Last Game of 2017

For the final game of 2017 I hosted a replay of my Lundy's Lane, War of 1812, game for the guys in our wargame club.  I have hosted this game several times in the past and I don't think the game has ever failed to be interesting and challenging in many ways.

Here are a few photos of the action.  Sorry that I didn't capture all of the action, but these give a flavor of the game as it played out.

General Scott's Brigade moves to their left in an attempt to turn the British/Canadian right flank.  Unfortunately, they run smack dab into the Glengarry Light Infantry.  This gallant unit fends off attack after attack and once reinforced by some particularly ornery 1st Unincorporated Militia "Bridgade".  The combination of elite light infantry and not so elite Canadian farmers would give Scott's boys (commanded ably, but not in typical extreme "mojoness" by Bob O.) all they could handle.  Scott's failure to breakthrough quickly stopped the American plan of attack in its tracks.

The British center on the hill.  The very large wooden cross is standing in for the normal headstones that I have for my cemetery.  Many thanks to Hobby Lobby for carrying a large assortment of wooden things and superglue - and for opening a store in Tilton, NH which is on the way to game night!

An incident during the battle. Lt Smythe, leading the Light Coy of the 8th Foot in an all out attack on Ripley's Brigade of American Regulars.  Smythe took command of the company when CPT Campbell was wounded.  The lieutenant mistook LTC Morrison's inquiry on the identity of the Americans for an order to charge.  Smythe gallantly led his company forward (with many of his non commissioned officers questioning just want in hell he was doing) in a show of dash and daring rarely seen in the Canadian theatre of operations.  In the end the attack was repulsed, but the Americans did suffer three casualties from soldiers laughing so hard they pulled a muscle!

The British solidify their position at Johnson's Tavern.  This is another view of Smythe's Charge.  As you can see, if Smythe had waited just a few more minutes, he would have been supported by at least two regiments of foot!  At the bottom left of the photo you can see the division commander, General Riall look on in disbelief at the brave action of Smythe and his brave (but baffled) company.

Once Smythe had been disposed of, the Americans began to assault the British hilltop position.  They did make some headway, but the hill remained in British hands for a fairly decisive British win.  At the left in this photo you can make out the American Commander, General Jacob Brown urging Brigadier Ripley to move forward and attack the British position.

Scott's Brigade finally reaches the center and right flank of the British position.  He puts in a spirited assault, but his brigade is largely spent and he cannot gain the heights before he is forced back.  Note that he did manage to assault the guns by the cemetery.  He even took the position in a rare feat of charging guns to the front.

All in all, this was a very fun game.  The Smythe incident has to go down as one of the funniest moments during a game all year - maybe even for the past several years.

My thanks to all who played in the game.  We had a great time, even though there was flooded hallway to negotiate and a limited time to set up given the fire alarm situation!  Special thanks to Michael B. who set up beautiful Medieval game, then agreed to play in my game when the turnout was low.  He did a smashing job as one of the British commanders and ended up a winner!  Typical club gaming!

What a great way to end the year - amongst friends and yucking it up around the gaming table on a Friday night!  I hope that 2018 holds just as many good times.

Club Game Night - Brother Against Brother

I had an opportunity to host a Brother Against Brother War of 1812 game at the last game night at our club.  The game featured Americans holding a fort and trying to get relief supplies through British and Canadian troops besieging the fort.  We had a really good time, even though the game started very slowly with really poor movement die rolls for both sides.  This was the first time that I had a chance to get my new Mule train on he table.

Here are a couple of pictures of the guys playing the game.  Many thanks to Owen, Dick, Byron, Randy, Michael and Rob for a great game. Thank you to AJ for taking photos!

Randy, Rob and Owen make British Plans

Owen moves his British/Canadian Forces against the American supply column as Mike looks on from the fort

Two Games in a Week!

My Command for the evening - An Infantry Squad, 57mm AT Gun, M8 Armored Car and Company HQ Troops

I had an opportunity last Friday to play in a Bolt Action game at my friend Ralph's house.  We had a great time playing in a very large game with 7-8 squads plus vehicles and guns on each side!  We used Ralph's house rules breaking the table into sectors.  The game was hectic and confusing at first -  especially for Earl in the center sector on our side but we eventually got the hang of it and completed five or six turns in a little more than three hours.  Pretty good I think.  Ralph will be making some tweaks before hosting the game at our club game night.  Should be a good time.

Here is another view of the command.  Problem was I didn't move forward much past the stone wall on the left of the picture.

I also had an opportunity to get my butt kicked by my son, Andrew, in a game of Brother Against Brother.  I played the British and he played the Americans in a War of 1812 game.  He did an excellent job maneuvering and getting forces into the attack when he needed to.  The fact that he rolled lights out didn't hurt him either!

I was playing to make sure that I reviewed the rules before I host a game at the club.  I am ready to go for the game night.  Terrain is ok and I think I will have the OOB's and victory conditions set.  The only question is whether or not I will have my mule train ready for the game.

The British get off a volley. doing some damage but not enough to stop the Americans

American infantry moves through the trees to attack the British defending a ford

A Month?

It has been more than a month since I last posted!  Sorry about that!  I have been very busy at work and with life in general.  Aren't we all?

So, for the last few weeks I have been working on two projects.  The first is my Brother Against Brother  (BAB) game coming up for August game night at the club.  The BAB projects have centered around terrain and getting the figures organized.  My friend Earl has loaned me a couple of wagons for the game.  He has great terrain and figures for French and Indian Wars that are also great for my War of 1812 games!

Fort Allen.  The main objective of the upcoming Brother Against Brother Game.

The Bridge just outside of Fort Allen.

The trail leading to Fort Allen.  The wagons are on loan from Earl.  Where are those British, Canadians and Indians going to come from?

Close up of some of the hills and woods along the trail.

The other project is converting my WWII 20mm collection to Bolt Action basing.  I have had the figures based for all kinds of different game systems, but now they are ready for Bolt Action!

I hope to have a game or two with my son, Andrew before he heads back to school.

First Bolt Action Game - Excellent!

Last night I played in my first Bolt Action WWII Game hosted by my friend Ralph.  I was an excellent game pitting an attacking American Infantry Company against a defending German Infantry Company.  The first time I looked at the table, I didn't think the Americans had a chance!  Making a few good deployment choices and using a base of fire and maneuver concept helped the Americans though and they managed to squeak out a marginal victory!  Here are a couple of photos of the excellent terrain and figures that Ralph has put together for the rules.  Just awesome!

My Command for the evening - An American Infantry Platoon of Two Squads and a Weapons/Command Team

The German defenders await the attack.  A strong position with a small stream, stone walls and a town!

On the first shot of the game the German Pak40 destroyed the American armor support!

Here is my unit forcing the stream defenses and bringing the fight to the Germans!

Actually this is not the first time I have EVER played Bolt Action.  It was, however, the first time that I played the rules correctly and with someone who would explain the rules to me BEFORE I was expected to make a game decision.

THANKS Ralph  for a really great game!  Thank you also to my fellow American commanders - AJ, Dave and Charlie and our capable enemy commanders - Ed, Owen and Rob.

The 2nd US Dragoons

The 2nd Dragoons are currently the longest continuously serving regiment in the US Army. In March of 1814 the 1st Light Dragoons and the 2nd Light Dragoons were combined into the Regiment of Light Dragoons with eight companies. During the War of 1812 rarely more than 200 dragoons served in one place at one time. Both mounted and dismounted dragoons are represented in my army and are shown here. The dragoons are shown in the 1812 regulation uniform in all blue. The uniform was pretty much the same cut as the 1810 pattern uniform, however, the red collar and cuffs were replaced by blue. The headgear changed the most with the high front piece and leopard skin turnban were gone. The black comb was reinforced by metal and held a white horsehair crest. There was a white over blue plume on the left side of the helmet. Note that the dismounted troopers carry their carbines at the ready and still have their high topped cavalry boots and sabers. These figures are all from the Foundry 1812 Range.

The 1st US Infantry

The 1st US Infantry is the oldest unit in the United States Army. During the War of 1812 the 1st Infantry was spread out among several outpost on the Western border of the fledgling nation. Because they were very dispersed, they were among the last units to get the new 1813 regulation uniform. Additionally, the uniforms that they did have after several years in the field were probably not as standardized as I show them in these figures. However, I have to present the oldest unit in the Army in a presentable way! The unit is shown in the 1812 regulation uniform of blue coats with red facings. The officer wears the regulation bicorne and the drummer is in the regulation red coat with blue facings. The color bearer carries the distinctive National Colors of the 1st Infantry which includes a star-burst area around the national symbol as well as a "1st US Inf" on the upper corner of the flag away from the staff. These figures were also painted by Fernando Enterprises in Sri Lanka. They did an outstanding job on my 25mm War of 1812 figures and 15mm Napoleonic figures that I sent them. I highly recommend them to any wargamer looking to get a large number of figures painted in a relatively short amount of time. These figures are also from the Old Glory 1812 Range.

The 16th US Infantry

The 16th US Infantry was organized on January 11, 1812 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It served at the captures of Fort York and Fort George and at the Battle of Crysler's Farm. The regiment is clothed in the 1812 regulation uniform in all green. This uniform includes the felt cylinderical shako with plume centered on the front. The US Army had a serious supply problem throughout the War of 1812. These problems led to uniforms being turned out not only in the regulation blue, but also in black, green, drab and gray. The gray uniforms were made famous by Brigadier General Winfield Scott and the troops he led during the 1814 Niagara Campaign. Note that the officer is in a completely regulation uniform. This often happened as officers provided their own clothing and could often afford to have the correct uniform to be made. In some sources, the uniform of the 16th is stated as "black" but with poor quality dyes and with fading, this would have quickly changed to some other color such as the green shown. I had these figures painted by Fernando Enterprises in Sri Lanka. I was very happy with the 25mm War of 1812 figures I had painted by Fernando. They also did some 15mm Napoleonic figures which turned out very nicely. It is a bit pricey for the shipping, so I would only recommend using such a service if you have a large number of figures to be painted. These figures are from the Old Glory 1812 Range.

The 23rd US Infantry

The Twenty-Third US Infantry was raised in New York state. It was one of the units making up a part of the Brigadier General Eleazar Ripley's 2nd Brigade of Jacob Brown's Division in the Niagara Campaign of 1814. This unit is painted in the normal blue uniform of the American infantry. This is the regulation uniform of 1813 which includes the blue facings on the cuffs and collars. Also, the headgear is the "Belgic" leather shako. The crossbelts are black leather. The color shown is the "Battalion Colors" which was a buff or yellow flag. Mine is shown with the complete National Arms. In reality, the colors included only a red scroll and at some point - usually at the upper corner of the flag closest to the staff - there would be an embroidered number of the regiment. These figures are from the Foundary Range of the War of 1812.

The 13th US Infantry

Here is a photo of the 13th US Infantry. This is the most recent unit I completed for my War of 1812 campaign game. The reason I painted the 13th is because me eldest son is currently in Basic Combat Training at Ft. Jackson, SC. His unit is C Co., 3-13th Infantry. So this is for Marc. The unit is a pretty basic US Infantry unit for the 1814 Niagara Campaign. The troops are clothed in tan coats faced red. The officer and drummer are fairly regulation dress. The unit has a battalion color which includes a "13" to designate the regiment.