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ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG 1862 in 6mm (V)

Guess this afternoon I will proceed to reenact the first clash between Hooker and Jackson… it is slow sometimes I agree… but I am still experimenting with command&control and combat mechanisms. It must be tiresome to follow… but at least you have plenty of pics (curiously enough my mobile phone does it better than my old camera)…

My table is flat (got criticized by that in facebook) which does not mean the real terrain was flat at all that is taken care of by visibility options but also the fact that once firing starts smoke and noise will prevent God’s Own View… I mean it is probably God’s Own Scale… but the troops engaged where “lost” in the chaos of the firefight.

One of my phobias concerning Toy Soldiers is stands “balancing” in imposible positions over railroad scenery modeling terrain… sorry chaps… but this is what it is… neither troops fighting on top of woods a la LITTLE WARS TV way (which has very good points and creativity -aka Trafalgar- but not that particular one!)

Hope you follow me.

Enjoy!

Confederate Army of Northern Virginia… Sunken Road represented by a rail fence.

ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG 1862 6mm SOLO WARGAME (IV)

It says wargame in the title… but this is an exaggeration… call it Umpire’s delight (Impartial), Chaos&Casualties, History on the Tabletop, Epic Brawl, Attrition for hours!… a lot of names come to my mind with no real effort…

Funnily enough bickering/arguments between wargamers do not concern me at all… by example I started the battle setting the table and the troops (Armies in 6mm please) without a hitch, I even switch brigades from one Corps to another if wrongly deployed… anything goes… I am reading for the umpteenth time rulesets and books about the ACW and ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG in particular… and so far have gotten to a lot of conclusions…

FIRST: NO need to write down all the possibilities of movement and distances the troops can manouever… if not in contact with the enemy it is pretty straightforward… and that’s that!… easy enough to my satisfaction (SOLO).

SECOND: I will pass of generals characteristics as in Altar of Freedom for example (a good set of rules for multiplayer games).

THIRD: ALL movements count as simultaneous as the fire from guns and muskets… I will do my own table about that…

FOUR: ONLY three status for Brigades, say FRESH/ORGANIZED (1); HAVE BEEN ENGAGED/TIRED/DISORGANIZED (2 ) (synonymus in my book); SPENT/RETREAT TO A SAFER PLACE/NO USEFUL AGAIN EXCEPT IF ATTACKED (3)… more about that third category later on but it means basically you can not use them anymore in that battle… NO running out of the table… just a safe distance. Brigades of (1) and (2) categories can recoil, retreat, and do “things” until they go (3)… meaning they can be rallied and pushed forward again… NO BRIGADE CAN STAND MORE THAN 4 CHAOS FIGHT (all fighting is chaotic…and there is or will be a lot of compulsory movements… that would be the more complicated thing to translate in writing I guess) NO plans resist contact with the enemy.

FIVE: There would not be Victory points neither a “clear result”… once the slaughter stops Armies will stop fighting and as in real life you (ME) will count casualties (more or less) and for once would like to see a result similar to the one in real life… Armies would have done what they intended to do but once a third of the brigades of either Army (or both) are in the (3rd) status call it SPENT… Battle stops… and I do not give a damn which Army retreats first for ressuplying/reorganizing etc. CONSIDERE THAT SIMULTANEOUS after truce to get the wounded etc.

Quite strange?… simply my way of seeing things… I do not particularly relish in ACW medical services (William Holden or not), amputations, and the rest… a hellish place to see a battlefield after an engagement… let’s consider my way an eagle eye (or fly on the wall) approach to those epic brawls.

Chaotic Fight will please you or not but I intend to explain in detail (more or less), the same way Division Generals are not considered in detail in some rules I use them when Corps Commanders are Killed or Wounded… have to write my blank cards using BELLO LUDI as a model to resolve ties… “Colonel gets the jivers and runs to the rear as in real life happened”, “Out of Ammunition”, “Sudden Panic”… the lot what!

Hope you enjoy a bit!

Hooker’s Corps is out of the North Woods…

Frontal view of the Confederate deployment in front of Dunker Church

ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG 1862 (III) 6mm (My Way)

Remember I am still experimenting devices and mechanisms (NO AI thanks GOD!). It is interesting (maybe) the things I have cumulated over the years thinking they would be useful for a wargame. Some had not even 6mm in mind at the time!

I still have no definite (read exact or concrete) idea on how to use the playing cards… but usually “chance” and “resolve ties” are already on my mind! And NO I do not know if they are still produced Google on FOURNIER PLAYING CARDS and investigate yourselves (Any set of cards would do really… but it satisfies my aesthetics senses). Dice you know are basic in any wargame…

I first calculated the average men per Brigade at Antietam using OSPREYS, ALTAR OF FREEDOM and SEARS books… Confederate Brigades are smaller but the stands are of equal measure as Union one’s (bigger Brigades, smaller divisions, smaller Corps)… so the value proportion is around 6/4 (or evidently enough 3/2).

I still doubt if I will generalize to ALL Brigades or give some a + and others a – … keeping the whole balance jus to add variety… still working on that! (looks like Altar of Freedom but it is not).

Been a solo player I decided a lot of automatisms would help the flow of the game… no fancy micromanagement of brigades… they search and fight each other matter of fact!… More on that in the future. Attrition and Struggle foremost in my mind… also the notion (IMPORTANT) that Tired and Spent Brigades are very important concepts!

I do not like record keeping, I do not like dice on the table, (I will throw dice and turn cards on another auxiliary table)… but experiments are getting closer… will probably use too my own version of the BELLO LUDI Cards…

Well, enough for today…

Enjoy the pics!

Tons of dice! Different sizes (and got more average dice out of the pic)

Hooker’s Corps about to get out from the North Woods.

Confederates between West Woods and Dunker Church… going to wheel I guess…

Frontal view of the “REBS” (Jackson’s Corps)

ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG (II) (First move) I am experimenting with my home rules

A word of advice… I am doing my own thing so do not expect to enjoy this (the pics maybe)…

A bit of an explanation (not excuses)… I have a lot of ACW Rules, even 6mm specific one’s but SOLO wargaming is not on the designer’s minds at all… I understand and not complaining at all… I can not BID against myself (see POLEMOS) the best presented are ALTAR OF FREEDOM (one cheer for the USA chaps of Little Wars) but I have to make adjustments to play them solo…

NOT that I will use them as my basis at all, but I mostly agree with several concepts… let’s mention an example… BRIGADES of UNION and CONFEDERACY had NOT the same number of men at all… one bigger one medium one small whatever… if McClelland had 82000 men present at ANTIETAM and Lee (around 44000) and the number of brigades is lets say 45/37 something has to be done to “adjust” the numbers. The numbers in each brigade of the Confederacy has to be “reduced” to get the desired balance of forces (I will try to do this with small coloured dices in the rear of each Brigade). YOU have been advised! I am still experimenting.

To avoid an absolute GOD attitude in which I will represent each Commander in Chief (both sides), each Corps Commander, and even Divisions and Brigade decisions… some way to introduce “chance” “fog of war” and “several impromptus” must be decided by the turn of a friendly (or NOT) card… more in next chapters or Posts… got plenty of those cards (as you will see).

BUT

It is a big BUT … my main approach to enjoy myself is acknowledging the fact that everyone of those little toy soldiers KNOWS perfectly why he is there… to fight the enemy… everyone of them is holding to his musket and saying his prayers… but he is determined to fight it out! (So no need to encourage them at all to do their business… they know)… When those Armies met it is for deciding an outcome (Lee’s first Invasion… say no more… read History… no place here for History lessons)… (McClellan worried to lose the engagement and permit the fall of Washington!… always too worried by the numbers of the enemy!).

If you follow this posts you will see my trial and error… I do not care to make mistakes… I am learning myself!

So there you are… enjoy the eye candy!

Hooker’s Corps moving into the fray (there is no fray yet of course… but they are searching for trouble if you know what I mean)

Lateral view (North limit of North Woods).

Jackson is deploying his extreme left and Stuart’s cavalry is kept back in reserve.

Eagle Eye view of Jackson’s Corps on the Confederate left flankl

Antietam/Sharpsburg 1862 (6mm) My Own for once! (I)

At last! I could do it…

Finally I must say the choice (difficult) I did to sell my 25mm Collection and go 6mm has payed off! (I know not everyone’s taste 6mil) what you lose in uniform detail you gain in playable surface for the scale… same table… but lots of room to manoeuvre if you know what I mean…

A couple of thousands of minis but it does not look crowded at all. Mainly Baccus and Rapier minis (mainly painted by Robert Jackson (90%) and Turbil Miniatures), Leven and Baccus buildings (REVEILLE by Daniel Hodgson), Trees are Baccus as Bridges and “fields”.

I will use this FIRST Wargame to develop my Own House Rules (SOLO or MULTIPLAYER) mainly adapting and reforming mecanisms of POLEMOS (BACCUS) ALTAR OF FREEDOM (Little Wars TV) Fire&Fury… and what not!

Making the river is quite cheap. And the woods are not “compact” I can move the stands of tress to make them passable. The Cornfield has no corn because I do not like troop stands floating over scenery… MY taste!.

Interested in the concepts movement, attrition, spent forces, General’s limitations, and mainly Historical Reenactment, Fictionnal Wargames with more freedom will come later.

Absolutely satisfied (if such thing exists) with the layout and minis… at last Armies look like Armies and terrain is wholesome…

I will probably do a movement a day not decided with 1/2 hour or whole hour’s span of time of a wargame period… will remain experimental for a while until satisfied. Trial and error etc.

Enjoy! (I do)

No Armies yet… just a peaceful countryside…

Union Forces in place (not yet deployed)

Burnside and Porter (and general reserve)

Union Center to Right flank (anticlockwise) Sumner, Franklin, Mansfield and Hooker.

Full UNION view (Times of arrival or engagement NOT simultaneous)

My Old Wargames table (permanent once retired)

Ready to Start I guess… (On the right lower part Hill’s forces coming from Harper’s Ferry)… not yet “on the table”.

Confederates Center and Right (Bloody Lane with the rail fence)

Jackson’s left flank with Stuarts’s Cavalry.

Nathan Brittles Last patrol (in 6mm)

After all those 54mm pics of the French Foreign Legion I thought it would be refreshing… perish the thought!… it is really difficult to take pics of 6mm!… the human eye is much better than the camera (at least mine).

Here you have a sorry try to picture what is in fact a very interesting wargame (role playing a bit) for SOLO wargamers as me. If you look closely all the characters are there (some inside the wagon I fear). So, SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON it is after all…

The poor quality of the pics is only my fault… but Baccus 6mm are the best to date to my knowledge to do it in this scale. Have always been a big fan of John Ford’s Cavalry films… (Not exclusively those called “The Trilogy” by smart asses…)

Enjoy! (if you can see them)

The Future of Wargaming

If I was younger I will go for a 3D Printer Machine (or whatever its name) because seeing the actual results of a clever use (see pics) the days of alloys, moulds and an era seem prone to vanish quite fast in the near future (not that I care too much about that) I will remain contented with my collections until I die and they are sold out for a pittance or go to the bin (I do not really care).

But see what magnificent start those 3D machines are into… 6mm By The Way…

God’s Own Scale

No blasphemy intended, 6mm is the scale to go IMHO to fight on the tabletop large scale Battles or Campaigns, the quality of the castings has improved a lot over the decades and even some truly amazing painters of minis achieve stunning feats of art with them!… but of course this is not the main point… gone are the secure flanks (aka border of the table), the lines of communication suddenly are there… you can even represent the tail of an Army… really a lot of things to ponder on. On the downside you lose detail (lovers of the last button would not be interested) and even your quite really good average painted minis lose detail on the distance (at naked eye view). As you know I am hooked on this scale and my passion is the ACW. See elsewhere on this web page under ACW.

Probably one of the best books so far readed by me is the single volume by Bruce Catton The American Civil War. A truly tour de force.

Napoleonic 6mm Opolchenie (Russians) by Glenn Pearce

In fact it was the Baccus concept of basing 24 minis (or 28 with skirmishers) in a single base measuring 60x30mm and calling the unit a brigade who appealed to me. A genius move. (I evolved from there but that is another story).

PLAYMOBIL: Playing with Playmobils was and is a rewarding experience (II)

We checked all the figures, added a few lost items (very few), did some changes of headgear (mainly ADC’s), took a lot of pics, and enjoyed the time.

Their collections are in great shape as you can see in the pics. Armies usually have 4 line Infantry Units (regulars), 1 Light Company, 1 Grenadier Company; two units of Cavalry: Light Dragoons and Cuirassiers; Artillery (a couple of pieces); Sappers, and even a Doctor and assistants. Actually the Armies also have a mounted spy (masked) and a Religion Priest. Plenty of Generals and ADC’s too of course. Mainly the figures are straightaway from Playmobil figures and pieces (you are really spoilt for choice in the “tricorne period”) and apart from some resin headgear variations for the sake of shaking a bit the “uniformity” it is fairly easy to build your Armies. Old School Wargaming is probably the best approach IMHO

BTW the Red Army (British) is in the hands of the younger of my grandsons, but I do not mess with it because he is too young to take it too seriously and has to parade them a few years more I guess.

I reread the rules “Three Inch Glory” wargaming (XVIII Century) available for download free in google, recently they added a skirmish rules for 10/12 figures I must read too!

As usual an image is worth a thousand words, so here they are.

Enjoy

The back of the headgear of the Grenadiers.

A basic unit, a company of regulars of the “white Army” (Spanish or Austrian is just a matter of clipping the right colours in the hands of the standard-bearers)

Sorry for the “angle” but it was the only way to get a pic of the table.

The Grenadiers of the Blue Army (French or Prussian if need be)

The basic Unit a regular Company of Infantry.

In the front facing left the Cavalry of the Blue Army (looking right you can see the backs of the White Army Cavalry Units).

The Blue Army Light Dragoons (resin helmets by Javier Jimenez – MALONE-)

The Blue Army Cuirassiers.

The Blue Army Colours (French in this case)

A French King with dog. (In fact is based on a Prussian King figure!)

The White Army Colours (Spanish this time)

PLAYMOBIL: Playing with Playmobils was and is a rewarding experience (I)

This is a summing up, there are more Posts in this present web page about Playmobil Toys… probably never intended to become Toy Soldiers (in the true sense) at all mind, but the GEOBRA brand did enjoy producing Pirate Ships and Romans (probably very reality hard core violent subjects in the real world)… so it is more a matter of deluding themselves I guess.

The Sport of Kings it was called, and small profesional Armies took rendez-vous (more or less) shooted a bit to each other and claimed victory (sometimes both sides) see Barry Lyndon film.

Football and TV had not yet been invented so you had to do something completely different if you follow my thoughts.

Seriously, the potential as entertaining friendly wargaming is there, I recognized, collected, customized, and give as a gift to my grandchildren (I am more into lead Toy Soldiers myself). But still have kept some in my own collection!

Yesterday, we took a look at their collections, well preserved (to my surprise!) and reorganized the whole lot. It was my intention (completely wrong) to buy from them instead from ebay the imaginary “scraps” of the lot because I feared once interest outgrown it is always the bin nowadays… LOL… WHAT A SURPRISE!… Now I will probably buy some items (the less interesting that anyway they will inherit no matter what!) to give them pocket money… but will preserve their collections (the best parts)… and stop messing about with them. Sometimes with the best of intentions you are proved completely wrong!

If I have time (and interest) I will probably write a fastplay set of rules for them. (I only know about the “3,5 inch rules” that are not bad at all… but I love them more concise and not so complicated.

Have some pics (I will add more today I think!) as a summing up.