Category Archives: Napoleonics

History, Napoleonics, Wargames

Battle of Austerlitz

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6mm Blucher

A few members of the Swindon and District Wargames club have played Blucher over the last couple of years and there are now a wide selection of armies available.

In March 2017 Peter David and I had a go at refighting Austerlitz using the rules. There is an extensive library of scenarios available produced by fans of the rules, some of them produced in a really professional manner. I found one which suited what we had in table size and units. Peter chose to be the Russians and Austrians given he had recently received a beautifully painted Austrian army, whilst I took the French.

We had a great game and we had to call the game to a close due to time, more due to us faffing around and wasting time rather than the scenario being too long for a single day play.

  • Blucher – Austerlitz 01
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 02
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 03
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 04
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 05
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 06
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 07
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 08
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 09
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 10
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 11
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 12
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 13
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 14
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 15
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 16
  • Blucher – Austerlitz 17
History, Napoleonics, Wargames

Blucher

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Recently I’ve been trying out the Blucher rules from Sam Mustafa’s Honour set of rules.  It has been a welcome change to dust off my old 6mm armies and retake them to playing Napoleonic at a higher level of game than they were previously employed at.

 

Blucher is a strategic war game where the smallest unit is effectively a brigade.

History, Indian Mutiny, Modern, Napoleonics, Wargames, World War 2

The Royal Green Jackets Museum

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I took a day out lat last year and visited the Royal Green Jacket Museum in Winchester.  The Museum is situated in the old depot for the Regiment along with 4 other regimental museums and makes an excellent day (or two days) out.

Unfortunately for me significant elements of the museum were closed last the time as it is being refurbished for the Waterloo anniversary, but the ticket does give you free visits back within a year, so I’ll be heading back after the 25th March when the refurbished parts re-open.

Of particular note for the Napoleonic buffs (and those who just like lots of toy soldiers) they have a fabulous Waterloo diorama which is part of the refurbishment program.  Here’s a sneak little picture to whet your appetite, but please appreciate that this is fairly poor picture and doesn’t do it any justice.  Diorama is 24.5 square metres in size and isn’t all captured in this photo.  Visit their site to find out more about the restoration of this large diorama.

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I recommend visiting the museum as it includes the history of the three main regiments which went onto form the Green Jackets, from their formations, through to the various campaigns which they were involved in.  So if you are interested in the

  • The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
  • The King’s Royal Rifle Corps
  • The Rifle Brigade

this is a great place to start.  If you are looking to do research on these regiments then you should approach the Museum for help.  Taken from their website . . “The Museum also has a substantial collection of archival material – letters, diaries, maps, documents and photographs – which may be viewed by appointment. Museum personnel are sometimes able to undertake research on behalf of those unable to visit.”

If you’d like to find out more or even visit then check out their website for more information.  The staff their are very friendly,and some are incredibly knowledgeable about their regimental history.  There is also a shop where you can stock up on books and memorabilia.

http://www.rgjmuseum.co.uk/home.asp

 

Napoleonics, Wargames

Grand Manoeuvre – 6mm Napoleonic Spanish

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Just quickly assembled a unit of the Spanish musketeers.  The four blocks took about 15 minutes to cut out and assemble, though I could see myself getting quicker with a bit of practice.

I haven’t done anything to tidy up the blocks but a little black felt-tip pen around the edges will get rid of most of the issues.  The base was also just some spare green card I had available but will likely put them onto something more sturdy going forward.

I am happy with the end result and can see myself assembling a paper Spanish army to face off against my metal French army.  At least it will give me a breathing space to decide if I want to invest the time and money in going completely lead.

For my future blocks I will probably assemble them around some 5mm foam board to give them some ‘body’, or even consider getting something with a bit more mass.

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Napoleonics, Wargames

Grand Manoeuvre – 6mm Paper Armies!

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I must quickly highlight a small operation offering a great product for small scale (figure height) wargaming with printable 6mm armies.

The company is called Grand Manoeuvre is can be found at;

http://grandmanoeuvre.co.uk

Armies are £5 each.  The Spanish army which I bought came with 26 pdf files covering all of the infantry, cavalry, and artillery options.  The service was great and the download for the files was available within minutes of placing the order.

Once I’ve had a go at making some units up I’ll post up some pictures.  From the initial print the infantry blocks look to be about 2cm wide by 5cm deep, representing 8 figures wide in three ranks.

I apologise for the foggy picture and will get some better ones up to do the prints true justice.

Spanish Musketeer Sheet.

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