No French Napoleonics

Saturday I loaded my Bavarians, Russians, and Prussians into Electrical Pete's KIA and with Handyman Huw, we trekked south of the 401 for a Big Napoleonic game at Scott's. This is hopefully going to be an annual thing.

Scott's Austrians joined my Prussians and Russians to fight his Wurttemburgers, and Italians, who were seeing dice rolled in anger for the first time. The Wurttemburgers and Italians were assisted by my Bavarians and Curmudgeonly Don's Dutch.

Russo-Prussian Grenadier Brigade 

Italian division

Wurttemburger Brigade 

Dutch Brigade 

Allied Light Cavalry Brigade 

Allied Reserve Artillery on a ridge with Corps Commander 

L-R: our host Scott, Handyman Huw, Curmudgeonly Don, and Electrical Pete. Huw and Pete are totally new to Napoleonic gaming after years in 40k. But they are building armies, so I thought they'd like to be in a big game.

Prussian Divisional Artillery

Italians assaulting the village on my left. My battalion of Fusiliers threw back four assaults before they needed to be relieved

Italian Artillery 

Prussians holding off Italian assault

Austrians arrive. Cavalry reinforces my left. Infantry move up in the center behind the big building.

Imperials moving forward 

Imperial Cavalry Brigade has pushed back my Prussian Reserve Brigade. The Bavarian Cheveaux-Leger did me proud putting in a good charge, even if they were fighting against me that day. 

Bavarian Division assaulting my center and making a dangerous hole, but I've been thrashing the Bavarian columns with fire from three batteries

Austrian Division arrives. Brigade of Grenadiers and brigade of infantry.

My Allied Dragoon Brigade hovered about menacingly, keeping these guys from sweeping around the village

Huw and Don contemplating options

Womp womp! Used two scarce ADCs to put "Artillery Assault" on my 12 pounders to roll abysmally and put a fatigue on myself. Instead of trying for other brigade orders our few ADCs (because we kept duffing our ADC availability rolls) were allocated to command rerolls to keep as many brigades as possible from being hesitant. So this was rather disappointing.

You can see the Austrian Grenadiers on the flank of the big building stopping the Imperial Cavalry from going any further

A view of the right. The skirmishers are potting at each other. The Allied Light Cavalry Brigade has retired behind the hill to get away from the Wurttemburg artillery.

My Prussian battalion on the flank of the village has been bundled back, attacked in front by Italians and in the flank by Bavarians. Fortunately they rallied.

We called it at 7 o'clock. The Bavarians were in bad shape having been hammered by the Allied artillery and the Italians had shattered a brigade against the village, so the Imperial side had two brigades on the cusp of collapsing. My Prussians were still holding on by their white knuckles, although it would only be because the Italians and Bavarians were going to break first.

So, maybe a winning draw for the Allies? Schwartzenburg will herald a mighty victory, Napoleon will blame one of his Marshalls, we went and ate pizza. Fun had been had.

It was a grand spectacle, if somewhat slow moving. General d'Armee is very detailed but the command and control really only starts to shine with a couple of divisions per side on the table. Unfortunately, I think the rules really need a dedicated club with big collections who can play it a lot to get the most out of them. I wonder how this game would have played if we had used Shako II? I am also contemplating the feasibility of making sabot bases to use my 28mm miniatures for Blucher.

This was my 22nd game of the year!

Rant and Roar

The rhyflers lining the rails on the cruiser looked in wide eyed alarm at the forbidding rocky coastline lashed by a heavy surf. It was a cold, forlorn place, far removed from the mangrove swamps and jungles they were used to.

Lukey spat a stream of tobacco juice into the sea. "Pashang beratna! Inna no gloamy warm here na? What for imma bossquar king send Gloamyquar here, ke pensa?"

Yawdryl Laf'ynt ignored him and looked at the rest. "Oi-ya gloamy-beratna. Alle inna skiffs, sa sa ke?"

With grunts and grumbles they shouldered their packs and clambered down the nets into the waiting launches.

Ryta was pegging out the wash. It was a fine day with a brisk breeze coming up the valley from the sea. Then she heard the bells.

Tymi came pounding up the path to her cottage. "Granny Ryta! Granny Ryta! It's the Rising Out!"

Tymi was bouncing with excitement. The bells usually called for aid if a barn was on fire or a fishing boat was foundering on the rocks, which were exciting enough. The Rising Out summoned all able bodied quar to gather underarms. "It's the Rising Out, Granny!"

Ryta carefully set her basket down. "Alright, alright,  young Tym. Now, you get the snegls further up the hillside. And I'll go to the bells." Tymi looked dejected as she went inside to get her Anaryan made submachine gun out of the umbrella stand.

Table from Gloam-Hynn edge

Table from Partisan edge

Ryta joined the rest in the lee of a cliff face. She and her life long friend Jyn't exchanged grim nods while the Old Syrnol divided the 14 quar into the fireteams that they had naturally grouped themselves into. He, Aelf, Ned, and Ryta conferred over a plan. No one knew if he really had been a Syrnol,  but he had come home from the Wars with a sword and enough cash to buy a big ocean going lobster boat and hired a crew. He was happy to organize things that needed organizing, like the annual village fete, and preside over the raucous council meetings, which used to end in punch-ups before his firm hand took the Chairquar's gavel. So for the most part, the quar of the valley were happy to leave him to it, as long as he didn't try organizing too much.

L-R: youth, Byrt, Jyn't (pink coat), Ryta 

Byrt, the poacher, with his long Harlech would head up the hill with a fine view down to the beaches. Ryta and Jyn't with one of OS' crew would cover the foot of the hill and hold the left flank. Byrt nodded, and slurpped noisily from a mug of his homebrew. 

"Now then, Byrt, make sure you ain't glass eyed. We need youse pottin' incomers" Ryta chided.

Byrt laughed. "Cinnae hit 'm if'n I kin see straight,  kin I?"

Aelf and his lads

Aelf and Ned with some young lads each would go right, either side of the biggest farm house. The Old Syrnol and two youth would be in the center.

The Old Syrnol 

Ned with his team

 

Yawdryl Laf'ynt leads his quar forward

Trackers with Sarf-Cyn. Eager to try these. Although I've learned I need to print the revised army lists. The rules for them have changed

Spending pluck on group moves and sprinting while behind cover, the partisans move into position. Byrt is prone on top of the big hill.

"Shysh! Wha's dat, me buckos?" Ned and his team spot Sarf-Cyn scuttling along the flank. 

"Away wi' ye!" Granny Jyn't takes up position behind the huvi pen and sends a lot of heavy suppressive fire down range. Her Anaryan made KEEGY rhyfle is basically a Ryshi; a heavy shoulder cannon that reduces cover. The leading Gloamers keep getting hit. They recover, only to be knocked down again.

The LMG starts chattering away to shoot the Sarf-Cyn down. 

"An' keep away from our huvis ye ancestorless brigands!" 

Gloamer advance is getting stuck around the small house

Lots of fire up and down the defile!

Patrolling past the big farmhouse just before he's knocked OOA with a shot from Byrt 

Aelf and the LMG gunner keep the center pinned down forcing the Gloamers to spend most of their actions on Tend Wounds

Granny Ryta has moved up to help Jyn't. Which is good because Jyn't's KEEGY jams and then she is rendered OOA. Ryta exacts a terrible revenge on the Gloamers 

A Gloamer (by the door) tries outflanking Ryta and is shot by Byrt.

"Stop bleeding sonny, you're nicked!" Learned you can't melee or dispatch OOA enemy. So they're made prisoner. Ned tries Tend Wound and rolls a '1'! Dead.

Byrt in his sniper perch

Aelf and the LMG secure the farmyard and put fire on the Trackers

Trackers move up, adding some fire to help the center

A lot of Gloamers are OOA

The Old Syrnol has charged forward, but gets knocked down by a shot from the Trackers 

With 2 cards left in turn 2 I called it. The Gloamers had 2 unwounded figures not OOA and they were too scattered to perform any Tend Wounds. I let the upright and walking wounded do Tend Wounds and retreat. Quar, being essentially decent folk, would cease fire and let the enemy carry their wounded away. Three Gloamers were unwounded, carrying one seriously wounded, and helping three wounded get back to the launches. The Partisans performed Tend Wound on those that were left. The Gloamers left behind three dead and three prisoners of war (one seriously wounded). For the Partisans one OOA recovered, the Old Syrnol had a minor wound, and Jyn't was seriously wounded.

For the Partisans I just pick 'n' mixed from the different army lists depending on what weapon they were carrying. Both sides came just a squint over 400 points which is a nice size to play with. The Gloamers could have used a musician though, who could do Tend Wound on everyone within 3" or something. Or the cook, who does the same but with a +1. They got most of their pluck from successful Tend Wound results, just to have the figure knocked OOA on the following Partisan card.

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Jyn't came too, her head in Ryta's lap while Aelf cleaned her head with some strong alcohol. "Ach! Don't fuss so!"

Ryta brushed her snout. "Stay calm chook. You've given us all a fright. An' why'd you have to take them all on by yerself, anyway?"

Jyn't settled back enjoying the care. "Ach! Someone had to dinnae they? Ouch! It stings! What's that? Your homebrew you're usin' on me is it?"

The Old Syrnol directed his crewquar to gather the dropped weapons and the dead, while a couple of lads directed some prisoners, carrying a wounded comrade, to the village hall. One of the escort started singing one of the songs they sung while hauling a catch out on the Deeps:

We'll rant and we'll roar like true Ergydwrans
We'll rant and we'll roar on deck and below
Until we strikes bottom inside the two sunkers
When straight through the channel to Toslow we'll go

Recognizing the tune, if perhaps the lyrics were different, the Gloamers joined in:

I'm a son of a sea cook, I'm a cook and a trader
I can dance, I can sing, I can reef the main boom
I can handle a jigger, I cuts a fine figure
Whenever I gets in a boat's standing room