Thursday 9 February 2023

Austrians take on the Italians in another GDA2 battle

You have to fly the colours when you take on the Italians with
The White Menace” aka The Hapsburgs!


The play testing of Dave Browns much anticipated General D’Armee 2 continues on at the mighty Napoleonic Wargaming Society as Richard and I took on each other in a fictional 1809 battle.  Playing with a Division a side along with some cavalry brigades, the game was certainly afoot early. 

We certainly are enjoying the tremendous changes that Dr Brown has made. The Corps and Divisional changes gave added a superb layer of overall friction that ensures the choices of command are difficult and frequent.

Hesitant was an often drawn marker in the early stages for the Austrians 

Lovely Austrian Hussars, the archetypal light cavalrymen of the era, look to take an early advantage 

These lads just don’t seem to do all that well anytime they take the field. Tonight? Situation normal 

My Divisional Commander, General Carlo Von Terrible, is as I expected, a blusterer 

The Northern Italians advance their Chasseurs and Dragoons supported by Gardes D’Honour and
the Dragoons Regina.

The initial deployment saw the Italians spread on what prove too great a frontage. The Austrian plan was to keep the left flank uneventful and push hard on the right with both cavalry brigades and the Grenadier Brigade punching through the centre.

The Austrians advance towards the Italians on the hill and woods. The brigade skirmish screen
would be very toughly handled by the enemy however Von Terrible managed to recall them 
before disaster truly forced a dispersal.

My horse artillery does have a tendency to get into predicaments. Having gone low on ammunition
 due  to a double 1 roll I sent over a caisson to supply. No firing for a turn. Guess who got
charged by a lot of nasty, angry Italians with many border grudges and disputes to discuss

Another angle of the “Trieste Summit”. The result was a total dispersal of the artillery 
and a Faltering of the brigade. Fortunately they would roll well and the cavalry would survive.
This would prove vital a few turns down the track.

Did I mention I couldn’t even fire in defence of the battery??

On the Austrian left the going is tough for the Italians as the Austrian defence is solid and effective

I do like the converted Impetus arc tool that has been given the treatment

Things did get quite interesting and hence the failure yo take done more photos. The Austrians managed to keep the Northern Italians in check and punch through the lines whilst also countering the attack on their own defensive positions on the left. A great gun game.
 

Friday 3 February 2023

ACW action at Marty’s

Great looking table put together by Young Martin

Just for a nice change over the holidays a few of us got together to play a great Black Powder game of American Civil War at Marty’s. It was wonderful to see my old High School Chum Paul fighting his Union lads.  In cohorts with Paul was that Ol’ Bluebelly Steve.  Marty and I took them on with the mighty Reb’s. I’m not going to caption every photo other than to say it was enormous fun.