Roman Light Infantry Velites and Warmachines

Finally got round to adding 3 more units to my Roman Army fir command and colours ancients first up is a unit of light infantry.

Velites from the HAT Republican Romans Hastati and Velites set with the command figures from the Roman command set also from HAT and the standard bearer from the HAT roman catapults set.

The Roman catapults set also comes with  Hastati and Velites however these are bigger figures than the standard set and bigger than the new figures in the set which is a problem for mixed units maybe they can be used for units made of just figure from that set

Below are 2 units of Roman war machines each crew figure representing 1 block 

Roman Cavalry and more auxiliaries

I had the time over the mid term break to add more units to my Roman army the first was another unit of auxiliaries the same sets as used in the previous unit this time using a different standard the eagle not the flag and given the centurion  a spear instead of the sword. These can be seen below

2nd unit of auxiliaries 

The second unit added was a unit of medium roman cavalry using HAT set 8031 roman cavalry and the mounted figures from the HAT roman command set. The fully painted figures can be seen below.

Roman cavalry command figures in front row

The two figures from the command set are in the front row with the 6 from the cavalry set in the back row. A cavalry unit  in cc ancients has 3 blocks the command figure will be removed for blocks1 and 2 and the 6 figures represent the third block.

These are based of 1.5cm x 3cm bases but the command figure over hang the front of the base by a few mms.

I also got the chance to play gmt games 1805 sea of glory as the British and hope to post a review soon. set up below

Unit of Roman Auxiliary Infantry

Hasn't been much going on of late but I have managed to finish another unit of roman infantry hat set 8018 republican roman infantry hastati. This will be used as auxiliaries in command and colour ancients from gmt games

painted and in formation 6x3 command figures on left(right of the unit)

After the basic painting flock is added to the base which is shown below

same figures based

The final step is a black wash and matt spray varnish shown below

The finished unit

Battle of Ligny

I had a chance to play this a few weeks ago as the Prussians

map

On first glance this one looks though for the Prussians with the 2 medals for holding the towns being vital for success. The main strength of the Prussian army is the iron will counters which where used to keep units in the towns and gain the vital battle back rolls.

The only advantage I could see for the Prussians in this one was the cavalry reserve in the center and I settled on a defensive plan but even this could come unstuck pretty fast due to being out numbered 5-2 by the French in guns

set up

The initial set up above and the French batteries below which i was worried would blast the Prussian lines before any infantry attack and given the Prussians are a defensive army attacking would be difficult 

French Guns

The French infantry attacked the church on the Prussian left was beaten back with heavy loseses on both sides with an additional Prussian line battalion (1806 uniforms my Prussian army is in the 1806 uniform bar the reserve British painted blue and the landwher) ordered up to the bridge. Meanwhile the French light Infantry and Young Guard represented here by the marines of the guard prepare to assault La-Haye on the Prussian right.

The Prussians still hold the church

French light and marines

The French attack at La-Haye while suffering heavy losses was getting close to breaking through and capturing the town and then pushing on and rolling up the Prussian militia. The Prussian heavy cavalry were sent forward to relieve the pressure.

Prussian Dragoons charge the Swiss at La-Haye

The cavalry succeeded in stabilizing the exploiting the situation on the Prussian left with a second charge pushing the French guns back and smashing into the Hussars

The Swiss came out of square and joined with fresh infantry made a push against Staint Amand in the center to relieve the pressure on their left this attack was again beaten off with high French casualties

French attack on St Amand fails

Prussian light Infantry move into the foreset

The prussian light infantry move forward and stabilize the center mean while on the left the Prussian heavy cavalry take some losses and the militia move forward keeping La-Haye in Prussian hands

Prussian Dragoons suffer some loses

The situation the Prussian left was quite after the initial assault on the church but the final medal was picked up by the Prussian line picking of the French light infantry

Prussian line skirmish with French light

In the end this was a total 11-2 victory for the Prussians. I think this was due to heavy losses suffered attacking the towns and under use of the French guns

Commands and Colours generals marshallstacticians expansion

https://www.gmtgames.com/p-535-commands-colors-napoleonics-expansion-5-generals-marshalls-tacticians.aspx

gmt games have just announced the above expansion. I'm looking forward to this new battles new units and a tactics deck that will be usable with previous battles.

Of the new units I have British rocket troops and French horse guard artillery already painted.

Ive always liked the battle of the nations and was disappointed by it being dropped so I'm happy to see its returns as well as the inclusion of the French and allies as the french side while they were mentioned in the descriptions in previous expansions it would be nice to see the minor german states italian neoplitains and poles included with there own rules and maybe some swedes on the allied side

FutureLearn

Hi all I just finished an online course at futurelearn.com  on the British Empire and its controversies run over 6 weeks by the University of Exeter in the UK. This is the second course I have completed on this site with the previous on being on Hadrian s Wall run by the University of Newcastle. Both very enjoyable and 100% free Id recommend checking out the site as they have alot of free courses on a wide range of subjects

Battle of Waterloo June 18th 1815

I managed to get in a game over the weekend this time following on from Quatre Bras was Waterloo again from the base game of command and colours Napoleonic's

Again I played the allied side a quick glance of the battle maps sees a number of strong points in the allied position in the centre the the British guns and if the rifles can be moved forward into La Haye Sainte they would have range on the French units moved up onto the ridge added with the British heavy and guard cavalry behind the centre can be defended.

On the allied right we have the light infantry forward at Hougoumont with cannons and the foot guards behind which can be moved forward in support and maybe counter attack.

On the left the Belgian light infantry forward at Plancenoit are vulnerable and might need to be withdrawn abandoning the position as they are easy picking for the French young  guard.

On the French side the lack of light infantry 2 units 1 on each flank will reduce their mobility and make it harder to bring force quickly on  Hougoumont

Starting Positions

The battle opened with the French moving forward in the centre and coming under fire from the British guns and the 95th which had moved forward into La Haye Sainte which inflicted murderous casualties on the French Infantry and Guns (3 bombard guards blunted many french attacks)

Death of  General d'Erlon

The 95th at La Haye Sainte where causing alot of casualties resulting in the old guard being ordered to advance with the support of the cuirassiers and old guard cavalry forming square would leave the infantry exposed to the French infantry

The 95th at La Haye Sainte The old guard have moved forward

French push in the centre

The Farmhouse has fallen

The French Infantry pushed the Rifles from the farmhouse who by this stage had already earned their pay. The attack in the center had sucked in alot of troops from the French left allowing the lights and guard battalions to move forward and over run the opposing French troops but the cavalry failed to take the guns a close run thing but thankfully the battery kept firing

Swiss infantry are all that's left to stop the french flank being rolled

The advance on the right continued with the guards moving in on the french center and the lights hunting down the swiss regiment

Advance of the guards

The final shot at the depleted guard cavalry old guard and Marshal Ney still hold the Farmhouse

On the allied left you guard took Plancenoit from the Belgian light infantry but didn't advance further being checked by British guns.

In the end this one was 8-5 in favor of the allies with the French holding Plancenoit and La Haye Sainte the score line makes it look more one sided than it was.
The heroic defense of Hougoumont and the advance on the right combined with very effective counter battery fire from the British guns inflicting early causalities including a lucky hit on a general gave the allies a health early lead and forced the french to attack early as their own guns where knocked out (both the guard and the horse guns falling.)

The charge of the guard cavalry was close to breaking through the the allied centre if that had of worked it might have turned the tide for the French and trying to get the old guard with marshal Ney from the farmhouse would have resulted in high loses