The British Envoy captured (1)

Sir Morris Oxford & his manservant about to board the Steam Carriage

Before the game we rolled for the position of forces entering and on which move they appeared . S diced = Black Hand unit Z on 5th move , Cavalry unit X on 4th move, Infantry+gun Y on 3rd move, Militia unit X on 6th move. My reinforcements came on at B on 5th move .

The journey started off uneventful , but soon Ferraro Roccaian infantry and artillery where attacking the leading unit . S new to matchstick guns shot badly but his infantry were better shots and the Treborian infantry were in trouble . The column stalled and FR  cavalry entered the table and started to move to attack the rear of the Treborians . More photos and the next instalment soon .

Breaking news ! British Envoy abducted by Ferraro Rocca !

The world is astounded by the shocking news that the British Envoy Sir Morris Oxford has been captured by a Ferraro Roccaian raiding party. Sir Oxford was on a fact finding mission to Treboria and was traveling in the State Steam Carriage with a escort provided by the Treborian Army . Whilst on route to the capital of Treboria the party where attacked by a strong enemy force and although  reinforcements tried to help and drive off the attackers , they where unable to prevent his capture !. Ferraro Roccaian  sources are reported to say that Sir Morris Oxford was in fact on a mission to sell more arms to the Treborians and not on a cultural tour of 14 century monasteries . This was a game that was played recently with a wargaming colleague S . We used the old favorite 'Wagon Train' scenario by Charles Grant , it was the first time S had used the 'Funny Little Wars' and he had great difficulty mastering a match firing cannon . 

Sir Morris party where traveling from A to B  . Enemy forces come on at points X Y Z . Reinforcements for the Treborians come on at B , all are introduced to the game on dice throws

The Treborian escort comprised of 2 units of infantry and the Reinforcing party a unit of cavalry and a gun . The Ferraro Roccaian forces where 1unit of cavalry 2 units of infantry a gun and a party of Black Hand irregulars . More details of the action to follow .

Hariboian Light Cavalry

The Haribo uplands of Ferraro Rocca are inhabited by nomadic herdsmen  who provide a welcome edition to the armed forces  in the shape of these Light Cavalry Lancers .

They are seen here providing a escort for King Paul II  on a recent state visit to the Haribo uplands

And now for something entirely diffrent !

Battle field from the French position

Sad to say I'm somewhat of a wargaming  butterfly -flitting here and there , sometime ago I bought in some Foundry 28mm Napoleonic on one of their money saving deals . Was going to use them a'la Old School but could never seem to find the right rules to fit my initial concept , they have been used using Blackpowder and General D Brigade (both successes) , but not OS . Then I came across a game on the blog Hinton Hunt Vintage Wargame Figures - it seemed to be 'just the ticket' and the author (Ian Spencer)  invited anyone interested to Email him and receive a PDF copy . I duly did and received a copy very promptly, having printed them off - only 6 pages (very impressed) I have decided to set up a game and try them out . The scenario is based on Grants 'Scenarios for Wargamers' - Holding Action .

The French CinC consults with his staff

The Austrian General watches as the Infantry moves up into position

New Technology

The Treborians have been experimenting with a Trebant Steam Tractor for towing their heavy artillery pieces,things are looking okay - BUT  you can never tell with new technology  

OH DEAR !!!!

Steam vehicle purchased off Ebay

Battle (part4)

The Trborian infantry attack

With time slipping away, the Treborian Commander hurled his infantry units into the attack . Taking heavy casualties as they charged in, the survivors lost the melee and had their standard captured .

Ferraro Roccain Artillery and infantry to the rescue

By now even more FR reinforcements where arriving on the scene , and the Treborian artillery had  run out of ammo ! (started the battle with 10 rounds 'matchsticks' ) . With half his infantry in retreat , gun no longer firing and the enemy now consolidating their position ,General Hagen Dazcs signaled this remaining troops to retire . The FR CinC  Col. Velkro had won and curled his moustache in satisfaction !.

End game !

The game lasted 8 moves and by then it became evident that  Treboria was never going to win the day . They probably should have been more aggressive with their cavalry early in the game before the FR reinforcements came on , however fear of loosing to many casualties made them try and flank the enemy and by then the FR had troops in place to hold them up . The FR CinC was lucky that his reserves came on promptly (by dice throw) and his rearguard infantry unit was able to hold out (under heavy but inaccurate matchstick fire ) . They won the melee which was a bonus and by then it was all over . The Ferraro Roccain column continued unmolested on its way . Treboria will have its revenge !

Battle ( Part 3 )

Treborian infantry deploy and move forward to attack the enemy , however they come under fire from their own side as artillery shells (matchstick) fall short . Bit unnerving shooting over your own troops !.

More Frerarro Roccain troops arrive (a Territorial reserve unit), have the Treborians lost the opportunity ?. Time is slipping by with 5 out of the 12 game moves played .

Battle (Part 2 )

The Treborian Cavalry units sweep around the FR right flank to try and exit the board at B and their artillery deploys and open fire on the FR infantry .

Treborian Artillery deploys

Shells ( well matchsticks ! ) land amongst the Ferraro Roccaian infantry

Matchsticks land shot by spring firing cannon 

The Blast Indicator Device is deployed and after saving throws etc ,casualties are removed . FR reinforcements are reaching the battlefield , and deploy 

Ferraro Roccaian reinforcements

The Treborian cavalry dismount and form a skirmish line . The FR's are defending their baggage successfully - for the time being !. 

Revenge, The Battle (part1)

Plan of the action

The FR (Ferraro Roccaian ) force of 1 infantry unit , 1 Cavalry unit plus the mule baggage train start in the center of the board and exit point B . The Treborian forces enter at A and must exit at B with half their cavalry to win (the exiting cavalry will be deemed to have fallen on the undefended FR  baggage ) . The FR force must prevent this . The game will last 12 moves . Both side will dice for reinforcements on a sliding dice throw per move .The Treborian advance guard comprises of 2 Cavalry units and a Artillery unit .

Simple conversions

Whilst the previously mentioned battle rages , I would like to illustrate some figure conversions I have made . Funny Little Wars units are meant to have musicians and as the Irregular figures I am using do not have them , I have been busy producing them  using standard figures with the addition of bugles from their 42mm range . Simply gluing them to the figure and adding a lanyard from a suitable coloured sewing thread . Now all my infantry units are furnished with musicians .

A slightly more complicated conversion was the providing of dismounted figure for the 'Hussars of Excellance' Irregular do a generic dismounted cavalry figure with a separate head of your choice , however the figure comes in a long tunic and my Hussars are in Pelisses !. Having spoken to Ian at Irregular, I decided on a dismounted U.S. cavalryman in a short jacket , I removed the head (it had a campaign hat ) and pinned and glued into place a suitable one with a kepi . I then built up the fur trim around the edges of the jacket to match the mounted figure using MiliPut and added a sword from the Shinny Tin Soldier range produced by Spencer Smith Miniatures . A coat of paint and varnish and above is the results ! . I m rather pleased with these as they turned out better than I thought they might . I am now turning my attention to mechanical transport for my armies and have started to scouring Ebay for suitable models . Anyway back to the battle .....