Saturday 24 September 2016

GNW test game

On Thursday night at the club I put on a small GNW game to test out some rule adaptations I had made to our Marlburian period rules. This would also give my newly painted Saxons their debut.

The game pitted a small Swedish force against a larger combined Saxon - Polish army. I tried to replicate the Swedish GaPa tactics with bonuses to encourage them to attack. The Saxons and Poles were also hampered by their lack of commanders and large and unwieldy brigades.

The Swedes consisted of 2 small infantry brigades, 2 small cavalry brigades and a brigade of mounted cossacks.

The Saxons had a small infantry brigade and 2 large cavalry brigades. The Poles had a large infantry brigade and a brigade of cavalry.





The game began with a Saxon advance, meanwhile the Cossacks on the Swedish left moved further out in an attempt to get on the Saxon flank. The Swedish horse failed to move. The Saxon horse on the left flank saw their opportunity and attack their Swedish counter parts. Unfortunately the outcome was to prove rather historically accurate. The Swedish Horse cut their way through the Saxons, routing 5 of the 6 regiments against them for the loss of one of their own.


The Polish cavalry then tried to threaten the flank of the Swedes,  but their commander was able to send two regiments of horse to send them packing.

In the center the Swedish infantry got to grips with their Saxon counterparts and smashed through on the left. However they had a more difficult time against the poorer quality Polish infantry before driving them back. The second Saxon cavalry brigade then became pinned, afraid to move to sup port their infantry with the fear of cossacks in their rear.


With the Saxon left and center falling back we called it a day and set up a second game. Dave this time took command of the Swedes, however unlike Liam he was much more cautious in his attack. His cavalry having a particularly hard time against their Saxon foes who were able to take advantage of their superior numbers.


Overall the two games played quite well. Some tinkering with the adaptations are required particularly for the Polish cavalry and their ratings. The Swedish bonuses worked well when they were being aggressive. We'll have another try out next weeK.

Saturday 17 September 2016

WSS / GNW Saxons VII

Finally they are done. I've been collecting the Saxons for over 25 years, a labour of love. I only collected them as the club I was with at the time were already collecting the main protagonists of the time. I chose them as they were an unspectacular army and nobody else had them.

So here they are the last regiment of Cuirassiers, Beust or Graf Moritz v. Sachsen as they became in 1714. The regiment saw action at Pultusk, Punitz, Fraustadt and Kalisz. The figures are all Bluemoon and the flag us from Maverick Models.



So now I have enough figures to be able to field the Saxons at Klissow. However my thoughts have also wandered over to re fight in Fraustadt. It began with a conversation with Mick who said I could have some left over Russian figures who fought alongside the Saxons at this battle. The quandary now is I don't have enough Dragoons for the Saxons

Sunday 11 September 2016

WSS/GNW Saxons VI

I'm finally nearing the end of this project. This is the 2nd last regiment of Cuirassiers that I need to complete. This time the figures are from Blue moon. They are nicely animated, though there is not much of the shabaraque to make out.

These are 6 squadrons of the Konigin regiment. I am still awaiting their flag from Maverick Models. The regiment fought at Klissow, Pultusk, Warsaw, Kalisz and Gadebusch. So they should see plenty of action  for Great Northern War campaign.



Next up I will be completing the last of the Cuirassiers. I already have them prepped and undercoated. After this I may look at the OOB for Fraustadt as I may be short of dragoons if my memory is correct.