Sunday, December 15, 2013

Napoleonic Coalition Forces

All,

Well, no games in this weekend, but I did finish up my Napoleonic forces, so next weekend I'm looking at getting them on the table for a solo game of Black Powder (modified, as I always do).  

Again, these are 10mm forces that I DID NOT paint, but bought from Gunner at La Petite Armee.  I've got quite an eclectic mix of forces here; on the one hand, I think I have enough troops to have a smallish game with any of the British (combined with Dutch and KGL), Prussian, Austrian, or Russian forces, a medium game with French vs. Brit/Dutch and Prussian, and a huge game with all the French (and their allies) vs. a grand coalition of Brit, Dutch, Prussian, Russian, and Austrian forces.

So, let's get to the pics:

 This is the entirety of the coalition forces.  As I stated, if I'm going with a smaller game, I can use forces that make sense, but for a big Waterloo/Leipzig-style battle, I'm going to have to do some silly stuff.  Essentially, it would have to be an ahistorical Coalition where the Brits, Russians, Prussians, and Austrians have each provided a Corps, then there is a combined Reserve Corps of one infantry division and two heavy cavalry divisions.  I need to come up with some sort of alternative timeline to explain how this happened...

 The British Corps, with two British divisions and one (mostly) Dutch division.  Each division has four units of infantry, two units of cavalry, one artillery battery, and a division commander.  The corps commander is also present in the photo.

 The second British division.  Three units of line infantry, one mixed unit of grenadiers/light infantry, one unit of Dragoons, one unit of Light Dragoons, one foot artillery battery, and the commander.

The units are a bit strange, for game purposes.  My units don't make a lot of sense historically, but are needed for game purposes in order to play at the echelon I want to achieve.  So, each standard infantry unit of four bases is regiment-sized, as opposed to the more conventional battalion or brigade-sized.  So, thinking in those terms, each set of two bases is a battalion, but, for game purposes, will be working together with another two-base battalion as a single unit, so a column, line, and square will actually be a regiment-sized element carrying that out.  Sorry, I know it's strange, but it's what I need to do in order to field multiple corps per game.

 The first British division, with a whole unit of grenadiers, a whole unit of lights, and two of line infantry, with a unit of Light Dragoons, one unit of Hussars (in Busby, actually converted from spare Scots Greys, so the 'Busby' may be a little tall), a battery of Horse Artillery, its commander, and the Corps commander.

 The Dutch division, with four units of line infantry (two of them are bolstered by battalions of Highlanders, two units of Dutch Hussars, a foot arty battery, and its commander.

 Closeup of Brit grenadiers.

 Highlanders.

 Dutch Line infantry.

 Brit Dragoons.

 Brit Lt Dragoons.

 Brit Hussars (my conversions).

 Dutch Hussars.

 Brit foot arty.

 Brit horse arty.

 The Austrian corps of two divisions, each with 4 x infantry, 2 x light cavalry, 1 x arty battery, and commander.

 Austrian grenadiers.

 Austrian Grenzer.

 Austrian line infantry.

 Hungarian line infantry.

 Austrian Hussars.

 The other Austrian Hussars.

 Austrian foot arty.

 The Prussian Corps, also two divisions, arranged the same as the Austrians.

 Prussian grenadiers.

 Prussian Jaegers.

 Prussian line infantry.

 Prussian Hussars.

 Prussian Dragoons.

 Prussian foot arty.

 Prussian horse arty.

 The Russian corps, two divisions arranged as the Austrians and Prussians.

 Russian grenadiers.

 Russian Jagers.

 Russian line infantry.

 Russian Hussars.

 Russian Mounted Jagers.

 Russian foot arty.

 The Combined Reserve Corps, one division of three line infantry units (1 x Russian, 1 x Prussian, 1 x Austrian), and one combined foot arty battery (Russian and Austrian), with Russian commander, and two divisions of Heavy Cavalry (the 1st is Scots Greys and Russian Dragoons brigaded, two units of Prussian Cuirassiers brigaded, with a Brit commander; the 2nd is Brit Dragoons and Russian Dragoons brigaded, two units of Austrian Cuirassiers brigaded, with a Brit commander).  Wellington insisted on Brit command of both heavy cavalry divisions, and the Combined Reserve Corps falls directly under Wellington, the overall commander-in-chief.

 Brit Royal Scot's Greys.

 Russian Dragoons.

 Austrian Cuirassiers.

 Prussian Cuirassiers.

The Duke of Wellington (on left), and a Brit heavy cavalry division commander (rt).

Well, I am quite pleased to have gotten these finished, though I'm really jones-ing for a game.  With Christmas nearly upon us, we shall see what the future holds.  Thanks for looking, and hope you like the toys.

V/R,
Jack

8 comments:

  1. I picked up some LPA stuff a couple years back and was considering getting some more. Are those highlanders his conversions or your own creation?

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    Replies
    1. Andrew,

      Hey, thanks for posting! The Highlanders were done by Gunner as well, I special ordered them, Scot's Greys, Old Guard infantry and cavalry, and Polish Lancers.

      I was looking to get some more stuff too, and sent an e-mail to Gunner a couple months ago but didn't get a response. If you get in touch with him, please let me know.

      V/R,
      Jack

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    2. Jack,

      Great! He made some Badeners for my French Peninsula Army...now I need some Scotsmen

      I tried to order some things last year, but never heard from him either.

      Ran into him at Historicon this summer, though, and he said he's still at it. May try to call if email doesn't work.

      Will keep you posted and keep up the good work!

      -Andrew

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    3. Andrew,

      Excellent, glad to hear he's good and still in business. I would like to get some more stuff, so please let me know.

      V/R,
      Jack

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  2. Jack,

    I got a reply from Gunner today. I'd say go ahead and email him if you need more stuff.

    -Andrew

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    Replies
    1. That's great news Andrew, thanks, I'll have to contact him.

      V/R,
      Jack

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  3. Jack,

    I've tried contacting Gunner a few times since my post here. I usually get one response, then silence. I have the starter set and some extra brigades but not enough for a sizeable fight. What unit types are you looking for? I'd be amenable to selling some if needed (I have Peninsula War armies).

    Feel free to email me apfrantz@gmail if interested in troops or terrain.

    Best,

    Andrew

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrew,

      Yeah, communication has been a problem, which stinks because they're great products.

      Anyway, I just bought a slew of Old Glory 10mm Naps, so I'm now looking to offload my LPA stuff. I've got Brit, Austrian, Russian, Prussian, and three French armies, some extra cats and dogs (Brit Highlanders, French Old Guard infantry and cavalry, Polish Lancers, some Bavarians, Saxons, and Italians), and even about ten Brit brigades I painted up myself!

      Anyway, I'll send you an email soon.

      V/R,
      Jack

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