Nottoman Commanders

Having finished my Nottoman army last week I realised that I needed to do a few commander for it, in case I used them with rules that require commander figures.

So here they are - one splendid C-in-C and a couple of underlings.

I actually did some for my Swedes and Russians years ago, but I'm mot sure I ever did a post abut them. But  they crop up in photos from time to time if you're observant.

Random Armies For The War Of Spanish Succession

In the comments on a previous post I was asked if I was looking at doing a simple campaign for the Great Northern War using 'Dominion of Marlborough and Peter The Great'. I have been considering it and have a couple of ideas I'm working on, but this morning I came up with an idea for doing a very simple mapless campaign for the War of Spanish Succession. This is all the more remarkable because I know next to nothing about the War of Spanish Succession. However I've never let my lack of knowledge of an era stop me pottering about with wargames-related stuff for it. It's how we learn.

Anyway, I am working through the mechanics of the campaign itself, and if it seems workable I will post it here. But what the campaign also needs is a way of generating armies for battles similar to the system I used for my English Civil War campaign.

I have looked at the armies in the various scenarios in 'Dominion of Marlborough and Peter The Great' and come up with the following, which I think reflects those armies plus what little I do know about the conflict.

The two sides are Bourbons (France and Allies) and the Grand Alliance (Austrian, British, Dutch etc). Precisely which nations or combination of nations are fighting is  irrelevant. That's up to the players to decide.

Roll for how many units, upgrades and downgrades the army has. Determine which army is the attacker in the battle.

1 - 6 units
2 - 6 units, 1 upgrade, 1 unreliable
3 - 6 units, 2 upgrades, 2 unreliable
4 - 5 units, 2 upgrades
5 - 5 units, 3 upgrades, 1 unreliable
6 - 4 units, 4 upgrades

Roll for the type of each unit.

1-2 - Line Infantry
3 - Horse (Dice for which type below)
4-5 - Line Infantry or Horse (Balance existing numbers if possible, or dice for it if even)
6 - Dragoons/Artillery (Dice for which below)

Only count the first two rolls of 6. Treat any other rolls of 6 a roll of 5

Roll for each Horse unit:

0-3 - Sabres
4+ - Pistoliers
+2 if Bourbon, -1 if Alliance

Roll for each Dragoons/Artillery result:

0-4 - Artillery
5+ - Dragoons
-1 if Alliance

Roll for each Upgrade the army has:

0-3 - Elite
4-6 - Disciplined/Defences
-1 if Attacker +1 if Defender

Randomly assign the upgrades to units. Artillery cannot be Elite. 

Finally allocate the Unreliable statuses to units. The first Unreliable must be assigned to either an Artillery or Dragoons unit if the army has one. Otherwise it, and any others are assigned to random units.

The defender sets up first, followed by the attacker.

Notes
Bourbon forces seem to generally have Pistoliers as their main cavalry type. Their +2 on the Horse table will ensure this. Drop it to a +1 if you feel it's too much. Alliance armies seem to have fewer troops classed as Dragoons, however, so I've made it less likely they will be present. Artillery and Dragoons are often Unreliable in the scenarios. In terms of upgrades, I have assumed that attacking armies are more likely to have troops with a strong offensive spirit, whereas the defending army is more likely to have field defences or a terrain advantage. Elite and Defended/Discipline can represent a range of things, however, and it's up to the players to decide what. In the same way, Unreliable troops can simply be those on flank marches or late-arriving reinforcements.

In terms of individual theatres of the war - Spain, the Low Countries, Germany or Italy - feel free to tweak modifiers to better reflect armies there if you have a better understanding of the era than I do. I won't know unless you tell me.

Druna And Klisow

I spent Sunday morning mowing the lawn (which still needs to be done, even in the winter), and measuring up the garage for some much-needed shelving. And then part of the afternoon was spent helping my daughter put up a curtain rail. So a fairly busy day. But I found some time in the afternoon to set up, play and record a couple of games of 'Dominion of Marlborough and Peter The Great'. Great rules but, my god that title is cumbersome!

Up until now I've fiddled around with the WSS scenarios, but this afternoon I switched my attention to some battles from the Great Northern War. Rather than dive into the classic ones with the Swedes fighting the Russians, I played the two scenarios in the book which pitted Charles XII against Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and self-proclaimed King of Poland. This conflict would drag on for nearly six years, during which time Russia, who had been decisively defeated by the Swedes at Narva in 1700, rebuilt their army. That led, in time, to the Swedish defeat at Poltava and the effective end of their empire.

However that's a way off. For the first battle we find Charles XII facing a strong Saxon-Russian army entrenched on the opposite side of the wide River Druna, near Riga on 19th July 1701. Being Charles XII, he attacked.

The Swedes slipped part of their army across the river during the night, exploiting the fact that the Saxons defences were a couple of hundred metres back from the shore. By the time the defenders realised what was happening the Swedes had a toehold on the Saxon side of the river.

The battle starts there.

The Swedes (left) have three unit of Elite Ga Pa Infantry in their front line. Their reserves consist of  two more units of Ga Pa Infantry and one of Sabres, all of which are Unreliable, reflecting that they have to force a crossing of the river by either boat or pontoon bridge. I used my new pioneer bases to mark the unreliable units.

The Saxon front line consists of some Unreliable Artillery (a lot of Artillery is classed as Unreliable in these rules, since its battlefield capabilities are a bit hot or miss), plus some Saxon line.

You'll notice that the infantry have their centre base advanced a little. This is because defending foot that starts the game in the front line enjoys an advantage against certain troop types, representing them being in good initial positions. 

The Swedish reserve foot, showing the pioneers to the fore.

The main battle line.

Turn 1 - Swedish

The Swedes attacked on their right flank against the Unreliable Artillery here. It proved to be ... unreliable, and was removed. The Saxons moved up some Russian pike-armed infantry from the reserve.

Turn 1 - Saxon

In the centre the Saxon Line threw back the first wave of Swedish infantry.

(If you are wondering about the paraphernalia, the yellow die shows the turn number, the arrow shows which side is 'attacking', the blue dice shows the Swedish combat roll and the black die that of the Saxons. I roll both dice simultaneously even if one side gets to roll first. In this example that black 6 for the Saxons destroys he Swedish GaPa foot before their 6 - also a kill - takes effect. The orange blob shows which unit is destroyed.)

Turn 2 - Swedish

The Swedes pressed forward on the right and the Russian pikemen were cut down to a man (true story - there's a memorial to them). This brought the Swedes up against the main Saxon defences.

Turn 2 - Saxons

The Saxons activated in the centre where Swedish reserve infantry was attempting to cross the river. It failed to cross. Would the next wave make it?

Both sides attempted to rally lost troops at this stage. The Swedes rallied one of their Elite Ga Pa Infantry, whilst the Saxons tried to rally the Russian Pikemen, unaware that they were all dead. You don't rally back from all dead.

Turn 3 - Swedish

The Swedish left flank pushed forward, but the fighting was inconclusive. 

Turn 3 - Saxon

The Saxons centre tried to push back the next wave of Swedish foot as they crossed the river, but failed to stop them getting ashore.

A fierce musketry duel ensued, but neither side gave ground.

Turn 4 - Swedish

On their left the Swedes charged the Saxons but were cut down and driven back into the river in disarray. But the rallied at the last moment.

(They didn't rally. In game terms the unit was lost. But the reserve unit that replaced them was the rallied Ga Pa Infantry and is exactly the same type of unit, so we'll assume the original unit rallied because it makes for a better narrative).

Turn 4 - Saxon

The troops in the Saxon redoubts fired on the advancing Swedes, who were forced to retreat, all momentum having gone out of their attack. If their cavalry could be brought up in support all might not be lost on that flank. But that depended on the building of a pontoon bridge.

Would the cavalry get across?

Turn 5 - Swedish

In the centre the Swedish foot failed to make any headway against the Saxons. All of their units were committed to the fight now; the Swedes had no reserves left.

Turn 5 - Saxon

The Saxons activated on their left as the troops in their defences fired on the approaching pontoon bridge. But the Swedes toiled away and the bridge was built. The cavalry streamed across!

Forming up they charged the Saxon entrenchments, and routed the defenders. The Saxons now hoped for their cavalry to come and save the day.

Turn 6 - Swedish

Desperate fighting on the Swedish left saw the Saxons there collapse. And there were no Saxon reserves.

The Swedes could now turn the Saxon right.

Turn 6 - Saxon

The Saxon cavalry force arrived, and charged the Swedes. Both sides shattered each other.

This left the Saxons with only their centre. The Swedes had won the day!

Thing started to look a bit desperate for the Swedes in the middle of the game when they had to rely on their unreliable reinforcements, but their boats and engineers saved the day, getting the troops over the river in the nick of time. The Saxons had nothing to counter them.

So an historical result for that battle. Would it be the same for the next one?

The second scenario in the rules is Klisow, fought on  9th July 1702.  Charles XII had spent a year advancing into Poland in pursuits of Augustus II. At Klisow he faced a Saxon army awaiting reinforcements from their Polish allies. Hoping to attack before the allies arrived they found their left flank being attacked by Polish cavalry.

I set this up with a little bit of scenery, just to make the photos look nice. The attacking Swedes are on the left, the Saxons on the right in the centre and left sectors and the Poles (played by my Nottoman cavalry) are on the white horses in the distance.

The Swedes only have four units in this battle, but they are all either elite or determined. The Polish cavalry is determined but the reserve Polish cavalry is Unreliable (on the day the Poles quit the field after an initial setback - their alliance with the Saxons was fairly shaky).

Turn 1 - Swedish

The Swedish right, led by Charles XII himself attacked the Saxon cavalry before them, but the fighting was indecisive.

Turn 1 - Saxon

The Swedish attack in the centre was stopped dead by disciplined Saxon musketry. The Swedes committed their only reserve (more cavalry).

Turn 2 - Swedish

The Swedish left-flank advanced against the Polish cavalry, but made no headway against them.

Interlude: a shot of the battle so far, despite little actually having happened.

Turn 2 - Saxon

In the centre the line engaged the attacking Swedish cavalry, but were ridden down. However there's always more Saxon line to move up from the reserve.

At this point the Swedes tried to rally their lost infantry, but failed.

Turn 3 - Swedish

They activated on the left-flank where the Polish cavalry (led by winged hussars, in what would be their last battle) rode them down. The Swedes had no reserve.

Turn 3 - Saxon

The Polish cavalry swept into the Swedish centre and routed that as well.

A total disaster for Charles XII, left only with his cavalry! And a stunning victory for the Saxons, won almost entirely by their Polish allies.

To be fair I've played both of these scenarios a few times now and the honours have been about even. With small numbers of elite troops the Swedes can be prone to death by randomness (an elite unit is expensive but no harder to kill by an enemy who rolls first than one that isn't), but if it all comes together their troops steam-roller the opposition. Historically they did that in most of their battles. In Dominion the other side gets more of a look-in.

Pioneers

Sometimes a scenario calls for a detachment of engineers or pioneers to clear a road, build a bridge or (maybe) blow one up. So I made one.

I was out most of yesterday but found some time in the afternoon to put these chaps together using scraps of wire and wood on my desk, then painted them in the evening.

I only did two bases because I reasoned they'd mostly be fielded as markers or a small unit. I did them in a generic brown uniform that would look suitable for any 18th century army.

Tireless Antagonisms

I was requested to do a proper write-up of my English Civil War campaign rules, so I have done so.

You can find them here - Tireless Antagonisms

The PDF includes the campaign rules, the random army generator for 'Dominion of Pike & Shot' and the pretty ten-area map.

I will also link it on my FREE STUFF page

Light Infantry

I did a few units of light infantry for my Russians and Swedes. For strict Great Northern War games these are not needed as light infantry weren't really a thing then. But sometimes it's nice to just use the armies for generic 18th century games using One Hour Wargames or the various Grant scenarios, and they often need light infantry. 

There's little difference between these figures and the line infantry. I just clipped off the bayonets. And, obviously, there's fewer figures per base.

Turks And Venetians

Caesar and I played a game of Galleys & Galleons last night. I set up two roughly equal forces of Renaissance galleys lifted straight from the book.

The Venetians fielded two lanterna flagships, four galleys, two galliots and a couple of galleasses. Opposing them the Turks has two lanterna flagships, three galliots and six galleys. Caesar took the Turks whilst I ran the Venetians. The latter are a little more complex since they have a mixed sailing and oared force.

Here's the setup. With two flagships we each got to divide our force into two squadrons, and used cards to decide which squadron activated when.

The Venetian fleet, ready to advance. At the bottom left you can see the two galleasses.

Early advances. Both sides made use of galliots to work around the enemy's left flank.

The galleasses get left behind. Most of the galleys have good activation rolls so could move twice each turn, whereas the galleasses sail; they get to move for free, but only once per turn.

The Turks fired the first shots, but they caused no damage.

More firing and a couple of damage markers appeared. To the left a galleass has opened up with its heavy bow guns.

Caesar concentrated fire on the big galleasses, and one of them started to take both hull and rigging hits.

The two fleets were now locked in battle (although I took this photo at the end of a turn, when we'd removed all of the smoke).

Ah! A shot of the two fleets actually looking like they're locked in battle! In the centre I'd committed a galleass to a boarding action which, with hindsight, wasn't a sound move. Galleys get a small bonus in barding, so the odds weren't as highly in my favour as I'd hoped.

One of my galleys caught fire and promptly exploded. The only silver lining in the huge cloud of smoke and debris was that it set one of the Turkish galleys on fire.

A Turkish galliot is pounded into striking by a Venetian galley.

One of my galleasses surrendered after a long series of boarding actions.

The other made up for it by firing a mighty broadside that utterly demolished a Turkish galley. With modifiers I was rolling of a combat value of 8, which is pretty good in this game. You can see the wreckage of the galley in the background.

Remember that Turkish galley that caught fire? It exploded as well.

The action was very close now; plenty of point-blank firing and boarding going on.

Out on the Venetian left, Turkish galliots continued to skirmish with the larger Venetian galleys.

An overview of the action.

Another Turkish galley surrenders as two Venetian galliots grappled it.

However sustained gunfire from a galley and one of the Turkish flagships forced my second galleass to strike.

At that point we called the game as it was getting late and the fight had reached that point where both sides would need to consolidate their forces before any more action would take place.

We called it a draw, although I think with the loss of two galleasses the Venetians probably had had the worst of it. The Turkish right was still relatively fresh and in a position to cross the centre and bring its weight to bear on the intense action on the their side. I think that would have swung the battle in their favour.

Still, it was a lot of fun to get these ships out again, even if I still haven't really worked out the most effective way to use the galleasses yet.

Here's a bonus picture from Ralph showing me smiling far more confidently than the situation deserves.