10mm Napoleonic Naval revisited

The introduction of a range of Pirates by Pendraken inspired me to dig out my 10mm naval setup last used a couple of years back.  First impressions on seeing them again ...  a much bigger setup than I remembered!

The figures are based in groups of three on 20mm frontages, with command figures on 10mm washers.  Turns out I have 50 or so British sailors, 30 French, 24 Royal Marines and 18 French Marine Infantry, as well as 12 guns.  It's certainly enough to produce a few games.  
The ships and boats are card models, and I still have the plans to make more.  The large merchant ship and smaller Cutter were actually tweaked from plans I found free online.  

Because these compliment my 10mm 18th Century setup it seems a shame to let them gather dust so I began a rebase to bring them into line with those, using washers and 1 cent coins to base pairs of figures.  

The ships crewed by rebased figures.  It looks much better than the 20mm squares

For such easy scratchbuilds I think they look effective, but I will be scouring Durham Model shop for suitable ship models between 1:150 and 1:200 scale.

I should probably replace the guns in the Cutter with proper Newline castings. Also a repaint of those sailor boys is on the cards 

The boats are really easy builds, but I will customise any future craft to fit these new figure bases.

My idea to use these in tandem with my tricorn era forces should work quite well.  I`m currently reading Bernard Cornwell's "The Fort" and it seems to me that this is the sort of thing that would transfer to the tabletop quite well.  

It looks like that I'm going to have to invest in some of Pendraken's new Pirates and use them as Privateers. The 28mm Blood and Plunder forces may get a run for their money from these guys.  

The merchant ship carrying some of my 18th century Civilians as passengers.  Will that solitary bow chaser keep those pirates at bay?

Scout Patrol 1916

WW1 Air Campaign

Die Deutschen

Eindekker A1 (A Flight Plane 1)  Hauptmann The Baron Manfred von Pumphosen
Aircraft A1 has the new twin machine gun configuration that all Eindeckkers are to be converted to in the near future.
Ace, Aristocrat, Jovial, Popular.
Interests.  Gluttony
Special Skill Leadership

Roland C10 OberLeutnant Fitz Sexpest 
Fanatic, Revenge
Up from the ranks
Special Skill Crack shot

Eindekker A2 (Single machine gun)
Lt. Max Todtraum
Cunning, popular
Supports the Kaiser
Up from the ranks

Rumpler B1
Lt Hans Untergloves
Inept, Religious
Up from the ranks 

The British

DH2 A1
Maj Piggy Kammeron
Meek, Popular
Position
Special Skill Leadership
Privledged

DH2 A2
Nigel Porridge
Fickle Popular
Government
Up from the Banks

DH2 A3
Timmy Martin Witherspoon
Aggressive
Government
Military Family

FE2b B2
Jezza the Red
Doesn't turn easilly
Government
Up from the Wanks

BE2 Artillery Spotter Unit C1 
Algy Soubry
Daring Popular
Religion
Privledged
(Algy flies solo to lessen weight but this is a dreadful aircraft)

Algy Soubry and the BE2 struggle along the lines in the artillery spotting role

The Rumpler of Hans Untergloves dives onto an easy kill.  Algy has an engine fire

Algy dives to extnguish the fire but the rumpler is all over him

More damage, but help is at hand...

The FE2b of Jezza the Red makes an appearance.  The pusher engine allows Jezza's gunner to get a shot in, but its a miss.

Jezza kills the Rumpler just as the Roland of OberLeutnant Fitz Sexpest makes a showing.

And in short order Jezza is sent down.

A large glass of Schnapps for the Sexpest, lots of bone snaps for Jezza. 

And the Eindekkers appear... the fokkers of Max Todraum and the Ace Baron von Pumphosen.

But Piggy Kamerun and his DH2s are here.  The Baron gets a hit in on Nigel Porrige.  I`m with von Pumphosen on that one.

Max vs Piggy.  The advantage of the pusher can be seen as the DH2 fires into adjacent hexes but the Fokker can`t reply.

The DH2s manage to box poor Max in, and his fuel line is cut.  

But the Baron is all over Nigel Porrige, and his machine gun rolls are deadly.  Nigel is covered in burning fuel oil.  What a shame.

Piggy has another go at Max, but amazingly the Hun stays up.

The Baron comes in on Piggy.  With two machineguns the Baron's Eindekker is a fearsome weapon.  Piggy explodes.  What a shame!

The Germans limp home. 

And in the aftermath I realise that once again Algy Soubry has survived, still in the worst plane in my collection!  A promotion for Algy I think.
Piggy Nigel and Jezza were all killed.
On the German side the Baron, Max and  the Sexpest all came home, but alas Hans Untergloves will drink no more schnapps.

Captain Morgan and the Rumtown Militia

The "Port" of Rumtown lies near Cape Panza de Cerveza, the easternmost point of Isle de Le Gros Garçon. It is the Island's second largest settlement and is surrounded by the tobacco and molasses plantations of the Morgan Family.

The Militia raised to protect the town does not wear a proper uniform, although the Morgan Plantation provide the firelocks  used by the Militiamen.
The "Captain" of Militia is Timothy "Tipples" Morgan, the rum soaked idiot son of the family.
Newcomers to the Isle de le Gros Garçon are generally surprised that the Rumtown Militia spend the majority of each day imbibing ... well Rum...  They will generally use the "Caught Unaware" rule and be found in the Rumtown Arms downing pints of Island Rum.
They also suffer the Drunk Rule...

DRUNK the Rumtown Militia have been drinking heavily before the start of the battle. Though the units affected are much braver as a result, they are also clumsy and reckless. Each force that is Drunk rolls a d10 for each of their units. On a 5+, that unit is Drunk for the duration of the game. A Drunk unit receives a -1 bonus to Resolve and a -1 bonus to its Fight Skill value. A Drunk unit also has a +1 penalty to its Shoot Skill value, all Saves, and every other Test made with that unit.

The Rumtown Militia

Captain "Tipples" Morgan
MAIN WEAPONS: Pistol, Standard Melee Weapon
SIDE ARMS: None
COMMAND RANGE: 8”
COMMAND POINTS: 1
SPECIAL RULES: Drunk

7 x 1st Militia Platoon (wearing morion helmets) with Captain Morgan @21
7 x 2nd Militia Platoon Sergeant Bakardy @21
5 x Appleton Molasses and the Rumtown Freebooters @40
5 x Bosun O'Hara's Rumtown Sea Dogs @20
Total = 101 Points'

Captain Morgan and his men

Appleton Molasses and the freebooters

Bosun O`Hara and his sea dogs

Characters in Rumtown

Sergeant at Arms Bakardy Plantation Field Boss

Corporal Breezer The Morgan Plantation Blacksmith

Appleton Molasses ner-do-well swamp hunter

Carlos Mojitos  the Plantation Factor, and Militia supply.

O'Hara, Bosun of the Sea Wolf, aground on Cape Panza de Cerveza this last year.

Bristol Black an infamous Freebooter and rumoured Pirate who keeps the Rumtown Brothel.

Brandi the Captain's Lady Friend.

English Militia were generally better equipped than their Spanish counterparts. Usually armed with muskets, these units were drilled in typical European tactics.
EXPERIENCE LEVEL: Inexperienced
MAIN WEAPONS: Firelock Muskets,    Standard Melee Weapons SIDE ARMS: None
FIGHT: 6/7
SHOOT: 7/8
RESOLVE: 5
SPECIAL RULES: Drilled
3 POINTS

Freebooters
6 POINTS Freebooters were English New Worlders from all walks of life who mastered the musketry tactics of the old French boucaniers. They were skilled in all manners of combat, possessing notable proficiency with their muskets.
EXPERIENCE LEVEL: Trained
MAIN WEAPONS: Buccaneer Guns,    Standard Melee Weapons SIDE ARMS: Pistols
FIGHT:  6/6
SHOOT: 6/7
RESOLVE: 5
SPECIAL RULES: Ball & Shot, Fast Reload, Sailors, and Marksmen

Sea Dogs
4 POINTS English sailors were masters of seamanship. Life at sea made them rugged and surly men who were hard to match in a melee.
EXPERIENCE LEVEL: Trained
MAIN WEAPONS: Pistols, Standard    Melee Weapons
SIDE ARMS: None
FIGHT: 6/6  SHOOT: 7/7
RESOLVE: 5
SPECIAL RULES: Brawlers, Expert Artillery Crew, and Sailors

The Natives.  More Mohawk than Carib.... but you wouldn`t want to mess with these guys

5th Coalition: the Adige River 1809

From "A History of the Black Band" by Dr Augustus Catchmole, University of North Durham.

"Basically... with the retreat of the British from Corunna in January 1809 the French turned their attention to Austria.  Among the evacuated British troops was Captain Quitte von Wießmehr of the 60th Rifles.  A Junker from the ancient Duchy of Cleves, von Wießmehr was a school friend of Frederick William Duke of Oeels, soon to be Duke of Brunswick.
Gaining a temporary leave von Wießmehr traveled to Venice to meet another friend, inventor  Bartholomäus Girandoni,  only to find the Duke waiting for him. With his fame as a soldier the Captain was offered a command in "the Back Band," a force the Duke was raising to fight alongside the Austrians..." 

Following the battle of Sacile the French are withdrawing before an aggressive Austrian advance.  The objective is to cross the River Adige as far as Camponi.  
The French will be randomly assigned to each of the six tables, and the Austrians, supported by the Black Band, must defeat all opposition for a table to count as a victory.  Casualties will not be replaced between games unless a force rests for a turn.  The Austrians have ten turns to reach the objective.

The Black Band
Leader Status III Hauptmann Major Quitte Von Wießmehr*
Leader Status II Jägermeister Otto Feuct
Two Groups Jäger Riflemen
Leader Status II Unterleutnant Ulrich Krappschtink
Leader Status I Fahnrich Kurt Fahrtgasse (Ensign)
Two Groups Black Hussars
Point Value 60
*von Wießmehr is a friend of the inventor Bartholomäus Girandoni. He counts as a marksman carrying one of Girandoni's Air Rifles.  The rifle is also known as the Windbüchse.  With a range of 125 yards and a tubular magazine of 20 balls it is a fearsome weapon. Under SP2 rules an officer cannot also be a marksman, but nobody dare mention this fact to von Wießmehr. 

Fusilier Force IR27
Leader Status II Hauptmann Jurgen Fangstange (der Jünger)(6pts)
Three Groups of 8 Fusiliers, Muskets @6 (Stubborn)
Leutnant Dolph Rimsting, Status I  (3pts)
Three Groups of 8 Fusiliers, Muskets @6 (Stubborn)
OberMeister Erich Klopf, Status I (3pts)
Two Groups of 6 Third Rank Skirmishers, Muskets @7 (14pts)
Point Value:  62

French Regulars
Major Figuin Leader, Status III   (9pts)
Sergeant Gui D`'Rope Leader, Status I     (3pts)
One Group of 8 Grenadiers, Muskets (7pts)
Two Group of 8 Line Infantry, Muskets   (8pts)
Captain Douche Leader, Status II    (6pts)
Two Groups of 8 Line Infantry, (8pts)Muskets
Sous Lieutenant Casse-Toi Bâtard Leader Status II     (6)
Two  Groups  of  6  Voltigeur  Skirmishers, Muskets(12pts)
Corporal Peart, Drummer (1)
Point Value: 60

21er Dragoons
Dragoon Captaine Alex Craimant   Status III     (9)
Dragoon Lieutenant Rene Douche-Sac   Status I   (3)
Marechal Chef Milieu Grande Jambe Status II      (6)
Brigadier Louis Brasforté (Trumpet)  (1)
Private Fr Dénis Condom (Defrocked Priest) Holy Man (1)
Two Groups of 8 Mounted Dragoons   16pts
Three Groups of 6 Foot Dragoons      18pts
Point Value:  60 pts

Men of Bronze, Scenario One Decisive Battle

Scenario 1 Decisive Battle
With my first batch of Hoplites painted I decided to get them on table in a 20 point per side game.  Ths is about half the size of a full game.

Equal Points, 20 each.
Start on opposite long table edges.
Victor is the side with units left on table at the end.

Terrain

The Great Strategos Bronchitis of the city of Scrotas has marched his Hoplites out to face the Tyrant Bellendus of Itchyas in battle.  

The Forces
Bellendus and his Elite Hoplites
Testicles and his Militia Hoplites
3 Arete Points
                    vs.
Bronchitus with his drilled Hoplites
Engorgius with his drilled Hoplites
3 Arete Points

The field of Ares

A full 38 point Hoplite Army from one box of Warlord games Hoplites, 40 figures.

And since my Warlord Games Hoplites came with 42 figures here are the remaining two, the pipes guy and a spare leader who clearly doesn't appreciate the Terpsichorean Muse.

Bronchitis pays his Arete points to adopt Phalanx.  I simulate this on table by lapping the figures' bases edges.  It has the added effect of overlapping shields.  

Bellendus' Elite Hoplites form Phalanx.   His Militia Hoplites, without Armour, are still manoeuvering 

The clash.  Arete points used for the charge and a combat bonus on the left.

Bronchitus (with the red dice) kills four of Bellendus Elites.

The melee from above.

The Drilled Hoplites of Bronchitus cut through the Militia

And Bronchitus dice rolls are superlative!  Blue can`t compete with any of the red dice in this game.

The end game as Bronchitus and his men chase the enemy off

The realm of Hades. Bronchitus lost only four men, whilst Bellendus had seventeen killed, including a guy who literally lost his head!  

Bellendus of course survived the omens of fate after the game.  A fast runner apparently.  Alas poor Testicles came to a sticky and untimely end.  His son Testicles the smaller will seek revenge!

The Pennsylvania frontier 1757

Some Rebels and patriots inspiration struck me this week in the form of the movie Northwest Passage.  ("What I watch on Youtube when I`m drunk" would be a great blog title)  
Filmed in 1940 while the rest of the world was embroiled in a real war this is a "nostalgic" look back to Rogers'  Rangers and the savage French Indian War.  
Really the movie is a boy's own adventure, perhaps looking back to a time when the Americans and British worked together to combat an aggressive enemy, or perhaps just Hollywood reinventing history.

They don`t really need to.  Rogers was a real hero in every sense of that word.  Instead we get a snapshot into the war, and a great performance as Spencer Tracy portrays a character with real depth.

Incidentally it has almost nothing to do with the "Northwest Passage."  We are told that Robert Rogers wants to find the Northwest passage.  I`m not being obtuse to say he would be needing a ship for that and not a battalion of Rangers tramping through the woods.

In terms of it's treatment of Native Americans the movie has all of the usual criminal denial of the Hollywood of the time.  Natives are savage, villainous and comedic.  The fact that the Rangers mission is to go out to the frontier and massacre a native settlement never seems to be an issue. 

There is however a lot in that movie I can use for a French Indian War campaign game, but I fully intend to treat the Native Americans better than Hollywood did.

Rebels and Patriots is a game that I have really enjoyed having a go at for the French Indian War.  It has reinvigorated my 10mm 18th Century collection.  It would cover the War of Independence well too.

My original games followed a linear style campaign, a straightforward march to Fort Cumberland, encountering enemy forces en route.   I took this from the map of Braddock's advance to the disaster at the Monongahela.

Extending this game I worked on the map, stitching in and adding elements.  Between Pennsylvania and Ohio we have a wild expanse of territory.

My original game map for Pennsylvania.  

The Rebels and Patriots campaign game follows the career of your Company Officer, as he advances from 2nd Lieutenant to Major, through the scenarios.  It's a simple system where increasing reputation brings higher rank and additional traits and skills.  I'll stick with this. 
Moving on the map will generate encounters and scenarios.  Forces will be given a mission, and move on the map to try to complete it.

An Audit of my forces for this campaign:

Winchester
The British

2nd Lt the Hon, Richard "Wheezer" Barfe-Chunks.
Trait: Wheezy 11 Hon Points
Ensign Vivian Swift-Cummings (Cad)
Ensign Roger Ewes (the favourite nephew)
1 Group Shock, Grenadiers 20th Foot
3 groups of Regular Line 20th Foot
1 group Light Infantry 20th Foot
2 groups Engineers
1 Group Blue Mingo guides. 

Fort Cumberland and Chester

The Pennsylvania Militia
2nd Lt Quincy Adams Wagstaff @3 points each
Ensign Roger Young- Boyes  (the favourite nephew)
3 groups Line Infantry 20th Foot @ 4 points each
2 groups light Infantry
1 Light Gun

Ramjet's Fort

Ramjet's Rangers

Captain Roger Ramjet, 

(Resourceful and handsome)

"Lootenant" Bucky Barnes

Sergeant Chawplug

3 groups Light Infantry

1 group of scouting Iroqoius, under  Chief Chinyougeek

The French
Regt de Lorraine

Capitaine Etienne de Grande-Boules, The Fighting Peacock
Trait. Peacock, Nomme de Guerre
Honour 45 points
Sous Lieutenant Alain Chapelier-Brun, (Nice loud voice) 10 Honour Points
1 Group Shock, Grenadiers Regt de Lorraine
3 groups of Regular Line Regt de Lorraine
1 group Light Infantry Regt de Lorraine
1 Large Aggressive group Native Americans

Coureurs de Bois
2 groups Coureurs de Bois (lead by the traitor Enoch Petain) 
2 Large Aggressive groups Mohawk Native Americans

The Delaware

1 Group Huron
1 Group Abenaki
1 Group Odawa

The new campaign map using the area of Braddock's advance to the Monongahela

And the map with my solo mechanism entry points on it.  Just where are those tricky French?

FR1 to FR6 selected with a simple D6 dice roll.
French Forces are:

1. Regt de Lorraine
2. Canadian Coureurs de Bois
3. Western Canadian Coureurs de Bois
4. Huron
5. Abenaki
6. Odawa

Civilians 
Landscape Artist Langdon Town
Woodsman Hunk Marriner 
Reverend Brown, Alcoholic Missionary
Charlie Mason and Geordie Dixon, surveyors.

Wiseman Claggit trading guns to the Mohawks

Logan,  the Algonquin Mingwe
Cayuga of the Six Nations and his two sons.