Battle of Albuera, 1811- General d'Armee AAR

My second game at Fall In was the Battle of Albuera, 1811, using General d'Armee 2 and run by Chip (with assistance from Ted).

The game focused in on a section of the overall battle. Four French infantry brigades started on the attack against just two Spanish infantry brigades. Over time, two British infantry brigades and a Spanish cavalry brigade would reinforce the Allied line, while the French would see a cavalry brigade added to the battle. 

The French advance was generally cohesive, with only one brigade falling behind from multiple Hesitant results.

The Allies had a tougher time dressing their lines. With the British coming on after the initial deployment, the plan was for the two Spanish brigades to fall back and drift apart, forming a space for the British battalions to fill. 

You can see the problem the Allies found themselves in. Hemmed in on both sides, the British had to squeeze into whatever gaps they could find. I unfortunately also made the mistake of masking my guns with my skirmishers and prevented them from firing. 

The Allied right was also being threatened by the French cavalry brigade. 

One of the Spanish brigades began to falter as the French columns charged forwards. 

On the other side of the battle, French battalions shifted to line as the flagging infantry brigade caught up. 

Unfortunately, one of the Spanish battalions in square was charged by French infantry and routed, leaving another battalion isolated. 

After seeing the Spanish battalion routed, the British formed square while a single Spanish battalion awaited a mass of French columns. 

On the Allied left flank, the pair of Irish battalions held firm as the French filtered around the small village (which acted as rough terrain instead of a proper Built Up Area. 

The Spanish cavalry sat in it's position, unwilling to advance but keeping a French brigade out of the action by doing so. 

After weathering multiple French charges, the British decided to launch their own assault, throwing back a few enemy battalions. 

Unfortunately, my poor artillery battery was doing poorly in the Spanish heat, and my dice rolling was causing more damage to the crews then enemy fire was. 

And to add on another calamity, I managed to fail two rolls to keep my other faltering British brigade from fleeing the battlefield. This opened a massive hole in the Allied lines. 

We decided to call it there as we were close to the time limit for the game and the Allies were in a bad position. Thus, a French victory!
 

I feel like I need to play more GdA2, as there are plenty of nuances that I just don't have done, especially with the changes from the previous version.

However, I'm always happy to get a chance to game with Chip and Ted!

Boot Camp - Clash of Rhyfles AAR

This past weekend was HMGS' Fall In, the last major convention of the year. 

While I had intended to attend both Friday and Saturday, I had to change my plans and wasn't able to stay for Saturday. Conveniently, I hadn't locked in a hotel room yet so I was able to increase my spending budget.

Because I had changed my schedule I was only able to attend two games on Friday.

The first game was a demo of Clash of Rhyfles, the skirmish set of rules for the Quar setting from Zombiesmith that's received a boost in popularity from a pretty consistent release schedule from Wargames Atlantic. The "full" version of the rules have been released in anticipation of a new starter set coming in the next few months. 

Two tables were set up, each with a standard Crusader and Coftyran squad. 

Since I had played the rules a couple before, I ended up controlling a single Coftyran squad against two new players who controlled two halves of the opposing Crusader squad. 

The Coftyran squad's LMG and loader set up with a decent fire lane through the center of the table while the squad's yawdryl took half of the squad's rhyflers on a flanking maneuver. 

The Crusaders split into a number of small teams and filtered through the terrain. The squad's milwer was knocked down by the Coftyran LMG, but managed to recover. 

Unfortunately, my luck wasn't great for this game. It started with a rhyfler tripping over his rifle and knocking himself out. A Crusader marksquar knocked out another rhyfler, and the squad's milwer was shot trying to tend to his fallen comrades. 

On the other side of the battle, the Coftyran yawdryl and his accompanying rhyflers were pinned by pair of Crusader rhyflers. Armed with large caliber rifles, the Crusaders kept punching through the Coftyran's lighter cover. 

As a demo, the game only lasted three turns, but we were given a decent overview of the rules and setting. Had we continued, I wouldn't expect the Coftyrans to last much longer. 

I did end up picking up the Coftyran and Crusader specialists boxes, as well as the newly released Chyweethl and Ailthean tractors (Quar-equivalents to tanks, about the same technological level as interwar vehicles).

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.