Italian Hill Tribes

These are Aventine Miniatures with North Star spears and Little Big Men shield transfers. I am digging these Aventine sculpts.

Libyan Spearmen

Freshly based and ready for your perusal, these nine units of Libyan spearmen are a mix of Aventine, Crusader, and other manufacturers (a little help, Glenn?). Spear are all from Northstar. Shield transfers are little big men. I had a little trouble with the transfers, as they just don't like to lie flat on the domed shields. I tried scoring the backs of the transfers and even snugging them down with some Solvaset, but these still have some creases.

One thing I don't think I have mentioned is that I am attaching all spears and shields with five minute epoxy. It can make for some unsightly joins, but these figures should never break under normal handling.

Now enjoy the pictures. These figures were a long time coming, but I think the time was well spent.

Next we will have some Aventine Etruscan spearmen and Italian hill tribe warriors.

General de Brigade Game: Eckmuhl, 1809

Today I hosted a miniatures game for the first time since June. In fact, I have not played a miniatures game since October! We fought though the first scenario from the first General de Brigade scenario book, Ste. Hiliare's attack at Eckmuhl.

Initial Deployment

Davout ordered the three French brigades of Ste. Hiliare's division (bottom of picture) to capture these two Austrian held villages and the wooded ridge beyond.

Flank Guard

An elite battalion of grenadiers, dug in on a hill, protected the Austrian right.

Blue Moon Austrians

This battle would be the baptism of fire for my new Blue Moon Austrians. This battalion fought decently.

Austrian Commanders

Jon commanded the Austrian right. My father, John, commanded the Austrian left. He had not played a miniatures game before and wanted to see what all of the buzz was about. I commanded a brigade on the French left. Kevin took overall command of the French and commanded two brigades on the right. We ended up splitting command of the French battery.

French Attack Begins

I moved my four battalions as quickly as I could to assault the Austrian right. Each time I attacked, the Austrians beat me back. I went in five times before finally securing a toehold in the village. In the process I took over 25% casualties. This was bloody work!

Attack on the Austrian Left

Kevin used his two brigades to assault the other Austrian village. He had miserable luck at the beginning, rolling snake eyes four times! Kevin did succeed in wiping out an Austrian battery, but he never got into the village. The elite 10th Legere and 57th Ligne took heavy casualties and never pushed the Austrians back.

Austrian Second Line

As pressure increased on the villages, Jon and John broke out their troops which had been hidden in the woods, four huge battalions of fresh infantry and a strong cavalry regiment.

Austrian Cavalry Charge

Jon used his cavalry to charge my French brigade, wiping out a French battalion that they caught in line. Unfortunately, the cavalry got caught between two French battalions, failed a morale roll, and were wiped out.

End Game

Here were the troop positions at the end of turn 15. With only five more turns to go, it was apparent that neither side would achieve their objectives. The French held one village and were poised to seize the ridge line on the Austrian right. The Austrians held one village and had too much strength on the ridge to be moved completely off. Two Austrian brigades were entirely destroyed, but the French lost more troops overall. We called the game a draw.

I was very rusty with the rules. The last time I played them was a year and a half ago, and the last time before that was probably five years previously. I enjoy these rules a lot, but there are a lot of little things to remember. With more experience, I am sure they will move more smoothly. As it was, we played the game to a conclusion in four and a half hours.