Action at Quiberon Bay

Today’s game was set in 1795 and based loosely on the disasterous attempt to establish a Royalist base at Carnac at the northern end of Quiberon Bay. In the original expedition the four British infantry battalions failed to cross the Channel due to bad weather, but in this expedition a significant British force of eight  battalions plus a force of marines and sailors from the fleet supported a small emigre force four battalions and a gun in a beach landing somewhere in the bay.

The map of the table is as below, with the starting positions of the French Republican forces shown in blue and the landing places of the British/emigre forces shown in red (the emigre troops landed on the extreme left, the British infantry in the two centre locations and the naval troops with the two arrows on the right.

The Republicans had heard from their spies that an attempt to land was to be expected and as the game began the French hussars picketed the shore line, although a heavy fog prevented them from seeing the approaching boats (the fog would lift on a die score of 4+).

The boats hit the shore just as the fog began to lift and the battalions disembarked.

The French pickets raised the alarm  and the Republicans were called to arms.

While the British and emigre forces formed up on the beach the Republicans came forward more quickly than anticipated and a difficult fight developed in front of the emigre landings where two attacks from the cavalry were repulsed before a proper line could be established.

At the British landing point things did not go well with two battalions sent packing. Only the intervention of two battalions of guards in the second wave brought some stability.

An attack in the flank of one of the guard battalions threatened to turn the tide again, but by a miracle of dice rolling the guards repulsed the attack.

Then conjunction with the emigre troops they pushed back the Republicans and things looked grim for the Republican cause.

But the naval contingent, despite the efforts of the gunners and the marines, failed to make any headway against the Republican left. 

When the naval contingent gave way, four fresh Republican battalions were free to operate against the British flank and the line was rolled back on the emigre forces. An evacuation was the only option, but no one will ever know the number that got away…because we called the game there.

With the loss of the American Revolution and the disasters of Dunkirk and Hondschoote, this was the last straw. The British military had fallen to its lowest point. Questions were asked in the house and there were calls for the Government to resign. The only positive to come out of the whole debacle was that the Duke of York undertook a series of reforms that would transform the army and turn its fortunes around.

Revolutionary War French - the 63e Demi Brigade

After a hiatus of nine months I restarted this Revolutionary French project in February, but due to a purchasing error I was short six grenadier figures (having order the advancing pose when I needed march attack to match the rest of the battalions).

The figures in the correct pose arrived over the weekend and made their way immediately to the painting table. I have to admit it was nice to have something different to American Civil War figures.

With these completed I have now based all three battalions of this Demi Brigade.

The First Battalion

The Second Battalion

The Third Battalion

The entire Demi Brigade

Also completed over the weekend was yet another ACW Union infantry regiment.

3e Battn, 48e Demi-Brigade de Battaille

The weekend has seen the completion of the third battalion of the 48th Demi Brigade from my French Revolutionry project.

Again these are Eureka Minatures. This project will go on hold for a while I move back to the Spanish Napoleonic project, for which a reasonable number of figures are enroute from Nottingham.

Also completed is this objective marker made using some Renedra plastic barrels, the significance of which will be come evident in a game scheduled for next Sunday.

 

2e Battn, /48e Demi-Brigade de Battaille

Last week brought a delivery of lead to the painting table in the form of a small parcel from Eureka Miniatures containing two battalions of Revolutionary French infantry.

 

The first one of those units, 2/48e Demi-Brigade de Battaille, is presented here. 

The 3/48e will follow later this week.

New Project for the New Year

In my earlier post on project planning I mentioned the possiblity of the French Revolutionary army as a possible project. Since then I have looked into this in more depth and made the decision to make up a sample unit.

I had decided that the army at the time of the War of the Second Coalition was where I wanted to be so that sensible opponents could be the Russians, Austrians, British or Ottomans, fighting in Italy, Switzerland, along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, or in Egypt and Syria. The thought of fighting battles in Swiss terrain is mouthwatering...those alpine meadows and pretty chalets...

The decision on figures was simple. The only complete range is by Eureka, but I had never seen any Eureka figures in the flesh. So I placed a small order for a single battalion. Eureka were great to deal with. First they sell by the single figure, a concept long gone amongst most mainstream suppliers, but something I like. The order was despatched the next day, but still took the better part of two weeks to come through the Australian and New Zealand postal services.

I like the figures. They are clean castings and the variety presented meant that pretty much that every figure in the unit is different.  I chose to make a unit in ragged dress that seems more typical of the time. The result was a unit with torn and patched clothing and a variety of footwear from boots to clogs, shoes bandaged feet and bare feet. I chose to do this unit a little bit differently to those I have done recently. Once again I have used the three stand structure for the battalion, with six figures to the stand, although the stand in this first battalion of the 43e Demi Brigade de Ligne the inclusion of a mounted colonel on the command base reduces the foot figures on that stand to four. Of the two rank and file stands one has two grenadier figures, on the right of the line of course, and a foot officer inthe  front rank.

I am pleased with the results and the project will proceed further. I am not sure how large the armies will get. The plan is around 12 units of foot a side, but I have no doubt that some scope creep will occur.