The December update for the Cantwara sector.

 

The December update

Time flies and with the festive season is upon us I almost missed the chance to update the world on what has been going on in the Cantwara sector.   Painting has been the order of the day since the last update.  I have managed to nearly complete my alien contingent, a few more purchases may have been made, which has put the end off a little, but I hope there will be no more crusties for a long time.  I have also been adding some security troopers to act as protection for the Turner`s Mining Syndicate.

Armed forces in the Cantwara sector

Crusties-  Ground Zero Games

The four squads of infantry and support weapons are complete.  I am imagining these aliens in a similar way to the great migration in Europe which forced the different peoples westward rather than an invading alien menace.

The Crusties are supported by a small contingent of Phalon marines.  I really like these older scuplts by GZG.  They are a little smaller than their more recent offerings but they have a real charm to them.

The platoon command is made up of the Xar, large imposing centaur aliens. 

Hammer`s Slammers-  Ground Zero Games

Turner`s Mining Syndicate security troopers.  

I decided that the TMS needed some military or paramilitary forces to protect their assets.  Again, the minatures that I chose have sat in my lead pile for many years and I am glad that they finally have some colour on them.  I cannot wait to see what service they give the syndiacte.

 Returning to the Cantwara sector an update

Well, it has been a month since I have last posted about my wargaming efforts.  I have been steadily painting away and purchasing a few more pieces.  Things are coming along nicely.  My purchases are a bit scatter shot as I don`t really have an end goal for my 15mm SCI-FI project.  One of the main things that spurs me on to make purchases is the fear of losing out on something.  It is a little bit of a weird mindset when I consider it, but I don`t think that I am the only wargamer who thinks in this way.

Vehicle from Ground Zero Games

The second of my GZGs truck is finished.  I was inspired by the livery of a local train, the Red Wing, where I live.  

Mine -  Ground Zero Games (I think)

The yellow mine is the last of these mine entrances that I had to paint.  I hope that the different colours will help them stand out well on the table.

Colonial settlement building -  Ground Zero Games

The final  colonial settlement building came together really well.  I have named the bar after a nightclub that I used to frequent as a younger man.  These little nods to the past really help me get invested into this fictional future.

Populating the Cantwara sector

To bring the Cantwara sector alive and to inspire some scenarios I though I had better start adding some non-combat figure to my collection.  

Civilians-  Ground Zero Games

The civilians come from GZG ranges and they will represent people working for Turner`s Mining Syndicate or the TMS.  The paint scheme is inspired by my secondary school sports uniform.

Robots-  Ground Zero Games & Alternative armies

The robots come from GZG & Alternative armies.  I decided to keep the paint scheme fairly simple at first, but I found that leaving them all metal didn`t work for me.  Hence the splash of colour.  

Armed forces in the Cantwara sector

I have two platoons of human forces that I have already painted.  One force of regulars and one force of irregulars that I thought needed an opposing force.  This led me to finally big into my lead mountain and pull out some aliens to paint.

Crusties-  Ground Zero Games

These aliens are, for me, one of GZG`s best ranges.  They paint up really well and stand out from the human forces as they are slightly larger.  I am looking to paint a platoon of them, so around 32.  Each section will have a different colour bandolier to make them easier to recognise on the battlefield.

 

Now for something a little different

I don`t want the Cantwara sector to focus only only 15mm SCI-FI, as I still love my Old School miniatures.  So, when the urge takes me I will paint other figures that I have.  Here is one example.

Chaos Legionnaire-  Games Workshop

This classic figure has sat, unpainted, in my lead pile since I bought it in the late 80s.  I am glad that he is finally ready to grace the tabletop.

Returning to the Cantwara sector after a long absence

 

Returning to the Cantwara sector after a long absence.

Time has a habit of going by far quicker than one expects, I can hardly imagine that I have let this blog lay fallow for so long.  But absence they say makes the heart grow fonder and I have the urge to try and resurrect the blog.  Since my last post I have been wargaming, but like many practitioners of the hobby I have been flitting from one project to another.  I have recently turned to my pile of 15mm Sci-Fi lead, mostly from Ground Zero games, which brought me back to the Cantwara sector.  I plan to morph the blog to not only include my Rogue Trader era miniatures but also all of my Sci-Fi projects.  The narratives will be grounded in the Cantwara sector, but it will take on a less grim dark look.  I hope by opening things up to various other scales, theatres, backgrounds I can post semi-regularly.

So, what have I been working on?  After a bit of thought, and needing a change from painting 20mm Napoleonic infantry, I decided to work on some of the terrain pieces that I have.  The more terrain that I have, the more varied I can make the battlefield and with that the different types of scenarios that I can fight.  Here are the pieces that I have finished so far, the colonial settlement of Keithstown is slowly starting to come to life.

Vehicles from Ground Zero Games - 

These sculpts were a real pleasure to paint and being made of metal they have some real heft to them.

Scatter terrin - Ground Zero Games

Most of the scatter terrain came as Christmas freebies with an order.  They will either serve as terrain or objective markers. 

Mines -  Ground Zero Games (I think)

The mines will do service as terrain, objective markers, and spawn points.  I have one more to paint.  I think that I got these from GZG, but I cannot find them on the website, so I could be wrong or they may no longer be available.

Colonial settlement buildings -  Ground Zero Games

These wonderful buildings make up the colonial settlement pack from GZG, they went together really easily and the painting was a joy.  

 

Return to Blasthof bridge.

For the last couple of games that I have played, I used Neil Thomas` excellent rules, One-hour Wargames.  I love how quickly they play, and the 30 scenarios are always an inspiration.  There are times when I want a bit more from my games, though.  Trying to choose which of the many rules sets I have, to use can be a little daunting, but for the game today I thought I would break out a classic set, Donald Featherstone`s War Games.  Like a lot of rules of its era they are not as complicated as people imagine.  There are some areas, mostly around failed morale, that could have been clearer, but as a solo war gamer I just made a ruling and went with it. 

Of course, I could not help tinkering with them a little and introduced card activation, where each unit had its own card, and the obligatory end of turn card.  This led to some situations where units did not move for quite a few turns, but it certainly helped to make for a fun game.  I think that I may return to Keith Flint`s system from Honours of War, or Henry Hyde`s activation from Shot, Steel, and Stone for a future game . 

I thought that it would be fun to refight the action at Blasthof Bridge from Charge! by Peter Young.  I tried using the original troop numbers from Charge! but Donald Featherstone`s rules are a little too deadly for so few troops.  I increased the number of units and troops but tried to keep the ratio from the original scenario.  The game you could say was a blast, and I will definitely use the scenario and rules again.

The Battle

Following his defeat at the Vallée des Ormes the Lord Warden Philippe Le Duff, Duke of Monfort realised that his position as Head of State was not as secure as it once was. So, he decided that the only way to stop the machinations of the other nobles was a fall scale invasion of Volgar.

The Lord Warden of the Five Duchies could not lead the invasion himself as he was too busy dealing with issues at court, so he sent a force under Robert du Ouestbourg to secure the bridge over the river Blast.

The army under Robert du Ouestbourg

General - Robert du Ouestbourg

The Ouestbourg Regiment- Col. Wadoux

The Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers – Col. De la Côte D'or

The Burgoyne Hussars – Col. Leblanc

The Montfort dragoons - Colonel Douker

The Capel – le- Ferne battery – Capt. Le Bigot

Ouestbourg`s orders were to secure the bridge over the river Blast and bloody the nose of any Volgan troops he faced.

The army under Theodoric Von Martinez.

General – Theodoric Von Martinez

The Dijl Regiment – Col Joannu

The Fouksten Highland regiment – Col. Huss

The Feweszem regiment – Col. Chomski

The Sytynbon lancers – Col. Dragos

The Tanbrydz-Lelz battery – Capt. Lehmann

Von Martinez was commanded to destroy the bridge, and deal as much damage as he could to the forces of the five Duchies.

Battle Plans

The army of the Five Duchies

Robert du Ouestbourg, always an aggressive commander, decided to utilise his cavalry advantage and sweep up the eastern bank of the river Blast while holding the western side with his infantry.

The army of Volgar

Theodoric Von Martinez, the wily old campaigner, knew that his lack of cavalry could be a deciding factor and realised that he had to dislodge the enemy infantry as quickly as possible.  He planned to send his lancers across the river to delay the enemy cavalry while pushing south down the western bank with the rest of his army.

Turn one

In the first turn, the two commanders started to move most of their units towards one another.  Both the Montfort dragoons under Colonel Douker and the brave Sytynbon lancers commanded by Colonel Dragos failed to advance with the rest of their armies.

Turn two

In the second turn, Colonel Dragos spurred his men on, crossing the river to face the Burgoyne Hussars. 

An ineffective exchange of musketry broke out between the two armies, the Ouestbourg Regiment, and the Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers both firing on the Dijl Regiment, while the Dijl Regiment and the Feweszem regiment shot at the Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers.

The Tanbrydz-Lelz battery raked the Burgoyne Hussars with cannon fire as they stood waiting for Colonel Douker and his regiment to come up in support.

Turn Three

Having stood waiting under cannon fire for long enough Colonel LeBlanc ordered his hussars to charge across the bridge into the flank of the overexposed Feweszem regiment.  The infantry couldn`t stand up to the charge of the ferocious light cavalry men, broke and were cut down to the man.  The Dijl Regiment, a regiment of mostly untested soldiers, broke and fled from the battlefield. 

The Burgoyne Hussars did not have it all their own way, though.  They had come into cannister range of the Tanbrydz-Lelz battery and the punishing fire from the cannon forced them to retreat across the bridge.

Turn Four

With the loss of two of his infantry regiments the battle was lost for Theodoric Von Martinez, but the old commander could not order the retreat (I probably should have stopped playing here as the battle was over, but I was having too much fun).

The Montfort dragoons moved forward to block the Sytynbon lancers, who had just cut down the remnants of the Burgoyne hussars.  The blood of the lancers was up, though, and they routed the dragoons with ease.

Across the river, the Fouksten Highland regiment was taking a pounding from the Cherry Blossoms, and the Capel – le- Ferne battery.

Turns Five, Six, Seven

For the next few turns both sides stood and exchanged fire with one another.  The Sytynbon lancers, their horses exhausted from destroying two regiments of cavalry, came off badly as the Ouestbourg Regiment had them squarely in their sights.  Colonel Dragos decided that his regiment had done their duty that day and calmy led them off the field of battle.

Turn Eight

The Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers came under scathing fire from the infantry and artillery that was left under Von Martinez`s command.  The Capel – le- Ferne battery`s supporting fire could not find its mark in all the smoke covering the battlefield.

Turn Nine

The Ouestbourg Regiment pushed up the eastern bank of the river Blast and engaged in close-range musketry with the Tanbrydz-Lelz battery.  The canister from the artillery ripped through the infantry, but the cannon was running low on powder and shot.

On the western bank, the Capel – le- Ferne battery continued to pound the Fouksten Highland regiment, while Robert du Ouestbourg tried to rally the Cherry Blossoms.

Turns Ten & Eleven

With both artillery batteries out of ammunition, and their soldiers spent, the two commanders broke off the engagement.  The battle being a marginal victory for Robert du Ouestbourg.

Forces of the Confederation of the Five Duchies - The Burgoyne Hussars

 The Burgoyne Hussars

 Commanding officer: Count Gui Leblanc

Motto: "We get knocked down, but we get up again"

Garrison/HQ: Lynn de la Duchesse.

Nick name: The Ragged Brigade

Origin

The regiment was raised in Lynn de la Duchesse by James R. Montague as James Montague's Regiment of Dragoons in 1715, in response to a Volgan invasion. During the invasion, it took part in the Battle of Capel-le-Ferne in October 1715, after which it escorted the captured Volgan soldiers to the waiting prison ships.

The Peasants' Revolt of 1745

During the Peasants' Revolt of 1745, a major uprising across large parts of the Confederation of the Five Duchies, the regiment was largely made up of recruits and commanded by an inexperienced officer, Francois Baskerville. On 13th September, the regiment was confronted by a small party of disgruntled oast workers and was routed in the so-called 'Kiln Canter'. Francois Baskerville was almost stripped of his command for his poor handling of the situation, but he blamed the defeat on his soldiers' sympathies with the workers and their lack of battlefield experience.

The regiment, however, was demoralised both by its conduct and by the way its commanding officer had been treated. At the Battle of Maison Dieu on 21st September, which lasted only 15 minutes, a large group of peasants once again routed the regiment and killed Francois Baskerville as he tried to rally his men. Command of the regiment was handed over to Jacques Hiver, but the equally disastrous Battle of Colline Militaire in January 1746 saw the regiment routed from the field once more.

Shortly afterwards, Baskerville's replacement, Jacques Hiver, died of malaria and was succeeded by David Marais. Under Marais' guiding hand, the regiment underwent many changes. It was renamed the Burgoyne Hussars, and its recruiting process was reorganised. No longer would it take in former prisoners of war, murderers, debtors and rejects from other regiments. Instead, it would seek to attract the yeomanry. Marais, who became known as the 'Old Drill Sergeant', put the troops through relentless drills and imposed rigid discipline, introducing some of the harshest punishments in the army.

Forces of the Confederation of the Five Duchies - The Mont du Château Chasseurs

The Mont du Château Chasseurs

Commanding officer: Colonel Adas Van Beorg

"Motto: "Bold and Swift

Garrison/HQ: Mont du Château 

Nickname: The Wheat

Origin

The Mont du Château Chasseurs were originally raised in 1650 by the Honourable Volgan Trading Company as a marine force to protect the company's overseas interests.

The War of Independence

The regiment returned in secret from its colonial duties under cover of darkness in 1668. This redeployment was organised by Wilhelm Lützow, chairman of the Honourable Volgan Trading Company. Lützow, a proud Mont du Châteauian and staunch believer in the wisdom of the independence movement, had been siphoning off funds from the company to transport, train and arm as many troops as he could for the fight.

This move allowed him not only to bring back the regiment but also to raise two additional battalions. The sudden appearance of three battalions of well-trained sharpshooters among the rebel forces, combined with the embezzlement of company funds by its most senior member, caught the loyalist members of the board completely by surprise. The misappropriation of capital and the resulting loss of confidence in the company led to its bankruptcy and eventual dissolution by the Volgan Monarch.

The value of Lützow's investment was soon realised as the Mont du Château Chasseurs were quickly deployed in the Volgan campaign. The three battalions took part in skirmishes around Feweszem in December 1669, the Battle of Hen-Bei in July 1670, the Siege of Sytynbon in October 1670, where elements of the 2nd Battalion captured the colours of the 2nd Sytnbon Regiment, and the Battle of Iytstelbel in 1671.

At the conclusion of the War of Independence, Wilhelm Lützow made the shrewd decision to amalgamate the three battalions into a single, compact elite force. This allowed him not only to select the best men from the three battalions but also, through the financial savings this consolidation generated, to equip them with the best arms available. A tradition the regiment would continue to the present day.