Merry Christmas Everyone!

Wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Our old Napoleonic rules

The rules in this post are our original Napoleonic wargaming rules. Gradually we phased most of these out but they remained the basis for our current rules. Here they are, they make for very fast play:

MOVEMENT:
Infantry - 15cm
Cavalry (all types) - 25cm
Artillery - 10cm

FIRING RANGES:
Muskets - 15cm
Cavalry - 10cm
Artillery - 30cm
When a unit is attacking an enemy unit five rolls of two dice are used to inflict casualties, the system is exactly the same as the one in the previous post Infantry units and their rules. The main difference however is the five volleys. Artillery uses the same system but has a longer range. If infantry or cavalry are positioned on ridges/hills their firing range goes up by 10cm. If artillery is positioned the same way an extra 25cm is added to it's firing range.
BATTLES FOUGHT WITH THESE RULES:
Our most famous battles fought by these rules were Austerlitz, Waterloo (Last year we had a tiny Waterloo with these rules), a tiny battle, The recapture of Field Marshall Jakob von Morris, and countless unnamed others.

Waterloo Prussian Order of Battle

Prussian Army order of Battle
 
1 corps (Zieten)
1st brigade
  12th infantry - 21
  24th infantry - 21
  Westphalian Landwehr - 17
  Silesian Jager - 3
  Foot Artillery - 2 6lb
Reserve Cavalry
  Dragoons - 10
  Hussars - 4
  Uhlans - 6
  Landwehr Cavalry (mostly used for scouting) - 3
  Horse Artillery - 3 6lb 
 
2 corps (Pirch)
5th brigade
  2nd infantry - 27
  25th infantry - 24
  Westphalian Landwehr - 19
  Foot Artillery - 2 6lb 
6th brigade
  9th infantry - 23
  26th inantry - 19
  Elbe Landwehr - 22
Cavalry 
  Dragoons - 7
  Uhlans - 5 
  Landwehr cavalry - 5
 
4 corps (Bulow)
13th brigade
  10th infantry - 26
  Neumark Landwehr - 51
  Foot Artillery - 2 6lb
14th brigade
  11th infantry - 17
  Pomeranian Landwehr (guarding flank) - 47
15th brigade 
  18th infantry - 27
  Silesian Landwehr - 42
  Foot artillery - 2 6lb
16th brigade
  15th infantry - 27
  Silesian landwehr - 41
  Foot artillery - 2 6lb 
Cavalry Reserve (Prinz Wilhelm)
  Dragoons - 4
  Hussars - 9
  Uhlans - 7
  Neumark Landwehr Cavalry - 9
  Pomeranian Landwehr Cavalry (with Pomeranian landwehr) - 3
  Silesian Landwehr Cavalry (half with Pomeranian landwehr) - 9
  Horse Artillery - 4 6lb
Artillery Reserve
  Foot artillery - 6 12lb, 2 6lb
  Horse artillery - 2 6lb
  Howitzers - 2 7lb

Total:
 342 prussian infantry
 81 prussian cavalry

Waterloo Ango/Allied Order of Battle

Anglo/Allied Order of Battle

1 corps (William, Prince of Orange)
 1st division
  1st brigade (1st regiment of foot guards) - 22 infantry, 1 officer, 1 drummer
  2nd brigade (Coldstream regiment) - 22 infantry, 1 officer, 1 drummer
  Artillery (Royal Artillery) - 1 9lb gun, 1 5.5inch Howitzer
 3rd division
  5th brigade (Cambridge, Lincoln and York)- 23 infantry, 1 officer, 1 drummer
  2nd Brigade (KGL) - 10 riflemen, 9 line infantry, 1 officer
  1st brigade (Hannovarian) - 4 Jaeger, 13 light infantry, 18 line infantry, 1 officer
 2nd (Netherlands) Division
  1st brigade - 9 Jager, 8 Line infantry, 18 militia, 1 6lb horse gun, 1 24lb gun
  2nd brigade - 49 Nassau line infantry, 2 Nassau Jager, 1 officer
 3rd (Netherlands) Division
  1st brigade - 11 Jager, 22 militia
  2nd brigade - 7 Jager, 19 line infantry, 12 militia, 1 6lb gun

2 corps (Lord Hill) 
 2nd division
  3rd brigade - 21 light infantry (highlanders), 10 riflemen (95th) 1 officer
  1st brigade (KGL) - 21 line infantry, 1 officer, 1 drummer
  3rd brigade (Hanoverian) - 25 landwehr, 1 drummer, 1 officer
 4th division
  4th brigade - 13 line infantry, 8 Welch fusiliers, 1 officers
 1st (Netherlands) division
  1st brigade - 5 jager, 10 line infantry, 1 officer, 19 militia, 1 officer
  2nd brigade - 8 jager, 7 line infantry, 1 officer, 19 militia, 1 officer
  Artillery - 1 6lb gun, 1 24lb howitzer
  Indies brigade - 34 line infantry, 1 officer, 1 drummer, 21 light infantry, 1 officer

Cavalry Corps (Earl of Uxbridge)
 1st (Household) Cavalry Brigade
  Life guards - 5
  Dragoon guards - 9
 2nd (Union) Cavalry brigade - Sir William Ponsonby
  1st Dragoons (Scots Greys) - 10
  Inniskilling Dragoons - 4
 3rd British brigade
  Light dragoons (KGL) - 11
  23rd light dragoons - 5
 4th British brigade
  11th light dragoons - 5
  12th (Prince of of Wales's) Light dragoons - 4
  16th (Queen's) light dragoons - 5
 5th British brigade
  7th (Queens Own) hussars - 5
  15th (Kings) hussars - 5
  13th light dragoons - 7
 6th cavalry brigade
  10th (Prince of Wales' Own) hussars - 5
  18th (Kings Irish) hussars - 5
  1st hussars (KGL) - 7
 7th british brigade
  3rd hussars (KGL) - 9
 Attached Artillery
  1st battery, royal horse artillery - 1 5.5inch howitzer
  2nd rocket troops - 2 rocket launchers, 200 ammo total
  H troop - 1 9lb gun
  G troop - 1 9lb gun
 1st hanoverian brigade
  Duke of Cumberland's Hussars - 7
 Netherlands cavalry division
  1st heavy brigade - 14 carabiniers
  2nd light brigade - 12 hussars
  3rd light brigade - 11 hussars
 Attached Artillery - 2 6lb horse drawn guns, 1 24lb howitzer
 Cavalry of the Brinswick Corps
  2nd Hussars - 9 Hussars
  3 Uhlans

Reserves (Sir Thomas Picton)
 5th division
  8th brigade
   1st battalion 28th regiment - 12 line infantry
   79th regiment (cameron highlander) - 7
   1st Battalion, 95th rifles - 6
  9th brigade
   3rd battalion, 1st regiment (royal scots) - 7
   42nd regiment (black watch) - 7
   92nd regiment (gordon highlanders) - 6
  5th Hanoverian brigade
   Landwehr - 28
 6th division
  10th brigade (highest casualties in battle - 81%)
   Line Infantry - 23
  4th hanoverian brigade
   Landwehr - 27
 British reserve artillery
  A+D troop - 3 9lb guns, 2 5.5inch howitzers
 Brunswick Corps (duke of Brunswick)
  Advance guard - 7
  1st brigade
   Guards - 7
   Light infantry - 23
  2nd brigade
   Line infantry - 23
 Nassau 1st regiment - 32

Total:
724 anglo/allied infantry
153 anglo allied cavalry

French order of Battle for Waterloo

French Order of Battle

1 corps - Jean d'Erlon
 1st division
  1st brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade (light infantry) - 20 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer, crew for each
 2nd division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer, crew for each
 3rd division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 intantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer, crew for each
 4th division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 5.5inch howitzer, crew for each
 1st light cavalry division
  1st brigade - 5 hussars, 4 chasseur-au-cheval
  2nd brigade - 8 lancers, 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
 Artillerie Reserve
  11e companie - 1 12lb guns, 1 5.5inch howitzer

2 corps - Charles Reille
 5th division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb guns, 1 5.5inch howitzers, crew for each
 6th division (Jerome Bonaparte)
  1st brigade - 52 infantry, 4 officers, 4 drummers
  2nd brigade (light infantry) - 40 infantry, 3 officers, 3 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb guns, 1 5.5inch howitzers, crew for each
 7th division
  1st brigade- 40 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb guns, 1 5.5inch howitzers, crew for each
 9th division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb guns, 1 5.5inch howitzer, crew for each
 2nd cavalry division
  1st brigade - 12 Chasseur-au-cheval
  2nd brigade - 9 lancers
  Division d'Artillerie (horse artillery) - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
  Reserve d'Artillerie - 1 12lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer

3 corps
 8th division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artilerie - 2 6lb guns, 1 5.5inch howitzer
 10th division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade (swiss) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artilerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
 11th division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer, 10 engineers
 3rd cavalry division
  1st brigade - 8 chasseur au cheval
  2nd brigade - 4 chasseur au cheval
  Division d'Artillerie (horse mounted) - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
  Artillerie de reserve - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer, 10 engineers

4 corps
 12th division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb guns, 1 5.5inch howitzer
 13th division
  1st brigade ( half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 2 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb guns, 1 5.5inch howitzer
 14th division
  1st brigade ( half light infantry) - 23 infantry, 1 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 1 officers, 2 drummers
 7th cavalry division
  1st brigade - 4 hussars, 4 chasseurs
  2nd brigade - 7 dragoons
  Division d'Artillerie (horse mounted) - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
  Artillerie de reserve (horse) - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer

6 corps
 19th division
  1st brigade - 23 infantry, 1 officers, 2 drummers
  2nd brigade - 23 infantry, 1 officers, 2 drummers
  Division d'Artillerie - 5 sappers 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
 20th division
  1st brigade (half light infantry) - 18 infantry, 1 officer, 1 drummers
  2nd brigade - 8 infantry, 1 NCO, 1 drummer
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howtizer
 21st division
  1st brigade (all light infantry) - 10 infantry, 1 nco, 1 drummer
  2nd brigade - 11 infantry, 1 NCO, 1 drummer
  Division d'Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
  Artillerie de reserve - 1 12lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer, 3 engineers

1 cavalry corps (light cavalry)
 4th division (Pierre Soult)
  1st brigade - 9 hussars
  2nd brigade - 5 hussars
  Division Artillerie - 1 6lb horse gun, 1 5.5inch horse howitzer
 5th division
  1st brigade - 10 lancers
  2nd brigade - 6 chasseurs

2 cavalry reserve corps (heavy cavalry)
 9th division
  1st brigade - 9 dragoons
  2nd brigade - 8 dragoons
  Division Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
 10th division
  1st brigade - 7 dragoons
  2nd brigade - 7 dragoons

3 cavalry reserve corps
 11th division
  1st brigade - 13 dragoons
  2nd brigade - 9 cuirassiers
  Division Artillerie 1 6lb horse gun, 1 5.5inch horse howitzer
 12th division
  1st brigade - 10 carabiniers
  2nd brigade - 9 cuirassiers

4 cavalry reserve corps
 13th division
  1st brigade - 9 cuirassiers
  2nd brigade - 5 cuirassiers
  Division Artillerie - 1 6lb gun, 1 5.5inch howitzer
 14th division
  1st brigade - 9 cuirassiers
  2nd brigade - 6 cuirassiers

Imperial Guard:

 Grenadier division
  Old Guard - 27 infantry, 1 officer
  Middle Guard - 19 infantry, 1 officer
 Chasseur Division
  Old Guard - 28 infantry, 1 officer
  Middle Guard - 24 infantry, 1 officer
 Young Guard
  1st brigade
   Tirailleurs - 12 infantry, 1 officer
   Voltiguers - 14 infantry, 1 nco
  2nd brigade
   Tirailleurs - 11 infantry, 1 officer
   Voltiguers - 10 infantry, 1 nco   
 Guard Heavy Cavalry Division
  Grendadiers au cheval - 9 cavalry
  Dragoons - 10 cavalry
 Guard Light Cavalry Division
  Mameluke Chasseurs - 14 cavalry
  French and Polish Lancers - 9 cavalry
  Dutch Red Lancers - 7 cavalry
 Guard Artillery
  Old Guard
   Foot Artillery - 3 guns
   Horse Artillery - 2 guns
  Auxiliary
   Foot Artillery - 3 guns
   Horse Artillery - 2 guns
 Military engineers and marines
  Sappers - 2
  Marines - 6

Total:

776 french infantry (excluding imperial guard)

157 imperial guard infantry

245 french cavalry

Rules for civilians

When an enemy army enters a settlement containing civilians a dice must be rolled for every one of them to determine their reaction:
1 - Surrender to the army.
2 - Ignore the army and/or collaborate.
3, 4, 5 - Run and hide.
6 - Riot.

POLICEMEN:
Policemen are similar to soldiers but their main priority is the protection of civilians. However dice must still be rolled to determine their actions:
1 - Surrender.
2 - Ignore or collaborate.
3 - Run and hide.
4, 5, 6 - Defend civilians by attacking soldiers.

MOVEMENT:
Identical to infantry.

ATTACKING:
In order to attack, civilians must initiate a melee. However civilians may be armed or pick up arms to fight with those. Rules for armed civilians are the same as rules for soldiers.

WAR WORK:
Captured or collaborating civilians may be forced to work for an army, however they cannot be forced into a role of active fighting.

Plans for Jena-Auerstedt laid down

Hello folks!
It was recently decided between Thomas and I, that while I have a surplus of Prussian troops after Waterloo, that we will fight the battles of Jena–Auerstedt.
Because the battle is currently less important than our Waterloo campaign, we are making this a second priority but more information for these battles will be coming up on this blog.

The Increasing Size Of My Prussian Army

Very recently, the ranks of my army swelled as 120 Prussian line infantry, fusiliers and Jager joined my force. These infantry however are not plastic, they are 2D paper figures from the website, "Junior General."
This solved my infantry problem, but it didn't solve my lack of artillery. Fortunately Junior General makes artillery pieces as well, and now my Prussian army has 5 big guns.
Following this I printed out early war Grenadiers and musketeers to add to my impressive force.
I am yet to find suitable cavalrymen, but until then; I field the largest and most powerful army that Miniature Wars has ever seen.

Edit (Thomas) - Are you sure about that mate

Pavlov Grenadiers

Very recently I realised that despite having a very important role to play in our Napoleonic battles very little mention has been given to Ciaran's Russian army. An army that he got months before I got my Prussians. The kit is the Italeri Russian Grenadiers, the Pavlov Grenadies in fact.
With their distinctive mitre hats, the(partially complete)infantry have fought in many battles against the French, Austerlitz being the biggest one.
Recently I offered to paint these infantry for Ciaran and I am glad to say they are now almost complete.
Pictures of the finished infantry will be posted on this blog.

Austerlitz - The untold story

Previously there have been several references to "our Austerlitz" and I would like to explain this battle to you and explain why it was a landmark in our wargaming careers. Some of the details here may be a little patchy but that is due to how long ago the battle was fought.
The French had 45 infantrymen, 3 Generals, 4 artillerymen and one cannon. Facing them were 16 Russians and 30 Prussians (we had no Austrians) with one cavalryman. Though these numbers may sound meagre, at the time this was the largest battle we had fought in our wargaming careers. In fact, it is still our largest infantry battle to date.
Now for the battle:
The battle started when the Russian drums started and the troops marched blindly towards the French. Now Thomas didn't want to waste valuable men holding off the Russians, so he simply moved his cannon and crew onto a nearby hill. This cannon originally had a 30cm firing range, but after putting it on a hill Thomas suddenly had a super-powerful cannon with a 50cm firing range.
I on the other hand prioritised crossing the bridges by the town to secure a hill and farmhouse. I loaded that hill up with 18 of my best troops to be a forward defence post.
The Russians also captured a farmhouse until seconds later when it was destroyed by the French cannon. Seeing no alternative, the Russians marched at the gun supported by a single cavalryman while it spat cannon balls into the helpless men. The entire army was killed off so rapidly there was no time for them to even get in range. A single man did survive the slaughter and reached the gun only to be shot by the infantry.
With no army left to command, the Russian General committed suicide.
On the Prussian front however a total of 24 French troops were massing just out of range of my infantry. Then the first wave attacked.
12 French infantry charged at my hill losing all of their men and killing 8-10 of mine. Then came the second wave. 12 more infantry chatged my line, losing 10 of their own but successfully killing all Prussians on the hill to gain... nothing! In that single engagement the French lost 22 out of 24 men to kill 18 Prussian infantry on a hill with no strategic value. Half of the French casualties from the entire battle came from that fight.
However this battle crippled the Prussian army and the Field-Marshal evacuated when he heard the hill was lost. The rest of my infantry were spread out in small pockets throughout the battlefield and the new Prussian commander decided that defence was the best option.
He ordered his men to withdraw from the bridges and take up defensive positions in the town for a guerrilla-style defence. It didn't work.
The French army marched swiftly past the defences and massacred the Prussian general staff behind the town.
The French may have won this battle but the allied armies didn't retreat like real life, but instead held their ground until death.

Tank rules for the first world war

These rules cover the tanks of 1917-1918. Not including the Russian Mendeleev heavy tank or German  K-Wagen.

MOVEMENT:
MK I-IV - 10cm
MK A Whippet - 15cm
Char Schneider - 10cm
Saint Chamond - 10cm
Renault FT-17 - 10cm
A7V Sturmpanzerwagen - 15cm
Going over hills and rough terrain movement is reduced to 5cm.
 A moving tank may make a maximum of 2 90 degree turns during its turn. At the start of each game a dice must be rolled for each tank to see if it starts up succesfully. If it rolls a 1 or 2 the tank doesn't start. Roll the dice the next turn every time it starts up.

FIRING:
Once the tank has selected a target (an enemy tank in this case) and is within firing range a dice is rolled for that tank's main gun/s. The shot will miss if a 1 or 2. If a hit then another dice must be rolled to see how much damage the shot caused:
1 or 2 - No damage
3 - Nearest track is broken
4 - Gun, turret or gunner knocked out
5 - Engine fire
6 - Destroyed

3 4s will destroy the tank
2 5s will destroy the tank
1 6 will destroy the tank
Tanks armed with machine guns have a firing range of 25cm. To fire a machine gun is different to firing a cannon. When firing MGs you continue to roll dice until you get a 1, at which point the gun jams or is out of ammo. MGs can only penetrate tank armour if they roll a 5 or 6. The damage system is the same as the cannon rules above.
Any tanks with armour thicker than 25mm cannot be penetrated by MG fire.

Today's Battle

Today a Napoleonic tabletop battle was fought at school.
The armies were French and Prussian and each side had 15 troops and one commander. We tossed a dice to start, Thomas rolling a 3 and I rolling a 5, so I made the first move of the battle.
As I didn't have enough troops to form a square and didn't want to form a bayonet hedge I instead made what looked like a bayonet edge with a rounded back to keep Mr M safe from flanking attacks.
Thomas sent forwards his Voltguers to pick of my men. In order to counter this I moved my entire formation forward to intercept them, making sure his main force was out of range.
The Voltiguers were eliminated on the first volley with no losses to the Prussians.
He then proceded to attack my main force, killing  Prussians before suffering 2 losses of his own.
The battle continued like this for a while. He had taken 8 losses compared to my 4 when he decided it was a good time to retreat, leaving behind a rear guard of 3 men to slow me down.
It didn't work. My Prussians immediately killed 2 out of the 3 and the remaining man surrendered.
The French took 10 casualties compared to my 4.
All in all this was a very succesful battle for me!

Infantry units and their rules

In  the games that I play, a single infantry unit is made up of 5-10 men.

MOVEMENT:
The speeds at which a unit of infantrymen can move are listed blow:
Infantry in formation - 10cm
Infantry skirmishing - 15cm
Infantry charging/running - 20cm
If a unit has charged on it's previous turn it may only move at 10cm for this turn. A unit may not move 20cm twice or 20cm then 15cm.
A unit may come out of formation into skirmishing order by moving at 15cm but be mindful that this can make them vulnerable to cavalry attacks.
The unit may split up or transfer men to another unit but this will affect the strength of the unit as a whole.

ATTACKING:
The unit has the ability to attack when it comes in attacking range of another unit. Firing ranges are listed below:
Musket - 20cm
Rifle - 25cm
Pistol - 15cm
Bow - 15cm
Spear/javelin - 2-10cm
Slingshot - 10cm
Pike - 5cm
Hand - Bases must be touching.
Dice are used for attacking and inflicting casualties. The highest roll is compared to the highest roll of the opponent.
Example: The French troops are attacking a British unit. The French roll a 6 and a 2 while the Brits roll a 5 and a 4. The 6 is compared to the 5 and wins so a casualty is inflicted on the Brits. The 2 is then compared with the 4 to which it loses, resulting in a casualty for the French and equal losses for both sides.
If the soldiers are armed with muzzle-loading muskets a maximum of 2 volleys are fired (2 rolls of the dice), bolt-action rifles 3 and bows and slingshots 2.
If the unit has just fired apon an enemy unit during its turn, and are attacked by an enemy unit the next turn, it is unable to fire back in the final volley. Meaning it can only roll to defend on the final volley.
If the dice are compared and the result is a tie there are no casualties inflicted on either side.

MELEE COMBAT:
Melee combat is initiated when either bases or weapons are touching. It uses the same volley system as above, however the dice will be rolled until a side is either destroyed or retreated. Troops equipped with shields or armour will get an extra dice to roll that is for defence only.

MORALE:
When a unit has entered combat and suffered a minimum of two casualties, and wants to fall back or retreat, it must roll a dice to see if the unit remains intact and disciplined. If it rolls a 1 during this process it routs and leaves the battlefield. If the unit commander has been lost then a 1, 2 or 3 will send them sprinting off the battlefield. A broken unit will not stop moving away and will try to kill anything in it's path, including fellow soldiers and allies.
If an overall commander of an army is killed then player must roll for the whole army and if a 1, 2, or 3 is rolled the army collapses and routs.
If a unit is charged by cavalry, a dice must be rolled and a 1 will see the men fleeing the battlefield.

UNIT STANDARDS:
If the unit possesses a regimental standard (e.g. French Eagle, Roman Aquila or regimental flag) it will try to defend this to the death as each standard is worth 10 points. If a standard is lost or captured the unit must roll for morale, if rolling a 1 they rout. Though standards may sound somewhat expensive and useless if the standard survives to the end of the battle and is held by the victorious side they each give 10 extra points to the army's total score. However they must be part of a fighting unit for this to happen.

EFFECT TERRAIN MAY HAVE ON UNITS:
Any movement uphill is halved. Rivers and lakes cannot be crossed unless there is a boat or bridge.
Units positioned on a hill or rise get an extra 5cm added onto their firing range.
Example: Prussian troops are scaling a rise to knock out the French Troops poised on top. The French firing range is slightly longer than the Prussians so the French are able to inflict losses on the Prussians before the Prussians are in range with their firearms. 
Units moving through woods must be in skirmishing order and movement is halved along with firing range. Rivers and water can be fired across. Buildings and houses can be entered but if the building is destroyed all troops inside are killed.

Work successfully started on my Italeri French Hussars!

Work on a "Napoleon's Little Wars" rulebook

Jakob and I have recently been talking and we have decided that it would be a good idea, given how much we modified the rules recently (to make them more realistic), to keep track of them with a rulebook. This new rulebook will cover all of the rules that we have so far, as well as painting guides for several different kinds of troop, and will also have example games using these rules. I will put up another post when it is available.

Progress on La Haye Sainte

I have finally started work on the Italeri La Haye Sainte farmhouse. It is an excellent kit, made of MDF, and seems to be well sized to suit the 1/72 soldiers that it was designed for. My French infantry, with their large hats, are unable to fit through the door, but without the hats would be able to. The detail of this kit is quite good, with there being a seperate sheet of wood for these details. I look forward to finishing the build, and to sharing this with you.

My troops of the third crusade

Maybe a month or two ago, I purchased a $5 bag of second-hand plastic soldiers in 1:72 scale. Inside I saw Airfix WWII US marines, and several half painted Muslim and Crusader knights.
There were about 14 Muslims and 8 Crusaders inside under varying stages of completion. I decided to be a good older brother and gift my younger brother, Connor, the Crusaders to paint.
Initially I had had trouble finding an image to show uniform of the Muslim Knight, but fortunately I found an image in a book of mine and successfully based them off that.
Connor finished his Crusaders first and cut them off the sprue ready for action. I finished about 9 Muslims and cut them off the sprue to have our first Crusader-era wargame.
It was simple and rather uneventful - the Knights charged each other before meeting in the middle in a brutal melee that the Muslims came out on top of.
That was our first, and latest, Crusader-era wargame.
Today I cut the last of the Muslims off the sprue and I'm ready to give Crusader-era wargaming another go, possibly with Warlord Games' "Hail Caesar" rules.
Pictures of the finished knights will be posted here as soon as I have some.

Work has been successfully started on Kees' Napoleonic Nassau infantry!

My updated ruleset

This is an updated version of the rules that I posted at the end of last year, with some added extras, and a slightly longer span of time that they are useful for.

There are two forms of play that can be done using these rules, as with many other rule sets: campaign, and individual play. Individual games are simple enough, not requiring any extra explanation, but campaign play, there ae some additional gameplay elements that make strategic retreat favorable over a fight to the death situation.
If you happen to decide to play a campaign, choose some sort of campaign-ending event, such as defeating a certain amount of enemy troops, or winning a certain amount of games. The winner of each game will earn 100 points plus the amount of troops left, eg. Player 1 wins with 20 infantry left, they score 120 points. The loser also accumulates points, but only earns these for troops remaining, with no bonuses. These points are then accumulated to be used in the next game, used to get troops. Infantry costs 1 point each, cavalry 3, and artillery 10.

Movement:

This is one of the most important aspects of the game and is a core function in getting troops from one location to the other. Below is listed movement distances for troops.

Infantry in formation: 15 cm
Infantry skirmishing: 20 cm
Heavy cavalry: 25 cm
Light cavalry: 30 cm
Limbered artillery: 15 cm
Manhandled artillery: 5 cm

Troops are unable to move across water unless there is a boat or bridge. If you wish to designate a ford, then agree with the other player before the game and make sure that it's clearly designated.
Movement up hills is halved.
Movement may only be made over fences or low walls by cavalry or skirmishers, this takes a full turn to complete.
Moving through field with long grass or crops, movement is halved.

Attacking:

Attacking consists of shooting at an enemy (infantry, cavalry or cannon) or initating a melee with them with a sword, bayonet or other short ranged weapon. The intent of attacking an enemy is to defeat those enemies that you are attacking.

Shooting:

Shooting is done with a ranged weapon such as a gun or bow/arrows. Using infantry for shooting is vastly different to using cannon or other large weapon (mortar, howitzer). With infantry, both players  roll 1 die, plus the modifier that the type of weapon used. With both players dice having been rolled, compare the highest of player 1's to the highest of player 2's, and so on. If one side rolls more dice then compare all of the rest to the other player's lowest dice. The other player cannot use these to kill troops, but you can. However, if one side finds itself with only half of the numbers of the enemy, the modifier is subtracted.

Weapon:      Range:    Modifier:
Musket        20cm      +1 die
Rifle            25cm      +2 dice
Bow            15cm      +0 dice (unless within 5cm)
Slingshot    10cm      +0 dice

Cannons:

With cannon, roll two dice. Get the total number and add 5. This is the distance that the shot flies. All troops within 2cm of the shot landing are removed from play.
Cannon are able to fire over the heads of friendly troops, so long as it is on a hill and no other troops are within 6cm of it.

Mortars/Howitzers:

These are much the same as cannon in how you fire them. As they are designed to throw a projectile high into the air, they can always make it over the heads. They, however, having explosive shells, will remove all troops within 5cm from play.

Melee:

To start a melee against the enemy, bases or weapons must be touching. Also only available to troops equipped with melee weapons (swords, bayonets, spears). This also counts for cavalry, but only if they are not charging.
Each player rolls 1 die per unit involved in the melee (plus or minus modifiers), and the enemy loses the amount of troops as the dice total.

Modifiers for melee (per unit)

Sword equipped troops - plus 2 dice
Spear equipped troops  - plus 2 dice
Bayonet equipped troops - plus 1 dice
Shield or armour - minus 1 die of the opposition
Cavalry - Plus 3 dice on the turn that it starts, back to the normal modifier for the weapon on consecutive turns

Optional:

Messengers:

These are for having a specific part of the turn that is for communication between the commander and the units. The messengers can move 35cm per turn and must be within 3cm of a unit to relay orders, and must then go back to the commander before they can change the orders. These can be seperate figures, or, alternatevily, some sort of marker could be used, such as a dice.

Square formation:

If playing this rule then infantry must always form a square if charged by cavalry. However, if a unit is less than 15 figures, or is irregular infantry (tribesmen and such) then they will be unable to form a square and will instead have to form a bayonet hedge (a 2 or 3 deep line with bayonets out from the men at the front). When a square has been formed, cavalry are unable to attack the square and aren't allowed to go within 5cm of the square, and must use the rest of their move to either go around or turn back. Squares are able to fire with only 1 dice per face.

The Italeri Waterloo Project

I have recently made the decision to recreate, in miniature, the battle of Waterloo, completely using Italeri models, beginning with the [now out of production] Battle at La Haye Sainte set. It comes with 32 French Infantry, 32 British Infantry, 22 British 95th rifles, 4 French Artillery Pieces, and the House and Walls of La Haye Sainte. The kit has just arrived, and out of the box, it appears to be fairly well made. I already have 48 Italeri French, 48 Italeri Brits and Scots, Italeri British Artillery (4 pieces), Italeri Prussian Cuirassiers (16 cavalrymen), Italeri French Cuirassiers (12 cavalrymen), Jakob has Italeri Prussian Infantry (48 figures) and Kees has Italeri Dutch/Polish lancers (14 cavalrymen)

Dutch/Polish Lancers

Recently I was comissioned by my friend Kees to paint his Italeri Dutch/Polish Lancers. We decided that they would be painted best as the French 7th "Polska" Regiment, with blue and yellow uniforms.
These are the finished products.

How I get free 1:72 scale tanks for wargames.

If you are looking for model tanks in 1:72 scale and simply do not have time to build and paint them Landships II is a good site that supplies free tank models to be printed out on card and construct them. Some of the important ones include:
The A7V Sturmpanzerwagen
The Mk IV Male
The Renault FT-17
The Vickers MK E type A six ton tank
The Burstyn tank
The Mendeleev tank
The MK A Whippet
Railguns
Zeppelins
Artillery
Aircraft
And more!
This is a very worthwhile site to go on if looking for free and easy model kits for wargaming or whatever you want to use them for.
Please have a look and feel free to leave a question on this post.

A Recent Napoleonic Battle

Earlier today, the French and Prussian armies clashed in a brutal skirmish for control of a table. Each side had 11 infantry and eight cavalrymen.
The battle started when the Prussian Curassiers raced forward to lure the French cavalry into a fight. However this did not succeed and the Cavalry simply cantered along in support of the infantry. The Prussians abandoned their original plan and set up a defensive line, deliberately leaving their left flank exposed.
The French marched forward and straight into a Prussian volley, they lost two men and one cavalryman while the Prussians lost one. In the meantime the French cavalry split into two groups with one group supporting the infantry and the other protecting the right flank.
The Prussians held their position and wore down the French attackers until the time was right.
The Prussian cavalry charged into the infantry, killing many. However the French fought harder than expected and killed off my cavalrymen - only to fall prey to the guns of my infantry who poured volleys into the French.
However, I, Generalfeldmarschall Jakob von Morris am not completely without mercy, I proposed my terms of surrender and they promptly agreed. Thomas' cavalry on the other hand turned and fled the battlefield. The five French prisoners were marched away while the Prussians celebrated their victory.
This was a very successful battle for me!

An imaginary battle in Egypt

An aerial view of the battlefield

Recently we have started a wargame of an imaginary Egyptian Napoleonic war scenario. This battle consists of 20 Dutch infantry, 20 Prussian infantry, 20 French infantry and 10-12 British AI (Artificially Intelligent) troops.
The objective was to capture the large British-held African mansion and hold it against the other armies for as long as possible. The British, unless expelled from their position would receive a steady stream of reinforcements that would eventually overwhelm us.
The game was played at school on four desks that we had pushed together, as seen in this image.
The Dutch are in the bottom left, the French in the bottom right, Prussians in the top left and British troops in the top right and center. The mansion is clearly visible in the middle.
The battle started when the Prussians(me)advanced on the British and sent four troops to guard my right flank. The Dutch prioritised capturing a building and sending a large portion of their army to attack the French.
However the British troops opened fire on the Dutch infantry and  succeeded in killing three out of five Dutch soldiers, losing only two of their own.
In the meantime the French had formed a slow moving defensive formation and sent their two Voltiguers to scout ahead and take pot shots at British defenders. The poor Brits were outnumbered 3:1 but they inflicted more casualties then they suffered on the advancing Dutch and Prussian armies.

The British defend the mansion to the death.

As all this happened, the French hung back with only the Voltiguers advancing.

The Dutch suffer at the hands of the British

Napoleonic Dutch Infantry arrive on the battlefield

Perhaps two months ago a friend of ours, who had recently become enthused with wargaming, ordered HaT Waterloo Dutch Infantry. The men in this kit represent Dutch troops in Wellington's army at Waterloo. However Kees, the owner of the figures, wants the men to be painted in the green and yellow uniforms of the Nassau infantrymen as seen here. Furtunately, these different infantrymen have fairly similar uniforms, so won't require too much modification.
The(unpainted)infantry have already seen much combat against the French with varying degrees of success.
Kees has asked me to paint these for him and I shall as soon as I have got the correct paints.
I am looking forward to seeing them completed and in action.

My Latest Napoleonics

Hello for the first time in a while!
During the school holidays I was gifted a 1:72 scale kit of Napoleonic French Hussars manufactured by Italeri. Though I wargame with the Prussian army these will make good opponents for my Infantrymen.
This set comes with 17 mounted Hussars moulded in blue plastic. They have nice detail and the accuracy is good. The moulding is reasonably crisp with only a little bit of flash.
I am looking forward to painting their bold-coloured uniforms and their equipment.

My New Model Corsair

On April 18th of this year, I was gifted a small wooden F4U Corsair. Over the course of the next two weeks,  I built it up, and I now feel that it is now at a point where it looks almost finished, and at the point where I can show you.

I don't think that it has much potential use for in wargames, but it sure does make quite a nice decoration.

MY PRUSSIAN ARMY

Hello! In this post I will be writing about my Prussian army.

I got these Prussians in mid 2017 and they first saw combat in a battle of Austerlitz I had with Thomas just two days after getting them in the post.
Recently, I've been repainting them to get them more historically accurate and to fix mistakes made by my sloppy painting hand. Here they are in the midst of battle.

 The quality of this image is poor, but you get the general idea.
Here is a much clearer photo of them in peacetime!

THE BIRTH OF GEBHARD LEBERECT VON BLUCHER

Recently I started painting one of my horse mounted officers that came with my kit of Prussian infantry  (http://www.italeri.com/scheda.asp?idProdotto=49&idCategoria=34&idSottocategoria=0) like the Prussian Field Marshall Gebhard Leberect von Blucher.

Here is one of the three sprues included in the kit. The horse mounted officer is clearly seen in the bottom row and the horse on the top left.
Here is Blucher:

NEEDED KITS FOR WARGAMING

1. 1:72 AIRFIX CIVILIANS
2. 1:72 EMHAR GERMAN ARTILLERY WW1
3. 1:72 ITALERI PANZER III KIT - COMES WITH TWO PANZER 3'S

IF ANYONE KNOWS WERE TO FIND THESE PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST.
THANKS A LOT 😀

CLASH OF THE LAND IRONCLADS - THE A7V AND OTHER TANKS IN RECENT BATTLES

In recent battles between Thomas and I, tanks have played a major part in determining victory or defeat. This is later part in a game between American and German tank forces:

My A7Vs(Nixe, Elfriede, Mephisto, Gretchen, Faust and Baden 1)were advancing mercilessly through a small village in the French countryside. They knocked down and/or flattened any obstruction in their way as they advanced towards Thomas' mostly-dead army. However, Thomas had tanks too, and they were racing forward to intercept mine.
After inflicting losses on multiple dazed troops, Gretchen was lost to a 22mm trench gun. to counter this Baden 1 and Faust were ordered to collapse the church on the gun positions. This Plan failed and the guns disabled Baden's 57mm cannon. Immediately after this failure the 22s took out Faust with 4 shots into the front. As the Panic stricken crew bailed out, Baden rolled forward and crushed a machine gun - only to have the underside shredded by a trench gun.
And I had lost half my Panzers to 2 trench guns already.
My other A7Vs(Elfriede, Nixe and Mephisto)started a bloody firefight with 4 Whippets, 1 Mk IV and an FT. And succeeded in reducing the number of Whippets to 3 before losing all my tanks and retreating. If only I had one of these!!!!!!



I lost because of the superiority of my A7Vs! So confident was I that all allied tanks but the MK IV would be outclassed by my A7Vs that I sent them carelessly spread-out into action!! Though the Whippet was inferior to the A7V, it managed to beat me with massed firepower and sheer numbers.
If I'd grouped my Panzers rather than spreading them out the battle may have had a very different result.

GERMAN TANKS LOST(IN ORDER):
FT-17(CAPTURED)
A7V GRETCHEN
A7V FAUST
A7V BADEN
A7V MEPHISTO
A7V NIXE
A7V ELFRIEDE

ALLIED TANKS LOST(IN ORDER):
FT-17
MK a WHIPPET #1

BATTLE IN VILLERS FROMAGE

EACH SIDE HAD 15 MEN AND TWO TANKS

The battle began when I used my A7V to crush the  barbed wire on the edge of the village. My opponent on the far side moved his FT-17 up the wire with confident redcoats certain of an easy victory. After all-my last campaign had been a DISASTER.
Anyway, my brave Prussians advanced into town, massacring French civilians who resisted as we set up. The Brits were not as lucky, and a man was caught and killed in the barbed wire-the first of many deaths. My Sturmpanzerwagens fired at his infantry and missed every shot.
As the FT-17 advanced at its amazingly fast speed of 7.7 km/h I knocked it out with two shots from #503's(An A7V)57 mm cannon.

Then disaster struck when he attacked one of my lines of defense, breaching it with only 3 losses due to barbed wire. However, as soon as I moved Baden forward with my troops they surrendered on the spot! Psychological warfare DOES work in wargames!

Then his powerful MK IV Male advanced with the speed of a caterpillar to the front lines. The tank fired at my army-but they were obviously poorly trained because all it did was somehow kill a pigeon circling 100  feet above the town. I ordered my men to take cover behind the houses and to let the Panzers deal with the threat.
Baden fired while #503 snuck around the side of the village to perform an action that would decide the fate of the battle.
Baden's shells tore away the forward machine gun of the MK IV. The MK IV fired back and did little or no damage to my Sturmpanzer.

And now for the part that would go down in history as a great action in tank warfare:
A group of 5 redcoats marched down the street and found their path blocked by Prussian infantrymen, they turned around to find that the other exit was blocked by a huge iron fortress-A7V #503.
The A7V started firing at the surrounded Brits and the Prussian men did the same. The Poms were hastily and easily killed in the trap for only 3 losses of my own.
The MK IV exploded and the Britons retreated from the village, screaming in terror.
THE BATTLEFIELD WAS MINE.


OUTCOME
I won with my brilliant coordination of my Sturmpanzers and the infantry. I poured concentrated firepower on the only real threat(The MK IV)until it was put out of action.

GERMAN CASUALTIES:

                   9

BRITISH CASUALTIES:

                   17

THE BATTLE OF VILLERS ODEUR

The battle started when the enemy FT-17 light tank supported by five infantrymen approached the barbed wire. I did the same on the other side of the village with my A7V. We both proceeded to cross the wire and advance into the village. The Brits then dug in their troops behind the town's war memorial and the  FT behind a building.
The next thing I did makes me sound REALLY bad but here it is:
I fired at the war memorial to destroy it - and that I did!
I advanced as the monument toppled. Then I destroyed their will to fight with two high-explosive shells through their red uniforms. My Panzers kept advancing slowly over the wreckage of a house.
Three Brits turned and ran, dropping their rifles and screaming in terror. The dangerous MK IV male was EASILY a match for my Sturmpanzers, and some of my crews lost their nerve as it approached.
The FT on the other hand shied away from my guns as I advanced. My Prussian army seemed UNBEATABLE as it closed in on my English opponent. The FT, now partially concealed behind a wall loaded a shell and waited for my infantry. when they came in range, it fired. Killing two of my soldiers immediately while my A7V loaded a shell and swiveled the cannon at the puny vehicle. When it fired the shot did no more then destroying the wall it was cowering behind. My other Panzer was just as accurate when using its gun on nearby infantry.
Suddenly I heard men screaming in pain to my right. I looked to see the Renault, tracks covered with blood, crushing my poor soldiers! Then it killed two more with its cannon!
Suddenly the MK IV approached slightly to fire at me and my tanks. I fired first and knocked out its forward machine gun.
Then in one last act of defiance, the MK IV crawled onto the roof of the house in front of it to destroy my advancing forces.
Its metal carcass was struck repeatedly by fire from army and ground to a halt before exploding and killing all crew inside.
The Brits surrendered to the Prussians. I had won.




GERMAN

MEN:
17
TANKS:
A7V 'BADEN'
A7V#503
CASUALTIES:
6

BRITISH

MEN:
17
TANKS:
FT-17
MK IV MALE
CASUALTIES:
14
MEN TAKEN PRISONER:
18
TANKS CAPTURED:
1 FT-17