If it's November, it must be Reveille

Yes, it's that time of year again!

 The flyer says it all, but here are the main points;

• A variety of traders
• Participation games
• Demonstration games
• Free parking
• Refreshments

So, if you are in or near Bristol, come on down and bag some new toys!

The 2025 Lincombe Barn Wargames Society (a.k.a Bristol Wargames Society) Tabletop sale

 Attention all wargamers in the Bristol area, or even further afield!

The annual LBWS Tabletop Sale is almost upon us.

The TTS will be on Sunday May 18th at Lincombe Barn, the usual venue, address below. Doors are open to the public from 9:30 for Early Birds (entry £5) and 10:00 (£3 adults, £1.50 juniors, under 12s free). The TTS will end at around 12:30.

The address is Lincombe Barn, Overndale Road, Downend, Bristol BS16 2RW.

There is a certain amount of car parking available and public transport runs to the venue, see THIS LINK.

Hot and cold refreshments and snacks will be available.

The sale is already sold out for private traders but that means that there will be lots of goodies on sale to the public. There is always a wide variety of things on sale, from wargames figures, vehicles, books etc to boardgames and sets of rules.

So, if you are looking for that special something, be it a few extra barbarians, Romans, medieval knights, WW2 tanks, fantasy figures or whatever, or maybe even a complete army come along as see what the sellers have on offer.

Reveille 2024 at Lincombe Barn Wargames Society

 Yes, it's nearly time for Reveille again, it is next Sunday, 24th November;

The show is, as you can see, at the usual location and there will be the usual variety of traders and games to observe and even join in playing.

Looking forward to seeing as many people as possible.

It's November again, which means only one thing

Yes, it's time for Lincombe Barn Wargames Society's annual show again;

 Yes, we have traders and we have demo and participation games too! There is also free parking and reasonably-priced food available too. Entry is £4 for adults, £2 for juniors.

The list of traders is;

Pit Gaming
Great Escape
Blotz
Ironclad Miniatures
The Square
Martin Hackett
Oakbound Studios
Disain Studios
History of Wargaming Project
Grubby Tanks/Brittania Miniatures
Scarab Games
Gloster Models
3D Tank Factory
Reinforcements

There is also a club table where various club members will be selling off bits and pieces that you might find interesting or useful.

However, there is not a Bring and Buy table.

So, if you are in the Bristol area, why not come along, spend some money and grab some bargains.

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.

En Avant ..... Au Double! - Day Two

Here, as promised is the second day, Sunday, of our Peninsular War Sharp Practice weekend. My partner had decided to try and get an earlier flight home because of Storm Ciara, so I was playing solo for both games. Lots of photos, but, once again not a great deal of glory for my Anglo-Portuguese.

Onto the action! My first game was all about trying to get two-thirds of my force across a bridge over a river. Personally. I'd have preferred to be the side trying to stop the French crossing the river, but that wasn't to be. It would be a long trek.

Once again, I would suffer from the attentions of French artillery, which pretty much swung the game away from me. It wasn't so much the casualties, it was the double shock from cannister that made my task so hard.

I'd got my Atiradores to secure a wall, preventing the French musket-armed Voltigeur skirmishers from peppering my infantry columns as they advanced towards the bridge.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos from other games;

Now, back to my game. I'd pulled the Atiradores back from the wall, to help contain another French threat, together with a group of Portuguese Granadieros.

Meanwhile, at the bridge, the French attack columns were advancing. 

Halfway along the road, I'd foolishly halted my 61st Foot and deployed them against the threat that my Atiradores were dealing with perfectly well. A definite mistake.

My Portuguese Fuzileiros held the bridge, throwing back the French and subsequently making their escape across the river, but it was too little, too late. This game went down as another minor French victory.

The final game was a clash between French and Anglo-Portuguese to control a strategically-important plateau and road.

I started out with a pretty coherent position, and I hoped that things would work out OK.

French Dragoons, advancing against my right flank.

My Rifles, protecting my right saw off the Dragoons, removing one threat.

The 61st advanced on my left, protected by the Atiradores, who did sterling work seeing off the Voltigeurs in the woods ahead of me. I repeatedly used Sharp Practice to keep the Atiradores loaded, so that they could make the most of their firing as my left flank pressed forwards.

I hoped that my Portuguese Line would be OK, holding the centre as the 61st made good progress.

Unhappily, Rob's Voltigeurs attacked over the hill, defeating the Rifles, who were caught unloaded in Fisticuffs, pushing them back to the edge of the table. Before long, they would be gone, leafing the Portuguese line with an undefended flank.

This led to the breakup of the line, and their eventual defeat.

We were running out of time, but things had kind of turned into a stalemate. My 61st and Atiradores held the heights on the left, and were inflicting casualties on the main French line but my right was reduced to a single group of Portuguese who had little hope of survival. 

In the end, we called it a draw, but my Force Morale was plummeting.

In the end, an excellent weekend of gaming, and one that has given me much food for thought. I may well have to venture back into buying and painting up more British, flank company skirmishers with muskets, not Rifles.

En Avant ..... Au Double! - Day One

In other words, a Sharp Practice Peninsular War weekend event at BIG here in Bristol, organised by Phil and Jenny, who are regulars at these events.

This followed the format of other similar events, with two games each day, spread across several tables, each of which was a real work of art. The games were designed so that there were a pair of players on each side, with the pairs staying together over all four games. Unfortunately, because of the dreadful weather, my partner for the weekend, Rogier had to get an early flight back to Rotterdam and wasn't able to take part on the Sunday.

Each pair of players was in charge of an army totalling 110pts, using the Cerro Manteca force rosters developed by David Hunter. As Rogier was flying over, I provided the complete force for us, using my Anglo-Portuguese 28mm troops.

Anyway, there was much fun had by all, in some extremely challenging scenarios, and here is a selection of pictures from the weekend. In the first scenario we played, the French were trying to capture a Spanish priest so that he could be dragged away and executed, due to his extreme anti-French sermons. The Anglo-Portuguese were trying to protect him. We failed in this, so the game ended up as a minor French victory, because they hadn't managed to get him off the table.

Here are more photos from a selection of other games, all from the Saturday session.

 

What a lot of Dragoons, including some as Infantry, and elite company ones as skirmishers.

The Anglo-Portuguese in action, trying to stop the French crossing the river, so that an Allied engineer could blow up the bridge.

All weekend, apart from in the last game, the Anglo-Portuguese suffered heavily from the attentions of French artillery.

Oh dear! The French are running riot on the wrong side of the river. Another defeat,

So, my gallant Anglo-Portuguese didn't cover themselves in glory on Day One. The problem was twofold; French cannister shot and swarms of French skirmishing foot.

I have very much come around to the view that Allied skirmishing light infantry with Baker rifles are an expensive luxury, because of the slow reload of the rifles and the high cost of the actual troops themselves. I am considering buying a Victrix plastic British Flank Company box and making up some Light Bobs with muskets to replace them. However, then I'll have to paint them and I really cannot face doing any more Napoleonic uniforms for a while. A project for later this year, I think.

I will do a second post later this week to cover the Sunday games.