War of The Triple Alliance

Started by Spartan, 16 October 2021, 10:35:23 PM

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Spartan

In looking for my next period and having seen the Perry's game at Partizan am considering the War of the Triple alliance as its something different. Given that i am more at the simulation end of the spectrum than game there are quite a few sticking points for me.  The war is very one sided, the battles are quite similiar and again one sided, seems to be almost self genocide on the part of the Paraguyans plus I not be too keen to field Regiments made up of children (Though i expect that the manufacturer will not make these).

In an effort to remove the sticking points i was wondering what members of the forum thoughts on the war are.




Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

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fred.

Me either

Given all the above, what is it that attracts you to this conflict?
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mmcv

I confess it's a conflict I've had a soft spot for, I think initially just because it was such a cool name for a war, then getting into it a bit more. However it is pretty low down the list because as you say there isn't that many interesting battles. It's more of a guerrilla war so ripe for skirmish level conflict but not big battles. So might be an interesting one to take s smaller scale approach to for those sort of actions.

If the South American location is of appeal it might be worth looking at the War of the Pacific, which had more traditional battles and saw an interesting mix of Franco Prussian war equipment and tactics.

Spartan

Quote from: fred. on 17 October 2021, 07:42:24 AM
Given all the above, what is it that attracts you to this conflict?

The terrain and some of the uniforms particularly the Paraguyans.

@mmcv. thanks for the input. Think the skirmish angle is the way to go as i can pick and choose which figures i use for it and it gets around  sticking points. Came across the War of the Pacific yesterday and will investigate further.


mmcv

Yeah skirmish actions would work well. Though saying that if you're interested in focusing on just one battle, Tuytuti could be quite interesting. Not sure if you'd thought about rules, but there's a scenario for it on the BBB group that I considered maybe doing at some point in 2mm. Would be quite a interesting terrain set up.

https://groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles/files/1864-1870%20War%20of%20the%20Triple%20Alliance%20%28Paraguayan%20War%29

For skirmish level was thinking Sharpe Practice 2 could work well as have been wanting to try them at some point.

There's also It's Getting a Bit Chile for the War of the Pacific if that's your thing.

Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

Quote from: mmcv on 17 October 2021, 12:05:56 PM
For skirmish level was thinking Sharpe Practice 2 could work well as have been wanting to try them at some point.

Sharpe Practice are a good set and should work.
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fred.

Not sure if you are thinking of doing this in 10mm or not. But if you do go with 10mm and skirmish sized actions I'd suggest considering the 1,2, 3 style of basing. This is where within a unit you have different numbers of figures on each base, typically circular ones. So in a 12 man unit you would have 2 each of a 1 figure base, 2 of 2 figures and 2 of 3 figures. This works well for not having quite so many individual bases to move around but still gives flexibility for positioning and casualty removal. And looks good.

With 10mm you can easily double the figure counts to give more of a mass effect.
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Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

Can you get figures for this war ?
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Spartan

@ mmcv : Tuytuti is an interesting battle, though probably quite unique in the war, as IMO it destroyed the Paraguyan army and after the odds are stacked against them.  Your idea of skirmish level fits well with my interests in the period/gaming especially as i wouldn't be bound by historical scenarios.

@ Fred/mmcv : Was thinking of using a modified version of death in the dark continent. Am abit negative about SP, though SP2 is an improvement, but perhaps worth a revisit. Since i am looking skirmish level it allows me to use 28mm figures.

@ Lord Kermit : There are a few companies that do figures e.g. Perry/Kings Carbine but not sure if any do them in say 10 or 6mm.


mmcv

Yes certainly of you're looking 28mm for it then skirmish is the way to go. Tuytuti is pretty much just a battle on its own so wouldn't really transfer to the rest of the war. Could have some very interesting fights and even a narrative campaign given the small numbers involved in much of the conflict outside Tuytuti.

I'd not seen death in the dark continent before, looks more like a colonial warfare system but if you like the mechanics I'm sure they can be adapted easily enough given the time period similarities.

Be interested to see where you go with this. Unfortunately it's got me looking at my 2mm scenario idea again...but I have enough ongoing projects as it is...  X_X

Spartan

@mmcv : Death in the Dark Continent is for Africa (1870-1899), though with slight modifications i have used it for the boxer rebellion and Northwest frontier.  IMO it can be adapted for most colonial wars where 'attack columns' are not used.

The advantage is that the group of players i put games on for, know the rules so only have to learn the modifications for a different setting.

Going to look over the rules and learn a bit more about the period to see what mods are needed.  Will keep you updated.


After Tuytuti, the numbers advantage of the allies is huge  often  giving battles of 20k v's 5k, so for me getting figures for just say Tuytuti is out of the question.

2mm that is a bit small for me, at that scale i would of thought early 20thC conflicts might be suitable e.g. Russo/Japanese.



mmcv

Yeah absolutely. I like 2mm for giving that huge battle look, though I struggle to get the motivation to paint them at times. I've a bunch done for the Crimean War, just need one last push to finish that project off. It works really well for those long 19th century conflicts where there were large numbers of combatants in different formations. Has a different aesthetic appeal but is obviously much quicker to put together for projects you maybe want to play out the battles but not necessarily devote the time to it a larger figure project would require!

RJW is interesting too and another on that list.

Spartan

@MMCV Don't know much about the RJW or the Balkan wars, other than they have some very large battles.

Due to being more into simulation its quite  difficult to find periods with a large number of battles, that are almost consistant in size and are evenly matched. So if you know of any let me know. Todate i am limited to the AWI/ACW/WSS(SYW) am considering Ceasers/Gallic Wars and Naps but the latter is a big undertaking.


mmcv

When you say simulation, what do you mean? As in trying to be as close to historical realities as possible? I.e. an accurate simulation of the battle. Or more just vaguely historical matchups that are meant to simulate the feel of the period and battles rather than the
exact realities?

Just I've heard it used both ways so never quite sure how it's meant!