Tuesday 13 February 2018

Napoleonic Skirmish in the Peninsula

We played a skirmish game using my individually based Napoleonic figures at my local club. The rules we used are called "Fistful of Lead" originally written for western gunfights. Unfortunately, the rules did not work so well for the Napoleonic period. The rules called for  a full turn to reload, which really slowed the game down. I think next time I will try reloading in half a turn. In this scenario, the French, led by a general who looked remarkably like Marshal Ney, were retreating, carrying the general's lady, a chest full of gold,







and a Spanish priest as hostage. In this game the British and their Spanish Guerrilla allies never got close to the wagon and were almost wiped out attacking the rear guard. Note: the cotton puffs mark those figures who have fired and need to reload.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Nick, seems to have been a real fun game, and great figures too! How long took it?

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  2. Hi Dirk, it took between three and four hours. It could have gone faster but there were some long discussions over how to interpret the hand to hand combat rules. Over all, I think the rules work best for five or six figures per player. We used double that and I think that broke the rules. Might have been better to use Sharp Practice.

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  3. Beautifully painted Nick. The body postures of the soldiers are also great.

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    1. Thank you, Peter. I cannot take credit for the paint jobs. They are all sold painted except for the A Call to Arms Highland Light Infantry, which which I found painted on eBay.

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  4. I can identify most of the figures but some lack in my knowledge. Can you give clues on that Nick. What great appeal these together have in a skirmish like here. Compliments!

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    1. Hi Marcel, The 95th Rifles are a combination of W. Britains and Collectir's Showcase. The French light infantry are W. Britains, as is the officer figure of General Craufurd. The French in overcoats are Front Rank.
      Thanks for the compliments!

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  5. Great set-up Nick! The figures fit perfect in a scenario like this! I had a good laugh on the hostage and the wagon, well done! The ACTA and W Britains I was able to indentify but I have never hear about 1/32 Front rank figures! They are metal I asume? I'll have e look on their site ;)
    Salut,
    Stan

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  6. Stan, thank you for the compliments. From what I've read about the Peninsular War, the priest hostage was lucky to be alive. I was wrong about the French in overcoats. They are Frontline, not Front Rank. Thank you for helping me correct my error.

    Best regards,
    Nick

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