MrFarrow2u (plus Jack & Amys!!) DBA 1500 Onwards Page

DBN British vs French 'Torre del Puerto'

2012-01-08T17:10:00.003Z

Peninsular action now, British Light Dragoons versus French Dragoons.

A DBN game now & the Battle of Torre del Puerto. Fictional battle between ze French & British Allies. The latter are heavy on the Light troops, 4 British Rifles, 2 Portugese, 2 Muskets & 2 Cavalry. The Spanish troops come in the form of 4 elements of Partisans. The French forces consist of 5 Light Infantry, 4 Muskets, 1 Elite Muskets & 3 Dragoons (treat as skirmishing Cavalry with the ability to dismount & fire). Amy took the Anglo Spanish force.

The battlefield

The Spanish town

British Rifles advance

The Spanish head straight for the town

The Rifles open up

Ze French return fire

On the other flank, 1st blood to the Allies

Superior firepower adds another casualty

Poor PiPs & I have to re-deploy the Dragoons

The Aliied Brits are ruthless in the advance.

Amy sends in the Cavalry

The French act quicker & run down the Skirmishers

The French Grenadiers lead the column

Two onto one...

Amy pours on the firepower

The French Light Infantry are hit hard

Boo Hoo!

Better PiPs & the other flank is stabilized

Come on!

French Muskets are sent to anchor the other flank

Nice view of the town

The British Muskets finally arrive

Cavalry clash

One back for ze French

Next round & the Muskets open up

The Portugese occupy the building, the Grenadiers would remove them

I manage to outnumber the British Cavalry

Those pesky Rifles.....

The Portugese are thrown out...

There's hope for the French!

Amy tots up the combat factors & decides more troops are needed to dislodge the French Grenadiers

The French Light troops peg it after a bad result...

Queue the fiddle music, I've heard that tune before......

Nice view from the French lines....but it's victory for the British Allies

AAAArrggh! Major casualty of the day.. PIPPIN!!!

Amy takes the day, the British Rifles proved far too strong for my poor French Light Infantry. Poor PiPs at the start & I spent too long getting the other troops involved. The French Dragoons were a waste, I should of got normal Cavalry.

General PiPPin Von Krums

After Action Analysis

"God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best"

"Concentrate your firepower & always gang up on your enemies"

"Never leave the table unguarded from Dachshunds....ruff ruff"

HITT Turkey vs Russia Sarikamish 1915

2011-12-18T16:38:00.001Z

We've finally managed a game after many months in exile. I was watching Channel 4's 'The First World War' the other day & I was fascinated by the Turkish Invasion of the Caucasus & the events leading from it. Basically they got whooped & sadly it led to the Armenian Genocide, not a nice piece of history.. but you can read more here

http://www.turkeyswar.com/campaigns/caucasus1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sarikamish

Anyway the game, we are still restricted on game board size since we've moved rooms around. A standard board size with the Russians taking 25 points & the Turks 27 points. I took the Russians & opted for Infantry heavy, two Mg's, 1 Artillery & 2 Cavalry. Pasha Amy took the Turks & went for 1 Artillery, 4 Cavalry & the rest Infantry. The Turks would be the attacker, the main action would be for the Russians to hold a village.

Pasha Amy would waste no time in the attack

The Russian defence

The Turkish Hordes

The Turkish general staff with German advisor.

Russian general staff

WWwwaaaarrggghh! Turks Attack...

Amys Turks swarm the village

On the other flank, the Turks wait for the Russians in the orchard.

Cavalry scrap!!!

A tough fight for the village

A Russian Mg bites the dust & here an Infantry element too.

Hopefully I can get back in the game..

The Turkish Cavalry get the upper hand..

Numbers count, victory for Amy.

The village is ours!

Russian troops

Well whooped again, things don't change then. Numbers count, I went for the extra Mg's but they never got into play. Amy wasted no time & went for the kill.

HITT WW1 French

2011-11-18T21:45:00.001Z

We got this lot painted up before the 'decorating', I'd forgotten that they had been photographed. Again these are cheap unpainted/part painted buys from EBay. We then touched them up & varnished them. I think the figures are mainly Minifigs. The French tank paintwork is courtesy of the Landships website http://www.landships.freeservers.com/

Ze French Attack!

Tanks, Stormtroops & Infantry

The MONSTER St.Chamond Tank!

Number 1 = Schnieder Ca.1

Number 2 = Schnieder Ca.2

Renault FT.17

French Assault Troops

French Infantry & Mortars

Machine Gunners

Ze Artillery!

Where YOU been.....MrF???? Winter 2011

2011-11-18T21:33:00.000Z

Nowhere special MrF, I can't believe it's been 4 months since the last post. First the old computer gave up & finally died outright. No amount of prodding & poking could get it to work. Now we have a snazzy up to date touch screen thingamajig with a huge monitor. Work is always a pain, but however the biggest obstacle has been decorating the house! She who must be obeyed decided to switch rooms, so the house has been in decorating turmoil for the past few months. I have 25 years of gear stored in the back room, including all the figures. All are in storage in the garage till the new sofa & fireplace arrive, which will probably be a few days from Xmas.... Ah the joys of Internet shopping, order now & get it in 6 weeks!

Gaming has took a back seat, I don't even know where our figure paints are! There's a local game show coming up soon, so hopefully it will 'relight the fire'.... The good news is that we have another hound, a mini Dachshund, another German Dog!!

Harvey & Pip

2nd Boer War British

2011-07-30T17:18:00.000+01:00

British troops for the 2nd Boer War

Cavalry, Artillery, Rifles & Skirmishers

Splendid, "Get on Parade...!"

English Regiment

Scots Regiment

Loyal Light Horse

Light Horse, both mounted & dismounted

Field Artillery, spurred on by a young Alf Garnett...

The BIG 4.7" Naval Gun...

Another Field piece, with General

British Cavalry

British Lancers

DBA15-19K Battle of Chézy-sur-Marne

2011-07-21T13:55:00.003+01:00

The Prussian Hordes have invaded France! Brave Frenchmen rally to the Flag, Protect France!

The Battle of Chézy-sur-Marne, the heroic French Forces(yours truly) against the evil dastardly Prussians (the petulant teenager Jack). We used the DBA15-19K Humberside extensions. Pretty similar army selections, the main difference listing the Prussian Troops having Muskets against the French having Rifles. Also the Prussians have double the number of Cannons. This is to reflect both sides having the 'upper hand' in the respective technologies. Two 12 element Armies for each side, the town of Chézy-sur-Marne is defended by a redoubt (+1 to defence). Amy sat this one out, preferring to watch the grudge match of Dad vs Jack. (Jack keeps whooping me in any console game lately, ggrrrrr I'm getting old)

View from behind the French lines...

...and the other side.

On come the Prussian Columns

Brave Frenchman ready the defences!!

BOOM! First Blood to the French! A Bavarian element is wiped out...

The other flank & the Prussians move quickly...

Poor rifle fire from the French

The Bavarians deploy into line

BOOM! The Prussian guns ring out...

Weapons ring out on both sides, mixed results....

Forward men, there's no enemy in the centre!!!

Oh, he's going to attack the guns...

Ready to rumble on the other flank

The Prussians press the attack!!

BOOM! A brave French element falls to the guns...

WWWWAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

The Battle is in full swing now... No quarter

The Prussians charge the guns....

Ferocious hand to hand combat

Jack's attack is repulsed....

It's close at this stage of the game

The centre is open, the French troops rush to take the Prussian Guns...

'Allo Allo' Germans!

HA! the French are fighting well....

BOO! Jack rolls a a 6 for PiPs & his troops explode into action..

The Prussian Cuirassiers charge in.....

The centre turns into a confused fight

A mighty scrap on the other side

HA HA! The combat odds are stacked against the Cuirassiers & both bite the dust....

The Prussians are getting WHOOPED! One force is now broken....

Great PiPS for the French & it's like a swarm, pile in! Jacks not happy...

A massacre is on the cards.....

Attack!!!!

Even the Prussian Guns are under threat.....

Victory is near for the Brave French......

"Yer joking aren't yer?" Somehow a Massacre is avoided.....
The first attack had Infantry supported by Cavalry, the 2nd just the Cavalry.

VICTORY FOR THE FRENCH, the Prussians are legging it....

You said it mate....

Final positions..

Good Game, Good Game.... A nice one to have after some of our monster battles lately. The rules worked well, I thought the French would be blown off the field, but the Prussian Guns were disappointing. (mental note all guns will be +5 instead of +4 for future games). The only difference between Rifles & Muskets was the range. The Prussian Cuirassiers became unstuck, Rifles Quick Kill Mounted..

Victory at Chézy-sur-Marne! Well that's Amy & I making 'hand trumpets', we blast out the " La Marseillaise" & the petulant teenager Jack is banished back to his bedroom pit & the sinister world of online XBox 360, he takes it well & nothing is thrown at me .. this time...!!

Everybody.... Du Du Duu DUUUU du DUUUU du du DUUUU!

InvUSA1863 Battle of Tylers Farm 3

2011-07-12T10:50:00.003+01:00

The Union forces advance

The 'Black Hats' are ferocious...

Rebel Artillery finds it's mark

It's a 'Hornets Nest' in there... (I've heard that before)

BOOM! Rebel Guns again

The 'Black Hats' sweep the cornfield..

AAaaargghh! One Rebel Division Breaks!!

Decent PiPs holds one Brigade in place.. The Horrors are whooping..

Yes, Quite...

The Brits arrive just in time...

The Heavy Brigade in action

Huzzah!!

The Battlefield overview

Jack & Amy are merciless in their advance...

The French Brigadier takes stock of the situation..

It takes an eternity for the Brits to deploy...

THE GUARDS! Finest troops in the world, they protect the British flank.

More Heavy Brigade action...

Huzzah! Now a Union Division Breaks!

OH! Look at that lovely open flank...

A few rounds of steadying the lines... Still no successful reinforcement roll for Jack & Amy though.

Yes, that's what we want..

The French square up to the Union troops...

Attack Attack Attack for Jack & Amy

The British troops hold....

...then unleash a devastating volley.

Another round & it's not good for the Union

Yes... Where is the Union 3rd Division?

Alas it's curtains for the Union, they're running back to Washington...

Ha! Victory for the Euro Confederates! A good game, it was back & forth. A shame the Union 3rd Division didn't arrive, it would of made a BIG difference, Amy gives Jack a punch for his shocking reinforcement rolls... Mind you it took an age for the Brits to Deploy, down to the poor Generals (we gave the Brits a -1 PiP modiifer). Why no Union Cavalry, because the Horrors never picked any, they took extra Artillery, but couldn't get it in position to make a difference.

That maybe the last post for a while, our 8 year old computer is grinding to a halt so it looks like I may have to go & buy a new one...!

GO TO

http://mrfarrow2udba1519k.blogspot.com/2011/06/invusa1863-battle-of-tylers-farm-1.html

http://mrfarrow2udba1519k.blogspot.com/2011/07/invusa1863-battle-of-tylers-farm-2.html

InvUSA1863 Battle of Tylers Farm 2

2011-07-03T19:33:00.004+01:00

The Union 2nd Division presses hard..

In the centre, Confederate Artillery take out the Union artillery

A Beautiful sight, Victorian British Army on the march....

...dum de dum de dum de dum de dum, dumde dum de da da....

Union 2nd Division guns open up...

The cornfield would see a mighty scrap....

In goes the full might of the Union 2nd Division

The Rebs advance on the centre

The Confederates on the right are slowly forced back.

Slowly the Confederates are getting squeezed..

Brave Frenchmen!

The Battlefield at this point... the Union flank is looking dodgy....

Back go the Rebs...

'At em Boys!'

Square up against each other in the centre...

Casualties mount on the Rebel right....

Good PiPs for the Brits...

Not good odds for the Rebs....

But a ray of sunshine...

The Confederate Reserves are put in place....

'RIGHT WHEEL INTO LINE..!!'

Not good for the Union left flank.....

Next time.....

The Charge of the Heavy Brigade...

& Could the Union 3rd Division arrive in time to save the day??

GO TO
http://mrfarrow2udba1519k.blogspot.com/2011/06/invusa1863-battle-of-tylers-farm-1.html

http://mrfarrow2udba1519k.blogspot.com/2011/07/invusa1863-battle-of-tylers-farm-3.html

InvUSA1863 Battle of Tylers Farm 1

2011-06-22T20:20:00.001+01:00

Mid 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia has invaded the North. Lee sends out a diversionary force in the hope of pinning some of the Union forces. The lead Confederate force has come face to face with Union forces, supporting British & French Divisions rush to its aid.

The Union forces consist of three Divisions, each to enter on a different road. One Union Division would start on the table the other two requiring an activation roll. The main Confederate force would start on the table, British & French Divisions would again arrive only after an activation roll.

In essence each side would have three active commands (Divisional) of 12-20 elements, three PiP rolls. Going against the DBACW rulebook, all Brigade Commanders would have a ZERO modifier. Only the Commanders would get a PiP modifier. Confederate +2, Union 0, French +1, British -1. The horrors took the Union forces, yours truly the Euro Confederates.

A Union Division blocks the path

General McGruder leads forward the Rebs

Good PiPs for the Confederates

The Confederates would deploy first.

More Confederate Brigades arrive.

The Rebel guns are ready.

Union PiPs are poor.

More Union troops arrive

Other Confederate brigades are deployed

GGrr... The 2nd Union Division arrives.. not good.

GGGrrrrr....

I hold this Rebel Brigade in reserve.

The Rebel guns cause some casualties.

The Union force starts to take shape

Booo.. First blood to the Union.

Here we go... Now that they have more numbers, the Horrors launch the Union side forward.

Bring it on!

I send forward a Confederate Brigade in a flank attack.

Attack...

Yes... The British & the French arrive.. Game on!

GO TO PART TWO

http://mrfarrow2udba1519k.blogspot.com/2011/07/invusa1863-battle-of-tylers-farm-2.html

DBA 15-19K Aztecs vs Spanish Pirates

2011-06-17T13:30:00.002+01:00

Aztec Lads ready for a rumble....

A quiet Sunday afternoon in the humble Fazzy abode. What better than a game of DBA. Amy helped me set up the table in the back room for a monster DBACW game we've got planned, more on that soon as it will take a few sessions to play out. As a reward, she picked out the armies for a small game that we played. Aztecs vs Spanish Pirates.

Cortez is plundering the Aztec Kingdom, however Legendary Spanish Pirate 'la Pequeña Diablo Amy' has located an Aztec city ripe for plunder. The Spanish Pirate Lads 'AAAaaaarrggh Ole' set off for a spot of plundering.

Amy took the Pirates 'AAaaaarrgh' & yours truly the colourful Aztecs. The Pirates 'Aaarrggh' would have a Galleon (firepower range 1000 paces) in their force.

The Battlefield

Colourful outfits abound in the Aztec Army..!

'Altogether....'

The Aztec plan was to draw in the Pirates & hit them in the flank..

Aztec Warband ready for the kill..

The Spanish Galleon

Amy launches her own flank attack.

That Pirate Artillery is exposed...

Bah pesky Amy....

The Aztec Warband evens the odds....

Savage hand to hand combat breaks out...

It's evens in the fight...

I try to maximise the Aztec attack....

Both sides struggle for PiPs to move the armies...

BOOM! go the Pirate guns...

BAH Lucky die rolls for Amy....

Cue the micky taking... 'ONE TO GO' cries 'la Pequeña Diablo Amy'

Come on the Aztecs!!! 3-3

Nooooo!

'la Pequeña Diablo Amy' reigns supreme.
One day I may get to master this DBA thing....

DBC Battle of Laings Nek 1881

2011-06-02T17:44:00.007+01:00

British Officers enjoying a spot of Tiffin before the Battle of Laings Nek...Hoorar! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffin

We're off to South Africa now & the Battle of Laings Nek 1881. No sooner has our intrepid British forces dealt with the Zulu, then the nasty Boers are raising a stink. General Colley raises a force of heroic troops & sets off to give the Boers a sound thrashing.

DBC rules, Amy took the Boers & yours truly the Brits. We gave the British a 16 point army & the Boers had a proportionate 12 point. Historically the Boers had a lot more men & gave the British a severe butt kicking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Laing's_Nek

To add a bit of spice to the game, we decided that the Boers would remain hidden from view, a British unit would have to get within 400 paces & achieve a die roll to spot them. Amy had a battle map & eagerly marked her units down, including a sneak mounted Boer attack. All the Boer troops were 'Elite', costing extra but having an additional modifier. The mission, General Colley had to take the two hills across the Buffalo River. Army break point were, Boers 4 Brits 6.

Soldiers of the Queen

Somewhere out there hide the Boers...

Overview of the Battlefield.

Skirmishers & Light Cavalry to the front!

The mounted Coppers go scouting...

Colley leads the chaps forward.

Ouch! The Brits get a shock...

Soon the Boers open up...

Vicious firepower from Amys troops..

Aarrghh!

Bullets fly....

The main body forces the river, this is going to be a tough fight...

Casualties begin to mount, notice the markers.

Bah.. Why did I put the Artillery at the back of the column..? D'oh!

Forward!

An impressive sight, Victorian British Troops advancing!

Who could get the most troops in position?

Recoil Recoil Recoil

At last a Boer casualty!

Bah!

Forward!

Amy's reserves return from a flank attack to block the road.

British Troops are formed to take the hill.

Both sides have taken casualties.

The first attempt is forced back...

Ohhhh. I'm tempted to launch the Cavalry on the Boers, but I know they'll be shot to bits.

Another attack is readied...

Ha Ha! success at last...

The Boers dismount.

Rahoo! Amy's laughing another attack is repulsed...

Come on lads, you can do it!

Oh the fortunes of war! NO, it's just that I rolled 6's on the last round...

A superb round of firepower...

.....truly superb!

The Brits take the day..!

Well, well that was a tough one. I'm very impressed with the Boers, they have been the toughest colonial army by far. Not the historical outcome, but to be fair, if Amy had put more Boers on the hills & massed her firepower, I don't think I would of stood a chance. Those two mounted Boer units would of made a big difference if they could have been involved earlier. The points balance was just right, the DBC rules do seem to have caught the flavour of the period, well done to KISR. Future Boer Battles should be very interesting once we add some fortifications & Artillery.......

General Colley, not one of Britains best. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pomeroy_Colley

DBx 1870 Prussians

2011-05-29T20:35:00.001+01:00

Hordes of Prussians for wars towards the end of the 19th Century. They might even get across the Atlantic for a scrap in our Invasion USA 1863 campaign as well.

German Cavalry

Prussian Artillery

German Flag Bearers

Bavarians & Prussians

DBC BOER Army

2011-05-22T21:32:00.000+01:00

The fierce Boers, ready to put a stop to British influence in South Africa... we've put these together from mainly minifigs. To bulk up the numbers, we've whipped some volunteers from our ACW Confederates & slipped on a new paint job. There's a lot of artillery as we'll be doing a lot of British Assault games. Again we'll use DBC rules. Now to paint up all the white crossbelts on the British....zzzzz

Ready to put a stop to the British

The Boer lads on horseback

Boer troops ready for skirmishing.

Big Artillery pieces

Smaller calibre Artillery, plus early machine gun.

DBC Battle at the Well of Hasheen

2011-05-13T22:06:00.001+01:00

THE best film on the Sudan Wars...

We've been watching films again. The 1939 version of The Four Feathers, fantastic... SO! Inspiration for another game, coupled with 'Touching History' Issue 3. It has a great article on the Sudan War, The Battle at the Well of Hasheen. We used KISR's De Bellis Colonial rules, Amy took the Heroic Brits & I the Devilish Dervish.

To add spice to the game, we used 'The Glorious Defence or Die' extra rules. This means the game lasts 16 turns, the natives receive extra forces & you fight to the last man... simples!

Touching History - Issue 3 http://battlesinminiature.blogspot.com/2011/05/order-wargames-special-pdf.html

The article

The Heroic British
A 12 point Army, The Egyptians & Navy Boys were classed as poor, half point each.
1 General & 1 Hero...
Reinforcements... 2 Cavalry units. Check each turn, on a roll of double 1 or 6.

Boo Hiss Boo Dervish
24 points, 4 Shooters, 14 Natives, 6 Cavalry.
2 Generals

The Battlefield

Attack

The Zariba & the village...

Sneaky Dervish Shooters

War cry of the Dervish....

Dervish attack from the East

In range of the Gatling....

Amy shifts the Gardiner Gun....

Speed is the key before those bullets count...

The shooters move towards the Gardiner Gun

In full swing now..

Oh NO! The British Gatling Gun is a gonner...

The Dervishes are swarming the Zariba.

The Navy boys are spot on.

The Navy boys move across, only to be wiped out...

British Firepower...

The Gardiner is warming up...

Poor PiPs for the Dervish & they are left standing still..

More British Firepower...

Turn 6 - The Dervish are moving again...

Amy just keeps knocking them back...

The Mountain Gun is destroyed!

Amy's hooping out loud!

Come on the Dervish Camels...

HA! The Gardiner Gun comes up short...

Casualties are heavy for both sides...

'Hero' Captain Durrance is daydreaming.

Still knocking them Dervishes dead...

Amy's Highlanders are doing the biz.....

Dervish Camel power...!

Oh... The Dervish are slowly turning it around...

Battle overview.. Could the Dervish take the Zariba?

The Egyptians have done well.

Still knocking 'em back, but the Dervish have broke through the Zariba on the other side.

Amy's howling... Come on, can I make this one count..?

The troops bite the dust & Durrance pegs it.

Overkill.....

I'm running out of Dervish foot troops....

Ha! Haa! HA!!

Carry on Up the Khyber moment... Amy's in stitches!

It's been a bloodbath...

Cue the bagpipes....

1 Dervish Infantry left..... I've had enough. Game over the Brits take the day...

What a bloodbath! Amy's victorious & the British Flag flies over Hasheen. Where did it go wrong for the Dervish? Probably turns 3 - 5, PiPs were awful & the entire Dervish Army just seemed to stand there & be shot to bits! SPEED SPEED SPEED, to win with the Natives you need to go hand to hand... Great game again.

oh shut up...

InvUSA1863 Part2 Those Sneaky Russians

2011-04-23T22:13:00.002+01:00

Elite Russian Troops line up in San Francisco...lol

The Mayor of San Francisco stood on the quayside clutching a small Russian Flag in his left hand. The noise of the band playing & the throbbing mass of spectators brought him to his senses. It had been a month since the British & French had landed troops in the Eastern USA. Things were not going well for the US. Lincoln had himself written to him, the visit of the Russian Fleet was now of major importance. The Russians had not allied with the rest of Europe, it was hoped an alliance could be forged with them. The Mayor was to ply Admiral Kalashnikov with all possible temptations.

The Russian ships glided into San Francisco harbour with ease. Strange, thought the Mayor, they seemed to be coming in at a great speed. Then again I’m not a sailor, what do I know. The sound of the US coastal battery boomed out, a five gun salute. The crowd roared with pleasure, people waved their Russian & US flags. The lead Russian ship approached the quay, the broadside that belched out brought death & destruction to the massed crowds. The Mayor stood dumbfounded, that’s not supposed to happen he thought. His world was turned literally upside down as the explosion knocked him to the ground. He stood up, his ears ringing with the blast. Again he stood dumbfounded, he looked down, his right arm was gone, but he still clutched the little Russian flag in his left hand.

People were screaming, running & pushing others all around him. That’s not supposed to happen he thought. He looked up, Russian sailors were pouring off the lead ship. Again he thought the same thing as one of the Sailors charged towards him with bayonet rifle raised, screaming some strange war cry. The mayor’s life slipped away into blackness as the bayonet took him full in the chest. His last sight was that of his left hand clutching a little Russian flag...

______________

Part two of our epic campaign, the Russians have landed on the West Coast of the USA. San Francisco has been taken with relative ease. The Russians now push on, a small US force takes a stand at 'Spanishtown'. The Russian Advance Guard, 2 Brigades of Infantry & one of Cavalry head straight for Spanishtown. In support, part of the Russian Fleet with a Naval Brigade of Infantry. Against this the US has two Brigades of Infantry with supporting Cavalry and dug in Artillery. Two more Infantry Brigades will be reinforcements. Can the US forces hold? Again we'll be using DBACW rules. We have added allowances for the Russian troops. Normally Rifled Infantry would have a combat factor of +3. For the Russian Infantry for instance, we gave them a fire factor of +2 as they are poor shots, but a melee factor of +4. We've also 'butched up' the combat factors of Medium Artillery to +4 instead of +3. I took the US forces while the horrors took it in turns to be the sneaky Russians...

The Battle of Spanishtown

The view from the US lines

Go those Russians....

The US Artillery was dug in

The US Artillery finds it's range early on

US reinforcements race to the front

Poor PiPs for the Russians & the attack is haphazard.

Russian Cossacks plough forward

US Cavalry block their advance

Russian Light Infantry hold the Orchard

The 1st US Western Brigade sends them back

Nice view across the battlefield

The Russian Hordes advance

Cossack versus US Trooper!!!

The Russian Naval Troops land...

Pissed geezers everywhere...

The Russian guns have taken a battering & are 'Badly Shaken'

The US guns force back the Russian column

Evens in the Cavalry clash.

More Russian troops join the battle...

I send a US Brigade to force the invaders into the sea...

The battle is in full swing.

A cheers goes up, first blood to the US!

The Russians advance, with fire support from the fleet.

PiPs are better & the Russian Columns are moving.

The horrors howl as the Russians take out some US Infantry

The Russian Sailors go for the high ground.

Reinforce the line!

The US Cavalry withdraw & dismount...

AAaarrghh! Those pesky Russian ships find their range....

Russian Steamroller...

Strike two

WayHay! Russian Infantry blasted at close range.

A tough fight!

No! The sneaky Russians are fighting through...

Boom! Russian Horse Artillery!

Forward!! For the TSAR!!

Raaarrgghh!!!!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

I close the US line, in a last ditch bid...

That flank is looking weak....

'Remember San Francisco!' CHAAARRGGEE!!!

Poor, just poor....

The Russian ships are at it again...

Forward!

Rahoo! The US troops strike back.

However the Russian Cavalry are ready to pounce...

Cossacks pounce!!

Down go the Infantry & to make matters worse, so does the Brigadier....

Final overview.

Oh dear, a poor show from yours truly & the US forces. The horrors are howling, their head on tactics proved fine. Even though we've played a few, this was our first 'big' game using the DBACW rules. The attrition rules really played a part, there was lots of recoils & units going into 'shaken' 'badly shaken' status. In DBACW you can use PiPS to counter this effect. It worked well, some units had to be retired, like the Russian Artillery early on.

InvUSA1863 Surprise at Black Creek

2011-04-13T22:30:00.005+01:00

Late 1862, London, England. The English Foreign Minister looked up from his papers, the smoke filled room was poorly lit, a wry smile passed his lips. A dark & sinister setting he mused, yes very proper for what lay ahead. In the ornate room, sat the ambassadors from France, Russia, Austria & Prussia. A motley set of characters in fine dress. It had taken a lot of effort getting the Russians here, but their support was crucial. The Prussians & the Austrians were not needed, but their support would be welcomed. Yes, the upstart United States of America would soon be brought to heel.

The Minister took a few moments recapping the events that led them to this. The sinking of the Trent by the US Navy, US aid to the rebels in Mexico, the extortionate US price on grain exports to Europe, the build up of US forces on the Canadian Border. The brazen US Ambassador getting blind drunk at the Grand State Ball of the Queen, a few weeks ago. The idiot had insulted the Queen in front of everyone, yes the Queen was not amused. The officers of the Coldstream Guard had been…very harsh, when the Ambassador had been seized & dealt with. His body was black & blue when he was ‘placed’ on the US ship returning to the States.

He took his time explaining the ‘English Plan’, when he finished, carefully he took in the expressions from everyone in the room. “With our combined forces we can carve up the upstart

United States

” he said. “The country is vast & has multiple resources..” The French Ambassador was a pure bystander; the Anglo-French alliance had been agreed to months ago. It was England’s decision to involve the other nations. “Why would

Russia

be part of this madness?” boomed the Russian Ambassador. “When the Alliance takes on the

United States

in the East…” started the English Minister, “…ze West Coast of the

United States

would be undefended” finished the French Ambassador. The Russian Ambassador stroked his chin, he knew the Tsar was still fuming over the Crimean episode & he planned his revenge on England. However his mind raced, an invasion into an undefended United States was probably a lot less costly than invading British India.

From the shadows a man emerged smoking a huge cigar, in a deep southern accent he boomed “Gentlemen, of course the Confederate States of

America

will provide every assistance in this venture & we would be very, very grateful”.

“What about the question of Slavery?” asked the Prussian Ambassador, the English minister winced. “When the War is over, of course with a Southern victory, then we shall free the slaves”. The Prussian Ambassador knew it was a lie, but he did not care, Prussia had nothing to loose & it would give them time to build the Prussian Army, whilst the French looked elsewhere.

After an hour of debate, the meeting ended, the minds of all parties racing with the endless possibilities for his countries advancement. Within a month, the secret treaty had been signed by all sides, carefully & secretly the great nations of Europe readied for War.

_________

I've been wanting to run this campaign for a while now. Inspiration from the Historical Miniatures MidSouth & their Battle of Nashville Scenario :

http://hmgs-midsouth.org/2008/08/04/european-intervention-in-the-american-civil-war/

However in our Parallel universe, ALL of Europe rise up against the Union!! It's more to do with the amount of Union troops we have than anything else... :o) We will use the DBACW rules as well. Of course it's total nonsense, but hey isn't gaming fun?

First up then, Anglo French force break through the Union Sea barricade & land in Virginia. JEB Stuart leads forward an Advance Guard of Confederate & European Cavalry. Word has barely reached the Union land forces before 'Euro Confederate' horsemen are plundering into Union territory. In this scenario the Union is caught on the hop & must defend the crossing. Amy took the Union troops.

Euro Confederates (2 commands)

JEB Stuart General, 6 x Confederate Cav,

British General (sub general), 4 x British Cav, 2 x French Cav

Union Forces (2 commands)

General, 3 x Infantry, 4 x Cavalry.

Sub General, 6 x Cavalry (require activation roll 6 - 1st round, 5 2nd round etc)

The Battle of Black Creek

Union Infantry guard the crossing

JEB Stuart leads forward the Confederate Cavalry

The Anglo French advance..

Good PiPs & the Union Cavalry react quickly.

The Union Infantry stand ready...

Amy rolls a six & the Union Reserves are activated.

CCHHAAArrggggee!!!

Back go the Rebs!!

Union rifle power forces a Recoil!!

CCChhhharrrgge!!!!!!

Reb & Union Cavalry clash...

The Union infantry is cut to pieces...

JEB Stuart leads forward his men

The Union Cavalry dash to deploy...

British Cavalry cross Black Creek...

It's a mighty scrap for Bigville!!

More casualties...

Battle overview at this point.

Again Union troops force back the British.

The Euro Confederate force swamps the Union troops

YeeHarrr!!!!

Down goes the Union Infantry

It's not looking good for the Union force

The Confederate troops take the camp...

First blood to the Euro Confederates!!!!

A tough scenario for the Union troops that one. We'll alter roles in the campaign as we go along. Hopefully we can drag the sulky Jack back into gaming....

Next time.... SAN FRANCISCO BURNS!!! The Russian Bear stakes a claim to California...

John Bull - Battle of the Raisin River 1813

2011-03-14T14:52:00.007Z

Kentucky Militiamen.

Remember the Raisin!

Our second battle of the War of 1812. This time the infamous Battle of the River Raisin or Frenchtown.

Links below for sources of the battle:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Frenchtown

http://monroe.lib.mi.us/war_of_1812/raisin_river.htm

http://www.riverraisinbattlefield.org/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22256761@N08/2227890788/in/photostream/

The British forces consisted of the following companies, British Veterans, 2 x Canadian Militia, 2 x Indians, 2 x Field Guns. The Americans consisted of 2 x Kentucky Militia, 2 x Regulars & some Kentucky Rifles. The map below depicts the forces set-up.

Battle Map

The Battlefield

The Americans would line up behind a fence

British troops

The British Veterans would take the centre

The American Right

Amy took the British forces, both flanks consisted of Canadian Militia & Indians. They would try to outflank the Americans & the Veterans would be sent against the centre, fire support from the British Artillery. The best Yank unit would be the Kentucky Rifles, with the US Regulars holding the right flank & the Kentucky Militia the left.

The American left flank

Sporadic firefights break out

The Indians close on the US Regulars

The Kentucky Rifles & British Veterans would fight it out

The British Vets took a hard pounding, note the Terror markers.

Kentucky Militiaman

First blood to the US, a Brit platoon is killed.

The assault on the US right

The US regulars occupy some buildings, however it reduces their firepower.

The Canadians attempt a charge, but are sent packing.

The Indians assault the buildings

The British Vets consolidate & throw off the Terror markers (no action for a turn). They soon recoup their strength & let loose a volley forcing back the Kentucky Rifles.

The Indians force back the Kentucky Militia on the left

RRAaargh!! Out charge the US Regulars & go hand to hand with the Indians....

Disaster!!! The Indians thrash the Yanks....

Which results in the US Regulars breaking, pursued by blood thirsty Indians!!

The 'Dice Gods' shine for Amy & the Canadian Militia storm the other building wiping out all the US Regulars inside.

In go the Kentucky Militia!!!

However they are sent reeling back....

The positions, the US right flank has gone!!!

Amy wastes no time & the Indians are sent to cut off the Yanks....

'GIVE em THE STEEL' The British Vets charge home....

Arrrgh, the Kentucky Rifles are broken & their retreat is cut off by the Indians... Scalp em time!

Final positions as the Americans collapse.....

The historic end for the American prisoners....

Well a sound whooping from a blood thirsty Amy & the Brits. The Kentucky Rifles were holding their own until the collapse of the American left. The British Vets took 3 Terror markers at one point, reducing their fighting ability by 75%. To remove Terror markers a Unit must 'rest' a complete turn while it's officers rallies the troops. When they finally got back in the game they were awesome.

A daft decision by me to charge out against the Indians, the turning point I think. Plus the other building got stormed by the Canadians, a poor die roll & it was curtains for the Americans... A good game though! Next time we'll get some Cavalry involved.

1812 British Forces 2

2011-03-04T19:48:00.002Z

PA! PA! InJuns a coming....

Our second batch of British Forces to repel the nasty Americans from taking over poor Canada! First up are some mean looking Natives, allied to the British. We bought these with the funds from selling some DBA armies - oooh I HATE selling figures that we have painted & put together. It never feels right somehow.

British Naval Troops - Sailors & Marines

West Indies Regiment

British Rifles

Some British Cavalry now, Light Dragoons. These started out as Brunswick Cavalry, a few conversions & a new paint job. All they need now are some swords, as they have seen better days & lost the 'thin' metal ones. The final pic shows some Hussars, although they didn't take part in the US campaign, these were left over on the shelf & would be a shame to waste.

British Dragoons

British Hussars

1812 British Forces 1

2011-02-27T18:06:00.002Z

A few of the British troops for our War of 1812 Campaign. The vast majority of the rank & file are Del Prado, from the Waterloo series that came out a few years back. We have two British Units that have the full 6 bases that makes up a 'John Bull' Company. Plus a couple of 4 base Companies. The flags are the material types available from Solway Crafts on UK EBay.
http://solwaycraftsandminiatures.webs.com/scmflags.htm

British Highlanders

Canadian Line

A 4 Base Company in 'Loose Order'

The 'Rockets Red Glare'....

British Foot Artillery

1812 US Forces 3

2011-02-24T13:18:00.000Z

The final batch of US troops now. First up, Mounted Kentucky Volunteers. Love the top hats, gentlemen! The Indian scout & a couple on the left were EBay purchases. The two rugged fellas next to the scout, started life as Del Prado figures. Both conversions, with the addition of some Milliput clothing. One was a Royal Scots Grey & the other a Prussian Dragoon.

Next up are some Perry Plastic French Dragoons in US Blue colours. Next two more Infantry units, one in the summer White uniform & the other in the Blue.

Kentucky Mounted Troops

US Dragoons

US Infantry summer uniform

US Infantry

John Bull - Battle of Queenston Heights 1812

2011-02-21T19:41:00.007Z

The Battle of Queenston Heights - General Brock is mortally wounded.

STOP U.S. Aggression!!!
Canada for the Canadians (& the British...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Queenston_Heights

Here we go then, our first attempt using the 'John Bull' Rules. Each element is classed as a platoon about 20-50 men. A group of these make up a Company, led by a Captain. A number of Companies make up the force, which in turn is led by an overall leader. Each element in a Company must be the same & each Captain is represented by a counter. Turn wise, a die is rolled to see who goes first, moving/firing one Company of choice, then the other player goes. Continue till all Companies have moved.

Each Captain has a morale value & may have a special characteristic, which has it's effect on the play. Each Company has all it's stats. printed on a game card, Move/Fire Value/Melee/Morale, so game play is speeded up. Simples!!

Using the Queenston Heights Scenario from Scenarios for The War of 1812, we had a basic game. It went very well, the game played much quicker than I expected. For the US forces we went with 4 equal sized Companies. For the Brits, we had 3 Companies & a Light Field Gun. All officers were drawn by random.

The US Army - along with Company Cards & Officers

The British & Canadians

The Battle

The British won the initial die roll & opted to move the Light Infantry forward, opening them out into 'Loose' order. An initial pot shot at the enemy was poor.

The US forces have a go with equally pathetic results. However the Canadian Troops step forward & 'Wayhey' BLAST away the Yanks. This results in the loss of a Platoon, and a Morale roll. This is failed & the Yanks leg it.

The US Militia moves forward & takes a shot at the Brits, who respond in kind, no result.

That cancels the British units move & the other US Militia moves forward

A new round, the US wins initiative. The British Company looses the firefight, forcing them to retire one move. The Canadian Unit changes facing & 'WayHey' another mega die roll sends another US Company packing.

Another failed Morale roll & there off!

Oh dear, the US forces are in trouble....

RUN, FORREST RUN!!!!

One unit off table & another two in full retreat, the Brits take the day...

A nice enjoyable game, the first round was spent leafing through the rulebook, but we soon got the hang of it. We'll need a bigger game board for the next one, in an effort to get some movement before contact.

Amy enjoyed playing with the 28mm figures as well. Next time we'll have a go at The Battle of the Raisen River!

War of 1812 - USA Forces 2

2011-02-06T16:32:00.002Z

Here's some more pix of our USA 1812 forces. The first lot are a motley bunch of Militia, they have a 'rustic', just put together look to them. The vast majority of these came from the odds n sods, what's left over box at game show 'bring n buy' stands. A few extra Milliput hats, a tidy up paint job, some miracle varnish dip painted on & re-basing. They have a stars n stripes (from Battleflag), plus a strange black & white jolly roger/stars n stripes flag. The flag belonged to a Militia unit that was held in reserve, the name of which escapes me for now. However this bunch will definitely be crossing the Canadian border....

Forward Men!

There's a few ACW Confederates in there too...

Plus a couple of Perry Plastic French Dragoons.. with dandy beaver skin hats on now.

Love that funky Militia Jolly Roger

The final few, we have some woodsman that will make up a Militia Rifles unit. Plus a Del Prado French 12 Pdr with some converted Del Prado French Artillerymen.

Sniping away...

Boom

Add caption

War of 1812 - USA Forces 1

2011-02-02T20:25:00.004Z

Here's some pix of the USA forces we've put together. Both Armies are nearing completion, there's some mounted Kentuckian Volunteers we're putting together. A few extra bits & some milliput top hats, then they will be done. Plus a few extra paint jobs on some old & battered Napoleonic figures, then the Americans should be there. I've now read through the rules, they seem fine. The rules utilise some coloured counters, these are printed off & laminated. Should be able to have a game the next time I get time off. What I forgot to mention is that we've based them on 28mm DBN bases, that way we can always use them in a DBN game later.

The first set to represent the US 16th Infantry Regiment. This motley crew began life as some Brunswickers, a new paint job & some dandy hat decorations then there they are. The US regiments seemed to go through a variety of uniforms, excellent for wargamers as you can't go wrong! These fella's wore black.

It was shocking to discover that the US Regiments didn't have a stars & stripes, but a national colour and a 'naff' regimental colour. Some sources show it as buff some yellow. We used the buff one, which we created ourselves. The national colours for US flags from Battle Flag http://www.battle-flag.com/

Dismounted US Dragoons, plastic Perry French Dragoons painted in nice blue US colours.

US Artillery, found these British Artillerymen in a bits' n bob box at a game show. Cost 2 quid, a few conversions, a touch up paint job later....

Another US Regiment, this time in the snazzy blue coat.

How's it going MrF Jan 2011?

2011-01-31T16:30:00.002Z

The Presidents Mansion is torched by The Brits!

Here we go again another year & what to do. For some time now I've felt we've reached a peak with DBA based games, don't get me wrong it's still a cracking set of rules & it's fun gaming. However a change is as good as the rest, the biggest problem was.. What else to play? Lots of rules sit on the book shelves in our humble abode, a lot of them only good for sending me to sleep (mental note... I must sell them on Ebay or something). A while ago whilst trawling through the web, I came along a set of images for cards & counters, but not where they came from. Eventually I tracked them down to THE PERFECT CAPTAIN website. These are sets of rules created by wargamer's who were disillusioned with the rules out there. A brief look at the periods listed & my interest was perked.

SO what new period? I picked the War of 1812, some say Napoleonics with Indians... Again it's different plus not many people have done it. A lot of the battles were small so no need for hordes of regiments, in large wooded areas. I had been thinking of running it a few months ago with DBA but.... Anyway, what scale? I think we've collected enough 15mm lead, no more. When I first started gaming (again) with the kids a few years ago, we collected a shed load of 28mm, mainly from the Del Prado Waterloo series. After discovering DBA, we flogged a fair bit of it (what a mistake) at game shows. Of course the good stuff goes (for a pittance of what you paid) & your left with the average. We've got some Brunswick Cavalry/Infantry which we've never been able to get rid off. So these were used as the base, a new paint job & a few conversions (The bit I love doing) produced some snazzy American troops & British Dragoons. We're still putting together the forces, I'll put pix of what we've got later. The John Bull Patriots, is aimed at the AWI & War of 1812, for small scale actions. I'll go over them later as we are just getting to grips with them now.

Next the inspiration & research, another favourite of mine. Book, videos & websites. Osprey of course always comes in handy. The best books I picked up were from Partizan Press including one of the best scenario books I've ever read, all in colour as well. A big thank you to Dave of Caliver Books after the books I ordered 'disappeared' in the British Postal system, Dave promptly replaced them - cheers cracking service. http://www.caliverbooks.com/

The Perfect Captain Website

http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/captain.html

John Bull Rules

http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/jbull.html

War of 1812

http://www.redcoat.me.uk/1812.htm

The War of 1812

http://www.warof1812.ca/

A cracking set of games from the Gourmet Wargaming Club

http://www.warsweb.com/WGM/09.07.12-AOE-Plattsburg-1814/index.html

http://www.warsweb.com/WGM/09.11.28-AOE-Larkins-Ridge-1814/index.html

http://www.warsweb.com/WGM/10.01.09-AOE-Shipmans-Corner-1814/index.html

http://www.warsweb.com/WGM/10.03.20-AOE-St-David-1814/index.html

http://www.warsweb.com/WGM/09.06.13-AOE-1812-Browns-Bridge/index.html

The John Bull Rules by the Perfect Captain

The War of 1812 - A Campaign Guide to the War with America 1812-1815 by Stuart Asquith

A cracking book, lots of info about the war year by year

Osprey's The American War 1812-14. Both Us & British/Canadian uniforms

Osprey's The United States Army 1812-15.

The Niagra Campaign 1814

Scenarios for The War of 1812 by Stuart Asquith

Fantastic book, a lot of scenarios, lots of maps & OOB's all in colour too!

DBA 15-19K Pirates vs Spanish

2011-01-01T19:39:00.003Z

Happy New Year & all that malarkey....bah humbug. Work, most definitely took it's toll on MrF last year only a measly 16 posts for the DBA 15K website. Well this year it will be different!!! Though it may not be DBA we'll be playing. I've had a look at a few other rule sets & at last found one that appears to be Ok. We've already started collecting new minis, this time in 28mm, so stay tuned.

SO first up Captain Henry Morgan's Raid on Panama 1671. Pirates vs Spaniards. This was inspired by Steve Balagan's battle http://www.balagan.org.uk/war/dbx/dbr/scenarios/panama.htm

Well done to Steve, another cracking website... check it out.

The fine & dandy Captain Henry Morgan

The Battle of Panama 1671

Links to the attack on Panama....

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/historyofthecaribbean/a/Captain-Morgan-And-The-Sack-Of-Panama.htm

http://www.historynet.com/henry-morgan-the-pirate-who-invaded-panama-in-1671.htm

Spanish Army

1x General, 4x 3Knight, 4x 4Pike, 4x 4Shot, 1x Artillery, 5x 2Psiloi (Indians),

2x Warband(African Slaves), 2x Cattle(Warband), 1x 4Bow (Indians)

Pirate Army

1x General, 1x 4Blades, 6x 4Shot, 2x 4Musket, 8x 3Warband

(4 Warband would be kept off table for a sneaky flank attack..)

As usual a few rounds to come to grips...

The Pirate lads AAaaaarrrr.. take the initiative & attack.

Scratch one artillery

Spanish turn & in go the Stampeding Cattle!!!

Ole! The attack of the Spanish Knights

Those sneaky Indians are trying to out flank the Pirate lads AAArrrrr!

Pirate shooting takes down the Spanish!

The Stampeding Cattle are PANTS & shot to bits...

End of turn 6 positions

The Pirate sneak attack, more Pirate Lads AAaaarr!!

Pirate firepower sends em packing...

The Spanish Line steadies....

The Pirate Lads AAarrr!! hack down the Spanish Pike.

It's not looking good for ze Spanish!

AAAaaaaaarrr!!!

and more AAAaaaaaaarrrr!!!

Nice view of the battle

The Pirate Lads AAarrr! press home their attacks

But the Spanish Knights manage to cut down some unlucky lads

But the Pirate Lads AAAaaaarrr! can't be denied!!! Victory

Panama is SACKED!!!

Amy took the Pirate Lads AAaarr!! for that one & went straight for the jugular. My Spanish Army was poorly lead & it showed... Never mind, at least we've started 2011!