A blog dedicated to wargaming, mainly concerned with battles using 6mm toy soldiers set in a variety of different historical periods. "Make the game fit the figures" - Conrad Kinch
Heretical Gaming is my blog about my gaming life, featuring small skirmishes and big battles from many historical periods (and some in the mythic past or the far future too). The focus is on battle reports using a wide variety of rules, with the occasional rules review, book review and odd musing about the gaming and history. Most of the battles use 6mm-sized figures and vehicles, but occasionally 15mm and 28mm figures appear too.
The Battle of Lundy's Lane was another action from the War of 1812. It was another particularly bloody action! And it also feature many of the same commanders and units which had fought at the Battle of Chippawa, the previous battle in this series of refights.
The scenario is again taken from one in the Polemos Ruse de Guerre rulebook, and again is modified to be roughly half its size in number of bases used. Basically the scenario as written proposes an infantry base for every 100 men engaged, I used a base for every 200. This usually has relatively little effect on the gameplay as far as I can tell but this was emphatically not true of this scenario. But more of which later...
Orders of Battle:
United States Army:
11 bases of Infantry
1 base of Militia
1 base of Skirmishers
5 bases of Guns
1 base of Cavalry
British Army:
12 bases of Infantry
3 bases of Poor Native Americans
2 bases of Well-Trained Light Infantry
4 bases of Guns
1 base of Cavalry
(I think I have made an error in my notes on the British order of battle. I will check and amend when I can. The sides are approximately accurate however).
About half of each side's units are present initially, with reinforcements arriving for both sides at regular intervals during the battle.
Again, both sides are simply looking to defeat the other. In the real action, the Americans took the initiative and attacked first.
The Set-Up:
The US forces are below the road (bottom) and towards the right (they are the ones that look vaguely blue!); the British Army is roughly parallel to the top left-right road
Another view. Scott's US infantry are shielded from cannon fire unless they advance or the British artillery moves closer
A closer look at the British who have massed their artillery forward
The position on the American Right around the woods
The Battle:
The Americans remain passive and under cover in the centre initially, instead advancing to threaten the British left flank hanging on the woods (right)
During these preliminary movements, reinforcements arrive: these are British Foot moving down the road
The Americans are pushing up against the British left (right) which has given ground rather than seriously contest the advance; however, on the other flank British light infantry companies are threatening Scott's flank (bottom-left); the US artillery has now arrived en masse (bottom-right road). Also note that the British foot and guns have advanced in the centre to bring Scott's troops under fire (bottom-centre)
A closer look at the US artillery advancing
The really serious fighting begins! The British attack the left flank of Scott's central position...
But Scott orders a very short withdrawal - he want to get into a musketry firefight, especially since Brown has now managed to get the US artillery in positin to enfilade the road...(centre-right)
With fairly disastrous results for the British! One battalion is broken and the others are taking heavy casualties, although the US infantry is also suffering from British musketry and particularly artillery, and one of Scott's battalions has also broken and run..
The gap in the US line is more obvious in this shot (bottom-centre)
The British resume their attack on the US left (bottom-left), but again Scott withdraws his men into a more compact formation and hopes to get succor quickly - note the arrival of US infantry reinforcements on the right-hand road...
British fire routs another US battalion (left) although reinforcements immediately step-in to restore the position on the flank...
A wider shot of the same
Some good British musketry on the US right flank starts to cause significant casualties on the US cavalry (note the shaken marker)
Seeing an opportunity, Lisle orders his Light Dragoons into the charge (centre)!
However the Americans deftly ignore this charge and quickly bring up their infantry instead (centre)...
...although the pressure on the American left is unrelenting (another battalion has broken) (bottom-centre)...
And another one, although note that some of the British light infantrymen have also run from the intense American reciprocal musketry too (extreme left)
The battle gets bloodier and bloodier - the British cavalry is sent fleeing down the road after a short but sanguine experience at the hands of the US infantrymen
The musketry duel on the American right rages on...
The American left flank is starting to cave and the remaining British light infantry are attacking the American guns in the flank...(bottom-centre); note also that the British infantry reinforcements are piling towards this flank too (left)
More American infantrymen arrive, but they are struggling to deploy into any kind of defensive line!
More British infantry reinforcements arrive!
But suddenly, the US cavalry rout! And this in turn leads to the entire US army losing heart and men begin to start running to the rear...
The position at the end of the battle
Game Notes: Another fun game, which could have gone either way, although the British did seem to gain a slight advantage early on which they never quite related. The game ended in quite unexpected fashion though: Polemos Ruse de Guerre uses rally rules in which a unit attempting to remove a level of shaken have a 10% chance of routing instead. And this happened just at the wrong time for the Americans, who then suffered a high morale loss level which tipped the whole army over the edge...a nice touch really, although both Polemos Ruse de Guerre and Napoleonic sets have morale systems which are simple, slightly quirky and occasionally really vicious!
Not the fault of the scenario as designed but as a result of my changes, the game did end up being a bit cramped. The reduced size scenarios are very small indeed: the playing area is typically only 79cm x 39cm. The rules don't advise that the ranges or move distances are changed to compensate, which normally doesn't matter but did in this game, because it meant that the Americans felt pressured and constructed right from the get go which wouldn't have been the case otherwise. The rules themselves however continued to give a really good game and with a bit of luck, the Americans might have reversed the fortunes of the day...
As ever, figures by Baccus 6mm, buildings here mainly by Leven.
And this concludes my playthroughs of the majority of the scenarios from the Polemos Ruse de Guerre rulebook. Both the rules and the scenarios have proved very satisfactory and I don't think I want to change my opinion too much from my first impressions. Mechanically they are probably the soundest of the Polemos family considered as a game. They have the most involved Tempo/PIP phase but all the other bits are the simplest to follow and the play. Apart from a couple of very minor issues, the only disagreement I have with them remains that I think the mechanics seem more historically appropriate for battalion-sized bases rather than company or platoon sized bases. I would at least personally want to modify the effective ranges somewhat to reflect the different levels of play. But overall, I have been very happy with these games and am looking forward to returning to them in the near future.
As I was in the North East anyway, today I headed over to Gateshead to visit the Border Reiver show. First impressions were that it was an okay venue (a sports hall of some kind but thankfully well lit - a few years back it was in a very dingy orange-lit hall) but it was quite quiet. There were five demonstration games and three participation games with a reasonable smattering of traders. For a small show, my primary interest of 6mm was quite well served, with Irregular and Scotia both present. There were a few sellers of very nice looking MDF buildings, there was lots of Warlord stuff, Pendraken, Aintsy Castings, Reiver, some traders selling Frostgrave and Perry box sets and so on, some sellers of Games Workshop-type things and a small but brisk bring-and-buy area. So a reasonable selection (full details here). Unusually for the shows I am used to, there weren't any book sellers there.
The Tyneside Wargames Club put on a strategic level game: Barbarossa.
The map-cloth was nicely functional, as were the wooden buildings representing the major cities (Kiev, Moscow etc.). I think that the figures and vehicles were Pendraken or similar, but I forgot to ask. They looked nice anyway, with each baase representing maybe a Corps or similar. The rules were the club's own I think, and basically resembled a simple boardgame CRT: each side roll a D6, add some factors, a 3:1 or better result destroys the enemy and better than 1:1 pushes them back (or something along those lines anyway). It seemed to rattle on at a fair pace and was decent inspiration for how a small group of gamers might actually put on a game like this: it was a very "doable" game.
The Contemptible Little Wargames Club did the attack of D'Erlon's Corps at Waterloo:
Nearly every show I go to has a game like this: a big set-piece Napoleonic game using lots of nicely painted 28mm figures and the Black Powder ruleset, and nothing wrong with that either. I liked the actual figures, the model of La Haye Sainte and the trees although the "whole", although it is perfectly fine, isn't really my thing (I prefer to use 6mm stuff on a smaller board but with more depth and width relative to the figures). But this was a nicely done version of a show-staple and Black Powder remains an effective ruleset for this type of big multi-player game.
The Whitby Wargamers put on a more bijou 28mm Napoleonic game:
This was a very simple set-up to play out quite an interesting "what-if" scenario: what if Marshal Soult had attacked the British units isolated by the collapse of the pontoon bridge during the build up to the Battle of Toulouse (1814)? Again, some nice-looking 28mm figures using the Black Powder rules. The terrain was more "I could do this at my club / in my garage myself" inspiration rather than a "this is the kind of thing that lots of skill and dedication can achieve" inspiration. I know that both approaches have their fans!
The Westerhope Wargames Club put on Islandwandha:
Another 28mm game this one, with simple but nice terrain used effectively. The guys were very friendly and helpful in explaining the rules and the set-up. Another game that used the club's own rules, they explained that they used the same outline for all the periods they play up to the C20 and then adjust for weapons and tactics (which when you think about it is not so different from the WRG/DBx or the Black Powder/Pike & Shotte family of rules, amongst others) and this enables them to play quite big battles in 2-3 hours with rules that are almost entirely internalized, leading to more concentration on the tactics. They use quite "old school" approaches in some ways, with measuring sticks (bounce sticks still appear when necessary!) and written orders, yet some of the guts of the rules were quite modern and streamlined (they use combat values for units/bases). Perhaps the mixture is unsurprising in a club which counts the writer of Practical Wargaming as a member... One great tip they passed on was to have players write orders for the first five moves which had to be followed verbatim and then start the "active" part of the game. That seems like a really good way of creating interesting situations from pre-battle procedure.
They also had some nice Zulu Wars stuff to look at and touch: assegais, helmets, a Martini-Henry rifle and bayonet and a cavalry carbine.
There was a Ghost Archipelago pirate game:
There was lots of really nice terrain, figures and ships on display here. The pirate port was genuinely spectacular! The eagle-eyed will have spotted it is heavily based on that in the cartoon film Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists!
I think the point of it was more the set-up than the game but it was good to chat with the guys who kindly explained some of the finer points of the design, which was obviously a labour of love and really did look the part.
There was a WW1 aerial combat demonstration game:
This looked like a Wings of War heartbreaker/hack but good fun for all that and it seemed to be reasonably busy for the few hours I was there.
I unfortunately didn't get pictures of the other two games on: a vampire hunting participation game and a WW2 aerial game. I wasn't quite sure if the latter was a demo or participation game.
There was a also a re-enactor / medieval european martial arts instructor who was showing off some C13 style armour and weapons and taking people through the finer points of construction and usage. It was very interesting and the website is worth checking out too. Apparently they do re-enactments for English Heritage and suchlike in the Northeast (they are at Warkworth next year in May IIRC) and they actually teach people to use the kit in the style of Hans Talhoffer.
I got some bits and pieces from Irregular: a few bits missing from my late C15/early C16 forces (mounted arquebusiers and some sword-and-buckler men, and a a wagon with a standard on it); plus some samples from their Vietnam range to see how I get on with painting up their modern stuff. I also picked up some quite nicely painted Warhammer 40k stuff at very reasonable prices (as presents for some younger relatives) and a few Border Reivers, just because I fancied painting a few, and which will fit in well to my occasional fantasy games. The guy at Scotia was explaining that they had acquired the old ArmiesArmy 15mm stuff and were just starting to re-release it: I will probably get a few of the infantry and vehicles at some point when they are all out...
So it was nice enough and everyone I talked to was friendly and helpful but the whole affair just felt a little small. The size of the hall could easily have fitted in twice the number of games and a few more traders and most of all, some more visitors. I can still remember the North East's wargames community packing out the Civic Centre in the late 80s, which is much larger and pretty close to the centre of Newcastle. Has interest in figure gaming died out to that extent?
The orders of battle and the mission were generally the same, however this time I deployed the French artillery on the river bank protecting the main approach to Reinhausen.
The Set-Up:
Note the French artillery pre-positioned by the river bear Reinhausen (centre)
Another view
And another one, focusing more on the French around and in the village and the approaching Austrian force.
The Battle:
This time, the French artillery makes it worth apparent early, driving back the Austrian attackers as they form up, and allowing the French to reinforce Reinhausen.
The Austrians do manage to launch an attack onto "the hot corner" - the edge of the village of Reinhausen.
But they are driven back with loss! First and second blood to the French, although the Austrian artillery and skirmishers have done some damage to the French defenders
Rather than spend time reforming his defeated first column, the Austrian general merely launches his second column into the attack...
The French make just as short work of this attack and the Austrians are now forced to regroup their whole force! The French commander busy himself getting his lead battalion re-organized...
The Austrian commanders still cannot perceive a better solution than a direct assault, so a third head-on attack is tried...
And is thrown back with further heavy losses! The Austrian commander
moves a cavalry regiment forward (centre-left) to provide target
practice for the French artillery but also to screen his infantry
attacks...
Again, emphasizing attacking rather than organization, a fourth assault is ordered forward...
Heavy casualties are caused on both sides...
And this time it is the French who have had enough and are forced to fall back to the other part of the village! Their supporting units become somewhat demoralized and the Austrian commander, seeing his moment, orders his Dragoons forward (centre)...
Davout faced a very difficult decision at this point: he was able to order a quick return into Reinhausen before the Austrians could advance or he could spend time re-organizing his men but lose half of the village...he chose the former course, and the French fusiliers re-occupied their vacated positions (centre-left)
The Austrian force, itself re-organized, presses forward again against the distinctly shaky looking French...
And this time there is no escape: the leading French battalion is routed and their supports are both shaken and disorganized (centre)
And without further shots being fired, the entire French regiment routs back over the bridge!
The French chasseurs grimly holding onto the edge of Reinhausen against the Austrian masses (centre/centre-left) look very vulnerable to being cut-off from the bridge by the Austrian Dragoons (centre-top)
Davout leads another battalion across the river (right) to try and stave off disaster
The final French battalion in the town has been evicted, broken and is now in full retreat (bottom-left), demoralizing the French on the other side of the bridge as they fled (bottom-centre)
With the major part of Reinhausen now entirely occupied by Austrian infantry (left), the Austrians unleash their Dragoons against the French infantry at the bridge, who are already shaken, although Davout is there to command them in person (centre)
A series of faultless volleys decimated the Dragoons and sends them off in flight!
Not a good day to be an Austrian Dragoon...
However, a combination of the dire situation and some effective shooting from the Austrian infantry in the village breaks the French battalion guarding the bridge..
And French morale collapses entirely! The isolated French light infantry battalion (extreme-right) has to surrender before it gets to fire a shot...
Game Notes: A really good game, more exciting than the first try. Again, the scenario threw into relief the focus of the rules on shock rather than attrition: the French infantry were initially very successful in throwing back the Austrian attacks, but lacked a mechanism by which they could convert this into decisive defeat (it is very hard although not impossible in these rules to break opponents by fire alone, even close range defensive fire). Conversely, although the Austrians suffered many setbacks, they were always able to rally and then attack again without having lost any effectiveness. What one thinks of all this will be entirely dependent upon one's view as to the importance of attritional fire combat in Napoleonic warfare.
