I followed the calendar very carefully, and Thursday arrived right on schedule, as did Baron Stryker, having braved the perils of the high road around the capital of Scotland. We had what looked like a heavy day's fighting ahead of us, so we got off to a brisk start. If you would like to see a picture of the initial position, you'll find one in my previous post.
Our OOB was thus, Stryker's Franco-Bavarian army having 5 brigades (of which 3 were still to arrive), and my Allied force having 4:
French Army (Maréchal
de France Clément-Alibert, Comte de Rabachière)
(13 horse; 24 foot; 3 art; 6 leaders)
Bourgeois’ Cavalry Brigade [1] (Marquis de Bourgeois)
Gendarmérie de France (6 Sqns) (elite)
Régt de Grignan (3 Sqns)
Régt de La Baume (3 Sqns)
Régt de Lavallière (3 Sqns)
Régt du Mestre de Camp (3 Sqns)
Régt du Roi (3 Sqns)
D’Arco’s Cavalry Brigade [2] (Graf Johan Baptist d’Arco) (Bavarian)
Régt de Tarnault (3 Sqns)
Dragons de La Vrillière (3 Sqns)
KR d’Arco (Bavarian) (3 Sqns)
KR Costa (Bavarian) (3 Sqns)
KR Weichel (Bavarian) (3 Sqns)
KR Wolframsdorf (Bavarian) (3 Sqns)
Pelletier’s Infantry Brigade [3] (Comte Pelletier de Montmarie)
Régt de Béarn (2 Bns)
Régt de Champagne (2 Bns)
Régt du Dauphin (2 Bns)
Régt de Navarre (2 Bns)
1 field battery
Coustine’s Infantry Brigade [4] (Marquis de Coustine)
Régt de Languedoc (1 Bn)
Régt de Nettancourt (1 Bn)
Régt de Poitou (2 Bns)
Régt de Saintonge (1 Bn)
Régt de Toulouse (1 Bn)
IR Bettendorf (Bavarian) (2 Bns)
1 field battery
Maffei’s Infantry Brigade [5] (Marquis de Maffei) (Bavarian)
IR Boismorel (Bavarian) (1 Bn)
IR Haxthausen (Bavarian) (2 Bns)
IR Kurprinz (Bavarian) (2 Bns)
IR Leibgrenadieren (Bavarian) (1 Bn) (elite)
IR Maffei (Bavarian) (1 Bn)
IR d’Octfort (Bavarian) (1 Bn)
1 field battery (Bavarian)
Allied Army (Lt Gen Charles Churchill)
(9 horse; 14 foot; 3 art; 3 independent art; 5 leaders)
Pickering’s Cavalry Brigade [1] (Br Gen Sir Mortimer Pickering)
Cadogan’s Regt (3 Sqns)
Lumley’s (Queen’s) Regt (3 Sqns)
Schomberg’s Regt (3 Sqns)
Wood’s Regt (3 Sqns)
Wyndham’s Regt (3 Sqns)
Niederhammer’s Cavalry Brigade [2] (GM Graf Niederhammer) (Austrian)
KR Cusani (Austrian) (3 Sqns)
KR Lobkowicz (Austrian) (3 Sqns)
Leibregiment zu Pferd (Hessen-Kassel) (3 Sqns)
Spiegel Karabiniere (Hessen-Kassel) (3 Sqns)
Cirencester’s Infantry Brigade [3] (Br Gen Earl of Cirencester)
1st Foot Guards (1 Bn) (elite)
Chas Churchill’s (Buffs) Regt (1 Bn)
Ferguson’s (Cameronian) Regt (1 Bn)
Howe’s Regt (1 Bn)
Hamilton’s (Royal Irish) Regt (1 Bn)
Duke of Marlborough’s Regt (1 Bn)
Lord North & Grey’s Regt (1 Bn)
1 field battery
Pentecost’s Infantry Brigade [4] (Br Gen Jan-Hendrik van Pentecost
(Dutch))
Lord Orkney’s (Royal) Regt (1 Bn)
Rowe’s (Scots Fusiliers) Regt (1 Bn)
Webb’s Regt (1 Bn)
IR Leib zu Fuss (Hessen-Kassel) (1 Bn)
IR Erbprinz (Hessen-Kassel) (1 Bn)
IR Prinz Wilhelm (Hessen-Kassel) (1 Bn)
IR Stückrad (Hessen-Kassel) (1 Bn)
2 field batteries
Independent (Part of Fortress Garrison)
3 mortar batteries
My early tactic was to sit tight, firing my guns as occasion presented itself, otherwise waiting to see where the arriving French intended to press. Some kind of narrative should emerge from the photos, though I have to say that things did get pretty hectic after the first hour, and the picture-taking duties slid a bit at times.
We finished in about 4 hours, allowing for a pause for lunch. My thanks and compliments to Ian for a remarkable fight. We both ended the game more than a little stunned - certainly the most intense game I've been involved in for a while!
I had a think about how things had gone (as one does) once I had regained my senses. The rules stood up to the grinding match pleasingly well; if I'd had a brain I should probably have used the table extension (17 x 9 instead of 13 x 9), but I've rather got out of the habit of thinking about that since the big table is tricky with Zoom cameras for remote games - no matter, the game was fine, but Ian would have had more scope for getting his army on the table without gridlock; I was embarrassingly lucky with the bonus, just in the nick of time. Oh - yes - and the mortars in the fortress were so useless that I stopped using them!
It was indeed an epic game and I can’t believe we did all that in 4 hours. You’re right that it did have a bit of an extra time cliff hanger feel about it but what fun! Your armies are a joy to see and it was an honour to command them.
ReplyDeleteThank you sir - you are very kind. My soldiers, in turn, feel that it was an honour to be commanded by you - they speak of little else.
DeleteA very grand affair indeed. Pleased to see you won on home turf. Half way through the post I could see that a lot of Strykers units were carrying a fair bit of damage so kudos for coming out of your defences to finish some of them off.
ReplyDeleteThank you JBM. I can give you my personal assurances that if that bonus hadn't turned up my lads would still be sitting in their trench now.
DeleteThat was an epic fight, the troops really look fab!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray - it was nice to get a lot of toys out for a major bash!
DeleteThat was excellent, nice to see the table packed with troops and a very close result.
ReplyDeleteYes - not much subtlety, but it was a lot of fun. Good therapy all round!
DeleteA very exciting game and the whole thing looks splendid.
ReplyDeleteHi Jim - I enjoyed it very much and winning was a nice surprise at the end. Shame about the dog though.
DeleteHope things good with you.
Splendid! Looks great and sounds like an exciting game.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike - it went well - enjoyed it.
DeleteCrikey, that was a close run thing! Well done. I'm imagining Rowe's and Orkney's boys leaping over the parapet and getting in tae em in a do or die moment.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice image - we'll hang on to that one. In truth there was also my determination that if I was going to lose I might as well be as difficult as possible about it. That's not exactly pride, but it's somewhere off in that direction.
DeleteGreat looking game, lovely set up. What a super hard fought battle, really sounds like it was a cracking game.
ReplyDeleteCheers Donnie - yes, it was gripping. One strange aspect was that when the game finished (and it ended quite suddenly), neither of us had any idea what time it was!
DeleteThat was magnificent Tony! What an impressive mass of troops; especially those milliers des troupes françaises. A wonderfully bold sally-forth by yours truly too.
ReplyDeleteHow'd Hennie and co go?
Best wishes, James
Thanks James - the big specials often turn out disappointing, so I'm especially pleased. Hennie was being watched carefully. The mortars didn't achieve much - there were the inevitable misfires, none of which caused us any damage, but we didn't hit a thing. I believe we gave someone a fright on one occasion, but they got over it.
DeleteEventually the man from the United Provinces decided that the mortars were more of a risk to their crews than to the enemy, so we were stood down, and there was still time for some cleaning before the Governor's evening inspection.
War is hell, but there is no reason why it has to be untidy. I think Vauban may have said that - or at least thought it.
As it happens, the rulebook for my CJ-Lite is illustrated with little cartoons by my friend Pete King (PaK), and the theme is that the little men don't really want to be involved, thank you. I like this a lot - I think I may have borrowed the idea from Howard Whitehouse or even HG Wells, but the viewpoint of the toy soldiers gives an interesting insight.
DeleteIf I have the focus and the energy, I think I'd like to feature biographical or personal accounts by the 20mm participants on an occasional basis - I got a couple of sympathetic emails in response to the Lament of the Mortar Crew. My Battle Reports are a bit off-the-wall anyway, so this might be a useful extra ingredient for the future. [There is potential scope here to get AI to lampoon itself on such a mission - the ADC's story in the style of Cecil B De Mille, or maybe Douglas Addams...]
That sounds like an excellent idea Tony, 'cept I'd prefer your words and imagination over the stochastic sampling of a computer model.
DeleteJames
DeleteNo no - mention of AI was merely deranged surmise - you know in your heart that I would never do such a thing. This is definitely a subject for the pub.
I have had a strange year - apart from personal disruptions, I have been distracted by the fact that world events seem to have been made up by someone who was a few beads short of a necklace. I have at times wondered whether I should complain to someone in charge. One of the few advantages of advancing age is that I no longer have to conform to someone else's priorities and opinions to earn a living - don't tell me they are going to take that freedom away as well?
More relevantly, there has been a period when I haven't had the time, the energy, the inner peace or (damn it) the eyesight to pursue my selfish hobbies. Things do appear to be improving - not the world, just my bit of it - so I am very pleased to be able to indulge myself a little more again. I observe that one of the resultant joys is the freedom to live in a fantasy whenever it is possible - as you know, one meets more interesting people there.
My first draft of the account of Oosterkasteel included a brief rant by the Comte de Rabachière on the loss, somewhere on the road from Lille, of the wagon containing his personal supply of foie gras, quail eggs and the 1684 Haut-Brion. I enjoyed writing it, but deleted it because it really isn't what anyone wants to read. I am moved to reconsider this. My greatest satisfaction in getting back to the blog is the scope to explore properly the tales of Hennie the artilleryman, of the less famous Churchill brother, St Gaspard l'Oublié and the others.
I'm also becoming more convinced by my devotion to Pretend-Be military history. I've almost given up on games replaying actual events. I've discussed some of the reasons previously (and I'm sure they are no more interesting now):
* A real battle has a known setting and narrative - this can be too restrictive - even pausing to consider the "real" narrative is potentially inhibiting; I view books of historical scenarios with suspicion...
* There will always be experts and members of the I Think You'll Find Brigade who know better, who disapprove. I am no longer going to hand polish my games to fit with someone else's sad view of What Really Happened. Not my problem - Lord preserve us from bottom-holes, from people who are always right (and who worry about it).
My time and my concentration are still going to be a little skimped, but the idea of including the odd time-out in a game report to get the thoughts of the participants - the great or the lowly - appeals greatly.
Amazing how suggestive of a real aerial view of a real battle these photos can be.
ReplyDeleteIt's very kind of you to say that. I am conscious that the 33:1 figure scale, the bright colours and general toy-like presentation, and the hygienic lack of blood and guts all militate against any vestige of realism. I'm also aware that the hex grid has an effect, since it tends to push the troops into nice straight lines, and the action is likely to be all over the table rather than grouped around a single copy of "Tradition" magazine (let us say).
DeleteFor me, the nearest thing to authenticity might be that the games look like how a battle between toy soldiers should look (I'm aware that this ends up as a joke), but I know what you mean. My idea of what armies looked like in action is heavily filtered through Charles Grant, I guess. I've said before that I try to achieve a certain style, which is surely not realistic, and I suspect that the toy-like feel is necessary for me to abstract it into a pastime!
This topic emerges less often than it used to. I am quite comfortable with how these games look and play out now, but I used to get a lot of well-intentioned criticism of gloss varnish, lack of scenic flock - basically that I wasn't producing games that looked like everyone else's!
There are enough models to make it look like a big battle and few enough that the photo can be read rather as a diagram of what is going on. I find it very appealing.
DeleteAs you said the rules worked well for such a hard contest - some rules make fortified positions almost impossible to take or barely worth the effort of building. Kudos to you sir.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rob - I was convinced throughout that if Ian stacked enough infantry against the earthwork he would break through. If I hadn't got the extra bonus I wouldn't have dared risk attacking on my left, in which case Ian would surely have broken through. Lucky white heather.
Delete