Dispatches from the Andreivian Front

 A courier ship from Andreivia has just arrived, bringing the latest update on the expeditionary forces from the Honourable Black Sea Trading Company. This delayed report has nothing to do with me forgetting to write up second day of the Crisis Point weekend. Not at all, no.

Day 2 of Crisis Point saw a quick rearrangement. Mark K was able to join us and set up his Force On Force game. Richard C set up an American Civil War encounter (with the Union forces recruited from Andreivian émigrés apparently). Ron moved over to the ACW table so Dex joined us for the second battle of the War of Andreivian Succession.

The battlefield. General Ned plans his tactics for the day.

We added a few more troops to this game and introduced some National Characteristics. The English opted for Deadly Volleys and Cadence, giving them a reroll on any failed disrupt tests and more manoeuvrability due to better training. The Andreivians opted for Feudal and Skirmishers, giving them the ability to use Massed formation (although we did not use it during the game) and increased range for irregular troops. Ned used the Skirmishers ability to good effect by using his irregular troops to break Neil's artillery before his  guns could get into range.

I deployed on the right flank and sent my irregular cavalry forward while my infantry columns marched forward to the centre.

Neil's British cavalry also advanced up the flank. Neil and Ned's cavalry spent the day slugging it out, with neither side able to gain an advantage.

Early in the game Dex outnumbered one of my Andreivian infantry battalions and sent them off with massed musketry. I hurriedly redeployed my forces to try to plug the gap.

With my firing line restored this part of the battlefield developed into an epic musket duel as both sides alternated volleys and rally actions, attempting to wear each other down.

My cavalry and Dex's faced off for much of the battle, neither one wanting to commit to the charge. He did surprise me by sending a regiment of cavalry against my guns, knocking them out and threatening the flank of my infantry. I eventually saw them off with a combination of fire from my irregular infantry and a charge into their flank by my cavalry.

The musket duel in the centre reached a climax and, when the smoke cleared, the Company forces had broken and the Andreivians were masters of the battlefield once again.

The end was another victory for the defending Andreivian army while the BS Company forces returned to their ships and departed these shores, leaving the British General Horace Wilberforce to write to Parliament explaining how his subordinates let him down and none of it was his fault.

Sunday's field commanders: Myself, Ned, Neil and Dex.

Another cracking day's gaming and great weekend. The Andreivian forces performed beyond expectations; I did not expect them to last long against regular troops once the musket volleys started. Once again, my thanks to Ned, Dex and Ron for taking part in the battles over the weekend, thanks to m'colleague Neil for organising the game and big thanks to Richard C for planning and hosting the weekend. At this time we are unsure if Crisis Point will continue but, for me, I really hope that it does as it is a highlight of the wargaming calendar.

No Plan Survives Contact With The Enemy

 The annual Crisis Point weekend, organised by the incomparable design genius Richard Crawley is taking place this weekend 12-13 April. The theme this year is Andreivia Through The Ages. Mr C himself organised a 20mm game set in the 1990s using Arc of Fire rules.

Plan A was for m'colleage Neil and I to run a 6mm game set in the 1762 War of Andreivian Succession, using the Maurice set of rules. It became apparent however that preparations would not be complete in time. We thus moved on to Plan B, a 6mm 1990s game using Cold War Commander, staged by Neil, Richard Phillips and me. Several players subsequently had to withdraw from the weekend, to the extent that we would struggle to put on the 3 games planned. So we switched to Plan C, cancelling the CWC game and Neil and I joining the 3rd game offered, a 20mm outing using Force on Force, rules that we both bought over 10 years ago but never managed to play, hosted by Mark K. At 10.30pm the Friday night before the weekend, we were informed that Mark had a family crisis and so could not attend. We thus - at literally the 11th hour- hastily cooked up Plan D, a return to 1762 Andreivia, Maurice and a less ambitious set up.

The Country and initial deployment, set up as per the rules in Maurice. Neil and Ron took the side of the English Honourable Black Sea Company, while Ned and I commanded the royal army of Andreivia, reinforced by a brigade of French "advisers", who had been helping train up the native forces.

The fee for the weekend included lunch and refreshments provided by the Crawley family. Most players have contributed to the rations as well, so that we have more cakes than players! I at least have eaten well today.

I don't propose to give a full running commentary on the game, mostly as I did not take that many photos but also because this evening's refreshments have somewhat clouded my memory. Ned and Ron picked up the rules quick enough and we rattled through the opening war of manoeuvre.

On John Company's left, Ron's forces swiftly advanced to contact.

On the Andreivian left, my force kept a tight formation. Not wanting to take on the English regular cavalry with my irregulars, I advanced my regular infantry on the left flank while my irregular infantry and cavalry moved through the woods in my centre.

First blood was claimed by my Andreivian irregulars, who took advantage of their numbers and cover to defeat an English line battalion with musket fire. The time for manoeuvring was over as firefights erupted across the front line.

Ned meanwhile took advantage of the hill to his centre to shake out into a firing line, protected by the river to their front. The river acted as a very effective defence, preventing Ron's infantry from safely assaulting Ned's frontline.

Not wanting to charge the Andreivian pike armed infantry in a frontal attack, Neil's cavalry never really got into the game. They did charge and destroy my artillery, but were then led a merry dance by my irregular cavalry, who continuously evaded his charges. Eventually, musket fire from my irregular infantry (with a considerable helping hand from Ned's irregulars who had captured the town in the centre of the table) did for the English cavalry. I was able to then roll up Neil's regular infantry and defeat them piecemeal.

Ron had some success with his cavalry, steamrolling over Ned's irregular Andreivian horsemen. An amusing incident also occurred when Ned's irregular cavalry charged Ron's guns, only to be thrown back by the Company artillerymen and broken in the process. That river proved to be too much of an obstacle though and, when the dust settled, Ron's British and Company infantry had been smashed, leaving the Andreivian army masters of the battlefield.

Considering that the game was thrown together at the last minute, it performed admirably and filled the day. Ron and Ned grasped the concepts of the Maurice rules quickly and both displayed inventive use of the card system, playing events and disrupt cards to good effect. I've never seen CinC's moved around the table so much in one game. I think that we managed a good combination of manoeuvre warfare without the battlefield becoming too spread out.

Many thanks to Ron and Ned for joining our battle and getting stuck in to the game with an admirable gentlemanly competitive spirit. A big thank you to Neil for doing most of the heavy lifting with getting our game on. Not sure what will happen tomorrow. We may resume the War of Andreivian Succession with another Maurice battle. Mark K has said that he may come for Sunday so we might be trying Force on Force. Or we could try one of several boardgames that have been offered. Let's see what the day brings.

Wargaming Archeology

 In the early 90s Games Workshop released some card terrain pieces for WH40k. The first was the Imperial Firebase:

A sort of portacabin command centre I suppose. At the time I was an avid Epic scale gamer and tried to create an Epic version of the Firebase, using plasticard and a 40mm base. While rummaging around the folks' loft the other week I found it again:

17-year old me had clearly not discovered textured paint yet, as I used flock for the walls (it was actually green but has discoloured over time). I also hadn't found spray paints yet. After trying to undercoat it with black ink wash I seem to have got demoralised and given up.

I decided to see if I could bring this thing back to life:

The card base had warped over time so I have replaced it with plasticard. I have used the same coral sand to texture the base (yes, I still have the same bag) and some flock (again, the same bag) to repair some of the missing wall texture. I've added some more razor wire to the base too.

All ready for a grey undercoat spray this weekend. I'm quite intrigued as to how it will turn out.