A good start to '24

 It's been a wee while but the dust has now settled from the Festive Season, the New Year has begun and seems so far not very different to the old one, "quelle surprise" as the French say. I am expecting my builders to get in touch any day but radio silence so far apart from the new windows have been measured up. I have been dragged around bathroom and flooring showrooms, been asked my opinion then had it tossed aside to be told what I really want.

I was supposed to kick the new campaigning season off with an Eastern Front Chain of Command game but Simon took ill and it was cancelled, instead my first shots were fired in the Gin Pig yesterday in one of Rob's large Napoleonic games. It was an alternative history where the Prussians had been destroyed at Wavre and Ligny and Allied forces under the Prince of Orange moved towards the approaching Russians, during this both of these ran into the French flank guard somewhere south of Turnhout.

Russians in the village with some help from their friends.

I had control of two cavalry brigades and a Guard brigade in the left centre of the battlefield, I was offered the commanders baton and told Julian to hold our left flank and Rob to attack a small village full of Russians on our right, meanwhile myself and Ian to my right would advance for a couple of moves and then see if any opportunities came our way. As usual with Black Powder I found it very hard to get my cavalry moving, my guns managed to hair off and bring the enemy cavalry opposite under fire, Ian moved his cavalry to contact while wondering what had happened to his support.

The table.

My cavalry about to attack, while the Guard whistles.

Rob lines up his assault.

Ian was pushed back but I had at last got my troopers moving and they smashed into the weakened enemy, it also helped that I had three squadrons of very tough Curassiers. The Allies lost a couple of squadrons while I followed up, more Allied cavalry were thrown into the melee but this did not help and soon the British heavy cavalry fled the field leaving the remaining horse in a very bad position. I took a bit of time to reorganise then went in again, while sending my second brigade to the right in the hope of destroying the Allied cavalry in reserve behind their left centre.

All of this cavalry are stunning.

On my left Julian had been forced to withdraw his light cavalry and his lancers had been pushed back, however the Allies could not take advantage of this as most of their commands had a great reluctance to move forward and with the arrival of several infantry battalions were running out of room to manouvre. My Guard had arrived by now but again simply sat around for a couple of turns before decideding to obey orders. Rob was having a very hard time trying to oust the Russians from their defences. Ian managed to send his infantry into the attack but had been beaten back, but importantly not broken.

Two more players had turned up and were given a brigade each, Andy sadly now facing a large hole in the Allied centre and slowly being outnumbered as Peter with the French reserve now moved to hold the left of the breach with lots of French cavalry in reserve. This allowed me to move my Guard battalions to the right flank of the breach and threaten the Allied flank and rear, my cavalry had not managed to destroy the Allied cavalry reserve but they had weakened it and as my infantry now took up the ground things looked very bad for the Allied cause.

Our hero, now Marshal, Georges on the left.

Paul's traffic jam on the Allied right.

French cavalry still a threat.

We called it a day at this point, objectives were counted up and the French scraped a win on points, game wise the Allied right could not budge the French defence and the French right could not take the town, the Allied centre however had been crushed and the flanks of the Allied army on both sides of the breach were in great danger of collapsing. And so we were done, another great looking game with some beautiful figures moved around, Julian and Ed's cavalry are simply superb, if things keep going on like this we will need a larger venue.

Nine of us, seemed like more.

I have finished off the last of the figures in my lead pimple, some arquebusiers, this leaves some of the figures which Dan had offered me, these are some guns and heavy cavalry types, they need stripped, cleaned and primed before I move on them, but with the threat of builders arriving and my vast wargaming empire hidden under beds, in cupboards and taking up most of the study and shortly my living room I will not be adding troops for a while yet. I am also finding it difficult to find Dettol to strip the paint, is this now too dangerous for the public?

My grandson is a Blood Bowl and Underworlds player and received several teams and warbands (how can a warband be three figures?) for birthday and Christmas, as I have time I offered to paint some of the figures for him, something out of my comfort zone but hey a test of my brush skills. I have completed the first figure while watching a Games Workshop video, the host got to the eyes and recommended white and black of course, I couldn't actually see the eyes! Whither you like GW etc. or not some of these guys are fantastic painters, I can confirm I am average, maybe just a tad above that but no more.

To The Strongest author Simon Miller dropped me a line to inform me that the Montrose scenario book which I worked on will be out soon, I was quite chuffed if I say so myself with the maps for this publication. Years ago I covered the same ground in a book written by Charles Singleton. I have no priority map work on at the moment which again suits me fine, I have started the mini atlas however.

 

Central Madrid for the mini atlas.

 I saw something on FB the other day, a lovely camouflaged German truck, but it had bright blue windows, on my walk the other day I looked at all the cars jammed along the village main drag and did not see one with bright blue windows. Why do wargamers paint blue windows?