Hammer and Tongs - Viking Day 2016

"Mercians smell of goat dung!"
"Ooooh! You take that back, Aethelbert!"

For those of you living under a rock, last Saturday was International Viking Day (you mean you didn't know? Shame on you!). To celebrate, NWA held it's annual Dark Ages event, this time using a home-made variation on the Lion Rampant skirmish rules. Different to SAGA, but still easy to learn, and quick and fun to play.

Paul takes his wargaming seriously (or is that not seriously enough?)

I played two games with Ian KH of This 28mm Life, Once against his Anglo-Saxons and once against his Normans. I ended up losing both games (quelle surprise!), but had couple of successes along the way. I fielded my Anglo-Saxons in both games, using 2 units of Hearthguard (or the Rampant version thereof), one of Sergeants, one of Fyrd and one of missile troops.

In the first game against Ian's Anglo-Saxons, things started quite promisingly with my two units of hard men supported by the archers steaming in to take on Ian's best troops. One of my units fared quite well and the archers were doing sterling work in support. However, the unit with my leader had the worst of their combat and followed up with a disastrous morale role, breaking from the field and forcing morale checks on the rest of the army! The Fyrd and the Sergeants valiantly tried to stem the rot, but couldn't cope with the numbers against them and were dispatched by their foes. Only the archers remained on the field having inflicted more casualties than they took.

My Anglo-Saxons start off protecting the ford.

Ian's objective was to capture the ford from me

I won initiative. the Fyrd cross the ford as the Hearthguard moves ahead in the distance.

Hearthguard in the lead, while the missile troops head to the hill onthe flank.

Two small Hearthguard against the might of the enemy. Maybe not the best tactics?

Ian's Fyrd has God on their side!

Ian's Sergeants form a shieldwall...

...just in time to meet my Hearthguard's charge!

I won, but still the odds are against me!

When you're on to a good thing, stick to it! I followed up with another charge, but the buggers wouldn't run; they kept saving their morale tests!

My Fyrd finally crosses the river to take on the flanking force of Ian's other Fyrd unit.

Bad news! My second Hearthguard unit, including the warlord, breaks for the rear! (Note ominous Battered maker)

The warlord manages to rally his men and turn back to the fray.

Ian's warlord and retinue then pile in...

...followed up by his Fyrd unit. The Fyrd were too much for the delicate princesses of the warlord's retinue, who break for the rear , never to be seen again! (The shame!)

My Sergeants finally managed to activate and cross the river, piling into the Fyrd  in a brutal act of vengeance.

Too little, too late though. My forces are scattered with my last Hearthguard unit about to be overwhelmed.

Fyrd vs. Fyrd.

Ian's Sergeants were better than mine :-(

My last unit of Hearthguard are being pushed back on the right of the picture, soon to be driven off the table. The Fyrd on the left are about to be overwhelmed  as well!

Ian's victorious warlord, Aelf Garnett: "Bloody foreigners!"

My archers loose a final volley before conceding the game.

In a near mirror of the first game, the Anglo-Saxons came out swinging, but ended up on the wrong side of a drubbing. If I'd played a bit more to my strengths and used the Normans' abilities against them things could have ended differently. Instead, I stood my ground and ended trampled under the hooves of the impetuously charging Norman knights. My archers only just missed managing shooting down all the knights, but paid the price of being out in the open!

Ian's Stormin' Normans!

Including knights!

My sergeants started across the river this time. Strength in numbers!

Guillaume de Connard leads his knights.

Ian's sergeants

One hearthguard unit...

...and the other. Will they put up a better fight this time?

Hearthguard, fyrd and archers start behind the ford. Ian's object was to try to take the ford off me and end the game in control of the river crossing.

The second hearthguard crosses...

...to be met by a wild charge by the Norman knights!

While the clash takes place behind them, the warlord and his retinue, plus the sergeants, move up on the main body of Normans.

"Feel my spear-point, Norman scum!"

The hearthguard go down swinging against the wall of horseflesh!

The other hearthguard and the warlord take on the Norman sergeants.

Inconclusive combat!

The knights follow up against the weakened hearthguard...

...and then crash into the fyrd, which had foolishly crossed the ford at the wrong moment!

Ian's second unit of knights charge my remaining hearthguard and warlord!

The sergeants are then sent packing!

The warlord goes down swinging, his loyal retinue dead around him!

Keep running lads!

Safety's this way!

Mummy!

Only the archers remain, wisely on the other side of the river (all this time they'd been trying, unsuccessfully, to find another crossing point!)

The archers spray missiles at the approaching sergeants

They peppered the advancing knights.

A reduced force manages to ford the river and gain the other side!

The archers repel the sergeants' charge across the river.

"Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!"

Archers charged by the knights. They managed to knock off one on the approach...

...and another in the combat!

Still, there's a lot more Normans to come.

One more charge by Guillaume le Connard puts paid to the Anglo-Saxon resistance!

My Pinterest Pages

I've added an icon in the right hand column which links through to my Pinterest boards where I've been collecting images in three separate areas of interest, namely:

1. Napoleonic British and Allies
2. Napoleonic French and Allies
3. Late Antiquity

The two Napoleonic boards feature mainly images relating to the Peninsular War, but also have relevance to Waterloo. As you'll have guessed, there aren't any Russian, Prussian or Austrian pictures yet, but if I end up planning any of those armies, you'll probably find a corresponding growth in Pinterest boards!

If you haven't already registered for Pinterest, you can log in using your Facebook or Google+ accounts, and then get full access to the boards.

If you already have registered for Pinterest, enjoy!

The Dice Gods Smiled!

The gods took pity on me, for once.

I finally got a game in at the club last weekend and blooded the Neapolitan Chevau-Leger! They were mauled (mainly due to poor tactics) but weren't chased off the board, so I'll chalk that up as a win. More on that anon.

Unfortunately I left the SD card in the computer at home, so you're going to have to put up with some disjointed and distinctly wobbly pictures off my phone.

It was 3 vs. 2 game with Jim, Quinny and Vana taking the Austrian side and Paul and I taking the Franco-Allied side. My force was made up of French, Italian and Neapolitan troops with my best unit being the Neapolitan Velites, rated as Veteran, the rest being Regular, Conscript, or (in the case of the Neapolitan line troops) Landwehr. An ugly bunch if ever there was! In our rules troops rated Conscript and below need to spend two functions doing anything other than marching in a straight line, whereas troops rated Regular and above can maneuver at the price of the standard one function, so I had to keep that in mind and not try anything too fancy.

I faced Jim and Quinny, while Paul took on Vana and faced Quinny's 12lb artillery battery. Ouch! Glad it was him and not me as I had Jim's monster 12lb battery to deal with myself! The Austrians won the initiative dice roll so Jim immediately took the ridge and occupied the villages in between us, setting up his death-dealing 12lb battery on the ridge.

After that, it was a matter of trying to dislodge him without getting my left flank turned, and trying to get by Quinny's cavalry in the centre.

Quinny's hussars punish my chevau leger and hussars

The highlights of the game were:

• Not once, but twice, rolling a 6 in melee while Quinny rolled rubbish in two separate cavalry clashes!

My French lancers come off worst against Jim's hussars

• Quinny capitalising on my Neapolitan Chevau-Leger advancing too close and taking the opportunity charge, which resulted in the Neapolitans retreating and the French Hussars breaking for the rear.

• My infantry recovering the situation by attacking his cavalry's flank, then following up with a charge on his infantry, pushing them into the woods. This was the high water mark on that flank, though.

• Jim's flanking attack with his cavalry which seemed to be going well, having the better of my French Lancers. When he followed up by charging my guns, I stood firm and fired on the charging hussars. With accurate supporting fire from the adjacent infantry column and the gunners having balls of brass I inflicted 20% casualties on their front line, and coupled with his abysmal die roll, queered his pitch resulting in his hussars retreating ignominiously to the rear. It was a risky move on my part, but I felt it was worth the risk and the dice gods agreed!

 The lancers head over the hedge.
The excitement was too much to keep the phone steady!

• My lancers taking their own opportunity charge against Jim's Grenzers who tried to pull back from behind a hedge. I thought I'd blown the pre-melee check, but Garry (who was observing) calculated that I had actually indeed passed the pre-melee check allowing me to burst through the hedge and catch Jim on the hop, smashing into the centre of his line and spoiling his day!

• My follow up with an infantry brigade crossing the hedge behind the cavalry. The brigade ended up in the crossfire between infantry in a building on one flank and the dreaded 12lb battery at very close range on the other. Needless to say, they didn't remain there long!

• Jim's subsequent infantry advance exposed the flank of his long infantry to a flank attack. His line survived my initial flank fire, but in my next turn I ensured success by charging into his exposed flank.

    

Jim's line with its open flank about to be exploited.

• My Neapolitan infantry holding the centre and causing Jim a little anxiety as his 12lb artillery exposed its flank to deal with the French infantry advance. If they were better quality troops, the Neapolitans could have been right up the battery's jaxie. Because their quality was so poor it took them a whole turn just to turn and start plodding in the general direction.

In the end neither Paul or I could effect a knock-out blow. After my expensive advances, I wasn't in any position to be able to resist Jim once he recovered. Quinny had also set up an impregnable defensive line in the woods, bristling with artillery and infantry. The game was declared a draw, though with a definite bias in the Austrians' favour

1° Chevau Leger Lancier

Can this really be the first unit I have painted in 2016?! Unfortunately the answer is yes! Where has the time gone?

I signalled that these were going to be on the drawing board way back in January. 3 months later, here is the finished product: The Neapolitan 1st Chevau-Leger Lanciers, using the new Waterloo 1815 set of French lancers and providing new heads by a little judicious head swapping. All troopers have shakos while the officer gets a rather dandy busby.

I still haven't worked out a good place to set up a photo studio in the new house, so bear with my lighting fails.

The figures are very hard plastic, more akin to Zvezda than Italeri in consistency. The lances are very delicate and require extreme caution when cutting them off the sprue. I'm wondering how long they'll last on the actual figures The figures carrying their lances in an upright pose are particularly vulnerable; I've already clumsily knocked one and bent the lance at a precarious angle!

The sculpting is very delicate and in proportion with dynamic poses, but one gripe is the shabraques which have a curious 'tail' on both sides, reminiscent of a British light dragoons shabraque:

Exhibit A

Besides that minor gripe, they are very nice figures and will grace a tabletop in the not too distant future, I hope. They may well end up going the wrong way, but they will still be on the tabletop!