Saturday 27 January 2024

An Arabian Night On The Town

My Middle Eastern building collection has grown over the years. Originally designed as generic buildings for use with my Crusades collection it will now also serve for my colonial adventures in the Sudan. 

Funnily enough, I have little idea of what buildings looked like in the Holy Land in the 12th century and I've only seen a few images of Victorian era buildings in the Sudan. However, these buildings somehow look right for both, even if they are probably not: I put this down to most Middle Eastern wargame buildings looking like this (flat roof with parapet) and this familiarity has, as is often the case, bred a contempt for anything more 'historically accurate'.

Each 'town section' is on a 21cm square base. They would be better on 20cm square bases, to go with my To The Strongest rules table grid, but that did not allow enough room to build enough space to house my troops - each has a capacity of two units. Some of the sections have been designed with attached streets to make a workable road network. Most of the sections have buildings in a self contained compound - a feature common in the Middle East. This compound design allows for my town to be fully enclosed, without the need of separate town walls, and accessible only at town gates; the town gates are separate features that can be removed. So far, I have 14 town sections.

The largest building is the Emir's Palace. Effectively, it is two sections; it serves as the town's / governor's 'citadel' with a reasonable table footprint.

Unlike most of my buildings this one has moving parts - the drawbridge works!
A very simple town section is the market. This is simply a textured base with movable stalls and fountain. Effectively, it is also a very useful 'crossroads' connector piece.
To look after the spiritual side of town life there is a small mosque and minaret. 

The dome and stepped platform on the mosque roof can be removed for the deployment of troops. It has a central locator pin to keep it in position.

At some point I'm going to make a bigger mosque.
Another simple town section, with a bit of difference about it, is this ornamental garden. The shrubbery is made out of Woodland Scenic clumps - the low hedging has been flocked, the flowers are painted clumps. Everything is at more or less the same low level so that troops can be placed on top.
Some sections are usable in more than one way. This one, with a central road 'T' junction, has a moveable wall to enclose the piece when on the outside of the town...
When on the inside the central road can lead to a compounds centrally located gate.
Most of the buildings are simple one or two story affairs and often mixed on a base to make the whole look a bit 'jumbled'.
The amount of broken plaster, showing underlying brick work, came about after reading of the decrepit state of the villages in the 12th century Holy Land following steady depopulation over the previous four centuries: it seems that there simply wasn't enough manpower to repair anything! 

The palm trees are not fixed but, they add to the hot dry feel of the place.
Another shot. The town is 84cm wide and 84cm deep at it's widest points.
All of the buildings were scratch made using 5mm foam board, 2mm MDF (especially the bases), and card (mounting and old postcards, the latter used to make the brickwork). Doors, trapdoors and main gates are balsa. Grilled gates are plastic (cut up plastic bases by Perry).

Plasterwork is mostly artist's (tubed) heavy body acrylic. 

Any framed windows, and a couple of the doors, are by Warbases.
I'm quite happy with the town but, it needs two more sections so that the whole thing can be made square (16 sections), plus another two or three sections for outlying farm / village compounds.


Wednesday 15 November 2023

Campaign Report: The Allies go on the rampage


In the campaign moves that followed the French scrambled to respond to Wellington's surprise moves and victory at Madrid.

Wellington and his Allies were too quick for them. Whilst Blake bottled up nearly French 50 UI of Soult's army at Badajoz. Wellington backtracked to confront Soult at Cacares. 

The tracker sheet. This has the victory points tack (the Allies are definitely winning I'm definitely coming in last), turn clock and holding boxes.

Note the French blood (my blood), from a savage pin wound, in Siege box 1. Who said wargaming was a bloodless sport?
The Battle of Cacares. Map 3 was rolled up, the French will choose table edge.
The table terrain. The French will deploy on the left. The French will deploy first.
The British, all laid out ready to be deployed. As attacker they can deploy anywhere along, and up to 24" in from, their table edge.
The French, all aid out ready to be deployed. As defender they can deploy up to 24" in from their table edge and 18" in from the table ends.



Campaign Report: Wellington takes Madrid

 Wellington had caught Joseph by surprise. Joseph's only hope was to shift position and trade ground for time in the hope that nightfall would allow him to slip away. This hope was dashed on the first night's play when turn one was extended twice by early 'same domino' sequence deck re-shuffles; French discomfiture was exaggerated by their lack of ability to draw a domino with many spots on it - they drew a 0:1 domino three times in succession and failed to beat a low double at least twice: It was brutal.

The British begin their advance.
The French start to reposition to their right, trying to shift the axis of their line through 90 degrees.
As the British advance, Wellington orders Hill's 2nd Division (in reserve) forward. It arrives on the British left, potentially flanking the new position chosen by the French. 
The British press home on their right, the attack being led the Light and 7th Division. The 7th suffers heavily from artillery fire coming from the hill on the French left. 

The French launch a counterattack against Hill on the opposite flank with the Guard and Cavalry Divisions. It stalls under artillery and small arm's fire. 

And turn one is still in progress!
The second night's play goes better for the French. 

Hill's 2nd Division is almost shattered but French Guards Division are spent - only being saved by the play of a Campaign Battle card "Undaunted".
But, the French are finished. They lose their last Army Morale Points with the loss of the cavalry division. Joseph's army retreats to Zaragoza; Madrid falls into British hands.


Thursday 9 November 2023

Mid Peninsular War Spanish - Roll Call

 My Spanish army is, for the present, finished. Time for a parade!

This is the army: It only two thirds the size of the British and French armies but, in the years to come I can't see it coming out half as much, and then mostly only in part as a contingent to a British order of battle. It numbers 715 men; 6 guns, 3 limbers and 113 horses.

It is a very colourful army with plenty of uniform variation. All figures are by Front Rank but, I had to do a lot of conversions - mostly minor in nature but lots of them. In the sidebar you'll find a link to individual progress reports with giving unit details, etc. (See: Napoleonic Peninsular War Project - Stage 2 - Mid War Spanish)

It's still not a bad array and is certainly enough to fight a campaign with. Don't be fooled by the proportion of cavalry: I know it is too high overall but, it's always the case that you a lot of units to get the different types you might need and you'll probably never field them all together.

The officers. A C-in-C stand (the best of the three armies) and eight further senior officers stands.
There are seven cavalry units:

Two dragoon units. As well a serving in the guise of Spanish dragoons (best classed as light cavalry), these units can serve as extra units of heavy cavalry when need requires.
Two units of line / heavy cavalry including a new unit: The Coraceros Espanoles. 
Three units of light cavalry. Left to right: Garrochistas (irregular / geurrilla); hussars (another new unit); Cazadores.
The new unit of hussars, previously unphotographed: The Husares Espanoles. These are British bodies with Spanish infantry officer (in bell topped shako) heads.
The Coraceros Espanioles. This unit had one squadron in captured French helmet and cuirass. I've chosen to depict the whole unit with figures from that squadron (to make my life simple). It is simply a unit of heavy cavalry.
There are fifteen units of line infantry. Five are in bell topped shako. Several units have had minor conversion jobs - I've added popoms, shoulder straps, etc.
Rear view of the same five units from the back. The nearest two are Regimiento Toledo: these have all had tufted shoulder straps and pompoms added.
Three units of line infantry are in round hats.
Rear view of same. I found that I do like units in sky blue.
Seven units of line infantry are in the so called 'English Uniform'. It's boring but, literally tens of thousands of Spanish infantry, from one end of Spain to the other, were kitted out in this horrible thing.
Same from the back. The only interesting thing about it was that lots of the backpacks were made from 'yellow' canvas.
Guerrilla infantry, guns and limbers.
The crew in white uniform are Cadiz artillerymen on duty 'outside the walls'. White was an unusual colour for artillerymen (dirty job?) but, I had to have them. They are mostly Portuguese figures with shoulder wings removed and a round hatted head-swap.
Finally, five units of Spanish Cazadores, Two in 'English uniform (sky blue), two in round hats (brown) and one in bell topped shako (front, in sky blue).
Same from the rear. The two rear units are wearing the 'English Uniform' in sky blue (primarily shipped for cazadore units).

Job done!









Wednesday 1 November 2023

Wellington marches on Madrid

The campaign map turn (we are mid way through the deck of turn 6 now) saw a whole lot of marching going on. In Catalonia, Suchet moved to consolidate the vastly improved French position there and prop up Macdonald's army which, because it has been doing all of the fighting, is somewhat reduced in numbers. Blake moved quickly east on a prearranged course to link up with a possible move, by Wellington, on Madrid.

Wellingtons march was astonishing. On two almost back to back  activation cards, he stormed Badajoz (which fell without resistance), then marched quickly onto Valladolid before turning south to Madrid where he attacked King Joseph. His move was so astonishingly fast that King Joseph was unable to fall back (when Wellington attacked he played a 'Surprise Move' card which prevented him withdrawing).

Now, vastly outnumbered by a much better army, Joseph can only hope nightfall will save him from almost certain annihilation.

This is Wellington's hard marching force, less Hill's 2nd Division in immediate off table reserve.
Joseph's army, God help it! The French chose side of table side deployed first.
To my mind the British, having seen the French deployment, have deployed in the wrong place. That right wing has a long way to march to get into the fight. Perhaps Graham has a cunning plan.

BTW. I realise that the last campaign reports have been a bit 'underdone'. I've been pressed for time but, I hope to do better going forward.

Campaign report: The Assault on Terragona


Macdonald's troops attacked in three groups. The centre would be occupied by a holding force that would not go in until the two flanking columns had overcome the redoubts to the right and left of the main position. 

This would prove more difficult than it sounded because the Spanish won so much initiative that the attack had barely got underway at the end of turn three.

The redoubt on the Spanish right was swiftly overcome midway through turn four and the one on the left fell soon after, but time was running out.

On turn five the assault on the main position went in in force. The Spanish were running out of army morale points (AMP) and the French were running out of cards with which to finish them off.
The Spanish C-in-C was down to his last AMP (green dice). The French won the last initiative of the game. With their last initiative point, on their last card, and one last charge, they took the last enemy AMP. The battle had been decisively won, just. The fortress of Terragona had fallen.
What was left of the Spanish (they took very heavy casualties, including a whole division) retreated down the coast to Valencia. French casualties were light.