Battle of Cascina dei Santi

Alex and I decided to get together for a game and we decided to give Field of Battle 3. Originally I had planned to pull my 10mm Crimean War figures out but realized that I hadn't painted any Ottoman artillery and that would be problematic for a proper game.

I opted instead to try out my 6mm stuff for the Franco Austrian War of 1859 (or second war of Italian Independence). I had just enough to give us a small game with three brigades a side. 

 (Left: Overview with French on left and Austrians on right)

The scenario centered around an Austrian delaying force under Field Marshal Montenuouvo trying to slow the advance of the French as the remainder of the Austrian force retreated to the safety provided by fortresses of the Quadrilateral. 

For the French commander, General LaMotte-Rouge, the French objectives were to 1) drive the Austrians forces from two farmsteads and 2) push the Austrians from the field of battle. To accomplish this, the French had two brigades of infantry (one of line and the other comprised of zouaves and foreign legion) with artillery attachments and a small brigade of cavalry. 

The Austrians began the game with two brigades of infantry with supporting artillery and on turn 5 would get a small cavalry reserve led by General Zichy on the table. 

 (Left: Austrian jagers deployed in San Matteo)

I assumed command of the Austrians and devoted one brigade (Brigade Hodlitz, pictured above) to the responsibility of the roadside farmstead Cascina San Matteo in the center and the left flank. San Matteo was defended by an elite battalion of jagers with three line battalions and an artillery battery in support. 

 (Left: San Martini with Austrian defenders)

The other brigade (Brigade Reznicek, above) was assigned to secure the hilltop farmstead Cascina San Martini on the right. Jagers screened in front of San Martini with a battalion of line fortified within the walls of the farm. Two other line battalions and artillery provided support. 

Alex assigned the 2eme Brigade, under General Castagny (above), comprised of zouaves and foreign legion to advance upon San Matteo while General Lefevre's 1eme Brigade and the General Villaine's cavalry moved towards San Martini (below). 

It didn't take long for me to realize the dice gods weren't in my favor when my first 3 die rolls were ones and the fourth roll was a two. That trend of poor Austrian rolls would continue for the remainder of the game. 

2eme Brigade advanced slowly through the vineyard rows towards San Matteo while the cavalry had some great movement rolls that saw them bolt forward and threaten the Austrian right flank and rear. The Austrian defenders of San Martini unloaded an enfilade volley into the flank of the French cavalry only to see their  efforts produce no casualties (below). 

I moved an uncommitted infantry battalion in march column from Brigade Reznicek through a valley between two hills in my rear in an attempt to block the threatening French cavalry. Unfortunately, bad rolls and card draws doomed them to inactivity and doom. 

1eme Brigade advanced uphill (above), brushed off an ineffective volley from the jagers screening San Martini and routed the "elite" Austrian light infantry who fled into the same valley as the Austrian battalion trying to march to meet the French cavalry (below). 

Meanwhile, things weren't much better on the Austrian left flank an infantry battalion Brigade Hodlitz routed from French rifled artillery fire (above). 

Back on the Austrian right, the French assaulted San Martini and forced the Austrian infantry to fall back from the farmstead. They joined the mass of panicked and confused infantry in the valley to the rear (above).

On the left, Austrian artillery from Brigade Hodlitz finally struck home and caused casualties to a French zouave battalion, forcing them to route. Unfortunately for Field Marshal Montenuouvo, another zouave battalion for the better of a firefight with the jagers in San Matteo and drove them out of the buildings (above). 

At this point things were looking fire for the Austrians but reinforcements arrived in the form of a light cavalry brigade. Sadly, they wouldn't get a chance to make an impact on the battle. 

The next roll for initiative saw the French win by 8, allowing them to draw at least 8 cards before the Austrians would be able to counter. Alex finally got the cards to allow his cavalry to change formation and charge into the panicked Austrian infantry masses in the valley to the rear (below). 

Two disadvantaged Austrian infantry battalions (one in March column and one in rout) were destroyed by the French cavalry by this point, the Austrians were left with zero Army Morale Points and would need to roll for break on the next Army Morale card they drew. 

Finally, it was the Austrian turn to try and stabilize the quickly disintegrating situation. On the first of the eight cards to be drawn, the Austrians turned over the Army Morale card (above) and promptly rolled a 1. With that, the Austrian army retired from the field, having been driven from both San Matteo and San Martini. It was a smashing victory for Alex's French.

I rolled poorly and drew the wrong cards from my army deck at the most critical moments. I don't think that was the reason for the Austrian defeat; Alex was aggressive and took advantage of Austrian malaise. 

Despite the thrashing, I really enjoyed the game. It felt (and looked) like a battle from the 1859 campaign. Alex and I forgot some of the rules but that's only natural when you haven't played a ruleset in over three years. We both agreed out next battle of FOB3 would have to happen sooner than the last time. 

Hypothetical Hastings: Vikings vs Normans

At Historicon, I met with my buddy Rob and we decided to play a game of Ravenfeast Big Battle variant. I had previosly gamed Hastings with Alex and I wanted to get the Vikings on the table. I decided to play a "what if" scenario where Harald Hadrada had led his Viking army to victory over Harold Godwinson at Stamford Bridge and hen raced down to face William at Senlac Hill. For this one Rob took control of the Normans while I led Harald and his vikings.

Viking Center

My deployment mimicked the Anglo-Saxon plan at Hastings, I deployed a battleline on the hills and dared the Normans to smash against my shieldwall. 

Norman Left flank led by Bishop Odo

Rob had other plans and looked to use his mounted knights to cautiously test my flanks. Rob's lines were hesitant to come to grips with the Vikings and my handful of archers didn't cause enough discomfort to goad him into more aggressive (and rash) behavior. 

Some Viking berserkers attempted to change Bishop Odo but were ultimately cut down by some knights. 

Instead, the Normans were content to let their knights hurl javelins and their bows and crossbows to unload volleys. 

Rob's crossbowmen started to target Harald Hadraada and inflicted two casualties. Alarmed at the potential  loss of my leader in such an anticlimactic manner, I saw a moment, broke my left flank shieldwall and launched Harald and some huskarls straight at William of Normandy. Harald and his hearth guard managed to slaughter some Norman knights and nearly felled William before ultimately succumbing to a frenzy of assaults. I pulled my left flank back to refuse it.

At this point, it was getting late and it seemed apparent that the Vikings would ultimately fall. I conceded to Rob and his Normans. Our alternate history would still end with William the Conquerer taking the throne of England. 

We did some things wrong but nothing that likely changed the outcome and most importantly we had a good time. 

Historicon 2026

I managed to make it up to Lancaster, PA for the HMGS convention Historicon. It wasn't guaranteed that I would make it, one of my dogs has been dealing with some medical issues and luckily my girlfriend is a wonderful human being and agreed to take care of my dogs while I ventured north to roll dice and push lead. 

I am a fan of the Lancaster County Convention Center as a venue. Not everything is perfect but there isn't much to complain about in my opinion. There are plenty of inexpensive parking garages nearby, the facilities are top notch and there are good food option.

The theme of the convention was the American War of Independence (a no brainer with the 250th anniversary of our nation). There were reenactors in Continental Marine uniforms and plenty of themed AWI games. There were other games not in theme as well. Here are some photos of different games I stopped and watched:

Attendance seemed healthy and it was a pleasant surprise to see new vendors offering different products. One of the new vendors was Podrek Miniatures. They were offering quick-play rules and 3D printed figures for 6mm games. The rules and ranges included ACW, Sc-Fi and Renaissance Italian Wars. 

Chase, the proprietor, was also offering demo games for the Italian Wars variant. The rules were aimed at 5-10 units per side on a table size of 1'x1', 1'x2' or 2' square and length of about 30 minutes. 

If you know me, you know I love 6mm, I love pike and shot and I love bite-sized games so it's no surprise that I bought two starter armies (French and Imperial/Spanish) and the rules. 

My good buddy Rob joined me at the convention and we managed to get in a game of Ravenfeast Big Battle (more on that here in its own post) and we also participated in one of the themed games, a refight of Brandywine using beautifully painted 28mm figures and Black Powder rules. 

Rob and I (and everyone else playing) enjoyed our time with the game even if the GM had a bit of a laissez faire attitude about GMing and there were only quick reference sheets for about half the players. In the end, the Americans "won" because they managed a draw. 

Later that evening, Rob's son managed to join us and we played some gladiator games with the always fun Blood Sweat and Cheers rules. 

It was another great time at an HMGS convention and I managed some nice purchases: a miniature storage case, the Italian Wars armies and a book on Scottish civil wars and feuds during the 16th century. Rob and I have been attending these things for nearly three decades and I always cherish the memories made from these get togethers where we catch up, eat unhealthy food, drink beers, push lead and roll dice. 

1859 French

After tackling the Austrians for the 1859 war and putting a dent in that lead pile, I turned my attention to some French.

I painted up five battalions of line and I was pleased with the results but I had some issues with the matte varnish. I sprayed them on a very hot and humid day and the varnish dried leaving the clear coat more milky and white. I sprayed them with more gloss varnish and reapplied some matte but it wasn't entirely successful. At some point I will spray them with gloss and then matte to try and rectify the splotchy varnish coat. Below is a small sampling.

Here are some zouaves below. I painted two battalions in formed line and I must say these sculpts were both enjoyable and easy to paint.

And now a battalion of skirmishing zouaves. I plan to use Field of Battle 3 for these armies, some troop types can form skirmish formation but I can't recall if the zouaves are one of them. The Chasseurs a Pied can but I haven't painted any of those yet.

Speaking of Chasseurs, ypou will find below some that are "a Cheval". Cavalry didn't feature heavily in the Solferino campaign and I believe both the Austrians and French used primarily light horse (chasseurs, hussars, uhlans, etc.) and my armies will represent that. I went with a brighter green than how they are normally depicted however I always like to go brighter in 6mm.

And now some hussars. I have to admit something...I don't think these uniforms are accurate for 1859. According to the Casali campaign booklet, the only hussar unit with light blue uniforms would have been the 8th regiment but Casali lists their trousers and cuffs as white. I have seen several examples of painted miniatures online showing the 8th wearing red trousers for 1859 so who knows. Perhaps the red was more of an 1870 thing, I am not sure but since this army will also do double duty for the Franco-Prussian War, I'm not too concerned...they are French hussars regardless.

Here is a battery of cannon. I really have to cram the crews on so that they fit the bases. In Firld of Battle, a battery is depicted with two bases of guns (so that you can point one gun in reverse to reflect they are limbered). I have two batteries thus far and will probably paint up at least two more batteries.

And here are some French commanders. I like the little fellow who is holding his shako (or is that a kepi?), add some character. I will paint up a total of four or five command bases.

Thus far, I have finished 8 infantry battalions, 2 cavalry regiments, e artillery batteries and 3 command bases. I suppose I am about halfway done for the French and about the same for the Austrians. It will be nice to finish up these armies and get them on the tabletop. At some point I will pain the French heavy cavalry I have but that isn't a priority at this point.