AWI Scenario: Battle of Freeman's Farm, 1777

I've been busy with work, but more importantly with working on gaming projects.  The LOTR basing continues, printing Helm's Deep (starting to look really cool now), and other projects.

I'm planning to host a game at my place on March 27th - with my rivers shipping from Germany last week I'd like to think (hope) they arrive before the game.  Time will tell.  My plan is to run this scenario below - the battle of Freeman's Farm, 1777.

While there is lots of information out there about the Saratoga campaign and the battle itself - my research shows order of battles are all over the place.  I believe this is partly because at various points in the day reserves are still in reserve or have been committed.  Either way, I've eliminated what I call the "Breymann" option, which is to have a reserve force feeding into Fraser or Hamilton.  Instead of split up the units between the two formations for balance.  Minor liberties have been taken for game balance.

I'll see how this all pans out when we play ... should be an interesting game.

Map and Objectives

Map and starting dispositions are shown below.  

Fraser and Hamilton's brigades march on the table on turn 1.  British player has initiative and takes the first turn.  Riedesel's brigade marches on the table on turn 1 from the road in the upper right corner of the map - all units from Riedesel's brigade are in march column when they enter the table.

Units from Paterson and Nixon's brigades are considered to be in hasty defensive works (cover).

The game lasts 6 turns.

The British objective is to take Coulter Farm (on the left of the map) and Freeman's Farm (central farm), then to secure the heights where Glover's brigade is located.  The American's must attempt to hold Freeman's Farm and the heights.

Each farm is worth 5 Victory Points (VPs) for the British.  Each farm is worth 10 VPs for the Americans at the end of the game if they are either fully in control or even if contested.  Riflemen and artillery units cannot contest these objectives (requires a formed infantry unit).  The Heights are worth 5 VPs for the Americans and 10 VPs for the British.  All standard VPs apply (e.g. units broken, shaken, etc.).

British Order of Battle

C-in-C (Burgoyne)

FRASER

• Grenadier (Large)
• 24th Foot (Grenadier detached)
• 53rd Foot (Grenadier detached)
• Light Infantry (Large)
• Hessian Jagers
• Native Allies
• Native Allies

(Native allies are representing both the native and Canadian allies)

HAMILTON

• 20th Foot (Grenadier detached)
• 21st Foot (Grenadier detached)
• 62nd Foot (Grenadier detached)
• Hessian Grenadiers (Large)
• Hessian Fusiliers (Large)
• Foot Artillery (2 x 6pdrs)

RIEDESEL

• Hessian Regiment (Large)
• Hessian Regiment (Large)
• Hessian Regiment (Large)
• Hessian Regiment (Large)
• Hessian Regiment (Large)
• Foot Artillery (3 x 6pdrs)

American Order of Battle

C-in-C Left Wing (Arnold)

POOR

• Continental Regiment
• Continental Regiment
• Continental Regiment
• Militia Regiment
• Riflemen

LEARNED

• Continental Regiment
• Continental Regiment
• Militia Regiment
• Riflemen

C-in-C Right Wing (Lincoln)

GLOVER

• Continental Regiment
• Continental Regiment
• Militia Regiment (Large)

NIXON

• Continental Regiment
• Continental Regiment
• Foot Artillery (2 x 6pdrs)

PATERSON

• Continental Regiment
• Continental Regiment
• Foot Artillery (2 x 4pdrs)

General Update: 3D Printing, Helm's Deep, LOTR Basing, SW Air Support and Napoleonic Books

I finally got around to **completely** rebuilding the extruder assembly from my first Prusa 3D printer.  A little over a year ago I had a major failure that caused all the extruded PLA to wrap up around the entire assembly.  Took many hours with a blow dryer to get it all off, cutting wires, etc.  It was in bad shape.  I opted at the time to order the parts I needed and a new printer.  I'm happy to report that I now have a small print farm working away on several models.

I'm working through printing off Helm's Deep and making good progress, especially with the second printer now online.  I also have some buildings to print for the excellent Steve Dake - so these printers will be busy for a while.

Here is a quick picture of progress.  Nearly complete the interior wall of the Hornburg.  And good progress on the tower.  A lot still to do ... easily 3ish weeks left of printing with both printers going 24/7.

I just finished assembling and cleaning all the Russian forces I need for Austerlitz.  I got a good start on LOTR basing - got a little side tracked, but getting back to this now.  

I was able to get 2 units of Rohan bowmen done and the dismounted Rohan Royal Guard with command stands for Théodred and Théoden.

Some air support for my Star Wars (Bolt Action) games has been acquired.  Dan Kerrick had more SW aircraft than he needed so I was able to get these extras from him which gives me one for each side.

Napoleonic Books by F. G. Hourtoulle.  These are outstanding if you can get your hands on them.  I constantly use these and the various Osprey Campaign books that are available when designing scenarios or looking for uniform plates (although I have far to many ... or maybe just the right amount, of books on Napoleonic uniforms).

The combination of maps from Osprey books and these books provide excellent detail on how the battles developed.

The single most valuable part of these books is the uniform plates.  There are detailed orders of battle for the armies present as well - but the books cover every unit that was present.  Exceptionally great value for wargamers.

I have all of the books in this series that I'm aware of (for Napoleonic's - other periods have books), covering Eylau/Friedland, Wagram, Borodino, Jena/Auerstaedt, Austerlitz, 1814 and Crossing the Berezina.

That's it for now --- back to the grind!

Battle Report: Tanks in the Desert!

Just a quick Bolt Action WW2 AAR.

Recently the tiny COVID restricted band of weary lads got together at Dan's place to play a game in his garage.  I packed up my dice and tape measure and went over for a fun day of gaming.

John Lantz has recently finished up his desert WW2 forces and wanted to host a game.  This was just a tank duel in the desert - keeping it simple, but very fun.  No hard math or thinking much beyond "there're over there, get'em!"

I had a blast - John and I pulled out a victory playing with the 8th army forces.

Before jumping into some pictures - John brought along this super handy and very awesome player aid!  A gaming periscope!  We used this for all LOS and it worked excellently.  I've ordered 4 for my own games!  You to can grab one of these puppies right here.

Just look at those juicy targets!  My dice actually didn't suck for once so I was able to put lots of holes in those German tanks!

Table setup was easy-peasy.  The mat has been rolled up for a while but after about 30 minutes had settled.

Lots of explody tanks on fire.  I lost 3 of my 6 crusader tanks.  John managed to not loose a single Grant of his 3.  It was certainly a change of pace using tanks with light AT ... shells just kept bouncing off the armour.

That's it for today folks!

Napoleonic Scenario: Wagram, 1809

I'm on a good roll with my Napoleonic scenarios.  The weather here hasn't been great so has kept me mostly out of the garage this week so I turned to my trusty books and have been working on this scenario (Wagram) and some others (Friedland, some updates to Borodino and Austerlitz).

I have a large painting in my garage (over the bar) of the battle of Wagram.  This is a battle that will have me finally update/finish up my Austrian army.  This is all in theme with my push to finish long standing projects (AWI and ACW finished this last year).  Wagram, Friedland and Borodino will put the finishing strokes into my Napoleonic collection, which spans the French, Bavarians, Dutchy of Warsaw, Wurttemberg, Saxons, Russians and Austrians.  Dan Kerrick from our group is in the last stages of finishing the Prussians (we'll have Wavre on the tabletop this year for sure along with several other Prussian oriented scenarios).  Roy Scaife covers the British (+1815 allies), Spanish and Portuguese.  That's essentially all the coverage of Napoleonic's one could ask for.

Ok, enough of all that, on to the scenario.

Design Notes

Just a little bit of background on this scenario design.  My goal with Empires at War is to be able to play complete/large battles in 28mm - generally on 6 foot by 16 foot for most battles (sometimes larger, I tend to think in increments of 6 foot by 8 foot).  Much has to be compressed when looking to do this in a reasonable size footprint (something you can fit in a standard garage (in California a standard garage is 20 foot by 20 foot).  

The French army significantly outnumbered the Austrian army, which is also the case in orders of battle for this scenario.  That being said, the French are on the offensive.  Additionally, the Austrians have a high proportion of "large" units as compared to the French (who really only have large units in the Imperial Guard).  While pure unit count is very much in favor of the French, the Austrians make up for it with larger units.  I've done much to compress the armies and units down into something in line with the historical orders of battle while making small adjustments for balance of play (e.g. adding Uhlans in the cavalry reserve for the Austrians for some added punch given the the French have a major cavalry advantage - historically this would be instead a unit of Hussars).

Lastly, if you play this scenario you can certainly substitute certain units (e.g. the "insurrecto" I list - this is a unit I have in my collection and like to use - it's essentially the same as legion infantry from other places).  When I design scenarios I do take into account my collection and I try to avoid the need to buy/paint "one off" or seldom used units.

Scenario Map and Special Rules

Deployment:  The map serves as a general guide for the deployment areas for each corps.  Each square represents a unit from the corps, however each player may deploy units within the general corps area in any way they choose.  The Austrian player must finalize deployment of all units before the French player.

Table Size:  6 foot by 16 foot

Below you will find the scenario map with the starting areas/dispositions for each corps.  

Game Length:  8 Turns

Victory Points:  Standard victory points apply (units shaken/broken).  All towns are worth 15 points to the side that holds them at the end of turn 8.  If a town is contested at the end of turn 8 then 10 points are awarded to the Austrian player and 5 points to the French player.

River:  The river is fordable at all points.

Towns:  Each town is capable of holding up to 2 units.

The Wagram:  Austrian artillery units deployed on the Wagram (hill) are in fixed positions (add earthworks in front of the unit for cover).

Order of Battle - France

C-in-C: Napoleon

Imperial Guard

• 2 x Young Guard (Small)
• 1 x Grenadier a Pied (Large)
• 1 x Chasseur a Pied (Large)
• 1 x Grenadier a Cheval
• 1 x Guard Chasseur a Cheval
• 1 x Empress Dragoons
• 1 x Guard Foot Artillery (Large)
• 1 x Guard Horse Artillery (Large)

II Corps (Oudinot)

• 2 x Light Infantry
• 5 x Line Infantry
• 1 x Chasseur a Cheval
• 1 x Foot Artillery

III Corps (Davout)

• 2 x Light Infantry
• 5 x Line Infantry
• 1 x Hussar
• 2 x Dragoons
• 1 x Foot Artillery (Large)
• 1 x Horse Artillery (Large)

IV Corps (Massena)

• 1 x Light Infantry
• 6 x Line Infantry
• 1 x Chasseur a Cheval
• 1 x Foot Artillery (Large)

Cavalry Reserve (Bessieres)

• 1 x Carabiniers
• 5 x Cuirassiers

(EUGENE'S ARMY OF ITALY)

V Corps (MasDonald)

• 3 x Line Infantry

VI Corps (Grenier)

• 1 x Light Infantry
• 3 x Line Infantry
• 1 x Foot Artillery
• 1 x Chasseur a Cheval

VII Corps (Wrede)

• 1 x Bavarian Light Infantry (Small)
• 2 x Bavarian Line Infantry
• 1 x Bavarian Chevauxleger

(SAXON ARMY)

IX Corps (Bernadotte)

• 3 x Saxon Line Infantry
• 1 x Saxon Schutzen
• 2 x Saxon Grenadier
• 1 x Saxon Cuirassier
• 1 x Saxon Foot Artillery (Small)

(ARMY OF DALMATIA)

XI Corps (Marmont)

• 1 x Light Infantry
• 2 x Line Infantry

Order of Battle - Austria

C-in-C: Charles

Advanced Guard (Nordmann)

• 1 x Hussar (Large)
• 1 x Jager
• 2 x Infantry Regiments
• 1 x Grenzer Infantry
• 1 x Horse Artillery

I Korps (Bellegarde)

• 4 x Infantry Regiments (Large)
• 1 x Jager
• 1 x Foot Artillery

II Korps (Hohenzollen-Hechingen)

• 4 x Infantry Regiments (Large)
• 1 x Jager
• 1 x Foot Artillery

III Korps (Kolowrat)

• 1 x Infantry Regiment (Large)
• 2 x Infantry Regiment
• 1 x Uhlans (Large)
• 1 x Jager
• 1 x Foot Artillery

IV Korps (Rosenburg)

• 2 x Infantry Regiments
• 1 x Landwehr Infantry

VI Korps (Klenau)

• 2 x Infantry Regiments
• 1 x Grenzer Infantry
• 1 x Insurrecto (Legion) Infantry
• 1 x Landwehr Infantry
• 1 x Hussar (Large)
• 1 x Foot Artillery

Reserve Korps (Liechtenstein)

• 4 x Grenadier (Large)
• 2 x Cuirassiers (Large)
• 2 x Dragoons (Large)
• 1 x Uhlans (Large)
• 1 x Horse Artillery

AWI Collection: Dress the Ranks!

This evening I took stock of my AWI collection.

I started planning this project last February but actual worked commenced in March of 2020.  Counting the planning this project started from nothing just under 1 year ago.

British (and Native Allies)

Here is the overview shot of my British collection with native allies.

Forces include:

• 11 regiments of foot (including Highlanders, Marines, etc.)
• 1 Grenadier command stand (for combining the Grenadier companies from the above units)
• 2 units of Light Infantry
• 1 Artillery battery of 2 guns.
• 1 Artillery battery of 3 guns.
• 3 Generals
• 2 Native allied units
• 1 Native chief
• 1 Legion cavalry unit (mounted and dismounted)

I'll be adding a unit of 16th Light Dragoons (mounted and dismounted) and a unit of Queen's American Rangers.

Some closer shots of some units ...

Hessians and Brunswick Units

Here you can see my collection of (mostly) Hessians with some Brunswick units.

Forces include:

• 3 x Generals
• 1 x Jagers
• 1 x Artillery Battery
• 1 x Grenadier Regiment (I'll add 2 more in the future)
• 2 x Fusilier Regiments
• 5 x Musketeer Regiments

A couple of closer pics of some units that haven't been seen on the table yet ...

Even though I'll add a couple more Grenadier units in the future (no rush), I think this is a great force that will allow me to do a wide range of scenarios.

Americans

Lastly, but not least, here is my American collection.

Forces include:

• 3 x Generals
• 2 x Riflemen
• 1 x Lee's Legion skirmishers
• 1st Continental Light Dragoons
• 2 x Artillery Batteries
• 13 x Continental units
• 12 x Militia Units

A couple of closer pics of some units ...

That's everything done and based.

Wargames for 2021

I've spent some time recently planning out the games I'll run this year -- with a target of getting these games to the tabletop all before the summer.  All of these games are well within my power and capability to deliver before then.

In no particular order ...

Austerlitz, 1805

Not too long ago I posted the scenario for Austerlitz.  I have 80% of the miniatures done for this scenario and the main focus on my painting efforts now fall to completing the remaining 20% - all Russians.  The great news is all the Russians I need to finish are all needed for Borodino as well.

I've compressed the map into a 6 foot by 16 foot table (was 20 foot wide).  The gap down the middle was too large for any of the allied forces to have any chance of attempting to reinforce Pratzen.  This will greatly improve playability of the scenario.  Very much looking forward to finally getting this scenario on the tabletop and putting myself into a realistic position to get Borodino on the tabletop perhaps by late this year (if not late this year, very early next year).  Borodino is a *massive* battle that will be taking almost my entire French and Russian Napoleonic collection - including Dutchy of Warsaw units, Wurttemberg units, and other key units like the Zastrow Cuirassiers and Saxon Guarde du Corps (using the beautiful Eureka models for those two units).  There is light at the end of this tunnel.

War in Rohan

With the final batch of Rohan, Dunland and Isengard forces in hand the basing/rebasing will commence immediately.  A large number of War in Rohan scenarios are unlocked by this milestone.  First and foremost though will be the battle of the Fords of the Isen.

Rather than creating a one off river, I'd invested in a great modular river from Tabletop Modellbau.  I've really impressed with the different sections in this range (I'm having him make many of the straight sections more plain).  The waterfall section, various turns and the end piece are excellent sections to really make this set stand above others I looked at.

I'll use the Y section to create the small eyot (little island in the middle of the river where Théodred makes his stand).  This should work out well.  I figure it will be about a month though before I have the river in hand as he is still working on the order and it needs to ship from Europe.

I'll also be doing a smaller engagement I'm calling Defence of the Westfold.  This will be a more plain battle with very few (if any) characters and will be centered around Dunland forces looking to burn the buildings of a Rohan village.  I already have the buildings done/painted for this.  I can also upgrade this to an attack on a fortified village/town if I want as I have all the fortification sections complete as well.

Last but very much far from least is Helm's Deep.  My 3D printer is already hard at work on printing off the Helm's Deep files (these are sadly no longer available).  This will be the pinnacle battle for my War in Rohan series.

Battle of Brandywine Creek

The very last two AWI units I'll get completed for my collection is a unit of British 16th Light Dragoons and a unit of Queen's American Rangers.  Both of these units round out the forces I need to run a game for the battle of Brandywine Creek.

I'll be using the same river mentioned above to create this tabletop.

Battle of Freeman's Farm (Saratoga)

I have everything I need already done to run the battle of Freeman's Farm from the Saratoga campaign.  The only thing I need is the same modular river (man, that river is going to get a lot of use!).  This should be a lot of fun as there is a hefty bunch of Hessians in this battle and even some native Indian units I'll be using for the British side.

Casey's Redoubt (Battle of Seven Pines)

The only thing outstanding for me to run this scenario is to finish painting the two white buildings that are the landmarks of this battle (well, outside of the redoubt).  I'll be using the same earthworks I used for Vicksburg and Breed's Hill to create the redoubt for this battle.  All troops are done and ready to go.

Wrapping Up ...

Looking at all this now that I've written it down seems like an impossible amount of gaming to bring to the tabletop - but to be perfectly honest - outside of Austerlitz (~80% done) I'm like 95-99% done on every other scenario I've listed here.  All of this is VERY honestly and realistically achievable in the first half of this year.

So stay tuned to the blog as there is much to come over the next few months.