1815 The Hundred Days - Scenarios for General d'Armee

Reissswitz Press, TooFatlardies’ sister publishing company has just released a new publication called “1815, The Hundred Days”, a supplement for General d’Armee and covering the period of Napoleon´s return from Elbe Island to Waterloo.

This 45 pages-long booklet is divided in two parts:

• The historical background of the campaign leading to Napoleon’s defeat on 18th June 1815, intersected with comments from the Dave Brown expressing his views of some the key moments of the campaign (the “blue boxes” in the book).

•  Six scenarios covering some of the key actions in this period: the crossing of the Sambre at Charleroi (Battle at Gilly), Quatre Bras, Ligny (the Battle at St Amand), Waterloo’s Battle for Mount St Jean, Plancenoit and finally the iconic attack of the Old Guard. 

Therefore this is NOT a campaign book á la Pint-Sized format used in Chain of Command, but six independent scenarios that can be played individually.

Each scenario is very well detailed, with precise roster of troops involved, nicely drawn maps and clear special scenario rules. The battles can be played in standard or large formats, and specific instructions are also provided. The scenarios also include suggestions on terms of table sizes to be played in 15mm (I suppose also valid for 20mm – 1/72scale) as well as 28mm.

The publications maintains the a very high quality standards of other Reisswitz Press releases, contents are well structured, the edition is outstanding and include some very nice photos and illustrations.

Generally speaking, all what I could have expected for a supplement for GdA is in the book.

This is the first supplement for General d’Armee since the publication of the rules early last year, but it seems from comments in the Lard Island blog that more are in the pipeline. The book scenarios are also useful as templates to build your own scenarios in other campaigns or standalone battles.

!815 The Hundred Days is sold for 9.68 Pounds only in electronic pdf format, no plans to be released in hard copy. It can be acquired at the TooFatLardies website here.

TFL Christmas Special

A quick post. Just before Christmas day the traditional TFL  Special issue was released, containing over 130 pages of scenarios and ideas for many of the house's rule sets. This year it also includes a scenario I wrote for General d'Armee called "Encounter at Guareña River".

This a small battle or large skirmish (whatever you may want to call ot) that took place on 18th July 1812, two days before the major engagement at Salamanca, between a British-Portuguese and a French force.

It's been extensively tested at the club and was even some time ago adapted to be played as a Sharp Practice scenario (you can see a review in my blog here)

Storming the Citadel - New Chain of Command Campaign

TooFatLardies just announced a new campaign book for Chain of Command in their "pint-sized" campaign series (Pint = priced as a pint of beer in Richard Clarke's local pub). Storming the Citadel is the first  time that TFL moves East, to the time of Kursk/Citadelle, following the trails of the GrossDeutshcland Division.

As usual, the campaign is self-contained with all the army lists, scenarios and special rules, supported by a nice display of maps and historical information. Another one not to miss!

Sharp Practice: Encounter at Guareña River 1812

The following is a scenario for the popular skirmish rules in the black powder era Sharp Practice published by TooFatlardies in the context of the Salamanca campaign in 1812 won by Wellington's allied forces.
 

Background

Before the actual battle of Salamanca (or “de los Arapiles” as it is known in Spain) was fought, on 21st  of July 1812 the British and the French armies spent several weeks following closely each other looking to exploit a moment of tactical advantage to defeat the enemy in force.

Since the end of June 1812, the theatre of operations had moved north of Salamanca, to the Duoro river line where both armies try to outmanoeuvre the enemy during several weeks.

Marshall Marmont finally caught Wellington out of step in a faint move in which the French crossed to the southern bank of the river, posing a flanking threat to Wellington and also potentially cutting the line of retreat to Salamanca and further afiled, to Portugal.

On July 17^th, Wellington ordered the army retreat towards Toro; the objective was to move from there via the north-south road that links this city with Salamanca. The retreat continued during the 18^th reaching by mid-afternoon the line of the Guareña stream, a small tributary of the Duoro. The British crossed this small river unopposed and formed a line along the west bank, supported on the village of Vallesa on the right.

Considering the position sufficiently secured and the late hour (around 4PM), the British were ordered to prepare the camp for the night.

However the French thought differently and spotted a good opportunity to cross the Guareña at a lightly defended position on the left of Wellington’s line. This move if correctly executed will allow a flank attack on the British and allied forces.

Sharp Practice: The Battle of García Hernández

Background

The Battle of García Hernández took place on 23^rd July, 1812 the day after the victory of Wellington at Salamanca.

The defeated French army left the battlefield covered by General Maximillien Foy’s 1^st Infantry Division, a fresh French force as it did not have an active role in the main battle. Foy`s forces comprised two brigades with two regiments each and artillery.

Foy’s also got a light cavalry force reinforcement commanded b y General Jean-Baptiste Curto, with 2 squadrons of the 3^rd Regiment d´Hussards, two squadrons of the 26^th Regiment de Chasseurs and one squadron the 28^th Regiment de Chasseurs.

According to French sources (but not mentioned in the British reports) the cavalry rearguard also comprised elements of the Division de Dragons commanded by General Pierre Boyér, in charge of protecting the artillery train retreating ahead in the north.

In the British side, Wellesley took personal command of pursuers, forming a group with the 1^st Infantry Division, the Light Division, the light cavalry brigade of General Anson and the heavy cavalry brigade of General Von Bock (1^st and 2^nd  KGL Dragoons Regiments), the latter being part of the reserve division the previous day.

At dawn of July 23^rd, both Anson and Von Bock initiated the persecution.

Sharp Practice Corunna Campaign Errata

As you probably know, the 2016 TFL Summer Special released yesterday includes the full Corunna 1809 campaign for Sharp Practice that we´ve been designing, testing and playing over the last two months.

Alas, when I downloaded the issue, I discovered to my horror that my eagle eye failed to spot several mistakes in my latest revision of the article just before publishing. So here are the corrections in case you are interested in taking note:

• In page 13, the note with an asterisk about General Colbert should be deleted, it does not apply to the 4th scenario.
• In the same page 13, in the British reinforcement table, the Marksman Thomas Plunkett should also be deleted (again it does not apply to the 4th game of the campaign).
• Less important, the photos posted at the end of the article are from Cacabelos not Bembibre.

Sorre for the inconvenience.

Also worth noting that we introduced a British "Rifle Column" organisation in the artcile. But recently, we have realised that the brunt of the fighting was in fact undertaken by the light infantry with the support of Rifle companies distributed among the main British force.

Therefore, if you like a more historically accurate approach to the campaign, we would suggest using the Light Column Force of page 98 of the rules instead, as the backbone of the British forces for the campaign.

TooFatLardies Xmas Special Out!

When do you know that Christmas is around the corner' When TooFatLardies issues its bi-annual Special magazine. This year is even better for two reasons: you have 126 pages of content and (more important) includes our Spanish Civil War campaign for Chain of Command!!... and all this stuff at the princely sum of 6 bucks!!

Jokes aside, the issue this year is spectacular, with wide variety of articles covering most of the popular TFL rule sets (CoC, IABSM, Dux, Sharp Practice). And some important headline news: the main project for 2015 is a Coc ultra-modern covering the most recent conflicts in the War Against Terrorism. Clearly not a favourite period of mine at all... but I also said the same about Vietnam, until Charlie Don't Surf convinced me about the contrary.

Among the articles, two very interesting variants:  WWI  with Chain of Command; and cowboys vs Indians with Sharp Practice

See the full content below:

TFL Summer Special Available

Probably you know already (I've been travelling these days, so I'm arriving late to the party) but the biannual TFL Special (summer issue) is now available to buy at the unbeatable price of GBP 6!!

This year's content is one of the best I've seen and if you (like me) are a CoC fan, it is calling you loud indeed:

•  Introduction. Nick says hello.

• Westwind. A complete Chain of Command mini-campaign set in East Prussia 1945
   
• Seven Spears. A truly magical conversion for using Samurai with Dux Britanniarum.
   
• Do Some Dinging C Company. A Charlie Don’t Surf scenario from Operation Colorado in 1966.
   
• Robin Hood’s Black Gold Home Guard versus Fallschirmjager mini campaign for Chain of Command based on original defence plans for Nottinghamshire.
   
• The Siege of Augusta. A multi-player scenario for Sharp Practice in the American War of Independence.
   
• Big CoC in Africa. A fantastic report of a post-colonial Africa adaptation for Chain of Command which has been impressing the Australian show circuit.
   
• Carribean Broadsides. A squadron action for Kiss Me Hardy.
   

Italians in Russia: The Forgotten Army

Fellow blogger and wargamer Chris Stoesen from Wargamer's Odds and Ends has publised a few days ago a scenario book called "In the Name of Roma" covering in 30 scenarios and 6 campaigns the trip to hell of the 80º Infantry Roma Regiment of the Pasubio Division, part of the Italian Corps in Russia (CSIR).

So, what? Well, I've been following with growing interest Chris' progress of the booklet through his blogs posts but on Saturday night I had the opportunity to start reading the 200+ pages of the final work... and could not stop until finished. I was confronted by one of the most fascinating and dramatic  war stories that I've read since a long time ago: from the story of the first killed in action to the desperate fights in December 1941 surrounded by overwhelming Russian forces.

The background of the Italian involvement in the Eastern Front is the desire of Moussilini to have a share in the spoils of a sure victory against the Soviet Union in 1941. Without regards for the lack of training, supplies or material to sustain a likely long campaign, he organised and sent  a corps of over 59,000 men along with other allies of the German Army. Note that at its height there were close to 235,000 Italians fighting in the Eastern Front, of which over 65,000 were reported killed (including prisiones in Soviet camps) and many more thousands were reported MIAs.

TooFatLardies Special is Out

An early-bird issue this time, TooFatLadies released yesterday its biannual publication Special. I can agree on the "special" but hardly on the "summer" in the title, as the bloody winter has decided to stay for much more longer than usual in Spain (still below 20ºC!!).

And what do you get? Well for 6 bucks (less than a breakfast at Starbucks in the UK) a total 130 pages of really good and high-quality content (see below) for your games with the TFL rule sets,

Two articles that I read last night were outstanding: a campaign with the British XXX Corps in the race to Arnhem (suitable for IABSM)  and a wonderful analysis of the British tactics in the last year of the Great War (for Mud & Blood).

The detailed index is as follows:

Vyazma or Bust Campaign # 1 - Izdeshkovo

1st November  (All Saints Day) is a holiday in Spain, the day I finally put the ball rolling of the Vyzma of Bust campaign in the club, played with the TooFatLardies IIWW company size rules I Ain't Been Shot Mum. This was my first live-fire test with IABSM (although I've been thoroughly reading the rules over the past months), acting as umpire to a group of 5 players also new to the rules.

The similaties of IABSM to Charlie Don't Surf had its pros and its cons, as I missed  some differences in detail innitially (for example killed and shock results). But generally speaking the game went smoother than my initial expectations, also helped by the support of the rest of players.

Back to the Trenches: Forlon Hope

In addition to sorting and editing the hundreds of photos from our recent trip to the UK, I have invested some time this long weekend in Madrid to umpire a WWI game with Through the Mud and the Blood, the period platoon level rules of the TooFatLardies factory. 

The scenario was simple: in early 1918 following a successful local attack on a German trench, the remaining elements of a British platoon have reinforced the former Hun defenses and now await the inevitable counterattack. Unfortunately for them, the German interdiction artillery fire is blocking the arrival of reinforcements. Therefore, their only hope is to make enough casualties to the Germans to make the attack stall and allow some time for the British to send new units.

Stalingrad Campaign: Conclusion

In the biting cold of a grey-clouded afternoon, the last bullets were fired... 9 months after it started, the Stalingrad Campaign played by the Lardie section of the Club Dragón in Madrid concluded last night, the longest ever played... and here the (historical) moment when our umpire took the last "Tea Break" card from the deck...

...and guess who won...(put the computer speakers at highest level!)

Stalingrad Part VIII & IX: The End is Nigh...

After along spell since December in our Stalingrad campaign due to the Christmas Holidays and other personal obligations, over the past two weeks we have played two additional turns. The first was a night turn which brought very little news or action, as both sides were truly exhausted and invested the dark hours in reinforcing weak units and consolidating their lines, in the eve of the definitive assault of the Factory Building (the key objective of this campaign)

A general view of the Factory and surroundings

Villers Fauçon - A WW I Battle Report

My gaming mates and me usually met just before year-end to play a long game and them go out for dinner. This year the turnout was surprisingly large and I had to arrange not one, but two games in order to accomodate everybody (a total of 14 players). Luckily, our Stalingrad campaign organiser Alfredo volunteered to undertake and umpire this second game, giving me enough time to plan a WWI battle with Mud & Blood.

One of our club members have been recently painting some nice British cavalry minis and was eagerly looking to put them on the table.

Great War early war British cavalry

While looking for materials, I remembered that Sidney Roundwood (see his most excellent blog here) had published in one of the bi-annual TooFatLardies Specials a couple of scenarios involving cavalry actions, with the added attraction that some light armour was also involved. 

Stalingrad Part VII - As the night falls...

I have just received the report from the last game of our Stalinngrad Campaign. The climax of the battle is now approaching with the German units surrounding the fortified  factory and ready to initiate the assault on the last Red Army positions. Only the early fall of the late September night in Southern Russia created a lull in the fierce battle, but unlikely to last for long.

The Germans continued tightening the nook around the Factory. Fresh reserves were thrown into the battle and the last remaining and wore down Red Army units had to fight to the last man to retard the relentless progress of the Nazi war machine.

 

Stalingrad Part VI: Enemy at the Gates

The sixth game of the Stalingrad Campaign was played a few weeks ago but unfortunately I was not able to attend. As a remainder to readers, we started in July a campaign around the dramatic last days of September 1942, when the German army attempted a final effort to gain full control of the city before the winter. We play with the TooFatLardies platoon-scale set  Troops, Weapons and Tactics. What follows is an illustrated brief summary made by the game organizer and umpire.

Stalingrad Part V: The Workers Militia Courage

 

After missing the foruth game of our campaign, I could attend the fifth game, played on a Friday evening two weeks ago,  although I was totally exhausted after a full working week (and not just me, but the rest of the gang too). To remind readers and blog followers, we prepared this year a campaign around the last German effort to conquer Stalingrad in October 1942. Although it was supposed to be played through the summer, the fact is that it has extended well beyond our estimates and it's now clearly heading into winter...or as one member of the TooFatLardies Yahoo Group told me a few days ago "funny how history repeats itself"... and I cannot agree more!

Stalingrad Part IV: Desperate Measures

On Sunday (myself absent, for family reasons) the fourth game of our Stalingrad campaign was played. As a remainder, the last game ended with the end of the night shift, where the Germans at a high cost in blood made some gains in the central row of buildings, to be used as the springboard for the final assault on the factory. If you want to read the detailed account of the campaign click for the first, second and third parts, as well as this extra post with "photoshoped" photos and other contemporary recorded materials.

Stalingrad Part III - More photos and other interesting stuff

I have received some new photos of the game last Friday. After receiving a beauty treatment with photoshop, I want to share with you. I also got some interesting links to contemporary German news reels, placed at the end of this post. Hope you enjoy the materials.