Happy Father's Day! And Some French 2nd Empire Zoauves and Algerian Tirailleurs

With an expected busy work week coming up, I pushed ahead and finished up the Perry ACW Zouaves - as French 2nd Empire Zouaves and Algerian Tirailleurs. There are four 8-man squads (2 each Zouaves and Tirailleurs) which are intended for Bolt Action.

Even though the rules are skirmish, I have them based 2 figures per 50mm Litko round bases.

Two units of Algerian Tirailleurs; distinguished by one unit with white baggies and the other in all sky blue.

I like their sky blue uniforms.

Next up the Zouaves.

The two units are differentiated by one having white cloth wrapped turbans.

10 of the Zouaves  (with white wrapped turbans) were already painted; I swapped two of their heads with the Tirailleurs.

The Cigar Box Battle mat I got from Chris last year is used for the photos.

Besides these figures, I plan to get a box of French Line Infantry from Eagles of Empires. I'm waiting until their Bavarians are back in stock before placing an order.  Well, so much for now and thanks for stopping by. Until next time, happy painting and good gaming!

Franco-Prussian War Project - A Humble Beginning

Sorry for being away so long, but I finally have something to post. The start of a new project in well over a year. This time a new venture - into the short in duration, but deadly, Franco-Prussian War. Not sure how it'll play out, but I hope to use Bolt Action for squad-sized skirmish games. Adding to some Perry Zouaves already painted up will be another squad of Zoauves and a couple of squads of Algerian Tirailleurs. For opponents, I plan to order some Prussians and Bavarians from Eagles of Empires - once the Bavarians are back in stock. Anyway, here's the Perry figs in the initial painting stages.

Some images from the French Colonial Army of Africa uniform book I picked up last fall at Fix Bayonets' bring and buy.

Love them red baggies!

Both Zoauves and Algerian Tirailleurs fought with distinction at the Battle of Woerth - where the French were outnumbered 2 to 1.

So much for now - thank you for your patience and continued visits! Until next time, happy painting and good gaming!

Enfilade! 2019 - A Return to Gaming Proper!

Just got back from another great Enfilade! Memorial Day weekend historical gaming convention hosted by the Northwest Historical Gaming Society (NHMGS). I ran my second Black Powder game on Saturday morning. This time the French never even made a move for the bridges to retreat off the table, but charged ahead and met the British on the field of battle. Suffice to say, they got bogged down in combat and such and never had a single unit off the table. The British destroyed enough French units that it was determined the French wouldn't be able to get at least 50% of their forces off the table - their victory condition.

Scots Greys being counter-charged by Red Lancers - as you can tell, the Greys have all of their supports and the Lancer none. The Lancers lost this round of combat.

The pontoon bridge held by French Engineers and Sappers still unmolested by the British. As may be evident in the position of the units - the French have no desire to leave field of battle.

Besides hosting the two Black Powder games, I played in two other games. The first was a Rebels and Patriots AWI game hosted by my buddy and fellow blogger David S. of I Live With Cats fame. A wonderful scenario which had the rebel militia and minute men units I ran in a losing struggle against British elites - Lights and Grenadiers. Here are some pics of the game.

The dreaded and deadly British Lights who caused havoc with my freedom loving rebels.

Rebel militia attempting to stop the British Grenadiers from exiting the table - which they didn't, but nevertheless won due to the Rebels losing most of their units.

The second game I played was also run by a buddy and fellow-blogger; Kevin S. of A Gamer's Tale. This was a WW2 Aerial game using Dave Manley's Air War rules. I played the Germans and flew a couple of squadrons of FW-190's. The objective was to keep the British from bombing the Tirpitz. I ended up losing my planes due to overwhelming British firepower. The game was a minor victory for the British as the Tirpitz was hit by strafing fire, but not severely damaged.

The Queen of the North being disgraced by unruly British Barracudas.

Although I only bought one item at the Bring and Buy, Napoleon's Army 1807-1814 - a finely illustrated by of Martinet prints, I was given quite a few figures - three boxes of plastic AWI figures from David S. and a box of Test of Honor Ronin from another buddy.

Portuguese Legion images - food for thought - Perry French Infantry with British Belgic shako heads and also Perry British Light Dragoons.

Well, at the risk of looking like I'm trying to make up for lost time (aka severe lack of blog posts), what follows are pictures of some of the games held over the weekend at Enfilade! I captioned the games using the PEL which I am pretty sure of.

"The Crossover by Neil Marker, Pulp Alley from Phipps & Daughter, 4 hrs, Sci-Fi Miniature Event Location: C You are aboard the new zeppelin Schadelbrecher when a bomb threat draws you and others into a game of cat and mouse. Where is the bomb? Who planted it? Tune in for the answers! This large piece was a wonder to behold." Neil added all of the interior items - very, very impressive.

"Thuds Over Hanoi by Damond Crump & Lawrence Bateman, Airwar C21 from Wessex Games, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: I August 1966. Blue skies and a full payload for Route Package VI. Some Frenchie bridge needs busting. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Wings Over Malta by Kevin Smyth, Airwar 1940 from David Manley (beta), 7 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: B The two and half year air campaign against the British base at Malta featured regular visits by the Regia Aeronautica and the Luftwaffe against the ever scrambling units of the RAF." For the record, I played-tested this game last year at the Game Matrix.

"Relief of Bastogne by Greg Moore, home-brew, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: U An American task force from Patton's Army attempts to break through a German position to relieve the siege of Bastogne in a winter battle. Battle fought in 1/72 scale with home-made rules."

"Battle of Ravenna (1512) by Spencer Fisher, Lion Rampant (28mm) from Osprey, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: W On Easter Day, 1512, a French army besieging Ravenna in northern Italy, under command of the dashing 22-year-old Gaston de Foix, found itself confronted by a relief army of Spanish and Papal troops which had dug itself in behind formidable earthworks. Determined to force a field battle, Foix drew up his forces opposite the Spanish and a fierce artillery duel ensued, ultimately driving the Spanish back into the low ground behind their earthworks and forcing Spanish cavalry to charge. It is at this juncture that our miniature game begins." Wow, that's a long description!

"Assault on Red Beach by Evan Clark, Bolt Action (lightly modified) from Warlord Games, 4 hrs Drawing inspiration from the Battle of Saipan, this scenario portrays a mechanized beachlanding by the 2nd Marine division in late 1944. Opposing them are fierce defenders of the IJA and SNLF, backed up by light armor and hiding behind thick bunkers. Can the Marines manage to secure the beachhead to allow for armored reinforcements? Or will the Japanese counterattack succeed? 28mm."

"A Ratt and Some Mauses 1945 by Greg Moore, Home Brew, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: T The Atom Bomb test fails. The Germans somehow hang on in Europe. The Americans fight their way into Germany and run into German supertanks in a December 1945 winter battle. Easy to learn home-brewed rules. All vehicles 3D printed."

"Clash on the Coast by Rick Achberger, Cruel Seas from Warlord, 4 hrs Take command of German or British vessels along the coast of Norway. Combine your cunning as a boat commander with the speed and firepower of small, powerful E-Boats or Motor Torpedo Boats. Will the German fleet escape the safety of the fjord to prowl the North Sea? Will the British contain the menace to their convoys? All are welcome to come play this fast-paced, 1/300 WWII naval game of small, coastal fleets engaging in vicious seaborne dogfights." I hope this is the correct Cruel Seas game as there were three or four of them.

"Chaos and Anarchy in the Garden by Daryl Nichols, Gnome Wars from Brigade Games, 7 hrs, Fantasy Miniature Event Location: J It's a full moon and the gnomes are restless in the garden and what better way to spend the night than in a free for all brawl!"

"Defense of St Louis II by David Pearce; The Game Matrix, All Quiet on the Martian Front, 7 hrs, Sci-Fi Miniature Event Location: N The Martians have crossed the Mississippi and are now rampaging through St. Louis. Can the city's defenders push them back are all the citizens of St Louis doomed?"

I couldn't find a description matching this game on the PEL; but it appeared to be a pick up game using WHFB figures.

"Isola della Scala (1512) by Spencer Fisher, Lion Rampant (28mm) from Osprey, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: W In February 1512, the young French general Gaston de Foix (the "Thunderbolt of Italy") successfully forced marched his army north to catch a Venetian army encamped at the village of Isola della Scala completely by surprise by attacking them before dawn "by the light which the stars reflected from the snow." Two months later de Foix would clash on Easter Day with the Spanish/Papal army at Ravenna."

I'm not sure which game this one was as there were quite a few AWI games and several using Rebels and Patriots (including the one I played in.)

"Normandy, Omaha Beach Presented by Colin Wilson

Flames of War published by Battlefront Miniatures
Regular signup, room for 6 players"

"Motti by Bruce Meyer Michael Koznarsky, Combat from Company B, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: B On December 7, 1939, the Soviet 163rd Rifle Division captured Suomussalmi, but found itself trapped deep inside Finnish territory by Finnish motti tactics."

"Winter on the English Channel by Gary Griess, Cruel Seas from Warlord Games, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: H Coastal fleets battle to get shipping thru English Channel or stop it. English vs German WW2. You may also bring your own fleet to enlarge game."

The skulking way of war by David Sullivan, Song of Drums and Tomahawks from Ganesha Games, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: V Hurons, Iroquois, and European newcomers clash in the wilderness of the new world in the 1630s. This is a skirmish game between small forces where skulking is a virtue.

Saga 2 "Wooden Oath" by Henry Thomson, Saga 2, 6pts warband from Studio Tomahawk, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: I base on scenario from Book of Battles, "Wooden Oaths" on page 50. Here the description from the rule book "....Scenario is the one during which you might fall out with your friends. This is a game of negotiation, corruption and treason. Your friend in turn three could well become your worst enemy during turn four, and it's a good bet that no-one will be able to predict the winner until the final

Retreat from Moscow by Doug Hamm, Simple! from DougH, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: K To surrender is to be killed, to give up is to die frozen, to run away is to die alone in the white vastness. Your only option is to fight and keep walking but that the Russians and nature may not allow. It's fun in the snow!! Simple rules for a simple game!

Beware a risen people: Ireland 1596 by David Sullivan, The Pikeman's Lament from Osprey, 4 hrs English troops in the reign of Elizabeth I are raiding Irish villages (as they do), but run into more substantial opposition than they bargained for.

A Martian Invastion game, but not sure what rules.

The Sierra Nevada Train Heist by Shawn Turpin, The Shootist with some homebrew changes, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: D While traveling through the Sierra Nevada mountains during the dead of winter, a "freak" avalanche happened and covered the passage. Normally this is not a big deal, but this train was rumored to be carrying a load of gold to one of the banks, and sitting idle is not safe. While the train crews are busy trying to clear the way, some bandits decide to "help out" by removing said gold.

Himalayan Rescue by Neil Marker, Pulp Alley from Phipps & Daughter, 4 hrs, Sci-Fi Miniature Event Location: C After the zeppelin Schadelbrecher is blown up over the Himalayas, can you rescue the survivors before the cold and the elements leave them all in a cold grave?

Circus Maximus by Ken Cassady, Circus Maximus (Home Brew) from AH, 4 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: W Rome's greatest spectacle Circus Maximus is to happen once more. Players of all ages are welcome no experience is needed. I will provide new players with pre-filled racing forms for a quicker start. If you bring your own chariot you are guaranteed to play the game. For those return players your stables are ready for your next race.

"To the Rescue" by Henry Thomson, Cruel Seas from by Warlord Games, 7 hrs, Historical Miniature Event Location: U Cruel Seas is a WWII small boats naval battle system at 1/350 scale. We be doing the Scenario 3 "To the Rescue" Objective is for one side to rescue a stricken ship crew and the other side to capture the same crew.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoyed the post. Until next time, be safe and happy painting and gaming!