La Bande Nere - Die Schwarze Bande

After I blocked myself with for a long time painting stuff for other campaigns and projects, I was able to return to my favourite, the renaissance. Since half a year ago a block of Pro Gloria/Warlords Landsknechte was waiting to be turned into something different, "La Bande Nere" or "die Schwarze Bande". A must have, I think, if you want to dabble into the Italian Wars of the Renaissance.

As you might guess, I envisioned my "Bande Nere" to be reinforced by companies of the "Great or Black Guard" of the Northern German Mercenary market, hence the white and black infusion of the otherwise reds and blacks of Giovannis men, all of course under payment of the French king. I guess "Black" was a convenient self-titulation that should help to "reinforce" the terror spreading unique selling point of these hordes, not so much as an outfit descriptive.

I think I might add some arquebusiers and some halberdiers. But next thing in front of the paint pots are the Perry's light Cavalry for the same period. ...

Figures: Warlords/ProGloria, Banners Flags of War;

Redcoats again, French-Indian style!

Last Thursday I was invited to join in a little bit of "Muskest and Tomahawks" with Cambell, Tim and Angus. As everybody was too polite to pick a side, I picked the Brits, Campbell and Tim the French and Angus the umpired (an oxymoron, if there is one) a bit and moved the British allied forces, some skirt waving Highlanders of some sorts.

The plot was easy the Indians and the French were to destroy the village and its vigil inhabitants, and we had to save them. We also get some side plots, mine was that my officer hated the unit he was leading and win the plot, if they get destroyed - almost Wagnerian.

The first round the Canadians and Indians advanced and set three of the four village building a blaze, not without some tough resistance, the officer from Campbell's French regulars was beaten up, and killed in the process, by a female towns person and her off-spring. You don't mess with those Arcadians!

Tim, in the meantime tried to outflank my British Light Infantry (regulars) and some of the "last Mohicans". His Indians had to cross a tiny rivulet, which presented for me an opening enough to open fire on them, blasting them back to where they had learned those simple battle antics from the elder women folk of the settlements, I presume.

While the Highlanders under Angus made progress on the left, I let my Redcoats form a line and ... blasted everything away that was in our path. With a bit of collateral damage aside, we saved most of the inhabitants of the hamlet in an humanitarian effort. We put the village under royal rule again and followed up to sweep up the fleeing aggressors.

Splendid!

The figures and some of the terrain was contributed by Angus.

The Hamlet

The British are arriving, all will be sorted!

The Highlanders are hopping through the heather.

Typical wargamer expression

The French officer about to be killed by womenfolk of the village

The French aggressors trying to burn the church 

The Redcoats form a line ...

... and firing volley after volley ...

... into the what was left ...

... and another volley for good measure.

White Plains 1776- Battle at Chatterton Hill

We slaughtered the on coming British, shot the Dragoons from their steeds, stemmed the Hessian tide and stand steadfast for 12 turns!!! That is nearly a day in Black Powder measurements!

But I'm not so sure if we did Washington truly a favour.

Well, OK there was these victory conditions that the British win, if they had units on the hill, while we don't, for one turn, and every turn we could hold on, one regiment would get away (further) from the British main force(on the campaign board). Yes, we saved probably 12 Continental Army Regiment to get away to fight another day ... at the cost of hrm, well, 14 of ours, amongst them Haslets Chickens and the Smallwood's Regt. and the beautiful 3rd New York Regt., ouch!

Howe on earth could that have happened?

Well, first of all Bart (as von Heister) opted for Rall to come in on the hill on the other side of the Bronx (Angus played the Hessian troops) and the other Hessians von Donop came in a bit late. Bart got the artillery battery in position on Woolf Pit Hill and bombarded the American line the whole battle for no good (for the ones who don't know Bart he used his famous "orange" dice, I think I will join the club petition now to abandon this "device" as the average mathematical possibility of sixes are clearly over 16,666% on that one).

So ,we lost unit after unit to Bart merciless artillery fire. Meanwhile Angus, aka Rall, came out of the right flank and shoot my State levies and militia down bit by bit. He didn't even gave me the grace of a melee (until later when he lost "the other" unit of the total British casualties).

Then Bart ordered the Dragoons to sweep around, over the bridge into our rear, just like historical one did, but crucially at the end of the battle. Because our troops got re-inforcement at that moment , they shot the dragoons off their saddles. That was the American height of things, from then on it went only from worse to §$%&/!"!

The Lobsters took the field, textbook style. And we got the bloody noses this time, big time.

We "maybe" saved the day, but certainly not our own arses.

(Figures: provided by me and Jack, mostly Perry or Perry-Foundry, Flags: mine are mostly Flags of War some GMB, Jack's flags are all original but stone-washed until shrunk to the exact size, Terrain: the hill, by me, the rest courtesy of the club)

Angus' battle rap on:
http://www.edinburghwargames.com/Journal%20109.htm
Bart's battle rap on:
http://asienieboje.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/white-plains-1776-battle-at-chatterton.html

Battle set-up at the start 

Barts infamous battery

The Hill at the start

Angus Hessians swarming downhill to the right

The LI and the Jaegers give fire as well

The Hill now severely decimated

Jack in awe of Barts dicing

The British croaching in

Point of view von Knyphausen 

The British arrive on the other side of the Bronx River

The Americans hide behind the hill they should defend

The LI and the Jaegers are the 1st on the Hill

The Americans retreat "fighting"(?)

Von Donops Hessian Garde Reserve slurrs onwards

Leslie's Brigade is on the Hill

The Last stand of Haslets Delawares

Meanwhile the Artillery  keeps pounding on ...

Last fights on the Hill

The last few Americans are fighting to the last ...

Von Donop cuts their retreat

The last stand of the 3rd New York Regt.

End of a very bloody battle!

Lazy 1918

No game? - impossible! So Campbell dreamed off an instant Great CoC game with me and Tim on the French side and Angus starring as German playing with my Stosstruppen and some tanks (Great War miniatures and Warlords). And I forgot my camera and anyway it was such a thrilling game - that I must refer to Angus website for the battle rap, pardonnez moi, too much red wine and lazyness.
http://www.edinburghwargames.com/Journal%20108.html

We didn't made it to the other trench, but we weren't totally anihilated so it must have been a draw.

The attack from a Nieuport 11 Bebe point of view

Stormtroopers WITH mud!

the German trench, the barbed wire is really over the top

The Roles are cast

The AWI Campaign -  The Gentlemen agreed on their roles and have been briefed!

As I haven't heard from Paul and Matt, and I needed two players on both sides, who could commit fairly regularly and aren't too distracted by families or relatives or other lesser evils.

So Jack agreed on being Mr Washington, as American CinC! Hey! Applause!

Jim took General Lee and for the handicap of it, I jumped in for the Americans as Mr. Greene (we will see if that is to their benefit...).

Bart will be Sir Lord Howe the British CinC,  assisted by more or less by Angus as Monsieur Grant and Campbell as General Clinton (don't know why he didn't stuck with Cornwallis, his 1st choice, but hey!).

So we have now 3 players at each side, everyone's got a short character briefing, staff rating and as well a secret briefing! The characters will become important AFTER White Plains, when the CinCs will divide the forces between themselves and their subordinates as they see fit, and of course will come up with a grand startegy, haha.

The jist is that the overall commanders can also become "sub-ordinates" at the battles of their former subordinates. As all commanders (and subs) are being played and moved by the rules of the"La Petite Guerre", the 6 characters are on the other hand  fairly "free" in their decisions!!

The 1st Battle will be the famous White Plains to be played at a Sunday the 16th of August. As something un forseen happened (all the time at bigger battles) Jack rolled bad, so the Americans won't decide freely upon the location of the fences on Chatterton hill alone ...

More to come..


Cheers,

Michael