Imagi-Nation Final Campaign Battle

In the culminating action from Charles Grant's mini-campaign, "The Wolfenbuttel War," we engaged in battle this past Sunday.  Now that it is over we can reveal that the campaign is loosely based on the 100 Days.  Sadly, the reference book used has gone missing so I don't have access to the names and details.

The Imagi-Nations of Odessenau and Latveria had come to common cause against the Ottoman-style country of Vaneria and their vassal state of Russians.  Getting wind of the plan, Vaneria launched a preemptive invasion of Odessenau.  They forced the crossing at Charleroi, were stymied at Quatre Bras, were less than fully successful at Wavre and now the main forces met their Waterloo.

Rules are Batailles de l'Ancien Regimes, figure ratio is 1:10, full-strength battalions are 60 figures and squadrons are 12 figures.  Firing is deadly but saving throws negate half the hits.  Sometimes.

The Allies had to deploy first with their six battalions.  Then the Venarians, then some adjustments were allowed.  In total the allies had 12 battalions available, some weakened from previous engagements and the Venarians had 15.

The Vanerian left and center after the first move.

Vanerian cloaked grenadiers and Janissaries lead the way on the right.

Action is determined by card draws.  First for movement then for firing.  For this game we went by brigade with the respective commanders deciding the order of who got the card.  It started inauspiciously for the Allies when the first card drawn was a joker that went to the Vanerians.  By playing a joker you can "trump" an unfavorable card to steal the fire, or rarely, move.

The Janissaries advance with their distinctive look.

The edge of the left brigade and the rapidly advancing center.

My Croats were happy to shelter behind nice sturdy walls and
after plundering everything went to work loopholing it.

It's easier to be brave when you have a joker, or even two!

The Janissaries mix it up with the Odessenau Guards and friends.

The early run of cards favored the Vanerian cause, but that is always balanced later as one works through the deck.  There are no reshuffle cards used, so they are all played first.  We received both jokers, usually a decisive advantage if they come early in the game.

The Vanerians advance in depth as the Allies bring on reserves.

My understanding is that the Allied reserves could be brought on at any time, anywhere on their long table edge.  Knowing their strength we wondered where and when the hammer would fall.

The Allied center begins to look sparse as the Vanerian left
advances in support.

Fresh forces square off on the right.

The Allied center is now held by three batteries.

More reserves arrive on the left, but too late!

The exploitation begins as ammo wagons advance to resupply.

The Vanerian numeric edge becomes even more decisive.

It was a very unusual game in that although cavalry was on table, to my knowledge the only cavalry charge came up 2" short of reaching their target, and no sabre clashes.

Having fallen back disordered behind the structure, we see the
cavalry preparing to charge.

The unfortunate charge that rolled poorly on their gallop bonus.

Final view looking down the table.  

The Allies were in shambles in the center and right.  Only the left held promise but they faced relatively fresh troops as well, plus the galling fire they would take from the built up area.  That and our host store, Adventure Games, was closing so we packed up.  Leave it to the respective cavalry to see whether it was a defeat or a rout.

New units were painted and debuted in the game, along with many proxy units since I'm the only one currently with a dozen or more of one nationality.  But additions are already being planned, as is the next mini-campaign, which will be a bit of a departure.  Game on my friends!

D-Day Commemorative Game

I've been slow to post of late, dealing with some medical issues, but a group of our stalwarts gathered for a D-Day themed game on June 8th at Adventure Games in Oshkosh, WI.  Without going too deep into the specifics, we had special rules in place and in hindsight, not enough stuff for the Allies.  The 16' table was sub-divided into zones roughly representing Sword, Utah and Omaha beaches. 

Opening set-up after hours spent creating the table by store staff.

German left, my command.  British need to take the town.

German center, facing Americans.

German right, gun-lined cliffs and Americans storming ashore.

While some bunkers were on table we ruled that they had already
been reduced, for the sake of play.

British probe forward and come under effective Pak40 fire.

The mass of German guns on the cliffs would not last long.

German left: the lone AT gun having been lost to no effect, the
infantry bails out of their forward positions.

Imposing force pushing inland.

 We weren't too concerned about points or legal lists for the Germans.  Rather, the focus was on having a force that was representative.  So no German tanks were present, nor Luftwaffe.  Ballpark numbers of points I would put at around 5000 per side.  Allies should have had more.

Air observation for artillery.

The British did a good job of combining MG fire from one platoon
while the other did direct fire HE till one group finally strayed into
the sights of an AT gun.

Pushing in the center.  Artillery was taking a toll of Allied infantry.

The cliffs cleared, the push into town commenced.

The RAF finally shows up on my sector.  In ten turns they only
appeared once!  This had a huge effect.

An effective strike, though I did manage to down a Typhoon.

The German right collapses, nothing to keep the Americans from
rolling inland.

We had a mix of veteran, new and returning to the game players.  The Germans were successful holding their left and center, but the right was a rout (I'm told).  Airpower wasn't as decisive as I think everyone expected and I'd suggest that the Allied needed more infantry and fewer tank resources in the game.  But we accomplished the main mission, to remember and honor the "Longest Day" while enjoying friendly company.

1806 - Prussia vs. France

Over the long Memorial Day weekend we had six players available to gather for gaming and barbeque.  I had an unblooded contingent of Saxons to support my existing 1806 Prussian army, so it only seemed natural to take them under Prince Louis against Marechal Massena, using Empire.  For those unfamiliar, it features a 60:1 figure ratio, national characteristics and a critical command and control system.  While a solid army with great cavalry, the Prussians will be utterly outclassed by French historic commanders and their artillery.

Pre-game view.  At this scale the newly planted fields and streams
are cosmetic.  Woods are light, buildings are stone.

Initial deployment with Prussians on the left, Saxons in the center,
and more Prussians on the right.  All French across the way.

A better view of the majority of the Prussian/Saxon army.

The Prussian left with an intentional gap between them and the
Saxons.  Would the French take the bait?

Because of the command liabilities the Prussians largely have to make a plan and execute it, as changes will be very hard to make.  Prince Louis is one of the very best Prussian commanders for the time period and Empire still rates him a "Poor" commander.

After 1st grand tactical movement.  The Saxons declined to advance!

The left wing commanders interprets my orders differently than
intended and faces a storm of cuirassiers.

The Advance Guard division advances but gets tangled up.

The long view of the table and "man cave."

The French cuirassiers have driven off gunners and broken
a battalion.

Urban renewal to allow for shifting figures within the built up area.
Cavalry does not belong there but had to make way for infantry.

Prussian infantry and cavalry make an appearance the 2nd hourly
round.  The Saxons still refuse to more!

Prussian dragoons and cuirassiers arrive as Louis leads the Saxons
forward personally.

Having finally gotten the Saxons moving on the third grand
tactical movement, a view of the scene.

Linear action with columns in support.

Other Prussian cuirassiers have easily stabilized the left, driving
off the fatigued French heavies.

About now we took a break to grill burgers and brats with a delightful assortment of side dishes.  Adult beverages and cigars rounded out the meal for some.  The good Lord graced us with a beautiful day.

A French heavy cavalry division, headed by la Garde, tries to
turn our right.  We face them with heavies.

In Empire one dices each "hour" to see which side holds the initiative, then each infantry and cavalry formation rolls to see how active they would be.  To my great surprise and pleasure, the Prussians seized the initiative in two of the six hourly rounds played.  This was particularly critical the hour the fresh heavy cavalry on both sides met.

To and fro action in the right with neither side gaining a major
advantage.

The Prussians that arrived on our left take an hour to redeploy
on a flank that offers potential.

With the initiative the Prussians rout the French Guards before
they can deploy into line.

Trying to push the crack Saxon grenadiers forward, but the
regimental army classification is a killer.

The French push into the woods briefly, but a charge of the Saxon
Chevau-legers and volley fire drive them out.

The French keep trying to cracks open the corner on our left.

The Prussian hussars are essentially destroyed but follow-up
infantry are in support.

The stalemate continues on the right.

It became pretty obvious that barring flukey dice, neither side was going to break the other.  The French cavalry facing our left was scattered and beginning to stand down to rest and rally.  Their fresh(er) infantry was making some progress but the majority had to advance carefully in the face of the fatigued but still dangerous Prussian cuirassiers.

In the center the Saxon light cavalry had gotten lucky, breaking two French battalions and also a square.  In their breakthrough they shattered two heavily fatigued French cuirassier regiments.  Unfortunately that left them deep in French territory and they were shot to pieces.  The Saxon infantry had held firm, though the French were not pressing them hard.

On our right the Advance Guard division had lost three of four hussar regiments but the crack infantry was doing okay and another infantry division waited, should they falter.  With four veteran players and two newbies we played slower than usual be given the large number of figures in play it was reasonable.  In round numbers each side represented around 40,000 men.  A good weekend of gaming and socializing as we remember real veterans lost.