MAURICE at Canberra Games Society.

Hi All

Well, its been a long time since I've posted on this blog, (and more on the reason why later) but here is a long overdue addition to my reports.

I've been staying in Canberra for the last few weeks, so I took the opportunity to catch up with an old gaming mate David and get in a game of MAURICE.

David provided all the miniatures and terrain and gaming aids.

My army was a Hessian force with some Pfalz allies. David's army was Russian. 

Hessian ORBAT:

2 ELITE Cuirassiers

2 TRAINED Dragoons

1 ELITE Foot Grenadiers

5 TRAINED Musketeers 

1 IRREGULAR Foot Jagers

1 IRREGULAR Hussars

2 ARTILLERY

National Characteristics were Steady Lads and Rally To The Colours

Russian ORBAT:

2 ELITE Cuirassiers

1 TRAINED Dragoons

2 ELITE Foot Grenadiers

5 TRAINED Musketeers

1 IRREGULAR Cossacks

4 ARTILLERY

National Characteristics were Artillery Academy and Clerics

I chose to defend.

BELOW: My forces deployed facing David's Russian hoard.

I deployed with three battalions of Musketeers on the right of the enemies objective, the town of Hayleystadt with two forward and one in reserve on the high ground.  My irregulars were deployed in and around the wooded area on our far right flank. I garrisoned the town with a battalion of musketeers and deployed my two guns in front of and slightly to the left of the town. My left flank consisted of the Elite Grenadiers and a a Pfalz Musketeer Battalion.
Finally I massed all my Cavalry in reserve in March Column behind the left flank battalions. My notables consisted of the Rev.Whitehorse and Hans Von Gudarian (I might have changed their names)  ;)
Gudarian was my choice to command my mounted reserve, adding a +1 to all rally rolls for the Regiment he was attached to.
The Rev Whitehorse was commanding the right flank infantry.
David decided to stack his right flank. I looked like he intended to try and clobber my left flank infantry and then roll up my Cavalry reserve in a combined arms attack. He massed his artillery in the center, I assumed to provide support to either flank, in either defence or attack.

 ABOVE: David's first move. He advanced his massed artillery and in a coordinated move worthy of a Prussian Drill manual swings his cavalry regiments out towards his right flank.

 Before I could exclaim "Mien Gott"! david was able to sweep all his horse around to threaten my left.
Fortunately I was able to wheel my Pfalz Musketeers back and refuse my left flank and change the facing of my own Cuirassiers to face the threat.
I was able to hold off the Russian attempt to roll up my left flank. Quickly David now advanced his Elite Grenadiers and Musketeer to support his cavalry.

 ABOVE: The threat to my left flank.
BELOW: I advance my right in an attempt to distract David, to no avail.

 As David threw his men at my left I attempted to distract him by repaying him the favour by advancing the three battalions on my right. All my attacked achieved doing was destroying one of his Artillery with a combination of brisk musketry and artillery fire. (see above and below)

 ABOVE: My Hessian ELITE cavalry, Cuirassiers, and BELOW: the Russian equivalents.

 The action now centered on my left flank, with fire-fights and the occasional charges into hand to hand combat between our flank forces infantry and cavalry. My Pfalz Musketeers performed feats of valour, consistently rallying of disruption and delivering devastating volley fire resulting in the dispatching of one battalion of Russian Grenadiers, and then a supporting battalion of Musketeers after some torrid hand to hand combat. (see below) 

Not to be outdone, two of my cuirassiers then routed one of their opposite numbers after an initial setback. Adding insult to injury the Russian artillery was whipped out gun by gun by the less numerous Hessian gunners.
BELOW: The fog of war; Pfalz Musketeers blaze away at Russian Dragoons and Hessian Cuirassiers destroy one of the Russian Cuirassier Regiments leaving only one left to continue the uneven fight

 With the Regiment of Russian Dragoons being routed by musket fire (see above) the Russian army fell apart and routed from the field.

 David played an excellent game, but just couldn't turn hits into disruption. Furthermore my lads consistently rallied of what disruption they did take showing incredible discipline.
David's gunners were a huge disappointment, with my gunners performing beyond expectations.
A great game, lots of fun and done in two hours including set up.
David's comments:

"I simply did't expect you to refuse your flank by falling the Pflaz battalion back. But I was disappointed (embarrassed actually!) with my artillery.Still a very enjoyable game played at a good pace".

David's miniatures are the beautiful EUREKA Miniatures 18mm infantry and Artillery and the Cavalry are Old Glory or Essex miniatures I think.

As usual, comments are welcomed.

Cheers

Billiardsburg: A MAURICE AAR

ABOVE: The Objective. The Saxon band played so badly that the 'Old Fritz' ordered that every member of the band be shot and their instruments destroyed!

Hi All

It's been a while since I posted an After Action Report (AAR), so I traveled 70 mins south today to Melbourne and joined the excellent LEAGUE OF ANCIENTS wargame club.

I made arrangements to have a game of MAURICE with Victorian wargaming stalwart Michael B. I decided to trot out my 28mm Prussians for their first every battle. Michael always has beautiful armies, and he didn't disappoint and brought out his magnificent EUREKA MINIATURES Saxons. My Army is predominately FRONT RANK, but there is a smattering of EUREKA MINIATURES cavalry and PERRY infantry.

My army Order Of Battle (ORBAT) was as follows:

3 x ELITE INFANTRY

3 x TRAINED INFANTRY

3 x TRAINED CAVALRY

2 x ARTILLERY GUNS

1 x IRREGULAR INFANTRY

As I was the attacker, I selected an additional unit of TRAINED INFANTRY.

National Advantages:

LETHAL VOLLEYS

STEADY LADS

CLERICS

BELOW: My Massed Prussian Cavalry. Hussars and Dragoons.

Michael's Saxon Army's ORBAT was:

1 x ELITE INFANTRY

7 x TRAINED INFANTRY

4 x TRAINED CAVALRY

4 x ARTILLERY GUNS

4 x TRAINED CAVALRY.

National Advantages:

La Bayonet

Cavaliers.

BELOW: Saxon Cannon and Musketeers on the hill.

Now on to the AAR:

King Fredrick sat bolt upright in his bed.

“Mien Gott!!! Vat is zat infernal racket? Vill ve get no peace”?

“Majesty, it appears ze Saxons have deployed a new vepon. Zey intend to drive us all mad vit zee constant vailing of zee band on zee hill. Ve vill get no rest tonight”.

The Old Fritz looked towards the west at the high ground outside the town of Billiardsburg where his army was garrisoned for the night.

“Tomorrow I vill be shoving drums and horns vere der sun vont shine”! 

Opposing Plans:

Michael plan seemed to to me to be one that consisted on simply sitting on the objective, (a Large hill where the offending Band merrily played something resembling the screams of a cat and dog both being castrated simultaneously by a near blind butcher with a blunt butter knife).

Just to deter me he massed his guns (all four of them) and a Regiment of Infantry on the hill. He split his cavalry across the left and right flanks. Three regiments were positing on his left flank, and one was placed on his right. The bulk of his infantry, including his sole ‘Elite’ Grenadiers were deployed in two lines to his right of the objective. On his left of the hill was another regiment of musketeers and the three Regiments of Horse.

I deployed as follows from my left to right:

The sole Irregular infantry, the Hessian Jagers were positioned with the large wood directly to their front. Next I massed five regiments of foot in two lines of three regiments up front and two in support. In the lead I had my three ‘Elite’ Regiments, (Grenadiers and Fusiliers) with two trained regiments (Musketeers) in support. Next in line and to the right of the town were another two regiments of Musketeers and then all my Horse Regiments, consisting of two Hussar Regiments and one Dragoon Regiment. Finally I deployed my two guns.

My plan was to advance with my five infantry regiments supported by the Jagers and attempt to blow a hole in the Saxon line by superior firepower. I was relying on a combination of superior ‘Espirit de Corps’ (my elites V his trained) and ‘Lethal Volleys’ to win the day for me. 

BELOW: The deployment. As you can see I've kept my Cavalry and Infantry on my right flank back out of Artillery range.

 The Action!

The battle opened with an advance by my Irregulars, the Jagers moving off towards the woods and the main infantry force stepping of towards the waiting Saxons.

Michael for his part commenced a massed bombardments and an advance of his massed horse Regiments on his left. Clearly he planed to distract me from the real business at hand which for me meant getting my main infantry force to volley range as soon as possible.

His plan worked.

I countered by advancing the two infantry regiments of musketeers to my right to confront the leading two regiments of Saxon Horse.

Michael's gunners now had these two unfortunate regiments in range, and soon roundshot was smashing into one of the regiments, killing one of the much beloved colonels Prinz Augusta Von Manstien, (read: Michael played the ‘Death Of A Hero’ card). My army moral dropped by two points.

BELOW: I move my two right flank Infantry Regiments (Musketeers) forward to respond to the threat of Saxon Horse. In the distance my Main Force wait's outside musket range. The Saxon horse would soon need buckets to catch all the lead.

 BELOW: My Main Force Infantry pause whilst issues are decided on their right flank.

Fortunately for me however I was able to rally off most of the disruption the infantry had sustained due to the enemy artillery fire. At that point someone within the Saxon Cavalry had a rush of blood (read: I played the ‘Heat Of Battle’ card) and one of his regiments of Horse charged into my steady infantry. Within two or three rounds of battle the threat to my right had be nullified, with two of Michael's cavalry regiments teetering on being destroyed. I considered now that the situation on my right was in hand, and decided to turn my attention back to the main effort.
Michael had distracted me for long enough.

I now set about launching my main force infantry onto the offensive again and advanced to volley range. After about three or four rounds of musketry I threw forward my infantry with the bayonet.

Soon two out of the three regiments in Micheal’s first line were routed, with only his ‘Elite’ Grenadiers still holding their ground.

 ABOVE: The fire fight erupts between the two main Infantry forces whilst the cavalry attack on my right peters out,...
BELOW: Saxon Cuirassiers consider their fate.

It was at this point Michael ordered his army to retire.

With my Grenadiers and Fusiliers battered but still full of fight I halted as the Saxon army withdrew.

Later that night the Prussians stacked what Saxon drums, horns and euphoniums they could find and burnt them. Tonight they would sleep soundly.

BELOW: Where there were six Saxon infantry Regiments there are now only four.

 BELOW: The situation as Michael orders a withdrawal. 

SUMMARY.
Another fun game of MAURICE.

Game length was a very manageable 2 hours.

Michael and I discussed the value of ‘Lethal Volleys’ (LV) and we agreed that at 12 points it was a bit to inexpensive. We thought 18 points might have been closer to its true value.

That said, after reading the discussion on the HONOUR FORUM (see topic: Lethal Volleys too lethal?) and pondering the result of the game I’m now not so sure. Without LV, I doubt I’d have stood much chance of a win at all. I either have to take the objective, or rout the enemy. Given I’d have to clobber my way up a hill through 4 artillery and then a Regiment of infantry I suspect I’d go down in a heap. Trying to win in a straight up firefight without LV against Michael’s Saxon line while relying purely on my better moral would have been quite risky I think. LV at 12 points basically sees me giving up 2 regiments or either Horse or Infantry, which to my way of thinking is about right. Also, LV is only useful if you actually HIT the enemy. There were a couple of rounds there where my volleys (shooting) were pathetic. Fortunately for me Michael’s was just as bad.

So I guess the great LV debate will continue. Maybe a compromise worth considering is LV can only be used with ‘ELITE’ infantry. It’s something to think about.

For what it’s worth, my ‘Clerics’ card (costing 9 point) was a waste, as I only used it twice. Given I use 99 of my 100 points, if I had ditched ‘Clerics’ I could have grabbed another Regiment of ‘Trained’ infantry and one Regiment of ‘Conscripts’.

ABOVE:The Prussian Musketeers that performed so well in the face of the Saxon Horse. BELOW: Prussian Fusiliers cast a weary eye over the Saxon Grenadiers. 

 BELOW:The very well dress Saxon 'Ranchow' Regiment in the Saxon 2nd Line.

 As usual, comments are welcomed.
Oh, and a plug here for MAVERICK MODELS FLAGS. My Prussians are carrying the material flags available from MAVERICK MODELS. As usual, excellent service from Stuart.
I really like these flags. I particularly like the way they can be easily folded and twisted to look like they are flapping about in the breeze.
Highly recommended.
Cheers

For Inspection!

 ABOVE and BELOW: A painted example of the magnificent guillotine set that EUREKA MINIATURES has produced including 'The Angry Mob' 

Hi All

Well Christmas has come and gone, but not before I popped down to EUREKA MINIATURES to spend some of my Christmas budget on some lead to add to the pile.
There was some real treats to sample, so I thought I might take the opportunity to post a few photos and do some quick reviews of what I picked up.
First off lets have a look at one of the new additions to the AB MINIATURES range. This time Dutch Carabiniers of the 100 Day or Waterloo campaign of 1815.
As usual these are magnificent sculpts by Mr A Barton, and you will find as much detail on the 18mm minis as you would expect to find on the best 28mm miniatures out there. Very little flash, and they cleaned up very quickly. The poses are excellent, being available as either charging or with swords resting drawn but at the shoulder. I purchased 12 of these chaps, and together with the Belgian Carabiniers will make up my heavy cavalry for my Prince of Orange's Corps for LASALLE or FOG-N.

Moving on to the 28mm stuff I purchased.
As usual there was just too much to chose from. Visiting Nic's shop is always fraught with financial doom, and I spent much more than I intended.

ABOVE: AB MINIATURES DUTCH CARABINIERS.

I couldn't resist this little gem:

BELOW: "Bath Time".

As you can see it's a lovely little sculpt of a pretty young lady stepping out of a bath tub. You actually get a bath tub just for the little lady or one with ummm, some chap with a hat. You could easily paint up both, and she could comfortable transition from one tub to the other without any trouble fitting snugly in both. I can see her being the subject of many a 'rescue' playing a skirmish game of either Sharp Practice, Song of Drums and Shakos or Terrible Sharp Sword. She is a delightful miniature. Very feminine and with a very pretty face. Posed in the process of wrapping a towel around herself.

Now, I needed 4 'Saxon Archers' to complete my Dux Brit army, and Nic had these chaps available. Perfect I think and full of character. Sculpting and poses are excellent. Almost no flash to speak of.

The highlight of my visit however must be the magnificent guillotine set that EUREKA MINIATURES has produced.
UPDATE:  I've headed this post with a painted example that Nic was showing off at CANCON 2013. Please note! I DID NOT PAINT THIS SET. This set was on display at the EUREKA MINIATURES stand at CANCON. I believe Kosta Heristanidis painted this particular set.
This is a BIG set. It comes complete with 21 Miniatures, (counting the 'Father and Son' combo and 'Two Headless Victims' together as 4 miniatures) and the guillotine itself. You also get a basket and some heads (which I somehow didn't collect). Nic, if you read this I'll need to pick up the heads. A guillotine without a bunch of heads is like Hotcakes without syrup

 ABOVE: A great day out for the whole family.

 ABOVE: Step right up, everyone's a winner. You're sure to get ahead,.. get it? GET A HEAD! Boom Boom; I'm here all revolution. Try the veal.

 ABOVE: The next vitim for the razor. "Here my lady, let me trim your locks".
BELOW: Ya Boooo Hissss! Anyone want a ripe apple of some stale bread?

 The sculpting of these miniatures is as good as any I've ever seen. the facial expressions are excellent and posing brilliant. I love the chap inviting a victim to climb the stares to the blade, and the 'rowdy crowd' really do look the part. I'll base the miniatures individually, as the soldiers will have additional use as sentries in any number of games, and the prisoners will need rescuing not only from the guillotine but also Spanish Bandits or Russian Cossacks, (to name but a couple).

 ABOVE and BELOW: The Army is present to lend a hand and maintain order.

 BELOW: "OFF WITH 'Er HEAD"!! a view of the victim and her 'assistant' from a different angle.

 BELOW: The guillotine.
The actual guillotine itself is a very nice model, and fits together quite neatly. There was very little flash to speak of, and assembly is rather straight forward. I've pictured mine with the support post assembled separate to the actual 'stage', but you should get the idea.

 BELOW: A empty basket. Soon to be rectified.

 I understand that EUREKA MINIATURES will also be producing a cart (with extra 'victims"?) to compliment the guillotine set.
I also picked up a couple of Comic Like Lace War miniatures (see below).
Why?
Why not.
Just the thing for an Imagi-Nation. I only purchased two, but I'm thinking of increasing them to a unit of 16 and building a Battalion of the silly chaps.

 Finally I thought I'd take to opportunity to compare side by side EUREKA Miniatures Vivandiere set with WARLORD GAMES (WLG) offering.
Well, EUREKA's offering comes with a nice little cart and mule / donkey. WLG's comes with a donkey that is loaded with all manner of kit.
EUREKA's Lass stands rather casually with a barrel of Brandy or Rum, (who knows?) and wears a 'Bonnet Police' on her pretty head. She has a rather pleasant face and looks like she is waiting 'in the rear with the gear'.

As for WLGs gal. Well the model comes with two heads and two arms for you to choose from; one carrying a bottle of brandy and the other a pistol.  She's in full flight, dashing off to lift the troop's spirits. I've gone with the bottle of booze rather than the pistol. Both are nice models and I'm not sure which I prefer at this point. I feel EUREKA's looks 'prettier' but I do like the WLG donkey. Good news is they do compliment each other quite well, and I plan to have them working as some kind of 'front line supermarket', with the EUREKA Lass holding the fort as the WLG girl goes dashing off to be of some ummm,.. assistance.

Once painted I'll be able to make a call on which one I prefer.
Anyway, that' enough for now.
I did also pick up a 'Surgical Strike' team for modern gaming, and some Jazz band members and some 1920's style 'Charleston' dancers'.  I just know some gangsters (or Zombies) will spoil the dance!!
Cheers for now.
Comments Welcomed!!!

KOLIN! A MAURICE REFIGHT AT MOAB '12

As I mentioned in my previous post I played two demo games at MOAB this year. On day two I played a game of MAURICE against Zels. We decide to play the KOLIN scenario straight out of the MAURICE rules. Zels would command the Austrians and I the Prussians.

As you can see the position the Austrians held was rather formidable.

I decided I would use my NATIONAL ADVANTAGES to their ermm, full advantage.

My plan was simply to fall with all my force on the enemies left flank, (my right as I looked at it).

In essence the same plan Frederick The Great had but on the OPPOSITE FLANK than in the actual historical battle.

I divided my army into 4 forces, one of all my cavalry, one of infantry (including all my 'ELITE' infantry) one of all my artillery and one of all my remaining infantry.

I started with an oblique move by my leading infantry Division with the intention of securing the heights on the Austrian left. I hoped that I would be able to turn the Austrian left back onto the centre and then unleash my Cavalry into the Austrian rear. I would refuse my left.

My greatest fear was the Austrians' would attack my left as I fell on their left.

As it played out my mix of STEADY LADS and LETHAL VOLLEYS proved decisive, and despite some excellent rally's by Zels Hungarian infantry I was eventually able to cave in his left flank.

My two 'ELITE' units of Prussian Grenadiers performed way above expectations driving in the enemy and beating of counter attacks.

Once I was on the heights and had turned Zels left flank he conceded defeat.

Another great game of MAURICE!

Here are some photos from the game

 ABOVE:The Austrian Army deployed on the high ground and garrisoning the towns.

 ABOVE and BELOW: My initial deployment.

 ABOVE and BELOW: My 1st move. My infantry begin their advance on the heights. The garrison in the town inflict some early pain.

 ABOVE: My artillery attempt to drive the garrison out.

 ABOVE: My brave Grenadiers drive the Austrians and Hungarians back.

 BELOW: The Prussian Cavalry move up in support of the Grenadiers and Musketiers.

 BELOW: The situation at the close of play,

All the miniatures were provided by Zel and they were for the most part the very nice OLD GLORY 15mm miniatures. They were based on 1 inch squares.

Comments welcomed.

Cheers