Another Late Night 2mm Wargame

Once again I woke up in the middle of the night. I thought of my 2mm games and Horse & Musket 2.0 rules.  I started thinking of different ways to deploy the armies, based on the results of the last game.  It was worth getting up and trying a couple of ideas. 
The red army grouped the arillery into two batteries and the cavalry  was grouped towards the center.

The blue army spread across the entire army, with their cavalry grouped on both wings.

Both armies moved their artillery forward to bring their artillery into action.

In this game, the early part of the game was maneuvering units and artillery trying to find weak spots in the opponents line.

Eventually the blue cavalry on the left charged forward and pushed back the red army's rightmost units. This action started both armies battling in earnest.

Eventually the blue army pushed back the red army. The red army could have continued the battle. While the blue army had more units, they were spread out. However, the blue army still had all their artillery and they could have held back any attack by the red army. The red army chose to retreat.

I have really enjoyed the last couple of games. I've been thinking through the moves ( unlike my "No Brain Wargames!) and want to do more work  on the 2mm armies. And while I haven't used any terrain features, I also thought that people will spend a lifetime playing Chess, and still be engrossed with the game. 

 

Midnight 2mm Wargame

A few nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep.   I got up and set up a wargame, using Chris Salander's Horse & Musket 2.0 rules. In this game some units were mixed arms. I also played the rules as written (mostly), trying not to use my own house rules.

In this game some interesting  (to me) events happened. In this particular photo 2 red cavalry (the unit marked by white dice) attacked a unit of 2 blue artillery.

The red cavalry gets to roll 4 dice. They kill one of the artillery units, and force the other to retreat 2 spaces. The artillery retreats to it's baseline, where there is one infantry unit. Next to the baseline where the artillery retreated can be seen 2 wagons; to capture the wagons and hold them one complete turn is the objective of both sides. However, as the rules are written, an infantry stand must be present to win the victory.

Next move the red cavalry (marked by the red dice) charges through the gap and attacks the blue infantry and artillery...

...and eliminates both units. The next move the red cavalry could attack the wagons, but would still need an infantry unit to come up to secure the victory.

A strong force of 3 cavalry and 1 infantry (the lower black dice) hits the red cavalry 's flank. Unfortunately for the blue, out of 7 dice thrown, not one kill or retreat result comes up!

On the red's next move I did something I rarely do during games; I had the red cavalry retreat, so it wouldn't be cut off in the next blue move.

In the end, the blue army got the better of the red army, and closed in on the red's headquarters (represented by the wagons). 

The red army at this point decides to retreat and live to fight another day. 
I found that by mixing the units up instead of grouping them by arms,  made for a more exciting game. In this game artillery actually played a more decisive roll than in previous games. One blue artillery piece was a thorn in the side of the red army. It was finally eliminated, but the red army was distracted by it and misused units trying to eliminate it.

The armies were returned to their cigar box. Hopefully they will see action again soon.
(By the way, this report is being written in the middle of the night. Once again I couldn't sleep!)

 

Age of Sail Basic Battles Game

I finally played a game using Grey Army Gaming "Basic Battles" rules and old "Broadsides" sailing ships.

The game uses 20D dice for combat resolution.

The game turned out particularly violent; either side could have won the battle. During the game it was back and forth who would win the battle. In the end the Red fleet managed to sink the last blue ship.

Gallia Miniatures.

 After enjoying painting my Falcon Civil War figures, it has me rethinking my figures. I came across Gallia Miniatures that I have. They are stumpy figures with oversized heads. They are figures I had forgot I bought. The figures are easy to paint, and hopefully could get to the wargame table before I lose interest.

"New" 15mm Frontier Miniatures

I recently won 14 packages of Frontier. French & Indians War and American Revolutionary War miniatures. For now they have been set aside while I continue to paint my Falcon ACW figures. I am kicking myself for throwing away my last Modelers Mart catalog while cleaning my basement last year. I saved it for reference and Modelers Mart produced Frontier Miniatures at that time.

 

More Info on Falcon ACW Figures

One reason I like Falcon Miniatures is their early war Militia figure. Most makers of ACW figures will do Zouave figures, but rarely cover Militia uniforms. One company that does do militia units is Freikorps. I have ordered many of their figures. I find them on the small side, and are difficult for me to paint..
The other day I was working in the basement and came across some MWAN digests. The first one I opened had an ad for Falcon ACW. This ad was for the usual Civil War figures. I did start going through more of them and found under the heading " Bits and Pieces"  that the magazine received a 4 page listing of the 15mm ACW line.  In it it had listing for " the 79th NY, militia, Iron Brigade, zouaves, Garabaldis, colored troops, Berden's, and many other regular figures". They also mention sappers!  
This article has set me on my next hunt for figures. So far I've had little luck online, but the hunt is half the fun.

Falcon Miniatures Civil War Game

I finally got a game played using my Falcon ACW units. I used Chris Salander's Horse & Musket 2.0 for rules. The photo above shows when the Confederates suffered a severe blow, losing their last strong unit, which broke their resistance.  One reason I have been enjoying this project is painting the different units in early Civil War militia uniforms, so each unit is easily identified. By the way, the unit in the upper right with sky blue uniforms is based on the 1st Massachusetts. Being from Massachusetts, I had to paint at least one unit from the state. I was hoping for greater things from them; although at the end they made the Confederates in front of them retreat.

 

Painted Falcon Civil War Units

It's been a while since I have got this much painting done. Eight- 4 man units. I've been enjoying painting these figures. Instead of the usual Union blue and Confederate grey uniforms, these units are being painted using early war uniforms, which makes  each unit easier to identify. On their bases they are marked A,B,C, and D. This is so if I use them in skirmish games, I can keep track of wounds on the figures.

 

Painting Inspiration

Recently I have painted up some Falcon Miniatures 15mm Civil War figures. It's been a while since this many figures have been painted. While camping this week I was trying to figure out why I've been enjoying painting these figures. It dawned on me that it's their beefy size.  I suffer from essential tremors, which is your hands shake, especially when using them for tasks. In the last couple of years it has gotten worse, and there are days where trying to paint is impossible. 
These figures are easier to paint than the smaller more proportional 15mm figures. In the photo above is an example of a Falcon miniature, a Minifigs miniature, and a Tin Soldier miniature. I find the large figures are easier to paint, and little slips of the brush are easily touched up.

Falcon Miniatures ACW Militia

Recently I started painting some 15mm ACW figures for skirmish games. After painting some regular infantry as a militia unit,I decided to painted up a unit of Falcon Miniatures militia. I was so happy with the results, I painted up 2 more units.

I have a total of 20 of these figures. I figure each 4 man unit will represent a company. Their commander is a 1st generation Minifigs officer.

I still believe I might have a few more of these figures and continue to look though all my different containers of figures.