Friday, October 1, 2021

Austrians vs. Bavarians 1809 Black Powder Game

Just got back from playing a very enjoyable Black Powder game hosted by my buddy James. He has a keen interest in the 1809 Campaign and has a huge collection of figures for the period.

Set up prior to starting. Bavarians on the near side of the shot - and Austrians holding the far side of the table. The victory conditions were for the Bavarians to make it off the table through a narrow pass or killing off over half of the enemy.
The Austrian left.
Bavarian left.
Bavarian center - I ran two Bavarian infantry brigades and James ran the Bavarian cavalry as well as their light infantry sharp shooters.
The Austrian center with a unit of Uhlans.
One of my Bavarian infantry brigades assaulting the Austrian right. One of the Bavarian regiments was wiped out by enemy artillery and musket fire. The other one survived. James included special characters based upon actual historical figures - for instance, one of the Bavarian regiments had a father son - officer/sergeant major duo to add bonus for attacks. Another character was a Bavarian pioneer who added bonuses for combat in wooded terrain.
Bavarian cavalry waiting to support my other Bavarian infantry brigade firing down into Austrians retreating off the high ground.
The Bavarian cavalry actually ended up getting decimated by traversing artillery fire as they attempted to advance to the pass. It was a declared an Austrian victory at the end of turn 5 as no Bavarian units made it to the pass. However, the Bavarians did manage to kill off a good number of Austrians.

James has a Bavarian cavalry helmet and Austrian grenadier cap, as well as a French cuirass from the period.

All in all a really enjoyable Black Powder game. In fact, this was my first Black Powder game in about two years. All the core rules came back nicely, and plan to host my own Black Powder game in a few weeks - the La Haye Sainte scenario game. Thanks again for stopping by and wishing you all the best in gaming and painting.

38 comments:

  1. Great looking game Dean, troops and terrain all look fantastic!

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    1. Thanks a lot, Mike. Good to play Black Powder again. Warmest regards, Dean

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  2. Now that’s a setup and nice models I would enjoy playing in. Are those actual artifacts or replicas? Either way nice to have over looking the table. A friend of mine is a big ACW fan and has collections in 15’s and 28’s. He has muskets and uniforms and flags all around the room. Makes it feel really immersive.

    Cheers
    Kevin

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    1. Thanks, Kevin. The terrain and building were custom made by my buddy, James. And the headgear and weapons are actual items. Warmest regards, Dean

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  3. Not a fan of this historical era but pictures looks pretty nice done! Good report, Dean!

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    1. Thanks a lot, Vladimir. I started with Ancients and somehow slipped into Napoleonics. ;) Warm regards, Dean

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  4. Smart fight! Long ago Dean waited from you for the similar report 8)

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    1. Thank you very much, Denis. Yes, hopefully get more gaming and reports posted soon. Warmest regards, Dean

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  5. Woooow! That table- terrains and minis! More than awesome!

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    1. Thank you very much, Michal. Kindest regards, Dean

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  6. Awesome looking battlefield & game Dean ! Great report !
    Greetings

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    1. Thanks a lot, Mario. The figures and terrain are a labor of love by my buddy. He loves the 1809 Campaign. Kindest regards, Dean

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  7. Great to see you getting a game in Dean. Looked really nice, buildings are really cool and an interesting take on the terrain 😀

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    1. Thanks a lot, Matt. Besides the table, my buddy scratch built all the buildings using model railroad parts. Warmest regards, Dean

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  8. Hi Dean, enjoyed your table and figures. Nice touch to bring a few historical characters into play.

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    1. Thank you very much, Norm. Yes, my buddy put a lot of heart and soul into this game as he has studied this campaign for many years. Warmest regards, Dean

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  9. Great game Dean. That's what I'm interested in.

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    1. Thanks, Alexey! Yes, back to historical wargaming :) Kindest regards, Dean

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  10. A lovely looking table with some beautiful terrain and figures - are all the figures your friends or are some of them painted by you? I have only ever played a couple of games of BP - we found it has a tendency to deliver some odd results occasionally, if you rolled really well or really badly EG in one game the cavalry got a triple move in the first or second turn and were able to charge the full breadth of the table and cause such damage to the advancing enemy that the game was m ore or less over in twenty minutes - not really what you are looking for on a Friday evening after a long, hard working week!

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    1. Thanks, Keith. All the figures and terrain are my buddy James'. A labor of love for him. In fact, this is only a fraction of the Austrians and Bavarians he has. I think he has about 20-plus infantry battalions each (big 32-man battalions), and also an impressive amount of cavalry and artillery. I think he said he has enough to fill a 20-plus foot table - which he's done a few times in the past. He loves the 1809 Campaign. As for Black Powder, this game saw a lot of devastation from traversing fire (cannon and infantry) when cavalry forgot about them when moving. Kindest regards, Dean

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  11. Fabulous game, terrain and minis Dean! Great to see that face to face gaming is gradually creeping back in. Those historical equipment pieces are top notch!

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    1. Thanks a lot, Mike. My buddy James is an old time gamer with tons of figures and a special interest in this campaign. For the record, we only had 4 players, myself, James the host and his son and one other player. I think keeping the gatherings smallish in private venues more comfortable at the moment. Kindest regards, Dean

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  12. Great looking game, James has a fab collection

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    1. Thanks, Scrivs. Yes, James has a large collection - the figures in the game are mostly Perry metals and Old Glory. He has a lot of old Minifigs French too. Warmest regards, Dean

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  13. Cracking looking game Dean, it looked a great game to be playing in.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. Thanks a lot, Stu. Yes, it was very nice getting a Black Powder game in again after a long dry period. I think a good time as the weather here will be getting conducive for indoor activities. Warmest regards, Dean

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  14. Splendid looking game, lovely figures, nice to get a game, good to see as I'm working on the 1809 campaign, got to get some Austrians painted!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks a lot, Iain. It's quite an interesting campaign with a lot of back and forth victories and losses. Kindest regards, Dean

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  15. Awesome game! Everything looks very cool!

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    1. Thanks a lot, Sergey! Yes, it was quite an enjoyable game. Reaffirmed my liking of the rules again. Warmest regards, Dean

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  16. What a fantastic game, terrain and figures.
    Neil

    http://toysoldiersanddiningroombattles.blogspot.com/

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    1. Yes, it was great to play in this game, Neil. Well-researched with lots of nice troops and terrain. Kindest regards, Dean

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    2. Lovely figures and game, Dean!
      A good freind of the family, who was significant early influence in the hobby for me, had several items of militaria in their home, including also an Austrian Grenadier bearskin. I shudder to think of the prices these items command now days. Even replicas make our toy soldiers look cheap in the extreme!

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  17. Splendid looking game, figures and militaria. I like the idea of characters at the unit level, rather than the 'usual' senior commanders providing bonuses.
    Regards, James

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  18. Those historical items really up the cool factor of the hobby by more than ten-fold!

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    1. Yes, they certainly are cool to game next to!

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  19. What a cool looking game - this was a fun and inspiring post Dean!

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