Sunday 27 November 2016

GNW Generals

Hi


So the basing department has come home for the weekend again and I have a couple of command bases from her. She has been focusing on basing Marks Danes over the last couple of weeks so not much of mine over the line just yet. 2Saxon and 2 Swedish Battalions awaiting the basing departments time.


These figures are from a Warfare command pack for their Currassier wth Currais under coat. I bought standing horses in error and eventually decided that painting them as Generals might be a good use. The first one is loosely based on a picture of Swedish Field Marshall Carl Gustaf Rehnschold.


I particularly like the stance with his fist on his hip. There is a picture of Rehnschold in the GNW Compendium in this pose with a breastplate under his coat.




 I have then put the standard bearer and trumpeter on one base as a Saxon Cavalry command base. I cut the arm from the Ensign and put a sword arm on instead and quite like the result.



Just finishing the second battalion of Liv Guard so will do workbench update with these shortly.


Thanks for your time.

Sunday 20 November 2016

Triumph of the Will Russian Civil War AAR

Had a cracking game at Chris's barn wargames room today, pitching the Red hordes against the White counter revolutionaries.


We use the Two Fat Lardies Triumph of the Will rules, suitably watered down for large tables and large numbers of troops. The table was 14 x 6 and I had designed the game for either 4 or 6 players so 5 worked just fine.


I did promise not to mention that Steve Shann commanded the Red army so hopefully I will remember not to mention his name anywhere.

The premise of the game has a Red army in retreat, a small force of White Guards have blocked their retreat and the Reds must break through before the pursuing Whites catch and destroy them.

The Red forces were split into two Cavalry brigades and 4 foot brigades as follows.

2 X 9 Red Navy, aggressive regulars
2 x 8 Siberian Rifles, marksmen, regulars 
1 x MG

3 x 8 Red foot trained
2 x 7 Ex-POWS's trained
1 X MG


9 x 7 Red foot Militia (split into 2 brigades)


3 x 7 Red Cavalry trained

3 X 8 Red Cavalry trained


2 x Guns
1 x Aeroplane on the roll of a six.
1 x Armoured Car



The White Army had 3 foot and 2 Horse Brigades on table with a small Horse and foot brigade off table.

Blocking force
3 x 9 foot regulars aggressive
2 x 8 Polish Lancers
1 x MG
1 Gun

Pursuing Force
3 x 8 foot trained

3 x 8 foot trained
1 x Gun
1 x Tchanka

2 x 8 Cossacks Trained Aggressive
1 x 7 Cossacks Trained Aggressive

Off table

2 x 9 foot regulars aggressive

2 x 7 Mongol Horse Aggressive Militia
 
1 x armoured car
1 x aeroplane on roll of a six

 
 
 
  
 


 The Reds elected to leave their two Cavalry Brigades with both guns as rear guard with a Militia Brigade protecting their flanks as they took all their best Infantry bolstered by both MG's and the armoured car in an effort to bulldoze through the defending force.


As the White pursuers swept onto the Red rearguard the Red commander (Steve Shann) looks on pensively wondering if the rear guard has the fire power to slow the Whites.

 Move 2 and just as the Reds (Commanded by Steve!) think that things cant get any worse a flanking force of two Mongolian Cavalry units and two white officers units appear on their flank. Oh dear! was the cry.




At this point the Whites depress the reds further by rolling a 6 for their aircraft and a white plane (Yes I know I picked the wrong one up) sweeps into the red ranks, fortunately for the Reds ,Jerry promptly shot it down.
 Mean while as the Mongolians sweep onto the defending Militia, the hidden Polish lancers launch an attacked from behind their hill enveloping Chris's poor militia with unsurprising results.
 Whilst Jerrys two Brigades steamroller on knocking the odd casualty off the white defenders.

 The red left wing attack desolved into small bands of broken troops, however the charge of the various White cavalry sees them gradually shot down to small badly damaged units themselves so something of a stalemate.
 John's Polish lancers are reduced from 2 units of 8 to one of 2 and the other of 3, having destroyed three units of red infantry in the process.

 Meanwhile the red cavalry has charged into Richards pursuing Cossacks, but the quality of the Cossack Cavalry sees off the reds, the Whites at this point manage to roll for another aircraft and this one is not driven off, leaving the red Cavalry badly mauled.


 The patch of green above is the spot where the red cavalry was before the White biplane swooped, meanwhile the White cavalry finds itself sat in front of the red guns at pointblank range, again the results are fairly predictable.
 As the clock reaches 3.30 Jerry's Reds finally break through sweeping aside the remnants of Johns White Guards and is ready to march off table with the Whites far behind.


Chris's 2 brigades of Reds are almost annihilated but have held the left flank so that Jerry's troops break through almost untouched.


Johns defenders are reduced to one unit of almost untouched White guards whilst the rest of his cavalry is almost all destroyed.


The Red Cavalry is almost as badly off with only one units from 6 even vaguely capable of fighting, they have however put the pursuing Cossacks beyond the ability to carry the fight on.


Three almost untouched White foot brigades with their supporting Tchanks and Armoured car are still in pursuit but are a good 6 feet behind Jerry's Reds.


Only a third of the Reds will escape, but the remaining Whites are too far away to stop them, a great game thoroughly enjoyed by all, thanks gents.


So there you have it, a very bloody affair and whilst the Reds escaped, for a win I think a couple more units would have needed to escape.  A draw? I will leave it to Chris, Jerry, Richard, John and Steve Shann to argue it out.


thanks for reading as ever, next up will be a couple of GNW command bases.




Thursday 17 November 2016

Russian Horse Grenadiers

So the latest unit back from the basing department is a unit of Russian Horse Grenadiers.


Only finished painting them last week but they jumped the queue as the basing department prefers basing Cavalry!


So these are all Ebor miniatures, the command pack is the same as the standard Dragoon one, the troopers are 2 different figures in a 3 figure pack.


They are based on Kropatov's horse Grenadier regiment from the Osprey and is a simple but bright uniform.









 
I also have 2 command bases back which I will add to the blog soon and an upcoming Russian Civil War Game on Sunday that I hope too have an After Action Report for early next week.


Thanks for reading look forward to sharing some more with you soon.

Sunday 13 November 2016

Workbench update

Hi all, as I don't have anything back finished from the basing department (although I am assured some command bases are complete) I thought a quick update on the figures I have been finished off over the last couple of weeks would be in order.


The first nit is Saxon foot regiment Pistoris first battalion. When based this will take me to 4 battalions. I am hoping that the pair of casualty figures on the right will look particularly effective.


 Next is the first battalion of Russian foot completed. These are all Ebor figures. The flags from Reiver Castings.
 I also have the Russian horse grenadiers ready. The basing department is home for the weekend so these might jump the basing que.
 Slightly randomly a Swedish Dragoon Drummer.  Thinking f using this fella with the Livdragoner regiment.
 A Cossack of unknown manufacturer. I still have another two units of Russian Cossacks to paint plus some foot Cossacks.
 And just so you all know I have not forsaken them, the Swedes are still making it through.
 These will be the second battalion of Life Guards, the first battalion being at York on the basing bench for the basing department. These six are the Ebor command pack. The photography not so great on these, I snapped them tonight without the benefit of natural light, but they were finished and I thought why not.........
 Then 2 of the old foundry range which stands the test of time quite well.
 Surprisingly the Foundry figures don't lookout of place with the Ebor figures.
Hopefully have an update with the the Russian Horse Grenadiers soon.


Thanks for reading.