Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Battle of Offenbach Falls

I rolled for initiative each turn, for the 2 sides, not for each force. As it turned out the Batrachians got the initiative for the first few turns. As the battle commenced and the Batrachian forces started closing in von Blunder decided to try and fight his way through the force he had originally been chasing. So rather than trying to change facing he continued on his original course.
Lumiere, commanding the force seen in the upper right of the picture, sent his cavalry ahead, with the infantry and artillery left to catch up as fast as it could.
Meanwhile, Soleau, commanding the force in the lower right of the picture spread out his infantry into a line and started moving them forward.
And de Siècle kept his forces together even though that would mean the cavalry would arrive later than if they forged ahead on their own.
The Soweiter artillery (the Offenbach cannon under Pachelbel) commenced fire at the Poupon Dragoons, who were accompanied by Lumiere, and caused a few casualties. The Mayeux Musketeers fired off a desultory first volley at the Dragoons, also causing minor casualties. The combined casualties were enough to cause the Dragoons to pull back.
The Poupon Dragoons rally. Meanwhile, the Cuirassiers Royale charge the Ballyfoole Dragoons. The resulting melee was indecisive with minor casualties on both sides.
The Fuselli Fusiliers and the Offenbach cannon fire at the returning Poupon Dragoons, destroying them as a fighting force in this battle. The Mayeux Musketeers fire at the approaching King's Musketeers, to little effect. The melee between the Cuirassiers Royale and the Ballyfoole Dragoons continues, with mounting casualties. Both sides pull back. The Jingleheimer-Schwartz Cavalry charge the Royal Batrachian Artillery, inflicting heavy casualties and causing the rest of the crew to flee.
Finally von Blunder manages to to seize the initiative. The Ballyfoole Dragoons charge the Cuirassiers Royale and inflict more casualties. The Mayeux Musketeers charge the King's Musketeers, giving better than they receive. The Jingleheimer-Schwartz sweep around to the rear of the Batrachian force. The Fuselli Fusiliers charge into the flank of the King's Musketeers, inflicting further heavy losses and putting Lumiere out of action (is he dead?). The Offenbach artillery limbers up to move off, with the Saxe-Urquhart Gunderland Highlanders close behind.
Of course, while this is all going on the other 2 Batrachian forces continue to close in.
The melee between the Cuirassiers Royale and the Ballyfoole Dragoons continues. The infantry melee between the Mayeux Musketeers and the Fuselli Fusiliers on one side and the King's Musketeers ends with the destruction of the King's Musketeers. The Hesse-Pfeffernusse Pfreikorps charge into the flank of the Cuirassiers Royale, inflicting more casualties. The few remaining Cuirassiers have had enough and flee. The Jingleheimer-Schwartz Cavalry charge the Queen's Musketeers in the rear, inflicting some casualties.
By now the Garde N'est Pas have approached close enough to fire a volley at the Highlanders, inflicting a few casualties. Then the Wild Goose Chasseurs charge the Highlanders, inflicting even more casualties. In spite of heavy losses the Highlanders hold.
The remaining Ballyfoole Dragoons charge the Queen's Musketeers from the front. The Mayeux Musketeers hit the Queen's Musketeers in the flank, and the Jingleheimer-Schwartz Cavalry continue to attack from the rear. In spite of being hit from 3 sides and suffering heavy losses the Queen's Musketeers hold on. The Hesse-Pfeffernusse Pfreikorps escape to the north, off the field of battle. The Offenbach Artillery and the Fuselli Fusiliers head in that direction as well. The Highlanders hold off the Wild Goose Chasseurs and the Garde N'est Pas who have charged them in the flank, with no casualties on either side.
The Highlanders fight on, but the combined weight of the Wild Goose Chasseurs and the Garde N'est Pas are too much and the Highlanders are destroyed. Did that buy enough time for the other units in the Soweiter force?
The Queen's Musketeers finish off the last of the Ballyfoole Dragoons, but are in turn wiped out by the combined efforts of the Jingleheimer-Schwartz Cavalry and the Mayeux Musketeers. The Offenbach Artillery and the Fuselli Fusiliers make it off the field of battle

The Musketeers L'Ouef fire off a parting shot at the retreating Jingleheimer-Schwartz Cavalry, inflicting minor casualties. The Mayeux Musketeers and the Jingleheimer-Schwartz Cavalry follow their fellows off the field of battle.

Final result:
Soweiter League losses (Batrachian losses don't figure into deciding victory in this scenario) are 9 infantry out of a total of 32, and 7 cavalry out of a total of 12, with no losses to the artillery crew. For a total loss of about 1/3 of von Blunder's forces. He needed to escape with 80% (or about 38 or 39 of his total of 48 figures) to achieve victory. But the Batrachians needed to destroy or capture 60% (or about 32 or 33 figures). So neither side achieved a clear victory.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

The Game is Afoot!

A clear summer's morning near Offenbach Falls and the game is afoot.
A Soweiter force lead by the capable (or is that culpable?) General von Blunder has chased a smaller Batrachian force into a corner.
The Soweiter units:
  • The Jingleheimer-Schwartz Cavalry
  • The Ballyfoole Dragoons
  • The Mayeux Musketeers
  • The Hesse-Pfeffernusse Pfreikorps
  • The Santa Sofia Fuselli Fusilieri
  • The Saxe-Urquhart Gunderland Highlanders
  • The Offenbach Artillery, Pachelbel's Cannon
The Batrachian units, commanded by the illustrious General Lumière:
  • The Cuirassiers Royale
  • The Poupon Dragoons
  • The King's Musketeers 2
  • The Queen's Musketeers 2
  • Royal Artillery 3



But wait! There's more! Another body of Batrachian troops appears to the southeast.
Commanded by the ambitious General Soleau:
  • The Musketeers L'Ouef
  • The Paprikash Pandours
  • The Pandours du Pinque
  • Royal Artillery 2

And that's not all! A third body of Batrachian troops appears to the southwest!
Commanded by the venerable General de Siècle:
  • The Wild Goose Chasseurs
  • The Garde N'est Pas
  • The Pandours St. Serif

Trapped like rabbits in a snare!
Or are they? Maybe von Blunder and the Soweiter forces can take a cue from the local fauna and ... runaway!

to be continued...

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Dragoons and Standards

This week we have the Ballyfoole Dragoons, commanded by Col. Seamus O'Malley the elder, father of the younger Seamus O'Malley currently serving with the Frundsberg Freihusaren (see Frundsberg Frei Stadt for more on that).
These are Foundry figures. I thought the guy with the helmet was quite fitting for a Celtic unit, probably some family heirloom. I added the "pistol" (or carbine?) to the officer on the left of the picture), just to "spice" things up a bit more. It's from a sprue of pistols that came with the old GW Long Drong dwarf pirates "regiment".

Meanwhile, somewhere in the wilds of the North-by-Northwest Frontier...
More Foundry figures.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

ImagiNations and Names

I have some more miniatures finished, but my camera batteries are still charging, so I hope to have pictures to post tomorrow.

In the meantime, I've been "noodling" about names and ImagiNations. A good name can make quite a difference, methinks. And there are quite a few good ones out there among the ImagiNations. I like the names I have for my individual states, but I've had a difficult time coming up with one for the union of Ballyfoole, Grand Thidwick, and Gunderland. Some of the many I've played around with: Regalia, Newfanglia, Avalonia, Arboria, Britannica, even Freedonia (which I could see as a variation on Prydain/Britannia). But none of those or others really quite clicked with me. Then I thought of "Oorland" - as in "it's oor land; it belongs to us, and we belong to it." Has kind of a ring to it, doesn't it?
So I did a Google search and came across this poem by Charles Nicole (b. 1858, near Glasgow), in praise of Scottish lasses:
Scottish Lasses


I'm fain tae sing a canty sang,
  In praise o' Scottish lasses,
For weel I ken in a' oor land
  There's naething them surpasses.
They are the queens to cheer ye up
  When ye are dour an' sad,
An' weel they ken hoo tae come roon'
  Each blythesome Scottish lad.

Hoo sweet it is at gloamin' grey
  Tae meet yer lassie fair,
Then wander tae some sheltered spot,
  An' tell yer love tales there.
You feel enraptured while ye sit-
  Hoo swiftly then time passes!
But that jist lets ye ken the charm
  In blythesome Scottish lasses.

Fu' aft we feel that we could be
  For ever by their side,
For wi' their artless, winning smiles,
  They fill yer heart wi' pride.
They mak' ye blythe when ye are wae,
  They are sae fu' o' glee
And oh! 'tis sweet beyond compare
  Their ruby lips tae pree.

Sae let us tune oor hamely lyre,
  An' ance mair let it be
In praise o' ilka Scottish lass
  That treads oor land sae free;
For what is life tae ony man-
  E'en ane wha wealth amasses-
Unless he shares it wi' ane o'
  Oor blythesome Scottish lasses?

What do you think?