ACW interlude - Antietam 17th September 1862 refought 27th March 2026

 Mike and I were joined by Charlie last Friday for the battle of Antietam.  The Confederates are dug in around the town of Sharpsburg.  The Union forces surround them but are rated as passive and have no Generals.  In BBB terms this is a bit of a handicap, as units didn't quite get enough on the die roll to move swiftly, the Union made either half moves or, in the case of some of my units, no move at all....

Move 0 - Set up 

Sharpsburg is the town centre left, with the Confederates dug in.  Mike's troops were held until turn 3, so I was going to give a right hook into that nice big gap.  My troops were an interesting bunch, with some aggressive musket troops (green counters) and some fragile (orange counters).  The musket troops got a bonus on their first shot, so I needed to make that really count.

Move 2

Mike still can't move his troops, mine are getting strung out as two units didn't move at all and the others were a little haphazard.  Charlie thoughtfully filled the gap with dismounted troopers and a back up unit.  On the hill to the right I formed a gun line....

Move 4

At this point, on the US right, I was struggling.  Charlie's troopers in the woods proved a tough nut to crack, I continued to roll low for movement and could not get those aggressive musketeers into range for that devastating blow.  I then tried to move the gun line as I had run out of targets.  Passive applies to gunners too, so this also straggled...

Meanwhile Mike pushed across the creek and headed for Sharpsburg.

Move 6

On the Union left Mike stormed across the bridge and started a series of assaults against Charlie's left on the hills blocking the road to Sharpsburg.  In the middle Mike pushed the Confederates out of their defences and off the hill.  

I eventually cleared the wood full of dismounted troopers, but my troops were still slow to move, so my assaults were piecemeal.  Charlie then retreated to behind fresh troops and a nice defensive gun line - one of my infantry units evaporated....   I still hadn't used the aggressive musketeers and now the enemy had gone out of range!

Move 8

By move 8 my troops had taken the woods, but now a nice clear space separated them from Charlie's gun line.  Not going to cross that, no siree bob....

Mike had fought a ding-dong battle over the hill but Charlie held him at bay.  The Union losses had piled up and Mike and I were not able to continue the assault.  We had enough Victory Points to declare a draw.

Final Thoughts 

ACW battles are more complex, in that troops can be armed with different shoulder arms and so range is an issue.  My best troops had a 3" range, so Charlie's 9" range troops could stop or slow down my advances.

I waited too long to use my devastating bonus, so one unit never actually fired a shot.

The Confederates had Generals and we had passive troops.  The boys in blue had motivational problems, so Charlie could retreat faster than we could follow.  One of my units (the tortoise brigade?) didn't move for 3 turns and then failed to move every other turn.  This ensured they all got medals without actually getting involved at all....

Well done Charlie for making good use of the terrain and troops to slow us down and spoil our attacks....

So, if you want an interesting battle, don the blue and grey, break out the starry flags and give it a go. 

Borodino for Joy of Six - 7 Sept 1812 - fought 20 Mar 2026

This year Ilkley Irregulars will be hosting the battle of Borodino, 7 September 1812, at the Joy of Six  Wargames Convention in Sheffield on 28th June.

Friday 20th saw Mike, Charlie, Mark and myself refight the battle as a first run through.  We had all last met at the excellent Battleground show in Middlesborough, where the Irregulars were hosting Waterloo.

Mike and I played Borodino in October 2024 (AAR here) and I played it with the scenario author, Mark Smith, way back in October 2022 (AAR here).  On both occasions the Russians won (merely by not dying too fast....).

OK, so what happened on Friday?  Mike and Mark led the French, Charlie and I took the Russians.  Team Rodina is hampered by having some poorly armed troops (pikemen) and having the right wing pinned until turn 3.  The French (plus the Italians, Saxons, Polish, Westphalians, etc.) have lots of well armed troops - but they have to climb 2 two level hills and assault the Russian entrenchments.

Turn 0

Here's the starting picture - Mike has made some bespoke scenery and I am planning to make suitable buildings and defences.

Turn 2

On the Russian right Charlie defended the Redoubt and Borodino, however, with most of his troops fixed till turn 3, the action was mainly trading shots with the advancing Italians.  There was a fair bit of banter that despite much shooting and Borodino changing hands, neither Charlie or Mark lost any bases for several turns.

On the Russian left my plucky defenders counter attacked and I tried to get various Cossacks and Pike troops to move.  As half my flank is a huge forest, there was much opportunity for my troops to delay.

Turn 3

At the end of turn 3 (lunch break!) the Poles, backed up by heavy cavalry, had pushed my front-line defenders into the woods, however I still held the village and my reserves were moving, slowly, to bring their pikes and ragged muskets to bear.  In the centre more reserves were supporting the Fleches (left hand defences) and I had even advanced to take on one of Davout's assault units.

On the right Charlie had advanced his troops (released at the start of turn 3) and was pressurising the Italians in Borodino.  It was around this time that someone finally lost a base....

Turn 4

Fortified by Baguettes and Borsht (OK, it was filled rolls - very good!) we pushed on.  

On the left, Junot's Westphalians destroyed the Cossacks and advanced against my reserves.  My heavy cavalry support rolled low enough to not move.  Around Ultitsa the Poles got wiped out at the cost of two of my units and Davout stormed the Fleches.  My reserves (lower right) are waiting for the next turn to swing into action.

On the Russian right Charlie moved to contact with the Italians and the cvasualties mounted on both sides.  Ney went straight ahead to assault the Redoubt.

Turn 6

By the end of turn 6 I had lost the Fleches, but had halted any onward moves by Davout by sending in my decent reserves.  In the woods my good cavalry finally turned up to support my exhausted reserve troops and my regulars, whilst low on ammo and disordered, managed to be sufficiently hard to kill that they were still fighting.

On the right Charlie held the redoubt and the Italians were only just across the stream from Borodino.  the column you can see at the top of the picture is the Guard moving to shore up the French left, as the Italians started to take casualties and holes opened up in the line.

Turn 7/8

At the end of French turn 8, with the Russians having completed turn 7, we decided to end the game.  It was decided that the French were unlikely to make any further gains, so we concluded with a draw.  

The Russian left - the Russians are still hanging on in the woods about 9 inches from Ultitsa.  The French have the Fleches defences, however the next objective is unlikely to be taken.

On the Russian right the redoubt is firmly in our hands and a solid line of troops blocks the French direct advance.  The French Guard has reached the stream at Borodino, but the French left flank has some pretty big gaps that the Russians can use to slip troops through.

Conclusion

It was great to have a new player - Mark has played a lot of games under different rules, so was quick to get the mechanisms sorted and start making decisions - he also had some good questions that meant Mike and I were busy checking the rules.  Welcome Mark!

The game is similar to Waterloo, in that the French need to move far and fast to envelop the Russian defences before the Russian reserves are released and the numbers move towards the Russian favour.

On the French left the Italians need to take Borodino AND hold that flank.  On the right, the French need to push through the woods to get behind the Fleches, in this game my aggressive counter attacks destroyed the Poles and slowed Davout's troops.  

It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to our next play test!

French, Italians, Saxons Colin's BBB collection, Russians & Poles are Mike's.  Figures Baccus 6mm.

Hanau, 30 October 1813 - refight 14 February 2025

The next battle in the Napoleon's Bloody Big Battles book is Hanau, with the Austrians and Bavarians taking on the French on October 1813.  The Austro-Bavarian forces are deployed to catch the retreating French army (heading South West to France) - they expect stragglers and small forces, they get Napoleon and the Imperial Guard!

Here's the map:

Set up

Here's the table - starting with the Allied left

The town of Hanau, with forests at the top of the picture

The Allied right - the green strip marks the edge of the forest, not a strip of trees.  The troops in the forest are the French.

Turn 2

The Allied right flank.  

At the top of the photo the Allies have advanced into the wood to contain the French.  This negated the artillery (as you can only see 3" into a wood), so the combat was charging and countercharging, both sides getting disrupted, gaining cover from the woods and not winning hand to hand combat.  

At the bottom of the photo there are two units of Guard infantry who have burst out of the woods, causing redeployment of one Allied unit from the main battle and despatch of another unit to try to stop this!

Allied middle - all quiet at the moment

Turn 3

At the end of turn 3 events had progressed a little.  

At the top of the picture the Allied cavalry have forced the French cavalry to redeploy in the face of the Allied charges.  

The battle in the woods continues in a confused and inconclusive manner.  The Allied artillery, with no target to their front, turn 180 to fire on  the Guard.  

At the bottom of the picture the Guard continues its advance to Hanau.

Turn 4

On the right the battle in woods continued, with the Allied cavalry taking casualties from repeated charges against the French cavalry.  

The main Allied defensive line started to break up - to the left of the photo are disrupted cavalry and infantry, as well as two spent infantry.

At the bottom of the photo the Guard approach Hanau and a further 6 strong unit advances.

In the middle the Allies defend Hanau.

On the left Mike threatened my Cossacks, defending another two important villages, as this flank is wide open....

Turn 6

By turn 6 the Allies were in trouble on the right flank.  At the top of the picture the French cavalry are pushing the Allied cavalry back.  At the bottom of the picture the Bavarians have been pushed out of the woods and the Allied unit guarding the bridge objective (lower right) has been assaulted in the rear,

Here's the zoom shot - Bavarian line is crumbling.

On the left flank it's all wide open - the only factor slowing the French infantry is the speed of their March.

French Turn 7

By the end of Mike's turn 7 the Allied destruction was complete.  At the bottom of the picture I've lost the Bridge and the river.  At the top of the picture my cavalry is getting hammered.  In the middle are lots of Bavarians sporting "spent" counters (which are actually Bavarian blue) getting hammered by the French.

The Bavarians guarding the bridge/village got assaulted and lost - with no where else to go the survivors attempted to swim the river.....

On the Allied left / middle I still held Hanau, with the surrounding fields littered with the wiped out French attackers.

Out of troops and options, I conceded at this point.  

Closing thoughts

My strategy had been to hold the French up for as long as possible in the woods - this was an error on my part, I think.  It did take Mike time to deploy his troops and get momentum, but the woods hampered both sides, so the wood fighting turned into a battle of attrition and he had more troops of better quality.  I also kept the French bottled up so far in the woods that my Allied artillery could not see them - or shoot them.

My cavalry attack in the North did distract Mike and we had a big several turn cavalry scrap - which i eventually lost.

My concentration on keeping most of my troops in the woods meant Mike was able to send troops to threaten Hanau and to roll up my line.

Mike's numbers and quality did tell in the end - by turn 6 I had units at break point and by turn 7 it was all over.

A comprehensive Victory for Mike and an enjoyable game.  It goes quite quickly, we played it in 4 hours (having set up the previous time but allowing 1/2 to 3/4 hour for lunch).

Mike's French, my Allies all Baccus.

Bleeding Big Bash Day - BBB Bash Day IV in Leeds

 I have, at last, got all the bits together to kick off Bash Day IV in Leeds.  Here's the advert!

BBB BASH DAY IS BACK!  

 

The fourth Bloody Big Battles* BASH DAY will be held in Leeds on Saturday, 1 July. This is deliberately planned to be in conjunction with the Joy of Six** show run by Baccus in Sheffield on Sunday, 2 July. (Our thanks to Peter at Baccus for his kind blessing for this plan, and to Leeds Wargames Club*** for making their fine premises available.)

 

The format is entirely participation games based on historical battles and using the Bloody Big Battles (BBB) rules. For the best chance of playing the game that interests you most, please sign up in advance. However, we will do our best to accommodate walk-in participants on the day.

 

Games offered will include Napoleonic, American Civil War, Franco-Prussian War, Sikh Wars, and other C18 or C19 conflicts. Please look out for the list of available games, which will be posted on the BBB Blog*. The intention is that players should be able to play an entire game in the morning and/or another entire game in the afternoon. A post-battle team curry is also on the agenda.

 

Invitations have been sent to our existing list of potential gamemasters, but we welcome proposals from others interested in running games at Bash Day IV.

 

Go on, treat yourself to a wargaming weekend in Yorkshire - come to BBB Bash Day IV and Joy of Six on 1-2 July!

 

Colin & Chris

Bleeding Big Bash Day Team

 

Contact us by PM on Facebook, write a message on the bloody big battles io group (see below) or put a comment on the BBB or Colin the wargamer blog.

 

Eye Candy

 

We have posted some pictures taken at previous bash days and of other BBB games.

 

Thanks to Matt Bradley, Crispin Matson, Alan Millicheap, Chris Pringle and Colin Wilcock for their kind permission to use these.

 

 

Links: 

 

*Bloody Big Battles

http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.com/

https://groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles

 

**Joy of Six announcement

https://www.baccus6mm.com/news/09-01-2023/TheJoyofSix2023/ 

 

***Leeds Wargames Club

https://leedswargamesclub.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LeedsWargamesClub/

 

 

OWS website

https://www.oxfordwargamessociety.org.uk/

 

Practical information:

Venue address

Leeds Wargames Club - Hicks Hall, 60 Bankfield Terrace, Burley, Leeds LS4 2JR

 

Timings

Date – 1st  July 2023 - 09.00 - 17.00

 

Parking

It’s a residential area, so free, but there’s a lot of housing, so expect to spend a few minutes finding a space and walking to the club.

 

Tea & coffee will be provided but please bring your own lunch. 

 

Other details will be added in due course – watch this space!

Photos

Baccus Open day

A couple of weeks ago, on the first Saturday in July, Sarah and I took the Baccus factory tour - organised once a year on the day before Joy of Six, the war-games show that promotes 6mm games and that runs on a Sunday.

As we are now based in the North, it was an easy run down from Bradford to Sheffield and the Baccus HQ.

Peter on the factory floor

The tour took us through the history of Baccus, showed us the factory building and the process of making all those lead soldiers.  It was really interesting, with Peter and one of his casters giving a great lecture and fielding our questions in an engaging and enthusiastic manner.

Here's how the process starts - a single soldier is sculpted:

Four of these become a strip, a series of strips and components (especially for WWII) are then put in a pink mould to create the right number of highly detailed miniatures needed:

This mould has WWII vehicles and various earlier soldiers.  Once 24 strips of 4 figures are ready, they are put in a production mould.  The mould is heated under pressure to create a dull black mould that is ready for high speed production.  If you forget to dust the two halves of the the production mould with talcum powder, they fuse with all your figures inside.  Apparently all casters have done this at least once!

This is the casting - molten metal is poured into the mould as it spins.  

The finished product - shiny new soldiers 

It was a really interesting and informative morning - if you are at all interested, I would book on the next one - in July 2023!

It's good to see someone happy in their work....

Diamond T wrecker - converting a tank transporter into a recovery truck - part 1

 I have always really liked the Diamond T wrecker and wanted to convert the Heroics & Ros Diamond T tank transporter tractor unit.  Here is a wrecker parked outside the musee de la liberation in Normany - picture culled from the internet.

This project was another one resurrected from the "in progress" pile at Christmas,  as explained in my earlier post M5 High speed tractor

On with the build!

I had already removed a lot of the rear deck, leaving two wedge shaped sides and the rear box behind the spare wheel.

Here's the original tractor compared to the cut down version (which has been wire brushed, hence shininess).

I bent a staple to make an A-frame from beside the spare wheel to the cab top.

I added at staple to make a frame either side of the generator between the cab and wheel.  Two pieces of .4mm rod to make the acetylene & oxygen tanks.

I tend added two strips of plastic to anchor the rear deck extension.  The strips are the side lockers.

Rear deck added and lockers trimmed to size.

I added a tailgate.

The wrecker has a winch at the front and the bumper has a raised section.  I filed the bottom of the bumper away at the radiator area and added a strip on top to make this feature.

I also added rear mud flaps to tidy up the rear area.  No, you probably won't see much of them...  😀

Here is the rear deck finished.  I added locker lids to the lockers and a plastic carved top to the cab to represent the canvas tilt.  

At this point I'll review the changes to date....

It looks like it can handle rescuing anything....   it also is now definitely different to the original model.