TD Campaign Game 3 (Part 2)

Following swiftly on from the previous post, this time without tedious introductory wordage

Turn 1 Both sides use the fords to shuffle their units

Turn 2

Turn 3 Cavalry melee begins

Turn 4

Turn 5 The cavalry melee has developed

Turn 6 Don Corndorg moves his guns and reserve

Turn 8 The cavalry melee is over and now Violace's guns are threatened

Turn 10 Violace reach EP

Turn 11 Brig. Soubiso loses control of the bridge and the battle

Game Over - General Karloff moves a step closer to his objective

TD Campaign Game 3 - Brigade B's attack blasts off (Part 1)

Introduction

The main thrust of General Karloff's campaign was to send Brigade B (reinforced by his own command, Brigade C) rapidly across country to capture the strategic town of Cololes. Unfortunately, news of their movements reached the Commander of Violace's forces in Cololes who rushed his own Brigade south to cut off the enemy before they could cross the Rio Kia.

Game set-up and Objectives

The game featured two brigades that were slightly larger than I've used before whilst playing the Portable Napoleonic Wargame rules. Many wargamers would, I think, recognise the scenario (in the orthodox version the hill on the left would be a small pile of Tradition magazines, and there would be a Bellona cottage next to the ploughed field). 

The force from Amarela (yellow) was commanded by Brigadier Don Corndorg (who just before the battle started had an unfortunate accident, falling from the table and separating from his base - a bad omen?). The brigade from Violace (violet) was led by Brigadier Soubiso. 

The objectives of the two commanders were; Soubiso must hold both ends of the bridge at the end of turn 12, or when both sides reach EP, so that sappers can blow it up. Don Corndorg must stop the bridge being destroyed so that General Karloff's Brigade and baggage train can easily cross the Rio Kia. the river is fordable (at reduced speed) for 3 squares in from each edge, but not around the bridge itself.

Battle report to follow in part 2...

TD Campaign Game 2 (OHW #9)

Pre-battle Situation & Game set-up (bit wordy I'm afraid)

After the battle of Santa Theresa In Isolamenta, Brigadier Albertos reassembled the remains of his Brigade, the unscathed and wounded that were still capable of fighting, and waited a short while for reinforcements. He then pressed on in pursuit of the retreating force from Violace, hoping to catch up and destroy it before it could reach the town of Vizalves. His reiforcements included a battalion of Elite Guards (black unit) and topped up the other units of the brigade to nearly full numbers.

The retreating brigade of Violace, crossing a small but fast running river, turned to face the enemy at the village of Santa Maria In Cognita. They too received reinforcements, hastily marched up from Vizalves. These included an additional squadron of cavalry and a battalion of the Town Garrison (blue unit), poor quality troops. Violace's Brigade would also be somewhat under-manned due to the heavy fighting of a few days earlier.

The Game was to end after 12 turns, or when both sides reached Exhaustion Point (EP) as per The Portable Napoleonic Wargame.

The objectives for the two commanders were as follows:

Violace (violet) - one unit must retreat from the table (top of board) at the end of turns 4, 6 and 8. This represents their forces retreating in good order back to Vizalves. The SP of the units exiting would count towards the total when calculating for EP. Additionally, delay the enemy and do as much damage as possible whilst the main force retreats.

Amarela (yellow) - occupy the village and have two units leave the table in the direction of Vizalves. This was to represent the invading army pushing on in pursuit of any escaping enemy. If possible trap and destroy the enemy force.

The Brigadier's plan is to brush past the enemy on the left flank and get two units to the top of the table before the game ends, plus take and occupy the village with the tough Guards leading the way.

Amarela's force arrives and moves towards the 2 crossing points

Turn 2 Early artillery action

Turn 3 Amarela's Infantry push forward taking casualties

On the left there's fierce fighting around the woods

Turn 4 the defence looks shaky but Violace's first unit has withdrawn on time

Turn 5 Heavy casualties on the left stall Amarela's advance

Turn 5 Violace's forces are marching away leaving token resistance

Turn 6 Amarela closes in on the village however another Violace unit successfully leaves the table

Turn 8 The village is captured but Amarela reach EP

On the left, the remaining Violace troops are free to retire from the field

A victory for Violace, even though they are still retreating! The bulk of the Brigade were successfully withdrawn and will have time to regroup and set up a defence of Vizalves.

Disappointment for Brigadier Albertos who took the village but failed to pursue the retreating Army of Violace. Having suffered further losses he must await fresh orders from General Karloff.

Attention will now turn to Amarela's Brigade B, marching North towards the primary target of the Campaign.

Intermission

This is a minor break in the Campaign reporting. Please see below the completed Regiment of Guards that came to me courtesy of Ross Mac (see Battle Game of the Month).

The flag is inspired by the Angrian flag used by Mark (Man of Tin) in his Gondal/Angria gaming. I have a plan to include these in a little Imagi-Nation Mini-Campaign later in the year (assuming things go to plan, ha!)

And now back to our regular scheduled programme...

TD Campaign Game 1 (OHW #4)

Pre-battle situation and Game set-up

As reported in the previous post, Brigade A was despatched by General Karloff towards Vizalves, to tackle the force camped nearby. For this game I used two equal brigade size forces exactly as illustrated in the Portable Napoleonic Wargame. The battlefield was based on Scenario 4 of Neil Thomas's One Hour Wargames, Take the High Ground. (The game was basically the same as my trial game Take the Village - I even put the village on the hill). The hill and the village of Santa Theresa in Isolamenta were the objective; at the end of Turn 10, or when both sides reached exhaustion point (EP), the side in complete control of the hill would win the day. 

Map showing the first encounter in the Twin Duchies Campaign

Game

The defenders had two units already in position on the hill; the rest of the brigade were to arrive by the road (distinguished by the line of trees (imagine they run in a straight line from North to South please)).

Opening position 

Brigadier Albertos (Yellow) sent one battalion of infantry up the right flank to annoy the arriving defenders, but concentrated the bulk of his force on the objective.

Turn 2 - heavy fighting around the hill

Turn 4 - Casualties on both sides and a cavalry melee beyond the hill

Turn 6 - Violace's troops cling on to a corner of the hill

Turn 7 - Both sides reach Exhaustion Point but Brig. Albertos has his objective

Despite determined resistance, Violace's Third Brigade was defeated and must fall back and find a defensive position to stop the town of Vizalves being over-run.

For Brigadier Albertos, a Pyrrhic victory (?) perhaps, but reinforcements are on the way and he must soon push on to his main objective, controlling the road North.

The Twin Duchies Campaign - Background chatter

Not for the easily bored !

As stated in the previous blog post, my mini-campaign using Bob Cordery's Portable Napoleonic Wargame rules has finally got underway, after much messing about with general campaign rules. Having written and abandoned two sets of such rules I have settled on an early suggestion from a very wise man (Arthur Harman) who prompted me to use the Simplicity in Hexes approach (see here). I have therefore gone for a sort of programmed campaign where a won or lost battle will lead automatically to the next scenario, without the need to fret about map moving etc. 
Before moving on to the actual fighting there is the small matter of the setting or background. I really enjoy dreaming up ficticious worlds; it's part of the story-telling bit of wargaming that appeals to me, though I know it's not for everyone so feel free to ignore the following (I've kept it as brief as possible).

Campaign Map

Background

The Twin Duchies used to be the two halves of a small Kingdom that was almost completely surrounded by mountains. Hereditary rule in the Kingdom had always passed down to the eldest son until the rein of Rudolfo III, when twin boys were born to his Queen (who’s name has been forgotten). Due to a minor mix up, it was not recorded which of the Princes' was born first, so, on the death of Rudolfo, the Kingdom was divided into two Principalities. The two states existed peacefully together for centuries and continued to do so even after being absorbed into the Empire during the 17th Century. The Emperor downgraded the ruling Princes to Dukes but otherwise forgot all about them.

At the turn of the 19th Century, Duke Ludo of Violace married a very minor Hapsburg, Princess Euforia, who was not entirely pleased at leaving the court to be buried in the middle of nowhere. Ludo, determined not to upset his bride, who was after all related to the Emperor, began to spend large amounts of the Duchy’s funds on the Princess. To keep the budget balanced, Ludo imposed duties on all external goods moving through the single pass in the mountains that happened to be under his jurisdiction. As "external" included goods from the neighbouring Duchy of Amarela, this move infuriated the volatile Duke Alfonso, who demanded the tolls be withdrawn at once. Fearing economic turmoil, Ludo refused to back down, and so the Duke of Amarela determined to take control of the pass through the mountains by force, thus ending the tax problem and silencing the complaints of Amarela's moaning merchants.

Alfonso's Plan of Attack

On sending his Army to the border, Alfonso hit upon the following plan. One division would lurk about on the border, apparently threatening a direct Eastward march towards the Capital of Violace (the purple star on the Campaign Map), hopefully drawing Duke Ludo's attention. In the meantime, a second division would slip over the hilly country further North and capture the town nearest to the gap in the mountains; the principle target.

Two divisions at the border

It is the story of the exploits of Division 2 that will concern the mini-campaign.

First battle

On crossing the border, the Second Division, under General Carlos Karloff, split into three brigades. Brigade B immediately headed North towards the goal, the town of Cololes. Brigade A moved East to engage an enemy force that was known to be camped near Vizalves, and Brigade C was held in reserve.

The cunning plan put into action

If you're still awake, the next post will feature the first action fought by Brigade A.

Infamy! Violace Invaded!

In the early hours of Sunday morning a brigade from the Army of the Duchy of Amarela crossed into the Duchy of Violace. Swiftly mobilizing in responce to this violation, a similar sized force met the advancing invaders...

Action under way

My Portable Napoleonic Wargame (PNW) Campaign has finally started. Report and background to follow.

The flags of the Twin Duchies

Meet the Family

I found these chaps in the Toybox last weekend and thought I'd daub a bit of paint on them - seemed rude not to. I wanted them to look a bit grubby but they've ended up a touch grubbier than I expected! 

Otherwise, nothing much to report. I'm waiting for a new bulb for my Magnifier/Light thing without which I can't see to paint (try to paint) - hopefully it will arrive next week.

Stay safe everyone

Naked ambition

Lockdown Update Part the Second

and a thank you

At the start of this week I received a surprise parcel from Mr Sprinks (of the Wronghammer Blog); a bundle of painted Strelets figures!! Sprinks suggested that these would make an Army of Asgard in the Hyborian Continent, and they are indeed perfect for the Norse type areas of Howard's fantastical creation. Thanks Mr Sprinks!

All I've done is based the figures and added a couple of archers and some cavalry and I have an instant army! I have also ear-marked some other figures from the Toybox to turn into an Army of Vanaheim to allow for some tribal fighting in the North of Hyboria.

Army of Asgard

Apologies for the picture quality - the light's not too great this afternoon!

Stay safe everybody and happy gaming.