A real Michaelson Bollock

The question is not what, but for how long?

My dwarves painted in "Tarn"- colour using "Alaric-cape"(0815 Nibelungen)

... and another 1mm ACW sniper

Sad news for La Petite Guerre

Before x-mas, I was designing a board game called "La Petite Guerre" to have a campaign-managing device (hey, very modern, called a board game) and also to develop this as a stand alone.

I was producing the prototype with Gamecrafter.com, a company in the US that combines new media forum (geeky game community) with digital print-on-demand.

I have produced a project before with them ("Eve of Battle") and I must say that for card games they seem to be OK.

Sadly they did not deliver. Shortly after x-mas, I received my beautiful game, but with just half of the counters and the rest were off centred. After some posting in the forum, they promised to re-print and re-sent (gracefully), but they did not quite acknowledged the fact that they have serious issues with their positioning of their prints.

Then they re-sent came and 5 out of 17 "slugs" (cardboards with 15 counters on it) were again off centered.

This is it for La Petite Guerre and Gamecrafter, rien ne va plus.

The campaign will go on as planned though, but I won't produce a stand alone.

1st reply after I complained

Old print and Re-print

my reply after reprint

The Leib Regiment Hesse-Kassel

Not Lieb („Nice“) but Leib („Body“ or „Du Corps“ from „Leibgarde“ an old tradition of guards to protect the Colonel, reaching far back into the Renaissance). An elite regiment headed personally by the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, the Leib Regiment arrived at America before Long Island, participated at White Plains, Brandywine and Germantown and later Monmoth.

I also finished Baron von Riedesel on a rather grim vignette, obviously ignorant to the plight of his troops – an entirely creative assumption not based on any research at all. Talking of which I might try to find Rodney Atwood „the Hessians“ ...

La Petite Guerre and campaign rules (1776 to 1777)

"La Petite Guerre" prototype has arrived - albeit without acceptable counters, so it will take some more time ...
... then we need some testing of "La Petite Guerre" (and I also need some Hessians to paint and finish!!!) below how the LPG would fit into an Black Powder Campaign with my personal "Mouse" rules adaptions.

Germanwine but more like Hessian soda!

Announced as a mix between Germantown and Branywine it turned soon out to be more an Arnheim-Hill or Rourke's Sh..(movement).

Angus, Dave and Donald and me were in for the Crown and Chris, Ian and Jack were fighting for more representation in a less taxing way, or so...

The British plan was to outflank the Rebels on two sides in an visionary attack just like "two Buffalo horns"(The author can confirm, it was still going to be an AWI game, Black powder rules, tuned version), with a strong centre and a fast encircling pincer movement with British Brigades at the left and Hessian at the right, right?

Yes, errrm, but the Hessian weren't that tough or fast, more stereotypical like Cornwallis and Burgoyne would like to have them, and gout-ridden slow, with the maximum movement allowed was 2. A tough choice, if you have to cross a river that cost you 2 moves to cross. As I remembered and had to re-experience a river crossing on its own under enemy fire can be quite a dramatic event (see http://meneken.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-battle-at-creeky-mill-part-two.html).

Additional the deployment zone was some sort of a bottleneck with a tiny patch of forrest which would force the Germans to cross the river in column (Auch!) presenting my flank to the Continental Army ready to fire (Aua!).

The following second brigade was most of the battle off-table. After one of my brigadier Generals was shot down with the front unit while trying to rallying them - I heard, why just cross the river with a follow-me-order, as if being on the other side closer to the enemy would have made my Sub-Hessians less vulnerable to fire.

So the CinC stepped in and let me use his command, unfortunately the other brigadiers hadn't moved and I rolled a blunder ... ts, ts, ts! The British lost a complete round of movement, welcome to my (Hessian-)world, hahaha!

After the initial shock the Commonwealth war effort was continued and the British nearly touched that fence (Huzzah!) they should have taken in the 7th turn, according to the battle objectives, followed up by the taking of the redoubt in front of the bridge of the river in the 12th turn. The Battle and our time ended, where another could have started.

In hindsight, I must say, the British were extremely lucky that the American just did not advance to the river on the whole front, otherwise our buffalo would not have been an unicorn, it would have been a cow.

But after all, it really was a wonderful game and I hope the few good pics can transfer a little bit of the delightful panorama – it is a stunning sight to see so many supremely painted figures on a wonderful table.

The figures were from Bill, Jack, Angus, Dave and me and the wonderful terrain by Dave.
Thanks to everybody involved!

The Centre left of the Rebels

The opposing Redcoats

The right flank of the Rebels, Redcoats in the sunshine

The Hessian Woodstock at the Riverbent

Jägers crossing an eternity

Rebel artillery controlling the river

The death valley of Rebels and Loyalists

The thin blue line

The epitome of the British approach

After 12 turns

The CinC helps out

The 35th Foot attacking the fence -line

The successful British left flank

The British centre on the other side of the blue

Defending the Rhineland from friends of Düsseldorfers!!!

Again the arch-enemy entered the sacred realm of our beloved Emperor Maximilian, and they were coming for the Rhine!

I played the part of the Generalissimus Maximus and Bart performed more then convincing, as my trusted General de Cavalieribus, on my right flank. And we had a cunning plan, he told me, but he did not reveal this to me as to keep it a secret before the enemy's eye and ears! Hmm - silence is golden!

The Arch-French were played by Paul (the Irish) and Tim, who had a friend in Düsseldorf and even visited this place several times with out any shame! The plot began to thicken! They even forced us to utilise specifically chosen dice, selected for this procedure, out of their own sortiment - scandalous!

Never the less to defend Cologne and the Emperor, we deployed in Hohenzollern'sche oblique order and Bart, the SESWC-Blücher as we know him, attacked full charge into the meek-beer drinker of the other side (comment of the author: "scheel sick", which could be translated as "oblique side" is a Colognian reference (or more derogerative) to the "wrong" side of the Rhine). 

For the considerate gentleman, we were enjoying a manipulated version of Fields of Battle, with a little nod towards the early  16th Century.

According to the His Supreme Cunningness, my centre didn't not flinch or waiver, while under constant Swiss bombardment!!! The Full-metal-Calavieros on the right flank crashed into each other and what then happened, will be for ever shrouded in mystery, the French umpires (if ther ever was an oxymoron) were hectically consulting their rules books and our whole elite of the Rhineland were sent back home! How could that ever happen! The knights of the realm dissapeared, just so off the edge of the table. Treason! 

Then the enemy knights fought my half drunken unaware Landsknechts pike block and attacked and routed them! Also on the other flank I was getting surrounded by a French brigade, but that did not bother me as my brave arquebusiers were shooting and attacking the Swiss centre aaand nearly routing them. 

So even if the Imperials were tactically beaten, according to the still secret plan, we have morally won the battle, for reasons, which of course, cannot be disclosed, but we all strongly agree that is was much fun indeed!

Figures by me and Paul, Terrain by the club and scenario by Technicolor.

The Kaiser's Landsknechte

The Imperial camp

The Knights of the Realm

The order of battle at the beginning

The German gendarmes charge

The Feldschlangen defending the centre

The perfect oblique order

The view from the Kaiser tent

The clash of the titans

... and the German knights were sent home ...

And then the flank attack against the unaware Landsknechte

Still the centre did not fall before the shy Swiss

The heroic moment of my Arquebusiers and then the story abruptly ends ...

Festung Atbarah

Somewhere at the nile after a long day a British brigade wanted to refresh itself at a supply garrison called Atbarah, but as news travel fast in the desert, the Mahdis were already anticipating a possible victory and hoping to intercept and destroy the whole affair d'Anglaise. The Brigade just had to move to the Garrison and then back again to its little garden called Zariba, but at the horizont camels of the Mad Mullah were forming a thin ragged line ...

Bill and Campbell were pressing their advantage and the flanks of their cavallerous units with swift excecution to the centre of the field, between the the spikey Zariba and the sun-baked clay castle, my garrison. Bart and myself had a problem, it seemed. And so it went, Campbell's hordes attacked my castle and Bill tried to over run Bart's hastily crammed up brigade square. The screams of the attacking disenfrenchised Sudanese citizens of Her Majesty's empire soon filled the air and quickly mixed with the noise of rifle shots and the smell of gun powder. The fanatic hordes of the Mahdis came closer to the with British Guards and guns packed citadell, and – were shot to pieces.

Figures by Bart, Campbell and Bill, table-top embellishments by Campbell, Bill and the club. 

Don't miss the complete battle rap, you will find on Bart's site: 

http://asienieboje.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/fort-atbarah.html

Bill‘s famous Camel attack against the Gardners

more Camels

Bart's square

A view from the Zariba

Tension in the square is mounting (on camels)

The first move of the Mullahs

Campbell ante portas

The gun club

The British  horse tries to escape ...