Mexican Cazadores, Burgundian Crossbowmen and Scottish Trollbloodz, oh my...



Mexican Cazadores:  Finally a match for my son's Tennessee Riflemen

 

Finally competed my Mexican Cazadores.  These are actually Perry's Carlist Wars British Riflemen.  As luck might have it, Santa Anna had been importing weapons, accoutrements, and equipment from England for years (and I think these molds are far better than Old Glory's Alamo series).

Santa Maria!
I hope los piratas Americanas never see the backs of these Cazadores...

On the bench are the last of a box of Perry Plastics European Mercenaries.  These will be Burgundian Crossbowmen.  You'll note that I had to make new sleeves from Milliput on several of these guys as the sleeves I had left over didn't match the torsos.  I'm not sure whether I'm going to pick up another box and make a Swiss infantry army or start making my own Renaissance-era artillery. 




Burgundians awaiting bases.

Picked up a copy of Medieval Warfare this month (all about Charles the Bold and how the Burundian Wars tied to the Wars of the Roses and the many invasions of France by England). It's actually a back-issue from earlier in the summer... might have to start subscribing to this one.

 Charles had the most advanced horse artillery in Europe (second half of the 1400's) and it comprised a significant portion of his field armies.  Sadly, he wasn't much for assessing risk, cutting his losses, or determining critical vulnerabilities to exploit.  It seems he was an excellent administrator, an impetuous knight, but not a great tactician.

Swordsmen and lumbering brutes from Clan McHaggus.

Also on the bench are Trollbloodz Swordsmen and brutes.  The game (Hordes/Warmachine) is by Privateer Press which is a competitor of the Warhammer/40K line.  I don't often do fantasy wargaming, but when I do, it's because my sons want to play it.  What is a father to do?  In any event, these are nice models-both plastics and lead (if prohibitively expensive) and I did a lot of modeling to create a little diversity.  Gave one a pole for a standard (I'm thinking light blue with white bones in a St. Andrew's Cross), added hair to most, new helmets, tam-o-shanters (with left-over feathers from the Burgundians) , replaced the hammer with a cudgel and spike for the unit leader, and added tartan plaids and brooches on all.  The game appears to be played with cards and dice, so against my better judgment here I go... another unfinished army.

Skirmish at Jackson's Tavern: Texas Revolution Battle Report

Mexican Cavalry column flanks the town, but not without taking fire from

Crockett's Tennesseeans.

                What's the best thing a historical wargamer can hear?  "Dad, can we play that game with the soldiers and the buildings?"  The answer, "Thank you God, they want to do something that doesn't involve the Wii!"  Enter the fictitious battle of Jackson's Tavern: 1835.   Small engagements took place across the border throughout the life span of the Republic, but...my son loves to play with his Davy Crockett figure (Probably has to do with the fact that his modifiers make him almost god-like).  This game was based off a watered down (for 7 and 11 year olds) version of a set of rules I had been writing...but actually, the watered down rules play far better. (With simple morale checks, such as if you lose 25% of a unit it must fall back by one movement (5 inches for Infantry).

Mexican standoff at Jackson's Tavern.

       The Texian forces consisted of a company of Tenneseeans under Col Crockett, Texian milita, two 6 pdr cannon and one General.  Points would be awarded for the capturing of standards, Generals and Cannon.  The Mexicans consisted of two companies of infantry, a squadron of light dragoons and one General.

Mexican advance on the hamlet of  Jackson's Tavern

        My sons each commanded a wing of the Texian army and my plan was to attack their front with my infantry, while the cavalry squadron rolled up the flank and seized the artillery.  Sadly, my 7-year old made excellent initiative rolls and I made poor troop quality rolls (roll 1d6 to determine troop reliability:  militia, regular, or veteran).

Mexican center company takes fire, but assault's Jackson's Tavern, where

Crockett's Tenneseeans are barricaded.

    The center company assaulted the tavern, where Crockett's Tenneseeans were barricaded.  Four Mexicans were dropped by rifle fire outside the tavern, but still managed to make it inside.  Having killed him a bear at the age of three, David and his comrades were able to push the Mexicans back outside and the had to hand combat resulted in the rout of my center company.

Interior of Jackson's Tavern.  The soldados enter, but only one comes out.

            Meanwhile, my right flank moved on the Texian left, avoiding any serious hits from the 6 pdr battery, for the moment.  The shifted from company into line and assaulted the Texians at the stone wall.

Mexican Company in column.

         They quickly pushed back the militia from the wall to the dog trot cabin and took up a firing position at the stone wall. 

The Mexican company looking into the muzzles of two 6 pdrs of Los Piratas.

 
      We traded shots between the Dog Trot and the stone wall and then my dragoons appeared on the right flank of the Texian battery.  While their ranks were thinned by acurate rifle fire, courtesy of the "Gentlemen from the Cane Break", they still posed a problem for the exposed battery.   Unfortunately, the Tavern was no longer threatened by the Mexican infantry and my eldest son had the presence of mind to pivot his gun towards the squadron and deploy his Tennesseeans on their flank.

All that remains of the Mexican Dragoons after grape shot and flanking

fire from Crockett's company.

         The dragoons disappeared in a cloud of grapeshot and rifle balls and only four emerged to charge into the guns.  This, not before the left gun belched flame into my company at the stone wall, and the Texian Militia charged from the dog trot cabin.  The result was yet another broken unit.

         

The broken company retreats with the colors.

           My ragged dragoons and decimated companies were forced to straggle back, having lost and infantry standard and a cavalry pennant, not to mention my general with the Mexican reserve (who was unhorsed on an abortive counter-attack.  So, simpler is better regarding the rules.  The boys get bored if there are too many morale checks or modifiers.  We kept it simple with modifiers based on troop quality and "heroic characters", like Colonel Crockett.  All in all, a great game, I like losing as long as I'm playing with my boys.

Morale Modifiers, Worth the trouble?

Mexican Light Cavalry charge Crockett's Tennesseeans, who have taken

cover in broken ground...not a smart move given the even odds and cover.

      In the most recent issue of Wargames:  Soldier and Strategy, veteran wargamer and rules-writer, Richard Clarke discusses the evolution of trends in table-top gaming.  One of the examples he gives is morale modifiers and how the can change and slow down game-play.  Writes Clarke,

     "One of the worst examples...was a morale system which I encountered some years ago...To initiate my charge I had to take a morale test, I passed so then moved forward.  My opponent fired, so then I took another morale test to see if I could charge home.  I did.  So he now took a morale test to see if he stood.  He did, we fought, it was relatively inconclusive, so we both took a morale test to see what we did.  Five morale tests for one combat was, to my mind, daft, but worse, it served to totally remove us from any sense of an inspiring charge with l'arme blanche into the teeth of blazing muskets.  There was no heroism to be found there, only a succession of mundane mathematical calculations."[1]

The lancers make the morale role to charge, but their movement in restricted.  

The Tenneseeans' morale benefits from their easily defensible position and stand.

      Clarke brings up a good point.  Morale modifiers, cover modifiers, etc. and the caluclations they involve can turn a fun day for a young (pre-teen) general into a boring and anticlimactic one.  This was certainly demonstrated by a rule book I wrote for my son and I to wargame the Texian revolution and the indian wars and border raids of the early Republic period.

      The light cavalry unit would make a 2x D-6 morale role to charge the irregulars in cover within the rock formation.  Morale Modefiers (percentage of unit wounded/killed, leaders killed, cover, experience/discipline, etc.) will effect the outcome of the roll of the dice and consequently the outcome of the charge/melee combat.

      Crockett's Tenneseeans did take one casualty during the charge, but stand with his leadership MM and their cover MM.  The light cavalry fall back having taken two casualties.

The lancers take two casualties and fail their morale role.  Three morale rolls in one

assault.  This exemplifies what Clarke is addressing in his recent article.

    Clarke's point is to get the gamer to focus on command and the tactical situation, rather than have to worry about the technicalities and intricacies of the "rules".  Any ideas on a happy medium?  To paraphrase Clauswitz, Friction is constant in war...but how to retain friction and keep game play close to real time?

[1] Clarke, Richard.  "Up front", Wargames: Soldiers and Strategy, Issue 63, Karwansaray BV, Rotterdam, Netherlands, p.75.

What I'm working on...

Batallion Matamoros and Light Cavalry charge the 1st Battalion,
Republic of Texas Regulars and a Six Pounder.

    Unfortunately, not much painting over the holidays.  In-laws in town for two weeks.  I did manage to complete my Texian artillery battery...well they still need flocking too.

The Two Sisters

    The figures are 28mm (hence the blog title) Old Glory and the cannon I picked up loose at the 2012 Historicon.  I've been focusing on modeling and playing the Texas Revolution (1835-6).  It fits my likes for small tactical gaming.

     I've completed the skirmish and battalion rules for the game my sons and I play (Savage Frontier: 1835), but still need to complete the scenario diagrams and photographs.
     My projects in varying states of completion are:

                  1) Parker's Fort:  Gate house (Dogtrot Cabin-See photos above), Cabin, Blockhouse, Palisades, Blacksmith shop (incomplete).
                  2) Presidio La Bahia:  East gate house is the only thing complete.  Still need to complete barracks, chapel, officer's quarters, walls and two bastions.
                  3) Tres Villas Battalion:  Mexican Reserve Unit-Needs command.  Foot soldiers are a mixture of Old Glory and converted Regimental Honours Austrians (a little putty, knife work and filing).
                  4) Mexican Light Cavalry:  Need to complete officer, standard bearer and bugler. (Old Glory)
                  5) War of 1812 Sailors (New Line Napoleonics)
                  6) Texas Rangers Mounted (Converted from some Ohio Mounted Rifles from the flea market at Historicon.
                  7) Sauk y Fox Indians (I put some Conquest minis in my stocking)
                  8) 2x Boxes of Saxon Warbands: Perry Plastic.  Bought these while on a business trip to Honolulu last year...still not painted.  This is dangerous because this is a different time period...This is one of the symptoms of "Lead Poisoning".