WSS: Oosterkasteel - Goodness Gracious

 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)
1^st 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

 

 

Dug in; one of Pentecost's British batteries, waiting for the French attack

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.

 

The initial artillery exchanges didn't really have much effect, then the French had to move their early arrivals forward, to make room for what was to follow. I was surprised to see that General Bourgeois' cavalry, on the French left, charged straight across the table, and my boys were in trouble right away...

 

We lost Cadogan's Regt of Horse, a field battery and General Pickering (and his dog, illustrated) in the first fight; that meant we were 3-0 down on Victory Pts, 10 being the requirement for the win and the main French army not yet on the table

 

From behind the Allied right, this general view shows the French arriving in the distance. After my shaky start, I was thinking nervously of the film Zulu 

 

 

The infantry in the French centre (Maffei's Bavarians in front) pressed forward.

 

At this point, Cirencester's brigade advanced 200 paces from their position on the road to Blanke; as I recall, I was thinking that if I was going to get splattered anyway then this would give me a little more room for a fighting withdrawal...

 

From behind the French left, you can just make out that the Bavarians pushed right into our front line, but they were taking losses - 4 white loss counters eliminates a unit, so some of the enemy were looking a little battered. I had brought my left-flank cavalry around behind the centre (beneath the old citadel wall), but I was 5-1 down and expecting a collapse at any moment

 

[Gulp]

 

 

The Activation process now presented me with a lucky break - Pentecost's brigade on my left got a special bonus of extra movement and extra combat dice and - since the French opposite were not rushing to attack our earthwork, we did the unthinkable, charged out of the trenches and attacked Pelletier's boys - it didn't go quite as well as I had hoped, but it wasn't bad at all - we had scraped the score back to 7-8...

 

The French attack in the centre became rather bogged down as units fell back and lost momentum, and Maffei's infantry appeared to impede the progress of Coustine's fresher troops behind them. The score got to 8-all, 9-8 to the Allies (first time we had been ahead) then 9-all...

 

Of course the photographer missed it, but over on the Allied left the Hesse-Kassel IR Prinz Wilhelm, in the village of Neerhespen, routed the 1/Dauphin and we had stolen the victory, 10-9. In this photo, the Allied survivors at Blanke have somehow driven off the main attack, and they can hear the cheering from the other end of the line

 

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! 

WSS: Battle of Münzkirchen - March 1703

 Yesterday (Thursday) I hosted this little-known action; a post from last week included some pictures of the initial set-up. My Zoom opponent was David, and we used my Corporal John rules, of which David has had some limited experience previously.

 

Scene-setting photo shows part of the Austrian left wing; General Backer (a Lorrainer) in command of his brigade, just outside the village of Sankt Roman

Background - Briefing Note and OOB

Following the defection of the Elector of Bavaria to the side of the French king, the Holy Roman Emperor orders that attacks be made on Bavaria right at the start of 1703, to inflict punitive damage and to make it clear what repercussions might be expected.

Feldmarschal Leopold Anton von Schlick has been sent to seize control of crossings over the Danube and the Inn in the area around Passau. The Bavarians know all about this expedition, and the Elector leads a strong force to contest the area. The two armies more or less blunder into each other near Schärding.

The two commanders are regarded as being competent, and the forces are roughly equal. In Corporal John terms, the commanders each have a hand of 5 Command Cards, and an initial allocation of 3 Combat Cards. Capture of either of the villages of Sankt Roman and Shießdorf will result in 1 temporary Victory Point [this means that an army entering a village which it does not already hold will gain 1VP, and will be regarded as holding that village until the enemy enters it – it is not necessary to leave a defending force in the village – if a village changes hands, the temporary VP will be transferred across]. 8 VPs wins the day.

The forces are of very similar make-up – the Bavarians have 1 extra unit of foot, the Imperialists 1 extra unit of horse. Neither army is trained in platoon fire. The Bavarians have two elite units (Leibgarde and Leibgrenadiere), and three of the Austrian foot units have attached battalion guns.

Position at 8am is shown on the map. David chose to be the Elector of Bavaria, which meant that I was Feldmarschal Von Schlick for the day, and a dice roll decreed that I would go first.

 

Bavarian Army (Elector of Bavaria)                                (7 horse; 12 foot; 2 art; 5 leaders)

Arco’s Brigade (Generalmajor Graf d’Arco)

Arco Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Costa Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Monasterol Dragoner (3 Sqns)

Santini Dragoner (3 Sqns)

Weichel’s Brigade (Generalmajor Weichel)

Leibgarde (3 Sqns)(elite)

Weichel Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Wolframsdorf Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Brinkelhof’s Brigade (Generalmajor Brinkelhof)

IR Bettendorf (2 Bns)

IR Haxthausen(2 Bns)

Boismorel Grenadiere (1 Bn)

Leib Grenadiere (1 Bn)(elite)

1 field battery

Maffei’s Brigade (Generalmajor Marquis de Maffei)

IR Lützelberg (1 Bn)

IR Kurprintz (1 Bn)

IR Maffei (1 Bn)

IR D’Octfort (1 Bn)

IR Spilberg (1 Bn)

IR Tattenbach (1 Bn)

1 field battery

 

Imperial Army (Feldmarschal Leopold von Schlick)       (8 horse; 11 foot; 2 art; 5 leaders)

Niederhammer’s Brigade (Generalmajor Niederhammer)

Alt-Hannover Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Cusani Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Gronsfeld Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Aufseß Dragoner (3 Sqns)

Stoltz’s Brigade (Generalmajor Stolz)

Jung-Darmstadt Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Lobkowitz Kürassiere (3 Sqns)

Leibregiment zu Pferd (Hessen-Kassel)(3 Sqns)

Spiegel Karabiniere (Hessen-Kassel)(3 Sqns)

Furneburg’s Brigade (Generalmajor Furst von Furneburg) [3 units have battalion guns]

IR Alt-Salm (1 Bn)

IR Gschwind (2 Bns)

IR Palffy (1 Bn)

IR Thürheim (2 Bns)

1 field battery

Backer’s Brigade (Generalmajor Von Backer)

IR Lothringen (3 Bns)

IR Scharfenstein (2 Bns)

1 field battery

 

A narrative of sorts should emerge from the pictures.  

 

Right at the start, Schlick was concerned about the artillery battery which was exposed on his right, so he ordered up Niederhammer's cavalry brigade to cover the flank - Arco's Bavarian cavalry responded, and brought on a desperate cavalry fight which swung back and forth throughout the day. View is from behind the Bavarian flank

 

Here you see it from nearer the ground - Arco with the cuirassiers in the foreground

 

General view of the centre, early in the day, from behind the Elector's lines

 

The Bavarian right flank, looking towards Schießdorf. Weichel Cuirassiers on the left of the picture, then the elite Leibgarde (in light blue)

 

Opposite them, the Austrian left surrounds the village of Sankt Roman

 

Counter-battery fire is rarely very effective in these games, but the Bavarians certainly had the edge on this day - here the Austrian No.2 battery is immediately getting lumps knocked out of it by the Bavarian guns across the valley

 

General view from behind the Austrian left, around 9:30 - things quiet apart from artillery fire at this end and the mad cavalry scrap in the distance

 

...as you see - Aufseß dragoons in the right foreground, helping out - it was a feature of the battle that the dragoon units in the cavalry performed pretty well

 

Bavarian centre, with central heating radiator

 

Backer still waiting for orders, a situation which lasted most of the day. Unit on the right of the picture is the 3-battalion IR Lothringen, also known as the Bishop of Osnabrück's Guard, which is always welcome on the miniature battlefield because their green uniforms provide a bit of welcome variety [these are ex Eric Knowles troops]

 

And still the cavalry battle between Arco and Niederhammer continues - red-coated Bavarian dragoons looking a bit exposed here, but they did quite well

 

Now some helpful cards present themselves, and the Austrian centre pushes forward

 

The Bavarian Bettendorf regiment has a moment to prepare itself for the onslaught...

 

...before the Austrian Gschwind lads arrive and punch a hole in the Bavarian line - this looks like a critical moment

 

[meanwhile] Maffei's Bavarian infantry are undisturbed by the drama to their left...

 

...and the situation is saved by the Bavarian Leibgrenadiere...

 

...(here in close-up)...

 

...and General Brinkelhof, with the Haxthausen regiment, which quickly routed both battalions of Gschwind. Situation stabilized, but some big gaps in the centre now

 

Still the cavalry on the flank are hard at it, and the Bavarians are showing a lot of damage

 

Some new spaces in the centre...

 

In the wood you can see Feldmarschal Schlick in person [please note] bringing forward the Imperial Regiment Thürheim to attack the Bavarian grenadiers

 

At this point the cavalry fight ended in the Austrians' favour, as Arco was seriously wounded, and the Costa cuirassiers were finally routed from the field. The Victory Points score was now 9-6 to the Austrians, 8 being required for overall victory

 

Here is a little study of the Bavarian Santini dragoons...

 

... and the Bavarian Red Grenadiers - the Boismorels - with Lt Col De La Colonie in command, thinking up a positive spin to put on his regiment's performance in his memoirs

 

The Elector (without hat) begins the job of organising a retreat

 

Final stand-off in the centre

 

Close-up of 1st Bn IR Thürheim, complete with their battalion gun. This is another ex-Eric unit, though I supplied the command figures

 

And the official scoreboard shows 9-6 to the Empire - tell the auditors

 

Since the scoreboard is not visible through the Zoom cameras, we also have an extra scoreboard on the table. The coloured counters are bonus VPs for holding the villages

My thanks to my worthy opponent - as ever, it was a close game - there were moments in the centre late on when either side could have suffered a major collapse. No problems with the rules, except that the Command Cards allowed us to leave the Bavarian right and the villages pretty much untouched. I forgot to drink my Lucozade, so I must have been busy.

 

 Time to get tidied up - General Backer finally gets the order, late in the evening, to tell his brigade to stand down. It seems that his side won...

 

 

WSS: A Little More Allied Horse

 Proper painting of fresh castings, this time - definitely all me own werk.

I'm using shorter sessions now, out of kindness to the old peepers, so this batch took a day or two longer than I planned, but I'm pleased with them. Nice and shiny, Old School toy soldiers.

These are a couple of regiments of cavalry from Hessen-Kassel, to support the new infantry brigade.

 

Leib zu Pferd

 

Spiegel

Hessen-Kassel is an interesting nation in this context. The Landgrave has not pitched in his army on the side of the Grand Alliance; well, not necessarily so. These two units were paid, equal shares, by the British and Dutch armies, so strictly speaking they appear as mercenaries.

More than welcome, however. As ever, the figures are mostly Les Higgins 1970s castings; the command figures are Irregular, which gives a decent scale match and a bit of welcome variety, though the horses are all Higgins.

The lads are now in the duty boxes, getting to know their colleagues.

WSS: More Bavarian Cuirassiers Ready for Action

 I showed a glimpse of these chaps in the Refurb Box a week or so ago. I finished the painting a couple of nights back - they are now based and flagged, ready for duty

 

Costa

 

 

Wolframsdorf

 

These are ex-Eric Knowles figures, repainted and with new command. The officers and standard bearers are SHQ ECW castings, modded a little, the trumpeters are from the Irregular Marlburian range, the troopers and all the horses are by Les Higgins. They've been in the Refurb Queue since Nov 2019, though, since they were rather battered, they've been back down the queue a bit until recently.

I'm glad they are finished; this has been a fiddly refurb job, and on a few occasions I heartily wished I'd stripped them and started again, rather than trying to preserve their original (1970s) provenance. Happy with them now, anyway. They can go into the French OOB for my campaign, where they'll be balanced by the arrival of 2 new Hessian infantry battalions in the Allied line-up.

WSS: Back in the Toils of Refurb Work Again!

 ...and enjoying it enormously, to be honest!

And, of course, I am laughing at myself as yet again I make the amazing discovery that a simple refurb job expands beyond belief as you work on it. What started out as a 3-session touch-up job on some figures which were quite nicely painted (albeit 50-odd years ago) has grown before my eyes; after a week of evening sessions, I reckon I still have about 4 sessions to go to complete them.

Just freshen up the white paint, fix the chips, tidy up the horses, change facing colours, humanise the faces, varnish, rebase - fit new flags. Easy-peasy.

Yeah, right. I've gradually rejected almost all of the original work - it has become a re-paint, and as such is in many ways more laborious than a fresh-metal job from scratch. I have spent a lot of time working round existing paintwork that I subsequently replaced. All good fun, of course; in the time-honoured principle of the executioner's axe, these will still be Old Eric's original figures (Gawd bless 'em), though the laboratory would struggle to find any trace of Eric's 1970s paint.

So - one week in - here's a work-in-progress shot which is actually more satisfactory than it might look. I am now halfway through the black, which will be followed by white, blue officers' sashes, lots of leather straps and harness, gold, silver, a touch-up of the edges of the coat colour, then varnish. Maybe 3 more sessions, say 4, for traditions of Estimate Creep.

When they are based and ready I'll post a proper photo. These will be the Bavarian cuirassier units of Wolframsdorf and Costa. Figures are mostly Les Higgins, vintage 1970 or thereabouts, the officers and standard bearers are SHQ figures with some small tweaks, the trumpeters from Irregular's Malburian range; all the horses are Higgins. I did some work with Plastic Putty to add neckties, to try to update the ECW figures by half a century or so.

All good fun. I know all about diminishing returns, and how there is a very definite limit to how good a job I can do on these, but I also have this growing conviction that in a few years I will not remember how quickly I got them finished; the important criterion, in the end, is how much I like them. I'm working on it.