Stingin' in the Rain...

Wailing, weeping and gnashing of teeth for me this weekend, as family and life commitments from just about all the Napoleonic gamers at the club means that there won't be a game this Sunday.  

"Supposing they gave a war,  but NOBODY came?!?"   Giovanni's Saxons pout at their unanticipated unemployment.

Add to that it is perfect gaming weather, which is to say it's pouring with rain.  Heading off to a day of gaming on a gloriously sunny Sunday pretty much guarantees dark looks from spouses, so it really is a waste of perfectly good precipitation.  Except, of course, that at least I can get some painting in (once I've cleaned the painting desk).

Around this time last week the weather here in Tokyo was wonderfully sunny, warm, and dry.  This is something of a rarity here, so while nature offered this window of opportunity I spent the time prepping and spray priming miniatures for future painting.  The hobby primer I use is excellent quality, but noxious as a grognard's old pair of marching breeches, so the chance to spray outside was not to be missed.

Wurttemberg infantry cleaned up...

...and then primed, with some French cavalry to keep them company.

Of course there was no way I wanted just to stay in all the time while the weather was cooperating, so we had to chance to enjoy a picnic and brew or two down by the Tama River here.

 

Tokyo isn't all one, huge bladerunner-esque urban landscape as some people seem to think it is.  This picture was taken no more than about two minutes walk from our house where the Asakawa tributary flows into the Tama.  The area is also home to a wildfowl reserve. 

*****

But this is a gaming blog, so I did come across some pictures I took of that most unsatisfactory game we had back in March.  The French and Confederation of the Rhine troops, less Sada's extensive collection as he was busy that day, went on the attack, boot-to-Wellington boot, against evenly matched numbers of Allies: and got royally snotted for their pains.  

There was neither room nor scope for maneuver, no reinforcements, and no balancing victory conditions.  We had decided to play along the length of the table; given the numbers involved, this restricted movement terribly, and was made worse by me having placed a river down the middle.  It came down to a battle of attrition, one the French were not in a position to win.

It was a very poorly-thought out scenario which I put together on the fly. 

I had no-one to blame but myself. Adding insult to self-inflicted misery was the fact that I was dealing with a bad case of lumbago at the time, which didn't add to my good humour.   

The game was more like 1914 than 1814, with all the fun and joy for the French side as was the case with their 1914 counterparts.  And that's even without the machine guns! 

Still, time is a great healer.  Although I failed my personal break test very early in the game, looking at the pictures afterwards at least it was pretty to look at!  So seeing as yet again there is no game to report for the current month, I thought I would share some photos from that day.  

My, but that hill behind that river provides just the ideal place for the Allies to shoot down into the flanks of the advancing French!

No battle report per se, as I can't (i.e. don't) want to remember much about it.  Besides,  I had stopped taking pictures as the brutal reality of what was going to happen became clear.  

Probably by that point I had taken to the bottle anyway, being preoccupied pondering what my new life in Guadaloupe would be like once the Emperor came to hear of all this...

Looks impressive enough, but there were a lot more on the opposite side!

...and better looking, too!

Matt debuted his Brunswick Advanced Guard.  These looked really nice, and gave a very good account of themselves.

Hey, Jean-Paul!  Look at all those pretty hit markers and disorder flags!

 

Can you say, "decimation"?

 

This IS bad- we're running out of Germans to fight with.

French cavalry, but no room for them to maneuver.  Half the table behind the French was just wasted space.

Avant!  à l'abattoir!

"En tout pays, il y a une lieue de mauvais chemin."  Should we get the chance, we'll do better next time!  And this time better scenario design.  

The big challenge recently has been a logistical one: just getting everyone together for a game, as work and family pressure takes its toll.  But if we can, the next game will be a very big one indeed.