To complement my variety of French, Prussian, and Allies...below are are 4 battalions of Cleves-Berg Line Infantry. As usual, trying to get a general feel rather than complete 100% accuracy and detail. Enjoy! And...a very blurry sneak peak at their cavalry companions in the background.
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Within the next week, I'll be reinforcing the 4 battalions and cavalry below with 8 battalions of musketeers, 4 battalions of fusiliers, 4 battalions of landwehr, 2 squadrons of uhlans, and some jagers. To start things off, here's what started it all! Musketeer battalions on the right, Grenadier battalion front left, Fusilier battalion skirmishing back left 2 squadrons of hussars
Today's after action report is of the largest battle myself and my brother have played to date. It was over our winter break (we're both history teachers, naturally) and amounted to over 1000 points. We use the Black Powder rules set. The fictitious battle takes its name from the local creek that runs near our local gaming store in the Pittsburgh suburbs. We have fought so many battles (all aptly named for the famed creek) that we simply can't come up with more creative names! The battle was between two multi-national forces. On my side, the French were joined but some Poles of the Vistula Legion as well as 4 battalions from various states of the Confederation of the Rhine. My opposition consisted of a mix of British, Saxon, and Prussian units. Enjoy! The French arrayed for battle. We used an 8x4' table with 2x4' deployment zones. We figured it would open things up for more maneuvering. The Prussians and Saxons begin the carnage, moving along their right flank. The motivated British charge forth to fill the gap between the hill and a small pond on the left flank. The French advanced in step, preparing to take on the coalition, however the supporting cavalry rolled poorly on their command check and remained to the rear. The Prussians advance to take the hill on the right flank, however..... ......their Saxon and British allies were less excited, and waiting this one out for a turn. The Prussians were left isolated and vulnerable. Time to strike! In a daring move, the Confederation of the Rhine battalions advanced on the hasty Prussians and prepared a volley. Unfortunately their Polish and French backup only made it one move, so were not in support. The more cautious French move up slightly, preparing to face the British. The Saxon brigade finally moved to support the Prussians, however the Prussians remained locked in attack columns. Luckily they had weathered the first volley. The British made a swift advance, deployed into line, and gave a volley to the French. It was far more effective that the under-performing Confederation of the Rhine.... The Poles and French guard move up to support the Confederation of the Rhine. It was about time! Which was swiftly countered by the Saxons advancing through the Prussians, forming line, and firing! Some of the French are deployed into line and fire back at the staunch Brits! Fast forward a turn and the scene is even more chaotic. The full weight of both divided forces has been brought into the action. Shooting has been indecisive, but has claimed the valiant Lippe battalion of the CotR. The battle rages on! Both flanks are now becoming even bloodier. A daring cavalry charge forces the Wurzburg battalion to form a square, but the Poles bail them out and form lines in front. The confederation has lost enough men for one day! A tricky situation for all parties. No one seems to have the upper hand. Some combined cavalry and infantry strikes finally begin to push the British back (though, it will be at the cost of the brave Polish Hussars!). An aggressive (and blurry, sorry!) advance by the Middle Guard is able to eliminate a squadron of Saxon Chevau-Leger..... ....only to have the favor returned by the other squadron, who fearlessly attempt to avenge their brothers! Adding insult to injury, the Prussian musketeers charge in the flank. The French on the opposite flank seem to be doing better, and a poised to overrun the British! Fresh reserves have shown up to make a fight of it. The fight across the board continues, as the Guard have held out against the odds! Sadly, the battle had to conclude here. With plenty of (worn and exhausted) battalions still on the table, the result was a draw. Though each side appeared to have the upper had at one point or another, no winner could be decided. Perhaps with time for a few more turns, things would have resolved more definitively.
All in all it was a good fight. Straight forward at the beginning, however some crafty moves on both sides, and strong use of reserves, made this one pretty interesting! Thanks for reading! Today's update includes all of the allied/dependent/minor states for the French. As with my actual French, these are meant to be easily recognized, if not perfect, representations. Some of them are done to be very generic so that they can also ally with the Prussians I am building (for example, the Saxons). Enjoy! Polish Vistula Legion Line Infantry Polish Hussars Saxon Line Infantry Saxon Chevau-Legers Confederation of the Rhine Line Battalions From front to back: Anhalt, Schwarzbourg-Sonderhausen, Wurzburg, Lippe The Portuguese Legion (had to take some creative license with them) The Irish Legion
Today's post will be picture heavy as I display the wide variety of units I have completed for 15mm Napoleonic French. All are based for use in Black Powder, and are painted to what I consider a passable standard of tabletop quality. I don't always shoot for extreme detail, but really just want the units to be easily recognized on the table. First, just some battalions of French Ligne. Next, some French Legere French Middle Guard Foot Artillery (guns need repainted the correct color) French Lancers French Commanders
For my next update, I'll bring in the French allies, which include Polish, Saxon, the Portuguese and Irish Legions, and my personal favorite, the Confederation of the Rhine. This is simply my first post to see how things work. Computers sometimes confuse me...but I'm going to attempt a picture below: These Prussians are some of my latest work. I'll hopefully be posting individual pictures of everything I've done so far someday soon.
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