Hot from the much-delayed parcel of Falcata figures, here - at last - is the Commander of my Nationalist "4th Army" for the Peninsular War. This is Mariscal de Campo Don Pedro Agostin Giron, Marquis de las Amarilas, Duque de Ahumada (1778–1842), accompanied by his trusty chief of staff, Colonel Sainz.
Giron was a competent, rather than exceptional leader, but the fact that General Castaños, the victor of Bailen, was his uncle must have been a big plus on his CV.
The tasteful yellow border to the base identifies the Spanish commander - house rules...
Very nice!
ReplyDeletewhat is the '298' all about?
ReplyDeleteEach unit or leader in my Peninsular War collection has a catalogue number - useful for a number of reasons, but especially for identifying units for computer managed wargames and campaign record keeping.
DeleteGiron is #298. Marmont is #70. 2nd Bn of the 21st Portuguese are #211. I also maintain a library of 'official' photos of units, indexed by these numbers.
Thanks for the reply.
DeleteI guess since my Napoleonic troops get used as so many different troops and commanders, other than the Iconic Napoleon or now Kutuzov or Ney, are similarly swapped out as commanders in different epochs or regions I have never gone into such a method of specific cataloging of the forces.
Given that my troops are individual magnetic ones and that they perform in different rule systems calling for different 'scales' I do not see ever using a labeling system like this.
I had thought it might be some shorthand for your rules system so that a quick glance at the command stand and you would know what modifiers the commander gave and what his command range was or other such 'in action' data.
As my armies got bigger and my brain got smaller, I got increasingly depressed with the time it took to tidy up after a battle - stuff used to just disappear. There was one strange period when Stapleton Cotton vanished for about six months - I assumed he'd gone up the hoover or something, but he turned up eventually in the ranks of some French cuirassiers (the inquiry is ongoing). Since everything is now stored and organised in numerical order I can find stuff much quicker and there is a sort of automatic stock-audit every time things move.
DeleteIt does, admittedly, fit well with the way I organise my interests and the hobby. It does seem a little depressing to have something as unhip as a stock control system in place for a pastime activity, but it works very well. It's also useful when fighting non-solo - if reference to the 22eme Chasseurs a Cheval as an artillery target gets blank looks, and if "the green guys near the farm" is too vague, then "Unit 51" works every time!
Cheers - Tony
Lovely looking figures! I like the the idea of the official picture library, I may adopt that myself in readiness for senility...
ReplyDeleteCompetent is good for a Spanish general in those days. We could use more of it even these days.
ReplyDeleteI understand what MurdocK is saying about using the same figs multiple different ways, so then keeping flexible is the key when you are so inclined. I have always operated the same way from way back so it seems natural, if noncommittal.
Over the years my gaming tastes have gradually defined themselves - I mostly fight large games (play large battles?), and dislike handling the figures much - my units have a small number of subunits - the personnel are fixed to subunit bases - casualties, if they are removed at all, come off in big lumps. Tactical formations are mostly a problem for the battalion commanders, so my games tend to have units as playing pieces - even before C&C my miniatures games were pretty much like boardgames.
DeleteI've been fighting the Peninsular War for many times longer than the original lasted, so fielding one of my vintage units under another identity would feel like a betrayal!
Surly he's not one of the new Falcata figures already??
ReplyDeleteOh yes he is - both of him! There's been an embarrassing vacancy in the Spanish high-ups for a year or more, so I got cracking when the parcel arrived. Sometimes I surprise myself.
DeleteMostly I don't.
You were certainly not hanging about there Tony! But given how long you waited I can fully understand your enthusiasm. Just glad they arrived. The Spanish commanders are lovely.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Lee.
Thanks Lee - it is evident from some of the figures that Falcata have a number of problems - casting quality is one - all the figures I got are useable, but I wouldn't say they are all of proper commercial quality. They seem to need a new casting subcontractor, not to mention a reliable shipping firm(!) - these things cost money.
DeleteI may well be calling on your services at some point for a hand with getting the militia units painted up! - I need to do some serious counting and checking to make sure what I can actually use of the stuff that arrived - could be 5 units...
Cheers - Tony