The Deluge Anyone?

Is that a groan I hear? Not another project? Not really a new project as such and probably one some of you have heard me mention before. 

Steve is planning Thirty Years War at some point anyway but I also have lots of Poles and Cossacks for the Great Northern War I had considered using for the earlier period. The Deluge refers to a period  at the end of the Thirty Years War when the Swedes invaded and over ran the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth whilst a Civil War raged between the Cossacks and the rest of the Commonwealth. So not only did the Poles fight the Swedes during this period, but both other Poles and the Ukraniane Cossacks and both Brandenburg and Transylvania invaded as well, the Poles were later supported by the Crimean Tatars and Imperialist forces. Both sides had a fair number of European Mercenaries fighting for them, all of which sit really well with having some Thirty Years Troops, particularly Dragoons.

The tipping point came for me when reading the latest Helion title on Ukraniane Cossacks who at different points had thousands of "German" mercenaries fighting for them. particularly during the rebellions in the mid century. This at the same time as reading Griff Hosker's Horse and Pistol novel set in the Thirty Years War has got me back interested.

So I decided to try a game with the Irregular Wars, aimed at this time frame, we have used them successfully for Elizabethan Ireland, before trying any new rules I wanted to see if they gave a feel. 

Worth mentioning that at the same time I am having a look at By Fire and Sword and whether these are a game I might try with amends to make them suitable for 28mm.

I decided to run a medium sized game with Ukranian Cossacks vs Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth troops, for the latter I added some mercenary Pike and Shot along with a light gun.

The Cossacks have 7 companies of foot, each of which is a single base. They had one unit of Hetmans bodyguard foot with 2 pike and 4 shot units supported by 4 light Cossack horse, another 2 light Cossack horse waited in ambush behind the Poles.

The Poles have two forces, the First has one unit of Winged Hussars with 2 Pancerni, one Cossack and one Dragoons supported by 2 mercenary shot and one mercenary pike. 

The second has again one winged Hussars, one Cossack, One Dragoon but 3 Pancerni supported by a   light gun.

On paper the Poles have the advantage but they are attacking and the Cossacks have a bottle neck to force the Poles through.

The most disciplined troops are the mercenary foot, these are unfortunately at the rear of the Polish force and moving the most slowly.

As soon as Chris moves his registered Cossacks into range the Ukranian Cossacks charge them.

As it is alternate unit movement Chris charges his Dragoons into the flank of the Cossacks who are in turn charged by more Cossacks in their flank. Each unit charged in the flank immediately takes a deduction to its resolve 

The Dragoons and another unit of Registered Cossacks drop to one resolve which is wavering and are forced to retreat. The registered Cossacks then break as the Dragoons touch them and the Dragoons lose their remaining resolve for being within 5 of a unit that breaks.

The Poles are suddenly not doing so well.

The Pancerni push forward into long range and fire their various weapons at the Cossacks, receiving a volley of musketry in reply.

The Cossack ambush fails dismally but it does hold up a unit of Polish Cossacks and all three Mercenary foot, allowing the Cossack defenders to concentrate on the advanced units of Polish horse.

Steve's plus 1 in initiative has meant that when it mattered he was able to make the first move and gain the advantage in melee's, as he could also decided which Melee went first, which could then impact other units when a unit was defeated he had a significant advantage over Chris.

The Winged Hussars with the Hetman are the last unit to go down fighting suitably enough against the Cossack Hetman and his biodyguard.

Despite initial outlook the Poles have been soundly beaten and the untouched European Mercenaries beat a steady retreat.

A fun game, I do like the rules for Ireland but not so much for Poland.

Hopefully By Sword and Flame will give me something with a more period feel.

Stemming the Tide After Holowczin GNW Cavalry Action with BLBII

Another Great Northern War play test.

Chris has taken one of Barry Hiltons pre-prepared 4play games, doubled the forces so 3 of us can play and increased the table area. As its cavalry only who move fairly briskly we decided not to extend the movement rates.

The game is based on the end of the battle of Holowczin, the Swedish army has smashed the Russian army at the Dneiper river in the face of superior artillery, defences and difficult terrain and the Cavalry is now pushing onto the Russian artillery park defended by Russian Dragoons.

The Swedes have 6 squadrons of guard cavalry all Veteran, Elite Blade and 2 squadrons of Drabants Royal Guard who are all Guard, Blade. The Swedes all have decent commanders.

The Russians have 10 mounted squadrons and 2 dismounted in woods varying in quality from Veteran Elite to Green, the majority are drilled. They also have a light gun, initially masked by a cornfield. 

4 Squadrons of Russians guard a passage to the Swedish right, including two of Elite horse Grenadiers. 4 Guard the central passage with a gun is support and two units of dismounted dragoons set to rake any unit braving the centre, two more are position to support the centre or cover the Swedish left should I decide to try for the flank.  

My job is to have a Swedish squadron of more than half strength holding the barrel 6 inches from the Russian artillery park by move 8.

Move 1 Steve pushes 4 squadrons into the main gap and two more to cover the potential left flank move.

I get a full hand of orders, as the Swedes can have double orders I use them to form two squadrons left and move them to try for the left flank gap whilst pushing 4 more squadrons towards the centre.

Chris is looking at all the cavalry turning left and going for Steve and thinking thank goodness for that!

Steve fires the dismounted dragoons on my left as the cavalry come in range managing to inflict one casualty. The light gun also fires but at long range misses.

First casualties of the game and they can mount up quickly so I will need to be careful.

Next turn the other unit of dismounted Dragoons has a shot but fails to score a hit.

My two leading left flank squadrons are past the dismounted Dragoons and the gun, moving at 8 inches per turn we are making steady progress but having the ability to only move parts of the army each turn depending on the order allocation is breaking the formation up and leaving some units behind. 

The other four units of guard make varying degrees of steady progress leaving the two squadrons of Drabants behind as I dont have the activations to get them moving.

I get a decent order allocation and decide to sue one of the Swedes unique abilities and issue double orders to the front two units, to move then charge. Move is 8 inches charge is 10 inches plus a D6 so I could get anywhere up to 24 inches total movement.

My third unit of horse get a charge order and engage the Russians in the centre who counter charge.

Both units reach their targets and Melee ensues.

In the centre the Swedes inflict 50% casualties, they Russians inflict non but attrition means there is always at least one casualty for the winner.

A similar result on the left where the Russians take slightly more than 50% casualties.

The Russians pass their morale in the centre and both sides throw in reinforcements, the Swedes again have the advantage in dice and this time destroy the lead unit and force the supporting unit back. They have now though taken 50% casualties in the lead unit and will need to allow the rest of the force to finsih the job.

The Russians fall back and the Swedes pursue destroying the first Russian unit.

In the centre a unit of Swedes rolls a 10 on D10 and gets an uncontrolled charge at the dismounted dragoons, They have to turn more than 45 degrees so are unformed, Chris then gets a devastating close range volley inflciting 50% casualties, no surprise that despite surviving the firing they loose the melee and route back.

On the far right Chris advances his Dragoons and Elite Horse Grenadiers. He has set up in order to do an "All or nothing Charge" allowing, once in a game, a whole regiment to charge a unit rather than just a squadron and throwing everyones dice into the ensuing melee. 

My Swedes are winning in the centre, Steve has committed another squadron to try hold them but this one is again pushed back.

Having broken the first unit of Dragoons my flanking squadrons bounce onto the next one, charging unformed. They break the unit but have taken 50% casualties, on the upside the supporting unit is now in position to claim the game and is also formed up on the flank of the remaining untouched Russians.

Its all happening on the right flank now as my Swedes get an uncontrolled charge, the Russians all or nothing charge goes in and its 9 Russian dice against 5 Swedish, the Swedes are all but destroyed but the casualties to Russians still force them to retreat. On the extreme right with one Squadron eahc its an easier victory for the Swedes who follow up chasing the retreating Russians and shore up the right flank.

The Swedes push through but are held by the remaining Horse Grenadier Squadron. Drilled, Elite these are the bets the Russians have.

A really fun game this did reinforce just how much better the Swedes are and how much less fun the Russians are to play with for Chris and Steve.

We agreed next time to add Saxons to the Russians and hamstring the Swedes somewhat with Polish allies.

Thanks for stopping by.

Another Slightly larger BLB GNW Game

We wanted to keep some momentum to our playtesting so went for another Great Northern War BLB game this week. 

Slightly larger and with some small mods to movement to try out.

The Swedes would have 2 brigades each of 3 battalions and a light gun supported by 3 2 squadron regiments of horse. All would be drilled with average commanders, pretty down graded for Swedes but for the troops fighting in the Baltic arena whilst the main army was in Poland and Ukraine probably not far off. I would command the Swedes.

The Russians faced this with a light gun, 6 battalions of foot, 2 regiments of dragoons each of 2 squadrons and a 2 sotnia regiment of Cossacks. A mix of green and drilled troops with some defences to give them a boost, all commanded by Steve whilst Chris kept us straight on the rules.

Generals for all sides would be no more than average, again a departure from usual advantages for the Swedes but possibly accurate for parts of the Baltic theatre. The biggest challenge being the effect or rolling orders, if you dont roll well not much can move. As we will see that massively hampered the Swedish attack.

The Russians were slightly under gunned so Chris added a battalion on their extreme left.

Move 1 and I get orders for everyone and advance, we have added a n average dice to all movement to try and keep things moving and get conclusions to games, a lot of 4's rolled giving the Swedes 10 inches of movement. I push my cavalry straight forward at Steves dragoons, not surprisingly they retire out of danger.

Next move I only get enough to move half of units, so my left hand infantry brigade pushes towards the concentration of Russian foot on their right whilst two of my regiments of horse push forward towards the Russian Dragoons. The rest of my small army must stand and watch.

Steve uses his limited numbers of movement to push a unit of Cossacks onto my extreme left flank. Most of his troops are happy to wait in their defensive positions so he doesn't need to worry about the number of orders rolled.

Another Poor roll and I  get one battalion pushing ahead whilst the Russian light guns opens up on the right hand unit of my first brigade.

Two out of three  of  the Cavalry regiments advances again, leaving the one facing the infantry immobile. There are significant gaps in my battle line now as I keep failing to roll for enough orders.

My left hand unit has taken its first casualties but passed its morale for being  hit by artillery.

Meanwhile Steves sneaky Cossacks (Naughty Cossacks Chris calls them) are filtering through the farm to find my rear. As a mob of tribal horses they can do this where formed units would have to march around this obstacle.

The Foot Brigade continues to advance leaving the supporting brigade and cavalry far behind and taking artillery casualties along the way.

As the Swedish foot close the Grenadier battalion wheels to volley their flank, raking them as the artillery gets another shot into their front.

The Cossacks are waiting for an open flank or a dissolving unit to pounce on, it cant be long now.

The Cavalry clash, the Russians having run out of room to retreat. 

The Swedish foot charge home on the gun, despite being badly mauled they take the gun position.

The outcome of the battle is as expected with both Russian regiments routed, unfortunately as I roll to control my own troopers one regiment chases after the Russians, we are so close to the board edge that they are lost to the gam.

The First Swedish foot briagde advances in echelon on the decent Russians.

The Russians open fire and the Swedes begin to take casualties.

My right hand battalion has over run the Russian gun but is now dis-ordered.

The remaining Swedish horse unit from the first attack consolidates and reforms. I hope to still have a use for it on the flank of the Russian foot.

Meanwhile the Russian Grenadiers and Cossacks swamp my Swedish light gun and its convincingly over run.

On the upside my second brigade of foot is finally moving in support of the first brigade, it does have a long way to go.

The Swedish Horse consolidates on the table edge where it can flank the Russian position.

Due to my inability to roll for enough orders two squadrons remain facing the flanking Russian foot unit having not moved at all so far in the game. What a difference a quality commander can make to attackign forces.

One battalion of foot also still remains where is started due to the unavailability of orders.

The Swedes push on and the centre unit tests for uncontrolled charge as does the right hand unformed unit, both get an uncontrolled charge but the closing fire from the Russians stops the centre unit, leaving the badly mauled and dis-ordered right hand unit charges into the good Russians in their defences. What could go wrong?

Not surprisingly the Russians push back the Swedish foot.

My left hand unit tried its luck but fails to charge in.

The Swedish right hand battalion is now down below two thirds strength and falling back

The sneaky Cossacks take their chance to charge the dis-ordered and retreating Swedish foot.

As the second unit of Swedes is forced back a second unit of sneaky Cossacks jumps on them but is swiftly repulsed.

The first two battalions of the next brigade now have to break through the Grenadiers to re-enforce the attack on the village.

All three battalions of Swedes have attempted to charge the Russian defences and failed. In the background the melee between the Cossacks and the badly mauled Sweish right hand battalion swirls on.

The Cavalry re-align for a charge into the raw Russians holding their left flank who are looking a little bit unhappy about it.

Finally I roll well enough for the last two squadrons of Swedish horse and the battalion of foot to march towards the sound of musketry. How much quicker would this have been with access to all of the troops.

I now have an untouched Brigade with two squadrons of horse closing on the village to replace the first badly damaged brigade. Just a battalion of grenadiers to overcome.

As the Swedes close the Grenadiers unleash a volley but are unable to stop them.

The Cossacks are seen off, even badly damaged Swedes can deal with sneaky Cossacks.

The Swedes charge home into the Russian Grenadiers.

Combat  reduces their strength and they are down to a third but pass morale and smash into the Russians.

The Grenadiers are in turn down below two thirds strength and break, routing from the combat.

With a fresh brigade of Swedish foot marching towards the Russian slightly mauled brigade and a fresh regiment of Swedish cavalry in support, whilst a worn, but still eager, regiment of Swedish horse prepares to charge the flanking battalion of green Russian foot, the Russkis are in serious trouble. 

We have however run out of time. 

I have not managed to finalise a Swedish victory due to my complete inability to roll my order dice well. But it has played well. 

Really enjoyed todays game. Interesting making the Swedes a bit less fabulous. Would be further interesting to give both sides more unusual troops, Polish cavalry fought for both sides in large numbers.

The Russians are not particularly fun to game with, they need to sit behind their defences for the most part when facing the Swedes. Perhaps a game with Russians vs Cossacks (Happened a few times at this period) might allow the Russians to be used more interestingly.

The extended movement made all the difference and we actually got a game, I am being won over.