Ben who?

For this my first post of 2019 I will leave my Napoleonic comfort zone and recede slightly more in time. Few would not remember the epic chariot race from the 1959 film Ben Hur - a cinematic action-packed masterpiece which spawned its fair share of boardgames. One such game was Circus Minimus, a bloodthirsty game where winning a race is only secondary to the mayhem you have to weather getting to the finish line.

The original Circus Minimus Boardgame (internet pic)

Well, down at the clubhouse we are pretty much miniatures guys so we don't really enjoy ourselves unless we have a few minis to push around a table.  And the annual event at the beginning of every new year for the last few years is a blown up version of - you guessed it - Circus Minimus.  Not on a board but on an 18 foot table! So at the turn of each of the last few years the chariots and their valiant charioteers are dusted out of their boxes, the gaming mats are removed, and the table is transformed from verdant Napoleonic battlefield to sandy Roman Circus, complete with central obelisk and dipping dolphin lap counters.

The Roman Circus in all its glory, gleaming chariots lined up at the start

The man to beat was DaveFS, the reigning champion from past editions and so the favourite of the emperor and of the gods. It goes without saying that his war chariot and equestrian team were the prime targets of the usual pre-race skullduggery.  Result: four damage points to his chariot at the outset and a team of fresh horses promptly drugged. There was also some previous night 'entertainment' paid for by some players on others with the result that 'tired' drivers would get a -1 when cornering for lack of stamina and concentration!

The following photosequence gives an idea of the course of the race.  As per rules the finish should be three laps away but due to time constraints we had to drop this by 50% to one-and-a-half laps. The gods' favourite only made bronze this time despite his six allowed saving rolls and the gods now have their new golden boy - DaveG - who came in dead heat with MarioA.  However, since he occupied the inner lane and moved first he was assigned the laurel wreath to wear proudly for the next twelve calends.

As for myself, well what can I say? I had a dismal race due to a tactical mistake. After the first corner, my driver used his only whip to lash out at AngeloF with the result that the latter grabbed it straight out of his hands. Having  only a net as a second weapon but no extra whip in hand, I was forced to use just my reins with the result that my acceleration was limited to one speed factor per turn. Much like a diesel engine from the eighties! Needless to say I arrived a lousy third from last. I swear I'll stick to the net next year.....

All lined up glaring menacingly at each other

And they're off! My guy is in second, innermost lane, black horse team

Approaching the first corner

And with a screech of tyres....... No, hang on, that can't be right!

Zooming down the back straight. My fateful whip attack occurs now (the two chariots running side by side in joint fourth)

Second corner coming up

And around they go with a lot of wheel-banging. My guy is now a dismal last

Somehow everyone makes it round alive.......

........and the pack goes haring off after the leader down the main straight

Now nearing the last corner

The gods' favourite (front, centre) is now pushing hard despite his chariot's mounting damage

As he enters the final straight in the lead he prematurely savours his victory and waves smugly at the crowd

But wait,  his opponents are sneaking up behind.....

......and promptly pip him at the post! The gods have found a new protegé!

And finally - the participants

Teugen Hausen ESR scenario conclusion

Hi again.  This is the final part of our ESR Teugen Hausen refight. Last post we left the French (Friant's division to be precise) in control of the heights opposite Hausen with St Hilaire's division deploying to their rear. At the Austrian end, Lusignan's division was badly mauled and routed entirely with so much accumulated fatigue that it wasn't even worth rallying. So Austrian command resolved to let it go without even attempting some sort of recovery. At this point we carried on........ 

The next two moves are used by both sides to dress their ranks, deploy artillery and generally glare each other down. It is now early afternoon.
 

Saint Julien's division is now deployed but some awful command rolls mean that he is unable to deploy all his artillery at once.

Opposite Saint Julien and occupying the high ground, Friant's troops reorganise their line after kicking Lusignan's troops off the hill.

The entire Austrian defensive line. Saint Julien on left, Vukassovich with the Advance Guard on the hill at right

The view from behind French lines

At this point Vukassovich received orders to engage St Hilaire's division opposite him.  Saint Hilaire was still partly deployed with more than half his division still in march column and the Austrian intent was to catch him unawares.  Moreover with the French division partly deployed there was a greater possibility of success for the numerically inferior Austrians.

Vukassovich launches his attack (foreground)

The local situation up close. The presence of cavalry (centre) in the attacking division negates superior French skirmishers and allows the Austrians to advance without fear of the French voltigeurs and tirailleurs

The attacking division (left) from behind Austrian lines

The attack however fails to make any headway and falters

Although a few French units are forced to retire in confusion, all Austrian units are eventually repulsed (right)

On the other side of the table, Rosenborg receives his marching orders to move to the aid of Hohenzollern, His troops move out from around Dunzling.

Rosenborg's column finally lurches forward

Vukassovich fails his Assessment (morale) check and accumulates even more fatigue, forcing him to break contact and retreat (bottom, right). It is now looking decisively grim for the Austrians.

At this point we made some quick calculations.  Rosenborg was at least an hour's march away and needed at least yet another hour to deploy. Furthermore, according to the scenario instructions it would be at least an hour before the Austrian side became eligible to call up two elite grenadier divisions which were held off table in reserve.  Allowing for a quick successful call (improbable) for reinforcements, the grenadiers would need another hour at least to march to the front and deploy. Therefore the French had well in excess of two hours (six moves) before possibly being threatened to the rear by Rosenborg and to the front by any potential reinforcements.  In those two hours Saint Julien's division was practically alone to face the entire French force.

So it became very clear that the French would easily sweep through the weakened Austrians to their front and deal with either Rosenborg or the reinforcements (assuming they arrived) piecemeal.

Clearly the result would be a foregone conclusion so we decided there was no point in continuing. The wide split in the Austrian army and the considerable distance between the two corps proved their downfall and the French would easily brush aside all resistance and march to safety.

The final positions.  Rosenborg's columns can be seen in the far distance and would need at least another couple of game hours to arrive and deploy. In foreground all that is left to face the French is Vukassovich's very weakened division (bottom left) and Saint Julien (bottom right).  The French have more local numbers and better quality troops so the eventual result was never in doubt.

I am still very much undecided about ESR to be honest.  Ideologically, they are a fine set of rules but I find them to be very economical with the detail and clarifications necessary to play the game without having to interpret many situations.  It is true that there are many examples of play contained in the rulebook but they can hardly cover all situations.  Sometimes a well-placed phrase or sentence goes miles to give a clearer picture of the game mechanics.  I also find that limiting artillery range to 900 yards whereas an infantry unit moves 1125 yards in one move means that most infantry will keep out of range and advance to contact in one move without suffering any bombardment on their approach - once in contact they will take one round of artillery and skirmish fire plus close range fire during the combat phase (canister fire is integrated in an artillery battery's Combat Rating). Having said that however, I still think they are a very good ruleset which could have been excellent had there been a little bit more attention to explain that little bit more clearly.

This will probably be my last post for this first year of my blog.  I must say I am enjoying posting and thank you all for taking the time to visit.  A Merry Christmas to you all and a very Happy New Year, of course.  Happy gaming and hope to see you all visiting once more in 2019!

Teugen-Hausen ESR Scenario - Part 2

We met once more to reprise our refight of Teugen-Hausen using the 'Et Sans Resultat'' Napoleonic ruleset.  In the first part of this narrative we left the French III Corps under Davout marching westwards towards Teugen whilst the Austrian III Korps under Hohenzollern defended the heights around Hausen. Further east, Rosenborg's IV Korps marched north towards Dunzling to engage any French forces there and block any possible outlfanking maneuvre.

Rosenborg quickly arrives at Dunzling to find it bereft of French. His objective reached, he reverts to 'Defend' orders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, a few miles west, Friant's division deploys whilst Lusignan's Austrians occupy the heights before Hausen. Lusignan aims to buy time in order to allow the bulk of the Austrian army to deploy to his rear.

 

 

Behind Lusignan's defensive line, St Julien's division deploys at a painfully slow pace. Such is the joy of commanding Austrians !!

 

 

Friant's division (centre, left) is now almost fully deployed while to its rear St Hilaire arrives in support but still in march column. On right, the Austrians opt for a static defence and remain in situ.

While the French take their time to deploy and organise their attack, St Julien's division continues its languid deployment around Hausen.

Charge! Friant's division storms uphill to engage Lusignan's infantry.  Outnumbered 3:1 the outlook looks bleak for the Austrian defenders.

The assault seen from a different angle.

Lusignan is forced to concede the heights to the outnumbering French

Following their mauling at the hands of the French, Lusignan's units fail their Assessment test miserably and accumulate further fatigue, causing them to rout (on left beyond river).

And that's where we left it for the week.  Hopefully we'll wrap it up next session when the two titanic divsions of Friant and Saint Julien will presumably clash. The Austrians are entirely fresh and have a distinct advantage in artillery while the French have racked up some fatigue following their struggle with Lusignan.  However, the French should make up for it with their superior quality and with having the entirely fresh division of St Hilaire to the rear.

To be continued........

28mm Perry Miniatures Dutch Guard Lancers

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I sometimes dabble in the 28mm scale just to enjoy painting the beautifully detailed figures that are available out there. This unit of Perry Dutch Guard Lancers is depicted at Waterloo with their leader - General Colbert - having one arm in a sling.  Colbert was wounded the day before and fought the battle of Waterloo with his wound dressed. The unit is an absolute joy to paint and the detail on the figures is outstanding. I must say they look very nice in my display cabinet!

The Dutch Guard Lancers in all their glory

General Colbert leads his men forward

Close up of Colbert, arm in sling

Teugen-Hausen ESR Scenario

Life has that nasty habit of getting in the way sometimes, and after a few weeks of forced hiatus we sat down around the table once more for some serious gaming. We chose the Teugen Hausen 1809 (or Thann) scenario from the splendidly presented "The First Battle Lost" ESR scenario book. For those not entirely familiar, this was one of the opening engagements of the 1809 campaign where Davout's III Corps was in danger of encirclement.  The French were thus forced to pull off a dramatic breakout with the Austrians desperately trying to prevent this from happening.

As the rest of the gang were not familiar at all with the ruleset, we spent most of the afternoon in explanations and generic chatting on aspects of the rules but this notwithstanding we still managed to put in the first couple of moves.  The mood was positive overall and for gents who are more accustomed to Age of Eagles and General de Brigade, initial impressions seemed upbeat enough. The gradual deployment of a column on the march went down especially well, it being agreed that most rulesets allowing instantaneous deployment of long march columns are not entirely realistic since in real life this would probably not have been so easy. ESR reflects this very elegantly, with the French needing more than an hour in game time to deploy a fifteen-battalion division on the move.  This forces people to think well ahead since nobody wants to be caught napping in march column! I'm attaching a few pics to give an impression of the table and forces involved. There hasn't been any firing or combat as yet but this is sure to be the case next session.  Until then........

The battlefield represents an 8.5 x 3 mile area, which in the 100 yard scale translates into a whopping 12.5 x 4.5 feet table.

In the foreground San Julien's division approaches Hausen in column. Beyond the village, other Austrian units are deployed. The French III Corps can be seen in march column in the distance along the opposite edge of the table.

The bulk of Rosenborg's IV Korps marching through Hellring (top) and Pairing (bottom).

San Julien chooses to bypass Hausen and crosses the Feckingerbach on the way to Teugen.

Seeing Lusignan's division top the high ground to his left, St Hilaire commences to deploy his troops from march column.