Crimean War Russian Artillery in 15mm

 

Russian armies liked lots of artillery.  Big guns and big batteries.  The Russian artillery had a good Crimean War.  Including, you may wish to know, sounding the death knell of wooden warships. 

My Russian batteries will have 3 cannon and most of them will be 12pdr's.   The gunners will be "Trained" and I'm flirting with the addition of the "Elite" suffix.  That won't make them better but will keep them firing.  That is important what with the Minié and all.

For Crimean War games I will be using Republic to Empire and Field of Battle and Battle Command. A battery in the last two comprises 2 guns. In Republic to Empire it is 3 for the Russians.  I'm showing both today.  They are, of course, the same guns.

 

Field of Battle/Battle Command above.  Below Republic to Empire.

Republic to Empire requires a larger deployment space for artillery and also that guns are withdrawn  to refit after a certain amount of firing.  That sort of granuality is what I want for Crimean War games. It may not suit all.

I intend achieving the demarcation by positioning the limbers to indicate the extent of the artillery position.

Of course this means buying limbers or cassions or what have you.  In short, more expense.  Once again it will not suit everyone.  I decided to do it, having reached the age of "if not now, when?  I may have to buy more limbers.  That said I'm limiting it to one per Battery. 

On the current count I have 3 batteries Republic to Empire style and two limbers.

 

Happily, I have a Minifigs Napoleonic Cassion somewhere that can be pressed into service.  All good, except I have enough guns for another Russian Battery.  It may have to do without for the time being. 

An Anglo-Sikh Wars Appendix for Republic to Empire

 

Here are some suggestions to enable you to use Barry Hilton’s Republic to Empire to game the battles of the Anglo-Sikh Wars.  These deal with Sikh Gorchurra, Akali, Matchlock men, Artillery, British infantry fire-power and more.

You can find the rationale for much that follows in my various articles on the Anglo-Sikh Wars posted on this blog.  Should Republic to Empire not be your cup of tea I hope you will still find the following of interest.  

Above, my final unit of Khalsa Regulars. The following pic's are the newest and last ones of my Anglo-Sikh Wars Collection. Yes, it is really finished-apart from some artillery elephants.

Traitor Generals

Should the Sikh General prove to be a traitor double cost of all MPs for Sikh Brigade Actions.  Roll a D6 on a score of 1 the General is a traitor and is removed from the Battle Field. I see a possible application here for India 1857 in respect of Sepoy units without a General Officer Commanding.

Cold Steel Assaults

Senior British Commanders liked to assault with cold steel.  Roll a D6, on a score of 6 two British Brigades enter the battle unloaded.  On a score of 5, one British Brigade does so.  Such brigades can only fire after their first attempted charge home.

Cavalry v Cavalry Broad Strokes

British and Indian regular cavalry fight Sikh regular cavalry as written in Republic to Empire.

Gorchurra and Indian irregular cavalry fight each other as written in Republic to Empire.

The Gorchurra

Gorchurra move as light cavalry in column of march and fight in column of squadrons.

Gorchurra are never disordered by melee.

Before melee they shoot, throw a D3 the result is the number of shooting dice.

Range is point blank.

Any casualties caused make opponents do an officer casualty check.

Armoured Gorchurra count as cuirassiers in melee.

British and Indian regular cavalry will pass through the Gorchurra post melee regardless of the combat result.

Gorchurra may then turn to face at a cost of 1mp.

Add Resolve Check minus to Gorchurra if under artillery fire.

Indian Irregular Cavalry

Indian Irregular Cavalry move as light cavalry in column of march and fight in column of squadrons.

Some Indian Irregular Cavalry shoot, if so equipped, throw a D3 the result is the number of shooting dice. Measure for range.

Indian Irregular Cavalry are never disordered by melee.

Add Resolve Check minus to Indian Irregular Cavalry if under artillery fire.

 

British regular cavalry

British regular cavalry, except charging Lancers, fight as disordered against Gorchurra. 

Post melee British regular cavalry measure their outcome move from the point that they passed through the Gorchurra.  That is, immediately behind the Gorchurra and facing the same direction of their initial charge.

Indian regular cavalry

Indian regular cavalry count, -2 on the Resolve Check Procedure if ordered to charge Gorchurra.

If an Indian regular cavalry unit refuses to charge, but holds position, they may shoot, throw a D3 the result is the number of shooting dice. Measure for range. 

Indian regular cavalry, except charging Lancers, fight as disordered against Gorchurra. 

Artillery

The Sikh regular artillery outperformed its British counter parts.  Rate Sikh regular artillery as veteran. British as trained.  There is good evidence from 1857 that Sepoy Artillery outshot and were more accurate than their British equivalents. So perhaps British Native Artillery should be rated as the Sikh artillery.  Sikh Irregular artillery as trained or recruit.

Matchlock Men

Sikh irregular foot using matchlocks or jezails shoot as Recruits.  This reflects the slower loading and various ranges of their firearms.

In combat they gain the “Pike” bonus and, as they are never disordered by melee, keep it.

British Regular Infantry

British infantry fire power was impressive.

Conditions in India often were not ideal.

The heat was hard upon the British infantry. Forced marching doubly so.

Sometimes their Generals threw them into combat without adequate rest and refreshment.

After deployment throw a D6. 

On a score of 1,2,3 the British infantry gain a D3 result of extra shooting dice as written in Republic to Empire.

On a score of 4,5,6 they do not.

I'm not applying this to Sepoy units.

Khalsa Infantry and Artillery

Khalsa Infantry and Artillery gain a D3 result of additional dice in the first round of melee.

Akali

Akali warriors should be Guard or Veteran.

They may shoot, throw a D3, the result is the number of shooting dice available. Measure for range.

In combat they gain the “Pike” bonus and, as they are never disordered by melee, keep it.

Where next on this?  We are going to see both armies and then a try out game.

 

Republic to Empire-Revolutionary Wars Vendéans

There is a French Revolutionary Wars Appendix in Barry Hilton’s Republic to Empire.  It makes for an interesting read.  As ever he weighs the evidence and gives us options on how to game it.  The system is basing neutral which is always helpful.

 

He sees a Demi Brigade as comprising three battalions each of between 20 to 40 figures.  Big then, although my 16 figure battalions could simply be understrength.   Or, I could double them up. The rules will still work either way.

 

One of the three battalions (le blancs) is rated Drilled or Drilled Elite.   

 

The other two are le bleus who are Recruits or Recruits Elite.   

 

All fine there.

 

Should you wish one of the battalions can be dispersed as skirmishers, grande bande style.  It will be hard to reform such soldiers once so deployed.

There are some fine touches. le bleus fight with extra effect should they close. Nor do they need much encouragement to do so. For added zing charismatic officers can add more combat dice.  Conversely, they are very nervous about cavalry and are prone to losing formation.  That is all good from my perspective.  There is more too but it need not detain us here. Suffice to say Republic to Empire is a good thing.

A feature of these rules is that troops fight by Combat Group.  A Combat Group is 4 figures. Throw a dice for each Combat Group sort of thing. There is also a combat plus for pike armed troops.  All good and it opens the door to the Vendéans.  Let us consider how.

 

The best Vendéan units had the most muskets.  No Vendéan unit had a musket for every man.  I could field a Vendéan unit of say 24 figures as follows.  Sixteen musket armed troops and eight pikemen. They might be Drilled Elite.

The next best Vendéan units had less muskets than the best. Perhaps a unit of 24 such fellows would have 12 musket armed troops and 12 pikemen.  Or, 8 muskets and 16 pike men.   

 

Obviously, the Combat Group concept allows for permutations of the ratio of musket to pike.  Such fellows might be Drilled or Recruit Elite.

 

The worst Vendéan units had few muskets.  Taking our notional 24 figure unit we might say 4 muskets and 20 pike men.   

These lads, always committed last, might be deemed Recruits. 

 

While we are on matters Vendéan I bought a bag of command figures from Stonewall for mine.  Most are simply too big to match Lancashire Archive range.  These two (above centre) sort of fit well enough.

I find this all very satisfying.  Mr Hilton sold me my new copy of Republic to Empire for £10.00. That was satisfying too. He may have some left.  It is the best two pints you never had.  Economics is not, you may know, a Science.

Republic to Empire belongs an earlier stage of Barry’s rule writing evolution. The generation of action points (Manouvere Points) reminds me of the Piquet/FoB system.  

The difference? You generate points at every turn, rather than at the outset.  

How?  You throw an average dice for every brigade still at 50% or better of it's original strength. The total is the number of points you have to expend that turn.

No cards though, instead, the more difficult the action the more points you will spend.  It is solid throughout and easy to learn.

I considered using his War of Three Kings order system but that caters for an earlier and simpler form of warfare.  So far, I have not found an elegant way of adapting the one to the other. Indeed, perhaps that should not be attempted.  

Having moved on, eyes now open.  I began to see a new Order and a new troop type that would allow me to extend the scope of Republic to Empire to the Anglo-Sikh Wars. I will do a separate post on that. 

All for a tenner.

I got Warbases to do me some nice brigade order tokens.  The rules don’t require them but I will find them handy.  I'll have more to add on this subsequent.

The Brigade Order tokens below.

 

I should add, my initial motivation in buying Republic to Empire was its application for the Crimean War.  That is the ongoing project for the moment.  Research is proving challenging.

Meantime, I have a first draft of a Anglo-Sikh War Appendix for Republic to Empire. I intend a refight of the Battle of Mudki by way of proof of concept.  I'll report back in the New Year.

Meantime, Dear Reader, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  

 

More Crimean War 15mm

 

The last of the British Heavy Brigade above.  Minfigs all.

More Minifigs.  The early stage of a Russian attack.  

 

These began with massed artillery fire and the actions of skirmishers and snipers. Then came an initial attack column screened by skirmishers.  

 

Next came a larger column with fixed bayonets. Another Maverick flag there. 

 

HM 46th from Minifigs.  I got a load of these figures cheap a few years ago. Minifigs then being very much out of fashion.  I'm glad I did.  They are now not cheap to buy new.  They are though, very nice.  

 

HM 68th, if you don't look too closely. Minifigs again.  Flags from Maverick Models.

 

The first of the British Guards, Scots this time. More Minifigs. Below, British Horse Artillery.  They will be getting limbers. Irregular figures and guns.

 

That's it so far. Next, I will attempt to finish off the Russian Cavalry.

More 15mm for the Crimean War

 

I’ve made some progress with the Russian infantry.  The first thing to note is that Russian infantry regiments were big, up to four battalions.  That is the equivalent of a British brigade. 

Add a Sotnia of Cossacks and supporting artillery as the Russians often did. Well, could we say a small Division?  Whatever we should call it, that is what I am seeking to replicate.

This is nearly my first Russian musketeer regiment.  I say nearly because they are missing their grenadiers.  The figures are painted but the flags are in the post. Above, we have some skirmishers from Minifigs.

A battalion in caps from Irregular.

 

A battalion in helmets also from Irregular.

A Sotnia of Cossacks from Minifigs.

Some Caucasian Rifles skirmishing.

 

I intend to add a Jager regiment and a Grenadier regiment.  Probably 4 battalions for the Jagers and two for the Grenadiers.  I’m also minded to do a unit of sailors in their navy blue greatcoats and caps and perhaps another musketeer regiment.

Here we have a unit of Russian Lancers from Irregular. I have a fair few Russian cavalry units to do.  I have read that some such units had the leading squadron lance armed and the rest with sabres. 

For the British, the Guards are waiting for some new figures but are mainly done.  We will see them shortly.  The heavy lifting will be Cathcart’s 4^th Division.  British uniforms were elaborate and unlike the Russians the soldiers are modelled in their tunics rather than greatcoats. Below HM 57th from Irregular.  I confess painting the lace on the front of their tunics was beyond my ability.  Strangely, I was able to do so with the Minfigs British. Fiddly cuff detail and trouser stripes were duly applied to both.

I expect to do two brigades of the 4^th Division.  Which regiments depends on the availability of flags in 15mm. The brigades then, may not exactly match their historical progenitors. 

I’m using Maverick Miniatures flags here so far and I commend them to you.  A good product and price.  Customer care is all you could ask. 

For the Russian cavalry I shall look to Adolfo Ramos who seems to be the sole provider of such.  I’ve used his flags before and I’m happy to do so again.  Another quality product.

We will see some Russian artillery soon.  I feared I had too many guns but I do not.  The Russians used lots of them.  Firepower for them seems to have rested mainly with artillery and skirmishers.

You may have noticed I'm basing skirmishers in 4s.  There is a reason for that.  We will get to it as this project rolls on.