David Bickley's Wargames Blog

The occasional ramblings of an average gamer, journeyman painter, indifferent modeller, games designer, sometime writer for Wargames Illustrated and host of games in GHQ.



Saturday 4 November 2023

An Italian Interlude

For our monthly game Paul and I had planned to give Soldiers of Napoleon a run through, Paul as an introduction to the ideas and yours truly to see what I could remember from my first two efforts with Phil. As things transpired it was not as much as I'd hoped, but it was fun nevertheless. We played six turns before the clock ran down on us. At the end Paul's French clearly had the upper hand over my Allies so we called it a win for France. Paul took some pictures so I thought you'd like to see them. No blow by blow account this time, just some images and brief description ofyou may enjoy. All the figures are from my Wars of the French Revolution collection, the bulk of which are Trent Miniatures sculpted by Matt early in his career ~

The Allied position at the opening of hostilities.
The French brigade to their right moving off briskly to the attack supported by a battery of Light Artillery.
You may recognise the buildings left over from a recent Renaissance game?
A motley crew of Light Infantry were tasked with holding the Allied left flank.
General Bonaparte directs the guns forward to harass the Allied centre and support the French assault.
Emigré Hussars are the sole cavalry the Allies have available. They are deployed to support the Light Infantry on the left flank.
Lots of French Light Artillery deployed forward to play along the Allied centre.
The Allies have a battery of 9lbers supporting their centre. The Hanoverian Brigade sends it's Light Infantry forward to help defend the guns.
The artillery has some useful Bombard turns, but never quite enough to hurt the French fatally. 
Two regiments of French Hussards have forced much of the Allied left and centre to form square. The loss of the Emigré Hussars dealt a fatal blow to the Allied plans!
The Allied C-in-C begins to sense that the battle is running way from him!
French Light Infantry on their right advances behind the Hussards signalling a storm of fire falling on the Allied squares.
A battery of French Light Artillery.
The only notable Allied success comes on their right where the large British Brigade repels the French assault, though the 43rd of Foot are lost during the action.
Disordered, full of Disruption, and about to be trounced by the French Hussards!
A pastoral scene behind the French lines. The figures are from Eureka for any reader who is interested.
The British Brigade standing firm on the Allied right flank. As noted, the only real positive for the Allies in the game. 
On Tuesday I hope to play a fourth game of Soldiers of Napoleon with Phil. Perhaps then I shall realise how many rules errors I made in this game? When I was building this collection I was able to buy single figures from Duncan, even in some cases figures which were never released. Since his passing and Warlord Games acquiring the range {for sale via Skytrex} the pack prices have soared to ridiculous levels in my opinion. I'm glad I have neither the space nor the inclination to add to my armies!


22 comments:

  1. Excellent looking game. Not a period I've ever looked at but it does look splendid.

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  2. Pretty pictures are all I need :-) excellent looking game. The impression that I get about SoN is that it is a unique enough system that you need to do a bit of playing to get the rules fully under your belt and into memory.

    When I was at a show, i browsed a set and saw a lot of text and wondered whether there were important rules tucked away in all of that and whether digging out these specific rules would be problematic during play - is that the case?

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    1. The rules themselves are intuitive once you get the basics straight. It's all in the cards really, more so as the game evolves and choices become more taxing. The intrusion of events beyond the scope of your table top is interesting too.

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  3. That's a fine looking game and run out with SoN I will have to mug up on them before Tuesday🙂

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  4. A fine, fine game there David, with lots to enjoy visually. Shame the Brits didn't do too well though:(.

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  5. Well turned out units make the game a standout. The repurposing the buildings works for even more atmosphere.

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    1. Terrain items have to earn their keep as storage space is limited here in GHQ.

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  6. Period I have been fascinated by for a long time. Beautiful terrain and figures and an excellent game. Outstanding!

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  7. What a splendid looking game David…
    I always enjoy seeing your Revolutionary toys out on the the table…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. You should come for a game sometime, perhaps when the Lurgi has eased somewhat.

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  8. A lovely collection David and I’m itching to try the rules which I picked up a month or so ago 🤔

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    1. Thanks Matt, I hope your itch is soon scratched!

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  9. A fantastic looking game and a great collection

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  10. It was a fine session of wargaming, providing much fun and enjoyment! A great introduction I thought, although , no doubt we made mistakes, it gave us a great day's fun and entertainment. I think we did very well to get through the 6 turns for a first game... I'm looking to get a copy of the rules myself now so as to read and learn more of the more intricate detail.
    Thank's again Dave for a great day!

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  11. Learn the rules? Novel idea Paul! Your photos have gone down a storm! Thanks!

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