Tag Archives: napoleon

February 2025 – Black Powder Napoleonic Epic Game #1

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The year seems to be flying by, its a public holiday on a Thursday(New Zealand Day)so we organized our first game of Warlord Games Epic(13mm) scale Napoleonic Black Powder Rules Game…that’s a bit of a mouthful isn’t it! A few of us are collecting forces and it was our fist game with the new figures.

We played at Alans as he has been working away on armies……having recently retired…having a 3D printer……and being an awesome painter with great speed…he is rapidly generating armies and terrain!

So Goldie(Austro-Bavarians…Alan figures) and Terry(that’s me…with French….with 6 almost finished French bttns…the rest all Alans) played Alan(Prussians) and Stephen(Prussians).

Franco-Austrians are on the left…….that’s Goldie…and Prussians on the right…that’s Alan.

Stephen’s Prussians…outstanding paint job on them!

Alan’s Prussian……..mix of Warlord’s and self printed. Look great.

Austro-Bavarian…all printed and painted by Alan.

Stephens guns look out on advancing Enemy.

The farmhouse below should look familiar!

Its infested with Prussians.

Austrian light cavalry below……

Right Prussian flank…columns supported by cavalry….horse battery in front line beside farmhouse.

In a moment of madness…..I decided to charge the Prussian Landwehr…who were in column’s…..behind a hedge…..so Stephen is saving on 2+…..madness……

Lunch break…….Alan and his wife Joni knew just what to feed us! Was Yummy!!

The result of my madness…took several rounds of combat……but one of my combatants lost combat…and the unit supporting the other unit in combat decided to run away as a result.

To the right of the Farmhouse…Prussians await the Austrians.

From my earlier moment of madness charge…another unit had lost combat….retired and been followed up by the Prussians…..who I then managed to get a unit a unit of lancers with the brigade commander into their flank…..I was feeling pretty cocky…8 attacks…hit on 3s…they save at a -2…so that’s 6s.Yep….didn’t go quite as planned…2 hits…a lousy 2 hits!

To slow the Prussian advance.. I sent light cavalry into a disordered square…no expectation of destroying it..but hoping to cause high casualties…and not pop when if it didn’t go my way…it didn’t go my way and I retired safety…but they were now pinned in square.

Very impressive Austrian advance over on Austrian left flank…….Prussian flank is getting turned.

An ouch moment…Austrian Cuirassiers charging Austrian light cavalry…Austrians have 9 dice…hit on 3s…save on 3s….add D3 to combat and have a support…so a +1 on result. Austrians are a large unit so 8 attacks…hit on 3s…save on 4s…no supports….but commnader added to combat…so 9 attacks now…still lose!

Few turns on over on French left…..2 Prussian units in square are pinned by French cavalry within 12 inches…another is taking the wood…..squares have 2 French batteries on hill shooting into them…2 combats are being fought…..on the left French Old Guard are beating up Prussian Fusiliers…..Prussian Guard are the white tipped unit on left end.

Game end……Goldie on Austrian side is rolling up the Prussian line.

Over on French right……French have won the 2 combats from above….then hit the flank of the Prussian Guards who have been destroyed. Stephen and I have both lost a brigade so looks like a draw here.

Well…that was fun….its still Black Powder….but looks totally different not being 28mm. It does look ‘Epic’ …..I will have to get a move on painting more French! Stephen, Alan and Goldie are painting Epic ‘ACW’….and Alan has Epic ‘Pike and Shotte’…..and Alan the machine that he is will probably add every Army in Napoleonic War before he is through!

Now if anyone is looking for Uniform information, there is a wee gem of a site I will attach the link to: https://centjours.mont-saint-jean.com/index.php

Now…been a while but here is a lovely drop of Whisky….it comes from Cadenhead and is the Tamdhu-Glenlivet 15year. I have had several Cadenhead Sherry Bombs and this is another one….am enjoying it immensely.

Tasting note I found are:

  • Nose Sufficiently strong nose with lots of sherry spices and also a slight sharpness.
  • TasteOily mouthfeel. The palette is noticeably fuller than the nose and the sharpness is gone. Abundance of spicy sherry.
  • FinishThe warm sherry influence lingers in the aftertaste.

Can’t argue with that…..very pleasant.

Until next time…Terry out.

June 2024 – Napoleonic Game: Austrian’s v French

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The 2nd game in June was a 4 player French v Austrian Napoleonic one.

I set the table up with 2 small French forces each of an infantry brigade with 6 foot bttns, 1 battery and an attached small cavalry brigade of 2 light cavalry regiments each encamped around farms. Rob and Robert were the French players.

The terrain had 4 roads entering the table, 1 from each side of the table. The 2 Austrian players would roll to see which road they would march on down. Alan and Stephen were the Austrian players. Stephen had an Avante Garde brigade with 3 standard size bttns, a Grenz unit, light battery and 2 Hussar regiments. Alan had an Avante Garde brigade with 3 large infantry bttns, a Jager bttn, light battery and 2 Hussar regiments.

French deployments are below with Rob then Roberts deployments.

Alan arrives on the North Road.

Stephen arrived on the East Road which put him between the 2 French forces! Alan can be seen deployed on the North Road.

Robert has garrisoned his farm with a bttn and moved the rest of his force North to meet with Alan. 2 of Stephens bttns and the battery are tasked with taking the farm.

The rest of Stephens force are tasked with holding Rob off and awaiting reinforcements. Austrian Hussars have charged a French bttn, who formed square, the Hussars then retiring and the skirmishing Grenz have advanced to clsoe range to shoot them up…the Hussars staying within 12 inches which pins the square…and the Grenz close enough to them that the French cavalry cannot charge the Grenz.

Alan deploys to face Robert’s approach.

OMG! Robert charged straight in…Alan rolled APPALLINGLY badly … a theme that would continue all game….even a change of dice did not help.

Rubbing salt into the wound Robert sent lancers into the flank of Alans last bttn after disposing of his cavalry.

Down south Rob is deploying to face Stephen …Rob was unable to get his 2 bttns south of the village to move…lucky break for the Austrians.

Fortunately for Alan his reserve formation of 5 large bttns and a battery now advanced on to the table over the remains of the Avante Garde brigade.

Stephen had his reserve of a Grenadier brigade march onto the table,,.. so I personally took control of the French reinforcements of 6 bttns and a battery who rolled to arrive on the South Road. I decided to move them to a central position and support both Robert and Rob as necessary.

Hmmm…..Alan has charged Robert…then deployed a bttn in line…masking his guns…….

The reserve Austrian Grenadiers advancing…lovely metal Front Rank figures….ladz were telling me current Figures purchased from the new providers of Front Rank metals are not great(okay…I have toned down the comment ….with the cost of postage to this neck of the world you want a decent casting!). 3D printer anyone………

My brigade continues to advance…..good shooting from the attack columns shakes the Hussars who moved to attempt a block.

Alan, if he lives is now being transferred to an Austrian Village on the Turkish borderlands…..he lost the combat….both the attacking unit and support decided to head home…..his unit in line fluffed its shooting and is soon to be heading home as well.

The stalemate between Rob and Stephen continues in the South.

Soo we called the game at that stage…Robert has cleaned out both Alans brigades….he was quite damaged…but still operational…he was holding Stephen off in his farm, it was a stalemate in the South but there were sufficient French on the table to force Stephen to retire.

A French win was called. Robert’s very aggressive attack coupled with Alans real bad dice rolls made for an interesting encounter.

Til next time…..