Beja completed!

This week I have finished the Beja contingent for the Mahdists - I've halved the Mahdist lead pile! It's not the end of painting Mahdists for a while longer as I still have 24 Baggara horsemen (technically part of the Kordofani contingent) to do the Second Battle of El Teb. That amount of cavalry seems a little excessive to me but it seems to be the usual amount for others doing that battle (down to the scenario in Black Powder?), so I'll follow the trend.

Anyway, the last batches of Beja:

Two sword and spear units (#8 and #9), a second captured Krupp, a captured Gatling gun and a command stand. All figures are Perry Miniatures except for the Gatling gun itself, which is an Empress Miniatures piece. The bases are by WarBases. All were painted by yours truly, mostly using enamels; metals colours are mostly acrylic. Bases were washed with diluted acrylic ink and drybrushed with various shades of Dulux household emulsion paint; scrub is Woodland Scenics clumps.

Because all the Beja bases will be mixed up (especially over time) I chose to add a few splashes of colour to the figures in these batches. A few blue, green and yellow waistcoats - I did a few red ones in the early batches. These can be more clearly from the rear: About one in 15 figures isn't dressed in white, off white, beige or dirty orange. 

Note: I still need to texture and paint the base of the command stand - which I decided to add last minute.

I'm rather taken with this Gatling gun from the Empress Miniatures' Sudan range, which I picked up whilst sorting out Peter J's stuff. The gunner is a PM camel rider (left over from doing my Crusades period Saracen baggage train). Indeed, the two units of sword and spear were also largely inherited by me from Peter.

I had no idea what Gatling guns (beyond shape) looked like as I don't think I've ever come across a coloured picture of one before and I do like the amount of brass - it looks great with the gun metal and carriage grey. Note the guy pointing out targets in a fetching yellow waistcoat.

The Beja contingent. At six figures to 100 men (see unit sizes below) the 398 figures represent a force of about 7000 Beja warriors.

The Beja contingent comprises:

A unit of 11 camel mounted scouts (pretending to be 12 strong); three units of 21 riflemen (each pretending to be 24 strong); two Krupps and a Gatling gun; five command stands.

When properly sorted out it runs out to nine units of 33 sword and spear warriors (each pretending to be 36 strong). 

I still need to flag up five units but that must wait for my printer to become operational again - the price of ink!

That's not a bad amount of painting in six or so weeks. I'm in the groove.

Seeing the lead pile diminish by a quarter in so short a time has me worried so, as well as adding a unit of Baggara horse at the Battleground show, I've added some more Korofani troops to bring them back up to the planned eight units of sword and spear, and I've added a few more command figures. Except for another unit of Beja camels which I don't think I need, that just about does it for the Mahdists. Now I'm planning the Egyptian contingent which I'll probably buy over the next few months - my basic OOB is still First Battle of El Teb with a few extra Egyptian/Sudanese units to make up a diminished force for any fictional offensive land operations led by Gordon: I'm certainly not collecting forces for the siege of Khartoum at this figure to man scale because, major period or not, forces of 9,000 Egyptians and 20,000 Mahdists is well beyond scope. I'm still umming and ahing about adding the British Guards Brigade and the Camel Corps.

I've also decided, for definite, that this will be my last major period. After this I'm doing small wars - like the French and Indian War, a few naval bits and pieces, cowboys, etc. Frankly, I'm running out of storage as much as anything.

 

More Beja, new recruits and a first game plan - and a loss

Firstly, let's deal with the loss: My Canon IXUS 30 camera is done, dead, deceased. This little camera was used for almost every photo on this blog, the many pictures in several magazines (Wargames Illustrated, Miniature Wargames, Slingshot, Wargames Soldiers and Strategy and Vae Victis - among others), and a few rulebooks too (including Shadow of the Eagles, Osprey's Honours of War and Jump or Burn). That's quite an accomplishment for an automatic, pocket sized, happy-snappy, holiday camera. It was the best camera I've ever owned and I'm going to miss it's sharpness.

My Beja have been reinforced by around 40 Perry metal figures and half a box of plastic figures. These came from Peter J's lead pile. They will allow me to add two more units of Beja spear/sword armed warriors. This addition is very useful and has decided my first game plan. At around 6 figures representing 100 men this brings my Beja infantry force to around 6,500 men. This is the perfect amount to do the Second Battle of El Teb. Peter's collection has also provided a Gatling gun, which now has a Beja crew, for that battle.

This week I've added another unit (#7) of spear/sword armed infantry. This was the last one in my own lead pile. This unit, like the others similarly armed, comprises three bases of six figures and three bases of five figures. These units, thirty three figures but counted as thirty six figures each, represent about 600 men. 

They are all Perry figures, a mix of Perry plastics and metal. All were painted in enamels and are mounted on WarBases MDF, 50mm rounds.

I've also added twenty seven Beja riflemen. I had initially thought to do these in four units of eighteen figures each (three figures per base) but I thought, after painting the first two units, that they looked a little too open. Then I thought of doing them in units of twenty with five figures per base but this looked too close order. Finally, I've settled on this set up: Three units of twenty one figures on six bases (three threes and three fours). This allows them to form in either a loose order line, or more typically, as this picture shows, in a more warband looking formation - four stands up, two stands back. I'm not sure if this is the right density but, it feels right.

 

Counting as twenty four figure units, rather than their actual twenty one, they each represent four hundred riflemen. According to the accounts this is about the right proportion of riflemen for a force of 6,000-7,000 foot warriors.

Anyway, since these shots were taken with my inferior (actually later model camera) IXUS 160 I've done another unit (#8) of spear/sword warriors. One more unit (#9), plus a captured Krupp and Gatling, and the Beja are done. 

For 2nd El Teb I'll need to add a couple of units of Baggara horsemen. Then onto the British. 

There are still the same number of Kordofani figures in the lead pile to bring the combined Mahdist force closer to representing 13,000 or so troops - which is, as far as I can see, more than enough to do any of the major battles. This army has been a doddle to paint - painting 400 figures of my own in a little over a month is going some, even for me.

More new units for the Sudan

 So, continuing with the Beja contingent, I've added two more sword/spear units (each 33 figures); a unit of camel warriors (11 figures - should be 12 figures but I stole a figure to use on a command stand); A command stand (3 figures, including a camel mounted 'Emir'); a Krupp gun with captured/slave crew. 

I've photographed them on this hill because someone sent me an email asking why I had used 'cliffs/bluffs'. The reason is clearly shown here: Where two sections join (under the gun) they can join at a cliff/bluff so that the hand cut slopes don't need to match up. 

All figures are Perry Miniatures.  Round 50mm MDF bases by Warbases. All are painted using enamels by yours truly. I still need to add standards to the sword and spear units.

Spear and sword unit #5.

Spear and sword unit #6.

A Krupp gun with captured Egyptian gun crew and Beja guard. I've based this gun on the diagonal because this system will be useful when it comes to British guns that might need to sit at the corner of a brigade square. I'll measure the 90 degree fire arc from the rear corner. Base is 60x60mm.

Beja command stand #4. I stole one of the camel warriors from the camel unit beyond to make this stand.

A unit of camel mounted warriors. I'll need another of these at some point. Bases are 60mmx75mm: the extra depth allows the camels to be staggered for the 'irregular look'.

....next up, the last two units of Beja warriors to empty the lead pile of them. I'm painting them as a batch of 60 figures - they are very easy (if a bit boring) to do!

First units for the Sudan

 I've decided to start this project with the Beja contingent which is now half, more or less, finished. I painted the figures using enamels.

So far I've done four of the seven spear/sword units, two of the four riflemen units and three of the four command command stands. There will also be a unit of camel riders and two 'captured' Krupp pieces. All figures are Perry Miniatures. 

When deciding to do the Beja I took a fantastic piece of advice from Kevin Calder and completely ignored his other piece of advice. 

I decided to copy his round base idea. Round bases are a very simple way of losing the regimented look of 'irregular units' when they are based on rectangular/square bases. The way they can be bunched together any old how is transformative. All of my irregular infantry units will be based on 50mm diameter bases (from Warbases).

I ignored his advice about picking a Sudan sub-period campaign. Sometime between the 1st and 2nd Suakin campaigns, the Mahdi prescribed an edict that all of his followers should shave their heads, wear a skull cap and sandals and, where practicable/available, don a patched jibbeh. In effect, from 1885 all early period Mahdist Ansar looked, more or less, the same. I've decided that my Mahdi will never issue such a decree - this will give my Mahdists an imagi-jihad feel but frankly, for the variation in unit look, I'm happy to go against history: I will have 'Fuzzy Wuzzy' Beja with 'ayrick 'air for the entire period and I will be able to do Kippling, in bad 'Michael Caine':

So 'ere's to you Fuzzy Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;
You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first class fighting man;

An 'ere's to you Fuzzy Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air -
You big black boundin' beggar - for you broke the British square.

My first three command stands with Osman Digna (centre) flanked by two other command stands; the mounted figure on the right has had a Beja head swap (originally bald in skull cap). Initially I had thought to do single mounted figure 'brigade level' command stands but, somehow one stand on a base hasn't done it for me for quite some time.

My sword and spear units will all be based around an average standard of six bases (50mm diameter). 

Initially I thought to put six figures on a base but discovered that a mix of six and five figure bases (three of each) actually increased the irregular look - six figures only really fit on a stand one way, especially when mixing metal and plastic figures.

Each base will represent about 100 men.

Each base has three metal figures and either two or three plastic figures.

I have a feeling that the plastic spears will prove to be fragile. In consequence, I have decided to place at least one metal figure on each flank of a base to protect them when handled.

I'm sticking to three basic colours for the clothing: White, dirty orange and tan. The tan will have a natural variation because I'm purposefully not noting the precise paint mix for each batch.

Flags are downloads that have been over-painted. They are slightly oversized for effect (and ease of painting).

Riflemen are based three to a stand (representing 50 men per stand). Fifteen of the eighteen men in a unit are metal, the other three are plastic.

I'm going to continue painting the Beja until they are done (six more units and two pieces of artillery). Then, I'll move onto do half of the British force before moving onto the Kordofan contingent (which is about the same size as the Beja with a few more cavalry).

This is never going to be a huge collection - I'm thinking one session games - but, if it plays well, I'll do an Egyptian army, the Camel Corps and add another half a dozen or so Mahdist units - especially more cavalry/camelry. 

Combat at Reichenberg 1757

My main source for this set up was the Kronoskaf SYW project aided with maps from volume 1 of Horace St. Paul and the Campaigns of the Austrian Army in the Seven Years War by Neil Cogswell.

Because my information isn't as complete as I would normally like, this set up has been a case of making the shoe fit. In consequence, I had half a mind to call this set up 'Combat at Reichenbrogue'. However, I think it's close enough to pass muster under its historical name - though I'm always happy to be corrected if I've got it all wrong.

Google Earth, note to self: For modern day Reichenberg see Liberec (Czech Republic).

The battlefield (12 x 6 table) covers the area between Reichenberg in the east (bottom left), westward along a spur of the Schwarzerberg (called the Jeschkengebirge on Kronoskaf) and the village of Franzesdorf to the forest on the eastern slopes of the Schwarzerberg itself (top left). The river Neisse separates Reichenberg from its outlying 'suburb' of Rosenthal and the rest of the field. The north-west corner (top right) of the battlefield is bounded by the substantial obstacle of the Berzdorf-Grund (a stream running through boggy bottomed, steep sided, water-cut).

The Austrians are defending this line in some force and have established several entrenched and barricaded positions along it. The Prussians are attacking from the north.

The high ground in front of Reichenberg is held by two battalions in an entrenched position.

The spur of the Schwarzerberg (shown as three individual heights on the St. Paul maps but as a long spur on the official German survey map) is defended by 7 infantry battalions, 11 companies of grenadiers and 3 batteries of artillery. In reality, only 1 battery was in the redoubts and entrenchments and the other 2 were in reserve on the reverse slope but, given that the Austrian player would immediately order them forward I saved him the trouble and placed them in the redoubts to begin with. Edit: I've actually changed my mind about this, put two batteries of guns on the reverse slope and shortened the two outer redoubts so that there isn't enough room for the guns and infantry to be in them together. Otherwise, the Prussian infantry will get (un-historically) slaughtered as they move up.

Rather than have individual heights I decided to put a saddle in the spur. Here the Austrians deployed 11 squadrons of cuirassier and 10 squadrons of dragoons.

In the forest, positioned behind barricades, are a battalion of grenzers and 2 battalions of infantry. On the road I have placed 2 battalions of infantry advancing from Gabel - this was for the picture, showing their arrival point, but they will start the game off table and arrive when activated (dice rolls, etc.).

The Prussians have advanced from the west and swung into line facing the Austrian defences to the south of them. Their main infantry force comprises 8 battalions of infantry, 3 battalions of grenadiers, 2 battalions of fusiliers and 2 batteries heavy of guns.

To oppose the Austrian cavalry the Prussians have advanced 15 squadrons of dragoons.

5 squadrons of hussars secure the Prussian right wing.

The entrenchments require some explanation and definition. In truth, these were designed with bastion like angles to cover every approach. This (because I use square bases for my figures) is always difficult to represent so I find it easier to 'square off' the redoubts and give them much better fire angles: troops within have a 180 degree frontal arc measured from the back of the position. Redoubts give hard cover and have no flanks. Whilst defending the occupying units fire separately, measuring from the redoubts nearest point; a unit firing at the redoubt can choose which defending unit it wants to target with fire; in melee the defender can choose which unit (infantry or artillery) will defend but, the attacker (if he wins) can distribute any UI loss. 

In front of the entrenchments the Austrians had dug wolf-pits (these were covered traps - deep holes with spikes at the bottom) which will cause attacking troops to go out of command. 

The barricades in the forest (most likely abatis - which I don't have terrain pieces for, so I've used my 'temporary barricade' pieces and cheveaux-de-frise) are treated in a similar fashion but they are soft cover and have no wolf-pits.

Zorndorf Battle Report 2

On the western flank, below Wilkersdorf, the cavalry battle raged on with the Russians finally gaining ascendancy.

Whilst, in the centre, the Prussians began to take up positions from where they could assault the Russians beyond the Stein-Busch and the Russians made preliminary moves to oppose them. 

Manteuffel continues his attack against Saltykov's troops between the Galgen-Grund and Zabern-Grund, then Gaugreben's cavalry intervene....

...with some success and the onslaught is temporarily halted....

....until Manteuffel's hard pressed grenadiers are reinforced by Marschall's dragoons.

In the centre, Galytsin's infantry secure their open flank on the Galgen-Grund and in conjunction with the Observation Corps launch a counter-attack against Kanitz and bring his advance to a halt.

At this point, Dohna's infantry march from Zorndorf, pass through the Stein-Busch and pour vollies into the open flanks of the Observation Corps. The action is now pretty much general along the entire front. The advantage swings back and forth with the initiative and both sides are nearing their break point.

The Russian advantage still lies with the cavalry under Demiku but they can't bring the Prussian morale points down quickly enough with what he has left.

In the eastern sector it is all up for the Russians: The Prussian cavalry is stacking up for the kill.

In the centre the action is becoming especially fierce but, it's all up. The Prussians win with a difference of plus nine morale points. 

The battle was hard fought throughout but Manteuffel's one sided local victory in the first session probably decided the issue - the Russians never recovered from the stack of morale points they lost there.




 

Zorndorf - Battle report

This game was set up three weeks ago. Unfortunately, players had commitments and we were not able to meet until last Wednsday night. In the first session we completed three turns - here is the report.

The Prussians opened the battle with a two hour preliminary bombardment: The Prussians chose six units of Saltykov's infantry and inflicted d3 unit integrity losses on each.

But, it was the Russians who advanced first: Demiku advanced his cavalry, supported by Cossacks, and they were met in the open fields below Wilkersdorf by Schorlemer, who in turn advanced to greet them. A ding-dong, back an forth, cavalry clash is about to happen and it will last all evening.  

On the eastern flank, Manteuffel's strong line of infantry (mostly grenadiers) advanced on the many lines of Russian infantry between the Galgen-Grund and Zabern-Grunds. The Prussian artillery, lines of sight now blocked by their own infantry are made redundant. 

What is about to happen here comes as a shock to all.

The contestants exchanged several volleys of musketry. The Prussian fire was lethally accurate - the return fire was desultory in comparison. The Russian first line, which had already reinforced by their second following the artillery bombardment, began to waver and crumble. 

Seizing their chance, the Prussians advanced to contact. They had rolled even on a Move card and the Prussian grenadiers crossed bayonets with their foe.

The Russians collapse!

At the end of the first evening's play, Manteuffel's attack has (so far) been a complete success

It was aided, it has to be said, by their far superior sequence deck - integrity loss and so forth was rallied on successive Leadership cards, whilst the Russians failed to daw a single Leadership card on which to rally their crumbling lines.

Following the success of Manteuffel's attack, the second line of infantry under Kanitz moved to attack Galytsin's infantry beyond the Stein-Busch wood.

The Russians have not been wholly inactive. In support of their western cavalry advance, parts of the Observation Corps have gone forward. 

You might also note Seydlitz's four cavalry regiments emerging from behind the Stein-busch.

Looking west the disjointed (to my mind) advance of the Observation Corps can be clearly seen.

Seydlitz's cavalry which, having rolled three 'even' moves on two successive march cards, has moved from east to west (a combined move of 72") behind the Stein-Busch and deployed from columns of squadrons into lines. Historically, he actually did this but, historically much later in the day (after stabilizing the eastern sector which historically had not gone in Manteuffel's favour).

Note: Because of my big table (6' x 14' 8") I have increased rule measurements by 50%.

At the western end of the field the cavalry battle played out for most of the session. Casualties on both sides were heavy. At first, the melees went for the Russians but, yet again, the Leadership cards told: The Prussians have five in their deck, the Russians only have three and the Prussians got to turn theirs where the Russians failed to do so (two turns ending on same initiative rolls). 

The Prussian cavalry's counter strikes stabilized the situation - honours were about equal.

And that was where the session's action finished. We will meet to complete (hopefully complete) the battle next Wednesday evening. 

Another shot of Manteuffel's infantry - heroes of the hour.

As yet not fully committed, Kanitz's infantry.

From behind the same, showing the uncommitted Russians beyond. The Russians are in trouble but, this is a Piquet battle and is not done yet.