Battle of Saalfeld 1806

​We played Valour & Fortitude in 28mm this weekend. I ran the rules and my friend Doug played the Prussians & Saxons and Titch played the French. 

The Prussians put up a valiant fight, but eventually their left and right flanks collapsed. The Saxons in the center surrendered and the Prussians either fked back into Saalfeld or off the field of battle!

The figures are mainly Old Glory, Perry, Casting Room and Schilling. The buildings are 3D prints and Grandmanner. The terrain mats are from Cigar Box Battle. 

I like the rules enough I think I’ll paint early Austrians and Russians for some 1805 scenarios! 

Good gaming - Cory  

More 1806 action!

We test played Valor & Fortitude with my 28mm NAP figures. We enjoyed the rules  and look forward to trying them out again. The figures are mainly Old Glory, Victrix, Schilling, and Victrix. 

1806 Prussians, Saxons & French

 The 1806 Prussian campaign has always been one of my favorites. It’s the consummate “what if?”. The battles of Saalfeld, Jena and Auerstedt were close affairs and could/should have been won by the Prussians and their Saxon allies. Napoleon and the Grand Armee were at their peak performance however, and the campaign turned into a series of crushing Prussian defeats, mainly due to poor generalship and not the valor of the individual Prussian soldiers. 

I have been busy painting and have built up the OOB (plus some) for the battle of Saalfeld. The Prussian figures are Forgotten Glorious (unfortunately out of business), Casting Room (Wargames Foundry) and Schilling (nice figures from Germany). I will be adding some Perry’s to the mix soon enough.

The French are mainly Old Glory (you can’t beat their Old Glory Army for price) and some Perry and Casting Room. 

We set up and played a hypothetical battle and used “Tremble Ye Tyrants”. The rules are simple, easy to teach and play quite well. I’ve long come to the conclusion that there are no perfect rules out there for NAPS, so I just use what I find enjoyable and playable.  The rules are are out print from North Star UK but I’m sure you can find them on eBay. 

The terrain is two Cigar Box Battle mats, and some 3D printed buildings, tress and the usual assortment of wargaming table top clutter. 

Here are some pictures of the set up and first few turns. I’ll do another post when we are finished playing with an AAR. 

Who should I paint next to face my early French? Austerlitz Russians? Ulm Austrians? What do you think?

Good Gaming - 

Cory 

Shiloh - A stubborn east flank!

 The local gaming group played out a classic John Hill "Johnny Reb" scenario this past weekend. The scenario focuses on the extreme Federal left flank at Shiloh under the command of Gen. Stephen Hurlburt vs the assaulting Rebel troops under the command of Gen. Jones M. Withers and none other than Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. 

The Gamers

Federal Camps

Massed Rebs on the right table edge. Weak Union center.

Rebs on the move. Yanks drinking beer.

Union line anchored on the road. Wiard guns ready for action! 

I ran this scenario using ADF at Nashcon a few years ago with John Hill (which was a highlight for sure!), but I felt it might make an even better tactical scenario using JR2. The scenario essentially pits the already massed and ready to assault CSA brigades of Statham, Bowen, Jackson and Chalmers against the heavily outnumbered Union brigades of Stuart and Williams as McArthur's brigade rushes onto the tabletop.

Union camp.

Union reinforcements arriving.

The Rebels must push into the area around Sara Bell's cotton field in order to flank and destabilize the Federal line, especially the area near the Hornet's Nest. The game begins at the 10am turn and plays through the 1pm turn, with the rough terrain and ravines assisting the Union cause.

The Federals

Ravines

Banjo playing and rabbit roasting! The calm before the storm!

The Federals opted for Stuart to hold out as long as possible while McArthur's men marched to the sound of the guns and formed a defensive line along the main Hamburg-Purdy road. Stuart was eventually routed by ferocious attacks by Chalmers and Jackson. In hind sight it might have been better to have pulled back and formed up closer to Larkin Bell's field. The Union launched several counterattacks, suffering casualties, but delaying and frustrating the Rebel victory conditions.

Many Rebels were equipped with flintlocks, mixed muskets and poor quality artillery (as well as some Union troops), which make early war western scenarios a lot of fun. We called the game about the 12pm turn and the Union was hanging on by a thread. Could they have lasted until 1pm? We will never know, but it definitely would have been close!

We played using 28mm ACW figures, mainly Old Glory, Perry, Dixon, Raven Banner and Frontier. 

Cheers - Cory R.

Snipers!