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

Monday 9 January 2023

From my side of the table… War of 1866… First game of the year.

Greetings…

At the beginning of the year we gathered at Michael Perry’s house for the first game of the year.

We played a War of 1866 game …

Nick, Dan and myself took the part of the Austrians and Michael, Alan and Dave were the Baddies

We used ‘This Hallowed Ground’ again…With some modifications to try and reflect the different training and doctrine of the two armies…

The game started with a cavalry action/skirmish…


Our glorious brave cavalry.

The clash of arms.

Our glorious brave cavalry running away…Sigh!


Our brave infantry surge forwards.


Some of our glorious brave cavalry returned to the fight.

The infantry to the front of the cavalry represent German Confederation Allies.

A view of the Baddies…all armed with machine guns and bazookas.




We bravely move forward… but we are already starting to take considerable casualties.
Following our excellent combat doctrine we fixed bayonets and rushed upon the Baddies through a hail of machine gun, bazooka and possibly light mortar fire.

Our superbly positioned artillery pours fire upon the Baddies.

Our brave soldiers press on.

Gaps start to appear in our lines.

Our truly glorious cavalry throw themselves at the Baddies line.

Casualties mount up among our brave soldiers.

This brave and skilled battery does it’s best to stem the tide of  
Baddies… but alas it is not enough.

Our men eventually decided that there was a really nice Coffee House in Vienna that 
they all needed to visit .

We… came second… Sigh!

We may have given the baddies too much of an advantage in this fight… All but one of our brigades broke and only a couple of the Baddie battalions were lost…..but it was still fun.
I have had a couple of ideas for some tweaks, so maybe next time we won’t get quite so massacred.

The Baddies and the German Confederation Allies were from Michaels collection.
The glorious Austrians were from Nicks collection.

You can find an alternative (Baddie…Prussian propaganda) account of the battle here…



All the best.  Aly
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48 comments:

  1. Ray Rousell9 January 2023 at 23:15

    Looks a fab bash!

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  2. Ross Mac rmacfa@gmail.com10 January 2023 at 02:42

    The battle certainly had a Classic look, and, after all, if you have Class, what more do you really need?

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    1. Aly Morrison10 January 2023 at 07:32

      It was very much style over content…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  3. rross10 January 2023 at 05:03

    That's two very nice games in quick succession there Aly.....I think it's always hard playing Austrians....did they EVER win a war....surely, they must have, considering they had one of the major European empires.....it makes no sense to me! Bloody Prussians....don't worry, they will get their come up pence in the twentieth century!!

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    1. Aly Morrison10 January 2023 at 07:44

      A dizzying amount of games for me 😁

      It is surprising that the Austrians lasted so long…they even managed to lose against General Rapp at the Battle of La Souffel during the Hundred Days Campaign.
      I thank a lot of their early expansion was down to good marriages and alliances.

      All the best. Aly

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    2. Brian Cameron18 January 2023 at 21:48

      Could I just mention Aspern-Essling in 1809, Napoleon's first defeat since Acre. And that the King of Prussia et al were seriously worried at Konigratz until the Crown Prince finally appeared. And they won several battles against Fredrick the Great - Kolin, Hochkirch. And say what you like about the Habsburgs - they can take a kicking and stay in the fight. Not that I'm biased or anything and loath the Prussians...

      Delete
    3. Aly Morrison19 January 2023 at 22:19

      Very true Brian…
      As it happens I am also an Austrian/Hapsburg fan… lovely Uniforms and interesting units…
      I do think that they lasted so long by getting in early and building a broad base to their empire… by marrying well and taking control of large recruitment areas of land…
      When they were good they were great… Radetzky being a good example ( in my opinion)… but when they were bad… I was rolling the dice 😁

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  4. Unlucky General10 January 2023 at 06:42

    I won't bother reading the baddies lies. I'm sure your rendition is the unvarnished truth. Great looking game to kick the year off.

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    1. Aly Morrison10 January 2023 at 07:47

      A good idea Greg… Don’t buy into their fake news..
      Regardless of the result…it was a fun day.

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  5. David10 January 2023 at 07:34

    Your gallant chaps took a bit of a bearing it seems, no doubt due to underhand tactics like better dice throws? Still, it's a lovely looking game and a period I know nothing at all about, so I will take your account as Gospel...😉

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    1. Aly Morrison11 January 2023 at 23:33

      Thank you David I am glad you trust my true and honest account of the battle…
      I am appalled that the Baddies stooped to the low level of having luckier dice than us… what is the world coming to….😱

      All the best. Aly

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  6. Graham C10 January 2023 at 07:41

    Great way to start the gaming year. Game looks fantastic as you’d expect, I’m sure the Austrians will return to greater glory next time!

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    1. Aly Morrison11 January 2023 at 23:36

      It was a very enjoyable way to bring in the new year…
      Hopefully there will be glory ahead of us…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  7. Carlo10 January 2023 at 09:09

    Excellent report as always Aly. What a wonderful wargaming experience for all of you with so many great looking figures and terrain amongst good mates. Fantastic.

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 06:53

      Thank you Carlo…

      It was a grand start to the year.

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  8. Rob Young10 January 2023 at 09:28

    As I recall (not really my period) Austrian armies in wargaming have a habit of losing. Or is that just in the Napoleonicd era? Nice first game of the year.

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 06:55

      Yes… like me they had very unlucky dice.

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  9. Matt Crump10 January 2023 at 09:40

    As to be expected a great looking battle, enjoyable despite the difficult result ?

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 07:01

      Toy soldiers and good company… what’s not to like.

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  10. Phil Robinson10 January 2023 at 12:46

    Oh well it was always going to be a struggle against that new technology but at least they look prettier than the black hats.

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 07:04

      We may not have had the machine guns but we certainly had the style.

      All the best. Aly.

      Delete
  11. Jonathan Freitag10 January 2023 at 12:59

    Oh, this looks like a terrific game and played in good company.

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  12. Pan Janek10 January 2023 at 14:31

    What a great way to start a new wargaming year! The game looks splendid (as always!). I visited some of the sites of that war in Czech Republic and fortifications in Poland's Lower Silesea.

    Best wishes,
    Jan

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 07:18

      It was indeed a good start to the new year Jan…
      It’s always interesting to see how these battlefields look at ground level without the luxury of have a view from the clouds.

      All the best. Aly

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  13. Ed M10 January 2023 at 16:09

    1866 is a tough one to game given the disparities involved, but first class as a spectacle. Does my heart good to see these splendid figs out on the table and in action!

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 08:02

      It was never going to be easy for the Austrians but it was very pretty…
      This is a period that I am always tempted by.

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  14. Steve J.10 January 2023 at 17:14

    A fine looking game there Aly but shame about the result. I'm an avid Austrophile for my games, having dear friends from Wien and Linz. Loved the commentary about the Baddies and their nasty unsportsmanlike weapons;).

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 08:06

      The Austrians certainly win on style and good looks… maybe they should have invested in less swash and bought machine guns instead 😁

      All the best. Aly.

      Delete
  15. Jay White10 January 2023 at 19:18

    Excellent stuff! I saw the FB post but always love seeing your additional pictures that show more of the raw action :-) Hopefully the rules didn't much things up too much ... I prefer the dice to do that instead :-)

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 08:09

      Thank you Jay…
      The rules gave us an enjoyable game… if only our dice were up to the same standard… 😁

      All the best. Aly.

      Delete
  16. pancerni11 January 2023 at 09:41

    Wow, so rarely see Austrians in the year presented in such numbers. Great looking fight, pity about the bazookas, machine guns and light mortars. At least the troops got coffee afterward.

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 08:13

      It was indeed really nice to see so many Austrian toys on the table…
      Not only did our men get coffee, they also got cake and brandy.
      The baddies apparently had cabbage soup…🤢

      All the best. Aly.

      Delete
  17. caveadsum147111 January 2023 at 15:01

    Another great looking game and I'm relieved to see normal service has been resumed!
    Best Iain

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 08:20

      I would like to see ‘service’ improve a big… but not so much as to turn the world topsy turvy .

      All the best. Aly.

      Delete
  18. Matt11 January 2023 at 21:59

    Oh Boy! What a spectacle!

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  19. StuartInsch11 January 2023 at 23:14

    A fine game...but the odds were against you...you had the Austrians!

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 08:22

      I believe it’s a standard minus two for being Austrian 😁.

      All the best. Aly.

      Delete
  20. Meic12 January 2023 at 11:59

    Wonderful, love to see some 1866 action. Need to get mine on the table this year, though it wont be any where near as impressive as this game! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Aly Morrison12 January 2023 at 18:52

      1866 certainty makes for an interesting and different game…
      I am tempted to paint some for myself.

      All the best. Aly.

      Delete
  21. Mark Strachan13 January 2023 at 02:38

    What a fabulous looking game and one of my favourite (and much under rated) wars to game.

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    1. Aly Morrison13 January 2023 at 06:51

      I agree with you on both accounts Mark…
      It would be nice to see more toys for this period made available.

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  22. Rodor16 January 2023 at 11:40

    Spectacular game and report!
    An idea to let the Austrians win: what if you play the Prussians next time?! 🤔

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    1. Aly Morrison17 January 2023 at 01:04

      I can see your cunning plan there…
      I think it will probably work 😂

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  23. Jay White7 February 2023 at 02:04

    Wow, as always very jealous! Great looking game. Hopefully the rules are too crap! ;-)

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    1. Aly Morrison7 February 2023 at 06:58

      Alan always puts on a good show…
      I think the next time we play we will balance things out a bit more.

      All the best. Aly

      Delete

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