Monday 23 October 2017

General D'Armee 1815 battle at the NWS

Rifles advance and reform to the left as the French move on.


After much procrastination and even more busy work schedules the planets aligned for Cookie and I to take our Napoleonic's out of the box and give Dave Browns excellent new set of rules "General D'Armee" a run at the club.


The battle was to be a simple four brigades a side of roughly equivalent style forces so that we could see how well we could get our heads around the innovative command and control system.


Fighting on a 12 x 6 which was also a chance to try out my 13 x 7 cloth from Deep Cut Studios

First British Brigade

Dutch Belgians in reserve situated in the centre

The game requires ADC's to be sent to respective commands to help with orders.

British KGL Light Dragoons

Second British brigade of foot

French line lancer brigade


British light cavalry manoeuvre to meet the advancing enemy

The hamlet is quickly taken by the advancing troops

Lovely Perry plastics and metals combined to give a dynamic battalion

Skirmishers...um...er...skirmish over the fields.

Garrison formed - disordered turn 1 and then ready to rumble after that.

In they go on the British right flank

The French elect to form line and use their guns to try and inflict some damage however Phil
did not elect to use "Artillery Assault" due to a shortage of available adc's.





The British attempt an enveloping action on the flank

Another view as the rifles look to make a difference.  They didn't!

We mucked up the results of the melee and used the withdrawal of the beaten unit and supports
using the "Charge" section and not "Melee".  We will get better.

The mat looks quite good in my opinion.



The Brigade Commander looks to make a difference.

Great job on these guns from Cookie.

The cotton wool (borrowed from an adjoining 15mm game hence the smaller nature of the fibre!) is
used to denote a unit which has lost fire discipline and is no longer as effective as they could
be.  A great innovation designed to stop speculative fire which can waste time in any wargame.

A nice view of the figures on display

The KGL light cavalry get roughly handled by the lancers upon their return engagement.

The veteran leger regiment on the French left receives withering superior volleys from the British lines.




We had a wonderful time of it and have learnt a good deal on the rules and how and where we went wrong, which was surprisingly in only a few areas.  The system is a great one and certainly will be the set of choice for me going forward.


All I need to do now is mount some adc's on oval bases and some skirmishers on the same in small groups of three.

38 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you very much - still need to get my head around these excellent rules.

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  2. Carlo looks excellent and very very happy to hear how the rules went. I am yet to play but I am hoping they will be my holy grail.

    The mat looks excellent - presume you are happy with it?

    Richard

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    1. Thanks Richard. Yes the mat is perfect, I simply need to build and make up some more different ground coverings/crops etc to break it up a bit.

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  3. Superb looking game all round. This rule set is destined to become a classic, so full of nuance. I've played a couple solo to be able to take the time to pick through the rules. I do appreciate is how easy it is to look things up in the contents. Still, you find things you've missed during subsequent readings. I leave them on the coffee table and randomly read a page when I have a few minutes to kill. Hope to see more AAR's from you in the not too distant future. And the mat looks great too.

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    1. Absolutely correct John - there are many subtle variations that we discovered after our playing. Thankfully it is a rule system so well supported by Dave Brown.

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  4. Lovely looking figures, love the cabbage patch, the mat looks great and how nice to have an excuse to paint lots of colourful ADCs!
    Best Iain

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    1. Cheers and thanks Iain. Yes those adc's. certainly look spectacular on the table.

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  5. Very nicely done. I like the overall look with the mat and your terrain. The troops are quite wonderful as well. Looks like you were happy with the rules. Looking forward to seeing more battle reports.

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    1. Thanks P - hopefully in the next few weeks.

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  6. Wow! Fine looking game, you have! I agree with others before that your terrain mat is terrific.

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    1. Thanks Jonathon - that mat certainly beats the pants out of dragging all those terrain tiles to the club every time we have a games day!

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  7. Your game looks great, and if the rules are also great, that means you had a great time!
    I recently bought the rules also, but am still in the painting proces (almost 3 brigades done now).

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    1. Keep up the work Wim as the rules are great fun.

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  8. Thank you for this enjoyable trial of a new rule set. From the look of the unit sizes they would suit Kevin, I'll have to suggest he takes a look. The mat is very effective and of course your armies are superb - love the lancers in particular. Chris http://notjustoldschool.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. Thank you very much Chris - great compliment considering the work yourself and Kevin of putting on such superb battles.

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  9. A great battle, Carlo! Looks great!

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    1. Thankyou very much Sergiuss - greatly appreciated.

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  10. What a wonderful report, beautiful troops and terrain (love the hamlet) on a great mat!

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    1. Thankyou Phil and greatly appreciat3 the visit.

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  11. A great looking battle, Carlo, and it is always interesting to see trials of new rules. You obviously had the mat made custom to allow the 6" overhand on all edges of a 6 x `12 foot table. I agree a few more fields etc to break up the (? grasslands?) pattern will enhance the look still more.

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    1. Cheers Peter and yes, it is a great mat but does need “breaking up” colour wise etc.

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  12. Carlo, I was so taken by your mat that I went off to the Deep Cut store and have a few questions. Have you got the cloth or the mousepad version? Any views now that you have on whether the other would have been worthwhile? Looks like the "plains" version - is that correct?
    Thanks
    Richard

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    1. Hi Richard - the mat is a cloth version and is 13 x 7 so that I could cover the entire table and place hills underneath if needed however I want to paint some hills to sit on top of the table and match in with the print.

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  13. Hi Carlo. I am pleased to hear positive feedback for the ruleset. I recently watched the 8 short videos explaining the system, and then got the chance to browse the full rules.I am really looking forward to having a first try, and seeing your great report will spur me on. Great report as usual. Looking forward also to the next Sudan update. Cheers

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    1. Great rule set Andy and you and yours will enjoy it immensely. Just updated the Sudan blog with a quick post.

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  14. Four brigades a side on a 12 x 6 table in 28mm Napoleonic's, with lovely painted figures, what's not to like. Another superb collection Carlo.
    Cheers,
    Pat.

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    1. Cheers Pat - greatly appreciated mate and now all the table needs are some of your lovely fields!

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  15. Hello Carlo

    Your game looks "pretty as a peach" ... as usual! 8O)

    I'm glad to hear that the rules worked for you. We're both at a game each with them so many more learnings to come for both of us I suspect.

    I observed your new Deep Cut Studious game cloth with much interest. The design with the rocks etc seemed to work much better than I would've thought. And I was surprised that you got a 13 * 7 foot version. Something to think on as my cloths continue to deteriorate.

    Salute
    von Peter himself

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    1. Thank you Peter - always appreciate your very kid comments mate.

      The rules I think work tremendously well and I am very keen to get a few more games going pretty soon. I am busy rebasing adc's and skirmisher bases at present on oval "Warbase" groups of three.

      I love the Deep Cut Cloth and really think it looks good on the field. I will need to make up a few more fields and terrain bits such as hills etc. that marry up with the cloth colour.

      The 13 x 7 is absolutely perfect for our 12 x 6 table games.

      Cheers mate.

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  16. Looks very good Carlo! Thanks for the report! :)

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    1. Thank you Mark - it had been too long since I had gotten the Napoleonics out so we had a great time.

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  17. Good looking game, I think our club intends trying out these rules in the new year. I also have that game mat, looks a lot better in the flesh than in photos I've found, and it looks ok in photos.

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    1. You will really enjoy them Anthony as they are a great set of rules. The mat is fantastic!

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  18. Hi Carlo, Great to see this report with the terrific looking figures plus the new addition of a great game cloth and new rules! Your experience prompted me to purchase a set of the rules. Saw the videos which made the action appear clear and simple. Now delving into the print version it appears a bit more complex. Hey, rulesets always look complicated to me when printed, it's only when they are gamed that the simplicity shines through! Looking forward to my experience with them after our part 2 of Quatre Bras- so it'll have to wait till after April! . Great to see your lovely pics Carlo - keep them coming!!!! Hope your next test proves an even better experience. All the best. Kevin

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    1. Kevin you will love these rules. Once yourself and Chris get the figures on the table and work through the rules you will find them very enjoyable and with many lovely subtle touches. They will be perefect for your Quatre Bras relight.

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