Austrian parade and another drubbing at Goya's

Back last July I posted a review of the Austrian infantry but of course since then recruitment has continued unabated so I thought I would treat you with a full review of the complete Austrian army.

There are now 12 units of foot, 6 of cavalry and 6 batteries.

This brings the whole force (including generals) to 400+ figures which is surely enough?

I'm thinking even Bonaparte must be starting to take them seriously!

The map reading generals section - always good to know where you are.

On Monday I was invited to take in more seaside air at Goya's with a game billed as the AWI battle of Cowpens but as we were using his War of 1812 collection it had more of that sort of feel about it. The rules were standard Commands & Colors Napoleonic.

We played the game twice swapping sides. In the first game I was the Americans (on the left) and Goya played the British (on the right).

These are all Airfix British figures painted as US troops - they look great.

All the troops on my left flank were militia and once the redcoats advanced they seemed to melt away.

The result was a swift and decisive victory for Goya. These troops are of course Hinton Hunt so no wonder they were winning.

The second game played out in a completely different way as although the militia once again ran away it wasn't far enough to give me any VPs. Then somehow the US troops got the upper hand and before I knew it I seemed to have no army left...

It's always a pleasure to see Goya's troops on the table even if it results in a double drubbing!

Pomeranian Progress and the Battle of Rohr

A few distractions on the painting desk have caused a drop off in Prussian production although I can now report that I am halfway through the unit. Also done and dusted is the standard bearer and flag. The bearer is another conversion of PN5 and the flag this time is a printed paper one.

My other Prussian musketeer units have old Revo paper flags but I have run out of those and wanted something that would fit in. I found this one on line and have given it a couple of coats of gloss varnish to stiffen it.

On Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited to Goya's seaside residence for a game of Command & Colors Napoleonics. This time it was Austrians versus French at the Battle of Rohr from the campaign of 1809.

I played the French and with a 3:2 advantage in units thought I would have no problem smashing the Habsburg lackeys. How wrong I was.

As usual at Goya's there were a mixture of Hinton Hunt and Minifigs S-range figures on the table.

My masterstroke - playing the 'Grande Manoeuvre' card enabled me to turn the Austrian right but in the end my men were just blown away by their superior firepower and the game ended in a French defeat. Those buildings are really nice plastic ones Goya picked up for a song.

After lunch we swapped ends for a re-match but this one was in the balance when I had to head for home.

The scenario turned out to be a lot trickier than it looked as although the French had an advantage in numbers those Austrians with their bigger units were hard to shift. I'd forgotten how much fun CCN can be and the rules are very easy to pick up again after a break which is perfecrt at my age.

The Eve of Waterloo

Well almost, actually we're playing the game on Wednesday but today with Goya's assistance I finished setting up the table. I can't believe it's almost a year since we last played a game of Muskets & Marshals in the Hut, how time flies.

Not quite on the scale of Vintage Waterloo but we will still have upwards of 900 figures on the table.

The playing area is my maximum 8' x 4' and the troops are drawn from mine and Goya's collections.

I think I did say you can never have enough FN5 Fusiliers!

Now who left them out front?

Goya just completed this excellent Airfix Papelotte conversion.

And on the subject of wargames, last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to Tony's for a full-scale trial of his Corporal John rules for the War of the Spanish Succession. As always Tony's table was stunning full of beautifully painted Les Higgins figures. I won't attempt a narrative but here are a few photos to give you a flavour of the game.

Another of Tony's amazing looking tables. I played the Franco-Bavarians (nearest the camera) and he played the Allies.

Mt left-wing cavalry just itching to get across the stream but that was to prove difficult.

My lads go forward in the centre aided by some very useful Command Cards.

Some intense cavalry action on the right flank - a whirl of sabres/

My elite cavalry on the hill just before they delivered the coup de grace.

It was nice to win a game (although only just) after the recent drubbing at Goya's.

DBA and a Drubbing at Goya’s

Earlier this year Goya introduced me to the dark art of DBA games and to my surprise I have really enjoyed playing them. The limited figure numbers and playing area coupled with games that last less than an hour have a real appeal. The resulting games have been fun with more tactical depth than you would think at first glance at the rules. Goya also kindly gifted me an Essex Miniatures DBA Carthaginian Army that I have been slowly painting.

I'm just over halfway through the Carthaginians, there are four more infantry bases and of course an elephant then they'll be ready for action.

But this is where praise for Goya ends (only joking) as he invited me over this week to play through the CCN Essling scenario knowing that I was suffering from jetlag (excuses, excuses). The result was something of a drubbing for me as I lost both the games we played.

This is the initial deployment as per the CCN scenario. We played normal Commands and Colors rules but with Tony's firing amendments for Ramekin.

The centre piece of the game was this magnificent model of the Granary. The model is actually 15mm but works perfectly with Goya's 20mm figures.

All the troops on the table were from Goya's vast collection of (mostly) vintage Minifigs. There were lots of Austrians and all superbly painted - a joy to behold.

Austrian Cuirassiers riding the famous Minifigs 'fat bottomed' horses!

Some very nice French Guard Horse Artillery - love the moustaches.

Goya played the Austrians in the first game and managed to eject my French infantry from the Granary gaining vital VPs in the process - 9 to 6 final score in favour of the men in white.

When I saw this chap with the shako on his musket it brought back memories of the front cover of the old Minifigs catalogue.

Game two saw us switching sides and as I had a preponderance of Left Flank cards, I tried to turn the French right but it didn't go well. The hussars in the centre of this shot are from the Hinton Compatriots range.

Try as I might I could make no progress and my units were getting chewed up at a terrible pace.

This time the Granary stayed securely in French hands.

Great fun even if the 9 to nil score of our second game still smarts!

Chosen Men

How about that? A unit painted and completed in less than a month and in temperatures never exceeding 7C in the Hut. Gentlemen, I give you the 60th Rifles.

Here's forty shillings on the drum
For those who volunteer to come

To 'list and fight the foe today

Over the hills and far away

The figures used were mostly vintage castings with two or three Clayton’s for good measure. They are:

1 x BN15 Rifles Officer

1 x BN16 Rifleman (kneeling)

4 x BN17 Rifleman (running)

17 x BN19 Rifleman (firing)

1 x BN20 Rifles Bugler.

Thanks to Tony for furnishing me with some superb castings to make up the numbers on this unit.

The whole Rifle Brigade parading under the watchful eye of Sir Thomas Moore.

In other news, Goya and I managed to play out the CCN basic Waterloo scenario this week. I played the French and was completely trounced 8 to 1 by that cunning fox Wellington, what a drubbing!

The initial dispositions. In this scenario the game ends at 3.00pm just before the Prussians arrive.

My men attack Hougoumont (that might be Foy on that horse!).

That didn't work out too well. Having been used to playing Tony's Ramekin rule version it was quite brutal to play the original rules!

Cavalry Charge - when you have that card you just can't resist can you?

The French army is melting away. The Guard Grenadiers are attempting to attack La Haye Saint (in the mid distance) while just beyond them the Scots Greys are ploughing into my line.

Final positions - it's back to Paris for a re-think.

Where was Grouchy?

When will the madness end?

I must confess that I seem to have developed a bit of an FN5 Fusilier habit. I bought some last year but couldn’t believe when I checked after Christmas, that so many of the ex-Neville Dickinson figures were still on sale via Ian Hinds. I decided it was my duty to rescue them (as clearly none of you lot were going to) and as you see I now have quite a few.

My justification is that they really are superb first-generation castings with an excellent provenance and actually, the cost was only about the same per figure as a modern 28mm casting so obviously it was a never to be repeated bargain (that’s what I told Mrs S!).

There are over 80 figures here - enough is ENOUGH!

Goya and I had another stab at C&C Medieval this week and played through the battle of Solachon scenario. More great fun with his 15mm Sassanids and Byzantines and this time it was a much closer run thing although I still lost. I won’t attempt a narrative but here are some pictures.

The initial set-up, I was commanding the Sassanids (nearest the camera). We both had lots of cavalry.

My lads move forward!

His lads stand firm!

Finally a use for my pot of mini dice.

Back in the box - Goya's painting detail on these is a joy to behold.

I was so inspired by the look of the 15mm Ancients on the CCM board that I broke out my own copy of CCN and tried out a set-up of the basic Waterloo scenario using my 15mm Napoleonics.

The view from the French side of the board. The figures and trees give much more of a table-top battle look to the game.

The British side. Most of the British figures are first issue Minifigs painted by none other than 'Dry Stonewall' back in the 80s.

This idea definitely has legs and with the greater visual appeal using miniatures I am much more likely to play a game.