Napoleonic War: Peninsular battle

[nikharwood]

A selection of pics from a solo game - French v British, Peninsular War (these were the first 10mm figures I ever bought: in 2002...  )


British Line


British Line & Light


French line


French brigade


French advance


British defend the woods


British defend the farm


British line from farm ro woods


British line in the fields


Overview from the French lines


French advance towards the British-held farm


French left flank


Onwards...


French advance to centre


British defence


Overview - with British fallback on the left flank


Infantry close - the view from the British lines


French  infantry resume their advance


Decisive cavalry action on the French left


British centre advances


The British centre from the French lines


The British re-take the hill and repulse the French cavalry


British centre fires a volley, with Wellington looking on


British right flank are steady in the fields


Wellington pushes the advantage


French cavalry advance on the left flank


More French cavalry - sweeping behind the British lines


French line threaten the British left


Overview from the French lines


The British centre pushes on, supported by the advance of the right flank


View from the British centre, looking towards the right flank


Holding the hill, with the Rifles advancing down towards the beleaguered French columns


French stragglers


Last desperate volley from the rattled French columns...


...to no advantage and the British go on to rout the French

Notes

This was a cracking game - the first NapoleonicMaster game I've played in a while. It fought really well, the battle really fluid. Each turn brought an ebb and flow and there were key and decisive moments throughout - the British Light Dragoons, against all odds, seeing off the French Cuirassiers & the Rifles, supported by Line, re-taking the hill were most noticeable.

[Jagger]

That is a good lookin wheat field.    How did you make it?

BTW, everything else looks pretty good too.

[Leon]

That is a good lookin wheat field.    How did you make it?

Looks suspiciously like a piece of doormat?

[nikharwood]

Yep - good spot: in fact, all the fields are doormats cut up; the brown / red-brown 'ploughed' ones are from Tesco value range = £0.99...on some of them I've given them a qucik drybrush just to 'lift' a bit.

The longer wheatfield I got from Wilkinson's I think - for about £2 & again, just cut up - I do need to go back at some point & paint the rubber base so it's not grey!

Bargain though - and nice & easy 

[Jagger]

Good idea.  I stopped at the local walmart and noticed $1.50-3.00 doormats that would work nicely for fields.

I badly nice some nice terrain to go with my pendrakens.

[17-21l]

Quick one nik -What rules do you play with for the Nappys- and would it "raelly "matter about base sizes??

[nikharwood]

Predominantly I use NapoleonicMaster - free variant which you can get from the historical-warmaster Yahoo group [or PM me & I'll zap it to you] - very good - basing is 40x20 per stand [or width = twice depth] with 3 stands per unit.

I've also tried Black Powder & will use again at some point - once I find some time...

[Peeler]

  That's an absolutely cracking game, report, & pictures. Tremendous stuff!

[Nosher]

Looks fab Nik and thanks for all the 'eye candy' photos, inspiring stuff

[nikharwood]

You're welcome - and thanks 

Funnily enough, I've just finished editing the pics from a Black Powder Peninsular scrap that SteveJ & I fought last Friday night...they'll appear in a thread near here imminently...

[jchaos79]

Very nice pictures and figures also!!

What is the size of the table top use as battleground?

[Aart Brouwer]

Looking great as usual, maestro! 

However, judging by the scenery it seems that you don't 'do' roads, do you?

Why is that? Aren't they covered by those rules you mentioned, old chap? You know, marching columns and all that.

Cheers,
Aart

[nikharwood]

Looking great as usual, maestro! 

However, judging by the scenery it seems that you don't 'do' roads, do you?

Why is that? Aren't they covered by those rules you mentioned, old chap? You know, marching columns and all that.

Cheers,
Aart

Thank you, kind sir 

I do 'do' roads - but mostly I remember to bung 'em on the table for SCW / WW2 / Moderns etc - dunno why...I shall remember this & rectify for my next H&M scrap! It's a good point...

[Blaker]

I know, I know, what am I doing bringing up this very old thread   

Nik, are you using NapoleonMaster or NapoleonMaster II  ?

How did you like the rules?

And, have you played many games with NM or NM2?

Looking at the --Master series of rules again.  I really like DBN for Napoleonic warfare especially for one on one games, but looking for a larger mass battle effect and was going back to the beginning  with Warmaster variants.

thanks 

[nikharwood]

Good question Blake - pretty sure that I use NM2 to be honest...I'll most likely be going back to them as well for my next Napoleonic outing - I've come to the conclusion that WM variants are more 'graceful' than Black Powder.

[Blaker]

Are you using 40x20 as suggested or 50x20 bases?

Also, are all of your infantry based 10 figs per base?  Or are lights less?

just wondering how you like the look of your battalions 

[Aart Brouwer]

I've come to the conclusion that WM variants are more 'graceful' than Black Powder.

Can you please tell us why? Im interested.

I play a Black Powder game nearly every week, mostly SYW with friends' models and using BP's excellent Last Argument of Kings supplement. We tweak some of the rules, which is easy with BP (actually the developers encourage it) and one of its huge advantages over other sets I know.

However, I don't know WM. So tell us, darling, what makes it so much more grrraceful?  

Cheers,
Aart

[nikharwood]

Are you using 40x20 as suggested or 50x20 bases?

Also, are all of your infantry based 10 figs per base?  Or are lights less?

just wondering how you like the look of your battalions  

Yep - these are all 40x20 bases...they're all based 10 figs per base - the Lights are denoted by the central / front / command stand being painted as Rifles with the other two stands painted 'normally'

How do I like the look? I love 'em...even though I know I could paint them much betterer now   I have a real fondness for these ones - and my ECW - and my WW2 Germans & US: they're all my first Pendraken armies - bought & painted within a few months of each other...and I'll never sell 'em or retire 'em...

[Blaker]

Very cool Nik.  Have you heard of a SevenYearsWarmaster variant?  If so, where would one look for it?

I was thinking of doing lights with 6 minis instead of 10 per base, what do you think?  I like the look of 10 per base but I was thinking the lights would be in more or less an open formation 

[nikharwood]

Can you please tell us why? Im interested.

I play a Black Powder game nearly every week, mostly SYW with friends' models and using BP's excellent Last Argument of Kings supplement. We tweak some of the rules, which is easy with BP (actually the developers encourage it) and one of its huge advantages over other sets I know.

However, I don't know WM. So tell us, darling, what makes it so much more grrraceful?  

Cheers,
Aart

I knew someone'd ask...  

Firstly, I think that BP is a great ruleset - and beautifully produced: I find myself constantly having it to-hand for flicking through & staring at the eye-candy. It's a nice overview resource and has some nice philosophy etc etc. But...

...I find it a bit vague & unsatisfying...and it's puerile in places I think. I'm not certain that it gives a decent enough attention to some key mechanics that it tries to provide detail for - and everything kind-of-sort-of becomes a bit vanilla - and relies on special rules to give flavour-differential to troop types / nations etc etc...

The thing I *really* dislike is the 'fudge' on command rolls from the WM model...

For me, WM is more graceful [actually, elegant is probably the better word]  - and derivatives, including BKC / CWC / FWC - because for *each* order you're needing to roll a command roll. BP asks you to declare your order [which is a bit sad / puerile / stoopid] out loud [even more stoopid if you're playing solo   ] and then you roll to see how much of that [up to 3 moves] is achieved...for me, that's not decisive enough. I *love* the fact that with luck - and the commander bravery to even try it - you can pull off the kind of stunning outcome that warfare has demanded.

I also like the aggregated overview & simplicity [again, elegance] of the standard 3-base approach to units of WM & derivatives: with the differentials being incorporated into stat lines & some special rules; 'balance' is achieved through limitations on army selection. I like the simplicity of seeing how a unit is deteriorating in combat-effectiveness by stand removal and / or disorder [& not having to track units with stamina markers whilst the on-table size remains constant].

I *love* the decisive combat outcomes of WM - and that shooting is properly treated in terms of effectiveness - and I love the blunder tables & breakpoint approaches. I also love the fact that these are rules that are overtly and proudly written for 10mm [all other scales are playable of course, but even so...]. I also like the simple approach & not needing to buy supplement after supplement of badly-researched & written over-priced gamer-porn supplements.

Beyond all that though, I love that I can remember the 'core' of one ruleset & use it for *all* of my gaming desires from pre-Biblical to sci-fi. Simples.

[I'm turning into such a Grumpy Old B@$tard eh?  ]