Small World Productions

Zvezda castle pictures

2011-11-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

I've been painting some 15mm fantasy troops lately, and it occurred to me that I could probably get away with using my 20-25mm Zvezda castle that I've had forever. It's actually two different sets -- one came with square towers, and the other came with round towers and a large keep.

Because it comes molded in gray, I decided to use some light gray textured paint that I use for my HO scale roads on my train layout to drybrush it on. It was an easy application and the result ended up looking pretty good. When I was done, I played around with some different configurations, but this is the one that I think looks the best.

A dragon's-eye view...

I can see some epic battles around the gatehouse (it actually has gates, but they are off for painting). I neglected to take any shots of what 15mm troops look like on the castle, but they work out well. I can get four bases of troops in the square towers and it looks cool -- it gives the tower a "fully staffed" look as masses of men take to the parapet to defend the castle. The other interesting thing about the castle is that the roofs lift off each tower, so you can put more troops inside, hidden from view.

Now I just need to keep building an army to defend it and create one to attack it!

The battle of Pritzwalk

2011-01-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

Note: Most photos are at the end rather than interspersed.

Marshal Ney peered out into the hazy distance, watching the dark masses of the oncoming Prussians draw ever closer. He could see the dark lines of infantry and the gun carriages as both horses and men struggled to move through the open ground.
"Sir, it's really too dangerous up here. There are enemy snipers about."
Ney ignored his aide and continued scanning the lines or Prussians. "Then don't stand so damn close," he muttered after closing his small telescope. "What word from generals Marchant and Milan?"
The two generals commanding the far left of the French line were not visible from Ney's current hilltop perch.
"Marchant reports that the only forces in his vicinity are some cavalry units that appear to be more of a screen than anything else. Milane reports some horse artillery and perhaps a brigade of enemy infantry."
Ney thought for a moment, then called for his maps of the area. He traced the line of the river where he set up his defense and compared that to what he was seeing and what his generals were reporting.
"It appears the enemy is throwing everything directly at the bridge over the river." Calling it a river was a bit of a stretch. It was really more like a deep stream that could be forded, with some effort, at any point. "If I were the enemy, I would post my guns on this hill and try to blow a hole in our line, then rush everything through the hole I had available."
Ney pulled his telescope open with a snap and scanned the ground in front of the hill. He could already see stray figures running from position to position -- enemy infantry skirmishing ahead of the main line. It was time to go. He whirled his horse around and began the descent toward the only bridge across the stream, a bridge that was defended by every gun he had. If the Prussians wanted the bridge, they were going to pay a heavy price to get it.

Initial Prussian deployment. Prussian left in the foreground...

The French right and center, with the left partly obscured by the woods.

From the Prussian side...

The Prussian plan was pretty simple -- hold the right, use the hill to blow a hole in the French line and then send in all available troops to exploit the breach. Unfortunately for the Prussians, things did not get off to a good start. General Gunsel, commanding the Prussian artillery, rushed his guns forward to the hill that overlooked the French center and started his bombardment, but not without losses. While the batteries were maneuvering into position, the French guns opened up and did heavy damage to one battery and caused casualties to another. The Prussian infantry that was supposed to be right behind the guns to exploit any gaps milled around in confusion for some time before finally getting underway. The stray French cannonballs that periodically bounced down the lane didn't help the infantry want to move any faster and several casualties caused one unit to falter and fall back before finally following at a distance.
Once the Prussian guns were deployed, a great artillery duel erupted. One French battery was destroyed, opening up a hole in the French line, but there was nothing for the Prussian commander, Prince Hohenlohe, to throw into the breach because of the tardy infantry divisions.
Meanwhile, Ney, seeing that the bulk of the Prussian attack was going to hit his weak right side, sent orders for General Marchant on his far left to launch an attack against the weak Prussian right flank. If Marchant could gain some ground or chase off the screening force, Hohenlohe would be faced with a serious dilemma. It took awhile for Marchant to get the change of orders and get his men moving, but by mid morning, his division was crossing the stream and starting to skirmish with the Prussian piquets. As they approached the Prussian positions, the Prussian horse artillery opened up, causing heavy casualties to the 1/15th Line, which then routed.
Ney also sent orders to General Cantor to attack the Prussian guns on the hill. An infantry assault might carry the hill (and the guns) and would at least relieve pressure on his own batteries. The 1/76th and the 2/41st splashed through the stream and up the hill, partially hidden in smoke. As they drew near the guns, they opened fire, causing some casualties among the gunners, but the Prussians held fast as they worked to reload and turn their guns on the infantry.
Hohenlohe, frustrated with General Meisal's slow advance, sends orders to generals Cassel and Lieberman to stop waiting for Meisal and to press the attack immediately. Cassel's division is directly behind Gunsel's artillery batteries and may be needed to repel the French attack there.

The Prussian infantry divisions finally pick up momentum and get their attack underway. Meisal's division rapidly advances until it is to the bridge and can see the French guns through the swirling smoke. Cassels's division swarms past the Prussian guns and slams into the French infantry that had been struggling up the hill. The 20th West Prussian battalion unleashes a volley into the 1/76th French line and then follows up with a charge. The French flee down the hill and recross the stream in a complete rout. The Prussian infantry, urged on by Gen. Cassel, move past the guns and head for the stream and the gap in the French line as originally planned by Hohenlohe. One French battalion is ignored, which Cassel leaves for the cavalry coming up behind him to mop up.
Meisal's attack near the bridge was greeted with a hail of cannister and musket fire, resulting in two battalions (out of Meisal's four) routing, leaving the attack in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, on the Prussian right, Marchant's French attack to take pressure off the center fell into disarray when Marchant was killed by a cannonball. Colonel Keyes took command, but there was much confusion to sort out.

By late morning, the Prussian attack had stalled. The French battalion that had been bypassed on the hill was locked in a brutal fight with an artillery battery plus elements of the supporting infantry. Neither side was giving way and the artillery equipment was preventing the Prussian infantry from properly maneuvering and the cavalry was not in a good position to get through the mass of men and equipment to ride them down. So Cassel's attempt to exploit the gap in the French line wasn't going anywhere and was stopped on their side of the stream.
Meisal's attempt on the bridge initially failed and his two remaining battalions were stopped by continuous French cannon fire (the French artillery were freed up thanks to the melee on the hill and the Prussian infantry masking the other Prussian guns).
The French counterattack (originally Marchant, now Keyes' command) also had not gone anywhere after Marchant's death. Gen. Cantor was taking the initiative and maneuvering his division to drive a wedge between the hill and the other Prussian forces, but his men were having trouble in the soggy ground and small streams that criss-crossed the ground in front of them. At this point in the battle, no one really had the initiative as both sides struggled to get their attacks moving again.

The French get things going first. The 2/41st Line finally prevails in the struggle on the hill and effectively destroys the right most battery of the Prussian gun line. Meanwhile, Col. Keyes has gotten most of his command in order and started to push forward; Gen. Cantor manages to push four battalions across the stream in support of the 2/41st with two more following on the flanks. The French are now starting to reach around the left of the hill (as viewed from Ney's position) and Meisal's attack at the bridge has been blunted with two battalions routing and two others pushed back with casualties. The Prussians have a lot of forces all jammed up on the hill but are in danger of being surrounded.

From this point forward, the battle becomes very chaotic and really splits into two separate struggles. In the Prussian center, Cassel's division finally crosses the stream and exploits the gap in the French line. Ney has to scurry away to keep from being captured and also to get his cavalry reserve wheeled into line to plug the gap. The French right is now is a large V-shape and has lost touch with the left.
On the French left, the counterattack surges forward. The French push on and start to gain ground, only to be counterattacked by Prussian reserves, that throw them back to the stream. The French reorganize and attack again, this time with more success. They cut a hole in the Prussian line and start to wheel into position to threaten the Prussian flanks.
Hohenlohe has to use his cuirassiers that were supposed to be supporting his own attack just to keep his center from being annihilated. As the French press on, the Prussian position becomes more desperate. While the attack on the French center is having success, the Prussian right is now isolated. The horse artillery battery has been cut down by flanking French infantry and silenced, while the Prussian cavalry is being carefully approached by long lines of French infantry who are waiting their chance to empty a few saddles with a volley.
The hill where the Prussian guns once dominated the French line has been overrun by French battalions and Hohenlohe has nothing to send into the fray. Each element of his army is starting to be isolated from the others. Seeing nothing to be gained by throwing away his cavalry in a frontal attack -- cavalry he would need to pull off a withdrawal, Hohenlohe sounds the retreat before it's too late.

The Prussian guns move up to take position on the hill during the early morning.

The Prussian guns open up their bombardment on the French line. Note the destroyed French battery in the left-center of the photo.

The French try to counterattack the batteries before the Prussian infantry moves up in support.

A view from Marshal Ney's spot as the French battalions move forward.

The far French left. The Prussian Horse artillery battery stalled the entire attack and killed the division commander, throwing the whole flank into disarray for quite some time.

The Prussian infantry finally moves up in support. They should have already been crossing the stream by now.

The Prussian infantry surge forward, ignoring the French attackers. The Prussians had support and cavalry behind them and expected them to deal with the now-stalled French attack.

The Prussian left-center -- this division was cut to ribbons, thanks to the Prussian infantry masking the Prussian guns. One battalion is already routing, the other two would follow soon. (Forgot to move the ruler for the photo)

The French left-center, where the counterattack starts to gain some momentum.

The Prussian reserves move up and blunt the French attack.

Meanwhile, the French right has to use its cavalry to form a V-shape to keep the entire line from being rolled up. Things are looking good.

But then the French attack again on their left and the stream of Prussian refugees starts to grow as casualties mount.

The Prussian right gets completely isolated. Word is sent to Hohenlohe that the entire wing is in danger of being surrounded.

The French wheel and threaten the Prussian flanks as more French troops surge forward.

And French troops take the hill, overrunning Prussian batteries.

If he doesn't withdraw now, his right wing will be eliminated and two divisions of French troops will be freed up to bolster this attack on the center. Failure in the center would mean the isolation and destruction of his forces across the stream. With little hope of success, Hohenlohe sounds the retreat and uses his cavalry to extricate his remaining men.

A final overview of the battlefield.

Analysis: The French, wanting to use as much of the stream as possible to disrupt the Prussian attack, were trying to defend too much ground. Ney purposely weighted his line to the left to try to entice the Prussians to attack his center where he hoped to cause a lot of casualties with his massed artillery and cavalry. Once he realized just how many Prussians were being thrown against his center, he was forced to send his superior left wing on a counter attack to try to slow the Prussian army down. In the end, his counterattack worked and the Prussians had to withdraw. He needed more infantry in reserve and should have shortened his line to gain more depth. It may have meant giving the Prussian an easy crossing point on the stream, but it would have taken them so long to maneuver across it, it probably wouldn't have been of much use.
The Prussian attack plan was fairly simple -- use the superior artillery to blow a hole in the French line and then send as much as possible through it. What brought the Prussians down was the timing. First, the infantry, particularly on the left, was painfully slow coming up, thanks to their poor commanders. The guns did their job in blowing the hole open, but there was no one in place to exploit it when the time was right. When the infantry finally did come up, all they really succeeded in doing was masking the guns as they got in a fight with elements of the French counterattack. This allowed the French guns to turn their attention on the Prussian infantry elsewhere and cut down swaths of troops. By the time the Prussian infantry pushed on across the stream, the French infantry were already coming up the other side of the hill and had cut down a number of Prussian gunners.
Hohenlohe could have also not stretched his deployment so far out. He could have pulled in at least an entire division of troops and put his right flank in echelon with the cavalry support and been fine. This would have given him the men to either stall or defeat the French counter attack that would have bought his own attack more time.

Campaign conclusion: With Hohenlohe's defeat, the road to Berlin lay open. Blucher was in a hopeless pursuit of Napoleon, and French troops were advancing from the south as well. To preserve his beloved Berlin, the king sues for peace and the French win the campaign.

How to make a terrain board for commands and colors games

2011-01-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick overview of making a terrain board for Commands and Colors games (Battle Cry, Memoir '44, Napoleonics, Ancients or Battlelore). If you have any of the Commands and Colors series, you can of course use your painted miniatures in place of the game pieces and use 3D terrain rather than the cardboard cutouts.

The size of your board will be determined by what scale miniatures you plan on using. I have 15mm Napoleonics, so I went with a 4 foot by 4 foot board. Mine is pink foam and coated with green ground foam. It's my old battle board that I no longer use, so it was the perfect candidate.

While Commands and Colors games use hexes, I'm using a dot to represent the center of where the hex would be. You don't really need the hexes, just a way to measure movement (and who wants to try to draw hexes?) I settled on four inch spaces, and cut a piece of string with a mark every four inches. Because each row is offset from the previous one, I put a blue mark every four inches, and a black mark every four inches starting two inches past the blue mark. What you end up with is a string that alternates blue and black marks every two inches. For the first row, place a dot on the board where there is a black mark on the string. Move the string up the board four inches, then place a dot where there is a blue dot on the string. Move it up again four inches, then use the black marks again to set your dots.

Here's the string in action...

Here's the final result, complete with the boundaries that mark left, center and right. The back boundary is where the "official" game board would end (it's 13x9 hexes). Because I had extra space and might want to use it sometime, I just added extra rows to either end.

A closer shot.

Now I'm ready to use miniatures for my Commands and Colors Napoleonics games. (Updated post with corrected game system title -- thanks for pointing that out.)

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany -- part 9

2010-12-12T18:38:00.000-08:00

A quick update on the campaign: Ney moved to Pritzwalk and threatened Berlin. This forces Hohenlohe to leave his defensive works along the river and move to engage Ney. There will be a battle of Pritzwalk that will decide who wins the campaign. I had to take campaign down for two reasons -- one, I needed the table for Thanksgiving and two, there are some rules that I'm not happy with that need some tweaking. The biggest issue is translating battlefield losses back to the campaign.

Once I have set up the battle, I will post the finale to the campaign and will post whatever rule tweaks I come up with as well.

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany: Part 8

2010-10-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Following the Prussian defeat at Naumberg, the French had the momentum in the south. Bulow's command was demoralized and strung out on the road as far as Leipzeig and beyond. It would be some time before he would be able to gather his stragglers and bring up replacements. Soult pushed after him, moving to Leutzen, capturing some of Bulow's baggage there.

Blucher, recently reinforced by Yorck's corps that gave him numerical superiority over the Emperor, who was still holding position at Helmstedt, decided he must do something to take back the initiative before Soult could move North. He immediately ordered his entire force, leaving behind the heavy baggage in Magdeburg, to move to Helmstedt to attack the French. But as his light cavalry moved toward the French army, they reported that the French were withdrawing. Napoleon had withdrawn to Braunschweig.
"What the devil is the Corsican doing?" he muttered to an aide as they rode into Helmstedt unopposed.
He then receives word the French force under Napoleon has fallen all the way back to Hanover. Yorck urges Blucher not to pursue any further.
"The Emperor is trying to draw us away from Berlin as Ney and Soult work around our flanks. Bulow is already beaten and Hohenlohe is warning that he will have to abandon his fortifications and attack Ney at Pritzwalk if he moves in that direction. It's the only way to keep the French out of Berlin."
But Blucher will hear none of it. Yorck, under instructions from King Wilhelm to retreat to Magdeburg to help protect the capitol, detaches two infantry units and sends them to Blucher as he falls back to Magedburg.

In the North, Ney continued to gather in his forces and marched into Karstadt. He was now only about two day's march from Hohenloe and most of his far-flung cavalry has returned to the main body.

The overall theater:

The Battle of Naumburg: French attacking Prussians

2010-10-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Soult, his troops deployed, took up position on the right flank to oversee the main attack. His vision of a swift and coordinated attack did not start off the way he planned. Confusion was the order of the day. With everyone in position for the advance, nothing happened. The signal gun was never fired and troops milled about wondering what was going on. The Prussians watched from their elevated positions as the French did a whole lot of nothing. Gen. Custine, commanding the French left, waited so long that he thought he must have missed the starting signal and started to advance before Moreau on the right (who was supposed to lead the attack). Moreau finally got his division in motion, only to watch all the units get tangled up with one another. The artillery was supposed to lead the way with the chasseurs in support, but the chasseurs got in front of the artillery, screening the guns. The infantry came up behind in columns and had to stop short because no one was where they were supposed to be. The chasseurs found themselves facing enemy cavalry to the front, but blocking the guns to their rear that were supposed to blow holes in the Prussian line to start the attack. The hussar commander had to risk filing off to the rear while facing the enemy lancers, but the Prussians decided not to risk their only cavalry unit on the left flank.
Finally Soult and Moreau both came over to sort everything out, and while the dispositions still weren't exactly right, the attack commenced. The French artillery opened up, routing the Prussian lancers, opening up a gap on the flank. Bulow was forced to send his only reserve, two battalions of grenadiers, marching to reinforce and refuse the flank.
The Prussian artillery opened up on the advancing French troops, tearing into the 24th Line as it moved forward in column. It first hesitated, then finally routed after taking heavy casualties. The French artillery answered by training its fire on the 2nd Silesian, which dissolved in a hail of cannister fire.

The French attack on the right, after the initial exchange and the rout of the Prussian lancers.

The Prussians managed to form a semblance of a line again with the grenadiers refusing the flank.

The French press forward once again.

Meanwhile, Kellerman sent his horse artillery forward in the center to bombard the village along with the guns in the French center. Custine, on the left, advanced to his pre-appointed position and awaited the attack orders from Soult.
Moreau pressed his division forward, with two battalions Soult supplied him from the reserve. The West Prussian Grenadiers arrived in time to fill the position vacated by the lancers, but they were subjected to a galling fire from French infantry. The 2nd Silesian was faring no better, and both units got it worse than they gave. Meanwhile, the French 21st and 29th both pressed up the hill in an effort to take the Prussian guns and the hill itself. The 21st was raked by cannister fire and fell back beyond the road in front of the hill to regroup. But the 29th broke through, routing the 1st Silesian and ending up between the Prussian guns and the 5th Silesian that was anchoring the far right of Von Pirch's division.

The 29th breaks through...

The French 3rd infantry momentarily gained the hill, and combined with the 29th, threatened to fold up the remaining Prussian units in a pocket, which included Gen. Von Pirch and Gen. Bulow.

A view from the French chasseurs' position looking toward Bulow's position.

The East Prussian Grenadiers, after recovering from the shock of having the French infantry show up on their flank as they made their way to the Prussian left, quickly wheeled and drove the 3rd back off the hill with casualties. The 29th, having to choose whether to wheel left or right, decided their was enough pressure on their right and wheeled left to try to eliminate the 5th Silesian which would all but secure the hill. The commander of the 5th, having seen the French breakthrough, wheeled his unit back to protect the flank of the rest of the army and sent word to Gen. Klux in the center that immediate support was needed on the Prussian left.

The 29th French Line square's off against the 5th Silesian as the Prussian hussars ready to climb the hill in support.

While this was going on, Soult was sending a flurry of orders. Custine's division on the French left was ordered to start its attack to at least pin the Prussians from sending further reinforcements to their left and hopefully breakthrough on that side as well.

Custine's division advances...

Gen. Rapp, in the French center, was ordered to start threatening the village -- again, to keep the Prussians pinned as best as possible, though Klux had already sent orders for his hussars to wheel to left and counterattack any French units on the hill.

Gen. Rapp's division advances to threaten the town to prevent reinforcements being sent to either wing.

A view from Rapp's position. His men were never engaged.

Kellerman, commanding French hussars and cuirassiers, started creeping forward to try to take advantage of any holes while not overly exposing his units to Prussian artillery, which at least at this point was far too busy fending off pointblank French attacks.

Kellerman's cavalry creeps forward.

Custine's initial attacks on the Prussian right were repulsed, but with light casualties.

Custine's first attack in columns.

Having superior numbers, he kept flattening out his line to try to get around the end of the Prussian line. The 57th line made it to the far end of the Prussian line and found no one in front of it. The French dragoons were to the right of the infantry in support and started up the hill when the Prussian hussars came charging over the crest. Gen. Von Roeder ordered the unit forward in the hopes of breaking through the dragoons and throwing the infantry attack into confusion.

Prussian hussars charge the advancing dragoons in an attempt to break the attack.

Custine has his battalions shake out into line and then try again...

Up we go boys...

Both ends of the Prussian line are now under a great deal of pressure and what few reserves there were, have already been committed.
The hussars thundering down the hill is too much for the French dragoons to take and they quickly wheel around and flow around the 44th Line who were trudging up behind them in support. The 44th now finds itself facing a charging line of hussars who are rapidly closing the distance between them. The colonel gives the order to fire, but the men were so hasty in doing so, there was little effect. The shouts of "reload" go up and down the line as the hussars thunder on.

Further to the hussars left, the 3rd and 4th East Prussian infantry fire down the hill into the French units below who were shaking out into line, but with little effect. Von Roeder, willing to gamble to try to turn the odds in his favor, orders the 2nd and 5th East Prussian infantry forward across the road, which puts them even with the main French line. If they can wheel to the right before the French can react, they will have most of Custine's division flanked.
While the drama plays out on the Prussian right with the hussars under Von Roeder, Klux's hussars ascend the hill, move past the 5th Silesian and smash into a very surprised 29th French Line, who is caught in line and unprepared for the sudden appearance of the Prussian cavalry.

The Prussian hussars charge the 29th and and are initially repulsed.

But the 29th, a veteran unit, holds its ground, throwing the hussars into great confusion as they had anticipated an easy rout.
Kellerman, sensing his opportunity with the hussars in disarray on the hill in front of him -- and presenting their flank along with the 5th Silesian, orders his own hussars and cuirassiers forward. As the lead hussars emerge from the hedgerow, Prussian guns open up, but too soon. The hussars veer off toward the guns, who work feverishly to reload as Kellerman sends the cuirassiers off to the right to attack the Prussian hussars.

French hussars charge the Prussian guns; cuirassiers move to attack the hill.

Attacking hussars in front foreground; Rapp's division watches the bombardment of the town and fields.

A view from just behind the Prussian center battery. The hussars are in front of the guns with the cuirassiers about to climb the hill.

The French infantry under Moreau on the French right climb the hill and find themselves facing the other Prussian grenadier unit. The 4th French line and the grenadiers level muskets and fire simultaneously. When the smoke clears, the 4th is still standing while the grenadiers are streaming to the rear. The Prussian left wing has now been blown wide open. Only the 3rd Silesian infantry remains, and it is nearly surrounded. On the hill itself, Von Pirch and Bulow have only the artillery, which has also come under French infantry fire and taken losses, and the 4th Silesian remaining. The 5th is cut off by the French infantry and the charging cuirassiers.

The final assault on the French right.

Even in 15mm, looking down a gun battery is intimidating.

Bulow and his aides can see the French troops advancing just beyond the stand of trees.

Things are getting desperate. To make matters worse. The French artillery in the center, with batteries under Rapp and Kellerman, have begun firing at the exposed Prussian infantry to the left of the village, tearing big gaps in the ranks and also shelling the village, causing casualties there as well. The 2nd East Prussian, after taking heavy losses, routs, opening a gap between the village and Von Roeder's division.

Rapp's artillery rips a hole in the Prussian line.

The routers stream past...

Two views looking right from behind the center Prussian battery toward Von Roeder's command. The Prussian troops have already pulled back from the hill to escape the hail of French fire.

A view from behind Custine's guns looking toward Von Roeder's command.

Von Pirch gives the order to his remaining infantry and artillery to fall back. He then turns and follows Bulow and his staff down the hill to establish a new temporary headquarters in the field behind the hill where they hope to reform whoever is left. Klux's hussars, who had been thrown into disarray by the stand of the 29th has only partially regrouped, but seeing the 5th Silesian retreat down the hill behind them and the cuirassiers charging hard for their flank, see that the only way is forward. They charge the 29th, trying to simply escape a worse fate. The infantry may have stood the first charge, but the second charge was too much for them to stand while in line. They break and run, and the slaughter is great as sabers flash left and right. The 29th ceases to exist as the few survivors run back to their own lines.

The 29th is cut down, but the hussars are just looking to escape.

At the same time, the hussars on the Prussian right survive the fire of the 44th line and charge home, not realizing the deteriorating situation along the rest of the line. The 44th fares a little better, managing enough musketry to stop the charge, but the men fall back in some disorder and reform next to the 41st that had been pushed back earlier. Unfortunately for the hussars, the retreat of the 44th unmasked a French battery, which now has a clear field of fire. The cannister ripped through men and horse alike; those that survived rode as fast as they could away from the carnage.

The deteriorating situation now that Von Roeder's cavalry is gone.

Rapp is eyeing the large gap between Von Roeder and the town.

French artillery in the center having just routed the 2nd East Prussians, turned its guns on the 5th East Prussians with similar results. The French gunners were veterans, some said the best in the Emperor's service, and they quickly found the range and decimated the Prussian ranks. The 5th broke and ran. Von Roeder's division was quickly falling apart. His cavalry was gone and the two battalion on his flank linking him to Klux had been routed.
While no formal retreat order was given by Bulow, all three divisional commanders saw the same thing at the same time. The day was lost. Von Pirch's men were already in retreat, and Von Roeder faced a deteriorating right flank and being ripped by artillery fire on his left. Klux was still relatively unscathed in the town, but with French forces pressing in on either side of him, there was little point in holding the village. He gave the order to cover the retreat to give Von Roeder time to make his way off the field and all the Prussian forces began a general retreat.

Analysis: The Prussian deployment was too thin. Bulow had hoped to hold both hills flanking the village and make the French pay a heavy price to take them. To anchor his center, he put his best general with his best troops in the town, but it was so intimidating, the French never went near it until the very end. He should have put his weakest troops there and deployed in echelon on either side of the town with a much narrower front. The French already had him outnumbered, and he just exacerbated the problem by overextending his line. When he was committing his only reserve almost as soon as the battle began, it was a bad sign of things to come.

Soult's attack plan worked almost flawlessly. It got off to a rough start with a delay and then units got tangled up, but the Prussians were too weak to exploit it. Once everything was untangled, the right flank led the way, busted a hole in the line, and then Soult sent word for the attack on the left flank to begin. It too found success, so even had the right flank attack failed, the left flank should have been able to carry the day. Losses for the French were relatively light, thanks in part to some very poor musketry by the Prussians as the French moved to attack.

The day after:

The French right. The Prussians took heavy losses here from French musketry. Most of the French casualties were caused by Prussian artillery.

The French left. Most of the Prussian casualties were caused by French guns shelling the exposed infantry in the fields. The town escaped relatively unscathed. It was shelled on occasion, but to little effect and Rapp was careful to keep his men out of range of the men in the town.

Battle of Naumburg, opening deployments

2010-10-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

Strategic situation: Bulow was moving north toward Magedeburg and Blucher's army when he decided to protect his lines of communication and turned east toward Leipzeiz. Soult, who had been pursuing, caught up to him at the village of Naumburg. Bulow would prefer not to fight, but had no choice. He is outnumbered and hopes to fend off Soult and continue his move east.

Soult hopes to destroy Bulow and turn north to maneuver Blucher out of his stronghold of Magedeburg and move on Berlin.

Tactical situation: Bulow has occupied the village and made it the center of his defense. He has occupied two large ridges on either side of the town to anchor his flanks.

Soult, having superior numbers, has strong forces on both flanks as well as the center. He hopes to push one or both flanks of the Prussians back and make the village irrelevant by maneuvering around it.

Bulow, after observing the French advance, is already wondering if he has spread his forces too thin...

The Prussian deployment. Bulow is near the center of the hill, surrounded by aides.

Naumburg, from a distance. Almost an entire Prussian division has taken shelter in the town and its surroundings.

The French right. Soult is in the upper left of the picture.

Another angle. The French are in columns and the thin Prussian left flank can be seen at the top of the photo.

The village of Naumburg...

The French center looking toward the village.

The French left...

The Prussian right...

Gen. Klux, commanding the Prussian center, shouts orders to fortify the village.

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany: part 7

2010-09-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

In the days following Napoleon's victory at Helmstedt, both sides reassess the situation and make moves to try to take advantage of the other's moves...

In the north, Hohenlohe waffles between defending Seehausen from Ney and marching south to reinforce Blucher. He decides to dig in for the time being and sets his troops to building fortifications.

In the center, Yorck starts west with some reinforcements for Blucher, getting as far as Potsdam where some troops have already started fortifying the area in case Blucher has to give up Magdeburg. Yorck tells them to give up such defeatest moves and leads all of them west to Mockern, just a day or so from Magdeburg.
Ney moves to Domitz and his scattered cavalry is only a day away from rejoining him now.

Napoleon has a difficult decision. He can attack Blucher in the shadow of Magdeburg before Yorck can reinforce him, or he can hold his excellent defensive position at Helmstedt while waiting to see what gains Ney and Soult can make. He can also wait for reinforcements to arrive, though there's not much on the road. While he has Blucher outnumbered in infantry and artillery, Blucher has a cavalry advantage. If he can force him out of Magdeburg, it will greatly complicate the defense of Berlin. However, his supplies are lagging behind, so he decides to wait it out for now and is rewarded by the arrival of the reorganized chasseurs a cheval. He shortly thereafter receives word that Yorck has arrived in Magdeburg with a sizeable force. Had he attacked, Yorck would have shown up to reinforce Blucher during the battle.

In the south, Marmont starts the week by force marching from Eisenbach to Erfurt where Soult awaits. In doing so, he had to leave his slower moving artillery behind to catch up later, but it does give Soult enough men to screen Brunswick at Erfurt and move in pursuit of Bulow. Soult detaches two battalions to bolster Marmont's force and marches to Weimar, capturing some Prussian supplies that had been stored there. Erfurt is now officially cut off, as is Bulow who will have to move north to reestablish his lines of communication. Bulow continues north to Eisleben and sends orders for his lines of supply to move with him, but such things take time and with Soult in the neighborhood, Bulow may be forced to fall back toward Leipzig. After getting word that Yorck was reinforcing Blucher, Bulow decides to look after his own best interests and make sure Soult doesn't sweep south to threaten Berlin. He moves south to Naumberg to protect his line of communication.

Part of Marmont's artillery makes it as far as Gotha as Soult pursues Bulow and catches him at Naumberg.

The Battle of Naumberg

Soult attacking Bulow

To be played...

Napoleonic Campaign in Northern Germany: Post Helmstedt

2010-09-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Following the Battle of Helmstedt, Blucher fell back to Magdeburg with most of his remaining force. Some of the demoralized units fell back as far as Berlin before stopping, but he had no time to lament their loss. Napoleon solidified his position at Helmstedt and reorganized his forces.
In the south, Soult moved to Gotha, one day from Erfurt where Bulow had his main force. Marmont also arrived in the theater, and marched east from Dusseldorf with a sizable force. Bulow, feeling the pressure from Soult and needing to march to Blucher's aid, he leaves a garrison force at Erfurt under Brunswick and headed to Buttelstedt via Weimar. His hope is to delay Soult while he links up with Blucher to change Prussian fortunes west of Berlin.
Marmont advances to Kassel, while Soult approached Erfurt and finds Brunswick holed up inside the city walls. Soult orders Marmont to march east to take over screening Erfurt to free him up to pursue Bulow. In the center, the reformed chasseurs a cheval (badly hurt in the battle for Helmstedt and sent to the rear for a few days) move from Minden to Hanover. In the North, Ney finally gets moving and advances to Gudow, which unites most of his force, minus two cavalry regiments that had gone a failed mission to cut the lines of communication of Hohenlohe. If he can advance fast enough, he may be able to prevent Hohenloe from moving to help Blucher. Hohenlohe decides to concentrate his forces south of the Elbe River at the key crossing point of Seehausen.

The situation in the south and center. Soult has invest Erfurt while Bulow starts moving north toward Blucher.

The situation in the center and north. Blucher is in Magdeburg. Napoleon holds at Helmstedt while Ney starts moving east on the north bank of the Elbe. Hohenlohe occupies the key crossing of Seehausen.

The entire theater of operations.

The Battle of Helmstedt -- 15mm Napoleonic warfare at its finest

2010-09-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Napoleon, knowing that Blucher was aggressively coming toward him, chose a series of ridges just outside of the village of Helmstedt to make his stand. There were two larger hills that flanked the main route through the area, the perfect place to teach the Prussians a lesson.

The French deployment placed Massena on the left with a mixed force of infantry, cavalry and artillery. MacDonald held the center around a swamp that divided the shallow valley between the two hills. He was backed up by the Old Guard and two divisions of cuirassiers. On the right, Girard extended his force out as far as possible to prevent any flanking movements. The Emperor's hope was that the enemy would try to storm the center, placing him between the two hills. He deployed his men and guns as if the hills were two forts protecting the pass and left reserves under all three generals to deal with any contingencies.

The Prussian plan of attack was simple: Move forward. The main point of attack would be on the Prussian right under Gen. Yost., who was to seize the hill and push toward the pass between the hills as his main objective. He would be backed up by Blucher and the guard infantry while Gen. Stein in the middle and Gen. Wilhelm on the left would stay in contact and protect the flank.

Prussians on the right of the table. Wilhelm in the foreground, Stein in the middle, Blucher and Yost in the distance.

French on the left of the table. Girard in the foreground, Macdonald in the valley with the Emperor and guard behind him, Massena on the hill.

The whole battlefield.

Various shots at the start...

The Emperor with the swamp to his front. Macdonalds command was on both sides of the swamp, which limited maneuvering in the valley.

Looking at the massed French emerging from the chemical shelf...

Looking up at Massena's hill. It would be the last sight a lot of these boys would ever see.

Blucher and his aides, flanked by the horse artillery battery and grenadiers.

Stein's command in the center.

Yosts flank where it touches Stein's command. (And yes, those are French carabiniers subbing for Prussian cuirassiers in the background.)

The battle begins...

The Prussians got off to a good start. Yost made good time and had minimum disruptions to his line, even though they were negotiating a rather steep hill. Stein and Wilhelm managed to stay in contact. As the Prussians advanced, some units came under French artillery fire from the hills and took some casualties, but the bulk of the French forces were deployed back so it wasn't until the Prussians actually crested the hill that they were under the full force of the French defenders. Because of the terrain, the Prussian guns couldn't see the French and had to be dragged along on the attack to support the infantry at close range.

"As we moved across the fields toward the hill to our front, we could hear the booming of the French guns to our left. As we climbed the hill, I could see the cannonballs tearing holes in the ranks of one of our battalions to our left. They hesitated, then started to retreat. I could see the officers running about trying to stop the panic, but it wasn't until they were behind a hedge that they stopped and reformed. Even from a distance, I could see that the carnage was frightful. We continued our advance, the only sounds being the clanking of our equipment and the breathing of the men as we labored upward, always expecting the French to come charging over the hill at any moment. We were starting to think that maybe the French had retreated before our massive advance, but as we crested the hill, we were greeted with a hail of cannister and musket volleys."

Pictures of the Prussian general advance.

Wilhelm stops his force near the base of the hill where he can both maintain contact with Stein in the middle and stay sheltered from French cannon fire.

Yost, with Blucher's guard division behind him, climbs the hill.

"Sir, why aren't the French firing yet?"

Part of Stein's command at the top, Wilhelm's at the bottom.

The Prussian attack on Massena's hill started strong. The first forces up took heavy casualties from cannon and musket fire, but held their composure and returned fire. Many French gunners were killed or wounded and the 51st line was routed, sending men streaming back past Massena who did his best to stop them. The 48th, holding the ground to the right of the 51st, also took casualties and was forced back, opening up a gap in the French line. The French battery on the hill continued to fire cannister into the Prussians, and finally drove back the 3rd East Prussian battalion, but the 2nd East Prussian battalion refused to give up the ground it had fought so hard to win. After an hour of hard fighting, the battle for Massena's hill hangs in the balance. The units on the crest for both sides have either been forced back or shattered.

Casualties mount, but the stubborn French guns refuse to retreat.

Yost pushes his men into the valley to try to break through the thin French line.

Units swarm up the hill, and then are pushed back, only to reform and try again. The only constant is the French battery that rains death on Prussian infantry as they advance.

The battle rages in the valley below. Note the Prussian horse artillery that's found a nice perch to fire across the valley. It silenced one French battery for a time.

The 48th manages to take advantage of a lull in the action and move back up the hill to fill the gap in the line. Soult sends the 38th line to try to drive off the stubborn Prussian attackers and save his guns, but they are driven off with light casualties. The 49th infantry fires at the approaching East Prussian Dragoons and drives them off, but in doing so, opens a firing lane for the Prussian artillery that had been dragged up the hill. The Prussian gunners work to get the guns swung around toward them. Meanwhile, the 38th tries again and manages to push the Prussians back far enough to take the guns out of danger for the time being.
On the French right, Girard has a cavalry advantage and if he can take advantage of it, might be able to turn the entire Prussian left. He pushes the 59th line forward to begin skirmishing with the Silesian landwehr that are on the flank of the Silesian hussars that anchor the Prussian line. In the center, Macdonald pushes two battalions up to get a better line of sight on any moves that Stein may make in the center to support Yost. Napoleon also sends two battalions of the Old Guard closer to the action in case they are needed. There's already a small gap in the Prussian line there and he wants to be able to exploit it if the situation presents itself.
Yost rallies his men and sends them back up the hill, this time with Blucher's reserves close on their heels. He also sends his forces directly into the small valley between the hills to try to punch through the thin French line there, and sends one of his dragoon units against the only French cavalry in the area, the chasseurs a cheval. The dragoons get repulsed by the steady chasseurs, and one of the Prussian battalions in the valley routs after taking heavy losses, but Yost has the advantage in numbers and hopes to bludgeon his way through the French line.

The Prussians try again...

The result of the assault is carnage for both sides. Each time the Prussians establish a foothold on the crest of the hill, the French push them back again, only to be assaulted again. Men fall in droves on both sides. At one crucial point, the Prussians push the French back for what looks like the final time. Units are wavering and some have routed, leaving gaps along the French line. But Massena rides back and forth across the hill, rallying his troops. The men are envigorated by their leader's courage and reform, pushing the Prussians back off the hill. The stubborn French battery fires a rain of cannister in support. As the battle rages on the hill, in the valley, Prussian forces push forward and deliver deadly volleys at the thin French line. Many Prussians are lost, but more step up to take their place. Finally, the 44th line can take no more and routs, opening up a hole in the French line.
This is a great opportunity for the Prussians, but as it happens, their attack on the hill sputters. The men have just taken too much punishment and the front units begin to rout, leaving the French in control of the hill once more. Prussian cuirassiers, ordered by Blucher himself to charge into the gap in the valley, suddenly come under fire from the French guns on the hill that no longer have Prussian infantry threatening them. The cavalry is forced back with light losses. The left side of Yost's command is growing dangerously thin. The guards division is behind them, but there is little maneuver room and French guns are raking the position. Yost can see his men are tiring. Each assault looked to be the final breakthrough, but the French stubbornly hang on.

The French infantry routs, opening a hole in the line!

The broader tactical situation in the area.

The price to be paid...

Blucher now has a major decision. Does he risk all in one final assault to try to break the French line?

"Forwards, my children, forwards one more time!" he yells. But Yost's command is all but finished. After taking a pounding all day, one of the two remaining battalions in the valley routs after being under continuous fire from the nearby French battery. As they stream away, they expose one of the two Prussian batteries that had set up behind the infantry. More cannister fire decimates the first battery knocking it out of action. Yost only has two battalions left, a shaken unit on the hill facing a still-steady French line of defense, and one unit in the valley. Things are looking bleak and the Prussian army morale is starting to give way as more and more men start streaming toward the rear.
When things look almost lost, a stray cannonball kills Marshal MacDonald, putting his entire center command into confusion. But Napoleon, who is only a hundred or so yards away when it happens, quickly assigns Gen. Petry to take command of the center division. The remaining battalion of Yost's command is pushed back by French musketry and the French bring up reinforcements to solidify Massena's hill once more. After fighting all morning and suffering horrendous casualties, the Prussians have nothing to show for it.
Blucher studies the situation. The French have reinforced the hill and all he has left to throw at them are his guards. He sees no sense in throwing away his irreplacable units in what has proven to be a fruitless attack. In the center, the French have been pushed slightly back from their starting positions, but still have a strong line and are backed by four battalions of the Old Guard and two divisions of cuirassiers. There is little hope there. The French are spread thinner on the left, and seeing his army's morale starting to fail, he orders Gen. Wilhelm to launch an assault. If he can push through on the left, it might bolster the morale of his troops and put pressure on the French. He knows it will be a bloody affair, because the French under Girard have been basically unengaged the entire day and will be waiting for the attack.
French dragoons immediately charge the advancing Silesian hussars and force them back. The silesian landwehr fire an ineffective volley and things get off to a rough start. But both the 1st and 2nd Silesian battalions withstand French artillery fire and hold their ground. The 3rd silesian takes casualties from French musketry, but returns a steady fire and drive back the 35th line, opening a large gap in the center of the division. The 4th Silesian is driven back with losses, but the 6th quickly replaces it and the 5th Silesian holds its gains as well. Overall, Wilhelm is initially please with his assault. What had once been a solid French line now had a large hole torn in it. Unfortunately, his shortage of cavalry was going to be a problem. There were two dragoon divisions already pushing his lone hussar unit back, and he could see more French horses on the crest of the hill. But he pushes forwards regardless. Stopping now would mean defeat.
The 1st and 2nd Silesian charge the French battery that's been firing at them since they crested the first rise. The devasting fire immediately silences the guns and hides them in a bank of smoke. The 6th Silesian on the right pushes foward in place of the 4th, who was pushed back earlier. They halt near the French line and fire. The 61st Line buckles and falls back, stopping only when they run into the reserve 45th line further up the hill. It's now the French line that's starting to falter as casualties mount.
Blucher, deciding as always to attack, sends his last orders of the day: Attack. Advance at all costs. Do not retreat. Spare no one. With that, the remaining Prussians advance all along the front and the guards division, supported by what's left of Yost's command, march up Massena's hill where so many fell earlier in the day. The West Prussian Grenadiers march into the face of cannister fire and take heavy losses. But Blucher emerges out of the smoke, reorganizes the line and sends them forward again. Yost's beat up battalions move up the hill and exchange fire with the defenders to little effect. In the center of the valley, the Prussian cuirassiers move up behind the advancing infantry toward a steady line of French backed by their own heavy cavalry. On the Prussian left, Gen. Wilhelm rides up and down the line as his troops engage in a massive firefight with the troops under Girard, who was slightly wounded moments before. Another Prussian battalion routs, and two others fall back, but the outnumbered few that remain fight on and push forward.

Wilhelm's division moves to the attack.

The French fire slackened then stopped. Gen. Wilhelm waited for the smoke to clear and then saw the French falling back enmasse. They were in good order, but they were falling back all across the front.
Napoleon, who could see the battle was working to his advantage on his right, was furious. He sent rapid orders to all commanders to hold ground, that no order had been given to retreat. Unfortunately, most of Massena's men had already vacated the hill they held all day and one battalion of the old guard had already left the field to secure the retreat route. His flanks were still somewhat organized, but the general retreat had left a giant hole in his front as the men moved back from the swamp that broke up the prior center of his line. The only thing currently working in his favor was that because the Prussian attack was so reckless, Blucher's forces were far from organized, which might give him just enough time to throw together a new battle line.

The French left after the confused fallback...

The French center. Note the big gap past the swamp.

Massena's command is in good order, but it did give up the hill.

Both sides spend some time organizing their lines in preparation for the final assault or final defense. French generals and aides scurry about, issuing orders and getting men back in line. Napoleon plugs the hole in his center with a battalion of the Old Guard and maneuvers a battery and another battalion of the Old Guard into place. He also orders his cuirassiers closer to the line to counter any moves by the Prussian cuirassiers. On the French right, Girard, bandaged up from his earlier wound, quickly gets his men reorganized into a line of defense.
Meanwhile, Blucher and Yost (who is down to two battalions, one of which is barely functional after the morning's assaults on the hill), organize their plan of attack. The line is assembled, but Gen. Stein in the center either doesn't receive or understand his orders as his men stay in place, leaving the center sagging behind both wings. On the Prussian left, Gen. Wilhelm spends time reorganizing his men after their earlier success -- but ends up taking too much time. As the smoke dissapates, the men starting shouting and pointing. Stein turns to see a solid line of French, freshly rallied and with bayonets lowered, coming right for him at the quick step. The French hold their fire until they are at point-blank range and the effects are devastating. The 2nd, 5th, and 6th Silesian battalions are routed, the 4th Silesian battalion is destroyed as a fighting force and Stein is struck by a musketball and killed. The only thing that saves the entire Prussian left wing from being destroyed is the overmatched Silesian Hussars beat off an attack by French dragoons on the far flank -- combined with the Silesian landwehr and 1st Silesian infantry holding steady as well.
Blucher, who from his high vantage point on the right can see his left flank dissolving, faces the reality of defeat. All Girard will have to do is isolate and destroy the few men left on the flank and then he can pivot his entire force around the Prussian center and take the army in the flank, possibly destroying it in detail. He looks around, surrounded by his dead and dying countrymen who fought so hard for the hill he now stands on and gives his last order of the day.
"Sound the retreat. The day is done."

The French counterattack the ill-prepared Prussians on the French right.

They close for action...

Meanwhile, on the right flank, Blucher watches from the hill.

Here's the valley, with the newly formed French line.

The Prussian left wing dissolves. Most of those units are routing.

Another view of the rout of the Prussian left. The hussars and landwehr prevented the whole force from being wiped out.

Finale view from the French right, looking at Stein's command in the center. If Blucher didn't retreat, Girard would have pivoted on the end point of his line on the hill and taken the rest of the Prussian army in the flank.

Final situation in the center.

The French left, ready for another Prussian assault that never came.

Blucher sounds the retreat as daylight fades.

Analysis: The Prussians, who strategically only needed to bloody Napoleon, did some damage with their assaults, but the inability to break through the line limited the damage that was done. The assault on the hill on the right should have worked just through sheer weight of numbers, but some heroic defense by the French denied them a breakthrough time and time again. The Prussian center made some progress, but Stein was in a difficult spot. The only maneuvering ground was divided by a swamp, and the entire position was covered by French cannons on three sides, which was Napoleon's defensive plan all along -- the shortest path to the objective would be the one with the heaviest price to pay. The Prussian left was mainly a covering force until Blucher's last gamble near the end of the day, and it too nearly paid off.
The French army had run out of morale points and Napoleon managed to stave off total retreat by one pip on the die. In a way, the confused partial retreat actually helped the French regroup, because it extricated several units, including two batteries, that were on the verge of being overrun. With some minor maneuvering and some good rally rolls, the Emperor quickly put together a fresh defensive line that had to be discouraging to a worn out Prussian force. Once the French counterattacked on the Prussian left, there was no stopping them. The Prussians were just too beat up and tired from all the earlier assaults to be able to withstand the attack.
There was only one point where Blucher might have been able to have gambled and won: When the French were still reorganizing, there was a large hole in the center. His cuirassiers were nearby and could have been sent into the hole, but there were still a few steady infantry units and he decided to wait until he could get his infantry together for an assault to try to blow it wide open. Unfortunately, the French counterattack by Girard eliminated any chance of that and ultimately led to him quitting the field.
The overall French plan of defense worked well. The center was kept weak, but was protected by crossfires of artillery and also backed by the Old Guard and heavy cavalry. Both flanks had local reserves, which made a huge difference, particularly on Massena's hill. On several occasions, French defenders would be driven off the crest of the hill, only to be replaced by fresh reserves who in turn pushed the exhausted attackers back down the other side. Most of Yost's entire division was destroyed in the assaults.

Technical specs:
Rules: Field of Battle (Piquet) with a few house rules
Troops: 15mm Old Glory and Battle Honors. French limbers are from Musket Miniatures as are the ox carts and tent that mark the objective.
Terrain: Homemade for the most part; swamp is miniature world maker with some enhancements added; fields are Woodland Scenics project sheets lined with my homemade hedge rows (there's a tutorial elsewhere on the blog on how to make them).
This was probably the funnest battle I've ever had. The drama was great and every time I thought one side would prevail, the other would claw back. Great fun.

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany: part 6

2010-08-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

In the north, Ney finally crosses the Elbe after many delays.

In the south, Bulow stays ahead of Soult and retreats to Erfurt. At this point, he is just trying to delay Soult until Blucher can take action against the Emperor.

In the center, Napoleon faces a key decision. He can move northeast and attack Blucher before he can link up with Hohenlohe, or he can swing southeast and take the lightly defended fortress of Magdeburg. Attacking Magdeburg would force Blucher to attack him, but it would also leave his own supply lines dangerously exposed. And with Hohenlohe in the area, Blucher would be free to pin Napoleon while Hohenloe's corps cut Napoleon off from his communications and supplies. Napoleon is also missing his heavy cavalry, which is a full day's march behind him. Any sort of major offensive operation would have to be done minus his cuirassiers. Further intelligence indicates that Blucher has his heavy cavalry with him and also outnumbers him in overall forces. The emperor decides to fall back to Wolfsburg to meet up with his heavy cavalry.
After a quick march, Napoleon gathers in his heavy cavalry and shifts his advance to Helmstedt, just one day from Magdeburg. Blucher, who is slow to react, can either move to Gardenlengen and risk Magdeburg while threatening French communications, or can move back to the fortress. Not wanting to risk losing the key city, Blucher moves back to the fortress before Hohenlohe can reach him.
With Napoleon at Helmstedt, Blucher has his opportunity to strike. If he fails, he can fall back to Magdeburg and defend the fortress while waiting for Hohenlohe to reinforce him. If he succeeds, he can drive the Corsican ogre deep into western Germany and focus on destroying the other French forces. With Bulow on the retreat in the south, the time is now. He forms his army and marches to Helmstedt where the Emperor awaits him.

Scouting from both sides reveals the following forces:

French
Napoleon
20 battalions of line infantry
4 battalions of guard infantry
4 divisions of light cavalry
2 divisions of heavy cavalry
1 battery of horse artillery
4 batteries of foot artillery

Prussians
Blucher
21 battalions of line infantry
2 battalions of guard infantry
1 battalion of conscripts
4 divisions of light cavalry
2 divisions of heavy cavalry
1 division of guard cavalry
1 battery of horse artillery
4 batteries of foot artillery

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany: Part 5

2010-08-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

The week starts on a positive note for the French as more reinforcements arrive in Dusseldorf -- 3 infantry battalions and a battery of artillery. Because of their proximity to Soult, this further tips the advantage in his favor.

In the center, Blucher is relieved as his supply train that got left behind in the rapid evacuation of Gardelengen trundles into Magdeburg unscathed. But they bring bad news: French cavalry trotted into the town as they left, and the Emperor can't be far behind. Blucher sends orders to Hohenlohe to march to his support. Hohenlohe pulls his cavalry screen back to Pritzwalk to screen the French cavalry in the north from his supply line and marches his main force across the Elbe to Seehausen. This move will put pressure on Napoleon, because if the forces link up, they will be superior in numbers.
Blucher waits a day, then makes a bold decision: He leaves only a small garrison and the bulk of his supply train in Magdeburg and marches north to Stendal to be within a day's march of Hohenlohe's approaching force.
Napoleon moves his main force to Gardelengen. From here he can either try to attack Blucher before he unites with Hohenlohe or swing south and take Magdeburg.

Meanwhile, in the south, Soult moves toward Gotha to pressure Bulow while Ney, finally realizing the precarious position he has left the Emperor in, moves to Hamburg on the south side of the Elbe, but his artillery and cavalry are still scattered on the north side of the river. His main cavalry force, which had occupied Karstadt, is forced to retreat to find supplies and re-establish contact with the rest of the French forces. Once resupplied, they force march hard to the north, trying to threaten Hohenlohe's supply line to Stettin, but the old general, anticipating such a threat, had already put his supply wagons in motion to shift south to the road to Berlin.

The situation in the south and center:

The center:

The north -- note the French cavalry on their deep raid.

The northeast -- the cavalry wanted to try to threaten the supply lines to slow the Prussian advance:

The entire theater of operations.

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany -- turns 3 and 4

2010-08-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

(Rule notes: The main forces weren't moving quickly enough using only the "move all units in a section" card, so I expanded it so the large forces commanded by generals could also move on the "move 3 units" cards as well. This change was made at the start of turn 4. I also just removed the sharp shooter card, as the "confused orders" alternative I was using wasn't working to my liking.)

Weeks three and four:

In the northern sector: Ney extended his cavalry screen, as did Hohenlohe, with a resulting skirmish at Karstadt.

The Prussians are driven back to Pritzwalk, and supply problems force them to retreat further to Mirow. The French cavalry move into Pritzwalk, a vital crossroad that is North of Seehausen, one of only two crossing points on the Elbe. French control of Seehausen would threaten Blucher's forces from the North and force him to give up Magdeburg.

Hohenlohe finally gets his force organized and moving and enters Neustrelitz, then pushes on to Mirow, sending out his cavalry screen in front of him. The French cavalry force, which is overextended as Ney has not moved up in support, retreats as far as Karstadt before stopping.
Hohenlohe has his forces organized and has taken key towns and can now concentrate on forcing Ney out of the sector altogether. Ney's forces are disorganized and strung out all the way back to Hamburg, and Ney and his main force have not even crossed the Elbe yet.

In the central sector: Blucher first left a screening force in Gardelengen and returned to Magdeburg to organize his forces there, but Napoleon sent a large cavalry force to Wolfsburg that threatened Gardelengen, a key point in the overall defense of Magdeburg.

Blucher launches an attack on the French forces in Wolfsburgh with his cavalry corps from Magdeburg, forcing the French back. Napoleon then moves his main force to Braunschweig, a day's march from Blucher's force at Wolfsburg.
Meanwhile, Magdeburg received reinforcements from Berlin to strengthen the force there.
Blucher, not wanting to face Napoleon with only a cavalry corps, takes his force back to Magdeburg, but was force to leave his slow moving supply train behind at Gardenlengen, hoping it makes it back before the French move in. Napoleon moves the bulk of his forces to Wolfsburg, which will allow him to either move on Gardelengen or swing south to Helmstedt of Blucher ventures out of his fortress.

In the southern sector: Bulow, who has been very aggressive, moves further west to Gotha where a large French cavalry force wisely retreats to Eisenbach.

Soult organizes his forces and moves his corps into Kassel, putting him in a position to attack Bulow if he moves west or north. Bulow, whose rapid advance has left all of his cavalry scattered through Hesse, decides to fall back to Gotha to give his cavalry time to catch up. He cannot afford to fight Soult's main force with no cavalry available.

Before the week is out, the French receive reinforcements at Dusseldorf of two artillery batteries and two line infantry battalions. This is only three days' march from Soult's main force, so this will further complicate matters for Bulow.

After four weeks of campaigning, a battle is quickly coming near. Hohenlohe currently has a distinct advantage in the northern sector. He can either press hard for Hamburg before Ney gets organized, or with Ney being little threat, can swing south to try to pressure Napoleon and help Blucher.
Blucher has spent a lot of time marching and countermarching to defend his fortress at Magdeburg. He has a slightly superior force to the French and if he can force Napoleon to attack him on his terms, the odds will be in his favor. Bulow, whose aggressive moves seized the initiative in the south, suddenly ran into an energized Soult and had to check his advance. Soult has the advantage in numbers and with Ney floundering around in the north, it is up to him to put some pressure on the Prussians.

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany -- Week 2

2010-08-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of campaigning

(Note: I tweaked the card play a bit to slow down the larger formations. If a card gives a number i.e. "move 3 units in the center section" I only move non-corps units -- so the light cavalry, single garrison infantry or other single unit detachments. If a card says "move all" then the general can move with all attached troops. This allows the cavalry to flit around a bit more and keeps the screening troops in front of the main body where they belong.)

French moves:

Soult's light cavalry scouts moved into Erfurt to secure it as his forward base of operations. From there, he hoped to consolidate his forces and move North toward Berlin. His artillery and baggage got strung out on the road and there are still units moving to join the main body, notably his horse artillery.
Napoleon and Ney spent much of the week securing their supply lines. Ney's situation, with no starting fortress to the north, was precarious at best. By coordinating forces, Ney was able to get things straightened out and began moving east and Napoleon, his supply line finally secure, turned his eyes back on Blucher. The French advance cavalry was almost to Magdeburg.

Prussian moves:

With the French cavalry pressing in, Blucher had a difficult decision. While he was secure in Magdeburg with his main force, if the French got around his position, they could threaten his supplies and essentially maneuver him out of his fortress. By moving forces to Gardelengen, this would cut off the probing cavalry. But his own light cavalry was strung out all over the place. All he had was his guard cavalry and the heavies, plus his main infantry force. He was not thrilled with the idea of splitting his force with Napoleon a few days march away, but wanted to hang on to Magdeburg at all costs, at least for now. With no other choice, he left all his infantry and artillery at Magdeburg and created a cavalry corps with himself at the head. He moved this new force to Gardelengen, figuring it would serve as a blocking force until other units could be brought up, but was still mobile enough to fall back before any superior French force.
Blucher also ordered elements of his supply train south to try to link up with Bulow, who was complaining about supply difficulties (the move would prove unnecessary as Bulow ended up straightening out his own mess later in the week).

In the North, Hoehenlohe (I really need to pick a general that's easier to spell next time) advanced his forces through Neustrelitz and then on to Prenzlau. He's still behind schedule and belatedly realized orders got mixed up and a gap was left in his supply line -- something that will have to be rectified immediately. He set his aides to order some garrison forces to plug the gap.

The Prussians also received some reinforcements -- one battalion of garrison infantry, one battalion of line infantry and an artillery battery -- all Marched into Berlin from Eastern Prussia.

In the South, Bulow made great strides. Using Jena as a starting point, he moved first to Weimar to keep Soult's troops trapped in the south, and then moved into Erfurt itself, chasing away the French cavalry screen that had set up there. This was a huge blow to Soult, who was still strung out on the road to Erfurt. Soult had planned on using Erfurt as his main base for all operations in his sector, but with Bulow firmly ensconced there, he would either have to fight through him or swing North to move to closer support the Emperor in his operations in the center.
This move also swung the initiative in the Prussian's favor. The French are now reacting to their moves in the South, the center is secure for now and both sides are moving very slowly in the North.

Maps:

The current situation in the southern sector with Bulow in Erfurt:

The current situation from Magdeburg to Hanover, showing troop dispositions for both sides:

A close-up of the Magdeburg area -- note the importance of Gardenlengen where Blucher is currently located with his cavalry corps. By blocking that route, any French cavalry would have an extra three or four days added to get to the supply lines.

The situation in the Prussian northern sector. With no unit in Prenzlau, Hoehenlohe is out of supply. And currently, his artillery and supply train is making better time than he is.

Ney's situation. His cavalry has secured Hamburg to use as a base, which will allow him to move all his supply and garrison units forward in support of future operations.

A wide view of almost the entire theater.

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany -- Week 1

2010-08-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

FRENCH MOVES
Napoleon had Ney to the north and Soult to the south. He sent out his cavalry scouts to gather intelligence and seize key road junctions while he worked on bringing his forces forward. He had all the guard with him and most of the heavy cavalry. He would be the hammer that would break Prussian resistance in the center while Ney and Soult protected his flanks and threatened Blucher's lines of communication. Things did not go as smoothly as planned and some troops didn't get the orders they needed. Knowing that the Prussians were still a week's march off, he sent his supply and artillery trains ahead, escorted by some cavalry. Once all his troops were gathered, he would catch up soon enough. Ney and Soult made decent, but not great, progress, but did keep up with the Emperor's slow advance.

PRUSSIAN MOVES
Blucher studied his maps in Berlin and realized that the fortress of Magdeburg would be of vital importance. It was the only centrally located supply center and protecting it would keep Berlin secure. His plan was to take the fortress and build up his forces there while things played out. General Hohenlohe to the north and Gen. Bulow to the south would protect his lines of communication and potentially threaten any French advance down the center.
Blucher launched his forces forward, and within a few days, his advance cavalry units had secured the fortress with the main force close behind. He spent the next few days issuing orders to secure the road to Berlin, but was dismayed to hear that Hohenlohe had hardly moved. This left him in a very exposed position, making it easy for any French cavalry to get behind him and cut his supply lines. If Hohenlohe did not move quicker, he would be forced to weaken his main army to build a better screen -- and he knew the Emperor was heading right for him; not a time to be dispersing your troops.
Meanwhile, Bulow pressed forward in the south over bad roads. His biggest decision was whether to head for the fortresses in the south to secure a shorter supply line, or drift northwest where he could possibly link up communications with Blucher at Magdeberg or get a line directly to Berlin, rather than through Dresden. With French cavalry already pressing in on some of the southern fortresses, Bulow opted to head through Jena and shift his supply lines north. It would take some rearranging of troops -- and valuable time -- but with Blucher's force, it would create a secure arc on the southern portion of the map and give him a fairly secure supply line as well.

Positions after one week of campaigning --

The new French positions as they push through Hanover and Westphalia.

The Emperor takes center stage as he prepares to move on Berlin:

Blucher takes the key fortress of Magdeburg and gathers his forces there. But what is delaying Hoehenlohe to the North? Note the big gap between the forces -- it's putting the lines of communication at risk. (Counter notes: Infantry with the L (landwehr) designation are being used as garrison troops.)

Here's a closeup of the area between Napoleon and Blucher. There's sure to be some hot campaigning in that open ground between them in the coming weeks.

Napoleonic campaign for Northern Germany -- the setup

2010-08-04T18:08:00.000-07:00

I've been itching to get a Napoleonic campaign started, but I'm never satisfied doing things small and manageable. So I started searching the web to find what others were doing and seeing who had good ideas and resources I could borrow.
I came across this excellent site http://www.murat.ca/maps.htm where someone had put together outstanding high-res maps that you can download (THANKS!). I picked Northern Germany, downloaded it, scaled it up to print across multiple pages on my printer, then printed it out. Then I got to piece the whole thing together. It's a little bigger than I first intended, coming out to be almost four feet across.

Once I had the map done, I had to work out a system to use for the solo campaign (I may run a "human" game at a later date). I remembered that I had some great solo games of Hasbro's Battle Cry using the cards included in the game -- instead of picking one to play for each side, I just drew the top card. I figured I could divide my giant map into three sections (same as the Battle Cry map) and use those cards to drive movement.
To test out my theory, I broke out the Battle Cry game, figures and all, and threw some troops onto the map. I knew I wanted to have corps-sized units plus have some garrison units and some basic supply aspects. I figured if done right, the supply issues would help drive objectives and force both sides to use a more realistic cavalry screen and garrisons to protect rear areas from enemy raiders.
I used the cards as follows -- when it gave a number (i.e. one unit, two units, etc) I followed the instructions. When it said all units or "issue orders to a general", the corps units could move. This resulted in the cavalry screens moving out rapidly along with some smaller support units and the corps following. I used the cards that brought new Battle Cry figures into the game to roll dice to determine how many reinforcements showed up on the map edge. The only card that didn't work directly was "sharp shooter" which can make an officer a casualty. I didn't think that it made sense to have Ney picked off when he was eight-days march from the nearest Prussian unit. Instead, if successful, I treated it as a "confused orders" where you could move an enemy unit one space (on the map there are cities connected by roads approximately one day's march apart, so moving from one city to the next is a "space") in any direction you choose.
For screens and skirmish actions, I used a simple superiority -- two cavalry units force back one cavalry unit. Ties cancel out. Combined arms beat two of a kind (a light cavalry and artillery unit push back two light cavalry units). This was a simple way to deal with the various small-scale skirmishes that came up that weren't worth gaming.

After being satisfied the movement system worked fine, I next turned to figuring out how to represent the units on the map. I decided to make things non-historical (and thus, equal) for better playability, so each side got the same amount of units. Because my miniatures games are on the battalion scale, I made each infantry unit a battalion. Each "corps" in my game would start with 20 battalions. There would be three corps to a side (one in each section of the map, left, right and center). In support of the three corps would be 10 garrison battalions (great for securing lines of communication but pretty worthless otherwise), 10 light cavalry units (can be used as screens or called in to the main corps when battle looked imminent), 10 artillery batteries, two horse artillery batteries, one guard cavalry unit, four heavy cavalry units (no screening ability), four guard infantry units and 12 wagon units (representing various supply train troops and small depots -- no combat ability, more of a way to mark lines of communication. The limited supply means your lines of communication/supply have to be supplemented with either garrison troops or regular troops as you reach further out.)
I tapped into my Avalon Hill War and Peace game for most of the markers. Being short on some specialty ones (differentiating heavy cavalry for instance) I found the counter scans online, downloaded those and added the designations I needed on the computer and printed them out. I had to make my own artillery counters by finding a picture of a cannon online as well. The wagon units were stolen out of Yaquinto's Gettysburg -- a game I've had for ages and never played.

Supply -- With all the units secured, I needed supply rules. There are several fortresses located on the map on both sides. I figured I would start with the basic French goal of taking Berlin, with the German goal of kicking the French out of Germany. These fortresses would become key supply locations. You would have to trace a line of supply to either your starting fortresses or one that you occupied. With a lot of barren land inbetween, these fortresses would be key to a successful campaign and give both sides something to maneuver for and around. The "short of supplies card" would be the time when everyone would check supply. If you couldn't trace a line of communication/supply to a fortress using wagons or friendly units, you were out of supply and would suffer attrition. For each space that you were short, one BattleCry die would be rolled with the unit showing being what you lost (a roll of the infantry symbol would be a loss of an infantry battalion, for instance.)

With most of the details worked out, I deployed the troops for both sides.

The French deployment:
(Counter notes: Yellow symbols are garrison troops, cavalry with cannon is horse artillery (duh))

The Prussian starting positions:

Painting progress

2010-08-04T17:42:00.000-07:00

July's painting totals are a little down from previous months thanks to a vacation to Charleston, South Carolina and some really nice weather that had me outside a lot. I also almost ran out of troops to paint (the horror!) and was down to a package of 15mm corn shocks when reinforcements arrived.

I ended up finishing two more units of Spanish infantry (technically they are British AWI troops that I didn't care for, but they play the part of Spainards well enough.) I also finished one unit of Russian line infantry in great coats. You are going to see a lot of Russians in the coming months, because I'm working on finishing up that army. Because I'm not a huge fan of the Russians, I got most of them in greatcoats to speed things up.

Here are the pictures:

The "Spanish" -- 15mm Old Glory

Battle Honors Russians in Greatcoats 15mm

Old Glory French artillery, lancers, cuirassiers; Black Raven Foundry Elves; Musket Miniatures limbers caissons and ox carts

2010-07-02T17:10:00.001-07:00

It is a momentous occasion. The giant box of French Old Glory 15mm troops I started with last year have all been painted. The French are finished! Hoorah! I'm sure I'll add miscellaneous bits here and there, but I have more French than I know what to do with.

Here's the final batch. First up we have French artillery. I think Old Glory's artillery figures are probably the weakest of all the sculpts that I have. They are a bit chunky and some of them have over-sized hands. But the overall effect is good.

Here we have their Bavarian counterparts. OK figures and they make for a decent final product.

Another French line battalion. Can you tell this unit was assembled from the leftovers from other units. Some are in great coats, some aren't -- and note the variety of poses.

Here's the last of the cuirassiers. I really have way too many of these guys.

Here it is the last "official" French unit. These line lancers were the last ones to come out of what had once been a drawer filled to overflowing. They were very gracious in their wait.

Finishing the French left me with a problem -- I didn't have anything to paint. So I started digging through my miscellaneous stuff. I found some Prussians that I converted to casualty figures. OK results, but they are dead, afterall.

Then I found some Black Raven Foundry Elves (also from Old Glory) in one of my bins. The variety of poses are nice, but it makes them slow to paint. I went with a "ocean" inspired color scheme of sand and sky blue with some dark blue highlights -- plus gold and silver armor. I may get some more and go with other "nature" color schemes, like a woodland theme of green and brown, and maybe a sky scheme of yellow and white.

OK fellas, did you just take out those Prussian infantrymen behind you? Don't try to deny it!

I also found six Prussian lancers that I had no use for. I snipped of the lance on both sides of their hands, leaving them holding what looks like a rolled up piece of paper. Welcome to the king's messenger service! They will now ride as aide-de-camps.

I also made some destroyed batter markers using Musket Minature cannons. I love my battlefield litter.

No, this isn't the Calgary Stampede. They are Musket Miniature extra horses that will also be battlefield litter. Essentially, when a cavalry stand is removed, I replace it with a riderless horse or a dead horse. The Musket Miniature horses are decent looking animals. The saddlery is civil war era, but close enough.

Also in my miscellaneous pile were some Musket Miniature limbers and caissons. I'm really happy with these models. The two-horse limbers don't take up much space and the caissons are just plain cool. Again, civil war era, but that doesn't bother me. If I left the chest off the limber, it would be pretty close to Napoleonic, but I like it better on. In order to use them with any nationality, I painted them a generic light grey rather than a country-specific color.

Also in the cool category are the Musket Miniatures ox-drawn powder and supply carts.

So I blew through all my miscellaneous stuff as well. The only thing I had left were some Old Glory AWI British that I didn't like because the hats looked like bicorns instead of tricorns. What to do? Wait, the Spanish wore bicorns during the Napoleonic Wars, and these guys were close enough. Welcome to the Spanish Army, men.

I have two more battalions of these British-turned-Spanish troops to do and some corn shocks (yes, corn shocks). After that, I've got nothing left. But don't worry, I just put in orders for some Old Glory Russians (I've already got about a dozen units) and some Musket Miniature limbers and powder carts since I was so pleased with how those came out. So hopefully the new stuff arrives before I finish the last of the old stuff.

With the French Army done, I plan to do a "grand review" at some point where I get everything out and put a photo montage together to help people see what these figures look like -- since the manufacturers rarely bother to do that. It's also a great opportunity to properly sort all the similar units into the same storage bins for ease of finding them.

French line, carabiniers, hussars, Prussian limbers, Bavarian chevauleger,

2010-06-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

So we have the end of May's painting update, but even bigger news -- I have less than 10 bags (each bag is a unit) of French and Bavarians left to finish off what at one point was an overwhelming stack of troops. I probably have far more Frenchies than I'll ever need, but that's the way it goes. Here's the most recent additions:

As always, all troops are 15mm Old Glory.

French line infantry, march attack pose. Probably the best sculpts of the entire lineup. Very elegant figures with good detail.

Prussian limbers. Most people don't bother with these, but I love my battlefield details. There were no instructions on how to assemble these things or how the horses should be positioned, so it took me awhile to figure something out. And because no one bothers with these things, there weren't many pictures of them on the Internet. I ended up using a little piece of lichen to hold the pole of the limber up between the horses. I didn't know how else to do it. Now it just looks like they are all running over some hapless piece of shrubbery.

Here we have some Bavarian Chevauleger, whose name I have to look up every time. They just emerged from that HO scale warehouse behind them.

Hey, these guys look familiar. Another unit of French line in march attack pose. As Borat would say, "Very nize."

Next up we have some French Hussars. I used to not like painting these, but I'm pretty happy with my impressionistic treatment of them. Just don't look too close.

Here are the French Carabiniers charging a stray piece of plastic...

And there you have it. I finish May with a paint total of 103 points. If I have a decent June, I should be able to finish off what I have left.

Berthier software -- friend or foe?

2010-05-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

I've been toying around with various campaign ideas, ranging from drawing a map and using some homemade counters to finding some sort of software to do it for me. What I found was Berthier, which I had heard of before, but didn't realize it was free.
I'm still playing around with the thing, but I like what I see so far. I will warn you though, it has a steep learning curve. It reminds me a lot of some of the early DOS-based programs that weren't always intuitive and you had to really work to get everything to come out right. If you aren't good with computers, you'll probably struggle with it. If you are good with computers, after a few test runs, you should have it figured out.

The software allows you to set up a campaign using a map that you either draw or steal from somewhere else. Essentially you just use the map to set up the grid and the terrain that goes in each square. After that, there are various campaign parameters, such as supply, rate of movement for each troop type, replacement rate etc. Overall, it's got quite a bit of depth for what you pay for it. You can create something like 10 troop types (line infantry, light infantry etc.) but can only have 20 units overall. At first, I was really disappointed by this. What I wanted to do was have one unit be an infantry brigade, and break up each cavalry regiment into four squadrons so that I could ride them all over the map on scouting/screening missions. I made some concessions by combining some units to get each side down to 20 and then started my trial campaign.
It wasn't too long before I realized why there is a 20 unit limit. Moving each unit is rather tedious and to do your entire side takes a lot of time. After a few turns of this, enough was enough. I started over.

The next test was using divisions (some had cavalry attached, some didn't -- those with cavalry had a built in recon range longer than the ones with just infantry). This cut down the number of units to about 9 per side, which made each turn much more manageable (and I'm playing both sides, so it was a big time saver). I'm only a few turns into my second test, but it's working great so far. I haven't tried supply yet, but I think I will soon. With the demands of supply, I think it will force the divisions to fan out a little bit to live off the land and keep you from creating one "super force" unless you think battle is imminent.

If you have any experience with Berthier, I'd love to hear about it. So far I like what I see and it's pretty versatile overall. Just be prepared for a steep learning curve.

Bavarian infantry, Bavarian artillery, French line, French lancers, French artillery, French carbiniers

2010-05-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a productive April when it comes to painting. Part of the motivation, beside bad weather here, is that I'm coming to the end of what was once a giant pile of unpainted French (with a few Prussians and Russians thrown in) lead. I have approximately 10 baggies (each baggie has a unit of 16 infantry, 8 cavalry or 2 guns already sorted out, primed and ready to go) left. It's taken incredible restraint not to buy more, especially since I usually buy big lots that others are trying to get rid of.

As always, all figures are 15mm Old Glory. First up, we have Bavarian artillery. Note the extra barrels I left lying carelessly next to the guns. I guess you never know when you'll need a spare. I give Old Glory credit for including the various barrel sizes (include howitzer tubes) so you can make what you want. The uniforms are very similar to French artillery while the guns are similar to Prussian. Talk about hedging your bets. No matter which side is winning, you are halfway there.

Next up are some French Carabiniers. These are heavy cavalry that wear a cuirass similar to the cuirassiers, but gaudier. This was my first unit of them.

French grenadiers a cheval, or horse grenadiers. It must have been a royal pain to keep those tall bear skins on your head as you bounced around on your horse.

The ubiquitous French line in march attack pose. Probably my favorite of all of them. Very well sculpted. I sort of designed my own drummer for this one.

French old guard grenadiers. Good troops, good pay, bad hats. Does a big hat really intimidate anyone or make them think you are taller? Someone call the Pope and ask.

The winner of the Bavarian recruiting contest. I had enough leftover to do an extra stand, so why not. You never know when you'll need five stands of Bavarians instead of four.

Some rather bored looking French lancers. One guy is excited enough to wave his sword around while the others wait for their union-mandated break.

French cuirassiers. Make up your own witty comment for this one.

And last but not least, French artillery with an officer looking on. The single figure in the back without a hat is actually a Bavarian coming over to talk shop with his French comrades. (OK, I put him in the wrong picture.)

Book review: Louisbourg 1758, by Rene Chartrand

2010-04-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

Book review: Louisbourg 1758, by Rene Chartrand

Wolfe's First Siege

Louisbourg represented a major threat to Anglo-American plans to invade Canada and had to be taken. This book does a great job of walking you through the entire siege from start to finish. It starts with a brief overview of the origin of the campaign and then compares the opposing plans, commanders and armies before taking you through a day-by-day account of the siege. There is a complete order of battle (always handy for wargamers) and several maps. The account of the siege makes for an interesting read and because it goes one day at a time, you can see how each move changed the game for each commander.

The book reads well and there are a lot of illustrations to go with the text. If you are interested in this era or in siege warfare, then this is the book for you.

The author also studies the aftermath of the battle and looks at the site today (but the photos look like they were taken in the early 1980s).

Pros: Excellent narrative of a siege that changed the fortunes of North America as we know it today.

Cons: Cheesy photos in the "The site today" chapter.

Old Glory French dragoons, old guard chasseurs and French horse grenadiers

2010-04-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

This month's painting totals were pretty low -- I managed to finish just three units, but progress is progress. These are all 15mm Old Glory French. First up, we have some dragoons who look incredibly bored. They're looking around, looking at each other and genuinely trying to either stay awake or figure out who just farted. They are in the "reserve" pose. How would you like to hold that sword for hours on end? My idea of being "in reserve" means I'm five miles from the fight thinking "Wow, sounds like a big scrum up there. Glad I'm back here." And I sure as heck am not holding my sword. Rum ration, yes. Sword, no.

Here are some French Old Guard chasseurs, complete with mounted officer. The Old Guard gets held in reserve a lot. Their hats are so big because they have to hold card tables, board games and other things to keep them amused while the low-lifes in the line infantry do all the fighting.

And finally, we have some French horse grenadiers. Another unit usually held "in reserve" except these guys are posed at the charge. What they are charging, I don't know. I think crack units are referred to as "guard" because that's all they do. "You guys go charge the British squares; we'll guard the baggage back here in reserve."

Book review: The lines of Torres Vedras, by Ian Fletcher

2010-03-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Book review: The lines of Torres Vedras, by Ian Fletcher

As part of my study of fortifications, I picked up this book to learn more about this famous defensive line. If you aren't familiar with the lines of Torres Vedras, here's a brief overview. Wellington had the lines created in great secrecy to protect Portugal, namely Lisbon, from falling to the French. When a tired and tattered French army under Massena finally caught up to Wellington in Portugal, he ran into a line of fortifications that made great use of terrain, interlocking fields of fire and were impossible to breach without risking a major loss of life. Massena dallied around for a few weeks before retreating with Wellington in pursuit.

This book looks at the lines and how Wellington constructed them. It details not only their design, but details the forts that made up part of the lines and also what life was like within the lines. The author also looks at what the lines look like today.

If you are interested in the Peninsula Campaign, I think you will enjoy this book. It's also interesting if you are interested in learning more about fortifications. There are plenty of illustrations and photographs throughout.

Pros: A complete look at the lines of Torres Vedras and the role they played in the defeat of the French.

Cons: None

Book review: English Civil War Fortifications, by Peter Harrington

2010-03-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

Book review: English Civil War Fortifications 1642-51, by Peter Harrington

I picked this book up for cheap because for awhile I was studying various fortifications for my model building. I don't game the English Civil War and honestly don't know much about it other than the basics, but I figured this might be an interesting read.

The author overviews some basic design and development of various fortifications and also discusses some principles of defense for the era so you can understand why they were important. There is also information on the sites in war and the aftermath, plus a look at some of the sites today.

I found this book left me wanting more information. I can't fault the author much because the book isn't about the most sexy topic and much of what is discussed has limited information available. Most of the sites are long gone or are archeological digs at best. I think I was hoping for a more nuts and bolts approach on designs with more detail on the specifics, but what I got was a good overview (which may be all that we know). There are plenty of drawings and illustrations throughout to go along with the text.

If you are a big English Civil War buff, then I would say you might find this interesting. If you are looking to learn more about general fortifications, look elsewhere.

Pros: Well illustrated, gives a good overview of fortifications of the era.

Cons: Not super detailed and rather dry reading.