Klien Mollwitz

The battle of Mollwitz is one of the classic wargame battles. I have fought the battle on a number of occasions.

The recent publication of 'Refighting History Vol 2' by Charles S Grant, and John Rays planning and preparation for refighting the battle on the AMG forum, has piqued my interest in refighting the battle again.

My challenge is that my only easily accessible surface is my kitchen table. While this is extentable to approx 8ft it is limited to a meagre 32 inches.

I am therefore now looking to play a kitchen table sized version of the battle using my 28mm collection. The rules will be The Wargame played using 1/2 scale measurements.

My plan is underway for Klien Mollwitz.

My Infantry units are 30 figures and Grenadiers 24. Cavalry are in 6 figure units.

So using the orders of battle in Refighting History I have distilled them down to the following. The ratio I have used is 1 infantry representing 100 and 1 cavalryman equally 150

Austrian

3 Infantry units
9 Cavalry units
1 Hussar unit
1 gun

Prussian

4 Infantry units
2 Grenadier units
4 Cavalry units
1 Hussar unit
1 gun

The table will measure 60 by 32

I need to prep a few figures before I play the game

It will be interesting to see if works.  If it does then I will see what other classics I can distill to the small table.

Thoughts on gaming the SYW in 6mm

Having played my first game with my 6mm figures I have today reflected on how the game played using Charles Grant War Game rules

Firstly we used cms instead of inches. This worked very well with movement rates and ranges looking and feeling right. I used a 2ft square piece of mdf and this equated to a 5ft square table.  This means my humble kitchen table using 6mm will represent a 15ft by 8 ft table if using 28mm figures. Plenty of room to refight Mollwitz, Lobositz and Kolin.

The other point is that I can use my small painting table for small games.  My next game is set up and I plan to play this with my son Max tomorrow

Secondly I had to adopt a number of amendments for the smaller scale chaps. I am not sure the Artillery stick and cannister cone is going to be work. I may try making some scaled down versions to see. For this game we used the artillery rules from 'Charge'.

Another considerstion was how to represent Officers and how to cause loses.

For Infantry I am going to check if an officer is lost for every 6 rankers lost.  If a 5 or 6 is thrown an officer is lost however he can be saved on a saving roll of 5 or 6. If an officer is lost a second roll is made and if a 6 is thrown the CO is lost with the resultant -2 to morale checks.

For light Infantry and Cavalry both are organzed in squadrons and companies of 6 figures. For every figure lost a die is rolled with the same 5 or 6 officer lost with 5 or 6 saving throw.

In melee is a bit more complicated. So here is an example. Two squadrons are engaged in melee - 6 figures a side.  4 melees sre fought as rankers vs rankers. The final 2 melees are officer vs ranker. If side loses its officer the unit is lost and removed from play.

Last game of the year

My younger brother Matthew is visiting for New Years Eve with his wife. As the wives and children were out we decided to have a SYW game using my 6mm collection.

Matthew was my regular opponent when we were kids and this was our first game in some 20 years.  I commanded the Prussians and had the simple objective of capturing the village of Ilklewitz. It was to prove a tough nut to cracking. 

The Austrians deployed their artillery and infantry in the village.  The Grenz were on the Austrian left with their Cuirassier in reserve.

Without any artillery to support the attack I decided to launch my infantry and close as quickly as possible with the defenders in the village.

My cuirassier on my right also took the initiative and charged their opposite numbers. One of my squadrons catches an Austrian squadron at the halt.

My infantry are able to close to musketry range before the Austrian artillery cause any casualties. Both pieces missed with their two first shots.

The Grenz finding no opposition in front of them deploy out of the woods.

My Infantry advance to close range before opening fire against the Austrian artillery and infantry. This initial volley proved to be less effective than I had hoped. It was not helped when 2 of my volleys cause 7 hits against an Austrian 6 figure volley unit only for one figure to be hit 6 times.

Undeterred one of my infantry unit, despite losing its CO, charges into the village. It was to prove the Prussian high water mark.

My second battalion however does not receive the order to charge and with the Grenz now on their flank and causing more loses reach 50% casualties and forced to withdraw.

The battered Prussians realise the game is up and concede.

We used the War Game rules with some house amendments and substituted cms for inches.

More 6mm Austrians

I have finished a few more Austrian 6mm figures over the Christmas break.

First some Austrian command stands seen here posing in front of my first home 6mm trees.

A closer look. I used one pence pieces for both the command stands and trees.

I am planning a small game with my son Max in the next few days and I only have one Austrian Infantry unit painted up. So I decided  to add a couple of companies of Slavonisch-Peterwardeiner Grenzer.

My 6mm collection armies are slowly growing. For the Prussians I have 2 Infantry units and a Cuirassier unit. For the Austrians I have 1 Infantry and 1 Cuirassier unit supported by 2 guns and 2 companies of Grenz.

Enough for a small game using the War Game rules.

Morale in the War Game

Over the last few weeks I have been making some decisions on how I want to play my games using the War Game.

You will no doubt have realised that these are my preferred set of rules for 18th Century games. I do however have a few house rules.

Firstly I use these rules for both my Classic Prince August figures as well as my 28mm/30mm collection.  One point is that my unit size varies depending on which collection I am using.

Well I have decided that from now on all units will be based on the number 6.   Cavalry units will typically be  6 figure squadran where a 6 light Infantry will be a company.  Infantry Battalions will be 30 figures representing 5 companies. A 4 company Grenadier unit will be 24 figures.  Other units such as Militia may be 18 or 24 figures.

If you notice I am not having seperate Officer figures.  

Morale is going to be based as follows. For each one sixth of a unit lost a unit is -1 on its morale.  A typical unit still starts at base 6 however a unit must now beat the score of 6 to pass its morale test.

So here is a couple of examples. A 6 figure cavalry unit has lost 2 figures in a Melee. Therefore to pass it must beat 2 on a D6. 

A 30 man Infantry unit has lost 15 figures and there has lost 3/6. It needs to beat a 3.

Now you remember I am not having seperate Officer figures however I still want the loss of officers to impact a units morale.  So when a unit loses a one sixth of its strengh it checks to see if it has lost an officer.  A D6 is rolled and if a 6 is rolled an officer is lost. A saving throw is still allowed.    

So in our example above the cavalry units has lost 2 figures in Melee. Two D6 are rolled and a 6 and 4 are rolled.  The unlucky officer fails it's saving throw.  The unit is marked with a small dice showing the loss.  The unit morale is now -2 for loses and -1 for the officer.  It will now have to roll more than a 3. 

I have not yet tested these rules however I will try them out in a small Mollwitz game which is set up on my table and ready to go.

Dettingen - part 2

After a couple of weeks delay we managed to complete our Dettingen game.  The Franco Austrians are forced into desperate defence and use their cavalry to slow the allied army.

The two sides fire volley after volley at point blank range. The Prussian unit fails morale and stands unable to fire. They are forced back next turn.

 

The Franco Austrian feed more and more troops into the fight.

The pressure mounts as Allied cavalry moves up.

The Franco Austrian line collapses under the pressure. But as they fall back a squadron of Cuirassier reinforces the line

Backed by more infantry

In the final action of the day the allied drive the remaining Franco Austrians across the river.  However with night drawing in and with only 2 regiments of infantry remaining at full strength and the light fading both sides draw back to recover. 

This game used my  War Game amendments and they worked well. 

Dettingen

We started our refight of the battle of Dettingen on Friday night.  The set up and orders of battle were based on Charles S Grant Wargaming in History Volume 2. The rules used are my modified version of the War Game.

This battle pitched Tim and Ewan in the the role of the French/Austrians whilst the Allied forces were lead by my 8 year old son, Maximillian, until his mother pointed out it was time for bed.

The French pushed forward through Dettingen with some infantry and cavalry as they take the fight to the Anglo Prussian.

Rank upon rank of French heavy cavalry follow up.

Grim faced Prussian infantry take up the French challenge. In the opening volley the French cause 2 casualties where as some good dice rolling sees 9 French infantry hit the deck. My units are 32 figure strong. Each 4 men roll a dice using the standard rules. For each hit a saving dice of 4,5 or 6 saves our intrepid soldiers. When a unit loses a 4 figure base a d6 is rolled an officer loss is also marked on the unit.

Forward you cowards shouted Maximillian as he spurred his horse forward.

With flags fluttering in the gentle morning breeze more Prussian infantry move forward with a spring in their step.

Firstly an Austrian unit crumbles under the pressure but only after it has stemmed the first onslaught.

The Burgundy regiment steps into line but takes a stand loss. The resulting officer roll is a 6.  So that's 2 morale points down.  Anything but a 1 would see the Burgundy pass the morale test.  Tim tentatively rolls the dice which spins out of his hand and settles on the 1.

To be continued.....

Rule ideas for The War Game

I have been thinking about some rule ideas for Charles Grants the War Game.

My 28mm collection is organized on 16 figure infantry and 8 figure cavalry units. For the War Game I combine these into 32 and 16 figure units respectively.

The problem is there are no officers to remove which makes morale a bit harder to work out.

Well I have come up with the following ideas.

Infantry and cavalry units are based upon the number 8. Units will therefore be 8, 16, 24, 32 etc

Unit strength loses for Morale are as follows

1/8 lost -1

1/4 lost -2

3/8 lost -3

1/2 lost -4

The 50% rule still applies

Sounds complex but actually for a 32 man unit mounted 4 on a base this equals a base per increment. 2 base lost is - 2 on a morale test.

For 16 cavalry mounted 2 to a base it equals, yes you guessed it, a base a increment

Officer losses. When ever a unit loses 1/8 of its strength roll a d6.  If a 6 is rolled the unit loses an officer and suffers a -1 morale penalty.  For each officer lost roll another D6 and if it's a another 6 it's the Colonel that is Iost. I mark the unit with a small dice showing officers lost. 

An oprtional rule is to lose an officer on a 5 or 6 in a Melee.

Infantry firing get 1 dice per complete base of 4 figures firing. Use the standard rules for firing except to reduce the casualties I have introduced saving throws.

For each hit, except Officer loses, caused by Infantry volleys throw a d6 saving on a 5 or 6. This applies to all target types.

As Light Infantry fires individually I don't propose to make any changes to light infantry firing. Light Infantry can still target enemy officers.

Minot Prussians finally finished.

Back in 1975 I bought some Barry Minot 1806 Prussians, from I think Ted Surens shop in Lower Sloane Square, to make into some Prussian Jager for my Charles Grant inspired gaming.  Having cut off the bayonets I started painting the figures based on the uniform in the old Greenwood and Ball booklet on the Prussian army. 

As you can see I did not get very far.  

In the last 37 years these figures have been on my painting table, so to speak, and have followed me around the country as I moved from house to house. For the last 20 years they lived in a box.  I knew they where there.   

Well its 2012 now and I thought it was about time I finished them up. So with no more a do last week I got them out of their box, added a RSM Officer to make up the numbers, and finally finished them off. 

   

So it has take me 37 years to get them done  - from start to finish. 

Chotusitz - The Game

I have belatedly had time to update my blog with photos of our recent game at Triples.  The game featured figures from four collections and certainly looked impressive on the table.  The terrain boards and scenery are I think in keeping with the Old School theme and certainly we received a lot of good feedback on the game which seemed to hit a certain resonance with the public.  

We played the War Game rules with one to two house modifications, particularly around cavalry melees.  The players had only limited experience with the rules but after a few turns all found the game mechanics easy to play and they had fun playing the game.  

Overall the game was declared an Austrian victory with the Prussian Cavalry being out performed on both wings which sealed the fate of the Prussian Infantry in the centre.   

I spent most of the time discussing the game, rules and figures with the public and I would not be surprised if Prince August do not get a few orders for moulds as a result. 

Here are a few pictures to give you a taster of the game.  I hope to put on another game in the future. 

Cheap and cheerful movement trays

As my Prince August forces continue to grow I am considering the implications of single based figures. I do not intend to go for multi basing as these figures will be used by my son and I. Kids like the idea of single figures and he also gets to play with these as Toys - lining them up and knocking then over. 

I had considered going down the magnetic base route using steel bases and magnetic strip on bases but decided that this was a costly method. 

So instead I have quickly knocked up some movement trays using free off cut cardboard (courtesy of local Ilkley Art Shop impresario and fellow Old Schooler Tim (aka General Grecian) and stirrers from a local high street coffee shop

I sized the tray and extra 5mm front and side than the my base size, which is 20 by 30mm for infantry and 20 by 60mm for cavalry, and quickly stuck them together with lashings of PVA glue.

Above a finished natural tray for 6 infantry or 3 cavalry and below a 12 infantry/6 cavalry tray modelled here by the dashing Regiment Hock