Caldiero 1805 - Part 3

At the end of Part 2 the French under Marshal Massena were about to assault the Austrian defences in the centre of the field whilst cavalry of both sides faced off on the Austrian right.  On the left, mixed Austrian arms advanced in an attempt to envelope the French right. The following AAR covers two and a half hours of game time from 12.30 to 15.00. That's five game moves.

The French continue massing in the centre for a decisive push

In the meantime the Austrian left continues to swing around the French flank but now face the village of Gambion, firmly held by the French. In the centre the defenders put down a withering fire, disordering the French and temporarily stalling the assault.

The assault stalls and morphs into a firefight. Note the disordered markers for the two lead French brigades.

However, while the Austrian commanders fret about the imminent attack on the breastwork defences, the French hurl an elite grenadier division straight at the Colognola Heights. The defenders crumble under the assault and the French columns scale the heights unopposed!

 

There is consternation among the Austrian command since most reserves have already been committed

 

In an attempt to ease the pressure, the defenders sally forth from the breastworks and launch a counterattack on the French centre........

 

........only to be promptly repulsed and sent reeling back to their starting positions!

All is not gloom for the Austrians, however, as their cavalry chase off their French counterparts on the right.  The hapless French infantry now have no choice but to form square.

 

Concerned of the cavalry threat to his right, Massena is loathe to venture deeper into the Austrian lines and calls off the attack in the centre. Bewildered, his grenadiers are ordered to retire despite punching a hole in the Austrian line.

 

It is now two in the afternoon. Faced with two virually unopposed cavalry brigades the French withdraw their left, abandoning the village of San Zeno in the process.  In the centre they must withstand the hellish fire being poured down on them from all sides but they hold on.

 

The Archduke orders the counterattack!  The grenadier brigade occupying Caldiero had been ordered to form up behind the town and now swings into the disordered French.

 

Despite being fatigued and disordered, the French manage to stave off much damage and get away with a mere retire. However, the flank of their assault line is now in danger of being exposed.

 

Focus now shifts on the French left where the remnants of their cavalry mount a last desperate challenge to the Austrian elites.

 

 

The two sides meet in a thunderous clash of hooves and steel.

 

Outnumbered and outclassed the brave French troopers are ridden down to a man! 

In the centre Camus' beleaguered brigade repulses yet another assault by the superior Austrian elites and become automatic candidates for this year's Legion d'Honneur awards!

 

Initiative swings to the Austrian side and their cavalry gather ominously.  In the distance a lone French cuirassier brigade approaches, having been called up from the right flank to shore up the left.

 

In the centre, Camus' brigade finally gives in to another assault. Now a spent force, they are forced to retreat. The French line is now dangerously pierced.

 

Overview of the field from the French right at this point.  The time is 14.45.

 

Gambion village under siege.

 

Massena now has no option but to retire. The French are now jacknifed hemmed in by cavalry on the left and outnumbered by infantry in the centre. Will they be able to hold on?

This is where we left the game last evening.  It is now 15.00 hours and there are still three hours of daylight left - six moves in all.  So a lot can still happen even though the French seem to be in grave difficulty.  But there's still a lot of fight in them so no result can be discounted.  Hope to put up another instalment soon.

Caldiero 1805 - Part 2

This is the second part of our Caldiero refight AAR. In the last post two brigades of French light cavalry were on the point of scaling the Colognola Heights in an attempt to turn the Austrian right. In the centre Massena was preparing to advance whilst on the French right, more cavalry movements were taking place.

Again I have attempted to make a pictorial sequence from the same angle, trying to obtain a timelapse effect.

Charles seizes the initiative and advances with his left wing while swinging back his right flank and reinforcing the Colognola with the bulk of his cavalry  (far distance). In the centre, the French mass threateningly

The Austrian left continues to move forward. At the other end of the table,  the threatening French cavalry is faced with superior enemy horse and are forced to withdraw from the Colognola.

It is now midday. Massena hurls his Regulars against the Austrian centre.  The whitecoats, however, are protected by a set of earthworks and let off a convincing volley of musketry and canister.

 

Not to be outdone, the French return fire as convincingly.  With both sides disordered and blooded, the French close in at the bayonet but the attack is repulsed.

While the French attack progresses in the centre, Charles masses his infantry threateningly on his left.  In the distance, Austrian and French cavalry square off, each side waiting for the other's move. Who shall prevail?

This is where we left off.  Game time is 12.30, and visibility is now fully restored, the thick fog having lifted by 11.30.  It is still relatively early in the game (5 / 16 moves completed) so it can still very well go either way. We shall reprise later this week or early the next. In the meantime I am adding some pics showing the situation at the end of move 5 from different angles.  Enjoy the eye candy ! :)

Sweeping shot of most of the field. Village of Caldiero in the centre.

French and Austrian cavalry square off

The centre of the field is a seething mass as casualties mount on either side

Austrian line infantry and grenadiers gather threateningly

Another view of the centre

The Austrian centre left advances

Painting 6mm Napoleonics - a mini tutorial

I'm sure lots of gamers are disheartened by the prospect of painting 6mm figures because of their diminutive size.  Very often you hear the question "How do you manage to paing something that small?"  

I hope this post will address that question and maybe encourage a few people to gather up the will (or should I say courage?) to paint these small but incredibly rewarding models. For this tutorial I chose to paint a few stands of 1809 Austrian Jaegers from H & R. Unfortunately, these must rank as some of the most drab Napoleonic uniforms, being mostly a flat grey but the lack of colour variety makes them a very rapid unit to paint. Compared to some of their flamboyant cavalry colleagues, these poor chaps must have had an extremely hard time with the ladies !

1. Prior to any painting I prefer to organise the figures and plan ahead for the eventual end product. Note the hacksaw blade at bottom and the MDF bases with magnets fixed to their central holes. The bases are from Warbases and come with the central hole ready. 

2. I opt for 3mm holes in my bases and fit 2mm x 3mm magnets which can easily be obtained online from the likes of Amazon or ebay.

3. I use a hacksaw blade which is long enough to fit 90 figures, meaning that I can paint this many figures at one go per 'production run'. Here the figures are stuck onto the blade using PVA glue which allows the figures to be easily removed once ready.

4. The figures are primed using Vallejo Black Primer.  The black primer will give depth to the figures in those areas where it will still show through.

5. I use Vallejo Basalt as the base colour for the Jaegers. Note that gaps are left in certain parts of the figure (e.g. between the left and right legs or between the arms and the chest.

6. A touch of highlight is added to the top of the jaegers' hats, shoulders and knees using Vallejo Blue Grey Pale.

7. Vallejo Pale Green is added for the facing colour and plume. The colour is a bit brighter than the actual uniform's colour but is used on purpose since at such a reduced scale it is easier to discern. Vallejo Sunny Skin Tone is used for face and hands.

8. Vallejo Flat Earth is used for the muskets and backpacks.

9. Finally Vallejo Sky Grey is used for the bedrolls.  Note also the facing colour on the turnbacks

10. The figures are removed from the hacksaw with a craft knife and glued to their bases, fifteen to a base.

11. Sand (collected from a nearby beach) is glued to the bases using PVA glue.

12. Once the PVA glue has set, the bases are given a coat of black primer. In order not to brush away the sand, the paint is slightly diluted and is dabbled rather than brushed over the bases.

13. Finally the bases are drybrushed in Vallejo lime and highlighted by a touch of Foundry Yellow 2B. Here the finished unit is shown with its command stand and is now ready for the table. Note the fresh 'production line' in the background !

I find this method quite fast and enables a fair amount of detail to be included in the figures. At batches of ninety figures every time, it's quite easy to build up quite a number of models and complete your armies in no time at all.  Again, one of the beautiful advantages of 6mm.

Basement Gaming Room

After years of dilly dallying, my basement gaming room is finally taking shape. Yesterday I received a good sized terrain order from Kallistra and I now have enough terrain for my 8’ x 6’ table. Still some way to go before completion but at least I can get cracking with some decent gaming at home. Watch this space!

Caldiero 1805 - Part 1

The village of Caldiero is located in North Italy, east of Verona and and at a point where the foothills of the Italian Alps reach down into the Adige valley.  It lies on the road leading from Verona to the heart of the Veneto region and from there straight into the underbelly of the Austrian Alps. As such, it lies in a strategic position, especially during the 1805 campaign where France and Austria were embroiled in a titanic struggle for dominance in Europe.

The French under Marechal Andre Massena advanced eastward and were opposed by the Austrian Archduke Charles. At one point of the campaign, the two armies clashed at the bottleneck of Caldiero which was in Austrian possession. The morning of October 30, 1805 saw the two armies deployed opposite each other in a thick fog. At 10.00 am, with the field still enveloped in fog, the Austrians sprung into action. Our game picks up at this point. We use Age of Eagles rules with some house modifications. All figures are 6mm Heroics and Ros.

Initial deployment with the Austrians nearest camera facing west. The village of Caldiero lies in the centre of the battlefield occupied by Austrian crack grenadiers

The order is given for the Austrian left to advance

In response, the French swing out their own left flank in the direction of San Zeno and the Colognola Heights

 

Despite the thick fog, the Austrian left presses onward in the direction of the village of Gambion on the French right. 

Fighting erupts around San Zeno (background, right) as Austrian Grenz attempting to occupy that village are ejected by a French charge. In the far distance French cavalry sweep around the Austrian right on the Colognola Heights

This is where we broke off this week.  As we had to set up the table and complete deployment we didn't have much time remaining and only managed a couple of moves.  Still, we have left the table set up and will continue next week.  In the meantime here are a few more snaps of the situation at the end of move 2 (11.00 am) taken from different angles. I just love that mass effect that only 6mm can give !!!

The Austrian centre with Caldiero the main strongpoint anchoring the line

The Austrian right defending the Colognola heights with the French assault on the village of San Zeno in the valley below

The French right in foreground and the centre further on

Birds eye view of the field from behind French lines

Austrian reserve heavy artillery in the centre prepare under the wachful eye of Archduke Charles

The Austrian right on the Colognola with the French in the valley below.  Note the French light cavalry turning the Austrian flank at extreme left

1.