Back to the 18th century and a return to my imagi-nations

It is quite a long time since I painted any troops for Syldavia and Borduria, but I've been painting Grenadiers. First, two groups of grenadiers for the Freikorps Schtroumpf;

A couple of groups of grenadiers had been in my plans for a very long time, a decade in fact, but I'd not done anything about them until now. I'd always planned for them to have the white and blue Schtroumpf uniform colours, but with red facings. The figures are from Essex Miniatures and are actually Prussian Von Schony grenadiers. I've added in an officer, NCO and Drummer. The drummer in the front group is there for colour, but is treated as a man with a musket for Sharp Practice purposes.

Next are two groups of Syldavian grenadiers, once again from Essex Miniatures' SYW Austrian range;

As I already have one group of 8 grenadiers from the Istow Regiment, I decided to paint two groups from other regiments, so I could have a Combined Grenadier formation for Sharp Practice. The front group  with green facings is from the Lippzshutt regiment and the group behind with black facings is from the Motörkopf regiment. Again, I have added a couple of officers, a drummer, an NCO and an ensign with a standard, showing the famous Black Pelican of Syldavia.

These chaps will be getting their tabletop debuts at Winter Wonderlard VI at BIG in Bristol on SAturday 7th February.

Dragoons and Hussars for my 15mm SYW project

Here are the last of my cavalry for my Honours of War 15mm imagi-nation, The Grand Duchy of Überwald.

First, a brigade of Dragoons, with their brigadier;

I decided that the Dragoons, because of their roots as mounted infantry would wear the standard grey coats of Überwald infantry regiments but with orange facings. The Dragoon regiments would be distinguished by different coloured breeches and the trim on their horse blankets. Here, I have given one unit yellow breeches and the other has light blue ones.

Obviously, by the time of the SYW these dragoons would be classed as medium cavalry, rather than having a dismounted role.

My last set of cavalry are the Hussars;

I've given both regiments green dolmans and pelisses, but different coloured breeches, boots, fur trim and busby bags (which match their breeches). I decided that all Hussars in the Überwald army would have red shabraques edged in white, but I'm not really planning to paint any more regiments of Hussars, mainly because they aren't really dealt with properly in the Honours of War rules. The rules make it clear that if you want useful cavalry they have to be heavy ones, which is a shame. Hussar uniforms are always so striking.

I had a couple of spare figures left over, so I decided to rebase two of my brigadier figures to add an extra figure on each base;

I think that this looks a lot better than just having one figure and I might have to look around for a few spares to improve my remaining brigadier bases.

Anyway, I've now finished off everything I bought up front for this army. If I want to add anything different, I'll have to spend more money with Essex Miniatures.  I do quite like the idea of a Freikorps brigade, maybe a couple of battalions of line infantry and one of skirmishers, perhaps with a squadron of cavalry of some kind. I'd also like to do some allied heavy cavalry, based upon the Essex SYW British Horse Grenadiers. There is no rush, though.

Three units of heavy cavalry for my SYW imaginations project

So, it is time for the cavalry part of my Uberwald SYW army. First, three units of big men on big horses, i.e cuirassiers, the armoured fist of the mounted arm.

These are the Garde zu Pferde, resplendent in their blue uniforms, led by their Brigadier and a trumpeter.

Next are two squadrons of line Cuirassiers, wearing buff uniforms.

These units could all be brigaded together or I might use them as shock troops to be supported by Dragoons and Hussars.

My last three SYW infantry battalions

I've finally nearly everything done for my Honours of War project, apart from the cavalry. Here are my last three infantry battalions;

Overall, I am pretty happy with what I've done with this army so far. Even without cavalry it is a pretty reasonable force. It would certainly suffice for most games of Honours of War.

I'll be working on the cavalry over the rest of September and into October, but for the moment I will be concentrating on a 28mm Austrian Napoleonic project that I really should have got on with last year. 

Allied infantry battalions for my 15mm SYW project

The Grand Duchy of Überwald's army usually includes allied units.

These two battalions represent troops recruited in the Margravate of Streslau. The current Grand Duke, Carl Emanuel III was the Margrave of Streslau before succeeding his father, Carl Emanuel II to the title several years ago. Streslau has been a feudal vassal of Überwald since the 16th century and provides well-respected and stubborn infantry to the Ducal Army.

The infantry regiments of Streslau wear green uniforms and their standards are distinguished by the yellow Cross of St Alberich, the patron saint of Streslau.

Guns and limbers for my SYW project

Here is the artillery for my SYW imagi-nation for Honours of War;

Above we have the limbered guns for movement before or after deployment and below I have placed a cannon on one of the artillery bases I finished a while ago, to show how the deployed guns will appear on the table. I think this has come out rather well.

I have also finished off the rest of my infantry battalions, but I will do a separate post about these.

Lots more recruits for my 15mm SYW forces

Apart from when it has been too hot to paint, I have been continuing my Honours of War project. First, two battalions of line musketeers and a brigadier;

Next a battalion of the Grand Duke's Garde zu Fuß and the army commander;

Note that these guys have blue uniforms. It is annoying that the general and his ADC are a bit blurred but I can't be bothered to retake the photo.

Thirdly, here are the rest of my brigadiers, probably more than I'll ever need in most games;

Note that I've done a couple in green coats. This is because I want to have the possibility of grouping all the Freikorps light infantry into a single brigade and also because I have decided that senior officers in the army of the Grand Duchy of Überwald should have considerable freedom in what they can wear on the battlefield.

My last picture shows four bases of artillerymen;

These are awaiting their guns, which I intend to be freestanding so that I can attach them to limbers until they are deployed. I have decided that the Überwald should also wear a similar blue uniform to that of the Ducal Guards because the Großherzog is a great believer in the importance of artillery.

I am currently working on the remaining five foot battalions and then I will start on the guns and limbers for the artillery. That will leave me with the cavalry units and then, perhaps, the army will be complete. Maybe not, though, because I would like to create a separate Freikorps containing line troops, skirmishers, artillery and some cavalry, so that I could field them in certain scenarios. It wouldn't be a massive force, maybe two or three battalions of line, one of skirmishers, one artillery battery and a single unit of dragoons.

A new project - SYW 15mm troops

This project is something I had no idea I was going to do at the beginning of the year, but a few people at the club were getting interested in the Honours Of War rules from Osprey and were using SYW armies that they either already had or were putting together. I played a couple of games and, although I have some reservations about the rules, I decided that they weren't too bad and I ought to put an army together too.

The rules allow for the use of imagi-nations, which is something that I am very much in favour of because it takes me back to Charles Grant and his wars between the Vereinigte Freie Städte and the Grand Duchy of Lorraine in his classic book, The War Game.

My project is to create the army (in our chosen scale of 15mm) of the Grand Duchy of Überwald (a name that will be familiar to Terry Pratchett fans), a long vanished entity from somewhere near Austria. 

The rules in the book uses infantry battalions made up of five elements, but because some players have battalions of four elements, we have agreed on this for our campaign, which is supposed to begin in the autumn. We are also reducing cavalry squadrons by one element too, to keep frontages in proportion. 

Our campaign will be using a blend of real and imaginary states, so long as the imaginary armies have the characteristics of the real ones in the book.

The Grand Duchy of Überwald's army will be using Essex Prussian minis and will be based on the rule book stats for Austria.  As you can see, their flags will look rather French too.

So far, I have completed two battalions of Grenadiers and three of light troops, as pictured above. My plan is to have ten battalions of infantry, three of light troops (most likely a Freikorps) and seven squadrons of cavalry of various types, plus medium artillery and a number of brigadiers and an army commander. I expect that my imagination will run away with me and I end up with a few more units.

To provide a nice colourful appearance I will paint up some infantry in colours other than grey. There will be a battalion of Garde zu Fuß musketeers in blue and two more battalions in green, representing troops from the Margravate of Streslau, a feudal vassal of Überwald. There will also be artillerymen, cuirassiers (including one of Garde zu Pferde), dragoons and hussars in a variety of uniforms.

I am going to have to work quickly. I also have a 28mm Austrian Napoleonic project that I need to finish by November. So far, everything is assembled, based up and undercoated.

A few quick scenic resin pieces.

I've had all these 15mm resin odds and ends on my painting table while I've also been painting other things. I always like to have something that I can work on while I'm waiting for the paint to dry. There is quite a lot here, so you'll need to scroll down to see everything. I'm really pleased with the last thing here.

These were all finished on Saturday, so I was able to use them for my games at the weekend. First some hedges and a gate, from, I think Coritani; The house, from Hovels, and the figures, Essex ones from my 18th century imagi-nations Syldavian army, are just for scale.

You'll notice that the gate is damaged. This was because there was a big blob of resin that I was unable to remove without making a hole, so I decided to make the hole a feature. I think that it works OK.

I was going to flock the hedges but they look OK just painted. I also did some walls. I can't remember who makes these. The figure is, once again just for scale.

These can be used to make a complete enclosure, unfortunately without a gate. I shall have to investigate options to correct this problem.

Next, a couple of gun emplacements and lengths of earthworks. I bought these at the club's annual tabletop sale a couple of years ago. No idea what make they are. I didn't use these at the weekend but they are perfect for the black powder era and also for more modern games. The cannon is a 15mm Peter Pig one from my ACW Union army.

Finally, my pièce de résistance; a fantasy barbarian encampment. I spent a lot of time on this, because I wanted it to look like something worth defending in a battle. The figure is again there for scale. She is one of my Copplestone 15mm Barbarica magic users for my Sword and Spear Fantasy Hyborian horde.

Note the campfire, which I made from ballast and tiny stones, glued to a 1cm circular MDF base, which I glued into an indentation I cut into the basing material, a rectangle of corrugated cardboard.

I really like these tents with their embellishments made from mammoth tusks. I bought them from a club member who had them on a Bring and Buy table back at the end of last year when we were running our Alien Squad Leader tournament.

Breaking the blockade - a Sharp Practice AAR

I played this game of Sharp Practice at the club last Sunday against Martin. This was an 18th century imagi-nations game, involving, as usual, my 15mm Syldavian and Bordurian armies of Essex Miniatures. The scenario was a modified version of the Escort Duty one in the SP rule book.

A Syldavian column is escorting a supply train through light woods towards the town of Turksi Bazar, a few miles west of the River Drinje which is the border between the two countries. The town is being blockaded by a Bordurian force. 

To win, The Syldavians must move the convoy they are escorting into the town. The Bordurians must capture the convoy.

Turksi Bazar is surrounded by a ditch and has small bastions and a low and largely ineffective wall around the town. To the south of the bridge into the town are fields and a walled market garden.

Turksi Bazar is garrisoned by a small Syldavian force, which consists of;

4 x groups of 8 x Fusiliers, Status III leader Status I leader 

1 x cannon with 5 x crew and Status I leader 

The supply convoy is accompanied by;

2 x groups of 8 x Pandurs Status II leader Status I leader  

2 x groups of 8 x Fusiliers *Status II leader Status I leader  

1 x groups of 6 x Pandur Skirmishers Status I leader  

1 x group of 8 x Hussars Status II leader + 1 Musician

1 x group of 8 x Dragoons Status II leader   

The Syldavians are accompanied by a British military agent, Captain William Huntley-Palmer. He is  only activated when the blank chip is drawn. He is classed as a Status III leader and can be used to replace any leader who is killed or knocked down. He may also remove shock from any unit to which he is attached. He is otherwise treated as a Minor Character.

The convoy will move whenever the *leader of the convoy's chip is drawn.

The Bordurian forces have been hampered by a lack of artillery and will only be able to capture the town if they can starve out the defenders.

The Bordurian force is;

3 x groups of 8 x Fusiliers Status III leader Status I leader  

3 x groups of 8 x Freikorps Status II leader Status I leader  

2 x groups of 8 x Haiduk Status II leader Status I leader

1 x group of 6 x Hajduk Skirmishers Status I leader  

1 x group of 8 x Hussars Status II leader  

1 x group of 8 x Lancers Status II leader  

1 x group of 8 x Dragoons Status II leader  

Part of this action report is taken from dispatches sent by Captain Huntley-Palmer to his relative and patron, General Sir George Augustus Melchett, known as "M" in all documents.

"I travelled with the convoy heading towards the town and trading entrepot of Turksi Bazar in the company of of an agreeable acquaintance, Hauptmann Riccardo Zamponi, an Italian gentlemen serving in the Syldavian Infantry. I was pleased to see that our small company also contained a contingent from the Douma Regiment of Pandours, stout fellows whom I had cause to thank for saving my health on more than one occasion previously.

We were making slow progress through the forests towards the town because we were aware that there were many picquets of Bordurian Horse in the vicinity."

"Before long, we encountered a defensive line of white-coated Freikorps infantry, supported by Huzzars and those devilish Bordurian Lancers who were known as Ulani in the tongue of the Borduri. While Hauptmann Zamponi halted his column and deployed his Fusiliers and Pandours into line, the troop of De Bourbon Dragoons took little time before charging the Lancers who were emerging from the scrubby forest." 

"As the sound of musketry crashed across the clearing, the Dragoons, dressed in the French manner to honour their patron and honorary colonel, Queen Octavie de Bourbon, the wife of KIng Ottokar, charged at the Gallop into the Lancers, putting them to the sword and forcing them to flee the field in disarray. Although the gallant Syldavian Dragoons had triumphed, their numbers were somewhat depleted and soon came under fire from Bordurian Hajduk skirmishers in the trees."

"On our right flank, the Light Bobs from the Douma Pandours had inflicted several casualties on the blue-coated Bordurian Huzzars, who I believe belonged to the feared Schtroumpf regiment."

"After the battle, I discovered that the commandant of the Syldavian garrison in Turksi Bazar had been roused by the sound of musketry and led his troops towards the fray. It was his intervention that helped take the pressure off of our gallant soldiery. His Fusiliers were soon engaged in a duel of musketry with their Bordurian counterparts, with both lines receiving casualties, although neither side were shaken."

"One of the garrison's small number of cannon was deployed into a corner bastion, where it was able to command a clear line of fire across the open ground that separated the town from the woods. I discovered in the aftermath of the fighting that this gun had fired Cannister into the flank of a troop of Bordurian Dragoons who had been sent to strengthen the line of green-coated Fusiliers who were threatening the Syldavian garrison. The Shock of the unexpected blast of Cannister had caused many casualties and despair and fear in these Dragoons, who were sent reeling away from the source of their woes, crashing through the Freikorps line, and also disordering the line of Hajduks beyond them. In a stroke, the Bordurian invaders were so discomfited as to be incapable of further preventing our gallant relief force from  reaching the beleaguered town. The morale of the Autokrat's raiding force was shaken to the point of collapse. The coup-de-grace came when the fresh riders of the Vranach Huzzars charged across the open ground, outflanking the Hajduk skirmishers and plunged into the fleeing Freikorps infantrymen, inflicting such a Huge Shock that the morale of the Borduri fell so low that they had no alternative but to flee the field in ignominy and disarray."

Well, that could have been a very different battle if it wasn't for that single blast of canister. In Sharp Practice, canister inflicts double the normal amount of shock, which was doubled again because the Dragoons on the receiving end were hit in the flank. They then broke because they had more than twice the amount of shock as they had figures, and went 2D6+6" directly away from the cannon. That took them through two formations of infantry, which had already acquired a fair amount of both casualties and shock and were then bequeathed 9 extra points of shock each from the broken cavalry. Ouch! At that point, the Bordurian infantry were not only forced to withdraw, but one formation had so much shock that it was also broken and fled. The Bordurian Force Morale plummeted. 

After a couple more rounds of play, further events led to more setbacks for the Bordurians and their FM was soon at Zero.

Warfare 2019

Last Saturday, I headed east from Bristol to Reading for Warfare 2019. This year I had a specific list of things I wanted to buy and, amazingly I bought all but one of them.

I also had a chance to meet up with lots of nice people, including a few who I'd not met before, having only engaged with them online. It was nice to meet Andy from Gripping Beast and also to meet Rob Avery, of Vis Lardica fame, who I regularly bombard with photos of my figures as entries to the annual TooFatLardies Painting Challenge. This provides me with a regular reminder to Paint More Stuff! While I'm discussing Matters Lard, I also bumped into Lardmeister Richard Clarke and the famous Sidney Roundwood, whose blog is a source of inspiration for anyone who likes a well-painted miniature. Sidney deserves special thanks, because he spotted lots of packs of Victrix Roman Auxiliaries hanging up on a display, because we had just been discussing that I was at the show with a list, and Roman Auxiliaries were top of it. Thanks, Sidney! 

And here they are;

They will form the infantry component for my Roman Cohors Equitata for Infamy, Infamy, the Lardies' Ancient rules, which are currently being playtested.

I also stopped off at Warlord to buy some 28mm Late War Germans, for a project I will be starting early in the New Year.

Of course, I had to visit Bad Squiddo and have a nice chat with Annie and Bruce. I also met another of Annie's friends, the lovely and very funny Anjuli, who I'd not met before. I also had a chat with Guy Bowers of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine at the same time, because he had also dropped in to see Annie. Of course, I couldn't visit the Lair of the Squid without buying something. I came away with three Amazons who were still being packaged up as well as another group of Japanese warrior women. (note to self - get on and start painting the ones you've already got!)

I also finally got round to buying some heavy cavalry for Syldavia and Borduria, my 18th century Imagi-nations, from Essex Miniatures. These will give me enough figures to field two groups of eight Heavies for both armies, plus a couple of leaders apiece.

I met lots of other people too, too many to mention, but I must single out Colin Farrant from Charlie Foxtrot, who has the most amazing new French church model, which you can see on the CF blog. To be honest, the word "amazing" doesn't really do the thing justice. It is pretty a lovely thing to see in real life. 

The encounter at the ford - 18th century imagi-nations Sharp Practice

This is a Sharp Practice game played out at the club yesterday between myself commanding the Syldavians and Martin taking the role of the Bordurian commander, using my 15mm Essex armies. 

I have decided to write this up as an excerpt from the memoirs of Captain (later Sir) William Huntley-Palmer of the 11th Dragoons, as recorded in the Melchett Archives of General Sir George Augustus Melchett (a.k.a. "M"), a relative and patron of Capt. Huntley-Palmer.

"In the Summer of 1754, while on my travels in Syldavia representing the government of His Britannic Majesty King George II, I spent several weeks in the province of Moltuja, in the valley of the River Moltus, upstream from the town of Birna. This fertile region was often raided by Bordurian forces coming into Syldavia via the mountain pass just south of the headwaters of the Mecava Potak Reka. I was travelling with my host in Birna, the Edler Franz von Felstad and my servant Domenico, and we took the opportunity to join a small Syldavian force sent to secure a ford across the Moltus."

I set out the table to represent the river in an area with corn fields, trees and a small village where the ford, actually the site of a long-collapsed mediaeval bridge crossed the river. Both sets of troops consisted of five groups of line troops, one of skirmishing light infantry and one of scouting cavalry.

"The Edler von Felstad suggested that we should view the encounter from the summit of a hill to the west of the village, where we would have an excellent view of the proceedings. Von Felstad had personal reasons for watching the proceedings as his son, a Fähnrich, that is Ensign of Horse in the Vranac Huzzars was commanding the Syldavian cavalry. In addition, the Hauptmann or Captain commanding the company of Fusiliers, a Venetian emigré called Marcello Loredan was a neighbour of the Edler. We watched as the Syldavians began to advance upon the village, which was known as Koruna Kmetija in the local language. The first troops to advance were Jägers from the Strelec Regiment. In the distance we could also see white-coated Bordurians advancing. Von Felstad informed me that white coats were worn by the various Freikorps in the service of the Autokrat Constantine of Borduria, all of whom were known for their lack of moral probity and aggressive and plundering ways."

"Before long, the small company of Fusiliers from the famous Istow Regiment  began to advance, led by Hauptmann Loredan."

"As the battle unfolded, it became obvious that the Bordurians had seized the initiative, with their cavalry in position to charge any Syldavians who thought to cross the ford, which was also within the range of the muskets of the Freikorps and a company of Bordurian Jägers, whose skirmishers were equipped with rifles."

"Accurate musketry from across the river began to take its toll on the unfortunate green-coated Jägers, whose ranks were thinned as the balls hit home."

"However, the balance of power began to shift as Hauptman Loredan's fusiliers began to fire increasingly effective controlled volleys into the hated Bordurians across the river. I told the Edler that their control and accuracy was nearly as good as that of His Majesty King George's Foot Guards. Not really true, but my commission from General Melchett stressed that I should use praise and flattery wherever possible to gain the confidence of my Syldavian hosts."

"I noted with interest that the Bordurian Huzzars began to advance along the road towards the river. Surely they were not intending to cross into the hail of musketry?"

"I could only assume that their leader was a typical impulsive light cavalryman, such as those who fought with the Croats in the French service."

"I will admit that it was a stirring sight to see the Bordurian Huzzars, who I recognised as being from the well-known Freikorps Schtroumpf, gallop across the ford into contact with the Vranac Huzzars led by the young Fähnrich von Felstad. Initially pushing the grey-coated Syldavians back, the Schtroumpf Huzzars charged again, but were repulsed on the second attempt by the gallant Vranac troopers, who managed to kill the impetuous officer who had led his men to their doom. Musketry from short range from the Strelec Jägers lining the hedge took a further toll on the Freikorps riders who would take no further part in the proceedings."

"It seemed to me that the failure of the Bordurian cavalry, taken together with the weight of musket fire from the Istow Fusiliers was shifting the balance towards the gallant troops of my Syldavian hosts. Although both sides had suffered losses, the butcher's bill on the Bordurian side seemed to be rising at a faster rate. The Edler gripped my arm excitedly, says "My dear Captain Huntley-Palmer, I do believe that my son's intervention has swung the fight in our favour. I think that the Bordurians are obliged to withdraw." I murmured my agreement as I gazed across the field of honour. It did seem to me that the fusiliers of the white-coated Freikorps Schtroumpf were retreated through the woods, whence they had come only a short time ago. I offered my congratulations to the Edler and thanked him for the opportunity to see the Syldavian army in action. Privately, I thought that my next despatch to "M" would be of interest to Horse Guards, whose offices and clerks would apparently soon be housed in a new building**."

** The old Horse Guards building, which had become the administrative headquarters of the British Army was falling apart by the 1740s and a replacement building was commissioned in 1745. However, building works stretched out for about a decade after work first began in 1750.