Now Alan and Russ have been collecting Warlord Games ‘Black Sea’s and have a number of sailing ships so I asked Alan if he would run an introductory game. I mean, what Wargamer has not read Hornblower, Bolitho, Ramage etc novels and wants to command a sailing ship!
So Alan set up a piece of blue cloth with 4 ships a side, each of a 3rd rater and 5th rater(Frigate). The British on the left were commanded by Rob in the top and Alan in the bottom of table. On the right with French were Steve and Goldie, with Russ commanding 2 Spanish in the bottom right. The wind was blowing directly down the table and 2 islands were in the center.
The Spanish ships with the French in the background.
Here are Alans 2 British ships.
Here we have a Frenchie moving forward. The base set comes with the dinky measureing sticks etc that you need.
Alan had purchased a bunch of flickering lights that were in the cotton wool so we had a great look to the shooting.
Close up of shooting…quite cool really.
Battle Kiwi have made some very cool battle boards to record vessel stats in as well.
Its quite an attractive game, it got VERY LOUD.
But did feel game got a bit slow with each player commanding 2 ships…and all relatively new to game…it did go a bit sllloowwww…but then I was watching and not playing.
And below we have a British ship sailing between 2 Spanish…..which as it turned out…was not a recommended activity.
As we can now see…or rather not see that British ship.
Now its end game in the south….and a British ship is crippled…on fire and has struck its colours.
What would Nelson say.
So that was the first game of Black Sea’s for most players…..its was loud….seemed lot of fun…..roll on the next on. Alan and Russ have painted up some really nice models and it looks a fun game.
Hello again from the Hermit Kingdom…..where the latest bright idea from our leaders is to allow at Xmas those citizens in our largest city of Auckland(1.5Million) which is still locked up to allow 30,000 of them at a time to ‘book’ an exit time to go on holiday. But only if you are vaccinated…..OMG….what..idiots.
So I was reading an old Wargmes Illustrated which had a ‘Battle of Wavre 1815’ article which got me thinking of making a scenario where some of Grouchys Generals decided to march to the sound of the guns of Waterloo.
So the scenario is the game played down the table where a brigade of Dutch/Belgiums is a blocking force in a walled farmhouse/fields. French infantry and cavalry are rushing down roads and run into them….reserves then march on for both sides and we see how the game goes.
So the game starts with Russ commanding the Dutch in the farmhouse and Rob French light cavalry in march column rushing down a road. Behind them are 2 Dragoons and a horse battery. Robert has 6 French ligne marching up a second road which joins the first short of the Farmhouse.
Turn 1 and French light cavalry have been shot up by the troops in the Farmhouse and fallen back disordered. The Cavalry behind them are in march column down the road(was easier to just place them on the table). The start of Roberts brigade is on the second road. Behind them are a small legere brigade.
The Dutch blocking force is below. On the left is a line bttn in the open between woods and Farmhouse. The Farmhouse has 2 militia bttns in it. Between the Farmhouse and hedges is a battery and a Bttn of Jager is in the hedges.
The unhappy cavalry. I probably overdid the terrain by having the wood beside the Dutch line bttn.
Jager’s watching the French ligne. Very nice Perry sculpts.
A bit further into the game, a Hanoverian brigade has arrived down the road and a British light cavalry brigade has appeared on rear of table. French ligne are approaching the hedges.
Now 3 bttns of French ligne have advanced to the hedgerow…leaving a flank for a Dutch battery to swing onto…oh dear.
Rob started to move his light cavalry to support the French right.
And Russ moved the arriving Hanoverians to bolster his left flank. Note the French are now down to 2 bttns.
Allies now forming a strong position as more French arrive.
The British cavalry who had refused to move for 3 turns finally obeyed some orders. On right Hussars move up to support square. French Dragoons in distance.
French ligne charge Hanoverians supported by Chasseurs into the flank. Cavalry took some damage coming in but made it.
The Hanoverians lost the combat, but held so the cavalry had to retire with combat to continue.
And then I actually got some cavalry to charge the French in the flank……. I did damage but the French held and the cavalry were forced to retire. But the French brigade was now shaken.
More French charge in! They don’t win.
And the end game has the Allies in possession of the battlefield. The French ligne brigade has now broken, the legere brigade has made slow progress moving on and the game is called as an Allied victory.
So that was that. Think guys enjoyed the game, I overdid the terrain a bit but these things happen!!
So after Game 1 introducing the basics, for Game 2 I added light infantry, skirmishers, Elephants and Scorpios.
So Alan commanded the Carthaginian right and Russ the left with Robert on the Roman right and Steve on the left. Below is part of Roberts force…legionnaires…Auxilia cavalry, scorpio’s with Russ’s hordes in the distance.
Below is Russ’s troops with some of his nasty warbands.
Elephants, what is an Ancients game without, ELEPHANTS.
And they look so good, Alan fielded 2! I put some ruins in middle of his deployment zone just to upset his deployment!
Russ sent his skirmishing Numidian light cavalry round the flank… as one would and should.
Legionnaires bracing for impact of Gallic Cavalry.
Roman right flank secured by a pond, however the stream gets to be troublesome. The 2 archer units are formed light infantry supporting flank of the heavies…with cavalry in further support.
In go the Numidians…supported by javelin men…while cavalry and heavy infantry hit the legionnaires.
Its not looking good for Robert a few turns on. A light infantry unit lost combat but couldn’t retire over the stream so popped(or that’s how I read rules!). Else where his legionnaires have been decimated.
On the other flank…Alan is till trying to move. Steve advanced…sloooowwlllllyyyy.
Russ sent his Warbands in against Roman auxilia infantry…..archers then spears…it was not pretty….really should have pull a trail of dead bodies behind them.
Robert had ordered his second command to advance…he rolled a 12…they blundered and retired….we can see them now advancing back on in top right below. Thankfully Russ’s troops on hill also were not that keen on fighting either. But his left side command was certainly having a good time.
Alan is still sitting on his hill looking at Steve……still sllloowwwwlllyyy advancing(well…to be honest it probably did not qualify as an advance).
And that was it. I give the game to Russ and his Carthginians. I gave each player too many units for only their 2nd game of Hail Caesar and coupled with some terrible rolling for orders meant not as much combat as anticipated. Lesson learned. My Bad. Next time will be smaller commands. Good run through of rules so some more rules not understood.
Now whisky of the week is the Dalwhinnie 15.
To be honest, have not been that overly impressed, bought it based on reviews( and real hot price!) and so probably expected more. It is pleasant enough… just not that interesting. Oh well…they can’t all be great can they.
Tasting notes are:
Nose: Aromatic, toffee, fruit salad, lush nectarine, custard. Floral, apple blossom, honeysuckle. Apple peels, pear, touch of smoke.
Palate: Malty. Walnuts steeped in manuka honey with vanilla sponge. Gentle smoke weaves its way through the cereal with a touch of spice.
Finish: Long, malty, walnut, almond.
I think after reading the tasting notes again it makes sense, have been into Sherry bombs of late and they tend to explode with flavour. Yum Yum.
Now the next few games coming are a Napoleonic Game, then we venture into new Oceans with games of 2 of Warlord Games naval releases in ‘Black Seas’ then ‘Victory at Sea’.
Games of Ancients has been on a bit of a back burner for years as lots of Napoleonics/ACW has been played. So I decided to slowly introduce the group to some Ancients play using Warlord Games ‘Hail Caesar’ rules. Now as these were mostly written by the same chaps as ‘Black Powder’ they have a certain familiarity to them that hopefully will make the rule set transition easier.
So for Practice #1 we had 3 players a side with one side using my Early Imperial Romans and the other Alans Carthaginians and PauW’s Iberians. So Russ/Rob/Steve were Romans and Robert/Alan/Terry(me) were the enemy. So I dispensed with artillery, ranged fire and skirmishers for this game to just keep the game mechanics as easy as possible for all of us.
So below we have the Romans on the left and the Africans/Spanish on the right.
Each player had 2 Divisions of troops….each Division was 4 units. Below we can see 4 Warbands…nasty shock units…9 attacks in first round of combat.
On the flank I was on it was a cavalry fight between Romans and Iberians…..units were all medium cavalry with spears…so it came down to good dice rolling and help from supporting units….I failed at this!
Russ used his legionnaires very well and the use of supports really helped him control his sector.
At the left top you can see a warband really pushing the Romans back while a solid Roamn line is holding to the right.
Carthaginian Heavies supported by mediums.
Cavalry preparing to run down the flank.
And a close up of cavalry charging into Legionnaires.
And that was Game 1 where we practiced game play and learning the rules. Plan is next game to add some light troops etc and introduce some more rules, and better understand ones from tonite.
Now, rather than the Whisky of the Week , I have been enjoying a beer with games of late and in the spirit of all things Latin….it is a Peroni.
So that sneaky virus has managed to infiltrate Fortress New Zealand once again…..in late August….. and the borders once again resemble a block of Swiss Cheese……..
Now for those of us not in Auckland it was 2 weeks at Level 4 followed by 1 week at level 3. This basically means stay home….. in my case…I was told had to go to work…..how annoying. Poor old Auckland is still locked up….they may be allowed out by Xmas(hopefully this year)This has meant minimal hobby time as been a bit busy….especially as the eldest daughter and the boyfriend moved in while between flats for a month(and the lads gaming machine was put on landing by my paint table…meaning I couldn’t paint as too noisy)…..but some progress has been made.
Now first is another unit of Byzantine Heavy Kavallarioi. I have just based them as I didn’t get the right shields or decals and so had to do an order to Gripping Beast and at the moment orders take 4-6 to make it out here to the ‘Hermit Kingdom’. A big thank you to Gripping Beast for buying Front Rank Miniatures as well! So figures are Gripping Beast, shield decals and banner from LBM.
The figures are mainly from a SAGA box set I picked up in a sale. So I decided to use the ‘Warlord’ or General figure in the unit. Was fun to paint as I played around with a box set of Army painter washes I have on the figure. Happy with result. I have adopted a mainly consistent approach to armour…leather etc across all the Byzantine units with slight variation on the ochres and browns and then differing washes.
The next unit is one of Byzantine Infantry. Again from Gripping Beast and decals/banner from LBM. The unit is 2 ranks of long spears and then bows at the back.
And a close up.
This brings my Byzantine force up to 2 Heavy Kavallarioi, 1 light Kavallarioi and 2 Infantry units. Next up is a 2nd light Kav unit to finish off a Division of 4. Below is photo of the force.
Now about an hour before Lockdown started at midnight there was a knock at the door and Goldie had turned up to hand over some Front Rank Wurttemberg Jager he had just finished for me to base for him. Now I have finished the basing and returned them, but being an idiot did not take finished picture. So here is one of the 3 oval bases part based. Will steal them back for a photo shoot!
Next are 2 Bttns of Austrian Grenz for my 1809 force. These are the 2 bttns of Grenzer Regiment No 13 Wallacho-Illyrian with the figures being Front Rank.
Still being worked on are a Bttn of 1809 French to add to Friant’s Division. This is the first of the 108th Ligne’s bttn’s. Figures are Front Rank Reinforcement pack figures. Am going for a non parade look…so making look bit scruffy with stained uniforms using some Army Painter inks.
Next up are some light infantry and skirmishers for my Romans. A bit of Ancients Gaming is starting so was time added some light units to my Legions.
Now Alan and Goldie have started painting the Prussian Hordes for the Franco Prussian War. The French plastic infantry have not been released yet for me to paint thankfully. But below are some of Alan’s figures.
So post August 21 lockdown here in Wellington I decided would try to run a game every week, other factors allowing it of course!
Now an old Wargames Illustrated Magazine has a bunch of scenarios from the 7 Days Campaign in June 1862 and one of them is ‘Boatswains Swamp’ so we gave it a whirl. Both sides had reinforcements that were triggered by a Rebel brigade crossing the stream. The Rebel objective was to take the hill in the Union right rear and hold it, or hold the western side of the Union side of the table, simple! Otherwise it is a Union Victory.
Nick(Gregg) and Russ(Branch) commanded the rebels, Steve(Griffin) and Rob(Lovell/Warren) the Union. Rebels have first move.
So below we have Nick advancing on Steve. He needs to cross the stream to trigger the reserves. Russ at far end is rushing forward.
Union troops await Nicks advance.
Nick crosses the stream and triggers the reserves for both sides.
The elite Confederate Brigade of Pender advances onto the battlefield and the Union get Buchanan arriving on the hill in their right rear… one of the Rebel objectives…which just got much harder.
On the Rebel left Russ heads for the stream.
Steve’s Union brigade is taking a lot of casualties but is holding on.
Close up.
On the left a few turns on where Russ has got a regt on tot he flank…they refused to charge! The rest of Russ’s brigade has gotten whupped and is retiring. Pender had been very slow at advancing and Russ got overwhelmed by the newly arriving Union reserves before Pender could crush the Union centre and assist.
On the Union left Nick is pouring the firepower in……Steve is hanging on…off to the right of the photo Union skirmishers are firing into the Rebel flanks.
And the end game, the Rebels have failed to make their objectives so a clear Union Victory!
So onto the Whisky of the week and it it is a wee beauty…literally…..
Edradour Straight from the Cask….500ml bottle…comes in a wee wooden box…and kicks in at 58%…this is my favourite whisky…I even got friend Weakley a bottle for his 50th birthday….so I could help him enjoy it..with me of course!
Tasting notes:
NOSE: Plums, red fruit and syrupy sherry sweetness. There’s leather and a wallop of sherry spice but its complex and delicious.
TASTE: Huge sherry. Lots of dark fruit, raisins, grapes and plumbs. Sweet and thick with an oily mouth feel.
FINISH: Long, surprisingly hot, but well blended. Lots of spice here.
Now that says it all….HUGE SHERRY. I do seem to be having a love affair with Whisky aged in Sherry casks….and am more than happy to carry on doing so!
Greetings from the ‘Hermit Kingdom of New Zealand!’.
So named by a former Prime Minister recently during a discourse he made about our beloved current Prime Minister ‘Redcinta the First'(and hopefully last) as she mirrors the achievements of all good Socialist leaders(assuming there is actually one).
So Goldie planned to run a refight in August…then someone sneezed in Auckland, and… lo and behold the entire country closed its borders…again….. and hid behind our castle walls. Thankfully the sneezing was mainly in Auckland so the rest of us have been allowed a degree of freedom while the poor sods in Auckland remain locked up.
So we had out refight in September 2021…….
The Austrians would have 5 players and the French 3. Nick, Alan, Keith and Goldie would have an Austrian Korps each while I had the Reserve Korps. There were 3 French players in PaulW, Rob and Robert. The scenario was Day 2 and each side would set up in the positions they held historically, but you could put any any troops you wanted there.
So below we have the French set up with Robert on the French left running from Aspern Village(out of picture), Rob in the centre and PaulW on right. Paul had the Cuirassiers and put all 6 to move around the right edge of the table……which was wonderful from an Austrian perspective! The 2nd line of French infantry were the elites of Lannes Corp. Some Guard were loitering on the edge of the table.
Then below we have the Austrians with from the left, Nick, Alan, Keith and Goldie with me off table in the centre. The Austrians had 1 division also off table on each flank ready on turn 2 to march on and attack the villages(or rather to remonstrate that they were to draw forces away from the French centre).
Austrians advance on the Frenchies.
Massed Cuirassiers attempting to ride around the right flank. There is not space between Essling village and the edge of the table.
Lannes orders the reserve line from the centre to move around the flank as well. We Austrian players were extremely happy at these troop movements away from the centre!
An oppsy moment, Lannes Blunders and instead of attacking/advancing decides a move to the right is required.
So below we now have disordered Cuirassiers and blundering infantry in front of Austrian infantry in square.
Meanwhile in the centre…..is that a gap I see……
It is indeed a gap…some French have popped….both sides lost some guns…..French light cavalry charged Austrians in flank…who cared not….in distance French Guard can be seen approaching. On the French left Robert was churning up Goldie.
Panorama shot…Nick still has a Division off table on Austrian left…..Grenz are skirmishing( 2 new units I painted during lockdown) , Alan is looking solid in the middle as the Reserve advance into the table, Keith is taking it to Robert and Goldie is doing really silly things in Aspern(I told him NOT to attack the Buildings).
Beautiful sight. Keith has punched a hole in the French line, I have supported with Cuirassiers and am moving the Grenadiers up to exploit the gap.
PaulW sent some Cuirassiers around the village hunting guns…light cavalry etc….they did well then got forced to retire back in front of building…shaken…..Lannes gets some troops into the square….and the square held.
If you look beyond the village…that is a Division of Austrians that have advanced into the French rear…a beautiful thing. The French Cuirassiers are disordered and cannot charge…
A close up below.
On the Austrian right…..am not sure…but I think Goldie could be in trouble here. The cavalry are Wurttembergers from Front Rank…so actually only light cavalry…..
And below we have the result of the events of the last turns….PaulW threw the Guard in to stabilise the centre…..they died gloriously…hit by Austrian large columns to front, Cuirassiers to the flank….and with an intact Austrian reserve supporting the relatively undamaged Austrians( we were disavowing Goldie at this stage) the French agreed they had been defeated!
So that was another Aspern-Essling refight in the bag. The French deploying all their heavy cavalry on one flank and also supporting with the reserve infantry of Lannes I feel lost them the game. There was insufficient space to deploy effectively and Austrian large bttns are very hardy and take up space… to much space for the cavalry to quickly take them out.
Now friend Paul Weakley along with his family are leaving our shores for 4 years shortly. and the container taking their supplies(the important items like Whisky and Wine) can only take full bottles. So Paul booked in for a meal/wine/whisky evening. Now after a meal of slow cooked lamb shanks(which were not only HUGE but tasted absolutely amazing)) along with all the trimmings…copious amounts of wine followed by an apple and rhubard crumble Paul had made, we sampled wine and listened to 80’s music for the evening….well til 2ish anyway. So…todays Whisky of the week is…..Bladnoch Adela 15….which has an amazing bottle……
Tasting notes:
Nose: Walnut and coffee cake, juicy cherries and a hint of lemongrass.
Palate: Chocolatey and rich, with notes of strawberry, liquoirce and clove in tow.
Finish: Quite long and packed with Oloroso sweetness.
Now I really liked this one, great colour and capped off a great evening. I shared the last drops with my neighbour John and he has retained the bottle to be his ‘infinity bottle’!
A quick report on an ACW Game. This time is a battle from the ‘Glory, Hallelujah’ supplement of Black Powder.
So on the 19th September 1862, the Union Army in Mississippi commanded by General Grant dispatched a force commanded by General Rosecrans to destroy a smaller Confederate force commanded by General Price. Thanks to superior scouting, Price was aware of Rosecrans advance and determined to pounce on one of his columns.
So on table below we have 2 Union brigades on the left of the table along a road. These are the brigades of Mower and Sullivan. A third brigade, Sanborn’s will arrive on turn 3 close to the measuring tape in the left corner. The Rebel forces are 2 brigades with Herbert’s in the front and Martins in the rear.
Below are Union troops along the road.
The Rebels try to advance against a very strong Union line.
Some very busy Union artillerymen.
The Rebel attack really stalls trying to get through the woods in the centre.
So all 3 Union brigades are now in play and the superior numbers are pushing the Rebels back.
Now at the end the Union Army had the Confederates on the back pedal with a number of Rebel units being ‘Whipped’ and retiring as the Union troops approached. A clear victory would have been if the Union had taken the crossroads just to their front. Alas, I hadn’t reminded them of this……so they didn’t launch their attack in time….. perhaps next time!
But I think the guys enjoyed the game…. lots of insults were traded which is always a good sign.
Now the whisky of the week is a favourite of mine. I seem to have a particular liking for offerings from Glenmorangie and this is certainly true of The Quinta Rubin 14.
The tasting notes are below.
Nose: Summer fruit tart with a sprinkling of icing sugar, aromatic cedar, milky coffee and almond pastries.
Palate: Chocolate mousse, Bourbon biscuits, orange oil, more almond notes (now toasted), blackcurrant and raisin.
Finish: Lasting richness of stewed berries and dark chocolate.
Which to me means it is rather smooth and a delight to savour as I watch Liverpool in action once again.
I would like to thank my daughters for getting this for the recent birthday. We had to do a rush to our local Bottle O shop to get it on the night the latest Lockdown was enforced by Kommissar Redcinta. We just beat the slavering hordes to the door as they sought to sate their thirsts in the coming days of lockdown. Thankfully, I knew it was in stock and at a very good price!
Til next time, which seeing we are locked down again, will be a Lockdown report.
Now 1809 is my favourite period in the Nappy Wars so am always happy when we swing into some 1809 games.
Now Garage Gamer Paul W will be leaving us for 3 years as his beloved has obtained an overseas posting in Vanuatu and Paul, who rightfully considers himself the luckiest man alive will spend 3 years not being allowed to work there and so will sit round the pool drinking or go diving looking at all those WW2 ship wrecks…lucky man indeed.
Now Paul has expressed a desire to refight a game on his Wagram Terrain boards before he goes. So this has resulted in another surge of new troops led by Alan with units of Grenz, Jager, 2 Hungarian line and artillery. I have pitched in with 2 units of Grenz and am expanding my 24 figure line bttns to 36’s. Goldie is painting up the Wurttemberg light Infantry brigade as well.
So before we get round to refighting Wagram there will be a few practice games. The first is a refight of Teugn-Hausen which was fought on the 19th April 1809. In this battle Davout’s 3rd Corp is marching along a road heading north when Hohenzollerns 3rd Corps attempts to intercept him. The 2 sides are fairly equal in numbers of around 17,000 each with the Austrians having 5 squadrons of Hussars as the only cavalry. The French are marching along a road and the Austrians cross a wood lined ridge to attack them. Both sides have troops then joining in.
Below is the opening set up. I allocated sides to players as they arrived. Alan arrived first so he deployed his Austrians including the new units on the ridge to sweep the French aside and take Teugn. StephenC arrived next so he got to be the French defending Teugn. StevenT was next so he got to be the Austrian artillery batteries massed in front of Hausen and the 5 bttns marching onto the table. Goldie was next so he got his 6 French bttns lined up on road heading north. These French bttns are the very same bttns that were on that road in 1809….incuding..groan..the 57th. Robert arrived next so he was 3 French bttns and a battery marching on from behind Teugn.
Oh dear…its very early on in the game and as often happens, newly painted units don’t last long. Alan has already lost his Grenz and Jager! French have a shaken unit and Alan is charging forward with his large bttns.
Alan has had some success, but Robert is rushing on with more French and a battery is trying to blunt a bttn’s advance.
So after the Austrian initial advance, they have been repulsed and the French ready themselves to counter attack.
So Goldie has now taken the field with his French troops that were marching down the road. They can be seen moving through the woods. StevenT is opposite him with 5 large bttn’s of Austrians. There were 3 batteries posted in front of the Hausen which StevenT has moved and placed in what looks a dangerous position. Roberts French can be seen moving to link up in the centre. StephenC’s French have stated to advance as well. Alan has moved his horse artillery and Hussars up on the flank.
So in the centre Robert has charged a shaken Austrian column. I didn’t take a picture…but…it didn’t go well for the Austrians…more French charged in ..the artillery was hit in flanks…pooped from other combats….someone is not getting artillery again for a while! Yes that’s you Mr Thompson!!
The Terrible 57th march to the attack!
StephenC launches an attack on the right.
But…all is not lost for the Austrian, I arrive with Grenadiers from the Austrian right! Sounds impressive……but…am attacking French with same stats…I have 7 attacks, they have 6 and re roll a miss…. so its…all down to the dice rolling.
So a bit further on…. 57th getting destroyed…..combat had gone on here for a few rounds…the flanking Grenadier unit is there as I got very excited when had a unit ready to roll up the French flank where you can see the 12 pdr battery. Forgot to announce the order before rolled, an automatic Blunder Order …and as a result…they moved to the right and onto the flank of unit now charging…so they joined combat in their next turn. Thankfully after combined artillery fire into flank with infantry shooting from front, the French bttn…popped!
Meanwhile in the centre….Arch Duke Charles has arrived with an escort of Cuirassiers ….he was there to look good…not join in! The Austrians here had lost their artillery but still had intact bttns.
While in the centre, Alan has retired his damaged brigade before it pops….. with StevenC and Robert closing in.
So that was that……the Austrians failed to break through and stop Davout’s march Northwards. The early loss of the Grenz and Jagers in the right woods followed by the loss of the 3 batteries in the centre really put the breaks on the Austrian attack. I rolled to see if the Austrian reserves were 5 more large bttns in the centre or the 4 Grenadiers and a 12pdr from the right corner marching on…happy was Grenadiers. But in the end, the French were to good in the centre.
So to the Whisky of the week….and it is a BEAUTY!
I have just ticked over another year so I asked the beloved for a nice bottle as a prezzie. Now when Anita had her 60th earlier this year, we dined out at a lovely restaurant where I sampled a whisky with my dessert which I asked for. It was OUTSTANDING!
So this week, the Whisky of the wee is the GLENDRONACH PARLIAMENT 21 years.
It is with out doubt the smoothest whisky I have owned. I have worked up from the GlenDronach 12 and 15 and now jumped past the 18 to the 21.
It is named “Parliament” after the collective term for a group of rooks – and there is a Parliament of Rooks living in the trees near GlenDronach… how cute.
Nose: Soft smoke and lemon juice, cedar wood, apple peel, toasty oak, soft earth, date and walnut cake and a hint of freshly made espresso.
Palate: Golden syrup, soft, juicy raisins, tangy oak notes, peach, cherry blossom, cocoa and honeydew melon.
Finish: Sherry tones lead the finish, with a hint of sulphur, chocolate, luscious fruit and pepper.
And there we have it readers, get one if you can!!
So carrying on the ACW theme currently on I put on a Battle of Monocacy game which was fought on the 9th July 1964, This was part of the Confederate General Jubal Early’s raid down the Shenandoah Valley into Maryland.
On the 3rd July the Union area Commander, Major General Lew Wallace who was based in Baltimore with a command of 2-3,000 men reacted to news of Early’s march towards Baltimore and Washington by moving his force to Monocacy Junction to block the Confederate advance while requesting reinforcements to protect the unguarded Washington. Wallace gathered additional troops from Annapolis, Baltimore and a field artillery unit and a small cavalry force. On July the 8th Wallace stopped the advance units of the Union VI Corps commanded by Ricketts and convinced him to remain at Monocacy Junction to hold off Early and his estimated force of between 14-28,000 veteran troops.
So dawn on Saturday July 9 had a Union force of about 6,800 men positioned an the bridges and fords over the Monocacy River. A battery was on a bluff overlooking the main bridge and Ricketts men below them guarding the fences and riverbank. The cavalry brigade of Clendenin was downstream watching the river.
There were further forces facing each other but I decided to just fight the main battle.
So the aim of Union General Wallace is to hold on and delay as long as possible to give reinforcements time to get to Washington. The Confederates was to get to Washington!
So for the scenario I have kept fairly much too the actual battle but changed some aspects a wee bit for play playability and fun factors.
Below we have the initial set up Ricketts 2nd Brigade commanded by Steve. This was 4 regts plus the battery on the bluff behind them. Opposite across the river was Ramseur’s Lilley brigade with 5 Virginia regts with 2 batteries from Nelsons battn with a 3rd battery arriving later. Alan commanded here.
To the south the Union cavalry of Clendenin commanded by Rob had 2 dismounted regts covering the ford with 2 more on there way. Across the ford can be seen the lead regts of McClauslands cavalry brigade of 4 regts commanded by Keith.
And Alan is straight into it and managed to get 4 units across the bridge and a 5th on it(they are not actually crossing the river…..Alan got a wee bit excited.
Keith rushes his cavalry regts across the ford, dismounts and prepares to pepper Robs 2 regts in the farms. I had reduced the Union regts to 2/3 size of the Rebel ones. Picture below is after several turns of firing from both sides. There is a dinky rule in the ACW supplement of Black Powder where units that fail morale tests from shooting do not pop but instead are ‘whupped’ and basically keep 12 inches away from the enemy with reduced factors….and are just …annoying…but…it feels right! The final 2 Union cavalry units have dismounted and joined the fighting.
Here we have the Union battery on the bluff behind fortification. Union needed 6’s to hit them and they got an enhanced save.
Keith added his cute ambulance to the photo…nice.
The Union cavalry have been beaten after several rounds of hand to hand and mount up and ride away….those that could. Just to the left of the field the Confederate Division of John Gordon has commenced crossing the ford. Goldie had arrived and took the brigade of Evans and his 7 Georgia regts. Keith retired the cavalry and took command of the 2nd brigade of Hays 5 Louisiana regts.
As Gordons regts marched across the fields towards the Junction and the road to Washington, up popped Emersons brigade of 5 regts who had been lying down behind a fence! A withering blast was delivered on the surprised Confederates by these veteran units troops…to…well…almost no effect…..
The other end of Emersons line….flank fire on Evans brigade…Goldie giggled…it was really bad shooting.
I quite liked this picture of the flags.
So we have Evans brigade to the left, Hays to the right, Alan in the distance who has bought guns up to close range and is dealing to Steve’s troops. Keith’s surviving cavalry and a battery that appeared are holding the fence line to centre and I have the Emerson brigade.
Game end. I declared a Union victory, if only because the road was not clear and so Early’s Army would now not make Washington before Union reinforcements made it.
So that was fun and now the whisky of the week!
Well… I do have a love affair with Glenmorangie so this weeks offering is the ‘Nectar D’or’.
With tasting notes of:
Sumptuous and warming, the Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or has spent ten years in American white oak casks before spending its final two years in Sauternes casks from France. It is here, in hand selected wine barriques from Sauternes: the most famous and ancient sweet wine growing region of France, that this whisky develops its rich, spicy and dessert-like flavours. Non chill-filtered for additional aroma and mouthfeel.
Aroma; Lime and orange rind, sultanas and dates give a rich fruity flavour laced with tantalising spices of coconut and nutmeg.
Taste; Ginger, nutmeg and toasted almonds bring a deep, warming taste interwoven with a syrupy lemon meringue and honeycomb middle.
Finish; Long and lusciously sweet finish with lemon zest, white chocolate, vanilla and traces of ginger and nutmeg.
Awards; WWA 2008 Category – Scottish IWSC 2009 Silver Category – Single Malt Highland IWSC 2009 Silver Category – Single Malt Highland ISC 2009 Silver Category – Scotch Single Malts
Alcohol Vol 46%
Some may not like a sweet whisky, but tonight we have a southerly storm howling outside, it is VERY windy…and cold….and the coffee machine has died…so will shortly be sipping this beauty in front of the fire watching our Queen of Canoeing win her Gold medals again.
terrysgaragegaming 