See the Pyramids

 Rereading the Dominion of Napoleon Bonaparte rules this morning I realized that I'd misinterpreted the Artillery bombardment section (note to self: read the instructions carefully). Having revealed this error, I thought I'd better have another go just to make sure I hadn't messed up elsewhere (any excuse for a wargame). 

Battle of the Pyramids

Snipped from a Wikipedia page

Note regarding the units; the French are all Column Infantry but are formed in squares. The Mamluk Cavalry are all Elite. The Mamluk Infantry are all Unreliable (see query at the end).

The game started rather predictably with the French squares holding off the charging Mamluk cavalry which was replaced by some shaky Infantry. 

However, things started to go wrong for the French

and continued to do so

until, against the odds, they were defeated!

Queries for readers: 

1. When (as in picture 4) two units are facing blank grids and effectively only flank attacking each other, I shunt one along a grid so that they can face one another - Is that correct?
2. When a unit that starts off Unreliable (ie does not become unreliable due to circumstances of the battle) wins its reliability roll does it still become Reliable as the rules suggest? In this game I allowed an Unreliable unit of Mamluk Infantry to become reliable after a successful roll, however I feel that if they started out as unreliable, they probably would stay that way (?)

Napoleon V Coalition 1 (with Dominion of Napoleon Bonaparte)

 Having invested 5.47 Euro in a copy of Steve Parkers Dominion of Napoleon Bonaparte, I thought I'd better give it a go. I decided to use my Risk figures as a quick way of getting into the game.

The first thing I realized was that I need a better way of a) differentiating units and b) recognizing which units are elite, unreliable etc. For these games I used a) 3 fig units for Line and 2 fig units for column infantry, b) little dice to indicate Elite and units in defensive positions but in future I need a better system - I ended up referring to the plan in the text a lot. I tried to remember which units were unreliable (either at the start or because of artillery bombardment and this, as the name suggests, was unreliable also). 

I used the forces and deployment directly from the Historical Battles section of the rulebook for this run through of the following battles; Montenotte, Lodi and Rivoli.

Napoleon, flushed with success from putting down Royalists, goes on a grand tour of Italy..

Image on loan from Wikipedia

1. Battle of Montenotte

The French are outnumbered but in defensive positions.

The Elite Column Infantry (French left) were certainly the most valuable unit for Napoleon doing most of the damage to the Austrians before finally breaking after repeated attacks.

A victory for the French.

2. Battle of Lodi

Unlike in the real battle the defending Austrians defeated the French in my battle. The Austrian Line Infantry holding the bridge (centre) did not break and only the Elite French Cuirassiers were left fighting at the end of the battle (should have thrown them at the bridge...)

3. Battle of Rivoli

The French were again on the defensive with Line Infantry on high ground, and unlike in reality, the Austrians were unable to shift them.

The victory at Rivoli spells defeat for Austria and the First Coalition. Next stop: Egypt.

Three Bloody Skirmishes or The Bishop's War

 

I dug out some old Medievals this weekend with the intention of playing another Mini-Campaign in the style of the recent ACW one. I went for some fast, brutal rules (an OHW 3-hit variation) which generally lead to bloody battles, which seemed fitting for Medieval religious conflicts.

Two Bishops find themselves on opposing sides of a schism in the church (neither side could agree on a theological technicality relating to how many Angels could dance on the head of a pin*). The result is armed conflict. (*the answer of course depends on how much space is taken up by the band...)

Opposing Clerics

Battle 1

The first game was a straight-forward encounter. 

Army White quickly got the upper hand (so much depends on initiative) with some high dice rolls.

Very soon Army Red was overwhelmed and destroyed (one unit of archers hightailed it for the nearest village with a hostelry). 

Battle 2

Seeking revenge for the ignominious defeat, the Red Bishop sent a force to burn down some villages and generally harass the domain of his rival. The White Bishop, getting news of the approaching Red Army, quickly blocked the road with a weak looking force to lure in the Red Knights while his own Knights formed up to attack the flank.

The impetuous White Knights rushed in a little early...

and some found themselves outflanked.

Army Red swept away the White Bishop's Knights

 and then cleared the road of his men at arms and peasantry.

Battle 3

In the deciding game of the Mini-Campaign, the White Bishop's force found itself surrounded and needing to break out through the Red Army lines. (The objective for White was to get the units off the board to the North).

The White Commander knew his force would benefit from their defensive spot on the hill, however staying there wasn't going to win the day. He therefore decided to attack and destroy the enemy to the South first, and only then tackle those to the North.

Winning the initiative White attacked

The plan worked, and White had soon removed the threat to his rear

In the meantime, Red had attacked the hill, but the defenders were able to hold on with ease.

All that remained was to chase off the last stragglers of Red's Army and march off the board.

A decisive victory for the White Bishop. 

Paper Gallies & a box of shame

 Whilst searching the dark corners of the Toy Cupboard for some figures for another Mini-Campaign, I came across a plastic box (one of those the takeaway food arrives in); it was full of half painted miniatures that I had cleared from the painting table some years ago in a bid to tidy up. I say half painted, but really some weren't even that complete. I suspect that there are probably a number of such caches hidden away and waiting to be brought out into the light. I've put some of them back onto the painting table; optimistic, I know... Anyone else want to confess to having similar assemblages?

Contents of a box of shame
These represent a multitude of different projects
awaiting completion (or properly starting...)

In other news, I had a quick go at a sea battle with Ancient type gallies using the simple rules from Archduke Piccolo, and paper ships (slightly edited) from the Junior General site. 

It was quick and bloody and will be useful for resolving any Naval conflicts in Campaigns.

My ancient laptop died a few weeks ago, after nine years before the mast (there will be a simple service. No flowers please.) Hopefully its replacement will appear soon. It's amazing how much of life now depends on having access to a computer. Right, tea break's over. Back on your heads.

Mapless Mini Campaign - Finale

 For the third and final battle I rolled a 3, Flank attack. The Federal Army (Attackers) are attempting to outflank the advancing Rebel force. The CSA's scouts have alerted their Commander, who takes refuge on a defendable hill. Both sides objective in the game is total control of the high ground. The bulk of the US Army force arrives on the flank of the Confederate Army and straight into the fray.

I decided at the start that this was going to be a very difficult task for the attackers, so I gave them a numerical advantage and, as this was the deciding game, I set EP at 50%. This all proved to be unnecessary. 

The US Army piled in from their flanking position and the Rebs were in trouble from the outset.

The CSA cavalry, despite their reputation, were quickly dispatched and the Federals got down to business.

Outstanding dice rolling from the Blues rapidly reduced the Confederate force to EP (not that they were going to move from the hill...)

The Union regiments surrounded their adversaries and demanded surrender.

A bit of an anti-climax as a game, probably due to my generosity towards the attackers, but a success as a Mini Campaign system and one I'd like to use again; "Chapeau!" to Mark.

A Mapless Mini Campaign - Battle 2

 After his defeat at the hands of the Confederate Army, Colonel Baudebridges falls back towards the Federal lines with his remaining force. Realising that they will soon be over run, the US force makes a stand...

For this game I threw a 6 (see rules on the previous post) and set up the OHW Bottleneck scenario (more or less). The US Army (defending) has a smaller force but may enter the woods (on their right). The objective for the CSA is to clear the road of Union forces to allow their main force through.

Start of the game - the lakes are impassable

CSA cavalry rush off to clear the road

The CSA cavalry limp back after a catastrophic encounter.
The Union's Zouaves take to the trees 

The Union's line holds and the Zouaves create holes in the
Reb's flank, despite his artillery firing blindly into the woods

The CSA reach Exhaustion Point

Despite having a numerical advantage, the Confederate Commander (let's call him Colonel Sanders) was forced to withdraw. This defeat puts the Union back in the lead and they will be attackers in the third (and final) battle of the mini campaign...

A Mapless Mini Campaign - Battle 1

 

I started a three battle mini-campaign over the weekend, squeezing in a couple of games between work and domestic distractions. I was inspired to use my ACW figures by Ross Mac's recent games. The rules for the mapless mini campaign are from Mark Cordone, originally posted on the PW FB page, and are his intellectual property:

For the first game I rolled a 5; Seize Ground. I used inspiration from OHW to layout a battlefield but gave a slight advantage to the defenders (CSA) who started a little closer to the objective (the hill). The winner must have control of the objective once both sides reach exhaustion point (EP).

The chocked gully on the right of the hill is impassable

The CSA grabbed the objective whist the Federals attempted to out flank them

Despite reducing the CSA to EP, the Union Army could not get on to the hill

The Blues reach EP and victory goes to the Confederates

So the Confederate Army wins the first battle and, buoyed by their success, go on the offensive, pursuing their retreating adversaries...