Poilu Reinforcements

On the run up to my vacation I ran out of Hundred Years War figures to paint, Oh the horror! However a swift order to Arcane Scenery did remedy that and on the day before I went on vacation I had another couple of boxes of Perry Agincourt arrive.

With no Hundred Years War to paint it was time to clear some of the lead mountain and earn myself another point in the squirrel duel, so I dug out the last nine Brigade Games WWI French infantry from the order I had in 2018 and got to work on those in the meanwhile.

Most of my WWI collection is from the Gripping Beast "Woodbine Designs" range but the Brigade Games stuff does mix in well. There are two distinct sculptors on the Brigade Games range though, the hands and faces on some of the figures show this up the most.

The first group is five riflemen three are mounted individually and the remaining two as a pair.

The Horizon Bleu recipe I use is based on a 'Bondi Blue' paint from a very old Gripping Beast paint set, unfortunately they don't seem to do it any more and I am still looking for a good match, although with plenty enough French for my games I'm not really sure if I need much more.

In this order I went a bit mad on ordering Chauchat teams, and this painting session saw another two completed.

I tried to capture the 'blasted ground' of the Verdun battlefield on the bases. The remnants of barbed wire entanglements are sealing wire wrapped around cocktail sticks and the groundwork is pumice gel is mixed into a paste with grit and static grass and then some Vallejo Flat Earth is stirred in and the gooey mess is slathered all over the base.

Hundred Years War service shall resume shortly....

Patrolling in strength

Last Thursday saw us playing Chain of Command using the 'Cocing up Mud & Blood' amendments from the summer special, plus some of the modifications James and I used in our own Bois De Caures campaign games.

The Bosche commanded by Drew consisted of a Senior Leader commanding four sections each of a Junior Leader, 8 Riflemen and 3 Bombers.

The Poilu commanded by Bruce consisted of a Senior Leader commanding 4 sections of a Junior Leader and D6+6 troops. For the French if an even number was rolled the unit had a VB launcher, 1/3 (rounded down) of the troops were bombers. When rolling for the French on the "Bad Things Happen" chart all rolls are at -2 making the French very difficult to shift.

We would play the modified Patrol scenario. Bruce had two points and added a Sniper. Drew had 8 points and added a MG/08, an Adjutant, a Pre-game Barrage with Feurwaltz.

Both sides started with a Force Morale of 8, definitely Advantage Les Poilus with their special rule.

The Germans had a very aggressive Patrol Phase and were able to get a couple of Jump-off Points well over the half way mark while the French were rather pegged back and only able to get a couple of theirs anywhere near their redoubts.

Fate swung back to the French though when Drew made the first Command Roll of the game turning up treble-sixes and ending the turn, cancelling the bombardment effect immediately.

The initial German push stalled when effective fire from the right-hand redoubt knocked over the  Unteroffizier leading one of the sections but the perfidious Hun replied by deploying their Maxim and raking the redoubt with a deadly fire.

With VB grenades falling all around the Maxim kept up its deadly hail and the French had to commit the Lieutenant to shore up morale among the troops.

Spurred on by the Leutnant and Obergefreiter seized the initiative and made a dash through a gap in the French defences, with the French Lieutenant already committed it was difficult to direct the reserves and the Bosche were able to break through the line and claim victory.

It was all over rather quickly, with a very light casualty count for such an engagement.

A few more shots from the game.

Poilu Reinforcements I

This year I'm planning to attend Historicon and speaking to the chaps in Palatine we initially planned a Big Chain of Command game using our WWI collection. That's not likely the case now and we shall be doing Spanish Civil War!

I'm a bit light on French Infantry so sent off to Brigade Games for a couple more packs of riflemen and a pack of Chauchats.

This weeks output is fifteen of the twenty four figures that I bought, using my standard palette for Poilu in horizon bleu.

When I made the order I had it in my head that I'd have a use for more Chauchat teams, although on reflection I really don't think I needed another four, although they do add some variety to the Woodbine Designs ones that I painted previously.

I do rather like the prone Chauchat team that comes in the pack, I added a section of barbed wire for them to take cover behind.

The basing is done with a mix of pumice gel, grit and static grass mixed up with Flat Earth paint and slathered on the bases, later dry-brushed, in this case with Iraqi Sand, although looking at other figures in the collection I probably should have used Dark Sand!

The few muddy puddles that you see are just PVA glue that is given a coat of gloss varnish after the dull-cote has been applied.

You'll see from the above base that the two figures are quite distinct from each other and I reckon that Brigade Games used different sculptors for each. While they are both well sculpted models, I'll avoid mixing them on the same bases.

It's over a year since I last painted any Poilu and even longer since I last played - must try harder!

Poilu with VB launchers

When we last played a game of Chain of Command WWI chum James noted that I was short of VB launcher teams for the French, so great mate that he is posted me a pair of teams over at Christmas.

These are very nice figures from Brigade Games, so they have crossed and recrossed the Atlantic before getting painted. The only critique I would have is that there is quite a bit of excess metal on the figures from the casting process and I missed a couple of bits of flash and drill-vents in the initial clean up.

They do paint up rather nice though using my standard method for the Poilu in Horizon Blue and made a nice break from all the 6mm I've done so far this year!

Cocking Up Mud & Blood

It's been a good few days since we played this game but a week past Sunday (Remembrance Sunday for my chums in the UK) Drew and Bruce joined me for a game of Chain of Command. We would be using my WWI collection of French & Germans from my earlier games with chum James. These have crossed the Atlantic with me and have languished in the boxes for six months.

I had bought all my terrain but not a cloth so I purchased a 'Partridge Brown' fleece from JoAnns in the Memorial Day sale and gave it a light dusting with some spray paints, it's not such a good match as my old cloth but looks rather better in the flesh than it does in these photos.

Drew arrived first and we had settled down to a beer when Bruce joined us, we rolled for a scenario and would be playing #4 'Attack & Defend' and after a little more randomisation decided Drew would be attacking with the French while Bruce would defend with the Bosche. I would try to ensure the game ran smoothly while keeping up a steady supply of beer and pretzels along with an interlude of tea and biscuits! 

The French would be using the standard 'Full Strength Platoon' but a lack of suitable models with VB launchers gave them another section with 8 riflemen. Drew spent his 15 points of support on a Bombardment with Feurwaltz and Gas, a FT-17 with MG (first time it's been out of the box since being painted), a Hotchkiss M1914 MMG, an Adjutant, two Snipers and two Trench Brooms. 

Monsieur Sniper

Bruce was using a standard Infantry Zug and spent his six points on a Maxim 08 MMG, an Adjutant, an extra Lewis Gun and an Anti-tank Rifle.

Force Morale went very asymmetrical, the French attackers would start on an 8 while the German defenders an 11, Drew would have his work cut out.

I ran the players through the Patrol Phase and both ended up with some good jump-off points, Drew well advanced on the German lines and Bruce ready to deploy his troops to stop them. The Patrol Phase can be difficult for new players but persevering at it and with a little guidance can give a great appetiser before the main course.

Under the cover of the bombardment the French began their advance, the FT-17 pushed up the centre while the main infantry attack comprising the Grenadier-Voltigeur from each Demi-Section advanced cautiously on the left.

The effect of the barrage was telling on the French and for the initial phases of the battle they were only able to counter with the MG-08 which although putting some suppression fire on the Grenadier-Voltigeurs was soon under the cosh itself from the telling shots of the two French snipers.

To preserve the now pinned MMG Bruce had to chance a Rifle Gruppe into that position to avoid losing his supports while Drew pushed on his attack on the left redeploying a jump-off point right behind his troops and within striking distance of the empty German trenches.

Bruce had been slowly collecting his Chain of Command points and now had enough for a Chain of Command dice with it's ability to end the turn, cancel the effects of the barrage and also remove the Tactical markers from the Grenadier-Voltigeurs closing on his position, well, it would be silly not to!

With the barrage lifted it was an easy matter of deploying the Light Machine-gun Gruppe into the position and open up on the advancing French, it was all so damned close and much damage ensued, The French Lieutenant rallied his troops summoned up the extra rifle-men at his disposal and under a flurry of grenades launched one of the Grenadier-Voltigeurs at the enemy position.

An almighty scrap ensued, with heavy casualties on both sides the initial round was a draw so the protagonists set to again, this time it was so bloody both sections were completely wiped out! The French and the Germans both lost four points each of Force Morale, but having only started on eight it was more telling for the Poilu.

Drew was now up against it with only four command dice but he still gamely pressed his attack but was unable to offer much support from the FT-17, Hotchkiss and snipers as all the points were used pressing the attack in the teeth of a stiffened German resistance.

Again the French managed to occupy a trench section before the Germans had scrambled into it and this final combat was to doom the French their Force Morale collapsed to zero and the Germans held on to the field, both sides had suffered enormous casualties!

Bruce, Drew and myself

The final 14 Bosche for James before we leave

In two weeks time Victoria and I shall be on our way to the airport and starting a new chapter in our lives when we relocate to Wisconsin. As you can imagine, I have been pretty busy with sorting things out for that, but, I wanted to wrap up a few painting commitments before we leave.

James and I have done rather a lot of work together over the past 18 months on our Battle of Verdun  project and those of you following our posts will know that although James has done the bulk of the French I have provided all the Germans. So that he has some opponents while I am in the USA I have been painting a platoon of Hun for him, wrapping up the last 14 with a coat of varnish this morning.

Six German Infantry in Assault Packs

Six German Officers and NCOs

A flame-thrower from the German Specialists pack.

Here are a selection of close-ups. That German Officers and NCOs pack especially has some really characterful models.