1809 Spaniards - More Light Horse

Yesterday I received a couple of commissioned units which have been in the pipeline for a year or so. Mr B has been somewhat indisposed recently, with one thing and another, but he duly delivered in time for Christmas, so I now have a nice present to give myself - or perhaps it was for last year - doesn't matter really.

Here, in Mr B's trademark style, are two custom-built units of converted Hinton Hunt figures. One is simply a Creeping Elegance project, to replace another unit of the same name, which I was never really happy with - so here is the new version of the Husares Españoles...

Heavily converted HH figures - French mirliton hussar, hacked about, plume moved
to left side - not quite sure what the provenance of the horses is - if you're an HH enthusiast,
please spot the donor castings

I'll attempt a team photo of all the Spanish light cavalry for 1809 - that's
6 units of converted Hintons

The other unit utilises a very nice converted figure which I've admired ever since Clive (I think) got some a few years ago. Here, ladies and gentlemen, are the Lanceros de Carmona, all ready for Bailen.

Something a little different - straight from the pages of Jose Maria Bueno

They're nice, aren't they? Complete with stripey blankets - businesslike.

And that is the Spanish light cavalry complete, except....

Well, except that it would be a shame to waste the older version of the hussars, so I may repaint them and re-recruit them as the Husares de San Narciso - not sure about this. Beyond current planning, anyway.

There are now just 4 units of heavy (well, heavier) cavalry still to be painted for the 1809 Spanish army. - 1 of dragoons and 3 of line cavalry. They are in the new, all-singing, all-dancing plan for 2018.

Getting Better Organised - Productivity Is a Good Thing

Painting has been going pretty well recently - by my standards! Only bad news is that I'm adding to the queue faster than I'm getting through it. Current big refurb job on a load of vintage Napoleonic French infantry is doing OK, though not setting the grass on fire - I've just finished a second coat on the white, and it's still not as opaque as I'd like it, so a third coat is coming up. Elsewhere I have some jobs outstanding for the Spanish and Portuguese - notably some pretty challenging cavalry - and then there are some other Peninsular War things, but the big monster coming up on the blind side is the 20mm Bavarian army which is to start after New Year - there are plenty of figures ready now and there's more on the way.

In the circumstances I am very pleased to have re-established contact with David, who did some nice painting for me a few years ago - this should be a big help. I'll be shipping off some 1809 Spaniards for his attention in a week or so. I've unearthed the pilot figure for this first batch - these will be the Reales Guardias Españolas, who are destined to be brigaded with my existing Guardias Walonas in the Reserve division. The figure is a modified NapoleoN casting - some tweaks in the cuff detail to make him into a guardsman. Two battalions of these chaps will be a weight off my conscience - less little voices to nag me about not being painted yet. The intention is to have one battalion in the brown overalls illustrated, the other in dark blue.

If all goes to plan, the finished troops should be ready in about a month, and there are some more Spanish light infantry next up...

Talavera - (2) - The Game

Today Baron Stryker, Count Goya and I fought the Battle of Talavera, as promised in my last two posts. Of course it wasn't really the Battle of Talavera, it was just a game which had certain similarities. The set-up was mostly derived from a Commands & Colors user website scenario. I'm always a bit dubious about published scenarios - not that there is necessarily anything especially wrong with them. It's simply that, typically, they are designed to give both sides a fair chance of victory. In my experience, one of the risks then is that a closely balanced fight can develop into a slugfest, and little of interest happens until attrition has worn down one side or the other to a point where something decisive might become possible.

Definite signs of visiting generals - first session before lunch.

Looking along the field from the Allied left flank, at the outset. Spanish
battalion in the farm in the foreground.

Allied right, with the Spaniards defending Talavera

However, fear not - today we had an absolutely cracking game - it had everything. History was overturned yet again - the French won - just about. I was the unfortunate Cuesta, commander of the Spanish force, whom history has not remembered kindly. Typecasting again, I know. Stryker was an impressively dynamic Marshal Victor, Goya was Wellesley, with most of the work to do on the Allied side (since, historically, he had restricted the Spanish army to a defensive role, on the flanks) and with the constant frustration of not being able to bring enough force to bear where he needed it (as a direct consequence, so it serves him right!). We had a tweak in the rules: this was a battle of three armies - the British and Spanish could collaborate on the card play, but, since they had separate turns, could not co-ordinate any action directly. This worked out pretty well - by the time the battle was lost, The Spaniards still had more than enough troops to help turn the day, if they could only have been employed more usefully.

If this sounds like a gruelling session of frustration and frayed tempers, nothing could be further from the fact. The game had lots of movement - feint attacks, very exciting cavalry fights, astonishing, show-stopping volleys and even more astonishing complete misses - all conducted in a splendid spirit of enthusiasm and good humour.

The battle involved over 60 units - around 1100 castings - on a table of ten-and-a-half feet by five. We got properly started around 11:30am, and the game came to a clear conclusion at about 16:30 - and that included a sit-down lunch break of about an hour and a half, which is not bad going at all. The armies were tied on 12 Victory Points each near the end, but at the last Victor forced enough units onto the British-held ridge at the Cerro de Medellin to gain the necessary 3 bonus VPs, and it was a 15-12 win for the French. Very, very close - it really could have gone either way.

My thanks and sincere appreciation, as ever, go to my worthy collaborators. It was such a lot of fun that I didn't even mind about those deplorably streaky French dice rolls.

Well, maybe just a bit.

On the Allied right, Cuesta sees the German troops opposite starting a general
advance through the woods - this caused much alarm, but turned out to be a feint attack. 

In the centre, the key defensive point was the ridge at Cerro de Medellin - here three
companies of the 5/60th Rifles splash their way across the stream in front of
the ridge. They had a difficult day.

The French set about forming an attack here, but initially made slow progress.

Oops - a battalion of the Regimiento Ordenes Militares had the job of defending the
farm on the Allied left flank, but took fright with little real provocation, and
evacuated the place - these double retreats for the Spanish army really have the
boys running around! 

They were replaced by the Voltigeurs of King Joseph's Guard, who made a
much better job of things, and held the place for the rest of the day.

Credit where credit is due - the stand-out performance of the day came from
the French 15e Chasseurs à Cheval, who fought off all-comers on the French
right. They were still on the field at the end - battered but glorious. Special
mention in dispatches.

The French are still making little progress in the centre, as Wellesley brings
up the Coldstream Guards.

By this time, the Confederation troops opposite Cuesta have quietened down a
bit, so the Allied right flank has not very much going on.

But what's this? - Victor turns up some very heavy cards, and things start to happen.

Sudden, very rapid advance in the centre by the troops of Sebastiani and Lapisse.

Yes, this is looking serious.

To make sure their photo is in the report, the 15e Chasseurs pop up again,
this time on the end of the ridge, in order to (briefly) claim one of the bonus
VPs available. It didn't last, but the point was made.

The French suffer a few reverses in the centre, and the British defence of the
ridge looks secure for the moment, though losses are creeping up.

Suddenly, there is a rush of cavalry on the French right, near the farm. This is the
area where the British light cavalry fell down a ravine in the real battle, but
we didn't have anything like that.

What we did have was a sizeable clash of cavalry. All sorts of celebrity units - Vistula
lancers, KGL Hussars, even a unit of British Dragoon Guards. Very exciting.

The British cavalry was very successful initially, until they came up against
the dreaded 15e Chasseurs again, and everything stopped dead.

Over on the Allied right, Cuesta's infantry made a demonstration against the
Confederation boys in the woods. It didn't necessarily start off as a demonstration,
but it didn't go very well, so it became a demonstration quite quickly.

Victor appears to be calling down a thunderbolt on to Wellesley.

French now splashing through the stream, trying to get some purchase on the
ridge, and suddenly a few of the British defenders were dislodged. 12-12 in
VPs at this point - if the French can get 3 units on the ridge they've won the day.

Lots of desperate action from the Brits, while their Spanish allies are doing
very little on the flanks.

Here they come - the French are on the ridge, including - most impressively -
their astonishing charging foot artillery.

It no longer matters, but Cuesta is still disputing the woods on the right.

Heroically, but to no avail, Wellesley brings up the 16th Light Dragoons, his final throw.

But the French retain their foothold, and the battle is decided. Observe, if you will,
that two of the British generals are still on the border, and have never entered
the battlefield. Fane is in the foreground, Henry Campbell further away. The
French had two generals killed during the day; the British had two generals
who didn't turn up. Hmmm.

Over on the right, Cuesta's Spanish troops have kept the town of Talavera
safe and secure, which is exactly what they were ordered to do.

Opposite Cuesta the French forces look solid enough - Milhaud's heavy cavalry in
reserve and everything.

This photo to go to the Daily Mail, I think - and maybe Horse Guards -
Henry Campbell wondering if this was the right address - the game is over.

Talavera - (0) - the field

Talavera on Saturday. I think, to be more precise, it is the second bit of Talavera, but since it is unlikely to follow the history too closely, it doesn't really matter.

All these photos are taken from the Allied side of the field. In the foreground is
part of the town of Talavera de la Reina. The French attack will come from the
right-hand edge of the table.

And here we are looking back from behind the Allied left flank.

This is based on the Commands & Colors user site EPIC scenario for the battle - I've shrunk it just a little to get it on my 17 hex x 9 hex table. Some soldiers will appear on this ground in a day or so (I don't want them collecting dust any longer than necessary, and have to keep the sunlight off the flags...) - there'll be another photo or two then, and I'll also include some QRS stuff and scenario information - we have a nifty little experimental rule to prevent Wellesley and Cuesta co-operating too well.

I fear that all my battlefields have a kind of generic look, but it's a flexible system. Here
we are looking down at the Allied right wing. The Portiña stream looks fairly substantial,
but in fact it's a watersplash - units have to pause when they step into it, but it has no
other effect, and all sorts of troops may ford it throughout it's length. There are some
bonus Victory Points available for the French if they can take any of Talavera itself (top
right corner). The things that look like gumshields are the earthworks of the Pajar
de Vergara redoubt - there'll be one Spanish and one British battery in there by Saturday.

Aerial view of the Allied left wing - the 10 hexes of the Cerro de Medellin, on this side
of the stream (complete with the omnipresent Wellington's Tree) are the British main
position, and possession of these hexes is another potential VP generator for the
French. The building on the left is the farm estate of Valdefuentes. 

On some future occasion, Talavera is one of the battles for which I really fancy doing a bigger version - this game on Saturday will be about half size - for numbers and ground scale - but with enough boards and a big enough hall (and some volunteer extra generals - please leave your name with the secretary) there's no reason why it couldn't be done in something closer to the Grand Manner (oops! - copyright wording...).

More soon.

Fighting Next Weekend

On Saturday 30th, I'll be hosting another get-together with those Perthshire Paladins, those Transpontine Terrors, Baron Stryker and Count Goya.

Our action on this occasion will be based on the "EPIC"-sized Commands & Colors scenario for Talavera de la Reina (1809). On my largest available table, this will be staged at about one-half scale, compared to the real battle. Given some more boards and a bigger hall, Talavera is one of the Peninsular War actions I'd like to try on a full, double-width C&CN - I believe we have enough soldiers. [I'd also like to stage a hefty version of Salamanca sometime, but we might have to recruit some more division commanders, and I have some figure painting to do.]

As things stand, Talavera at one-half scale will certainly do to be going on with. I'm very much aware that the worthy JJ recently did a fabulous 18mm version of Talavera - we won't be attempting to compete with the visual riches of that fine effort, but our game promises to be pretty good anyway.

It's a well known tradition, that all the battles of the British Army took place on a hillside, in the rain, at the junction of two maps. On the 30th we shall have another logistical impediment - this is to be one of a series of Saturdays when engineering work will cause the cancellation of all train services to stations in East Lothian, so my visiting generals will have to drive here. If you suspect this might give me a slight, unfair advantage, consider (if you will) how much it must have cost me to arrange this deal with the Scotrail management. My intelligence people have been surpassing themselves.

I'll publish some set-up pictures as we get towards the end of next week.

Major Checkpoint

Time to have my yearly Sensible Look at what is on my list of projects - things that have been going on for a while, things which have crept in through a side entrance or otherwise jumped the queue (including Creeping Elegance items), and things that I want to start on, and which need a proper plan - or at least a better idea of what's involved.

A sanity check, in fact (or charity snack, as Cousin Dave would have put it) - always worthwhile, always throws up a few surprises and decision points, and sometimes gives an opportunity to start something fresh.

This morning's head-scratching produced the following:

Gaming (generally, like) -

Must make time to do some more ECW stuff, must set about organising another campaign (probably boardgame-based in the strategic department), and must do some more work on developing my in-house tweaked variants on C&CN, to allow for extreme ends of the action scale - i.e. smaller and larger than normal. For small actions, I'd like to develop my tactically-enhanced C&C package, in which units have a front and a formation, skirmishing appears in a more explicit form and there is even (perish the thought) a simple unit "quality" test to permit reactive changes of formation. For very large actions, I must have a proper look at C&CN Expansion #6, which deals with EPIC and similar multi-player games (all the more pressing because of the very welcome increase in the social side of my wargaming, in collaboration with Stryker and Goya); I must also do some more work on my Grand Tactical variant of C&CN, in which units are brigades, and weapon ranges and implied groundscale are halved (roughly).

One hefty byproduct of this is that I should also give serious thought to replacing my current battleboards with posh new ones in 18mm MDF - probably in a slightly larger size, and with the number of panels increased to allow games up to full EPIC or La Grande size C&CN. Daunting but probably worthwhile - however much work may have gone into repainting them, my present boards date back to 1972 or so, they are horrible (fragile) ½-inch chipboard, and life has not always been kind to them.

Organising and Painting Armies -

ECW - my armies are probably big enough, but because I bought in and retouched a load of pre-owned figures for Montrose's campaigns there is a proportion which is pretty scruffy - I mean scruffy enough for me to want to do something about it. This means getting in specific replacements for some dubious looking Scottish pikemen, and it probably means that I should get rid of a pile of spare lead which is not going to get painted. Hmmm. OK.

Peninsular War -

All Armies - I'd like to continue to progress my plan to change grouping and basing of generals and staff figures. Nice to do, but no rush.

French Army - I have enough figures for another Division for the Armée de Portugal - probably Bonet's - which will need to be painted and based. I'd like to get on with this, but it's not critical - nothing else depends on it. This is a conscious addition to the Grand Plan. There are some sappers and engineers to paint for siege activities.

This is the makings of the HLI - some fettling and puttying needed...

Anglo-Portuguese - I have the 71st Foot (HLI) on the bottletops to be painted. This may require me to add some more infantry units to make up a brigade to go with them. I'm thinking about this - I have stove-pipe figures which could become (for example) 50th Foot, and I'm sort of thinking about adding the 92nd Gordon Highlanders (don't have figures for these yet). I have a brigade of nice Portuguese infantry figures (4 line battalions and 1 of caçadores) from Hagen which need to be assembled (a bit) and painted, to fill a long overdue vacancy in the Seventh Divn. I also have some new Portuguese staff figures, which are interesting, and Hagen have also produced some splendid Portuguese cavalry - they haven't produced the command figures for these yet, but when they do I will be forced to replace my existing Portuguese cavalry (which are paint conversions based on Dutch-Belgian cuirassiers, as I recall).

1812 Spaniards - a couple more infantry battalions to paint up - nothing urgent.

1809 Spaniards - well now - I worked so hard to collect suitable castings that I now have far too many. This is tricky - it is very easy just to keep adding units to the OOB, but I need to stop this, and probably unload excess figures. I have two big Really Useful Boxes full of unpainted Spaniards, and they weigh a ton - probably a bit silly.

Form an orderly queue - Spanish grenadiers, and odd staff

I still have to finish off a battalion of grenadiers, and I'm also in conversation with Peter Bateman about replacing one of my hussar regts with a unit of converted Hinton-Hunts, which will be nearer the heart's desire.

Apart from that, from the existing lead heap, I have to paint up

- 1 further bn of converged grenadiers (Falcata)

- 2 bns of light infantry (mostly Falcata)

- 2 bns of Foot Guards (specially converted castings)

- 3 regts of Line Cavalry (Hagen)

- 1 regt of dragoons (Hagen)

- a group of infantry pioneers (Falcata)

- some more staff (NapoleoN, Falcata, home conversions)

- 1 more foot battery (mostly Hagen)

...and that's about it. Then I can get rid of the surplus figures, but this is going to hurt!

Something New - a Napoleonic Bavarian Army!

I've been looking at figure samples and swotting up on uniforms and OOBs. My intention is to aim at (as a first stage, anyway) a division of Lefebvre's VII Corps of 1809 - they can fight on the Danube and also against Andreas Hofer in the Tyrol (eventually, pending suitable figures - a campaign for which I have a strange fondness).

Thus my first effort will involve 8 line bns, 2 of jaegers, 2 or 3 regts of cavalry, 2 batteries and a few generals. I already have some figures - Ian very, very kindly sent me some surplus Hinton Hunts, with which I am delighted, and I'm working on building up a suitable stockpile. SHQ are suitable, there are some Hagen figures which look good (haven't got physical samples yet - as ever, size is everything). The Hintons are very nice - I like them - only slight problem with Hintons is that Uncle Marcus made all the Bavarian infantry with plumed helmets, which is only correct for grenadiers, so I would feel obliged to convert (and clone) deplumed fusiliers in goodish numbers. Art Miniaturen are a good source as well, but they are pricey and sometimes their figures are a little delicate for wargaming.

Anyway - early days, but I'm quite excited about this.

So much for sanity - have I decided what priority order these projects will jostle each other into? Well - nearly...

Better have a good rest, to gather my strength.

Tamames 1809

The Spanish Regiment Irlanda moving up in support of the left flank - they
performed valiantly, but the battle was decided elsewhere.

Battle of Tamames duly took place last night - excellent game. Once again history was overturned, but we consciously abandoned the historic French script.

Our game was based on the scenario published on the C&CN user site, with a couple of minor changes to the OOB (there are some typos on the scenario, though it is otherwise well thought out). Standard size C&C table (13 x 9 hexes), and, since my colleagues were new to the rules, we used the original Command Cards. which give rather quicker game-play. As always, I used my own rules for the Spanish army, rather than official C&CN Expansion #1 rules (they are pretty similar, in fact).

In the real Battle of Tamames, we are told, General Marchand (who had temporary command of the French VI Corps, while Marshal Ney was on leave in Paris) underestimated the strength of the Spanish position, not to mention their fighting qualities, and attacked their left with insufficient strength. The Spanish won, and Napoleon was as sick as a parrot.

Since we had read our Oman, and thus had the advantage of hindsight, in our game the French abandoned this approach (it was fairly evident from the troops on the table that Maucune's brigade, on the right, even with cavalry support, was not enough to defeat what he was faced with). The scenario probably understates the Spanish numbers a bit - in particular Belvidere's reserve looked a bit sparse behind the Spanish right flank, so our 20mm Marchand last night attacked on his left - though the ridge looked a bit daunting, the numbers were more in his favour - Marcognet's brigade, with support from Labassée's, went in, though it took a while to get suitable cards to promote aggressive action on that flank.

As ever, the C&C scenario has the armies developed at the start, but the attacking side (French) have some choreography to sort out, to get their artillery up from the rear.

There's a general initial picture in my previous post about this battle. The game was pretty frantic last night - brilliant fun. This may have something to do with the action not being hamstrung by the presence of a river, nor bogged down in the defence of a strongpoint, but we certainly had a lot of movement, and C&C managed yet again to provide a game suitable to get the newbies involved and enthusiastic. As is so often the case in such circumstances, I fear the photography was not as thorough as it could have been, so I'll attempt to piece together some kind of narrative from the evidence on the camera!

The French develop their left flank attack - Marcognet to the fore, with
two battalions of 25e Léger on loan from Bardet's brigade

It took a while to get it organised, but here goes the main attack, with the second
line carefully leaving enough space for the leading units to fall back if necessary...

French artilleryman's view of the ridge opposite

Things are a little more stressful for the Spanish artillery on the other side
of the table - with 2 red loss markers showing, this battery is already at reduced
effect - one more loss and they can go for an early bath

An overall view from the Spanish right - they have plenty of troops (and
reserves!) in the centre, but there is not much happening there - at the far end
there is some brisk action - a good amount of ebb and flow. The
double-retreat rule for Spaniards had some interesting effects for the
Spanish light cavalry at the far end - any reverses and they fell back
a l-o-n-g way, so there was a great deal of dashing about - more drama
than effect mostly, though the French made good use of squares on a couple
of occasions 

General Del Parque decided against making any kind of serious defence of
the town of Tamames, and pulled out to leave the place to the French
[note the statue of St Bernardino of Siena, patron saint of hay fever]

The first wave of Marcognet's attack was halted for a while, but the Spanish troops
on the ridge were gradually getting worn down

A reverse for the French - 1/39e eliminated by an exceptional volley of musketry

With numbers starting to become a problem, the French eventually got the
1/25e Léger up onto the flank of the Spanish line...

...and they quickly put paid to the Regimiento Cantabria...

...the end is nigh - General Losada brings up his last reserve on the Spanish
right - the converged grenadiers of the Africa and Reina regiments, but neither
he nor his brave troops lasted long

History is overturned yet again - the Spanish right flank has gone, the Victory
Point tally is 11-7 (9 for the win), and it's all over...

...whichever way you look at it!