Ill Gotten gains From Brecon Books

 Hello There! Here are the book I managed to find in Brecon Books.

These were a welcome addition to my Napoleonic library

A couple of basic additions to the American civil war

I do not have anything on the air war in Normandy. also the Le Paradis book caught my eye as I had an uncle who was at Dunkirk and knew some of those executed at Le Paradis.

The Zulu Rising book would be useful as I have little on the Colonial period. The Ancient Armies is full of illustrations from Angus McBride

These cheaply filled a few gaps in my Campaign collection.

As did these.

Overall a very worthwhile visit. Search for 'Brecon Books' on the internet and they will come up.

Battle of Gloucester Point 3rd October 1781

Hello There! I have managed a visit to my local wargames club and played a great game of AWI. This game was put on by Chris and was thoroughly enjoyable. 

The table was not massive and the game was a good way of showing gamers that you do not need to have a massive game with loads of figure to have an enjoyable and challenging game.

The scenario was a foraging party of British were retiring back to their lines and were discovered by a Franco American force which had almost caught them up. the wagons were under guard and a mixed Loyalist cavalry and British infantry force was hurrying the forage back to their lines.

The cavalry also comprised of a small unit of 17th Light Dragoons.

The baggage train was an eclectic mix and something that I would like to add to my own collection.

The British lines also had an artillery position which during the actual battle took no part in the action and so for the purposes of the game was 'Fluff' However during our refight the artillery played a prominent part.

The initial engagement consisted of a cavalry battle when the French Lazuns Legion caught up with Banastre Tarletons Loyalists. This ended when after a number of melee rounds, which saw the Loyalists pushed back, Tarleton was wounded and the French took the entire unit prisoner as they surrendered.

As the baggage train moved off the table the two Virginia Battalions moved to the centre of the table t engage the British. They put up a good attack, considering they were militia but eventually broke leaving the wagons to escape off the board.

The rules used were a club set which were modified from the Bruce Quarrie Napoleonic rules from the 1980's. These were written when some of the club members attended the Coltishall Cowards Wargames Club in the 1990's. 

Further photos of te game are on the Club Facebook page here.

New Research Material

 Hello There! I have plans to paint some 'fluff' for the table and for a future feature for WSS.

In the eighties I purchased the cantiniere from Minifgs. It was the only one, to my knowledge, available at the time and was my first contact with such 'fluff'.

The women who followed Napoleon's armies provided food and luxuries to the men and others carried out the laundry for a fee.

These duties were carried out on campaign as well as at barracks. The French army was the first to allow these women to follow the army and became accepted into the regiments where their husbands usually served.

Some women served in a more subversive way, notably one general dressing his mistress up as a cavalryman so she could accompany him on campaign. Probably missed his 'home comforts'!

If these women had children with their husbands they would take the children with them on campaign and would share all the privations experienced by the men. These children would be taken into the regiment and could be taught a trade such as armourer, cobbler or tailor. They couls also be recruits for the regiment in the future.

Illustrations include all the above professions and the text includes the military regulations which governed these followers. The illustrations make me think of the Stephen Andrew illustrations in the German Army of WW II series, in that all the figures look very similiar, if not identical.

The illustrations are however very helpful for ideas of colours and styles to paint the figures that are now available from companies like Eureka and Warlord.

I have always been interested in the American Revolutionary War and this is the start of a hopefully extensive series on the German mercenaries involved in the conflict. The uniforms give a continuing feeling of  the uniform fashions of previous wars. 

One thing I noticed in this edition is that the normally black and white pictures that are at the side of the text are all in colour here. This is a welcome change and helps the painter no end.

Another addition for the AWI period and this covers the changes in the tactics on the battlefield and the uniform worn by the troops. This books has some nice illustrations including not only the painting we have come to expect from Osprey but also a few photographs of re enactors as well.

I first came across this unit in the first book I ever purchased on Napoleonic uniforms. The Blandford book on 'Uniforms of Waterloo' is very well thumbed through and was bought from the wargames shop on Elm Hill in Norwich in the 70's when they had just opened. I was then learning about Napoleonic uniform for the first time and that book was a useful introduction to the subject if a bit misleading for the beginner. 

This is well illustrated by Patrice Courcelle, whom I met at the small market at the 201st anniversary of Waterloo, in the museum on the battlefield. The unit was very colourful but rather shorter lived than many of the units in the French Army.

All the above came from Paul Meekins books. I have ordered books from Paul, and visited his stall,(Salute & War & Peace Show), for over a decade now and I have always found him very helpful with a comprehensive knowledge of what is available. In the past I have e mailled him with a list of either 'wants' or an idea of the information I needed for an planned project. He has always given me a list of good alternatives.

His website is here.

'No Surrender' Coltishall Cowards Club Magazine

Hello There. In the 1990's I was a member of the Coltishall Cowards Wargames Club. They had a bi monthly club magazine which was very popular and was edited for a while by Nigel H. I found this copy in the loft while searching for some other wargames paraphernalia.

This was from January 95 and had 48 A5 pages and showed that it was a very vibrant club at the time. Full of campaign information and games held at the club. I noticed this issue was the one where I advertised a visit to Ian Weekleys house to view his latest projects and buildings he was making. Ian, now sadly departed, was a great supporter of the club.

Here is an American War of Independence campaign and battle report. Illustrated by John P, an accomplished artist, who was also taking part in the campaign. One episode I remember was after John read about an AWI battle where the commander of a British unit ordered his troops to remove their flint from their muskets to encourage them to close with the enemy more quickly he then did this with every attack he made from then on! 'No Flints Parke' became a common sobriquet for him from then on!

Here is on of my first attempts of writing features! I had been in the Falkland Islands for 4 months and had visited all the battlefield sites. I wonder if anyone has any more issues of this magazine as I would like to see the other features in this series.

American War of Independence Fictitious Game

Hello There! I managed to make a game at the New Buckenham Historical Wargamers. Chris put on a fictitious American War of Independence game using his collection of 28mm figures. This is a collection which has been growing for over twenty years.

This is the southern part of the table which has the ford which will be assaulted by the British. You can just see the bridge which will be assaulted by the Germans.  

Just behind the American line are reinforcements led by Washington which includes the U S Marines

The British forces should have been given extra morale as they could see how one of the American prisoners had been treated.

The game was resplendent with 'Fluff' as it is called. Here is but a small example.

The British forces advancing to the front towards the ford held a steady line and showed no sign of wavering...yet.

Here is an example of the buildings on the board. I am not sure of which supplier but it looks like an offering from Hovels to me.

Many locals decided to make off where it was safer.

This is the American attack on the bridge being crossed by the Germans. On the first move the Americans attacked the bridge in the hope of stopping and clogging up the enemy advance on the bridge. This worked at first but the superior training of the Germans told and eventually the Americans were driven off.  

Washington and the U S Marines made quick progress along the road but had to make a change of front later as the sneaky British under Cornwallis appeared to their flank!

Here is the Fight on the Bridge. The Germans, (Hessians?), slowly forced the Americans back. Two of the four Americans units were Raw Militia one of whom refused to do anything except to run away, (which was expected), and the other marched to the assistance of the Marines on the flank.  

This is the British flank attack which soon closed in on the American reinforcements.

Here the fight for the bridge continues as the German forces form a bridgehead and push out.

The British made it across the ford and after some refusals to close with the enemy, (some rather effective artillery and musket fire for the rebels), they closed and drove off some of the Americans leaving the flank open on the other units.

This was the final result of the bridge crossing.

Here are the last views of the British flank attack before the game ended.

The objective for the Americans was to slow the British and give them a bloody nose. They managed this but their losses were also high.

The rules used were a (very) modified set of Bruce Quarries Napoleonic rules but you would not know. These were written in the mid '90's and have provided many entertaining games. 

Further photos can be found on the club facebook page here