Busaco (Reyniers Assault) - 27th September 1810 - Part Two

The French right, where the Irishmen of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards have forced my volitgeurs in square, damn their eyes

When last we saw the French army, things were not looking good for Brother John. Les Roastbifs had planted themselves on a hill and we had been obliged to hurl ourselves at it. Now in actuality, the French did do that, but did not strike the British position straight on. This allowed the British line to shoot up the French columns for rather longer than would have been the case. Unfortunately this is only really possible when the French are in some doubt as to where the British position is. Given arms that remain stubbornly 33 inches long, there is no real point in playing a game where half the board is unused - I would need a bigger board and a bigger house.

One would have thought that hundreds of years of folk memory would have put the Frenchers off attacking British troops in positions of their own choosing. It took them two generations, if not more, to figure it out in the Hundred Years War - would I be able to turn the situation around.

The Halberdiers go down fighting

If you remember from the first half of this report, I had skirmished with my cavalry on my left, hoping to punish the vulnerable Portuguese infantry on the heights, refused the centre and placed all my hopes on a victory of my right flank. My infantry had managed to make a dent in the British line, but the inevitable counterattack had done considerable execution. I still had several battalions in hand and time would tell whether they would be sufficient.

The absolutely crushing volley from the 31ieme Legere that did for the Halberdiers.

As you can see, the Legere did some damn fine shooting, but of the four battalions I had, one was so whipped as to be almost useless, the Voltigeurs were in square and being harried by cavalry. So while it was good to have bundled the Halberdiers out of the way, I was not feeling as confident as all that.

The 22ieme Ligne try to shift the 57th off the ridge

They fail to do so (i.e. their melee attack does some damage, but doesn't force the 57th to retreat or wipe them out) and they bogged down in a close range volleying match. Meanwhile the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards move forward to threaten by weakened battalion and pin the Voltigeurs in square again. Damn.

The 15ieme Dragoons move forward finally, throwing the 7th Portuguese line into square.

I had hoped that this would have been my opening gambit, but Du Gourmand forestalled me by cunning use of a Short of Supply card. With three infantry units on this side of the table, it was entirely possible that I could either wipe one or two of them out if he refused to form square or I could pin all three, severely limiting his ability to maneuvre.

The Dragoons make short work of my weakened battalion and thunder into the sharp shooting 31ieme Ligne

It was looking like the wheels were about to come off the cart on the right flank. I just could not seem to injure those damned Irish dragoons.

The Chasseurs move up to serve the Portuguese infantry in their turn

This was what had been hoping for and I was finally able to do it. I was unlikely unless I was very unlucky that Du Gourmand's Portuguse infantry would be able to deal with my cavalry once I had them all pinned in square. This would take three cards from his hand and leave him scrabbling for a response when I got my centre and right moving.

Victory?

And this is where it got interesting. Du Gourmand didn't form square with the second infantry battalion who were promptly ridden down by the Chasseurs. This was a puzzlement as Du Gourmand must of have known it was the likely outcome and he would be be unlikely to surrender a unit lightly. The only explanation could be that he had drawn a very good card which he didn't want to risk losing.

That did not bode well.

Meanwhile, I finally got my centre moving, hopefully to give the Portuguese 

infantry hiding in the village the boot

So, what did Du Gourmand have up his sleeve?

With tragic inevitability, he threw down Bayonet Charge! This was very bad news for me as I had to battalions in square on my right. They were safe when all that could hit them was the Irish dragoons, but things soon changed as the British infantry came into play.

The Second Battalion 7th Portuguese surround my gallant Frenchmen while

 the 57th hit them in the front.

My column in the centre was getting so close....

The rolling platoon volleys begin to crash down the line and it's all over.

The Fourth Foot watch through the roiling gunsmoke as the French 

infantry break and run for the rear. 

General Du Gourmand - magnanimous in victory as always

On the whole, I was happy with the game. It played out rather like the real battle went, French columns reaching for British lines and not quite making it. In retrospect, in view of the lack of British artillery in the centre, I should have formed up my troops there so that when the assault on the right came, they would be in a position to support them. As it was, the British were able to concentrate their men and defeat the attack in detail.

Update

A few days ago, Capability Savage and I met for a quiet one - while we were in yonder hostelry, the bridge decided to the turn and allow a three masted sailing vessel up the Liffey. The light was awful, but I did the best I could with my phone.

 

In the meantime, I've been working away on my Dutch musketeer. This has been a slow process, particularly choosing colours that didn't look out of place, but also went well together. Slow, but steady I think is the watch word here. 

To be honest, I haven't been up to much in the hobby line of late as Mrs Kinch is in hospital. We had hoped that she would be home the day before yesterday, but that sadly wasn't possible. She is being very well looked after and is receiving the best of care, unfortunately there have been some post surgery complications which we are hoping will clear themselves up in the next day or two.

Until then, all I do really is visit, hope and pray.

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Busaco (Reyniers Assault) - 27th September 1810 - Part One

I've written about the Battle of Busaco before, but for those you without photographic memories.

"The Battle of Busaco is not one of those Napoleonic battles that live in my imagination particularly. I have no strong feelings about, it lacks the resonance of Waterloo, the romance of Assaye, the miniature quality of Maida or the piractical flair of Vittoria. I shall give the barest of outlines and then get down to the meat of the matter. 

It is in some ways the stereotypical Peninsula battle, the British are on the defensive and deploy the majority of their force in a reverse slope defence, which was then assaulted by the French. But I am getting ahead of myself and falling into that newspapermans trick of telling the end or at least the middle of the story at the beginning. The strategic situation is as follows; it is 1810 and the French hold Spain more or less. Wellington has retreated from Spain into Portugal, where the French have far more limited options as to how they may approach. Napoleon ordered Massena, the French commander, to drive Wellington out of Portugal. This makes sense if you imagine that Spain is a square, while Portugal is a smaller square in the bottom left hand corner, the edges of which are made up of the sea and mountains. Without these mountains, there is every possibility that Portugal would simply have ended up as more Spain. 

The French advance and take after siege several forts along the border and then begin to march on Lisbon. Wellington picks a position, Busaco ridge, and meets the French upon it. The French are unable to properly scout the position or establish where the British troops are concentrated. They launch an attack in the centre under Reynier thinking they are hitting the flank of the British position. They become heavily engaged and are beaten back. Ney on the French right, hears this and believing that his comrades are winning launches another attack which is driven off in turn with a volley and a  bayonet charge. 

The French then withdrew to their original positions and proceeded to attempt a flank march, while Wellington fell back towards the Lines of Torres Vedras, a huge line of fortifications."

The battle we're talking about here is Reyniers assault which opened the battle.

General Du Gourmand surveys the scene

I was in an uncharacteristically generous mood and decided to allow General Du Gourmand to play the British for a change as I'd made him play the baddies the last few times we'd played. I knew that I would have to play aggressively to win in this scenario, but thought that my best course of action would be trying to focus on the weaker Portuguese units. I also hoped to use my cavalry superiority to hamper his ability to manoeuvre.

With that in mind, I sent a squadron of Dragoons and one of Chasseurs splashing though the river in order to threaten the isolated Portuguese brigades on the British right.

Du Gourmand countered by pushing his artillery and light infantry forward on his left, ready to light up my troops as soon as they closed.

None daunted, my brave lads carried on...

...while Du Gourmands redcoats held their fire.

My rivers prove again that they are not to be trusted as they come apart while the Dragoons take up residence in the Bodega

The Royal Horse Artillery start to shell the advancing French columns...

...but swiftly run out of ammunition (are effected by a Short of Supplies card) and have to return to the baseline to "bomb up".

Sadly, General Du Gourmand serves me in my turn and due to a botched order the Dragoons are sent packing.

The view from the British left, steady boys.

The Portuguese on the British right breath a sigh of relief as the Dragoons disappear back over the river. The Chasseurs retire to the Bodega, there was obviously something good in there...

Vive l'Empereur! 

I throw my French battalions forward, taking a double move with a Bayonet Charge card. This move would make or break my plan, if it succeeded there was every liklihood that General Du Gourmand would be unable to muster a suitable response.

Success! 

But at what a cost, I wiped out two British battalions, but the battle backs left one of my units very vulnerable. It was good, but would it be good enough?

The French "break in" further into the British position, driving back, but not wiping out the Fourth Foot. Meanwhile the 4th Dragoon Guard hover menacingly on the other side of the hill.

 

The British counter-attack when it came was brutal. 

I'd advanced my light infantry into the cottage in the foreground, where they were shot by the Portuguese and then charged by the Connaught Rangers. The Rangers didn't manage to evict them and were bogged down, trading volleys, but elsewhere General Du Gourmand managed to extract his weakened units before I got to them and hit my advanced battalion, the 8ieme Ligne I think, causing some casualties. 

I failed to make much headway in my turn, whereupon General Du Gourmand visions of Knighthoods dancing before him, set to work dismantling my attack. Where the Irishmen of the  Connaught Rangers had failed, the mongrels of the Kings Royal Halberdiers succeeded. The second battalion 8ieme Ligne was broken and the first battalion taken in the rear.

To add insult to injurty the Fourth Royal Dragoon Guards had decided to join us and were now threatening the 31ieme Legere.

All in all it was looking rather grim for Johnny Frenchman.

Photography & The Musketeers Boot

 

A flower, a rose I think, from Mrs Kinch's garden

(click to embiggen)

I did a brief refresher photography course on Sunday. It was mainly a case of rediscovering things I'd forgotten, but it was fun and it certainly rekindled my interest in things.

 

 (click to embiggen)

 This girl looked entirely out of place (or rather time) to me, she had a face that belonged in a Velazquez or a Goya. This was a candid shot taken with a tripod, I was trying to capture the look of a pre-electric light interior.  If I was taking this shot again and could pose it, I would have tried to bounce some light onto her face.

 

(click to embiggen)

A pensive looking Cherubim

I should have framed this to either cut out the second fellow or bring him fully into the picture. Shorter exposure next time, would like to get this one right.

 (click to embiggen)

Some purple things from Mrs Kinch's garden

(click to embiggen)

A riot of colour

In the meantime, I've plodded along with my musketeer. All the gaps are filled, though I notice when it dried that it swells slightly, leaving a bump. It has a slightly chalky feeling to the touch and I've been knocking it about a bit with a scrap of Mrs Kinch's furniture restoration sandpaper. Slow, but steady Kinch. The trick is to make sure I don't put him somewhere safe so that I can come back to him. That way rediscovering him five years later lies.

FaceTime Battles

Heading off to the supermarket after playing a game via FactTime

As I mentioned recently, MadPadre and I spoke on FaceTime. However, a few days ago we took it a little further and managed to play a game of Command & Colours Napoleonics via my handheld video phone. I'm still slightly stunned that we managed to pull it off, I keep thinking I'm going to walk out of my house and see a flying car.  Bob Cordery I think was the first to mention it, at around the same time that I started thinking about mucking about with webcams, but FaceTime as a piece of technology seems robust and easy to use. I'm not sure that the webcam issue isn't a dead end.

The Padre has written about the experience and you can have a look at what he has to say here. Myself, I would offer the following advice to anyone considering doing the same.

Preparation - The host should have anything set up in advance, it saves a great deal of time. Have the board set up and the troops in place. It will save on time.

Walkthrough - Give your guest a walkthrough of the board and a tour of his forces. Padre didn't have a chance to look at the scenario before, but I gave him a rough idea of things and most importantly made sure that he got to see every unit in each army as curiously enough not everyone can tell a chasseur from a line infantryman when both fellows are wearing blue uniforms. Not even Wellington had to tell one Frenchman from another at a distance of over three and a half thousand miles.




This is my magic card device. One of the difficulties of a card based system via a video link is how to get the guest player to play cards when they're miles away. There are probably better ways of doing this, but this worked for us.

The Host player draws the appropriate number of cards and shows them to the front facing camera in such a way that he cannot see them. They are then placed on a board marked with numbers while the Guest player notes the number. The Guest player just calls out the number of the card he wants to play, the Host player draws it from the board and play proceeds from there. This was a little clunky at first, but once you've dealt with the initial hand it proceeds at a decent clip.

Steady panning - the temptation to throw the camera around like Baz Luhrman is alluring, but likely to give your guest motion sickness. Try and hold the camera steady and keep the picture wide for most of the time, this will ensure that your guest will have a clear idea of what's going on. Be prepared to move the camera quite a bit, but when you do move it, make an effort to do it smoothly.

Definately a good idea and certainly one I would try again.

MiniArt Netherlands Musketeer

Mrs Kinch and I are recently returned from a holiday in the country. It was wonderful, we saw absolutely nothing of the country beyond the four walls of the cottage. Mainly we sat in silence in the same room, read a succession of books, listened to music and drank, ate and slept when the mood took us.  There were cats of course, though not a patch on our own. However in between reading At Swim Two Birds, Hobson Jobson and Edouard De Pomiane - I did some writing and did a spot of modelling just for fun.

I have some very expensive resin kits of 120mm figures that I picked up over the years, but that I simply haven't done anything with, mainly for fear of spoiling them. So I decided on a whim to get a kit that would be completely impractical, that I couldn't use for wargaming and that would just be for the pleasure of the thing.

Drying fitting hands and musket

I ended up buying this fine fellow, a 17th century musketeer by MiniArt. At €15, he was a damn sight cheaper then resin (not that I have ever paid full price for a resin figure) and disposeable enough that I could trust myself not to bottle it and put him back in the box half done. Having painted two large scale figures at this stage, I decided that I would assemble him in parts and paint as I went.

My musketeer without his hands and other additional

 pieces that will have to be added with thread

"And then I told him to put Tab A into Slot B"

"That's what your mother said!"

MiniArt are a Ukrainrian and I haven't put any of their output together before. There are two points that bear mentioning, the Ukrainians are simple folk, direct and forthright in the dealings. They have no need of instructions, which are for decadent fellows who cannot hold their vodka. Consequently the figure comes with one sheet showing all the parts, but nothing by way of instructions as they are generally understood. This is I suppose, a step up from resin figures which frequently come with no instructions at all, but it did give me pause at first.

Secondly, the fit of some of the pieces is not all that could be wished. There are some significant gaps and I'll have to do a spot of filling. Shamefully, I didn't have any green stuff with me while I was on holiday. So I tried originally to do with this with bits of sprue chopped small and disolved in poly cement, but the result was an evil smelling mixture that was too lumpy to be used and that provoked stern looks from wife and cats.

Pay attention to the rapier and it's damned quillons,

 much bad language was expended on those quillions

But it must be said that despite the lack of hand holding and the gapping, the kit went together relatively well. I quite pleased with result so far and while it's a far cry from soldering irons and banana oil, I did feel albeit briefly like a proper modeller for a change. Normally when I've put figures like this together they have been as a gift for someone else, but I think I'll hold onto this chap.

Still much work to be done

Puzzling out how to put the fellow together and shaving the differant bits was fun. The figures himself is a Dutch musketeer from the time of the Dutch revolt. I don't know much about the period, just what little I've picked up from the Alatriste novels and my recent reading of CV Wedgewood.

Twelve Apostles - looking rather more wooden 

then when they crashed that wedding at Cana

I've always rather liked Velasquez's "The Surrender of Breda", though I don't know enough about the
period to date my musketeer before or after. He lacks the "Twelve Apostles" (twelve rounds of ammunition kept in wooden tubes) that I thought most marksmen of the day carried. Whether this puts him at the beginning or middle of the century, I don't know.

While I was putting this chap rogether, I listened to some of GA Henty's "With Pike & Dike" , which is about the Dutch revolt, though Mrs Kinch did make an unkind comment about that a book about a lesbian angler would have been more interesting. 

More gaps

We shall see if this stuff works. I haven't tried it yet as I've been busy since we came home, but rest assured, when I find out, you'll read all about it.


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