tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65855545768233731262024-03-06T10:01:56.919+09:00"Serrez les Rangs!"Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-38830490202666634192022-09-11T20:52:00.010+09:002022-09-14T21:12:01.260+09:00Tercio of Barón de Gramont, 1642-43<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tercio de Barón de Gramont; el ejército español de Flandes 1642-48</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2046" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTFWy6oag9lU7cVC6mF2858q8xyIz-L-vq4PK8JsqhDqt0nTKtP2tf79ThUQNj5XFd9YQAjIL5QGkVawcGo8xwxwE48dYIwmluqpZ_ljBjcRWB1ahXe2g-ur4cZd13psLQ0-EI2E8QhmcgdwhrGcMatGIawVLTnu8KmRlruF8DjabMzTGz6mv_nKksA/w400-h300/Gramont_1.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3MVDbq-zPz2-KWqXOfpvhhAtG8ybd01k79op-sm0Gn8kpZ4U7NVqifW5aQSGsOBtfsya_r01GxIsXs2oflAWHJyieh9xrSVIEBgzgw9GYph5jEDlFGF8eACVrUGFRZw5LfPpzXqM1yyyva9gDr0x2PxJAcy3eNVcNI1Gn0HAl0YuHjbsMn5uiHyzMw/s1966/Gramont_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1598" data-original-width="1966" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3MVDbq-zPz2-KWqXOfpvhhAtG8ybd01k79op-sm0Gn8kpZ4U7NVqifW5aQSGsOBtfsya_r01GxIsXs2oflAWHJyieh9xrSVIEBgzgw9GYph5jEDlFGF8eACVrUGFRZw5LfPpzXqM1yyyva9gDr0x2PxJAcy3eNVcNI1Gn0HAl0YuHjbsMn5uiHyzMw/w400-h325/Gramont_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OC7G6USB8J3_VTs0Dkmfpv-OOV0UsZL7YfiydaQT_C9Wyj_7xktzXE2pH1FeaHZcxP9wivPRKQw9t5mOz9vuc7TNoagF16KN-JmiAlSrVOpO9MvUksfCCwx6Dni_MF6owGIqJOLCpGpZQZ2oM2h7K-59Vm5gcWcyUg0ehFtcfrVSq9OeR-qjqbgm7g/s2048/Gramont_3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OC7G6USB8J3_VTs0Dkmfpv-OOV0UsZL7YfiydaQT_C9Wyj_7xktzXE2pH1FeaHZcxP9wivPRKQw9t5mOz9vuc7TNoagF16KN-JmiAlSrVOpO9MvUksfCCwx6Dni_MF6owGIqJOLCpGpZQZ2oM2h7K-59Vm5gcWcyUg0ehFtcfrVSq9OeR-qjqbgm7g/w400-h300/Gramont_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCmDYcj-Nl26Fh03ImwVAtWAVWH5IsHsmklUxARDt1EsNqhSJhHKj9y_HVnJzLcckm8nns35RhSj12aTJ7pwCpAn6ThxgxKxJfU0LVIFvL8-PoM_AaR0HSq0DIHdaoR0WITsj8WdchEBPAgFHBrPLKe3k967BWwHSvHcT_1EU184UgKdL14h9PzRWjg/s2330/Gramont_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="2330" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCmDYcj-Nl26Fh03ImwVAtWAVWH5IsHsmklUxARDt1EsNqhSJhHKj9y_HVnJzLcckm8nns35RhSj12aTJ7pwCpAn6ThxgxKxJfU0LVIFvL8-PoM_AaR0HSq0DIHdaoR0WITsj8WdchEBPAgFHBrPLKe3k967BWwHSvHcT_1EU184UgKdL14h9PzRWjg/w400-h231/Gramont_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDpWcjmG3fdVpoWQad6cOKARsBsWnaThvky7yaVVfo9SrkI6fQ_8SYYEY5PT5qdR7NZj5yxQO3VctLUWPfRl-6noN6skKncYJBiH9LFQfpdLicXBliO6aiX-MWzppg5YAyEWEFwzTAZ10lCekYwuKDlsegY9mXfo4t2yGdHOFL0geDfu1UqrPdyCagg/s1942/Gramont_5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1618" data-original-width="1942" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDpWcjmG3fdVpoWQad6cOKARsBsWnaThvky7yaVVfo9SrkI6fQ_8SYYEY5PT5qdR7NZj5yxQO3VctLUWPfRl-6noN6skKncYJBiH9LFQfpdLicXBliO6aiX-MWzppg5YAyEWEFwzTAZ10lCekYwuKDlsegY9mXfo4t2yGdHOFL0geDfu1UqrPdyCagg/w400-h334/Gramont_5.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HlOdiQXd37P-fBvtbkN6HvrDZfd7V9Aqu1LmTqlEOY4_08h1x-adn9DVtqFsG6OwfLuIMDUZi1IkUDhdP2yIygs29TE_OsL_BIagw6iDPiEl6FObhGnH-ljoH6DCpKaORLAfx5I7LYCJg1WhH2Z3iX8bSt4PsEfdab2OGZgdOu7AmMBUw2CSOj0zgQ/s1978/Gramont_6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1588" data-original-width="1978" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HlOdiQXd37P-fBvtbkN6HvrDZfd7V9Aqu1LmTqlEOY4_08h1x-adn9DVtqFsG6OwfLuIMDUZi1IkUDhdP2yIygs29TE_OsL_BIagw6iDPiEl6FObhGnH-ljoH6DCpKaORLAfx5I7LYCJg1WhH2Z3iX8bSt4PsEfdab2OGZgdOu7AmMBUw2CSOj0zgQ/w400-h321/Gramont_6.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">Recruited from Burgundians (Franc-comtois). Fought alongside the veteran Spanish <i>tercios viejos</i> in the first line at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rocroi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Battle of Rocroi </a>in 1643, where it was brigaded with the other Burgundian tercio of the <i>Conde de Saint Amour.</i></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: red;">*****</span> </b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>A</b></span> new period for the blog, but not really a new project- just a newly-unveiled one.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Thirty Year's War has long been one of those pet interests of mine. But for some reason or another, it never really got off the ground- mostly due to a resounding lack of interest from other gamers. Interest in the Pike & Shot era has usually been limited to the ECW- when there was any interest at all. Most often there wasn't. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is actually a third incarnation of my TYW efforts, the first being a (now long gone) Swedish army in 15mm back in the 1980's using Freikorps 15/ Minifigs, and the second never really getting past a few packs of Foundry figures in 25mm.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finding a decent set of rules has always been an issue- typical 70's and 80's fare like <i>WRG</i> and the obscenely complex <i>Tercio</i> really didn't grab the attention of my gaming circle at the time- me included. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">But third time lucky. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">This time the plan is to do a later<a href="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/gmtwebsiteassets/mpulb/ULB_PlayBook_2005.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Imperial Spanish army, from post-Nordlingen to Rocroi/ Lens.</a> Swedes were off the list this time, as there always seems too much controversy about both tactics and costume. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">And for me, the Spanish were a natural choi</span><span style="font-size: large;">ce. One of my fondest memories of UBC back in Vancouver was taking a European history undergraduate course, where we were lucky enough to have been lectured by a visiting professor from St. Andrews University, Geoffrey Parker. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Professer Parker is a leading authority on the Dutch Revolt, Thirty Years War, and on the Spanish Netherlands in particular. A good dose of military as well as political and social history kept me well and truly engaged. He was an inspiring lecturer and very accessible to undergraduates (in contrast to many other leading lights of academia who had to interact with us unwashed masses).<span> His lectures on the TYW included everything from geo-political context to demonstrations of pike drill, so I was well and truly hooked on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Army-Flanders-Spanish-Road-1567-1659/dp/0521543924" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the army of Spain and the Spanish Road.</a><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Unfortunately, when I decided to start this project back in 2015, there were no dedicated figures out there for TYW Spanish. Not so now, given the wonderful range recently produced by <a href="https://www.1898miniaturas.com/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1898 </a></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><a href="https://www.1898miniaturas.com/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Minuaturas</span></span> </a>and also available through Empress Miniatures.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">But long ago I had inherited a bunch of ECW miniatures from Bicorne and Renegade, along with a few from Redoubt. These were way bigger than Foundry and Perry, but I liked them- the Bicorne/ Renegade sculpts in particular- although all three manufactures needed some major cleaning up. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Despite the excellent sculpting of the range by Nick Collier, Renegade were going through one of their many (and eventually terminal) crises at the time, the moulds were the worst for wear and the figures had a lot of flash. Redoubt in their turn were a mixed bag; stylistically varied and really huge. Some were great, others aren't worth even trying to remove the flash. However, they had a useful range of separate heads, including helmets and some wonderfully-voluminous floppy hats. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most TYW miniatures on the market these days are for the earlier part of
the war, from Bohemia up to Lutzen. As has ever been the case fashions
did change, and I think few wargamers out there would be willing to use,
say, 1914 BEF infantry in a 1944 Normandy scenario. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thirty years is a long time, and Rocroi was fought during the later "French
Phase" of the conflict, at about the same time as the First English Civil War. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">By
the mid-1640’s</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> the earlier "frilly" neck ruffs were on their way out and </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">breeches were becoming more tubular than was the case
earlier. Cravats were beginning to replace the earlier
stand-and-fall collars, and the doublet was rapidly falling out of style. Fortunately for me, the Spanish tended to dress
more conservatively than the ever-fashion-conscious French, so I can make use of quite a few figures meant for the earlier period.<br /><br />Armour was being lightened but probably more was worn on the continent than in the Civil Wars. </span> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">So </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">with a bit of cherry-picking, </span>I found
that many ECW figures I had could pass muster as TYW infantry, although with some
caveats.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most of the figures had (appropriately) been sculpted wearing either knitted
Monmouth caps or monteroes. Okay for the French, who could be seen
wearing a similar hat to the montero, but with more plumage, called a
<i>boukinhan</i>- spelling seems to vary. Indeed Redoubt does a nice one- on those
rare occasions it has been properly cast. But these appear </span><span style="font-size: large;">relatively rarely in contemporary paintings of the Spanish army in action, where brimmed hats of various sizes predominate. These hats also tended to have taller crowns than what was the fashion in the British Isles. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Quite aside from wanting to make the best use of the miniatures I had to hand, I'm just too anal to just proxy ECW figures for TYW
Spanish-Imperial troops "as is", without putting in at least some effort
at making them look a bit more historically accurate.</span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Besides,</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> converting the figures would allow me to field an army that is set apart a bit from a lot of
the ones I see online, many making use of the ubiquitous (and questionable) Warlord plastics. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">So turning to the minis, I sorted out the ones that would need surgery; out came the clippers and off went their scalps, to be replaced by new heads or floppy hats.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I started by doing a few head swops and, using some Tamiya epoxy putty
(cheap as chips here in Tokyo), I added some rough cloaks, new hats,
cassocks, ribbons, etc. that also gave them more of that "ragged campaigner" look. </span><span style="font-size: large;">And the cloaks can hide a multitude of sins.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hadn't intended to do a lot of these, just a few to
throw in on each stand for variety. But it was an addictive activity, so
now a good third or more of my collection has been modified to some extent or
another.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCicDikQy1L14C0-rvHYWbdbltKDCxHOExEQEP8MTvI5LI7SMjyKUg-qBkSuCM1-Mj783w_IeaoDCj9Q9bIBdFcQGFHzgCfi6bvSoYgTxjp3Rk8ciDvRgWvL_GKhkxv0Meh_AXLwulHMatRgyuhAnm1rYkevHdHprbG8Siz_ux53804rY-gs6yX6YDA/s640/Spanish_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="640" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCicDikQy1L14C0-rvHYWbdbltKDCxHOExEQEP8MTvI5LI7SMjyKUg-qBkSuCM1-Mj783w_IeaoDCj9Q9bIBdFcQGFHzgCfi6bvSoYgTxjp3Rk8ciDvRgWvL_GKhkxv0Meh_AXLwulHMatRgyuhAnm1rYkevHdHprbG8Siz_ux53804rY-gs6yX6YDA/w400-h274/Spanish_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPo8pfpTsLOVSbFXFBTcPlURocycLi_ivuDjVOgxFSWDepc6JoEMuZaz4eC1Xihb3L5Mea3sztINsbudW65N4mfVMZ6AwNWK0kk3KJ2qMkWOThIPASjgqEF0F-NH7sF5-oerM--vKD0xYFcicpkkVYJP6J27KKMNm4DXZngL04Zye5vQ_P5CbEn06osQ/s611/Spanish_3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="611" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPo8pfpTsLOVSbFXFBTcPlURocycLi_ivuDjVOgxFSWDepc6JoEMuZaz4eC1Xihb3L5Mea3sztINsbudW65N4mfVMZ6AwNWK0kk3KJ2qMkWOThIPASjgqEF0F-NH7sF5-oerM--vKD0xYFcicpkkVYJP6J27KKMNm4DXZngL04Zye5vQ_P5CbEn06osQ/w400-h314/Spanish_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMK0T9Rl_uYLvdA8zqi39cGwdAEifCYXahwyqwXzE9vIErYC8ScqxCTQdCsL9yb6IHKA7MVgiabgZheTEatW_ghjSFqr1TF3zrCjareQ9amqqR7skP4tZCaFDcgJXab2bgtKf020C8kpP9sxLBTeV7zB2Zt_XzUkSPZd2U445X1L3Ned8AR9NcZDMuIQ/s640/Spanish_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="640" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMK0T9Rl_uYLvdA8zqi39cGwdAEifCYXahwyqwXzE9vIErYC8ScqxCTQdCsL9yb6IHKA7MVgiabgZheTEatW_ghjSFqr1TF3zrCjareQ9amqqR7skP4tZCaFDcgJXab2bgtKf020C8kpP9sxLBTeV7zB2Zt_XzUkSPZd2U445X1L3Ned8AR9NcZDMuIQ/w400-h297/Spanish_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6Bj9R09Kk65clXX3Sa9jfvveQONBMz3MkZBb5b4VGPuaOMj63kdA6Eubafd-FQqR7xlZn7ZYiA7BuMNdCDe8JAlUoFaYOrBNwILG2DB0Ibl44R9Nfdfmud8MMU7Xa-MLuouVHzY2HpzPFdH2zeKC6NNqZb00LsawsEAHiZ9bQKjPC7TrtWZz6y3lgw/s1024/Spanish_9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="967" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6Bj9R09Kk65clXX3Sa9jfvveQONBMz3MkZBb5b4VGPuaOMj63kdA6Eubafd-FQqR7xlZn7ZYiA7BuMNdCDe8JAlUoFaYOrBNwILG2DB0Ibl44R9Nfdfmud8MMU7Xa-MLuouVHzY2HpzPFdH2zeKC6NNqZb00LsawsEAHiZ9bQKjPC7TrtWZz6y3lgw/w378-h400/Spanish_9.jpg" width="378" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2TO51Or5ECJp0-sUDTp2T3uI1nk6WL-W87pl89R6wwyFIwNFH4EuOjKPJ7K4AIQF2CfoJG_TR0H1J7Rq-YAIZN6q2WdZOqcev3y0RswxLTnM7VGtp-Bge3qWU-Fd1mV7E7WS8oSo3BftlF4rm17zkh-jo19Yl8nbZE4Y43Qeitke843WqbUsFYr1Iw/s1024/Spanish_8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="833" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2TO51Or5ECJp0-sUDTp2T3uI1nk6WL-W87pl89R6wwyFIwNFH4EuOjKPJ7K4AIQF2CfoJG_TR0H1J7Rq-YAIZN6q2WdZOqcev3y0RswxLTnM7VGtp-Bge3qWU-Fd1mV7E7WS8oSo3BftlF4rm17zkh-jo19Yl8nbZE4Y43Qeitke843WqbUsFYr1Iw/w325-h400/Spanish_8.jpg" width="325" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvmifcQYBvF8tYSOlh2CE5erWbtQIcbsFuykTS6kr7ZZBxvrWCBWsXmdIRR4D9z0zzZOeS0ZKnBY87SE5s3bFBCKhPlAkizr6xups-2ECsKptrqUJqgJMx7e4vYCkdzmlBAlT25YP9gYeXr36mh5hF9ZtCQX13F8bKYkLo7pbg5672jOXcT6PJMbkpw/s1024/Spanish_7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvmifcQYBvF8tYSOlh2CE5erWbtQIcbsFuykTS6kr7ZZBxvrWCBWsXmdIRR4D9z0zzZOeS0ZKnBY87SE5s3bFBCKhPlAkizr6xups-2ECsKptrqUJqgJMx7e4vYCkdzmlBAlT25YP9gYeXr36mh5hF9ZtCQX13F8bKYkLo7pbg5672jOXcT6PJMbkpw/w400-h300/Spanish_7.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhv1sdSyYhMNdIOwNuFIH0WO2JE02kjCDWlX04GWRJbhqToPxLqFocwzorpK-18F1TdHszOLrjFJJHo2sbmd0WH51QUESboh8_eav6kyxQ_SGecXqV7tT3rU_Qz9vkQjWgZnpuTnPFdbPuUsASfLL_22be52ijEG9574pxhzID9XVszJw7hVrKiuB8w/s640/Spanish_6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhv1sdSyYhMNdIOwNuFIH0WO2JE02kjCDWlX04GWRJbhqToPxLqFocwzorpK-18F1TdHszOLrjFJJHo2sbmd0WH51QUESboh8_eav6kyxQ_SGecXqV7tT3rU_Qz9vkQjWgZnpuTnPFdbPuUsASfLL_22be52ijEG9574pxhzID9XVszJw7hVrKiuB8w/w300-h400/Spanish_6.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was tricky business at first, but with experience and through trial and error it got a lot easier. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I did add more miniatures as time went on- Horcata, more Bicorne, and even Warlord. A</span></span></span></span></span></span>s a general rule for the TYW German/ Imperialist armies, I would want to get as many figures wearing cassocks as I could get my hands on (Warlord actually do really well here with a very <a href="https://store.warlordgames.com/products/pike-shotte-veteran-musketeers?variant=31469095977040" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nice pack</a> of veteran musketeers (in metal- their plastics, frankly, suck). <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I originally intended these to be Spanish tercios, but decided instead
to painted up and flag them to represent the Walloon/ Burgundian and
German units that will make up much of the army. I'll order the Spanish proper from Empress once funds allow, and the painting queue gets shorter.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">It will take time, for it is not a mainstream period among gamers here (no khaki or internal-combustion engines); thus I will need to do both sides. I've another
Spanish unit to finish and then it's on the Bourbon hordes. These will
consist of both French and Weimarian troops. </span> <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;">***** </span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Uniforms and painting:</b></span> In the 1640's there was still no (official) uniformity in the Spanish army, partly out of traditional preference by the veterans, but also not surprising given the dire financial straits of the Spanish state at the time.<br /><br />That said, a captain was responsible for seeing that his company was decently outfitted and properly equipped (or at least not in absolute rags). Consequently, he would on occasion arrange for purchasing bolts of cloth or even sets of clothing for his men (and certainly for any recruits) after time and campaigning had taken its toll. Thus individual companies in the tercios might actually present a more uniform appearance, although with some variation.<br /><br />As to the colour of any material procured in this way, I strongly suspect it would have been subject to cost, availability, and lastly the individual whim of the company captain. There were certainly no official guidelines.<br /><br />To reflect all this, I've been grouping figures together on the stands so that some files or ranks of between two to four figures might have the same colour jacket and/or breeches, although hat colour is pretty random.<br /><br />For inspiration, I closely observed the excellent and inspiring paintings by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Snayers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Peter Snayers </a>and his studio, done in the 1640's and 1650's. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSl3O2BPNgPsjjXrbUSYJ73TYKlT6gIVx-hmxOLiTYREGrncWXIuLqyopxHsfKF96CWJ_VZbl2awfxnfQIC7bXMjL1n8ERS1LnOw4h56x-ag4HSCNJuBLk0fMB5JBseQlIF1xjiVUHLkbvQsLlLqAcx0DqXZ54IVu5P3WIN0kSux293KlxZOpmtEYZaw/s2952/La%20Marfee%20snayers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2101" data-original-width="2952" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSl3O2BPNgPsjjXrbUSYJ73TYKlT6gIVx-hmxOLiTYREGrncWXIuLqyopxHsfKF96CWJ_VZbl2awfxnfQIC7bXMjL1n8ERS1LnOw4h56x-ag4HSCNJuBLk0fMB5JBseQlIF1xjiVUHLkbvQsLlLqAcx0DqXZ54IVu5P3WIN0kSux293KlxZOpmtEYZaw/w400-h285/La%20Marfee%20snayers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: small;">French troops the Battle of La Marfee, 1641</span></span></i></b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgve0Kv2qRf6Jq415MlVjSe0s16NvUrDkdbei0YdW0uuzPJAnSXEDY04BswBa_YUpWPeO7RfPA1h8ph6Ng62oAQDmwyAEku6MrFhery9q9LntMNWB5ch5TBvaeYCpZVQcdH-84jGKq3xpu0Z-I4AMNsM-Gfc-frqsMniYK2MMJ8jPWRu0ctBwz_XYyMKQ/s1092/La%20Marfee%20snayers%20detail.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1092" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgve0Kv2qRf6Jq415MlVjSe0s16NvUrDkdbei0YdW0uuzPJAnSXEDY04BswBa_YUpWPeO7RfPA1h8ph6Ng62oAQDmwyAEku6MrFhery9q9LntMNWB5ch5TBvaeYCpZVQcdH-84jGKq3xpu0Z-I4AMNsM-Gfc-frqsMniYK2MMJ8jPWRu0ctBwz_XYyMKQ/w400-h268/La%20Marfee%20snayers%20detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Ragged French infantry</span></i></span></b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbxHKoN805Ewwz7cAzOpdGkJSZzpKvWYOVT1ww2SsQmJ_gTuikfyF8Fa30ROeh0HGBt-zRufaRzYAWCDNC4N-a-MiCvNZPMJUcu_vahyaII3gK_jbnbl6L9Iv2noQgszUwL0etX_KUlxsTRzyHzBf8gbTfQcNxK3i7EoKwwMAycPt4D-Z9msSI44WuA/s957/Honnecourt%20Snayers.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="957" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbxHKoN805Ewwz7cAzOpdGkJSZzpKvWYOVT1ww2SsQmJ_gTuikfyF8Fa30ROeh0HGBt-zRufaRzYAWCDNC4N-a-MiCvNZPMJUcu_vahyaII3gK_jbnbl6L9Iv2noQgszUwL0etX_KUlxsTRzyHzBf8gbTfQcNxK3i7EoKwwMAycPt4D-Z9msSI44WuA/w400-h281/Honnecourt%20Snayers.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><b>The Spanish victory at Honnecourt, 1642</b></i></span></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ppPJX88txgSVwirRngoV1lX7Zo91kL0OA_lmmaYsxZPCi5soANBFkkJ0NZtn5O4GTGTuQcMu6ah2gSTJOdTTUoJUbpw_maPpPjWhd55_ASnlJPTu2IdeA_OmhDstP4QfmhcPOnaqQEawCzlFmc-iXPM_xUW8b2B32-ZwBs-IKjFGy10OLXHncjmHmw/s1920/Honnecourt%20Large.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="1920" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ppPJX88txgSVwirRngoV1lX7Zo91kL0OA_lmmaYsxZPCi5soANBFkkJ0NZtn5O4GTGTuQcMu6ah2gSTJOdTTUoJUbpw_maPpPjWhd55_ASnlJPTu2IdeA_OmhDstP4QfmhcPOnaqQEawCzlFmc-iXPM_xUW8b2B32-ZwBs-IKjFGy10OLXHncjmHmw/w400-h289/Honnecourt%20Large.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">These are an amazing series of topographical paintings of various battles involving Imperial armies of the TYW. On display at the Prado Art Gallery in Madrid, which has a website where you can look at the paintings online and <a href="https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-works?search=snayers,%20peter&ordenarPor=pm:relevance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">zoom on the images t</a>o reveal an amazing amount of detail.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Whether the actual colours used were really representative of how the armies of the time looked, I don't know; but certainly they give a good indication of what colours would be considered plausible- in most cases nondescript browns, greys, dull blues and ochres.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">As a bit of artistic license (this is just a pastime, after all), and to tie the whole unit together given the lack of uniformity, I have been giving my Spanish Imperial troops red stockings, with red and yellow lacing just as a device to aid identification on the tabletop. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">These of course were a gift given annually to the brigade from <i>Dona Isabella el Saliva d'Aquavelva, Marquesa del Marsupial y Cuspidor </i>as a mark of distinction for their valour during the storming of Venlo in 1637; where,</span><span style="font-size: large;"> after the last of repeated costly assaults on the breached defenses, the victorious survivors were seen to have immediately fallen onto their knees, staining their stockings in their own blood, as they offered up prayers of thanks to the Holy Virgin Mother for their victory and salvation.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">You really can't make up stuff like that.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, actually, you can...<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Regarding flags, we have no information on what colours were flown by Gramont's tercio, I had asked Iain at <a href="https://www.flagsofwar.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Flags of War</a>. if he would do a set based on this contemporary painting from the Dutch painter Peter Meulener, and he kindly came through. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9lvgy4CovfV6c-5bS2-zNBvLBdOZzuMQoqMCHL_rcze88zmyZ-cBzeFoTZYPqcm4B_lU_R7ByrPxrFuP7zQ9OfsD3ZD4K8tgqzn_IxLxRKeGwny2IH8Y8v71OWi4S2xTLA83w6YHr3buaLm44q32coMY9Fy_d6atOx2FYCavsqz8ydKTsmG3NDKWPQ/s640/Meleuner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9lvgy4CovfV6c-5bS2-zNBvLBdOZzuMQoqMCHL_rcze88zmyZ-cBzeFoTZYPqcm4B_lU_R7ByrPxrFuP7zQ9OfsD3ZD4K8tgqzn_IxLxRKeGwny2IH8Y8v71OWi4S2xTLA83w6YHr3buaLm44q32coMY9Fy_d6atOx2FYCavsqz8ydKTsmG3NDKWPQ/w400-h300/Meleuner.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_W_lPbL335pvh_iw04a6dcO_62oEbNiYNmherxBukSkvHzPyuiRreqKJllAnyyV39UJYelUVRV5jxBkcjIsCGCF4j5gxsnsRyFTwjDFO6Bf_y9jlFVn38tW6x08GyVRI6TMOPv8CVCqOcbZoEkmNgfXf8_rKsva8OcqYjllFgycJQ8MMbDDJz76SPkw/s907/Meleuner_flag.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="726" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_W_lPbL335pvh_iw04a6dcO_62oEbNiYNmherxBukSkvHzPyuiRreqKJllAnyyV39UJYelUVRV5jxBkcjIsCGCF4j5gxsnsRyFTwjDFO6Bf_y9jlFVn38tW6x08GyVRI6TMOPv8CVCqOcbZoEkmNgfXf8_rKsva8OcqYjllFgycJQ8MMbDDJz76SPkw/w320-h400/Meleuner_flag.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">Iain is a first-class fellow to deal with, and his flags are gorgeous and very reasonably priced for the quality. In fact, all my TYW flags are from his range- Spanish, French, and Weimarian. Highly recommended.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I agonized for years over basing. I need to balance a desire for numbers with the reality that I don't have a huge amount of table space for gaming. But basing figures closely together can give a good impression of density. So all my tercios will be based in two ranks, although for future units I will be basing the pike onto a single 60mm x 60mm base. Same overall depth, but the pike packed closely together in three ranks.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Note that during the latter stages of the TYW, the big tercios of Tilly's days were a thing of the past (and weren't even that big in 1618). By the time of Rocroi a Spanish tercio (actually meaning a regiment, and largely an administrative unit) was about 500-750 men or so, similar to an ECW batallia, and typically being much wider than they were deep. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">A few of larger tercios were divided into two batallia, and smaller ones converged into one; batallia of around a theoretical 1000 men seems to have been the tactical unit, the building blocks being the individual companies, which contained a mix of pike and muskets (and in the Spanish case, even arquebuses- well until the late stages of the conflict, well after they had been discarded by other armies).<br /><br />In gaming terms- and I am organizing them for FoG:R, even if I end up using a different ruleset- it's therefore only 27-29 figures to a batallia. Not excessive; certainly no more so than building up a typical 18th or 19th century wargaming force would be. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The kicker is that a late TYW army needs lots more cavalry (more on that later), but on the other hand one probably needs fewer artillery.<span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;">***** </span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;"></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Rules:</b></span> always a stumbling block with this period. The shortlist is Simon Miller and Andrew Brentnall’s <i><a href="https://bigredbatshop.co.uk/collections/all/products/to-the-strongest-for-king-and-parliament-rules-physical-edition" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">For King & Parliament,</a> </i>or (less likely) the old <i>Field of Glory: Renaissance</i> (although I like the size and look of the games featured in <a href="https://www.madaxeman.com/reports/Roll_Call_2014_1.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Madaxeman's FoG:R </a>webpages). I have all the books, but being out of print I can't see myself being able to recruit new players into the period.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">If these don’t fly, then it’s adapting Clarence Harrison’s <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2z9Y0PeMN7TMjVmOGU3NDItMmYzZC00Y2RiLTg1YjItNjRhNGQxNDRkZTlm/edit?ddrp=1&pli=1&hl=en&resourcekey=0-c57Qq5u9kLlGD00ni6_9fA#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Victory Without Quarter</i></a>, Warlord’s <a href="https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/pike-shotte/products/pike-shotte-rulebook" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Pike & Shotte </i></a>(or even a version of Black Powder, which might work even better with suitable tweaks).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">In all cases a certain amount of rule-smithery will be required to reflect the differences between armies and warfare between the continent and the British Isles. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have to say that I have been really enjoying working on this project. More on the way.<br /></span></p>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-58659608579119088782022-06-23T15:44:00.006+09:002022-06-23T16:34:04.056+09:00Fixing Broken Bayonets<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span><span style="color: red;"><b>Second</b></span> post in a week! Blogger seems to be less temperamental for me these days, so if this continues I should hopefully find myself posting more often.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span>I thought I would share one</span> thing I learned this past year; an effective way to make lasting and solid replacements for broken-off bayonets.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Now
while I accept that casualties are unavoidable in war, I draw the line at knowingly fielding miniatures with broken bayonets in my
units. Some years ago when coming across miniatures whose bayonets had broken off I would have cursed and just binned them, perhaps
cannibalizing some for the odd conversion or two. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>But given the price of
metal miniatures these days, that’s not something I’m comfortable with
doing any longer.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>I was sorting through my (long neglected) Napoleonic Russians from Front Rank and I found that inevitably there were a number of figures whose muskets and bayonets had been bent to breaking, or had even broken off completely, while in storage. A lot of these were older figures, and the metal used was softer than what most manufacturers use today. Having left them jumbled together in bags for some years had taken its toll.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Fortunately, last year I had managed to successfully “rebuild” a missing bayonet on to a Dixon ACW figure. So using the same technique, I saved these from the scrapheap.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>I took a dressmaker’s pin, cut it a little longer than the length of the bayonets, and bent a bit near the back end into an “L” shape. Taking a small drill bit the same diameter as the pin, I then carefully drilled a matching hole through the end of the musket.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Before that I had mixed up some of the JB Weld epoxy, leaving it to set up a bit. Then I used the glue to attach the small "L" -shaped part of the pin horizontally into the barrel, and covered both the join and the length of the pin with a good coat of epoxy.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>The JB Weld sets slowly, so from time to time I checked it to make sure the new “bayonet” was setting at the correct shape and angle.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Once the glue hardened off, I placed the figures in front of a space heater to cure. Then out came the files and after a bit of work (and taking the sharp point off the pin for safety), I was left with a good, strong join, and a bayonet that will survive the roughest of handling.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY916WAEFgEPUHTImu6k-AIGvSHPXdTbIlONW77rO0G4oD1dw9CCPwoqjvFIANwYTIxgKt_75nzJLaObBMSLniqIPdSd40z4y1jIxSsOklueOTMBwBNiUgGohOi1gLoqTG-VfO-2VWJjZgQL9AcxHIdcg8xtaOStdeUPBziOELWPhNDumJ-sBH9PCY7w/s4032/Russki_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY916WAEFgEPUHTImu6k-AIGvSHPXdTbIlONW77rO0G4oD1dw9CCPwoqjvFIANwYTIxgKt_75nzJLaObBMSLniqIPdSd40z4y1jIxSsOklueOTMBwBNiUgGohOi1gLoqTG-VfO-2VWJjZgQL9AcxHIdcg8xtaOStdeUPBziOELWPhNDumJ-sBH9PCY7w/w400-h300/Russki_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The figure on the left has had the pin attached, but it hasn’t yet been filed down into shape. The one in the centre is finished.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The one on the right had it’s musket broken in half where it had already been weakened by a casting flaw. This was an easy matter to fix, again using a small diameter drill to make deep holes through each part, to take a piece of thin brass rod to hold them together using the JB Weld again. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Took less time to do than to describe, and with these three alone, I was able to rescue £4.50’s worth of miniatures at current prices. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The <a href="https://www.jbweld.com/product/j-b-weld-twin-tube" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>JB Weld</b></a> has become one of the most useful items in my hobby toolbox. It's a slow-drying epoxy that actually contains metal powder. It comes in two tubes, one white and the other black, and when mixed dries to- you guessed it- a dark grey. It dries as hard as rock, and can be drilled and sanded very easily once it has cured. </span></span></p>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-52112874312621075602022-06-21T12:04:00.020+09:002022-06-21T15:28:10.946+09:00On Ships, Shakos, Secession, and Skirmishes<p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yearly</span></b></span><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> update! I haven't been blogging for ages- way too much time spent at the computer already what with teleworking most days of the month. But gaming life has been relatively good as things slowly return to some kind of normal (or at least as normal as they are likely to get)<b>.</b> </span></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6wYIOHs3Qyng08adav__BqOfaervCW7SEJGYJ5SEVXHIpEujL61t1_zE7lTO-UpnaRR2whMXRnFe9JoI6IMus9UT_ggmmuD8AfkMlVo_oX2quObVWt7tS2gZsON9fbq6DLliAEHAqRLl1hkl8nJXVY6Vud55T5TsrGHQFqT89mIrTQnMxjzMGRqPRw/s1024/Nap_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="GdB François Bony, 8th Div/ III Corps 1813" border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6wYIOHs3Qyng08adav__BqOfaervCW7SEJGYJ5SEVXHIpEujL61t1_zE7lTO-UpnaRR2whMXRnFe9JoI6IMus9UT_ggmmuD8AfkMlVo_oX2quObVWt7tS2gZsON9fbq6DLliAEHAqRLl1hkl8nJXVY6Vud55T5TsrGHQFqT89mIrTQnMxjzMGRqPRw/w300-h400/Nap_1.jpg" title="GdB François Bony, 8th Div/ III Corps 1813" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>GdB François Bony, 8th Div/ III Corps 1813</i></span></span></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So a mixed bag today. This past year has seen a modest number of games; by no means anything regular, but enough to keep the fires burning.</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These have included:</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b> </b></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b> </b></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Naval games</b> (age of sail, WW1 and WW2). These are always fun and easy to set up. The WW2 game was a first; </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Giovanni here had been chomping at the bit to try the old (as in originally</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 1937- vintage) <a href="https://thegaminggang.com/our_reviews/abandon-ship-a-review-of-fletcher-pratts-naval-wargame-wargaming-with-model-ships-1900-1945/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><i>Fletcher Pratt </i></b></a>rule</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">s. Frankly I wasn’t sure they would work on a ping-pong table, despite the mods given in the updated rules. But it was something he had long wanted to do, so we gave it a shot.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It played out much as I had anticipated; while it has some good points, firing is a bit too deterministic, being a purely step-reduction system and with no provision for special damage. And estimating firing ranges on ping-pong table, even if scaled down, is just too easy, something the original game didn’t have to contend with given the humongous gym-floor distances and use of umpires. And it was evident just after three turns of play and some exchanges of gunfire that subsequent turns would just be steady and mathematically predictable slogs.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it was still quite an enjoyable afternoon. Giovanni has definitely been bitten by the naval bug, and it was fun to see the WW2 ships on the table again after many years. There are a number of <span style="color: black;">rule sets</span> we would like to try out, and see which of them best suits us.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When my friend Dave Morgan, owner of Sentry Box West Hobbies in Vancouver, closed shop back in the 1990’s he gifted me big parcel of <b><a href="https://www.ghqmodels.com/collections/1-2400-scale">1/2400 GHQ US and Japanese warships</a>-</b> everything from CV’s and BB’s down to a destroyers. This past year I put a few together, and while fiddly to work with and to paint, they incorporate a phenomenal amount of detail and certainly look gorgeous when done. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are the USS <i>North Carolina </i>and USS <i>Northampton</i>. </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rW4RBggMGyL6Yfe3GfGcI8uDfBS8_CJ8XE2ZSmTBbo5RGa9caWaWf9JQ4FV0c0kLCvhy5njWZVFlusd65yslpmssIU2Qdl8PCJTzP_8y6mhwd5icy3KeM82WtkpL9zu-FkZArg2RKDRGF_NjKrFdEDNX0Ne_K0sIMbNwjr6z0xvW32-FvGsA1pjqdw/s1024/Naval%20_05.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rW4RBggMGyL6Yfe3GfGcI8uDfBS8_CJ8XE2ZSmTBbo5RGa9caWaWf9JQ4FV0c0kLCvhy5njWZVFlusd65yslpmssIU2Qdl8PCJTzP_8y6mhwd5icy3KeM82WtkpL9zu-FkZArg2RKDRGF_NjKrFdEDNX0Ne_K0sIMbNwjr6z0xvW32-FvGsA1pjqdw/w300-h400/Naval%20_05.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeMt9LKrfyki8Rbi3mEBIBLaqHsNEHdEtQNIKxaFVZRPZMCkarM-iwt7V8TSPmTJZipbmQUiFBVETe349DAsFcp4qpE7NxR-xI3WKvJkXJx9Q-0j5Y5r-lUF8O6gfApqsxMLkFk2OhDDwxd1Yoq6MEvEzehFojXsO0f5AtmawrRMNZw8e7XmyOZ1DhA/s1024/Naval%20_06.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="1024" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeMt9LKrfyki8Rbi3mEBIBLaqHsNEHdEtQNIKxaFVZRPZMCkarM-iwt7V8TSPmTJZipbmQUiFBVETe349DAsFcp4qpE7NxR-xI3WKvJkXJx9Q-0j5Y5r-lUF8O6gfApqsxMLkFk2OhDDwxd1Yoq6MEvEzehFojXsO0f5AtmawrRMNZw8e7XmyOZ1DhA/w320-h201/Naval%20_06.jpg" width="320" /></a></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgHP8Oel-FR7Xx3S0ka7MYCW-sxWW5CZDHhd-iIzcSXbKTXH3gDmh3dvKWbn4vJqg1x_nIYKHeQ4essjYdg78TpF5vhNKlpDoX2JwC_HtjqhW6VtfACvlrnffFNupaSRS0gKWgIhGZF_SL_06Tqh1xRqYvZE0Tv1v3M1qTvXFdw6jIXqzXR-X17-DNg/s1024/Naval%20_07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgHP8Oel-FR7Xx3S0ka7MYCW-sxWW5CZDHhd-iIzcSXbKTXH3gDmh3dvKWbn4vJqg1x_nIYKHeQ4essjYdg78TpF5vhNKlpDoX2JwC_HtjqhW6VtfACvlrnffFNupaSRS0gKWgIhGZF_SL_06Tqh1xRqYvZE0Tv1v3M1qTvXFdw6jIXqzXR-X17-DNg/s320/Naval%20_07.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJqHvIDViP9GZ54uTibNrqxjeGg7MPhpju5C-DEaFysDk9fYsBkO77Dy6oefTQUy8ZurdbppGr6MS94CbENXt2pOMdEuQxw3PebZ8qQPcEe0SzVKaHZpaSSCNtlJM3k-1LBCRPGx8kI-0McTUH5yVB0eBGjOoktlm_4NeRSQuwU_dZ5YvXngLKaXJZA/s1024/Naval%20_04.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJqHvIDViP9GZ54uTibNrqxjeGg7MPhpju5C-DEaFysDk9fYsBkO77Dy6oefTQUy8ZurdbppGr6MS94CbENXt2pOMdEuQxw3PebZ8qQPcEe0SzVKaHZpaSSCNtlJM3k-1LBCRPGx8kI-0McTUH5yVB0eBGjOoktlm_4NeRSQuwU_dZ5YvXngLKaXJZA/s320/Naval%20_04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></b></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love the US treaty-era heavy cruisers in particular, ever since playing all those games of SPI's <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7463/ca-tactical-naval-warfare-pacific-1941-45" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>CA</b></a> as a teenager.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9vFxayCCwGtLm9rkLaoMDDp3x2oVGd2NNtv9Nn4vO_axwJx14udSUJgLyRM08BTFpGp7iuXzI0i-qVTHjqyGabXCLJFRCvQ3qtpeZ0Nm9oJizlUYx-IOMuv7RSWpXGgDxrbyav2CK3MpIPv0tvPkMeo0-jqNyMqD1fBXoeh2KZGs8Q9qjNXG6pKH0w/s500/CA%20SPI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="379" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9vFxayCCwGtLm9rkLaoMDDp3x2oVGd2NNtv9Nn4vO_axwJx14udSUJgLyRM08BTFpGp7iuXzI0i-qVTHjqyGabXCLJFRCvQ3qtpeZ0Nm9oJizlUYx-IOMuv7RSWpXGgDxrbyav2CK3MpIPv0tvPkMeo0-jqNyMqD1fBXoeh2KZGs8Q9qjNXG6pKH0w/w304-h400/CA%20SPI.jpg" width="304" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a number of Japanese ships on the painting desk as well, and have been experimenting with basing them. Very nice to feel the iron deck under my feet again.</span></b></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, I have to admit that fast becoming a gaming favorite is the 18th C. Age of Sail, using the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Fighting Sail </a>rules from Osprey; the more games I play with the rules, the more I like them.</span></span></div><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rod and I had an excellent game just last week. This game had it all; lots of turns, fair shares of good and bad luck, shore batteries, boarding actions, and shifting winds causing problems for both sides.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">A French victory, but hard-fought as t<span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">wo out of three ships made it into port past a British blockading squadron</span>. We even had both a French and British ship grounding on the lee shore within broadsides of each other, with their crews having to have them pulled off by their ships boats (the British ship was also under fire from a French fort, but managed to row itself just out of range of the guns).<span><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rules seem to give us the kind of game we want. </span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">As with Black Power, they are easy to tweak and I have already made a few house rules- for example, adding rules allowing for bow and stern chasers- to make it a bit more “meatier” for those games when we have less than four or five ships per side. </span></span></span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">But the rules play fast, we got a lot of turns in, and a real ‘story” developed.</span> </span> </span></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No pictures, alas. The ships remain unpainted- partly because space is at a premium on my painting table with miniatures I need to finish first, but also as I still have cold feet about rigging the ships. And at some point I need to order ratlines, or else try to fashion some on my own. Given the number I need, and postage/ exchange rates these days, the latter is tempting me.</span></b></span></p></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Napoleonics- </b>yes, Napoleonics! We had a small refresher game of Black Powder, which somehow petered out due to the fact that Giovanni and myself hadn’t seen each other for a while, so we spent most of the time chewing the fat and getting a bit… tipsy. </span></p></b></span></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2dHjNwCNAHgZtmU4g1KhWcmxk5GY_UWKlXxwxYZ4zwb7GkaS6HKaIEH8fY0KteZ71ODdXwNymvULagaQv3KYDuE_cBnYxnuyj2chwWyD-BFkdS5K_NX2ZzdYlIddcyr5lmLhgV6BaRRu_8-d3mamPUbRKuL0L4czf8TzBGgf8RaVDELlgbTY7vrLrg/s1024/Nap_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2dHjNwCNAHgZtmU4g1KhWcmxk5GY_UWKlXxwxYZ4zwb7GkaS6HKaIEH8fY0KteZ71ODdXwNymvULagaQv3KYDuE_cBnYxnuyj2chwWyD-BFkdS5K_NX2ZzdYlIddcyr5lmLhgV6BaRRu_8-d3mamPUbRKuL0L4czf8TzBGgf8RaVDELlgbTY7vrLrg/w320-h240/Nap_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKU0Jvf7wEFUaNjWrL6Mq4M6HfPyx0TW4HCbHkZEndrTTPSJVZ9VMzN_hHkJusuTYU65cMjaJXzDi2xaYmnWTHcplrH-YjgDO9g1zcmtNbI6fioCv-Lmpckf-ArTYGHD6XPIe3l1dGXaXvP2Og2rmIt9ZwusmosL1j9lxgmkjGQxg8vJdiHEZTlgumg/s1024/Nap_3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="987" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKU0Jvf7wEFUaNjWrL6Mq4M6HfPyx0TW4HCbHkZEndrTTPSJVZ9VMzN_hHkJusuTYU65cMjaJXzDi2xaYmnWTHcplrH-YjgDO9g1zcmtNbI6fioCv-Lmpckf-ArTYGHD6XPIe3l1dGXaXvP2Og2rmIt9ZwusmosL1j9lxgmkjGQxg8vJdiHEZTlgumg/w385-h400/Nap_3.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkoHLnQVCyEbJhSM80jhwZzcREugHZHfRGj_5ECZbLJrtDYVxoyUx2crfDpag1R0uq64xlPq3Bs3tUnP9QpYKSgACW79LMQ5sevMqZmpX14Mslfu3d0s1id1v0JgzL0BmcLgBLh28kiVXEtF5-KY_5Qq5X2DpeI6N4uK6gpW4Dsqi9D06_WCy3hbq6w/s1024/Nap_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1024" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkoHLnQVCyEbJhSM80jhwZzcREugHZHfRGj_5ECZbLJrtDYVxoyUx2crfDpag1R0uq64xlPq3Bs3tUnP9QpYKSgACW79LMQ5sevMqZmpX14Mslfu3d0s1id1v0JgzL0BmcLgBLh28kiVXEtF5-KY_5Qq5X2DpeI6N4uK6gpW4Dsqi9D06_WCy3hbq6w/w400-h339/Nap_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNAsp1aezBN-tTPlrAHTyTv77uG3egP2Y5lsJDOIQPugo29BES-rKSoTqzQK482YME4QZ8lh_1QUczGR0Tvw5VlJ2R3eliM1pcL7kDjfoAFfkXmq2mP8XVdyA2RcPa72TCqt7V4z_2qUW49z9tDkq_BCgV_kgetPfsLTmqw7UV--ux4KNGow061QhFw/s2748/Nap_7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2748" data-original-width="2102" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNAsp1aezBN-tTPlrAHTyTv77uG3egP2Y5lsJDOIQPugo29BES-rKSoTqzQK482YME4QZ8lh_1QUczGR0Tvw5VlJ2R3eliM1pcL7kDjfoAFfkXmq2mP8XVdyA2RcPa72TCqt7V4z_2qUW49z9tDkq_BCgV_kgetPfsLTmqw7UV--ux4KNGow061QhFw/w306-h400/Nap_7.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The most recent addition to my Napoleonics collection! </span></i></span></span></b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmbUs940iPasxIewVnN1N5MoNM8d8hjqPb1PQmSj1AY8T4vBj2wDhbFX4GUxeYm5-Kl77TU1dQOz1id6GQjuI2hEtLAak1eKEam2O5GKKU6RfHuskOyu9B1ic0ODbjGyfnafq5ObkMMjMIY-H5B8IuQG9JeU7vL8g9Tdx0KmQPdBeRHeSxBzSvkqANQ/s2337/Nap_6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2337" data-original-width="2217" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmbUs940iPasxIewVnN1N5MoNM8d8hjqPb1PQmSj1AY8T4vBj2wDhbFX4GUxeYm5-Kl77TU1dQOz1id6GQjuI2hEtLAak1eKEam2O5GKKU6RfHuskOyu9B1ic0ODbjGyfnafq5ObkMMjMIY-H5B8IuQG9JeU7vL8g9Tdx0KmQPdBeRHeSxBzSvkqANQ/w380-h400/Nap_6.jpg" width="380" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Front Rank figures, with a heavily-converted saluting officer.</span></i></span></b></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqD_gGsgdqYM6Fmn6ZiwS0eBLV_aduhDc319xcG9uo2UKf3QTwE7IBLjlW58BsN9aYFUKXLmdwHIltPVvrkavH07wgANZqQkkkF06G1DF_BpNGrjnYnu-xn21E8ivfYmS7hzGWE5T3iw_gEtgyb1Fsg8EavJyQ-xNVEdVw_FztK71MoOzf0S9NFZ5qA/s2865/Nap_5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2865" data-original-width="2555" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqD_gGsgdqYM6Fmn6ZiwS0eBLV_aduhDc319xcG9uo2UKf3QTwE7IBLjlW58BsN9aYFUKXLmdwHIltPVvrkavH07wgANZqQkkkF06G1DF_BpNGrjnYnu-xn21E8ivfYmS7hzGWE5T3iw_gEtgyb1Fsg8EavJyQ-xNVEdVw_FztK71MoOzf0S9NFZ5qA/w356-h400/Nap_5.jpg" width="356" /></a></div></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fact: when you’ve painted more division and brigade commanders, than you have painted divisions and brigades for them to command, you’re doing it wrong.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, we enjoyed the game and are looking forward to staging more Napoleonic scenarios in the future. But I really need to get more Prussians and Russians painted first.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b> </b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>American War of Independence </b>(!) Coming somewhat out of left field was a skirmish game using the <b><a href="http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?products_id=267" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Song of Drums and Tomahawks</i></a> </b>rule set, featuring Rod’s well-painted woodland tribesmen from <a href="https://us.warlordgames.com/products/woodland-indian-tribes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Warlord</b></a>, and my much older (and much less-well-painted) Front Rank equivalents. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These were supported by five, hurriedly-block-painted (and even more hurriedly-based) British light infantry. That handful of redcoats represents the grand total of what I have for gaming that period, bar some old Front Rank Prussian grenadiers that might pass for Hessians. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5DJpjCf7xaGcMGqkbKOw79p0KACSBylK3NguIyr4ueQ2UK9wCcTqltdCNBdhOSq33oFIbmz1GB_h8dS7W7CBGeF-IFsaombwLJgC3SxhhiI-OYu2sKmPbU03LJ6agNg1HUszLFIqKeuvKhjnnZsoY-wEwt2JbYTjzLCd26t2cVGoGgd47hXlQVIQtw/s1024/AWI_5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5DJpjCf7xaGcMGqkbKOw79p0KACSBylK3NguIyr4ueQ2UK9wCcTqltdCNBdhOSq33oFIbmz1GB_h8dS7W7CBGeF-IFsaombwLJgC3SxhhiI-OYu2sKmPbU03LJ6agNg1HUszLFIqKeuvKhjnnZsoY-wEwt2JbYTjzLCd26t2cVGoGgd47hXlQVIQtw/w300-h400/AWI_5.jpg" width="300" /></a></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></div></b></span></b></span><p></p><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><p></p></b></span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Ivrb0p0wfybIVeB_gfivFZ4k9L2_QUeGLbF2QQUuEa65JMsIW8FDDxXPTkPIZY4r21tBVbHmSNDfJR0UCxG_zlfTGZd44YjW1l4DjK20x0vFXn72uRNnJeWKDIX3AGKAkh_Hm_5kbGXMRLbuXDIMNzRsr-jvbftpBpgS5jfpeH0tq-hMc3k-DLZkLw/s1024/AWI_3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Ivrb0p0wfybIVeB_gfivFZ4k9L2_QUeGLbF2QQUuEa65JMsIW8FDDxXPTkPIZY4r21tBVbHmSNDfJR0UCxG_zlfTGZd44YjW1l4DjK20x0vFXn72uRNnJeWKDIX3AGKAkh_Hm_5kbGXMRLbuXDIMNzRsr-jvbftpBpgS5jfpeH0tq-hMc3k-DLZkLw/w400-h300/AWI_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVteh_AT_Gg2HRuZXGbVSBMfCoPPFRkXW_6MZa85IGaYa1dTwdZxH5cvlEWwD-6UsTILlleTUqaqV0umzSIJzWp6YyGMFkHtaloeMuSljLlNlcLmZ9sYBmMKXveyyBInRXaJqaN713Qzy8WlKq2Ah37dtGbspJKl7mq4Y-26wz08P5hwkMvXjRoKlLQ/s1024/AWI_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVteh_AT_Gg2HRuZXGbVSBMfCoPPFRkXW_6MZa85IGaYa1dTwdZxH5cvlEWwD-6UsTILlleTUqaqV0umzSIJzWp6YyGMFkHtaloeMuSljLlNlcLmZ9sYBmMKXveyyBInRXaJqaN713Qzy8WlKq2Ah37dtGbspJKl7mq4Y-26wz08P5hwkMvXjRoKlLQ/w400-h300/AWI_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSOZ1k0g3Wz0vJSrZhuX4mQzP45v1vtXr93Q2sfAA22qbQJBocpUdtGbQdkIzpkB7Nqsl-HTIE8TrxhHSWROe8j7M95_GOZCMTmnBuAeKGVx6gBT42NkMUsnM1uNNW-RIboxbqS8JGl_BBMNrP-2tdHp2NYEOuvIedNKjGAwsNa79aZXnxYB2KsJsqw/s1024/AWI_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSOZ1k0g3Wz0vJSrZhuX4mQzP45v1vtXr93Q2sfAA22qbQJBocpUdtGbQdkIzpkB7Nqsl-HTIE8TrxhHSWROe8j7M95_GOZCMTmnBuAeKGVx6gBT42NkMUsnM1uNNW-RIboxbqS8JGl_BBMNrP-2tdHp2NYEOuvIedNKjGAwsNa79aZXnxYB2KsJsqw/w300-h400/AWI_1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The game was an </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">interesting change of pace for us, and </span></b></span></b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">proved to be a lot of fun. It was a good scenario, with lots of drama; I’ll likely post a full battle report soon. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But despite that, and given all the other projects I have on the go, I can’t see myself going much further with the AWI. More likely the FIW if anything, as I already have more miniatures I can use for that one, both here and in Vancouver.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the problems is that the rising costs of miniatures, postage, and a crummy exchange rate are really making me think more carefully about what I need/ want / can justify spending money on. In many cases (Warlord!) the total costs of ordering abroad are well beyond my current comfort zone. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But truth be told I really do need to work on what I have- and indeed to radically <strike>rationalize</strike> cull the increasingly out-of-control herd.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p></b></span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not
on the endangered list, however, is my growing ACW collection for use with <a href="https://ospreypublishing.com/rebels-and-patriots?___store=osprey_rst" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><i>Rebels & Patriots</i></b></a>. </span></span></b></span></span></span></p></b></span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We haven’t even gamed
this yet, as it is another of those projects where I need to reach
critical mass for both sides, Yanks and Rebs, as no one else here has miniatures for the period.<br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78bab4fe-7fff-686f-3bfd-ea86ef9615ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But I'm steadily getting there.
I’ve nearly finished the core of my Union force of infantry, artillery
and (most recently) dismounted cavalry, but the traitorous Secesh need more work
before they are ready in numbers to take the field. </span></span></b></span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I also need more terrain- I’ve already posted pictures of the church I finished, but there is also now a barn and house. However, I still need to work on the fences I bought from <b><a href="https://www.renedra.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Renedra</a></b>- and that is a lot of fences! But one can never have too many fences for a decent ACW tabletop.<br /></span></span></p></b></span><p></p></b></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm very happy with the MDF barn, though.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUijji0IVbji4bjQ1P1b3YYMri-6xZ6gQWnQKwUJGgxyBiV0asHKvlSnhnJgY6xZk4L2QA8sPTT_mCjRe-1mCCOBNeF6Nw3hx5DSAQPc66iRJo1QzdoL34k39YoEgaWkpCOlrG5KiOW_E6klJxlsTmDkqm6KJy4w6jb7C9uxz6bGFLgpVxaxkD2WbgNQ/s1024/Barn_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="1024" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUijji0IVbji4bjQ1P1b3YYMri-6xZ6gQWnQKwUJGgxyBiV0asHKvlSnhnJgY6xZk4L2QA8sPTT_mCjRe-1mCCOBNeF6Nw3hx5DSAQPc66iRJo1QzdoL34k39YoEgaWkpCOlrG5KiOW_E6klJxlsTmDkqm6KJy4w6jb7C9uxz6bGFLgpVxaxkD2WbgNQ/w400-h356/Barn_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">And this sniper; a freebee from the Warlord Black Powder ACW supplement I got some years ago,</span></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielGoMLFqM9zlXGrPpckjuhXAQYr0sIoNVa9YXa7zmwwAczADbK-SDStMfqOGNpddxxA6iOaE1xTqEhUiighvE4NRLan0Nyww8Rtt5qEBZoxRdoxW9S6allNzqjF52AphqWoFi9v88pjHuluIwbOG7tFlnY0dulReZgKCoqaWnvk2VRgXqVLqYpj46Qg/s1024/Sniper_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1024" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielGoMLFqM9zlXGrPpckjuhXAQYr0sIoNVa9YXa7zmwwAczADbK-SDStMfqOGNpddxxA6iOaE1xTqEhUiighvE4NRLan0Nyww8Rtt5qEBZoxRdoxW9S6allNzqjF52AphqWoFi9v88pjHuluIwbOG7tFlnY0dulReZgKCoqaWnvk2VRgXqVLqYpj46Qg/w400-h279/Sniper_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have a skirmish campaign in mind for these, but more on that later.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lastly, but by no means least, a shout-out to Richard and his new wargaming blog <b><a href="https://myyearwithcharles.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a></b>. I've had the pleasure of chatting with him in some Zoom calls and in a number of fora, and he is always an entertaining poster- an all-round top dog, in fact.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-67696522551324570122021-04-18T19:18:00.011+09:002021-04-19T06:32:57.722+09:00Up, Men! And to your Posts!!<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjvqDs-FJyoqKfa3LAFgYuLWYl3s5pA1aFAMzHEXzDoBSDBfF85YwUSv_iCWsNzmCInZSSY3BudnpMEKK7K50YvcYIqvUVMedl6Ty_cUVZug7tQN6YHBtYpLJnA1zXCW4bc5-2hXOYJeD/s960/NYArt_7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjvqDs-FJyoqKfa3LAFgYuLWYl3s5pA1aFAMzHEXzDoBSDBfF85YwUSv_iCWsNzmCInZSSY3BudnpMEKK7K50YvcYIqvUVMedl6Ty_cUVZug7tQN6YHBtYpLJnA1zXCW4bc5-2hXOYJeD/w400-h300/NYArt_7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Long</b></span> time <b>no</b> post! The reasons are the obvious ones- the Great Pestilence putting the kibosh on gaming being the biggest one- but also more problems with Blogger <i>(grrr..</i>. if it ain't broken, don't keep trying to fix it, Blogger!).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But most of all was the fact that with teleworking from home almost 99% of the time now, I spend so many hours at the computer that I sometimes just couldn't be arsed to sit down and spend another hour or so blogging on top of what I was already putting in.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But I have been painting, and in recent months gaming, so at least I feel I have enough of potential interest to people out there actually to justify a post, Several, in fact.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> Here's the first- the latest addition to my ACW forces:</span><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Battery “I”, 1st NY Light Artillery. </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><br /></b></span></div></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></b><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKf8XxFEAHWBGIwaBuBfgPpPS5R8m6-wwywZDcPbGi8rmcVD3Rfa7cKOO2n67mfFCitMf5XKUONquKoTVOOrWYLXS1z4P-4DATP31YQSCP883EAGQYqdZ8OGFgI-dzjE8G2IkbG1njmjeF/s960/NYArt_6.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKf8XxFEAHWBGIwaBuBfgPpPS5R8m6-wwywZDcPbGi8rmcVD3Rfa7cKOO2n67mfFCitMf5XKUONquKoTVOOrWYLXS1z4P-4DATP31YQSCP883EAGQYqdZ8OGFgI-dzjE8G2IkbG1njmjeF/w328-h400/NYArt_6.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Organized at Buffalo, N.Y. from a German-American militia battery attached to the 65th New York State Militia under Captain Michael Wiedrich.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrO2sN3vFtu-JY9uqsWBTRLpvF7M0ZTX9VEQSlXfmbQyhNV91yHjMOLHEBBvt7zBzh7LYmoloIWG8R_5V1l8F0LtWeZXU1NSIqhPVWuJbIN3h_5JIlfRrc0sYJ1rd2xjJsg3NLVESpBpx/s1024/NYArt_1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrO2sN3vFtu-JY9uqsWBTRLpvF7M0ZTX9VEQSlXfmbQyhNV91yHjMOLHEBBvt7zBzh7LYmoloIWG8R_5V1l8F0LtWeZXU1NSIqhPVWuJbIN3h_5JIlfRrc0sYJ1rd2xjJsg3NLVESpBpx/w400-h276/NYArt_1.jpg" /></a></span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fought at the Battle of Cross Keys (part of Jackson’s Valley Campaign), Second Bull Run, and Chancellorsville. In July 1863 it was in tough fighting at Culp’s Hill on the second day at Gettysburg. </span><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefehaG3kgiq1h6Pc-Eo-6p3IJp3FlKfkMfWv5P78t00bAsA09bR5JWjVsqYOWVQGKZ9kOaAzjTnnSvXh46Yatfg4wPibGTxbV3SVqqJZRjQbgIqsCxQ1Ozb0wL0Il4ELLtwZkfxzAxHzO/s440/NYArt_Monument.gif"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefehaG3kgiq1h6Pc-Eo-6p3IJp3FlKfkMfWv5P78t00bAsA09bR5JWjVsqYOWVQGKZ9kOaAzjTnnSvXh46Yatfg4wPibGTxbV3SVqqJZRjQbgIqsCxQ1Ozb0wL0Il4ELLtwZkfxzAxHzO/w325-h400/NYArt_Monument.gif" /></a><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">September 24th, 1863, sent west with the XIIth Corps to Tennessee after Rosecran's defeat at Chickamauga. Captain Wiedrich resigned to take command of the 15th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, and instead First Lieutenant Nicholas Sahm was promoted to captain and took command of the battery.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Captain Sahm later died, and First Lieutenant Charles E. Winegar of Battery M, First New York Light Artillery was promoted to captain in command of Battery "I".</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In April 1864 the battery was attached to the 1st Division, XXth Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, where it was to participate in the Atlanta Campaign (Resaca, Kolb’s Farm, Kennesaw Mountain, etc.). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrsy4bVIOyTVGzJBL2R0SnpyyleNYu65Q7V4nEMwaLs44Tp2Pynnl2a88J998WCN3Tqd8dysIFxwHrt4vFWo6QRX0_xULkMhWysCWpPqbcq9DvFVp7BuDq7rE3JVBPxF6Sm27A_cUk3fa/s960/NYArt_8.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrsy4bVIOyTVGzJBL2R0SnpyyleNYu65Q7V4nEMwaLs44Tp2Pynnl2a88J998WCN3Tqd8dysIFxwHrt4vFWo6QRX0_xULkMhWysCWpPqbcq9DvFVp7BuDq7rE3JVBPxF6Sm27A_cUk3fa/w300-h400/NYArt_8.jpg" /></a><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Later part of the later Army of Georgia, during Sherman’s March to the Sea, where it's guns played their part in helping to make Georgia howl.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-nDh47ntN3BFScQx9gaHO2rfbU2aGLhNsSfkD3JieIFEIEz4dqYNHNHho94LSBsg5dKXMOmKREyYWs8b1jKbbu_ZaqiE5ABhyobZGvTa_MeBpQkQMrI6lj0DHEaw9o1wZInskQJUSLQB/s1024/NYArt_5.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-nDh47ntN3BFScQx9gaHO2rfbU2aGLhNsSfkD3JieIFEIEz4dqYNHNHho94LSBsg5dKXMOmKREyYWs8b1jKbbu_ZaqiE5ABhyobZGvTa_MeBpQkQMrI6lj0DHEaw9o1wZInskQJUSLQB/w400-h301/NYArt_5.jpg" /></a> <br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although my infantry are all Dixon, I don't care for their artillery at all- too chunky by far. So instead I opted for Foundry artillery. These look fine alongside the Dixon figures as they are in different units. The guidon bearer is himself a Dixon miniature, but I think it looks fine here.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I had bought a number of the Foundry ACW artillery packs years ago, just at the time they started jacking up their prices (that being the days when Brian Ansell set out to make himself the Martin Shkreli of the wargaming world). As a result, I ended up just ordering the crews by themselves. For the guns, I had opted for Old Glory- the price was right, and you got a lot of them.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, either the Union 3" Ordnance Rifle was designed with a flattened oval tube that undulated in profile lengthwise like corrugated iron, or else the Old Glory castings were seriously flawed. Turned out- unsurprisingly- to be the latter.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Having shelled out for the Old Glory guns, I was reluctant to just chuck 'em, Instead, I tried stubbornly to rework them; building up the tube profile with JB Weld, and laboriously filing and sanding them to something resembling their proper shape.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This proved patently unsuccessful, as well as being an unsatisfying waste of time.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So off to the bin they went. I then bit the bullet and ordered some plastic sprues from Perry Miniatures. These arrived in no time at all- in fact just one day after I had discovered that in some trade I made a year and a bit ago, were a bunch of ACW gun carriages with 6pdr guns. These were of unknown manufacturer, but they were nicely sculpted indeed. So in the end I used these carriages, but with the better (and lighter) plastic Perry wheels and (excellent) gun tubes.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Frankenstein's artillery, but I'm pleased with the result.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8ttHoFS2oCTpRGCioZyvhUB8nc6EI8mYup22hb6GxdHn9FGzWnBnmdeLOzrp0d1qD3dQY663iV7fS53zMMRW_GMchIRiheB5RxGZydv180dYXV9X3OkVh3UlIjEE0qjBImvV_4yRffX3/s1024/NYArt_4.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8ttHoFS2oCTpRGCioZyvhUB8nc6EI8mYup22hb6GxdHn9FGzWnBnmdeLOzrp0d1qD3dQY663iV7fS53zMMRW_GMchIRiheB5RxGZydv180dYXV9X3OkVh3UlIjEE0qjBImvV_4yRffX3/w400-h331/NYArt_4.jpg" /></a></span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Foundry figures were a bit harder to paint than the Dixon's, as I had to develop a slightly different technique while painting them. But if I don't say so myself, I think they came out great- and I enjoyed working on these very much (once I threw the Old Glory guns away).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I was fortunately able to source a NY artillery guidon from GMB, but they only did versions for Batteries “A” and “B”. So I got to work with a good pointed brush and sharp pencil, and converted the “B” to an “I”. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3qohMmkSHsg9TGHXBfRG8diO8BaQocZDOPcf15Q7a8JFQHQ95l5zXsCa9k0CYUSsfLM8_FV550qaX2wOwu9C8czikn52lv6_XQeaYft4RercmMmNSW53oDDFz8rcRm0AyfnX-0oE3Bx0/s1024/NYArt_3.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3qohMmkSHsg9TGHXBfRG8diO8BaQocZDOPcf15Q7a8JFQHQ95l5zXsCa9k0CYUSsfLM8_FV550qaX2wOwu9C8czikn52lv6_XQeaYft4RercmMmNSW53oDDFz8rcRm0AyfnX-0oE3Bx0/w290-h400/NYArt_3.jpg" /></a><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It looks good, and if nothing else I think I’ve a potential career as a successful forger ahead of me.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red;"><b>*****</b></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red;"><b>This</b></span> past Christmas Day </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I finished the Renedra American Church.</span></span> An appropriate day, although being pretty much no-fixed-address in any religious way, it wouldn’t even have occurred to me had not my wife pointed it out.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was a true swine of a kit to assemble, and I had to use all the tools of the trade I had developed over years of making plastic models to get the pieces to fit together and to fill in all the gaps. I had also decided to remove the rather crude cross moulded above the front door- which I believe would have been fairly uncommon on American churches of the time anyway.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But here it is: my Episcopalian chapel, the social and spiritual hub of the parish of Crabapple Corners. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Hg3yo67BOryBvNSVWGev_SPiKRh-3-Jw5b2pRCGwgOdl-Js9-h4FxfPL1SwrEHQsFTGZ6ym0nQFK4bubIHYfXVUOH8NI5AgUhJKr2WCxZwxdRk_jImddtLKYmq4d6X1aOM6mPTq4Cq-B/s1024/Catfish_Corners_Church_2.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Hg3yo67BOryBvNSVWGev_SPiKRh-3-Jw5b2pRCGwgOdl-Js9-h4FxfPL1SwrEHQsFTGZ6ym0nQFK4bubIHYfXVUOH8NI5AgUhJKr2WCxZwxdRk_jImddtLKYmq4d6X1aOM6mPTq4Cq-B/w349-h400/Catfish_Corners_Church_2.jpg" /></a><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It’s a church on Sundays, schoolhouse from Mondays to Saturdays, once every two years a polling place; and every year, on the anniversary of statehood, it hosts the Crabapple Corners Annual Pie and Cider Festival- an event not to be missed, with visitors coming in from all over the county.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgVKAHe-6QUyYRo6Mp_AhLV88dpseIpRV_mBkknGZcjRDotXMsFSiCAx-vEyQjQteJzMi2uhJWWloVIWzRJ78HqGogFa9b5vt71kUGz24PNcSjuFqukZC6iTGu5hz5al77vIhPLNoQkyD/s1024/Catfish_Corners_Church_3.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgVKAHe-6QUyYRo6Mp_AhLV88dpseIpRV_mBkknGZcjRDotXMsFSiCAx-vEyQjQteJzMi2uhJWWloVIWzRJ78HqGogFa9b5vt71kUGz24PNcSjuFqukZC6iTGu5hz5al77vIhPLNoQkyD/w339-h400/Catfish_Corners_Church_3.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Quite the scandal in 1858, when Reverend Willie Johnson was discovered between the pews with young Ella-Mae Muffinbutt- she was found wearing nothing but her best silk bloomers, and the Good Reverend's remonstrances that he had merely been helping her find a nickel that had fallen off the collection plate fell, alas, on deaf ears.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But it kept the conversations over the cracker barrel at Judson’s General Store going for weeks on end.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS8MT8V2iUH_KgeAn54wsZR8hXd-jEPAf4ge1A3Lpmjt80zdlw-0Rr9v2e0un7ZNvasKa8kdmmKLkQVduBRuhsYjvPRgTy1EzUZQvgtacioxqxamDU8aYGUu3CISzyKXMCgI8nAwjyY11/s1024/Catfish_Corners_Church.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS8MT8V2iUH_KgeAn54wsZR8hXd-jEPAf4ge1A3Lpmjt80zdlw-0Rr9v2e0un7ZNvasKa8kdmmKLkQVduBRuhsYjvPRgTy1EzUZQvgtacioxqxamDU8aYGUu3CISzyKXMCgI8nAwjyY11/w308-h400/Catfish_Corners_Church.jpg" /></a><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></div>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-30830379545432435562020-04-29T16:16:00.007+09:002022-02-07T12:17:47.234+09:00Red Star Rising! Uncle Billy's Proud Nephews <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>As</b></span> I mentioned earlier, I've a lot of different projects on the go.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Way too many honestly; but this is a hobby, variety is the spice of life, and anyway it has all been giving me a lot of pleasure.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">So there.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Eo40MtBTPw2N58vK5O-pQ7gqWiYYaBjHxifj2t7dmprlWF6tOECBiCjPcTsUc5U8RnHMSl2m26VzzupcxKnKV0snyHV46wrEg_oxpDcJCnMGBSqogn7QX6NVcQVn_NjlK0YJ7i7h6Uqq/s1600/IMG_8500.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Eo40MtBTPw2N58vK5O-pQ7gqWiYYaBjHxifj2t7dmprlWF6tOECBiCjPcTsUc5U8RnHMSl2m26VzzupcxKnKV0snyHV46wrEg_oxpDcJCnMGBSqogn7QX6NVcQVn_NjlK0YJ7i7h6Uqq/s400/IMG_8500.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>These</b></span> days I've been revisiting the ACW. One of my earliest loves in wargaming, thanks to a combination of two things.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">First, as a kid, my brother and I each got a set of the old 54mm Britain's <a href="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/UTMAAOSw7gdcpOIS/s-l1600.jpg" target="_blank">ACW</a> horse artillery battery, with firing Napoleon guns. I was given the Rebs, my brother the Union.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Small wonder that between the two of us, we never took anyone's eye out.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The second was getting the classic book by Donald Featherstone, <i>Battles with Model Soldiers</i>. In it was a chapter called "Stepped-up situations", where he went through three very basic scenarios for beginners using the old Airfix HO/OO ACW figures. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I loved it; it was my gateway drug to wargaming, so I was thrilled when just last week Norm revisited both the game and the book in his excellent blog post <a href="http://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2020/04/fighting-with-featherstone-again.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Since those days, interest in the ACW has peaked and waned in cycles, but it's always been there. I find it far more fascinating than the AWI, and I even managed to plough through watching the movie <i>Gettysburg</i> (fast-forwarding my way through the turgid, tedious- and frequently embarrassing- speeches).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Before I came to Japan, the gang I gamed with were playing the ACW in a big way.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This pic is from a monster not-Antietam game we once played with several thousand figures, and all insanely individually based. Here the Irish Brigade is about to impale itself on my own line of Reb bayonets- Dick Taylor's Louisiana Brigade. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRy6O1SKLxfdYfOVroR2cmLo4thuOB92UH_mHjuY8M1agVT-c0YhKioxgeQzyjb30ZDGuplOEnhQsfOyh9wNvaJuDkzr4HuThMFsUWUBcYed8z2stOMaW-qDzi6PTsNmu9W7MWS32FEuEmkubkhzXsaNcCIuAqxzPS5z4BoRqVkVCSkaA3Yhx0WA-ImQ=s917" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="917" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRy6O1SKLxfdYfOVroR2cmLo4thuOB92UH_mHjuY8M1agVT-c0YhKioxgeQzyjb30ZDGuplOEnhQsfOyh9wNvaJuDkzr4HuThMFsUWUBcYed8z2stOMaW-qDzi6PTsNmu9W7MWS32FEuEmkubkhzXsaNcCIuAqxzPS5z4BoRqVkVCSkaA3Yhx0WA-ImQ=w400-h383" width="400" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The battles of Pepperidge Farm, Petticoat Junction, First and Second Taffyville; all became household names in our pantheon of great tabletop conflicts.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Almost all were Dixon and Rafm figures, which we bought and painted by the bucketful back then. I had- indeed still have- loads.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It helped that one of our group was Dave Morgan, then owner of Sentry Box West, one of the largest wargaming shops in the country- he stocked both ranges in industrial quantities.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I wore the grey back in the day; since then I (stupidly) sold off a bunch, but at least I kept my brigade of veteran Louisiana troops that I still have (again, stupidly) packed away somewhere back in Vancouver.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Later I turned my back on rebellion- not to mention all the Lost Cause, "it wasn't really about slavery" bullshit that I kept coming across in my reading- and decided instead to begin collecting a Union army.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The "heritage, not hate" argument can be a contradictory one, which hasn't always been made convincingly- nor sincerely. I think it's pretty clear that much of the more overtly romantic bilge has been used as a fig-leaf </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">to draw attention away from Jim Crow </span></span></span>in the long years after the war.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Anyway, 'nuff politics, and suffice to say I haven't changed my mind. But Billy Yank needs an opponent, so now I am indeed working on some Confederates as well.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Dixon figures still hold their own; over the years I learned to weed out the codes with the worst of the pumpkin heads. Although were I to start again I'd begin with the box set of plastics from the Perry twins.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Fast forward to the next century, and the pre-covidian era. We had of course been playing lots of Napoleonics using <b>Black Powder</b>, and I always had an eye to doing the ACW using the same rules. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">But that means a lot of figures to get mustered, equipped and uniformed, so the <b><a href="https://ospreypublishing.com/rebels-and-patriots" target="_blank">Rebels & Patriots</a> </b>rules from Osprey look appealing for getting started gaming using smaller numbers of miniatures.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Pig Wars of the Pacific Northwest are also an option- if Matt ever gets his <a href="https://www.perry-miniatures.com/index.php?cPath=23_81" target="_blank">British Intervention Force</a> painted.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">More on rules, specifically <b>Rebels & Patriots,</b> for a future post. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">But whatever the rules, over the past year I just found myself slowly, sporadically- but steadily- painting up more and more Union</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> miniatures. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">***** </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="color: red;"><b>So</b></span> which Union formation did I choose?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> some consideration, I decided these were the boys I wanted to do<span style="font-family: inherit;">:</span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Union XII (later XX) Corps, 1863-1864</span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">
1st Div (Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams),<br />
2nd Brigade (Col. Thomas H. Ruger, 3rd Wis.)</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr class="tableizer-firstrow"><th><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></th></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>2nd Mass.</b></span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">advancing</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">packs/ bedrolls</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">sky blue trousers</span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>27th Ind.</b></span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">advancing</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">packs/ bedrolls</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">blue-grey trousers</span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>3rd Wis.</b></span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">firing line</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">light order</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">sky blue trousers</span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>13th N.J.</b></span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">firing line</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">packs/ bedrolls</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">sky blue trousers</span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>107th N.Y.</b></span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">firing line</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">packs/bedrolls</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">blue-grey trousers*</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">(*...and that, kids, is how to do the Union without needing labels on the bases)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's a formation that never gets a lot of press; but it is an interesting one to do,
as unusually it served both with the Army of the Potomac and out in the west under
Sherman.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The XII Corps was formed from an unlikely- and unlucky- source; the army that had been commanded by General Nathanial Banks, and which had been thoroughly whipped by Stonewall Jackson in his celebrated Valley Campaign.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was more a case of terrible (if well-connected) generalship than of poor troops, as they did much better at Antietam in 1862- at a high cost. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">There the 2nd Massachusetts in particular paid a high price, with many officers and men killed and wounded- including among the latter a Lt. Robert Gould Shaw (remember that opening scene of <i>Glory?). </i> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1863 the brigade was at Chancellorsville (ouch!) and saw fierce action at Gettysburg, Almost immediately afterwards it found itself sent to New York
to help put down the draft riots. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Shortly afterwards, the XII Corps was transferred
out west to bolster the Union western armies there in the dark days after
Chickamauga. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">There would be some minor changes in commanders and in brigade/ division organization over the rest of the war, but with the Army of the Cumberland it gained an excellent reputation, no doubt helped by its
experience in the major leagues, as it were.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Later the hard-luck XI Corps was absorbed into the XII, and a new
organization was formed; the XX Corps. But to the relief of the veterans they all adopted the XII Corps
red star insignia and its higher command structure.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Must of been something of a clash of cultures when the XII met their new comrades from the western theater; there was none of the Army of the Potomac's spit-and-polish about Sherman's men, as this picture attests: <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71rCc46pwX4sBucPCCnOGdH8lDh6M00PZZUmil0kWZiSRiwBmkF9qDnRusaRBzskbzsOv8AXUdX0OyXlEZ1pFveu0wduHEn8-QYfc73PNKtItLA7-6IQIrnmKmoiyUsPmbtY8JxWZepuP/s1600/Blog+ACW+9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="547" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71rCc46pwX4sBucPCCnOGdH8lDh6M00PZZUmil0kWZiSRiwBmkF9qDnRusaRBzskbzsOv8AXUdX0OyXlEZ1pFveu0wduHEn8-QYfc73PNKtItLA7-6IQIrnmKmoiyUsPmbtY8JxWZepuP/s400/Blog+ACW+9.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Old sweats; western officers from the 105th Ohio Infantry Regt. Not much polish, but probably plenty of spit. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion_W._Tourg%C3%A9e" target="_blank">Lt. Albion Tourgee</a>, on the left, was to go on to become a well-known and tenacious civil rights lawyer.</span></span></b></i></span><span face=", , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxnzkj_DhpDcKulkG8mHdeho6SSyxVB6WNbrDArG7kmgARfoSddxHqqvoFTmppSTLJB7Iu5b5WO2hfTj8DEYm7EL0w25gdYE0RGbqDO2-n7zdgzjiMN5GrDw6aQ-sqwMrkZV62bysZxqC/s1600/Blog+ACW+7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxnzkj_DhpDcKulkG8mHdeho6SSyxVB6WNbrDArG7kmgARfoSddxHqqvoFTmppSTLJB7Iu5b5WO2hfTj8DEYm7EL0w25gdYE0RGbqDO2-n7zdgzjiMN5GrDw6aQ-sqwMrkZV62bysZxqC/s400/Blog+ACW+7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Weary XII Corps men soon after arriving in Tennessee.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">But on the other hand, apart from Chickamauga, the westerners had been used to actually- you know, like<b> winning</b> -most of their fights.</span></span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The XII/ XX Corps went on to fight in the Atlanta
campaign with great distinction, being the first Union troops to enter
the city.<br />
</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIZgLNIyz5Rt-O3TZ0LFnD2Mudu6EHUgFaRa5usXv6aYR39A2TXnguvitbl0-iwhar-fuYLgEaBBp_6EBR0htDjBgWJt8a_HkDWmZaZWhiWTZTwmCADPml3nCB9bEdFiWtnMEper0A9f_/s1600/Blog+ACW+8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="515" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIZgLNIyz5Rt-O3TZ0LFnD2Mudu6EHUgFaRa5usXv6aYR39A2TXnguvitbl0-iwhar-fuYLgEaBBp_6EBR0htDjBgWJt8a_HkDWmZaZWhiWTZTwmCADPml3nCB9bEdFiWtnMEper0A9f_/s400/Blog+ACW+8.jpg" width="375" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Looking
over the old Confederate defences at Atlanta. Note the stripped-down
Hardee hat with the Corps badge. Forage caps were not as popular with
Union troops in the west.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 27th Indiana Volunteers was a celebrated regiment in its own right, with a hard-fighting reputation. In 1862, it was some soldiers of the 27th who
found the “Lost Orders”- that copy of Lee's orders to the ANV- which were
promptly passed up on to Gen. McClellan. Thus the regiment was
instrumental in sparking off the Battle of Antietam, leading to the
Emancipation Proclamation.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">At Gettysburg, along with the 2nd Massachusetts, it participated in the ill-fated charge at Spangler's Spring at Culp's Hill.<b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpheus_S._Williams" target="_blank"><b>Brig. Gen. Alpheus Starkey Williams</b></a>: commander of the XII Corps' 1st Division, Williams was one of the more capable, if under-rated, divisional commanders in a rapidly-expanding Union army. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Never a glory-seeker, "Pap" Williams was popular with his men- but he wasn't a West-Pointer, and he also wasn't inclined to suck up to the press or to politicians. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">To the detriment of his career, if not his character.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1NsrwXQEsU1xKivV5fnB-AZTeRCZWIpVP3hMgW0SIaujxIn27YSPyLoqX5N0DGZ3E81F7vWscCc6EXbtLuEHv6riBY0HSApfexrA0U5QevRR-8vB-PLqrlulok2pvxAIS7yD4VLA9eRW/s1600/Alpheus_S._Williams.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="322" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1NsrwXQEsU1xKivV5fnB-AZTeRCZWIpVP3hMgW0SIaujxIn27YSPyLoqX5N0DGZ3E81F7vWscCc6EXbtLuEHv6riBY0HSApfexrA0U5QevRR-8vB-PLqrlulok2pvxAIS7yD4VLA9eRW/s400/Alpheus_S._Williams.jpg" width="318" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Proudly wearing his XII/ XX Corps red star badge.</b></i></span></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIKv-JJDBhlheGb4NiTLS20ob_PJ7tDrZ7OExJ-wD6nUS4ipYQUviLx2010VoBRrBHepTMHC2EJj7SONH1GiH-xDVWlwQpqdPjPIxj_Lwfkc3MV5K6k-iymSLAuCqKGjAF5QutNL9xb8Y/s1600/Starkey+statue_Detroit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIKv-JJDBhlheGb4NiTLS20ob_PJ7tDrZ7OExJ-wD6nUS4ipYQUviLx2010VoBRrBHepTMHC2EJj7SONH1GiH-xDVWlwQpqdPjPIxj_Lwfkc3MV5K6k-iymSLAuCqKGjAF5QutNL9xb8Y/s400/Starkey+statue_Detroit.jpg" width="387" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;">His statue in his home state; Detroit, Michigan. He's portrayed here on his favorite old war horse, "Plug Ugly". A wonderfully un-heroic, yet workmanlike, pose.</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68FCb4Aof4bReOltcEVF7WuOIzQr2nYl7JX-DlFZlIPhl32U6_9Z0fa-OeFCO_octEtdfUuUTMYr9TcYGOR0siuZRIOGTfWcBi3PEPA_jTxyjjTHGqo8z6UCEjOBkXzTeLpQp_GJ4Vs84/s1600/ASW-Dempsey.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="279" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68FCb4Aof4bReOltcEVF7WuOIzQr2nYl7JX-DlFZlIPhl32U6_9Z0fa-OeFCO_octEtdfUuUTMYr9TcYGOR0siuZRIOGTfWcBi3PEPA_jTxyjjTHGqo8z6UCEjOBkXzTeLpQp_GJ4Vs84/s400/ASW-Dempsey.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_H._Ruger" target="_blank">Col. Thomas H. Ruger,</a></b> former regimental commander of the 3rd Wisconsin, before being appointed commander of the 2nd Brigade. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3qnROaG0DMcXCzK0XL3O9ZOwkGYJK6zAzxMISTlYnpLHTA7IcNDGiivL-oMc-2BdInyOqWgLV_wdJZTDFfFK0WJ9zuRF0y_DmkfqLdHR5PvD7mEuC1lzkjmF8jUEOXVpZMXJ4O5q7n3S/s1600/Ruger.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3qnROaG0DMcXCzK0XL3O9ZOwkGYJK6zAzxMISTlYnpLHTA7IcNDGiivL-oMc-2BdInyOqWgLV_wdJZTDFfFK0WJ9zuRF0y_DmkfqLdHR5PvD7mEuC1lzkjmF8jUEOXVpZMXJ4O5q7n3S/s1600/Ruger.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">And in miniature, here accompanied by the flag of the 2nd Brigade, 1st. Division XII/ XX Corps: the 'Bloody Pentagram'.</span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-v5FuX5IdRMsp5d4nnRkMk2ikxDS4smQ0XvhOSl9tr3w2u9jAmDNiAq1KWywgSmzAGBTpzh1J1O2tUqBUCdt5723MxI-XAEM4YorSEOShaY5fRQQlr-Sec4BkIlySymTd1So87B1FQmWU/s1600/Blog+ACW+6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1190" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-v5FuX5IdRMsp5d4nnRkMk2ikxDS4smQ0XvhOSl9tr3w2u9jAmDNiAq1KWywgSmzAGBTpzh1J1O2tUqBUCdt5723MxI-XAEM4YorSEOShaY5fRQQlr-Sec4BkIlySymTd1So87B1FQmWU/s400/Blog+ACW+6.jpg" width="297" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">"Go clear those people from those woods!"</span></b></i></span></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">*****</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>So</b></span> far I have the 13th "Noo Joisy" done- or would have if I hadn't recently decided to add three more stands- along with some "Badgers'- the 3rd
Wisconsin- coming hot on their heels. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I already have all the flags I
need for the brigade, courtesy of <a href="https://gmbdesigns.com/product-category/28mm-range/28mm-range-american-civil-war/">GMB</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99aylnEltudbct5X3bXAuVCthC52xk9AOWPJVy_Il0yleJ24L0VAWNxViNa-ed-isX25b_uOT083S6eCvoRCrx1ouTw_TaGIuBn39tpPtigXqE6Y00NSQy4-B9W-xCNz9CLhYFmmPlJJk/s1600/Blog+ACW+11.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99aylnEltudbct5X3bXAuVCthC52xk9AOWPJVy_Il0yleJ24L0VAWNxViNa-ed-isX25b_uOT083S6eCvoRCrx1ouTw_TaGIuBn39tpPtigXqE6Y00NSQy4-B9W-xCNz9CLhYFmmPlJJk/s400/Blog+ACW+11.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>"Down with the traitor, and up with the (red!) star!"</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQMHZd2ixTyFthVfJLrbdm1Z8O_Rqn5pJiDTNaFU1Oe88gCbfgyOw2BWdRZDFvyCEWvnofye8vNQdU8vM5kTuerVPCv-VmpWxonlC5FguZjfUJiBv78Z2Hx1n6cAWohAia4x7AjaPB7Ma/s1600/IMG_8499.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQMHZd2ixTyFthVfJLrbdm1Z8O_Rqn5pJiDTNaFU1Oe88gCbfgyOw2BWdRZDFvyCEWvnofye8vNQdU8vM5kTuerVPCv-VmpWxonlC5FguZjfUJiBv78Z2Hx1n6cAWohAia4x7AjaPB7Ma/s400/IMG_8499.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfi07cgURtgswD0OMsd07jp9I1gZV7l-hjZxowy2YAt7PPmhBxpTr2cNemd9B-YP1Chvle-7nNe1NYXxxhGk_QJ8EeMHg3I_NkhimTGBWnUuSh7vlYNsnn8ikBT2OFm5kkQheXP7WxQkB/s1600/IMG_8490.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="1280" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfi07cgURtgswD0OMsd07jp9I1gZV7l-hjZxowy2YAt7PPmhBxpTr2cNemd9B-YP1Chvle-7nNe1NYXxxhGk_QJ8EeMHg3I_NkhimTGBWnUuSh7vlYNsnn8ikBT2OFm5kkQheXP7WxQkB/s400/IMG_8490.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm in the middle of prepping a section of Federal artillery as I type- Foundry figures this time, destined to be Battery "I", New York Light Artillery, who were attached to the division. One of the packs of the Foundry artillery are in frock coats and campaign Hardee hats, and will be perfect for the western theatre.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">On Dixon miniatures: there are more modern and more anatomically accurate figures out there, but when I got into the ACW it was easily the most comprehensive range available, and as I said, I had lots.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">And they actually get painted, where sometimes more state-of-the-art miniatures never even make it to the painting table. They are fun to paint- being able to keep myself engaged in the painting process is essential. It’s a hobby, so I need to like what I am doing.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I got back into the period, pre-Perry and post- ridiculous Foundry price rises, it was logical to pad out what I had with more Dixons.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">And if I don’t “overdo” the painting (the heavily-sculpted folds and creases cast their own shadow and don't need much contrast), avoid the more oddball poses and pumpkin-heads, and don’t mix too many different poses in a unit, they look good. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Seen close up, the exaggeration can jar; but a unit seen from a distance on the gaming table, they can look really effective.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">They’re characterizations, not scale models.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have just about all the Union (need one more advancing regiment) and most of the Confederates I’ll need. I may pick up a few Foundry units to flesh out the Secesh.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">On basing: the round bases came into vogue with the Osprey Rampant rule series. I thought they looked good, even for closely-ranked units as <b><a href="http://ilivewithcats.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-great-skedaddle-rebels-and-patriots.html" target="_blank">here</a></b>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Although they are meant for semi-skirmish games, I see no reason why they can’t double-duty for <b>Black Powder</b>.</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Besides, I was getting bored with rectangular bases; more base than figure, more often than not.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here is the 27th Indiana which are next in line for cleaning up, here based as a twenty-four figure unit for <b>Black Powder</b>. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRLdPd4PtozFS9GxesWXKtZHTsBFCBz34uru0wF5jrkAqnJAwcFLnxjii3SsCn57z4yGM7x3Y_iyMLE5IR1cP7Y5pb4wH-sTXzqylTbPggTP82uvU5XJnL1tgALpQybCLXJcTPBD8rMG9/s1600/IMG_0026.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRLdPd4PtozFS9GxesWXKtZHTsBFCBz34uru0wF5jrkAqnJAwcFLnxjii3SsCn57z4yGM7x3Y_iyMLE5IR1cP7Y5pb4wH-sTXzqylTbPggTP82uvU5XJnL1tgALpQybCLXJcTPBD8rMG9/s400/IMG_0026.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The double- and singly-based figures can be used as skirmishers, although I may recruit the 150th NY, which joined after the Corps was transferred to the west, as a dedicated skirmish unit.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
like the round bases, as with only 24 figures they give me a line
formation that bears at least some resemblance to the real thing- yet
still gives the impression of some depth, helped by staggering the
figures on their bases.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">And here I have broken it down into two, twelve-figure “companies” for <b>Rebels & Patriots </b>(I’ll be playing it so that companies are the basic maneuver units, which I think makes more sense).</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NkGaXivT0jTPcqa7AimGuigyjF98FDVPpZjIfsGWF9Zo3ArSIxdO859_lFZEAhejsevc8GgAE3Bx-GMgeKPriL9E4e4qol9e2BQxYoNLyls5gWwZe2JuK8ni8SuyARV9M2uBPFnRQlYn/s1600/IMG_0027.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NkGaXivT0jTPcqa7AimGuigyjF98FDVPpZjIfsGWF9Zo3ArSIxdO859_lFZEAhejsevc8GgAE3Bx-GMgeKPriL9E4e4qol9e2BQxYoNLyls5gWwZe2JuK8ni8SuyARV9M2uBPFnRQlYn/s400/IMG_0027.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The basing system might not be to everyone's taste, but it works for me. Reminds me of the games I played as a kid!<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Need some terrain, though- currently working on a Renedra church and a Warbases barn.</span></span> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERR948Jq_sM4InIoOYq0zuSLwSDVzUv4XOb9GjtM32LFaaX1jbicr-vWaAn8jGkfMRL28kx2my-3sLYmbKKzlAbvt3R9-UXsBz5_WT0Ster8fsaBz1ZzvA2NmteZ2lgK9eNNwGHqCssNl/s1600/Blog+ACW+10.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERR948Jq_sM4InIoOYq0zuSLwSDVzUv4XOb9GjtM32LFaaX1jbicr-vWaAn8jGkfMRL28kx2my-3sLYmbKKzlAbvt3R9-UXsBz5_WT0Ster8fsaBz1ZzvA2NmteZ2lgK9eNNwGHqCssNl/s400/Blog+ACW+10.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>"Captain! Go organize me a painting detail!!"</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Another project I'm thoroughly enjoying. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-92067442263008552262020-04-27T14:05:00.002+09:002021-04-19T07:21:37.143+09:00To Add Something New...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>To</b></span> what so far has been a less-than-wonderful year; but not, fortunately, on the hobby front, where a lot has been happening!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back in February, before the Great Scurvy took hold, Matt and I had scheduled in gaming day for a Sunday. Hooray, of course. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, what was originally supposed to be Napoleonic amphibious landing scenario using <b>Black Powder</b> ended up at the eleventh hour being an age of sail naval wargame instead. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lF040GHXh1WKLdlnupgG4FgZ-8I0_gCHnrz4pPedRKSOYRwyaYQKL7n7YeEIur3XpOadPPxHOIU0k5lv_hNpJega8CS57-oQoPWVSaHSECrsV13IS3c9X7nSukdjddV4FQ2SAPUp0Stn/s1600/Blog+naval+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lF040GHXh1WKLdlnupgG4FgZ-8I0_gCHnrz4pPedRKSOYRwyaYQKL7n7YeEIur3XpOadPPxHOIU0k5lv_hNpJega8CS57-oQoPWVSaHSECrsV13IS3c9X7nSukdjddV4FQ2SAPUp0Stn/s400/Blog+naval+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Choices, choices...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">And great fun it was, too. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>*****</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>The</b></span> day had arrived, I had woken up early, and had already set up the table and placed the terrain- only to get a message from Matt saying he would be quite late, and that he wouldn't be able to bring any miniatures.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Basically he had gone out drinking the previous night over of the other side of Tokyo. When he got home he realized he had left his phone at the pub; so he had to go back in the morning to get it, and then come directly here- do not pass <i>Go</i>, do not pick up your troops. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Naturally he could only let me know about this after he was able to get his phone back.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, I didn't have enough troops to provide both sides, so BP was shelved and the terrain put away.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I definitely need to get to work on the Prussians and Russians, as this is the second time this has happened.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Struggling for an alternative, I suggested an age-of-sail naval game instead, as both of us had been keen to give the period a go. I have always been fascinated by the battles between the wooden walls, and on a trip back to Vancouver last October, I had picked up a number of- hopefully playable- sets of naval rules.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">This unfortunately meant that we would have to- gasp!- use unpainted, bare-metal miniatures, along with a (mostly completed but not-yet painted) island fortress.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">A cardinal sin, I know. But given the circumstances, there really was no choice. I didn't even have time to give the ships a quick coat of primer. Time was an enemy, and anyhow you have to start somewhere.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had about an hour and a half until Matt got here, so decided on what appeared to be the simplest of the three rule sets I had available: Osprey's </span></span><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fighting Sail: Fleet Actions </span></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1775–1815</b> by <a href="https://ospreypublishing.com/fighting-sail-fleet-actions-1775-1815" target="_blank">Ryan Miller.</a> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I set myself to getting up to speed on the rule essentials, while at the same time quickly drawing up and cutting out the movement and arc of fire templates- by hand. As luck would have it, my printer cartridges needed replacing that weekend.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Talk about gaming on the fly.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">But with the help of a ruler, index cards and some bluetack, ultimately I was ready; British vs. French, East Indies 1782. Both sides had two third-rates each.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The French: <i>Incontinent</i>, 74; <i>Malheureux</i>, 64</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The British: HMS <i>Righteous Indignation</i>, 64; HMS <i>Forgettable</i>, 64</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The French were trying to get to the harbour at <i>l'Isle de la Reine</i>, and under the safety of its guns. The British, to intercept them.</span></span> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>"It's the cat fer ye, ye whoreson lubber!"</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Each ship has a stat for the number of dice rolled; sailing, discipline, boarding, gunnery and hull. Discipline allows players to repair damage. Hull dice are basically saving throws.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">We never got close enough for boarding actions, more's the pity.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">As we were just getting the basics down, we decided before the game that for the sake of simplicity, once we determined its direction the wind would not change during the course of the game. As it turned out, the rules proved intuitive enough, so we will do this in future games.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The wind turned out to be blowing directly from the south. Aeolus was clearly an Anglophile, as this meant the French had it blowing directly into their bows. The RN came on with the wind off their port quarter- they very much had the weather gauge. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Consequently the French- who rolled five D6 to the RN's four, as their ships tended to be better built- got one movement point on every roll of six. They sailed on at a crawl. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fortunately for me the British- who in theory should have swooped down on <i>les Frogs</i> like hawks on paraplegic mice as they got movement points on a roll of 4 to 6- were rolling abysmally. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most of the firing took place at long range as a result. For firing, you roll the number of dice allowed under the gunnery stat; at long range, 5-6's are hits. The player receiving the hits rolls the number of dice listed under the hull stat, with 4-6's being saves. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">So at long range firing is generally inconclusive, but it got a <b>lot</b> more lethal when we got into medium range- explosive hits mean damage re-rolls on 6's. This was bad enough- we never got into short range combat, which must have been murderous. The British get more gunnery dice than the French, so long range suited me fine, thank you very much.<i> </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>NB: the term 'explosive' seemed odd, but it was really just unfortunate terminology. In subsequent amendments this has been renamed critical hits, or something similar, which makes more sense.</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I lost <i>Incontinent</i> early in the game, as she came under fire from both RN ships, her consort being too far out of range off her starboard beam to come to her assistance. After taking four hits in one turn, she foundered. Round one to rum and salt pork.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now outnumbered, <i>Malheureux</i> slowly tacked and wore her way around the edge of the table trying to outrun her tormentors. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Luckily the British were unable to put on any speed, and in a drawn out long-range gunnery duel I managed a magnificent firing roll of all 5's and 6's, all of which the <i>Righteous Indignation</i> failed dismally to save. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">She, too, went to the bottom. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The <i>Forgettable</i> sought vengeance, and pursued the <i>Malheureux</i> relentlessly in an effort to stop me making the port, but as dreadful British movement rolls continued, it was clear that I had enough of a head start to reach the safety of the harbour and the guns of the fort.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The game ended in a bang- literally- when <i>Forgettable</i> carelessly got within close range of the fort's battery, and plunging heated shot detonated her magazine in true, David Beatty tradition. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">So I was able to enter harbour to the heartfelt welcome of cheers, bouquets of flowers and patriotic music, followed by a slap-up feed at the governor's table where I regaled the admiring ladies with tales of my martial prowess. I even let the governor win at <i>vignt-et-un,</i> such was my good humour.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The French were victorious, albeit at the cost of their most powerful man-of-war.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">*****</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>So</b></span> what of the rules? Overall, they were a big hit.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">They were fast to learn and to play. There was no bookkeeping to mess about with, and we picked up the mechanics both of sailing and gunnery very quickly. The rules appear to do the job without players having to first spend some years familiarizing themselves with Norie's </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Epitome of Practical Navigation</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">,</span></span> </span>and the intricacies of celestial navigation and Euclidean geometry.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">We got in lots of turns, and the game was over in well under three hours. Not bad for a first outing with a new set of rules.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Naval engagements in <b>Fighting Sail </b>are bloody- <i>too</i> bloody. Three ships lost, which would have been a rarity indeed in naval combat as wooden ships were hard to sink with the weapons of the time. The loss of the <i>Forgettable</i> was a reasonable outcome given the circumstances, but the other two ships really should have remained afloat.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a criticism of <b>Fighting Sail </b>I have come across online- and was a result of a desire to make large multi-player fleet actions play a lot more quickly and decisively.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">But there are modifications to the rules available out there that get around this- by having them strike instead of sink, for example. Given that I invariably tweak rules to suit my taste, I have no problem with this.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gunnery and damage really are simplified; for example, a lack of bow and stern fire which would have added something to the game as we were using so few ships. There doesn't seem to be anything in the rules for this- likely a result of the games being geared towards fleet actions. Still, an easy enough fix.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">In fact it seems an robust system where changes and additions to the rules won't break the basic rules engine.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fighting Sail </b>really plays best with at least a squadron per player. But having two ships each still produced an enjoyable game.</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">We both </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">liked the fact that these rules play so smoothly; after less than an hour we only had to consult the rule book a few times.</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">S</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">omeone wanting more granularity and "sea salt" to their naval rules, or who want to do frigate actions such as HMS <i>Shannon</i> taking the USS <i>Chesapeake</i>, would probably prefer a more detailed rule set.</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I still wouldn't mind trying a few different sets for comparison- especially <b><a href="https://books.google.co.jp/books/about/Blood_Bilge_and_Iron_Balls.html?id=-sXTE_wucYkC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">Blood, Bilge & Iron Balls</a>,</b> but I'm not sure I'll ever get the opportunity. I'm aware that Matt is no sailor, nor are most of the guys here. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sure a more "meaty" set would appeal to them if it meant a long learning curve. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">If <b>FS</b> can engage and interest them in the genre, then I'm happy to continue with it.<b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fighting Sail</b> are also easily available in some bookshops here, so accessibility isn't an issue. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I know there are purists out there who really dislike the rules, and the dreaded phrase "dumbing down of the hobby", or variants thereof, has raised its head in a number of online discussions.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">But hold on there one moment, mateys.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Now, I grew up voraciously reading the adventures of Hornblower, Aubrey & Maturin, Ramage and Bolitho.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Despite my landlubber credentials, I come from Hampshire and Sussex stock, with a long tradition of naval service, to whom the Royal Navy ranked second in British institutions just behind the Monarchy and a good cable's length ahead of the Church of England; beliefs which were instilled in me since childhood.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Wouldn’t be surprised if Dad hadn't slipped a slug 'o rum into my baby formula.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">So being immersed in books and tradition, as a teenager I of course had the chance to play <b><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/237/wooden-ships-iron-men" target="_blank">Wooden Ships & Iron Men</a> </b>at the club in high school. </span></span></span></span></span></span>Later on in life I even tried rules like <b><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20812/action-under-sail-1756-1815" target="_blank">Action Under Sail</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b>and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7779/heart-oak-naval-miniatures-rules-age-fighting-sail" target="_blank"><b>Hearts of Oak</b></a>, (the rule set that came with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privateers_and_Gentlemen" target="_blank"><b>Privateers & Gentlemen</b></a> role-playing game). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Most rules like these were extremely well-detailed, and clearly labours of love. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">T</span></span></span>hey were also virtually unplayable, and i</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">nevitably they never got any traction with us </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">(Avalon Hill's classic, much-loved WS&IM excepted). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">For</span></span></span> the most part, the rules I enjoyed most were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Give_Up_the_Ship_(game)" target="_blank"><b>Don’t Give Up the Ship!</b></a>. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> I press-ganged my younger brother into playing the French and- when I was feeling magnanimous- </span></span></span></span></span></span>the Yankees. We had plenty of decent games with this one, mostly with just one or two ships involved
(the games when we didn’t end up in fistfights, that is). </span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">So personally, I’ve been interested in wargaming the Age of Sail ever since I can remember, and have over the years developed a good- if certainly by no means expert- knowledge of the tactics and ship handling of the period.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">But that’s my point. Naval warfare in the age of sail is a really complex (not to mention arcane) subject both to model and to really understand.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Rules that try to take it all into account might well end up satisfying the dedicated enthusiast, but aside from taking a long time to play, such rules would likely send newly-pressed men jumping over the side in their misery</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, bewildering and frustrating those who are either new or less committed to the period.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I don't do much solo wargaming; I always need to think about what would appeal to my opponents. So I can’t expect anyone in my gaming group to tolerate having to deal with the long learning curve needed to come to grips with the intricacies of late 18th C. naval warfare and sailing. Nor would they want to spend a lot of time referring to complex written record keeping, especially as it would never be a mainstream interest for most. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The best I can reasonably hope for is to get them interested in a game that might scratch an itch after they have read or watched <i>Master & Commander </i>or <i>Hornblower</i>, and have them give a thumbs up to a set of rules that might from time to time provide a quick change of pace from their more regular gaming fare, in the same way as <b><a href="https://www.aresgames.eu/games/ww1-wings-of-glory-line" target="_blank">Wings of Glory</a> </b>or <b><a href="https://toofatlardies.co.uk/product/what-a-tanker-rules/" target="_blank">What a Tanker!</a> </b>does.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">So for these reasons, I’m much more likely to get a game in if I stick with a set of rules that are simple and accessible, and which provide the opportunity to get models on the table, to roll some dice- and just focus on some good storytelling. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">That would satisfy me well enough.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>*****</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Now</b></span> all that said, Sada here <b>is</b> a fan of the age of sail:</span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNV01gFNtKgl8Fawgn_oBa4Vl1eNEn9bzF56gomvwKZoEB8JAPRJSMLs60KynKBA8dEGOd3DDV5U3C-yhQW_yKyEsCr_vVWEyUh2ZJJmkmAe24ZAQGXGPFGZvcyadTrdtTrjRLN8bootHz/s1600/Blog+naval+12.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1600" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNV01gFNtKgl8Fawgn_oBa4Vl1eNEn9bzF56gomvwKZoEB8JAPRJSMLs60KynKBA8dEGOd3DDV5U3C-yhQW_yKyEsCr_vVWEyUh2ZJJmkmAe24ZAQGXGPFGZvcyadTrdtTrjRLN8bootHz/s400/Blog+naval+12.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #f8f9fa; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); display: inline; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"A bloody war or a sickly season"</span></b></i></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUAEzh4w3eHP996mMH7CcKPU-MfqTeNYTuQZ60YU3wDLOlYPeD2NQXApML01bdI4A4eCXZ0B8U4t8oZi6XKk7jj_RWqXpYv9BfK-vo7ojgresF5qYF-xDW9E7T4KVZM4ZSXLjj1pqHiWM/s1600/Blog+naval+13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="1600" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUAEzh4w3eHP996mMH7CcKPU-MfqTeNYTuQZ60YU3wDLOlYPeD2NQXApML01bdI4A4eCXZ0B8U4t8oZi6XKk7jj_RWqXpYv9BfK-vo7ojgresF5qYF-xDW9E7T4KVZM4ZSXLjj1pqHiWM/s400/Blog+naval+13.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>1/1200 Langton ships from Sada's superb collection.</i></span></b></span></span></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">He already has a <a href="http://serreslesrangs.blogspot.com/2011/08/wooden-walls.html" target="_blank">magnificent collection</a> of all the ships- British and Allied- from Trafalgar.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Unfortunately all
the rules we have tried so far seemed unwieldy, and on most occasions we simply ran out of time and/ or energy. Given the number of vessels involved, it looks like <b>Fighting Sail </b>might do the trick.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Even then it wouldn't be a game to be undertaken lightly! In no way would my ping-pong table be big enough- a hall rental is in order post-virus.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As for my own shipbuilding program; given the breadth of Sada's collection, me going ahead building up fleets for, say, the 1805 campaign would be pointless.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Matt expressed interest in doing a Russian fleet of the era (not a bad choice, actually; I can see some "what-if" potential along the coast of the Pacific Northwest).</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Fortunately however, I have long had an interest in the fascinating <a href="http://www.navalwargamessociety.org/scenarios/Suffren_and_Hughes.pdf" target="_blank">East Indies campaign of 1782-83</a>, between the French admiral Suffren- a first-rate admiral (likely France's best) encumbered by having very much third-rate captains- and Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, a competent if second-rate commander with very much first-rate captains and crews.</span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJzRce0i6V0NlpQgE2YrPImrr18iw3KBK_ifbwOPMn2vB2sMKQDppb356VHbfTQ4qLtgN8Kd9y_Iza6JOnE2lm8qkhhJWqajr8G9uo-2uPAZ9XCr32VdJK6nJWare4KdvrLHkaSN-ePN9/s1600/Blog+naval+14.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJzRce0i6V0NlpQgE2YrPImrr18iw3KBK_ifbwOPMn2vB2sMKQDppb356VHbfTQ4qLtgN8Kd9y_Iza6JOnE2lm8qkhhJWqajr8G9uo-2uPAZ9XCr32VdJK6nJWare4KdvrLHkaSN-ePN9/s400/Blog+naval+14.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>This is a good read.</b></i></span></span></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnKSS70udFFaRd6u6acq1LmFI37yS11yfFFm9f16_qbDtDttkVqj3uFQBHrDuG5ZlwvKjtT9SdZ4U34xvZsI-DtQJbN2S6ukazb_7tIJ6mU26QeoVkuQT3EQC5OuRM5eaoEnOwspCibTq/s1600/Blog+naval+6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnKSS70udFFaRd6u6acq1LmFI37yS11yfFFm9f16_qbDtDttkVqj3uFQBHrDuG5ZlwvKjtT9SdZ4U34xvZsI-DtQJbN2S6ukazb_7tIJ6mU26QeoVkuQT3EQC5OuRM5eaoEnOwspCibTq/s400/Blog+naval+6.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>So is this; a great resource; there is not much out there on the French fleet.</i></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgSz1fu4hTaw3vQ0ELa3zMwcO1qJT-JkB3ecRr1HbFKTET4XHm9qB1deb8BMbZsh0jONr4QVNhKwW2wv-Xl7jjD8UNov5RxtKD0GgQ57y-Wc5z7zNkEKtIFDt9UyclBlQDbRy0WjaobYr/s1600/Blog+naval+10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgSz1fu4hTaw3vQ0ELa3zMwcO1qJT-JkB3ecRr1HbFKTET4XHm9qB1deb8BMbZsh0jONr4QVNhKwW2wv-Xl7jjD8UNov5RxtKD0GgQ57y-Wc5z7zNkEKtIFDt9UyclBlQDbRy0WjaobYr/s400/Blog+naval+10.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Lots of fascinating detail.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://attachment.tapatalk-cdn.com/30/202003/77_b187d55a6bd02fe039172ee8c855d6c9.gif?Expires=1588031200&Signature=NSoNkhnjnY46ZyfbtguCE8MvtTKUpgQ0wJ4RprbgpiIpPf5Ane3jCINEFm3ZfCcwbJCk-3Fd8wu921mBSKlNprhsO4Kvkmqp-t4dIEqL-j1LbPQzSP1AS0A93WV6dOyAthlXTvPdUZBndnGq5pLpBb0paID6m-Rn9pZfsOGzYoGYh2a-y5aTsBJQUI3VBfMoASnVpdIYToUtLlnHCFMeZuWylm4xOKiEZoqwh1LAORR23mqvUNixJzqSUGmYtVlrjrduCFtFbqJZJBVdgaKBP7HQoVQsTh38GWqnY1cl0xQRnIRwsNDXO3NBqBSv3muEwcQGXojZYvfGj7dYeP5WPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJS72YROXJYGYDADA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="500" height="160" src="https://attachment.tapatalk-cdn.com/30/202003/77_b187d55a6bd02fe039172ee8c855d6c9.gif?Expires=1588031200&Signature=NSoNkhnjnY46ZyfbtguCE8MvtTKUpgQ0wJ4RprbgpiIpPf5Ane3jCINEFm3ZfCcwbJCk-3Fd8wu921mBSKlNprhsO4Kvkmqp-t4dIEqL-j1LbPQzSP1AS0A93WV6dOyAthlXTvPdUZBndnGq5pLpBb0paID6m-Rn9pZfsOGzYoGYh2a-y5aTsBJQUI3VBfMoASnVpdIYToUtLlnHCFMeZuWylm4xOKiEZoqwh1LAORR23mqvUNixJzqSUGmYtVlrjrduCFtFbqJZJBVdgaKBP7HQoVQsTh38GWqnY1cl0xQRnIRwsNDXO3NBqBSv3muEwcQGXojZYvfGj7dYeP5WPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJS72YROXJYGYDADA" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Okay, they WERE all a little expensive...</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Late last century I went overboard buying stuff from <a href="http://www.rodlangton.com/" target="_blank">Rod Langton</a>. I got most of the ships that I would need </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">for both sides- along with various accessories like gunboats, lighthouses and harbour facilities-</span></span> so it's just the trivial matter of assembling them <i>(hah!).<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">One modification</span></span> the ships need is that the driver- the big fore-and-aft sail on the mizzenmast (big up-and-down pole at the back) was actually a feature of warships du</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">ring the later Revolutionary/ Napoleonic wars. During the 1770’s and 1780’s, the earlier Mizzen Course was more common.</span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Langton models have the booms cast on to the
drivers, which are a feature of the later settings. So the masts need some work with the clippers and
files cutting off the boom at the bottom of the sail. <span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s a French 74 with the typical earlier mizzen rig:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioV6_QhqN70Pjx5a10gAqNaM1RCkD9TN-LHH8uMKU9kHJCvhd0LDAeS2D2ptUccmIgRngo0_o3nfzDR9tGlO2w1p7kwTx5F04yz_kKLbzYCGxj3O6awaSbOquetK7RN8p28V-rwzn14JeE/s1600/Blog+naval+11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioV6_QhqN70Pjx5a10gAqNaM1RCkD9TN-LHH8uMKU9kHJCvhd0LDAeS2D2ptUccmIgRngo0_o3nfzDR9tGlO2w1p7kwTx5F04yz_kKLbzYCGxj3O6awaSbOquetK7RN8p28V-rwzn14JeE/s400/Blog+naval+11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are the mizzen masts as cast:</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2tiTTvn_Z2THvides-25e4-YTU6jJ6qrr4hsP04m4AJ-_TiRSSXe712mst_4ivstxpSB8xrlDpkSu2IwR3B7FqoG5vSwobFks6Hc-sgVxs8ONBOPkrmVRx6z2nURCKtFC11lL3wW5Uzl/s1600/Blog+naval+9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="989" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2tiTTvn_Z2THvides-25e4-YTU6jJ6qrr4hsP04m4AJ-_TiRSSXe712mst_4ivstxpSB8xrlDpkSu2IwR3B7FqoG5vSwobFks6Hc-sgVxs8ONBOPkrmVRx6z2nURCKtFC11lL3wW5Uzl/s320/Blog+naval+9.jpg" width="309" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">And modified using a fine drill and lengths of paperclips.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdhXmwsZxWZ3VVw1LFU2fj6nAv8GIV-O9zMvStYntVfzNAvxOgJMbbAGsW1UYBuhLwMp48fScA0bvTTv50Gg1s1pcwTp9KagXlds4ZNFynIzQUMVbzvzku7Xy3IVEarFmfqNg7N-HI2Ro/s1600/Blog+naval+8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="797" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdhXmwsZxWZ3VVw1LFU2fj6nAv8GIV-O9zMvStYntVfzNAvxOgJMbbAGsW1UYBuhLwMp48fScA0bvTTv50Gg1s1pcwTp9KagXlds4ZNFynIzQUMVbzvzku7Xy3IVEarFmfqNg7N-HI2Ro/s400/Blog+naval+8.jpg" width="311" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJWHlc7vwi-K5xptS6acsu4MAWGnGVroSzcEZJQeQNOFFpFLwo2VjEbaizH7WwEnrnc19oWak3se4ilgBfPVxHgzZUpts8THuMJ15eoNclepvx8AbFiB6v-7wnDmEQn_IpqZa-vUz17f8/s1600/Blog+naval+7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="986" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJWHlc7vwi-K5xptS6acsu4MAWGnGVroSzcEZJQeQNOFFpFLwo2VjEbaizH7WwEnrnc19oWak3se4ilgBfPVxHgzZUpts8THuMJ15eoNclepvx8AbFiB6v-7wnDmEQn_IpqZa-vUz17f8/s400/Blog+naval+7.jpg" width="385" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, the early 1780’s were a period of transition, so not all ships need to be modified. The newer ships in both fleets will be left as is.</span></span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a fun project. I already ordered some clear acrylic bases </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">from Litko</span>, as well as a set of <a href="https://litko.net/products/litko-upgrade-gauge-set-compatible-with-fighting-sail-translucent-blue-4" target="_blank">playing aids </a>for <b>Fighting Sail</b>. These are less hassle than having to cut them out from card- </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">and way more robust</span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The ships themselves aren't easy or quick to do- the masts in particular take time as I use slow-setting JB Weld epoxy for strength- but I really enjoy working on them. It's the modeller in me. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkHsSTSXx2LyBMQwYdYyhllRtEgdo1n016Lsgu_eilxnlAiPiFYs9Zbyqcy7ZmlX-av9HQUTzGEUkznTddmnH7Pi2uyAnv-Xx_3A3NlbTlcdpdKTtFDsm5mrIVO-q7G3yOGes80JhYTXB/s1600/IMG_8123.GIF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="400" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkHsSTSXx2LyBMQwYdYyhllRtEgdo1n016Lsgu_eilxnlAiPiFYs9Zbyqcy7ZmlX-av9HQUTzGEUkznTddmnH7Pi2uyAnv-Xx_3A3NlbTlcdpdKTtFDsm5mrIVO-q7G3yOGes80JhYTXB/s400/IMG_8123.GIF" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What with
this pandemic still going strong, it will likely be a long time before I
next get in a game, but when we do so I hope to have at least six ships
done and ready to go. Dreading the rigging part, but I'm sure I'll
manage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>*****</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>In</b></span> my next post, the plan is to look at my rebooted ACW project along with some related future project possibilities.</span><br />
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-1595468047985181082020-04-25T09:07:00.002+09:002020-04-25T09:21:43.961+09:00Time on my (carefully-washed) hands<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8uFtkr07qFobBcsXHSZjKO_twLfCgOjyHYMtZIjDFcQ_iaitsEKFOs4v5Oj2SAV7AAJ4hFUn7Fo-a_lO_quTvu9426wzQy0koxPEvXxTYzjjrnsZPqaAaS15EDd_c7YOn1uDEy3Zk_lk/s1600/Blog+ACW+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8uFtkr07qFobBcsXHSZjKO_twLfCgOjyHYMtZIjDFcQ_iaitsEKFOs4v5Oj2SAV7AAJ4hFUn7Fo-a_lO_quTvu9426wzQy0koxPEvXxTYzjjrnsZPqaAaS15EDd_c7YOn1uDEy3Zk_lk/s400/Blog+ACW+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Northern flags in south winds flutter..</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Quarantine</b></span>
and teleworking in the Covidian Era has some advantages, one of which
is that I finally have time- and moreover the inclination- to get
blogging again. <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I haven't posted anything in semi-living memory, thanks to:</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">A dearth of wargames; while there have been games, these been relatively thin on the ground</span></span> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Google messing with my log-in ID for Blogger, meaning I can only really use my desktop- and I don't use it as much as I used to.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Wanting to preserve my eyesight for reading books, using the computer, or painting; choose two.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't really think a lot of people were reading the blog anyway.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not that it matters, I tend to use it for my own pleasure when I get that creative writing urge. But Google certainly haven't made it any easier for people to leave me comments on my blog, and indeed vice-versa. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Except spammers, of course: they never seem to have any trouble.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But all that said, I haven't been dormant and a lot has transpired on the gaming front. There have been Napoleonic games, but also some new developments as well.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">These include (quite accidentally!) re-discovering the joy of naval actions in the age of sail using Osprey's <b>Fighting Sail</b>, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">getting back with a vengeance into the ACW with <b>Black Powder/ Rebels & Patriots</b>, </span>and- at last- a serious foray into gaming the Sengokujidai period, as I finally get interested in samurai again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Heck, I even finished a unit of Franks from the Late Roman period.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For now, some evidence showing a bit of what my brushes have been up to over the past year, as I think about how I want to organize future posts.</span></div>
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-51857452628836732262019-01-20T12:17:00.002+09:002019-01-20T16:48:16.428+09:00Holiday Loot (and a little Rantette...)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy New Year! Haven't posted for a while, but I am just as much into the hobby as is usual for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Matt, Giovanni and I are scheduled for a Napoleonics game on 1/27 (postponed from earlier this month), so I'm looking forward to writing up both scenario and battle report.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Holiday gifts resulted in the acquisition of some rather nice Front Rank <i>Landwehr</i> (</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had ordered a few hussars and <i>chasseurs</i>, as I've decided to up the size of my future cavalry units; I added</span> the Prusskis in order to make the cost of postage worthwhile).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was also this rather nifty and compact reference book on French Napoleonic uniforms, one that I've been coveting for over a number of years now:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The English version is long out of print and costs a small fortune. This softcover translation was the equivalent about US $25.00- and of course minimal postage costs- so it was a bargain.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I can probably just about cope with the Japanese, especially as I'm familiar enough with the subject already. It's the uniform plates by Rousselot I've been hankering for.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Another present was Rupert Degas' reading of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's <a href="https://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/exploits-of-brigadier-gerard-the-unabridged/" target="_blank"><b><i>The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard</i></b>.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0IJAHNeI7S8jLkc_x43fH_Muy-I2H2iRpvHF8tS56C2KfgWR40ouOBZt49F52ulTLAliEzNkl7G1e3x_ORiMIGk0sdaTmboHHdxwNk_r1No-aynygwthRpqImqAsQcl7cWVoH19EwbJL/s1600/738512-288x288.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0IJAHNeI7S8jLkc_x43fH_Muy-I2H2iRpvHF8tS56C2KfgWR40ouOBZt49F52ulTLAliEzNkl7G1e3x_ORiMIGk0sdaTmboHHdxwNk_r1No-aynygwthRpqImqAsQcl7cWVoH19EwbJL/s320/738512-288x288.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Heroic Colonel of <i>les Hussards d<span style="font-family: inherit;">e Conflans</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, t</span></span></span>he First Light Cavalryman of France, t</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">he bravest soldier, the greatest swordsman, the most</span></span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">accomplished horseman and the most gallant lover in Napoleon's army. A</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">t</span>rue legend in his own mind and one of my favourite literary heroes.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is the second set in the series; I already have the first set of CDs in the Naxos series, <a href="https://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/adventures-of-brigadier-gerard-the-unabridged/" target="_blank"><b><i>The Adventures of Brigadier Gerard,</i></b></a> and loved them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KxacaF_W340SErj3ioTxMB1vqNDh464H8CmLeNy1nWePrznIeUZRAy3KMvzSGiQqhju8xvN6-7crKAum6t6lbhRwSxfBm16qAu-oiENMR31FokByM6GanXM0QvBf0w_sgjuCyynp6gDs/s1600/0025-288x288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KxacaF_W340SErj3ioTxMB1vqNDh464H8CmLeNy1nWePrznIeUZRAy3KMvzSGiQqhju8xvN6-7crKAum6t6lbhRwSxfBm16qAu-oiENMR31FokByM6GanXM0QvBf0w_sgjuCyynp6gDs/s320/0025-288x288.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What better to listen to while painting spurs, shabraques, dolman and pelisse lace, all while drinking a fine wine from Suresnes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Right now I have these on the painting desk, not far from completion.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsXB_66sY_vDduA3weN3-EPMvqMqEBWPYaSL_fKfKRHBhcQM1ukx9SQQhM6sni7KbD66dQSZHARgPKdDN4vh_o3G3G91YbCU40021jaLke0XdLpCCsRHAPNMCJ2OPlfMYYR0otL2OPgLU/s1600/IMG_3921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsXB_66sY_vDduA3weN3-EPMvqMqEBWPYaSL_fKfKRHBhcQM1ukx9SQQhM6sni7KbD66dQSZHARgPKdDN4vh_o3G3G91YbCU40021jaLke0XdLpCCsRHAPNMCJ2OPlfMYYR0otL2OPgLU/s400/IMG_3921.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">***** </span></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Starting the new year with an editorial rant of sorts, having just turned my back on another Facebook wargaming page. Read no further if this kind of thing doesn't turn your crank.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This was one on naval wargaming, and while I had been uneasy with some of the borderline political commentary on current events (I don't go to hobby sites out of any interest in what the political views of its members may be), what did it for me was, yet again, bitching about wargaming rules.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I've seen it now with anything Warlord puts out these days, although to be clear it's not <b>only</b> them who get the flak.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Basically it tends to run like this:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The rules suck; you should try... </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The rules ignore history</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">People who play the rules- clearly GW-weaned sheep- also suck</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Kids these days suck- they are lazy and want it all spoonfed</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Glossy publications suck</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">In my day, <i>yadda yadda...</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Why this scale? Why not in the scale of the miniatures I already have?</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">But the whole thing was certainly not unique to this particular group. I see the same going on other pages and fora as well, be it with <b>Black Powder</b> vs, <b>GdB</b>, <b>Bolt Action</b> vs. <b>CoC</b>,<b> Lasalle</b> vs. <b>Empire</b>, <b>FoW</b> vs. Anybody- what have you.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now to be clear, it's not a hurt fanboy reaction on my part. There are certainly a lot of valid criticisms to be made with Warlord products, and I have reservations about a number of aspects of their rules which I could post here at some length. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But much of it just reflects my own ideas, preferences and prejudices, and I can then just make any changes I see fit to fix what I don't like (that usually does the job). Or, should I feel it's a dead end, there are other options out there I can look at. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">These days there are many game systems, periods, and styles of play that do (and don't) float my boat; as is the case with music, sports, cars, and Brussels sprouts (the God of vegetables, BTW). <br /><br />What I just honestly don't understand is why some continue to feel this urge to go online and at length denigrate not just a set of rules, but those who don't share their preferences. Or when they somehow imply that <b>they</b> have got it right when other sane, intelligent folk somehow haven't. I often find myself astounded by the misplaced arrogance.<br /><br />The problem I have is not the criticism of a set of rules <i>per se</i>. But first off, when someone chooses to share pictures of their games on social media, it is inappropriate- and even plain wrong- to just blurt out an (unsolicited) opinion that the rules are "rubbish"- if the people playing the game evidently enjoyed it- well, how can it be "rubbish" to them?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And I doubt very much that anyone would get away with saying that face-to-face in a club setting; </span><span style="font-size: large;">my own reply would be (indeed, has been) unfettered by any restrictive forum rules.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Keyboard warriors are always the boldest. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now a given set of rules may not be my own cup of tea for any number of reasons that reflect my own criteria as to what makes for a good gaming experience. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For example, rules like <b>LFS</b>,<b> Empire</b> or <b>ESR</b> leave me colder than a long-deceased halibut sinking to the bottom of the Sea of Murmansk. But that fact alone does not make any of them necessarily crap- they certainly aren't. But they're not what I'm looking for.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A number of commercial rule sets are indeed very sloppily written, poorly explained and/ or edited, and can be riddled with proofreading errors (a bane of our times). That's fair game and fair comment- when appropriate.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But few are actually outright, plain <b>bad</b>, and are likely to be even less so if they have garnered a strong following.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My main issue is that any criticism </span><span style="font-size: large;">should</span><span style="font-size: large;"> first of all be framed within the purpose or design philosophy behind the rules to begin with- something all too often ignored.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Secondly is when the commentator goes well beyond merely critiquing the rules themselves, and ends up casting the net to include dissing the people who play them, the company </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">who produces them </span>(almost invariably the commercially successful ones), and for that matter just showing an overall annoyance with the modern world in general. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Aside from the fact that the latter sentiment has been expressed since at least the time of Socrates, it's just </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">ridiculous to attempt to pigeonhole wargamers in that way. It</span> ignores the fact that some out there may actually be playing more than one set of rules according to the situation, and that one gamer's pet historical period may be no more than an evening's worth of light entertainment for another- and of course vice-versa. Horses for courses.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And being so unnecessarily judgmental sparks in turn a natural negative reaction from those who- surprise, surprise- resent finding themselves being summarily dismissed as the hobby's <i>untermenschen</i>, and who d</span><span style="font-size: large;">islike being told how they should be enjoying their pastime.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No wonder the atmosphere so quickly gets poisoned.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">People are different; differing hobby and time priorities, differing skill sets, differing levels of interests in, and interpretations of, history. The list goes on and on.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So if others tackle the hobby in ways that don't fit your groove- just get over it. There are choices out there; we make our own and other people are free to make theirs. As I mentioned, there's no lack of alternatives.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I can understand that some gamers may get frustrated because others in their group don't want to play the same rules that they might do (I'd love to try <b>Republic to Empire,</b> or <b>GdA,</b> or even <b>Shako II,</b> but for a number of very practical reasons I know they're not going to fly locally). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But that's a fact of life in any social gathering- we go with the flow. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Unless, of course, we prefer to be (ultimately friendless) despotic sociopaths, seeking to impose our heavy-handed will on those around us. I've met a few of those around the gaming table in my time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I also suspect that taste in rules might be a generational thing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But if we want to get others to buy into trying a set of rules that we fancy, then slagging these folks off for their existing choices probably isn't the best way to do it. And be prepared that even if they do give it a try, it may well fail to tick enough of the right boxes for them so that they would want to stick with it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This doesn't make them wrong, and we have to respect their choices too.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Getting quite fed up with it all. I honestly don't understand the tribalism and need to piss into other people's cornflakes all the time in what is just a hobby. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My first New Year's resolution; don't waste any more time on people with a Mission.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">*And don't get me started on home-grown rules! Personal experience has led me to be very wary of these. Those who go to the effort of writing their own rules can get very attached to them, seeing as their creations often reflect a very personal vision of what a game should be all about. Fine for solo gaming, but such games often end up on the rocks in a group setting as the authors often don't take kindly to criticism or suggestions for improvement if it means losing control over their "baby". </span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">It all too often seemed to end in tears, or at best in endless discussions and rule tinkering which come at the expense of rarely being comfortable enough with the mechanics to just enjoy the game. Eventually those participants who have suffered in silence for the sake of group harmony just get tired of it all and vote with their feet.</span></i></span><br />
<br /></div>
Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-14869775048140437742018-12-22T11:59:00.000+09:002018-12-23T07:48:49.699+09:00Big Game Hunting, 1944<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Another</b></span> dreary drought in posts. I blame all the usual suspects, with work, business trips, and general life shittery all leading to great difficulty in finding any slot when were all available at the same time for a game. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I did find time for a bit of painting here and there, along with the usual acquisition of new books and toys. But without the spur of a game to get ready for, nothing really to show for it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, the gaming drought eventually came to an end, so on the last Sunday of November Giovanni and I had our first game of the Lardies' <b><i>What a Tanker! </i></b> Now that my winter vacation has started, I've some time for getting caught up.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3O0aVUs0FnqdoPcnhstcgb-TQohXREu6FmGamiMI2ZbhmMpOG3IxmFmVndWW9Ghsx1SzCC4sMd49-EBjQzlxwSBTj0P_5zLgzl4OkieGPQLD6RmBdI3BseCwnl_lfBd7_VKkucFdvjau/s1600/What-a-Tanker.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1163" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3O0aVUs0FnqdoPcnhstcgb-TQohXREu6FmGamiMI2ZbhmMpOG3IxmFmVndWW9Ghsx1SzCC4sMd49-EBjQzlxwSBTj0P_5zLgzl4OkieGPQLD6RmBdI3BseCwnl_lfBd7_VKkucFdvjau/s400/What-a-Tanker.png" width="290" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">We originally intended to do a Napoleonic game using <i>Black Powder,</i>
but we were both of us feeling a bit burnt out from work and from
irritating- yet persistent- everyday life issues. Instead, we decided
that we would be happy just to settle for a game that didn't require a
lot of setting up, was simple, and which would allow us to shoot the
breeze a fair amount as we hadn't seen much of each other for a while.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And with just two tanks each, WaT was just the thing.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5n-tqhC6S65Jb8bMSJyv4qPydAeeOqMBFDKOs-TsLqUY3iTqAb5znQcNdgRhh8fHUvl1tvKkO8Th3SZuZClCiB7VbBfAv3SJYZF38nOBFDjTjGObuE8X9VZucmfmDj3RXP-k3zKQ9sdA/s1600/WaT-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5n-tqhC6S65Jb8bMSJyv4qPydAeeOqMBFDKOs-TsLqUY3iTqAb5znQcNdgRhh8fHUvl1tvKkO8Th3SZuZClCiB7VbBfAv3SJYZF38nOBFDjTjGObuE8X9VZucmfmDj3RXP-k3zKQ9sdA/s400/WaT-1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><i>In the end I decided that using my IS-2 and ISU-152 would probably be overkill.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To keep things simple, we decided to go with two identical tanks on each side. Giovanni opted for two Panther D's, while I settled on two T-34/85's.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In game terms <i>der grossen Kats </i>have an armour rating of 8 and a strike of 9, while the T-34/85 has armour 8 and a strike of 8. Additionally both tanks are considered fast, so are able to convert any one extra die into an additional "one", a movement die. So to all intents and purposes, the two types are pretty much equal counterparts.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We played the angled scenario, with each side coming in from opposing corners of the table. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The table itself was set somewhere in Russia, so was covered with road crossing a river, woods, some hills that and copses that would block line of sight, and a few buildings.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I also had, for the first time on the table, the <i>Red October Cement Works</i> <a href="http://forwardtothewest.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-red-october-cement-works-pt-1.html" target="_blank">(Красный Октябрь Цементный завод)</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8tGysmTMXceSySPEdVpOhKSINQQe36wkR9zF3PEbC_2nrg3rWANa2Gv1GnOAwYC8Y32Md4W2kZ0fMWuSOtqBZNJgovi2f5w1B0mzK3_qqakPIOJYfa32kpsAtbZOq7Jok3KDDq23Jr66/s1600/WaT-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8tGysmTMXceSySPEdVpOhKSINQQe36wkR9zF3PEbC_2nrg3rWANa2Gv1GnOAwYC8Y32Md4W2kZ0fMWuSOtqBZNJgovi2f5w1B0mzK3_qqakPIOJYfa32kpsAtbZOq7Jok3KDDq23Jr66/s400/WaT-2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This started life as a simple dice tower that I had made from foamboard, using a set of plans I found online. Eventually, I decided to use it as the basis for a functional terrain piece, integrating the old Airfix control tower. It's not finished, but I wanted to use it to see how practical it was in terms of size and convenience. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Fortunately, it passed the Politburo's strict zoning regulations comfortably. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For a long time I had been waiting on trying to source some fine scale corrugated material for use as the factory roofing. It turns out Giovanni has some plastic sheet from an architectural model shop, so that hurdle has now been overcome.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To the game; some tentative initial maneuvering resulted in a few missed shots from both sides.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Suddenly I saw an opportunity to I send one of my T-34s on a flanking march around a large hill to try to knock out one of Giovanni's Panthers from the rear.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This looked promising.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq-x10vlBtVMbyN6m22YYF6C33T6zf2LZViSGzj8ZAD_vzHH_hEicxVwDgsEQK6ogo_26RG0Vn9nxQ-iMuUvRTv1xhHZgV_WWyJqwWXpCjxjZPAy62U45Zp2W5eK7wkui7SWzX0_PjtQq/s1600/WaT-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq-x10vlBtVMbyN6m22YYF6C33T6zf2LZViSGzj8ZAD_vzHH_hEicxVwDgsEQK6ogo_26RG0Vn9nxQ-iMuUvRTv1xhHZgV_WWyJqwWXpCjxjZPAy62U45Zp2W5eK7wkui7SWzX0_PjtQq/s400/WaT-3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately, I then hit a dry spell where I was making a series of completely useless die rolls- never in the history of miniatures gaming have so many 5's been rolled to so little effect. A roll of five allows the player to reload; well, I must've had every round in the tank chambered up that gun barrel. But I couldn't move very far, and didn't have the dice needed to acquire or aim on my target, let alone fire on it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Of
course, Giovanni's Panther managed to roll a cascade of 1's and 6's,
thus allowing him to do basically whatever he wanted; namely to climb
the hill and attack my hapless Russki broadside</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgx94-zT3dI1ha3A0EfarfqpztyxsggFbPnul__fNHTHD4mgU_ICagpfCcZIuFQt-0rGZ12nDuirs7zvpau-abmuKwQabQAYOQTQMJ8K4IdUxS8EIPLhpAzMSoJ5z50eM2VYIRYdefzwUb/s1600/WaT-4.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgx94-zT3dI1ha3A0EfarfqpztyxsggFbPnul__fNHTHD4mgU_ICagpfCcZIuFQt-0rGZ12nDuirs7zvpau-abmuKwQabQAYOQTQMJ8K4IdUxS8EIPLhpAzMSoJ5z50eM2VYIRYdefzwUb/s400/WaT-4.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kat food: scratch one T-34.</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMb-7p5jhigE69aX5Rm2S7TcqSSPGP7g6HAcCT81W7S3qLMC8OCBnVJ2HR06B3jyPRNFjUdiSd5j2MT8G15FSAZGPsRmrcHbZCcepH2NaTyVvuDqdK1dbpdftOE4Xa5rrzKPr7ZBTONJDy/s1600/Potus+rattus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="297" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMb-7p5jhigE69aX5Rm2S7TcqSSPGP7g6HAcCT81W7S3qLMC8OCBnVJ2HR06B3jyPRNFjUdiSd5j2MT8G15FSAZGPsRmrcHbZCcepH2NaTyVvuDqdK1dbpdftOE4Xa5rrzKPr7ZBTONJDy/s320/Potus+rattus.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><i>"Aw, Crap! </i>Commisar<i> Putin will be </i><i>really pissed off over this!- BIGLY"</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Any smug Teutonic smirk was soon wiped off blond Aryan mugs when my remaining tank, now outnumbered two to one and facing a developing pincer movement, finally saw me roll a (rare) fistful of sixes in the command phase.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I was able to dart out from around the corner of a farm building and snap off a quick shot at the frontal armour of the previously victorious Panther. My luck held and I followed up with a great strike roll, more than half being 5's and- more importantly- 6's (critical hits).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>Stalin's Kan Opener</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He failed miserably at saving any of them. As its ammo cooked off, the Panther was duly sent to Valhalla and it's crew incinerated in a ball of super-heated flame. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Honours now even.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The rest of the game saw the remaining two tanks basically going around a farm in circles, as they chased each other's butts trying to get in what were proving to be very elusive killing blows. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBz9lIoVgGAEcYX-44Rnz72lQjCKfO7biQruwuZQuE4_-EHEkibDTlZACnM00wWdoEi4fqY6FpNto0n-eDhMh42Q2ipITjV1Uo1C5vo9FyNziwYuL_DwKi1tG5TfFH5DF6tpmD7t0B_RJ/s1600/WaT-6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBz9lIoVgGAEcYX-44Rnz72lQjCKfO7biQruwuZQuE4_-EHEkibDTlZACnM00wWdoEi4fqY6FpNto0n-eDhMh42Q2ipITjV1Uo1C5vo9FyNziwYuL_DwKi1tG5TfFH5DF6tpmD7t0B_RJ/s400/WaT-6.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><i>"I wasn't born yesterday, Fritz.."</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">On a number of occasions both of us did maneuver so that the enemy's rear was dead in our sights, only to find that we couldn't muster the dice needed to allow us to set up a shot. In the rare instances when either of us actually did manage to get a round off, it would invariably end up flying uselessly off target.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCjreaY9dVIDLRRZRirp0ALxt3eFjht6V6xreJfouXES3Lxcibl-xAeTAZLr_L6hpPescN01D7RWxGTMF_R22ToOqlcaDC1VIQksA8LurVPHC_rKNAmLlm7J5eD0a-R1PeIiz24ve9GRq/s1600/WaT-7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCjreaY9dVIDLRRZRirp0ALxt3eFjht6V6xreJfouXES3Lxcibl-xAeTAZLr_L6hpPescN01D7RWxGTMF_R22ToOqlcaDC1VIQksA8LurVPHC_rKNAmLlm7J5eD0a-R1PeIiz24ve9GRq/s400/WaT-7.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>You two get a room...</i></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQAJdWJkUNPlgdeyz5qbEvhTdvgI1mvRmvj9Y7U49pr7ZZwKpZ2wBTKlpUNPFTwg_c0TYXM57I4f9L4s4X6F9-Kt4g-3k6myCc3qQqqK8j5PffgdwSUJuZ4xray1aEq88gnGrI1N_nLtZ/s1600/WaT-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQAJdWJkUNPlgdeyz5qbEvhTdvgI1mvRmvj9Y7U49pr7ZZwKpZ2wBTKlpUNPFTwg_c0TYXM57I4f9L4s4X6F9-Kt4g-3k6myCc3qQqqK8j5PffgdwSUJuZ4xray1aEq88gnGrI1N_nLtZ/s400/WaT-9.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><i>Ringskis around the Roseskis</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">On one tantalizing occasion I did get in a significant hit, one that inflicted some permanent damage. A lucky shot knocked out his optics, meaning that from that point on not only he was he down -1 to hit, but also that he would be rolling only four, instead of five, command dice. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGitVRyrAKIhCiCANmAaChxnFaqUS_XoJkaE-zsdZvmtDw1OMZLenCVdzbhlLdyKOyPpfaJMtUf0lN08EzYIQKfrUbUJ4DIoRkcKc101dDxNMzDLrO4HZBM4YHBTeSpUMSS5rsWNx2gPur/s1600/WaT-8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGitVRyrAKIhCiCANmAaChxnFaqUS_XoJkaE-zsdZvmtDw1OMZLenCVdzbhlLdyKOyPpfaJMtUf0lN08EzYIQKfrUbUJ4DIoRkcKc101dDxNMzDLrO4HZBM4YHBTeSpUMSS5rsWNx2gPur/s400/WaT-8.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This was a real blow, but I wasn't ever able to really capitalize on it (although it saved my shell-shocked Socialist skin on at least two subsequent occasions).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So on balance the Russian side did more damage than what it received. However with time running out, we decided that both vehicles were running out of fuel, ammo and above all, patience. The respective commanders felt it was high time to call it a day. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Until we meet again, Fascist swine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Overall impressions: I liked the game, but can't quite yet say I -love- it. It has some interesting mechanisms, and certainly provided many moments of tense excitement; I do like the fact that it's not bogged down in rivet-counting detail.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Although the rules themselves are very simple and very well laid out, in some respects I felt we were probably getting it wrong; I need to go back and read them over again.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The issues I had with the game were that most of it had been spent with the two remaining tanks busily- and quite ineffectually- chasing each other's tails, while we looked down with dismay and frustration on a series of useless combinations of command die rolls. Fog of war is one thing, but being totally at the mercy of capricious Fate is another.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tolstoy would have loved it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps this was in part because as we were both fast tanks, we were able to convert one additional die to movement on top of any 1's that were rolled. This kept allowing us to shake off acquisition, but we both found it was then incredibly difficult getting the combination of dice that would allow us to reacquire, aim, and actually shoot at the target. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This was really tough for Giovanni's Panther when it was down from rolling five to four command dice, but he was coming up with more than his fair share of boxcars, allowing him some good shots- only to see him then fail his "to hit" rolls with a series of disgracefully (and quite mathematically unlikely) poor throws.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Much to my relief, as I was rolling multiple fours and fives to beat the band.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Or perhaps we had just got something wrong; it was our first time with the rules, after all.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Nevertheless it's a good game, and felt a bit like a simplified <i>Saga</i> for WWII. But very much depends on the whims of the Dice Gods; not necessarily a bad thing, but YMMV.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The only other thing has nothing to do with the rules, but with our own housekeeping habits in a game like this. We both really needed to keep the dashboards up-to-date and tidy, as we frequently forgot to update them and/or would accidentally move the markers around in the heat of combat. That was one of the issues I had with playing <i>Saga</i>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But it was great to be able to dust off my Soviets again. And overall, and based on this one experience, I would say yes, it's a game worth playing. Despite the aforementioned frustrations it was certainly engaging.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sure if I'd want a steady diet of it, but we do want to try it again, maybe with less powerful tanks. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Something set in the early North African campaign, with such armoured leviathans as the British A-10 cruiser and Italian M-13/40, might be fun.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>*****</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>The</b></span> good news is that with the holiday here, Matt and I have a game coming up during the New Year's vacation. This time it will be back to Napoleonics and BP; he has some ungrateful Brunswickers in desperate need of just chastisement from the Emperor.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And of course, Happy Holidays, everyone. </span></div>
Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-29116960198159846082018-07-18T19:00:00.000+09:002018-07-18T19:36:14.419+09:00Lundella's Lane, 1814<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDASLqqLdK52S5imf8hxPvW9tXEkAG1RJanwA1CaUbc3fZu51sJ73LZ0tWcvzvmVZ_5Nwnlc06qO8m8DQP751uQQe8NzrcSZxKX4j8sipDEWv1G0fyzPRmY7FO7K6EY7XfjxXLiDuSRh6/s1600/15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1280" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDASLqqLdK52S5imf8hxPvW9tXEkAG1RJanwA1CaUbc3fZu51sJ73LZ0tWcvzvmVZ_5Nwnlc06qO8m8DQP751uQQe8NzrcSZxKX4j8sipDEWv1G0fyzPRmY7FO7K6EY7XfjxXLiDuSRh6/s400/15.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Marching to the sound of indecision</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Unusually</b></span>, my friend Giovanni and I both had the day off last Friday. That gave us a rare opportunity to get in a quick Napoleonics game. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He was anxious to try out his newly-painted infantry and dragoons from the Kingdom of Italy, so in the absence of any painted Allied troops we decided it would have to be the French putting down a revolt of treacherous Italian turncoats, who are trying to suck up to the Allies now that things have started going pear-shaped for the Little Corporal in the aftermath of Leipzig.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72Ptxx6LRYUa_d4raMvGpxbYTyDdMPuKVv8us0fQW4Q0LD0RN0J9ziwwJnptWvytJtn9YPc2VrW7e298fBBBveP-n__6TBVxfbFOdny9t90oGKZNbvB74e6NEYuZmlwCxmLpqWM1gq_1h/s1600/4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1280" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72Ptxx6LRYUa_d4raMvGpxbYTyDdMPuKVv8us0fQW4Q0LD0RN0J9ziwwJnptWvytJtn9YPc2VrW7e298fBBBveP-n__6TBVxfbFOdny9t90oGKZNbvB74e6NEYuZmlwCxmLpqWM1gq_1h/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>North Italian Rabble</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I really need to paint up a critical mass of Prussians and Russians.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, it was scenario #8 out of my now well-thumbed copy of Neil Thomas' <i>One Hour Wargames</i>, and is loosely based on the War of 1812 Battle of Lundy’s Lane, 1814.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now I did say it was a quick game; unfortunately, we weren't able to reach a conclusion as Giovanni could only stay until mid-afternoon- he understandably had to be home when his daughter got back from school. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So out of the 15 turns called for in the scenario, regrettably we could only get 7 turns in 3 1/2 hours. Matt and I could probably have gotten in a dozen turns over that time- Giovanni is a wonderful friend and fantastic painter, but he hadn't played Black Powder for a while, and anyway he is never the fastest at planning and making moves. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps we should encourage him to do an Austrian army.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Back to the scenario; we each had six units. His were all standard-sized units with one of them being an elite Grenadier battalion of Royal Guards. One battalion was of light infantry, two were line, and the remaining two units were a battery of artillery and his newly-mustered dragoons.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On my part I had four, large line infantry battalions, a battery of artillery and, in a touching instance of hope over experience, cavalry support in the form of my ill-starred Red Dutch Lancers of the Guard. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1DXKqIEaYydYcqOS8iMBvV84y7vZa0jhRzXw6f2ubvGqxaeQ3z5ALYpZjCczYpaRqCfOwFuyyvwthfmmMEPA8sAfKQ-E-lTn_lBlFtO03s4QWKwS3RPWPfDHrlVTdUigmQRee6BO0VFJ/s1600/9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1280" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1DXKqIEaYydYcqOS8iMBvV84y7vZa0jhRzXw6f2ubvGqxaeQ3z5ALYpZjCczYpaRqCfOwFuyyvwthfmmMEPA8sAfKQ-E-lTn_lBlFtO03s4QWKwS3RPWPfDHrlVTdUigmQRee6BO0VFJ/s400/9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Italian Guard Grenadiers in assault column</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lundy's Lane was a confused meeting engagement, very hard fought, and the scenario reflects this. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Giovanni starts the game with two units on a hill, I come on with three; he had two further units coming on in turn three and another two in turn seven, while I had another three units- two of infantry and my lancers- come on in turn four. All marching to the sound of the guns.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFW5PiSkPVVzq2QyiijyHv-htZ7IXlb38I15Q6mKWfsRDuWHhGHaW-uXV7WQ1Z7MNnMNTf4uv0SZkeu_OatWueC5qMMu6EgdB9U-K95JcQh23PElF5ludFKwUEVtvpoe4ef-Hus-wxAXA/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="990" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFW5PiSkPVVzq2QyiijyHv-htZ7IXlb38I15Q6mKWfsRDuWHhGHaW-uXV7WQ1Z7MNnMNTf4uv0SZkeu_OatWueC5qMMu6EgdB9U-K95JcQh23PElF5ludFKwUEVtvpoe4ef-Hus-wxAXA/s400/2.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The French start with three marching to the right along the road. The Italians have two units on the hill, in this case an artillery battery and a unit of Guard Grenadiers</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Despite the difficulties of the attacker having to clear a hill without clear superiority of numbers, it balanced out. Italian support comes in in drips and drabs, and Giovanni rates as an overly-cautious commander- without there being need for any artificial rule mechanisms. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyk2ut8efF0p2JP6CNN-JZBEdCz6r2SzEOxL9WtWw6IouxuuUCQ99ehOrZ9mmtiPrS9Rk9nXyn3ZOLJn9c2944Lo9Opz7aY6_5fuDGHKFHj6_30Q1dRA1gAOZmyheYugazadgEexTPrxm/s1600/6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1280" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyk2ut8efF0p2JP6CNN-JZBEdCz6r2SzEOxL9WtWw6IouxuuUCQ99ehOrZ9mmtiPrS9Rk9nXyn3ZOLJn9c2944Lo9Opz7aY6_5fuDGHKFHj6_30Q1dRA1gAOZmyheYugazadgEexTPrxm/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Italians
defending the prize. The French have to be in possession of this hill
by the end of the game. We simply ran out of time.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Like a lot of the scenarios in OHWG, it was one that would really come down to the wire, so we really needed the full fifteen moves to reach a conclusion.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70ug9tBMlvvPTG9ccVefvhcNyn8wHGh0s69DejBcVtRmWiW0ZSeK1A1tWZ_IuXxhPV5dvOtjSXSVAosnY-yd_7GjjVF3_Mjh45w1BwOsXV2aPMMLtqDBD2UvlitcHek0OYpmZFjs_DT_L/s1600/5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1280" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70ug9tBMlvvPTG9ccVefvhcNyn8wHGh0s69DejBcVtRmWiW0ZSeK1A1tWZ_IuXxhPV5dvOtjSXSVAosnY-yd_7GjjVF3_Mjh45w1BwOsXV2aPMMLtqDBD2UvlitcHek0OYpmZFjs_DT_L/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Stamping out rebellion...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguP-l8MbVGAy6p8zG4yp8F55yOIvTD1SNkprWUCpdepd7qRvHN3DdhI7sudhY54pm0AnF083flOw6cGf0JvWB_hwc3XUrfdMPFsbIj0oN3eoqhYZTZPm-jQs8Hgm17TjhtD0_fvP-yhP2M/s1600/10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguP-l8MbVGAy6p8zG4yp8F55yOIvTD1SNkprWUCpdepd7qRvHN3DdhI7sudhY54pm0AnF083flOw6cGf0JvWB_hwc3XUrfdMPFsbIj0oN3eoqhYZTZPm-jQs8Hgm17TjhtD0_fvP-yhP2M/s400/10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>And of course, the lead unit takes one shot from a skirmish stand, and of course it rolls a six; disorder.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBEF3NSShIbl6dPexyBc3FPOcTWrXwSDGU2lh6i_w4C9nfhR5nbbXK5XyHSycLB7oFjuLJFOgOhvrR31GR7lqYN1NNFu4yNx987tSMr4s-50QayTBZcFiHkqnpr5ok2stzrVWwi4iTZrW/s400/12.jpg" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Forcing
me to support it with another unit in column, one I had earmarked for a
different task. The military calls this "friction". I call it
"fucked".</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfGO4CD9EA8zjs0CtLOfMWzFyexj3Uns_eK9bH4MHqa5PS3SkmoG-xxp1QMLYEY13moILqjS-WlMzOsg1kWKhFgZzuj6xSxA-3LPhW5VOlpFp_Tz0TldjdWANj6r-axOmLK3v-lno6T0E/s1600/11.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfGO4CD9EA8zjs0CtLOfMWzFyexj3Uns_eK9bH4MHqa5PS3SkmoG-xxp1QMLYEY13moILqjS-WlMzOsg1kWKhFgZzuj6xSxA-3LPhW5VOlpFp_Tz0TldjdWANj6r-axOmLK3v-lno6T0E/s400/11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfe5MRTjv_XM3Ei3H6INCDDvLCuHaQevhC8uJRTUwm4JPJ46fXv28wh5M85p_XiOIW34Ql6MJJpq_3OuJpsBQyfgwy97Pbc2wBhJJbFEuTRVFk_rx2pcXeUCLXleucd2POg6dKgcJm9Cm/s1600/13.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfe5MRTjv_XM3Ei3H6INCDDvLCuHaQevhC8uJRTUwm4JPJ46fXv28wh5M85p_XiOIW34Ql6MJJpq_3OuJpsBQyfgwy97Pbc2wBhJJbFEuTRVFk_rx2pcXeUCLXleucd2POg6dKgcJm9Cm/s400/13.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQeZnyM3x1yCO_D4h0NHhx6RvlhsmW1FBM2JtCcOh07uMhYdq3SaRvgbAz1eaMj1w8nSLgDtoW-QyetDSMxiM3vJ8uv2Pj5aPXqlZVLJBzAx5Pg-T27G66_LWKsRRWl5B7HhlLMAx1q_SD/s1600/14.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1280" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQeZnyM3x1yCO_D4h0NHhx6RvlhsmW1FBM2JtCcOh07uMhYdq3SaRvgbAz1eaMj1w8nSLgDtoW-QyetDSMxiM3vJ8uv2Pj5aPXqlZVLJBzAx5Pg-T27G66_LWKsRRWl5B7HhlLMAx1q_SD/s400/14.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Italian reinforcements enter stage right, and form into line.</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxdE3GtWIb_zIhYlr7d23VjG0Z08Crz9o8xpKsJrOPgdkCXeLXQVjo9JDuSOiHE4E0d-mmenlI2FHUi-WkiMXpYJVMCbm-VQQ3cym7tcGByeQ7gUzn6W99d5tSjeF04hhqyA2W6muNNmY/s1600/17.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxdE3GtWIb_zIhYlr7d23VjG0Z08Crz9o8xpKsJrOPgdkCXeLXQVjo9JDuSOiHE4E0d-mmenlI2FHUi-WkiMXpYJVMCbm-VQQ3cym7tcGByeQ7gUzn6W99d5tSjeF04hhqyA2W6muNNmY/s400/17.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Soon followed by the other half of the French army, but they would be turning off to the left and marching parallel to the hill for the assault.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwtDrWecdIL3ZcCXT5b4mGq00cfYWr9PGRKe0NlDPhRF6VExesXLmDReBs1nzhGfUE6dxjc3NLqND8FG_YWFsHt17EneH6cUV4lbNgLxLPs6kEg_Mrlte85fRvzp70VQ1YnAyVo_pbkRN/s1600/19.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwtDrWecdIL3ZcCXT5b4mGq00cfYWr9PGRKe0NlDPhRF6VExesXLmDReBs1nzhGfUE6dxjc3NLqND8FG_YWFsHt17EneH6cUV4lbNgLxLPs6kEg_Mrlte85fRvzp70VQ1YnAyVo_pbkRN/s400/19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Flank march!</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtV4EvRa8OGNlYXfLI6MyAcL3HwVfqP8xpuVgaW8UyHNTmpVjXzanGJYtAwb-_HFDSw3n_2Z64B4nKGntsAYka2LivOrmI5FJjeaYDzlB17qw-SjreK_aGi_hs8JXD2PRjZtFJirwA-1i/s1600/21.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1151" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtV4EvRa8OGNlYXfLI6MyAcL3HwVfqP8xpuVgaW8UyHNTmpVjXzanGJYtAwb-_HFDSw3n_2Z64B4nKGntsAYka2LivOrmI5FJjeaYDzlB17qw-SjreK_aGi_hs8JXD2PRjZtFJirwA-1i/s400/21.jpg" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>My Guard Lancers in the lead, knowing that they would be needed to skewer some haughty Italian dragoons. Artillery indulges in a bit of counter-battery fire.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZO3EnPSReU8d-R_aEdsbuRZyJmszgy68vxLifi0a20Q8UG1pfxlZYioakzK6la17ScHOUaCZhnDrF53ueBvttuxn2wnzYC0SeTXTLO0lRNSTb88I0zzepk5TzUszwfSEBoOxYwFRcWrP/s1600/27.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZO3EnPSReU8d-R_aEdsbuRZyJmszgy68vxLifi0a20Q8UG1pfxlZYioakzK6la17ScHOUaCZhnDrF53ueBvttuxn2wnzYC0SeTXTLO0lRNSTb88I0zzepk5TzUszwfSEBoOxYwFRcWrP/s400/27.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The Prussian colour is actually a disorder marker on the Italian artillery. Good, good...</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbgifkUp55A0N141zL-hvUQ5RzYPZkTC5cYnxMbwXWE4JbGA72A9kOBLbf_xzvktvkzZ88_BMzf9_l9fKR8EEuGHJ-WW_5YVRSf-Ab8JII3fs7Bu9xU9i2Lu6ocWZc73xf-IvvdEx41o-/s1600/22.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbgifkUp55A0N141zL-hvUQ5RzYPZkTC5cYnxMbwXWE4JbGA72A9kOBLbf_xzvktvkzZ88_BMzf9_l9fKR8EEuGHJ-WW_5YVRSf-Ab8JII3fs7Bu9xU9i2Lu6ocWZc73xf-IvvdEx41o-/s400/22.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meanwhile the lines kept up an inconclusive firefight</span></span></i></b>/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbgifkUp55A0N141zL-hvUQ5RzYPZkTC5cYnxMbwXWE4JbGA72A9kOBLbf_xzvktvkzZ88_BMzf9_l9fKR8EEuGHJ-WW_5YVRSf-Ab8JII3fs7Bu9xU9i2Lu6ocWZc73xf-IvvdEx41o-/s1600/22.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbgifkUp55A0N141zL-hvUQ5RzYPZkTC5cYnxMbwXWE4JbGA72A9kOBLbf_xzvktvkzZ88_BMzf9_l9fKR8EEuGHJ-WW_5YVRSf-Ab8JII3fs7Bu9xU9i2Lu6ocWZc73xf-IvvdEx41o-/s400/22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpoKl5VEzoZShtjuOIctVJdQ_CuWc8cXj4UXJoegDzVBYmUuFywmedJXAvNGP6h0HBUep5wurYgbYskQhm0v8Ysj58Q7qjmzYLBO7ilUVpquFk-HPapwX5sHxvnTCMXsvLxN6lIsyswTb/s1600/18.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpoKl5VEzoZShtjuOIctVJdQ_CuWc8cXj4UXJoegDzVBYmUuFywmedJXAvNGP6h0HBUep5wurYgbYskQhm0v8Ysj58Q7qjmzYLBO7ilUVpquFk-HPapwX5sHxvnTCMXsvLxN6lIsyswTb/s400/18.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>One Italian battalion marches towards my flanking force. I like those odds.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">At this point we had the first unit removed from the game, as I destroyed his light infantry battalion- victim of a (un)lucky chain of fate. A bad roll on a crucial volley he needed to win, followed by a devastatingly good one in reply from my French. With three hits over his break point, cue the necessary morale test, where he went on to roll a modified four on the table.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Arrividerci</i>, baby...</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYtjiQmMwGqXANmlcXkYMh7L5bTlFxvUWHvgwQrpDCStwd8JZXM6i8L6cmfkFJc-qg0GDtfo1mCqSbJ81IvR81_oMl76LKhjxaizh_KT4u4CUeJ39yxcD8OvUyCGvtOQIR7n82B_8n2fa/s1600/25.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYtjiQmMwGqXANmlcXkYMh7L5bTlFxvUWHvgwQrpDCStwd8JZXM6i8L6cmfkFJc-qg0GDtfo1mCqSbJ81IvR81_oMl76LKhjxaizh_KT4u4CUeJ39yxcD8OvUyCGvtOQIR7n82B_8n2fa/s400/25.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>"Welcome to my shop, let me cut your mop"</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiacuxcWYGLI5lDsmpiUGyV0dcxTAUyJS9Ea1PqLgMwzEOeUWD4oXRhb6-QAfvgbswM6AtUzcrWZE7NOzOKeBj3zA4lE3c4GOLnP7p0S2Rib1qkSZL0OFS6Av4B6BvgYOVlEgDEl2crhId/s1600/26.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiacuxcWYGLI5lDsmpiUGyV0dcxTAUyJS9Ea1PqLgMwzEOeUWD4oXRhb6-QAfvgbswM6AtUzcrWZE7NOzOKeBj3zA4lE3c4GOLnP7p0S2Rib1qkSZL0OFS6Av4B6BvgYOVlEgDEl2crhId/s400/26.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>A very pleasing gap in the line, but no time left to exploit it.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Up to this point Giovanni's left flank had been fairly secure, but with one less unit in play it opened up possibilities. I could now put pressure on his flank while launching a frontal assault on the hill. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7pqrFz1FJP0mDLYN4WUVCMa1ZOyw7WArwt0xPVYMVFA-rWJLtzowEJbvMlv8qYm9nVyebcV1uIdaZDiXU80CvoLzpgywKjLd7s6Y1DZdEyKPGG2JwuoI1oAXelRD99Ow86pfBbC9_2zJ/s1600/23.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7pqrFz1FJP0mDLYN4WUVCMa1ZOyw7WArwt0xPVYMVFA-rWJLtzowEJbvMlv8qYm9nVyebcV1uIdaZDiXU80CvoLzpgywKjLd7s6Y1DZdEyKPGG2JwuoI1oAXelRD99Ow86pfBbC9_2zJ/s400/23.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>The last reinforcements enter the table, Italian infantry and dragoons. Soon after this we had to call the game.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #4080ff; color: white; display: inline; float: none; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"></span>Newly-painted unit syndrome, and the first move of the Italian dragoons was a blunder. Nothing dramatic, unfortunately, just a move in the direction he wanted to go anyway. I had the same thing happen to my artillery- in neither case was any harm done.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I wasn't worried about his cavalry, but I would need to draw off his only remaining fresh infantry unit.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-3UDMgebaM7eAq23fIay0sFghJwOMLr1MEoV5EVu55AvTvGIJ5zfruJanca12Ea1Sypfuu0bthY8K4pUj199CsTnn0xf4cZWFChJCpOrQtsDvvPCxBujAC5sp-QSBAzVNdE2KoplzbRW/s1600/8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="1280" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-3UDMgebaM7eAq23fIay0sFghJwOMLr1MEoV5EVu55AvTvGIJ5zfruJanca12Ea1Sypfuu0bthY8K4pUj199CsTnn0xf4cZWFChJCpOrQtsDvvPCxBujAC5sp-QSBAzVNdE2KoplzbRW/s400/8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">These guys would have to go first. Can't leave them ensconced on the hilltop.</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlq_JxVgk99atYTvJ8BEyduLugR1zkIdGmjuOsKwNXZ4xJFijLJrnHt816V3onXSQIbAF38TDWnKEUVTxApaml757KkMI3ksXw0ZdV2ZOWIzTvNk9WrjOyQfE3euNlySCjsRBU9gMLSo3/s1600/20.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlq_JxVgk99atYTvJ8BEyduLugR1zkIdGmjuOsKwNXZ4xJFijLJrnHt816V3onXSQIbAF38TDWnKEUVTxApaml757KkMI3ksXw0ZdV2ZOWIzTvNk9WrjOyQfE3euNlySCjsRBU9gMLSo3/s400/20.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Artillery were having a great time banging away at each other; both were near breakpoint when time was called,</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately, as mentioned we ran out of time at the seven-turn mark; I was nowhere close to seizing my objective, which would be a tough position to take.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But with eight more turns still to go a lot could happen, and I was preparing to launch a concerted attack on the hill. So under the circumstances it was decided to call it an inconclusive draw.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Quite frustrating, actually.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We had decided to use the optional rule from p.96 of the Black Powder <b><i>Clash of Empires </i></b>supplement, that has units in line move a lot slower, due to having to maintain formation. In our case as we were using reduced movement, this meant they would move at only 5", and would have to roll for forming square if attacked by cavalry- no automatic square.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I feel that not only does this better reflect the difficulties of moving in line, especially in the age of conscript armies, but it also encourages more use of attack columns. These benefit from being easier to command with their +1/ +2 to command ratings, which can make all the difference when you have a less-than-stellar staff rating.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The game was also a salutary lesson in the desirability of avoiding inconclusive, attritional firefights. We had what was essentially a fair fight between two infantry battalions on either side (I had large units with four firing dice each, but one didn't have a clear field of fire, so it ended up six dice (4+2) vs. six (3+3).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Fair fights are to be avoided at all costs.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">They are never a good situations to be in as it leaves way too much up to chance. And once you are disordered- which is always likely as the opponent just has to roll a 6- then you are just have to continue firing away. Historical, but it won't help you win games if you can't deal with the enemy decisively and quickly.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Making that simple modification to the <i>Line</i> rule should make the whole thing more "Napoleonic" than has sometimes been the case in our previous games, and the lengthy yet unproductive firefight just hammered home the fact that not only are attack columns much more flexible and easier to control than units in line, but you want to keep maneuvering to try and have more units shooting at the enemy than he has shooting at you.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I did wonder about whether in such small games we should reduce the chance of disorder, or at least make it possible for a player to get out of it. Elite units have this ability, but I wonder if all units should have at least some chance, if for no other reason than to give a player some sense of being in control, even if that roll is failed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Something to consider. With big, Perry-sized games and enough units on the table, this really isn't an issue; but in our games with half a dozen units a side it might speed things up a bit. I'm not yet totally convinced, and the jury is still out.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But all things considered it really was a great scenario, tough and challenging for attacker and defender alike. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">I really want to give it another go, and to play it out to its full conclusion. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And of course it was good to be playing Napoleonics once again after a long absence.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Next time I'll bring a stopwatch.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JSLn8YvwyZFuXLFyl3zPR6qN9NdeF93RC72pD-c1qFcEJpLFTxDBcCboNjY03Ka-f_e5HOntthbHeQevPMJT_m4oIgNLOGjk4upRiSx4RgDb-dkXHRrTpFzCwjmS96Kem_8FRM_opSX9/s1600/28.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JSLn8YvwyZFuXLFyl3zPR6qN9NdeF93RC72pD-c1qFcEJpLFTxDBcCboNjY03Ka-f_e5HOntthbHeQevPMJT_m4oIgNLOGjk4upRiSx4RgDb-dkXHRrTpFzCwjmS96Kem_8FRM_opSX9/s400/28.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>These colours don't run!</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-71112987166904411372018-07-15T10:11:00.001+09:002018-07-21T08:58:07.198+09:00Night Attack on the Shilohwaddy, and the Navy's here!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Back</b></span> to Burma for this posting.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvlurTBpTe1uMt8OjwkOwyPoQkvYQh766n7wRHeTyl3_4TtO_yP224rN3IvNgwZNEud3Akj6XhrxgHTeRTyRtaZUk4JApktaK0sLrw2Y3JEsGfynqWJot6PIJQELdylzxbmiS_Pfc7peO/s1600/3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1280" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvlurTBpTe1uMt8OjwkOwyPoQkvYQh766n7wRHeTyl3_4TtO_yP224rN3IvNgwZNEud3Akj6XhrxgHTeRTyRtaZUk4JApktaK0sLrw2Y3JEsGfynqWJot6PIJQELdylzxbmiS_Pfc7peO/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><i><b>Japanese assault troops. Classic light infantry; you don't always need a lot of heavy weaponry for a good game.</b></i></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since March there has been a dearth of posts, and indeed of gaming. This was down to the usual culprits; work and family commitments, visa renewal hoop-jumping, and even getting back into playing jazz on the bass guitar again (a change is as good as a rest).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But the urge was there, and I had been hankering for some kind of game. Finally, after lengthy negotiations Matt and I were able to get together in late June for a Bolt Action Burma Bash at my place.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This was followed a few weeks later by a small Napoleonic engagement, of which more in a future post.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Bolt Action game saw another victory for my fearsome IJA; yet again with a little help from my (evidently bolshie) friends in the Royal Artillery.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The first idea was to play another game in a long running and very intermittent Kokoda Trail campaign, only to realize that I didn't have the necessary mule teams painted in time for the game. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So instead I thought we would turn once again to that indispensable source of inspiration, the scenarios contained in Neil Thomas' <i>One Hour Wargames</i>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We have played many scenarios from OHWG so far, both with our Dark Ages and Napoleonic armies, but this was the first time to use it for WW2 and Bolt Action.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The scenario we are running was #27, <b><i>Disordered Defense</i></b>, and was inspired by the Battle of Shiloh of all things, with the Japanese taking on the role of the Confederates.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We
dispensed with any point-based army lists for this one- we simply didn't
need them, as the orbats were specified in the scenario (although tweaked around a bit to make it more suitable for Bolt Action). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">This would be an infantryman's fight; no tanks or vehicles.</span> My Japanese would have three, ten-man veteran units (squads in BA terms) plus a medium mortar (with spotter) and a command team.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">These stalwarts would be pitting themselves against three regular Commonwealth squads (my customary opponents, Matt's fictional <i>King's Own Academicals</i>), a command team, and another infantry squad, this one made up of veteran Gurkhas. In support was a Vickers MMG, along with a spotting team for the "free" artillery barrage that the Commonwealth troops get in BA. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Commonwealth have two units on table at the start of the game, the rest come in later, on turn #8. All the Japanese enter the table at the south edge in turn #1, moving lengthwise across the table to the towards their objective, a crossing over a meandering stream, located not far from the northern table edge. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Our mission- clear the area south of the crossing of Allied troops, and have at least one unit on the northern side of the stream by the end of turn #15.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The table was considered all jungle except for 25mm on either side of the huts, roads and the stream. Jungle was soft cover, and any jungle terrain pieces were considered particularly dense patches that were impassable, and which would block line of sight.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No running, so maximum movement was six inches. For a charge, a run had to be declared, but the distance moved would still be only six inches (you just try running across a new growth jungle floor one day, and see how far you get).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The stream was deemed fordable all along its length, being in effect a very wet road (albeit one infested with leeches).</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To add some spice to the proceedings, I thought we would have the action
take place at night, using the rules given in the <b><i>Empire in Flames
</i></b>supplement. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We selected the <i>Flare!</i> variant, so every turn we were to have rolled a dice; on a four or more, a flare would have illuminated the battlefield with no need for spotting rules for that turn. This in fact never happened, for the simple reason that we kept forgetting to roll the dice. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Next time.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">The two fences simply marked where the two Commonwealth units that began the game on table would be. </span></i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">The crossing. If there were any British troops left on the south (lower) side of the fordable river by turn 15, it would be a Commonwealth victory. Otherwise the Japanese would win.</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The game kicked off with the Japanese making a general advance; one squad on the left, another going up along the left of the road, and the third inching its way towards the squad on our right. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Stealth and speed, men!</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The plan was to take out the spotter team, and then use one squad to flank the British in Zone 2, while our right-hand squad would try to work its way around the British left flank and hopefully take them in a crossfire.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As it turned out, the Royal Artillery saved us the bother.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">Major Bloodnock sees the advancing Japanese- and promptly loses his (blue?) bottle...</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Major Bloodnock, RA; an officer whose hat is worth a good 10,000 men on the field of battle- to the enemy, that is. This worthy gentleman once more proved himself to be mathematically challenged- if not, in fact, an outright fifth-columnist.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Matt rolled an outcome that saw me able to place the dice where I saw fit. Of course, I placed it plumb smack in the middle of his forward infantry squad. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKGZMdSezm4n28uquXuDHHr-iamjwSzlLUkrFAPtP9eoqzFHSCnZMBVJa7Qcv5atj59ZEmWkacnCU9ifkz5R9zKkmeTHw3-0aqAvp8GxQ6npkSF7A7ymqOl32d9ksTOQmJ5FIyX1ADUwv/s1600/15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1280" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKGZMdSezm4n28uquXuDHHr-iamjwSzlLUkrFAPtP9eoqzFHSCnZMBVJa7Qcv5atj59ZEmWkacnCU9ifkz5R9zKkmeTHw3-0aqAvp8GxQ6npkSF7A7ymqOl32d9ksTOQmJ5FIyX1ADUwv/s400/15.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="color: #45818e;">Gulp...</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The subsequent roll did not miss, and a hail of Sheffield steel rained down -again- on his hapless infantry.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Matt’s reaction, I have to say, was remarkably stoic. I would have been cursing the Gods. This was the third time an artillery barrage had ended up not just falling on friendly heads, but in effect had put the kibosh on his chances of victory. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnujb1dd8DCrx9jL2DPR_f_in8V7GQgJYwOWXYxJBFg7hZx3yswdLArD6UbZMw7JuL1d_Eggd1MPA5JTPRvHKN3rRLsUxevL6tU5AJRCQitB9_VEv9YDMH7lxWrj6CLPl5td0xM6oBXG_k/s1600/17.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1280" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnujb1dd8DCrx9jL2DPR_f_in8V7GQgJYwOWXYxJBFg7hZx3yswdLArD6UbZMw7JuL1d_Eggd1MPA5JTPRvHKN3rRLsUxevL6tU5AJRCQitB9_VEv9YDMH7lxWrj6CLPl5td0xM6oBXG_k/s400/17.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">"All out..."</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I don’t think the King’s Own Academicals could any longer be quartered in the same province as RA troops, let alone the same barracks, given the bad blood that must now exist between them. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If I were a gunner I’d be hiding my arm of service badges.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVfvcoqhI33-9Mq2vTZPPWZdIvvdjG5FIKejrXgLHzqkQCBUT-ZEehmcLzOLyzXXIWvO2_DJnTnocTNcvZkkz_b8VkWDdvOdXck-rlD3SXRum1zTdgZi7Xl7y0QSMmwhpy-qBroGwFRec/s1600/13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1280" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVfvcoqhI33-9Mq2vTZPPWZdIvvdjG5FIKejrXgLHzqkQCBUT-ZEehmcLzOLyzXXIWvO2_DJnTnocTNcvZkkz_b8VkWDdvOdXck-rlD3SXRum1zTdgZi7Xl7y0QSMmwhpy-qBroGwFRec/s400/13.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">"'Ere, they've buggered off!"</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguY0Xjs6njhSGUSfzVln8rmKnlbmDIeWf4Tpu6Nz5WN_DSUgRTj_b3KhBF3hrj8aP5AoCflb_qwQSzrXUyhm2dpOPNhKsQV924h9iTQmd1kuc6SpdTqtfegKbjFw4wM8amnnp-XwtwqEwf/s1600/18.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1280" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguY0Xjs6njhSGUSfzVln8rmKnlbmDIeWf4Tpu6Nz5WN_DSUgRTj_b3KhBF3hrj8aP5AoCflb_qwQSzrXUyhm2dpOPNhKsQV924h9iTQmd1kuc6SpdTqtfegKbjFw4wM8amnnp-XwtwqEwf/s400/18.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>"So they 'ave- they've scarpered!"</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It’s rumored that Major Bloodnock’s last reported sighting was in a small village in rural Bolivia, working as an itinerant musician and selling souvenir reed-pipes.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlXSu6q5-_zeuskB7rwzXsznkxX2zFzKvfPUNn1qNAapwyNupCbNpFVUa8uMJsfrOXoKKWHRVVKJwwc77z6eeM8LtQN41XOrYaX4umv_am9VdmCdWJzMuoR_3-7LtGdbPio1N2HR-0U8k/s1600/19.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="1280" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlXSu6q5-_zeuskB7rwzXsznkxX2zFzKvfPUNn1qNAapwyNupCbNpFVUa8uMJsfrOXoKKWHRVVKJwwc77z6eeM8LtQN41XOrYaX4umv_am9VdmCdWJzMuoR_3-7LtGdbPio1N2HR-0U8k/s400/19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Battle-hardened Japanese troops move up in the night, bugles blaring and reeking of sweat, shit, and sake.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kGnyRomclCRsMMmIOzT5UC3i-gNsu4_mAZcelJxPC4aK4KSRDxe-vnFEFWSP8dY6NJPevQNLwcCY2pFJx5pk2HpH8HHIwKVIxWnly95216mKzbEE0u1NPwNzAiohzrse3CXYDQFPCb-X/s1600/20.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kGnyRomclCRsMMmIOzT5UC3i-gNsu4_mAZcelJxPC4aK4KSRDxe-vnFEFWSP8dY6NJPevQNLwcCY2pFJx5pk2HpH8HHIwKVIxWnly95216mKzbEE0u1NPwNzAiohzrse3CXYDQFPCb-X/s400/20.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">"Almost there!"</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikasOvZCxKFpY_aqU9FmMz6CuG7pLiQOCE6evVa4kKRRVoSKXh2FjcNkH-iVlWK96an4eJd38KKJenXuq4eudADYlMZmdcRGtiNqSTdVBzfYmzM4G3l1Zkfe7xYKluCYhlY2r07RmBw2en/s1600/21.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikasOvZCxKFpY_aqU9FmMz6CuG7pLiQOCE6evVa4kKRRVoSKXh2FjcNkH-iVlWK96an4eJd38KKJenXuq4eudADYlMZmdcRGtiNqSTdVBzfYmzM4G3l1Zkfe7xYKluCYhlY2r07RmBw2en/s400/21.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Eyes on the prize, lads...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_a9pKXH7dFQ4cCXg2PvfSpAh97LLL5olAzuxu75eXjLcvnEOrNZKsdVQ9R9fIAs9uoPxzBL7lEXMzxaW_7J-wU6ryphyphenhyphenVpzjAr_de9n6dxPazBHmg2L583Ee0s0Jn1Qx1oU4Rw47d9eG2/s1600/22.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_a9pKXH7dFQ4cCXg2PvfSpAh97LLL5olAzuxu75eXjLcvnEOrNZKsdVQ9R9fIAs9uoPxzBL7lEXMzxaW_7J-wU6ryphyphenhyphenVpzjAr_de9n6dxPazBHmg2L583Ee0s0Jn1Qx1oU4Rw47d9eG2/s400/22.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>The Japanese set up a position overlooking the crossing.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXY13PB1ca82wzq_V-0zapiQGdUq36LQPk58M9JWUBDtqnA8thybFBLt-G0e53J_D1iflE82cnLVAezC-0-2lkQkh4INU3bK13OPmoWt3cQt2sPeTv-6otU4Gr6BtezRWYWHcS7WSUnUme/s1600/23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1280" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXY13PB1ca82wzq_V-0zapiQGdUq36LQPk58M9JWUBDtqnA8thybFBLt-G0e53J_D1iflE82cnLVAezC-0-2lkQkh4INU3bK13OPmoWt3cQt2sPeTv-6otU4Gr6BtezRWYWHcS7WSUnUme/s400/23.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyE-wcikKqonjV2nAHfnxbnCuGyNmTUJTqP4f-vbuBzhq3xygPwQ3DlPKyGTB0PEfOfIEp1NaZZALolr_kFr7pErAQP4_vubdKU3lJm2FbQXQ12x89npcHFw-UPtRlG_t2WUsVdK2bxex/s1600/29.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1280" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyE-wcikKqonjV2nAHfnxbnCuGyNmTUJTqP4f-vbuBzhq3xygPwQ3DlPKyGTB0PEfOfIEp1NaZZALolr_kFr7pErAQP4_vubdKU3lJm2FbQXQ12x89npcHFw-UPtRlG_t2WUsVdK2bxex/s400/29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Rather remarkably, my mortar team actually <b>hit</b> something, landing some rounds on the British Vickers team lurking in a hut, and managing to take out a number of its crew. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mortars are largely ineffective in BA terms when compared to other weapons, as targets rarely stay still long enough for the mortars to range in on them. But this time the boys did good.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">By the end of turn #13, victory was in sight. The area south of the crossing had been cleared of the enemy; I had destroyed his Vickers MG, taken out his C/O team, and sent a much-depleted squad back across the river where it pretty much cowered for the rest of the game. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgik7HyfaNLMk3KNLFYUmxHD5SaFXuGttk492m626U5E5S0LPex1SGdVLZ8d-FHq5zM3kZksuBQ-G0mAzU3pZZ2euiHd6t9RyuA3dfF832I8cZip8nbQyaX4n2E-MDcrU0ELVt0uXl7TwmT/s1600/26.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1280" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgik7HyfaNLMk3KNLFYUmxHD5SaFXuGttk492m626U5E5S0LPex1SGdVLZ8d-FHq5zM3kZksuBQ-G0mAzU3pZZ2euiHd6t9RyuA3dfF832I8cZip8nbQyaX4n2E-MDcrU0ELVt0uXl7TwmT/s400/26.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">My right-flank squad repels an attack after a fierce firefight, Next turn it will cross the stream and dig in behind the copse on the lower right.</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPDJbZxLKTBTN1ZwDdPw3H8Q6aSfcLPwscj5JPgnfcAgks1gpX2g9qViyA_QdvCBEbOoFuZz4WR2aadF1G-VGNgEZfbNG-cyyPp-4cR4Uf70_segWnAnyC5iMpdQLjaZZJkmb8XCD0YoN/s1600/28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1280" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPDJbZxLKTBTN1ZwDdPw3H8Q6aSfcLPwscj5JPgnfcAgks1gpX2g9qViyA_QdvCBEbOoFuZz4WR2aadF1G-VGNgEZfbNG-cyyPp-4cR4Uf70_segWnAnyC5iMpdQLjaZZJkmb8XCD0YoN/s400/28.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnwN2IvuafFk6Ja4JsBENClKauC8fPjMANsu9IZOjRMBgQqahbOvP_hguskkBpeTVuvEazAANKWcua3LRcTVzQuiHEq4dUJK1ihjP0FiDabV40IOKfDLiFcvNOqiZfEhxRi_pfHjOonLs/s1600/27.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnwN2IvuafFk6Ja4JsBENClKauC8fPjMANsu9IZOjRMBgQqahbOvP_hguskkBpeTVuvEazAANKWcua3LRcTVzQuiHEq4dUJK1ihjP0FiDabV40IOKfDLiFcvNOqiZfEhxRi_pfHjOonLs/s400/27.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Getting one's boots wet for Victory and the Emperor.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My own squad followed the foe over the river and got an essential toe-hold on the north side of the crossing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So far things were going exceedingly well for the Japanese, but any potential success would be
thrown away if the Commonwealth forces got as much as one unit on the
south side of the river, thus giving them the victory.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">With one squad routed, and another reduced to a terrified cadre cowering in the underbrush, </span>Matt had just two full-strength squads left in play by this time. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One of these was a squad of
regulars, who after entering the table on turn #8, mysteriously just kind of holed
themselves up in a hut and passed their time brewing cuppas and swatting
mosquitoes. Either they were waiting to see if the war might suddenly come to a convenient end, or else they were trusting in Matt's other remaining squad to pull His Majesty's chestnuts out of the tropical fire.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-4JM6MzH91rZh2A-SrJQTNZZAyZ5Q16AiVIgQG1uBljSg6PCoQsmCI7k3CjzSqPNyasH-OoFGLuWIgfM7MrcTZf5tQPhPW2FOFGpvXeByHrJQuWi2dKJ81YEvsIJPoi2gXoqu5FAB2DO/s1600/24.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1280" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-4JM6MzH91rZh2A-SrJQTNZZAyZ5Q16AiVIgQG1uBljSg6PCoQsmCI7k3CjzSqPNyasH-OoFGLuWIgfM7MrcTZf5tQPhPW2FOFGpvXeByHrJQuWi2dKJ81YEvsIJPoi2gXoqu5FAB2DO/s400/24.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">Underemployed, underpaid, under pressure- but in no great hurry.</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This other squad were the Gurkhas.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">These were veteran (in the rules as written they always are), and had been placed on ambush not more than two moves away from being able to cross to the other side of the stream, so they were a real </span><span style="font-size: large;">danger.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I decided that I could afford to have one squad gutted if it meant drawing the teeth from this very menacing threat, so resolved to move up against them by ordering my squad into the river- out of cover but well within spotting distance of the enemy- and then <i><b>Banzai! </b></i>charge them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As is, of course, the done thing when you are playing the Japanese.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Of course I’d lose a lot of men to incoming fire and melee; but if I could shave the strength of the Gurkha squad down by even just a third to a half, my neighboring full-strength squad should be able to make short work of the survivors.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As it turned out, I bit off </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">somewhat </span>more than I could comfortably chew.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNf47_2FN62VorL0Z_4G_UWSHD7iWb_SVE2gSDgX1CqR2CB9PVEOfxcmKYs3vCvtyWo5AYF_03Qc57qmhDjOMUrd78-jpNXY0Qb0lp69oFao6lYzISVdzKllQyR1Zk5G6txpbOE6I6p8X5/s1600/25.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNf47_2FN62VorL0Z_4G_UWSHD7iWb_SVE2gSDgX1CqR2CB9PVEOfxcmKYs3vCvtyWo5AYF_03Qc57qmhDjOMUrd78-jpNXY0Qb0lp69oFao6lYzISVdzKllQyR1Zk5G6txpbOE6I6p8X5/s400/25.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">Kukris of Kryptonite.</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Gurkhas; tough troops, a good fighting reputation, and certainly deserving in being set somewhat apart from their compatriots in arms.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But damn it, Warlord has turned them into a veritable Nepalese Death Star- on steroids. Gurkhas scornfully kick sand right into Chuck Norris' face- and he hasn't the guts to stop them. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In close combat they are pretty much indestructible. I halve my attack numbers; they double theirs. And did I mention they are always veterans?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now had I known- I don't have a copy of the <i>Armies of Great Britain </i>supplement- I would probably have done things differently. Suggesting we finish early and go out for a beer instead, for example.<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">But I had committed myself to the charge; and in my profoundly misplaced confidence I duly advanced my squad across the stream, the men lustily screaming out <i>Banzai!!</i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">All of which clearly didn't seem to unduly trouble the Gurkhas. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3y15Z8IHIRM0oaaiZ9fZYzvWWwaZhazA8RudyRaEcEiAmjIWmmIWqfLRqVgiRUDJdqVa9lGmG8OKlFeP72H-l0IaHpBA0siXvX1s9Wh-EU2oFCZ_kfgXGDmINSq3c_m07SwXRyjVXN1WN/s1600/30.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1280" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3y15Z8IHIRM0oaaiZ9fZYzvWWwaZhazA8RudyRaEcEiAmjIWmmIWqfLRqVgiRUDJdqVa9lGmG8OKlFeP72H-l0IaHpBA0siXvX1s9Wh-EU2oFCZ_kfgXGDmINSq3c_m07SwXRyjVXN1WN/s400/30.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"てんのへいか、ばんざい!"</span></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/PreciousOddballAnura-size_restricted.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="268" height="400" src="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/PreciousOddballAnura-size_restricted.gif" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>The Gurkha's CO gives his orders...</i></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">B</span><span style="font-size: large;">efore even getting into contact I had lost almost half of them to uncommonly accurate incoming fire. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ouch.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And just to add insult to injury, it was about the only time the whole game Matt rolled anything better than an average result.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga47zdC0c_ZLAvi6-kMfw2-qCsCyrRI-7TczSbcefRla6uEX7ouEsxzjjYz8HO_XOyqsPhQxMx-zSuiG3icbA38iNmHdgnTdozdDeQWuyIgLXdFBsv8kMn6od8xN8xsPLlODRQ_0H3PlOr/s1600/31.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga47zdC0c_ZLAvi6-kMfw2-qCsCyrRI-7TczSbcefRla6uEX7ouEsxzjjYz8HO_XOyqsPhQxMx-zSuiG3icbA38iNmHdgnTdozdDeQWuyIgLXdFBsv8kMn6od8xN8xsPLlODRQ_0H3PlOr/s400/31.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>"Oh, </i>SHIT!!!"</b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">When the battered survivors actually got into contact, it just got worse. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Much</b> worse. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRKS3oE6q2VO0Yev8GoQgVpulmqgq_GCnPaAEoRhfswe-QtOoBU9Ow1eE5rWnbrXKM5u8IUzi7YFFExEE32YLMXeH4t3gWZ3K9FKvZZBqHU2Y8-7uuvWGvNb6ox0Y9CiLJWOTvAblFlyL/s1600/32.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1280" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRKS3oE6q2VO0Yev8GoQgVpulmqgq_GCnPaAEoRhfswe-QtOoBU9Ow1eE5rWnbrXKM5u8IUzi7YFFExEE32YLMXeH4t3gWZ3K9FKvZZBqHU2Y8-7uuvWGvNb6ox0Y9CiLJWOTvAblFlyL/s400/32.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">"Draw your KUKRIS!"</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">You wouldn't believe the amount of melee dice Matt could roll; while I, of course, had to reduce my own pitiful number of dice by half.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">By the time the double-whammy of melee had been worked out I had lost the squad.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The-whole-damned-entire squad.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUHhkS7cWWX3Gb8OuTogi4iJKMidOjkgru1u5N7Oe6P93u_y7GeFHn2DkDtuwOPp3Dj-A0fSSycejsznFS4OQKb8HDi6XTGZfbNFPiiuzuWoXXRSC7R-5zL_1xyUC4A-Nxumv8HIUxYeZ/s1600/34.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1280" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUHhkS7cWWX3Gb8OuTogi4iJKMidOjkgru1u5N7Oe6P93u_y7GeFHn2DkDtuwOPp3Dj-A0fSSycejsznFS4OQKb8HDi6XTGZfbNFPiiuzuWoXXRSC7R-5zL_1xyUC4A-Nxumv8HIUxYeZ/s400/34.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">"Well, THAT was quick!"</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Ghurkas had gotten away with barely a scratch- although it was later determined that Lance <i>Naik</i> Thadapur Rai had, in fact, lost a fingernail while carelessly slamming home a fresh clip into his Lee-Enfield in all the excitement.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Even Matt, while enjoying what was in effect the only ray of sunshine to illuminate Commonwealth fortunes throughout the game, thought that this was way over the top. So by mutual agreement, the next time they see action the Gurkhas are going to be de-fanged. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">They will still be fearsome, but forcing a morale check with some kind of modifier- especially when getting up close and personal with a <i>kukri</i>- should be enough, without necessarily turning them into a squad of crazed Nepalese Terminators.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nevertheless, and at the cost of being lavish with the blood of the Emperor’s devoted servants, at least we did buy time. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Gurkhas had been held up a turn repelling the Japanese attack, and it was clear
that the clock was fast running out for them to actually get across the river and set
themselves up on the south bank.</span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hojyNvKVgjhsweG1VdlXytmPzGUmgddtmAg2rwOia0hUG6auIUHIU3vHc3btZ59gTEVrBOK2MFUi3-PUEQ6IIpa74iAEn2n00KGRKCXGVFFc3Mh86oVXTd7FNJdxjXBdm0FZ-wlsLukE/s1600/33.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hojyNvKVgjhsweG1VdlXytmPzGUmgddtmAg2rwOia0hUG6auIUHIU3vHc3btZ59gTEVrBOK2MFUi3-PUEQ6IIpa74iAEn2n00KGRKCXGVFFc3Mh86oVXTd7FNJdxjXBdm0FZ-wlsLukE/s400/33.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Too little, too timid- and far too late.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So d</span><span style="font-size: large;">espite having to put up with that unpleasant little speed bump</span><span style="font-size: large;">, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">by the end of the 15th and
final turn</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> the Gurkhas were still north of the stream. That meant I had successfully expelled the enemy from the area south of the crossing, with a squad of my own infantry dug in on the northern side</span></span></span>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The game had ended in an undisputed Japanese victory.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But I couldn’t help but think that had the Gurkhas been in play right from the start, positioned well forward so as to start inflicting damage from the get-go, and if the Royal Artillery officers hadn’t failed their "A" levels math examinations, then the outcome may well have been different. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">At least it would have given me a lot more worries.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Had my squads been carved up early in the game, having three regular units coming on in turn eight against a mauled Japanese attacking force meant that the outcome would have matched that of Shiloh much more closely.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As it was, the butcher’s bill for the fight was quite lopsided; I inflicted twenty-six casualties (with a bit of help from the RA, admittedly), and in turn only lost thirteen. Mind you, ten of these were as a result of me having </span><span style="font-size: large;">unwittingly </span><span style="font-size: large;">thrown that one squad into the Gurkha wood-chipper.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Although it must be said that the Dice Gods were clearly favouring rice and raw fish over bully beef and chapattis this day.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And it wasn't Matt's best game. Matt is a great opponent; a real gent and sportsman, he never gives up. He possesses considerable tactical acumen, nerve, and is a dangerous and challenging opponent on the wargaming table. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But this time he was having very much an off day, and playing uncharacteristically cautiously. I think that when he at his usual form, he would have given me <b>much</b> more a run for my money.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One thing we realized is just how tough it is to take out veterans. Regulars have a hard time against them- I can’t imagine what possible good inexperienced troops would be, unless to provide a meat shield. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Put them in fortifications, and with a larger number of weapons being fired downrange, and I suppose they have their uses. Probably historical, but I wouldn’t want to be in their field boots.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">A great
game with never a dull moment. The night fighting rules worked well, and like all the scenarios in OHWG the game went right to the wire,
regardless of the era being played. That book is simply excellent value
for the money.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This was how I like my Bolt Action games to play. Infantry-focused, lots of suppressing, flanking and movement, and all the time facing historical opponents over historically plausible terrain. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Neither Matt nor myself are fans of those games where you pick an arbitrary point limit, create a list, and end up fighting ahistorical opponents over ahistorical terrain. A lot of people here like to play games like that- in fact it's often unavoidable given the variety of different wargames armies out there- and that's absolutely fine. But it's just not our thing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And it doesn't mean we're about to drop everything and take up CoC. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">For a start, the issue of point costs have just never come up in our games as we tend to play scenario-driven games, using points as a way to get some approximate parity of forces without feeling any need to scrutinize lists. Terrain, experience, and the vagaries of luck often negate any attempt at balancing force composition anyway.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">And as the</span> mechanics of BA are fundamentally sound, they will take a good amount of tweaking.</span> Something jars with the rules as written? Then we decide what would work, and agree to change 'em for the next time round. Then we just get on with the game. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I've always approached my wargames like that, and I always will.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We're having a ball.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Now</b></span> on to some recent hobby acquisitions. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I now have a Japanese “fleet” on the slipway, ready to patrol the Irrawaddy against Matt’s Commonwealth forces.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoDazRVNn0EPz_9EjooNEQYkAq-oGyxQvp_sHIMMevmvVlrXKsmNmIuDLrrA3OkEPs8NKE7XVAHR_6273VggFIKsNkFJ2tXIAz80v1dEd_qiQye3XzvEeaOFeP_tYNEEVsfhbsZL_8iRF/s1600/873DB7BE-FE24-40B8-B61B-A29AFF0D504B.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoDazRVNn0EPz_9EjooNEQYkAq-oGyxQvp_sHIMMevmvVlrXKsmNmIuDLrrA3OkEPs8NKE7XVAHR_6273VggFIKsNkFJ2tXIAz80v1dEd_qiQye3XzvEeaOFeP_tYNEEVsfhbsZL_8iRF/s400/873DB7BE-FE24-40B8-B61B-A29AFF0D504B.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One is an unusual but sleek-looking armoured motor patrol boat, an <b>AB-Tei Type C.</b> Just the thing for covering a Japanese supply convoy along the coast, and considerably well-armed for it's size.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdEFsw1Qp9v16P5pxo1SVJdqvMN3cm3L-M_GOttSmfRJLg99WsdRl-Dx6o218WIa-yqlbBcXVizMv9SjD7kgSPVgijGFb4FyWz6hdciVgNzHVFhkYxkgAerOAv_ouOGLAd6gu0VrmJs4j/s1600/WXuQauD.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdEFsw1Qp9v16P5pxo1SVJdqvMN3cm3L-M_GOttSmfRJLg99WsdRl-Dx6o218WIa-yqlbBcXVizMv9SjD7kgSPVgijGFb4FyWz6hdciVgNzHVFhkYxkgAerOAv_ouOGLAd6gu0VrmJs4j/s400/WXuQauD.jpg" width="325" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theoutpost/download/file.php?id=553" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theoutpost/download/file.php?id=553" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The gunboat is a hefty model given its length, but the resin is both light and high-quality, the casting flawless.</span> A simply beautiful model of an interesting, useful and off-beat subject. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The second craft is a small landing boat.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theoutpost/download/file.php?id=554" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theoutpost/download/file.php?id=554" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The landing boat is indeed designed just for carrying personnel and supplies. Barrage have the Sherman pictured above with several different models, just to give an idea of scale.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I anticipate a craft full to the gunwales with a squad of infantry, patrolling along the coast, and ready to go inland and search for pesky coast watchers or bailed-out Allied aircrew, while the gunboat provides any fire support as needed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Barrage also do a very nice model of a <i>Daihatsu</i> landing craft, which can carry a Japanese tank, but that one is for a future order. Generally, though, I tend to do better when I don't rely on armoured vehicles. Give me an additional squad of fanatics with bayonets, loaded to the gills with <i>seishin</i> and sake, any day of the week.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Based in Spain, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Alf at Barrage was really helpful. Initially I had to
email him, as his site wasn’t set up to receive orders from Japan. He
replied within minutes, and after an exchange of e-mails he soon fixed things so I could order online. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had mentioned that we have an active Bolt Action community
here, and he sent me a .pdf file of his rules for using gunboats and
other riverine craft.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The models arrived much sooner than I had expected, and to add to my satisfaction, I found he had thrown in a model of a </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Shinyo</i> kamikaze motorboat as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I can easily imagine a raid on a
small harbour installation by British commandos trying to destroy it
before it could cause any havoc with an Allied amphibious landing. It would
make a great scenario for Bolt Action.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So I couldn't have asked for more. Barrage is simply a great vendor to deal with, and with a lot of exciting models in the catalogue. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a class="postlink" href="http://www.barrageminiatures.com/" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(219, 68, 55); color: #676767; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; padding-bottom: 0px; text-decoration: underline; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: break-all;" target="_blank">http://www.barrageminiatures.com</a> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Highly recommended.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Go, Navy!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A75AQgDBtJI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A75AQgDBtJI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Away from Bolt Action and the Far East, but staying with WW2, I also got myself a box of plastic Italian tanks in 15mm for my North Africa project, but more on that in the future. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuueQigkCw7D_y7S_9gJwzUlMvGsDLTJrinslXCtN6_0ibIHLufKqF_3Ed_XMjbTcrrPF53_LUZRTzhfPvwi_R5WqI2thdm5KE6UJho3PWIs3ZMZYUpBQfITEKlydardFhbtmf9Wg0x8HR/s1600/37062876_10215182127414000_3492463385570705408_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuueQigkCw7D_y7S_9gJwzUlMvGsDLTJrinslXCtN6_0ibIHLufKqF_3Ed_XMjbTcrrPF53_LUZRTzhfPvwi_R5WqI2thdm5KE6UJho3PWIs3ZMZYUpBQfITEKlydardFhbtmf9Wg0x8HR/s400/37062876_10215182127414000_3492463385570705408_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Some breakfast for the Matildas.</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Lorenzo's Rams </i>sounds suspiciously like it should be the name of some gay porn flick from the 1980's, but the vehicles themselves are nicely moulded and easy to put together. The box came with a free set of FoW rules, too. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I played the first edition of FoW way back in 2003 with Kris, my late and much-missed friend, while visiting him in Frankfurt. We were using his 1940 French and German models in 20mm. The game was fun, and we had no issues with parking-lots full of fender-to-fender tanks.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Next up, a report on a Napoleonics game that I had with Giovanni here the other day.</span><br />
<br /></div>
Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-10347119332693603062018-03-10T16:48:00.000+09:002018-03-11T08:55:18.229+09:00Wurst Case Scenario<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>As</b></span> promised, pictures of our last game, this one was fought on February 25th.<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMv6Z0XtF3U6QlmHDXxbO2mzHtgCnZw70NiFFFLjNrj0JiPKlJSZ55vTzxX8if6JUhcnvrhuov2jy3y2FcieoeHPXawRy7pllOYhRPRHKhoxijCO_Gf2wJzQ8CNq_ZAN47dM35yws81ayg/s1600/27.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMv6Z0XtF3U6QlmHDXxbO2mzHtgCnZw70NiFFFLjNrj0JiPKlJSZ55vTzxX8if6JUhcnvrhuov2jy3y2FcieoeHPXawRy7pllOYhRPRHKhoxijCO_Gf2wJzQ8CNq_ZAN47dM35yws81ayg/s400/27.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>"Hans! Ich muss dringend mal pinkeln" <i> </i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i> Prussians by Old Glory. Painted by James Kelly, now in Chiba. </i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>He used to paint for Old Glory magazine back in the day; these are now in Giovanni's collection.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">A</span> vengeful force of Prussians, along with their sausage-scoffing, beer-swilling acolytes, the Bavarians, </span><span style="font-size: large;">had entered into an unholy alliance </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">with
some Italians and Poles. In a short and brutal engagement they
effectively wiped the floor with the hapless French- although it must
be said that <i>les bleus </i>went down fighting.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The
Allies were assisted in no small measure by the Dice Gods, who on this
occasion clearly decided that they hated Gallic Guts with a real
passion.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This was another one of our usual brigade-sized games using a scenario from Neil Thomas' <b><i>One Hour Wargames</i></b>, this one a very entertaining and challenging "not-Leuthen" scenario based on an original by Charles Grant (it can be found on </span><span style="font-size: large;">p.78: </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Scenario #7 Flank Attack (2)</i> in Neil's book).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Most importantly, we may have successfully initiated a new gamer, Erik, into the mysteries and joys of Napoleonic wargaming. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Erik
had been toying for a while with the idea of trying out some horse
& musket gaming (he hails from Maryland, and in the past had been
taken around many an ACW battlefield). Unfortunately, fate was to show
no mercy to new recruits, and would deal him a cruel hand when it came
to die throws.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Giovanni
commanded the Germans, Erik had the French. Erik had never played
Napoleonics before, and Giovanni was rusty after months and months of
playing mainly Bolt Action.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I was the one with, by far, the most experience with the rules. So I thought it best
to sit this one out, and instead I would act as chief rule-looker-upper and scenario umpire. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzStP-l7LlhkHXP7Uz0iDSsLkmhYPp7GPPlQpbycm1WCfImgybcQ3ySgV8lbfqYBh85qsyWioLgnQdAe7tvMpOdAd_VGB9sDBRSk3KXls4qcIb3HGi7nAtKUtKL1rBArKnkJSW5ZZnHXf/s1600/4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzStP-l7LlhkHXP7Uz0iDSsLkmhYPp7GPPlQpbycm1WCfImgybcQ3ySgV8lbfqYBh85qsyWioLgnQdAe7tvMpOdAd_VGB9sDBRSk3KXls4qcIb3HGi7nAtKUtKL1rBArKnkJSW5ZZnHXf/s400/4.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Le Champ de Mars; note the Martian.</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAL9pbpUHoGJGySmrQTBc7gEug8HkKENW4UN3LImLanmbIjLyqAmtkW1thQYpQxKo7eavyPI2TKwq56_g47qpeuD-dkpD8H4nXi0Q2e_S1eQCSdA7bVncAZzUyYlkURTXwtzygs5KDXDWj/s1600/7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAL9pbpUHoGJGySmrQTBc7gEug8HkKENW4UN3LImLanmbIjLyqAmtkW1thQYpQxKo7eavyPI2TKwq56_g47qpeuD-dkpD8H4nXi0Q2e_S1eQCSdA7bVncAZzUyYlkURTXwtzygs5KDXDWj/s400/7.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>The sleepy town of Not-Leuthen. It was untouched by the horrors of war for the duration of the game.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7fjDSYXs3MKKf3K4NjuYAHPVC2VmfHS7DhMkuBdRH5nCD3Jwg7msRyariJCHOoohpccMQnw5sX6NFkm6_IRO4CsyDVVCTWUA0pglPhyphenhyphen_p0HafZADLRmMHVqZkxUY1vMjhwtID_xwT1b2/s1600/8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7fjDSYXs3MKKf3K4NjuYAHPVC2VmfHS7DhMkuBdRH5nCD3Jwg7msRyariJCHOoohpccMQnw5sX6NFkm6_IRO4CsyDVVCTWUA0pglPhyphenhyphen_p0HafZADLRmMHVqZkxUY1vMjhwtID_xwT1b2/s400/8.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>The Germano-Italian-Polska Alliance assembles.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRDQxTupTMPbhhMjMVusVj0xeSc2D_fFwNsM55YheGHcQpZxpCnpEwbN8a0Zj8OYJfX9KvL4QyqaOG1LNiyxR4JKKOqVXAR72RDw69yiqxZ6FSoYymXDWg5BbaDRkoWhpPz8fiFDTmOqS/s1600/9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRDQxTupTMPbhhMjMVusVj0xeSc2D_fFwNsM55YheGHcQpZxpCnpEwbN8a0Zj8OYJfX9KvL4QyqaOG1LNiyxR4JKKOqVXAR72RDw69yiqxZ6FSoYymXDWg5BbaDRkoWhpPz8fiFDTmOqS/s400/9.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Doomed French await their dreadful fate.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCtM8TvYQEjy4HzBmQS9a13y75v3P0scz1Nxdz0cv-GUzP7AR4qWBwdOUsJc_wFMeOpPZlrfgKKceDdqAKyC8hG3DW8aDcbf6nnpIbW3cWl5qUCxIH8VHZRn5c5tDUyTG6Czbc0mq4SjT/s1600/30.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCtM8TvYQEjy4HzBmQS9a13y75v3P0scz1Nxdz0cv-GUzP7AR4qWBwdOUsJc_wFMeOpPZlrfgKKceDdqAKyC8hG3DW8aDcbf6nnpIbW3cWl5qUCxIH8VHZRn5c5tDUyTG6Czbc0mq4SjT/s400/30.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3 style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0.5em;">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">My ill-used 7e Chasseurs à cheval were- yet again- to have their lives uselessly sacrificed by a callous high command.</span></i></span></h3>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-4p8G-XZSS5x5fz0sjy10NsEgSz9y_74Cc5MtMk0YjJUH4iV-8gbI8GZDZwWonsMMHwQUMg6DHOlRd8Q8N-qcJPmrMBo5KhNh5pDSaOTKNDA_VtZb4HQsYBHb6nD17myvMU_usAtbtyY/s1600/10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-4p8G-XZSS5x5fz0sjy10NsEgSz9y_74Cc5MtMk0YjJUH4iV-8gbI8GZDZwWonsMMHwQUMg6DHOlRd8Q8N-qcJPmrMBo5KhNh5pDSaOTKNDA_VtZb4HQsYBHb6nD17myvMU_usAtbtyY/s400/10.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Ducal Lancers of Prince August Vztmrk of Cyrntzkvystk, direct
descendant of the legendary prince who, in 1423, banished the vowel from
the Polish Language.</span></span></b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The scenario has a defending force of six units ensconced on hill. These
are facing a small force of two enemy battalions (although as the
Prussians were fielding one average-sized and one small battalion, and
the French battalions were deemed large, we added a small contingent of
Bavarian </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">Schutzen</span></i><span style="font-size: large;">). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Suddenly appearing on the French left is a flanking force of four Allied units, taking the defenders unaware- <i>Merde!!</i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The
defenders have to quickly re-orient their lines to face the new
threat, while at the same time holding off the small force to the
front.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's
a challenge for the defending force, but it can be done. Provided, of
course, you don't position your artillery uselessly on the right flank
for the first few turns. And, o</span><span style="font-size: large;">f course, it does help if your troops can actually hit the broadside of a barn- while inside the barn.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As
I mentioned, Erik had the most appalling run of luck on the dice,
while Giovanni's Germans were pulling rabbits out of their lucky
shakos, allowing him to get away with suicidal maneuvers and
unnecessary risks that should really have been punished by a quick trip
to the battlefield abattoir. Just proving that there is no justice in
this world.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Despite being umpire, </span><span style="font-size: large;">I
confess to secretly wanting to have seen my beloved French succeed.
But I needed to remain fair and utterly neutral, so was kibitzing with
both sides.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On
numerous occasions I found myself having to talk both commanders out
of making some obvious Bad Move. I did this with commendable
impartiality (I think), although there were many occasions involving
mental face palms, eye-rolling, and barely-restrained sucking of teeth.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6qgwsqTiDPt2_gEtG4st9stYcwFhcf2Ob9iJwaiREhWA95M8_Mj_9b66Mpjp7u3zh-ac8fXRkJ-y2lAeDIB2dVmaA5pjJCSdxFExALzL3WSNXkNU-BG6wQGV5Dr-qEvbLz6RIsFafvFq/s1600/sacre+bleu.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6qgwsqTiDPt2_gEtG4st9stYcwFhcf2Ob9iJwaiREhWA95M8_Mj_9b66Mpjp7u3zh-ac8fXRkJ-y2lAeDIB2dVmaA5pjJCSdxFExALzL3WSNXkNU-BG6wQGV5Dr-qEvbLz6RIsFafvFq/s200/sacre+bleu.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Mais non! C'est incroyable! Mes pauvres soldats!"</span></span></b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GkEQpCAV3DvmyL2zAIiaFumWz_hC2-E9LUU_OKPLPyMmX-h5A_9VXUBdDZcmk6QamZoLkyrXat6-TRRCcNcYj4-6YUJLy2l8qfOR9VFANGPsXK67qK2A1DEE4TTTPaWMv7xwHjDEWD5O/s1600/11.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GkEQpCAV3DvmyL2zAIiaFumWz_hC2-E9LUU_OKPLPyMmX-h5A_9VXUBdDZcmk6QamZoLkyrXat6-TRRCcNcYj4-6YUJLy2l8qfOR9VFANGPsXK67qK2A1DEE4TTTPaWMv7xwHjDEWD5O/s400/11.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>French line seen from the front. Note how uselessly placed the guns are.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I2PtJx1Qfevwvobcn7Sfeqj9SCda182O7l4ZmvrzsBPQu6BGmXEjZs9X6lM9Dm9rsKkzBA0QRsc743yRZznphZceri960bQQ33cfvpcqGchtIKAhhiIy7_t3zdK_9mrdYS9ksFqQ_iHC/s1600/12.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I2PtJx1Qfevwvobcn7Sfeqj9SCda182O7l4ZmvrzsBPQu6BGmXEjZs9X6lM9Dm9rsKkzBA0QRsc743yRZznphZceri960bQQ33cfvpcqGchtIKAhhiIy7_t3zdK_9mrdYS9ksFqQ_iHC/s400/12.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">The flanking force. The similarly poorly-positioned Bavarian hussars never saw action, nor had a shot fired against them. </span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lK6ZXcgycK7BpWJEdJ4Hs1U_0-7Sfi0D5pYy4IDP6TdIQ0Rgf8WtboPz6jArjq4hY2kp5Jn84mREkH9T5-da6U910nxoUuy8x9dpLFiQhGSgTsXJGuIDgb-B7JJLE3eK-Hb21-Bb5Kg8/s1600/13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lK6ZXcgycK7BpWJEdJ4Hs1U_0-7Sfi0D5pYy4IDP6TdIQ0Rgf8WtboPz6jArjq4hY2kp5Jn84mREkH9T5-da6U910nxoUuy8x9dpLFiQhGSgTsXJGuIDgb-B7JJLE3eK-Hb21-Bb5Kg8/s400/13.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">View
of the start positions from the French right. They needed to quickly
see off the Prussians to the front, and then turn to face the
Italo-Polish-Bavarian menace to their left.</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0U6sCXf2PbCLnh3VMy8UPER246HmxgZTC1uegN-2cfX8FWNFLYYpg961ULQjWAfeOlVVjYZH9N08EaZK3mReOmFb-6Fisy6UW5IrbSHU3wSaZj-RXSLgl7AAaOFrtAWTFvuJYJ3OoCqmp/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0U6sCXf2PbCLnh3VMy8UPER246HmxgZTC1uegN-2cfX8FWNFLYYpg961ULQjWAfeOlVVjYZH9N08EaZK3mReOmFb-6Fisy6UW5IrbSHU3wSaZj-RXSLgl7AAaOFrtAWTFvuJYJ3OoCqmp/s400/18.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>The French should have won this one. </b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>They didn't...</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvyiaBjSItL9wHYmg2hUM-LZZHLFgLXZnujvvvJz7sR-IADF_uqk72VlRWBUF-rfppjJ_VmRAm1cc-MsW7YrSgKWOEjfh8zzXn-B1owBn6gaQ2-pV2E_r4drt5LR45xDFKr_tWbw7-PC4/s1600/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvyiaBjSItL9wHYmg2hUM-LZZHLFgLXZnujvvvJz7sR-IADF_uqk72VlRWBUF-rfppjJ_VmRAm1cc-MsW7YrSgKWOEjfh8zzXn-B1owBn6gaQ2-pV2E_r4drt5LR45xDFKr_tWbw7-PC4/s400/20.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Disorder markers start appearing, as welcome as acne after a chocolate cake binge</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQF4DvwoiWboU2cM4HXIjvfJfiDYBWQXQVZOdv7kP14RpHTdXsxZXPNJmGsGvPcGZl4FdUo-PcoZseHqmZ-lz84NSrWO0UiukOzugTc1BcI5eGIJQslRSuLKDuFn30hM1PXj07nWQqooz/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQF4DvwoiWboU2cM4HXIjvfJfiDYBWQXQVZOdv7kP14RpHTdXsxZXPNJmGsGvPcGZl4FdUo-PcoZseHqmZ-lz84NSrWO0UiukOzugTc1BcI5eGIJQslRSuLKDuFn30hM1PXj07nWQqooz/s400/19.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The French finally did see off one of the Prussian battalions. But it's a case of too little, too late, and at too high a cost.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4Z6rwNu1MyNZ10y9cNoUUh-qI6XmF5FsKrnKu-PEIty1QcMdNjkHr_kT2ILQ7irzsTmEDrWwczvsupD5Tepm2tjGgXowlKDGGKcT3JTRRX-IKVl300f4oCuQg_U_qFJL5_TzTbkqhkcS/s1600/25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4Z6rwNu1MyNZ10y9cNoUUh-qI6XmF5FsKrnKu-PEIty1QcMdNjkHr_kT2ILQ7irzsTmEDrWwczvsupD5Tepm2tjGgXowlKDGGKcT3JTRRX-IKVl300f4oCuQg_U_qFJL5_TzTbkqhkcS/s400/25.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;">"Stop making all that damned bloody noise!"</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLruBdamoUM8iQ9fWoB5xOkFSSFv2iGdrJxR3cPtSlrAMGb5L-j8vOGRuaLxoM34lQRCSU8E3Twy7FQuu2AJbDQSTbEzNzv8XHc36k1k2l_omgsNJc_V06wiPMKeBz03GnOCB3qlPYqT_8/s1600/29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLruBdamoUM8iQ9fWoB5xOkFSSFv2iGdrJxR3cPtSlrAMGb5L-j8vOGRuaLxoM34lQRCSU8E3Twy7FQuu2AJbDQSTbEzNzv8XHc36k1k2l_omgsNJc_V06wiPMKeBz03GnOCB3qlPYqT_8/s400/29.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>No mercy...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnc5zmpzeVVmJ1AL4Dcpwhb8dwiglCTewhZtSNxpjhkAlz2VCJMITXJwH3gD2IKhhtUQQta2Y-YMpZ20EFId5LD4EEht10c9Vf8kYIxfRsFO2HMWXiQEOy9AqwxcXTJnAd4mGGx4WAgsNb/s1600/24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnc5zmpzeVVmJ1AL4Dcpwhb8dwiglCTewhZtSNxpjhkAlz2VCJMITXJwH3gD2IKhhtUQQta2Y-YMpZ20EFId5LD4EEht10c9Vf8kYIxfRsFO2HMWXiQEOy9AqwxcXTJnAd4mGGx4WAgsNb/s400/24.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>The cavalry spent most of the game charging each other to little effect. </b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Late in the game the Poles managed to destroy a French square that was already well beyond its break point.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-Scdz6ht28DILsb5DCcU_K1pjKyi8apRGKDwr5pLot6pzLSLowCRNEfQLjrST12-RF4uj2agVf4XAp1JSBu8GCqkP0f6nkAF6UuT-IK0WXxIhdvyHz5dMRB1oTA_IVRcGOJcqrNryhme/s1600/23.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-Scdz6ht28DILsb5DCcU_K1pjKyi8apRGKDwr5pLot6pzLSLowCRNEfQLjrST12-RF4uj2agVf4XAp1JSBu8GCqkP0f6nkAF6UuT-IK0WXxIhdvyHz5dMRB1oTA_IVRcGOJcqrNryhme/s400/23.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>A rather heavily-mauled French brigade finally manages to form a perpendicular line to face the flank attack.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqGyOKA9hfDKf_MmSjdygeTx_3AQgdlV4jqi9C24JBotSpHUNNGMfAnFOxfbSoNf7-154bcJiz5pr7ckvEY5yoxVQVY2mRZ869GiLfcATx-UiNzXRpq6zd14c4ddjVS-AmQlFZcetA89V/s1600/33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqGyOKA9hfDKf_MmSjdygeTx_3AQgdlV4jqi9C24JBotSpHUNNGMfAnFOxfbSoNf7-154bcJiz5pr7ckvEY5yoxVQVY2mRZ869GiLfcATx-UiNzXRpq6zd14c4ddjVS-AmQlFZcetA89V/s400/33.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Time to roll up the French flank</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0wE9uiRVnYh-xjgIBDTGJLJ0JVtdBBZ5Gsh9bk5gNLEWF0-4ArmSLq7Ysj-w2OVwejLOlxjLFIxAEMA52fiz_hGXV6XRo3SfPXwrI2DXsjMvgFt6Xc5cKyE0nSkvsCwoYrbFMJCccYuF/s1600/40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0wE9uiRVnYh-xjgIBDTGJLJ0JVtdBBZ5Gsh9bk5gNLEWF0-4ArmSLq7Ysj-w2OVwejLOlxjLFIxAEMA52fiz_hGXV6XRo3SfPXwrI2DXsjMvgFt6Xc5cKyE0nSkvsCwoYrbFMJCccYuF/s400/40.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" </b><i><b>Scratch one French line unit. </b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>When playing games this small, you can ill-afford any losses.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73esAHfYnj_oY9vO5byR5PaAFR15HLuN-YBlKWFLD-D2mWysOgE84m6uDRSFz2at47Qknlipntq4-DXlfhm9zlYw520hPAkYAo1o57Y0tGd6H6Bd68avFvupsbxWM9UNFt45UI2wIIAF9/s1600/36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73esAHfYnj_oY9vO5byR5PaAFR15HLuN-YBlKWFLD-D2mWysOgE84m6uDRSFz2at47Qknlipntq4-DXlfhm9zlYw520hPAkYAo1o57Y0tGd6H6Bd68avFvupsbxWM9UNFt45UI2wIIAF9/s400/36.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Bavarian infantry take the high ground; the Allied objective was to be in control of the hill by the end of 15 turns.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8jkZyctpfvkYHinzs6fEAapJZ-PP-fraAfrXJl4OelHmm_Oc3P4eReZMl0fNYkrxDvolB3uqhIWovU1ZURBFu3rQI28eh0rbi5GdEpSeVp2VuIjd5xL9sY0TAT0ES62V1pwit6QrF-Ss/s1600/37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8jkZyctpfvkYHinzs6fEAapJZ-PP-fraAfrXJl4OelHmm_Oc3P4eReZMl0fNYkrxDvolB3uqhIWovU1ZURBFu3rQI28eh0rbi5GdEpSeVp2VuIjd5xL9sY0TAT0ES62V1pwit6QrF-Ss/s400/37.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">End game for French fortunes. Their artillery about to be routed, one remaining infantry unit pushed back off the hill with its back to the river. </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Time to throw in the towel- </i>Sauve qui peut!</span></b></span></td></tr>
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">All in all, a fun game and a very good scenario, one we'd all like to try again, with some small tweaks in deployment, set-up conditions, ranges, and with perhaps more uncertainty as to when the flanking force appears.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We were originally planning on trying out some of the rules in the new Warlord Games' Black Powder supplement, <i>Clash of Eagles</i>. But other than reduced ranges and move distances to fit our table, to keep things simple we decided to just play the game as per the basic rule book. No point in complicating things.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As it was, we could probably have gotten in another game in the time available to us, given that this one was over in a measly seven turns. But the game took longer than what I have been used to; as mentioned Erik was new to the game, and Giovanni hadn't played in a while.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In addition, Giovanni- bless 'im- tends to approach every move, of every unit, in every turn like some golfer lining up that final critical putt on the 18th hole in the PGA. I'm not sure whether to introduce a stopwatch for turns, or just rely on a subtle hint followed, if necessary, by a quick gentle kick up the butt. Both solutions have their appeal.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mind you, to be fair we did take a long break for a rather excellent pizza and some beers. An army marches on its stomach.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Erik is a great guy to game with- as he was when he graciously snotted my IJA with his <i>Afrika Korps</i> during our Bolt Action tournament last October- and will fit in well with the old crew. Despite the outcome, Erik took a great interest in the rules and period.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It seems he enjoyed Black Powder a lot, despite Lady Luck throwing him to the wolves whenever he had to make a critical roll. In his words, Black Powder hit a sweet spot of simple, easy to remember mechanics, along with providing a clear and quick outcome.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To ensure that he was pushed over the edge, at the end of the day I gave him a present of some gateway drugs, in the form of a box of plastic Warlord <i>Landwehr</i>, to help get him started. Pimp those Prussians.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The next post will feature the latest additions to my Napoleonic collection- once I get them based. It's been a while!</span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">(And apologies for having to upload this a second time- Blogger was being temperamental and corrupted the previous post when I tried to edit it.)</span></span></span></i></div>
<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-54635950771219982252018-03-04T16:46:00.001+09:002018-07-16T12:11:37.831+09:00Battles for Bridgeheads<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Finally</b></span> found the energy for a new post, this time getting around to putting up pictures of some of our previous games. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir-RmIZtqvLIXpKJEHiEHvKvGJwpxznwFWeQnIAoYAsTS28gKYWEHYkDqee56YeYqPRY3c98tVaKJtokhraNyl2XtWzl07KC50QbNapIoxCmF9y9IAMBCvC7kyj-PLqfEkwlUterExkWo/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="480" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir-RmIZtqvLIXpKJEHiEHvKvGJwpxznwFWeQnIAoYAsTS28gKYWEHYkDqee56YeYqPRY3c98tVaKJtokhraNyl2XtWzl07KC50QbNapIoxCmF9y9IAMBCvC7kyj-PLqfEkwlUterExkWo/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My veteran </span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">7</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">e <span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Chasseurs à cheval</span> </span></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">were not needed on the day- let those haughty Guard Lancers earn their pay for once!</span></span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">First up are some shots from a very enjoyable day of Napoleonic gaming back in December, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There were two games, actually- the first was our usual <i><b>Black Powder </b></i>bash; and having enough time left for a second game, we decided to make it a true skirmish; our first outing with Ganesha Games' <a href="http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?products_id=49" target="_blank"><i><b>Songs of Drums and Shakos</b></i></a>. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9iHbgDWGaDu8TWY08RKnZGdRKRpp9MtZm-7MZm0490E81LVFczCA7dknFuVXFUnS5qivd-dV03ogVUaQW99E9zKAjZX0GciAMYBbCk2BtYAsGB92ZhRavdf-nsTxlHWz-yxIjHIzIdH1/s1600/IMG_1699.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1592" data-original-width="1600" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9iHbgDWGaDu8TWY08RKnZGdRKRpp9MtZm-7MZm0490E81LVFczCA7dknFuVXFUnS5qivd-dV03ogVUaQW99E9zKAjZX0GciAMYBbCk2BtYAsGB92ZhRavdf-nsTxlHWz-yxIjHIzIdH1/s400/IMG_1699.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></i></span></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>Tools of the trade.</b></i></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Thinking about it, I'm surprised I haven't posted this earlier, as the French were actually victorious! Twice! Doesn't happen often in our games.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The BP game was admittedly a nail-biter; Matt and I played the bridgehead scenario (#5 from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">One Hour Wargames),</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and it proved both a challenge and lots of fun, with the British bridgehead eliminated as their forces were steadily pushed back over the river in twelve bloody turns. </span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuN9bEE-yyNsVcKtsCojq9MNIFIYTEHRq8AeOjPAeTBlTsvoHzUh_-f2zA_yqORHbvd-a1rRSgPFQfyvI66b_ANq06dGHVUVc6XWEE0EzYHRWDcvCCJw_kx5mHBtC-cJKZrH5_kdRpFkLi/s1600/IMG_1661.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuN9bEE-yyNsVcKtsCojq9MNIFIYTEHRq8AeOjPAeTBlTsvoHzUh_-f2zA_yqORHbvd-a1rRSgPFQfyvI66b_ANq06dGHVUVc6XWEE0EzYHRWDcvCCJw_kx5mHBtC-cJKZrH5_kdRpFkLi/s400/IMG_1661.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Forces of Liberty, Fraternity, Equality, and Justice.</i></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOSgC75Ef6S2JZyhJ52qK3BFOOx15Bf6Foz67XKntSyvSTzxsMSbsL5RrUoTVx7TRIVjEoRUVj5e3_azN40pX5v8BEWwwy2InXW1ufeZa9WOdaXxVj9OPn6CkG62zo982LLhcbin31UBM/s1600/IMG_1663.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOSgC75Ef6S2JZyhJ52qK3BFOOx15Bf6Foz67XKntSyvSTzxsMSbsL5RrUoTVx7TRIVjEoRUVj5e3_azN40pX5v8BEWwwy2InXW1ufeZa9WOdaXxVj9OPn6CkG62zo982LLhcbin31UBM/s400/IMG_1663.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Forces of Hooliganism, Warm Beer, and high-fat Chip Butties.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCTsiKcDK72i_S-7KaXOmNUmy-x3CQCSfyOXKnfftKXMHaYdY5E5mzZwyoYzfA1fTbw5ygcDUJbeHk5_nEFEPXuSCP9OUEmYQmU6XiuLvuI5sPxX1S5nakfKDK47BoZklkDzAALxV7ikf/s1600/IMG_1675.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCTsiKcDK72i_S-7KaXOmNUmy-x3CQCSfyOXKnfftKXMHaYdY5E5mzZwyoYzfA1fTbw5ygcDUJbeHk5_nEFEPXuSCP9OUEmYQmU6XiuLvuI5sPxX1S5nakfKDK47BoZklkDzAALxV7ikf/s400/IMG_1675.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">We decided that this should count as </span></i><span style="font-size: small;">bad going</span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> in the rules.</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFPhdsE4on5h2PIUlbzZRcV0anFnZzkG0WI6lciF8DPRQGsGSsvWV2dyOv4YBxDBOBsuaA07aQr82_Ys4xWxPBLnw_2qMlxhMJ_JND-r5eFsqmxjx6AajTf_Ysha6SEZfMCXJMKHV8XZ7/s1600/IMG_0666.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1451" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFPhdsE4on5h2PIUlbzZRcV0anFnZzkG0WI6lciF8DPRQGsGSsvWV2dyOv4YBxDBOBsuaA07aQr82_Ys4xWxPBLnw_2qMlxhMJ_JND-r5eFsqmxjx6AajTf_Ysha6SEZfMCXJMKHV8XZ7/s400/IMG_0666.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>French advance into the fray.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The game featured a rare appearance of Matt's solitary Neapolitan unit, resplendent in white with pink facings, fighting on the side of the French. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3XH3zax6jJJQB-pYfC7igCeCUgL2tM0V6qXPs-ohQjY3y3ge3eIQIlbwaVDiFZmn4fmBDICBUGJp8fxsjxDptelbn62wMb6RCIOR_zzQe0wW1HLWcI0otZjf7x8zigEnrb-PxIomCCS2/s1600/IMG_1657.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3XH3zax6jJJQB-pYfC7igCeCUgL2tM0V6qXPs-ohQjY3y3ge3eIQIlbwaVDiFZmn4fmBDICBUGJp8fxsjxDptelbn62wMb6RCIOR_zzQe0wW1HLWcI0otZjf7x8zigEnrb-PxIomCCS2/s400/IMG_1657.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>British cross the river. For some reason Matt held back one line regiment as a reserve on his side of the river. Mistake.</b></i></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I had taken the courageous decision to rely on my French Guard Dutch (Red) Lancers for my cavalry. These scarlet-hued and overpaid poltroons had so far let the side down miserably in virtually every game where they found themselves actually having to commit to combat.<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This would be their one last opportunity to redeem themselves; I had hinted darkly that if they failed me yet again, there would be some Prince August moulds under the Christmas tree this year, and let's just say I wouldn't be finding myself short of casting metal...</span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">But for once my lancers performed, if not brilliantly, at least competently; the punitive threat of immersion into the hot metal crucible has been averted- for the time being. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglu89ueQYecWC_blhPyfLLbv5PP6q2wjK67mzkX-8N7DtHA9GUFVwE6QyUNhi4vjl5Kf_8sOfFBPSt1CNmnaoWF9lmPLXHoXBzAmEy_5r5QyhbdYxdWshFNzPaWpV3qJOPY_VAuSXsp7gZ/s1600/IMG_1680.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglu89ueQYecWC_blhPyfLLbv5PP6q2wjK67mzkX-8N7DtHA9GUFVwE6QyUNhi4vjl5Kf_8sOfFBPSt1CNmnaoWF9lmPLXHoXBzAmEy_5r5QyhbdYxdWshFNzPaWpV3qJOPY_VAuSXsp7gZ/s400/IMG_1680.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Une pression impitoyable</span></span></span></b></span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2WLOoJ9HEXiMEnO54LwfE4Sj3jIXecPRCDbb2dt8nxkO__ED5RI4OoS-lxlG0ClhjL1gGcI4plVWFcTiPetPtQ4wx683EudzfR6T1E70UWnJRsjWDJciw06lSxwv0cKR5b3GixVJH9KF/s1600/IMG_1668.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2WLOoJ9HEXiMEnO54LwfE4Sj3jIXecPRCDbb2dt8nxkO__ED5RI4OoS-lxlG0ClhjL1gGcI4plVWFcTiPetPtQ4wx683EudzfR6T1E70UWnJRsjWDJciw06lSxwv0cKR5b3GixVJH9KF/s400/IMG_1668.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRFuyclv84qIDXZOTnRRprxrfme5vMCy57m2HwvnNuN8nqfZuLiAmnjWvKIVQv2pxdx18ZEj-W2bBvZh_j-RPm08HbkiEUHU0rQoqdgs6FkEYvlKjm9Dkr_rU4w3etX6bZKEUVekGRmjg/s1600/IMG_1681.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRFuyclv84qIDXZOTnRRprxrfme5vMCy57m2HwvnNuN8nqfZuLiAmnjWvKIVQv2pxdx18ZEj-W2bBvZh_j-RPm08HbkiEUHU0rQoqdgs6FkEYvlKjm9Dkr_rU4w3etX6bZKEUVekGRmjg/s400/IMG_1681.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NlYWxVMV2LuHubKsqkIK2_fAJGJuquvNY_vk5yXbCdUUKIK9YbDdDWFch7Um0j7SBthOdPTNMgg8GQ4G0qm1QGxLqd0DiBvskRoNFw59BW4D6KR7-_aQpSK7u3OL0AL6LHvhwGCM4dlO/s1600/IMG_1688.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NlYWxVMV2LuHubKsqkIK2_fAJGJuquvNY_vk5yXbCdUUKIK9YbDdDWFch7Um0j7SBthOdPTNMgg8GQ4G0qm1QGxLqd0DiBvskRoNFw59BW4D6KR7-_aQpSK7u3OL0AL6LHvhwGCM4dlO/s400/IMG_1688.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>French take the fight to the English </i>point d'appui.</b></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJZI5bEjbd9IGkzW2OG6EMm4BmNvYBIi80MU17OOTlNISUSA6tf9Ag-yOyob-QC7Hbhqauv0-JxdRMOTHKGCm_c9jZJPTzJ0rVn0XX4Gdq3tKS389fvkpnmNWAI2XMdFBwFlmpD9sYWxc/s1600/IMG_1690.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJZI5bEjbd9IGkzW2OG6EMm4BmNvYBIi80MU17OOTlNISUSA6tf9Ag-yOyob-QC7Hbhqauv0-JxdRMOTHKGCm_c9jZJPTzJ0rVn0XX4Gdq3tKS389fvkpnmNWAI2XMdFBwFlmpD9sYWxc/s400/IMG_1690.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNW2iPKbbv1dtib1-N0G-fsbgwsxBcFCPCz-w6JKiXgILp7FEnyq-OMiwECJEBnj5fvUpxlak6dj1HIKWfUO20dyb5PsoG-ByJ_kXcWHJbvrP1y03F26s9Awc7y3ZE46_3GtuD7QmEpELf/s1600/IMG_1677.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNW2iPKbbv1dtib1-N0G-fsbgwsxBcFCPCz-w6JKiXgILp7FEnyq-OMiwECJEBnj5fvUpxlak6dj1HIKWfUO20dyb5PsoG-ByJ_kXcWHJbvrP1y03F26s9Awc7y3ZE46_3GtuD7QmEpELf/s400/IMG_1677.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Neapolitans also put in a creditable performance, as they often do in our games. On this day they made several determined charges against the formed-up 60th Rifles. After a number of inclusive rounds of intense hand-of-hand combat, the two adversaries fought themselves to mutual destruction, both having managed to fail their break test at the same time. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">But exchanging an exhausted unit of line infantry for one of the enemy's crack rifle regiments was a good trade-off in my books.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfupcOVaEQwXhipU9mBwYBHpSYabOLW1h-v0xEP9JDwcnGr_wMahwmTnbWmozsjTL7QVSJP8B34kUX0P2SzQx315q18Nx2LNJgwUjHRAhykVeNz4lsLVzTcBgGfgwg1ZiD-ypNCkRZPTW5/s1600/IMG_1678.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfupcOVaEQwXhipU9mBwYBHpSYabOLW1h-v0xEP9JDwcnGr_wMahwmTnbWmozsjTL7QVSJP8B34kUX0P2SzQx315q18Nx2LNJgwUjHRAhykVeNz4lsLVzTcBgGfgwg1ZiD-ypNCkRZPTW5/s400/IMG_1678.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Broken Neopolitans. Matt's grin soon faded as the Rifles failed their own break test. Snap!</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhlFhreubVCicEteWzpV5g-E4XxKFTm1m1e-XM4rzNLdPQbFXxddyoRWYgcZWNzMopj7l23-Tlw9xU92JUcmtlCTr8xaW1HGFMCdc2M9u1pRfX_Lcqr-NfMozLZ7XfLazGJ1O5fXPjrIu/s1600/IMG_1673.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhlFhreubVCicEteWzpV5g-E4XxKFTm1m1e-XM4rzNLdPQbFXxddyoRWYgcZWNzMopj7l23-Tlw9xU92JUcmtlCTr8xaW1HGFMCdc2M9u1pRfX_Lcqr-NfMozLZ7XfLazGJ1O5fXPjrIu/s400/IMG_1673.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Actually,
he's safer with the miniatures than are some gamers I've known. And he
doesn't get greasy paws from dipping into a bag of potato chips.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">*****</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: red; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">We</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">had time for a second quick game, so we decided to make it a skirmish using<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Songs of Drums & Shakos.</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> A British RN landing party's attempt to take the same bridge from a small detachment of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i style="color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">voltigeurs</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">- six figures a side. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">My first time non-solo with the rules, and I hadn't the time to get up to speed with them much before the game, so to some extent we were winging it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">However, it didn't take either of us long to get comfortable with the basic mechanics. I'm sure we made lots of mistakes, and omitted some parts of the rules. In the interests of time, we were just concentrating on the essentials of movement, firing, and hand-to-hand combat. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYsUfK591HsK1uHU6xCDywBbP2OZ68zPRadRD6eykUnJwYFvtYMfI498hrQwYlaYrA0Gbh9wh7uL8ZdBjWBEn9Rl-2qALG4OZrDcR9zA9jZ1Gu0Y3MR3mW5teddponFfGqiHoC-NvgTfNp/s1600/IMG_1692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYsUfK591HsK1uHU6xCDywBbP2OZ68zPRadRD6eykUnJwYFvtYMfI498hrQwYlaYrA0Gbh9wh7uL8ZdBjWBEn9Rl-2qALG4OZrDcR9zA9jZ1Gu0Y3MR3mW5teddponFfGqiHoC-NvgTfNp/s400/IMG_1692.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Alarme! <i>Gaston and Pierre manage to wound a marine, as they bravely try to hold off the attack.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxccB3KpCPmIZ2urbrDittRZ85uIcWvT_aokpm76o8qkaiBB1qQrDjXb_BfWzZybJj6hay2bUyQCRQ6nKvBetOPLKcmfvS9rH0YF7NQrbMuPZqVWk2nD0RZS9AN_omDJ_EZKLTUfPmzDj7/s1600/IMG_1693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxccB3KpCPmIZ2urbrDittRZ85uIcWvT_aokpm76o8qkaiBB1qQrDjXb_BfWzZybJj6hay2bUyQCRQ6nKvBetOPLKcmfvS9rH0YF7NQrbMuPZqVWk2nD0RZS9AN_omDJ_EZKLTUfPmzDj7/s400/IMG_1693.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Lt. Alphonse de Martinet rushes the rest of his </i>piquets<i> to the bridge. Would he be in time?</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9AGE6UXtYJ6b9YCG6WWjPbQlcxS1VuwkinbovnXSn12RtWPeIXt9MqJFZeAJVdBlQfgGzfu_Vwe8h4_EWMVhnKbJzKa3Ttw7dYmRYXIyieq2K2uFhikQu_IgJP4vMC0EEbY2Mt5nqeu-/s1600/IMG_1696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9AGE6UXtYJ6b9YCG6WWjPbQlcxS1VuwkinbovnXSn12RtWPeIXt9MqJFZeAJVdBlQfgGzfu_Vwe8h4_EWMVhnKbJzKa3Ttw7dYmRYXIyieq2K2uFhikQu_IgJP4vMC0EEbY2Mt5nqeu-/s400/IMG_1696.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gaston</span> and Pierre seek cover behind the parapet of the bridge.</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">After
initial British success, and despite the wounding of their gallant
lieutenant, the French were able to retake the bridge and slay the
impertinent- and, as it turned out, fatally impetuous- Mr. Midshipman
Stringplucker.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3G2PACU5f4FkCTtOUFkNMZ8NmugBBrKkE-i-LGLt5d5hK1SAk5_YKVhHh44ZtDpFD6LkrtAS5vCgsa8-bIgJd175Sdp3IEVZ9rzFGCMtAdlHtcPOl207j9RHsCb7jkiFaJnM9JZf-7BQz/s1600/IMG_1698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3G2PACU5f4FkCTtOUFkNMZ8NmugBBrKkE-i-LGLt5d5hK1SAk5_YKVhHh44ZtDpFD6LkrtAS5vCgsa8-bIgJd175Sdp3IEVZ9rzFGCMtAdlHtcPOl207j9RHsCb7jkiFaJnM9JZf-7BQz/s400/IMG_1698.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">A fierce </span></i></b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "segoe ui" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">mêlée</span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> on the bridge sees the Jack Tars repulsed and their impetuous middy slain. </span></i></b></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "segoe ui" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span id="noHighlight_0.6089336359923351" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">V</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span id="noHighlight_0.6089336359923351" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ive<span class="Apple-converted-space"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span id="noHighlight_0.6089336359923351" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="" id="ouHighlight__10_15TO5_6" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">la France</span><span id="noHighlight_0.8988191263284143" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">!</span></span></span></span></b></span> </span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></b></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span id="noHighlight_0.8988191263284143" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">SDS was great- a real hoot; easy to grasp mechanisms made for a fast-paced game, with not a dull moment. We will definitely be trying them out again.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">*****</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>We</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> had another Napoleonics game on February 25th, and I'll add those pics to this blog later this week. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Other hobby activities have been mostly building models. Along with working on the 15mm Desert War British armour, I've been building an M36 Jackson & M4 Sherman Jumbo for my WW2 Yanks. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I've room at the painting table for plastic kits or painting, not both. But this weekend I tidied away the modelling equipment and will be taking up the paintbrushes again. I have had a long period of time where the painting mojo had gone completely AWOL, but recently I've been feeling it returning again, so hopefully there will be a few new Napoleonics gracing the table for our next game.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I also need to work on some more terrain; I'm getting tired of fighting over the same farmhouses every game!</span></span></div>
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-76123202977414178372018-01-08T18:48:00.003+09:002018-03-10T13:24:36.222+09:00New Toys for the Sandbox<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Happy</b></span> New Year, everyone. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMCWc5tHSPvX5T9rBFsvyra3DkHYDnDGlG6D2t5tQysz7QQ5pfkA0c6lPOAgcCpo_A0bbdXs2KfkZRRgAgEiWO_HStwIE-ADjU-y3POEAezWnLiUI9THCTHPPEgFn3EUU8dNRPzhAk-9D/s1600/Matilda+Turret.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="350" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMCWc5tHSPvX5T9rBFsvyra3DkHYDnDGlG6D2t5tQysz7QQ5pfkA0c6lPOAgcCpo_A0bbdXs2KfkZRRgAgEiWO_HStwIE-ADjU-y3POEAezWnLiUI9THCTHPPEgFn3EUU8dNRPzhAk-9D/s400/Matilda+Turret.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #7f6000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>In a Qattara Depression; where has that painting mojo gotten to? Nothing like a new project to pump up the enthusiasm.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This year's obligatory set of resolutions on the wargaming front are simple; play games, paint figures, build models. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Simple, concise, and likely to be achieved by the end of 2018.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But the new year means a new project- two in fact- as well as continuing/ finishing old ones.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bolt Action</b> is still big here in Tokyo, and as my IJA enters the home
stretch as far as painting goes, I was thinking of where to go next. I have my Leathernecks, but much as I enjoy working on them, I think I'd like a break from the jungle for a bit. So, wanting something out of the ordinary, I resisted the Tigers, Shermans and T-34's and decided on... WW1 French.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">More on this later, but the truth is I've already had all the figures and models I
need for it, it's not so much something new as it is moving the box up
to the front of the queue. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Also, I really don't want to spend money on
another 28mm army- especially a duplicate, as </span><span style="font-size: large;">I already have loads of Soviets and a US tank regiment in 20mm. Anyway I prefer the Battlegroup rules over Bolt Action for WW2 in Europe.<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Certainly, BA can</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> be used- practically as is- just as well for WW1 as it can be for WW2. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bolt Action is, I feel, best as an infantry game</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> using the minimum of armour assets</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">, where I
feel it serves very well when approached with more than a passing nod
to history.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But I does likes me some waves o'tanks a' hurtlin' across the horizon. So in December I took the plunge into something that has been on my wargaming bucket list for decades: </span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">North Africa, Operations Brevity and Battleaxe, 1941.</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Using <b>Blitzkrieg Commander II</b>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In <b>15mm</b>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And-hold on to your argyle socks- the <b>British</b> Army!<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">While at the back of my mind for years, it got a kick-start from once having been sent the wrong models from <a href="http://theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>PSC</b></a>. I had received a box of 15mm Pz-IV's when I had ordered the</span><span style="font-size: large;">1/72
version for my Germans. They soon sent me a replacement, but told me I
could keep the 15mm kit. And my, in 15mm these tanks were darned cute...</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Thin
edge of the wedge. I ended up giving the box to Matt, </span><span style="font-size: large;">who has decided to do the <i>Afrika Korps </i>(the only acceptable WW2 German army in his eyes). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For me though, </span><span style="font-size: large;">I've always
loved the early British cruiser tanks- the multi-turreted A-9's, boxy A-10's and rather sleek A-13's,
which in 1940 and early 1941 were perfectly able to hold their own against the Italian armoured formations</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Indeed, with their 2 pdr. guns the cruisers were still able to take on the older and lighter Pz-I and Pz-II tanks of the <i>DAK- </i>just so long as their engines and tracks cooperated. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlCjxVd2ASP6FhVaTknPkzAIA5eRsze7Jood0i3Ulzc45oqTU-xazOB_KSqAv9uQVwf2HjPl5P6FMohgoMPPaWUKT7qtCSGwJnXXY_NZ_Y7bJf5YNeAofm7xdkmiKodm3tLf8rm1JsVHM/s1600/A9+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="604" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlCjxVd2ASP6FhVaTknPkzAIA5eRsze7Jood0i3Ulzc45oqTU-xazOB_KSqAv9uQVwf2HjPl5P6FMohgoMPPaWUKT7qtCSGwJnXXY_NZ_Y7bJf5YNeAofm7xdkmiKodm3tLf8rm1JsVHM/s400/A9+front.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #7f6000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>The A-9 Cruiser; an ungainly, tracked shot-trap with paper-thin armour; individual crew saunas provided. What's not to love?</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I can also field what is, along with the Soviet KV-1, my
very favourite WW2 tank; the Matilda II, Queen of the Battlefield. The only British tank to see combat service for the entire length of the war, and a tank to be reckoned with when in her
prime.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This all wasn't just an impulse decision, and I've long thought of what scale would best suit the subject. For us, the image of Western Desert warfare is the cut and thrust of armoured combat. Especially with </span><span style="font-size: large;">BKC-II, which plays fast and furious. And</span><span style="font-size: large;"> given the size of my ping-pong table 15mm appears to be the best way forward.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The cost in plastic doesn't break the bank;
the models are small enough so that we have the space on our table to actually
maneuver, and yet the vehicles and infantry are big enough for me to
actually see them, paint them, and to enjoy the modelling aspect.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And painting desert sand makes a change from all that khaki green.<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Phase I is
the 2/RTR (with its mix of reconditioned cruiser tanks) and a squadron
of Matilda II's from 4/RTR, who will eventually support some Indian
troops. Should all go well, Phase II is some motorized infantry with
transport, a battery of 25pdr's, and some air support. I may even get
some Italians later if the enthusiasm is still there.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I've been making a very good start. My painting mojo may have been AWOL lately, but at least the plastic modelling drive has still been showing up for row call.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This lot all arrived on Christmas Day! Santa's Elves
were slacking, so I have been having to assemble them myself. Just as
well, they would probably have used gloss paints anyway.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5MJHrKwhCCJaoB5s3IjRhwtPdNRNq1BGUEbeLeTYlnuYP-SGF9jluCzyCdF-tGEzF3v_Qbm5Pr5EjeOfyIWNiclpDPyc6js0fCKeJ-T9t-6trCsixsnNzbcCdRn-T1EH2Hye3qzYYpxAj/s1600/Bare+Plastic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5MJHrKwhCCJaoB5s3IjRhwtPdNRNq1BGUEbeLeTYlnuYP-SGF9jluCzyCdF-tGEzF3v_Qbm5Pr5EjeOfyIWNiclpDPyc6js0fCKeJ-T9t-6trCsixsnNzbcCdRn-T1EH2Hye3qzYYpxAj/s400/Bare+Plastic.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvc8MbAgQKmyYILmLsCEIRAWdDJaxBKLanyUQwkC2wdLuoGAlkWa0dBN2hlGY4xDOc4dUy3JXw0EJ3F0lwqQM8accZguHx1q4XF-43KiPzVtwqzLDh3JnlAmWjrcngn0xb52sRlHwkPWX/s1600/2nd+RTR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="639" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvc8MbAgQKmyYILmLsCEIRAWdDJaxBKLanyUQwkC2wdLuoGAlkWa0dBN2hlGY4xDOc4dUy3JXw0EJ3F0lwqQM8accZguHx1q4XF-43KiPzVtwqzLDh3JnlAmWjrcngn0xb52sRlHwkPWX/s400/2nd+RTR.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #7f6000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>On the left, three squadrons of the 2/RTR, with HQ represented by a CS A-10 Cruiser. Three Matilda II's of 4/RTR to accompany the infantry.</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I don't much reference material here on the Western Desert campaigns, which had to be remedied. The first to arrive was an excellent second-hand copy of the old classic <b><a href="https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22600006787&searchurl=isbn%3D0850591392%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1" target="_blank">Tank Battles in Miniatures Vol.1</a></b> by Donald Featherstone. Primarily for the background info, although we won't be using the rules. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Can't
beat the Don for ideas, inspiration, and insights; after all, he was there!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7fAlck02cJOoQqa-GW_TvYnzd13yrK56znTJlM8fk94lNZIGkTwqjdZy2mY9-2TVVaqDGhqcDhGaFjNHURguSmME1hd25yg-FSuY3xmxEmCYsgiwDJt9_RInUe6LAO7NfqJjiNKfprzC/s1600/TBinMin_DF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="317" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7fAlck02cJOoQqa-GW_TvYnzd13yrK56znTJlM8fk94lNZIGkTwqjdZy2mY9-2TVVaqDGhqcDhGaFjNHURguSmME1hd25yg-FSuY3xmxEmCYsgiwDJt9_RInUe6LAO7NfqJjiNKfprzC/s400/TBinMin_DF.jpg" width="325" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>*****</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, Napoleonics are never far off the radar, and in fact I have an AAR from a game last month (two of them in fact) that I need to post soon. And if I can find my missing mojo and lift up a paintbrush in earnest, some new cavalry for inspection.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, lots happening this year.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-38209910760653152832017-11-26T17:17:00.002+09:002017-12-02T08:38:23.563+09:00First FUBAR competition come and gone!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Time</b></span> for an update. There has been a lot of gaming, purchasing, painting, and just idle daydreaming on all things hobby related since my last post.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Everything except blogging, which is simply because I spend much more time on the iPad these days than I do on the computer, and Blogger isn't very tablet-friendly. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLqQxgW4MZkC6X4zGEOxzLZuM_tTU7WVii_uj2GjnBBoTTP9yuP5wvIgHktRuTPRDbI_vGnAcDIFRisna5l4uZF3-RmkG17z9GGTVq78IhtF9Pnx7zv64fQkjr9CpaulsVkCaRIgAGzB5/s1600/IMG_1288.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLqQxgW4MZkC6X4zGEOxzLZuM_tTU7WVii_uj2GjnBBoTTP9yuP5wvIgHktRuTPRDbI_vGnAcDIFRisna5l4uZF3-RmkG17z9GGTVq78IhtF9Pnx7zv64fQkjr9CpaulsVkCaRIgAGzB5/s400/IMG_1288.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Japanese SL in Russki livery. The train made choo-choo noises- what more could a gamer ask for?</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, here is an account of my mixed fortunes at <b>FUBAR,</b> our first ever <b>Bolt Action </b>tournament held way back on the 1st of October, and held at the community centre at Seiseki-sakuragaoka here in the west of Tokyo.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I have to be honest and admit that I actually enjoyed it much more than I ever thought I would. I had never played in a tournament before, in fact I've tended to be quite suspicious of them in the past, due to those stories you hear out there of overly-competitive, unwashed basement dwellers who delight in sucking the fun and energy out of gaming. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now that's unfair stereotyping to be sure, but I had never been much for competitive play, preferring my games to be scenario-driven, firmly grounded in at least some historical context, and played against plausible historical opponents. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'd heard horror stories about tournaments where one finds Japanese flame-thrower teams darting around the front lines in Kurogane field cars, or unlikely mixed platoons of SS, paratroopers, and- for all I know- COBRA troopers; win-at-all-costs power gamers busy mini-maxing points with not even a cursory nod towards historical plausibility. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Each to their own, but I wanted nothing to do with that scene.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But I needn't have worried. There were no such excesses evident, the air was redolent of soap, and as a change from my usual gaming fare it actually proved a nice break. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It turned out being a very enjoyable tourney, with great people to game with. There was loads of enthusiasm, with everyone playing to win but not wanting to do so at the expense of everyone having a good time. Lots of good humour and nobody taking it all too seriously. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In fact it was surprising just how much we were all able to learn about the finer points of the rules through accessing the group's "hive mind", especially given the range of experience when it came to playing Bolt Action.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In my case, all my experience had been against Matt's Far East British, so I was not at all confident about my chances. I duly managed to come in 9th out of a table of 12! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But better than I thought I would, given that the Japanese would be up against all manner of Axis and Allied mechanized nastiness.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For a one-off day of gaming I can live with any of the historical anachronisms, and I have to say I really like the second edition of the Bolt Action rules, which seem to play much better than the first edition. Hurrah to that extra dice for LMG's and MMG's.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We had five, very nice tables laid out for the games. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhro-X29S-COG-H69mDvH8W3vS_3wwSJhbkA8ngeNkyabwaBdTs3RfeGSHjO0MyYIEadwFOqGZgu6luxR42D83PI2ofr083Yj-7A_PP3TQZEiraV3HSKdGX6v4SswyumdZPw4_JFCyNDOR5/s1600/IMG_1312.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhro-X29S-COG-H69mDvH8W3vS_3wwSJhbkA8ngeNkyabwaBdTs3RfeGSHjO0MyYIEadwFOqGZgu6luxR42D83PI2ofr083Yj-7A_PP3TQZEiraV3HSKdGX6v4SswyumdZPw4_JFCyNDOR5/s400/IMG_1312.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Jungle table- The sun doesn't shine in jungle; neither did my IJA.</i></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQ2Pc2b6cXl335mN3kHp9MVf5ZKOBL1OQXGMbHk0wis2clZQnHX9z7hwpSg3HbZe1z04_90Ipb4YnNDbJZBUeE5bCl7emOPJ6dpRhlxuc_JLw7VaACuDTym6osh7LxF_QvJT2h0HD0KnU/s1600/IMG_1302.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQ2Pc2b6cXl335mN3kHp9MVf5ZKOBL1OQXGMbHk0wis2clZQnHX9z7hwpSg3HbZe1z04_90Ipb4YnNDbJZBUeE5bCl7emOPJ6dpRhlxuc_JLw7VaACuDTym6osh7LxF_QvJT2h0HD0KnU/s400/IMG_1302.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNm1TPz5zee_1GmiiIQU7E8vV0y4nOfRomCqe48RvgaZdyYOwAZmzifcaVKpiaDjOyUx2bgpvcMjEkXxfQLTZqYqy8zMnUo3hM9AHXZB0MNHBq3dQ0Pw6F5FkiY0qhVnFWf7GBse06Cz-/s1600/IMG_1285.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNm1TPz5zee_1GmiiIQU7E8vV0y4nOfRomCqe48RvgaZdyYOwAZmzifcaVKpiaDjOyUx2bgpvcMjEkXxfQLTZqYqy8zMnUo3hM9AHXZB0MNHBq3dQ0Pw6F5FkiY0qhVnFWf7GBse06Cz-/s400/IMG_1285.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Giovanni was responsible for this rather nice desert table. This was </i>much<i> more to my men's liking on the day.</i></b></span></span><u><br /></u></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ADvdcf6s0ib5AyTqmtgOtzt0h3h2EPomIV1JIFD8sV9x4BmEGU290tegeSO1zE7EQUe1NxoRDGKpePb6aStBfHOS2e1npwUe91PpEI7kAMVJ-9YoFvMC55jqBdF1TkCtg_kbQeGJNQMt/s1600/IMG_1303.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ADvdcf6s0ib5AyTqmtgOtzt0h3h2EPomIV1JIFD8sV9x4BmEGU290tegeSO1zE7EQUe1NxoRDGKpePb6aStBfHOS2e1npwUe91PpEI7kAMVJ-9YoFvMC55jqBdF1TkCtg_kbQeGJNQMt/s400/IMG_1303.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Fear, loathing, and weirdness in Peenemunde</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jVvfLvk804IWRh5JnOI9aiqOowhcH40_6_Qk1Usmv9uchcX8Y1GMyTzfgD70XGy3Nw2BkjT3y-y5uF4pbVW8aB-ztPtiloxyy1WxW3KQGMrmWsdr8QFJZaCFfac6ny8KK1PuO1Ls8yFN/s1600/IMG_1323.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jVvfLvk804IWRh5JnOI9aiqOowhcH40_6_Qk1Usmv9uchcX8Y1GMyTzfgD70XGy3Nw2BkjT3y-y5uF4pbVW8aB-ztPtiloxyy1WxW3KQGMrmWsdr8QFJZaCFfac6ny8KK1PuO1Ls8yFN/s320/IMG_1323.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>My mountain fort finally saw combat! I didn't have the chance to play on this table, though.</i></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9UpHUGAd9Ugn43U8t09NkeiAyD7MEFrAvYbvPJxgi2QwC0lOGtAxFVO9Mblm1nANBGwrO1EGbNg2VXSDgZAJwpz90Kpq5fBOcPT4Cf4Qhkj8k837ZfJPAE3xUiI2oRbXHU4oMZElHjnP/s1600/IMG_1306.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9UpHUGAd9Ugn43U8t09NkeiAyD7MEFrAvYbvPJxgi2QwC0lOGtAxFVO9Mblm1nANBGwrO1EGbNg2VXSDgZAJwpz90Kpq5fBOcPT4Cf4Qhkj8k837ZfJPAE3xUiI2oRbXHU4oMZElHjnP/s320/IMG_1306.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="color: blue;">Psyche Ops.</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJMPC3vgGRkDH5v3AgR_FZC56QblvkThkbnSwy0-JYwGjDlsSmkF6eQi65PYLxUedevuiukBWFQG-tExSIYm8DVmKGlEQ4OHNZnph6mk_xiaUz-v479z-T5kNOWeQ-skdEYv1rb4SERrx/s1600/IMG_1320.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJMPC3vgGRkDH5v3AgR_FZC56QblvkThkbnSwy0-JYwGjDlsSmkF6eQi65PYLxUedevuiukBWFQG-tExSIYm8DVmKGlEQ4OHNZnph6mk_xiaUz-v479z-T5kNOWeQ-skdEYv1rb4SERrx/s320/IMG_1320.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>I liked this one; very "Market Garden-y".</i></b></span></span><u><br /></u></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I had decided to risk all and go for what was very much a light infantry force. No tanks or vehicles. Japanese armour would most likely get toasted by anything the Germans or Soviets could bring to the party, so why bother?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Instead, I would spend the points on what was my army's strength; being able to throw wave after wave of good-quality infantry, in large squads of twelve or more, </span><span style="font-size: large;">straight at the enemy</span><span style="font-size: large;"> and to get in close with the bayonet. And shrugging off any pins or casualties, as was the done thing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Wi</span><span style="font-size: large;">th just about all my troops being fanatics, no one can better my IJA as far as force morale goes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I've been gaming long enough to realize that numbers often count, both in being able to absorb casualties and in the number of dice to be rolled; the more dice, the more things average out. Just being able to roll a dozen dice in a firefight means I'm bound to hit something, let alone unleashing them in a <i>Banzai! </i>charge.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So in the end I went for a very vanilla infantry platoon- straight by the book. My only luxuries were a sniper team, a suicide A/T team, a 70mm light howitzer in support- and the combat debut of my new pointy stick guys- bamboo spearmen. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To be honest I doubt the historicity of being able to field spearmen in separate squads. In reality, it's </span><span style="font-size: large;">most likely that a</span><span style="font-size: large;">ny army troops finding themselves reduced to having to wield spears instead of rifles would have been skeletal, emaciated, malaria-ridden, poorly-supplied waifs, so it seems to me that having them as a separate troop type seems kind of gamey (as, I suppose, they were...). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But for game purposes, they would do; I could get a lot of them, and they were as</span><span style="font-size: large;"> cheap-as-chips. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When first putting together the list, I had most of what I needed except for that squad of bamboo-spear armed infantry and 70mm light gun. These were ordered, and came mercifully quickly from Warlord Games.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The morning of the tournament I was knackered, having been up until 2 o'clock the previous night furiously trying to get them ready for the day (some things never change...). I probably could have had them fully finished, had I not decided to break out the epoxy putty and do a few conversions, which took time. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9VVTJjIiBV3W23lBlzjPj3-Djz0gi2MDAyroEfPEJHmdlX5Uqfj8NmjgMkxWhRtzpb_iyB16mgd6WTpOHU2GqgUfnMvfCDmlbzxfyj-Fq-NQ-Gz8QIZyYPrJBmunBK55M9532osMUIs-/s1600/IMG_1301.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9VVTJjIiBV3W23lBlzjPj3-Djz0gi2MDAyroEfPEJHmdlX5Uqfj8NmjgMkxWhRtzpb_iyB16mgd6WTpOHU2GqgUfnMvfCDmlbzxfyj-Fq-NQ-Gz8QIZyYPrJBmunBK55M9532osMUIs-/s400/IMG_1301.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So I ended up just block painting them, with no shading or highlights, so I knew they wouldn't be winning any painting prizes. But at least they were table ready, and after the game I would take my time to dip them, go over the highlights, and tart up the bases.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'd rather do it this way then try to do a rush job with the basing just for the sake of the competition.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On to the tournament. I played three games, all against people I've never played against before; all were good sports, and everything went smoothly, with very little in the way of rules clarification or refereeing needed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>First</b></span> round, and</span><span style="font-size: large;"> I ended up being butchered badly in a face-off against a platoon of Soviet combat engineers- and that in what should have been my natural habitat, jungle terrain. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Faulty tactics and deployment on my part- my opponent was more focused on the objective. I dithered around, and I paid the price. Some nasty hand to hand combat was to take place, so it was no bloodless walkover; but it still came to an end rather embarrassingly quickly!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNj6NHNcNlb4MRNWusA9l-c-oXNdZN0v2CK7dBMBM-7tcvcEw3WIfL5VfSCPnP_SkGt-0z-uhcng4wxVL7_g9DwhJkDcmCLIjgUbzxupsfKj0bpqGNnU8uTbx7m3eS55KJKp_JY6iHGfAd/s1600/IMG_1316.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNj6NHNcNlb4MRNWusA9l-c-oXNdZN0v2CK7dBMBM-7tcvcEw3WIfL5VfSCPnP_SkGt-0z-uhcng4wxVL7_g9DwhJkDcmCLIjgUbzxupsfKj0bpqGNnU8uTbx7m3eS55KJKp_JY6iHGfAd/s400/IMG_1316.JPG" width="300" /></a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoIjWt8-HQhH6fWaOOTEk3XmE2jGcpHwGZmWSd-XS0NaglpuQLLxLD5AiqxCvXJ_LBVquOYEO0O_Kvt9_uWuHsdYVsLFGi0g3MS8UfpRGqAnaUUvQMtJ-w_ptlNkTU7hFBRxTk9ZC-r_x/s1600/IMG_1318.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoIjWt8-HQhH6fWaOOTEk3XmE2jGcpHwGZmWSd-XS0NaglpuQLLxLD5AiqxCvXJ_LBVquOYEO0O_Kvt9_uWuHsdYVsLFGi0g3MS8UfpRGqAnaUUvQMtJ-w_ptlNkTU7hFBRxTk9ZC-r_x/s400/IMG_1318.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChO-AD0Yt7og_Yti_2AqT6pXbkIONM2fwt8gws6TOSVE0oysLKe44CBXvLOA4rWPhE-dP-6vDComg0VOtEhxvzMarGOFHbjQJTHoDvdheNvrUi2c2SRD51HlryvqWzhFZ9pBwr3yx0OE9/s1600/IMG_1309.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChO-AD0Yt7og_Yti_2AqT6pXbkIONM2fwt8gws6TOSVE0oysLKe44CBXvLOA4rWPhE-dP-6vDComg0VOtEhxvzMarGOFHbjQJTHoDvdheNvrUi2c2SRD51HlryvqWzhFZ9pBwr3yx0OE9/s400/IMG_1309.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="color: blue;">Reach out and touch someone- with a T-34/76.</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHryzzdHlPOpjex6RGvQYLT9gA1zRraGE9SykjB4TCjh3kE1EursU-gd59fJ-zTa1xPnoiCPy3IPVxVgdW5Uipc4I07HMhd-Zyc5eL32rbus47NwXO-vptQ7rmS-2qio0lTObwnXRi5j7g/s1600/IMG_1321.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHryzzdHlPOpjex6RGvQYLT9gA1zRraGE9SykjB4TCjh3kE1EursU-gd59fJ-zTa1xPnoiCPy3IPVxVgdW5Uipc4I07HMhd-Zyc5eL32rbus47NwXO-vptQ7rmS-2qio0lTObwnXRi5j7g/s400/IMG_1321.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Sub-machine guns; don't leave home without 'em.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The only army I <b>really</b> fear is the Russians. My strength is in the number of infantry I can field, and the Soviets can match as many boots on the ground as I can- and have exponentially better quality tanks and support kit, even if their morale can be suspect.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And I'm here to tell you that their veteran SMG squads are fearsome things.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Chalk one up for International Bolshevism. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">*****</span></b><span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Next</b></span> round, and I went on to again lose the second game, this time fought over a Russian factory complex against</span><span style="font-size: large;">- as one does-</span><span style="font-size: large;"> a reinforced platoon of the <i>Afrika Korps.</i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It was a lovely table, and a challenging scenario. And did I mention that the IJA didn't have any AA assets?</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4afQw_nqt8vl3frkAMteT561XK3xjgSZ6ZaZzcSIF1uWA6c31IoFTDj65RQnlvy_y23cUQJlk0vVRp2AcVEUViBG3D44MTCspenbJmpxafho5pAJL22yPbg4ij1TOGqWl7OLE4Ps7UCN/s1600/IMG_1287.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4afQw_nqt8vl3frkAMteT561XK3xjgSZ6ZaZzcSIF1uWA6c31IoFTDj65RQnlvy_y23cUQJlk0vVRp2AcVEUViBG3D44MTCspenbJmpxafho5pAJL22yPbg4ij1TOGqWl7OLE4Ps7UCN/s400/IMG_1287.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQl1-FUZUJDvWKZLXzuU9Z5OFcUnwiUeqPappXOle5ArBCjShB04HWSIXFry7ZR7h_4zWhFyGKRxrLnr8ZnxG8OLi5VxV6zegwh9HjXFzugjkqtN561ZbMi8HUgsftyq2_z9cWkgBStCG/s1600/IMG_1300.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQl1-FUZUJDvWKZLXzuU9Z5OFcUnwiUeqPappXOle5ArBCjShB04HWSIXFry7ZR7h_4zWhFyGKRxrLnr8ZnxG8OLi5VxV6zegwh9HjXFzugjkqtN561ZbMi8HUgsftyq2_z9cWkgBStCG/s400/IMG_1300.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Still, I only lost by a very slim margin due to my opponent <strike>being smarter than me</strike> meeting the scenario conditions first. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This despite the fact that not only had I managed to thumb my nose at his Pz-II, but that I had actually ended up dishing out more casualties than I received- admittedly helped in part by a DAK "own goal" from its own air support. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Shades of Matt and his Royal Artillery, as regular readers of this blog will remember.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQ4LiWRocDSIXLlP14SFU0dfmcDTEv9fT9QqlfBvyTRwpLF1cba0asNp6dBDn6XidCbEivXQCd8r10xGJuOsonZ1tZ_kA5zQJB1nkJJzxkyHsJ705PE6eSRwHgvTAQ_sz60xZTve6Xaik/s1600/IMG_1292.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQ4LiWRocDSIXLlP14SFU0dfmcDTEv9fT9QqlfBvyTRwpLF1cba0asNp6dBDn6XidCbEivXQCd8r10xGJuOsonZ1tZ_kA5zQJB1nkJJzxkyHsJ705PE6eSRwHgvTAQ_sz60xZTve6Xaik/s400/IMG_1292.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Fear not, the train was just a static wreck.</i></b></span></span><u><br /></u></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Humiliation came in the form of Erik's DAK sending a motorcycle combo down the flank of the table, where I had nothing to counter it. Thus he was able to seize the objective and hold it right up to the point when time up was called. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Didn't see the Hun in the sun. Be sure to check your six next time, <i>Robato-san.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinS2O9mHTa0NF7RrBrsMypYUepjpdiykiFG3yfeJhbZQ6tS_w3YEQVcuj82ENrLVl7f9LM0U3i-STvcyHyD0QANVtQBUcAjnVSFMcDNpEjK_du2fs1HN7Ixw2jpQB0zL9rBdbSj48z2Lp1/s1600/IMG_1313.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinS2O9mHTa0NF7RrBrsMypYUepjpdiykiFG3yfeJhbZQ6tS_w3YEQVcuj82ENrLVl7f9LM0U3i-STvcyHyD0QANVtQBUcAjnVSFMcDNpEjK_du2fs1HN7Ixw2jpQB0zL9rBdbSj48z2Lp1/s400/IMG_1313.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjwclEhgBVGFSfZmgN7AyVHip3KLneDbl4tCZGhevCaeLwwjredz48zCmLbTUAY2PrJ0LfpuBJXi54nkAIiFFeiHr9LyZgo4jSRAMxSMxa-6eJgMpnmvN-x6MhOn3OBNCeeQGNBbACCZ4/s1600/IMG_1315.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjwclEhgBVGFSfZmgN7AyVHip3KLneDbl4tCZGhevCaeLwwjredz48zCmLbTUAY2PrJ0LfpuBJXi54nkAIiFFeiHr9LyZgo4jSRAMxSMxa-6eJgMpnmvN-x6MhOn3OBNCeeQGNBbACCZ4/s400/IMG_1315.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">The spearmen did manage to wipe out a squad of over-confident Jerries.</span></i></b></span><u><br /></u></span></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvQ-AHsSi4D4zjJ_TMD_VXoqcbj9Sx8t9Gy91ucjDVFuqIYG4qvHA9lUJRkj9kRPh8jRUp18P1Qq80V1ocf5XHzt3Cy9G8_0FpuG7bLH2BHaRqnGX7H3FMMzWQVCNE_IHdafRg0suEXHp/s1600/IMG_1324.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvQ-AHsSi4D4zjJ_TMD_VXoqcbj9Sx8t9Gy91ucjDVFuqIYG4qvHA9lUJRkj9kRPh8jRUp18P1Qq80V1ocf5XHzt3Cy9G8_0FpuG7bLH2BHaRqnGX7H3FMMzWQVCNE_IHdafRg0suEXHp/s400/IMG_1324.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Damn these internal-combustion engines, anyway.</i></b></span></span><u><br /></u></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Quite unsporting, and just the thing I would have done had I had the chance! Next time I will get my bicycle squad painted.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Erik was a great opponent, and despite the disappointing outcome the game was a lot of fun. And it was fought against a good-looking army; I have to admit I find myself tempted to do a DAK force one day.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>The</b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> third and last game, fortunately, was <b>much</b> more to my liking; a delicious triumph, one against none other than the much-vaunted late war Germans. And what's more it was largely won by my bamboo spear-armed, inexperienced troops at that. </span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv170QDKqkRlHWBOccR1cHKUKBtvfybGupTpTn9n94QxR3BG6qR44tJepjDTvZ3Kojd_6O9CoZ_jBY40PVHTCde9qjHtv5hH4Sw6d5dZwWJbDkz1P8kxFlodPe0lojmnx53JpbVmvm8ru3/s1600/IMG_1297.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv170QDKqkRlHWBOccR1cHKUKBtvfybGupTpTn9n94QxR3BG6qR44tJepjDTvZ3Kojd_6O9CoZ_jBY40PVHTCde9qjHtv5hH4Sw6d5dZwWJbDkz1P8kxFlodPe0lojmnx53JpbVmvm8ru3/s400/IMG_1297.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">By this time I had gotten into my stride. In the second game I had figured out how better to coordinate my all-infantry force, and this scenario, coupled with a relatively open desert(!) terrain, allowed me to play boldly and aggressively.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Despite being pitted against a late Wehrmacht army armed to the teeth with assault rifles and other nasties, the Japanese launched an assault that ended up wiping out two German squads plus a <i>Nebelwerfer</i>, and </span><span style="font-size: large;">in doing so the </span><span style="font-size: large;">spearmen- </span><span style="font-size: large;">underfed, malodorous, yet valorous- led the Japanese army on to victory! </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Banzai! </i>indeed.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It helped that James, for all his high-tech Teutonic instruments of frightfulness and death, had no tanks- or any armour at all- with which to crush Imperial Japanese dreams. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vZp76s1Nksqq1P1JLKVyKiwjAtZo0mm6TS2gWqhzo7_EI-7MXUSEkhfyHww6Y7qXTgltyHJ_19tMWluXyTRWNMCRlWb6kmrgXpwTXUa3VDN1YCDTZX2_4SB1VWEZfX-ngUjjUIhaqlYD/s1600/IMG_1329.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vZp76s1Nksqq1P1JLKVyKiwjAtZo0mm6TS2gWqhzo7_EI-7MXUSEkhfyHww6Y7qXTgltyHJ_19tMWluXyTRWNMCRlWb6kmrgXpwTXUa3VDN1YCDTZX2_4SB1VWEZfX-ngUjjUIhaqlYD/s400/IMG_1329.JPG" width="300" /></a></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I had dreaded the prospect of facing just a Pz-III, let alone a late-war nasty such as a Pz-IV or Panther. I've had enough trouble in the past with Matt's M3 Lee-Grant. Against a Panther I would have been Kat food; all I had was my suicide A/T squad. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Fortunately, they were to remain under-employed, holed up in a small building and no doubt relaxing with a few games of <i>Go</i>, or </span><span style="font-size: large;">getting in a bit of</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Karaoke practice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilF-wApyRr6p3j25_DpARvuqblPx-VdqrNSt52urZp7PMJAp5DG1g17a1eL9BMGJyn_wKTlDm3yBcgjk3W6WQ6q40KqQHz4l39tcFv3JQbvKYeRvcxcjjOdkMvEj5ZcdMAmpFLRGsi7lW0/s1600/IMG_1328.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilF-wApyRr6p3j25_DpARvuqblPx-VdqrNSt52urZp7PMJAp5DG1g17a1eL9BMGJyn_wKTlDm3yBcgjk3W6WQ6q40KqQHz4l39tcFv3JQbvKYeRvcxcjjOdkMvEj5ZcdMAmpFLRGsi7lW0/s400/IMG_1328.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Through the swamp and on to the </i>Nebelwerfer!<i></i></span></b></span><u><br /></u></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTvZRwBsTWJwbLHiOO965BNXc_eHWmm9H5MU1ycpCIGNUQPA4MSR05u_fRZwVrF1Q4OEwTMN4dmV_LwbL3Zp6daMbU1OrtVNApLJIf9pAmOkShWg-GM1Od84LTaxY2gYgb6D9n1c7NefM/s1600/IMG_1286.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTvZRwBsTWJwbLHiOO965BNXc_eHWmm9H5MU1ycpCIGNUQPA4MSR05u_fRZwVrF1Q4OEwTMN4dmV_LwbL3Zp6daMbU1OrtVNApLJIf9pAmOkShWg-GM1Od84LTaxY2gYgb6D9n1c7NefM/s400/IMG_1286.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Loved James' dice bag; luckily this was the nearest thing he had to a Panther or Tiger.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was evident to the both of us that with the Japanese being fanatics, the opposing player has to destroy all my squads virtually to the last man, as they rarely rout.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This meant that while the enemy is having to take two turns or more concentrating fire from several of his own units to try and actually wipe mine out, I was able to leapfrog my larger, relatively unscathed squads around the rest of the table, flanking weapons teams and mopping up his smaller squads here and there in hand-to-hand combat and/or firefights. All the time adding more victims (and victory points) into the bag.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Love it when a plan- finally- comes together. Third time lucky</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>A </b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">great way to spend the day. There were some wonderful modelling and painting in evidence, good sportsmanship in spades, and it was clear that everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves- really positive vibes all round. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We had an excellent turnout, and both Giovanni and James Kelly did a fantastic job organizing the day- many thanks to both of them for their hard work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On top of all that, we were also able to recruit a new player for our Napoleonic games as well, so all in all it well worth attending. I'm looking forward to the next one.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, it's more Napoleonics at my place on Dec. 10th. Need to get some painting in.</span></div>
<span id="goog_2093542967"></span><span id="goog_2093542968"></span><br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-22446747967853820012017-09-05T19:58:00.002+09:002017-09-05T20:35:04.826+09:00A Decade of Drivel!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>I've</b></span> just realized that this blog is now just over 10 years old; my first post was dated August 4, 2007. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbsgOak0qtJB4YJjAiNdCFG5s7p_OGTrL1sj5GBY1pwGRI0-rCuKFq3xFz14WJAt7TCnfz3lQxAGNdngBkmehJdfKRTl22Xw-udGi56mvTFTln2wfoj4aNgKeX4mVA3QbgpNnrCKTFQ7m/s1600/IMG_0183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="540" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbsgOak0qtJB4YJjAiNdCFG5s7p_OGTrL1sj5GBY1pwGRI0-rCuKFq3xFz14WJAt7TCnfz3lQxAGNdngBkmehJdfKRTl22Xw-udGi56mvTFTln2wfoj4aNgKeX4mVA3QbgpNnrCKTFQ7m/s400/IMG_0183.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><b>Delusions of grandeur are not limited to vertically challenged control freaks with nasty hemorrhoids. At least </b><b>I'm </b><b>tall.</b></i></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where the devil does the time go? Not on painting a huge shed-load of figures, that's for sure.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> But looking back there has been progress. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">In 2007, actually gaming <b>anything</b>- let alone 28mm Napoleonics- was a pipe dream. Ten years on, and...</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">I am enjoying a reasonably regular diet of wargaming, with a great bunch of gaming buddies </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">I have a modest, if growing, collection of painted miniatures, enough to play some quite decent games </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">(in fact I am close to completing an entire IJA force for Bolt Action)</span> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">we have found rule sets we are happy with and (almost) never argue over</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">I've even got my own wargaming table now.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The only real downside is that we never seem to game as often as we would like, and there always new rules and periods to tempt us. But I suspect that's true of most groups even in their best days.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Of course the lead/polymer mountain remains imposingly Andean in size; but sod it, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a wargaming pack rat.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">All told, it's pretty satisfying to be where I am today, and on reflection starting this blog was instrumental in helping me get to this point in no small way. Had Giovanni here not stumbled across it and sent me an email, we would never have known about each other's existence; and for me at least, my enjoyment of the hobby would be but a pale shadow of what it is now.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Basically, I blog for myself; it's a record of games played, figures painted, and of the fun had in gaming and communicating with like-minded enthusiasts. It's also an outlet for a bit of written creativity that I wouldn't otherwise get (especially living, as I do, in a non-English speaking country).<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are
way better blogs out there for sure; grander games, more visitors, more impressive painting and
terrain, and more regularly updated. I know this because I bookmark and eagerly devour them, and enjoy reading them all. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">But <i>Serrez les Rangs </i>has always been my own little public corner of the wargaming universe, and I get a lot of pleasure from it. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">To all who are taking the time to read this in an increasingly busy world, and especially to those of you who come here regularly, who have commented, and who provide me with the encouragement to keep at it- a very big "thank you"!</span></span></div>
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-61258803566316947812017-09-04T18:47:00.001+09:002017-12-02T08:41:28.922+09:00Piccies and Purchases<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfOPb4nx9C6kozMJypX-ImrG7qPPCywGmG2PANjP_6KDkRvH_vFy6bS9x04md4_ClpbBdMQEH0ftFE89DIr_3qnDUIaFJRwl-U_w9wthxo4yjdN7LLX5APpNx9ZFcLB2m9uSsn8BK-VgC/s1600/L_salza_13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1600" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfOPb4nx9C6kozMJypX-ImrG7qPPCywGmG2PANjP_6KDkRvH_vFy6bS9x04md4_ClpbBdMQEH0ftFE89DIr_3qnDUIaFJRwl-U_w9wthxo4yjdN7LLX5APpNx9ZFcLB2m9uSsn8BK-VgC/s400/L_salza_13.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>"Come and get some, Rosbif!!!"</i></b></span></span><u><br /></u></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Following</b></span> up on my last post, as promised, pictures from the second game we played on the day using Black Powder and the OHWG scenarios. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">First though, some retail therapy. I've been guilty of a deplorable excess of book acquisitions these past few months, and most recently I just "pre-ordered" (is that actually a word?) this; a new <b>Black Powder</b> Napoleonic supplement from Warlord Games. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/new-releases/products/a-clash-of-eagles" target="_blank">A Clash of Eagles</a></i> </b>looks at the 1812 Russian campaign and beyond.</span> This one has me really excited. I've long
been waiting for something from Warlord on the 1812-1813 campaigns, which always
seem to take a back seat to anything Waterloo and Peninsular.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To be
honest I've found the Black Powder and Pike & Shotte supplements
rather hit-and-miss so far; some have been great, others somewhat
underwhelming. But given my interest in the theatre, and what with coming in at an impressive 200
pages, I'm fairly certain there will enough meat to keep me satisfied beyond the
obligatory potted history. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm sure there will be special rules for characters like Kutuzov, Bagration, Ney and others. I will ignore these, as I am not a fan of character rules in my games- most of the characters the rules have covered so far would be commanding at a level way higher up the command hierarchy than that which most of our games are set. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The eye candy will be bound to inspire, as it always does, and the special rules, stats and scenarios often give me food for thought.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The tool kit approach taken with Black
Powder gives me lots of leverage here- we can use, modify, or reject them as we please.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm looking forward to receiving them. And the Marshal Ney giveaway figure will be duly demoted to colonel, and as such will lead my French skirmish line.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">*****</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, here are photos as promised from the second of the two games we played earlier this year using the scenarios from Neil Thomas' <b>One Hour Wargames</b> rules. This was based on the 1866 Battle of Langensalza as mentioned in the previous post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I won't give any details on the scenario- <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-hour-Wargames-Practical-Tabletop-Battles/dp/1473822904" target="_blank">buy the book!</a></b> Suffice to say it was fun, challenging, and it ended up a (very marginal) Allied victory, notable for the absolute massacre of French horseflesh before they could even couch their lances. Memories of our games with Achilles all those years back...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Pretty- pretty <u>useless</u>, that is...</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>How to destroy a French infantry battalion in line by close-range enfilade fire in 3, 2, 1...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Col. de la Botomie, <i>seeing caution as the mark of a poltroon, orders his French lancer regiment to disdainfully show their flank to Allied artillery across the river.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>And then there were none...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">"You kids get off my lawn!"</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's all for now- I've another AAR in the works, and some figures coming off the painting table.</span></div>
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-33682111943891267682017-09-03T12:35:00.000+09:002018-03-10T13:34:13.379+09:00Black Powder meets OHWG's (again!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIpK4e_8hMIDn6curKHmf9UQvVBxT6-UIuFwBIm0cA1_ANikoGs58LV2vNO-8EYYfwigV7seBK6-9E9EzypEgBnsuk_zYMptq988Nx6vtm3J6vSI0M0bTu6HaqTH1tGedYJIARcDv-7GO/s1600/Title+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1600" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIpK4e_8hMIDn6curKHmf9UQvVBxT6-UIuFwBIm0cA1_ANikoGs58LV2vNO-8EYYfwigV7seBK6-9E9EzypEgBnsuk_zYMptq988Nx6vtm3J6vSI0M0bTu6HaqTH1tGedYJIARcDv-7GO/s400/Title+pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Some</b></span> serious catching up to do. Too many fingers in too many pies recently, not to mention way too much time spent at a keyboard than was good for my eyes.<b> </b>Not helped by the fact that Blogger has been temperamental these days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I mentioned in my last post, we had another Napoleonic bash at my place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We were looking forward to this one, with four of us available this time for a game. And we actually managed to get two games in on the day. The first was a very scaled-down, abstracted version of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wavre">Battle of Wavre</a>, 1815. For the second game we chose a scenario that was based on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Langensalza_(1866)">Langensalza</a>, a tactical victory for the Hanoverians over the Prussians(!) during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Both were taken from my now very-well-thumbed copy of Neil Thomas' <a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-hour-Wargames-Practical-Tabletop-Battles/dp/1473822904">One Hour Wargames</a>, and both proved to be challenging and fun. Huge armies of half a dozen units per side determine the fate of nations; truly, gaming in the (not quite so) Grand Manner<b>.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I have often said, it's a stubborn myth that Black Powder- or just Napoleonics in general- only works with large games. Definitely not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">With 28mm miniatures on my 6'x4' table. We found that using the BP rules with the scenarios from OHWG makes for ideal games; having no more than six units a side leaves us with enough space for maneuver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As before, out of a pool of ten units (4x infantry, 2x skirmishers, 2x artillery, 2x cavalry) each player rolls a dice and then consults a chart to see which six out of the ten will be available. This means that a player might be tasked with taking the village, only to find that two out of the six units are cavalry, which will not be of much use during the game. Or that you find yourself without the desirable artillery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fog of war: you fight the battle with the army you have, not the army you would like to have. It's a simple solution, but works well. The only downer is when your newly completed regiment of rifles or hussars is finished and ready to go; only for you to find out that they are too far behind the front lines to catch up, so they won't be seeing the elephant today. But them's the breaks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over the last year or so, we have been using the scenarios from Neil's book for quite a few games now, all set in different periods; Napoleonics, World War II, and even a few Viking vs. Saxon games (the only game where we used the actual rules from the book). The scenarios have always managed to provide with some interesting tactical challenges.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sunday's games were to prove no exception. The table looked good, dice were fickle and non-partisan, and the scenarios themselves proved tense, being close-run things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Remarkably- and mark this in your calendars, as you're unlikely to see its like again- Matt, "The Redcoat's Redcoat", opted to play the French this time. Which may well be why <i>les bleus </i>managed to win the first scenario, and to put in a very creditable performance in the second. He was taking on the British, led by Sada and Rod.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I actually wasn't engaged in the game myself; after setting up the terrain and scenario, I pretty much restricted myself to the roles of Kibitzer-in-Chief and combat artist. My real responsibility on the day was with the commissariat, as the troops needed to be victualed during the heat of combat (I do a pretty mean toad-in-the-hole).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">*****</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the (belated) pics, from our (sort-of) Wavre game: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmGdWWe03JAC_DwOxyPaASEgyz5XKVZ0c-i-lsr6YkgLH6EDb2PYatYPOfRKGX0aLsM_azIDiQHEo3gx_fWj0CnLIXOCsbYlrkLquGRjyG1raoREV41WOCpIe6aFZOqyrwbaN9kyAiOYe/s1600/Wavre_3.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmGdWWe03JAC_DwOxyPaASEgyz5XKVZ0c-i-lsr6YkgLH6EDb2PYatYPOfRKGX0aLsM_azIDiQHEo3gx_fWj0CnLIXOCsbYlrkLquGRjyG1raoREV41WOCpIe6aFZOqyrwbaN9kyAiOYe/s400/Wavre_3.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvig4FiupCNOGv_STB21A-LV23XQSHz161Maxljiq75pvrJeO7yWNdMLdFP0OS6LygNOSaqdHG9BWaj7Cc1feGPNlWLnqMZD_vBWUE6kapmxJi9IXG3pA9KU7hPregBD7tZzVqfmlxyxb/s1600/Wavre_12.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvig4FiupCNOGv_STB21A-LV23XQSHz161Maxljiq75pvrJeO7yWNdMLdFP0OS6LygNOSaqdHG9BWaj7Cc1feGPNlWLnqMZD_vBWUE6kapmxJi9IXG3pA9KU7hPregBD7tZzVqfmlxyxb/s400/Wavre_12.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHKZsV8QoDFBskfrSyDoW_93TaNr2DJQf0_ne3QQQsz9IfJAOR-eNKWvTuX6cnqmmZBG3mjJzax_uGzFtMc9vmwpHG22zRKsT89AfxkCr0pB2vwejrERED3ty7wgBQlLU-BvwWsk6W8iX/s1600/Wavre_15.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHKZsV8QoDFBskfrSyDoW_93TaNr2DJQf0_ne3QQQsz9IfJAOR-eNKWvTuX6cnqmmZBG3mjJzax_uGzFtMc9vmwpHG22zRKsT89AfxkCr0pB2vwejrERED3ty7wgBQlLU-BvwWsk6W8iX/s400/Wavre_15.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLGBJq-rzt2mA7r4g77ZccWISc0QB599ZekOhgfyA7QtIFzxKIdZ-KZ2SFk2SkL5CCJ8K-J6kSB_F8SV4syO6X2u1_EAFdGAqNeOy1Sqo0zywXhLcfBgfoZME2dzKdAjKuOgI9aLe1kBE/s1600/Wavre_16.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLGBJq-rzt2mA7r4g77ZccWISc0QB599ZekOhgfyA7QtIFzxKIdZ-KZ2SFk2SkL5CCJ8K-J6kSB_F8SV4syO6X2u1_EAFdGAqNeOy1Sqo0zywXhLcfBgfoZME2dzKdAjKuOgI9aLe1kBE/s400/Wavre_16.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9CXi3mfbtevgJUR5XR6HviF3fSBSSCnawu3rMwsajsSV71Mcr2GLMWieUUDP5ZVcGsxLJg4B5M-jJ7RHXPlnDW4a6TSuibRs7hAI3mwVH5d-4S-zaQKWNu5TMO4iTnL6XFOAgtuDbs7N/s1600/Wavre_18.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9CXi3mfbtevgJUR5XR6HviF3fSBSSCnawu3rMwsajsSV71Mcr2GLMWieUUDP5ZVcGsxLJg4B5M-jJ7RHXPlnDW4a6TSuibRs7hAI3mwVH5d-4S-zaQKWNu5TMO4iTnL6XFOAgtuDbs7N/s400/Wavre_18.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6G8weRqFKxeOslfT36wypxwgK9nQn0KPMO7vIYfOTUDi2QIxKJtwRqVAja-OkHj7Ri_R41xvQR6wk979UIp7Gcm6hLiDnTwhuSg1VjbjytSZNKdOwLmGHiEAYFCPQsAkCBV7Q9g3X26H/s1600/Wavre_19.jpg"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6G8weRqFKxeOslfT36wypxwgK9nQn0KPMO7vIYfOTUDi2QIxKJtwRqVAja-OkHj7Ri_R41xvQR6wk979UIp7Gcm6hLiDnTwhuSg1VjbjytSZNKdOwLmGHiEAYFCPQsAkCBV7Q9g3X26H/s400/Wavre_19.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmBpIa2A9DB1GWkHDQ4uu4r7zVxyIUqxp9DVCpJsLgjD5AdASAM9AJOtzOG-nbkvVJ6FIcWoOSCw0W99m-j8Otz0y-Vs2n4AT-0nUQZOGsMxv1qZu6B9k3rVjENKLXrdIyYCdW-Al0I3Y/s1600/Wavre_20.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmBpIa2A9DB1GWkHDQ4uu4r7zVxyIUqxp9DVCpJsLgjD5AdASAM9AJOtzOG-nbkvVJ6FIcWoOSCw0W99m-j8Otz0y-Vs2n4AT-0nUQZOGsMxv1qZu6B9k3rVjENKLXrdIyYCdW-Al0I3Y/s400/Wavre_20.jpg" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiryZT7aoMK3eMXUtaXru_ciCHcluzbpjQ5fx7e34kBlyMWq0IEsLuwUz1Yu6yplpvCbzSLnwiC6qM_bggldLlHYRpsbAD0Kp7kg9xEy0t1yFPsBAUOW17GSKbqOicpujwrPG5P7oos8Zo/s1600/Wavre_21.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiryZT7aoMK3eMXUtaXru_ciCHcluzbpjQ5fx7e34kBlyMWq0IEsLuwUz1Yu6yplpvCbzSLnwiC6qM_bggldLlHYRpsbAD0Kp7kg9xEy0t1yFPsBAUOW17GSKbqOicpujwrPG5P7oos8Zo/s400/Wavre_21.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>'orrible little men..</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTSG2uC1reMMUEo66W1OAQ7muMtWGuy0WuixIgCd_Cd3BgfmHXLl2RCFk3yT1g5IOcjPwK8HRT3-LVtDwb426gg_QFqtVguiKdkms6OOV6FjD_B4UV5eEyRodu249761w9bnsp4PbQZ-s/s1600/Wavre_24.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTSG2uC1reMMUEo66W1OAQ7muMtWGuy0WuixIgCd_Cd3BgfmHXLl2RCFk3yT1g5IOcjPwK8HRT3-LVtDwb426gg_QFqtVguiKdkms6OOV6FjD_B4UV5eEyRodu249761w9bnsp4PbQZ-s/s400/Wavre_24.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnVu3fYqSOiYgo8iyatgwE4Z24WFUmzsNxD_CQ9iQOxbnqxoNn67tLT_PFVzB_L_q0kNvoNDZMAIRC6LD872RyQGkyw65HasepZathemUzC9Qhk0q0cf6srBuxjJFZ9FIOTDj0IeCs6Hy/s1600/Wavre_31.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnVu3fYqSOiYgo8iyatgwE4Z24WFUmzsNxD_CQ9iQOxbnqxoNn67tLT_PFVzB_L_q0kNvoNDZMAIRC6LD872RyQGkyw65HasepZathemUzC9Qhk0q0cf6srBuxjJFZ9FIOTDj0IeCs6Hy/s400/Wavre_31.jpg" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rbJq85lqED38hYo3WbHlnw_tFkLqye7R0i2yuW31lpzBrddlRUt_e8TwrpB_YIq5KsI4dw8HEpIOE5_Ghh3hh9uFh-XtGDkhk2dI8htWFK3vC8aRtDm5dQxwfrbD3ZPfFchb5wZq5aaZ/s1600/Wavre_32.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rbJq85lqED38hYo3WbHlnw_tFkLqye7R0i2yuW31lpzBrddlRUt_e8TwrpB_YIq5KsI4dw8HEpIOE5_Ghh3hh9uFh-XtGDkhk2dI8htWFK3vC8aRtDm5dQxwfrbD3ZPfFchb5wZq5aaZ/s400/Wavre_32.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">A parley? <span style="color: black;">"</span>Commanders of armies have better things to do than to shoot one another, by God..."</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV75xZVL3vkBtqhac80ojr18WIvQrVT4sv0Q0KnvoeU-ULtB-FfqIYRVLVR9YqfbO-1u8EGSFtHCqkevjVpBCHLTU6EHwLMm3kvQamMBpll9o13mfD46pvG9-uj-TjsSwtFqJqjK-Tr6xo/s1600/Wavre_25.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV75xZVL3vkBtqhac80ojr18WIvQrVT4sv0Q0KnvoeU-ULtB-FfqIYRVLVR9YqfbO-1u8EGSFtHCqkevjVpBCHLTU6EHwLMm3kvQamMBpll9o13mfD46pvG9-uj-TjsSwtFqJqjK-Tr6xo/s400/Wavre_25.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiezQL81U6kdvYhi7HKQcIMSMzD4HVbSxW0tJCYzA7jBe3l54P8m9-zQT1FAvN5l2FcZ0Ys33MIl7pc26mqleGDmSSPSVRt-K8MO2jtDG7XqiGZzmLQB-hdVpJ3KRmY7yClZlm2QDJC_Ksh/s1600/Wavre_26.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiezQL81U6kdvYhi7HKQcIMSMzD4HVbSxW0tJCYzA7jBe3l54P8m9-zQT1FAvN5l2FcZ0Ys33MIl7pc26mqleGDmSSPSVRt-K8MO2jtDG7XqiGZzmLQB-hdVpJ3KRmY7yClZlm2QDJC_Ksh/s400/Wavre_26.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Classic Napoleonics; </i>"Form square!"</b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3I-QiZuZzAoHA3C8TfcT_Iz_MW-zspMWLWanP_hmbV1lZs-i9_oN9KySL0YB3QehyZaB9oS_8vHaSzwbzxdJDDLiAVLjMNHO03x_N2tafbsMx8Eexkg0iUxgv6so36t10QsQ3aNsGdFI/s1600/Wavre_33.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3I-QiZuZzAoHA3C8TfcT_Iz_MW-zspMWLWanP_hmbV1lZs-i9_oN9KySL0YB3QehyZaB9oS_8vHaSzwbzxdJDDLiAVLjMNHO03x_N2tafbsMx8Eexkg0iUxgv6so36t10QsQ3aNsGdFI/s400/Wavre_33.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oi5lWXj3TN-GZhgpPXkEFJa-RqqFtM-STWFpTELcfn7hhd0e60sIDLVzLBegeFE5ufbMwJ8A0b63iBFj7o8B5AU3aYN9LbJf98b_GHssA80vCbKfaVEWgZ85O1i3ZdIaXjcdEWjqbiu9/s1600/Triumvirate.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oi5lWXj3TN-GZhgpPXkEFJa-RqqFtM-STWFpTELcfn7hhd0e60sIDLVzLBegeFE5ufbMwJ8A0b63iBFj7o8B5AU3aYN9LbJf98b_GHssA80vCbKfaVEWgZ85O1i3ZdIaXjcdEWjqbiu9/s400/Triumvirate.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This was also the last time that Rod would be joining us for a wargame, as after a number of years in Japan he made the decision to return with his family to </span><span style="font-size: large;">Portugal, </span><span style="font-size: large;">where his parents are now living. So what better way to send him off than with the colour and spectacle of a Napoleonic game.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Rod has been a core member of our group since not long after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, so he'll be <b>very</b> much missed. On the other hand, I understand that a few Napoleonic battles may have been fought in Portugal and Spain, so perhaps a visit in the future may be in the offing for a bit of sightseeing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Keep in touch, Rod!</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>*****</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I've more pictures from the second game that I will try to post in the not-too-distant future. This month, though, will see me painting more of my WW2 IJA.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The <b>West Tokyo Wargamers</b> will be putting on our first Bolt Action tournament on October 1st. So this coming month it's organizing and sprucing up terrain pieces, as well as putting the finishing touches on my 750 pt. IJA expeditionary force. I'll be trying out my recently-acquired airbrush and compressor, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Matt will be there with his Fourteenth Army contingent, most others will be (of course) Germans</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> of various flavours- Wehrmacht, paras, etc.</span> The Allies may include British Commandos, and French from North Africa or even Dien Bien Phu. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This will be the first time for me to take part in any kind of wargaming tournament. As someone who has always played BA using an historically-organized Japanese force, against an historical opponent and fighting in suitable terrain- and who much more often than not been used to coming up the winner- I need to go into this with a different mindset.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Namely, I should expect to get royally clobbered.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I can't count on having much jungle to hide in, and I'll be most probably up against the likes of various SMG's and assault rifles, quad 20mm guns, Pz-85's, King Shermans, KV-FlammenChurchills and other assorted hi-tech and/or armoured nastiness. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There's no hope for my beloved Ha-Go's and Chi-Ha's; Kat food. Unless I end up finding myself matched against early Yugoslavs or Italians, going "tabi-to-toe" with enemy armour is futile- it would be like taking a Nerf ball to an Uzi fight. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So I'm not even going to try. First off, there's not a lot anyone can get for 750 points. That means if someone decides to field a Stug-III- let alone an IS-2 or Panther- that's going to eat up a lot of points, and there won't be too much left in the way of infantry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My plan is then to stay objective-focused, and to make the best of what I've got- lots of fanatical and resilient infantry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll be taking as many infantry as I can squeeze into 750 points, including grenadier squads with light mortars. I'll be laying down smoke, playing aggressively, and trusting in numbers, <i>Seishin</i> and the <i>Banzai! </i>rule. Artillery is my real foe, so I'll have to keep moving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And with big squads (or a larger number of smaller squads- I need to experiment first), I'll be rolling considerable numbers of dice. In that case, if faced with a better-armed but smaller force, the law of averages may be on my side once the cubes start rolling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's the hope. More likely I'll get waxed, big time. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Which is fine, all the time I go down with panache, and in doing so hopefully give my opponents a few bowel-loosening moments as they experience the blood-curdling<i> Banzai!</i> charge... </span></div>
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-54998365212527110712017-06-03T11:46:00.003+09:002017-12-02T08:41:52.456+09:00Constant Vigilance & Eternal Suspicion<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>No</b></span>, the title has nothing to do with Bill at TMP obsessing over Frothers again. Nor does it refer to my wife's attitude towards unexpected parcels delivered to our door with Nottingham postmarks. Not this time.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><i>You read that thread on Frothers, Didn't you!! DIDN'T YOU!!!</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We have long been thinking of ways to better replicate jungle warfare using <b>Bolt Action</b> rules. I had been wracking my overwrought & under-powered brain for ideas, reading various accounts trying to get a sense of what it was like, and what would matter in game terms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Short of volunteering for guerilla fighting in the Philippines, one of the first "go to" places for information on jungle fighting is <b><a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/FM/PDFs/FM72-20.PDF" target="_blank">FM-72-20</a>,</b> the official US training manual. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had also come across this old WW2 <b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3k8gj9_ww2-notes-on-jungle-warfare-1944_tv" target="_blank">USMC jungle warfare training film</a></b>, which I found very interesting. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The mantra taught to US Marines about jungle fighting, <b>Constant Vigilance & Eternal Suspicion</b>, is where the post title came from. <i> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>(NB- the video below probably won't work on Safari, but works for me on Firefox. So if you just see a white box, just click on the link above instead if you don't want to switch browsers.)</i></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwh1qcU5EtNxHQfr3ibuSPb-7zZKoV9FCpJk3trqj-uICadYbXm9QjYeVYkPzLP9vbIiYPSuKvH6m5iDVDa_A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The main thing that I get from various accounts of jungle warfare is the apparent difficulty in finding or seeing anything at all. It seemed that in terms of visibility, jungle fighting was very much like night fighting- albeit with humidity, snakes, exotic creepy-crawlies and a myriad of tropical diseases tossed into the pot as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But this is a war<b>game</b> after all; having units blundering around in jungle and never actually running into each other may be realistic, but it doesn't make for a very entertaining gaming experience for the players. Striking the right balance is the key.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are a number of ways to go to simulate the fun of fighting amid the joys of jungle rot and snake bites. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One good option is to use Warlord Games' own <a href="http://www.warlordgames.com/bolt-action-night-fight-scenario-rules/" target="_blank"><b>Night Fighting</b> </a>rules designed specifically for Bolt Action. These have their merits, are simple, and we do use them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But some time back we thought we would try our hand at something that would capture the more confusing- and claustrophobic- uncertainty that seems part and parcel of fighting in jungle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So here is a draft of a set of rule mods specifically for jungle fighting. </span></div>
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8I4oYTHhUq0aVVibEpoQVhEWTg/preview" width="400"></iframe><br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If anyone is interested, they can feel free to give them a try and modify/ delete/ shred to their heart's content! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm sure there are loads of inconsistencies, and the ranges still need a lot of tweaking based on future game play- right now I'm wondering if they are <b>too</b> short. These are <b>very</b> much early stages of a work in progress, but for those interested I think you will find some food for thought. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>This</b></span> October will see our first Bolt Action tournament being organized here at Seiseki-Sakuragaoka in Tama-shi, Tokyo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've never been much of a tournament player- this will be my first- but it will be a fun change of pace for a historical/ scenario-based gamer like me, and there are bound to be some very nicely painted armies on display. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rest assured there is <u>zero</u> chance of me fielding the dreaded <i>Kurogane</i> scout cars loaded to the gunwales with flame-thrower teams. I have my pride. I'm pretty sure that in tournament play, I'll get trounced. Especially in anything other than dense and close terrain, which is where my Japanese do best. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I'm in the hobby for the good times, not necessarily the winning, and it will be great to chew the fat with other BA gamers.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Moving</b></span> on, and tomorrow sees us playing another Napoleonics game at my place- a <b>very</b> scaled-down Battle of Wavre, 1815! </span></div>
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<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-52519846550390382392017-05-28T15:13:00.000+09:002017-05-28T22:30:34.112+09:00On Forums, Meltdowns, and Myopia<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Change, </span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">as we all know, is a constant. Things come and go in wargaming and on the Internet as in all other areas of life.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">In general, it seems commonly acknowledged that the virtual hobby community has been splintering as new social media platforms appear, each catering to more specialized interest- Facebook, new rule-specific fora, blogs- what have you. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I don't see that in itself as being a bad thing, but it has been making me take a look at<i><b> <a href="http://bricole.46.forumer.com/" target="_blank">La Bricole</a></b></i>, and for a long time now I had been wondering if the time has come to close it down. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Traffic had been slow to non-existent in recent months, and I'm responsible in large part for the slide. I have to admit to myself that I haven't done nearly as much as I could have done- if at all- to reverse the trend. Partly this has been due to the law of diminishing returns- the fewer the posts, the less people visit, so that then fewer people could be bothered to post- me included.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">This was not helped by the dreadful- and poorly handled- migration to Yuku, who have almost killed the site for me in terms of trying to administer it. It resurfaced with a clunky interface, is unattractive, and has been horribly unreliable. I found myself "locked out" of my own forum on many occasions, faced with disappearing avatars, and almost nonexistent communication- or piss-poor people skills with Yuku staff when it did occur. Before the migration, we had a lively and active forum for its size. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">So what with traffic decreasing alarmingly I found myself getting </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">my Napoleonic fix on other fora out there, primarily TMP, and was on the verge of closing down </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">La Bricole</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> for good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">But these days there has been no joy at TMP either. That is another forum in decline, but for very different reasons.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I had been a member there since the turn of the century, and at one point was even a subscriber. But no longer. Over the years TMP has inexorably been getting further away from what it originally did best, serve as a place people could get together to discuss gaming.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Somewhere along the line I feel the site has lost its way. For a long time I just held my nose, and tried to ignore the antics and nastiness that went on, but it has reached a point where just sticking my head in the sand, turning off the more poisonous boards, and hoping the noise would go away i</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">s no longer an option. No use me </span><span style="font-size: large;">pretending that its just a harmless hobby site. It's not. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Some of the stuff being posted there now is plain toxic. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> I know I'm not alone in thinking the moderation <i>(sic) </i>has become increasingly capricious and erratic, alternating between the heavy handed or alternately the non-existent. TMP's FAQ has more rules than you would find in an old SPI mega-game, but it doesn't appear to help- there are still more dramas and meltdowns than all other hobby sites combined. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ultimately it's just not a healthy pool any more for me to want to swim in. <span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">There are a lot of decent posters there for sure; talented </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">and enthusiastic people I like, and for whom I have a lot of time- you know who you are! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A number of boards seem in danger of becoming no more than echo chambers, safe-spaces where those of a certain political slant can spout off drivel to their hearts content- especially given the purges that have been taking place of late. I really don't want to know what the politics of other gamers might be. Gaming for me is a hobby, a place to put all the real-world crap aside for a bit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Weird scenes inside the Gold Mine, and I no longer want any part of it. It's been very frustrating watching the decline, but hey- Bill's house, Bill's rules. It is his right to run the site the way he wants it- and it's <b>my</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;">choice as to whose company I wish to keep. Thank you for your service, TMP- but I have better uses for my time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fortunately, there are some much more professionally administered alternatives out there, such as the <b><a href="http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php" target="_blank">LAF</a>, <a href="http://www.thewargameswebsite.com/" target="_blank">TWW</a></b> or <a href="http://www.guildwargamers.com/phpBB3/index.php" target="_blank"><b>The Guild</b></a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">So as that door closes, I need to keep others ajar. Bottom line- I have decided to keep <b><i>La Bricole</i> </b>going. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I will keep it as if for now, and will endeavor to try and post there regularly (when it lets me!). Perhaps traffic will pick up, who knows. But by August it will get a reboot, and I will start it up again using a different forum platform- probably PhP-BB, but I'm open to alternatives. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">It will take a very long time to build up an active membership again- should it ever do. But now that I'm through with TMP- and I know for sure that I am not the only one-, I still believe there is room for a wargaming forum with a focus on Napoleonic Wargaming- without the sandbox spats! I'll give it a shot anyway and see what happens. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">And the most active wargaming forum of which I'm a member happens also to be the smallest, so it is not just a matter of numbers.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;">*****</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Finally</span></b>, confessions of an aging grognard: I've been finding the eyestrain creeping up on my during painting- a result of spending a lot of time at computers, and the consequences of having well over a half-century's worth of birthdays behind me.<br /><br />So I ordered an Optivisor from Front Rank. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Definitely an improvement for making out the detail, and well worth the money. And it creeps out the cats. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Somehow a regiment of French <i>Chasseurs à Cheval</i> had- fortuitously- found its way into the box, evidently for ballast (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it...).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And that's probably the last unit of French I "need". I do hanker after Mirliton's mounted bandsmen, though.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-18476867397799716292017-05-27T11:28:00.003+09:002017-05-28T10:23:13.149+09:00Good Beans, Wellington! or: The Assault on "les Haricots", 1815<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>'It </b></span><span style="color: blue;">was the General himself who broke the tense silence.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">"The attack will proceed." </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Addressing the assembled officers of his staff, he had looked wearily up from a rain-sodden sheet of paper, the contents of which was to have fateful consequences for many of them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">They were all huddled under the inadequate shelter of an elderly oak tree, its saturated leaves and branches almost touching the ground under the weight of accumulated water. All around them was the incessant beating of the downpour, punctuated by sudden thunderclaps, and the clamour of seemingly endless columns of men and horses marching wearily past them along the almost impassable lanes.</span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Everyone was prodigiously covered with clinging clods of liquid mud. The much-cursed rain had been beating down on the bleak fields of Belgium since the previous morning, and far from showing signs of easing up, it appeared only to be increasing both in volume and ferocity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Greatcoats and hats had long since lost their warmth and any pretense of shape, and wet uniforms chafed the procession of chilled bodies who now, like the rain, flooded this corner of the Belgian countryside. The General's black-clad warriors now resembled more a flock of bedraggled and dejected crows than an army.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">But for the General's staff beneath the dubious shelter of their solitary oak, their present discomfort was far from their minds. They had more pressing concerns as they now gazed apprehensively at their commander, a look of annoyed determination coming over his rain-streaked face.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
General had just read a last terse order from none other than His
Excellency himself, brought by an exhausted and evidently ill courier. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blucher's Prussians were at this time reported to be marching in an attempt to link up with the Anglo-Allied army, </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">despite only recently having been defeated in a bloody battle by Napoleon's himself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">News had come of a well-fortified French garrison </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">at the farming settlement of <i>Les Haricots, </i>situated directly </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">between the approaching Prussians and Wellington, and which dominated the road along which the Prussians were to have to pass. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">An experienced and capable soldier, it was the General and his small and weary division which had been tasked with reducing this threat- and he had serious</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"> misgivings.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">His scouts</span></span> had indicated that the French were there in brigade strength, and had quickly rebuilt and improved upon two 18th C. earthworks, creating two </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">formidable and mutually-supporting </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">positions. A</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">nd it now appeared that these would likely have to be attacked without the benefit of any artillery of his own. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">The General had been pressing hard for a delay in the attack until the guns could be brought up to support it; f</span></span>or the past seven hours there had been an exchange of riders passing increasingly heated messages as to the feasibility of carrying out an assault at this time, and under these dreadful conditions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">But the die had been cast. In his hand was a dispatch stating categorically that the French in <i>Les Haricots</i> <b>must</b> be destroyed, and</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"> that<i> </i></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">any delay in evicting them would most certainly be disastrous for the Allied cause.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">So preparations now needed to be made at once for </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">the bloody assault that was now certain to take place. </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And succeed it must, regardless of the price to be paid.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">The General stood tall;<i> "The attack will proceed!",</i> he declared again, the tone of his voice leaving no room for any doubt as to his intentions. </span></span><i style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">"And we, gentlemen, are going to carry out our orders whatever the cost. I will not see the honour of the Duchy compromised."</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">"Have all battalion commanders assemble here at once..."'</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Thankfully</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"> for those of you who appreciate good writing,</span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">that's</span><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></span>as far as any literary aspirations I may have for Napoleonic fiction goes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This post sees <i>Serrez les Rangs </i>once again return to the True Faith- Napoleonics. And about bloody time, I hear some of you say.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What follows is an AAR (with loads 'o pictures) from a game we played last year, and I only just recently came across the photos and some notes I had taken- they had been lost deep in the labyrinth of embedded folders on my computer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I do remember that at this time the planets lined up so that Matt, Sada and I were able to schedule in a game of Napoleonics- it was the first one we had in almost a year, the first on my 4' by 8' table, and the first one where we actually had a proper scenario!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We were of course using <i><b>Black Powder</b></i>, but with 28mm figures on a relatively small table it was clear that coming up with a workable and entertaining game would require some (uncharacteristic) forethought: but help was at hand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The previous week I had received my copy of Neil Thomas' <i><b>One Hour Wargames</b></i> rules. I had been reading a lot of positive things about it on various fora and blogs out there, and it intrigued me. So I had decided to order a copy. I'm glad I did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just as reading material alone, I enjoyed this book a lot. I like his writing style and found his rationale behind his game design clearly explained. For some reason I was reminded of the wargaming books I read in my teens by Don Featherstone; Neil's enthusiasm for the hobby is infectious, and I found myself itching to give the rules- and especially the scenarios- a try before I even finished reading it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The rules in the book as written seem very simple, but are in fact quite well thought out. Having had tried them "as is" for some Dark Ages games, they are fine for when I want something light and fun, or for just dabbling in unfamiliar wargaming periods. Although should I want to tinker around with them as wargamers do, the system looks robust enough to stand tweaking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But the real winner for me are the thirty scenarios, campaign ideas, and the suggestions for solo gaming. In the book Neil writes: </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">"There is a paradox at the heart of wargaming, in that many players are absolutely and rightly fascinated by finding the right set of rules, but pay far less attention to the type of battle (or scenario) they play"</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don't I know it, as this has been true of many of our own games. Too many "scenarios" have been half-assed, "set 'em up, plonk down some hills and buildings, and kill more of them than they do of us!" affairs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">All too often, the time spent leading up to games has been taken up more by panicky last-minute painting, or trying to get a grip on/ brushing up on the rules, rather than thinking overmuch about scenario design.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But not this time. We had the figures and the terrain, so no last-minute painting frenzy. For this game, I selected one of the scenarios from the book: Scenario #15, <i><b>Fortified Defence</b></i> (p.94).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The object of the game was for Blue to seize two fortified villages, while Red had to prevent this from happening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This scenario was inspired by the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745- a battle in a war that has always held a big fascination for me, so I was anxious to give it a go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is a tough scenario for an attacker, seeing as the scenarios in OHWG generally involves opposing forces of equal strength. So for this scenario there is a unique twist; at any point in the game, Blue can announce a "reset"- all his forces are removed from play, and appear again at full strength along his start line. These in effect represent a second assault wave entering the fray. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">No such joy for the Red player, who has to make do with what he's got. But of course Red has the advantage of defending from two, strongly-fortified positions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">With a bit of tweaking to suit our circumstances, our table ended up looking like this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The roads were purely for aesthetics, they were considered to be in poor condition due to days of torrential rain, and would give no advantage to movement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We had to make some adjustments to the Black Powder rules in order for the scenario to be workable. We were using 4' by 6' of my available table space, and the scenarios in Neil's book assume a 3' by 3' playing board. Additionally, the rules in OHWG assumes unit frontages between 4" to 6", with musket range equaling frontage at 6".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our own battalions are usually organized on about a 1:20 ratio, so have a frontage of around 10" or so. Ranges as written in Black Powder are 18 inches for muskets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Given the size of our table and the layout, that would have resulted in the villages enjoying interlocking fields of fire, and it would have been more like assaulting Omaha beach than Fontenoy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In an effort to give both sides a fighting chance, not only did I move the villages farther apart, but in the end we decided to reduce all move and firing distance by 50%.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> We had also decided to allow a maximum of two actions a turn rather than the three allowed in the rules (when lucky enough to roll for it).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This put the unit frontages out of whack with move rates and firing ranges, but we put it down to heavy rain having churned the Belgian countryside and dirt roads to a quagmire, and having gotten into the powder so that both sides were having to resort to reduced charges in their cartridges.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the beginning of the game, we rolled to see which side would be attacking, and which would be the defender, highest dice roll taking the role of the Blue player.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once that was done,</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">then we rolled for force composition. In all of the scenarios in the book, each player fields up to six units from a maximum of ten units per side (although in some scenarios games with as few as four units a side are possible). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So in the horse and musket period, any given force is randomly selected from a total of ten possible units, as follows:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Accordingly, for each side we again rolled a dice (1D6), and the result was checked against a table that determines which six of the ten units available would be used in the game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For this game, the Red defenders (the valiant, dashing French) rolled a three. The Blue attackers (a motley and reactionary collection of Brunswickers, Glaswegians, and other sweepings of Empire), a six.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A roll of three meant the French had the following force; four infantry battalions, one skirmishing battalion of light infantry, and a unit of cavalry<i> (</i>my<i> chasseurs à cheval)</i>. Two of the infantry would be garrisoning the towns, and the scenario stipulated that they would stay there for the duration of the game, or until wiped out. The rest could be deployed anywhere within the zone as seen in the map above.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By rolling a six, the Allies found themselves with three battalions of infantry, one unit of Jägers, and two of cavalry- KGL hussars and some light dragoons. Not the best combination for assaulting buildings! If necessary, this same force would resurrect itself to form the second attack wave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Both sides had in fact rolled for the only possible selections that did <b>not</b> include any artillery- and this for a scenario involving an assault on fortifications! Obviously the same heavy rain that had turned the battlefield into an early 19th C. version of Passchendale had also left both sides' artillery bogged down and immobile in the mud, thus unable to take part in the days engagement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As always, we can just blame it on the weather.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I dispensed with the special rule in the scenario giving the defenders an additional bonus when firing from the villages. We've played many games of BP that involved attacking BUA's, and they had proven to be tough nuts to crack indeed without needing any additional help from scenario conditions, and this proved to be the case once again this game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">All brigade and overall commanders had a CV of 8. The garrison in <i>Le Petit Haricot</i> was given its own brigadier, to mitigate the distance from the C-in-C. I suppose we could have given it a <i>Marauder</i> rule instead, but as the unit could not leave the safety of the village it really was moot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The scenario states that the game should last 15 turns. I ignored this, and didn't even bother mentioning it to the others as I thought that there was no way we would get close to this many turns in.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I was wrong. The turns played very quickly, and if I had adhered to this condition of the scenario, the game may have had quite a different outcome.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">First we had to gently shoo-off the lads. Cat ownership pretty much rules out any thoughts of building a sandtable, God forbid. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6g5NTmMM9GWuHOb3DiIhPJks8kWn4ejpApO5rpEgW0BmAXIaekeg-XeGv-OCXZf8TnhoyjuMjjCH1jXc14QzwqAxFqPZEDr_fcGSV83dHF6w1SUEsgH7997qtoOLjfSEkUQzgoaqnKy4y/s1600/LV_1+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6g5NTmMM9GWuHOb3DiIhPJks8kWn4ejpApO5rpEgW0BmAXIaekeg-XeGv-OCXZf8TnhoyjuMjjCH1jXc14QzwqAxFqPZEDr_fcGSV83dHF6w1SUEsgH7997qtoOLjfSEkUQzgoaqnKy4y/s400/LV_1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>"We've been kicked out of better places than THIS!"</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's the layout at the opening of the game, just before the first wave of the Allied assault steps out onto the mud-soaked approaches to <i>Les Haricots. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFhJao7HZyJO6vkVXkRcJ1E96cA3JI_ks-opyhJNLGoouMq5YyccpOvojDeM5b0G79_9JvQ28TA8A3jlhXOFhbYIh8uTb8JJg81NRPqsjg4g5BZ_QKBYCe3_VE4btTsA2YvWG-cNipRrA/s1600/LV_2.jpg"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFhJao7HZyJO6vkVXkRcJ1E96cA3JI_ks-opyhJNLGoouMq5YyccpOvojDeM5b0G79_9JvQ28TA8A3jlhXOFhbYIh8uTb8JJg81NRPqsjg4g5BZ_QKBYCe3_VE4btTsA2YvWG-cNipRrA/s400/LV_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></span> </i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHTKYeu-CiYVdkYMeWWKWo7CNl0wg1Jm3Ijd-lGijBOQx4oiCs6iHjNU-sVp6_l2rL2KDP2GSYNem_nPHXN2r1KJpoM96In7gqcSFrYRCV29PCHuW3yZGPRlve_7y5wnSvOowre5wd0Ux/s1600/LV_12.jpg"></a></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's clear to see that using normal Black Powder musket ranges would have result in a bloodbath for any attacking troops. As it was, the Allies had to move very carefully to try to avoid flanking fire, and they weren't always successful.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The French line awaits...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHr0Zr_eudxzbg3DbWL17jCurEwa5QtLgTW1m4y1NHTyun1oSpT3cjPAyoS1de9yCvjqLASDHIxC7EVNBW1rqbw4fdxs5czNPm7scgGzrbt_DA1_jNqhfrx5CgybCBJVK7mKSbdftT2wt/s1600/LV_14.jpg"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHr0Zr_eudxzbg3DbWL17jCurEwa5QtLgTW1m4y1NHTyun1oSpT3cjPAyoS1de9yCvjqLASDHIxC7EVNBW1rqbw4fdxs5czNPm7scgGzrbt_DA1_jNqhfrx5CgybCBJVK7mKSbdftT2wt/s400/LV_14.jpg" width="400" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...while the garrison at <i>Le Grand Haricot</i> steel themselves for the onslaught, the regimental Eagle glittering gloriously against the leaden sky...</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJ3v6G9TnzN2CnRxhM346rDRPyBF1isdALn4AmrNkP_laMKCNNSA0As38lzNZNBeo2f43bddQuzTjDFhuo5OGKX-AS6OteTOilxbgzR5IxS5vol6tzRv-fOTKF-w5caUMqY3NzVyJZuoV/s1600/LV_5.jpg"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJ3v6G9TnzN2CnRxhM346rDRPyBF1isdALn4AmrNkP_laMKCNNSA0As38lzNZNBeo2f43bddQuzTjDFhuo5OGKX-AS6OteTOilxbgzR5IxS5vol6tzRv-fOTKF-w5caUMqY3NzVyJZuoV/s400/LV_5.jpg" width="400" /></a></span> </span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOYmmcl5q3AeQA0oAQQQM53OyE2imLc2eLM6qNSGYYIiBUnymYndNMH7z81pWgIaLXE3mRoVrSCNPJpytsbQznWVoMwhyG8RwI8vWbjLDYrttLQckymzX4XzxKFQzAqOHG5mv0cB2MGqO/s1600/LV_8.jpg"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOYmmcl5q3AeQA0oAQQQM53OyE2imLc2eLM6qNSGYYIiBUnymYndNMH7z81pWgIaLXE3mRoVrSCNPJpytsbQznWVoMwhyG8RwI8vWbjLDYrttLQckymzX4XzxKFQzAqOHG5mv0cB2MGqO/s400/LV_8.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">First move, and the French cavalry cautiously advance. Don't want the Allies getting any ideas... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHTKYeu-CiYVdkYMeWWKWo7CNl0wg1Jm3Ijd-lGijBOQx4oiCs6iHjNU-sVp6_l2rL2KDP2GSYNem_nPHXN2r1KJpoM96In7gqcSFrYRCV29PCHuW3yZGPRlve_7y5wnSvOowre5wd0Ux/s1600/LV_12.jpg"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHTKYeu-CiYVdkYMeWWKWo7CNl0wg1Jm3Ijd-lGijBOQx4oiCs6iHjNU-sVp6_l2rL2KDP2GSYNem_nPHXN2r1KJpoM96In7gqcSFrYRCV29PCHuW3yZGPRlve_7y5wnSvOowre5wd0Ux/s400/LV_12.jpg" width="400" /></a></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On
the Allied side, the Brunswicker skirmishers advanced through the woods
on the right, intent on flanking or even getting behind the French at
<i>Le Grand Haricot;</i> there to do as much mischief as they can. Meanw</span><span style="font-size: large;">hile the main force, </span><span style="font-size: large;">with the Allied cavalry on their left flank, </span><span style="font-size: large;">advanced on the hamlet, </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWerkvykNOjQCZ_SZT0M-EBVO-I8Vtq5LRfQnlNfLW5dpT5Y41x-jpaO4uvWgTORN6-nEWEHFslrAa1psIN2-BwOVL-tRCgPJsO2INZTPrFjChSvfdPJYPgXZLdGsjdAb7uMAENEXZAYO/s1600/FV_21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWerkvykNOjQCZ_SZT0M-EBVO-I8Vtq5LRfQnlNfLW5dpT5Y41x-jpaO4uvWgTORN6-nEWEHFslrAa1psIN2-BwOVL-tRCgPJsO2INZTPrFjChSvfdPJYPgXZLdGsjdAb7uMAENEXZAYO/s400/FV_21.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Advance to contact!</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Et5OaSkvRjB2onO9eC94iESaJDgx_4MV-6wzkbx8oeLGXSxacbZIrdA75QNIfrl3JQKrmgkjShXcqOUG4E_o3LhXPr8Y59AkXLvLxUJKnRENpbPw8XjcZygiLyfT7QEnW85vIoXX3WDj/s1600/LV_17.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Et5OaSkvRjB2onO9eC94iESaJDgx_4MV-6wzkbx8oeLGXSxacbZIrdA75QNIfrl3JQKrmgkjShXcqOUG4E_o3LhXPr8Y59AkXLvLxUJKnRENpbPw8XjcZygiLyfT7QEnW85vIoXX3WDj/s400/LV_17.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfOMyIvOcT3VLY6of6L2h73j7Pqo7WRT-0OlHbQ3BgcT05mzUv80EhKnSELT9jj_YPMEgWRKG-lKK3a8-DWqOtduo7Y2mRHW_YafoSEEIVbDPGqUcTLezhwhVppZCmTgyCHuPpZr2575d/s1600/LV_18.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfOMyIvOcT3VLY6of6L2h73j7Pqo7WRT-0OlHbQ3BgcT05mzUv80EhKnSELT9jj_YPMEgWRKG-lKK3a8-DWqOtduo7Y2mRHW_YafoSEEIVbDPGqUcTLezhwhVppZCmTgyCHuPpZr2575d/s400/LV_18.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgho66o8IIgI2PJkbMZUZNiEiYo4eyZsHGu3qvLqc0s8TsOpvv3fxSP7p8d0IOb0oIXuWHJGeugsw6Gkc7MmT9ccw8YeEUQUApvkN9mU6OybUBFNdA0stjVBUKYFxbO0zLJwGu4kV_uSqsz/s1600/LV_19.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgho66o8IIgI2PJkbMZUZNiEiYo4eyZsHGu3qvLqc0s8TsOpvv3fxSP7p8d0IOb0oIXuWHJGeugsw6Gkc7MmT9ccw8YeEUQUApvkN9mU6OybUBFNdA0stjVBUKYFxbO0zLJwGu4kV_uSqsz/s400/LV_19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Scratch one unit of Allied cavalry...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gNnTOInSNW-c3U6NzejpNGUtacPcyMGmdjLncTM0niXs9H7EeirHKAm6RD0fcYGCyVQxPP4Df9aVvL__NEAP7mEsG39SnShcc31ZkunDEZ2zGtIJIt0GwyENwNz7cfnsqjWTVXH6j0hI/s1600/LV_23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gNnTOInSNW-c3U6NzejpNGUtacPcyMGmdjLncTM0niXs9H7EeirHKAm6RD0fcYGCyVQxPP4Df9aVvL__NEAP7mEsG39SnShcc31ZkunDEZ2zGtIJIt0GwyENwNz7cfnsqjWTVXH6j0hI/s400/LV_23.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_QZ3XkZExFbDlNrdPCysm9fqbshNQi8vH7PecD0aBXpy0E88fZK77Uwcq9UlttuEFbvrH6Oc4y35UZ0Z5mxcmo0L9rD6S-ZJl3swe8subVF1c4ZP_fF1m2CT03o36DVRrKY5w_na9HZn/s1600/LV_20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_QZ3XkZExFbDlNrdPCysm9fqbshNQi8vH7PecD0aBXpy0E88fZK77Uwcq9UlttuEFbvrH6Oc4y35UZ0Z5mxcmo0L9rD6S-ZJl3swe8subVF1c4ZP_fF1m2CT03o36DVRrKY5w_na9HZn/s400/LV_20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Allies had been bleeding profusely, and with most of his force either broken or close to their break points, Matt decided to call off the attack and press the reset button for a second assault.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first game saw the French hold off the attackers- just- but they had taken lots of casualties themselves. And unlike the Allies, they were not to get reinforcements for the follow-up game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After having stood off to lick their wounds, the bugles sounded, drums were beaten, and on again the Allies came. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Round II...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>If at first you don't succeed</b></i><i><b>...</b></i></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Last stand...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><b>Time to say "Goodbye"...</b></i></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>The day was a bad one for French horseflesh.</i></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyuJP_Np56FHLrsKdXBxCQOEKTORAixjqOBN4sdg5E61g5AQCZ4wRL4bmYYmBscHChEyF2SHSIqkf-L03S_yjXwrkThDRTkwZJB8hNPFrd_qCsZPljWtUMYgP22hRTznq20GmeTdoWWDf/s1600/LV_37.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Et5OaSkvRjB2onO9eC94iESaJDgx_4MV-6wzkbx8oeLGXSxacbZIrdA75QNIfrl3JQKrmgkjShXcqOUG4E_o3LhXPr8Y59AkXLvLxUJKnRENpbPw8XjcZygiLyfT7QEnW85vIoXX3WDj/s1600/LV_17.jpg"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgR3LitYQ8l1MgDK1WFHEnTeuRmLGpyW9IIBR3YL0HMExH53vAmfo70Vmw-hI5oZnE3pLrQ-hz_bWvp0U1nnQmvbjkRHgzq9J0bQ2lSJKXhK2v1h0QaYHR6VAcym6OPkWBQdxRoXYPi02l/s1600/LV_32.jpg"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgR3LitYQ8l1MgDK1WFHEnTeuRmLGpyW9IIBR3YL0HMExH53vAmfo70Vmw-hI5oZnE3pLrQ-hz_bWvp0U1nnQmvbjkRHgzq9J0bQ2lSJKXhK2v1h0QaYHR6VAcym6OPkWBQdxRoXYPi02l/s400/LV_32.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Allied combined arms savage an unlucky battalion of line infantry.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>The Brunswickers take </i>Le Petit Haricot <i>in a frontal assault. </i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyuJP_Np56FHLrsKdXBxCQOEKTORAixjqOBN4sdg5E61g5AQCZ4wRL4bmYYmBscHChEyF2SHSIqkf-L03S_yjXwrkThDRTkwZJB8hNPFrd_qCsZPljWtUMYgP22hRTznq20GmeTdoWWDf/s1600/LV_37.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyuJP_Np56FHLrsKdXBxCQOEKTORAixjqOBN4sdg5E61g5AQCZ4wRL4bmYYmBscHChEyF2SHSIqkf-L03S_yjXwrkThDRTkwZJB8hNPFrd_qCsZPljWtUMYgP22hRTznq20GmeTdoWWDf/s400/LV_37.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i> Despite being practically ignored in the first game, the defenders lost their collective bottle, and fled disgracefully.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>In this second game, the Allied skirmishers had it all their own way.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>"Sauve qui peut!"</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The French had held off the first attack, but at a high price; the second wave of fresh troops proved too much as a black</span><span style="font-size: large;"> tide</span><span style="font-size: large;"> (with a few shades of red & blue) inundated French hopes. The second game was a clear victory for the attacking Allies, largely due to French errors in deployment, and from the French having barely any un-battered units left to deploy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although the battalion defending <i>le Petit Haricot </i>had choked and fled as a result of abysmal dice throws, over the course of the game the Dice Gods were fair and consistent, alternately blessing- and cursing- both sides alike. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But all in all, I remember it as being a very enjoyable game. Since then we have frequently used Neil's scenarios (and rules) for a number of games set in different periods, and the book has proved to be worth way more that what I paid for it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recommended.</span><br />
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-35378810613038755992017-05-21T09:48:00.000+09:002018-06-23T08:52:02.558+09:00IJA Reinforcements<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Recent</span></b> swag. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the latest additions to my ever-growing collection of Imperial Japanese for <b>Bolt Action</b>:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s1.postimg.cc/flqypdb73/402016001-_Chi-_Ha-_Platoon-01-box-front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://s1.postimg.cc/flqypdb73/402016001-_Chi-_Ha-_Platoon-01-box-front.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s1.postimg.cc/px3bi12wf/402216001-_Japanese-_Bamboo-_Fighter-_Squad-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s1.postimg.cc/px3bi12wf/402216001-_Japanese-_Bamboo-_Fighter-_Squad-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">A squad of starving and desperate spear fighters is a pretty dark subject for gaming it has to be said; but there were a number of situations where the Japanese were fighting an end game, while suffering from a lack of all kinds of supplies (not to mention from malnutrition and a host of untreated nasty jungle fevers and infections). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For any clever and ambitious young officer in the IJA, going into the logistics branch was a dead-end as a career path, as it was neither glorious nor held in any esteem, being well down there in </span><span style="font-size: large;">the pecking order. A hangover from the samurai days, where a warrior was supposed to be just that; a warrior, not a clerk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unsurprisingly, when push came to shove the lowly bean counters were told by their superiors to "knock it off with them negative waves", and trust in Japanese martial spirit overcoming mere material needs. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Yeah, right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course the soldiers in the field paid the price for the ensuing neglect, especially if they found themselves marooned on some island or other blockaded by the USN, or if their over-extended supply lines were under constant interdiction by Commonwealth Hurricanes and Beaufighters.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Field Marshal Neglect and his subordinates, Brigadier-Generals Disease and Hunger- probably the most dangerous opponents the Japanese soldier faced.</span></i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">The sculpts actually capture this quite well, being ragged, lean, but mean. And they are a doddle to paint.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In game terms, the <b>Bolt Action</b> rules allow for squads of these last-ditch desperadoes. A lot of players will want to have a few units of them because they are very cheap in terms of point costs, they count as fanatics, and can still be deadly if enough get into close quarters. Good for soaking up incoming fire as they assault the enemy head-on, while your squad of rifles works its way around the flanks.<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Brigade Games</b> do a <a href="http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/Japan_c_191-2.html" target="_blank">good selection of near-naked and emaciated ragged infantry with rifles</a>. I'll be mixing these in with the Warlord spearmen for more variety, and because I doubt very much that you would have found squads armed wholly with spear-armed troops alone. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>ielding a whole squad consisting of half-starved & filthy fanatics with bamboo spears seems pretty "gamey" to me (in every sense of the word). Which is fine if that's the way people want to play it, but I feel it probably makes more sense historically to use them to beef up the usual rifle squads, rather than have them in separate units. And calorie/protein deficiency coupled with a near-constant case of the runs would probably mitigate against giving them any fanatic bonus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will probably play it both ways, and often end up somewhere in the middle depending on situation and inclination. If it's a scenario I'm playing at my place, I'll most often want to play it more historically and distribute them equally among my rifle squads. If it's for a comp at one of our pub events, the emphasis is very much on the game, on rolling dice and socializing over a few beers, so I'd go with the flow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm quite comfortable wearing either hat on different occasions. Sometimes I'll look to contemporary accounts and my copy of the US War Department's FM72-20 Field Manual for Jungle Warfare as inspiration for wargaming WW2 in the Far East. Other times, it's an unrepentant homage to the action-filled romps of Commando Comics, no matter how improbable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To be honest, I'm sometimes happier with the latter as when reading about the reality, I find it can be overwhelmingly grim.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bolt Action</b> can work for both approaches; it's just a matter of how I organize my force, and which of the rules I want to include/ tweak and which I want to leave out. For example, I never use any special character rules as I find them- well, silly, most being characters who would command well above the level that is being represented in the game. And all my squads have LMG's regardless of how effective they may or may not be for their point cost. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: large;">The Warlord tanks look good, and allow me to build either the original version with the 57mm gun/howitzer or the later 47mm <i>Shinhoto</i> Chi-Ha. They will be far easier to assemble than the resin vehicles, which with flash and mould bubbles can be a right old pain in the <i>derrière</i> to clean up. Not to mention that the plastic ones come with decals, data cards (good idea), and even explosion markers- very necessary for the Japanese tracked sardine tins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I might even do a kit-bash to make one of them a command tank, with the older turret carrying another MMG in place of the 57mm, and a 47mm ATG mounted in the hull. There are enough extra pieces in the box to do this.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: large;">I've also found the time for working on more grunt-sans, these ones much better fed. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">More infantry prepped and ready for priming. </span></i></span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">These are mostly heavily-modified Warlord and Westwind figures. ATG and crew Brigade Games. Lots of Warlord head swops.</span></i></span></b><br />
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</tbody></table>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-22254680290952492192017-02-26T22:20:00.003+09:002019-01-02T12:00:02.431+09:00Putting Down Mutiny, 1813<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Happy</b></span> well-belated New Year! First post of 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today was a long awaited return to gaming, and indeed to Napoleonics, using <b><i>Black Powder</i></b> rules and scenarios from Neil Thomas' <b><i>One Hour Wargames</i></b>. It was a chance for me to use my newly-based French brigade- 144 figures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These weren't painted by me, of course; this are the ones that were a club purchase some years ago now from Mabuhay painting service in the Philippines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They won't win any prizes, but they do the job; very acceptable wargames-quality painting that looks good </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">en masse.</span> </i><span style="font-size: large;">After Achilles went back to Greece- taking all his beautifully painted Perry Miniatures French with him- we needed Frenchmen. Getting them through Mabuhay allowed us to get painted figures on the table fast so that we could get back down to some seriously fun gaming. These are quite the battle-hardened veterans now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I first received them, I touched them up a bit (brighter colours on the pom-poms), I gave them some GMB flags, and then put them on some Litko bases and textured the bases with sand. A lot of work on my part (and extra expense in terms of the bases and the flags), which earned me the privilege of having them on pretty much a permanent loan. We have gamed with them in this state for some years now, but it always bugged me that I had never gotten around to actually painting and flocking the bases.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Saturday I finally bit the bullet, sat down and did the whole bunch in one fell swoop, after first carrying out some minor repairs and retouching battle damage where I thought it was worth it. Normally I don't mind doing basing, but I've never done a whole brigade's worth in one sitting; not the most exciting of tasks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Still, l think it was worth it; they look so much better now, as they match the gaming mats and the rest of my own army.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now for the scenario, and some pictures from the game.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>***** </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>It's </b></span>late 1813, and treacherous- and ungrateful- Confederation of the Rhine troops (devious Italians/untrustworthy Bavarians/some disaffected and unpatriotic Poles) have risen in opportunistic revolt against the benevolent and righteous rule of the revered Emperor Napoleon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Like the rats they are, they have imprisoned the French garrison in the town of Anhauser-Busch in an attempt to defect, with all their arms and equipment, to the approaching- and increasingly successful- Allied armies. Of course, the justifiably outraged French have sworn vengeance, and are trying to stop them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It may surprise you to learn that I commanded the French.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We haven't gotten together for a good game of BP for a while, so we were rusty. My table isn't huge, so in the interests of space and playability we thought it best to keep it small- the OHWG scenarios are ideal for this. Each side provided a maximum of six units: 3-2-1; three infantry, two cavalry, one gun battery; or 4-1-1; four infantry, one cavalry, one battery; or 5-0-1; five infantry, no cavalry, one battery. Maximum one skirmish unit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gaming in the (less than) Grand Manner, but no less entertaining for it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Given the table size, we played using 3/4 movement rates, and command values of eight. Worked well last time, when we managed to get two games in during the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The French were the defenders in the triple line defense scenario #26 from OHWG, a scenario based on the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814 (War of 1812). The attacking player has to cross a river and advance down the length of the table to seize a hill on the other side. Easier than it sounds; the defenders are outnumbered, and although they have some advantage in defending in depth, they are crap troops.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My friend Matt and I had played this one last year, but using Anglo-Saxons and Vikings; then the Vikings cleaned the Anglo-Saxon clock. A very challenging scenario for the defender- in fact, almost impossible for the defenders to win given even a moderately aggressive attacker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My French had no cavalry, as I went with just infantry and a battery of artillery. But my infantry were all barrel-scrapings; ill-equipped <i>Marie-Louise</i> teenage conscripts, fifth-battalion dregs, impressed National Guard, provisional route battalions and other such raw Eurotrash. Whatever could be swept up throughout the rear areas by the French commander in a desperate effort to prevent the breakout of the Confederation troops. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">They couldn't be activated until the enemy came within 12", and were subject to the untested rule: their stamina wouldn't be revealed until they took their first casualty, at which point they have to roll a D6 to see how steadfast they were (or weren't).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Italian/ Bavarian turncoats were all regular, with three units of infantry, one 8pdr battery, a regiment of Polish Lancers, and rifle-armed Jägers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As we were using Black Powder rules rather than the ones in OHWG, this time I gave the French a bit more mobility than in the scenario as written, to account for the effect of long-ranged artillery and rifle fire (otherwise the attacker could just stand out of muskets range and blast each battalion in turn to oblivion with their Jägers and artillery). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But despite this, this time round the (rebellious) Confederation troops couldn't even establish themselves across the river; in fact we drove them back over the bridge, which by the end of the battle was choked with their dead and wounded. We suffered one unit pushed back after having being charged by the lancers, but despite being frighteningly over it's breakpoint, it survived. Basically we got off with just a few scrapes and bruises. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of my units never even had to move from its initial position, being very (un)engaged throughout the whole battle. They just stood leaning on their muskets and watching all the fun from the top of the hill that was supposed to be the attackers' objective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Giovanni and Sada have never been the most aggressive of players, bless their hearts, and between them managed to throw away a unit of Polish lancers early in the game. To be fair, they could have benefited from a bit better luck with their command rolls. But it worked both ways.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Piccies, in no particular order. Just some eye-candy. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin89ROf42NcctMwFdmqGHCBH2wYnoH5jk20aqLmoh8qMc1F-GdORXdPHjVz2zoWpqb7FkzBvg6qVAMSvEzqAtQt4u-9Tom_Nqm37WizMhEdUA_c0q0so0AcgDJEDEKbMyjOqjrb5o4sR3x/s1600/IMG_4014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin89ROf42NcctMwFdmqGHCBH2wYnoH5jk20aqLmoh8qMc1F-GdORXdPHjVz2zoWpqb7FkzBvg6qVAMSvEzqAtQt4u-9Tom_Nqm37WizMhEdUA_c0q0so0AcgDJEDEKbMyjOqjrb5o4sR3x/s400/IMG_4014.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Initial setup- before we added the roads!</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHjUCVtFqFFVljAmrfBEm0bpPXu6F1ZZS-H1NWP32NrCTaMm00Ln01XBKDLf5uSf31q2w3uWhDWFmTI-lKhvMLzCZhgcroAHiEKqYCwmac8emNHWBlH7YK2bK6x73qvR2-PVbdJ1tUidF/s1600/IMG_4021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHjUCVtFqFFVljAmrfBEm0bpPXu6F1ZZS-H1NWP32NrCTaMm00Ln01XBKDLf5uSf31q2w3uWhDWFmTI-lKhvMLzCZhgcroAHiEKqYCwmac8emNHWBlH7YK2bK6x73qvR2-PVbdJ1tUidF/s400/IMG_4021.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The French commander, threatening the lads with some personal GBH if they don't come through...</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>With roads!</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Victrix Italians; Lt. Topol on the right wishes he was a rich man...</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>A dreaded disorder flag. This was to be a constant companion to this particular French battalion throughout the game.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDnit9J-r8AS_g_EGR2eyU6hbbheBwd6N-dop2VbhCH8CmYaz2S-e-NhIbhjNZ59rWI-Qcj6JZXsk0pYnsMVHi2jvtHHdATPcUCYl7lV2hPU0lG5BTJWNR5BAqS6fjLMQP6ZQm1zCD9h6/s1600/IMG_4044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDnit9J-r8AS_g_EGR2eyU6hbbheBwd6N-dop2VbhCH8CmYaz2S-e-NhIbhjNZ59rWI-Qcj6JZXsk0pYnsMVHi2jvtHHdATPcUCYl7lV2hPU0lG5BTJWNR5BAqS6fjLMQP6ZQm1zCD9h6/s400/IMG_4044.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Polish Vistula Lancers. Prince August figures, cast and painted by Giovanni. And very nice they turned out, too- I love that simple, but crisply painted, toy soldier style.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>"Form Square!!!"</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>These two battalions went toe-to-toe for some three turns; the Bavarians blinked first, but both regiments hemorrhaged profusely.</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b>All the Confederation units have been forced back over the river; "Vive la France!!!"</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Great fun- and a rare French victory! It was good having another Black Powder game, and we are thinking of putting on a big game sometime during the summer, schedules permitting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, back to work on my cuirassiers.</span></div>
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-70029846172090988472016-12-11T10:44:00.000+09:002017-12-02T08:42:54.644+09:00Fiddly Effin' Firepower<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Another</span></b> rare update, and finally some guns for the Japanese. A 105mm Howitzer, 45mm A/T gun, and a 70mm light battalion gun (more like a wheeled mortar). All in various stages of completion, but all within sight of the finish line.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">L</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">ots of other stuff being cleaned up for an outdoor priming session, including another squad's worth of infantry and a mule team. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">I also had some chance to work on basing more jungle terrain and a bunker. I'll need a number of barbed wire emplacements, bunkers, pillboxes and gunpits for our "not Kokoda" campaign.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Up
until now, my Japanese have been mostly an infantry force, along with
some limited tank support- which usually dies extremely quickly in the
games when up against </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">my regular plate-armoured nemesis, Matt's </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">M-3 </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Grant. Having to rely on <i>Seishin</i> and on suicide tank squads really is the last refuge of the desperate.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFVlzRF-ED7pnxks6cCyvrFRSMHLglxHwKu72YgTZHfncHgDi3i7LFf4QplLpWOYqYefs0nB3rxT7jkpu9PXq8AxRm6j5bDXnqg8FbV_rvmmmSOdOjIaD2sZYY5hOuE9KpmrvdesxoljA/s1600/Burma_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFVlzRF-ED7pnxks6cCyvrFRSMHLglxHwKu72YgTZHfncHgDi3i7LFf4QplLpWOYqYefs0nB3rxT7jkpu9PXq8AxRm6j5bDXnqg8FbV_rvmmmSOdOjIaD2sZYY5hOuE9KpmrvdesxoljA/s400/Burma_10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Detroit Dreadnaught, and Crusher of Imperial Japanese Dreams...</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">The howitzer will largely serve as a game objective, the 70mm is really more of nuisance value, but the 45mm should give me at least a fighting chance against </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">Allied armour. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">Direct and short-range fire with artillery pieces was common in the Pacific. Interestingly, I was reading of the Aoba Detachment's role in the Battle of Guadalcanal, where Maj. Masao Tamura led his battalion of the 4th (Sendai) Regiment against the Leathernecks on Edson's Ridge. At one point they managed to drag up a 75mm Regimental gun to a position where it could fire directly and at short range into the American lines. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">It could have changed the outcome of the battle, had it not been for a faulty firing pin. <i> Shikisho...</i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">Wartime Miniatures in Oz apparently do a model of the 75mm, so I see an order coming on. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">One thing to add to the list of unpleasant wargaming tasks is putting together split-trail artillery pieces. I had put off working on them because I knew full well just how much of a hassle it would be trying to get the pieces to fit. Plastic models for me are seldom a problem; but with metal kits, and given the often rudimentary- or in this case, nonexistent- instructions, it's a different story. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">The joints between the gun shields, trails and the axles are always weak, and there is never that much surface area to work with; and as these are often points which take the stress of bearing the weight of the model, it's always a real bugger to work with. During construction, the model has to be handled carefully, without inadvertently bending or breaking other those parts that have already been assembled. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">Lots of foul language went into putting these together, believe me. <br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />The air was turned an especially vivid shade of blue as I struggled with the 105mm. Although it's a really nice model when made up, </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">due to the weight of the barrel and gun shield it was a beast to balance on its trails while the glue set. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">It</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;"> took a bit of fancy work with a drill and lengths of paperclip wire to try to make the joints a little stronger, and wads of </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;"><i>Post-it </i>wall-tack putty really help here to bear the weight while the glue sets. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />I have one more of these to do, and the prospect of doing all that cleaning and assembling one more time does not exactly fill me with joy.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Once painted, the bases will feature quite a bit of foliage, especially for the 45mm piece. Not just for appearance's sake, but also so that the guns themselves don't have to be handled directly, as I don't have much faith in how much they would stand to a lot of handling on the gaming table.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />But regardless of all this, I do like the way they look once assembled. The 45mm gun and crew are from Company B via Brigade Games, and while the gun is very nice (if another real pain to put together), I found the crew figures themselves rather woodenly posed and roughcast with a fair amount of flash. Out came the files, pin vice and drill bits again, and I replaced two of the heads with some extras from Warlord so that they look much nicer now.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-size: large;">I've also been working on some Warlord/ TAG US Marines, as we may need a few squads for the Buna/ Gona scenarios in our campaign. Strictly speaking the scenario calls for army units, but nobody seems to do much in the way of US Army troops for the Pacific Theatre, which is too bad. All I know of are the Merril's Marauder box by Warlord Games, and that's it. </span><br />
<br /></div>
Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6585554576823373126.post-38746660454223294692016-12-03T09:04:00.002+09:002018-06-23T09:23:52.297+09:00Resurfacing; Burma, Brandywine, and Battleships<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/m4zt9gjul/IMG_0024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/m4zt9gjul/IMG_0024.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Fresh meat. The latest Japanese to join the Aoba Detachment.</span></b></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/r3hfav921/IMG_0030.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/g565sokgp/IMG_0032.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/h8qa4n53t/IMG_0034.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/fi7935nkp/IMG_0037.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/lx69ztuah/IMG_0038.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/wla0yo49l/IMG_0040.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/n24xiy655/IMG_0044.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/jwkbsqnix/IMG_0043.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/88q9y6ye1/IMG_0042.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/s4m9dqffd/IMG_0041.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/oz1nniwt5/IMG_0045.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/3qnz63ic9/IMG_0047.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/7ob8vi55l/IMG_0050.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/3t7usxlzt/IMG_0051.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/6okxzspzt/IMG_0052.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/utlnhiaah/IMG_0054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/r3hfav921/IMG_0030.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/g565sokgp/IMG_0032.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/h8qa4n53t/IMG_0034.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/fi7935nkp/IMG_0037.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/lx69ztuah/IMG_0038.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/wla0yo49l/IMG_0040.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/n24xiy655/IMG_0044.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/jwkbsqnix/IMG_0043.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/88q9y6ye1/IMG_0042.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/s4m9dqffd/IMG_0041.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/oz1nniwt5/IMG_0045.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/3qnz63ic9/IMG_0047.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/7ob8vi55l/IMG_0050.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/3t7usxlzt/IMG_0051.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/6okxzspzt/IMG_0052.jpg%20https://s18.postimg.cc/utlnhiaah/IMG_0054.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>And my painted Japanese army so far..</i>.</span></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Can't</span></b> believe I haven't posted in over a year. It's certainly not because I haven't been gaming. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Rather it's because I haven't really been all that inspired to do much blogging. There have been a lot of demands on my time this past year, and I had long ago been getting the sense that interest out there in the blog was dropping off, which I can fully understand. There's a lot of excellent hobby related sites out these days to compete with. But that in itself is not the real issue, because I used to enjoy working on the blog whether it was one person enjoying it or a hundred.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Most importantly, what with work and keeping up with email correspondence, I had simply found myself spending way too much time banging away at computer keyboards as it was- I found myself losing that writing <i>mojo</i>. To be honest I long been feeling that my posts were all getting rather repetitive anyway, and didn't think I was bringing anything new to the party.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But Matt here has been urging me to pull up my <i>tabi</i> and to put up some photos of our last game; an opening meeting engagement in a <b>Bolt Action</b> WW2 campaign (in fact a series of linked scenarios).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's my IJA vs. Matt's 14th Army again. The games are set in Burma, but the campaign itself was designed for the jungle fighting along the Kokoda Trail in 1942. I found the (very well presented) campaign online <a href="http://www.entrada1598.com/games/Bolt/Kokoda.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. Our first game saw a Japanese victory (again!), but it was close.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The <b><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/prp19lzlitbs8xr/Kokoda%20Game%201.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">list</a></b> for the Japanese was created using the <a href="https://battlescribe.net/?tab=news" target="_blank"><b>Battlescribe</b></a> App for my iPad, and we organize our forces as historically as we can given what we have available in our collections.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We played the game pretty much to the recipe given; the board was covered in jungle, with the only open area being the river that was fordable along its length. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">All jungle movement was limited to so that the move distances were no more than what is possible for an advance, even if the units were given a run order. We also used our own spotting rules- we think that visibility in the BA rule book is much too generous for jungle fighting. Our own involve a certain amount of randomness which seems to fit with what happened in reality. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/g565sokgp/IMG_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/g565sokgp/IMG_0032.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/wla0yo49l/IMG_0040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/wla0yo49l/IMG_0040.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/n24xiy655/IMG_0044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/n24xiy655/IMG_0044.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/jwkbsqnix/IMG_0043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/jwkbsqnix/IMG_0043.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/88q9y6ye1/IMG_0042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/88q9y6ye1/IMG_0042.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/oz1nniwt5/IMG_0045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/oz1nniwt5/IMG_0045.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/3qnz63ic9/IMG_0047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/3qnz63ic9/IMG_0047.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/7ob8vi55l/IMG_0050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/7ob8vi55l/IMG_0050.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/6okxzspzt/IMG_0052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/6okxzspzt/IMG_0052.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s18.postimg.cc/utlnhiaah/IMG_0054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s18.postimg.cc/utlnhiaah/IMG_0054.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">I won't bore everyone with a lot of commentary; suffice to say that in the opening scenario, a veteran force of Japanese infantry runs into a much larger, but inexperienced, force of Commonwealth troops (including Matt's fearsome Ghurkas, which on the day were being used to represent a Burmese Police unit armed with a number of shotguns- ouch!). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Basically the Japanese were, time and time again, to <i>Banzai! </i>themselves out of difficulty and charge on to victory- despite the Dice Gods being very much with Matt this game- how many sixes is it possible to roll? Reversion to the Mean was clearly on vacation this day, and the Butcher's Bill for the Japanese was fearsome.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Japanese also had a <b>very</b> nasty brush with a British flamethrower team that sent one of our squads packing- fortunately the flamethrower ran out of fuel after the one attack. But not before severely testing the most robust of Japanese testicular fortitude. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Still, a clear victory for the Sons of Nippon. I've been spending a lot of time working on my Japanese this year (another reason for the lack of posts- blogging takes time, time I've been using for painting instead). I've been very pleased with the results so far, and I'm close to my target of four large squads painted and based, with support units on the horizon. The next scenario requires mule teams, so I need to get cracking on them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>*****</b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">This</span></b> past year saw me spend a few weeks back in Vancouver, and included a day of gaming with the usual gang at the North Shore Gamers' weekly bash. We played an AWI game using <b><i>Sharp Practice II</i></b>, and I really had a blast. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://s11.postimg.cc/m6464iczn/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s11.postimg.cc/m6464iczn/image.jpg" width="298" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s11.postimg.cc/my6u3ph6r/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://s11.postimg.cc/my6u3ph6r/image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s11.postimg.cc/el5qms7cz/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://s11.postimg.cc/el5qms7cz/image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://s11.postimg.cc/5enfzi24j/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s11.postimg.cc/5enfzi24j/image.jpg" width="298" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">I'd like to run a Napoleonic game sometime in the new year using these rules. They have a really great feel for horse-and-musket gaming at the sharp end, so to speak.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'll post about my plans for these rules later- I'm really excited about them, and they may be just the thing for a jaded Naps gamer! </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*****</span></span></b></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Finally</b></span>, and of course I haven't always been spending all my time on work and wargaming. We enjoyed a trip to Yokosuka back in August, and were lucky enough to be there when both the US and Japanese fleets had just gotten back in port after exercises. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There were two carriers, the USS<i> Ronald Reagan</i> and the JMSDF's new <i>Izumo </i>(officially a "destroyer"- anyone remember the RN's so-called "through-deck cruiser", HMS <i>Invincible?</i>). Also present were assorted cruisers, destroyers, auxiliary vessels and some rather cool submarines. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">And of course a trip to Yokosuka isn't complete without a visit to that venerable old lady, the last of the pre-dreadnaughts and Togo's flagship at Tsushima, IJN <i>Mikasa</i>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We took in a fascinating tour of the old island fort at Sarushima as well, which provided a great snapshot of fortress and gunnery design from the smoothbore cannons of Edo times, on through French and British influences in the 1860's to the 1890's and then right up to 1945; by which time the French 10.6" Canet naval guns had been replaced by light AA to defend against B-29 raids.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Pictures are worth a thousand words.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/wmz1xpmwd/IMG_3734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/wmz1xpmwd/IMG_3734.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/j5ob9m8fh/IMG_3816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/j5ob9m8fh/IMG_3816.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/ik8j4zs4t/IMG_3756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/ik8j4zs4t/IMG_3756.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/scfsodsfh/IMG_3735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/scfsodsfh/IMG_3735.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>The new </i>Izumo- <i>As large as the carriers that launched the Pearl Harbor raid.</i></b></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/55vg8ylgt/IMG_3748.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/55vg8ylgt/IMG_3748.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/gyt9d6hwt/IMG_3744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/gyt9d6hwt/IMG_3744.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/5xtiuf0a5/IMG_3770.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/5xtiuf0a5/IMG_3770.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The Ronnie Raygun</b></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s4.postimg.cc/uqyhhbtwt/IMG_3800.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s4.postimg.cc/uqyhhbtwt/IMG_3800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/w90rvzkpl/IMG_3913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/w90rvzkpl/IMG_3913.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/uimc88sk9/IMG_3912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/uimc88sk9/IMG_3912.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/wsop7lml5/IMG_3833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/wsop7lml5/IMG_3833.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/li8jwkhp5/IMG_3937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/li8jwkhp5/IMG_3937.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/7r42ucsrd/IMG_3931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/7r42ucsrd/IMG_3931.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/ve9mw7nh5/IMG_3938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/ve9mw7nh5/IMG_3938.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/d57gfn7vd/IMG_3927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/d57gfn7vd/IMG_3927.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/gpc87sl21/IMG_3847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/gpc87sl21/IMG_3847.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/mfxt7s3o9/IMG_3877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/mfxt7s3o9/IMG_3877.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s10.postimg.cc/wkwgxcm8p/IMG_3852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://s10.postimg.cc/wkwgxcm8p/IMG_3852.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well worth a visit, despite the August heat!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll be working on some terrain this weekend, along with some more IJA. I'll post some piccies when done.</span><br />
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</span> </div>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07889130893225462338noreply@blogger.com0