New Scenario Books

Today's post will focus on the two new scenario books from the prolific scenario book writer, Michael Hopper. I have reviewed previous scenario books he has put together and now we have two for the interim years after Austerlitz and the 1812 Russian Campaign. These two books are centered mostly around the British aggression all over the globe during this period.

Perfidious Albion deals with the most global scenarios. If you've gotten a little tired of your British only fighting in the Iberian Peninsula, then this book is for you. You will be required to find some substitute units unless you have Danish, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and odd Spanish militia suitable for South America. As seen above, there is quite a span of localities to choose from and arranged in chronological order.

One of the nice features of Michael Hopper's work is this quick reference chart for the number of units needed for a scenario. For those who have limited numbers of figures available, you can easily narrow down or plan for what is needed for any particular scenario.

The Rise of Albion offers you the opportunity to fight sequential battles during some of the formative years of the British army's ascendancy. If you are considering a campaign among a group of dedicated gamers in your group, refighting the historical battles in order can be done. You don't need to spend lots of time digging through Oman's exhaustive volumes looking for maps and orders of battle. Some of these scenarios are just between Spain and France.

The scenarios are written with the wargamer in mind. With an order of battle that can easily be translated into almost any rule set of your choice, the books offer a lot of value. Time scales are provided for the number of turn and the time the battles lasted. Depending on your rule set, that may not require any adjusting. The research part of these battles has been done and is easily laid out where you can setup and finish a scenario with a clear understanding of what victory conditions are for each side.

The size of the battles vary. Just as the size varies, the topography also offers variety to make interesting games or to suit what you have available. So if you're a beginner or a long time collector, you will find opportunities for your collection.

The back of the scenario books are just as beautiful as the cover. If you have any of Michael Hopper's previous scenario books, you will be familiar with the detailed explanations and layout of the books. 

If you're interested in adding either or both of these books to your collection, contact Michael Hopper directly and find what the shipping and exact charges are for your country. log1cal.mh@gmail.com

 

 

Review: The Fox Of The North

To start 2018, I thought a book review might be in order. A biography of General Mikhail Illarionovich Kutusov caught my eye last year when I was looking for some possible information on the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812. Although my expectations for such information were low, the book could not disappoint. Roger Parkinson managed to acquire enough information to give some brief information on that subject to at least present it in a way that it was not just a passing reference or foot note. The information I was looking for didn't really present itself but other details of the life of this often forgotten army commander were presented.

The book's 236 pages covers his life from a privileged birth status, apprenticeship and tutelage under Suvorov to his struggles as commander of the Russian army during the grim 1812 campaign. His health failed him as old head wounds, failing eye sight, head aches and continual weight gain prevented him from being the sort of confident commander that one might expect from his position. Of enemies, he could count nearly everyone. Of friends, he seemingly could not find any. In many ways, his style of command mirrors that of Wellington in that he wished to spare his men's lives, distrusted subordinates and was more than willing to let an enemy wear itself down with partisan attacks and inclement weather.

His early life and the introduction of his father and the references to Catherine The Great were a little dull. It isn't until the author moves into the assassination plot on the Mad Czar Paul that the story picks up. The near insane Czar Paul and Kutusov did correspond and managed to get along with each other. Admittedly, it seems to me that Kutusov was more of an unwilling audience than a friend. Although Alexander was involved in the plot to kill his father, his paranoia and worry of Kutusov was more interesting to me.

I went into reading this biography largely ignorant of the details of the subject at hand. Since I didn't have a bias going into the book, it was easy to follow along with the persuasive writing technique that I picked up on from the author. It's clear the author felt that Kutusov was a victim and was a gifted commander that bested Napoleon but the world just wasn't aware of it and he wished to pen that narrative. At first, I could go along with some of this as indeed, Kutusov does appear to be unnecessarily suspected of intrigue and possibly even a hidden Bonapartist. As I read on, nothing further from the truth could be the actual case. Kutusov lacked personal friendships to attempt a coup of any kind and his behavior in the 1812 campaign shows a deal of fear and respect for the Grande Armee and Napoleon that should not be misinterpreted as concern for his enemy's well being.

His role in the ill-fated 1805 campaign was fleshed out by the author with some details about his command being mostly in name only. Alexander not wishing to share the glory and being entirely ignorant of tactical sense, held most of the control. Kutusov seems to have been resigned to being a set character and handling more of the administrative matters. His reluctance to advance rapidly with his army and protect Vienna earlier in the campaign foreshadows his future behavior in defending his own homeland. Just as he would fail to defend Vienna, Moscow too would be handed over without a real fight.

General Benningsen, the Hanoverian foreigner in Russian Service, Wittgenstein or the British military attache Sir Robert Wilson, who was his biggest enemy? They all despised Kutusov for his irresolute behavior in going after the Grande Armee. From the time he is in command up until the departure of the Grande Armee, he avoided battle far too often for everyone's liking. Alexander appears to have only retained his services out of popular concerns among the army and upper classes who felt Kutusov was the man for the job.

The battle of Borodino almost didn't happen. Kutusov did wish to prevent the capture of Moscow and the humiliation it would bring, but lacked the resolve to do that on his own. Without strongly worded letters from Alexander it is quite likely he would have danced and maneuvered his army out of the way and the French would have been permitted a swifter entry. The lost battle of Maloyaroslavets was again another failure to monitor the enemy's position and intentions. The constant retreating without major resistance destroyed his reputation among his peers. It wasn't enough to cost him his command, but neither does it place him among the greatest generals of his time.

I found myself feeling some sort of liking Kutusov to eventual pity and then loathing. Although the author Roger Parkinson would try to lead his readers into thinking Kutusov was playing some sort of 4D chess with the mind of a grandmaster, the results of Kutusov's fear of Napoleon/Grande Armee are inescapable. In constantly avoiding direct battle and not pressing outflanking maneuvers, the Grande Armee and Napoleon managed to escape from Russia. Kutusov's claims of wanting partisan attacks and weather conditions to do their work only holds credibility up until Berezina crossing. Placing his army along the line of retreat for cutting the Grande Armee off from home is more wishful thinking. Kutusov and the author seem to believe this but Kutusov's actions show he wasn't firmly committed to executing this strategy.

His dispatching Platov's cossack horde and Admiral Chichagov's force to attempt to check the Grande Armee's retreat was another half-hearted decision. Citing the preservation of the Russian army and wishing other external forces to wear the Grande Armee down, a major opportunity was lost. Such an important death blow should have been carried with far more strength and oversight. Hiding with the main army far away, Kutusov failed to act with any vigor. His critics were certain not to let this go unnoticed and let Alexander know of his major blunder.

His performance in 1813 shows more ability in army administration rather than an aggressive commander who could or rather, would follow up upon a victory. His command ability were responsible for winning the war against the Ottoman Empire but his reluctance or fear to engage the Grande Armee managed to make the war more costly than it had to be. The Russian praise heaped upon him doesn't appear to be just when his actions are under examination.

The book lacks the romance and dialogue of a Bernard Cornwell novel, but the odd details made it an interesting read. The intrigue and erratic behavior of so many of the major players is strikingly similar to that of the Spanish leaders in the other corner of Europe. If you enjoy slow reads and can follow narratives similar to a Charles Oman book, then this is a book you will want to read.

Whores And Saints: The Village People

Some of my favorite figures to paint are the less important types. Civilians, animals and wagons can add flavor to the game table. If you're willing to use your imagination a bit, worked into your scenarios in some way. If you're doing a game for a convention then you've probably considered specially made terrain to be noticed for some award or attracting players. As seen elsewhere on my blog, I have the villages just not much in the way of inhabitants.

Battle Front has a set of villagers that have caught my eye. Though they are of a more recent vintage than the Napoleonic wars, they are the closest figures I can find.

The nuns were an interesting figure choice for the set and suitable. Unfortunately the Battle Front package had some duplicates that probably could have at least had some different poses. The little vignettes add character to a game table.

The one figure in this set that was completely wrong and stood out was the policeman waving his finger. For the 20th century, it would be well suited but not early 19th century. So I thought maybe it could be converted but then realized it was not possible. So I clipped him from his little stand and in his place, glued a spare Napoleonic figure in his place. I had two of these guard chasseurs holding a bicorn and wearing a colpack. This Old Glory figure was from the set with Napoleon and his headquarters set. So I chopped his head off and then replaced it with that of a useless Marshal Brune figure that had a bare head. Now the figure appears to be a high ranking cavalry officer looking for female companionship.

My monastery lacked monks for a long time and so I purchased the praying monks figures made by Essex. There were 6 figures with there being three sets of duplicates. I used 5 of the figures here and did them in the traditional dull brown robes.

Not a lot of use for such figures but they were a great break from all the serious painting I've done throughout the year.

Review: Eagles Over Bavaria & Duel Of The Princes

A while back I announced the upcoming release of two new scenario books from the talented historical researcher Michael Hopper. Having played many scenarios that he has written, I knew these books would be accurate and detailed to the level any fan would demand. Having now purchased and reviewed them, I can say they do not disappoint.

The old saying of not judging a book by its cover may be true, but in this situation the cover artwork is beautiful. Keith Rocco's works were used and offer a unique and meaningful presentation for these book covers. Classic paintings could have been used and might have well sufficed, but Michael Hopper chose to not cut any corners in this area. The glossy and eye catching cover was a great choice.

The beginning of the scenario book has some map keys and unit totals for the historical scenarios. These battles are quite manageable for 2-4 players with average sized collections. Larger battles like Eggmuhl, has a northern and southern scenario for fighting a portion of the battle. Abensburg has northern, center and southern scenarios for those portions of the battle. For rule sets like Lasalle where the general idea is that you're fighting a portion of a larger battle, this fits nicely. For Shako players, playing a large battle may be possible but be limited not by the rules, but by the game space available or number of players.

Of the two, Eagles Over Bavaria was the book I was looking forward to more so. Since I have a good number of Bavarian troops that sort of sit around in reserve status, it is nice to have some scenarios for me to structure an Austrian army around. Altdorf is one of those smaller battles that would be easier for player to recreate and offer some challenges for maneuvering. This particular scenario is one that I will work to get Austrians to be able to refight.

Duel Of The Princes has the same easy to follow lay out and scenario details. One detail that players may pick up on that weren't always available with other scenario books is that details of unit strength and artillery battery compositions. A 6lb gun might be rated differently depending on which rule set you're using. Knowing if a French foot battery was composed of 6lb or 8lb guns might impact whether the guns are deemed light or medium. Those details matter and Michael Hopper delivers. The morale and training ratings are listed for units in the order of battle. Different rule sets approach this information with varying levels of consideration, but having it will let you decide how to apply it.

Many scenario books are written to promote a particular set of rules and players are forced comply or spend time translating information into a different set of rules. These scenario books are specific on details for the scenarios but open enough to be applied to the rules of your choice. These scenario books are being printed in a limited run and so if you want to obtain your copy, you can contact Michael Hopper at log1cal.mh@gmail.com

Review: Wellington Against Massena: The Third Invasion of Portugal

Having been away for a while due to time constraints of moving, I thought a book review might be a good blog post. This book came to my attention a while back through the great blog I follow http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/. It was with great anticipation that I dove right into reading this book hoping to learn something new. I was unaware of the author, David Buttery, but knowing there was a prelude book of Wellington Against Junot, I was curious to see what the author found.

It was all for nothing as it turned out. As the name would suggest, the focus should be on Wellington and Massena and who they were as men and commanders. What the book largely is about, is telling the narrative of the Peninsular War from the British perspective. A chapter deals with Wellington's early life and career and then a less detailed chapter goes into Massena's life and career. Having been well acquainted with Wellington's background, nothing new was really to be revealed. With Massena, his personal life is presented in passing and it appears the author made no real attempt to find new information to present to the reader. Massena's career is well covered and this was a jewel in the mud.

A major source of disappointment is the lack of written orders and correspondence from the two commanders. The documents exist showing the orders for battles and what they thought might happen, but they are not included. Also inexplicably, correspondence between Wellington and Massena are missing. Was the author unaware of this information still existing? Why was no attempt made to find the information?

And then you have errors that reflect the author's shallow understanding of the subject matter. On page 55, Napoleon is called an "inveterate warmonger" while the author goes off topic mentioning the Danube campaign. Was he unaware the Austrians started that war in 1809? David Buttery should be and he is likely allowing his British bias to show in an uncalled for deceptive statement.

Later on page 160, David Buttery erroneously states that the French Imperial Guard Grenadiers were present at Fuentes de Onoro. The error originates from a British soldier who mistook the converged grenadier battalions with their bearskins as the Old Guard. On page 164, the author now downgrades them to Young Guard status. These two errors reflect on the author's ignorance of the order of battle and the reliance on British accounts without much investigation of the source material. I refused to keep track of all the errors, so let these stand out as some of the obvious ones in the work.

The author concludes the book somewhat abruptly dealing with Massena's request to decline presiding over Ney's trial and rather short life after the war. For Wellington's conclusion, it somehow escaped mentioning the details of The Iron Duke's loss of social standing and attempt to steal Napoleon's mistresses, chef etc. Again, is the author unaware or avoiding harmful information? Massena's love of money is mentioned in multiple places in the book, but Wellington's cold and harsh personality is really glossed over by being mentioned only in passing. Again, this is where physical correspondence letters to subordinates and even opponents would have been invaluable to turning Wellington into a human being instead of a statue with a few human traits.

The book was a major disappointment on many levels. The book does include a generous list of "references", but if an author doesn't fully understand the subject matter or has some intent on rewriting history, then the sources cannot be cited as truth when they are misused. I walk away from this experience confused over the author's motive being improper or was he simply ignorant and felt if he used enough sources, he could pull off a good book? Anyone familiar with the theater would pretty much be aware of the battles so did not need them being retold with no new information being presented. Having read all seven volumes of Charles Oman's A History of the Peninsular War, gives me a higher understanding of the events and perhaps raised my hopes.

With all of this said, I would not recommend the book. Promoting the usual bias and rehashing old material with a new cover doesn't lend itself to being very useful for anyone researching the topic. The shallowness of the two commanders presented in a book with them as the subject is misleading at best. An amateurish work I wouldn't even donate to a public library. What a shame. The author had an attempt to do real research using archived material and giving these men depth and life and he chose to cut corners by using already published works - errors and all.

Master Class Painting Review of La Haye Sainte

In the previous post I stated I would do a follow up once I had the La Haye Sainte kit in hand. Literally one week from when Denise at Master Class Terrain Painting received it, I had it back on my door step. This post would have gone up earlier but I was busy with a variety of things.

The package arrived packed well enough. I was asked to follow up with a comparison of a figure for reference in scale. An 18mm AB French sergeant is being used here. As you can see, the scale is just great. As for the painting...

Well who could complain! The coloring is quite realistic and appears to be as if you're looking at the genuine specimen. Since the real building is painted brick, paint does wear thin over time as sun and rain takes its toll.

The wood on the doors and shutters appears as real wood ought to appear. If La Haye Sainte had painted wood, there isn't much documentation to represent it.

The uneven weathering of the roof is apparent in this image. The uniform, eveness we see today is a result of factory production instead of local shops turning out batches with possible variations.

Here we see the rear of the farm. Again, weathering applied quite well to enforce a realistic appearance. All the small brickwork still evident in the model and the painting. No heavy-handed dry brushing going on here.

Here the side door has stone work around the windows that is picked out with subtle greys. All the various weathering with the green vine gives it a good look. Denise really took time blending colors so as to avoid sharp and harsh transitions that I was hoping to avoid. My instructions weren't too detailed, just weathering being a prime concern. This complex was not new at the time of the battle and I didn't want it to appear like a cartoonish version with overly-bright colors and sharp lines defining transition.

Denise exceeded what I had expected this kit could look like in my mind. She was quick to respond with questions and updates. Some people we deal with in the miniature or painting business display an almost apathetical attitude toward customers, but not so with her. Followers of this blog may recall my other buildings she did as seen here: http://thepeninsularwar.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-sabol-designs-spanish-villages.html

Her skills are truly honed to a rare state of perfection that most modelers hope to achieve at some point in their life. From reviewing her other work on her site: http://www.masterclassterrain.com/, one can see she's not some amateur. If you are considering having some terrain painted up nice so that it will enhance your gaming table and impress your friends, then give her a try. In the future, I will be sending more terrain her way and will keep the blog updated with new terrain as it all happens.

Review: Sabol Designs Spanish Villages

Now a review after having handled the buildings and compared them to scale. A while back I purchased five American Civil War civilians that I eventually got around to painting but had no use for. In this setting, they fit quite well. The colors are not too bright and cartoonish as Games Workshop scenery tends to be.


All the buildings here blend so well and look like the belong together. One can imagine this well being a centerpiece of village life for socializing. I think I'll order some Hovels monks to paint up and put outside the church.


One can really admire the skill used here in the weathering on the buildings, the depth of the shadowing between tiles and in the windows.


A creative touch was he added a small fenced in area. A long time ago I purchased some 15mm pigs, again for which I had no use at the time, but figured I would one day down the road. Works well here and gives it a touch of life. It can also serve as an objective marker for a hungry unit.


My Spanish Grenadier regiment. The scale is all well, the walls not being too high or too low.


Maybe a little out of focus here, but one can see the overall size here and imagine it being a real town or city and not just a couple of cheap buildings tossed on to a table.


Here my well was put to good use. I like the ruined wall section, gives it a look of age and not appearing to have just been put up. The tower on this village gives it a somewhat menacing look.


Again notice here, the weathering and growth is obvious and very life-like.


This piece is the JR Buildings French estate piece and a Hovels' single home. A good piece for those small little hamlets that exist on maps like a suburb. More excellent weathering effect.

In conclusion, the painting is simply superb and spot on. Matt was able to follow directions while I let him have plenty of artistic license in arranging the pieces as he saw fit. All of the villages can be picked up by any building without fear of it ripping off the sturdy base of some unknown material. These pieces are a bit heavy, but in the end it all is so sturdy and solid that it helps lend to the overall quality.

I provided all of the buildings, a well, a fountain and water spigot that was used in the pig pen. The cost was $200, which included the return shipping. In the end, it was a fair price and more importantly, a quick turn around time. I cannot find anything I would improve upon as it all is beyond anything normally seen at this scale and even above. In the future I hope to be able to attend a regional convention and I know these pieces will really catch the eye.

If you're looking to have some masterly painted and built terrain, contact Matt. http://www.sabolstudios.com/

Review: Sabol Designs Custom Monastery

In early September while browsing the internet one night, I came across a website I had not visited in some time, Sabol Designs. While browsing, I noticed where custom terrain work was a service being offered. In all honesty, I already knew what I wanted, just could not manage to do it myself.

What I had wanted was the Italian monastery offered by http://paperterrain.mybisi.com/product/italian-monastery So, out of curiosity, I sent a request asking if they could use the paper terrain set and create this piece. Having tried my own hand with the same set, I knew it would be a challenge. Thankfully, they could and offered instead to do it as a solid piece set.


I was very skeptical since there was little work to judge for the quality I may receive. The price was reasonable to say the least ($85 for the piece and $15 for shipping). They decided to do it cheap to see if it could be done. I said yes and in little over a week, I received my pictures.















The base is hollow and made from plastic/resin, similar to Games Workshop hills. The highlighting and shading is top notch, would be a center piece on any game table. The windows are Games Workshop "bitz". Doors are a little on the small side, but doesn't take away from anything. The buildings appear to be made from palsticard and the whole structure is quite tough - I can pick up the piece by grabbing onto the buildings rather than simply the base.

It exceeded all of my expectations and I would give this a five star rating. Literally, I could not see anyway to improve upon this piece or compare it to anything I've ever seen at this scale.