English Civil War: The Relief of Hawarden – The Background (Part 1 of 3)

Designed by the redoubtable Dave Blue Team, the Relief of Hawarden is a battle based on a ‘what-if’ scenario, with the alternative history timeline and background laid out below.  A total of 3 months was spent partly refining rules, and mostly making and painting models and scenery, and the credit must once again go to Dave who basic painted 5 regiments of foot and 3 of horse, as well as scratch building an excellent river Dee, the roads, and Holt castle, and coordinating the rest of us in our work.

For the other players it encouraged me to finish my Royalists; a major task of which I am proud, but wouldn’t have managed without the end target, and gave the same impetus to Luke, while Aidan and Michael were once again able to shame us with their beautifully painted forces.  Michael supplying the buildings for Farndon and Holt and every hedgerow, and Aidan scratch building a superb Hawarden Castle.

The battle was duly played at the Deeside Defenders annual wargaming show; Gauntlet, with only once face; Red, being unable to attend on the day.  Luke changed sides to join mine and Daves Royalists marching from the city of Chester, while Michael and Aidan once more donned their Parliamentarian hats, with Aidan defending Hawarden, and Michael beginning in the area of Holt and Farndon.  I have spared any foolish reader the much debated rules, but have included Dave’s very well written background in this, part 1 of 3.  The other two parts will firstly be the battle report, and secondly some of the superb pictures Luke took with his decent camera on the day!

The Relief of Hawarden

An English Civil War battle with a fantasy scenario on a grand scale.

"To the Officer commanding at Hawarden Castle, and his consorts there :

"Gentlemen,

"I presume you very well know or have heard of my condition and disposition, and that I neither give nor take quarter ; I am now with my firelocks, who never yet neglected opportunity to correct rebels, ready to use you as 1 have done the Irish, but loathe I am to spill my countrymen's blood, wherefore by these I advise you to your fealty and obedience towards his majesty, and show yourselves faithful subjects, by delivering

the castle into my hands for his majesty's uses, in so doing you shall be received into mercy, but otherwise, it' you put me to the least trouble or loss of blood to force you, expect no quarter for man, woman, or child. I hear you have some of our late Irish army with your company, they very well know me, and that my firelocks used not

parley. Be not unadvised, but think of your liberty, for 1 vow all hopes of relief are taken

from you, and our intent is not to starve you, but to batter and storm you, and then hang you all, and follow the rest of that rebel crew. 1 am no bread and cheese rogue, but as ever, a loyalist, and will ever be whilst I can write a name. "

T. SANDFORD,

" Nov. 28, 1643." " Capt. of Firelocks.

"I expect your speedy answer this Tuesday night, at Broadlane Hall, where I now am your neighbour."

Letter from Thomas Sandford, Captain of Firelocks, Irish Wars Veteran.

                                               

Sponsored by www.wargamestore.com and in association with Deeside Defenders and RGMB Gaming clubs

Historical Background

After his defeat before Wem, Lord Capel shut himself up in Shrewsbury. His army had been seriously weakened in the attack and a popular local officer, Colonel Wynne, had been killed. The formerly Royalist county of Shropshire now had a Parliamentarian presence. Lord Capel himself had become a laughing-stock and the butt of popular satirical ballads. He feared that the people of Shrewsbury would destroy the Royalist garrison if he left it unguarded.

Under these circumstances, the Parliamentarians took the opportunity to increase their territory by invading north Wales. Sir William Brereton mustered his forces and collected detachments from his allies in Lancashire and Staffordshire to make up a field army of about 1,500 regulars with some Cheshire militiamen. On 7 November 1643, Brereton and Sir Thomas Myddelton led their troops from Nantwich.

 On 9 November, the Parliamentarians stormed the crossing of the River Dee at Holt Bridge by rushing the bridge, scaling the gatehouse and bringing down the drawbridge. Most of the Royalist defenders fled, but some withdrew into Holt Castle, where Colonel John Robinson defiantly refused to surrender. Leaving a detachment to besiege the castle, Brereton and Myddelton advanced to occupy Wrexham with their main force.

The next day, the invasion force marched north from Wrexham. Colonel Ravenscroft surrendered Hawarden Castle on 10 November, apparently without a fight. Brereton's forces occupied Mold on 11 November and Flint Castle surrendered on the 12th. By 14 November, the Parliamentarians had captured Holywell and Mostyn. Within a week of leaving Nantwich, Brereton and Myddelton controlled the western side of the Dee estuary. The supply route from north Wales to Chester was severed and the city was effectively surrounded by hostile forces. As the Welsh Royalists withdrew westwards to the line of the River Clwyd, Sir Thomas Myddelton opened negotiations with Colonel Salesbury for the surrender of Denbigh Castle.

At this point, the victorious Parliamentarian invaders suffered a sudden and dramatic reversal that drove them back across the Dee into Cheshire.

In September 1643, the Marquis of Ormond concluded terms for a one-year cease fire with the Irish Confederates on behalf of the King. The Cessation of Arms allowed government troops stationed in Ireland to be recalled to England to fight for the Royalists. Some of the returning troops were to join Lord Hopton's army in the South, but most of them were to form a new northern army that was intended to assist the Marquis of Newcastle in countering the expected invasion of England by Parliament's new Scottish allies. The King's use of troops from Ireland was controversial. Although he hoped in the long term to recruit Irish Confederates to fight against Parliament, his first reinforcements were battle-hardened English and Welsh veterans of the Confederate War. This did not prevent Parliamentarian news-books from playing upon the worst fears of English Protestants by representing the returning troops as bloodthirsty Irish papists.

The first contingent of troops for the new northern army landed at Mostyn in Flintshire on 16 November 1643. It comprised four regiments of foot and one of horse under the command of Major-General Sir Michael Erneley. The troops were directed to north Wales in order to counter Brereton's invasion. Faced with Erneley's veterans of the Irish service, Brereton and Myddelton abandoned north Wales and withdrew to consolidate their forces in Cheshire and Lancashire, leaving only a garrison at Hawarden Castle, which surrendered early in December. Erneley's troops quickly re-established Royalist control of north Wales, then advanced to occupy Chester, where they were joined by further regiments from Ireland during the following weeks.

Game Background

After requisitioning powder from the governor of Chester, Colonel Ravenscroft left the city accompanied with a handful of troops.  The treacherous Colonel delivered the powder to Hawarden Castle and then handed the castle straight into Parliament’s hands. 

Veterans of the Irish Wars have arrived in North Wales to bolster the Royalist cause.  Brereton tells Ravenscroft to hold Hawarden until it can be resupplied.  The Royalists in Chester would then be surrounded and the City forced to submit to Parliamentarian control before the year is out.

However, the gun powder reserve for the Parliamentarian garrison in Hawarden is dwindling.  Fresh supplies are expected from Nantwich any day, but the crossing of the River Dee at Chester is in Royalist hands.  Forced to go via Holt Bridge the powder carts and escorts make their way carefully along the roads. 

Meanwhile, Royalist engineers from Chester are making hasty emplacements before wheeling artillery towards the walls of Hawarden Castle.  If they are unhindered in their construction the mighty cannon will belch forth and smash down the walls before storming the breech and then running each and every member of the garrison through.

The battle for The Relief of Hawarden is on...

Ricks Great English Civil War Painting Quest - Part 4

Terminé.

Gorffenedig.

Finished.

What the hell do I do now?  Take them all to Gauntlet I suppose!

Work In Progress....June 2013

June has been a good month for getting things done; I started with the end of my English Civil War project appearing on the horizon, and inside the first 15 days of the month I had completed 51 models!  The dragoons, foot and mounted, were first to roll off the painting table, followed swiftly by a bunch of civilians (pregnant vampires, baby-holding women, dogs and goats presiding).  I even got the additional warhammer gatehouse out and made, sprayed and painted that as well – that was a slightly tricky project because I had to use a different shade of gray from the rest of the castle, so it does look lighter but I think it blends in well overall.  The last of the 51 models (the gatehouse being classed as ‘1’) were the 4 welsh hearthguard, complete with their red shields and cloaks. 

Dipping Issues

I did come across a problem when ‘dipping’ them however, in that for the first time my tin of dip had developed a skin across the top.  I consulted my oracle in dipping; Luke, who informed me that his first can went like that and the best option was to store it upside down.  Unfortunately the crusting varnish around the edges of my lid made this impractical so upright it had to stay.  The consistency of the dip varnish had also changed, becoming thicker and more gooey.  It wasn’t great to work with but I managed to finish the 51 models with it, and they looked a similar quality to the others.

Modelling Begins After Football Management….

After my initial burst I had a period of inaction, with bits of gaming, social calls and a purchase of Football Manager 2012 to blame, before I resumed my efforts.  My Redoubt Enterprises order had arrived surprisingly quickly; only a 2 week wait, and I used the bits to make a limber for my Royalist Saker – adding a dog and a Perry Miniatures officer to the base to get a more impressive effect – as well as finishing making the third supply unit needed for the scenario, and the storming party.  I also made 2 cannon fortifications, based some chickens and made 8 welsh warriors on horseback for my Saga warband using a wargames factory ancient Germanic boxed set – small horses = ponys!  I committed myself to painting them with the enthusiasm provided by previous successes, and finished the paintjob on the 30^th of June. 

The Dip is dead, long live The Dip!

Sadly at this point I discovered my dip had indeed turned to nasty solid gloop, and into the bin it went while I wandered off to 4^th Planet Games in Wrexham to buy another Army Painter Quickshade – Strong Tone for £17.99.  The models, all 32 of them, were dipped this morning, in a process that fully highlighted how gooey my old dip had become, and await flocking on Thursday night before spraying in time for Gauntlet on Sunday.

What Now?

Damned if I know.  I’ve been painting Royalists for the best part of three months, with just a few Welsh breaking up the monotony, and now they are ALL finished!  Bugger me.  Well, there are a few more things that are awaiting a coat or two of paint, starting with my 6mm ACW which are still in their boxes while Andy’s are holding dress parades!  Then there is the teams from the Dreadball game which finally arrived today (just the 1 months wait that was), not sure if I can morally paint an orc though, even if its called an ‘Orx’.  Finally I’m reading “Lancaster and York, The Wars of the Roses” by Alison Weir, so maybe I’ll paint a few of those if I can bring myself to do any more 28mm models.  The 28mm Napoleonic French and the rest of the Saga welsh are bumped down to the bottom of the pile.

Just time for a mention of the scores on the doors, don’t think I’ll make 400+, but 300 should be do-able, the second part of June (the 32) isn’t included because its not finished yet:

Painted: 256

Purchased:  441

Ricks Great English Civil War Painting Quest - Part 3

Time for a Royalist update, and I made a slight error – I kept buying and building more troops that I wanted to use for the Gauntlet ‘Relief of Hawarden’ game!  Limbers, storming parties, extra men for dragoon units etc….  However, despite this, and with less than a week to go until the Deeside gaming show, I have nearly finished! 

The primary chunk of painting to be done in June was the dragoons; 19 men on foot, and a further 12 to represent the two units on horseback.  This was the third main chunk after my foote (April) and horse (May), and I added a few additional models to it in the form of a bunch of civilians and animals which I had picked up at Triples.  I was pleasantly surprised when I succeeded in finished (paint, dip, flock, varnish, even flags!) 50 models in total by the middle of the month!  The dragoons were included, along with the civilians, an officer, and even an unrelated bunch of 4 hearthguard for my Saga welsh – to give some variety to the job.  I also made and painted the additional warhammer fortress gatehouse needed for the scenario.

I had only one unit which specifically needed doing in the rest of the month, and that was the second ox and powder cart (to make up the third supply unit needed for the scenario), and I tagged along with this my artillery limber for my saker so it could keep up with my foote, a Warlord Games storming party and some chickens(!). 

The storming party presented a challenge in terms of basing because I quite liked the idea of it being a skirmishing unit, but recognised the opposition might want it to be a formed up one, so I based the models on 25mm circular bases which could then slot onto the warbases movement tray I had bought at Triples.  Some spare renegade musketeers and pikemen made up the numbers, and the petard crew were based separately on a bigger round base.  It all looks fairly good (I think).  I also did something completely new in making a couple of fortifications for my artillery to reside behind.  These were based on plasticard, have resin gabions at each side with a balsa wood parapet, and the surrounding earth was built up using wood-filler (as recommended by Dennis from Deeside Defenders) on top of a balsa wood platform to give it height.  Its very much an experiment, and it’ll either go well, or fall apart – 50/50!

The current situation; I’ve finished painting everything!  They are now sitting to one side waiting for my 8 Saga horsemen to be finished (who are only short their shields now), then they will be Dipped etc, and the entire project will be finished.  And to celebrate (prematurely) I’ve taken a few pictures.  Particularly prematurely because my Dip has gone solid and run out!  Trip to the shop I think.

The whole bally army.

Sir Henry Buxton's baggage division and all-sorted civilians next to Sir Hugh of Beeston's foote battalia. 

Lord Flashearts foote battalia behind an, as yet unnamed, grouping of senior officers.

Sir Peter Wolfes horse battalia, inclusive of 4 horse regiments and the mounted/dismounted dragoons.

Closer look at Sir Buxton's baggage bunch.

The civilians.

Commander of one of the two dragoon regiments.

The senior officers.

The Folly of the Earl Of Essex - Pike & Shotte Battle Report

Another week and another opportunity for Aidan’s alter ego; the Earl of Essex, to prove he’s the best man for the job of crushing the King’s hopes for regional domination.  With Prince Rupert (Red) dropping out, and Michael and Dave unavailable, it fell to an unlikely alliance of the Royalist Lord Flasheart (me) and the gallant pro-parliamentarian (but very confused) troops of Luke to defeat the upstart Aidan, aided this time by that master of the charge; Sir Chris Fazey!

Deployment and Scenario:

With the Pike & Shotte rules not wonderfully fresh in our minds we went for a simple pitched battle.  Aidan set up the scenery on an 8ft by 6ft board, and declared we would fight across the width (6ft) stretch, with control of the road being the main objective for both armies, hoping to encourage aggressive tactics.  Chris obviously needed no encouragement to adopt an aggressive footing, and was handed control of the right half of the Parliamentarian army; a mixture of foote and horse (he looked quite confused by the men walking on their own feet), while Aidan and his prized winged lancers were leading a similar mixture on the left.  The Royalists, keen to get going, were set up long before the rebels, with Luke taking the left, and me the right, both with similar numbers of foote and horse.  A gentleman’s agreement seemed to be in place, as the traditional deployment of a foote centre and horse wings was in effect for both armies, with the Royalists outnumbering the Parliamentarians by enough to give them an advantage.

The battlefield, Royalists nearest by the village.

The Parliamentarian troops, with Aidans command being the nearer.

Chris' horse division on the Roundhead right.

The Battle:

The cavaliers won the roll to go first with an ominous ‘6’, and both sides began an advance.  The Royalists were first to act dramatically, sending their horse flooding forwards on each flank in a bold and aggressive charge.  Chris’ parliamentarian horse, facing Lukes cuirassiers and their heavy armour, were rolled backwards into their own infantry, with the cavalier horse in hot pursuit.  The infantry failed to form hedgehog but survived despite taking a number of casualties before their horse recovered enough to counter charge.  A substantial melee, which would last the length of the battle, began.  On the Royalist right my horse suffered a reverse against Aidans, with the winged lancers slicing their way through two of my four regiments before they would even think of retreating!  The remainder were pushed back in disorder.

The Royalists begin their advance, my horse and infantry divisions being the nearest in this picture.

The winged lancers carve up my horse in short order!

Atmospheric shot of the Royalist pike advance.

In the centre Chris was on the verge of declaring that the enemy foote were too numerous, and his current positioning within the hedgerows was the best tactical location, when Aidan shouted ‘Advance!’ in a loud voice.  And so they did.  The Royalists foote, also advancing but more swiftly, suffered from a lack of manoeuvring space.  I had hoped to expand my three regiments into a terico formation of a pike centre with musketeer wings, but was prevented from doing so by a pinch point between some woods on the right, and Lukes advancing troops on my left.  Aidan, spotting an advantage to be had, sent his musketeers charging in, where they impacted on the front of my formation.  The rest of his Parliamentarian foote advanced more slowly, denying his men support for the first couple of rounds, but their impetus, and my inept dice rolling, kept the musketeers in the fight, and prevented me from bringing my larger numbers to bear.  Lukes foote division, advancing to the left of mine, was also unable to assist due to Chris’ foote which was now moving down the road to challenge them.  Again due to the lack of manoeuvring space Luke was forced to take this attack on with even numbers, despite his greater strength.  The centre settled down to a brutal fight which threatened to see huge numbers of units flee each turn, but somehow they never quite did.

Aidan throws in his foote for a cramped melee.

 Back to the horse, and on the Royalist left Lukes division was taking a toll of the rebel horse, with most now shaken, but they were also fighting against some of Chris’ foote and artillery which had joined in, and even the Earl of Essex (the army CO) had headed over to shore up the line.  The battle there see-sawed as each looked for an advantage.  On the right I had brought my reserve third division into play, deploying a foote regiment and storming party to cover the gap left by my disintegrating horse division.  I scored a significant victory when my mortar, with its first and second hits of the day, drove the already shaken and disordered winged lancers from the field, while my last horse regiment broke itself as it chased the last of Aidans horse away.

The mess that was Luke and Chris' attempts to get the upper hand on the Rebel right.

 It was now an infantry battle on the right, and my troops swiftly gained the advantage through superior numbers, particularly of pike, and wiped out several musketeer units there, breaking that flank.  At the same time in the centre more of the long-suffering rebel musketeers finally gave up the ghost to much Royalist cheering, while the pike block of the King’s Guard did the same for me under heavy cannon fire.  A breathing point had been reached, and we took stock of each army.  For the Royalists my horse division was broken and a spent force, with Lukes nearly at the same point, however our foote divisions were all still strong.  However the rebels were in much worse shape, with both horse wings broken, as well as Aiden’s foote division, only Chris’ infantry were still unbroken.  With time almost up and their army about to disintegrate the Parliamentarian CO threw in the towel – Royalist Victory.

Chris' infantry on their way to support Aidan in the centre, with Lukes leading elements just in sight at the top right.

Post Battle Thoughts:

Overall a good game, in which the Royalists were always favourites due to their greater numbers.  However the parliamentarians used the battlefields width to good effect, denying them this advantage for the large part and stemming the tide.  The horse divisions on both wings acted very much in character; breaking themselves in the process of driving away the enemy horse, and it was left to the foote to push on.  Lukes cuirassiers stood out in this with their armour making them more resilient and causing Chris all kinds of problems which his superior numbers (foote and horse against just horse) should have solved but couldn’t.  Chris’ luck and reputation with horse suffered a few blows early on, but returned with a vengeance later.  Aidans winged lancers were fearsome, and after the initial exchanges I was actually avoiding them and hoping for a few lucky artillery shots!  Fortunately (for me) they were worn out from singlehandedly decimating my horse division, and a couple of lucky mortar shells did for them when they were already retreating.

In the centre the parliamentarian musketeers charge initially looked foolhardy, but the Royalists couldn’t bring their numbers to bear, and it was a slugging match which took much longer to force the rebels back, some very poor performances from the Royalist pike blocks.  Victory to the Royalists, but full tactical marks to the Roundheads.

Final note; almost every model was fully painted, and the game attracted note even from the fantasy players, my favourite comment being one about 'how many days ago did we start playing' from a 40k player, good stuff.  

The Battle of the Olives - Hail Caesar Battle Report

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, in an age which history has kindly forgotten, mixed up, and become generally confused about, the Romans, with their Celtic allies, launched a raid into that powerhouse of industry; Greece.  Having filled their carts full of that most precious of cargoes; olives, they set off back towards the border for a date with wine and pasta.  The ancient Greeks were not so keen to see their olives made with so freely, and dispatched a force of historically inaccurate hoplites and peltast to block the road while further re-enforcements made their way to the scene, drawn by the smell of the Celts choice of (or lack of) bath materials.

And so the scene is set, my Romans, their column led by Luke’s celtic warbands, heading home in a march formation along a dirt track thinking about olives and lovely boys called Mario when a force of hoplites and Greek skirmishers leap out from behind some blades of grass.  Commanded by Chris ‘Damn your whinging sir and Charge!’ Fazey, they are aiming to hold up the column long enough for the remains of the Greek army (Red presiding) to hit the flanks and wipe out jonny foreigner.  Victory goes to the Romans if any of their 3 supply units (2 carts and a donkey train of 2) get off the board at the roads end, or the Greeks are beaten off.  The Greeks win if everyone else dies first.  Simple.

Technical’s; the board was 10ft long by 5ft wide, the Romans and celts in 4 divisions moved down the road towards Chris’ 1 division at the roads fork, while Red’s troops came on at a predetermined time and place known only to Red and Chris – the more advantageous the place, the longer they had to wait for the troops to arrive!

The Battle

Its was the Celts that started it, their lack of understanding of the concept of ‘march column’ meant they were already in their default attack setting of ‘angry rabble’, which then barrelled down the road towards the Greek blocking force.  The bulk of the legionaries were in the following division which, led by the Roman general, swung to the right off the road to support the Celts movement.  The second Roman infantry division, a mix of legionaries, auxiliaries and slingers, followed the Celts down the road guarding the baggage, while the Roman horse division brought up the rear.

The Celts leading the column as the Roman 1st division files off the road.

Chris' Greek roadblock waiting for them.

The table in general around turn 2-3.

 Red decided to get his troops in early, and brought his first division of two units (taxis!) of hoplites and some slingers on beside the village to face the Romans 1^st infantry division just as it deployed into line.  The 1^st Cohort (a large unit) charged in on the nearest hoplite taxi (all the hoplites once more being large units), supported by two more cohorts of legionaries, while the hoplites had the other hoplite unit in their division as support.  Red rolling appallingly, and for the first time in RGMB ancient history the hoplites broke and fled in the first round, with their support joining them!  Given the lack of Greeks this would have made for a very one sided and boring game, so we allowed the Greeks an extra (identical) division, which promptly reappeared in the next turn in the same location and hurled itself into its previous conquers, pushing back the 1^st Cohort, and wiping out one of the other cohorts as the hoplites pressed their advantage.

Messy - Celts vs Greeks on the road, and the first Greek division to fight the Romans on the left.

A meeting of minds which the celt warband eventually loses.

Roman escorting precision.

The Roman 1st division in trouble and crushed against the woods.

On the road in the centre the Celts (also big warbands/rabbles) came face to face with the hoplites blocking their passage.  They wiped out the Greeks supporting peltasts, but came to grief against the Greek heavies themselves.  Chris’ hoplites pushed back and wiped out the central rabble, before coming up against the lead baggage cart which I had foolishly allowed to get far ahead of its Roman escort.  Fulfilling character obligations I blamed Luke for allowing the Greeks to break through to the valuable olives!  The Celts other two war bands turned, intending to charge the rear of the hoplites, but decided that it was either unsporting, or too suggestive and stopped short of the act.  The hoplites had no such qualms, and dispatched the baggage cart with ease, although one unfortunate Greek did catch an ox’s hoof in an unfortunate place.  

The Greek hoplites are through, but the celts turn on them.

In the fields the Romans came under the cosh; the hoplites pressing their advantage and, crushing the 1^st cohort against an inconveniently placed wood, then wiped out the 3^rd and last legionary cohort in that division, destroying the Roman generals command.  They continued on, making for the road and the two baggage units there.  The Roman second division reacted by swinging off the road and deploying in front of them, a formation which the hoplites ploughed into in an attack column formation, one supporting the other.  This time the Roman legionaries, having been rolled back a move in the first charge, stood firm second time round supported by legionaries, auxiliaries and slingers, plus some more awful dice rolling from Red.  The last turned into a theme, which saw the Hoplites perform their disappearing trick for the second time in the game to cheers from the Romans, which turned even louder when the Celts finally got stuck in on the road and Chris’ command vanished under a wave of random hair doo’s.

The last Greek hope was a final division which appeared on the Roman right flank, only to have to contend with the Roman cavalry division, which had finally worked out there was some fighting going on at the head of the column and had hotfooted it up there.  With the demise of the Greek centre however, and the solid line of legionaries, auxiliaries and cavalry facing this last division the Greeks called it a day, and conceded the field to the enemy.  Victory to the Romans and Celts!

Reds greeks come within touching distance of the road and the baggage, but no further.

The last Greek division - too late to help.

Analysis:

Not a terrible scenario, with perhaps the Greek re-enforcements arriving a tad too late at the end, and the Greeks playing to their enemies strength by spreading out against a more numerous Romans and Celtic army rather than blockading the road and daring them to push through.  Given the difference in sizes of the armies I tried to create a scenario which the Greeks could use to their strengths.

The Romans scored an early impressive victory which caused us to resurrect a Greek division rather than ruin the game, while the celts stood up for longer in combat that Luke had expected them to after the initial clash.  Chris almost got some revenge in with some slinger fire at the baggage, which I’d left exposed again, but they were fortunately chased away by the Celts!  

The American Civil War – An Odyssey in 6mm

This post is fairly late in the day in terms of purchases because I’ve spent so much time painting English Civil War troops I’ve rarely found time to post.  So here we go.

Background

The American Civil War is a period I’ve had an interest in, although not much of a knowledge of, for quite a while, primarily thanks too a series of Miniature Wargames magazines which appeared to have an ACW article virtually every month on different battles.  Given that it is apparently one of the most popular periods to wargame – second only to Napoleonic’s in some views – that is unsurprising.

 I originally had the notion that the Confederacy was the way to go – they often seemed too win!  However for Christmas I had been bought a book on the American Civil War book; Battle Cry Of Freedom: The American Civil War (James M. McPherson).  It is well worth a read, much less battle detail than most and quite long (850-odd pages), but very well written about the causes and surrounding issues.   Within the pages it gives a general image of the confederacy as gallant underdogs against the North’s superior industry, technology and numbers, but further reading through it doesn’t appear to be a foregone conclusion, with political forces and differing aims of the North’s commanders conspiring to aid the South.  In the end I chose the North.  This was based on my dislike for the pro-slavery attitude in the South, although that was hardly an attitude retained solely in the South, or the sole reason for war, but is a reason as good as any to pick a side, and although it may give me a sluggish army to command it is at least better in moral terms, just.

Buying the Models

After a fair bit of indecisiveness over scales I decided to plumb for 6mm.  The Perrys superb 28mm plastics came close to victory, but I simply couldn’t face painting that many 28mm infantrymen, even if I could absorb the cost of buying them in the first place!  20mm plastics and 10mm metals were also gradually ruled out thanks to a couple of influences; firstly an old Miniature Wargames magazine with an article about the difference in size and perception of scales of models, which made the 6mm scale look much more appealing.  Secondly I was able to see a few games being played at the Deeside Defenders in that scale, and was impressed with the imagery of the big battlefield, the many battalions and even the detail that could be seen close up! 

I have previously owned 6mm figures, buying some heroics and ros modern and WW2 tanks years and years ago, but only a very limited number.  For modelling and painting experience I have to go back to my Epic 40k playing days (now sold to gain more historical figures), 15 years ago.  I also had an additional major boost to get going when Andy (see blog: ) from Deeside offered to collect one side, leaving me to only have to make up one army rather than the two I was thinking I would have too do.  Andy gave me the choice of side and as before mentioned I went for the Union so he started looking for his grey paint.  Since then Luke and Aidan have also shown an interest, with Luke going so far as to choose the Confederacy and buy an army pack at Triples.  His painting already far exceeds mine in numbers!  Blackpowder is the ruleset of choice, and the basis for how we’re making the armies.

The First Painting Attempts

 To get started I ordered some figures from a company called Baccus which specialises in 6mm troops and scenery for a variety of periods.  Their work came recommended, and I’d seen them online on a number of blogs and websites, and I ordered an infantry pack with hats, a cavalry pack, and a battery of artillery.  I paid around £2.50 postage to take it up to £19 overall, and for this I got 96 infantrymen, 48 cavalry, and 4 guns and crew.  They arrived around a week and a half later, and I was suitably impressed with the quality of the detailing – amazing for that scale, and the immediate thought was “oh sod, I’ll never be able to do that justice!”  I was right.  An attempt at painting enough men (4 strips – 16 men) for a single base was disappointing, the colours were dark, the image wasn’t great, I started too wish I’d picked the grey, I’m better at painting grey!  A couple of suggestions of painting styles from others didn’t work, and it went on the back burner.

I then went to Triples with a Union army pack on my list and on visiting the Baccus stand got talking to the owner, and a few others who were there.  The owners tips on painting all made sense, most interesting of which was that I was using the wrong shades of colour.  Apparently a smaller area (such as a 6mm figure) makes any colour look darker, so the way to go was too use lighter than usual colours for everything.  Armed with this knowledge I was also invited to do a 6mm painting workshop by one of the guys nearby, and later in the day took him up on his offer.  I sat down and painted 6 mini union troopers using his paints, and following the colour scheme.  The result was amazing, the troops really looked the part!  He then showed me a variety of ways of basing the models, although I decided to stick with the style I’d already agreed with Andy.  For painting the following few things were key:

• I was using the wrong paints – they needed to be much lighter, and with different colours for the webbing etc (black was pointless, a sand however looked ace).
• I was being too precise – my 28mm painting meant that I was caring when it wasn’t perfect, I should ignore it unless it’s a disastrous mistake.
• Don’t detail –for example paint the gun all just metal, and the butt light brown.

I made notes, said a big thank you, and set off to get some new paints!  I picked up an additional 5 paints, and Luke ordered me the ink required and even kindly gave me an extra batch of 40mm by 20mm MDF bases.  I managed to forget to buy the additional base sizes I needed for the other troops (dismounted cavalry and cannon), but it was a very good start. 

Where Now

Back home the models have been sadly confined to boxes while I focus on getting my ECW done in time for Gauntlet, but once they are out I’m very hopeful I’ll be able to paint them quickly!

Base Sizes

For anyone wanting to emulate the armies, the base sizes we’re using are 2mm deep and:

40mm by 20mm for infantry (2 ranks) and cavalry (4 figures per base) with 3 bases per battalion.

30mm by 30mm for dismounted cavalry (4 bases per battalion).

40mm by 30mm for cannon batteries, a single cannon on each base.