15mm Napoleonics

As I've mentioned before Napoleonic gaming was where I started wargamming 'proper' at the Rainham Wargames Club, my badly and wrongly painted 25mm Minifigs British took to the field in various numbers to battle mostly French enemies, marching forwards and being gunned down my the massed ranks of Derek's cannon.

Since then I've had various attempts of restarting a Napoleonic, the latest is a 15mm Napoleonic force based on the Peninsular Wars and in particular around 1810. The first formation I've finished is the Light Divison from the Battle of the Coa.

1st Battalion 43rd Foot

The battle was really only a skirmish, Wellington had been campaigning against the French commanded by Marshall Andrea Messena. The French were trying to force a crossing of the river Coa to attack Almeida.

Wellington knowing the British were outnumbered ordered his army to fall back over the Coa, The General of the Light Division, Robert Craufurd, was a very competent commander and had trained and handed his division Brilliantly but on this day 24th July 1810 his judgement or timing wasn't the best. The Light Division as the armies rearguard and was surprised by an attack my a French force of 24,000 men commanded by Ney, Craufurd's 2,900 British and Portuguese men were caught on the Spanish side of the river and he decided to stay and fight.

The Light Division fought hard but took heavy casualties, risking being outflanked they continued fighting, the French having greater numbers and a superiority in Cavalry charged the line with bayonets and in the end the french attacks threatened to cut off the British from the only escape route of the bridge so Craufurd order the retreat across the river,

The 95th Rifles were the last of the rearguard as the rest of the Division crossed, a wagon over turned on the bridge and the Rifles came under fire from the fortress of Almeida as they were mistaken for the enemy but finally the Division crossed the bridge. The French attempted to force their way across the river but had several attempts repulsed by heavy musket and cannon fire and finally a heavy thunderstorm brought the fighting to an end.

Light Division Order of battle 24th July 1810

General Robert Craufurd

1st Brigade
Lt-Colonel Sydney Beckwith

1/43rd Foot
5 Coys. 1/95th Rifles
3rd Cacadores

2nd Brigade
Lt-Colonel Robert Barclay

1/52nd Foot
5 Coys. 1/95th Rifles
1st Cacadores

Cavalry Brigade
Brigadier General George Anson

16th Light Dragoons
Light Dragoons
Ross' Troop Royal Horse Artillery

1st Battalion 52nd foot

Ross' Troop Royal Horse Artillery

British Artillery

British Light Infantry

Light Division

Portuguese and British Troops

Long time gone

Well it's been a while, over a year since I last updated this. Lots has happened but I have still been painting s time to catch up with some of what I have been upto...

So far a start some 15mm Napoleonics, I've been missing some old fashioned linear wargames, and I dug out the old WRG 1645-1845 rules; think they are from 1973 so as old as me, but with a few tweaks they make a perfectly good set of rules. Tom and I have played a few games using just the bases to see how it works and I have started a British army with the Light Division. It's a small formation of two British Light Infantry Battalions and two Portuguese Cacadores Battalions supported by eight Companies of Riflemen and two Regiments of British Light Cavalry and a Royal Horse Artillery Battery.

So far I've completed the two Light Infantry regiments, one of the Portuguese regiments and the riflemen. 

British Light Infantry

British Light Infantry

Riflemen

Cacadores

Cacadores

British Light Infantry

 

Napoleonic British

I've had some Perry Miniatures plastic British line infantry and Victorix plastic guns sitting around half painted for a couple of years. As a war gamer I think a Napoleonic army is a must. Twenty odd years ago I used to have a huge army of mini figs and redoubt miniatures Brits and now I feel the need to relive that.

But moving off the point, half painted figures... Having just finished a job painting an army of Front Rank Austrians I have been inspired to finish off at least what I have brought already.

So here you go, the 44th East Essex Regiment of Foot. (It was the flags in the box that inspired this choice, and also the similar name and same cuff colours of Sharpe's South Essex).

The Perry Miniatures box is great value, 36 infantry including parts for Grenadier and Light companies and the options for belgic or stovepipe shakos; and also 4 riflemen.

I've Started painted the Victrix battery as well, one gun and limber painted.

Forged in Battle

A long term project I am working on for another commision is one of each of the range of WW2 models from Forged in Battle Andy's Models has commissioned this www.andysmodels.co.uk (nice discounts on all his range) Below are the British Tanks. In my opinion the models are better than battlefronts, far more detail, easier to construct, they do all have bases though which I like but many don't

Late War Sherman M4

Kangaroo

Sherman VC Firefly

Sherman VC Firefly

4

Late War Stuart

Sherman Mine Sweeper

Sherman Mine Sweeper

Desert War Stuart (Mid War)

Mid War Sherman

Mid War Grant, I liked these so much I how have an army of them

Sherman M4

Mid War Lee

Late Desert War Sherman

Ok yes it has been many whiles since I last wrote anything on here, a busy summer of painting, gaming and Olympics has kept me away. So what's been going on for the last few months? All that follows...

Early War Germans and British

A client asked me to repaint his two rather tank heavy armies, the original painting was rough and I couldn't quite get all the detail out in the new layer of paint.

Early War German Armoured Company

Early War British Armour

German Infantry

British Vickers Light Tanks

British Crusier Tanks

German Armour Panzer III, IV, II and Is

More British Crusiers

Ze Germans

More Light Tanks

German Panzer IVs