Rabbitman Lost in the Fog of War

This post has taken literally months, to write, as I periodically updated it as things where fresh in my mind. But we started playing in September 2022.

It would have be nice to post monthly reports, but the Mad Padre reads this blog too, and he was on the other side. So OpSec was paramount.

A listener to our podcast heard the Mad Padre's desire to experience the grand sweep of Napoleonic strategic maneuvering and invited us to join her Play By E-Mail (PBEM) campaign refighting the 1806 campaign which ended in the Prussian defeat at Jena.

I thought this sounded like jolly good fun and volunteered for a minor role.

Then I got my briefing, only to find myself to be the Prussian C-in-C, General Charles William Ferdinad, Duke of  Brunswick.

The Duke of Brunswick KIA IRL at the B. of Jena

Of course, I was distracted by Real Life before the game kicked off, so I didn't sit down to read anything until the night my orders were due! No time for a Council of War or issuing orders to corps commanders. One of my Corps (General Ruchel) promptly galloped off into the blue to cause havoc among the French around Meiningen and Ohrdruf, and I occasionally got unexpected and much delayed reports, but my ability to support or coordinate with them was minimal. I just sent encouraging replies, outlined a few broad options, and hoped they are enough of a disruption to tip the balance for me.

Zany hijinks ensue as I figure out how to deploy my divisions and get them moving without too much congestion. My main body of 6 divisions ends up maneuvering in two separate columns and I get updates such as "You hear artillery fire to your south which lasts for 2 hours." 

I anxiously await the arrival of a lathered staff galloper with a report from the other large Prussian Corps commanded by another player.

And wait....

And wait....

For a contact report that never comes.

Fearing the worst I'm imaging their corps shattered and retreating in disarray and start worrying about a French outflanking move to my left, when I get a message that they're still comfortably ensconced in their original position at Hof while I'm engaging a French corps that has slipped between us.

Area of Operations

End of each turn I get lovely situation maps like this and report of what I've encountered. But, note that my map does not include the locations of the other Prussian corps!

The road South

At the rate of 3 kph it is slow going on the tiny map. A 10 hour march only moves you about an inch!

Where is everybody?

Contact! "More than a Division" 

Finally there is contact, but with who? and how many of them? I issue my orders and draw up my deployment. It's all very exciting! I compose a suitably stirring Order of the Day hoping that it might get me a +1 modifier. And for fun to keep in the spirit of things.

My deployment for the first engagement 
Pretty complicated, huh?

See attached photograph of deployment.

1Div and Arty Reserve Center

2Div west 

2Res Div east

Can I add that batteries should be dug in, infantry deployed in dead ground as much as possible and 2nd Reserve Div should refuse it's left wing? because I really think the French are going to fix my front and come around my open left flank.

I will give battle if the French attack me. If they do not then I will attack the detachment holding Schleitz. I want 2 Res Div to patrol to the east and look for the French and Hohenlohe.

From General Charles Wiliam Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, before Schleitz, 1900 11 Sept 1806

To: Generals Scharnhorst (3Div) Kuhneim (1 Res Div) Blucher (advance Guard), Prinz Louis (Adv Guard of Prince Hohenlohe's corps)

Gentlemen, I have encountered a strong enemy force occupying Schleitz and will give battle in the morning. I require you to march to the sound of the guns.

Leave your baggage at Saalfeld and force march through the night to Schleitz to envelope the enemy's left flank. Destroy all the Frenchmen before you. We will shake hands when we meet on the road to Hof.

From Duke of Brunswick, before Schleitz, 1900 11 Sept 1806

To General Ruhl near Morningen

Sir,

In the morning I expect to be attacked by the French main force. You are too far away to give aid in the coming battle.

Continue in your harrying of the enemy Lines of Communication and if you can return via the Neustadt-saalfeld pass you will discomfit Bernadotte's Corps considerably. 

Order your reserve division to march to Saalfeld as well.

Order of the Day to be read to all ranks

"Soldiers of Prussia! The invader is before you! Your homes are behind you! The eyes of God and your King watch over you! The fate of Fatherland is in your hands today!

You are the inheritors of Frederick the Great, who defeated enemies greater than this. Be firm in your resolve, steadfast in your courage and strong in the iron discipline of Prussian arms!"

After all that, the French promptly retire to Lobenstein, seeking, I suspect, to pull me out of position and into a trap. I fall back to Saalbourg where I can support Hohenlohe. 

Just in time as 2 French corps come thundering up from Hof. So my flank is threatened from Lobenstein,  but I am in a position to fall on the flank of the French main force too.

We fight a two pronged battle at Saalbourg and Schleitz. I try to hold my front and send half my force to help Hohenlohe by flanking Napoleon.

We give the Corsican Ogre a bloody nose but have to break off at night fall. I squeak north with just two divisions, while Hohenlohe and the rest of my corps sideslip over the hills to the east. There are many turns of anxiety and I conduct an epic night march north and slip from the French trap. I hope the German poet Korner writes something stirring about it. I am pursued and fight a few rear guard actions but manage to get into Altenbourg unmolested where I can rest, recover stragglers and dig in. The rest of my corps, followed by Hohenlohe join me there.

Unfortunately, so do the French, with Napoleon and the heavy cavalry reserve close behind.

Of course, whenever things get complicated, the weekly turns are only two hours long! So it can be quite anxious, and confusing, when you're sitting and waiting while the clock slows down for something going on somewhere else, and it takes 5 or 8 weeks of real time just to play out one day!

Okay! At last. I'm rested. My entire army is concentrated behind a river and dug in. I'll put Hohenlohe into reserve to rest and I'll fight the French Tyrant with my entire force behind redoubts!

Hohenlohe takes his corps against orders to engage the French corps coming from Gera. Which I said was a diversion to pull us apart, and we'd be better off staying concentrated behind all my lovely earthworks. But no, he swallows the bait.

FUCK!

Idiot. His corps would've come in handy during the battle.

Here is my feedback after the first two hours fighting at Altenbourg:

Reserve

1^st Div Orange

1^st Res Div Funheim

2^nd Res Div Arnim

NORTH

Blücher Advance Guard (7000) Warten's Div (8000) west	Brunswick Heavy Artillery Wurtemburg's Reserve (14,000) centre	Scharnhorst's Div (12,000) east
Inf Division (8000) west	Ney Inf Division (7000) Light (2000) centre	Napoleon Murat 1 Div Cuirassier (2000) 2 Div Cuirassier (2000) 1 Dragoons (2000) east

SOUTH

 The heaviest fighting takes place in the east sector where the French heavy cavalry comes wading through the water and up to the earthworks in multiple short probing attacks looking for any sign of weakness but they find none and after two hours they are forced to retreat back across the stream. Despite the fury of the action casualties are light (-5 to morale for Scharnhorst's Div) but you inflict twice what you suffer. In the centre Ney leads his troops forward more timidly and here the casualties are extremely light on both sides  as the French make no attempt to cross the river but just try and soften you up with their light field guns and skirmishers but you get the better of it and the French once more take twice the casualties that you do (-1 to morale for Wurtemburg's Reserve)

In the west the French make a more concerted effort, pushing hard to get across the river but they are thrown back by Blücher with significant casualties while Blücher's and Warten's casualties are quite light (-5 to morale for both Blücher and Wartens and twice that for the French). 

You will notice that there aren't many French infantry or the Guard revealed yet. So who knows what the Ogre is up to? My orders for the next two hour turn:

"Well we'll stick to our positions and I'll give a saddle bag of Thalers to whoever puts a ball into Napoleon, and I'll stand as Best Man at his wedding and God Father to his children too!"

And I offer up a prayer that Ruchel is marching east.

Turn 43 ends at 10:00 am on the 17^th of September 1806

 There is a lot of movement across the river in the Grande Armée. At 8:00 am a new Corps comes up and relieves the heavy cavalry in the West sector and immediatley presses forward into the attack. They cross the river and slam into the troops of Scharnhorst's Division. Scharnhorst is able to keep them out of the redoubts but his losses are heavy (-12 to morale for his Division) and he is not able to push Davout's men back across the river this time (this means that you lose the defensive bonus of the river in the West sector from now on). Scharnhorst's men are visibly wavering. Napoleon joins Ney in the center and urges the Division of infantry and cavalry there forward. They cross the river  shouting "Vive l'Empereur!", but they don't make it more than a couple of paces up the bank before they fall back to the safety of the south side again. Casualties in the centre are quite light on both sides (-1 to Wurtemberg's morale). In the West the Infantry Division facing you is reinforced by three Divisions of green coated Dragoons who all come on trumpets sounding and blades flashing but they are met with a firestorm from the Advanced Guard and Warten's Division and none of them make it across the narrow stretch of water. Casualties in the west are moderate (-6 to morale for both Divisions there) but you inflict twice what you receive on the French.

Reserve

1^st Div Orange

1^st Res Div Funheim

2^nd Res Div Arnim

NORTH

Blücher Advance Guard (7000) Warten's Div (8000) west	Brunswick Heavy Artillery Wurtemburg's Reserve (14,000) centre	Scharnhorst's Div (12,000) east
Inf Division (8000) 2 Div Dragoons (3000) 4 Div Dragoons (3000) 5 Div Dragoons (5000) west	Napoleon Ney Inf Division (7000) Light Cavalry (2000) centre	Davout 1 Inf Div (8000) 2 Inf Div (7000) 3 Inf Div (7000) Light Cavalry (2000) east

SOUTH

I commit Orange's Division to reinforce Scharnhorst.

Turn 44 ends at noon on the 17^th of September 1806

 At 1000am Soult and his IV Corps begin relieving the troops in the west sector and then forward across the stream behind a thick screen of skirmishers. By noon he is across the river with out any casualties. On the right in the east sector Orange’s Division comes forward and joins the Schaenhorst there to a chorus of grateful cheers (+5 to morale for Scharnhorst). Davout redoubles his offesive and his men can be seen scrambling up the sides of several of your redoubts bayonets gleaming. The fighting on the left is like a see-saw back and forth, whenever it looks like a redoubt is about to fall your brave me manage to throw the French out again until finally at noon one Scharnhorst’s Division has had all they can take and gives way. The men begin streaming to the rear! Seeing their friends running  Orange’s Division looks like it is wavering but their officers beat and cajole their men back into ranks again. As the sun reaches it's zenith Scharnhorst and Oranje’s casualties are heavy (-11 to morale for Scharnhorst, -21 to morale for Orange) while the French appear to have taken half of what Scharnhorst has the earthworks are still contested.

In the center The light cavalry withdraws the  Good order to be replaced by Cuirassier and Dragoons to the cheers of Ney's 1er Division, who give the dashing cavalry a heart and together they dash forward and into the great redoubt in the centre of the batlefield. For two hours Wurtemberg struggles mightily, shot and shell rain down on both sides, bayonets and sabres run red everywhere and then a loud groan can be heard as 14000 men who have been pushed past all endurance cry out as one and then break and run! The French with theor damned eagles are in the redoubt! The Wurtemberg is running! the wings hold but the centre has broken! 

The casualties in the centre are monumental (-30 to morale for Wurtemberg’s Division). One of the French Divisions moves into the North Center sector.

This is the situation as of noon:

North

Blücher Wartens Division (8000) Advance Guard (7000) west	Unknown French Division center	Orange's Division (8000) east
Soult 1er Div IV Corps (7000) 2e Div IV Corps (9000) Guyot's Lt. Cav (2000) west	Napoleon Ney 1er Div VI Corps (7000) Nansouty Cuirassier (2000) Klein Dragoons (2000) center	Davout  1er Div III Corps (8000) 2e Div III Corps (7000) 3e Div III Corps (7000) east

SOUTH

Things are looking grim. Hohenlohe's separate fight to the west is going badly as well. I cannot throw my 2 reserve divisions directly at the center. Reinforcing either wing is pointless, because you'll notice that the Guard Infantry and Cavalry are uncommitted. Napoleon will just push those into the gap, and each wing will be destroyed piecemeal. I order a retreat and suggest that the king seek peace and send Hohenlohe into exile on some remote estate. 

The turn summary that arrives a week later is rather climactic:

Turn 45 ends at 2:00 pm on the 17th of September 1806 in a welter of blood and chaos.

  At Noon Brunswick, with his centre stove in and two Divisions broken and routing orders a general retreat. As the wild eyed and terror stricken men of Wurtemberg’s and Scharnhorst’s Divisions run through Altenberg they are joined by the shattered remnants of Zechwitz, Louis, Pryttwitz, and Grawert’s Divisions (Hohenlohe's Corps) racing into the already chocked streets from the west. It was pandemonium in the town while on the field of battle in the west sector Blücher tried to form a rearguard with Warten’s Division so that the Advance Guard could retreat in good order but unfortunately there was no escape since the streets were gridlocked by the terrified ruin of Hohenlohe’s army and the ruins of Wurtemberg’s Division.

  Soult’s Corps hit Blücher’s rearguard like a ton of bricks while Ney, who had brought forward one of his infantry divisions to take the ground vacated by Wurtemberg slammed into Blücher’s left flank. Caught like a nut in a nutcracker the rearguard shattered while in the east sector Orange tried to withdraw his exhausted Division but Davout’s men, with their blood already up from seeing off Scharnhorst surged forward and hit Orange like a lightning bolt thrown by an angry war god. Inevitably this was too much for the Prussians who immediately began to rout along with the rest of the Prussian army.

  The 17th of September 1806 will be remembered as the greatest day to be a French cavalryman in the history of the cavalry. There is nothing that a cavalryman likes better than there sight of a fleeing infanteer and before them were thousands!  The pursuit began at noon and it continued for six hours and twenty kilometres. It finally ended as the sun set at 6:00 pm. Brunswick hoped to get a chance to attempt to march all night and reform the broken ruin of the Prussian army in Leipzig but at 7:00 pm he learned from a courier riding south from that city that at 6:00 pm General Lasalles had risen in from the west and Seized the city, cutting the line of communications to Madgeburg and any further hope of retreat.

  Meanwhile far away in the Thuringerwald northeast of Meiningen the shattered remains of Ruchel’s flank guard were also being run down by Lannes’ light cavalry. This rout had begun in the morning just north of Ohrdruf and went on all day long.

 

  With the majority of the Prussian/Saxon army destroyed King Frederick William III was forced to submit and offer terms on the 18th of September 1806. The treaty of Magdeburg was signed a few days later ending Prussia’s part in the War of the Fourth Coalition.

Wendy has produced animated maps showing all the maneuvering. Here is the first episode:

I'll put up the links to the remaining episodes and the link to our post game interview with Wendy on the Canadian Wargamer Podcast as they are ready.

Change is the Only Constant

 

It would seem that all my virtuous plans to knock down the pile and paint nothing but Austrians, Prussians, Russians and Dwarves have once again been derailed. 

But the goofy, grimsical Quar have captured my attention like few other projects. I get odd flashes of inspiration at inconvenient times that have me rushing to the basement to rummage through boxes. I remembered a die cast truck that I felt was a little too big for my gangsters, but with a repaint could be a good lorry for Quar. And where did I put that old computer mouse that I now think would make a good tank turret? And we need to think about trenches and shell craters too.

I spent a couple of weeks on the Zombiesmith store adding to, removing items from, and then adding others, removing them, before adding something I had originally added, to my shopping cart before finally clicking Buy Now. But trying to balance getting all the support options I could want, while thinking about the future plastics, and getting a bit so I can play now, while keeping the final bill to a reasonable amount occupied my mind considerably. Zombiesmith's USD$20 flat rate shipping certainly encouraged making a decent sized order.

In my defense, a lot of what I actually buy I do paint. It's all the stuff people give to me that tends to pile up as my interests wander.

Honest, guv'nor.

UNMC Marines Repainted

I decided that I didn't like the olive green paint scheme on my UNMC Marines. The Tamiya paint I used went on thin, giving me some natural highlights, but not consistently. And the very realistic, everything is green, scheme made a lot of the wonderful details on the Ground Zero Games sculpts disappear.

Marines in the old paint scheme defending the FOB from Martian attack

So it just wasn't doing it for me.

Everyone got overpainted in "Neutral Grey" then dry brushed "Dove Grey." Weapons were painted black with "Neutral Grey" dry brushing to make them stand out a little bit, but still be camouflaged. Visors were yellow again. A "Uniform Blue" dot on the shoulder was a nod to a UN badge. One of the command figures got a red helmet stripe and another got two blue helmet stripes so I can tell which unit has my force commander in game. I also took the opportunity to paint out the colour coded dots I had put on bases so I could tell who was what for my old rules.

Power Armour team. Just in case I want to put my force commander in an elite team, one of them has a red helmet stipe too.

Fast and simple. Took me longer to think about it than to actually do it, which is the story of many hobby projects really.

First Quar!

With their new ride (see previous post)

Sunday morning of the Victoria Day long weekend. I'm in my bathrobe, drinking tea, eating ham and egg breakfast sandwiches, and watching The Expanse, as you do, when the door bell rings.

It's Mormons. Or somebody else selling something.

Reluctantly I pause Amos and put my sandwich down (they were pretty good if I do say so myself).

It's not Mormons. It's Lorenzo, whom I haven't seen in an age and a half. 

"Hey, it's me!" he says and hands me some baggies.

I wave at his partner standing beside their lemon yellow VW Bug and then look at the baggies.

It's the handful of Quar he bought on a whim many, many years ago and showed to me all those years ago to plant the seed of my enduring fascination with the adorably goofy sentient anteaters. 

"Here you go, have fun!" and he leaves on his Sunday road trip.

After a few hours moving rose shoots and engaging in mortal combat with an overgrown forsythia I got them assembled before dinner.

4x rhyflers with 12mm Bogen automatic shotguns and a yawdryl (Sergeant) with a lighter automatic weapon. One rhyfler is carrying a grenade. 

Interesting models. Separate heads. Different heads. Separate weapons. Multiple pack options; there's a main pack with bed roll and then different small packs to attach above. Extra bits; grenades, a knife, some more pouches. 

Different pack options 

There was a bit of "is that flash, or an arm?" The left arm on one figure had broken off during their time in Lorenzo's storage. Took a bit of trimming and tweezer work to fit it back into place. I made liberal usage of superglue accelerator too.

A couple of sessions with the paint brushes and we have my first unit!

I have deliberately painted them like WW2 Canadians; Tamiya XF-49 Khaki for the uniforms, Vallejo 103 German Camo Beige for the webbing, Tamiya XF-51 Khaki Drab for the helmets.

Note knitted hat under helmet 

Close up of Yawdryl (NCO)

I seriously thought about leaving their lovely round puddle bases as is, but I'd rather store them on magnetic sheeting rather than let them rattle around. 

Quar "Cadier" Class Armoured Utility Tractor

Nog closed the driver's hatch and settled into his seat. He carefully adjusted the idle on the rumbling engine as the squad of rhyflers climbed aboard his Cadier Armoured Utility Tractor. 

The Cadier, named after the cavalry mounts, was a rugged work beast. They had proven useful for many tasks; resupplying forward positions and extracting casualties while under fire, towing light artillery and transporting heavy weapons teams, or like today, armed with a heavy automatic shotgun and squad of infantry to do some patrolling. 

They were part of a two tractor patrol. The Alithean light war tractor would lead, they would follow to provide dismounts to check any buildings along their route.

The Alithean revved it's engine, spewing black exhaust as the commander waved the 'advance.' The Yawdryl banged on his roof. "Arrit there Nog? Let's go." Nog adjusted his goggles and put the vehicle into gear.

Nog drove with his port open. He could see better and he liked to feel the wind on his snout as they clattered along. Patrols always gave him a thrill and made him feel like the cavalry of old, feeling the wind as they rode their cadiers, searching for the enemy.

Flashes of light from the brush beside the road got his attention as simultaneously bullets spanged loudly on the side of his compartment. 

"Contact left!" He heard the Yawdryl shout as the heavy shotgun began thrashing the brush with flechette rounds. 

The Alithean ahead of him ground to a halt as smoke began coming from the engine. It's turret began to turn, but then stopped as the crew bailed out of hatches billowing smoke, only to be cut down by machine gun fire.

Nog dropped his port closed and slewed his tractor to the left. "It's a charge lads!" he shouted and stomped on the accelerator. 

He could hear the heavy shotgun banging away as they bounced over uneven ground towards the location of the enemy fire that, fortunately, was still focused on the bigger Alithean. 

A previously hidden ditch, filled with shocked enemy rhyflers, suddenly appeared. Nog stood on the accelerator with a "Yeeee!" and the Cadier hit a small mound and bounced over the ditch to crash heavily on the other side. The Yawdryl fired down the length of the ditch, slaughtering the exposed ambushers, while his rhyflers jumped out to finish clearing the brush.

Nog climbed out unsteadily. He sat on the edge of his hatch and got his pipe going with shaking hands while he watched the rhyflers collect wounded tractor crew and roughly pick up a prisoner.. The Yawdryl returned with documents taken from the dead for the Intelligence nobs to examine. He looked at Nog, grinning and shaking his snout. "That were madness. What were you thinking lad?"

Nog shrugged. "I weren't."

Examining Quar war tractors for the 15mm Quar on the Zombiesmith store, and a lot of other fanciful tanks too, for that matter, shows a lot of solid sides covering track wheels with just the treads showing. Take a look at a 40k Rhino or Leman Russ.

"Well, I can do that!" I said to myself. So I started messing about with foam core and card to build a basic hull, inspired by Zombiesmith's designs (check the 15mm Quar for a selection of War Tractors. The 28mm vehicles are out of production for the time being).

I was thinking about using the Airfix Coastal Gun to make a self propelled artillery piece.

But I didn't like the balance and it wouldn't have a role really, except maybe as a target. Plus it will be awhile before I can make crew.

I then had a few false starts trying to make a turret before settling on a Quar version of the ubiquitous Bren Carrier. 

My new Quar squad tries it out before they get based!

It is armed with a Pulp Figures cannon from pack PSS 08 "Light Deck Weapons".

The driver is one of the extra heads that came with the Quar figures (about which see my next post).

Base colour is Tamiya XF-58 Olive Green with camouflage stripes in Americana Evergreen.

The tactical marking is definitely inspired by the red divisional patch worn by 1st Canadian Infantry Division during WW2. The Quar Crusader badge at that size looks a lot like a maple leaf too. ;)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Unobtanium Processing Facility from Garbage

Xenos Rampant has spurred me on to finish some long pondered, but not completed, terrain projects. The need for more cover has certainly helped motivate me to rummage through my boxes of "useful garbage" that I started collecting a few years back when I started the 15mm Science Fiction project. 

Here is the Unobtanium Processing Facility that I started a few years back, got frustrated, and then shelved. 

Before

It was lacking something, and too symmetrical. So I ripped the silos off and played with different arrangements. 

There used to be a company in town called Fram, that made oil filters. Somehow I came into possession of a Fram piggy bank made from an oil filter. The busy end, minus the plug to keep coins in, I thought looked interesting, like something raw ore would get dumped into. Careful positioning to hide the coin slot and add some Kinder Surprise eggs, and we have this:

After

The silos are made from CnC mill bit containers. I glued four in a row onto a piece of paneling and hot glued greebles on top. The pink things are from rolls of paper towel.

Some spray painting and voila!

I treated the processing plant the same, with sand on the base and various coats of spray paints, involving some elaborate masking to spray the white on the low building. The chemical tanks were painted in yellow and red to make them pop.

This will add some height and drama to my battlefields now, as well as giving a narrative reason for any settlement and ground forces to be actually deployed.