TILLY'S VERY BAD DAY - Part 2

On Saturday, we played the second go of the previous fight. This again sees the Catholics on the left of the picture above, against the Protestants on the right. There were a few tweaks to the game with all Cuirassier resolve reduce from 4, down to 3 and a couple of extra units added to the Protestants second command. The victory conditions were for each side to break the other, or for the Protestants to remain on the field for 10 turns, placing the burden of attack on the Catholics.

Having played in the last game as the Catholic right wing cavalry commander, this time I was given the job of the Protestant left wing cavalry commander. I needed to come up with a plan to counter what I expected the Catholics to do from the previous battle. How did this go? Read on to find out.   
 

The Protestant Garrisoned Town Protecting the Only Bridge Crossing the River. While the River was Fordable Along its Entire Length, it did Reduce the Effectiveness of Anyone in or Having Just Crossed it.   

My Plan was to Use My Mounted Harquebus to Reduce the Catholics Cuirassiers on My Right Flank Before the Main Fight Occurred. That Plan Went to Hell Because of the Speed of the Catholics Cuirassier's Approach.   

Fortune Smiled as the Catholics Came in Dispersed Allowing Me to Use My Superior Numbers to Even the Odds. In the Center the Infantry Battle Was Going the Catholics Way as They Used Their Tercios to Lead the Assault Across the River.  

The Tercios Doing Their Very Effective Thing of Close Combat as can be Seen with All of Them at Full Strength of 4, While the Protestant Infantry is Near Collapse at Only a Value of 1 of Their Original 4 Resolve.  

The Catholic Cavalry has Been Effectively Defeated with only Two Units Remaining. The Harquebus are now Exchanging Fire with the Approaching Infantry, while the Cavalry Prepares to Launch Charges Once they are Sufficiently Reduced.  

In the Center Our Infantry has Stabilized the Line and off screen to the Right has Even Begun to Push Back and Even Destroy Some of the Catholic Supporting Cavalry on This Flank. 

With the Entire Catholic Right Cavalry Defeated, Tilly Having Been Wounded and Removed from the Battlefield the Protestant Cavalry Begin to Sweep the Flank as the Day Draws to a Close the Catholics are on the Edge of Defeat. 

In the Center the Protestant Infantry is Desperately Holding on, but Time and Losses have Run Out for the Catholics. A complete Reversal of the Previous Game. 

This was another exciting game and a lot closer than the previous battle. Both sides played a completely different game from the last time. The rules changes worked out as the Cuirassier were still stronger than cavalry but not as devastatingly so. 

A special thanks to everyone that has recently posted a comment. It is hard to tell if my ramblings are meeting anyone else's interest. Posting a comment is a strong affirmation that you have both read and enjoyed it, so please take the time and let me know if you do. 

Lastly here a link to the Tilly's Very Bad Day Rules. 

Download Tilly's Very Bad Day - Fast Play Rules for the 30 Years War - Steven's Balagan

TILLY'S VERY GOOD DAY

 On Wednesday, we played another game of Tilly's Very Bad Day Rules. This pitted the Catholics Lead by Tilly and the Protestants lead by the Duke of Brunswick. I find the game leads to some very quick and bloody results, having had my head handed to me in one game and fighting tooth and claw in another. If things start to go bad you need to fix them quickly or be overwhelmed by cascade effects. 

Catholics on the Left, Protestants to the Right. The Limited Time the Catholics have to Break Their Opponents has put Them on a Hell For Leather Attack. On the Left the Cavalry is Keeping the Protestant Infantry in Check from Maneuvering While in the Center and Right Infantry and Cavalry Press the Enemy.

With Infantry Support on Their Left the Catholic's Cuirassier Smash into the Protestant Cavalry. Even with the River Reducing Their Effectiveness the Pulmonary Artillery and Musket Fire has Softened up the Protestants. In the Center the Catholic Infantry is being Held, but at Significant Cost.     

And as Quickly as it Starts it is Over. With the Death of the Protestant General and the Loss of a Few Squadrons of Cavalry, the Protestants Remaining Cavalry is Reduced to Ineffectiveness and is Quickly Swept from the Field. 

Overall, this was a very interesting game where along most of the battlefield things were a true tug-of-war. The Protestants did very well along the center, and there was little action on the left. The right cavalry battle proved decisive, where the Protestants lost twelve of the ten units they needed to break. 

There is a refight scheduled for Saturday where I will be given the Protestant Left Wing Cavalry. This will defiantly be a challenge. 

BACK TO THE REVOLUTION

 

My last post on the Ramblings of an Excentric Games Mk 3 blog was June of '25 and I had just completed the British 44th Regiment. My intention was to then jump right in on painting the Continentals in the Official later American uniforms. It took a bit longer than expected, in fact, almost a year. This is the New York, New Jersey blue coat, buff britches and cuffs. This is just the start with at least another two more following on. Afterwards I will then add the Virginia units in the iconic red, white and blue uniform. The figures are from Fife and Drum, my favorite line of large, 25mm plus, figures.   

NEWEST PROJECT - THE QUAR

 

After a much longer time then I expected due to unforeseen real-world circumstances I have completed my painting on the Quar. Quar, you say? What are Quar? Why the sentient life form of the planet Alwyd. They are Anteaters whose lives are governed by their devotion to the traditions of their ancestors. They have been engaged in almost perpetual war for the past hundred years. Their technology is that of WWI, but there are now incredible new things coming about do the changes brought by a radical thinker. 

While the whole of the world is at war, my games are focused on the two core opponents, the Kingdom of Coftyr who are fighting to maintain the traditions of Kings and Emperor to rules the nations of the world, and the Maer Braech lands that now are governed more as a realm of the populist run by a dictator who has launched the Great Crusade to change all the lands into his own vision. These two factions, the Crymuster and the Crusaders are battling across the globe for the hearts and minds of everyone. 

My games are centered around small unit tactics in a highly urban environment. This campaign is all about controlling the Holly City of Cearsalem. This is the spiritual center for all Quar, and its control will determine whom the Ancestors favor. 

The Forces of the Crymuster. In Front are the Command Section, Followed by the Specialists and at the Rear are the Three Sections of Infantry. 

Here are the Crusaders. Again, the Front Shows HQ Section, Followed by the Specialists, and then the Three Infantry Section.

I will include more details on both the units and the game system in a follow up post. For now, some images from the battlefield. 

MOVING RIGHT ALONG

 A quick post to show the second batch of Glorious Revolution now finished updating the bases for the Beneath the Lily Banners figures. This puts me at over halfway complete, with the final batches ready to be worked on soon. I now have enough troops to run a game. Target for that is early May. 

A SMALL BIT OF MEDIEVALS PLAY

 This past Wednesday, we played a game using a vast array of wonderfully painted 6mm Medieval figures, or as Mitch who ran the game prefers Dark Age. This was a test of a set of rules to see how they played and to tweak them ahead of their offering at the Little Wars convention in April. The game lasted about three and a half hours, and we cleared up a number of ambiguities we discovered. 

The scenario is set in the age of Charlemagne with the man himself and his Franks attempting to beat back the hoard of rampaging Moors attacking from Spain. The Moors have a lot of light infantry, a small core of heavy infantry, and an abundance of cavalry, primarily light horse archers. The Franks have a fair number of archers, crossbows, light infantry, a solid core of heavy infantry and a relatively small but very strong heavy cavalry. Organization, and deployment for each of the seven commands per side was determined by the players. The victory conditions were simple. Drive the opponent from the field.

The Franks Rear or Left Battle Being Lead by the Light Cavalry, Followed by Knights. To Their Side are an Infantry Command of Bowmen, Crossbowmen and Heavy Footmen.

  

Across From Them are the Moors Lead by Masses of Light Cavalry and Supported by a Multitude of Light Infantry. 

The Franks Main Battle Consisting of all Infantry. Lead by Bowmen, Crossbow, with a Central Core of Heavy Infantry, Flanked by Small Groups of Light Infantry. 

The Moors Central Commands. This Too was Mostly Infantry. They are Lead by Bowmen and Followed Up by a Hoard of Light Infantry. 

The Full Battlefield as Seen from the Franks Left Flank. In the Distance are the Franks Vanguard Battle Where the Best Cavalry is Deployed. To Meet This the Moors had also Deployed Their Finest Combination of Cavalry Consisting of Waves of Light Bow Armed Horse and Their Own Heavy Cavalry.

The game kept me busy, so I was not taking a lot of pictures. On the Franks right it was a long bloody fight right from the start. Both sides were giving as good as they got, but in the end the Franks had triumphed. After a long march both sides centers finally clashed. The Moors numbers kept them in the fight. They first defeated the Franks missile troops but were themselves being beaten back by the Franks heavy infantry. On the left the Franks light cavalry and missile troops devastated the Moors light cavalry. For a while the Moors light infantry held up this flank, but it too succumbed to the massed shooting and light cavalry's flanking attacks eventually completely collapsing. This freed up the as yet uncommitted knights who launched devastating flanking attacks against the Moors central forces. In the end it was a clear victory for Charles Martel and his Franks. It was a great bit of fun and an interesting challenge. 

Look for this game on the Little Wars schedule. 

WHAT"S OLD IS NEW

Amazing how phone cameras have improved in 10 years. 

Ten years ago, my good buddy Bob and I started a new project of the Glorious Revolution in 28mm. To afford this ambitious project, we went a little out of period to the uniforms of the Age of Marlborough plastic figures from the then new Wargames Factory. A few years ago, Bob moved to the far reaches of the Empire, Canada to be precise. This meant reducing his figure collection to fit his new space and I am the lucky inheritor of his Glorious Revolution Jacobite's.  

Unlike me, Bob is a very practical gamer who likes to use whatever he has around to base his figures with. If you need to understand my occasional over the top style, take a look at the Dog Wars bases. One thing that I like is for figures to have the same basing style, so they blend in together on the table. To this end, and because I needed to reorganize his figures in boxes I could store on my shelves, I began this latest project. I was also inspired to get on with this by Archduke Piccolo's latest blog post. Archduke Piccolo: Yet another Blast from the Past...

This is a Sample of Bob's Various Basing Styles He Used. All Green Grass, a Mix of Grass and Sand, and a Water Effect.

 

My Own Style at the Time. The First Use of Texture Groundwork, a Few Stones and Static Grass.

Groundwork, Stones and Paint Added.

Final Look Along Side My Own Figures on the Front Right. 

This is just the beginning with another mase of artillery, cavalry, infantry and officers to complete. Time for me to dig in and get these back on the table where all figures belong. Stay tuned for further developments.