The Titler Independent Border Battalion.

I was going to have another Grenz Regiment but when I found out about the Titler Independent Border Battalion with their light blue uniforms (and a name worthy of a 'Carry On' film)  I couldn't resist painting them instead ! .

The figures are of course Irregular and have just got based and varnished in time for a game tonight with my wargaming colleague 'A'  when they take on the Sardinians .

New Hens .

Unfortunately I've had a couple of deaths in our flock of late , old age being the cause I think (they were a couple I was given so not sure of their age) . I have got four from a local free range business , two of which are seen here being feed from my hand .

And she is quite capable of helping herself to sunflower seeds when my back is turned ! .

When birds are moved they often stop laying but these have started again after a few days , different coloured and sized eggs which reflect the various hens/bantams types I have .

Part of the flock overseen by the cockerel , another inherited bird , he doesn't like me at all ! and we have had confrontations ! . 

Austrian General And Artillery .

As both my wargaming colleagues who are the Generals in my campaign are still on their hols I'm still busy painting up the Austrian army to fight my Sardinians . I thought it time that I did a General for the first Brigade and here he is in undress uniform , I'm not sure if I've got the right shade of blue/grey for his tunic as the various colour prints I looked at seemed to vary greatly . The figure is of course by Irregular.

You have to love an army that paints their guns yellow ! - well maybe it' a bit to bright ? - but I tend to go for the bright option ! .

Just got my copy of this , not sure how useful it will be as it covers 22 years , quite a long time with several uniform changes and different wars - a thin book to cover a big subject ? - we will see ?. However it is nice to see Osprey starting to do a series on a era that is not covered well in English. 

Austrian Grenz Regt. Szluiner.

Whilst all this O.S. Franco-Prussian War Campaigning has been going on I've been busy painting up some more Austrians for my Italian Wars Of Unification aided by the rather damp Summer weather we have been having which (luckily) has prevented any major or prolonged gardening tasks .

This is the first of my Grenz  the rather hard to pronounce 4th Szluiner Regt. with nice orange facings . The figures are of course Irregular 28mm , I rang them up about eleven o'clock in the morning with the order and Peter said "we'll try and get them out today" - I thought "great ! be a couple of days" - they arrived the following morning ! - now that is a great mail order service ! 

The Situation At The End Of Day 3.

Here we have the situation at the end of Day 3 , in the North the French Cavalry Brigade has retired back down the road and the Prussians hold what remains of Neuchatel . In the South the Prussians have achieved one of their objectives by blowing up the bridge , but have lost their Dragoon regiment as a fighting force . The French are dealing with the aftermath of the battle and the serious casualties caused to the Chasseurs a Pied which are probably out of the campaign now . Both of my player Generals have gone on holiday and so there will be a pause before the next moves . Too be continued ...........

The Bridge On The Schnellenfluss .

This is the second action on Day 3 taking place in the south of the map . A small Prussian force of a Regiment of Dragoons are holding the bridge so that the Engineers can demolish it . Two Brigades of French Infantry are attempting to seize the bridge so they can push through towards their objective.

The Dragoons have built a small barricade to hold the bridge as the Engineers place explosives to destroy it . The Engineers had arrived during the night so I thought I would roll a D6 at the end of each move to see if the bridge was ready to blow up ( 6 on the first move, 5-6 next move etc.)

The first French Brigade moves up at dawn supported by a Mitrailleuse.

The French Infantry advance swiftly and come under fire from the Dragoons .

The Mitrailleuse gives supporting fire but does no damage .

The Chasseurs a Pied storm the barricade and slaughter the Dragoons .

They charge across the bridge ! , it was getting rather tense now as I rolled a dice at the end of each turn to see if the charges were in place . Have the French seized the bridge intact !? .

As they reach the other side the Prussian Engineer Officer sacrifices himself to detonate the bridge causing heavy casualties amongst the Chasseurs . A Prussian victory although a Pyrrhic one with the loss of the Dragoon Regiment , however the demolition of the bridge was one of the Prussian Game Objectives so that is 1-0 to them . In the next instalment I will give the situation at the end of Day 3 . Too be continued...........

The World Reacts To The Burning Of Neuchatel.

The Worlds press reacts to the Prussian burning and massacre at Neuchatel . The Prussian C in C Von Mooke  is christened 'The Butcher Of Neuchatel' . Later unbiased research found that the village was probably set on fire by the shells from the artillery and not by design . In fact in his memories ( Meine Erinnerungen an den späten Krieg) he laments the fact that the village caught fire as there was no accommodation of the wounded . However there were reports of the bayoneting of wounded and surrendering French Franc- Tireurs . 

The Action At Neuchatel.

The first battle of the campaign is situated in the North of the map , the French Cavalry Brigade has taken the town of Neuchatel and have been reinforced by the towns people who have risen in support . Here we seen the positions of the forces at dawn on Day 3 of the campaign , the Prussians are to the right of the photo .

The French cavalry follow their orders from their C in C to only skirmish with the enemy before falling back . It is very interesting how the mentalities of my two generals have been altered by the campaign , troops that would have been thrown away in a one off game must be carefully nurtured

The Prussian artillery opens up on the French Lancers

The French Chasseures D Africa charge the Prussian Hussars causing casualties but then retire as the Prussian Infantry move up .

The Prussian C in C oversees the artillery fire . (the coins are to track the ammunition expenditure)

The French cavalry withdraw still under effective artillery fire .

The Prussian infantry move up to attack the village .

They come under fire from the towns people as the artillery starts shelling the village .

The Franc-Tireurs and the civilians man the barricades having been left in the lurch by the French cavalry .

The Prussians attack the village .

The defenders put up a stubborn resistance but are no match for the Prussians .

The Prussian flanking attack breaks into the village .

The French are forced back as the Prussians pour into the village over the barricades .

The survivors flee the village .

The Prussians set fire to the village and massacre any wounded enemy casualties .

The first battle of the campaign is a Prussian victory , so we must find out what happens in the next action in the South . Too be continued .........

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The Campaigns First Actions .

Well my two Generals have been very good and provided me with instructions for their various brigades , of course I cannot reveal the positions of these,  but there has been a meeting of forces in the North and the South (marked on the map) on the evening of Day 2  and these will be played out on the table top next week . (click on map to enlarge) Too be continued .......

The Games Afoot ! .

Well the campaign has started , both Generals have sent me orders and force dispositions and I have given them the locations of their forces at the end of day 1 . Sadly of course I can't let you all into the progress as they both view my blog and it's 'TOP SECRET' , but when the forces near each other all will be reveal to them and you . Here we see a contemporary photo of French troops marching off to the Front watched by their High Command.

Both Generals have been given various objectives/tasks to perform and the one that completes them first is the winner , as you can see I'm keeping it simple as the main reason of this campaign is to produce table top battles for toy soldiers rather than any grand strategy . Here we see the Prussians setting off on the campaign .

The Prussian Commander in Chief and staff receive preliminary reports from a Dragoon patrol. Well we are off - as many other campaigns have  done in the past , lets hope this one stays the course - I have high hopes ! . Too be continued .........

A Line Drawn In The Sand.

I have tried running campaigns before and they have all met with a ignominious end all dying of apathy - this time it will be different ! ( I hope ) . It is going to be a Franco- Prussian War campaign using the Grant campaign rules and the Featherstone rules for table top battles . My wargaming colleagues 'A' and 'B' have unknowingly volunteered to be the Prussians and French , the Prussians setting off from the Right hand side of the map and the French the Left .(click on map to enlarge) .

The forces and their objectives have been sent to the players and I hopefully will report back as the campaign unfolds . Map moves are kept secret from the players till they enter a square ( ie G4) then the action will unfold on the table top . I envisage with the interruptions of 'real life' this will be a longish term project but have always been a bit jealous of those 'OS' gamers who seemed to run campaigns with no problems at all and with modern technology - emails texts etc this should prove a bit easier (crosses fingers) . 

Let's hope it doesn't turn into the above ! .