Muzzle-loading Artillery Rules

In the rules we play an artillery battery is made up of 2 guns. Each gun costs 10 points.

Captured French guns being put to good use at the Battle of Hamerten.

MOVEMENT:
Limbered artillery - 15cm
Manhandled heavy artillery - 5cm
Manhandled light/medium artillery - 10cm

FIRING RANGE:
Heavy artillery - 16" (40cm)
Light/medium artillery - 12" (30cm)
Mortars/howitzers - 10"-14" (25-35cm)
Rockets - 12" (30cm)
The range of all artillery increases by 10cm if on a hill higher than 15cm.

HOW TO FIRE:

1. Select a target.
2. Roll 1 or more dice (No. of dice determined by the calibre of the gun, larger guns having more dice to fire with).
3. Add 5 to the number you rolled, this is how far the shot flies (Inches).

Remove all troops within 2cm of the shot if the cannon is using standard solid shot. If using grapeshot roll 1 or 2 dice (Depending on the gun's calibre) to see how many troops are killed. Explosive shells kill all soldiers within 10cm of the shot.
A gun may not turn more than 90° per turn when aiming at a target.

If attacked, artillerymen can only fight in melee combat unless they are equipped with firearms. A captured gun may be used by the army that captured it as long as there are trained gunners to operate it.
Infantry can use a captured gun, but must roll dice after firing. Anything lower than a 3 will kill a crewman.

HOW TO FIRE ROCKETS:

1. Aim the rocket at the target, making sure it's in range.
2. Roll a dice to see if the rocket fires successfully, it fails on a 1 or 2.
3. Roll again to see if it hits it's target, it will only hit on a 5 or 6.
4. If it hits, remove all troops within 15cm of the shot.
5. Each rocket has 5 rockets, and must be resupplied once they've all been fired.

A rocket may not turn more than 90° per turn when aiming at a target.

If attacked, artillerymen can only fight in melee combat unless they are equipped with firearms. A captured rocket may be used by the army that captured it as long as there are trained gunners to operate it. 

THE BATTLE OF HAMERTEN

Hello everyone!
So sorry about the recent absence of posts - We have been rather busy with schoolwork!

Here is a quick summary on the Battle of Hamerten:
Each army had 10 cavalry, 2 cannons and 50 infantrymen.

The Prussians assemble to attack the French square.

The French army started on the northern side of the field, with the infantry and cavalry in the town and the artillery on the far side of the river, with no infantry guarding the guns.
I was set up on the southern side, with the fields and bridge. My troops were dispersed fairly evenly.
The battle started with the thunder of a French cavalry charge - All 10 lancers charged the Prussians. Fortunately,  volleys from the Landwehr and a counter-charge saw off the threat, killing 9/10 lancers for minimal losses. As a result, the French infantry formed a square.
On the far bank of the river however, the Prussians were the attacking force. The French artillery, lacking the protection of infantry, and with no way to be reinforced were overwhelmed and swiftly killed or captured.
The 12-pounders were also captured, and opened fire on their former users on the far bank, killing several.

The captured guns decimate the French army.

After a few cautious shots, the Prussian infantry slowly moved the artillery upriver to the main bulk of the army.
Suddenly the French began their attack, hoping to crush the Prussians before reinforcements arrived. The Frenchies marched at the Prussians, firing and being fired at. It quickly became clear that the French troops were superior to those used by the Prussians as Prussian casualties mounted.
Soon the Prussian heavy cavalry, reinforcing the line with their carbines were all dead. The only thing preventing defeat was the brilliant gunnery of the Prussian artillery, French officers were targeted with lethal effect, denting French morale and creating confusion.
But even it wasn't enough.
With a massive push, the Prussian centre broke, and the army split into 2 pockets of resistance, each surrounding a cannon. The larger of these with Mr. M and maybe a dozen infantry fighting by the bridge, and the smaller one with fewer infantry separated from the rest by the French.
The small pocket held it's ground, it was effectively as small fortress fighting the waves of French. But it couldn't hold forever. The cannon fired it's last shot, beheading the French commander, the infantry almost routed.
Then, in the confusion, the few remaining Prussians abandoned the gun and rejoined the main body of the army. Things still looked dire, and the French were killing Prussians rapidly.
At that moment, the report of a second gun was heard. The captured guns had reached the bridge and were ready to fire apon the French army.
This was too much for the French, they fell back out of range and waited for an attack. But the Prussians were in no state to attack, and also waited for an attack that never came.
The battle finished in a bloody stalemate.

I hope you enjoyed this first post of 2020! Stay tuned! Thomas and I are in the midst of planning our largest battle yet, even larger than Waterloo...

-Jakob Xavier Morris

Plans for The Battle of Hamerten

Recently we decided that Miniature wars needed another major battle to liven things up a bit.

This is the planned battlefield, the village of Hamerten, Germany and the River Elbe.

I chose Hamerten for, well no particular reason except that it's compatible with my Prussian army and the terrain looked to make an interesting battlefield scenario.
However the overall purpose of this battle is to test our new points system. Each of us will start with one hundred points and will use these to construct an army using rules mentioned earlier on this blog.
This will mean that the old system of equal numbers on each side will not apply in this battle and the numbers and types of troops used will affect the army's fighting capability and style.

A quick run-through of our points system:
Infantry - 1 point
Cavalry - 3 points
Light/medium artillery - 10 points
Heavy artillery - 15 points
Howitzers/mortars - 12-18 points

A simplified map of Hamerten (Drawn by me)

Possible combinations for an army could be:

• 90 infantrymen and 1 gun
• 10 cavalry, 10 infantrymen and 6 guns
• 30 cavalry and 10 infantrymen

And many more...
The time for this battle is yet to be confirmed but I will get back to you when it's settled.
Keep reading! And if you have a question please leave a comment!

P.S. More posts on the way!

New Posts on the way!

I would like to apologise for our lack of new posts. Recently we have been quite busy. However, I am in the process of creating some new posts that focus on our points system along with more detailed rules for artillery.
Hopefully these should be posted by the end of this month.
Keep watching this blog for updates!
-Jakob