More SYW and a Victory

 Nights are getting lighter, not quite dark when I turned up at the club, Seven Years War again, I had planned a two vs two game but it became one vs two as I could not entice a fourth into the game. The forces were the same as the previous week each side having two four battalion brigades and two artillery pieces each, there are no cavalry or more infantry due to the limits of my back, the table size and the time element. These figures look very impressive when deployed and I was continually asked what size they were, they are in fact 28mm from foot to eye level, but then the top of the head and the large hats, especially the mitre's, add several more millimeters to make them look very tall indeed. 

So, a simple meeting engagement, we diced for which section of the table the brigades would deploy on and we ended up with both sides opposite each other, no gaps. I took the French and Stewart and Stuart took the British. I had two Dependable commanders while the British suffered from two Ditherers, this played havoc with the British advance or non advance as it turned out, even the British CinC's urgings having no significant effect on his officers.

My right flank moves forward.

I play cautious with my left.

Wild Geese

 I advanced with my right flank brigade and gun against Stewart, hoping the artillery would tip the scales in my favour, the British had kept both of their guns together on a hill in the centre, my left merely advanced and held the forward slope of a small ridge, I threw the Normandie battalion out on my left toward a wood which Stuart had sent a Highland battalion to in order to possibly outflank my line. The gun supporting this brigade barked and first blood to me, the British artillery seemed unsure whether to advance or remain on their own hill, in the end both guns stayed on the hill, from which they fired ineffectively all game, much like they did last week. Stewart formed up a decent firing line on my right and this caused the Garde Lorraine to eventually break and retire, things looked desperate for a moment until I trundled my gun up into the line along with the Royal Bavaire which stabilised the brigade and began to deal out casualties against the red line. The 87th and then the combined Grenadiers 51/24th both routed and left a huge hole in the British line, flushed with success I moved my remaining battalions forward as Stewart tried to retire to safety.

More Wild Geese

Scots and Grenadiers

The artillery lends a hand

 On my left Stuart had a dreadful time trying to get his men to advance while my gun played on them with excellent accuracy, I saw an opportunity to pour overwhelming musketry into his left hand battalions but this time my own men refused to move and the moment was lost. The Irish battalion of Clare took the brunt of the British fire and ran for the rear, a British battalion then followed, then another, the British teetered on the brink of having to withdraw. In a last desperate effort Stuart advanced the Scots Guards against another Irish battalion hoping to deliver a devastating close range volley, I now had the opportunity of flanking this move but it meant turning the flank of my grenadier battalion to the British artillery, having managed a double move I decided instead to charge the guns, I needed one more enemy unit to break for victory. As the smoke cleared on the last turn I managed, after a struggle, to cut down the artillerymen and gain victory.

The hopeless Royal Artillery

The End

 Another excellent game which really went all my way, the Ditherers had a dreadful effect on British plans as getting them to go forward turned into a chore, on the plus side they did win every fire initiative only one of which might have moved my victory closer quicker. 

I have now finished the first of my SYW buildings from Grand Manner, I was not looking forward to painting these as they looked quite complex, however in the end it turned out alright, I used contrast paints for most of it and then gave the building an overall wash, this gave it a bit of a shine so I will be giving it a spray of anti-shine as soon as the weather improves. Doing these feels like a chore because I have a bunch of new figures coming for the Italian Wars and that's what I really want to start on.

 I am continuing to add to my Italian Wars flag collection, I am choosing standards in use from Ravenna 1512 to Pavia 1525 and as illustrated or described in Helion's Italian Wars volumes. As I mentioned above I have my first figures for the new project ordered up, my first unit will be a Swiss pike block in French service, according to the books the Swiss did not use their cantonal banners while in the pay of France. I have ordered up all the figures for this unit along with some skirmishing arquebusiers as a shield from Wargames Foundry, I saw these at York and really liked them. At the same time I got some tubs of my favourite 4Ground Late Summer Grass as they are closing down, 80mm wire spears for quite a lot of guys and a large number of bases for both infantry and cavalry, all in I am short of nearly £200, this actually had me thinking of plastic, but I got over it.

 I finished my last map projects in early February and used the spare time, sorry, wasted the spare time mostly on YouTube and reading while in the PO, apart from starting the flags a week or so ago. I got two emails this morning for new map projects, so having plenty of time I am now going to fight to find time to paint the last of the SYW buildings, the new figures and map as well. Careful what you wish for.

Are wargaming blogs done for, a question raised by 'Big Lee' on his YouTube channel, which I can recommend passing some time having a look at while enjoying a coffee for ten minutes. I do not follow a great many blogs and of the ones I do follow I 'know' most of the writers and have actually met some, and find their interests and views of wargaming more or less mirror my own and I find them entertaining. I blog myself quite selfishly for my own sanity, I wrote for wargaming magazines for decades and enjoyed it, when this ended partly by my life changing decision to buy a Post Office I found the blog scratched an itch for me, I am no Shakespeare but like to think I can string two words together better than most of today's yoof. I do not do it for recognition but I do enjoy it when people appreciate my ramblings and leave a comment, I do not always comment either but it is nice. So from my perspective I hope to enjoy it for a while yet.

 Right, that is it for now, I have friend Mark Walker coming on Sunday for some serious War and Conquest battles, EIR vs EIR and Normans vs Saxons, I am happy enough leading the Twelfth out for a fight but am using my Heptarchy Saxons as 1066 Saxons for the other game, this is out of my comfort zone, all is in the lap of the Gods, Roman or Anglo-Saxon.