Lots of future Wiener schnitzel - Roll call of my Napoleonic Austrians

 What is says on the tin ... my Napoleonic Austrians so far ...

so far: 

3 large cuirassiers and a horse gun

A Chevaux-leger, a Hussar and a Dragoon regiment - all large of course aaaand horse gun

two large Grenadier units

4 large veteran units (old German helmet) with light gun

4 large normal units (shako) with light gun

2 Jäger units, the only one that are normal sized

and the boss (CinC)

all Perry, mostly plastics,  some grenadiers and line infantry and some guns (and commands) are still in the making ... maybe some more grenadiers and a unit of Uhlans made from metal ... if fortuna sends some money ...

Imagine, a Seven Years Battle and nobody wants to play the Prussians! Mon Dieu!

 It was the big Sunday game again, and we all wanted to play SYW (Seven Years - homebrewed rules) ... John wanted the Russians, Bart his Saxons and me the Austrians (Yes, I got the Austrian bug) and the other John came along with his French! So what - we decided to bash it out any how, no specific scenario, Franco-Russians vs Austro-Saxons all lined up would just do fine in this era.

The Franco-Russians had the majority in command and Horses and out numbered us in infantry, but had smaller units.

Bart and myself won the 1st turn and managed to capture the two BAUs where we instinctively (or unimaginatively) wanted to hang our lines on and then wait for the masses to come into the fire field!

But they didn‘t, The Russian-John even held his cuirassiers off table as a sort of reserve. He hold a lot of stuff back, mostly his artillery, of which I am most grateful. Bart and Franco-John bashed with their cavalry, and Bart did lose!!! And I laughed.

Then Russo-John did the same with my cavalry and Franco-John‘s artillery and send them remnants to hell - my cavalry gone as well - ouch! Oh We!

Now that would be the time to press the Franco-Russian advantage and bombard our lines and then send the cavalry in, but for some miracle it did not happen! My Austrian guns even run out of ammo! but only Russo-Johns Grenadier  elites tried to do a flanking maneouvre it did not go well, piecemeal attacks never work in "Seven Years".

I don‘t know why, but we won. We should not, but maybe the two Johns were two too polite gentleman about the battle ... and take a wild guess the Cuirassiers never saw the table or a shot fired.

After the initial turn

I got the church!

My Dragoons and cuirassiers advance!

The Franco Russian alliance stays calm

a cavalry clash in the middle!

The Russian flank advances

But my grenadiers are waiting for them

tension in the middle ground

But then my dragoons get blasted to hell from blue guns

my thin white line holds

Sloooowly we push forward

Bart preps for a fire trap

Johns beautiful French collection!!!

All lined up nicely on the hill

my centre falters

The Russian flank attack come with dragoons again

and on the middle again to attack my disordered curassiers

But in my middle filed (left flank) I shoot one battalion after the other into rout

And John doesn‘t have the staff officers rolled to rally them - good bye!

The last ditch attack on the Russian flank

And luckily I sent them off again (my closing fire was exceptional)

Bart is decimating the French

A last shot in the back of the Russian dragoons did the trick - victory!

Anglo-Dutch Wars - somewhere in the Mediterranean - lets have a barbecue!

Campbell finished his beautiful paper collection ships in god knows what size ... aaand they look MARVELOUS! I 'm one of the heretics that would choose this kind of naval era over the Napoleonic (shocker, I know!)...

So we had actually a historical battle background where the British tried to break free off Leghorn the Dutch awaiting them and some more British are coming to the rescue.

Me and Bart were the potato-eaters with two big and two smaller ships while John tried to break free and Alidair tried to rescue the ships for his majesty - it never happened.

John tried to break free very quick, but confused Napoleonic tactics with Anglo-Dutch and got "boarded" with both of his ships. Then came Alisdaie, even with a "hidden" fire ship, but Bart welcomed him with some salvoes that two ships caught fire, one even exploded - and it wasn't even the fire ship... Bart (as the Dutch Admiral) told me then to set fire to my prizes and we left with the wind.

Dutch victory over the British - clear cut! Its not so easy in the Napoleonics, I guess. ;)

In the end it was sooo good, that we decided to have a go at it again next club night.

my ships and stats

The position of the Dutch before the harbour at the start

We are closing in

Many Dutch ships ... hmmm

Our future prize ... British ships

circling around ... two pronged advance

the fire fight starts

first all against the sails

Then boarding - I had my crews ready - John not!

second boarding

the rest of the British arrive at the horizont

and Bart turns for a meet and greet

aaand fires salvoe

after salvoe

after salvoe and one ship explodes!!!

by that time I had all of john ships and were off sailing with the wind

BUT as the rest of the British got nearer

I had to torch my prize

We then left for some pints at Mallorca