not knowing what Kelly's deployment would be, John and I took the cautious route and evenly split our forces into two commands, one on either side of the river. I failed to get the command out to start with an attack, so the army would begin on the defense.

When the mist cleared after a couple turns, we were surprised to find that Kelly had taken all three of his commands and deployed them on one side of the river facing John's troops. 

Two of Kelly's command pushed towards John's troops, while his third command took up a blocking position in the towns and fields. 

I had no other choice but to begin the slow process of advancing my troops towards Kelly's flank. 

John and Kelly's mounted troops began to clash on the far side of the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the first wave of my attack fared poorly, resulting in five infantry units routing from the battle. 

With my nose bloodied, I decided to keep shifting my troops along the riverside rather than trying to cross and engage. 

John and Kelly's infantry traded crossbow fire, while Kelly's cavalry won the field and held down his right flank. 

John's troops finally received their orders to advance (changing formation takes a turn for orders to disperse), with his right wing moving towards the urban area. 

Kelly and John's main infantry bodies also moved into close combat, with the results favoring John. 

Another round of combat saw more units on both sides routing from the field. However, Kelly's overall break point was smaller than ours (thanks to the masses of Chu infantry units) and he lost enough units to automatically break and retreat. 

Kelly's plan was audacious and, had his luck been a little better, could have easily resulted in a Qin victory. While he wasn't able to bring most of his chariots into the main fight, they acted as a redoubt against half of the Chu forces. And his infantry generally had a better chance to stay after a loss in combat; that just didn't happen this time. 

Overall we liked the change to combat, as units had more staying power. The draped cloth was also a great idea, and a creative addition to Kelly's gaming table. I'm looking forward to seeing more of it's use. 

Painting Update - WWII Planes

 After a bit of a lull in posting, I'm back with what I've been painting.

With the USAAF finished, I moved over to the Luftwaffe. First finished was a large squadron (four flights) of Me 410s. 

And a small squadron (just two flights) of Ju 88s. 

The first proper fighter for the Luftwaffe is the Me 109, which I've painted seven flights of.

And finally, six flights of Fw 190s. 

That's the Fire in the Sky project done and dusted! I just need to label the various bases and pick up a proper aerial battlemat. Deep Cut Studios makes a fantastic looking mat with a European landscape with some clouds that will be perfect, though the local tariff issue will likely bring the cost up. But at least I can call the project finished!

Bonny Lads - Tricorn and Bonnet AAR

This past weekend I played a game of Tricorn and Bonnet over at Kelly's place (with Rocky GMing). These are period-specific rules for the about-50 year periods of the Jacobite Uprisings, with the two sides playing fairly distinctly; the Jacobites aiming to Highland Charge their way to victory, while the Government forces hope to be the rocks the clansmen dash themselves against.

Rocky's scenario was a generic battle between the two sides (a Battle of Àite Sam Bith, if you'll allow), with exemplary forces. 

The Jacobite army, led by Bonny Princes Charles himself, consisted of a mass of Highlanders, a few battalions of Lowland militia, a pair of French infantry battalions, a scattering of Scots horse, and a few light artillery pieces. 

The Government army featured a mass of redcoated infantry battalions of varying quality, proper cavalry, and better artillery. 

You might notice the miniatures look a bit flat, and you'd be right! Rocky decided to use WoFun Games' line of 18mm preprinted flats for this project. His additions of flocked bases and painted sides added enough to make the flats look convincing if you were behind or in front of them (though the illusion was a bit shattered if you sat at the side of the table!). 

The Jacobites had split their Highlander battalions into two commands, one of which was supplemented by the Scots horse. This tartaned line cautiously approached the Government forces while artillery from both sides fired into the opposing body of troops. 

The last Jacobite command, consisting of the Lowland militia and French loan-infantry, held down the left flank. The Government horse brigade was spread out over a wide distance, allowing the infantry to squeeze together. 

The Government cavalry decided to attack the potential weak spot in the Jacobite line - where the Scots horse filled the gap between the advancing Highlanders and the defending Lowlanders. 

In an unexpected series of combats, the Jacobite horse actually managed to fend off the Government attackers! 

Meanwhile, an initial assault by the Highlanders had less desirous results. Unimpressed by the hollering men in kilts, the Government battalions held firm and delivered devastating platoon fire into the Jacobite infantry. 

In Tricorn and Bonnet the featured tactic of the period, the Highland Charge, works via an Intimidation test taken the first time a Government unit is charged by a Highlander unit. If it passes, the unit no longer needs to worry about being Intimidated for the rest of the battle. If it fails, then there's a number of potential cascading effects that reduces the units close-combat ability in the ensuing melee. 

Highlander units also drop their muskets during a charge, so the units lose any ranged capability unless they walk back to where the musket lay. Which is unlikely during the middle of a battle!

If the Highland Charge works, it can potentially mean a devastating series of setbacks for the Government units in the fight. If it doesn't, it's likely that the Highlanders are going to be cut to pieces before they can close. 

Case in point; while the Highlander line was advancing, one unit took too many hits and ended up being the first to rout from the battle.

However, the next set of charges ended up going much better for the Jacobite right flank, forcing a Government battalion into routing. 

In the center, Jacobite and Government cavalry continue to battle while the main body of Government infantry guard their supporting artillery. 

And the Lowland troops continue a starting contest with a few units of Government cavalry. 

The general melee on the Jacobite right continued, with the balance swinging in the Jacobite's favor. 

Highlander battalions also pressed the attack against the Government center. But the defenders in the fields and villages presented a difficult nut to crack and drove off a unit of Highlanders. 

The melee by the woods saw the last of the Government forces routed from the table, but at a bloody cost of most of the Jacobite troops. The remaining units were worn, had no muskets, and were unlikely to do much else. 

In the center, a good round of combat saw the Highlanders punch a hole into the Government lines. But other supporting Highlander units were pushed back. 

And at the last moment, the Lowland troops began advancing to attack the Government cavalry and infantry.

We had to end the game there due to time, with the Jacobites gaining a pyrrhic victory.  

A demonstrative combat between the French regulars and the Government horse revealed that the Lowland brigade could have been more active, as unsupported small units of cavalry would be unlikely to be a threat to fresh troops, even militia units. 

As usually, Rocky put on a great game, and hopefully we'll see more of Tricorn and Bonnet in the future. 

Painting Update - WWII Planes

Now that I'm finished with my Historicon posts, here's a look at what I've been painting since my last update.

My main hobby effort has been going towards 1/600 WWII aircraft, focusing on "Big Week", or Operation Argument, in February, 1944. This was the effort by the Allies' air forces to cripple the Luftwaffe prior to the invasion of Normandy later that year.

Last year saw the release of the up rules Fire in the Sky, which captured my attention due to it's focus on fast playing, squadron-level aerial combat. It seems like every other aerial combat game focuses on the few seconds in a dogfight where individual planes come into contact. Big Week looks at the "longer" (entire minutes!) engagements, with squadrons engaging, bouncing, and disengaging.

As the first rulebook for Fire in the Sky focuses on Big Week, the center of every scenario is three squadrons of B-17 bombers, which act as the objectives for the German players to shoot down. 27 B-17s looks fairly impressive on the table!

The Big Week scenarios call for a variety of Allied fighter squadrons, with a few scenarios needing two squadrons (six stands) of P-47s

As well as two squadrons of P-38s.

And to round out the USAAF planes, three squadrons of P-51s.

All of the planes are from Pico Armor, and have mostly been 3D printed. While lighter than the metal models that they used to be, they also come with the printing supports still attached. I had several models break - especially the tiny structures of the P-38s - that required gluing or entirely new models. 

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse, 1781 - Live Free or Die AAR

My last game at Historicon was the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, using Live Free or Die, and run by Pat.

This is a scenario I have experience running, as it was what we played using Washington's Wars back when I was in New Jersey.

Pat had been running the Southern Theater over the weekend, with the result that Tarleton's Light Dragoons wouldn't be appearing in this version of the battle. 

There were some further additions to the rules introduced by Pat, such as the use of buck and ball by units of both sides and effective ranges for musket and rifle fire. This led to an overall increase in lethality. 

The British goal was to inflict more losses on the Americans to score a minor victory, and to capture the two road exits on the opposite side of the table as well for a major victory. Any other result would count as an American win.

I was one of two American commanders, and there were two British commanders. 

The game began with the British encountering the first line of American militia. 

The militia were pushed, though not without some fallen redcoats in return. 

To stymie the British, Harry Lee and his light horse launched an assault on the British right flank. Unfortunately, even with favorable odds, the cavalry were repulsed. 

Both sides continued to move and fire. Occasionally a unit was able to halt and fire and volley, or the British decided to launch a charge. 

The American position began to falter somewhat as the first line of militia met the second and tried to move through. 

The Americans did managed to sneak a unit of militia through a gap in the British line, using them to fire upon the redcoats' rear. 

Realizing that having a rebel unit, even a small one, dealing damage in their back lines was a problem, the British quickly routed the militia. 

Having swapped a good part of their lines, the fresh American militia waltzed right into British volley fire. 

At the very last moment, the Continentals stepped off so they could show the British just how well they marched in step. 

The game ended with a decisive American victory, though one with an asterisk. While the Americans caused more casualties overall, I only realized a day later that I and the other American player missed that units moving backwards only do so at half speed. While slower movement would have still kept the British from approaching the two road exits by the end of the game, there's a chance that being forced to stay closer to British units would have results in more American casualties. 

Regardless, Pat ran a fun game, and it was a great way to close out my time at Historicon.