Now for something completely different...

... Lord Ashram's House of War is happy to present our first video, which covers Flag Dude flags, Army Painter Dip, taking good photographs, and wargaming rules! Enjoy!

25mm Nap. Russians - Infantry 3

Okay... so I got off track with some ACW. My bad. Back to the Napoleonics!:)

I figured it was time to follow up my 25mm Napoleonic Russian artillery with some Russian infantry.

Like all of my units, the figures are from Foundry, and they are almost all in great coats. I just love the image of huge blocks of Russian troops all decked out to deal with the Russian winter! As always I scattered some men with fatigue caps throughout the ranks... one pack of them was enough to put one or two in each unit, which is nice because it breaks up the uniformity.

The flags, as always, are Flag Dude... in fact, I have a short review of his work coming up in the near future.

The minis are from Foundry.

15mm ACW - Federal Infantry 5

It has been all Napoleonics, all the time, so I figured it was time to give some love to the American Civil War fans!

Here is the next unit in my Federal collection; yet another unit of blue coated infantry!

This is one of the very few units that is pretty specific; I have a lot of generic infantry. This is obviously the 8th Wisconsin, which is, along with the 14th Brooklyn and the Irish, one of the most wargaming-modeled Federal units around! You can actually see on the command stand Old Abe himself, standing on his little perch.

This unit is also a bit different than my other Federal units in that it is one of the only ones with floppy hats. Therefore it is not quite as interchangeable as the others. Plus, a lot of the guys with packs on have a white "8 Wi" painted on them.

Figures courtesy of Battle Honors.

The Big 10mm Napoleonic Playtest continued...

And the battle continues!

Pictured above you can see the French artillery that has been brought to the center. Originally it was being brought across to pound the British squares that were holding their flank between the woods, but they were stopped early and used to bombard the British holding the chateau! Much like light infantry, being under artillery fire causes infantry to have to take "Stand!" tests. Like light infantry, targets failing can only become "Shaken," they cannot be routed by artillery fire. But UNLIKE light infantry, artillery actually has a small chance of causing some damage, and in this case, a lucky 6 actually resulted in a point of damage to the British infantry unit holding the chateau itself!


Speaking of the flank, Colonel Sharpe's brigade was still holding in square on the flank, hoping to keep the two French cavalry brigades at bay... charging infantry squares can be AWFUL hazardous to the health of cavalry, so they kept their distance.


However, while the French cavalry and British squares sat in a stalemate, the Division commander sent his lone infantry brigade through the woods! As long as his men stayed to the woods then the British cavalry could not threaten them, and the Allied troops might be easy pickings for the French, who could then flank the squares and put them under horrible fire, forcing the British to choose... stay in square and get slaughtered by musketfire, or form into line and be easy pickings for the French cavalry?!


But then, as the French infantry brigade moved through the woods, Colonel Vin, a man with poor control of his cavalry to start with, suddenly urged his men into a charge, perhaps afraid that he would lose his chance at glory! His two battalions charged the squares, who immediately opened fire on the oncoming French.


While the muskets failed to unhorse many men, the squares did their jobs, and the French cavalry was repulsed, taking thankfully (for the French, at least) minimal casualties for their stupidity. Immediately the Division Commander galloped over, in order to ensure such a lapse in judgment did NOT happen again!


Meanwhile, on the far side of the field, a sea of French infantry advanced on the British lines, who held up at a hedge and stone wall. The French, being bombarded by British artillery and sniped at by skirmishing greenjackets, were not in an enviable position... they could either sit back and get pounded by artillery and picked apart by skirmishers, or advance, which would not only bring them into range of the British muskets, but also bring them DANGEROUSLY close to a brigade of British cavalry that was just waiting for a moment to pounce!


And the British prepared for the attack, outnumbered but not outgunned, and the French drummer boys beat the pas de charge, and the French advanced through the explosion of shells and the haze of musketfire...


And so that is how the evening ended! The attack of the French on the far flank, the Old Guard waiting while the French artillery bombards the chateau in the center, and a nasty cat-and-mouse game on the near flank about to turn deadly serious as the French columns burst through the woods!

Please check back in for the next installment, and if you have any specific photo request or want to see something up close, just let me know!

Thanks for coming by!

The start of the big 10mm Napoleonic test game

Well, I played the first few rounds of the game! For the first few shots of the initial deployments, look about two posts down!

I am not going to document this game like I did the last one; it took an awful long time!:) Instead, I'll just do some photos with some captions as I go! On the far flank the two sides are closing on each other, ready to simply brawl... the French have more infantry, but the British have cavalry, which can force the French into square, and they have their artillery freshly unlimbered, ready to make the French start taking "Stand!" tests! In the center the British have sent a battalion to hold the chateau and the land around it, while the French have sent a battalion of the Old Guard to watch it. Meanwhile on the near flank the British are attempting to redeploy towards the center, using a brigade in square to hold back the sea of French cavalry on that flank... however, would poor commanders doom this plan?!
On the far side of the field, the British and French are both slowed by uncertain commanders and overeager commanders, but the lines begin to form and the British artillery unlimbers, ready to fire. This field will likely be the site of a lot of bloodshed!
A British brigade moves up to take the chateau; the thick walls of the building and the hedges around it will provide excellent cover and a strong point for the British line.
Opposite them, however, the Old Guard masses and sends out skirmishers, getting ready to tackle the chateau, while the French artillery redeploys to the other side of the field, where the British squares and woods are rendering the French cavalry useless.
On the near flank, the British plan was to have Colonel Sharpe's battalion hold the space between the woods while in square, thus rendering the cavalry useless, while the rest of the brigade passed them to take the woods and link up with the chateau. However, the other two officers in the brigade allowed themselves to get carried away with the excitement of the fight (what is that saying? British cavalry is the worst lead?) and both surge forwards towards the French cavalry, which is just milling around... would this leave them vulnerable to a countercharge?!

I'll put up more as I get it!

Measuring at the House of War

Hey all,

What with so many photos of toy soldiers on the table recently, I thought I would share my measuring tools!

First off, I have a standard ruler that I keep on hand. I just screwed a hook into the side of the table and then, using the hole already in the ruler, dropped the ruler on! Voila! Now there is always a ruler near at hand.

The other piece I have are a pair of measuring sticks I made for my own rule set.

The shorter 10 inch one is the musket ruler. The red area is close range. In addition the ruler is broken, using dashed lines, into 3 inch pieces to enable the measuring of movement.

The larger 30 inch stick is for artillery. Like the musket stick, it features a close range element in red (marked canister) and a 20 inch mark for reference.

Both of my measuring sticks live along the edge of the table; three more hooks, and they just slide neatly into place!

Oh, and as an aside... here are the French commanders for my next 10mm Napoleonics game!

The forces muster for the next fight...

Well, I am getting ready for playtest #2! This one will be a good deal larger than the last; 3 divisions per side, rather than 1, and I have included a smattering of artillery and cavalry!

Above you can see the British brigade commanders for my next fight... I included my two best Colonels from the last fight, Smith and Sharpe, making sure they were the same figures of course. Unfortunately, while the dice gods did give the British two excellent brigade commanders they also cursed them with two inferior commanders... deciding which brigades to put under these mens command would be a tricky task. By the by... any guesses at what series of books I am reading at the moment?

The rolling for where the two armies began was remarkably mirrored. Both sides began with one division on one flank, two on the other, and none in the center. Both also began with their smallest divisions between the other two, and both happened to get their artillery assigned to those divisions! I decided to make the commanders of these divisions my Napoleon and Wellington figures respectively. The French cavalry was all deployed to the far flank, whereas the British cavalry was equally split between the two flanks.

As far as strategy... the far right British division would advance towards the center and attempt to hold the woods... Colonel Sharpe would be tasked with taking the open ground between the two woods and holding it against the onrush of French cavalry on that flank... cavalry cannot travel through woods, so this was the only gap that the French could take, other than marching their cavalry all the way around the back of the field. Hopefully Colonel Sharpe could hold the gap!

The middle British division, which consisted of only a single infantry brigade under Colonel Harper's command, would advance straight towards the chateau. With two battalions of Scots, this brigade could be counted on to hold on. The artillery, meanwhile, would deploy and get the French under immediately fire, hoping to punish the French as they advanced across the open fields.

Finally the far left British division would advance across the open fields towards the French opposite them, which were almost entirely infantry divisions, including a brigade of Old Guard under the command of Napoleon himself. This division, comprised of two infantry brigades and a cavalry brigade, would try to pin the French in place and destroy them.

So, that is the fight! If I start it today I'll be sure to post some photos! I don't plan on photographing and documenting this game quite as closely as the last one, but I'll be sure to have plenty of eye candy!

The Final Chapter of my 10mm Napoleonic Playtest!

And so the end has come!

On the left Colonel Sharpe and Colonel Ducout both deployed skirmishers as they tried to organize their men. The Guard were on the top of the hill in the center, but they were also outnumbered and battered, having already taken the center. Colonel Sharpe, on the other hand, had his two Scottish battalions untouched and eager to fight. Both sides deployed skirmishers in an attempt to force the enemy to either slow or maybe break, and Ducout took a chance by sending half of his brigade to reinforce the attack on the center. His men had already suffered, and being far from their commanders would not help them stay in the fight, but Ducout began to realize that only a daring move could win this battle.

In the center both sides crashed into each other one last time, with both the French and Allied brigades close to breaking. Colonel Smith's single battalion held at the edge of the woods as it fought not only the French to its front, but a unit of Guard crashing through the underbrush into its flank! At the top of the hill Colonel Krzyski's brigade (or at least the parts that had not fled) crested the ridge. The single French battalion that had made it to the hilltop was smashed backwards, and the Allies opened fire down the hill at the French in front of them as well as at the battered Guard battalion that was attacking their flank.

And amazingly, the Allies held! In the forest Colonel Smith's sole battalion, battered and bloodied but unbowed, managed to throw their attackers back despite being heavily outnumbered and exhausted from the near-constant struggle in the woods! On the hill a few of the Allied battalions, already having taken casualties, broke and ran, but the rest stood, and below them the French, fighting uphill and through the woods against a determined enemy and already Shaken, broke. Men in blue uniforms streamed back through the trees, including a battalion of Guard that had made the mistake of attacking Colonel Smith's troops. There were few French infantry able to contest the hill, and the last few made a final climb...

On the left Colonel Sharpe, being far removed from the fight and from his Division Commander, held his men in place, maybe unsure if the men were ready to push forward up the hill against the French Guard, who were siphoning off troops to attack the center. The center, however, was about to end... Allied troops fired down the hill at the last shaken French battalions in the woods, and Colonel Smith's battalion advanced with bayonets fixed on the last battalion of Colonel Lafleur's brigade, the battalion the Colonel was leading himself. And Colonel Lafleur's battalion broke, and with that, his brigade broke, and the French infantry streamed away, leaving the French with only a pair of Shaken battalions of Guard left on the field!

And so Sir Thomas Picton, cursed by the delay of the Allied Brigade of Colonel Krzyski, but blessed with two determined brigades under the commands of Colonel Sharpe and Smith, managed to hold the French at bay and hold the road to the city. Colonel Smith led his battered battalion out of the woods to the cheers of the Allies on the ridge above and to the personal thanks of Picton... if they had caved at any time the French would surely have taken the hill, and the brave Battalion saw off four French battalions, including a battalion of Guard! Meanwhile Colonel Sharpe's brigade began to count their dead, gather their wounded, and finally slake their thirsts, their mouths dry from the saltpeter and smoke.

Overall it was a very satisfying fight. The rules generally worked okay, although it was clear there were a few points that needed clarification... but playtesting is where you find the weak spots! The "Stand!" tests are very neat, and I felt like the rules really represented morale vs casualties well. Next up? Well, I'll probably work out some cavalry and artillery rules and give the whole thing another go, maybe with slightly larger forces! And if, in the meantime, anyone has any photo requests I'd be happy to take them!

Below is a shot of the table ready for the next game... that chateau might just play a part in the game!:)

10mm Napoleonic Playtest Part 3!

The first volleys of British musketfire has rolled across the field, and the first wave of French columns have crashed home! Time for Part Three of my 10mm Napoleonic Playtest!

As we saw in Part Two, three French brigades have attacked. The farthest from the combat, under Colonel Lafleur, has stormed into the woods in an attempt to attack the British center. The center column, the Guard under Colonel Ducot have stormed up the hill and down the road to attack the British lines waiting them. On the far flank, the French under their dashing Colonel Lerout have pressed on and down the hill, bringing their bayonets to the British!

The redcoats have faced some troubles. Their Allied Colonel, Kryzeski, delayed his advance over and over, despite his Division Commander insisting he bring his men up immediately. Colonel Sharpe, on the British left flank, has held valiently against the French attack, but in the center Colonel Smith has found his men overrun by both the Imperial Guard columns and under threat from the blue-coated infantrymen coming through the woods... could they possibly hold them all off!

The turn opened as all the brigade commanders moved their men as ordered. On the British side, Colonel Smith and Colonel Sharpe largely just ordered their men to continue the fight, either with the bayonet or with the musket. Colonel Kryzeski ran his men forward. The French did much the same, as they pressed towards the British, not stopping to fire in the hope that they could overwhelm the two British brigades before the Allied brigade could make it to the fight, thus leaving them facing a single enemy brigade from high ground!

The fight on the British left was vicious, as Colonel Sharpe had his men plunge in from all directions! The two French battalions (including the Converged Grenadier Battalion) were in trouble, with their two fellow battalions already either routed or unsteady and beaten far back. However, the French fought hard, and with some miraculous luck BOTH French battalions managed to hold off twice their number of flanking British and Scottish soldiers... thank goodness for Colonel Lerout and his absolute command of his men!

In the center the British were in danger of falling apart. The two leftmost battalions were routed by the Guard columns cresting the hill, while the two rightmost managed to hold the Guard back... in fact, the British column in the woods, personally commanded by Colonel Smith, managed to see off the massive, bearskinned attackers! The Guard battalion came flooding back out of the woods, momentary panic causing the veterans to cast down their muskets and packs, their officers screaming at them to stop. But despite this small victory Colonel Lafleur's unblooded brigade was marching through the woods, prepared to continue the attack on the British center!

The next turn saw the continued collapse of the French attack on the British left. Colonel Sharpe's men, including his two battalions of Scots, did not falter as the routed British from the center ran past them, and they pushed back the French in front of them. The French, many lying dead and wounded among the crushed grass and wheat, almost beaten, gathered for a final stand around Colonel Lerout...

The remnants of Colonel Smith's British brigade (half of which was fleeing through the wheat fields behind them, all willingness to fight gone) tried to hold the Old Guard back. The fight on the road was vicious, and one battalion of Guard actually broke and ran, but the second crashed into the British infantry, slaughtering many redcoats and sending them back, reeling... the only thing keeping them on the field was the arrival of Colonel Smith among them, who galloped over from the fight in the woods to urge his men to fight! The victorious British battalion in the woods turned and faced the advance battalions of Colonel Lafleur... they had held off a battalion of Guard, but now they had a fresh French brigade to deal with!

The turn also FINALLY saw the British Allied brigade rush up to the second of the two hills in the British center! One more turn and they could deploy on the hilltop, ready to meet the attacking French... could the British actually pull it off?!

Marshal Ney, Divisional Commander of the French, had seen half of his Guard rout, and his brigade under Colonel Lerout was near collapse... and yet, victory seemed within his grasp! As he urged a fleeing battalion of Guard to stop, to turn and fight, he saw Sir Picton on the hilltop beyond the British lines, urging his own men forward... who would win this savage clash!?

And then the French crested the hill in the center. The French columns rolled over the hilltop and into the Allied troops in front of them. One Allied battalion managed a volley, but the nervous men, shooting uphill, shot mostly high, and once again it was bayonet against bayonet all across the hilltop. Men beat each other over the heads with the butts of their weapons, stabbed each other with swords and bayonets, even kicked and bit and punched. Both sides knew that the fate of the battle was in their hands, and neither side gave an inch... although in the "Stand!" tests the rearmost ranks of a few of the Allied battalions began to edge backwards...

At the start of the next turn, on the British left, Colonel Lerout's men were just about done. While the British had taken casualties, and indeed a pair of battalions were near the breaking point, the French were losing. The British enveloped the Frenchmen, who stood back to back among hundreds of dead and dying men in blue, and fought knowing this was their last fight. The Highlanders were screaming, claymores chopping up and down, and Colonel Sharpe pushed his men on. The Converged Grenadier Battalion finally collapsed under the pressure and routed. Only a single French battalion was left standing, and it was with this group of men that the French Colonel would make his last stand, gathered beneath the golden eagle given to the regiment by the Emperor himself.

Meanwhile, in the center, with Colonel Smith's brigade having lost three battalions and the Colonel himself leading his last battalion in the woods on the far side of the road, Colonel Ducot paused, realizing that he had no enemies within range. Using this moment of relative quiet (and peace from "Stand!" tests) Ducot brought his reformed and recovered Guard battalions together, trying to organize them and get them ready for the last push. But would they push towards the British flank, or attack the center?

As the next turn began Ducot brought the Guard over the hill in the center, ready to turn in either direction... either towards Colonel Sharpe on the British left, or towards the center, where the Allied brigade now fought... it was just a matter of where he was ordered, although it seemed to Ducot that he would be needed on the flank, because even as his battalions came into line he saw the French flank fall.

Assailed on three sides by many times their number, the last battalion in Colonel Lerout's brigade fought bravely but could not stand. Taking massive casualties at the hands of the vengeful British, the last brigade finally collapsed and routed, the Colonel himself fleeing on horseback, trying to get his men to move quickly, trying to save what he could of his brigade. Colonel Sharpe's brigade paused as the last enemy fled, and they gave out a great cheer even as one of their own battalions, battered beyond their ability to stand and having taken hundreds of casualties, finally fled towards the rear.

Meanwhile in the center both sides smashed at each other. The French battalion at the top of the hill decided against plunging down at the Allies beneath them, realizing that doing so would expose not only their own flanks to attack, but the flanks of two other battalions in their brigade. Instead the battalion fired down at the Allied battalions beneath them. The Allies, hit by the wilting fire of the muskets, tried to return fire but could not inflict enough damage. The other battalions, engaged in fierce hand to hand combat, threw each other back and forth, but still neither side would give... until the "Stand!" tests, that is. Several of the Allied battalions at the bottom of the hill, having already seen their rear ranks begin to splinter and panicked by the French fire coming down the hill at them, turned and fled. Sir Thomas Picton began to scream at the men running past him to come back as two battalions fled... but still, as the French came on, their men tired from the long march and the uphill attack through the trees and into the Allied brigade, the attack began to falter, and amazingly every single French battalion in Colonel Lafleur's brigade failed their "Stand!" test! While none had fled yet, the French attack was shaken at a crucial moment...

Tomorrow we'll wrap this up! Please come by and read the exciting conclusion to see who will emerge victorious!