Questions from Dave Lynch

One of my holiday snaps, taken while passing through Conwys

While I was away and every right thinking chap was turning his mind to gathering two of every animal and building a boat, Dave Lynch, new to this parish left the following comment. 

Dave wrote. 

"I enjoy your blog and the photos - thank you for taking the time to share it.

Based in large part on what I have seen in your blog, I am in the process of converting CCN to miniatures. My game mat is from HOTZ, and is 4" hexes. A few questions, if I might:

1. I'm planning on mounting my lads on 3" x 1.5" bases for infantry, 3" x 2" for cavalry, and 2" x 2" for artillery. I haven't decided how to account for "block loss"; what do you do?
One thought is a small laminated label with boxes that I can "check" when a casualty is taken. 

2. The rivers - did you make them, or are they commercial? Did you have to cut the pieces down to fit?

3. Going into square - how do you represent that?

Again, thanks for your efforts!"

Thank you Dave for writing and in answer to your questions. 

Spaniards on the march

I'm not a fan of casualty caps or rosters. I've written about them before and you can see how I do it here. I'm not convinced that my system would work for your setup, though I think it depends on what size the figures are and what you prefer yourself.  Lee's "Napoleonic Therapy" blog is also a good source of ideas.

The dreadful rage of water in mine ears

I make the river myself, using MDF cut to size by those obliging chaps at Products for Wargamers.  For value and speed of delivery, I can't recommend them enough. I would spend the money on the MDF rather than trying to cut it yourself as trying to make sure that everything is the right size is a purgatory. 

You can see my efforts here and here. 

I will have to update these posts, as I've found with time that the PVA warps the wood and becomes cloudy. I have tried and have been reasonably successful with using Citadel 'Ard Coat instead and just painting a couple of coats on. Thank you for bringing my attention to these. 

A Portuguese battalion, wreathed in gun smoke, forms square

My figures are based singly (I hate rebasing, it is soul destroying) and have magnetic material mounted on their bases. I then put them on a metal plate and arrange them as needs be. Usually when forming square, I just take some of them off and arrange them in something like a square formation. This usually only happens a couple of times per game, so it's no great hardship. I have been toying with the idea of dedicated square bases. 

The Battle of Albheura by Woolen

In my minds eye, I keep seeing images like the one above, but I don't think it would be practical really. A small diorama base, with flags and pennants flying would be wonderful, but I think with other armies to build and lacking unlimited money, they are very unlikely to ever appear. 

I hope these have answered your questions. 

Battle of Salamanca (French Left) 22nd July 1812 Part Two

The French counter-attack my Portuguese cavalry

So there I was, surrounded by Frenchmen...

When I last wrote of this battle, things were looking grim for the home team. A sudden charge by the Swiss on my left had been blunted by volleys from the 4th Foot, but they were then engaged by French cavalry who pinned them in square. Honours were about equal, I had driven a battalion of Swiss from the field, while Mr E, my opponent, had destroyed the 60th Rifles. But with three units in square on my left, I was running perilously short of cards to play.

I had launched an attack on my right, hoping to use my cavalry superiority on that flank to do unto Mr E as he had done unto me. My portuguese dragoons did some damage to the Legione Irlandaise and forced one battalion of the 8ieme Ligne into square, but they were counter attacked by French troops from the centre, which left one squadron of Portuguese teetering on one block. I moved the 18th Hussars up in support, but it did not look that it would be enough.

The struggle continues on the British left

Mr E was finding himself in a bit of a pickle on his right as well. His cavalry were doing sterling work, holding my chaps pinned - but the perennial problem of cavalry facing infantry raised its ugly head. He could hold me in square and ride me down to red ruin if I came out of it, but couldn't harm me if I remained in square. His infantry were too far away to do me much harm for a turn or two and were so understrength that it would be a bold move to let me get within reach of them.

The cavalry infantry stalemate on the British right takes a turn for the worse with the arrival of some French chasseurs. The Legione Irelandaise badly shaken need to be rescued before they're driven off, but the Pork & Beans shatter one French battalion in return. The honours so far 2-1 to me.

But soft, what light from yonder hill flashes? Christ! It's a twelve pounder gun.

One of the disadvantages of Mr E surprise spoiling attack was that he was left without much in the way of artillery support. Like the canny General that he is, he set about putting this to rights.

And was rewarded when held in square by the cavalry and now pummelled by gunfire, the 4th Foot went for its tea thus evening the odds.

Things were not looking entirely rosey on the right flank either, the French chasseurs supports by a battalion of the 8ieme Ligne rode down first one, then two Portuguese squadrons. 4-2 to Mr E. Damnation.

Revanche!

However never daunted, the 18th Hussars ride down the French chasseurs. They may be slow talking fellows in Drogheda, but they ride fast horses! 4-3 to Mr E.

Now this is where it begins to get interesting

As you can see Mr E is a good position here. He has two full strength French battalions supported by guns on the hill. He can advance under cover of gunfire, even better if he had a Bayonet charge in hand which would allow him to close the distance speedily. My Portuguese valiant fellows that they are, cannot stand toe to toe with Mr E veterans. I have numbers on my side, but he has quality.

The second squadron of Chassuers supports Mr E's guns. 

While the 8ieme Ligne advances. The 18th Hussars fall back.

Now this is where is gets really interesting.

The Second Battalion 4th Foot move in on the weakened 1ieme Swisse

Mr E had handled my little army rather roughly so far, but some turns ago he had managed to drive off the 4th Foot with gunfire. However, it doesn't matter that they ran away, they will surely come back again and in coming of out of square, they freed up a very useful card, Bayonet Charge. Bayonet Charge allows four infantry units anywhere on the board to move two hexes, twice their usual allowance, and attack in melee. Used correctly it can be devastating and I had every intention of using it correctly.

However, I was only going to have one chance at this stroke and with Mr E level on cards and one ahead on points, it was going to take some carefuly handling.

And in a puff of smoke and a gleam of bayonets they were gone.

With the scores now even at 4-4, I managed to drive off one squadron of French hussars with fire from the two remaining squares. I forgot to take a picture of them, but they had been taking desultory fire for several turns and it was more a case of chipping away than a sudden collapse. 

The charge goes in...

 ...and it's crushing. My brave Portuguese, who I'd been so worried about earlier, did me so proud. They advanced with a Waterloo Picton waving an umbrella at their head. Up, up, up towards the enemy!

And it's all over. 

This was a game of hard pounding, Mr E came close to defeating me decisively by his typically bold moves early on in the game, but my counter attack badly weakened his infantry and made it impossible for him to support the success of his cavalry. His hussars and chasseurs did good service pinning me in square, but ended up riding around and around my squares fruitlessly, while my own cavalry managed to take some of the pressure off on my right. I was lucky to get the Bayonet Charge card when I needed it. No doubt he will weigh in with his own observation in time.

Mr E was a worthy opponent and we did justice to a wonderful bottle of Madeira while we did battle. A very pleasent evening spent in good company and another Command & Colours scenario ticked off the list.

Salamanca (French Left) 22nd July 1812 - Part One

Mr E looks skeptical as he looks over the battlefield, though this is not uncharacteristic. 

He is a skeptical fellow. 

Command & Colours: Napoleonics has two Salamanca scenarios, one which deals with the French right, which we've played several times. I was casting about my Peninsular Battles page, when I realised that we had played the scenario covering the French right and played a version where the two scenarios were put together in order to make one large one, I'd never actually played the French left as a straight two player game. Fortunately, Mr E was able to oblige and we set to.

"Phew", thought the British infantry at least those fellows are quite a distance away....

I usually umpire at these evenings and it's something that I really enjoy doing. It has been remarked upon that I seem to enjoy organising wargames as much as playing them. "Kinch likes to watch," is how Savage put it - he really is a vulgar, greasy little oik - but there's some truth in the observation. That was not going to be the case today and I sat thinking about how I was going to develop my attack. I had an adequate hand, but I would need to use up some of the more mediocre cards to built the kind of hand that would allow me to put in an attack that the French wouldn't tear to shreds with a counter attack.

 Good Lord!

But, it wasn't to be. Mr E with typically Napoleonic decision, decided that the best defence was a good offence and used a special card called "Le Grande Maneuvre" to throw all four battalions of the 1ieme Swisse forward. This allow him to move four units four hexes, a huge distance in Command & Colours terms and place them in contact with my redcoats. In doing this, he seized the high ground, nullified the effects of my superior musketry and put his own men in a position to hit me with the bayonet the next turn. I would have to think fast. 

 Well this is a pickle...

As to what exactly this special card represents is open to debate. Was the British commander caught napping? Probably, either that or his own orders to move infantry onto the ridge line went astray. However, the matter at hand was that the French were right on top of me and the battle had suddenly taken a very differant turn then the one I had expected.

 

 Volley fire drives one battalion from the field

The Rifles and the Halberdiers fell back firing, which caused some casualties, while the Fourth Foot launched a bayonet charge that broke one of the French battalions. With one down and one weakened by fire, things were looking better but a well timed charge from Mr E could spell the end.

 

As the casualties are carried away, I await the inevitable counter-attack - the Swiss, much like the French are dangerous at close quarters

I'd weakened one unit and wiped out a second, but my plan was in shreds and I was certainly on the back foot.  An older colleague of mine once told me that one of the most important aspects of any fight is realising what sort of fight one is in, that and that no-one who has to risk his skin thinks fights should be fair. I believe the risk was about equal at this stage, Mr E would require good cards or good luck to crush my left. But, I had come prepared to attack and was now scrabbling to muster a defence. "L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace," had served Danton as far as it went, but it remained to be seen whether Mr E would profit by it.

 

 General E as a wise man supports the attack with cavalry and feeds more troops in

For his next trick, Mr E moved forward infantry supports and two squadrons of cavalry while skirmishing with the 4th Foot. This was in many ways a bigger problem as it meant that the attack would be well supported and that while I might be able to defeat the Swiss, there was every chance the fresh troops would roll over me. 

 

 Rifles are slow to load...

...and they fare poorly close up. The Swiss fell upon the 60th Royal Americans with a will and though they took a volley on the way in, an infantry symbol and two crossed swords finished the Americans in one fell swoop. 

The British redcoats pause, having fallen back for mutual support

My return fire caused some casualties, but it was pretty poor stuff and there were a worrying number of cavalry coming towards me. I also knew that if my left flank folded, Mr E would simply sweep into the vulnerablle Portuguese infantry in the centre, rolling me up before I could hit him back.

1 Regiment Swisse

We shall pause for a moment and regard these fellows. Newline French infantry, they're lovely models, though a little small - though I got them as part of a deal of 100 castings for €50 or thereabouts. These fellows are painted for my perpetual obsession, the battle of Maida, though I have four units of them as the French fielded Swiss at Bailen too and it would be a little unkind to deprive the Spaniards of suitable opponents. In the Bailen scenario, they are a little more fearsome, but normally I just field them as French Line Infantry.

The Hussars of Conflans move forward pinning the Halberdiers in square while the Chasseurs do the same to the 4th Foot

And this is where it all began to go a little squiffy. I was sitting on a good card that would allow me to counter- attack and do so comprehensively. A bayonet charge card that would allow to cut the retreat of the French horse and slaughter them. In Command & Colours, cavalry may fall back from an infantry charge substantially reducing the chance of casualties. I was worried that if I went into square, Mr E would take the one card in six that could do him serious harm.

The Fourth Foot took the charge of the Chasseurs in line and paid dearly for it. They managed to halt the French charge, but at the cost of near extinction. The Hussars of Conflans charged and I lost my nerve and formed square. Mr E reached out and like a revenger in a Webster play, took my Bayonet Charge. It was a disastrous turn. I had one battalion teetering on the edge of destruction, while another was now tied up in square. My effective counter had been snatched from my hand. But as Peter O'Toole put it in Laurence of Arabia, "The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts."

The 7th Dragoons move forward, hoping to draw off some of the pressure

I was losing on my left flank and there was damn all I could do about it. I could make poor use of a good card in an attempt to shore up weakness or I could try to take the pressure off by exerting a little pressure of my own. I moved my Portugese cavalry, the 7th Dragoons no less, forward on the right. I had a six cards (now five) to Mr E's five and I wagered that he'd be less then happy to see his Legione Irlandaise run to ribbons by my cavalry. He could either trust to luck, which was unlikely or form them into square which would restore my card advantage. Either way, if he was playing cards on his left, it would draw his attention away from my now almost paralysed left and give me time to dig a way out of the hole.

Three British battalions held in square, this was going to be tricky

The Legion Irlandaise took it on the chin, while Mr E quite wisely pressed the attack where he was winning, forcing both battalions of the Fourth Foot into square. This took two additional cards from my hand and narrowed my options considerably. The only saving grace was that I had badly damaged his infantry before I had been forced into square and the only fellows in a position to take advantage of my discomfiture were a ways away.

Still, it was looking grim for General Kinch and his redcoats.

Part Two tomorrow.

Salamanca (French Right) - 22 July 1812 - Part Three

Last week at the battle of Salamanca.

The Fighting Fourth mount the hill over the bodies of the 8iem Ligne, before being bounced back over the river by (count 'em!) one-two-three-four flags! Not a glorious moment for the redcoats.

Bodies mount up around the chapel as the British line continue to advanced through the musket smoke.

The Fourth Dragoon Guards pursue the Hussars of Conflans, determined to put a finish that that damned Gerard.

The Hussars flee before the avenging Irishmen, who sweep around them and ready for another charge

The French infantry tangle with the second battalion of the Fourth on the ridge. The British advantage in numbers has been whittled down.

Meanwhile on the British right - the 6th Light Dragoons charge straight into a gap in the French line.

They sweep past the 42ieme Ligne, pausing only to sabre a few stragglers, move up on to the hill

...and pushing the French guns from the ridge in disorder. The 42ieme Ligne forms square at the last minute, but is looking distinctly shakey...

Meanwhile on the French right, the Royal Irish Dragoon Guards cut down the last of the Hussars of Conflans (note the dead horsey) and smash into the 62ieme Ligne, forcing them into square, but not before cutting them up horribly. It looks like things could be on the up for the British.

NOTE: The square tokens are a handy reminder, but barring actually taking the troops of their sabot, I can't think of an elegant way of representing squares. Any ideas on a postcard to Joy & Forgetfulness.

After leaving one French battalion teetering on the brink the 6th Light Dragoons beat the retreat. Uncle Westprog thought it likely the French would be able to bring their superior numbers to bear.

"Henri, are you seeing what I see."
"Bien sur, Claude."
"Le Bugger*."
.
Meanwhile, the French infantry have managed to retake the ridge only discover more British troops advancing towards them.

But God is not on the side of the big battalions, but of the best shots. The 62ieme Ligne's second battalion unleash a torrent of statistically unlikely musketry and proving General Du Gourmand's maxim "Better lucky than good" wipes the Fourth Foot out to a man.

A sudden charge on French right threw the severely weakened 39ieme Ligne across the river and they gave the Connaught Rangers the bayonet, driving them from the field and breaking the British army and ending the game.

On the whole, I think this particular scenario is a tough one for the British. They have numbers in the centre, but bringing those to bear in a co-ordinated way will be difficult without either a lucky starting hand or the willingness to sit tight and build a hand that will allow you to take the central position. Uncle Westprog seemed to enjoy himself and though he has returned to Arizona, I hope to arrange some means of playing with him again.











*That's your actual French that is.

Salamanca (French Right) - 22 July 1812 - Part Two

A shot from the British lines, note the redcoats moving  past the chapel and taking the heights in the centre.

When we last left our gamers, the French had just managed to repell a British thrust on their right, while the battalions in the British centre were splashing across the river to take the battle to the Frogs.

On the French right, by some miracle, the Hussars of Conflans (centre background) survived the onslaught of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, who turned in disgust (and having scored only one hit thirteen dice, hitting on 4+, well they might) and decided to try their luck with the French infantry moving forward to support their comrades in the chapel.

Uncle Westprog ponders the situation, while musketry rattles back and forth on the right

 

Meanwhile the 62ieme Ligne just about survive the charge of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards and empty saddles in return, wiping them out as a fighting force for the remainder of the battle. 

The Royal Horse Artillery open up with grape at the 8ieme Ligne who bear the matter stoically and charge with the bayonet. Crossed swords and an artillery symbol spell the end of the gallant horse gunners.

The French counterattacks have proved powerful so far, meeting grapeshot with bayonet, sabre with sabre, as the tide of the British centre rolls forward, will the French gunners be able to cheat death and hold on to hammer grape into their tightly packed ranks at the last minute...?

...it would appear not.

But the Hussars of Conflans decide the discretion is the better part of valour...

...and bolt for the rear. Though they had thoroughly cowed the British cavalry by an almost supernatural run of luck and managed to live to tell the tale.

There has been something of a discussion on Old School Wargaming about the proper attire for wargamers. Regardless of what school of thought you belong to, I think we can all agree that Uncle Westprog cuts a dash.

He's certainly made his feeling on the US election clear enough, though I'm not sure his man has a ghost of a chance.