Reject Richard's - The Battle of Stoliboz, 1 October 1756 P6

 An Alternative Seven Years War Remote Wargame

The Battle of Stoliboz, 1 October 1756

A Guest Blog

Part 6 – Battle Phase 5, Some bold cavalry moves.

So far, the action has been hottest in the north of the battlefield, around the town of Stoliboz.  This phase would see action developing all along the line and some pretty bold moves on the southern flank.

If you have just joined this then you may want to catch up by looking at some of the previous posts on this battle.

1. Introduction and details - (link)

2. Phase 1 – deployment in the fog - (link)

3. Phase 2 - First Clashes and Jockeying for Position - (link)

4. Phase 3 – Probing the Flanks - Position - (link)

5. Phase 4 - Southern Flank warms up - (link)

These blogs go out after the commanders on both sides have submitted their orders for the next phase.  To name and shame, the Austrians have been a little tardy with theirs.  Perhaps this reflects some indecision with the commanders, Ian and Ray?  

What has become increasingly doubtful is whether the Austrian grenzers and hussars in the north have been receiving any orders at all.

As we pick up the story this is the situation at around a quarter past the hour of noon.

The French 3rd Brigade deliver a lethal cannonade and volley into the Austrian 1st Grenadiers and the defenders of the town of Stoliboz.  However, the Austrians reply in kind leaving the French grenadiers feeling very unhappy about the situation.  Meanwhile, Lee’s brigade move into position.

All along the line the artillery of both sides competes for dominance.

Whilst on the southern flank of the battlefield, Ian’s Austrian dragoons cross the stream with haste in order to contact the French heavy cavalry of the Commissaire General Regiment.

With Teutonic efficiency the Austrians wipe out the French heavies to a man; taking their brigadier prisoner and trampling the colours in the blood mired earth before retrieving it as a trophy for the Empress.  Austrian casualties were slight.

The situation at around half past twelve in the afternoon.

As the French Guard advance, they suffer considerably in a hail of canister.  Whilst further along the line Ian’s gunners wipe out their counterparts of the French 2nd Brigade.

At Stoliboz, it is getting very hot with horrendous casualties on all sides.

Oh look!  It’s the picnicking hussars – even Ray doesn’t know what they are doing!

The situation at 12.45pm.  

In the north, the Liccaner Grenzers have finally destroyed the effectiveness of the skirmishers of the Montagne regiment.  Now they turn to deal with the other chasseurs.

The Austrian 1st Grenadiers continue to take considerable punishment from the French guns and muskets…

…and are forced to retire to regain their composure and cohesion.  The Austrian line is starting to look a little thin at this crucial location.

Not too far away.  Ray’s errant hussars have forced Lee’s newly arrived Bandeville regiment to turn to protect its rear.  Simultaneously causing some command and control problems for the French 4th Brigade.  Because where is the brigade general?

…on a hill having lunch!

It is hotting up in the centre.

But it is getting even hotter on the southern flank with aggressive advances by Austrian cavalry and grenzers.

The Austrian dragoons chase down the French hussars who turn to face.  The Austrians charge the French Turpin regiment on the left.  The French falter and receive the charge of the Austrian 1st dragoons, now led by Ian himself, in disarray.

It is utter carnage!  John has arrived in time to witness the death of an entire brigade.  “Zut alors”  John mutters to himself.  John seems to cut a lonely figure.  He better move on quickly now.

The situation at approaching 13:00.  

  

Can Ray hold the Austrian line at Stoliboz?  Or has Surjit now become his master?

What will John be able to do to shore up the southern flank?

Will Lee break the Austrian centre?

What the hell are Ray’s hussars up to?  Not sure Ray knows?  Or does he?

Until next time…

25mm Donnybrook Buildings 1

 

More great MDF buildings from JB MDF Products

These 4 come as a set for the princely sum of £12.70!

The two I've finished here are the small House/shed and closed barn. Both on the left in the pic above.

The Closed barn, I've tried to give them a Tudor/ECW style, to make it pretty generic for all of my Donnybrook shenanigans, whether in England, Ireland, Scotland or Flanders. 

The small House/shed, again with wooden beams, which are actually strips of card. I paid extra for the roofing material, which is made from coconut fibre and generally used to line baskets for flowers.

Two pics of the inside, again like the last post, I've left the inside unpainted and again, I may paint it white or may not......

I'm aiming for around 12 various buildings but I can never keep to any plan, so I may end up with loads more!

Oh well......

Haitian Revolution - 25mm MDF Buildings

Since the end of the Challenge back in March, I've been trying to get some buildings made for my Donnybrook excursion and also for the Haitian Revolution. I did initially want to scratch build some after watching countless hours of "How to" videos on You Tube,  but as a start I thought it best to buy some MDF buildings. I found a guy on ebay John Banks, who makes an extensive range of MDF buildings in all sizes from 6mm to 28mm, all being very cheap. Sounded good to me!

4Ground do a great Pirate Cove set, basically a Caribbean port, which to me fits in perfectly with how Haiti or Saint- Domingue as it was known would have looked like. They make a set of small Port buildings and when I saw these 28mm Garden Sheds, I had to have them and for only £5.50 for the three of them!!

They fit together pretty easy and I kept the decoration pretty basic. The middle building was covered in a thin coating of polyfilla and painted white. The other two, I threw in a handful of sand to a mix of grey emulsion paint and slapped it all over. Easy!

I haven't yet as you can see painted the inside of the building and may not bother. The roof was made from some corrugated card cut into tiles and glued on with PVA. I was stuck with how to paint them as I only had a small amount of Vallejo Cavalry Brown, so I used the next best thing, I've got a big tin of Red Masonry paint after decorating the front of my house during lockdown. So I used that, I've got enough to last a lifetime!

So there we have them, the first of my buildings for Saint-Domigue!

An Ode to Scrivs....

 

Things have slowed down to their usual pace here at Casa Rousell, what with the Painting Challenge ending and real life getting in the way.

The pubs are open as well this week, so work had been extremely busy, selling beer to all unsundry in around Kent and the South East, so there's not been a lot of painting going on. (apart from building, buildings)

Speaking of the Challenge, there were some really fantastic figures painted,  my favourite entry was from Paul Scrivens-Smith. You can see the great looking figures HERE on his blog Scrivsland. 

Paul painted up some Brigade Games Scientists & Savants for his Napoleonic collection.  I commented on his post saying I loved the figures and would try and get some. Paul very kindly offered to buy them and a few other figures for me as he was coming back home to Blighty from the US, in the coming weeks. Of course I jumped at the chance!! The figures arrived late last week after Paul and his wife had unpacked all their stuff from the move. 

So I just wanted to say thanks to Paul again for being a thoroughly decent chap and sorting this out for me. It always amazes me how someone you've never even met can do a kind deed for a fellow wargamer in need. Cheers Paul!!!

I ordered the pack of Savants and 2 packs of French Sailors, Paul warned me that the figures were a little smaller than most, but I think I can get away with it, I'll just raise their bases with a piece of MDF or a tiddily wink.

Paul also pointed me in the direction of the Whizkids telescope and other scientific equipment to go along with the figures. To be honest I'd never heard of Whizkids?

I am painting some French up at the moment, very slowly, but rest assured these will all be the next figures I paint up.

Cheers

Ray

Reject Richard's - The Battle of Stoliboz, 1 October 1756 P5

 An Alternative Seven Years War Remote Wargame

The Battle of Stoliboz, 1 October 1756

A Guest Blog

Part 5 – Battle Phase 4, Southern Flank warms up

This has been a phase in the battle where the French have been able to control the initiative more effectively.  For those interested, the tabletop rules I use to execute the written orders is Koenig Krieg (not the latest version).  As grand tactical rules, I find that they work well, give a period feel to the battles and are entirely suitable for this sort of distance/virtual gaming.

If you have just joined this then you may want to catch up by looking at some of the previous posts on this battle.

1. Introduction and details - (link)

2. Phase 1 – deployment in the fog - (link)

3. Phase 2 - First Clashes and Jockeying for Position - (link)

4. Phase 3 – Probing the Flanks - Position - (link)

These blogs go out after the commanders on both sides have submitted their orders for the next phase.  Not all orders may get through. (Yeh Thanks Rich!) RR

As we pick up the story this is the situation at around 11.45am.  

Ray has sent fresh orders to his Liccaner Grenzers who find themselves increasingly in the centre of a skirmisher storm.  But have those orders got through?  The firefight certainly continues with the Grenzers showing the French chasseurs the meaning of accuracy.

Are the Austrians stopping for an early lunch?  Even the French seem puzzled about what the 12th Hussars are doing on top of the hill… or not doing in this case.

The French artillery of Surjit’s 3rd Brigade start with an ineffectual counter-battery fire, which the Austrians ignore as they pour hot metal into the French 1st Grenadiers whose confidence is certainly shaken.

Whilst on the relatively quiet southern flank things are moving.  An aggressive General John throws his hussars across the stream to engage Ian’s Austrian dragoons.   In response the Germanic horsemen counter charge in order to catch the French as they lose some of their coherence negotiating the banks.

The heavier weight of cavalry combined with the Austrian prowess in the saddle prove formidable as they hurl both French hussar regiments back in disorder after taking substantial losses… The Bercheny Hussars more so!

However, the Austrian brigadier felt the sharp edge of French steel.  Fortunately, he was able to brush it off as merely a flesh wound.

And so, the situation as it stands at noon.  General Lee’s columns are slowly creeping into the line.

Eschewing counter battery fire, the Austrian 1st Brigade gunners unleash a hail of canister at the French 1st Grenadiers – whose thinning lines briefly hesitate in their advance.

But Surjit continues to insist on targeting the Austrian battery, with an aggressive push into canister range.

…and his perseverance is finally rewarded!  Much to Austrian Ray’s chagrin, and Surjit’s schadenfreude!

And now the situation at around a quarter past noon.  I thought that you may be interested to see each general’s command on the map.

Plus, a view down the line looking from south towards the north.  Both sides have established their fronts and we can see the artillery opening up all along it.

And all the while those skirmishers are still at it just north of Stoliboz.

The troops around Stoliboz have certainly moved into musket range, and the air is growing full of black powder smoke and hot lead.  The southern flank appears to be about to develop a greater sense of urgency.  

What about those picnicking Austrian hussars, have they settled down for the afternoon?

Will the grenzers extricate themselves?

Until next time…

AHPC11 - Wrap up

 Sadly the 11th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has come to an end for another year. It was another titanic tussle for all involved, but what a grand motivational experience it was!!!

I gave myself a fairly easy (for me) 1000 point target and hoped for a top 20 placing, but I surpassed both of my targets, mainly due to Covid to be honest. I was put on a staggered part time furlough just before Christmas, so I had to stay at home. Now my wife Emma works from home in our front room, where the TV is. So every morning I sadly had to go up my shed, to get out of her way??? Shame I hear you all cry!!

So I had to sit and paint my figures all day, gutted eh?

The Ottomans

The Haitian Revolution

Graveyard and Donnybrook troops

Ruined Church, rocky terrain and various 25mm and 15mm figures

C3PO and an Alien can be seen lurking at the back!

I painted up

231 x 25mm figures

Various terrain pieces and buildings

44 x 15mm figures

1 x 54mm figure

Here's my performance so far in all the Challenges

Challenge II        4940 points 1st

Challenge III       2586 points 4th

Challenge IV       1227 points 17th

Challenge V          691 points 37th

Challenge VI        681 points 36th

Challenge VII      1093 points 24th

Challenge VIII      662 points 40th

Challenge IX       2274 points 8th

Challenge X        1687 points 11th

Challenge XI       2260 points 8th

So finally a massive Thank You, has to go to Curt, Sarah and all the Minions (even Tamsin!) for all their hard work and also thanks to all the other Challengers who helped push me forward with their great posts and all the great comments!

Cheers!