Angus  Konstam's Edinburgh Wargames

Edinburgh Wargames Journal

Issue 26  - September 2008

Periods featured so far in this Issue:  English Civil War, First World War,

"Napoleonic" &  Seven Years War (all 28mm)

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Seven Years War - The Battle of Kirriesdorf, 1758  (Die Kreigskunst) 28mm

You won't find Kirriesdorf in any atlas. This was a fictional battle, fought out in Kirriemuir in Scotland, laid on by the local wargames club. They'd invited the "Tricorne" team (myself and Dougie Trail) up to umpire, so it presented an opportunity to put the rules through their paces. The battle involved a Prussian attack against a French defended position, with one end of the French line anchored on the town of Kirriesdorf, and the other on a river.

Both sides had around 20-24 battalions, 16 squadrons and around 6-8 guns, which meant we had something like 1,600 figures on the table. This was going to be a big battle, by anyone's standards! The French were supplied by Dale Smith and myself, while the Prussians were from the collections of Roger Donaldson, Dougie Trail and Charles Grant. Finally, Bob Lauder supplied a strong force of British, who fought alongside their Prussian allies.

The game began as the Prussians and British marched onto the table - the British from the north of the town (behind the river), and the Prussians from the east. The French simply stood their ground and waited - a real test of nerve for the French commanders as more and more Prussians and British arrived. Unfortunately the Prussians didn't wait to dress their ranks before continuing the advance, but launched their brigades at the French line as they appeared. First came a rather lacklustre charge by the Prussian cavalry against the centre of the French line, which was shredded by the waiting French guns. The same guns then began to play on the Prussian infantry as they deployed for the attack. However, the real casualties came when the Prussians launched their first assault on the French left, but it still wasn't enough to halt the dogged advance.

The Prussians reached the left of the French line, and after some initial exchanges of musketry they went in with the bayonet. The result was a meat-grinder of a mini battle, which went on for the rest of the day. The first French line - the Rgt. Touraine) broke, but their reserves - the Rgt. del la Mark - held their ground, supported by the Grenadiers de France. By this time the British had managed to get their cavalry over the river and deployed in support of the Prussian infantry. Meanwhile a British flanking column had worked its way over the river just off the table, and appeared on the French left flank. Amazingly the French managed to pull back and form a new line, refusing their left flank, so most of the battle in that sector was spent with the French retiring, and the British advancing, with neither side making contact with the other.

Then, over on the Prussian left, several assaults were launched against Kirriesdorf, which was held by French troops. After several attempt the Prussians managed to gain a lodgement in the town, and the street-fighting continued until the close of the battle, by which time almost half of the burning, shattered houses were in Prussian hands. In theory that would have deprived the French of their right flank anchor. However, by that time the main Prussian assault had been repulsed - it was a formidable assault spearheaded by Roger's Prussian brigade, supported by horse and artillery. Still, Roger seemed fatally attracted by the French guns on a low hill, and consequently his troops were pulverised by canister at point-blank range.

We had to pack up at 4pm, but by that stage it was clear who the winner was. With the exception of the fight for the town, all the other Prussian assaults had failed. The British still had to make their presence felt, thanks to some deft French rearguard action on the northern half of the table. The Prussian objective wasn't territorial - it was to inflict a sound defeat on the French. Despite a few worrying moments the French players managed to hold their ground, and the safety of their army never really looked in jeopardy.

It was a real pleasure to take part in the game, and to give the new rules such a good airing. We uncovered a few minor problems of rules definitions, and players had a few queries about how mechanisms worked, which was all really useful stuff for us. However, everyone thought that Die Kreigskunst worked a treat, and was both faster and more fun to play than they'd expected. Hurrah!

Above all, everyone enjoyed the game, enjoyed the rules, and enjoyed the sheer spectacle! I tip my tricorne to Dale Smith, who organised the event, and who was such a good host.

More pictures of the Battle of Kirriesdorf wil lbe posted on the Kirriemuir Wargames Club's website. They'll be running their excellent little Targe show on 1st November, so if you're in the area then please pay it a visit. I'll be there, as we're running a small refight of the Battle of Arcola (1796).

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Seven Years War "Tabletop Teaser" (Die Kreigskunst) 28mm

In the latest Battlegames (Issue 14), Charles S. Grant offered up a new "Tabletop Teaser". Well, we planned to have a Seven Years War game today, as a sort of warm-up for a much larger game up in Kirriemuir over the weekend. Charles' scenario looked ideal. It involved two forces, each of six units, chosen from a "menu".

Both forces (in our cases Russian and Prussian) had the same objective - the capture of a strategically important "Area of Control" containing a hamlet, a road junction, and the entrance to a pass. Both columns were preceded by a unit of light cavalry (Cossacks in my case), followed two turns later by the rest of the force, appearing in the order its commander had laid down in his order of march. Like all of Charles' scenarios, it all sounded pretty straightforward - until it played out on the tabletop!

We also made a couple of changes. First, rather than set it all out on the 9 x 6 table used by Charles, we opted for a smaller 6 x 4 foot table (bounded by the orange lines shown above), because we were too lazy to lay out all that extra terrain. 

We also used map movement to deal with our approach marches, which seemed to work quite well. We also used much smaller units. Charles uses humongous 54 man infantry units, with cavalry to match. We wargame at a figure ratio of 1:40, so our units are about a third of the size.

However, our objective was to remind ourselves of how the rules worked, not to spend the evening shuffling large quantities of lead around, without reaching a conclusion. It worked for us. In our game, the force approaching from the left was a Prussian one commanded by Dougie Trail, while my Russians approached from the right.

My Russians (coming on at B-B) led off with a unit of Cossacks as an advance guard, followed by a regiment of Horse Grenadiers, two infantry battalions (one of them grenadiers), a battery of guns, and another infantry battalion bringing up the rear. The Prussians elected to lead with their hussars, followed by two units of heavy cavalry (one of cuirassiers, the other of dragoons), followed by a gun battery, and then two battalions of infantry. Strangely enough both light cavalry units moved to the right, which meant they never clashed on the tabletop.

Instead the Cossacks ran into the Prussian cuirassiers, and rather optimistically they charged them. The result was largely inevitable! However, when the victorious cuirassiers pursued, they ran into the Russian horse grenadiers, who chopped them up (with the help of a "double 6").

On the southern side of the table things weren't going so well for Mother Russia. The hussars neatly sidestepped a battalion of grenadiers deploying in their path, and instead they charged a unit of Russian foot, which was caught in march formation. Despite a brave fight lasting a couple of turns, the Russian infantry were all ridden down. By that time the Prussian infantry and guns had come up and secured the village, forcing the Russians to deploy their infantry for an assault against a defended position.

Before the attack went in the cavalry battle on the northern edge of the village reached its climax. The Russian horse grenadiers charged and pushed back the Prussian dragoons, only to be caught in the flank by the pesky remnants of the chopped-up Prussian cuirassiers. The cuirassiers - all five of them - had managed a fluky rally after taking 70% casualties! In the melee which followed the Prussians had their revenge by rolling a "double six", and caught on two asides, the Russian horse were duly routed. It was all over for my Russians. With half my army ridden down or routed, it was time to call it a day. The battle had been short, sharp and hard-fought, but Dougie's handling of his hussars was irritatingly effective, pinning my column down just when it needed to be racing for the town. Then the swine's luck turned just when I needed the dice to fall my way! Still, I'm sure I'll have my revenge next time ...

Seven Years War page          Die Kriegskunst page        Die Kriegskunst playsheet          Battlegames magazine

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Something vaguely Peninsular "Napoleonic" (Republic to Empire) 28mm

I didn't actually play a game last week, as I was over in Belgium for a few days. However, several of my chums were staging another playtesting session of Barry Hilton's "Napoleonic" rules. Dougie Trail kindly sent me a couple of pictures, one showing Dave Imrie's superb French, and the other of Dave O'Brien's stolid British. I've no idea how the game went - I only know that the figures looked good.

I'll look forward to locking horns with Dave Imrie's followers of General Bonaparte some time in the near future. His figures might be much better painted than mine, but they're only Frenchmen...

Meanwhile, if anyone wants to see a few Belgian battlefield pictures, then please please click on the Malplaquet (1709) monument on the right...

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Verdun, 1916 - First World War (To the Last Man) 28mm

We thought we'd try out To the Last Man, a new set of rules by Chris Peers. Actually, they're not really new, as they use the same combat system he's used before, for other periods. This is simply a First World War version of it, and in truth it isn't that dissimilar to Contemptible Little Armies, only more geared up for skirmish play rather than bigger battles. The figure scale is 1:1, so the basic unit is the infantry squad.

We set the game up for a trench assault, with the Germans attacking, and consequently outnumbering the French defenders about two to one. The "big push" involved four squads, supported by a machine gun and a couple of flamethrowers, plus a platoon headquarters. the French had a machine gun, an LMG, and two squads, plus their own platoon commander. We launched them all forward, two units "rushing" on the right flank, while the left and centre advanced at a more leisurely pace. The faster you go the more ground you cover, but the easier you are to hit.

Well, casualties began piling up, particularly on the two flanks. My left flank unit went to earth in no man's land, their morale shaken by the heavy casualties. The same happened on the right, but somehow the advance was more successful, and the momentum picked up as the Germans approached the French-held trench line. The attackers reached the trench, and overwhelmed the defenders through sheer weight of numbers, and more than a little luck. The centre also reached the trench line, only to be chopped up by a French counter-attack. At that point my central section was down to half strength (just six men), and it broke. Similarly my attack on the left ground to a halt, and the assault there wasn't going anywhere.

However, we'd reached the French trenches, and occupied about half of their front line. At that point the remaining French broke off the fight, pulling back to their second lines of defence. While the game ended in a minor German victory, it was a hard slogging match, and the assault was extremely costly - just as you'd expect. We took about 40% casualties, as did the French - although all of theirs came after their defences were breached.

More than anything else this was a playtesting session - a change to try out the Chris Peers' skirmish rules. Until now we'd tried our standard Contemptible Little Armies (also by Chris Peers), which work quite well, and the First World War version of Disposable Heroes, called Price of Glory. These were really a hybrid between the two other rules sets - a slightly more complex version of CLA, and a less comprehensive version of Price of Glory. By the end we couldn't agree on which of the three sets we actually preferred. I rather liked Last Man Standing, while Dougie - my French opponent - wasn't so keen on them. No doubt we'll try them again, but the jury is out whether or not we'll actually adopt them.

To the Last Man  Playsheet  (Word file)      First World War Page

Note: Chris Peers never includes playsheets-  for some reason he doesn't believe in them! Our version is geared up for the Western Front games we play, so I missed out any references to cavalry, and I even left the tanks out. Purists might like to add these bits in for themselves.

You can also buy the rules themselves from Wargames Illustrated (who publish them) or from North Star

Incidentally, North Star also sell the other two rules sets I mentioned.

Oh, just to show that our games aren't all that happens in the Edinburgh Club, here are a few pictures from other games this evening. Colin Jack ran a whacky-looking Victorian Science Fiction game, complete with - er - steam tanks, airships, Martians and whatnot; there were a couple of 28mm Warhammer Ancient games going on, a dreary-looking 15mm DBM affair (see below), role-playing, and then some more fantasy nonsense...

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The Other Partizan Wargame Show, Newark

This weekend a group of us went to two wargame shows - Border Reivers in Newcaslte (Saturday 6th September) and The Other Partizan in Newark (Sunday 7th September). Unfortunately I left my camera in the car in Newcastle (distracted by the pelting rain). Therefore I missed out on pictures of a few excellent games, including a 28mm Shiloh game laid on by the "Like a Stone Wall Group",  and a lively "Flashman & the Pirates" game run by the Durham Wargames Group. If any of my pals took pictures of these I'll post them later.

Here are a few photos from The Other Partizan show. This time my camera was low on batteries, so I missed out on several impressive games, including a great-looking 20mm Second World War one, and the League of Gentleman Wargamers' "Ligny, 1815". My favourite display game by far was the First World War game ("Cambrai 1917") shown above, but there were many other great games on view - a few of which are shown here.

Above right is the South East Scotland Wargames Club's "Iraq 1941" game, while below are two pictures from a stunning Carlists Wars game laid on by the Perry brothers.

The ones at the bottom are a 6mm "Napoleonic" game, which looked impressive, despite the tiny figures, and a refight of "Aliwal 1846", in the First Sikh War. We had a great weekend, although it was a little disturbing how many of my non-Edinburgh friends commented on scurrilous reports that I'd been rather worse for wear last Thursday - my Rioja fuelled-evening. I told them there was absolutely no truth in the rumours that I could barely roll my dice, let along move the lead around...  

If you haven't been to either of the two Partizan shows (in May and September), then you really should go. In my books its one of the nicest wargame shows in the country, and a much more enjoyable (and cost-effective) experience than attending the over-blown Salute show in London. 

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English  Civil War (Very Civile Actions ), 28mm

Well, at least it looked pretty. The idea for this game came from a scenario in Charles S. Grant's Scenarios for Wargames (1981) entitled "Fighting in Built-up Areas". In our game, the defenders were Dougie Trail's Royalists, all from the Northern Association, who were outnumbered, but held a good defensive position to the east of the town of Ripon, in Yorkshire. They were beset by a Parliamentarian force led by Fernando, Lord Fairfax (aka me). Unfortunately Lord Fairfax had been to two publishing receptions earlier, both of which served rather good Rioja. Consequently the Parliamentarian grip of tactics were less than it could be! In other words I was rat-arsed, launched a hasty frontal assault, and was damned by the consequences...

The same large quantities of Rioja also resulted in some of the photographs being less focused than they could have been! Well, the Royalists had two regiments of foot and one of horse, which they split into two wings. They held an outpost in a church complex on the outskirts of town, while their seasoned Whitecoats held the centre, supported by the cavalry guarding the two flanks of the town. My Parliamentarians attacked from the north and east, converging on point C on the map, while part of my force attacked the church at point E. There was no grand plan, only a wine-fuelled advance!

Inevitably it all went horribly wrong. My cavalry were in the wrong place - in my centre - and while one lot failed to make any headway against the Royalist pikes, the rest were soundly routed by the Royalist horse lurking in the fields behind the church. In fact, it all ended so badly that the Northern Horse (led by Lord Goring himself) swept aside the Parliamentarian cavalry, then a body of dragoons, then fell on the Parliamentarian guns, which were moving up a lane to deploy on the far side, beyond the church. As if that wasn't enough, Goring's troopers even managed to capture Rioja-befuddled Lord Fairfax himself, who was trying to stem the rout!

So much for the Parliamentarian centre. On the right the attack ground to a halt, as nothing seemed to dislodge the Whitecoats from their defences. the remaining band of Royalist horse also forced the Parliamentarians to keep a pike block back to face them, which seriously weakened the attack. The assault petered out in the face of mounting casualties. The only success came on the Parliamentarian left, where John Bright's Regiment of foot stormed the church complex, and drove the royalist defenders from the position. Still, this wasn't enough to change the tide of battle, and by the end of the evening it was clear that the Royalist defenders had soundly thrashed my Parliamentarians. Clearly Rioja and tactics don't mix ...

The rules we used were Very Civile Actions, a simple, effective and fast-play set available as a free download from The Perfect Captain. You can even read a review of them here. Our only modification was to increase all the movement distances by about 50%, as we use 28mm rather than 15mm figures.

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