Carnage & Glory II: First Impressions

Von W. and I had a small little game this past Saturday... perhaps not really a game so much as a quick field test to determine whether I could bring myself to learn (yet) another set of rules.

Despite some initial installation problems (I believe they were actually with my comp, preventing C&G from saving files correctly), we got an OOB loaded and smashed a Prussian Brigade into a large French Division.

The "game" was a lot of... what happens if we do X! and button pressing.  In C&G's favor was the individual tracking of casualties, morale, fatigue, and ammunition.  I was also personally impressed with the devastating power of prepared close range volleys and the relatively ineffectual firing outside of "effective" range (75 paces).  I was previously concerned C&G might not scale well for large games (the computer/umpire being a bottleneck), but getting the resolutions and inputting data/combat resolution was all very quick--could potentially bog down with lots of formation changes in the movement phase.  Faster than either Flint and Steel or Empire V for combat resolution.

On the less attractive side Von W. and I were somewhat surprised by the physical table space required by the movement/compulsory movement system.  We used the recommended 28mm ground scale of 1" = 25 paces.  Infantry in each turn (represented ~15 minutes of battle time) could move up to 18 inches in column (450 paces) and over 20 inches if charging, and then might get sent reeling from bad morale results 6 to 12 inches.  Our gaming tables are only 6' wide so moving this significant distances makes the tables feel quite small.  On the flip side, which we did not test in our small 2 division game, is that this could make for a very dynamic battle field, with reserves from a central location able to quickly be mobilized to exploit an opportunity.  For example heavy cavalry can move up to 30 inches and charge for up to 36 inches  (~750 to 900 paces).

The blessing and curse of C&G has to be its rating system.... which appears to give you lots of control to model everything from moral, training, weapon quality, fire discipline, close combat.... but gives absolutely no guidance.  Much like C&G in general it is a black box that you give inputs and get outputs, without seeing "under the hood".   The manual does not give any indication the combat effectiveness difference between a trained unit or a conscript or poor or average fire quality.   This would not be a big deal if there were extensive "official" ratings, but the website only has OOBs for 1806, 1812, and 1809 Peninsula.

This last point is very difficult given the range opinion on the quality and capability of various armies and units in this period.  Combat effectiveness ratings of 10% can engender drawn out debate or the ability to use or not use a formation may go for 5+ pages of posts on the TMP forums.  Such freedom (and lack of guidance) to control the ratings is both blessing and curse.

All things considered.... I'm probably going to be slogging my way through another rule manual...

For the Rebels

Some of the gaming group are being terrible Napoleonic dilettantes and are building up a collection of Civil War figures in 28mm.

Even though I shy from the thought of gaming this period, I thought the below might cheer the Resident Rebel Commander.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/video/What-Did-the-Rebel-Yell-Sound-Like.html

The Bremen Volunteers, Part One

Links to Part Two and Part Three

A teaser for a more lengthy post when the 6th Uhlans are done:

The 6th Uhlans created special issues as there were no figures available for Lutzow's Legion cavalry or the Bremen Volunteers (part of the Hanseatic Legion).   The Bremen Volunteers were especially troublesome as they don't even wear standard Prussian kit... and thus my first steps at conversions....

First a shot of the base metal.  The two figures in the middle are Front Rank...French Lancers (its been so long I dont remember if they are from the French or Russian lines) which will become the Bremen Volunteers.  The outside two are Calpe Landwehr Cavalry which will be used for the two squadrons of Lutzow's Legion Uhlans.

And what I am trying to create:

And without further ado... the Green Stuff.

The Calpe Landwehr get built up shoulder boards and pickers and chains.

The Front Rank figures have had their bardin-habit veste-thing sliced off and buttons removed.  Some green stuff to smooth out and added in a Prussian cut double breasted coat-line. 

(In the background can see the Calpe Hussar, waiting for their picker and chain and join the unit as Lutzow's Hussar Squadron.  The 3rd [Brandenberg] Uhlans are also on the painting table in the background.)

Note, I cant take much credit for the success/failure of these troops, the live-in Painting Assistant and Artist Extraordinaire took over when I threw down the sculpting tool in frustration... 

The horse hair tassel/poms on the Bremeners was absolutely 0% of my work/imagination... I was thinking of just cutting the bottle brush of entirely.

Better angle to see the pants alterations.  The Front Rank figures are in a waist coat, so we gave them green stuff down to their knees to model a proper Prussian Litewka.  

The Front Rank saddles/shabraque are completely smooth and plain (correctly or incorrectly, I claim no knowledge of French/Russian cavalry), and are a stark contrast with Calpe's models.  It was difficult even getting the green stuff to stick to the metal was so smooth (figures were washed prior to alteration of course).  Added in a border to give us something to paint red and hopefully break-up the otherwise smooth metal. 

Calpe Squadron Officer having his kollet filled in to become a Litewka

Stay tuned for future installments, the figures are base coated now.  I've been hinting to the live-in Painting Assistant and Artist Extraordinaire that the Bremen Volunteer conversions could be considered her Masterwork, as there isn't anything left in the Corps that can really compare in difficulty.  

Click Here for Part Two

Recent Acquisitions

Classic Painting References

A GREAT Campaign game!

And some food for thought on future Campaign Gaming.

Not a bad catch for ~$8.50 a book.


(EDIT: Just noticed this post was supposed to go out months ago.... so here it is now)

Changing of the Guard--Enter Beowulf

So my six year old gaming rig died about three weeks ago.... the old Nvidia 8800 GTX graphics card(s)[I had two!] just gave out.

And so it was with great sadness I announced the death of an unknown soldier--random Dell XPS 720 and disappeared from online life and gaming for three weeks. 

She served me well for a long time... and oh how I hated hauling this damn thing and its inch thick plastic casing around between moves.

And with this blog I am pleased to announce the launch and commissioning of a lovely new gaming rig....  

The live-in painting assistant and artist extraordinaire's penchant for naming her computers has apparently rubbed off:

I Give you Beowulf 

To give some scale, I ordered some Prussian Musketeer Officers to man the fighting top. 

Some additional perspective

The Official Changing of the Guard:

Enter Beowulf

Hougoumont Playtesting

Saturday we meet for a small mechanics test.... and a chance to put the new Hougoumont on the table.  

The British-Allied skirmishers in the surprisingly managed to hold up Jerome's Division for two hours due to failed Elan tests that sent the French attack columns recoiling to the rear.  

Managed to get the woods under French control and started charging against the converged Guards in Hougoumont itself and feeling out/seeing how we might model this part of the battle next year.

New Years Plancenoit

For New Years General von Wendt and I got together (after I managed to dodge Rose Parade traffic!) for a nice game of Empire V with an eye towards trying out some close combat mechanics for built-up areas imported from Revolution to Empire, particularly the Savage Street Fight mechanic.  Such a test required a proper setting and so we set up for Plancenoit. 

The area the table should roughly represent (we ended up using less space than this as the cavalry was omitted).

We had three brigades of Prussians on hand and set up for the initial assault on Plancenoit itself at around 6:30 p.m.  The 8x 8 figure battalions of Young Guard (stand-ins as no one has painted Guard yet) occupied the town proper and Lobau's VI Corps (two divisions, 9x 12 figure battalions) took up positions to the North of the village.  As we lacked the proper cavalry, and there really wasn't a historical need for it--Domon and Subervie's Divisions stand off against IV and II Corps reserve cavalry to the north of Lobau's defense line, but nothing decisive came of it--we axed the cavalry and the game was played as an infantry combat.

VI Corps deploys in Order Mixted

The Young Guard defending Plancenoit, (the walls are standing in for structures)

The Contest is opened with the Prussian's taking the initiative....

and it is used for a brave charge of landwehr cavalry to their doom.

Lostin's 15th Brigade arrayed in columns attempts to charge into the battalions in line at the heart of the French formations, but withering French musketry and faltering elan result in a series of musketry duels.  The French have further managed to achieve local artillery superiority to the North and canister further reduces the Prussian columns.

Not all is going according to Lobau's plan.... chance seems to favor the Prussians this day as opportunities to exploit the close combat victories are missed and the Prussian columns are allowed to regroup and reorganize for another attack.

In Plancenoit Hiller's 16th Brigade finds greater success.  The fighting in the village and outbuildings along the Lasne creek is murderous.  The Prussians managed to close and gain a foothold in the outer houses.  The fighting here would last for an hour and half as both sides continued to feed men into the fight.  In the end the two Silesian Landwehr battalions break as they near 50% casualties, but not before they wipe out the I/3rd Tirailleurs (100% casualties) and half of the II/3rd Tirailleurs.  The Prussians continue to pour in reinforcements and the remains of the 3rd Tirailleurs likewise run leaving the Southern section of the village in Prussian hands.  Colonel Pailhes of 3rd Tirailleurs at one point estimated he lost 480 men in the space of a half our, and caused at least as many casualties amongst the Prussians.   

A Silesian Landwehr battalion debouches from the town block in disorder and is immediately charged and routed by the I/3rd Voltigeurs.

The small copse of woods to the Northwest of Plancenoit becomes critical in the French defense.  the disciplined fire of the I/1st Voltigeur's has broken up 3 Prussians assaults from the Northwest all while withstanding over 2 hours of artillery fire.

General de Brigade Chartrand believes the Prussians have over extended themselves and are ripe for a counterattack from the woods that could restore the entire defense.  There is only one unsupported landwehr battalion preventing an assault from storming the flank of the Prussian battery that has been bombarding the stronghold of the Plancenoit Church and then crashing into the flank of the attack columns preparing to assault the Church.

Chartrand calls up the II/1st Tirailleurs from the reserve and orders the I/1st Tirailleurs to charge home against the single landwehr battalion that is preventing the overextended Prussians from losing their entire attack front.

The Pas de Charge begins and Vive le Emperor! rings out.... the nervous landwehr unleash their volley too soon, the effect minimal... and yet the I/1st Tirailleurs falter--their courage fails them.  The elite men of the Imperial Guard lose their nerve to a rabble militia and halt to unleash a ragged volley.

The time is 8:30 p.m.

Lostin's 15th Brigade's losses and fatigue have begun to affect morale and it causes disorder in the ranks as men head for the rear.  The brigade has nearly broken itself against the French formations.  Bulow orders Lostin to break-off the attack and reform.  The French, focused on holding out are not able to pursue.  Hake's 13th Brigade (looking surprising a lot like 15th brigade as we only have figures for 3 bdes on the table at once!) is brought up from the reserve to plug the hole and keep up the pressure.  In front of Plancenoit Ryssel's 14th Brigade advances to support the assault of 16th brigade.  However due to the broken up advance of Hiller's attack, Hiller's right wing, still hung up on the woods, is blocking Ryssel's attack.

Gen. de Brigade Chartand again seizes the initiative and orders the I/1st Tirailleurs to charge the landwehr battalion that is holding Hiller's line together.  The moment has not passed, fate could still cover his men in Glory in the Emperor's name!  The Pas de Charge again rumbles from the drums.....Vive le Emperor!.... except the men of the I/1st Tirailleurs were not the Young Guard of old... these men clearly did not love the Emperor--he asked so little of them, they had but to scatter farmers in tattered uniforms and second hand muskets and in return the Emperor would give them a place amongst the Elite of his Guard and a chance at immortal glory--but these men never loved the Emperor....  

Teutonic courage prevailed.  An aura of determination, hatred, and revenge radiated from the men of the III battalion of 1st Silesian Landwehr. This time they kept their discipline, their volley was well placed and a quarter of the front rank of the oncoming French fell to the ground.  The I/1st Tirailleurs again faltered....

And then they broke.....

A view of Honor and Glory... and the I/1st Tirailleurs running in the opposite direction

Meanwhile the failure of I/1st Tirailleurs allowed Hiller sufficient time to launch his assault on the church strong point.  Another savage street fight erupted, but the landwehr had the upper hand and there were no reserves to support the battered II/3rd Voltigeurs which had been under artillery bombardment for more than 2 hours. The Voltigeurs broke after 3/4ths of their number had died in defense of the church.  The Prussians had almost turned the French right flank.

The I/3rd Voltigeurs attempted to immediately retake the church, but their assault was broken up by Prussian musketry as they attempted to scale the stone wall surrounding the church.  As the shots began to tell, their courage wavered and then broke before they could close with the Prussians.

To the North Lobau was faced with a decision.  To the South he saw black flags in the churchyard, which could only mean the Prussians had almost taken the village.  He could withdraw one division to support the town or he could attempt to advance and outflank the Prussians.

Having already broken one Prussian brigade and with only 3 landwehr battalions covering the Prussian center, Lobau ordered the Corps to advance.

But all did not go according to plan.  In the center the French almost managed to catch the Prussian heavy battery in the flank, but timely moves by Hiller's remaining landwehr cavalry prevented this.  The heavy cannons were then turned on the advancing French at close range and the right column of the Order Mixted broke.  

On the French left, the charge was met by more rabble in line... but to late did the French see these were not the ragged uniforms of Landwehr, but the Crack troops of the 10th Infantry Regiment (1st Silesian) come to avenge their countrymen that had broken themselves assaulting these Frenchmen only an hour before.  A murderous volley rang out and tore through the French formation.  The men of Lobau's corps had been under constant assault for the last 4 hours.  The casualties had mounted.... and they could go no further.  The Prussian volley destroyed the French resolve and the entire brigade broke and ran before they could close.

The French Flight.

Final Positions

Final Positions--The French hold on the north edge of the village.

The time is 9:30 p.m. News of the defeat of the Imperial Guard arrives and the rout of the Armee du Nord becomes general.  The French fall back under the darkness hoping to stay ahead of the Prussian's that hound them as they flee back to France.