by Brigadier (Ret’d) C.S. Grant OBE
34 Battlegames
Forces
• One regiment of hussars
• One regiment of dragoons (dragoons may operate dismounted if the player desires)
• Four regiments of infantry
• One battery of two guns Coordinating instructions
When the Austrian escort and lead boat enter at A on move 1, the dragoons at B will act as ordered and the hussars at C may move to alert the village at D. The garrison at D (two regiments of infantry and a half battery of artillery) may not deploy until alerted by the arrival of the squadron from C.
At the same time, the attackers draw one of three envelopes, which will determine the move on which his second force (the remainder of the dragoon regiment, two regiments of infantry and the other gun) appear at F marching back to the town D. The three envelopes each have a different move written on a slip of paper in them.
More detail is given in the section on game mechanics.
GAME MECHANICS
Arrival of the remainder of the hussar regiment
The remaining squadrons of the hussar regiment at C are returning from patrol to the east and will arrive at E at some stage in the day. From move 3 onwards, the attacker throws a single d6. They will enter when a 6 is thrown.
The land escort.
The river-borne convoy has a land-based element to support it. It consists of the following:
• One regiment of hussars
• Two battalions of infantry
• One battery of horse artillery
Coordinating instructions
Prior to the disclosure of any of the enemy (French) forces on the table, the convoy commander must determine the deployment of the land-based element. The dismounted escort enter at point A on move 1, distributed on either side of the river as the commander wishes.
ORDERS FOR THE ATTACKER (FRENCH) Situation
The attacker has a cavalry outpost, equivalent to one squadron of dragoons, at the inside of the fork in the river at the junction (B). At (C) is a hussar outpost, which can see the approach to the river fork. In the town (D) are two battalions of infantry and half a battery of artillery (one gun). A similar force, with a the remainder of the dragoons regiment, is off the table some way south of E.
The remaining hussars are off the table to the west of F.
Mission
To destroy or capture the enemy river convoy before it sails into safer territory (i.e. off the table to the west).
A scene of calm and tranquillity. The Austrian land-based escort, an escort ship and convoy of barges on the river. All photos taken ‘live’ by the author of models and figures in his collection
A scene from the first game. The Austrian escort have been overrun by both infantry and dragoons and the gun is in peril. On the water, a barge has run aground on an island, harassedæ by fire from dismounted dragons on the far side, and the escort ship is making its way past.
Entry of the attacking force from F
At the start of the game the attacker draws one of three sealed envelopes to determine the arrival of his force at F. The envelopes have slips showing moves 8, 10 and 12 respectively in them. The convoy player does not know the result of the draw. On the appropriate move, the force enters at F in column of march.
River movement
River movement is divided as follows:
Craft normal speed maximum speed
Escort boats 7 ½” 9”
Barges 6” 7 ½”
Maximum speed can only be maintained for two moves, after which the craft is restricted to normal speed for four moves.
River hazards
There are a number of hazards on the river to negotiate.
Number Hazard Action
1 Twin forks
As the lead escort ship enters the table, the player may opt to go left right or split his force. The escort ships will take the fork as ordered. However, as each barge approaches the fork in turn, throw a d6.
A 1 means that it takes the opposite fork to the direction ordered.
2 Whirlpool
As each craft approaches the whirlpool, roll a d6. A throw of 1 means that it is caught in the whirlpool. Thereafter, roll a d6 on each move: 4, 5 or 6 allows it to escape, but a 1 will sink it.
3 Small
islands
As each barge approaches the islands, roll a d6. A 2 or 3 and it goes left, 4,5 or 6 right. A throw of 1 will mean that it runs into the islands. Once aground, roll a d6 for it each move. 4, 5 or 6 and it floats free, but a 1 will sink it. Once clear, throw again: 2 or 3 and it goes left, 4,5 or 6 right. 1 means it runs aground again!
4 Bridges
As each barge (not escort boats, which are deemed to have better control) arrives at a bridge, roll a d6. A throw of 1 means that it hits the side of the bridge. Roll another d6: 1, the barge sinks, causing a blockage that will take two moves to clear; 2, the barge sinks causing a blockage that will take one move to clear; 3, the barge sinks causing no obstruction; 4, the barge takes one move to come unstuck – during this time nothing else can pass; 5, the barge takes one move to come unstuck but others can pass; 6, the barge moves as normal on the next move.
5 Island
divide
As each craft approaches the island, roll a d6. A 1 means that it runs into the
As each barge approaches the fork, roll 2d6. A double 1 means that it takes the left-hand fork away from home and is lost!
If an escort craft is down to half moves either through loss of crew or direct damage (see later
rules), then it has less control and will be treated as a barge when approaching a hazard.
Artillery fire on barges and boats
There are two effects that artillery have on escort boats and one on barges. In the former case, successful artillery fire can cause both casualties and damage to the boat, but with the barges, it is simply a question of damage to the boat.
Depending on your own tactical rules the table below is applied to a direct hit by throwing a d6.
Dice
2 1 casualty no effect no effect
3 1 hit
1 casualty no effect no effect
4 2 hits
3 casualties 1 hit
2 casualties no hit 1 casualty
5 3 hits
4 casualties 2 hits
3 casualties 1 hit 2 casualties
6 4 hits
4 casualties 3 hits
3 casualties 2 hits 2 casualties Each time a 6 is thrown, roll another d6 – a
further 6 will sink the boat or barge outright.
Musketry fire on barges
While the small number of crew mean that artillery fire effect is only considered in terms of damage to the barge, musketry fire will cause casualties. Assuming each barge is crewed by four figures, casualties from fire are calculated under the same conditions as normal musketry rules on an open order target.
Results of artillery and musketry fire on barges and boats The result of accumulated fire is as follows:
• Escort boats will reduce speed by one quarter for every five men lost or every five points lost.
• Barges will reduce speed by one quarter for every five points of damage or crewman lost.
• A barge with no crew will run aground on the next move.
WINNING THE GAME
Now let me consider the difficult business of determining the requirements for victory. The question from the Austrian viewpoint must be what level of successful re-supply will satisfy the military requirement. To that end, three barges will be a success, two a draw and any less defeat. The survival or otherwise of the escort ships must also play a part.
The loss of an escort ship will raise the number of barges required by one to four for success and three for a draw.
POSTSCRIPT
In conclusion, I have several observations. The first is that the reader may have observed that the Austrian escort craft shown in the photos have been scratch built. I found an example of a halb tschaika riverboat in the Osprey Men-at-Arms Austrian Auxiliary Troops 1792 – 1816 and could not resist making a couple. Likewise, having found details of the tschaikisten boatmen, I converted some assorted Jäger figures, cutting off the muskets and replacing them with poles. Of course, none of this is really necessary, and a much simpler representation of
36 Battlegames
escort boats and pontoons will suffice for the scenario.
Turning to the game, after a playtest to make sure the rules provided a degree of balance, we fought it twice, changing sides so we each had a go at commanding the convoy.
On both occasions, the battle went down to the wire, with a draw on the first occasion and a victory for the French (attackers) on the second. Memorable moments and less so abound, like the sight of the Austrian general,
having lost most of his escort force, escaping on a barge!
Or the sight of the island junction covered with the debris of an escort boat, destroyed by French artillery, and a grounded barge. Or there is the tale of the French hussars that never got onto the table in 17 moves. Can you really throw a die 17 times and not get a 6? I can!
I could go on, but what I can say is that I am sure that this scenario will generate lots of different memorable moments for you – try it and see.
The second game, with chaos on the river. An escort ship is unmasted and sunk, a barge has been sunk and its crew and debris are stranded on the island, while a further barge and escort ship prepare to run the gauntlet, but Austrian infantry are closing in on the French gun.
In game two, the Austrians concentrated their escort on one side of the river, but sent barges up both rivers at the first junction. Foundry figures, CSG’s boats!
To boldly go...
I
n the world of fantasy and sci-fi wargaming there are some big names: Games Workshop;Rackham; and Wizards of the Coast (part of Hasbro since 1999). After these companies comes the next level of businesses working to meet the needs of gamers like me and, maybe, you. Th ough it is diffi cult
to provide exact comparisons between these fi rms (do you measure them by the number of employees, revenue, number of gamers using their wares or their range of products?) the leaders in this pack are Mongoose Publishing and Privateer Press.
Mongoose, the UK’s second biggest fantasy and sci-fi wargames company, was formed
six years ago by Matthew Sprange and Alex Fennell. Th eir initial focus was on d20-based products for roleplayers.
Th is range includes complete
campaign packs for games masters, the Quintessential range covering every class and race in fantasy d20 games, arcane and monster encyclopaedias, and much more. It’s easy to see why they are the country’s leading publisher of roleplaying games. Since 2004, they have entered the world of miniatures gaming with the Mighty Armies 15mm range and Babylon 5 – A Call to Arms spaceship combat. Since then, they have moved into plastic miniatures with Gangs of Mega City One, a skirmish game based on the world of Judge Dredd, and the mass battle game Starship Troopers. By 2006 this had won a “Best New Game” award from Origins and has a range of more than 50 metal and plastic releases. To round things off , as if they needed to with around 2,000 diff erent product codes in their range, Mongoose also have novels, a few card games and Th ud, the Discworld board game.
Th e company holds tournaments at their offi ces three times a year.
On a sunny day in February, I was fortunate enough to be able to make the trip down to Swindon and spend a very pleasant afternoon discussing all things wargaming with Matthew Sprange. Despite the fact that the majority of their revenue still comes from the roleplaying side of the business, my focus was on the miniatures rules and fi gures. And,
amongst his other duties, Matthew alsowrites
the rules for their miniatures games!
Not being that professional, I didn’t
tape the conversation, but made scribbled
notes as we chatted.
Th e following is my reconstruction of our
talk, based on my scrawl, about designing
games and the future for Mongoose.
When he wrote A Call to Arms, Matthew knew that the movement system was the key to the game. Once that was fi nished, he realized that the solution he had come up with was the same as Battlefl eet Gothic. Further
thought on the matter brought the conclusion that there is no point in trying to come up with something diff erent, just for the sake of being diff erent.
It may be fair to say that other games companies have suff ered from exactly that problem.
He then started to look at and develop the core systems, or mechanics, of the
games. Th is resulted in his thinking that you could use identical systems for a number of games, using only the unit cards to diff erentiate them. Th e validity by Guy Hancock