Warp . . . ugh . . . It's not the USS Enterprise

When I said “Warp 3 Mr. Sulu” I did not mean the bases for my English Civil War troops!  

The other periods that I game 28mm in are Late Romans and the Napoleonic period.  For the Late Romans I play Warhammer Ancients (though I have recently discovered Dux Bellorum – more on that later in another post!) and for my Napoleonic forces I have been mounting them for Volley and Bayonet.  With these forces, I have cut my own wood bases out of poplar from the local DIY store that are 5mm thick.  

 28 mm Foundry figures mounted on 5mm bases

For my English Civil War troops I wanted to use a thinner bases that were compatible with bases producer by Games Workshop.  I purchased what I believe was pine which is 3mm from the local hobby store.  Last night I noticed that the poor pikemen of Samuel Jones’ Regiment were performing a balancing act while trying to stay in formation.  My gut feel is that the spray paint probably warped the bases.  

 Steady lads . . . steady!

Then a chill ran up my spine.  I better check out Prince Rupert’s Regiment since they were complete.

Whew! (Wiping my brow) Not too bad.

The Major General in charge of both forces of the conflict has decided that this situation for mustering the men is unacceptable.  With approval from the Royal Treasury and Parliament, and order for bases has been placed with Litko Game Accessories,Ltd.  I look forward to receiving them as I have never tried them before and will hopefully have the rest of Jones’ Regiment painted before they arrive.

A Photographic Diversion

Yea!  The stitches are out of my painting hand.  My hand is still a little sore but I should be able to get back to finishing Samuel Jones' Regiment for the ECW pretty soon.

As a diversion the other night, I did what most grown men do:  I got out some of the troops and took some pictures.  The following are Honorable Son #4's Late War British Army for World War II.  He painted the tanks and vehicles and I did the men.  All are from Battle Honors for Flames of War. 

 

The British Army's secret weapon: Bagpipes

Moving the PIAT anti-tank weapon into position

 

Tanks and infantry in M5 half-tracks

 

 3 inch mortars in support

 British infantry advancing

 Cromwell IV tank in overwatch

 Sherman Firefly VC covering British infantry preparing to breach the barb wire

 Watching the other flank

 Sexton self propelled artillery

 

Timely air support

Rules for the English Civil War: Victory Without Quarter

I'm taking a pause from painting . . . nothing like getting 5 stitches in the palm of your painting hand to slow down the mustering of the troops.  It did involve a coffee cup and that's all I'm saying!  On the other, I am almost done with my new hobby area in the house.  Thank you to the love of my life for the last 27 years - even if you still refer to them as my toys!

If you are working a new army project, you definitely need a set of rules if you are going to play . . . ummm . . . I mean game with them on the tabletop.  As mentioned previously, this is not my first foray into gaming the period of the English Civil War so I am familiar with some of the rules that are out there.  What totally surprised me, as I was researching and organizing the troops to be painted, I discovered the perfect set of rules for what I want to do with my ECW project in 28 mm.  Even better the set of rules only cost the price of printer paper and ink.  I am referring to the free PDF set of rules titled Victory Without Quarter, by Clarence Henderson of Quindia Studios.  The rules are 14 pages!  The guy can paint too.

Victory Without Quarter is a card driven, element based, Warmaster/Blackpowder kind of game.  Clarence clearly states that he has liberally used ideas from various sources in his rules to create a game he would enjoy playing that was not too complicated yet realistically portrays the challenges and outcomes of this pivotal period of military history.  Having play tested the rules with cut-out card board bases I heartily concur that these are the rules for me.  Most infantry regiments are generically based with two stands of musketeers and one stand of pikes based as "elements" on 60 x 60mm bases. Aesthetically this looks really good on the dining room battlefield and looks right to me.  Cavalry are organized as troops with two stands 80 x 60 mm bases that can be combined into cavalry regiments.  The rules give basing sizes for the other common units and some ideas for units that different ratios of pike to shot.

Rupert's Regiment of Foot organized for Victory Without Quarter

Movement, firing and decisions are made for units come from the order deck when their "card" is drawn.  Firing and melee are handled in a manner similar to Warmaster as is the way for keeping track of casualties.  Markers or single figures are used to keep track of casualties and units are removed once the casualty markers equals the amount of stands in a unit.  I love keeping those figures I have spent time painting staying on the table a bit longer.  

 

Brigade Commander

Commanders, when their cards are drawn, can give additional orders to units.  The Turn over card, when drawn, can end the turn early and adds an element of uncertainty to events during the battle. There are optional rules for Artillery Train Guards, Life Guards, Commanded shot, Maddening Subordinates and Events that can be added to the order deck. I still thinking on some ideas for adding the ECW marksman I painted to the game.

 Maybe the Marksman adds and + 1 or and extra die to fire combat?

Another thing I like, with the command rules, the game easily allows multiple players on each side as the order deck drives the decision of events on the table and keeps all players on both sides actively engaged in the battle.  I can't praise these rules enough, fast play, satisfactory results, edge of your seat play and fun, fun, fun.  Did I mention that they are free too?

Warlord Games Pike and Shotte Marksman

Here are some pictures of Warlord Game's Pike and Shotte Marksman.  I was originally going to do it as a "how to" or "work in progress" set of postings but got so motivated painting I finished it too quickly!  Great figure to paint.

I'm going to paint a regiment of Newcastle's Whitecoats and decided that's where my marksman came from. 

Very detailed and excellently sculptured made it a pleasure to paint.

Got that Leveler officer in my sights!

An Alabama Yankee in King Charles' Court

Okay, I'll apologize to Mark Twain later . . . but I did think it was a rather clever, eye-catching title for a post!  As Mark Twain said, "History does not repeat itself but it does rhyme."

The English Civil War has caught my interest again especially with the advent of hard plastic miniatures in 28mm.  This is the not the first time that I have collected armies for this period, but it is the first time that I have seriously dedicated myself to game the wars of Fairfax, Cromwell, Rupert and Leslie in 28mm.  So how does an American get excited about gaming the English Civil War (wars, actually)?

Because it's cool.

Pike Block for Samuel Jones' Regiment of foot.  Figures are Warlord Games plastics except the office of pike which is Wargames Foundry.

Images of heroic cavalry charges, steady blocks of infantry, gallant last stands - and men were not ashamed to wear lace. Yep.

Another reason is the fascinating transitional period in the evolution of the Western way of war.  Up to this point, the majority of battles were won by shock action; now we start to see a revolution in military affairs as battles will be decided by firepower culminating with the invention of the bayonet in the late 17th century.  In his fascinating study The Iraq War: A Military History Robert Scales states (italics are mine):

     " . . . the most important reason for the Coalition's victory (in Iraq) lies in the secret of Western military effectiveness first discovered by the Romans and then rediscovered by the Europeans in the 16th century:  the disciplining of young men in combat formations characterized by cohesion, interdependency and trust in one another and in commanding officers.  The result is a military unit that is obedient and responsive not only to its commanders but to civil authorities as well.  Of all of the revolutions that have taken place in Western warfare, this was undoubtedly the most important, for on those disciplined formations - discipline in both a military and military sense - the Western state was created.  In that sense, the ground formations that drove through ill-disciplined armed mobs of Iraqis were the direct lineal descendents of Roman legionnaires and the pikemen and musketeers of Gustavus Adolphus's armies."

Okay, Gustavus Adolphus was not in the English Civil Wars but he is close enough and many Englishmen, Scots and Irishmen served in his and Imperial armies.  Another characterization of this period is the gradual reemergence of the Infantry as the decisive branch for winning battles with a battleline based on firepower.  With dynamic social and moral changes of the period coupled with the emergence of semi-professional armies a revolution in military affairs (RMA) emerges with the introduction of linear warfare.  In the pike and shot armies of the English Civil Wars I can see the obedience, loyalty, use of chain of command, the service to state and drill that allows this to happen.  

Plus most of the source material is in English!  (When I was a lieutenant stationed at Fort Lewis, WA, our battalion executive officer was an officer from the British army.  On his desk was a sign that said, "English Spoken, American understood.") 

Enough of the history lesson.  This is a period that is ideal for gaming in 28 mm as it does not require huge armies.  For most battles or fictional scenarios you only need 2 - 4 infantry units, a few squadrons of cavalry, an artillery gun here or there and maybe a few specialists.

Speaking of specialists.  

While I am finishing Samuel Jones' Regiment of Foot, I am also painting the Marksman figure from Warlord games.

I love the detail.

I use a pumice stone and acrylic resin available from the Warstore.  A small screwdriver is handy in applying.  I let it dry overnight before priming.

  Hey you!  Why are you sitting in that white mush!

So . . . are you for King and Country or Parliament and King! 

Next up:  Rules, Rules, Rules - and an update on our sniper and Jones' Regiment.