The British Outpost – lovely model!

It’s over three years since I started this blog and my interest has, as ever, waxed and waned somewhat. However, I still regard this as my main period so was delighted to actually get a game in for the first time at Guildford on Monday. This was down to Keith at the club who suggested a game as he has some Sudan War figures (some very nicely painted Camel Corps made an appearance) too.

We decided to use The Sword and the Flame which I had played once before about four years ago and Keith had never played. There was, as a result, a lot of rulebook consulting which, hopefully, next time won’t happen quite so much.

via 19th Century Sudan Wargames Armies 1883-1885.

The British patrol on the left had to reach the outpost in the centre

Well, almost exactly one year after my last wargame I was back at Guildford having another Sudan game organised by Keith and joined, this time, by Matt and Alastair, authentically commanding the Black Watch.

This time we used a set of rules I hadn’t come across before called Flying Lead. These are a semi-skirmish set which allow for either unit or individual movement. All actions are dice activated and contain a high element of chance as whilst each individual or group can throw up to three activation dice if you fail to meet the activation level of your troop types on the majority of your dice (eg: only get one out of three) then your turn finishes (even if you have only moved one person) and the other side gets their go.

via 19th Century Sudan Wargames Armies 1883-1885: Another Sudan Wargame….

I haven’t been able to paint at all lately as I have been in Abu Dhabi but I managed to finish my last four camel mounted Beja for the battles of 2nd El Teb and Tamai today. At my chosen ratio of 1:33 I need 18 mounted fugures to represent the forces involved and here they are. I won’t need any more of these just the odd figure to use as a standard bearer for my infantry units. In fact the Beja cavalry was spread around the army in smaller units but if I reflect that organisation then we would only have units of two figures so, for wargaming purposes, I am going to use them as a “big wing” (or maybe two).

via 19th Century Sudan Wargames Armies 1883-1885: Beja Camel riders completed.

On the afternoon of the 18^th June 1815, before one o’clock, Field Marshal Prince Blucher had joined Bulow von Dennwitz’s IVth Corps at Chapelle- Saint-Lambert, to the northeast of the battlefield. Despite the pain and exhaustion resulting from Ligny, he personally reconnoitered the approaches to the French right flank. But he could not move quickly, nor were his decisions fast in coming, and it was not until 4 P.M. that Bulow’s first two brigades were seen debouching from the Bois de Paris. At a point close to the farm of Frischermont they started heading in the direction of Plancenoit, some three kilometers away, along the southern end of the hastily extended French right. Napoleon for his part watched impotently as the Prussians easily scattered the wounded General Domon’s 3rd Cavalry Division of less than a thousand men at five o’clock. But three brigades of Comte Lobau’s VIth Corps, supported by thirty pieces of artillery, promptly challenged Bulow’s equal ordnance and swelling infantry, successfully pushing them back for the moment. However tired the Prussians may have been from their forced march from Wavre today, nonetheless, with the rest of Bulow’s corps now arriving, they had a crushing numerical superiority with their 31,000 against Lobau’s 7,000, and by six o’clock the French had again abandoned Plancenoit.

Coming under Prussian cannon fire himself for the first time, Napoleon dispatched General Duhesme’s Division of eight battalions of Young Guard infantry, totaling over 4,000 men, along with twenty-four pieces of ordnance. Duhesme retook Plancenoit, so critical for maintaining the French right flank, while Durutte attacked Papelotte. This was no time for half measures. But capturing Plancenoit from the mortally wounded Duhesme, Bulow once again threatened Napoleon and French control of the Bruxelles Road itself. Meeting this challenge, the Emperor then deployed eleven of his remaining Guards battalions in as many separate squares, from La Belle Alliance along the Bruxelles highway down to Rossommee Farm. Now facing east toward a wall of massing Prussians, he ordered another attack on Plancenoit, led by two battalions of Morand’s Old Guard chasseurs. By 7 P.M. not only was that village of 500 souls again back in French hands, but Papelotte and La Haie secured by Durutte’s 4th Infantry Division as well. Experience had won the day. Lobau had regained all the land he had earlier lost.

Marshal Enterprises Releases New ‘La Bataille’ Game “Halle” For Free
There is a new La Bataille series game out and it is free!  Marshal Enterprises has announced the release of “The Battle of Halle”, a contest between the French and the Prussians in the 1806 Campaign.
Marshal Enterprises released the “The Battle of Halle” game on November 11, 2012, which is the first in its series of Recession Games, which will be free to the public.  The Recession Games will be a series of lesser-known corps on corps battles from both the Wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.  The reason for the release of the Recession series is because, according to Marshal Enterprises,” everybody needs to save a buck.”
The games are posted on the Marshal Enterprises website, which can be reached at labataille.me.  The complete games will be ready to assemble to accessing the website and printing the map; rules; charts and counters.  The player then can assemble all of the components by following the easy instructions available on the website.
“The Battle of Halle” recreates the 1806 contest between the French, under Marshal Jean Bernadotte, and the Prussians, under the Duke of Wurttemberg.  The battle, which occurred on October 17, 1806, was fought just three days after the twin French victories at Jena-Auerstadt.  The Prussian forces had been the only major Prussian formation left unscathed after Jena-Auerstadt, and represented the best chance for a Prussian recovery after those losses.  However, Marshal Bernadotte prevailed in a hard-fought contest, which led to the pursuit of Bernadotte up to the Baltic Sea Coast at Lubeck.
Marshal Enterprises consists of Monte Mattson; Dennis Spors; James Soto and Mike Neylan.  This organization, which had been involved in the development of the La Bataille series in the 1970’s and was responsible the publishing of several titles in the 1970’s and 1980’s, reformed to attend the Consim convention in Tempe earlier this year.
The response to their reappearance, after many years away from the business, was so positive, that they decided to issue this new series of games in the La Bataille system as a thank you to the public,  as well as with the hope that those who wanted to play a more streamlined version of La Bataille could do so.
The hope is that “The Battle of Halle” and other subsequent releases can be played in a few hours.
More information about Marshal Enterprises can be obtained by visiting the website.

Four Lost Battles:

Grossbeeren, Katzbach, Kulm and Dennewitz

Historical Notes

Kevin Zucker

Background

After winning two major battles in the Spring of 1813, Napoleon agreed to an Armistice, ostensibly to prepare a path for peace, but actually as a cover for further war preparations. During the Armistice, Napoleon’s administration completed the organization of five new brigades and six divisions of light cavalry; three divisions of heavy cavalry; seventeen line infantry divisions; two Young Guard infantry divisions, one division of Guard Cavalry, and one of Old Guard infantry.

With the failure of peace negotiations, the Austrian Emperor agreed to join the Coalition, and so, despite the recruitment of his army, Napoleon was not only outnumbered but strategically surrounded by three large armies: Bernadotte’s Army of the North, Blücher’s Army of Silesia in the east, and Schwarzenberg’s Army of Bohemia. The Allies had devised the Trachtenberg plan by which any one of these armies would retreat when faced by Napoleon in person, coordinated with an advance by the other two Armies. This plan was the undoing of Napoleon.

via NapoleonGames.com: Games by Operational Studies Group..

The Heirs of the Huns

LINK

So here I am again writing my second guide. After the unexpected successes of my first guide I’ve decided to write another one based on another favourite faction of mine: The Hungarians. I’ve been around here for almost two years and everywhere I go read that most people don’t play the Hungarians or don’t like them, I was stunned when I read that as I personally think that the Hungarian campaign, if played correctly, can be one of the most difficult and therefore the most enjoyable campaign(behind the Russians and Byzantines) of the game.
Just as in my last guide I’ll try to tell you how I play the Hungarians and with luck try to convert some of you to try them as well with a different eye.
Table of Contents:
Starting position in Game
The Hungarian army
- my Early Army
- My High Army
- My late Army
The Campaign
- First turns
- First targets and their use
- Diplomacy (your allies and enemies)
- Strategies for later on

Starting position of the Hungarian Empire

As you can see the Hungarians start out with two fairly developed cities: A castle in the form of Bran and a large town in the form of Budapest. They also have 4 medium sized stacks, a princes, the legendary general Istvan, a cardinal and a spy. You are surrounded by the potentially very strong Holy Roman Empire in the west, the Poles in the North, the Byzantines in the south and the Venetians are near you as well. In the east you are backed by the Black Sea and the first means of expansion primarily exist out of the rebel settlements in the east and south.

The Hungarian Army

The Hungarian army is in the beginning a typical eastern styled army with strong mounted archers and with poor infantry, later on their army evolves to a more western styled army and they get the availability of knights and heavy shock infantry. If you have read my Russian guide then you know that I fight via a MLS(multiple line system). This system is based on the early Roman Legionary system with some adjustments so it works like I want it to work.
I work with three main infantry lines: The first line usually spears to decrease the number of casualties from enemy charges, the second line consists out of heavy shock infantry, I use this second line to flank the all ready engaged enemy infantry. The third line consists logically out of archers to pummel the enemy as they close in or to provide support for my engaging infantry. Besides these three main lines I have the rest of the army composed out of cavalry, preferably mounted archers supported by heavy knights. The heavy knights are used to close the final at the rear when the second line has outflanked the enemy infantry.

The Early Hungarian army

You can compare the early Hungarian army in a way with the early army of the Russians, they both get a “strong” spear unit and they both have to rely on the mounted archers. Just like every eastern European faction they get very crappy militia units. In Western Europe and especially Italy you can get around with these guys for quite some time, in Eastern Europe not. But the great bonus that the Hungarians have above the Russians is that they start with a castle in Bran, which can very quickly be upgraded so that you can get more reliable soldiers.
Your infantry department consists out of slav levies, pavise spearmen, the infamous spear militia and the Croat axemen. Now dump the slav levies and the spear militia and you are left with two units you can use quite nicely. Though in the very early beginning of the game you won’t have access to the axemen and pavise spearmen but that doesn’t matter, you’ll get them soon enough.
In terms of cavalry you have the Magyar mounted archers. These guys come in handy but they aren’t top notch. Don’t expect to defeat the strong mounted archers of the Byzantines with these guys! You won’t get heavy cavalry other then your general’s bodyguard but these guys are formidable and very reliable to beat other heavy cavalry regiments of your enemies.
The missile infantry you get are of course the peasant archers who are handy in the beginning but must be replaced as soon as possible. The first replacement you get are the Bosnian archers who aren’t perfect either but are better.
Early army composition:
4 Croat Axemen, 4 Pavise Spearmen/ 8 spear militia, 4 peasant archers/4 bosnian archers, 6 Magyar cavalry units and one general.
As you can see I’ve left one slot open, this slot is for a mercenary unit or a siege weapon like a ballista.

The High Hungarian Army

The High Hungarian army is immediately a lot stronger then your early Hungarian army. With the addition of Dismounted feudal knights you get a very strong and very reliable heavy infantry unit, these guys take over my entire infantry section as soon as I get them. They are strong enough to sustain against a heavy charge and can hold their own in a prolonged melee battle.
In the cavalry department you get your first heavy cavalry battalion and they aren’t least either. Feudal knights are top notch cavalry, can be used till the end of the game and have very few downfalls. The only problem you have now is to choose whether or not you use more of these guys or more of the Hungarian nobles who you get to. The Hungarian nobles are very able mounted archers and also better then the Magyar cavalry. These guys act as my personal police force in my battles against rebels. And stay in my army till the end of the game.
In the missile infantry department you can also notice a strong improvement in the form of pavise crossbow militia and the regular crossbowmen. I prefer the first as they can be kept freely in your cities and they have a higher defence rate and missile damage rate.
Medium army composition:
8 dismounted feudal knights, 4 pavise crossbow militia, 3 Hungarian nobles, 3 Feudal Knights and one general.
Again one slot is open for a mercenary unit or a siege weapon. Sometimes I fill this slot with an extra cavalry unit.
The tactics used with this army differs almost nothing with the early army except perhaps the role of the heavy cavalry. Dismounted feudal knights can hold against heavy charges but not as well as spearmen. Here the cavalry comes in to play.

Besides their natural role of a flanking force I also tend to use them as a distraction for the enemy cavalry parts. Together with the Hungarian nobles I shred the enemy cavalry to pieces before I launch my rear charge with my own heavy cavalry. This way I’m certain that my infantry can be used for another battle rather then seeing the nearest recruitment depot for a quick retrain.

The Late Hungarian Army

The High Hungarian army is in my opinion the finest army of the eastern European world. They have a strongly balanced cavalry department with a strong infantry unit to act as an anvil. Together with the invention of gunpowder, you have access to one of the most strongest ranged units in the game. Along with the addition of cannons as basilisks and serpentines nothing can stop you.
In the cavalry department you now have access to the strongest cavalry of your arsenal: the Royal Banderium, the chivalric knights and the Hussars. There is no difference between the Royal Banderium or the chivalric knights, but I prefer the Royal Banderium because they look better.
Hussars are light cavalry who can be very handy to take on fleeing enemy cavalry regiments and that cowardly general that you see running every now and then. Plus they can be a key weapon against the Mongol and Timurids. I always have a hard time deciding what my cavalry part of my late army looks like because I always stick to my standard slots for cavalry and infantry, so I look at my enemy to base my cavalry on that.
In the infantry department you get your finest addition: the dismounted chivalric knights, they are way better then the Berdiche Axemen and can hold their own against Venetian infantry. There is nothing that they can’t beat but that doesn’t say that they are invincible.
The missile infantry part of the army is reinforced with Arquebusiers. You don’t get a uber missile unit like the dismounted Dvor cavalry of the Russians so with these guys you are on your top. I don’t really like them as they have that crappy fire by rank rule which makes them useless in my opinion. I rarely use them but if I do use them I combine them with pavise crossbow militia.
Late Army composition
For your European adversaries:
8 dismounted chivalric knights, 3 pavise crossbow militia, 3 Royal Banderium, 3 Hungarian Nobles, 2 serpentines and one general.
For your Eastern styled enemies(aka lots of mounted archers)
8 dismounted chivalric knights, 3 pavise crossbow militia, 3 hussars, 3 hungarian nobles, 2 serpentines and one general.
This time no slot is free for a mercenary unit or a siege engine as I’ve added the extremely useful serpentines to my army, for those of you who don’t know them use them once and you understand why I put them in my army. These guys wreck through enemy battle formations as a knife through butter. I don’t think that I have to explain the use of heavy cavalry against Europe and the use of light cavalry against Asia right?
The cavalry for the Asian conquests is primarily to attack the enemy cavalry. Your own infantry beats the Asian infantry without many problems, though be aware of the Hashashim of the Muslim factions, they can be a tough nut to crack.

Panzer Combat II, a miniature version of Close Combat II

A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as a military exercise or war game. Note that hobby wargamers have traditionally run the two words together, but the military has generally kept them separate; it is not a hard and fast rule, however. Although there may be disagreements as to whether a particular game qualifies as a wargame or not, a general consensus exists that all such games must explore and illuminate or simulate some feature or aspect of human behaviour directly bearing on the conduct of war, even if the game subject itself does not concern organized violent conflict or warfare.[1] The business wargames exists too, but in general they are only role playing games based on market situations.

Wargames are generally categorized as historical, hypothetical, fantasy, or science fiction. Historical games by far form the largest group. These games are based upon real events and attempt to represent a reasonable approximation of the actual forces, terrain, and other material factors faced by the actual participants. Hypothetical games are games grounded in historical fact but concern battles or conflicts that did not (or have yet to) actually happen. Fantasy and science fiction wargames either draw their inspiration from works of fiction or provide their own imaginary setting. Highly stylized conflict games such as chess are not generally considered wargames, although they are recognized as being related. Games involving conflict in other arenas than the battlefield, such as business, sports or natural environment are similarly usually excluded.

The modern wargaming hobby has its origins at the beginning of the 20th century, with the invention of miniatures games in which two or more players simulated a battle as a pastime. During the 1950s the first large scale, mass produced board games depicting military conflicts were published. These games were at the height of their popularity during the 1970s, and became quite complex and technical in that time.

via Wargaming – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Australian Wargamer

Supports MAC computer gaming, which is rarely done!

Cult titles for MAC OS X

• Strategic Command 2: http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=75&Itemid=119
• Commander: Europe at War: http://www.slitherine.com/games/mh_ceaw_gold_pc
• Memoir’44: http://www.daysofwonder.com/memoir44-online/en/
• Rome Total War: http://www.totalwar.com/rome (http://bit.ly/chsV1K)
• Hearts of Iron III - http://www.heartsofirongame.com/  (http://bit.ly/oiW9HI)
• Civilisation V: http://www.civilization5.com/
• Lux Delux: http://sillysoft.net/lux/