Look, Sarge, It's Not Quite The SevenYears War

As many of my readers know, one of my many projects that I enjoy is participating in the club's "Not Quite The Seven Years War" Imagi-Nations project. In the project, club member's  build their own Imagi-nation armies using homecast 40mm Prince August figures. My nation is North Polenburg, and over the years I have collected a very large force of two Infantry Regiments, one Dragoon Regiment, two cannon and crew, and various company level units including Engineers, Militia, and Hussars. I recently posted a battle report HERE on this blog, that those who are interested can check out if they wish.
   So, I got in my mind earlier this year, that it might be cool to start a new project (See this Blog's Name :-) ) and re create the Not Quite Seven Years War (NQSYW) project in 10mm, with the goal to use the 10mm units with our "Look, Sarge, No Charts" (LSNC) rules, where each base equals a regiment.  This way, I wouldn't be limited to commanding not much more than a brigade on the table due to the limits of the 40mm single based figures.  With 10mm figures, and each base equalling a regiment, it is the norm in LSNC for players to control a division.  I could see recreating he whole North Polenburg Army at this scale! (Insert maniacal laughter)
(Click any photo to view it larger)

A Company of the 40mm Queen Jennifer Regiment with the whole regiment in 10mm in front of them

 So with Historicon approaching earlier this month, I set about pre-ordering  from Old Gory, to be picked up at the con, enough of their 10mm SYW figures to build a nice 1-player sized Divisional force as a start to my project. And since Historicon, I have set about recreating my existing 40mm Regiments in 10mm.  I purchased enough to do a Division consisting of two Infantry Brigades of 3 Regiments each, with a support Battery, and an attached Brigade of 3 Dragoon Regiments.

A Company of the 40mm 2nd Regiment (The Hawks), with their Hawk mascot standard, and the complete regiment in 10mm with the standard recreated, now on foot

Now, the hope is that a few of the other club members will be interested enough in this project to join in and create some opposition forces for me to battle, and maybe some allies as well.  If not, I will have to consider doing so myself.  The nice thing about this project is it's proving quick to paint, and the outlay for a single player sized force, with the Old Glory Army Discount, was only about $50.

My esteemed self, The General Lord Palmer, 1st Brigade Commander, and his 10mm counterpart.

The two regiments and their commander. I am currently working on the third regiment for this brigade.

A section of two 40mm guns and crews of the North Polenburg Artillery, and a complete battery in 10mm

A squadron, in 40mm, of the famed 32nd Dragoons on their all white chargers, and the whole 32nd Dragoon regiment in 10mm.

Another Fun NQSYW 40mm Imagi-Nation Game

Last Saturday some of the HAWKs got together for a game day at my house, with the first game being a Not Quite Seven Years War Imagi-nations battle run by gamemaster Rob Dean. The HAWKs NQSYW project uses 40mm homecast figures, with members designing their own nations and uniforms.  The rules we used were the classic, "Charge!", and the scenario was "Breakout" from the Charles Grant green cover scenario book.

Our initial deployment. Click to see larger.

Once again the forces of the Pragmatic Coalition faced off against our heroic allies of the Northern Alliance.  The scenario brief we received from Rob at the beginning of the game was that our Alliance forces had just conducted a large and successful raid into enemy territory and were now withdrawing with our plunder back to our homeland.  However, we had detected a large and rapidly approaching body of pursuers, so we had chosen to stop part of our forces here at a spot where a single bridge crossed a river, to set up a rear guard and hold off the pursuit while our supplies made it safely to the border.  We were instructed that we needed to hold out for 16 turns.

The opening encounter as our left flank is hit by the enemy's hussars!

To experienced gamers, this seems too simple on the face of it; as bottle-necking the river at the one bridge with our large force would be a piece of cake, so we figured that there must be another enemy force going to enter on one of our flanks on our side of the river.  We didn't have to wait long to find out just what tricks the enemy had up their sleeves, as on turn 1, two squadrons of Wachovian Hussars appeared on our left flank, and immediately charged a cannon that was hanging a little too far out from it's infantry support.  The gunners were wiped out to a man, and the gun captured.

The cavalry battle on the left, as the infanty moves to support

  We quickly responded with a pair of squadrons of Stansbach-Anwatsch Dragoons, and coutercharged the enemy successfully routing them.  Likewise, the North Polenburg Queen Jennifer Regt. stationed on our left, turned to face any additional threats coming from that direction.

The enemy now appears on our right as the Hawks regiment is deploying

Shortly after, we were surprised again, as two companies of Wachovian infantry and a cannon, appeared on our right flank,  running straight into the North Polenburg Hawks Regt., which, suspecting enemy on their flank as well, had been redeploying in the hills to the right when the enemy appeared.  The orange-coated Wachovians charged one company in the flank decimating it as the other tried to form a defense. Not to fear, as the N-P 32nd Dragoons, on their famed white mounts, rode to the aid of The Hawks. Unfortunately they were caught in the crossfire between the Wachovian gun, and two cannons from the enemy's main body which was now entering the table on the far side of the river, and were ultimately shattered.

The view in the center as the Pragmatic Coalition sends their first cavalry unit across the bridge.

Meanwhile, in the center, with both flanks threatened, the enemy set up firing lines on each side of the river, and began to send their cavalry across to push back the Stansbach-Anwatsch Lady Sarah's Robin's infantry regiment holding the center.  Things were looking difficult for us, but we had stabilised our left, and were sending our combined N-P Hussars and S-A Lancers cavalry unit to help stabilize the right. We just needed the center to hold and repel the attacks coming from across the river.

The enemy's cavalry appears in our rear, and is met by a combined unit of our light cavalry

It was at this juncture that a unit of enemy dragoons appeared on the road in our rear making our situation impossible!  We were informed by Rob, that at this occurrence in the scenario, our orders had now been switched from holding the bridge fro 16 turns, to retreating back off the road and saving at least 60% of our force.

The scene towards the end as we desperately try to hold the bridge.

It now became a desperate game, as we figured the best way to extract our forces.  Though we were able to repel the cavalry in our rear with the combined efforts of the amalgamated N-P and S-A cavalry regt., and the S-A Dragoons riding in from our left, the enemy was wearing down the Lady Sarah's Robins with devastating musketry and repeated charges across the river.  It became obvious to all of us that the Robins would need to be sacrificed in order to get the most of the two flank forces and the cavalry off the table.

The final moments, as everyone makes for the road, and the Lady Sarah's Robins try to make a slow orderly delaying withdrawal, buying time time for their North Polenburg brothers, despite enemy cavalry and infantry now pouring over the bridge.

In the end we were able to save the entire N-P Queen Jennifer Regt. almost unscathed, and a company and a half of the battered N-P Hawks Regt., as well as one cannon.  Also the bulk of the S-A dragoons made it off as well as a few scattered survivors from the 32nd Dragoons, the 25th Hussars, and the S-A Lancers.   Of the Robins, only their commander, sergeant-major, flag, and 4 pirvates made it back.  When added up this only came to just over 50% of our force, so it was not enough for victory and the Pragmatic Coalition was declared the winner.   

  It was a very exciting  game, and certainly a different scenario, with the objectives changing half way through. And, as always, these games are a visual feast.  Kudos to Rob for running another fun game.     

  For a report of the battle from the perspective of one of the enemy commander's see: BREAKOUT

25th Hussars Join North Polenburg Imagi-Nation Army

 This week I completed the latest (in a long time!) addition to my North Polenburg imagi-nation army: the first squadron of the 25th Hussars, also known as "The Tannenbaum Regment" for their distinctive fir tree emblazoned standard. The figures are 40mm homecasts, cast from a Meisterzinn semi-round mold.

The troops will be part of my North Polenburg army for the HAWKs "Not Quite the Seven Years War" (NQSYW) imagi-nation project. Hopefully they will see their first action later this month during a battle scheduled on the 29th of June.

HAWKs Hold a NQSYW Imgai-Nation Game

On April 6th, the HAWKs got together for a painting bee to work on this year's Armies for Kids Project (see previous blog post) and a Not Quite Seven years' War (NQSYW) game. NQSYW is the club's 40mm homecast Imagi-nations project. 
   The game was run by Rob Dean, and we used the classic "Charge!" rules. Click on any picture to see it larger

Initial deployment of forces: For the Pragmatic Coalition; the Wachovians, in their orange coats, are on the left and center along the ridge, and the Schoeffen-Buschhagen grenadiers are on the right.  Out of frame on the lower left of the shot is the enemy light infantry, and some reinforcing cavalry can be seen behind the ridge.  On the Northern Alliance side of the field; the North Polenburgers can be seen in their green coats on he right of the picture. Next to them are two regiments of Stanzbach-Anwatsch infantry ,one white coated, and the other in black. Then next to these are the combined batteries of NP and S-A, then the combined squadrons of cavalry. Our plan was to hit the enemy's right flank hard, where the ridge line ends, and roll them up.

   The scenario pitted an army of The Northern Alliance trying to capture and hold a ridge line from an Army from the Pragmatic Coalition.  While the Pragmatic defenders start off relatively weak, they receive constant small reinforcement units throughout the game.  Me, and my North Polenburg forces, fought as part of the Northern Alliance. Joining North Polenburg were the forces of Duncan Adams' Stanzbach-Anwatsch, and a detached unit of Light Infantry from Buck Surdu's Bergdorfreuthenheim.
   The opposing Pragmatic Coalition army was made up of a large contingent of Norman Dean's Wachovians, and several elements of Rob's Schoeffen-Buschhagen forces.

The scene on the Pragmatic Coalition's right. My green-coated lights, supported by the black-coated Bergdorfreuthernheim lights, battle with the enemy lights and grenadiers. In the first turn of fighting casualties on both sides were heavy.  This soon turned in favor of the enemy.

   I was assigned the command of my North Polenburg (NP) Hawk's Regiment, and a Light Company from the NP Queen Jennifer Regt. as well as the detached Light Company from Bergdorfreuthenheim. My troops were positioned on the left of the Northern Alliance line, and I was assigned the task of punching a hole around the right of the Pragmatic line, where the ridge they were defending came to an end. In hopes of turning their flank.  I had high hopes as opposing me was but a single Schoffen-Buschhagen (S-B) Light Company and Grenadier Company. I should know by now that it never works out as easy as it looks.

A melee develops amongst the lights, as the grenadiers prepare to pour fire into the lead company of North Polenburg infantry. On the ridge, the enemy cavalry can be seen preparing to charge the lead company of white coated S-A infantry.

I pressed my lights forward, but due to the confines of the terrain and our prescribed deployment area, the  companies ended up stacked up, so I was unable to bring their superior numbers to bear on the enemy light company. I hoped to press forward aggressively and defeat their light company with my 2 to 1 superiority, while also peppering the S-B Grenadiers in the flank so they would be weakened by the time my infantry regiment made it to the action.  This didn't work out, as my dice were dismal this day.

On the Pragmatic Coalition's left, two squadrons of Northern Alliance cavalry have worked their way into the rear, and threaten the enemy guns.

    My lights took it on the chin from their opposing number, and my fire against the grenadiers did little damage. So, when my regiment arrived, the S-B Grenadiers were able to shoot it full of holes with their superior marksmanship.  Again, the confines of our deployment, and the large numbers of forces we had, meant that I could only bring one company to bear from the Hawks Regt at a time.

The battle at it's peak. The first company of NP infantry has been shattered by the grenadiers, while the second moves up.  The Pragmatic cavalry in the center holds off the advancing S-A regiments, while in the distance the beginnings of the mass cavalry melee are  developing

Meanwhile, on the Hawks' right, the white-coated Stanzbach-Anwatsch (S-A) regiment marched forward, keeping step with my green-coated troops. The S-A regiment found themselves subject to a charge from a squadron of S-B cavalry from atop the ridge line.  The cavalry threw themselves at the infantry column in a suicide mission, buying precious time for three companies of reinforcing S-B infantry to make it to the ridge and prepare a defense.

Nearing he end.  Reinforcing Pragmatic troops reach the ridge, as the shattered NP regiment tries to hold while the black-coated S-A second regiment moves up. The cavalry battle swirls in the distance.

  Their plan worked. Just as I broke the S-B grenadiers, the first two reinforcing companies of S-B infantry crested the ridge, and fired into my regiment, bringing them over the critical number of casualties, and they fled the field.  Likewise the Queen Jennifer Light Company was also decimated and retreated, while the remnants of the Bergdorfreuthenheim lights sought shelter in a nearby patch of woods.
  Likewise, the lead regiment of S-A infantry had been so badly mauled by the cavalry, that a few shots from the S-B infantry now on the ridge left them near to breaking.  This left only the black-coated S-A regiment, which pushed hard at the enemy, but were weakened enough that they would not be enough to push the defenders off the ridge.

The black-coated S-A regiment makes it's final, ultimately unsuccessful, push. While in the cavalry melee the Northern horse begin to waver.

  Meanwhile on the far right of our line the combined NP and S-A cavalry had pushed hard and fast into the Wachovian defenders on the ridge; and together with some excellent fire from the NP and S-A combined batteries located in the center of our line, soon overwhelmed the Wachovian (W) infantry regiment defending there. At one point two squadrons of Northern Alliance Cavalry worked their was around the W's left flank and were able to charge and overwhelm their artillery.  These cavalry were in turn beaten back by a reinforcing squadron of Pragmatic Coalition cavalry. In  a few turns a massive swirling cavalry melee developed at the base of the ridge on our right.  This melee lasted several turns, but in the end the Northern Alliance cavalry was forced to give up their ground. And though both sides were badly mauled, there were enough surviving  Pragmatic horsemen to make another push at the ridge untenable. 


The scene near the end.  The NP infantry has left the field. The two S-A regiments have taken heavy casualties. The Northern cavalry is about to break and flee.

  And so we called the game, with both sides badly hurt, but with the Northern Alliance in no condition to push the remaining defenders off the ridge and then hold it. The game was determined to be a Pragmatic Coalition victory.    I look  forward to our next meeting on the battlefield, and a chance to reclaim our honor.
See Norman Dean's Blog for a report of the battle from the view of one of the Pragmatic Coalition commanders.

NQSYW Imagi-Nation Battle Report

This past Saturday the forces of the Pragmatic Coalition(Booo!)and the Northern Alliance(Yay!) met again on the field of battle in another engagement in our "Not Quite Seven Years War"(NQSYW) project using 40mm homecast figures and the vintage "Charge!" rules. Readers may remember that we had a battle last month(See:http://onemoregamingproject.blogspot.com/2012/08/nqsyw-and-uncharted-seas-game-day.html for a full report) during which the forces of the Northern Alliance, with North Polenburg in the fore, handed the Pragmatic Coalition armies a sound defeat at the Battle of the Bridge. I, as the overall commander of the North Polenburg armies, gave much of the credit to my "General's Hat" which surely struck awe into our foes. This time around, sadly, my hat had no such effect.
     This latest scenario, GM-ed by Rob Dean, focused on the defence of two small hamlets and a redoubt by the Armies of North Polenburg. Even though our objectives only required us to hold the northern most redoubt (as well as the two hamlets), there were three redoubts on the table, each manned by a cannon and crew. Arrayed against us was a Pragmatic Coalition army comprised mainly of units from Rob Dean's Schoeffen-Buschhagen Army and Norman Dean's Wachovian forces.   However valiantly we tried to defend our objectives, the day was carried by our enemies.

The commander surveys his forces. My General's Hat couldn't help me this time... 

A look at the North Polenburg deployment; The 1st  Regiment "The Hawks" is in the foreground, the Queen Jennifer Regiment holds the center, and behind them is the 32nd Dragoons on their all white mounts.  Our objectives were to hold the hamlet to the south (just visible at the bottom of the picture, the other hamlet in he center, and the redoubt in the far distance near the top left corner of the table.  Unseen in the far woods, is a hidden light company from the Queen Jennifer Regt.

The forces of the Pragmatic Coalition arrayed against us, launch their attack.

The opening of the battle.  Schoeffen-Buschhagen's (SB) Prinz Norman Dragoons charges the 1st Company of the Queen Jennifer (QJ) Regt. as the 32nd Dragoons charge up in support. 

A fateful turn in the battle.  For some reason that even now I can't explain, I throw my dragoons out into a line in the face of the approaching infantry. It seemed like a good idea at the time....

And the result:  The SB vonNordhafen Regiment opens fire on the 32nd Dragoon's 1st Squadron, eliminating 2/3rds of them in a single volley the 3rd squadron on the right flank fared little better, while the 2nd Squadron in the center successfully meleed the Prinz Norman Dragoons  facing them.

Meanwhile, the SB King Rupert Jaegers have stumbled upon our hidden light company (red facings) in the woods, taking a hard volley that kills three of them.  Both units then charge into melee.

The 1st Company of the QJ Regt. falls back to regroup after their melee with the  Prinz Norman Dragoons.  The regiment's vivandiere offers them water, as the nearby colonel of the regiment keeps an eye on the defence of the hamlet's barn.

As the first Pragmatic Coalition regiment (SB Adelmann Regiment) storms the hamlet's barn, the QJ Grenadiers march forward to hold the wide open left flank. Meanwhile the remnants of the shattered dragoons regroup themselves.

Boxcars!  The 2nd Company of the QJ Regt., holding the barn, deliver a shattering volley to the SB Adelmann Regiment, as they try to storm the barn.  The enemy regiment is soon after reduced to less than 50% strength and must withdraw from the field. But not to worry for them, as a fresh Pragmatic Coalition regiment (2 Companies of Weigenbugers and an attached Company of SB Schultheiss) moves up behind them to take their place.

The loss of the northern redoubt.  A company of SB von Nordhafen prepares to charge the redoubt, the gunners (North Polenburg engineers pressed into service due to a lack of artillery figures) scatter at the sight of the approaching enemy.

The heroic stand of the QJ Grenadiers.  The grenadiers manage to kill enough of the charging cavalry to force them to retire, meanwhile on their right, the QJ 1st Company moves back up to close the gap between the Grenadiers and the 2nd Company in the barn.

Meanwhile, on the North Polenburg right, the 1st Regiment (The Hawks) is still holding as the Wachovian Regt. try to force one company of  "the Hawks" from the hamlet, as a company of Wachovian Dragoons has made its way around into one of the redoubts where another "Hawks" company is stubbornly defending.  The central redoubt has already fallen to a company of Wachovians.   The enemy has also brought up three guns to try and batter the unit defending the hamlet on the right. 

The end is near.  The Wiegenburgers Regt. prepares to fire upon the already damaged QJ 1st Company.  The resulting casualties, plus further casualties on the Grenadiers from their melee with the von Nordhafen Regt. , puts the Regiment below 50%, and it is forced to retire from the field.

The scene at the end on the right.  "The Hawks" still hold the redoubt, but are in danger of losing the hamlet, and try to move up their reserve company to defend it.  But with the Queen Jennifer Regiment retreating from the field on their left, the cause has become hopeless.

Even though my co-commander, Steve Gelhard, and I lost; it was still a really fun game, and as always, visually spectacular to witness.  I am already looking forward to our next encounter and North Polenburg's chance to avenge themselves.

NQSYW and Uncharted Seas Game Day

This past Saturday several members of our club got together at my game room to play a couple games. The first game we played was an Imagi-nation game, or as we call it in the club,  Not Quite the Seven Years War, or NQSYW. Rob Dean (who GM-ed the game) and I started this project over a decade ago, creating 18th century armies using 40 mm semi-round figures we made from home-cast Prince August molds. Though my participation waned over the years, Rob has been constantly keeping the project alive. He has been running games at many of the HMGS East cons using the armies he, I, and some other of the club members built.

The North Polenburg 32nd Dragoon Regiment (known for their all white steeds!) entered the table first on our side, and quickly raced for the bridge to gain control of it early, while the infantry moved up.

My armies are from the Imagi-nation of North Polenburg, and Rob's are from Schoeffen-Buschhagen, two small countries who share an oft-contested border. The other club members who have participated have built units from their own individual nations.
In the battle we fought this day, my armies, consisting of two infantry regiments, a cavalry regiment, and two batteries of artillery, were brigaded with an allied regiment from Hesse-Hattenstadt, into a "Northern Coalition" brigade. We faced off against an assortment of units formed into the "Pragmatic Alliance"; the largest contingent of which was from the nation of Wachovia. It was the first time I had got to command my armies in person in what must be a decade, and so I got my RennFest pirate hat out of the closet and wore it as my North Poleburg general's hat in honor of the event. The game was a great deal of fun, and this was helped by my troops winning a decisive victory over the enemy, with the help of the brothers, Generals Schlegel and General Schlegel, as well as General Nickel.
We used the vintage rule set "Charge!" which really has the perfect feel for this type of game using large toy soldier type figures. The scenario involved a contested bridge, with whoever controlled the bridge at the end of the game being determined the victor

Another shot of the dragoons pouring over the bridge

My personal figure on the table, General Palmer, along with my aide. Behind me are the lead elements of the North Polenburg 1st Regiment "The Hawks".  In the background, the North Polenburg artillery can be seen deploying, as the Hesse-Hattenstadt regiment moves up to secure our right flank by capturing a nearby walled chateau.

An overview of the battle, with me in my general's hat moving my regiment over the bridge to support the dragoons.

On the right flank of our bridge head the N. P. dragoons attempt to hold back a unit of Wachovian hussars.

Another shot of the table, looking from the North Polenburg side of the river.  A North Polenburg flanking force, made up of the Queen Jennifer Regiment with some cavalry support can be seen marching on from the left on the far river bank. 

On the N. P. right, the battle for the walled chateau heats up as a regiment of Wachovians (orange coats) assault the Hess-Hattenstadt defenders.  They enemy gained the building for a short while, but with their numbers dwindling they would not be able to hold it for long.

As the game winds down, the N. P. dragoons are still holding barely as the lead elements of the 1st regiment come across the river.  With my infantry now in position to  hold the bridge, and the Wachovian's flank attack petering out, we called the game and declared it a Northern Coalition Victory.

After the NQSYW game, we set up an Uncharted Seas battle that was part of the club's ongoing U.S. campaign.  In this game the Elves where trying to drive off some Human invaders.  The battle consisted of two Elven fleets and two Human fleets.  Each side rolled a d6 for islands and we ended up with 12! The players then took turns deploying the islands anywhere on the table.  This game was fun as both sides jockeyed for position around the islands.  In the end the Elves were deemed the victors, but the battle was bloody for both sides.

Near the beginning of the game as the fleets maneuver for best position around the many islands.

The end of the game came down to a slugging match between the two Elvish battleships and the Human battleship and flagship (the Elves didn't have a flagship present in this battle) After eliminating the Human flagship, which had started the game damaged from a previous fight, the two Elven battleships concentrated on the last human battleship, eventually sinking it.