Update

Recent activity

I have been very slow in updating this blog but I have been working on many different projects.

Firstly I am in the process of play testing a set of rules for the AWI period that will hopefully extend through the war of 1812 in the colonies and up to the ACW with a figure to man ratio of 1:20. The main principle is activating units to act, or not, and do what you want them to. They are simple but not simplistic, just how I like my rules.

The first real play test involved a few amendments and tweaks and I am now ready to give them another go.

Secondly, using a similar system I have started to write a set of dark age rules for Parkfield’s Arthurian figures based around warbands, warlords and small scale combat. These are in their first draft at present awaiting a first play.

Apart from that it seems that shows have taken over recently with Farnborough last weekend, where my club put on a game using beneath the Lilly Banners (photos can be seen on the club's blog-http://thamesvalleywargamers.blogspot.com/ )and Rampage this coming Sunday. Then I hope to settle down a bit and get some projects finished.

quick and easy rail fences

I wanted a few more fences for my FIW games, so having looked out my window decided to cut a few twiggy branches off the Lilac bushes at the bottom of my garden. These were sized by eye to get them around the right size and a number were taken indoors for trimming.

I cut a number of lengths around 2" in length and some card bases (about 3/4" x 6") but they could be any size to suit. using contact adhesive I stuck a layer onto the card to make the base, overlapping each onto the previous. Then stuck another layer in a similar manner onto the first layer. Using natural twigs does negate the need for painting the 'branches' as they are a very natural colour already.

Once dry, the whole was given my usual sand treatment, painted, dry brushed and flock applied. Using PVA glue I coat the base then dip it into a container of sand. Once dry this is given a coat of paint to suit the basing I want, in this case Dulux 'Mud Hut' from a tester pot.

Once this is dry I then dry brush, using one or two lighter colours and wait for this to dry thoroughly. Using more PVA and an old brush, dab the glue into patches then sprinkle flock onto the base, blow off the excess and you have your base. If required you can then add any small bushes or clumps of grass to finish off.

Tower of London Artillery

yesterday, due to it being the school holidays, we took a trip to the big smoke to see the Tower of London where I took a few pictures of various artillery pieces there. Above is a Russian gun on garrison carriage taken as a prize after the Crimean War.

Above we have a British 19th century 24pdr cannon on garrison carriage. next, below, a couple of shots of a British napoleonic 6pdr field gun with the axle boxes clearly shown.

The next piece, sitting outside the Tower is a bronze 24 pdr gun and plaque describing the piece.

Now more napoleonic pieces, this time French 6pdr field guns, is this the colour we should be achieving on our wargaming models?

last but not least a more up to date 25 pdr field gun.

I wanted to get some shots of Henry VIII's armour and weapons but photography was not allowed.

Further thoughts on Beneath the Lilly Banners

Having played these rules a number of times there are a few things that seem slightly peculiar. the first is infantry not being able to charge home against other infantry (unless they are defending an obstacle) without the target being shaken, but I guess this is down to the officers in the line seeing the enemy breaking off from the rear and ordering a close to combat. We are just getting used to this aspect of the game.

Another thing is cavalry, not closing to charge due to failing morale and turning tail and running away. maybe a stand would work better but that is the rule so that is what we play. It is possible for raw cavalry to rout drilled cavalry as the jacobites have done this on a number of occasions.

The rules for cavalry, however, work as it is not possible to turn on a sixpence (this is similar for infantry) and requires them to position themselves prior to charging a target. Squares are another problem, to form or not to form is the question. This period allows for infantry to meet cavalry in line due to the defensive nature of the integral pikes so why even attempt to form square in the face of cavalry.

The size of game is also important. The mechanisms are simple and seem to be designed for larger games than we have been playing at present and I would think that you would require somewhere around five or six squadrons per side and perhaps two large brigades of infantry or even better, three brigades.

More on this in the future when I have increased my army sizes but so far the rules work well and apert from a few things that don't seem right would, I think, work better with more troops on the table.

Die Kriegkunst-first game and review

The American left flank awaiting the attack

Last night we tried Die Kriegkunst out, the new Seven Years War rules from Partizan Press but as we didn’t have any 7YW figures to hand we used our AWI collection just to see how the rules worked out.

To start with, the rule book is nicely presented with a number of illustrations and well laid out with page references indicated on the reference sheets. As we have played General de Brigade a number of times we understood the basic system so were able to play the game mainly from the reference sheets.

Although the rules are not specifically for the AWI they did seem to work and gave a game that flowed and played fairly quickly.

The game began with the American militia supported by poor regular troops ensconced behind walls and fences protecting a village. The British advanced on the defences in two wings with a brigade on each of the flanks. A small game but we wanted to see how the rules worked.

The British right flank advancing

After a couple of turns it seemed that the Americans were more resilient than we at first thought, especially as they were protected by walls. As the game progressed we got into the realms of morale and actually a melee (which the British gallantly retreated from having crossed a wall and were then charged by militia which were obviously led by Mel Gibson.

The movement sequence of the rules worked well as did the firing with the American skirmishers on the left flank inflicting almost no casualties. Artillery fire is also well covered but we did come to the conclusion that canister range seemed a bit long, although the British artillery did manage to shred an American battalion advancing up the centre road.

Melee was perhaps a mistake as once the British had crossed the wall they were disordered and pushed back by the charging militia having inflicted no casualties from firing as they charged.

The British right flank advancing on the AMerican left


American skirmishers evading the British attack on the left

The basic mechanisms will be familiar to anyone used to the GdB mechanism and we had a couple of occasions to test the Double 6 table and the Threat to General. Our major failing stemmed from a misunderstanding of the implications of certain orders, you do not want to get to within canister range with no ability to charge! Canister range is longer than the charge distance and due to the restricted table size we had little opportunity to engage not in canister range, and when the dice rules are high with canister it is deadly!

The major difference from GdB is restriction on the charge distance and on certain manoeuvres, but like the parent the game is easy to learn, realistic enough, but still fun. We did not get on with British Grenadier due to the disruption points, they may be realistic but if you only have 3 ½ hours to get a result they make the game feel too slow.

Die Kriegkunst is quite bloody, get your tactics wrong and have a bad roll of the dice and you will suffer. But as we found when faced with American rabble steely Brits even when reduced to a single company can still hold their morale and fall back behind a formed unit having done their bit!

The best bits of the GdB system are the neat mechanisms for charging and morale which create a realistic basis for the game with enough tailoring to individual situations but without endless tables to consult or such reliance on the luck of the dice roll as to leave you feeling completely without control of the situation.

We played with two brigades per side and reached the stage after three and a half hours that it was apparent that the American rabble had beaten off the gallant Brits, but we shall return with light infantry to screen us and restore the pride of King George next time.

The figures used were a mixture of Perry and Parkfield played out on david's new teddy bear fur terrain.

The rules were played and reviewed by the Thames Valley (Gentleman) Wargamers

Burgundian artillery

I have been finalising some artillery for the Burgundians and have just about done a light cannon and bombard

Another Beneath the Lilly Banners game

Although I enjoy line ‘em up and play type games, I also enjoy creating testing scenarios, this one found a small force defending a bridge expecting reinforcements against a much larger force trying to take the river crossing. The above picture shows the initial Williamite deployment.

Defending the bridge were William’s forces with one elite infantry unit (Kirke’s Lambs) one drilled infantry unit and a militia unit, two squadrons of cavalry were posted on the opposite side of the bridge. The picture above shows the initial Jacobite deployment.

The remainder of the protestants, including Dutch, Danish and the Royal Regiment were to arrive on the roll of one D6 (on turn 1, roll a 1, on turn two roll a 1 or 2 etc). The die rolling was good but the roll for percentage of the total force that could move was bad and the reinforcements didn’t start arriving until turn 4.

The Jacobites were tasked with taking the bridge with three squadrons of Irish cavalry, two French infantry units and a Guard unit (all drilled) and three units of raw infantry.

The Jacobites got the ball rolling by moving in to the attack and their artillery up front caused terrible damage to the cavalry, causing them to turn tail and manoeuvre out of the way. Meanwhile, Kirke’s, out on the right, was positioned behind cover and bore the brunt of the Jacobite left wing with the small gun falling prey to the Jacobite artillery but managed to halt the Irish charge against them.

The Protestant Irish crossed the bridge and immediately fell prey to the Irish artillery and decided that enough was enough and routed. Hanmer’s regiment on the Protestant left fared no better, at the first sign of a charge by the Irish horse they turned tail and found themselves between a wall and the enemy cavalry. However a long volley from the Royal Regiment from the other side of the river caused a few casualties to the Irish horse but not enough to really make a difference.

The bridge caused quite a bottleneck with William’s forces coming to a standstill as routing units ran past them shaking the Danish and halting the Dutch.

All in all we had a fun game and although we didn’t come to a conclusion decided that the Protestants would actually be hard pressed to do anything other than withdraw in good (?) order.

Hanmer's regiment caught between a rock and a hard place

The Jacobite charge falters against the teadfast Kirke's lambs.