Search Results for 'cuirassier'

[General Slade]

I would say that the colour of the tunic would be described as buff or what the French called chamois, which at first made me think the portrait might be that of a trooper from the Saxon Garde du Korps.  The coat colour and the epaulettes look right and the regiment was issued with cuirasses though it didn’t wear them in the field. However, the soldier in the portrait appears to be wearing a full cuirass, while as far as I know the Saxons only wore front plates (which, at least for the other Saxon cuirassier regiments, were blackened).  Finally, when I checked I found that the Saxon Garde du Korps had blue collars piped yellow and red so it seems to be a non-starter anyway.

Saxon Garde du Korps:

The colour of the felt lining under the cuirass (the brown material that goes under the soldier’s arms and over the top of his epaulettes) is interesting because generally this seems to have been red or blue for most cuirassier regiments of the period.

Going back to the epaulettes, the style of them make me think that if this is a Napoleonic portrait then the soldier is likely to be from one of the German nations. Saxon, Wurttemberg and Bavarian heavy cavalry all wore shoulder straps of this type while French and French-influenced (Westphalian and Polish) heavy cavalry wore fringed epaulettes and Austrian and Russian cavalry had simpler shoulder straps.

Another possibility is that this could be a Swedish or Danish regiment.  I think both had heavy cavalry who wore buff uniforms, either during or after the Napoleonic Wars, though I haven’t been able to find a unit that has a buff coat with buff facings.

Danish Lifeguards in 1848:

[vtsaogames]

IMHO opinion, weight is largely a question of size and condition of mounts, presuming horses and riders are both trained well. Light cavalry are pretty much equal, regardless of name/uniform. They made up the cavalry screen and their horses would be fairly tired if the battle didn’t occur early in the campaign. Dragoons might also do some screening and wear down their nominally heavier horses. At least in theory cuirassiers would be in reserve during the campaign, husbanded for the battlefield. Some rules have various slight gradations for each type of cavalry. I tend towards raw/trained/veteran and rate cuirassiers as veteran heavy cavalry, when they deserve it. Titles don’t always equate to actual performance. The wars raged from 1792 to 185 with some brief cease-fires. After a while any nag with 4 legs was liable to be pressed into service.

 

The British had an advantage here, since their horseflesh hadn’t been picked over by every army in Europe. They had big healthy horses. This was offset by the comparative amateurism of many of their cavalry leaders, as evidenced by various rash charges throughout the period. yes, I’ve read “Galloping at Everything” and they didn’t get out of hand every time, but still too often.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood

[Just Jack]

John,

Interesting, though I don’t think all cavalry fights are really my thing, but it was cool that you got two quick games in for the price of one 😉
Regarding weight of cavalry, I’m certainly no expert so I should just keep my mouth shut, but when has that ever stopped anyone on the internet? 😉
I have no idea how much the difference in weight between cuirassiers/carabiniers vs dragoons vs hussars/chasseurs a cheval/cheveaux legere really is in a straight up fight, but it seems it’s almost a morale issue: it seems to me the lighter cavalry simply wouldn’t charge heavy cavalry unless in a superior tactical position (i.e., enemy heavies were already engaged to the front by friendly heavies, and now the lights were charging into the enemy heavies’ flank; the enemy heavies had already charged and were blown/scattered/withdrawing).  Again, not an expert, so I’m sure there are examples that will prove me wrong, but that’s how it seems (though possibly incorrectly) to me.

And you finally put a ‘follower gadget’ on your blog, so I now count myself among the ranks of your loyal followers!

V/R,
Jack

[Whirlwind]

Thanks very much for that Bandit, I really appreciate that context.

Bandit wrote:

How did you like it? You were able to pull out an Austrian win…

It was a pretty good scenario.  Although I think it may be more fairly described as me pulling out a French defeat from the jaws of victory through clumsy handling of my pinning force (I approve of Riesch’s flanking demonstration with his Cuirassiers though).

Possibly Michael Hopper eliminated the Danube crossing element of the scenario, as well as ignoring Mack’s orders, in order to create a more straightforward attack/defence affair?

 

 

[Bandit]

Our second ESR Napoleonics game at Fall-In 2018 had Hiller’s Korps facing off against Lannes, while Hohenlohe took on Vandamme. In both cases the Austrians were aggressive in their initial moves, so much so that the 3rd Hussars decided to take on a French cuirassier division. Despite how terrible that sounds, the decision was made under nearly optimal circumstances and both Formations effectively neutralized the other for the rest of the game. Punching above their weight like this did not set the tone for the rest of the battle unfortunately…

You can check out the full after-action-report in our Gallery.

Rules: ESR Napoleonics (Et sans résultat! Second Edition)

Miniatures: ESR Box Sets

Terrain: NOCH and Battlescale

Cheers,

The Bandit

[Etranger]

I don’t see why not. Although uncommon, there were more or less fully armoured cavalry (cuirassiers)  units in the ECW,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_lobsters as well as individuals, so it’s quite possible that a well resourced (or just prudent) gentleman would fork out for a 3/4 suit.

[Bandit]

Our first game at Fall-In 2018 pitted a recklessly aggressive Vandamme against a competent but unlucky Hiller while Lannes and Hohenlohe slugged it out to the north.

Pajol’s series of absurdly lucky attacks against the Austrian Avant Garde drove a mile wide gap between the 3rd Hussars providing Hiller’s flank guard, and Radetzky’s infantry division. With his position turned, Hiller found himself in a bad place despite the bulk of his men remaining fresh.

Meanwhile, Hohenlohe had committed Lindeneau’s Grenadier Division against Morand’s infantry on an open plain, while Ulm’s infantry demonstrated against Lannes’s 2nd Division. Morand’s infantry were beat up, but held. The Austrian grenadiers gave as well as they got, but Lannes had brought up Saint Sulpice’s cuirassier division and the exhausted grenadiers weren’t going to hold against the fresh heavies.

With that the Austrians withdrew, a bloody nose only, but a loss all the same.

Complete after action report and a lot more photos in our Gallery.

Rules: ESR Napoleonics (Et sans resultat! Second Edition)
Miniatures: ESR Box Sets
Terrain: Battlescale and NOCH

Cheers,

The Bandit

[Deleted User]

The recent thread on SYW rules reminded me I have a Prussian SYW Horse battery, kindly given to me by a friend, to paint.

The gun model, 4 crew, limber & outriders will represent Fred. The Great’s only Horse battery; an innovation. It will join a sizeable Prussian army, well equipped with “standard” artillery.

I’ll also need to add the unit’s capabilities to our home-groan rules.

My thinking is that for disadvantages, a Horse battery should have shorter canister, short & long ranges than those stipulated for heavy & field artillery as the guns are lighter.

The advantages should clearly be quicker movement (perhaps as fast as Cuirassiers, rather than lighter cavalry?) & ease in unlimbering. Artillery currently can’t fire in the turn they unlimber. So possibly Horse guns can?

I’m thinking of making the gun base smaller than that stipulated for field artillery as this should have some small impact in terms of ease of limbered movement through gaps & ease of deployment.

Given that it is a new weapons’ system, I think it should be clunkier than later, Napoleonic horse guns, so I’ll keep the overall artillery rule of losing half a move to limber/unlimber.

Your thoughts?

 

donald

[Bandit]

This past weekend at HMGS-Great Lakes, there was a terrific looking ESR Napoleonics game run for the Waterloo campaign.

June 1815 Historical Variant: Wellington and his entire staff oversleep after socializing all night with the Duchess. Now it is up to Blucher to save Brussels and keep his supply lines secure. Napoleon’s advance has been delayed, can Ney save the day and secure the critical crossroad for his Emperor?

The Prussians deployed a massive grand battery to deny the French a lane of attack against their right wing’s center.

But the assault of a French infantry division, supported by cuirassiers, dragoons, and divisional artillery, against their extreme flank, collapsed the Prussian right.

With the Prussian center under significant threat as well, the Prussian position folded…

And the answer was… YES. Ney secured the crossroads and the Emperor’s road to Brussels was clear!

Terrific looking shirts guys 😉 Glad everyone had fun!

Great thanks to Brett B. for organizing and running the game, Jamie for assisting him, and both Brett and Michael W. for providing photos!

Cheers,

The Bandit

[Greystreak]

No, the horsehair crests of the later helmet style (Dragoons & Cuirassiers) went to all ‘black’, with only trumpeters distinguished by an all red crest.  Jonathan will undoubtedly be along shortly to clarify . . .

Bryce Allen

[Bandit]

During the early part of the period the Russian cavalry officers and NCOs wore a mix of black, orange, and white in their headgear. Specifically the dragoons and cuirassiers wore it in the caterpillar crest of their helmets. When the style of that crest was changed as they moved to the later war uniforms, were these distinctions maintained?

Cheers,

The Bandit

[Deleted User]

Etranger wrote:

The Scottish horse (with the exception of the Gordon Horse, who appear to have been better trained, equipped and motivated) were generally fairly rubbish though, weren’t they? I guess it depends how much of that ‘flavour’ that you want to keep in your army.

 

My understanding, ET, is there was quite some change in quality for the Covenanters over time.  After all, the period lasts from 1639-1652.

The Foot is a good example. They begin with pike heavy, not that well trained regiments but progress to reasonably steady infantry. Their performance in England was generally pretty good.

Perhaps this is  more true of the Horse where a re-adoption of the lance made some improvements to performance.
By the time of their activities during the Preston campaign in 1648 and the Dunbar campaign of 1650, I’d think an “average” rating is quite justifiable.
As I have done with my FoG (Ancients) armies, I guess I will tend to slide unit quality up & down the scale to meet the demands of the scenario or to establish some balance with my opponent.

To keep with some pretense of historical accuracy, I doubt if I’ll ever include *any* elite units in the entire army & will always (?) have a modicum of “poor”.

 

I know I’m pushing believability & risk offending the purely historically minded with my demi-cuirassiers. However, they won’t be used in every battle & will be rated “average” at best & possibly even “poor” to represent their puny mounts & lack of experience. Brendan’s suggestion of only 2 bases is a good one, I think.

 

donald

[Brendan Morrissey]

The BG of cuirassiers could be a life-guard for your commander-in-chief.  I would say only two bases though, rather than the full four – I don’t think there was a shortage of armour so much as a shortage of horses capable of carrying the bloke wearing it!!!

I would have thought lots of Highlanders – in “Warrior” format – would be ideal for you.  The big 8-base units are usually either musket* or bow* which means you fire the front rank and half the back rank at close range, followed by an “in wi’ tha’ boot, an’ thin wi’ tha’ heed” four-inch charge move.

[Deleted User]

Possibly the best part of wargaming: the hobby, is planning an army.

I’m not wedded to the FoG lists. We’re not competition gamers &, to be honest, it’s a bit dull.

So…..I’m going to place an order to Tumbling Dice for some Highland skirmishers. These chaps will make 2 X 4 base Light infantry units.

I’m also thinking about a BG of cuirassiers. The Royalists under Montrose had them so it might still be a stretch but I think they’d be a not-totally-inappropriate choice (just a not-quite-right choice). I’m also going to load up on arty: a BG of Heavy as well as a BG of light guns.

Sue me.

 

donald

[Truls Engebakken-Fjell]

The very new Swedish cavalry from Warfare.
Gyllenstierna dragoons.

And with livregimentet.

And first Jylland cuirassier regiment.

[Jonathan Gingerich]

Apropos of the TMP discussion, although it is ambiguous in Viskovatov, other sources describe the Russian cuirassier standards of 1791. Only the borders, including the medallion frames, but not the cyphers, and the fringe varied as gold or silver according to regiment. All other metallics were gold.
The eagle was based on a black silk silhouette, but was heavily embroidered in gold.
The Yekaterinoslav standards were made of orange, azure, and white stuff, in case it’s not obvious from the illustration.

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=484200
inclusion of this link should not be taken as endorsement of the site.

[zippyfusenet]

Mike, I’m going to offer that historical war*gaming* is inherently alternate history, since gaming historical conflicts allows and even encourages non-historical outcomes, and often includes non-historical inputs. What if…Jackson had lived to command at Gettysburg?…the Japanese carriers hadn’t been caught at Midway?…King Harold Godwinson hadn’t taken that arrow in the eye at Hastings?…the French Cuirassiers had broken the British squares at Waterloo? Let’s roll some dice and see.

I think Paskal’s OP fits perfectly well into the Ancients board. What if the Han Chinese armies had marched a few hundred miles farther west and clashed with the Romans in Parthia? That’s quite an orthodox historical match-up for a DBA game; the armies are contemporary.

Of course, I’ll read the thread where ever it’s posted or moved. I’m just arguing to hear my own voice.

You'll shoot your eye out, kid!

[Jemima Fawr]

It was a lovely day for photography today, so I’ve been catching up with the units painted during the winter.  All these are AB Figures 15mm sculpted by Tony Barton, except for the Baden Gunners, which are old Battle Honours (also sculpted by Tony Barton before he started AB) and the Murat and Bessieres figures, which are by the talented new Estonian sculptor Sho Boki:

Austrian Cavalry Guns:

Austrian Chevauxleger Regiment #5 ‘Klenau’:

Austrian Grenadier Battalion ‘Brzeczinzky’, 1809:

Austrian Grenadier Battalion ‘Frisch’, 1809:

Austrian Infantry Regiment #7 ‘Schroeder’

Vienna Freiwilligen:

Baden Foot Artillery:

Baden General:

French 4th Cuirassiers:

French 7th Chasseurs a Cheval

French 9th Light Infantry Regiment:

French 10th Light Infantry Regiment:

French Marshal Bessieres (actually a Sho Boki Murat figure with a repaint):

French General Grouchy during his pre-Marshalate days, as a cavalry corps commander:

French Marshal Murat circa 1807 (Eylau):

French Marshal Murat circa 1812 (Borodino):

French Marshal Murat circa 1813 (Leipzig):

Hessen-Darmstadt General:

French General Nansouty circa 1813, as a cavalry corps commander:

French Fusiliers-Grenadiers of the Middle Guard:

French Sailors of the Guard:

French Tirailleur-Grenadiers of the Young Guard, circa 1809:

French Tirailleurs of the Young Guard, circa 1810-1813:

French Voltigeurs of the Young Guard, circa 1810-1813:

French Voltigeurs of the Young Guard, circa 1810-1813:

Duchy of Warsaw Foot Artillery:

Duchy of Warsaw Horse Artillery:

Prussian 1st Gardes zu Fuss.  These are actually made from Russian grenadiers circa 1805-07.  The bricole-spotters will be able to spot the inaccuracies, but I think they look jolly spiffing!  You can’t beat nicely-trimmed busch…:

Prussian 1st Gardes zu Fuss:

Prussian 2nd Gardes zu Fuss, 1813 (prior to 1813 this uniform was worn by the ‘Normal-Infanterie-Bataillon):

Prussian 2nd Gardes zu Fuss, 1813 (prior to 1813 this uniform was worn by the ‘Normal-Infanterie-Bataillon):

Prussian 5th (Brandenburg) Dragoons:

Westphalian Guard Horse Artillery:

My wargames blog: http://www.jemimafawr.co.uk/

[Deleted User]

Chris Pringle wrote:

. If the undulations in question were just enough for the odd squadron of lancers to lurk in and pounce from, I’d say you don’t need to put that on the table; it should be one of those minor tactical factors that are represented by the spread of your possible dice results, assuming you’re not using a ruleset that is totally mechanical and predictable. British line rolls snake eyes for its volley? Those cuirassiers surprised them because of coming out of a dip and through the powder smoke. Chevauxleger break British square on a 6:1 opposed roll? Some of them found a gully that led right up to the vulnerable corner of the square. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of terrain fidelity, and really dislike the terrain tokenism of those unimaginative wargame tables with one hill, one wood, one village … just suggesting that things need to be kept in proportion, and maybe your problem isn’t as big as you think. Chris Bloody Big BATTLES! https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.co.uk/

Yes, I get all of that, Chris. But if you take it the other way, and the infantry get in that volley, what happened to the dead ground? It disappeared? But the maps say it was there! I’m planning the battle of QB, not a generic game that may or may not have set typographical features.

On Martin’s advice, I’m going to experiment with placing some lengths of dowel (Regiment-sized) under the battle mats: something I’ve never done before. I think it fair to think experienced cavalry commanders would try to sniff out such features.

The other issue is standing crops on this battlefield which also provided cover.

Normally, some hideous movement penalty applies to moving through obstacles . For this game, I propose to limit the movement penalty  as it is counter-intuitive to budget for such cover but make it so difficult to move through that it becomes useless.

[Chris Pringle]

Maybe you are worrying too much? The representation of the terrain should be of the same granularity as that of the troops. Is your base unit the regiment of cavalry/battalion of infantry? Then you want terrain features that will give cover/concealment that is significant at the regt/battalion level. If the undulations in question were just enough for the odd squadron of lancers to lurk in and pounce from, I’d say you don’t need to put that on the table; it should be one of those minor tactical factors that are represented by the spread of your possible dice results, assuming you’re not using a ruleset that is totally mechanical and predictable. British line rolls snake eyes for its volley? Those cuirassiers surprised them because of coming out of a dip and through the powder smoke. Chevauxleger break British square on a 6:1 opposed roll? Some of them found a gully that led right up to the vulnerable corner of the square.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of terrain fidelity, and really dislike the terrain tokenism of those unimaginative wargame tables with one hill, one wood, one village … just suggesting that things need to be kept in proportion, and maybe your problem isn’t as big as you think.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!

https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info

http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.co.uk/

[Who Asked This Joker]

Whirlwind wrote:

For my education on this battle, why would/did the Imperialists put all their irregular/hussar-type cavalry on one flank and all their cuirassier type units on the other?

While “we don’t know” is a good and probably correct answer, there is a tactical reason behind loading up one side vs the other with heavier/better cavalry and it seems to apply well to this battle.  The Imperialists opened the battle with a flank attack directed specifically on the Saxons.  Swedish left or Imperialist right.  Assuming the plan was to turn the Swedish flank and catch them in a vice by holding the center and Swedish right/Imperialist left, it would make sense to load up the Imperialist right with better troops able to carry out a shock attack and break the enemy quickly.

Whether this was a planned maneuver or not is anyone’s guess.  Certainly, the Swedes spotted the danger and adjusted accordingly.  Also interestingly, the Swedish cavalry on their right made very short work of the Imperialist cavalry opposing them, turning the battle into a revolving door battle.  Kind of suggests that the Swedes not only had numbers but a qualitative advantage on that flank.

John

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

--Abraham Lincoln

[Guy Farrish]

A quick look in Peter H Wilson’s Europe’s Tragedy has Pappenheim on the left (presumably with a lot of cuirassiers) and Furstenberg on the right with League ‘heavy’ cavalry and Isolani’s Croats on the extreme right, with Erwitte with more cavalry in reserve behind Tilly’s centre/right.

His sources are not clear at a quick glance as he doesn’t have a proper bibliography and the notes are not revealing a lot on primary sources on first inspection. (I’ll have a closer look later, probably).

Daniel Staberg usually has some info which looks good – although he can be frustratingly dismissive of everything except Swedish sources. I wish he’d write a book or push someone else in the way of some of his research so they could write it.

 

[Whirlwind]

For my education on this battle, why would/did the Imperialists put all their irregular/hussar-type cavalry on one flank and all their cuirassier type units on the other?

[vtsaogames]

A lot has to do with how long each turn represents. 15 or 30 minute turns give Ney quite a lot of time to bash the outnumbered Dutch-Belgians before help arrives. Short turns allow the French to wield tighter control than was possible in the real thing and I believe is why so many wargames set in this short campaign yield French victories.

 

I’ve played  QB with Volley and Bayonet and later a home-brewed set of rules that both used hourly turns. It gives you a whole lot more respect for Ney. Picton and Brunswick show up during the second hour. If the French move first (IGO-UGO) that gives them two turns to paste the Dutch-Belgians. Then the numbers are nearly equal. True, the French still have the better force but the situation has changed drastically and yet more reinforcements are on the way. Guiton’s 800 cuirassiers are no match for the 12,000+ troops of Alten’s and Cooke’s divisions. Within a few hours the Anglo-Dutch outnumber the French by 50%. That’s a tough situation in any rules set. If your game expects to represent the whole fight, not just the opening rounds, the French have a hard time later on.

 

As for the One Hour Wargames scenario, the total defending force (after all reinforcements have arrived) is equal in numbers to the attacking force.

So I’d say give the French some points for being at the crossroads any time during the game, to prod the French player into attacking. Also points for either side being able to send units in good shape off the road to Ligny. There is also the strange event: Wellington appears from the road to Ligny after the battle starts, fresh from his meeting with Blucher. That always led to a mad scramble in our games as the Duke avoided French cavalry.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood

[Deleted User]

I’ve done some further thinking about a QB game (which won’t be until May).

One factor to consider is the length of the game. This will be crucial in terms of fairness & in offering the scope to finish. I am going to have to put a lot of thought into this: 12 game turns seems too long to fit into a day but I think to allow the game to progress in something like an historical way, it may be needed. I will have to work out when & where the re-enforcements to both sides arrive. Picton’s British line brigade, Kellerman’s cuirassiers etc. This will be crucial.

Another interesting aspect lies with command. The brave but inexperienced Prince of Orange initially commanded the Allies. I think I’ll handicap them an ADC to reflect his inexperience. At some point, the Duke of Wellington will arrive & be given an extra 2 ADCs. It should be noted ‘General D’armee’ uses the number of available ADCs to harness a player’s ability to command & control.

I’m mostly a fan of manoeuvre in wargaming but I think not here. The game will need to start with 3 French infantry & 2 French cavalry brigades on table. These will be in combat formations. The Allies will have a Dutch-Belgian infantry brigade & cavalry brigade placed in front of the village & in the wood. I’d like shooting to start by Turn 2 – 3 at the latest. It should be noted “brigade” in GD’a terms is more like a division.

I don’t think I’ll allow the possibility of D’Erlon’s brigade turning upon the Allied flank….

 

What do you think about any/all of the above?

 

donald

 

[Jonathan Gingerich]

Very good! (As is invariably the case, soon after I posted it, I discovered that very location !!!-) The conversation identifies Juhel page 93. There is documented an order of Aug. 1814 the the royal corps of cavalry is to wear moustaches, which would include the royal cuirassiers i.e. the renamed Grenadiers à Cheval. Whether this order was carried out, and whether they retained the fashion during the 100 days is moot.  Juhel thinks they did not. YMMV.

[Jonathan Gingerich]

I’m pretty sure I saw a discussion of whether or not the Grenadiers à Cheval wore mustaches at Waterloo. And the argument for went beyond the fact that they were classed as cuirassiers during the Restoration. It was in one of the usual places, but my google-fu seems to be failing me.  Anyone recall where it was?

[Deleted User]

Our fourth & final (for a while) Napoleonic game was fought out yesterday on a scorching Queensland Summer’s Day (40c).

The scenario was a disguised historical battle (Albuera) set in Belgium sometime after a French victory at Waterloo.
An Anglo-Dutch force, under Orange (miraculously healed from the bullet wound inflicted by Sharpe) held their ground against a larger French army under Marshal Davout (rushed up from Paris to replace Ney).

The A-D had some Veteran British infantry brigades but also recruit-quality Dutch-Belgians & a Campaign quality D-B light cavalry brigade. In terms of unit size & quality, they tended to the extremes. The French on the other hand were nearly exclusively solid Line quality.

The battle ended with an emphatic win for the Anglo-Dutch.

POI:
1. We have now all had at least one game and the ‘General D’armee’ rules have everyone’s seal of approval
2. Whilst a few rules (eg the fact all cavalry moves at the same speed, you can’t fire a village, & the Destiny rules) may or may not need tweaking in the future, the rules produce a fast, enjoyable & acceptable result.
3. Skirmishers, used aggressively by both sides suffered. Indeed, a skirmish line of 95th Rifles, attempting to shot up a Horse artillery battery was wiped out whilst a French skirmish line was forced to retire by a well directed volley from a Dutch battalion. This ticks my box as I think skirmishers were way too powerful in other rule sets.
4. A brigade of Belgian militia battalions, stationed as sacrificial lambs in front of the A-D line, stood up to artillery barrages & repeated assaults by French cuirassiers, losing a battalion & having others mauled but blunting a strong French attack. In the previous games, such recruit quality troops have been a weak link so interesting to see how with some lucky dice, such troops can be battle winners.
5.The judicious use of ADC taskings is crucial to the game’s outcome. Indeed, this major aspect of the rules means the game is a tactical exercise for the players & not just a slug-fest.

donald

(I may get around to sticking up a few photos but I think you’ve all seen enough of my layout for a while).

[Otto Schmidt]

I’ve already been working with a sculptor who has made two original figures for me. One is a Potsdam “giant” Grenadier of the regiment of “giants” raised by Frederick William I, Frederick the Great’s Father. It is gorgeous. He also has made a drummer boy for the regiment for me dressed ‘Alla Turca” in turban and plume and kaftan, which many regiments of the day used.

I am particularly pleased with the artist. I have the seen the photos of the above and they are great. I am waiting delivery of them in a day or so when I will send them off to a company in the states to have the molds and masters made and the production masters made. Once I “prove” the system that the artist creations work with the castings, and the process works, I will give him a second commission.

It will be a cooperative effort between us and I will only give him general suggestions and he will interpret them artistically. For example I’m thinking of modifying points of Indian Costume poking out the cuirass for a heavy cavalryman, or plates of iron sewn together. The big element will be the headdress or helmet and I was thinking of a boiled leather (cuir bolli) in something like a high peak with feathers hanging from the back spine, in imitation  kind of like a Nappy Cuirassier helmet or just a frame on top of a steel “secrete” or skull cap.  Another idea might be to adapt a tricorn by letting the brim down in the back and attaching feathers to that.

I also want to do other figures . I might even make a whole line. I don’t want to make figures everyone else makes, but specialty figures, and ones of a kind. I know there’s no money in this at all, but it would be nice to have, and to do something.

Suggestions have come in for enginer officer figures, and court ladies in full gala dress, Marie Antoinette in Shepherdess  costume, Maria Theresia  mounted with full regalia at a review.

I want to make  scenes like Napoleon bent over a table signing his abdication in 1914, but I also would like to make a diorama, Cherubino and Figaro, which is from the opera “La Nozze Di Figaro” marriage of Figaro, of the scene where the Duke has decided to end Cherubino’s sniffing around his wife by sending him off to the regiment. Figaro sings then his famous aria “Non pedri..” singing how instead of disturbing the sleep of all the young maids he’ll be marching through mud with a heavy knapsack on his back, and racking up lots of glory but not much money. “La Fanfare de Tromboni, Le Bombardi de canone!”

The figure of the page cherubino will be of a small boy with a huge grenadier miter on his head cocked forward giving the salute while he has his leg raised in a charicature of a goose step, while Figaro is dancing next to him beating a small child’s drum

 

I know… crazy I don’t expect ever to sell a few.

Also like to do one of Louis XVI on the scaffold or more military figures no one makes like Russian Chevalier Guard of the Russo Polish Wars (huge tumbling plumes, bat wings on the  helmets, and the like.

 

 

[Deleted User]

One down side to “repeats” might be a loss of surprise? After several assaults on *that* ridge, you know it’s impossible & try something else.

I will concede many commanders, thanks to good scouting or local knowledge, knew their battlefields well but clearly not all.

My Sunken Road at Waterloo* won’t be full of French cuirassiers if they know it’s there.

 

 

donald

 

 

• Yes, I know that’s a myth promulgated by Dumas Snr, I believe

[Radar]

Peter Pig – I have lots, but if starting again I’d go elsewhere. Foot figures are excellent, but weak point are the mounted figures. The older two part castings were much much better but don’t lend themselves to head swaps (and the sideways pointing pistol guy looks a bit odd in multi figure bases). Newer one piece castings are just so flat, no animation to them, slightly easier to do head swaps, fewer unique combinations available now you can no longer mix and match rider and horse. Plus latest incarnation of cuirassiers have solid infill under arms rather than daylight.

15mm extras – Peter Pig do some useful packs, plague doctors, and sprinkles pack. QRF/TSS do some useful non-combatants.  Matchlock have some excellent ‘characters’

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk

[Truls Engebakken-Fjell]

Saxon force grows!

The last unit is a battalion of Kurprinsen regiment, a regiment that took part in all the major battles the Saxons fought in the 1700-1706 period.
The rest of the Force consists of a battalion Steinau infantry regiment, 2 squadrons of Damitz cuirassiers, 2 Squadrons of Beust cuirassiers, 2 squadrons of Goltz dragoons and a heavy cannon.

I have 24 more cavalry to paint, 18 Cuirassiers and 6 dragoons.
All figures and flags are Warfare miniatures except for the single cannon that is a Front Rank cannon(crew is warfare)

[Jonathan Gingerich]

The discussion over in TMP regarding Russian Horse Artillery uniforms points out there were very few changes during the period. That got me thinking about the cartridge pouch belt.  Like the Dragoons and Cuirassiers, their belt originally was composed with the large buckle with oval frame and double prongs, loop, and end tip all in brass. A ring was sewn to the back of the other two ends of the strap and the cartridge pouch was attached to those rings.  The strap therefore hung like a loose flap along the side of the cartridge pouch.  This was changed by decree in 1811. The straps were now attached directly to the rear of the pouch, like the infantry version.  In addition, the Dragoons lost the brass from the belt, now formed from a single strap. Did this apply  to the Horse Artillery? They were modeled after the Dragoons, but I cannot find any explicit statement in the sources. The decree in question refers specifically to Dragoons and Cuirassiers.  Leonov, Popov, & Kibovsky show a relic, which they date from 1809, that has the belt attached to the rear of the pouch. It appears to be a single strap, but the image is truncated. So it seems likely the revision applied to the Horse Artillery as well. Then again, both the Lancers and the Horse Jaegers retained the brass work, so perhaps not!  I’ll have to add a note to my page.

http://zaotlichiye.net63.net/allfacings.html

[Darryl Smith]

Here you will find items that I have for sale and items that I desire. My terms are fairly simple…I prefer PayPal for payments, and I only sell to buyers in the U.S. (I will admit, filling out the paperwork to send something internationally is a pain in the arse). The items are all in at least good condition from a smoke and pet free home. Some of these are items I have collected from eBay or The Miniatures Page, so previous ownership/condition is beyond my control, but I think you will be VERY happy with what you buy.

PM me here or email preds81.ds at gmail

Shipping is INCLUDED!

Unknown Manufacturer – (painted) Ten 25/28mm Aussies for Vietnam. Mix of weapons (rifles, SMGs, GPMG). Bare metal would probably be $15.00-$20.00, with this nice paint job (not mine) they would run at least $4.00 per figure, I will sell for $25.00 (and that includes shipping).

Peter Pig 15mm AK-47 Range – (unpainted) Three packs of code 4 (militia firing AK47), two packs of code 22 (militia command), one pack code 41 (regular/militia boy soldiers), and one pack code 57 (militia LMGs). Retails for $28.00, sell for $18.00.

Rebel Minis 15mm moderns – (unpainted) Two packs of German KSK (code RBL-MH02), one pack hostages. Retails for $20.00, sell for $13.00.

Peter Pig 15mm Great War Germans (Late War) – (unpainted) One pack of code 107 (HMGs), four packs of code 111 (infantry firing), and one pack of code 134 (stretcher bearers). Retails for $24.00, sell for $16.00.

Oddzial Osmy 15mm “Green Men” (Russians) – (unpainted) Three packs of MD-1501, two packs of MD-1502. Retails for $17.50, sell for $12.00. SPOKEN FOR

Quality Castings 15mm Modern Americans – (unpainted) One pack code 6108 (advancing), one pack code 6109 (defending), and one pack code 6110 (AT/AA weapons). Retails for $30.00, sell for $20.00.

Flytrap Factory 15mm Marines and Insurgents – (unpainted) Two pack insurgents, one pack USMC rifle squad, one pack USMC Hoots (no longer in production). Retails for over $40.00, sell for $26.00.  SPOKEN FOR

TTG 20mm West Germans – (unpainted) Three packs (EG01 officers, EG04 infantry with G3, EG08 infantry with G3). Sell for $10.00.

Most of the 15mm MiniFig 1806 Prussians You Need Project (unpainted) – There are a lot of Prussians here for Jena and Auerstadt. Bought these already sorted from a chap. There are 16 Cuirassiers, 16 Hussars, 48 dragoons, 96 musketeers advancing, 72 musketeers march attack, 48 grenadiers advancing, 20 grenadiers march attack, 48 jagers, and a handful of painted infantry. All the above includes a good number of command figures. Cast super clean, by Game Figures, Inc. You just need to buy a bit of artillery and you have a heck of a force. Retails for $250.00, a steal at $150.00!

The 15mm Viking project – unpainted packs from Khurasan and Splintered Light for a project that will never see the light of Thor’s day. Splintered Light: one pack of Dark Age villagers. Khurasan: Two packs of Bondi/Raiders infantry (code 1301), one pack of Bondi/Raiders archers (code 1302), and one pack of command (code 1304). Retails for $29.00, sell for $17.00.

15mm Bloodaxe Hawaiian DBA army – unpainted DBA IV/12c mega mix with extra camp followers, priests, canoes. Retails for $14.00, sell for $10.00 (and will throw in four packs of Mick Yarrow Inuits).

Buckeye Six Actual
https://ambushedinthealley.blogspot.com/
http://foragecaps.blogspot.com/
http://germancolonialgaming.blogspot.com/

[Truls Engebakken-Fjell]

Thanks for the kind feedback.

I’m actually kinda amazed how colourful the 1805 russians are. Except for cuirassiers and hussars.  They are all mostly green and White/grey.

Yet the facings an other small colourful details pop and make them overall very striking and showy.  Sure these get a lot of help form the big rose coloured hose blankets. But even the various colored plumes on the command helmets help a lot. The red plum of the trumpeter really stands out.

And the white/orange/black plumes of the NCOs/officers too.

I’ll get back to the last squadron soonish.  Need to finish up some French infantry and artillery as well as start on Prussian and Russian Grenadiers.

[Alexander Hay-Whitton]

I’d feel very uncomfortable mixing them. Hairstyles, weapons, shield designs, styles of fighting were very different. Germans with loincloths and topknots, and frequently clubs, long spears, non-metallic javelins, wedges, no saddles, certainly no chariots, and horrifyingly often not even swords, against Gallic tartans, trousers, moustaches, slings (I trust Caesar more than I do Phil Barker, for some reason)…why not have a  few French cuirassiers in the Indo-Chinese war while you’re at it?

[Mr. Average]

I finally had a good start on a force I’ve been working up for the game Planetary Operations.  You might have seen the Bolo and ENSPUN armored units elsewhere.  Well, this is another force from the same universe.  It’s the 44e Régiment de Cuirassiers, also known as the Régiment de Fer or “Iron Regiment,” a veteran force of armor in the service of the United States of Western Europe.  The main guts of the force are twofold: an expanded Mechanized Infantry Brigade and a reinforced Armored Brigade.  The resulting force is far larger than a Regiment, but the name has stuck due to tradition and inertia.  The prototype of the Mechanized forces is done, and I’m quite happy with the effect:

Infantry is the trusty O8 “Venator” powered armor, the IFV is the National Cheese Emporium “Team Kukri” unit, repurposed from the Vatican Palatine Guard, which ended up looking too garish for my tastes.  Since Planetary Operations plays more like a modernized Kriegsspiel, the units represent companies, and Mechanized Infantry are based with their carriers to represent this – in my set anyway.  Have to see what happens next with this one.

[John Watts]

I can only agree with most of the posts above, but I’d like to add a few comments.

My very first Sikh Wars game was inspired by Don Featherstone’s books. There weren’t any models available except (I think) Willy figures – far too expensive for me. This was in about the 1970s, so I converted Airfix figures – Napoleonic British infantry, FFL and cuirassiers. I sold them when I realised I couldn’t find easy conversions for Sikh regulars. Perhaps they still exist somewhere?

I never lost the interest in these wars, and I was delighted when Irregular produced a part range. I phoned Iain and argued the case for him to do the rest of them, backed by a promise to buy an army as soon as they were ready. In a couple of weeks they were ready, and a month or two later they were painted and took the field.

Of course, soon after Lancashire and Black Hat produced their ranges, but I’ve remained mostly with Irregular. What they don’t supply in the Sikh War/Mutiny range can be found in the Crimea range or among the Moslems or Afghans of the Colonial range, while the Sikh cavalry can be found in enormous variety in the Renaissance Moghul/Indian/Persians.

As to rules, I use an adaptation of Crusader’s Rank and File. If you want to give them a try, go to the Crusader Publishing Forum. The adaptations are under the headings of Command System' andSikh Wars’.

[Guy Farrish]

Your link appears to be missing:

http://hereticalgaming.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/a-polemos-ecw-refight-battle-of.html

 

Interesting – I’ve walked the site and decided it was one of those battles that can’t be easily done.

Commercial rules seem geared to a particular type of set up and start position which precludes much of the interesting development of the battle in its early stages.  I guess you came to the same conclusion given where you started the battle! Not a criticism by the way.

The fight up to the main battle – the attack of Hesilrige’s cuirassiers on the Royalists at Tog Hill, the retreat of the Royalist horse and the subsequent counterattack with the Cornish mixed in with the horse prior to the main battle are very difficult to game without ending up with a completely different battle. Similarly the fascinating ending with the Parliamentary forces slipping away in the night behind the wall is unlikely to occur in a free replaying of the battle.

The former seems to need a more free flowing approach – perhaps almost free Kriegsspieled with an Umpire – but it may not lead to the battle that occurred, but you will probably end up with a fight for the slope and the plateau. The ending I guess is very much in the lap of the gods but that wall does provide a nice solid base for the Parliamentarians so could feature.

I’m going to have to reconsider my attitude to gaming this battle having read your report.

Thanks as always.

An intriguing approach to battle reports.

 

[vtsaogames]

squadron/battalion strengths could be all over the place. Here are some French from the Waterloo Companion:

2nd Dragoons, 593 in 4 squadrons, 8th Cuirassiers, 300 in 3 squadrons, 11th Chasseurs a Cheval, 485 in 3 squadrons.

2nd Legere, 2,294 in 4 battalions, 27th Ligne, 821 in 2 battalions, 85th Ligne, 631 in 2 battalions, 51st Ligne, 1,168 in 2 battalions

 

And British:

2nd Dragoons (Scots Greys), 444 in 3 squadrons, 7th Hussars, 362 in 3 squadrons.

1/52nd Light Infantry 1,130, 1st KGL Line battalion, 478, 3/14, 640.

 

And this was a short campaign, the battle coming on the fourth day.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood