Wars of the Roses - Game Report 1

Wars of the Roses - with flat figures

Introduction

My friend Dave decided to invest, and I do mean invest, in buying up a number of 18mm armies of plexiglass flat figures from Wofun. When you buy the set they come with a set of rules. Dave now has a number of periods which he can use, and best of all for him there is no painting involved. These may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are relatively inexpensive and actually very presentable.

I have now played a couple of games via Zoom with Dave using the wars of the Roses figures and the house rules with some minor modifications that Dave has brought to the rules. I thought that it would be instructive to share the battle report that Dave prepared after the battle. 

A big thank you to Dave for allowing me to share his report! Comments in italics are my own observations!

Terrain

The table was 5’wide x4’ deep, this gave 6 sectors

The random terrain selected was:

I selected quite a small area of woodland and keep the terrain towards the edges of the battlefield except the Medium gentle hill, which was placed towards the centre of the table.  The wood was placed on my table edge, the boggy ground on the table end half way up the table. Colin had the option of moving 1 piece of terrain within its sector and chose to move the woods to the centre of the table!  Even now I’m not sure he knows why? (Dave, I have to confess I am having a bit of a blind spot to terrain selection and options at the moment, just see my recent ADLG game at the London Grand Tournament!)

Armies

Deployment

The Yorkist Army Deployed, Stanley’s vanguard took the centre ground, Montague deployed on the right and Scrope on the left. 

The picture of the Lancastrian forces is too indistinct, they must have deployed in the morning mist!

The Opening Moves

The Lancastrians advanced their right with a view to overwhelming the enemy left before their centre and right could intervene. Skirmishers were sent forwards into the woods.   Montague advanced his right toward the area between the wood and boggy ground; this broke up his battle line and the ground seems to prove difficult at times as several units fell into disorder during the advance. 

The Yorkist archers and handgunners were sent forward towards to the woods where they were quickly engaged in a skirmish with the Lancastrians.  

As the centre and right of the Somerset’s force closed on the Yorkist line there was the usual exchange of bow fire in which the Lancastrian bowmen gradually gained the upper hand.

In the centre the skirmishing archers were chased off by the javelin men; Stanley ordered forward his Men at Arms into the woods to attack them, but they refused to move; he repeated the order and still they refused, so eventually bow fire was opened on them and the javelin men withdrew behind Roos.    The leftmost body of Yorkist archers, having fired off a few shots at Roos’ advancing line, to little effect, were now withdrawn behind the line and sent to counter the crossbowmen which had outflanked the Yorkist line.

Battle Joined

Somerset’s men at arms came forward against the left of Scrope’s line which, weakened by bow fire, were forced back and became disordered as they tried to recoil into the archers behind them.  Charged again, the bowmen broke, leaving the men at arms to face those of Somerset. 

In the Centre of the line Roos’ bowmen opened a heavy fire on the Yorkist units to their front. This induced Stanley to launch an attack with this billmen, which was repulsed (draw, both sides backed off).  Stanley brought his remaining troops across, together with some of Montague’s that had become separated from their own wing; this had now advanced beyond the woods and was out of sight.  Here Montague’s men came within range of Percy’s line which opened fire on them.  Montague halted and returned the fire.

On the other flank things were starting to look difficult for Scrope; many of his units had suffered from the continued bow fire and his left was under pressure and could soon crumble.  To his right Stanley had made no headway and the centre of the Lancastrian line under Roos looked in good shape.  Scrope had his bowmen release their final arrows and then led forward his strongest unit of Billmen against the left of Somerset’s division.  This attack smashed into Somerset’s line which recoiled and then broke.  

The bowmen to their right, fighting behind their men at arms, panicked and turned on their heels.  Somerset, close by, attempted to stem the rout, but to no avail.  Some reports say he fled with them, others that he was knocked over and stunned in the confusion, and was then carried from the field by his retainers.  Whatever the truth, the effect was the same; the whole of Somerset’s command, Leaderless and perhaps fearing they would be cut off, turned and fled. 

Although Roos and Percy were still in good shape, the Lancastrians decided to quit the field in good order. 

Losses

Outcome

This was an extremely enjoyable game, with lots of issues on both sides.  

I think it will spark one rules change: troops recoiling and whose route is blocked only by skirmishers that are not engaged in hand to hand combat will just push the skirmish unit(s) back rather than suffering disorder. Other troops will continue to prevent recoil /withdrawal and cause disorder.

This battle had similarities of my last game, where the enemy had difficulty in getting their right flank engaged in the battle.  On that occasion I was fortunate in being able to capitalise on this and defeat their left; on this occasion the spirited charge by Scrope, perhaps an act of desperation, turned the tables. (Hardly desperation, rather a calculated risk, even though I dare say so myself! One has to come up lucky on the dice at some time, why not then)  The history books are full of such examples. 

ADLG - Game Report 28

Early Achaemenid Persians(64) vs Athenian Greeks (60)

At the LGT I purchased a very nice wargaming mat; actually it was 4 by 6 so there was enough for me to have a mat and one for Adam. Therefore, when Dave proposed another Zoom game it was an excellent opportunity to 'blood' the mat.

We decided on a classical Athenians vs Persians battle, with him taking the Greeks and me with the Persians.

For terrain Dave chose the coastline (need to get one as the river doesn't quite make the grade). He had nice secure flanks. For my part I deployed my Infantry heavy Corps on the right and centre, leaving my cavalry on the left looking for an opening. I was attacking.

I decided that I need to get my shots in with my bows from my infantry and cavalry as soon as I could. 

In the first round of shooting I had clearly failed to issue any archers with any arrows, with negligible impact on the Greeks! Dave has deployed his hoplites in two ranks, this would turn out to be a fortuitous decision.

After evading from the hoplite advance, this time the Persian cavalry have forsaken their bows and accepted the combat when challenged by the hoplites moved into contact. On the right one of my Sparaba has managed to destroy a hoplite unit in contact where as my Immortals are not faring well, losing one and two of the others suffering damage.

In the centre the Persian cavalry have done well against the hoplites, being elite and armoured helped as did some better than average combat dice.

On the left there is some ineffective sparring going on between the light troops in the rough ground. While my cavalry are feeling out engaging the Thracian and Peltast flank guard.

Elements of the second line of hoplites are now in contact and the Persian infantry are a little worse for wear. However in the centre the elite Persian guard cavalry are braking through, and preparing to roll up the Greek line.

The Thracian flank guard is outperforming itself despite being outflanked, and attacked in the rear. In the rough ground the Persian light troops are losing ground against the Greek light cavalry.

Outcome

At that point Dave conceded as he could see the way the battle was going. We both felt that the infantry battle came out as we would have expected, albeit with slightly more hoplite losses than we would have expected. 

However, the Persian cavalry did rather better than we thought they should have done by receiving a charge. The hoplites do not have their +1 benefit from spears against cavalry when they charge, despite this being an appropriate tactic for the period. Something for the greater gods of the rules to consider. In this case the fact that the Persian Cavalry were elite and armoured also had some impact on the outcome. 

Lessons Learnt

• There is certainly a benefit in keeping troops in the second line as an immediate reserve.
• I guess at some point even bow armed troops, such as the Persian Cavalry, have to risk it and come into contact to try to win the battle.
• I think I will dispense with the Levy and go for a fortified camp in the future.

Age of Eagles - Game Report 2

Refight of Encounter at Perlach

Introduction

I have looked at a lot of wargaming rules, but I often return to the same sets to play games. Fire and Fury and Col Bill Gray's derivative sets- Age of Eagles - are just one set. 

My friend "up north", Dave, expressed an interest in exploring Age of Eagles as he was looking for a grand tactical or operational level set of rules for the Napoleonic period. Of course I volunteered to put on a game for him. It was an excellent opportunity to conduct a "so what" game. I had the terrain set up for "The encounter at Perlach", why not refight it with Dave in command of the Austrians?

The Game

Well for a start the Orders of battle remained the same, with each of us having a Corps each. My French Corps of 2 Infantry Divisions and a Lt Cav Division, his with a standard Austrian Corps of 1809 with 2 line Infantry Divisions and a light or Advance Guard Division. The one change I did make was in the troop strengths in the orbats. I changed the French large Infantry Brigades and isntead deployed them as individual regiments. I wanted to see whether this would increase the tactical flexibility available to the French.

The Austrians arrived on the battlefield concentrated and in mutual support. The Advance Guard on the left supported by a Line Division and another Line Division using the road to seize Perlach  and the adjacent woods.

In the distance the French Infantry have also arrived concentrated and they advanced astride the centre wood. There were some low hills between the two woods to the French front that would be ideal for artillery to dominate the ground to the front.

The Austrians have managed to secure Perlach and its woods and Haching to its south. The remainder of the Divisions are forming up to support the defence of these positions. The Austrians are conducting a classic defensive battle.

The French deployment did not go smoothly. The right of hand of the infantry divisions, advancing through the gap in the woods, had a number of command and control failures and failed to advance. Moreover the initial artillery duel went very much to the favour of the Austrians. The French Light Cavalry Division has arrived and is in support on the right flank.

The Austrian cavalry attempted to overrun the French Artillery but were thrown back with losses and disorder. Their overall position remains sound with a series of strong points along the front. Dave wanted to see how the charge mechanics and combat worked out.

 Meanwhile the French Infantry regiments are moving forward to the attack!

After a series of inconclusive exchanges of preparatory fire, the French went over to the attack and their columns advanced to engage the Austrians. The Austrians were thrown out of Haching by the Baden Brigade supported by French Light infantry, The Austrian Grenzers retired in relatively good order to the high ground to the East of Haching. 

On the Austrian right flank the fight fid not go quite as well for them. The Hessian Brigade and French Infantry Brigades successfully attacked the woods to the North of Perlach. Driving the Austrians back with significant losses. However, Perlach was proving a much more difficult nut to crack. The Viennese Volunteers fought grimly and threw back a number of French attacks. The French decided to regroup and conduct a musketry duel.

Outcome

For my part I enjoyed the game. Dave obtained a good appreciation of the rules, although he remains skeptical about the formations that the rules allow. He felt that the rules gave more a flavour of an 1870 battle rather than Napoleonic. Although he did like how the skirmishers were dealt with in the rules.

A takeaway from the game was that the change to the French orbats seemed to work well. Dave recommended that I try to keep the infantry formations to around 3000 men and adjust the orbat accordingly. A reasonable suggestion  which I shall explore further.

For the combat calculations I used my automated game assistant, which works well and liberates one from the boring sums and calculations. However, it might have been better if I had used the combat table for Age of Eagles rather than the one for Fire and Fury! This is why it might have been a little too 1870 rather than 1809. 

That flaw in the automated assistant has been fixed and the result seems to be much better in the couple of game turns I played on playing solo!

ADLG - Game Report 14

Early Imperial Romans(85) vs Germans(91)

My friend up-north wanted to get a feel for ADLG, so I agreed to put on a Zoom game for him with my Romans vs the Germans. 

I gave him the Romans to play with as I felt that the complexities of dealing with hordes of impetuous troops under ADLG would be a bit of a challenge. Moreover, I wanted to try out the Germans and I knew that Dave's past experiences of commanding his Romans under WRG 6th Edition would stand him in good stead.

The Roman's deployed concentrated and with a goal of keeping their flanks intact. For my part I wanted to see if I could overwhelm the Romans with my numbers as quickly as possible.

Once we came into contact his Cavalry on his left managed to break through my flank protection and started to work their way around to conduct some rear attacks on my forces. I managed to destroy two Auxilia before the Legionaries provided a much tougher opposition. Despite getting up to three cohesion points they managed to rally these down and hold their own. 

The German heavy swordsmen are approaching the point of contact.

By the end of the game the Romans traded legionary unit for German heavy swordsmen, and once the Roman Cavalry attacked from flank and rear the losses for the German's mounted. On the Roman right flank a brave Auxilia unit held back the German Cavalry for sufficient time for the centre to defeat the German centre. Their sad demise will be sung about in the taverns of Rome for many a long year.

Outcome

The Germans were trashed while the Romans suffered losing 13 out of 21 cohesion points.

Lessons Learnt

• Dave enjoyed the encounter.
• Helping someone learn the rules, or at least familiarize themselves with the rules, does help one learn the rules oneself!
• Dave's tactics of waiting for the Germans to come on to the Legionnaires was correct and a better tactic than mine against the Dacian.

Honours of War - Game Report 4

The Battle of Neuberg - Prussian encounter with the Austro-Imperial Corps of Prinz August von Baden

Introduction

This was to be our fourth outing with HoW. As you can probably guess we rather like the rules. They give a very good flavour for the period. In this game Paul took command of the Austro-Imperials and I took command of the Prussians.

If you have been reading other battles we fought the counters around the troops designate their cohesion points. Whilst the counters next to the commanders are to identify who the commander is!

Scenario

In this, fictional, scenario, a Prussian force under Lt Gen Retzow has been sent to attack the detached Austro-Imperial Corps of von Baden near Neuberg.

Orders of Battle

Prussian Forces under Lt Gen Retzow

Austro-Imperial Corps under Prinz August von Baden

Ground

As usual Dave had done his bang-up job on the scenery. Schloss Neuberg with its ornamental garden was a nice touch; until it was trashed by some hairy Imperial Grenadiers. 

And now for the view from the East

Initial Deployment

Austro-Imperial Corps

From the reconnaissance we conducted this is how the Austro-Imperial Force had been deployed to confront my Prussians

Although it transpired in debriefing the prisoners taken that the Austro-Imperial Chief of Staff the Prinz August had argued strongly for a different deployment and had been overruled. Moe of that later. 

Prussian Forces

In my combat appreciation I determined that I was at a disadvantage in numbers. However, I knew had better trained troops. My principle advantage was that if I could close on the enemy quickly I cold destroy them in detail before they cold react.

Consequently although I committed myself to load up my right flank to attack the Austro-Imperial left I was determined to ensure that they couldn't do the same to me. This is why I employed the Jagers and Bulow to protect my left, until such time as I could redeploy them.

Game Turns 1-7

After seven game turns we had certainly made some progress. The pictures and annotations are the work of Dave; many thanks!

My attack started, predictably, slowly on my right. Munchow's Bde did not advance as quick as I would like. However, their intimidatingly inexorable march in line forced the Austro-Imperial cavalry to retire in its face. By game Turn 7 they decided that they had had enough and the Austro-Imperial Cavalry charged Munchow's Bde. My dragoons supporting Munchow's right countercharged in support. 

In the ensuing melee my lead dragoon unit destroyed a regiment of Imperial Cuirassiers, in the pursuit they destroyed a regiment of Austrian dragoons and in doing so themselves were done for! Meanwhile Munchow's Bde stood firm and destroyed a regiment of Cuirassiers and Hussars.

On the left flank my Jagers moved forward and occupied the time of the Austo-Imperial Converged Grenadier Bde whilst they tried to extricate themselves from Neuberg Castle's formal garden.

In the centre Rohr's Bde has moved forward to conform to Munchow's left flank. To the left of Rohr, Bulow's Bde has started to move south to conform to Rohr's left flank, and to respond to the advance of the Austrian Bde.

After having no targets the 6lb battery has decided to vacate the crag and find better fields of fire elsewhere. The Howitzer Bty continued to engage the Austro-Imperial Artillery. Surprisingly most of the fuses were lit successfully, although they caused only little damage.

Game Turn 8 to 13

On the Prussian right, where my main effort was directed, Munchow's Bde contracted its line to form a supporting line to the front two battalions. This made room for the Hussars and remaining Dragoon unit to close in on the remaining Austrian cuirassier regiment. The latter sacrificed itself bravely to buy time for the remaining Austrian Hussars to withdraw to the North behind their infantry. It took all my cavalry attacking from the flank and the front to destroy them!

Once Munchow had redeployed, and Rohr's Bde was firmly protecting his left flank, Munchow launched his front line of two infantry battalions forward to close range to finish of the Austro-Imperial infantry line. And this is where it all went pear-shaped for my Prussians. 

In the fire phase the Austro-Imperial forces seized the firing initiative, and the defenders fired first, rather than, as I would have expected or hoped for, us the Prussians. Munchow's two battalions took severe casualties, but still managed to send one of the Imperial battalions to the rear in their meagre fire response. Munchow decided at that point to withdraw his lines to regroup behind the supports. 

In the centre Rohr's Bde were similarly disadvantaged by the Austro-Imperial fire and also fell back to regroup. This was fortunate for the enemy as it gave time for a much more orderly withdrawal of the Austro-Imperial forces.

On the Prussian left the intention was for Bulow's Bde to form on the left of Rohr's Bde. However as they were advancing to position the Arnberg's Austrian Bde presented their flank. A target too juicy to ignore. The rear two battalions of Bulow's Bde column of battalions smartly formed line to their left and engaged Arrnberg's right forward battalion in the flank and front destroying it with a couple of well ordered volleys.

The Jagers continued to protect the Prussian left flank and provided ample distraction for the Bde of converged Grenadiers. 

Outcome

At that point we decided that the Austro-Imperial force had been sufficiently badly mauled to withdraw. 

That evening Lt Gen Retzow dined at the Schloss Neuberg with his Brigade Commanders to plot what they would do next to pursue the Austro-Imperial Corps and how far they would pursue it! 

During the preparations for dinner one of Lt Gen Retzow's aides found this intelligence assessment prepared by Prinz August von Baden's Chief of Staff. It could have been a very different battle if he had listened to his Chief of Staff. We might have been severely mauled because he had predicted where our main effort was going to be directed at!

A few hours later the aide also discovered a partially burnt parchment with the battle plan the Chief of Staff had proposed and which was rejected by Prinz August.

Honours of War - Game Report 3

Honours of War Scenario - The Battle of Holtzheim1760

Introduction

This is the third game of Honour of War which we have done over Zoom. The pictures and graphics are again courtesy of Dave who organized and hosted the game. Even if myself and Paul who was in command of the French reserve may not have fought it exactly to his liking!

One of the things we have learnt from playing over Zoom is that it is important to give the remote players a sense of the scale and distances involved, and the amount of ground that troops take up. This was provided pre-game to help the remote players plan and deploy their forces.

Scenario General Situation

The scenario is inspired by the battle of Warburg 31 July 1760, and concentrates on the allied right flank attack by the Erbprinz of Brunswick. There were victory points (1 Army Point each) for the 3 stared objectives.

The French reacted to the turning movement by deploying the second line of the left wing ‘en potence’ on the Hein Berg; The Reserve infantry were in the process of being brought to the left, followed by the Dragoons.

There would be no intervention from other French or Allied forces not included in the OOB that Dave provided.

Orders of Battle

Ground

Game Turns 1 to 6

In telling the story of the battle I shall it tell it from the allied perspective as I was in command of them and know which troops were which. I have to confess I get very confused with all the different French names of the commanders and their regiments!

My overall scheme of maneuver was to place my best troops on the right to defeat the French Reserves as they deployed and try and roll up the French line from east to west. In doing so I knew I had to keep the centre covered and force the French to honour the threat. The open ground on the east was ideal cavalry country, where I knew the French cavalry would try and deploy, and that is where my own Cavalry headed.

This is looking west from the east flank of the battlefield. In the foreground are the advance guard of Beckwith's Brigade. His two grenadier battalions are advancing and giving fire to the French reserve that has arrived. Meanwhile his Highlanders which are deployed as light infantry are working their way around the French flank.

Behind you can see the Brigades of Dreves in line with Behr behind them. To the rear of Dreves are Schlottheim's two grenadier battalions in column of  lines.

The French reserves have moved much too far forward and are causing significant congestion, and nice targets for ricochets from Storch's Batterys which are posted on high ground behind Beckwith

This is the view looking from the South behind the Allied lines. The Allied Cavalry are starting to work their way around the French right flank. A large cavalry battle looks in the offing.

Game Turns 7 to 12

By the end of the game turn 12 Beckwith's Brigade have started to turn the French left. In their remorseless advance Beckwith's Grenadiers have destroyed 3 French battalions. Meanwhile Beckwith's Highlanders have continued to move around the flank providing harassing fire.

On Beckwith's left Schlottheim's two grenadier battalions in column of  lines are moving up in direct support ready to engage the left end of the French main line of battle.

Dreve's Brigade have retired under artillery fire and musketry and are now rallying and regrouping.

On the French right flank the cavalry battle is fierce. In the epic cavalry battle Colonel Eliott's British Cavalry Brigade and a Prussian Hussar Squadron have destroyed two French Dragoon units, at the expense of one of Eliott's Regiments and the Prussian Hussars. 

Although the remaining Dragoons are now match for the remaining Allied Cavalry it is going to be difficult to work around the right flank of the French Infantry.

Outcome

At the conclusion of the game the French committed to withdrawing leaving a strong rearguard to cover the retreat. The allies felt that honour had been satisfied and decided to regroup and rest for the day.

Overall a spirited and lively action. The game planning by Dave contributed to a relatively smooth and painless game. It would have been nice to move the troops, and be present, but Zoom did at least allow me to exercise command and spend time wargaming with friends. 

One big plus point for Dave was the use of movement trays (which I had recommended) for the troops which greatly speeded up the game!

Which of course is what it is all about really.

Honours of War - Game Report 2

The Encounter at Zoom

Introduction

Dave and I agreed following our trial game over Zoom of Honours of War (HoW) we needed to explore both what the rule system and playing by Zoom would be like in a larger encounter. Also it would give Dave the opportunity to remove his 7YW figures from their boxes and once again deploy them on the table for a game.

All credit and kudos to Dave for the scenario, troops, game and orchestrating us through the game.

Scenario

In this scenario the French have established a strong defensive position to confront the allies. The Allies have decided to give battle and need to deploy from Line of march to attack the French and drive them from the battlefield.

Orders of Battle

Ground

As usual Dave built some nice terrain for both sides to consider from their own unique tactical perspective.

Initial Deployment

Within the scenario the French were already deployed for battle, while the Allies were required to deploy from Line of March.

 

This is how I decided to deploy the Allies. A fairly typical 7YW formation with the Cavalry on the right covering off the right flank and facing of the French cavalry. My plan was to commit the Allied Infantry to attack from the high ground to the French Centre left, strongly supported by the artillery.

Mid Point

By the midpoint of the battle. My plan has already become rather broken. My infantry attack broke down badly. The French Cavalry advanced towards me and I was committed to a large cavalry battle. In the ensuing cavalry engagement both sides lost units in mutually assured destruction. Although the Allied Cavalry fared better than the French it has given time for the French Infantry to move up in support of their cavalry. I have in turn had to commit my reserve Hanoverian Guards Brigade to support my right flank.

Outcome

By the end of the battle the Allied right is starting to look increasingly fragile as it has to give ground from the fire it is receiving from the French. With the Allied left pinned by the French it is not possible to release a Brigade to support the right, as such I decided to withdraw from battle and lick my wounds and try and learn what I had done wrong!

An earlier commitment of the Allied cavalry given their success might have been a better proposition. A thought for future games.

Here is the view from the French side with the units highlighted!