Big, Shiny and in Public !

  Saturay 29th of November was a very rainy day- so it is a good job that  four of the Tantobie Warfare and Tactical society were off to do a demonatration game INSIDE.  Battleground at the Middlesborough Sports Village is about 45 minutes away on a fine day, a bit longer when it is honking it down. However we arrived - slightly damp but eager- to set up the largest version of 'Shinyloo'  that I had yet run.

 There is now something close to 500 models in this Napoleonic collection mostly 30mm figures of a certain age many- but not all- now out of production. Such makers as Stadden, Willie and Minot do not often figure in the modern Napoleonic wargamers lexicon still less do Minifigs 30mm yet this collection features- to a greater or lesser extent all of these, the Stadden and the Willie are still available but not so the Minot or Minifigs 30mm. The rest of the collection is made up of Hincliffe/Foremost and Connoisseur- both still available but of an age and style that blends in with the other makes.

 The vast majority of these models have been bought second hands from ebay or back in the day at showsNow I freely admit that this project is somewhat self indulgeant and that collecting and refurbishing these old second hand and frequently neglected models has become a significan part of my personal hobby. These 30mm were the models I coveted but could not afford back in the 1970s.

 However enough of this preamble and back to the Boro-

The table set up before the action begins, note the old carpenters rulers - no extendable tapes here  to crash through the ranks in clumsy hands.

The British had more infantry the French more cavalry and guns. Rules were- as usual for this collection -Young and Lawford's Charge or how to play Wargames first published in the late 1960s with a few bits of fiddling about to 'Napoleonic' them. This consisted mainly of pinching the morale test from Charles Grant's Napoleonic rules which are only a few years younger and making the French infantry units fight in 3 ranks and  consquently be 18 figures per 'company' rather than the 16 of the British who fought in 2 ranks.

 Terrain was based on cloths, trees were either old Britains, or equally aged Merit and being plastic did not drop  flock all over the place. The only relatively 'modern' items were the latex roads from the late 1990s and the buildings of the same era apart from the walls and the barn which are my own scratchbuilds from the late 1980s. The whole look was deliberatly 'retro'.

 The French left 
Carabiniers, Cuirassiers,  Dragoons
 and Imperial Guard Infantry.
All suitably shiny.

 

As the game began and the French advanced the British stayed nailed to their rigde awaiting events, only a company of the Rifles advanced while the other 2 companies occupied the farm and orchard. The French did not hang about and quite quickly developed an attack with their Voltigeurs upon the farm which Shaun as the Duke of Wellyboot countered with the aforementioned Rifles. In the event this did not do him much good and his shooting was well below par -  so much so that a little later the company was driven from the field at only half of its former strength.   

Part of the British line .
The rather ancient
Minifigs 30mm British Foot Artillery battery in the centre.

 French artillery - after a shaky and inaccurate start  began to batter the farm's walls and clearly an assualt by the massed Voltigeurs was coming and indeed did so once a breach was effected in the wall. After some vicious hand to hand fighting the outnumbered Rifles retires to the ridge. Meanwhile over on the British right a mass of French cavalry began an advance led by the Draggons. The RHA battery on the extreme British right  let fly and for once the British shooting had more than token effect- exit the Dragoons the survivors failing their morale test and fleeing - standing not upon the order of their going!

 Frech Dragoons -begin their advance. These old Hinchliffe models came in a job lot  covered in  aged dust and dead flies.
Once cleaned up and rebased it became clear that whoever had painted them many years  previously had known what he was about. Only the merest toughing up was needed.
Carabiniersand Cuirassiers support the lads in green.
Some of the Carabiniers came in the same job lot.
The Cuirassiers are Stadden and Minot 30mm.

However nest to the British RHA stood the Gordon Highlanders- a newly finished unit in two wings. These had been on the reverse slope and now moved forward to counter the approach of the French Imperial Guard unfortunatly masking the Foot Artillery to their left as they did so. This was to have dire consequences. They took some losses from French artillery fire and a volley from them knocked over several French Guards but not enough to stop the assualt as both the Old Guard Grenadiers and their accompanying Fusiliers Grenaders brested the ridge and got stuck into the Highlanders. Some more bum dice saw the Highlanders crack after a two move meleeand as it was now  well past 2-30 with the show closing at 3 it was time to begin the long job of packing up  the armies and the terrain.

So the 'Great Cavalry Melle over on the British left was  unfortunately never fought out- would it have cahnged the outcome ... we will never know. 

The Great(unfought) cavalry melee.
Scots Greys and 7th Hussars take on the Lancers and Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard.
The latter having a few Mamelukes for added flavour. 

Nevertheless a good day had by all at a fine show. Thanks to Jim Andrew and Shaun for their help with the game and of course to Leon of Pendraken the organiser of this fine local event. 

 Hope to be back next year with a different game.