Mars la Tour 1870, Tough Ombres WW2, and WW1 East Afrika (Historicon 2012, part4)

    Since this post is sort of a potpourri, I thought it might also be a good place for a few observations about my own Historicon 2012 experience, games aside. Joe arrived on time at my home on time, and along with making some last minute phone calls related to my medical practice, we departed form Western Connecticut at about 8:45 AM. As planned, that meant we missed the rush hour traffic on the Tapan Zee Bridge; we had a very smooth drive straight down, encountering minor delays of a bout 5 minutes each time in the Baltimore/D.C. area, still, we avoided the rush hour traffic and arrived at our hotel just after 3PM; can't complain about that, and I wasn't pushing the speed by any means. Joe and I talked almost non stop about gaming, some new rules for the Napoleonic "Imaginations" Napoleonic campaign we're doing using Warplan 5/5, our upcoming games, and just about everything else; really made the time fly by. We stayed in the Country Inns and Suites by Carlson in Fredericksburg, just one exit North of the Convention Center on I-95. Our room wasn't ready, and we hadn't eaten for the whole long trip down, so we headed out for a late fast food lunch. By the time we finished that and a brief exploration of the immediate area we were in (lost of chain stores and restaurants, nothing much else), our room was  almost ready; we had a suite that we were sharing with Tim C., arriving from England. In a miracle of transatlantic precision planning (i.e., luck), he arrived a few minutes after we did. After unpacking, settling in, and chatting for a bit, we headed over to scope out the Convention center and pick up our pre-reg badges; there we were given some inside tips for GM's about parking and loading/unloading for game set ups, and met Barry. After that, we had a comfortable and very satisfactory sit down dinner at the outback Steakhouse in the huge shopping complex that abuts the Convention Center; after the long drive, I enjoyed a flight of Margaritas (I must have been thinking about Eric's Puebla game scheduled for the following day, LOL).

The convention center is modern, and the vast majority of the games were in the cavernous main Hall - space for a great many games there. The dealers area was immediate adjacent, with the Flea Market ("Wally's Basement") in the rear of the dealer's area, behind the food concession tables. There seemed to be more than adequate space for everything. Some games were in a set of 5-6 smaller rooms on the other side of the main hall... a very short walk to/from anything on the site. I spent several hours perusing the dealer's area, but was tempted by very little; in fairness, I had come without any major purchases in mind, as I need to do some work figuring out exactly what I need for my next project(s). I'm a pretty disciplined shopper, and as almost all of my purchases are Historical in nature, most often I have the companies bring my order to the con, or make note of items for consideration next year. Still, I spent a record low in the Dealer area for me - under $10! I will, however, be making up for that with a significant mail order within the next month or so.

  As many have noted, the area immediately adjacent to the center has a plethora of dining options, including just about every chain restaurant that you ever heard of, and quite a few you didn't (maybe some you didn't want to know about. either, like the "Bailey's" Barry, Joe, Tim, Dave, Michelle, Gabriel, Greg and I ate at Saturday night. Food was fine, just weird atmosphere, LOL! The food at the convention center was certainly acceptable; nothing more or less than you'd expect - not up to the standard of the Host in the last few years before the move, but certainly acceptable. Bathrooms have been discussed ad nauseum; could certainly be better but not much different than the other sites, and not exactly the reason I go to Historicon, LOL! The noise level in the main gaming hall, though really got to be an issue, especially Friday night. I've been doing this for the last 10 years or more, so I'm used to noise, but this really was LOUD - Barry, Joe and I ALL had ringing in the ears by the end of that night. That is the one thing that really needs to be addressed in some fashion for next year. The tables supplied were great, the chairs... substandard is the best word for it; an upgrade there for next year would be welcome. There were plenty of games across a wide spectrum, including some stunning ones (the big Crimean War table comes most readily to kind in that regard), and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I had a few  generic but generous glasses of wine for $5 from the bar there, and some pretty good and equally generous Whiskey Sours for $6.50, so no complaints there. Overall, despite the longer drive distance, I would (and will) happily return again next year!



In reverse chronological order, here are some of the other Piquet/Field of Battle family games that were run at Historicon this year; I can't comment too much on these as I was busy running or setting up my own games.

On Friday night, near the big Borodino game, a handsome transcontinental effort was put on by Freddie A. and Jeff G. from California, using Rob C's figures from upstate NY! The action is East Afrika, the time - World War One:

Very effective, evocative terrain. Rules used were Piquet: Barrage!, with some elements of Din of Battle, 2nd edition thrown in, I believe. 

Just the thing to go with the handsome armies!  I'd love to see this one again, too! I know Adolfo was one of the players along with Ian B, Tim C., and others; anyone care to chime in with some comments  about the action? There are a few more (and better)  pics and a promise of a write up on Adolfo's blog.

The following are some pics of a hypothetical Franco-Prussian  battle fought as a pick up game on Saturday night. This used a stripped down version of the terrain from my Maloyaroslavets game (report forthcoming), and run by Tim C. using his 15mm troops and Field of battle, 2nd edition. 

Greg K, Tim C, Gabriel and Dave M, all looking a bit tired after three very full days of gaming as they survey the field.

Dave M (caught in a typical pose, LOL), Michele, Eric, and Hal were also in on the action. I can't say too much more as I was pooped from running my earlier game, and spent the time shooting the breeze with Adolfo, Joe, and others.

The next two of photos a re random shots I took of Tim's formal Franco-Prussian War game, Mars la Tour, fought on August 16, 1870.

An exchange of firepower!

Once again, I'd welcome additional information and/or photos about Tim's game.

On Saturday AM, Dave M. ran a series of Demonstration type games using Field of Battle: WW2, entitled "Tough Ombres"; note the very effective Litko markers for suppressed stands.

Now Piquet/Field of Battle veterans, Alex and son Thomas were among the participants. I didn't have much chance to talk to you guys this time out. I had meant to buy Thomas a beer/drink in honor of his 21st birthday which fell just prior to the convention - hit me up for it next year, Thomas!

Dave M explains the finer points of the rules as Steve looks on.

  It was great to have so many fellows running and playing Piquet/Field of Battle games at Historicon this year!  I missed getting any pics of the 25mm Anchor of Faith Cropredy Bridge ECW game the Canadian guys (Peter Friesen and friend) were running, but did get to talk to them briefly while they were setting up. As always, the best part of going to this great convention is meeting, chatting, and playing with friends old and new! Thanks to HMGS and its officers, the convention staff, and the staff at the Fredericksburg Exposition center for a great time, and a convention that ran very smoothly, especially for a new site in a new state. Most folks are quick to complain, but slow to give praise where it is due, and even slower to volunteer their own time. So, once again, congratulations and a big tip of the chapeau for a job well done. See you next year in Fredericksburg!

Phew; just one last Historicon post to go, covering the Battle of Maloyaroslavets on Saturday afternoon.

Peter

Maximilian Adventure: San Isabel and Puebla (Historicon 20012, part 4)

Eric B. ran two games on Thursday set in Mexico in the era of the Maximilian Adventure in Mexico.  The first game was the Battle of Puebla in 1862, and the 2nd was San Isabel set in 1866. His own gorgeous 15mm figures were used, and Eric scratch built the Fortresses, hills, etc needed for the game.  Once again, I lack experience photographing 15mm games, and these shots don't really do the games justice; still, here they are! Eric is the author of several sets of wargames rules, including Din of Battle, 2nd edition (available from Piquet, Inc.).

The Mexican forces are to the left, in the fortresses, village, and on the flank; the Europeans ( a very varied lot) are to the right.

Close up of the town...

and the fortress.

The European attackers.

The mission and the defenders.

The Mexicans seized the Initiative early on... and advanced on their would-be assailants!

An exchange of volleys in the village area.

French attackers close on the Mission as well.

Mexican reinforcements (?)

Ground level view; Mexicans threaten the European left flank!

European Artillery bombarding the Mexican positions; note the century Cacti, etc enhancing the terrain.

And, from Gabriel's blog, another overview picture:

I think the Mexicans emerged victorious; this would after all, become the date of Mexican Independence - Cinco de Mayo!   I have no idea if any Tequila was consumed in the course of the game... but I would hope so! I was too busy with my own game to get any pictures of the 2nd battle, which I believe was quasi-fictional. Eric did a great job, but did look exhausted. Having put of two games in the same day myself on a number of occaissions, I know the feeling. Great work, though! Having done all the work already (see Eric's own blog) now, Hopefully Eric will run this one again at future conventions!

Peter

Hostile Realms: Orcs Vs. Elves (Historicon Part 3)

Dave M. ran this game at Historicon on Thursday AM, pitting Orcs vs. Elves using Eric's 15mm Fantasy armies and my own Hostile Realms rules (from Piquet, Inc). I played in the first session, Barry in the second.  I'm afraid I'm not terribly good at taking pics of 15mm figures; I'll share some excellent ones by Gabriel at the end!

So if you're Elves on the defensive, what could be better than to set up defending some woods?  (Elves get special bonuses in Woods in HR). 

The Elves stationed a powerful wing of Cavalry and Chariots on their left flank, lead by a sorceress mounted on a Unicorn!

This is early on in the game; An Orc Heroic Moment card was used to throw a butt ugly but very tough Orcish champion into the line of Elves in this woods; how he planned on shrugging off the inevitable hail of Elvish arrows I have no idea, but he actually did survive the charge, helped by his Expert Constitution (4 hits to wound instead of the usual three)!

The Champion was repulsed  in Melee with one wound, but he had drawn the fire of the Elves... if the Orcs could charge before the Elves could "Reload", it could get ugly... and I'm not just talking about Orcish looks!

My own command consisted of some incompetent slave archers, a nearly useful stone thrower engine, and a pretty good wizard. I got a favorable card draw, and against my better judgement, tried the Level II spell, "Call the Storm"; if successful, this spell would greatly reduce the effectiveness of the Elves' missile weapons, which would all but spell their doom. When I let the spell loose, I rolled a "1".  Flarp! A Casting catastrophe ensued, and my Wizard became catatonic, and the rest of my boys went Out of Command for the rest of the game; that was pretty much it for me aside from taking casualties! I *knew* I should have stuck with a nice, safe, "Fireball" spell! Wouldda singed the ears right off them tree lovers!

As it turned out, the attack of the Orc infantry then stalled for a while, and that allowed the Elves to pour fire into them when they got the precious reload cards. 

However, sooner or later the butcher's bill must be paid; Regenerating Trolls, tough Ogres, etc are bolstering the attack of the ordinary (but still tough in melee) Orc hordes.

The Orcs had terrible dice in melee, and only managed to rout a single unit of Elves. Phooey!

The wounded Orc Champion leads yet another charge on the woods.

Some Orc warbands threaten the flank of the Elvish mounted troops!

Curses! Foiled again- the Orcish attack is forced back!

On the flank, a timely Elvish MOVE and maneuver rescues most of their Cavalry from danger. Shortly thereafter, the Orcs ran out of Morale Points and failed their Army Morale check, withdrawing back to the wildlands to lick their wounds... and plot for revenge!

As my character was in a Persistent Catatonic State for most of the battle, I had plenty of time to talk with Greg S. about Hostile Realms and its use for Historical battles from Ancient times through the Renaissance. Greg is a great guy, and is now allegedly planning on running Malplaquet at Historicon 2013, using 6mm figures and either Piquet: Cartouche 2nd edition, or Field of Battle. 

After the poor showing by the Orcs, which took barely an hour, Dave set it up again, and a fresh set of players had at it; Barry has a short report of that game (and better pictures) on his blog at:

http://barrysredoubt.blogspot.com/2012/07/historicon-2012-part-1.html

Gabriel was one of the Orc players in that second game; to show you that my pictures don't do Eric's 15mm figures justice, here are some of his closeups from his blog at:

http://bellulula.blogspot.com/2012/07/piqetfield-of-battlehostile-realms.html

1st Polotsk, 1812 (Historicon part 2)

  Our Thursday evening game at Historicon was "Will the Bavarians get Creamed?": the 1st Battle of Poltosk, between Marshal Oudinot II Corps and future Marshal  St. Cyr VI (Bavarian) Corps, and Russian General-Lieutenant Count Wittgenstein's 1st Corps. Oudinot troops, who were advancing on the road to St. Petersburg, had become somewhat carelessly dispersed, divided by a river passable only at a single bridge at Polotsk. Wiuttgenstein resolved to try to give them a bloody nose without risking a decisive defeat that might leave the route to Russia's 2nd capitol unguarded. The rules used were Field of Battle, 2nd edition by Brent Oman, available from Piquet, Inc. The scenario we used can be found here.

Cast of Characters/Players (to my best recollection)

FRENCH:  
Zach as Legrand and Castex
Gabriel as Wrede and Courbineau
Michelle as Deroi and Doumerc

RUSSIANS:
Hugh (Zach's Dad) as Koulnief and Berg
Tim as Sazonov and Jachwill
Jeff as Karkhofski and Prince Repnin

Overview of the battlefield, looking at the Spas convent from the North. Russians to the left of the picture, French and Bavarians to the right.

and the view from the South; Deroi's 2nd Bavarian Division is just out of the picture to the left, while Wrede's Division holds the Convent and surrounding terrain.

And here it is (I only have so many Bavarians, so Badeners and Wurttemburgers were pressed into service).

The Cossack and Hussars of the Russian Advanced Guard under Koulnieff.

Legrand's French Infantry Division.

View from the French rear; the Heavy cavalry Division cannot move on the first MOVE card. 

Hugh's Advanced Guard pressed son Zach's  French infantry Division from early on.

Russian Jagers firing in successive lines inflicted heavy losses on the opposing French Legere. 

View from the Russian left; I love the Russian standards! They packed a LOT of artillery in this scenario.

Heavy action on the Russian right flank. 

Deroi's Division is using its firepower to push back the Russian Cuirassiers stationed on their left flank.

View from behind the French/Bavarian center - note the large Bavarian/French battery on the upper right.

The pond made attacking the battery difficult, and the hill allowed overhead fire. However, the Russian assault  has cleared the walls of the convent.

Whilst leading his men, General Legrand is struck by a Russian cannon-ball; his with their command structure disrupted, the division falls into confusion just as the Russians close (Zach rolled a "1" on a D20!)

Russian Grenadiers press the assault on the Spas convent.

Not only are all of Legrand's troops now Out of Command, many have already taken heavy losses from Russian artillery and musketry. 

The Russian attack on the center starts to develop as well; note French routers at the bottom of the picture!

On the opposite flank, however, Deroi's "Bavarians" are prevailing!

The Russian pressure on the French center becomes very intense, as one of the French Chasseur regiments turns to the flank to counter some Cossacks who have infiltrated the woods on the flank.

The Russians now have sole possession of the Convent!

Cossacks on the Flank!!!

Mangled and routed French Infantry!!!

Le Maneuvre sur les Derrieres!

Redirected to the embattled center, Doumerc's Heavy Cavalry Division makes an imposing sight!

Deroi seems unstoppable on the opposite flank... but it is too little, too late. The French have reached Zero Army Morale Points, and decide to withdraw, while Wittgenstein also needs to disengage to preserve the only force guarding St. Petersburg. Still, the Count has every reason to be pleased with a very solid Russian victory; most likely the Frogs will hunker down and cease to be a real threat.

There was a nice posting to the Piquet Yahoo group from one of the players (Hugh) at this game and Borodino, and, with his permission, I'd like to share it with you:

"    A big thank you to Peter, Barry and Joe for putting on two excellent FOB 2 Napoleonic 18912 France vs Russia battles. I enjoyed thumping my 16 year old son, Zach, in the first game. I was on the Russian side and he was on the French side (his choice). He is a student of history, but not necessarily Napoleonic history. He knows that in our house Napoleon's military prowess is lionized by his dad (moi), not necessarily by his English mother, and having played the French side in FOB2 verses his younger brother and me as the 1809 Austrians, he naturally assumed that the French side would be practically be unstoppable. He really likes to win and sees no shame in winning when the odds are insurmountably in his favor (sound familiar parents of teens?). He also counts both of our die rolling prowesses. I am legendary in my club for awful luck with the dice, and he is notoriously a lucky die roller. Much like Napoleon, he did not count on the Russians being as tough as they were i n 1812. 

 Our first FOB2 game was Peter's Battle of Polotsk at 7:00PM on Thursday. I was running the right wing of the Russian Army. I had Cossacks and Hussars, line infantry, jagers and horse artillery as well as some foot artillery to use. My son was directly across from me and he had a combined arms unit as well. Father verses son! It doesn't get any better than that. We Russians were out to pin the French to the river crossing and hoped to isolate those on our side of the river and destroy them, so with that in mind, we advanced. Our artillery hammered the French, constantly driving down their unit integrity. As we advanced, we started taking hits as well. Both sides were taking terrible damage and both armies were slipping down towards 0 morale points. On the Russian right, my infantry pinned my son's infantry in place and at the right moment I slipped two Cossack units through the far right most woods and worked around to his flank. He did not place his infantry in square, and well, you know what happens when cavalry sabres and lances catch infantry in the flank/rear in the open and not in square! After that unit blew up I managed to wreck a few more and the French were passing morale points to us as they went below zero. Our center captured a village and the artillery kept pounding away. Our left stymied the French counter attack with cavalry charges and lots of gunnery, for a solid Russian win. Great fun in a very bloody battle, that both sides could enjoy!

     Our second game was Barry's Huge Borodino game at 7:00 on Friday night. My younger son, just turned 14, joined us. My older son wishing for revenge and lusting for that beautiful Russian artillery switched sides forcing me to the French side across from him, with him firmly entrenched in the Great Redoubt, and left me with Ney's understrength corps attacking the Great Redoubt. My younger son was also on the French side and had to assault the Fleches (Michelle was his direct opponent). This battle, like the real thing was a close run bloodbath, where in the end, it looked like the French would carry the day (around midnight), but it was no sure thing. The center of the Russian line had two breaches forming on both sides of the fleches, My younger son, Travis, was in the fleches, and I had a unit standing at the edge of the redoubt, right in front of the guns (which I had silenced with counter battery fire) and others on its flank. The right side of the French line (Gabe, I think) was pushing the Russians back. In the area between the fleches and the redoubt, the French cavalry and artillery had driven the Russians back to the edge of the board and stopped/slowed to a trickle badly needed Russian reinforcements. The French left flank was being held beautifully by the Army of Italy, gaining a town and repulsing Russian cavalry advances. The only real weak are on the French side was where my Zach had been exacting revenge on me with Russian artillery smashing my Wurttembergers and French line. Fortunately, they did not attack to exploit this weakness until some Russian cavalry on their right, vacated the assault on the army of Italy and began to move toward the beat up Wurttembergers. The army of Italy was adjusting troops to protect that area, I was adjust artillery to help with this, and we had the Vistula Legion about to enter this area on the next turn as reinforcements. 

    My die rolls in this game were at my usual substandard (read: hideous) level except for my artillery rolls, and Zach was having a field day pounding me. I was having success versus the player to Zach's left (the left half of the redoubt- Zach had the right).  <Peter's note - holding the Great Redoubt was a long time wargames friend of Joe and mine, Dave Sweet.>

    All in all, two very enjoyable games. Several years ago I played in the huge Wagram game put on by Peter, Barry, Joe and the Hofkriegsrats. I enjoyed it enough to eventually buy the rules and eventually play them with my boys (incorrectly, but mostly correct). These two games were even better than the others we played, and I must say I really like FOB2. Thanks again Peter, Barry and Joe."

    Well, thank you, Hugh for that great account, and to you, Zach, and Trevor for playing with skill and good humor! As GM's we can set things up, but in the end great players will make even a mediocre game an excellent one. I too think that FoB2 is an exceptionally fun set to play. Hope to see all three of you again at Historicon next year as well!

Peter

PS - for some more pics and comments, see Barry's blog at:
http://barrysredoubt.blogspot.com/2012/07/historicon-2012-part-1.html
and for some outstanding pictures, Gabriel's blog at:
http://bellulula.blogspot.com/2012/07/piqetfield-of-battlehostile-realms.html