ALY MORRISON'S "BUTTERFLY" ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF WARGAMES AND TOY SOLDIERS

Monday 30 December 2019

Boxing Day Game 2019

Greetings...
It is time once more for Mharaid and I to celebrate our annual festive wargame.


This year we decided... rather than a shiny winter frolic... we would have the first outing of my War of Spanish Succession collection.


We used Black Powder with a few minor changes...
In an attempt to reflect the different firing styles of each side, it was decided that the French would only use two dice for musketry and the Allies would use three.(though the large French units would get three)
They would however use the normal amount of combat dice.
The French cavalry would not have a charge or counter charge bonus, to reflect their heavier reliance on pistols.
We also strove to be stricter with our battlefield manoeuvres... no just shuffling to the right or left a bit... It would be Turn to the flank... March... Turn to the front... etc.
Due to the size of my table all moves and ranges were halved.


I (Marshal Malchanceux)took command of the French and Mharaid (Duke Rust) took command of the British.
The French out numbered the British but the British had better firepower.
The French were stronger in field guns but the British had a couple of battalion guns.
As always if we came to a problem we made stuff up.


I had thought that I had a copy of The Last Argument of Kings... but it would appear not... I now have one on order and look forward to how the supplement compares to our quick tweaks.


To Battle...





The field of battle...
The farm with its large field was there at Mharaid's request..."Can we have that large field that we christened The Blackberry Field of Death".... "You remember it... its the one where I massacred half your army that time"


The victor would have to control this field at the end of the game.







Some images of our initial dispositions... mostly because they are pretty pictures.


Mharaid had grouped her infantry very close together... I think that she misunderstood the command and control distances...I suggested that she might want to spread things out a bit to give her more room for manoeuvre... After some thought she said "no lets leave things as they are... it will be an interesting challenge"


I am already beginning to think.... I am doomed!






As always seems to be the way with me... my initial moves go well and I move towards The Blackberry Field of Death.



Mharaid's movement dice aren't so good and her tightly packed troops shuffle forwards slowly.







 
Although my first volleys cause problems for The Royal Irish Regiment my movement dice have let me down and I too am having difficulty manoeuvring.





As my men hold the line on the edge of 'that' field... No one seems to be keen on entering it... keep an eye on that British gun...




Mharaid continues to get her men organised... I fear that the gods of dice are once more starting to turn their kind eyes towards her.




Though not completely...


Mharaid's attempted charge falls short and the only thing my men loose is some bowel control... Oh dear what a terrible shame...


We had chosen not to use 'form squares'... as this wasn't considered hip and cool at this date.



With my seemingly static infantry looking on Mharaid continues to get things slowly into order... and there is that now limbered up gun...




OOOOOO!.... LOOK... A perfect target...



Meanwhile with Wyndham's Horse stalled in front of... and being shot to pieces by The infantry regiment Anjou...
I throw my cavalry at Scots Greys...



With predictable results...
Yes the black dice are mine...



The Spanish Toulongeon Regiment evaporates in front of my eyes...



Go my beautiful Cuirassiers and despatch these pesky gunners...
In the rules guns which are limbered up have no ability to fight back... we did however give them a saving throw...

Ha!... Take that...



And Mharaid's save...
This meant that the combat was a draw... at least that's how we saw it...
And a draw means that the cavalry have to retire one move...   que c'est embarrassant.



Mharaid's now more organised men fire on my Bavarian Infantry...



The dice gods however have let her down this time...
Yes I am starting to clutch at every perceived victory...




"Did you stamp all over those gunners my beautiful Cuirassiers"
"What gunners"
"Hmmmmm!"



I start to redeploy my guns... they have yet to fire a shot...



Just as some of Mharaid's cavalry enter The Blackberry Field of Death...
Sigh!




Superior British musketry begins to have an effect... as does my inability to make a single saving throw.



A rare failed activation by Mharaid allows me to redeploy my guns... and destroy Lumley's Regiment of Horse.




I throw caution to the wind and charge my cavalry into the British line...
What could possibly go wrong...





As Duke Rust attempts to rally off a casualty from The Royal Scots... He blunders.
We really didn't know what to do with this result...
So we decided that all he did was shout at them until he was red in the face and caused them to become disordered.


So... Remember that cavalry charge...
It didn't go quite how I planed...



Eventually the continuing fire fight causes both of our brigades to reach breaking point... the single casualty that the cavalry caused helped with this...


On this side of the battlefield my men continue to take a bruising from superior firepower and rubbish dice...



On top of this my only unit capable of moving blunders forward...
Fires a volley...



And... of course... misses.






With the British cavalry still on The Blackberry Field of Death...
And all my infantry now heading back to Paris...
I once again concede.



This was a splendid first game for my War of Spanish Succession collection...
Mharaid suggested that it looked like a bit of a Pyrrhic victory as her forces were in a sorry state by the end of the battle.
But it was a victory.... and well deserved.


All the best... Aly

41 comments:

  1. Nice to see your impressive collection on the tabletop .

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    Replies
    1. It was a very pretty game...
      Win or loose.

      All the best Aly

      Delete
  2. Love it to bits - I'm going to make a cup of coffee and read it over again. Splendid stuff - thanks for making such a lovely job of the report.

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    1. Thank you Tony...
      It was a pleasure.

      All the best Aly

      Delete
  3. Lovely looking units and I enjoyed the blow by blow game report with the problematic dice rolls.

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    1. Thank you Peter...
      My dice throwing is always problematic...

      All the best Aly

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  4. Great looking minis, table and battle report! It must've been a great game indeed (despite your loss ;-) ).

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    1. Thank you Jan...
      It was a splendid game.. win or loose.

      All the best Aly

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  5. So satisfying to see your collection in battle. As you so astutely predicted, the Boxing Day tradition continues with your defeat. Great looking game!

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    1. Thank you Jonathan...
      One must keep traditions alive ;-)

      All the best Aly

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  6. That's a fab looking game, great to see some of the collection in action.
    Victoria and I used to play a little. I would use my experience and guile then she would start rolling the dice and win the game.
    Happy New Year to you and yours.

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    1. Thank you Paul...
      My theory is that the older you get the less (Wargaming) luck you have... Mharaid is brimming with 6's I only have 1's...

      All the best Aly

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  7. Looks splendid, as you'd expect! I can empathize with you though having just been roundly beaten by Phil on our final game of 2019.

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    1. Thank you David...
      Phil winning... again!
      The world is upside down...

      All the best Aly

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  8. Splendid report but she was halfway to victory before the game started after mentioning TBFOD, and planting that seed of despair in Marshal Malchanceux's mind.

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    1. Thank you...
      Yes the introduction of psychological warfare is a bit worrying...

      All the best Aly

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  9. And the troops ARE very pretty indeed. We once had a chap who could not roll 6's to save his life so fir fun one day we inverted the charts so that 1's were good. It worked, he proceeded to roll 6's by the bucket.

    All the best for 2020!

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    1. Thank you Ross
      I sympathise with your friend... I always seem to roll exactly what I don't need...


      All the best Aly

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  10. A splendid choice to debut your Malburians (who present an equally splendid array). Amidst all of the anxiousness and distress in the world around us, it is heartening to see that the tradition of your Boxing Day games is being upheld in your die rolls.

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    1. Thank you Ed...
      The one thing that is certain in life is the uncertainty of my dice throws...

      All the best Aly

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  11. Lovely to see the collection out in battle. Quite a tight battlefield to move about ......nothing can compete with 5 x 6’s bravo 😀

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    1. Thank you Matt...
      Unfortunately if I want a bigger table I will have to knock down some walls...
      This may upset my lovely upstairs neighbours...

      All the best Aly

      Delete
  12. Fabulous looking game Aly! Hope to see more of the same in 2020. Here’s to a Happy New Year toyou and yours.

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    1. Thank you Nick...
      I look forward to many more ... erm!...... defeats ;-)

      A happy new year.
      All the best Aly

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  13. What a splendid sight all your troops arrayed is.

    As for the result, it's the taking part not the winning that counts, and a word of advice, don't mess with the Scots Greys, they never lose, do they Dave?

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    1. Thank you Phil...
      It felt a bit wrong charging the Grey's... I probably deserved what I got...

      All the best Aly

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    2. Why do you think mine are still unpainted for our FRW games?

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  14. Great to see that you have kept up to the tradition of the Boxing Day thrashing Aly. The armies look great - although must admit that I am away from home with a piece of string as an internet connection so I haven't been able to see all the images...will have a better look when I return home.

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    1. Thank you Mark...
      The games are always a lot of fun... maybe I should add a birthday game (thrashing) to the calendar.

      All the best. Aly

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  15. Lovely looking collection on the table Aly. You are quite lucky having a daughter who is willing to play with your toys, even if she does give you a whipping every game! My friend Julian used to play the Game of Thrones board game with his two daughters, with very similar results😁 Happy New Year an I look forward to reading more of your exploits in 2020. One thing is for sure, your dice rolling would not have endeared you to Napoleoni, given his views on generalship and luck!

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    1. Thank you Keith...
      I have many a glorious defeat to look forward to...
      As great as Napoleon was even his dice rolling let him down in 1812 and in 1815 ;-)

      All the best. Aly

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  16. Happy New Year Aly, always look forward to the Boxing Day 'thrashing' 🤣
    Nice to see the collection on the table - mighty impressive they look tog

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  17. Thank you Graham...
    It was good to get the toys on the table... I think I am going to buy some new dice this year...the ones I have seem to be broken.

    All the best and a happy new year. Aly

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  18. wonderful looking game - I trust you will find victory in 2020

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    1. Thank you Eric...
      I only hope so....

      All the best. Aly

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  19. Brilliant Aly, fantastic looking game.

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  20. Beautiful collection and fun looking game!

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  21. Wonderful report Aly. Love the painted miniatures. Glad to read you had some Dad time with your daughter over the annual festive period.

    Best regards,

    Helen

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    1. Thank you Helen...
      Our Boxing Day game is something we both look forward to...

      All the best. Aly

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