Britannian Royal Artillery and July Painting Totals

In addition to the Compagnies Galliens (previous post), I also completed five Britannian Royal Artillery figures.  These were among a group of Dayton Painting Consortium RSM-95 figures I bought on eBay several years ago.

I added a RAFM ramrod to the figure on the right and a piece of wire to the figure on the left as a gun spike.  The figure on the front left had a full coat so I painted him as an officer.  Three of the other figures were also wearing coats, but with turnbacks, so they became regular gunners.  The fifth figure (left background) is just in his sleeved vest and without his hat.

The  gun is a RAFM 6-lbr, I believe.  It also came as part of the eBay lot.

Coupled with three seconded Britannian infantry, they manned two 6-lbr guns helping to defend the Britannian colony from the attacking Asturians (Spanish) and Gallians (French) in my latest Capitania General de Florida game.

So for the month of July, I painted and based 6 Woodland Indians, 5 Britannian artillerymen, and 33 Compagnies Galliens, as well as 1 Japanese 1:2400 scale "pre-dreadnought" armored cruiser.  In addition, I constructed 10 sections of temporary breastworks (which were about as involved as painting a figure!).  This my "Olley" point total for July was a respectable 44 points of figures, 1 ship, and 10 terrain pieces, as well as planning and running two Capitania General de Florida games.   Whew!!

Capitania General de Florida, Battle #1

Here are some of the pictures I took during the game I ran several Saturdays ago.  It pitted a punitive expedition of two Britannian battalions and some rangers and militia against a regular Andalusian (imagi-Spanish) force of regular battalions, militia, and Indians.  All of the regular battalions on both sides and the Andalusian gun and crew are owned by Doc Ord who has generously granted me a long-term loan of them.  The militia, rangers, and Indians are owned and painted by me, as was all the terrain.  Please click on the pictures for a larger image.  [Added note:  Additional pictures can be found at the Jackson Gamers blog.]

The battle area with a clearing for the Andalusian fort in the left foreground and the allied Indian stockaded village in the right background.

A closer look at the fort clearing showing the temporary breastworks manned by a company of Andalusian militia.

The stockaded Indian village.  This stockade was originally built as a Zulu kraal for a Victorian colonial game three years ago.  It is manned by Old Glory Indians.

A mixed bag of Britannian rangers, light infantry, and Indians advance toward the fort clearing.  These figures are Redoubt, Foundry, Conquest, and one unknown manufacturer.

The stockade is being assaulted by a battalion of Britannian infantry and two companies of Georgiana militia.

One of three battalions of Andalusian reinforcements marches toward the fighting.  This battalion is from the Regiment Ibernia.

Two more Andalusian battalions marching forward.  You might recognize the mounted officer in the foreground as Feldmarshall Leutnant Freiherr Bernard von Alderheim of the Imperium.  He was pressed into service as the Andalusian senior commander, Baron de la Plata (played by my friend, Lord Sterling).

The Britannian rangers and light infantry assault the Andalusian militia behind their temporary breastworks.  The Andalusians probably wisely decided not the stand and began to withdraw upon their regular supports (the Battalion Ibernia).

Meanwhile the center Andalusian battalion begins to deploy against some of the rangers and light infantry.

But they are quickly reinforced by the second of the Britannian battalions and a fire fight results.

The Andalusian militia continue to fall back on their supports who now line the reverse of the breastworks at the rear of the clearing.

The Andalusian gun, cheered on by de la Plata, comes into action.  The two gunners are borrowed Imperium figures who are assisted by infantrymen from two different Andalusian battalions.

Even though the battalion commander has been slain, the left flank Andalusian battalion holds its own against both the Britannian regulars to the left of the fort and some of the Georgiana militia (out of the picture to the right).

The final tally saw the Britannian and 'Muricans withdrawing from their attack after suffering severe casualties from the Andalusian and Indian fire.  Another battle is in the offing -- probably an Andalusian assault against the southern most Britannian outpost which now shelters the survivors of this battle.

Georgiana Militia Company No. 2

The other day I completed the outfitting of the Georgiana Militia Company No. 2 and they were mustered into Brittanian service today.  As I stated in a previous post about Company No. 1 (link), they are dressed in darker colors - dark brown, dark green, black, and charcoal.  [As usual, please click on the pictures for a larger image.]

Here is the entire company - one officer, one sergeant, one drummer, and fifteen other ranks.

The "firing line" half of the company.

The "advancing" half of the company.

This RSM-95 American militia 36-figure pack I purchased consisted of two officers, two drummers, 19 "firing line" figures, and 13 "advancing" figures.  I considered making one company all firing line poses and the other advancing poses, but in the end decided on the division you see above and in the previous post.

They will join two 24 figure battalions of Brittanian foot (borrowed from my friend Doc Ord) and an advanced guard (see these previous posts - link and link) as a Brittanian expedition into the northeastern corner of the Capitania General de la Florida to take possession of the post at Fernandina before it can be occupied and developed by the Espagnians and used as a base against the colony of Georgiana.  The battle is scheduled to be conducted on Saturday, July 17.

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Bland

The last figure completed in December 2009 (and in fact the last in 2009) is Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Bland, commander of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards.  Bland is a Dixon dragoon officer who will (eventually) lead three squadrons of the 1st KDG, although all that I have on-hand now is a single squadron, still unpainted.

Bland is a real person, the nephew and heir of Lieutenant General Humphrey Bland, colonel of the 1st KDG.  Although I don't think Thomas Bland was ever in the 1st KDG, he will be for my imagi-nation purposes.

He is painted as close to the uniform of the 1st KDG that I could get.  the only thing that I wasn't able to paint was the red and blue rolled blanket roll on the rear of the saddle and the blue line in the center of the gold trim on the saddle cloth and holsters.

He will also initially command my Brittanian forces as they battle the Gallians and Imperialists both in Europa and in and around the Capitania General de la Florida in the southeast of the Brittanian colonies in the New World.

Brittanian Corps of Scouts

As described in the previous post about the Charles Town Grenadiers, the Brittanian expeditions into the Hibernian Capitania General de la Florida will always be led by the Corps of Scouts. This "brigade" consists of nine Colonial rangers (foreground in green), seven Brittanian light infantry from the 5th Foot (left middle in red), and the four Colonial Charles Town Grenadiers (background in green with busby).

It is, to my eyes, readily apparent from this picture that the Redoubt rangers, Foundry light infantry, and unknown manufacturer grenadiers match fairly well and, in a skirmish role, can be used together in one unit.

Here the Corps of Scouts encounters warriors from the Soaring Hawk clan (Old Glory Indians)

They trade shots, although everyone's aim appears a little off as there are no casualties.

Charles Town Grenadiers

As promised earlier, here are the "unknown manufacturer's" Queen's Rangers grenadier figures. I will be using them in my imaginary 1760s-ish campaigning in the southeastern portion of North America, what I am calling El Capitania General de la Florida (with thanks to Jean-Louis of the Persipality of Monte-Cristo).


These four figures will be "brigaded" with nine Colonial rangers and seven Brittanian light infantry to form a Corps of Scouts for the Brittanian expeditions into Florida.


Although I have these figures glued to 3/4" (~20mm) fender washers, I think that I will need a slightly larger size, probably 1" (~25mm) washers since their bases are so large.

Rangers and Light Infantry

After finally getting my first war band of Woodland Indians painted, I started on some opponents for them. First up were 9 Redoubt French & Indian War rangers.

I painted them wearing the black with blue facings uniform popular with some of the ranger units during the early part of the war. Although Redoubt sculpted them to be Roger's Rangers, these will just be a generic group until I can decide on a name for them.

Although they look very shiny in the pictures, they do have a matte varnish on them that gives them a warm satiny look. The Redoubt poses were very easy to piant.

They should be excellent opponents for the Gallian allied Indians and the Gallian colonial militia and Compagnes Franches de la Marine that I have.

The rangers will be teamed up with a small group of Foundry British light infantry. Now the actual figures are from Foundry's American Revolution line, but in my imagi-nation New World, they will be so uniformed just a little earlier than in the real-world.

These seven stalwart "Light Bobs" are painted as the light infantry of the 5th Foot, early in the conflict before they became corrupted by the radical ideas of those 'Murican bandits.

As with the Redoubt figures, these were very easy to paint, with the details being clearly defined and readily accessible to a paint brush.

I'm also just about finished with the last contingent of this little command, a squad of 4 'Murican loyalist grenadiers (see previous post for a picture of one of the figures primed). I'm basing their uniform on that of the American Revolution Queen's Rangers. Their picture will be posted shotrly.

Soaring Hawk Clan

I've just completed the first combat unit of North American Woodland Indians for my mid-Eighteenth Century "colonial" fighting. These actions will pit the Brittanians and their colonial and Indian allies against a shaky coalition of Gallians, Hibernians (AKA Spanish), and Indians. It will be set in the American southeast. Eventually I'll establish a new blog for it separate from this one. But that's for later on. Now, I present the Soaring Hawk Clan.

The first group of 12 warriors is led by Bright Eagle
(center front with musket at trail)

The second set of 12 warriors is led by Crouching Panther
(center front with blue blanket)

The Soaring Hawk Clan will eventually add a clan chief once I get several of my extra Indians converted with added muskets and more "regal" distinctions. The Soaring Hawks wear red and black "war paint" and the handles of their clubs and tomahawks are stained red. This represents the ferocity of the stooping hawk as it strikes its prey.

These figures are Old Glory and were painted with acrylic craft paints, sealed with Future, "dipped" by brush, and then varnished with a matte sealer. The flash on the camera shots tends to give them more of a gloss look that they have "in the flesh," so to speak. It took me a long time to get these painted as I tried to give each warrior his own unique look. I'm hoping that the next ones I paint will go quicker.

The Affair at Eisenmuhlen - Part 3

As the cavalry was battling to and fro off on the flank and Phil's Imperium brigade was tangling with the Brittanians in and around the woods, the rest of the Imperium army continued their advance against the Electoral defenses around the cannon foundry.

As usual, please click on the pictures to see a larger image.

Photo by Bill Hamilton

John Murdaugh's brigade of Imperium and Reichsarmee battalions advances towards the Eisenmuhlen Regiment defending their cannon foundry.

Photo by Bill Hamilton

Across the road to their right, Mark Stevens' Courland and Sachsen-Wachsenstein grenadiers advance forced the Carpanian jagers to give up the outlying farm after a token resistance. After all, if you were a jager would you want to tangle with grenadiers?

Photo by Jim Pitts

And to the left of John's brigade, Clay James continued to advance his brigade of Courland and Sachsen-Wachsenstein infantry on the Imperium's left flank.

Photo by Ed Sansing

The might of the Imperium army gets closer to the Electoral defenses.

Photo by Ed Sansing

Meanwhile, Larry Reeves, on the Electoral right, adjusts his Carpanian defenders while the Britannian light dragoons and Carpanian jagers regroup behind him.

Photo by Ed Sansing

And the cavalry melee continues into a second round while the Imperium infantry gets ready to attack the Brittanians in the woods.

Photo by Jim Pitts

While all this was happening, Mark Stevens consolidated his army's heavy artillery on a small hill to begin bombarding the Electoral defenders around the cannon foundry. A Courland 12-lbr is in the foreground, with a Courland 20-lb licorne in the center and a Sachsen-Wachsenstein 8-lbr on the other end of the gun line.

Photo by Ed Sansing

Mark's Courland grenadiers get ready to cross the hedge around the farm yard.

Photo by Ed Sansing

The Electoral defenders await the initial onslaught of the Imperium forces. In the foreground are some of the newly cast guns from the foundry, while to their rear a company of Carpanian jagers regroups after the light troops battle earlier in the game.

Photo by Ed Sansing

The Courland Constantine Horse (left) is getting the worst of its melee with a squadron of the Carpanian Hapnich Dragoons. It will soon fall back, followed by the Carpanians. In the background, the Reichsarmee troops have inflicted some losses on the Brittanians defending the woods.

Photo by Bill Hamilton

The Reichsarmee and Courland/Sachsen briagdes haven't made much progress in their attack. Could the Electoral defenses look too formidable?

Photo by Ed Sansing

But finally Clay's Courland and Sachsen-Wachsenstein battalions begin to put pressure on Larry's Carpanians, forcing some of them back across the stream. Ed Sansing has moved a company of Carpanian jagers to screen the far right flank of Larry's line.

Photo by Bill Hamilton

As John Murdaugh's Reichsarmee battalions begin their assault in the background, the rest of the Electoral line still awaits the Courland grenadiers. But they seem to be moving very slowly.

Photo by Ed Sansing

And here's the reason - they have been taking casualties from the Electoral artillery and appear not to want to give up the scant protection of the farm yard hedges.

Photo by Ed Sansing

At the end of the battle, Mark Stevens, the Imperium commander, takes a close-up look at the Carpanians of Larry Reeves brigade. In this picture you can also see how close some of John Murdaugh's Reichsarmee battalions got, and the casualties they took doing so.

The battle was deemed a draw by the umpire (yours truly). Although the Imperium had failed to take the cannon foundry, they were in good positions to outflank it.

This was the second actual battle we had using Bill Protz's Batailles de l'Ancien Regime rules. I'm sure there are some things we didn't do quite correctly, but it appeared that everyone had a good time and seemed to master some of the intracacies of 18th Century battle field maneuvering.

Lessons Learned: First of all, I would not have a light troops battle before the main affair. It took up too much time and didn't really affect the battle. Secondly, as in the first battle, I should have already had the armies set up and allowed only a small amount of adjustment before the start. Thirdly, the Carpanians had too many guns and their defenses were very strong. The Imperium troops would have been hard pressed to actually break into the cannon foundry grounds if the battle had gotten that far.

Although we won't have any more battles this campaigning season, you can look forward to some more in 1760/2010.

Affair at Eisenmuhlen - Part 2

As the light troops began to fall back, the "big boys" of the Imperium's main battle line approach the field of battle.

Please click on the pictures from a larger image.

Photo by Ed Sansing

Mark Stevens, the Imperium commander, watches as the light troops battle winds down and his two center brigades begin to appear on the battlefield.

Photo by Ed Sansing

On the Imperium left flank, Clay James' brigade of Sachsen-Wachsenstein (near) and Courland (far) battalions march on in perfect order, flags flying and drums beating!

Photo by Jim Pitts

In the Imperium center, Mark Stevens brigade of Courland and Sachsen-Wachsenstein grenadiers (on the left) and John Murdaugh's brigade of Imperium and Reichs Armee battalions (on the right) advance astride the road from Alt Kirchendorf to Eisenmuhlen. A few Pandurs are still in front and the light cavalry melee is drawing to a close on the far right.

Photo by Jim Pitts

And on the Imperium right flank, Phil Young's brigade of Reichs Armee battalions and two squadrons of Courland cavalry march on in good order.

Photo by Bill Hamilton

Another picture of Phil's brigade, this time as seen from the Carpanian defender's perspective.

Photo by Bill Hamilton

A company of Carpanian jagers hides behind a small woods as the Courland Timofievich Cossacks ride by on the far side. The jagers battle was over and they did want to tangle with those madmen and their lances!

Photo by Ed Sansing

The Carpanian and Brittanian light troops continue their withdrawal behind the main battle lines while the Imperium forces begin to advance onto the main table.

Photo by Bill Hamilton

Clay James observes the Carpanian light troops withdrawing behind their battle line as his brigade continues its advance. Just beyond the roofs of the cannon foundry stands the red-coated Fusiliers of Bremen, a battalion hired by Brittanian gold to assist the Electoral cause.

Photo by Jim Pitts

The Carpanian right, commanded by Larry Reeves, and center, commanded by Bill Hamilton, man their defensive works as the Imperium troops continue their slow approach.
[NOTE: The Martian walker is NOT part of the Carpanian army!]

Photo by Bill Hamilton

Phil's Imperium brigade and cavalry continue to advance. So far as they can tell, there are no defenders to their front. Can this be true? Do they have an unimpeded route into the electoral left rear?

Photo by Jim Pitts

Larry Reeves keeps a hawk eye watch on the Imperium forces as they advance toward his defenders. In the foreground, the Carpanian defenders of the cannon foundry are ready to repel any Imperium assaults. They have pulled the four newly cast guns into the line and spread their available gunners out to man them, assisted by some drafted infantry.

Photo by Ed Sansing

A view from the perspective of the Carpanian defenders. A company of jagers temporarily mans an outwork around a small farm while the Courland and Sachsen-Wachsenstein grenadiers approach them.

Photo by Ed Sansing

A good picture looking down the Carpanian defensive line with Campbell's Highland Battalion in the foreground, anchoring the left of the defensive line.

Photo by Jim Pitts

An overview of the main battle field with the Imperium attackers on the right and the Electoral defenders on the left.

Photo by Ed Sansing

Phil's Imperium brigade continues its unimpeded advance on the right flank. Is there really nothing ahead of them?

Photo by Ed Sansing

Well, not exactly. As the Courland cavalry advances around the tip of the woods, they suddenly espy the two squadrons of the Hapnich Dragoons, who immediately begin to trot towards them.

Photo by Jim Pitts

With a clash of sabers, the two evenly matched cavalry forces meet!

Photo by Bill Hamilton

Men shout! Horses scream! Sabers ring against each other!

Photo by Jim Pitts

And while the cavalry engage in the background, Phil's Imperium infantry get just close enough to the woods to observe that they are filled with the red coats of a brigade of Brittanian infantry.
Where did they come from?!? They were reported by spies to have marched off to rejoin their comrades northeast of Minden with the main Brittanian army!
Just goes to show that you can't believe everything a spy tells you. He may be working for the other side.

[Note: The game master learned this deviousness from his long time gaming partner, Jay "Lord Sterling" Stribling.]

Photo by Bill Hamilton

As the Imperium troops begin to react to the surprise appearance of the Brittanians, the Fusiliers of Emden (another Brittanian hire) on the far left of the Electoral line breath a sigh of relief. They really weren't looking forward to having to deal with four Imperium battalions, even if they were all Reichs Armee units.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the battle report as we resolve the action and conclude the battle.