Intro v. Knyphausens!! and Trenton 26th Dec 1776

Merry X-mas everybody! Und Frohe Weihnacht'!

Finally (after a hell of other distractions ...) I managed to finish my Knyphausens (von und zu Regt.)!
You just have to love them for that name alone. Willi and his regiment was part of the Hessian mercenary deal from Gerge III and took part in many battles (Long Island, White Plains, Fort Washington, Trenton (Yeah! Stille Nacht!), Brandywine and Germantown, but that's another story.

And to raise the festive mood even further... what couldn‘t be a nicer X-mas idea, than to re-fight Trenton (26th of December 1776)!!! (Jingle Bells!)

So then, on 30th of December me and Bart will do a little BBC version of the battle, and of course will report duly next year!
Snow storms, Brandy and card games, damp powder, turkeys and a lots of bad hangovers in the middle of New Jersey! What could be nicer! Stay tuned!

The Three Musketeers are sailing at dawn!

The Landsknechts never marched as the French stayed home and Richelieu went to Florida for a ride!
Still a Renaissance of some sort on the seventh voyage – not on the seven seas, but in a village somewhere in Alsace near Ireland, d‘Atagnan and the three other knew about a Lady in distress who needs to made it over the bridge, what the Cardinal did not want – and so he sent his villains and the show started. Camera on!

Firstly and effortlessly, we slain the Bewlay Brothers and the pike holders. Applause came from the stakeholders, the dice were nice to me and thee reached nearly the river, but then, but then the script changed sour Malkovich took over, Sutherland arrived on the scene, Athos fell, Portas closed its doors and Artemis refused and the old flame of what was his name came together and Yoda shat on my parade.

"And Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot were fighting in the village‘s tower. While Calipso singers laugh at them. And fishermen hold flowers. ... and nobody has to think too much ... About Desolation row."

Yes, you guess, a nice evening!

Marvelous Minis from Paul (the Irish), village and greens from the SESWC, rules by 7th voyage, script by Fortuna and Robert Zimmerman.

Athos is pointing at the Cardinal Enemy 

The Bridge is closed – and behind another Irish Giant

Athos is pointing at the dead 

D‘Artagnan with the Lady in Distress at the Bridge!!!!

But then she was snitched away by evil villains

Next Scene Athos and Aramis are flipping out and start to slaughter

More Villains are coming and dying while the Lady is taken away

Athos frees her! And Pointing! Out of the frame!

Athos dies, Porthos or the other one soon to follow

The second musketeer bites the dust and the rest go home and hit the pub.

Landsknechte are on the march again

Schultheiss and Feldweibel are recruiting again, some larger contingent of pikemen and arquebusiers have been sighted; rumors of a roll call to some lesser (poorer) South German nobility (always in need for cash) that has been going round for a while...
Feldschlangen and Culverins trains have been seen coming together form different larger cities,

Something is stirring in Swabia...

Sneak Preview "La Petite Guerre"

What I sometimes like to do, when I'm not painting ...

I‘m working on a boardgame at the moment which should simulate the aftermath of the New York campaign in the American War of Independence. It is a stand alone, but initially I developed this as a campaign aid for bigger group scenario. Weather, Supply, Movement, Combat, Morale and Command have all their role in this simulation. The British Player needs to capture Washington and or Philadelphia. The American Player tries to counter this. 

Being used as a wargaming campaign scenario, it takes care of the rationale storyline in-between the battles/skirmishers. Thats the plan.  Still cards to be designed ... I think I can be happy, if I got this year the 1st prototype in my hands.

Screenshot of map plus few units and tokens

Front and back of units and tokens

Map and time and some utility regulators

Reference sheet

The 28th of Foot and the big bangers

The 28th was raised for the first time 1694,  arrived too late for Blenheim, in the Seven Years War it fought at Louisburg and Quebec were Mr. Wolfe choose to place himself next to this very regiment – hmm, but to be fair their fame was still far ahead to come, especially in the Napoleonic Wars at the Battle of Alexandria. In the AWI it would see the first New York campaign including White Plains.

I painted the Command for the 28th and some big guns (you always need some, in case a siege comes along, they can be handy). The other troopers are one of my oldest tin mans from the 15th (no specific rationale behind it other than yellow).

The Flags again are from Flags of War the miniatures are from Foundry (Perry, I assume) and the bases from Warbases.

Haslets chickens

The 1st Delaware Regiment was on my list since I bought the Digby Smith‘s/Kevin Kiley‘s "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the American War of Independence" years ago.

For the "Blue Hen‘s Chickens", I opted for grey trousers instead of the buckskin breeches, primarily just out of aesthetically reasons, really, but also because since Perry‘s got the American Light Infantry out, they came without breeches. I saw it then as an opportunity to 'dremel' myself a nice unit of the "Delaware Blues". So I got rid of the 'sun screens' of the caps and 'sharpened' the tops a bit, fully aware that the original caps were higher and more pointy, but sufficient for my purposes. I still need to order a couple of them, as they formed a large battalion.

The Haslet‘s present a formidable opportunity to give the American player a unit that is a bit better than their normal continental diet. They hold out long enough at Long Island, won some skirmishes before White Plains, hold out long enough to deal out gallantly to the British, that Washington could 'sneak' away. Again at Princeton just shortly after Mr. Haslet failed to dodge the bullet, they rallied the line and saved the day.

(Featuring the (tuned) American Light Infantry models of Perry Miniatures and an extra special request "William Dansey flag" courtesy of the marvelous Flags of War, all on sturdy footing from Warbases.)  Strangely the blue is a bit darker in the original, than in my overexposed pics apparently, must be the radiant Scottish sky. 

Camden and back again!

I needed the fix, it has been so long since the last AWI battle, I have to confess. So I just dreamed up a camden scenario (flat grass thats it), or the lack of it and off we go. Paul took the Brits and I got the Rebels. I also had a couple of new units (newly painted) hidden in the suitcase.

We tried different sizes of units for example, American line infantry 24 = Large (+2 H2H,+1 Sh, Sta 4), 20 Norm, 16 = Understrength (-1H2H,+-0 Sh, Sta 3), 12 Small (-2H2H,-1 Sh, Sta 2)

8 or less Tiny (H2H1, Sh 1, Sta 1)

which worked just fine…

my American centre attacks (Best idea ever!!)

the Brigadier ushers Militia forward

The red line cannot be thin enough, for my taste

The Grenadiers and the Northumbrian Fusiliers

The Redcoats advance

Smallwoods Line gets hammered by the LI of the Crown 

after  a blunder(!!) my militia attacked the fusiliers, yeah!

.. and survives a round, remarkable!

the attack of my galloper gun gets shot down disgracefully

The Fusiliers anihilated the rest of my centre, I think it was 1:5 units in favour of the crown...