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Russellius Tiberius Corvus, Gnasharius and the Romans are Coming!

August 13, 2016, 8:30 am
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Tom took time out from his far east travels to pop home in July for a few weeks before returning to his journey back to the Antipodes.

It was important to make sure that he made the most of the time back here in 'Blighty' and so he got stuck into another unit of Auxiliary Infantry and a well known Roman commander from down under.



The addition of this cohort brings the Roman force up to four of each of Legionaries and Auxiliaries and form the core of the next collection to feature here on JJ's, namely the Dacian Wars, set to really get going once the Talavera project is completed.


This initial stage of putting the collection together is all about getting the right figures, rules and basing sorted out.

I am pretty sure that 'Augustus to Aurelian' will be the preferred rule set and the Warlord figures range are the main parts of the collection, although Warlord's erratic figure scaling will need to be sorted out and the new range of Victrix EIR's look likely to be part of the sortinh out of the project going forward.

This particular cohort allowed the introduction of the new basing which uses the 20mm frontage from Hail Caesar but moves to a six figure base with a 45mm depth for a more pleasing look on the eye. This will also keep the bases down per unit so that when we do the Dacian warbands we will only be moving six bases of six figures rather than ten bases of four.

The use of the 20mm frontage should allow my collection to face off against other Hail Caesar collections used by the guys in the Devon Wargames Group, just in case we decide to set up a mega ancients clash.

Legatus Russellius Tiberius Corvus and his war-hound Gnasharius
Tom also produced this Roman general, 'Unleash Hell' from Warlord and his battle hound.

I added a bit of five o'clock shadow for that campaign look and finished off the dog and bases for all the figures.



This particular figure demonstrates all the problems I associate with Warlord in that this speciality figure is so much smaller than the the others in their ancient range and the head is not quite in proportion to the body.

This is frustrating as I really like their auxiliaries and their barbarian troops which are noticeably larger and better proportioned. You would think that in these days of CAD designed plastics these irregularities would be a thing of the past.

"On my command Gnasharius - fetch!!"
I have thus turned to Wargames Foundary for other suitable command figures and can only suggest that if you are thinking of using this figure in your own collection, check the compatibility with the figures you are using as this chap is too small against the Warlord ranges other than their Legionaries which are also on the small size.

Next up, Regimental Museums in Winchester from our new mystery correspondent and some 28mm FIW American Militia, just to add some variety before plunging into some Spanish Cavalry.
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Regimental Museums in Winchester - with Steve M

August 17, 2016, 12:10 pm
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Rifleman Harris
Editor's Note - I am really keen that JJ's Wargames should have lots of interesting historical and military related posts that inform our hobby. This past year I have had several posts from my old pal "Mr Steve" who has covered some excellent book reviews and trips to various events and places that have added greatly to the variety and content on the blog. 

It thus gives me great pleasure to introduce the first post from another good friend, "Steve M" who has contributed regularly to the blog behind the scenes so to speak with his participation in many of the games featured here and he brings his interest and insights in different aspects and periods within the hobby that will add yet more interesting content to JJ's.

What follows is Steve's report on several Regimental Museums visited interspersed with pictures from the trip. 
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Winchester Regimental Museums – Part 1

Having being advised by JJ that I missed the opportunity to become a ‘roving reporter’ when not taking any pictures on a visit to ‘The Rifles (Berkshire & Wiltshire) Museum’ in Salisbury earlier in the year; I hoped to redeem myself on a recent trip to Winchester in Hampshire, where I visited five military museums in a day!

The Wardrobe - Home of the Infantry Regiments of Berkshire & Wiltshire

I only took pictures in three, for various reasons. One didn’t allow it, which was strange considering all the others did, and the other was quite small, of less interest to me, and I was running out of space on my memory card!!

Private 60th Royal American Regiment c1758
I have a keen interest in military history, as most wargamers probably do, but I've always had a particular interest in the individual Regiments of the British army; their history, traditions, battle honours (a whole history in itself! – see ‘Battle Honours of the British and Commonwealth Armies’-
Anthony Baker, 1986), nicknames and amalgamations.

If you’re interested in that kind of thing, I would recommended ‘A companion to the British Army 1660-1983’, David Ascoli, 1983. Clearly a bit out of date now, but good to have as a reference if you
want to know the process of amalgamation for your local, or favourite Regiment and their ‘precedence’ when on parade. Now is not the time to do a full review, but as the author points out,
‘this is neither a history of the British Army, nor a chronicle of battles and campaigns’ (p11). As an
aside, if anyone knows of a good book which guides you through the amalgamations from 1983 onwards, I’d be interested.

General Wolfe's original sash from Quebec
Back to my visit, how did I end up in Winchester? I’d found a really useful website when searching
for local Regimental Museums,

http://www.armymuseums.org.uk/

and as mentioned had tied in a visit to the museum to Salisbury following a trip to the Chalke Valley history festival. The website enables you to search by geographic area, so pulling up the South West; I found that there were five military museums in Winchester. So following a planned weekend in Essex with my sister, I set off to Winchester for a stopover on the way back to Devon, and I wasn’t disappointed!

Jacket of Lt. Colonel Hunt 52nd Light Infantry - Peninsular War
There are five museums located in Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Rd. ‘Horsepower’ The Museum of the Kings Royal Hussars; The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum; The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum; The Gurkha Museum and The Museum of the Adjutant General’s Corps. Of the five, four are in a stone’s throw of each other (that’s ‘very close’ to any overseas readers!), the Hussar’s and the Gurkhas being accessed through the same main door! The Hampshire’s is a short walk. There were steps on the route I took, but I think there’s an alternative.

Light Infantry Officers Pattern Sword.
Lt. Dawson 52nd Light Infantry, died
of his wounds at Waterloo
Cost wise, the Adjutant General’s is free, being housed in the on-site cafe. This is not unrealistic,
considering the size of the museum (‘museum’ being rather a grand description!). The Hampshire’s
is also free, but there is a drum for donations, and I duly obliged. The Green Jackets and Gurkhas are
£4 each, but if you ‘gift aid’ in the Green Jackets you get 12 months free return visits. The entry into
the Hussars cost £2.

On the day, I arrived around 10.30. Parking is limited, but free, I got a visitors pass from the Green
Jackets museum. The barracks is close to the town centre, so if you have to park further away it’s not
too far. I went round in the following order; Green Jackets, a good hour if not hour and a half; coffee
and cake in the cafe followed by the Adjutant General’s Corps, 15-20 minutes. A 5 minute walk to the Hampshire’s, about 30-40 minutes in there, back to the Hussars, about 30 minutes in there, across to the Gurkha’s, around 40 minutes in there. I finished around 3.30, but timings are very approximate,
as I wasn’t keeping a close eye. It would certainly be easier to spend longer in most of them.

Officers jacket, 5th Battalion, 60th Regiment (Rifles)
What follows is a quick summary of each of my visits, with photos, which are clearly not up to
standard of JJ! I was using a Sony ‘Cyber-shot’, which only has six mega pixels! However, what it does have is the ability to adjust settings to a far greater degree than my phone camera. On the camera most looked ok after some experimentation, but some were disappointing when transferred to the laptop!

The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum

http://www.rgjmuseum.co.uk/

‘Tracing the history of the 43rd & 52nd, The Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry; the 60th Rifles, The Kings Royal rifle Corps and the 95th Rifles, The Rifle Brigade, who, in 1966 merged to form The Royal Green Jackets, which in 2007 became part of today’s Regiment, ‘The Rifles’ (from the museum leaflet).

Original jacket of Lt. Walter Clarke, 2nd Battalion, 95th Rifles c1814
There’s a great ‘Regimental family tree’ at the entrance, which is vaguely apparent in one of the
pictures, unfortunately my ‘close up’ was unusable!

But I did find one here

http://www.greenjackets-net.org.uk/assoc_new/regtl_history/rgj_tree.htm


Outside the front of the museum is a statue of Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton.
Commander of the 52nd Light Infantry at Waterloo, credited with a deceive contribution to the
defeat of the Old Guard (or winning the battle, depending on your view!)

This was the best visit for me, tracing the history of the Regiments from the French & Indian Wars,
when the 60th was raised, through Waterloo, the Indian Mutiny, the Boer War, WW1, WW2 up to
the present day, where there is a small part of the museum dedicated to ‘The Rifles’. Currently (until
11th September) there is also a special exhibition comparing Waterloo with the first day of the Somme; weapons, rations, medical facilities etc.

The 'Nock' gun made famous in the Sharpe TV series
There’s an opportunity to handle replicas of the Baker rifle and the Brown Bess musket, the Baker in
particular is a bit of a weight!

The model dedicated to ‘Rifleman Harris’ is quite impressive (see the header to this post - Ed)


Clip from the Sharpe TV series with left Captain "Sweet" William Fredrickson, 60th Rifles played by Philip Whitchurch,
Richard Sharpe played of course by Sean Bean and Sergeant Patrick Harper seen here with his 'Nock' played by
Daragh O'Malley
Of particular note is the Waterloo diorama of over 21,000 model figures, with commentary, sound
and light effects. There is a picture on the museum website (mine failed!)

There are some other very nice dioramas, including the storming of the Kashmir gate, Dehli, 1857
during the Indian mutiny, and the taking of Pegasus Bridge during the D Day landings. Unfortunately
neither of my pictures came out very well!

Snipe 1 - 1942
What is very good at both the ‘Snipe’ and Pegasus Bridge display’s, are extracts of recorded interviews with the participants, including Major John Howard who led the attack on the bridge. One of my favourites was an extract from a Lt Smith at the bridge, who describes how a German threw a stick grenade at him. "When it went off ‘I had holes in my uniform, but not my body, so I shot him!"

I hope the pictures give you a flavour of the visit, but I don’t feel they do justice to what, in my
opinion, is a very good Regimental Museum.

This is a really useful link for tracing back the formation and history of the Royal Green Jackets and its founding Regiments.

http://www.egframes.co.uk/cdRGJ1.htm

An excellent reference for the complete story of the Rifles is ‘The Rifles chronology 1865-2013’
compiled by Col Ted Shields MBE

http://riflesmuseum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Rifles_Chronology_1685-2012_Edn2.pdf

It was then time for ‘coffee & cake’, with only a short walk to the ‘Cafe Peninsula’ and the
‘Guardroom Museum’, which houses the Museum of the Adjutant General’s Corps (AGC).

‘From the Army’s Pay Department to the Women’s Royal Army Corps and the current Corps’ role
supporting the British Army of today, the Guardroom Museum provides a fascinating insight into the
Army’s administrative services’ (taken from ‘Winchester’s Military Museums’ leaflet).

A nice little museum (so small it doesn’t have its own website, the Corps was only formed in 1992),
without being of major interest to me in particular. I saved the space of my memory card in here, so
no pictures, but I did find an interesting little snippet about the Women’s Royal Army Corps Band,
formed in 1949. For forty-five years, until 1994, they were the first and only all female band in the British Army. Well I found it interesting!

More information on the AGC can be found here;

http://www.army.mod.uk/agc/23202.aspx

Next up, unless this is my first & last entry as a roving reporter??! The Royal Hampshire’s, the Royal
Hussars and the Gurkhas.

Steve M
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Virginia Regiment - French Indian War

August 21, 2016, 3:35 am
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George Washington in the uniform of Colonel the Virginia Regiment - 1772
The Virginia Regiment was raised in 1754 initially under the command of Colonel Joshua Fry, a soldier, surveyor and mapmaker, and a 'West-countryman' having been born in Crewekerne, Somerset. He was and is most famous for his collaboration in producing a map of the state of Virginia in 1752.

Joshua Fry

Colonel Fry was on his way to attack the French Fort Duquense when he fell from his horse, which led to his untimely death in May 1754.


He was succeeded by the then Lieutenant Colonel George Washington, who would, as well of a spot of soldiering, later go on to have an interesting career in politics!

Virginia Militiaman 1755 -62, Gerry Embleton
The Virginia Regiment may well have not been as well uniformed as the figures presented and certainly in the early years of the regiment only the officers would have been so, with many of the men operating in civilian dress mixed occasionally with items of regimental items.


That said there are many references to the red waistcoats and blue-red faced jackets having been established by 1755. Although it seems that Washington and many of his officers may have dispensed with their 'regimentals' when joining General Edward Braddock on his ill-fated expedition that year, preferring to wear linen hunting shirts as illustrated by the man in Gerry Embleton's classic illustration.

Braddock Expedition

The Virginia Regiment bears the distinction as being the first all-colonial professional military force, distinctive from other local militias raised at the time for practising regular drill and wearing a standard uniform.


This regiment heralded the early attempts to professionalise the colonial militia in support of the regulars and laid the foundation of Virginia line regiments that were formed in 1775 at the start of the American War of Independence.


Actions participated in include Jumonville Glen, Fort Necessity, Braddock's Column and the Forbes Expedition.

Map to illustrate the key area of operations for the Viriginia Regiment along the border territory with Ohio Country
Battle of Jumonville Glen
Battle of Fort Necessity
John Forbes (British Army officer)


The figures presented are a twenty six figure project I have painted as part of Steve M's growing collection of 28mm French Indian War figures and are from the Galloping Major range of figures which with the 'heroic' 28mm size are an absolute joy to paint and made a nice break in between finishing my AB 18mm French before starting the Spanish.


I think given the descriptions of the look of the regiment when on campaign I would be inclined to mix in few hunting shirt types to represent the officers and newer recruits.


Steve and I play-tested Sharp Practice II a few weeks ago and I know he is looking at creating some sabot bases so we can more easily organise trained units such as these into formation groups as per the rules.

Sharp Practice II - First Date with a New Lady

I am looking forward to seeing these chaps out on the table.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/GallopingMajorWargames/
http://www.gallopingmajorwargames.com

Virginia Regiment

Next up a review of the Spanish 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of Estremadura at Talavera
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Spanish 2nd Cavalry Division - Army of Estremadura

August 23, 2016, 11:40 am
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The Almanza Dragoon Regiment, one of the units that was part of the
Spanish 2nd Cavalry Division
It was way way back in February last year when I sat down to map out the plans for the Spanish forces that will feature in my Talavera project and precisely those parts of the Army of Estremadura that became involved in the combat on the British end of the Allied line.

http://jjwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-army-of-estremadura-at-talavera-1809.html

As the build up of the project was all about creating smaller scenarios that would facilitate games with the collection as it grew, I started with General Portago's 3rd Division that was significantly engaged in the afternoon of the 28th July by General Laval's German Division and became a major part of the "Attack on the Pajar Vergara" the last game of which featured at this year's Legionary Show in Exeter and appeared in Miniature Wargames Magazine the following month.

http://jjwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/spanish-3rd-division-talavera.html

The map illustrates the position of the northern valley forces (left) and the Spanish forces deployed to support the
Cerro de Medellin
With the completion of the British and French orders of battle it now just remains to complete the Spanish forces that deployed to the left flank of the Allied line that hot July afternoon in 1809 to bolster Wellesley's defences in the northern valley and resist any assault on the key Cerro de Medellin hill feature that anchored the whole Allied position.

These forces consisted of General Bassecourt's 5th Infantry Division of mainly Spanish line infantry and Marines and General Albuquerque's 2nd Cavalry Division that swung in behind the British cavalry under Generals Anson and Fane (see the map above).

Luis Alejandro de Bassecourt commanding the
Spanish 5th Infantry Division
5th Division: Major-General Bassecourt - Source Oman
Real Marina (Royal Marines), lst Infantry Regiment (2 Battalions)
3/Africa Infantry Regiment
Murcia Infantry Regiment (2)
l/Reyna Infantry Regiment
Provincial de Siguenza (Militia) (l)

José María de la Cueva, 14th Duke of Albuquerque and
commander of the Spanish 2nd Cavalry Division at Talavera
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_María_de_la_Cueva,_14th_Duke_of_Albuquerque

2nd Division: Lieutenant-General Duquede Albuquerque - Source Oman
Carabineros Reales (l Squadron)
Infante Cavalry Regiment
Alcantara Cavalry Regiment
Pavia Cavalry Regiment
Almanza Cavalry Regiment
lst Hussars of Estremadura
2nd Hussars of Estremadura

Carabineros Reales
As covered in the post about the Army of Estremadura as a whole, it was, following the Spanish defeat at the Battle of Medellin in March 1809, truly remarkable that the Army of Estremadura was still in existence.

Infante Heavy Cavalry Regiment
The aspect of that previous defeat was the need to rebuild the force from the cadres of the survivors which meant that many untried and poorly trained recruits were now in the ranks of both the infantry and cavalry.

Pavia Regiment of Dragoons
The Spanish infantry could be forgiven for having little faith in their cavalry to support them following their poor performance at Medellin which had caused them to suffer the casualties they did. However it must also be remembered that the only successful cavalry charge made at Talavera was by the El Rey Cavalry in support of Portago's infantry around the Pajar redoubt.

Battle of Medellín 28th March 1809

Alcantara Heavy Cavalry Regiment
With regard to researching the strengths of the various regiments in Albuquerque's division, it is very difficult to pin down any reliable source and I have found several contradictory guesstimates from various sources.

So what can be said about the cavalry arm in General Cuesta's army at Talavera with any degree of certainty other than the units recorded on the order of battle, and even on that point I have found some digression.

Most of the sources seem to determine the total amount of cavalry in the two Spanish divisions as numbering around 6-7,000 men and horses. Some of the units were regiments in name only with units such as the Carabineros Reales only fielding one squadron and the two regiments of Estremaduran Hussars reported to have had variously 4-6 squadrons.

Even the look of these units has to speculative given the state of Spanish arms and supplies at this time and the losses suffered in March at Medellin.



Estremaduran Hussars
I therefore have decided to make my own educated guesstimate based on the sources available and have decided to work on the basis of the 2nd Cavalry Division numbering some 2,500 men allowing for 3,500 men with the 1st Cavalry Division and leaning towards the smaller total of cavalry at 6,000 men.

This total number of 2,500 men is split between effectively five full regiments or twenty squadrons and has the Estremaduran Hussars amalgamated into one unit of four squadrons and sees the squadron of Carabineros Reales being attached out to the other regiments of dragoons and heavies at a generic four squadrons. This plan effectively has an average squadron strength of about 125 men each which looks about right.

These five regiments are pictured here in this post and will form the basis of the look of my units given all the caveats on precisely how reliable that look is.

Several sources suggest the single four gun horse battery that was with Cuesta's army was also attached to the 2nd Cavalry Division when it was detached to Wellesley's left flank, being positioned alongside the Spanish half battery of 12 lbrs on the Cerro de Medellin with the British guns, and so I will add the Spanish gun teams at a later stage for completeness.

Spanish Horse Artillery
So there is the plan for the next few months starting with these five regiments of Spanish cavalry and initially with the Estremaduran Hussars. As in previous projects I will share the information I have gathered on each unit as we go, so I hope you will find it interesting to look at the individual Spanish regiments in detail.

References consulted for this post
http://www.eborense.es/batalla_talavera1809_indice.html
Talavera, Wellington's First Victory in Spain - Andrew W Field
Great Battles in History Refought - Talavera, Partidge & Oliver
Talavera 1809, Wellington's Lightning Strike into Spain - Chartrand & Turner (Osprey Campaign)
Sir Charles Oman - History of the Peninsular War.
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France 2016 - Vernon & Rommel's HQ

August 31, 2016, 3:04 am
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A platoon of the 4th Wilts. heads out across the Seine into battle under a covering smoke screen at Vernon - 25th August 1944
This week JJ's Wargames has relocated to France as I look forward to celebrating my birthday this Wednesday with Carolyn and Will who has joined us on his return journey back from Thailand where he has spent the last few weeks having fun with his brother before returning to university next month.

We have rented a pretty little house near to Versailles and as well as taking in the palace and the great restaurants of Paris are checking out some of the other interesting places to visit on this side of Paris.

On Monday we drove out to Giverny on the River Seine ostensibly to visit Claude Monet's gardens where the famous Lilly on the pond pictures were inspired and it was while planning that trip that I realised the village was close to not only Vernon but also La Roche Guyon.

So I managed to get permission from the CEO of JJ's Wargames to include the other two venues into the day's agenda.

For those not so familiar with the significance of these two places, Vernon is the scene of Operation Neptune, the assault crossing of the River Seine carried out by the men of the 43rd Wessex Division in August 1944 and the Château at La Roche Guyon is the former headquarters of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and German Army Group B during the build up to the invasion of France in 1944.

The map shows the close proximity of Vernon and La Roche Guyon handily positioned either side of Giverny 
I first became familiar with Operation Neptune when I read Ken Ford's excellent book about it back in the late eighties and I still have the first edition from 1988 on the book shelf. There is a link below that gives a review of its content using accounts from veterans still alive at the time of publication.

I think assault river crossings are some of the most difficult and interesting military operations to study from Hannibal making his way through the Alps, to Wellesley's attack on Marshal Soult at Oporto in 1809, covered in some detail on this blog with the game of the battle. Perhaps one of the most audacious river assaults was led by Major Julian Cook of the US 3/504th PIR in their daring boat crossing across the River Waal to help capture the Nijmegan bridge made famous in the film "A Bridge too Far".


By the 22nd August 1944 the fighting in the Falaise pocket and the Battle of Normandy was over with the surviving German units in head-long retreat to the opposite bank of the River Seine and with the allies in hot pursuit,

The US 79th Division were already up to the Seine and advancing on Paris and the British XXX Corps were moving up towards Vernon with the XII Corps to their left.

The Divisional insignia of the "Fighting Wessex Wyverns" of 43rd Division
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/43rd_(Wessex)_Infantry_Division

General Brian Horrocks commanding XXX Corps had already determined to lead his drive over the Seine with two armoured divisions, Guards and 11th supported by 50th Division, whilst detailing the 43rd Division under Major General Ivor Thomas, to facilitate their progress with an assault on the crossing point at Vernon, to establish a bridgehead to allow the advance to continue.

Our Lady Collegiate Church, Vernon. Seventy-two years after the battle as seen below. The vehicle have changed a bit.
The assault was planned for the 25th August 1944 with the initial attack to be made by the three battalions (4th Somerset, 4th and 5th Wiltshire Regiments) of 129 Brigade, reinforced by a battalion (1st Worcestershire Regiment) from 214 Brigade using storm boats as seen in the header picture and DUKW amphibious trucks.


The opposition facing the British assault troops was an ad-hoc kampfegruppe from the 148th Grenadier Regiment with about 250 men positioned in the hamlet of Vernonnet on the opposite bank  and another 250 men further along the bank at Giverny.

The German defenders were well dug in and ensconced in the buildings that dotted the opposite bank armed principally with light machine-guns, mortars and 20mm auto-cannon positioned on the high-ground that oversees the river at this point.

The view of the German positions with the road leading along the opposite bank to the right of picture towards Giverny
The first boats carrying the first two battalions (4th Somersets and 5th Wilts) set out at 19.00 on the evening of the 25th August. Their attack was preceded by an artillery barrage at 18.45 on the heights and support fire from machine guns and tanks with 4.2" mortars laying smoke to cover the run in.

Many of the first wave boats and DUKWs were caught up in the shallows and grounded with their occupants caught in whithering machine-gun fire and it took the follow up waves taking advantage of gathering darkness and access to and via the partially destroyed bridge to get on to the opposite bank and clear the buildings in Vernonnet.

The view to the left of the German held back with less oversight from high ground behind but with a small island separating the two banks that obstructed an easy landing for the British troops
As soon as the battle commenced on the opposite bank, the Royal Engineers were attempting to move materials into position to start the construction of the pontoon crossing, however their first ambitious attempts were driven back by a hail of well directed mortar and auto-cannon fire.

The memorial to the British troops involved in the assault, on the position of the Engineer laid pontoon bridge seen below with 'Monty' crossing in the wake of his army.
The battle to consolidate and expand the bridgehead would continue through the 26th and 27th of August with the men of the 43rd Division having to resist several counterattacks supported by Tiger tanks and the order "last man, last round" issued to emphasise the need to resist the enemy at all cost.

Monty crossing the Seine at Vernon on the 1st September 1944, the bridge being anchored to the tree in the background
As the battle raged on the opposite bank the Royal Engineers worked tirelessly under sniper fire to erect the first light bridge and on the 26th August one of three bridges was up soon followed by a heavier model on the 27th and a second added by the 29th, with some vehicles ferried across in between to support the battle ashore.

"NOTTINGHAMSHIRE SHERWOOD RANGERS YEOMANRY, ROYAL ARMOURED CORPS,
In honoured remembrance of all our comrades and of the townsfolk of Vernon, who gave their lives in the
Battle for Liberation of the Town, August 1944. They died that we might live."
"On the 25th August 1944, the 43rd Wessex Division liberated Vernon and crossed the River Seine under the fire of German units dug in on the prominent hills of the eastern bank. The infantry supported by four armoured regiments fought during three days to repulse the enemy. The crossing was achieved by the use of floating bridges built by the Royal Engineers.
From this initial bridgehead the 30th Corps led the advance towards Belgium. The British troops suffered 550 casualties in this operation."

The modern day buildings below the white cliff mark the position of a rather troublesome machine gun bunker that caused the assault infantry a lot of difficulty 

The 17th century mill building on the remains of the old bridge leading out to the small island
The Chateau des Tourelles was a fortress designed to guard the access to the old medieval bridge
The 28th of August was the end of the battle as the defenders awoke to another hot sunny day, but the din of battle replaced by an eerie silence announcing the German defenders had pulled out leaving behind the odd sniper or two who were quickly neutralised by midday and the pursuit phase by XXX Corps could commence.

The building was badly damaged in 1944 and the extent of the which can be seen by the new build masonry that repaired the damage
More than 700 allied tanks would use the bridges at Vernon and on the 3rd and 4th of September British troops having crossed there liberated Brussels in Belgium, and my old Dad was one of them, just turned twenty on the 17th of August, having made the crossing at Vernon and taken part in the "Swan" or drive up to the Belgian capital with Guards Armoured Division, rounding up surrendering German troops as they went. On the 18th September he was in Eindhoven on the road to Arnhem as pictured in my post below.

http://jjwargames.blogspot.fr/2013/09/today-in-1944-monday-september-18th.html

The small arms damage on the original stonework suggests that the Château was a point of resistance during the battle in 1944
I have obviously summarised the battle for the Vernon bridgehead, but if you would like to know more about the planning and detail of Operation Neptune I can highly recommend Ken Ford's book which is a really good read and I have also posted some really good links below that also give great background to this battle.

I would like to have a go at re-fighting parts of this battle that raged over three days and I think a good set of company level rules like IABSM would be excellent to use for it - ah yet another project to think about! There is nothing quite like walking the ground to inspire thoughts of future games.


The next part of our trip up the Seine was to stop for lunch at La Roche Guyon and visit the former headquarters building of Army Group B and its very famous commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.


The Château of La Roche was first established in the 12th century as a castle tower atop the chalk cliffs with accommodation and other galleries tunnelled out in the chalk below. The building was further developed overtime into a fortified manor perfectly positioned to guard the crossing over the Seine.


The Château went through a further period of development from a medieval fortified house into an 18th century Château with a wing attached to the older structure and a corridor constructed through the extremely thick walls, which can be seen as you step through from the original building to the later creation.


Whilst walking through the large salon rooms now devoid of their period furniture it was not hard to imagine the babble of conversation as Rommel and Spiedel tried to win round Von Rundsteadt to the idea of fighting the allies on the beaches rather than run the gauntlet of allied air power to bring up the Panzer reserves.


Rommel and von Rundstedt at La Roche Guyon
The Château was always modestly arranged during Rommel's stay, with no garish red banner swastika flags draped about, so beloved in war movies.

Rommel set up his headquarters here in February 1944 and it was here that a certain British Commando referred to as Lieutenant George Lane, although I think that might be a false name, was brought in May of 1944 after being captured taking samples off the beaches being looked at as potential landing areas for D Day.


The bore samples were all part of the learning that had developed as the allies developed their amphibious landing capabilities and became aware of understanding how suitable the beaches would be to taking tanks and allowing them to traverse the sand without risk of bogging.

It was on one of these reconnaissance missions that Lane had been captured and driven in the back of a truck, not knowing his fate, as Hitler had ordered that all British commandos should be shot when captured.

Perhaps it was in the room above that Lane was taken to meet with the Field Marshal who he described as most courteous and friendly, rising to greet the British officer with a handshake as he entered the room.

Spiedel, Rommel's Chief of Staff (centre left), Rommel and von Rundstedt discuss business.
The wall tapestries can still be seen in this room but sadly I discovered this picture after my visit
and I didn't photograph this room!
The two men chatted over tea with the aid of an interpreter with Rommel soon realising that he would get no useful information from the prisoner and bringing the meeting to a close, but assuring Lane that no harm would come to him while a prisoner.

By the time Lane managed to get information about the location of Rommel's HQ to the allied command via French Resistance contacts, it was mid July and Rommel was on his way back to Germany following his wounding in an allied air attack.

The Field Marshall would soon be dead at his own hand to secure the safety of his family and staff and thus avoiding an embarrassing trial by the Nazi state, following his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler that month.

The view out across the Seine valley from the top of the Château
There is much debate about Rommel's relationship with Hitler and the Nazi's and a feeling that over time he came to understand the corrupting and vicious nature of the regime he served.

What ever his political leanings, I think he was very much admired and respected by the British soldiers who faced him in North Africa, Italy and North East Europe and perhaps it should be left to Churchill to have the last word.

"We have a very daring and skillful opponent against us, and, may I say across the havoc of war, a great general"

http://www.worcestershireregiment.com/wr.php?main=inc/h_vernon
http://vernon-visite.org/rgb3/seine1944.shtml
http://ww2today.com/28-august-1944-over-the-seine-and-push-on
http://giverny.org/vernon/history/libegb.htm
http://www.historyofwar.org/bookpage/ford_seine_1944.html
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France 2016 - Birthday Fun

September 4, 2016, 12:31 am
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I write this post on Friday as the week draws to a close sat in our very nice little French gite feeling totally chilled out after a few days of great company, food and the delights of France and Paris to look back on.

I have quite a bit of stuff that I have looked at this week so plan to do a series of posts over the next few weeks covering subjects from the Hundred Years War, Napoleonics, the Ancients and the French Revolution.

This post starts with the cover off the box of Gripping Beast plastic Saxons, a box of which I purchased back in February as part of my contribution to this year's big Christmas game at the Devon Wargames Group December meeting.

As I had a week of doing what I pleased and being miles away from the painting desk and Spanish cavalry, I thought I would take my little travel kit away to put these chaps together.

In addition Steve M lent me his copy of the Lardies Dux Britanniarum to have a read of prior to the game and to plan out basing for my figures.

Day 1 of the holiday and project "Saxon" is well underway
Whilst working my way through this box of figures I happened to listen to the second edition of the new Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy Podcast, which had some really interesting interviews looking at figure sculpting and production followed up with a discussion on the merits of plastic versus metal figures, to which I have to say that I too like both for different reasons.

These Saxon Thegns are a real pleasure to put together with loads of options to create the variety I would want in my units.

I began my early years in the hobby putting plastic kits together and I enjoy the process of building a model prior to painting it so these figures provided plenty of entertainment over the week.


If you haven't seen these sculpts I think you will like these close ups that really help illustrate the variety that you can build in to the units.

My Saxon leader and associated group. I will drill that horn out when I get home
All put together, just needing a lick of paint - can't wait
I'm really looking forward to getting a brush on to these chaps and the LBM shield decals and banners will really make the final touch to have them popping on the table.


Needless to say I am now planning some Vikings to take these chaps on together with a couple of boxes of the generic dark age warriors to bulk out the forces with less well armed/armoured options.

I am also going to have to get a copy of Dux Brit at some stage.


As if all this fun wasn't enough I then had my birthday on Wednesday and received some great presents from friends and family.

Will got me a few Foundry 28mm Praetorian Guard to add to the Dacian collection.


Tom, sharing his delight at following the British History Podcast, got me the Gripping Beast metal set of King Penda of Mercia, the last pagan king and quite a warrior in his day.


Carolyn came up trumps by getting me my Roman marching fort for the Dacian campaign and I have some Roman tents coming to help add to the interior.


I thought I would check all the components were there and so had a dry run at putting it together to give you an impression of how it will look when it is done.

This fort is available from Dave Ryan and the lovely people that are Caliver Books.
Caliver Books



And finally I received a copy of the first scenario books for the British Grenadier rules for the American War of Independence from my sister in law.

I sold my 15mm collection of AWI to Steve M earlier this year and I have plans to get back into the period with a collection of 28mm figures at some stage and so this book was part of my pre-reading, pre-planning stage to decide how I wanted to do that.

I am thinking about a collection that will use Carnage & Glory as the rule set and with the scale at 28mm to very much focus on scenario level games, although my 9' x 5' table will allow the bigger games outlined in this book, such as the Brandywine scenarios.


I have been looking at these scenario books for some time and so I thought I would get one to check out. I have to say that this first book in the series is very impressive with clearly laid out game plans, notes on the historical setting, guidance for what players might do instead of what the commanders on the day chose to do and notes on the look of the troops involved.


This first book in the series of four has the updated QRS for the British Grenadier Rules of which I have a first edition copy, and I might have a play of at some stage as the "Disruption Point" ideas for accumulating loss of capability in the units through fatigue and casualties reminds me very much of the principles behind C&G, except with C&G I don't need to physically do the accounting with little markers all over the table.


Another aspect of British Grenadier is that they are designed to cater for the variety of scenario size that occurs in the AWI with a scale to figure ratio of anywhere between 1:20 and 1:10 which provides some great large skirmish set ups such as Oriskany which is covered in this edition.

That leads me to the next stage of future plans to do some more Sharp Practice games and those large skirmish scenarios would be perfect options for a new collection as well as the bigger battle set ups.

So I have to thank Steve M for his present of some Sharp Practice, Warbases, MDF waggons that will work equally well with any rule set for this period.


So thank you to all my present contributors and as you can see, lots of fun stuff to come on JJ's going forward.

Back to the routine next week and back to the 2nd Spanish Cavalry Division with the first unit completed, the Hussars of Estremadura.
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Spanish 2nd Cavalry Division at Talavera - Hussars of Estremadura

September 6, 2016, 10:44 pm
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The 1st and 2nd Regiments of Estremaduran Hussars were raised on the 15th July 1808 under the commands of Colonel's Augustin Sanchez and Rafael Mariano with a starting strength of five squadrons of two companies and each regiment totaling 491 men and horses.

Maria Luisa Hussars
The two regiments were raised using cadres of officers and men from the dissolved 5th or Maria Luisa Hussars established in the 1803 Godoy reorganisation of the Spanish cavalry.


In October of 1808 the regiment was reorganised as part of the new directive that all regiments should have four squadrons of three companies with a company in theory consisting of 65 men. However with the losses in men and horses leading into 1809 the regiments of cavalry were often forced to dissolve one squadron to maintain the strength of the other three and with most regiments reduced to two squadrons.


The first mention I have of the regiment in an order of battle is their inclusion in Cuesta's army during the Medellin campaign in March 1809, with the 1st regiment included as part of the "Old Army of Estremadura".


Spanish Army at Medellin, 28 March l809
Commanding General: Cuesta (24,000 men total)

Forces from Army of Estremadura:
4/Spanish Guard Infantry Regiment
4/Walloon Guard Infantry Regiment
2nd Majorca Infantry Regiment
2nd Catalonia Light Infantry Regiment
Provincial of Badajos
Provincial Grenadiers
Badajoz Infantry Regiment (2)
Zafra Infantry Regiment*
Truxillo Infantry Regiment*
Merida Infantry Regiment
Plasencia Infantry Regiment*
La Serena Infantry Regiment
Leales de Ferdinando VII (2)*
Total l5 Battaliaons

Troops of old Army of Reserve of Madrid
2/Walloon Guard Infantry Regiment
Jaen Infantry Regiment (2)
Irlanda Infantry Regiment (2)
Parovincial of Toledo
Provincial of Burgos
2nd Volunteers of Madrid
3rd Seville Infantry Regiment

Troops from the Army of the Center
Campo Mayor Infantry Regiment
Provincial of Guadix
Provincial of Cordova
Osuna Infantry Regiment (2)
Granaderos del General
Tiradores de Cadiz
Cavalry (3,000 to 3,200)

Old Army of Estremadura
4th Hussar (Volunteers of Spain) Regiment
lst Hussars of Estremadura (formerly Maria Luisa)
From La Romana's Danish Division:
Rey Cavalry Regiment
Infante Cavalry Regiment
Almanza Cavalry Regiment

New Levies:
Cazadores de Llerena
Imperial de Toledo
Other:
Reyna Cavalry Regiment
Artillery & Sappers:
30 guns - (650)
2 Sapper Coys - 200 men
* Not at battle.
Oman, A History of the Peninsular War




The look of the regiment is very much a tribute to their antecedents in the Maria Luisa regiment using a reversal of their colours on the jacket, breeches and pelisse, but with a very strong French influence with the adoption of the shako and chords and a busby for the elite squadron. The Spanish look is maintained with the typical light blue shabraque (saddle-cloth) as opposed to the sheepskin used by the French.


My figures are AB French hussars, suitably adapted to assume the look of the Estremadurans with the filing down of the sheepskin covers and the addition of saddle cloth points using the metal covering from old wine bottles (very handy stuff). In addition the fancy pompoms and plumes have been removed  to better reflect the look in the illustrations.


AB French hussars come with their pelisse's worn and buttoned up (a slightly added protection against sword cuts), so the regiment has a very striking red appearance against the light blue of their shabraque's. In addition the French models are wearing overalls as opposed to the Hessian boots worn in the illustrations, but I don't think it unlikely that the overalls would not have made an appearance at some stage, being much more functional in the field.


The regiment would go on to serve at Albuera as an amalgamation of the two former regiments and based on my assessment of their likely strength, I have modeled them as a combined unit which will operate as two units of two squadrons (two bases) during our Talavera re-fight.


References consulted:
Napoleonic Armies - Ray Johnson
The Armies of Spain and Portugal - Nafziger
History of the Peninsular War - Sir Charles Oman
The Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars(2) Chartand & Younghusband (Osprey Men at Arms)
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Colours 2016 - Newbury & Reading Wargames Society

September 11, 2016, 2:11 am
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An Airaco DH2 Scout takes a pass over British forces in Iraq - 'Caught at Kut ' display game
My usual routine on the second Saturday of the month would be to be spending time at the Devon Wargames Group, but the club decided to change that timetable for this month only because the day clashed with the holding of the annual show at Colours at Newbury Race Course organised by the Newbury and Reading Wargames Society.

http://www.nrwc.org.uk/colours-2016

Many of the club members like to attend this show so our club meeting changed to last Saturday, whilst I was travelling back from France, and I, in the company of Vince, met up with Mr Steve and Steve H at the show.

Most of us including myself have been going to Colours for many years now, going back to the good old days in the 80's when it was called Armageddon and held at the Hexagon in Reading and we had to pass through a skirmish screen of peace campaigners and nuclear disarmament supporters who seemed to think that wargaming and warmonger went along hand in hand, ah how we laughed!! We were all disappointed when the organisers called the show off a couple of years ago, and like many, welcomed the resurrection last year.

The show has now found a great home at Newbury Race Course which, unlike some of the larger shows in the south of England, is a delight to travel to, conveniently found just of the M4 motorway with bag-loads of free parking and airy well lit public areas in the main grandstand where the show is held.

We left Exeter at 08.30 and got to the show for 11.15 and would have been their earlier had it not been for the fact that recent developments at the Race Course has led to different entrances being signed up in Newbury town centre which caused us to approach the wrong entrance at the otherside of the course.

The picture below gives an idea of the scene of happy wargamers chatting and mingling among the trade stands when we got there mid morning.


The weather for the day was perfect for wargaming, namely wet drizzle that kept the punters well under the Grand Stand roof whilst stepping outside for a coffee and some brunch.


I spent the morning wondering around the trade stands trying to convince myself that I didn't need anything and thinking about paying for the new fitted bathroom Carolyn has initiated for this autumn and my efforts at self control are on display at the conclusion of this post.

Needless to say followers of JJ's Wargames expect these posts to look at the wargames and so not to disappoint I had the camera in hand in the afternoon following a post lunch drink at the pub to capture what I thought were some of the best of show games and displays.

When I started to put this post together I realised that the majority of games I had been drawn to were in periods I very rarely game or take an interest in so it just goes to show great looking well presented games attract all of us despite our latent interests.

So first up was this very nice display game showing off the rule set 'Crush the Kaiser', in this case illustrating their set for playing the Mexican Revolution 1910-20 and those 'what if' games based on US reaction to the British leaked "Zimmerman Telegram"

The rules are loosely based on the Rapid Fire scale of games that inspired them but are quite distinctive in their WWI modelling and period feel.

http://earlywarminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=366_367

US-Mexican action in this 'Crush the Kaiser' display game



The great thing about seeing rule set display games is you get to feel the design intentions in the rules by the look of the games they create and I really liked this set and would be interested in playing them despite as I say not being an aficionado of the period.

The WWI theme continued with the lovely Wings of War display by the chaps from the Wings of Glory Aerodrome who I have featured before on my trips up to Attack at Devizes.


These chaps do this period and game a great advert by showing off the models they create to capture the look of the various Jastas and Squadrons that fought on the Western Front, set against lovely displays games with models and markers that really set off the basic game that any body can pick up from a wargames retailer.

The display of game items shows how easy it is for new players to get into this period in the hobby
The Aerodrome chaps take much time in getting the detail of the markings of the various squadrons just right - love it!
You can almost hear the buzzing of engines and tap tap tap of aerial machine-gun fire against the sound of distant artillery

I really like the way the cloud cover and crashed machines are represented over these beautiful gaming mats, simple but very effective.


The last but by no means least of the WWI themed games was this fantastic looking game entitled "Caught at Kut"by Adrian Shepherd and Friends that provided the header to this post.

I love games that show a passion for the period they represent by great modelling and attention to detail and the British campaign in Iraq in WWI is little represented so this was a particularly attractive change to what you normally see at shows.

How about that for a great looking table - well done chaps
Camel troops held in reserve against headlines from the period
Logistics and supplies were key in this campaign, beautifully captured in this behind the lines scene
The RAF had company during this battle
These rear area models really add the finishing touch to this size of game and reminds me of a few models I need to create for our Talavera extravaganza.
Waves of infantry WWI style
Next up and a move on from WWI to the prelude to WWII namely this lovely Russo-Finnish Winter-War game presented by Martin Stadbridge and his pals at the Loughton Strike Force club.

Winter games are eye-catching and the attention to detail with this one only added to the eye-candy. I was sorry I didn't have my tripod as the cameos available to the camera were many and varied and I know my hand held shots barely do the table justice.

The view down hill from the Finnish trenches as the Russians attempt to battle them and the environment


The game was using a purpose built home made set of rules that used cards to generate unforeseen cock ups brought on by the weather and unforgiving temperatures with a cute temperature gauge marker used as a 'game end' control with a final drop to its lowest score indicating when the game had ended and the time to make an assessment of the objectives achieved.



A stunning presentation and I am glad I was not deciding best game at show because it would have been a hard call between this one and the Kut game with both being excellent adverts for our hobby to the uninitiated.


And finally, I had picked up from the General de Brigade site that Dave Brown was working on a new set of ACW rules and then I saw on TMP lat night that there was a tie up in production with The Too Fat Lardies and Reisswitz Press.

More than that I do not know, but I pictured the demo game yesterday held at Colours purely for its look.

The American Civil War has never really 'floated my boat' but it does for many and I am sure this rule set will do well  among the followers of the period so if you are reading this you can say you saw it first on JJ's Wargames.


That said I like looking at lovely games and this one had me circling the table devouring the look and the modelling.




Great stuff, but as we Napoleonic fans would say, "where's the cavalry", to which the reply comes "over there skulking in the trees with their carbines keeping their heads down". Give me Spanish Hussars any day.


So by 15.00 we were ready to call it a day and, by the look of the main traders hall below, did many of the other punters who attended, which you can compare and contrast the crowd in the picture taken in the morning.

After the show we chatted about what we thought of it and comments we would make and I would preface what I am about to write as these are the thoughts of three seasoned wargame show attenders who have also set up and run several shows of our own and that we are also fans and supporters of Colours going forward.

So first up we all enjoyed the visit with plus points mentioned being the venue and its situation, the goodly number of traders in attendance and friendly welcoming show.

That said we felt that there is a noticeable difference in the organising of Colours post and pre the year it wasn't held and that possibly there is an element of learning going on in the setting up and managing of a show like this; and as one who has done that it the past I congratulate the organisers for yesterday and know what a hard job it is bringing a show like this off.


Some constructive comments we would offer would be some simple ideas to improve on what has been achieved;

  • The list of traders carried on the web page for the show would be greatly enhanced and made more useful if they linked through to the traders site, thus making it easier to see what that trader offers and putting through pre-show orders.
  • The parking directions were clear, with it pointed out not to use the Hambridge Lane bridge to gain access to the course. The only problem was that Newbury town council have changed the road signs to the course to that route which confused those of us used to following them to get to the main entrance but ending up at Hambridge Lane and having to find our way back.
  • One final point is based on our visit to the Penarth show earlier in the year where we were treated to presentations by well known historical authors, namely Adrian Goldsworthy and Gareth Glover. I think to avoid the "3pm push off home" period that leaves traders staring at each other, more shows and especially the large ones should look to invite distinguished authors to talk and present more at our hobby gatherings. It enables them to promote their wares to a large part of their readership and adds value to the show with an historical education that underpins much of our hobby. Not only that but we all get to sit down for a while and enjoy some great content, to then be able to return to the trade hall at a later time to pick up those final pre-orders that need collecting together with those weak willed impulse purchases that keep our hobby traders in business.
Thank you to the NRWS for keeping Colours in the calendar and to all those who took part in yesterday's show, we all enjoyed the day.

So what about my lack of self control I metaphorically hear you say. How are you going to explain yourself to the boss?

Well I did decide to make, as the politicians would say when they are about to spend a lot of money, usually someone else's in their case, an investment. 

First up is a purchase that I made on Friday by ordering up from Caliver Books the new set of Napoleonic Rules 'Over the Hills' which has been getting a lot of discussion on various forums. You can guess my surprise and pleasure on finding my new rules waiting for me on my return from Newbury yesterday. Well done Caliver Books for an excellent turn round and service.




I can already hear those metaphorical questions again, 'but JJ I thought you were a confirmed player of Carnage and Glory II', to which the answer is yes I am, they are my turn to set of horse and musket rules and I have no hesitation in recommending them when ever I am asked. That said I have friends who prefer to 'roll dem bones' and I like to play my Napoleonics with them as well and have been looking for a set of rules that captures the essence of C&G with dice and I think these might tick that box based on the comments I have read and my first read through of them last night.

If, as I think, they tick the box, I will share my thoughts in a proper review, post playing a few games, but I can say these look very very good and I am eager to try them out with my collection.

Following my hobby pre-read of Dux Britanniarum I picked up a copy of the rules and card deck at the show in time for the Club Xmas Game.


In addition to the rules I got some basing materials from Warbases and Magnetic Displays (see the links column on the right for these suppliers), with a group of my Saxon warriors already primed on the painting sticks to be completed in among the Spanish cavalry project that is ongoing.


And finally my France planning included getting assorted warriors and Vikings and I failed to resist the deal on offer for the three boxes planned and made my investment earlier than expected at the show yesterday. The Dark Ages collection is well and truly started!


A great day then with much fun and banter with friends. Thanks to Vince, Mr Steve and Steve H for their company and here's looking forward to Colours 2017.
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France 2016 - General Francois Fournier-Sarloveze (El Demonio)

September 13, 2016, 2:00 pm
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The picture of General Fournier-Sarloveze that I took in the Louvre that sparked my curiosity
This year's short holiday to France was designed as a little break before the run in to autumn and Xmas and to celebrate a little family joke that comes from a saying of my Mum that my birthday marks the end of summer.

Given that we only had a week to enjoy the delights of Belle France we planned in some very specific places to go during our stay, one being our favourite French restaurant in Paris, Le Bon Bock which I enjoyed a fantastic dinner on the Wednesday night to celebrate another fun packed year.

https://www.thefork.com/restaurant/le-bon-bock/8181
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d1514448-Reviews-Le_Bon_Bock-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

One other venue we were keen to include was the Louvre, a place Carolyn and I had not been back to in twenty four years and I particularly wanted to check out the Greco-Roman-Estruscan collection together with the paintings from the Revolutionary-Napoleonic era.

Even though this trip had plenty of pre-planning there always has to be room for a bit of serendipity and the discovery of the painting of General Francois Fournier-Sarloveze by Antoine-Jean Gross in 1812 was one such moment that sparked my curiosity as I was not familiar with the exploits of General Fournier-Sarloveze.

At Fuentes de Onoro, May 5th 1811, Fournier-Sarloveze led his brigade, also known as the 2nd Provisional Light Cavalry Regiment, of  two squadrons of the Seventh, Thirteenth and Twentieth Chasseurs a Cheval.
General Fournier-Sarloveze was quite obviously a talented cavalry commander if a some what insubordinate one, which would see his career progress rapidly from 1791 as a young lieutenant posted to the Ninth Dragoons as part of the Army of the Alps to General de Brigade by 1807 and General de Division in 1812.

He was a superb leader of light cavalry whose bravery and exploits on the battle field were only out-shone by his reputation as a duellist and one who used his position for bettering his personal finances.

His ongoing feud with a fellow officer led to a series of thirty duels over a nineteen year period and inspired the novel 'The Duel' by Joseph Conrad in 1908 that in turn inspired the film, 'The Duellists' directed by Ridley Scott in 1977.

Indeed his propensity for duelling may well have caused the dislike of him by Marshal Ney who regarded him as a bully, probably for his provoking duels he knew he could not lose. On the other hand he was a great friend of General Lasalle getting into many scrapes together in pursuit of women and drinking exploits.

The Duellists from 1977 with Harvey Keitel as Gabriel Feraud (the Fournier-Sarloveze character) left and Keith Carradine as Armand d'Hubert
(the Dupont character) right.
There are several links below giving more information about this fascinating officer and you can see episodes of behaviour that saw him deprived of his rank for incidents of financial dishonesty and illegal absences, together  with imprisonment for involvement in a conspiracy against the First Consul in 1802. In 1809 during his first period of service in Spain he was placed on leave without pay for administering sabre slashes to an ADC under his command.

This bizarre behaviour reached its zenith when following the Battle of Leipzig where he led the 6th Light Cavalry Division in III Cavalry Corps he was appointed Count of the Empire only to have the rank deprived after a verbal dispute with Napoleon that saw him placed under arrest and sent off to Mayence prison for displaying a defeatist attitude, which during the journey to said prison saw him lead a counterattack against cossacks who attacked his prisoner escort, before surrendering himself back to his escort.

During the Russian Campaign General Sarloveze (centre on the white horse) commanded the
31st Light Cavalry Brigade which included the Baden Hussars and the Hessian and Westphalian Cheveau Legers
As well as being the inspiration for one of my favourite films, I was particularly interested in his military career in Spain where he was first sent in the Autumn of 1808 following his inspired performances at the Battles of Eylau and Friedland where he led several key charges.

In 1808/09 he was part of the force in pursuit of General Moore's army to Corunna leading his brigade, the 15th and 25th Dragoons. In May 1809 he occupied and held the town of Lugo with three battalions of infantry, the 15th Dragoons two squadrons of hussars and four artillery pieces against 15,000 Spanish troops under General Mahy. Outnumbered ten to one he managed to hold out for five days until relieved by the arrival of Marshal Soult and his II Corps d'Armee.

Following his period of forced leave in France in December 1809, following the slashed ADC incident, he once again joined the forces in Spain in November 1810, leading the 2nd Provisional Light Cavalry Regiment of six squadrons of Chasseurs a Cheval, joining the Army of Portugal under Marshal Massena.

He led his light cavalry at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro, 3rd-5th May 1811 and was involved in the running battle with the Light Division on the right of the Anglo-Portuguese line and the cutting down of the British Guards skirmishing light battalion.

Map - BritishBattles.Com shows the attack on the Anglo-Portuguese right flank on the 5th May 1811
Battle of Fuentes de Ornoro

Having a horse shot from under him he claimed in his dispatch that his brigade broke two squares of the Light Division and captured their commander General Robert Craufurd together with 1,500 of his men. If this claim happened, then the British casualty reports do not substantiate the loss, and perhaps Craufurd and his men were taken temporarily but escaped back to British lines during the chaos of one of the British cavalry counter-attacks.

General Fournier-Sarloveze would continue to command his brigade until November, but was not given a command under Marshal Marmont who replaced Massena in command of the Army of Portugal and was ordered to join the Army of Aragon, but returned to France instead in the December to take convalescent leave, before his summons to join the Grande Armee for the 1812 campaign in Russia. 

This controversial French cavalry general would earn the titles of 'El Demonio', The Demon from the Spanish and 'The Worst Subject of France' from his compatriots, dying in 1827 at the age of 53.

Sources used in this post:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/François_Fournier-Sarlovèze
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Dupont_de_l%27Étang
http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_fournier.html
An Account of the Duel
Charging against Wellington - The French Cavalry in the Peninsular War, Robert Burnham
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Spanish 2nd Cavalry Division at Talavera - Infante Cavalry Regiment

September 16, 2016, 11:33 pm
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The second unit completed in General Albuquerque's cavalry division is the first of the four heavy cavalry regiments, the Infante (Prince's) Regiment.
Spanish 2nd Cavalry Division- Army of Estremadura
Hussars of Estremadura


Spanish heavy cavalry was composed of regiments of heavy cavalry and dragoons and in 1805 consisted of twelve regiments of heavy cavalry and eight regiments of dragoons principally distinguished by the former being dressed in blue coats and the latter yellow.


The Infante Regiment could possibly be considered one of the best of the heavy regiments having been selected in 1807 to form part of General La Romana's 15,000 strong Spanish Army of the North that was composed of the best units in the Spanish army to join Napoleon's Grande Armee, being sent to Hamburg in March of that year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuation_of_the_La_Romana_Division


The regiment was pictured in the uniform plates of Spanish forces in Hamburg and produced by the Suhr Brothers. The pictures are presented at the link below to the Napoleon Series and are interesting in that they appear to show the regiment wearing the 1803 uniform common to all the regiments with the white lapels and crimson red collar cuffs and turn-backs. This uniform was not that popular in some quarters having dispensed with the distinguishing regimental facing colours.


http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Spain/c_Suhrspanish.html

The Infante were repatriated to Spain by the British Royal Navy in 1808 following the Dos de Mayo rising and the commencement of the Peninsular War. The cavalry regiments of La Romana's force were sent south after landing at Santander to Estremadura to gather remounts and rebuild their strength before becoming part of the forming Army of Estremadura.


I have made the assumption with my unit that they have been re-equipped with the 1805 uniform that saw a return to the regimental facings of white cuffs, lapels and collar as pictured in the illustrations. I have however gone for the brown leather and wood sword scabbards as depicted by the Suhr Brothers in Hamburg.

As with most thoughts on the look of Spanish units, this can be speculative, educated guess work, but at least shows you my thinking as to why I have this regiment looking this way for Talavera.


On the 30th January 1803 all cavalry regiments, light and heavy, were directed to have the same organisation and establishment with each regiment having five squadrons of two companies each company numbering 71 troopers and 54 horses. This gave a theoretical total of 670 men per regiment with 540 mounts when the regimental staff were added in.


On the 1st October 1808 all regiments reorganised to four squadrons each of three companies which saw the regimental strength rise in theory to 869 men with 648 mounts, however as mentioned in the post looking at the Estremaduran Hussars losses in 1809 reduced many regiments to at most three squadrons as they struggled to maintain squadron strengths.


Thus in theory with a full strength squadron of 195 mounted troops and a regimental staff numbering 16 men, a regiment could have 601 men, but as can be seen from the total number of 2,500 men in the 2nd Cavalry Division with about twenty squadrons in total, the average squadron would have had nearer 125 men.


My Infante Regiment is composed of figures from AB and is depicted as a four squadron unit numbering about 500 men commanded by Colonel Ribera.

References consulted:
Napoleonic Armies - Ray Johnson
The Armies of Spain and Portugal - Nafziger
History of the Peninsular War - Sir Charles Oman
The Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars(2) Chartand & Younghusband (Osprey Men at Arms)
http://www.eborense.es/batalla_talavera1809_indice.html

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Convoy Peewit, Blitzkrieg from the Air and Sea 8th August 1940 - Andy Saunders

September 21, 2016, 3:53 am
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Convoy Westbound number 9 (CW9) codenamed Peewit set sail from Southend, a seaside resort town at the mouth of the River Thames, at 0700 on the 7th August 1940 with twenty four small coasters carrying principally coal from the north east, for industrial and domestic use in the southwest of England.

The Royal Navy provided an escort of two destroyers and ten smaller vessels together with detachments of men on board the merchantmen detailed to man the Lewis light machine-guns mounted as the main defence against air attack.

Over the previous month the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine had posed the first serious tests of Britain's air and sea defences with attacks principally aimed at channel traffic whilst the German High Command prepared its forces for an all out offensive designed to capture air superiority over the English Channel preparatory to the expected German invasion of the British Isles.

Andy Saunder's book is the first forensic study of this most significant battle which saw a marked increase in the ferocity of the air war that would become known later as the Battle of Britain and in this battle within a wider battle see both sides loose about twenty aircraft in a day and the sinking of six coasters and one Royal Navy escort.

The first attack on Convoy CW9 was at 02.00 on the 8th August 1940, not from the air but by four E-boats out of Cherbourg
I have always had an interest in air warfare and aircraft in general, cultivated with the release of the film Battle of Britain in 1970, my Mum's own wartime service as a WAAF plotter in WWII and then my own flying activities that lead to me doing my private pilots licence, flying out of the old Battle of Britain airfield here at Exeter and being instructed at the time by an RAF Spitfire pilot.

The Battle of Britain is a fascinating air campaign with epic 'David versus Goliath' undertones that often fails to appreciate the force multiplying effects of the first ground directed air defence system so carefully developed under the guiding hand of Sir Hugh (Stuffy) Dowding, arguably one of the most important military commanders in British history to rank alongside Marlborough Wellington and Nelson.

The major leap forward that Dowding's system enabled was the ability of the RAF to receive early warning of impending Luftwaffe attacks that enabled significant numbers of aircraft to be directed against them in a timely manner without the need for wasteful air patrols that fatigued aircrew and wasted fuel on pointless flights.

Channel convoy under air attack
However in early August 1940, the RAF was still near the bottom of the learning curve when it came to using its new system and the air fighting tactics to take advantage of it, and the air combat over and around Convoy Peewit falls very much into this period.

I have many books on the campaign as a whole, but this is the only one I have that looks at this early battle within the campaign in detail and documents the activities of the naval and air forces of both sides over the two days of Peewit's transit from Southend to Weymouth Bay with a thorough assessment and analysis of the forces involved, despite the fact that no 'Convoy Cruising Orders' listing the ships in Peewit exist in the Kew Records Office archives.

This lack of detail has been painstakingly overcome with a gathering of information identifying the vessels and their masters, embroidered throughout with documented testimony from the men involved in fighting the ships through. This together with a comprehensive coverage of the air fighting and units involved interlaced with the drama described by aircrew and witnesses on the ground and at sea.

SS Coquetdale one of the coasters sunk by Stukas at 09.00 on the 8th August 1940 with a cargo of coal
With a ringing endorsement from that great air historian Dr Alfred Price writing the forward to the book, Saunders sets the scene for his fourteen chapters with an introduction that discusses the difficulties of setting a date for the start of the Battle of Britain, now generally considered as the 10th of July.

However Dowding described in the Air Ministry Information Booklet published in 1941
"the first attack in force against laid objectives in this country" 
as being a good place to start, with his initial selection of the 8th of August and Convoy Peewit to the close on 31st October as his chosen dates for the battle as laid out. It was later in 1946 that he revised his start date to the 10th of July to include the period of increasing tempo in Luftwaffe attacks that characterised the fighting in July.

There is a short preamble in which Saunders describes his meeting with retired Royal Naval Officer, Arthur Hague RD in 1990 and his work with barrage balloon vessels in 1940, which provided information that became relevant in future TV productions for 'Timewatch' and a TV documentary 'Dig 1940' that the author was involved in that lead to the decision to research Peewit more thoroughly.

The Struggle Begins - Roy Grinnell,  Hurricanes from 32 Squadron (this aircraft was flown by FO Pete Brothers with 10 kills in the Battle of Britain) engage Stukas and their escorts over the Channel. The squadron patrolled over Peewit mid morning on the 7th August as it rounded North Foreland to enter the Dover Straits.
From these set up pages the book then follows a logical walk through of the events that sets the scene for this convoy setting out on its journey along the south coast and the combats it goes on to describe;

Chapter 1 - Opening Shots
Chapter 2  - A Disgraceful Episode
Chapter 3 - The Indestructible Highway
Chapter 4 - Attack of the E-Boats
Chapter 5 - Up Balloons....!
Chapter 6 - Unwitting Decoys
Chapter 7 - The Second Air Attack
Chapter 8 - Fighting the Stukas
Chapter 9 - Final Assault
Chapter 10 - Puma vs Peewit
Chapter 11 - Elsewhere that Day
Chapter 12 - Aftermath
Chapter 13 - 8 August 1940 in Retrospect
Chapter 14 - Seventy Years On
Appendices
A - The Merchant Vessels of Convoy CW9
B - Merchant Navy and Royal Navy Casualties associated with CW9 Peewit
C - Luftwaffe Losseson 8 August 1940 - Operations over Britain
D - RAF Losses on 8 August 1940
E - Luftwaffe Fighter Claims over England for 8 August 1940
F - RAF Fighter Claims over England for 8 August 1940
G - Convoy CW9 Peewit Timeline of Principal Events 7-8 August 1940
H - Secret Report on Convoy CW9
I - Secret Report Channel Mobile Balloon Barrage
J - List of Channel Convoys During 1940
K- The BBC Broadcasts a Live Luftwaffe Attack
Bibliography
Index

As you can see there is an all encompassing set of appendices and thirty six other books around the subject referenced in the bibliography section.

This book was my reading for my week away in France this summer and I have to say it was a very engrossing read which answered a question I had long thought about when considering these channel convoys namely why were they run in a seaway that was so easily intercepted by enemy air and sea forces? Was it a question of willful pride to persist in what seemed to be a deadly game of dare?

The accounts of the bravery of the men on the ships facing E-boat torpedo and gunnery attacks followed up by pinpoint dive bombing and strafing from the Stukas is a tribute to the Merchant and Royal Navy crews but I couldn't help thinking whether the cost in mens lives and ships lost was worth it.

The fact was that in a time when coal dominated in terms of fuel for pretty much everything and with railways already committed to moving as much war materials as they could, bulk transport needed to use ships and these small coasters just like the larger ocean going vessels needed to get to all parts of the UK to maintain the needs of home and industry.

The other interesting aspect of this detailed account of the fighting is the way the accounts of aircraft movements by the Luftwaffe tested the RAF controllers in their abilities to interpret what they were seeing on their plotting tables and how best to respond with the limited assets available.

It seems several German fighter sweeps were launched with the intention of drawing RAF fighters away from the Peewit battle, with RAF fighter crews commenting on German fighters retiring rapidly to the French coast on their appearance or engaging them in combat when fuel levels permitted.

As well as the RAF controllers having to learn and improve the skills and abilities to read the battle and get the squadrons where they were needed, the RAF fighter pilots were also learning the hard way the lessons of air combat.

One account of many in the book illustrated this problem for the RAF that covered a three aircraft patrol of Spitfires from 152 Squadron returning from action over Weymouth Bay flying in the "vic"formation used by the RAF particularly in this early stage of the battle "until we learnt better later" to quote the account from one of the Spitfire pilots, Sergeant Denis Robinson.

With his eyes fixed firmly on his leader's aircraft with, as he described, a foot between wing tips, none of the three spotted the group of Me 109s coming up behind and they casually flew on in a lulled false sense of security returning from the fight with no ammunition left in their guns.

Sergeant Denis Robinson - 152 Squadron
Sergeant Robinson continued;
"The first thing I felt was the thud of bullets hitting my aircraft and a long line of tracer bullets streaming out ahead of my Spitfire. In a reflex action I slammed  the stick forward as far as it would go. For a brief second my Spitfire stood on its nose and I was looking straight down at Mother Earth, thousands of feet below. Thank God my Sutton harness was good and tight. I could feel the straps biting into my flesh as I entered the vertical  with airspeed building up alarmingly. I felt fear mounting . Sweating, dry mouth and near panic. No ammo and an attacker right on my tail."

As I read this account I cast my mind back to doing aerobatics during my flying training over the Exe estuary and remembering doing stall spins at about 5,000 feet with the nose pointing straight down at the river below and the tightness of the seat harness holding me in during the rapid descent. Of course I only had to concentrate on the recovery technique and enjoy the thrill without the concern of an Me 109 pilot behind looking to fill the cockpit with 20mm cannon shells!

Fortunately the reaction evasion had shaken off his pursuer or perhaps fuel limits had caused the Me 109 pilot to break off, either way the problem of a pierced glycol tank now caused the Spitfire's engine to seize and rather than risk leaving his plane to crash onto civilians below, he decided to crash land the aircraft.

With a dead-stick, wheels up, full flap approach to the best field available, Robinson flared up and brought the plane in sliding along its belly until encountering an unspotted ditch with the results pictured below.

As my instructor used to say, any landing that you walk away from is a good one, and despite a slight bullet graze to the leg, Sergeant Robinson was lead away to the local pub in Wareham to be suitably revived with several drams and was back on ops the next day and able to reflect on the inadvisability of flying straight and level in the combat zone.

Sgt Robinson's Spitfire after he managed to make a wheels up landing in a field near
Wareham, before sliding into an unseen ditch and going nose down, this after being shot up
by Me109's over Weymouth Bay. The bullet holes are visible on the right wing root.

After the fighting was over and the day drew to a close then both sides looked to the rescue of those men desperately trying to survive the sea.

From my general knowledge and reading of the Battle of Britain it is a well established fact that British air-sea rescue assets were considered poor at this time especially against those of the Germans and that Dowding was keen to avoid battle over the Channel due to the losses in aircrew at sea that were caused that didn't apply to battle over land whereas the Luftwaffe loss rate rose due to capture the further inland they went.

This book takes a detailed look at this aspect of the battle and the differences between the two sides in its management, with comparisons of the basic survival kit such as life jackets and bright dyes designed to be released into the sea to draw attention to a downed pilot.

The effects of the poorly integrated air sea rescue service is borne out by the losses suffered in RAF aircrew during the Battle of Britain which saw 179 aircrew posted as missing and no trace of them found, totalling one third of all losses suffered and with the overwhelming majority lost over the sea.

The final chapter that concludes this book takes a look at the archeology, much of it under the sea, that remains to remind us of the battle fought in the channel in that summer of 1940 and the few items recovered that bring the past back to life.

I thoroughly enjoyed Convoy Peewit and the book had me imagining a mini campaign in its own right of RAF controllers trying to manage their fighter assets covering the passage of one of these convoys with the air and sea scenarios it would create for the table.

I picked up my paperback copy via the Naval and Military Press where at the time of writing they have the book on offer for £3.99 which is a bargain for such an interesting read.

 Naval & Military Press - Convoy Peewit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanalkampf
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JJ's Dark Ages - Saxon Warband

September 24, 2016, 3:21 am
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It was on my little sojourn to France last month I put together the box of Gripping Beast (GB) Saxons that I bought in February and I received  a very nice birthday present from Tom of the GB King Penda and his champion.

The reason for embarking on a collection of Dark Ager warriors is two fold, firstly the Xmas game at the DWG in December where everyone in the club comes together to play in one big end of year extravaganza, and this year it happens to be Dux Brittaniarum and we all need to bring some figures.

Secondly I love this period, particularly the 8th century onwards with the Viking and later Norman raids and invasions.

So I thought I should get on and at least have my minimum of six warriors done in time for the game and then I can add to the collection as I go from then on. That idea saw me pick up two boxes of GB plastic Dark Age Warriors, a box of Viking Hirdsmen and assorted bases at Colours the other weekend.


So here we go with the Penda and champion figure that Tom got me together with some command and theign figures from the plastics.

I love the King Penda model with severed heads in hand astride another fallen foe, perhaps one of the five or so Saxon Kings he did in during his remarkable reign of Mercia.


I have continued the Warwickshire theme for my contributions to previous club games when I fielded the Earl of Warwick for our Wars of the Roses big game a few years ago and being a son of the heart of England and birthplace of the great Bard of Stratford it seemed fitting to have Penda at the head of my Saxons.

King Penda and his champion, mix well with the Gripping Beast plastic range
The banner was fun to do using one of the Little Big Men offerings that requires soaking the decal onto white paper and then cutting to shape and fixing on to the pole,

Like wise the shield decal for Penda's champion, the fierce looking fellow with spear nonchalantly carried over his shoulder (far right above), required a bit of cutting and painting to allow for the hand on the shield.



I was really pleased to see how well the plastics match in with the metals, with the latter very slightly larger but not really noticeably so, when in a group on the table as I hope my pictures illustrate.

King Penda was famously, the last pagan English King and stands here among his warriors sporting Christian crosses at their necks, which is not to much of a problem as the King was not known for forcing his religious beliefs on his fellow Mercians or the other Saxon Kingdoms he conquered, which probably explains the religion surviving and prospering after his demise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penda_of_Mercia


Once the collection has grown I will put together a JJ's Dark Ages section on the blog where I can bring all this stuff together in one place. Still it's good to have things underway and to know from small acorns mighty oaks do grow.


It has been interesting times here at Chez JJ this week as the bare brick wall on the right in the picture below illustrates we have the builders in.

Carolyn has decided we need a new bathroom and a refit in the others and so a new door way was needed to gain access to our bedroom to allow for the addition. This entailed knocking holes in walls with the new door just visible in the picture.

As you can see my little painting desk is very close by and with the first bit of serious knocking the 1930's vintage plaster evaporated into a dusty air choking miasma that covered my desk in plaster remnants.


Once I had rescued important stuff off of it and chucked a dust sheet over the rest I had to temporarily relocate the painting table and was only able to tidy up and rearrange the desk later this week once the wall was finished with and now needs the attention of a plasterer.

Anyway things are sort of back to normal and the desk gets covered in the day just in case!

So it seems that every other wargame blog features the painting desk at some time, so here is my little altar to the God of Wargaming all tidied up with everything in its place and minus the plaster and brick debris.


So there we are and it will be back to the Spanish in the next post with the Alcantara Heavy Cavalry Regiment.
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Miniature Wargames Magazine - What's Going On?

September 26, 2016, 12:24 pm
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I listened with interest last week to the Meeples Podcast Episode 178, interview with Henry Hyde, the former editor of Miniature Wargames Magazine (MW) now, following his departure from the business, able to discuss candidly the reasons for his decision to resign from the editorship of this longstanding cornerstone of the hobby-news publications.

https://meeples.wordpress.com

If you haven't yet listened and are the slightest bit interested in what's going on I would highly recommend a listen to a quite revealing glimpse at the goings on in management behind the scenes and the likely implications of the recent changes in that management and the causes that lay behind it from Henry Hyde's perspective.

It was way back in March 2013 that I welcomed the news that Henry Hyde was taking over the editorship of MW and explored my hope for the new title that would, going forward, not only carry the title of Henry's own publication, Battlegames Magazine, but also seek to encompass the themes and content that his creation brought to the hobby within the new combined magazine.

http://jjwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/miniatures-wargames-merging-with.html

In that post I highlighted the content of previous hobby titles that for me captured some of the best content in the printed format, focusing on a mix of the history, the modeling, ideas for better gaming, scenarios and the usual hobby news and comment.

I think all printed media faces huge challenges in these days of the Internet with blogs and podcasts and excellent digital photography, to remain relevant and different enough to get us punters to pick up a copy regularly. Not only that but it seems that to get people to commit to a fixed period subscription is getting harder and harder as hobbyists like me pick up magazines only when they carry content sufficiently interesting enough to warrant it.

That said I have included MW in my regular pick up of choice alongside Wargames Soldier and Strategy Magazine (WSS) since Henry took over the show and made it a much more interesting read than what is was before his stewardship. I even had my own three article series covering the Oporto game published in it and was grateful to Henry for his input and guidance in putting that together.

It would seem, based on the Meeples interview, that Warner Group Publications, the new owners of the magazine, don't share the vision that Henry Hyde brought to it, a vision that the original owners, Atlantic Publishing, were only to keen for him to replicate in their desire to turn around the fortunes of their product by making MW more like Battlegames.

This change of vision is only emphasized by the dropping of the Battlegames name from the title page and it would seem, according to the interview, that the decision for this change of direction was made without the input from the incumbent editor and all the experience and knowledge of the hobby he might have been able to bring to it.

The manner of his departure, if as described in the interview, sounds very disappointing and with that and the implied change of direction is going to be an interesting project to manage for John Treadaway, the newly appointed editor, going forward.

If this is a sign of a complete departure from the progress the magazine has made in the last three years, I can only hope that the new plan will be to build on that progress with more content that will appeal to the historical wargamer. However with talk of appealing to a growing science fiction audience that appears to be poorly defined, it leaves me feeling this might not be a magazine aimed at me.

It is only fair to say we have to wait and see what these recent changes will mean for MW. Warner Group may have a great plan to reinvigorate MW still further and issue 403 and future issues will be very interesting to see if fears are vindicated or a new exciting version of an old familiar name is going to be the new norm.

For me, as I imagine for most of us who were happy with what Henry Hyde did for MW, the jury is out and judgment is reserved.

Fingers crossed.
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Augustus to Aurelian - Second Play-Test

October 9, 2016, 5:19 am
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It's October and I haven't posted this month! Sorry about that but life has taken over with trips abroad and extra time needed with the day job.

So just to let you know that wargaming is still front and centre I am highlighting a post I have done on the Devon Wargames Group blog page covering a game we played yesterday which was the second play test of 'Augustus to Aurelian' the ancients rule set by Phil Hendry.

With the Dacian Wars collection moving nearer to the front of the queue I was keen to have another go with the rules and using a scenario put together by Phil Hendry, but with a few home brewed changes. As you will see, we had a very good game at the club.

I really like these rules and with some changes made in basing my units started with the last unit of auxiliaries featured I am really looking forward to getting stuck into this project.

So if you would like to know more about yesterdays game and my thoughts, just follow the link to the DWG bog page.

http://devonwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/augustus-to-aurelian-battle-on-river.html

Next up, back to the Spanish cavalry with the Alcantara Regiment.
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Augustus to Aurelian - Second Play-Test, Addendum

October 10, 2016, 11:26 am
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As a follow up to the play-test of Augustus to Aurelian, Mr Steve and myself ran this weekend at the DWG, I thought you might be amused to see the lengths we here on JJ's Wargames will go to to add just those extra touches of detail that just make the games we play and report on that bit more special.

http://devonwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/augustus-to-aurelian-battle-on-river.html

Mr Steve went the extra mile to get these 15mm legionary command stands ready for the game and dug out his "fly's eyelash" detailing brush to add the Latin script to his standards. Frankly I am amazed considering his age and declining eyesight that he managed this degree of detail, but here on JJ's we like to encourage having fun with the brush and the extra touches that bring a period to life.

So the first standard is carried by Legio I "JJ Bellum Ludos"


Ably supported by Legio II "MR Stephanus"

I'll leave it to you Latin scholars to decipher, but I am reliably informed that these are two of the earliest Legions to appear on the Republican order of battle.



The new standards obviously had a positive effect on the Romans, if the way they ripped on in amongst the Germans is anything to go by. Nice one Steve.
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Spanish 2nd Cavalry Division at Talavera - Alcantara Cavalry Regiment

October 11, 2016, 11:05 pm
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2nd Spanish Cavalry Division - Lieutenant General Duque de Albuquerque
Infante Cavalry Regiment
Alcantara Cavalry Regiment
Pavia Cavalry Regiment
Almanza Cavalry Regiment
1st & 2nd Hussars of Estremadura


The other heavy cavalry regiment in the 2nd Cavalry Division was the Alcantara Regiment.


For details on the organisation of the Spanish heavy cavalry regiments follow the link to the Infante Cavalry Regiment above.


The first reference I have for the Alcantara Regiment is for May 1808 when the unit was part of Spanish occupation forces in Portugal providing two squadrons.

Spanish Army of Andalusia 20th May l808
In Portugal:
l/Murcia Infantry Regiment (23/78l)
2/Murcia Infantry Regiment (22/700)
Grenadiers Provinciales de Vieja Castilla (l)(26/680)
2nd Grenadiers Provinciales de Vieja Castilla (l)(26/680)
Grenadiers Provinciales de Neuva Castilla (2)(54/l,360)
Voluntarios de Valencia (l/2)(20/600)
Voluntarios de Tarragona (l/2)(20/600)
Reyna Cavalry Regiment (2)(l7/340)(300 horses)
Alcantara Cavalry Regiment (2 sqn)(l7/340)(300 horses)
Santiago Cavalry Regiment (2)(l6/340)(? horses)
Montesa Cavalry Regiment (l)(l)(9/l70)
Horse Artillery (7/l28)
Sappers (l/47)

Source - Clerc, Capitulation de Baylen, Causes et Consequences, Paris, l903


In June 1808 following the Spanish insurrection, Oman lists in detail the forces on hand with a list of the available cavalry regiments and their strengths:

Cavalry (---H) - number of horses
lst Rey Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(38/634)(467H)
2nd Reina Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(4l/668)(202H)
3rd Principe Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(42/573)(434H)
4th Infante Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(42/6l5)(494H)
5th Borbon Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(42/6l6)(450H)
6th Farnesio Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(39/5l7)(359H)
7th Alcantara Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(42/589)(490H)
8th Espana Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(39/553)(358H)
9th Algarve Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(42/572)(455H)
l0th Calatrava Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(44/679)(369H)
llth Santiago Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(44/549)(370H)
l2th Montesa Heavy Cavalry Regiment (5)(40/667)(259H)
lst Rey Cazadore Regiment (5)(40/577)(l85H)
2nd Reina Cazadore Regiment (5)(42/58l)(42lH)
3rd Almanza Cazadore Regiment (5)(38/598)(479H)
4th Pavia Cazadore Regiment (5)(42/663)(507H)
5th Villaviciosa Cazadore Regiment (5)(35/628)(448H)
6th Sagunto Cazadore Regiment (5)(39/499)(l89H)
lst Numancia Hussar Regiment (5)(4l/630)(327H)
2nd Lusitania Hussar Regiment (5)(42/554)(409H)
3rd Olivenza Hussar Regiment (5)(37/558)(468H)
4th Voluntarios de Espana Hussar Regiment (5)(34/548)(460H)
5th Maria Luisa Hussar Regiment (5)(40/680)(394H)
6th Espanoles Hussar Regiment (5)(38/692)532H)


By the October of 1808 and the languid pursuit of French forces to the River Ebro the Alcantara are listed as part of the Army of Castile which formed part of Castanos' Army of the Centre joining forces at the end of that month.

Army of Castile - Source Oman
Division: General Pignatelli (Cartaojal after 30/10/08) 
(ll,000)
Cantabria Infantry Regiment (2)
Leon Militia Infantry Regiment (l)
Grenadiers del General (l)(new levee)
Cazadores de Cuenca (l) (new levee)
lst, 2nd & 3rd Volunteers of Leon (3)(new levee)
lst, 2nd & 3rd Tercoios of Castile (3)(new levee)
Tiradores de Castilla (l)(new levee)
Volunteers of Benavente (l)(new levee)
Volunteers of Zamora (l)(new levee)
Volunteers of Ledesma (l)(new levee)
Cavalry (3,292 on 29 October)
Farnesio Cavalry Regiment
Montesa Cavalry Regiment
Reina Cavalry Regiment
Borbon Cavalry Regiment
Olivenza Cavalry Regiment
Espana Cavalry Regiment
Calatrava Cavalry Regiment
Santiago Cavalry Regiment
Sagunto Cavalry Regiment
Principe Cavalry Regiment
Pavia Cavalry Regiment
Alcantara Cavalry Regiment


Following the French offensive in November a much reduced regiment, barely amounting to one squadron are shown as part of the forces defending the approaches to Madrid in the Somosierra Pass.

Spanish Forces Defending Somosierra - Source Oman
Army of the Reserve
November l808
lst Voluntarios de Madrid (l,500)
2nd Voluntarios de Madrid (l,500)
Guardias Walonas (500)
Jaen Infantry Regiment (2)l,300)
l/,3/Corona Infantry Regiment (2)(l,039)
Cordoba Infantry Regiment (l,300)
Badajoz Infantry Regiment (566)
l/,3/Irlanda Infantry Regiment (2)(l,l86)
Reyna Infantry Regiment (2)(927)
Provincial de Toledo (500)
Provincial de Alcazar (400)
3/Voluntarios de Sebilla (400)
Principe Cavalry Regiment (2)(200)
Alcantara Cavalry Regiment (l00)
Montesa Cavalry Regiment (l00)
Voluntarios de Madrid Cavalry Regiment (2)(200)
Artillery (22 guns, 200 gunners)


In January of 1809 the regiment is shown as part of the Army of the Centre now following the dismissal of General Castanos under the command of the Duke of Infantado and based around Cuenca threatening the eastern approaches to Madrid

Spanish Army of the Centre, llth January l809
Cavalry: (l,8l4)
Reyna Cavalry Regiment (276)
Principe Cavalry Regiment (l4l)
Borbon Cavalry Regiment (ll9)
Espana Cavalry Regiment (342)
Santiago Cavalry Regiment (74)
Tejas Cavalry Regiment (l3l)
Pavia Cavalry Regiment (428)
Lusitania Cavalry Regiment (l58)
Dragones de Castilla (l25)
Farnesio Cavalry Regiment
Montesa Cavalry Regiment
Calatrava Cavalry Regiment
Sagunto Cavalry Regiment
Alcantara Cavalry Regiment


Map to illustrate the movements of the Alacantara Regiment
Following the defeat of the Vanguard Division of the Army of the Centre in January 1809 at the Battle of Ucles, commanded by General Venegas, Infantado was relieved of command and General Venegas assumed command of the newly formed Army of La Mancha that continued to be a threat to the southern approaches to Madrid going into the summer of 1809 leading up to the Talavera campaign.

At some stage the Alcantara Regiment was transferred to the Army of Estremadura under General Cuesta where it was part of the 2nd Cavalry Division in the July.

Venegas's Army of La Mancha (or Army of the Centre) l6th June l809
3rd Division: Mariscal de camp D.Pedro Grimarest
2/de Jaen Infantry Regiment (985)
Ecija Infantry Regiment (902)
2/Cordoba Infantry Regiment (849)
Bailen Infantry Regiment (l,l2l)
l/Reales Guardias Infantry Regiment (663)
Alpujarras Infantry Regiment (579)
Velez Malaga Infantry Regiment (445)
Farnesio Cavalry Regiment (404)
Santiago Cavalry Regiment (295)
Alcantara Cavalry Regiment (343)
Principe Cavalry Regiment (324)
3 8pdr, 2 4pdrs & 2 7pdr howitzers


My Alcantara Regiment are composed of figures from AB supplied by Fighting 15s and are the third regiment completed as part of 2nd Cavalry Division.

Next time we will look at the first of the two dragoon regiments, namely the Pavia Regiment, but before that we will have some more 28mm Dark Ages.

References consulted:
Napoleonic Armies - Ray Johnson
The Armies of Spain and Portugal - Nafziger
History of the Peninsular War - Sir Charles Oman
The Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars(2) Chartand & Younghusband (Osprey Men at Arms)
http://www.eborense.es/batalla_talavera1809_indice.html
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Battle of Hastings - 950th Anniversary

October 14, 2016, 11:06 am
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Today is the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, which I suspect many forums and blogs associated with our hobby will be covering to some degree or other.

There are few battles throughout history, I think, that have had the effect to change the world with effects that last today and likely beyond. Perhaps Hastings could be considered as one of those world changing battles.

How you may ask could a battle fought 950 years ago, seven miles north west of Hastings with no more than about 13,000 men on the field of battle have had such world changing effects.

The answer lies in the effect it had on the British Isles and a major consequence that followed, with an effect that spread throughout the world carried in the wake of British influence that would develop hugely in the following nine and a half centuries.

Sadly to my way of thinking and as I have commented previously, British History is not taught the way it was when I were a lad. We have developed a modular teaching of history that fails to deliver an historical narrative about how we arrived with the nation states we have in these islands, the unwritten constitution built around the mother of parliaments, the rule of law, a constitutional monarchy and with English as the dominant language.

If these chaps had won at Hastings these words would have looked a lot different!
Thus when it comes to grappling with major constitutional issues such as Scottish Independence and British exit from the European Union it makes it hard to make an informed decision about where you want to go if you don't have a clue where you've come from and how we arrived in the current situation in the first place.

The Battle of Hastings is one of those cornerstone events in British History that changed Britain fundamentally, with one dominant culture, the Anglo Saxons, replaced by another, the invading Normans; and with the language at court being changed to French it forced the native population to develop a mix of Anglo Saxon and Norman French into what we know as modern English.

Thus for example the names for prepared foods adopted many words into English from the Norman French, words such as pork, mutton and beef.

This major change developed into the beautiful language of Shakespeare and the language that encompassed the globe, the language of the air and sea, the language of commerce.

If you speak English as a first language then you are evidence of the lasting effects of the Norman victory today nine hundred and fifty years ago.

If it had not been for William's victory on the 14th October 1066 I would probably have been writing this post in some form of Anglo Germanic Dutch. A thought to conjure with this December when we get the Dark Age collection out on the table at the Devon Wargames Group.

Happy Hastings Day to English speakers around the world.
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Brodir of Man and the Scots

October 16, 2016, 6:44 am
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As you will know from my previous post on Penda and the Saxon Theigns there is a gathering of forces in the west in readiness for the great Dark Ages clash outside of Exeter at the December meeting of the Devon Wargames Group.


The game is set to be a straight up shield wall melee using Dux Britaniarum and for some us this means getting hold of some figures to contribute to the end of year club game in which all members are invited to join in.


Mr Steve has decided to come at this game from a Gaelic angle and so I thought you might like to see these Scots Theigns and Brodir of Man from the Saga range of figures from Gripping Beast that I have just finished for him.


Gripping Beast figures are a lot of fun to paint with loads of character and detail just crying out for a bit of brush work.

The shield decals from LBM just finish off the look. I have links to these manufacturers in the side bar and to these specific figures at the bottom of the post.


I didn't know much about Brodir until Steve game me the figure. I have attached a link just in case you were as ignorant as me.

I checked out the Gripping Beast interpretation of this figure and knowing imitation is the sincerest form of flattery grabbed the look of the tunic with the interlace pattern on the hem and sleeves which looked perfect.


I think Brodir should look ideal setting about the enemy shield wall in full battle cry.


Next up I have a book review and then on to the Spanish Pavia Dragoons

Brodir and Ospak of Man
Gripping Beast Brodir Of Man
Gripping Beast SS02 Scots Thegns Hearthguards
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Wellington's Mongrel Regiment - Alistair Nichols

October 19, 2016, 2:36 am
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Wellington's Mongrel Regiment, A History of the Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment  1801-1814

I decided to read 'A History of the Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment' (CB) as I was acutely aware that as a student of the Peninsular War and Wellington's army in particular, this originally French emigre regiment had passed my scrutiny and I only had a basic knowledge centered on all the established clichés from Oman and others about its high rates of desertion.

On reading Alistair Nichols history of the regiment I soon discovered the large gap in my knowledge together with a certain confirmation of the previous impression which reinforced my thinking that the CB were a rather enigmatic regiment, very difficult to pin down in character.

By that I mean that the regiment displayed great acts of stoicism and bravery during its service in British arms but this contrasted hugely with its inability to maintain its numbers causing it to be withdrawn from picket duties because of desertion to the enemy, causing much aggravation with its brigade comrades forced to take on their duties as extra work.


The enigmatic nature of this regiment even extended to its role, with the name and role planning suggesting a light infantry battalion to be a cornerstone battalion in Wellington's second Light Division which became the 7th Division. The 7th Division, known as the 'Mongrels' to the rest of Wellington's army due to its composition of many foreign elements (The CB, Brunswick Oels and two battalions of KGL Light Infantry) never lived up to the reputation of their predecessors and for all intents and purposes developed into another Line Division.

This confusion in roles is emphasised by the CB themselves adopting many dress items of the Light Infantry as illustrated in the officer above with shoulder wings, green plum and bugle shako badge, but with the battalion companies dressed as a line battalion with a grenadier company, fusilier companies with standard shako plate and white and red and white shako tufts. The officer seen below in a Line Officers bicorne illustrates this point.

There are other peculiarities in uniform, covered in the book such as the black and/or white cross-belts and also the look of the unit in the Revolutionary period. There is a very good section covering the national demographics of the regiment which changed from its mainly French Royalist cadre to include other significant national groupings encountered in Spain.


The book left me with an impression of the frustration Wellington must have felt about the battalion when he expressed his exasperation at there desertion rates, particularly with crossing over to the enemy; which due to the risk of giving the French, free easy intelligence on Allied forces and intentions, carried a capital penalty for those members returned into British captivity, certainly in the early-mid part of the Peninsular War.

This issue contrasted with the battalion that performed stoically on the slopes of the Pyrenees as Wellington's forces faced a surprise French offensive lead by Marshal Soult which required individual battalions to fight their own combats and stands very often with little support from divisional or army assets.

For the wargamer looking to rate such a unit, it left me thinking that you couldn't really know which CB battalion would turn up on any given day or how many of them. However, as Nichols points out, they were reliable enough for Wellington to keep them in his service and several British battalions soon found themselves relegated to garrison duties in Lisbon, Gibraltar or Cadiz if they didn't perform so this speaks favourably of the CB overall.

Nichols does a good job of looking at the problems faced by the CB of keeping men from different nationalities focused on the reasons they joined the ranks in the first place, particularly in a British army that enforced a draconian level of discipline foreign to many of the men. Overall I think I agree with his conclusion that the Officers of the CB did a pretty good job and that Wellington could often be the harshest of critics.

The caption states boldly that the CB was a light infantry regiment, but as Spock once said to Captain Kirk " not as we know it Jim". The account suggests that the CB fought and were accoutered in the main as a British Line battalion.
The 248 page book consists of the following sections:

List of Maps - ( 1.Southern Italy & Sicily, 2. Egypt 1807, 3. Portugal and Western Spain, 4. The Western Pyrenees.)
List of Graphs - (1. Sickness rates in the brigade, March 1811 to June 1814, 2. Nationalities of the men, 3. Men under arms in the brigade, March 1811 to June 1814).

Introduction
Chapters
I The Prince of Conde's Army
II Unusual Redcoats
III Sicily and Egypt, again
IV The Defence of Sicily
V Under Wellington's Command
VI Success and Failure
VII From Portugal to the Pyrenees
VIII Returning Home

Appendices
A Officers, Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment, 1801-1814
B Some of the other ranks, Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment, 1801-1814
C Establishment of the Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment, 1804, 1808, 1811
D Inspection Return, 25th December 1812
E Uniforms of the Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment
F Events at Rosetta, 31st March 1807

Select Bibliography
Index

In addition there are eight pages of photographs of portraits of key notables, battle sites and documents pertinent to the text.

I enjoyed  reading this book particularly for the coverage of the early history of the CB and the fighting in Egypt and Southern Italy. The Peninsular War coverage less so as I thought there was too much coverage of the brigade activities rather than the CB regiment itself, but that is probably down to a lack of information.

I know I mention this again and again just like many other readers, but please, please, pretty please can we have more maps to illustrate where the action is taking place and where units were operating in any given action. I am sorry but the maps in this book were in the main "pants" (a British expression meaning not at all good).

The one that stands out for me was the map on page 140 of the Western Pyrenees which had a multitude of tiny black triangles, some filled in to indicate where peaks were that funnelled the fighting into the many valleys or on the ridges. I'm sorry Pen and Sword, I love the service you offer of bringing great military books to the interested reader but you should know that maps like this are not good enough.

The many battles mentioned in the text warrant a map if only to show where the CB regiment was when the fighting mentioned in the text happened.

One other useful addition would have been some illustrations of the uniforms worn throughout the period covered. I have included some here in my post as I feel a picture is worth a thousand words. Oh and if you were hoping this book would shed some light on the look of the Regimental Colours, I'm afraid that information seems still lost to history.

A useful tome to have on the shelf when it comes to the time when I start work on this famous and interesting regiment and a good book to add to my knowledge.
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Over the Hills - Napoleonic Rules Play-test

October 22, 2016, 5:09 am
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Friday night after a busy week at work and another busy one to follow next week, with the weekend to look forward to; so how better to spend the evening than with Tom, Will and Steve M play-testing the latest set of Napoleonic rules to hit the streets.

I first mentioned getting a copy of these rules when I attended Colours last month and my glee at finding them waiting for me when I got back from the show.

http://jjwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/colours-2016-newbury-reading-wargames.html

I have been looking for a set of Napoleonic rules that would allow me to use my collection of figures with my friends who prefer a dice based set of rules to mine, Tom and Will's preference "Carnage & Glory II" on the computer.

The best aspect of C&G is the ability to have the effects of fatigue gradually erode the fighting capability of your army without having any annoying paperwork or mental strain at all. Thus commanders are able to just concentrate on managing the battle they are aiming to fight with the computer doing all the donkey work - love it.

So if I were going to spend time doing some of that donkey work to have the pleasure of rolling dice then I wanted a set of rules that could capture that fatigue aspect of G&G as closely as possible.

View from the British lines in last night's play-test of Over the Hills
So you can imagine how my curiosity was peaked when I read the first reviews and discussions about this new set of rules from Adrian McWalter and Quinton Dalton and published by Caliver Books. The aspect that captured my attention was the games and units featured looked similar to mine, with individual, battalions, regiments and batteries represented on the table. However the hook for me was the mention of fatigue scores and fatigue hits to determine wear and tear on armies and units.

The Contents pages made finding relevant sections through our game pretty straight forward
So I splashed out on the shiny new hard back rule book copiously accompanied with full colour diagrams and lovely artwork from Bob Marrion and got busy understanding how these rules worked and the design concepts that lay behind them.

Caliver Books - Over the Hills

Last night was our first go with the rules to see how they play and to give you my first impressions.

So to test out the rules I put together a classic little ridge-line scenario on the Talavera table with a British brigade of three line battalions supported by a battery of 6lbr foot guns and a light cavalry brigade of British and a Portuguese light dragoons.

Across the valley eager to push the British "Rostbeefs" off their pinnacle was a French infantry brigade of six battalions of line infantry, supported by a battery of 8lbr foot guns and a light cavalry brigade of two regiments of chasseurs a cheval.

Each force was commanded by a divisional general.

We decided to play the game very much as we would a C&G scenario and then be able to compare and contrast how the rules model the game we would have expected to play.

Fatigue Hit mini dice start to appear as the first shots are exchanged
So lets first consider the basic principles of the rules
The rules are written principally with 28mm scale figures in mind but with simple adaptions advised for the smaller scale gamer, namely to use centimeters or, as we chose, to halve the distances which are in inches. I immediately produced my own quick reference sheet with those changes and have a mind to move to paces so I can use my C&G range sticks in future.

The turn has a clear sequence of play with a simple die roll off at the start to decide which player starts with the initiative, with the higher roller deciding to either move first as Player A or second as Player B. Thus the player with the initiative (Player A) moves first but the defender (Player B) shoots first. The defending player then moves and then the player with the initiative shoots last. Thus the decision to close with the bayonet takes preparation as the defender shoots first and British infantry have a better potential than most at causing damaging hits on the way in.

Troop types are what you would expect, infantry, cavalry and artillery, categorised according to their training and experience as Guard, Line, Light and Skirmishers and are also classed on their 'elan' or willingness to fight and take casualties characterised in a numerical rating known as their Fatigue Score.

A typical line battalion of infantry 600 men strong (six bases) would rate a Fatigue Score (FS) of 7. This number can be adjusted up or down according to various factors at the start and during the game. Thus for example an over-strength battalion would increase the FS by one for every 100 men over 600 or vice versa for understrength units.

During the game the FS is adjusted by circumstances and damage collectively known as Fatigue Hits (FH) so crossing a small stream in our game caused units a one FH that reduced the units starting FS. Likewise hits from shooting similarly reduces unit FS ratings.

The importance of the FS rating is that this is the base number plus or minus situational factors that the player rolls against with a D10 when firing or rallying needing to score equal to or below to get a positive result.

Hits (FH) reduce the FS thus producing the fatigue effects of wear and tear throughout the game and they can be rallied off as commanders attempt to keep their units in the fight, however the total number of FH accrued throughout the game by a given side is compared against the total value of the Fatigue Score for a given force. When more than half that total has been reached the force is considered shattered despite the condition of its units at that time and either loses the battle or, if part of a larger force, becomes under compulsory withdrawal.

Example, a brigade of three battalions at FS 7 has a brigade FS value of 21 points thus when the total number of FH accrued throughout the game reaches 11 points the brigade is shattered and under withdrawal orders - simple.

The typical historical stuff that fills modern rule sets today. Good background for the new student to the period
The command structure is what you would expect, with commanders in our game having a command radius of six, twelve and twenty four inches as brigade, divisional or army CO's respectively and these could easily be adjusted to reflect superior commanders. Commanders and units need to be in range of their superior to be under command with units out of command unable to move in that phase of play.

In addition commanders have a Control Factor (CF) number of between 1 and 5 indicating the number of units that a CO can influence at any given time such as during the rally phase, thus limiting what they can do at any time. The CF is also used to rally off FH on a unit, allowing the commander to allocate a number of D10 to the unit to roll to rally off the fatigue.

Finally, commanders can also have an Inspiration Factor ranging from -1 to +2 which can be added to a unit's FS rating during a rally test either having a positive or negative effect depending how inspirational or not they are.

Tom pushes the French cavalry forward as the infantry close in on the British ridge
All infantry have a skirmish class of A (highest) to D (lowest) and reflected in our game with the number of skirmish bases out front of the unit with equal quality cancelling each other out but with superiority adding to the units firing effect against a poorer defender.

This is the basic game system for skirmishing, which was the least satisfying aspect for me and I would incorporate the advanced rule suggestions by looking to put my skirmish elements into combined light battalions and allow them to skirmish for their respective brigades which I think better models how these units actually fought.

I have to say that I found the rules well written easily understood with the minimum of words used to set out each rule in an easy to follow order that mirrored the phases of play 
Movement is broken down into segments of, for our game, three inches (infantry - foot artillery) or six inches (cavalry - horse artillery) based on the formation the unit is in including any deductions for formation changes, producing the number of move segments a unit can use in that turn.

Thus an infantry battalion in line can potentially move two segments forward or six inches but with the last segment of move putting a fatigue hit on the battalion. Conversely it could move just one segment of three inches without fatigue, or move one segment and change formation to attack column.

Infantry in assault column have three segments of movement with the third segment incurring a fatigue hit.

The stream provided us an opportunity to inflict fatigue on movement and consider the difficulties of rallying it off whilst under fire. Off course having French infantry in assault column helps!
When it comes to shooting, fire effect is calculated by using the FS of the unit at the time of firing with addition or deduction of a list of modifiers again using a single D10 to determine success or failure with a lower score on the dice causing more fatigue hits to the target, usually to a maximum of three hits.

The FS can be further modified by the number of stands able to have line of sight to the target and thus able to fire and is calculated on 25 per cent increments of the FS.

Close combat is similarly calculated with the additional effects of what the target unit of an enemy move to contact chooses to do in response. The combats are resolved over a maximum of three rounds until one or both parties retreat or one side is broken.

The British under pressure with their cavalry brigade shattered and their line unhinged whilst facing off French columns to their front. Steve's die rolling didn't help.

So on to our game and first impressions.

For our little play-test Tom and Will took the larger force the French and were offered the initiative by Steve who took command of the British.

I should say the players were encouraged to throw caution to the wind and put the units into the fray so we could assess how the rules would model given situations rather than play this as a typical scenario; although a loose objective was for the British to repulse French attempts to gain the summit of the British ridge position.

Good use of pictures throughout the rules helped illustrate the various formations the armies can use
So based on my preamble we can forgive Steve for putting one of his infantry battalions forward on the front slope with his guns to test the effects of French artillery playing on his line whist his guns played on the French columns.

In addition both sides were quite aggressive bringing forward their light cavalry and getting into combat within a couple of moves.

We soon had fatigue hits caused across the opposing lines and general officers using their dice to get rid of them plus the odd unit halting for a phase and using their own Officers and NCO's to rally off the fatigue as an alternative.

The book is full of easy to follow diagrams and tables with explanatory text to accompany. I have read poorly laid out rules and these are not in that category.
It is hard to say definitively how successful or unsuccessful the respective sides were in our game as Tom and Will were rolling spectacular dice all evening and poor old Steve was just having one of those nights.

In one fire-fight with a British infantry battalion only needing to avoid rolling 0 on a D10 to inflict casualties on two French columns closing to combat, I don't need to tell you what Steve decided to roll.

We decided to play the Divisional and Brigade fatigue rules to determine game result and Steve threw in the towel with is cavalry brigade shattered and his division within two FH of losing and the French on a cushion of seven FH at the same stage.

Several pages at the back provide the unit stats for the nations of the period which seem to me to pretty well cover just about any period or force most people would want to do.
Our first impression is that these are a well crafted set of Napoleonic rules that really model well the fatigue of battle in a seamless easy way that doesn't involve copious book keeping. We recorded FH by simply placing micro die behind the respective units. In addition the accumulating FH effects on the army and its component parts really add to the game and in a large battle really encourage the smart commander to hang on to that battle changing reserve formation, fatigue free, ready to finish off the worn out enemy force hanging on to the ropes.

In addition all the aspects a Napoleonic gamer would look for are built into these rules. These are not a Black Powder fits all sizes rule set and really strive to capture the feel of the defined period of the Revolutionary/Napoleonic era with a basic game set of rules and plenty of add-ons in the advanced rule section.

The aspects alongside the fatigue that really ticked the box for me was the play sequence that kept both sides in the action of the game throughout. This is not your typical IGOUGO rule set and would, I think, be great in a large scale game in keeping all the players involved throughout.

The fact that combat, shooting and rallying are resolved with the use of a single D10 is also very appealing. I get that some of us like the old Gilder style games of picking up handfuls of D6 and scrutinising the roll result for fives and sixes but that is all very time consuming in the big Napoleonic game and this single die mechanic is very useful. I also like D10 as I find percentages of chance effects really easy to work with in my minds eye and very simple to adapt according to my taste.

Our battle test reaches its climax with British morale teetering on the brink
The rule book currently comes with suggested unit statistics for the War of 1812 and the following;
Austria Hungary, Baden, Bavaria, Berg, Confederation of the Rhine, Brunswick, Denmark & Norway, France, Great Britain, Hanover, Hesse-Darmstadt, Italy, Nassau, Ottomans, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Spain, Sweden, Warsaw, Westphalia and Wurttemburg.

There is also talk of scenario books to follow with more specific force and unit stats. Personally I am happy to produce my own as these rules make such design very straight forward. We were playing with "vanilla" French and British forces last night, but were soon discussing enhancements to reflect different troop types.

My re-write of the Quick Reference Sheet with half distances
for 15/18mm and the addition of the terrain effects table - see the link
below if you want a PDF copy.

Over the Hills Quick Reference Sheet 15/18mm

As you might have guessed, I really like these rules based on the first game and I know there is more to them than we found last night. I always judge a good sign is when play flows along easily and players start to become unconsciously competent with only the occasional glance at the quick reference sheet.

Steve M is off to get a copy from Caliver Books and I am thinking of some games to take to club in the near future.

Don't get me wrong, Tom Will and myself are confirmed C&G players and for granularity and meatiness in a Napoleonic battle they are our rules of choice, but we would be thinking of this set if the computer broke down.

Definitely worth checking out.

Lots more stuff to come with some Dark Ages eye candy from Steve M Studios and some Spanish Dragoons ready for Talavera.
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