More Than a Skirmish With This Very Ground

This Very Ground is Iron Ivan's French & Indian War skirmish game. I enjoy playing Iron Ivan's sets of rules. They have the consistency and simplicity that makes for a very playable game. The scope is 1 figure = 1 man skirmish level gaming. We've discovered that if you put too many troops on the table, the game bogs down. This was almost the case last Saturday. The game did not break, but a few odd quirks showed themselves due to the number of figures involved.

Andy drew up a scenario where French and British regulars faced each other in a forest clearing, which is as close as you can come to a set-piece Seven Years War battle in the North American theatre. No native warriors were involved and no militia or provincials on the French side, although two units of Provincials were fielded on the British side. Both sides had three companies of line troops, two light companies, a grenadier company, and three guns, two of which were 4-pounders or lighter. As I said before, the British fielded two additional companies of Provincials, who are slightly less competent than the regulars.

In the photos below, the troops are arrayed in the clearing which is deliniated by pieces of masking tape.

The French forces under Martin and myself.
Grenadiers are nearest the camers, then two line and one light company, the cannon, and a line and a light company.

The British under Kevin, Brian, and Bear.
From the bottom, two light companies and the limbered guns, three line companies, the grenadier company, and two companies of Provincials (said to be from Virginia)

Looking down the French line, as Andy shuffles boxes in the distance.
There were four games in progress that Saturday - our F&I, Wayne's WWI, Sara and Bill's D&D (5th Edition, thank God)
and a small RPG. This made for 16 people!

Lobsterbacks! All the figs were from Andy's collection.

The Colour party of Regiment Berry.

The French won the initiative in the first turn, and we advanced slowly. I put my light company in skirmish order to screen the grenadiers and the line troops to the grenadiers' left. Martin began a bombardment of the British line with the three guns - 2 Fours and a Six. The British advanced in good order with Brian sending out a light company to match my skirmishers. When they finally met, the British lights got the better of my light company and I took heavy casualties.

French Artillery, ruining the day for some of the British. The cotton shows the gun has fired.

The light screen advances ahead of the fusiliers and grenadiers. I tried to keep them from masking the guns.

The British advance - mostly Ral Partha figures with a smathering of Old Glory for command and NCO's.
The French figures were the same. No native warriors were used (Partha, Front Rank, and Blue Moon)
and the Compagnies Franches de la Marine (Partha) stayed in their boxes as well.

Brian's two light companies - one deployed in skirmish order, one in line.

Bear's disembodied hand moves a bunch of British.

My musketry was poor and my light company got hurt. Martin's lights tangled with the Provincials, one company of which had to fall back due to a morale failure. The other caused Martin's lights to hug the wood line and begin to give ground while the British grenadiers advanced. The British spread their guns out to cover the entire field while Martin massed his three cannon into a Grand Battery of sorts. (He called himself "too Napoleonic" for anything less.) 

Eventually, Brian caused my lights to break once I charged his. He won the melee and my officer and drummer, the only survivors, fell back quickly. One of my fusilier companies bravely charged one of Bear's line companies. Both were destroyed, although he fell back with a handful of troops, while my officer - the only survivor - held his ground and taunted the British mercilessly.

Brian's lights come on at full strength.

My lights and Bear's line troops pass each other.

The lights give fire as do the cannon.

This block of Redcoats became hard to manage at one point. We were unsure of the rules regarding interpenetration of units and spend a long time searching the book. We decided that you could interpenetrate but the unit could do nothing else that turn.

Ready your firelock! Present! Give fire!

"Votre mère était un hamster et votre père avait une odeur de baies de sureau!"

With one line company down to a brave but foolhardy officer and a light company down to an officer and a drummer who decided that discretion WAS the better part of valour. We French graciously conceded the field to the British. According to the understanding of fighting in that age, force-in-being was preferable to a bloody field victory. So the convention was signed and we "withdrew." Martin had lost a light company and had sustained a number of casualties to his fusiliers. Bear, Kevin, and Brian had lost one company completely and had suffered some serious casualties to another company. All the guns were intact, although the British plan was to sweep the flank with the Provincials and grab the guns. It didn't work out that way.

It made for a good game. This Very Ground is not designed for such set-piece battles. It's usually best for more fluid skirmishes in broken ground and wooded areas. Having said that, it does work for this sort of game, although such things as interpenetration of formed units and the so-called "Golden Highway" of the Seven Years War and other conflicts of the period (where one army permits the other army to withdraw without pursuit and harassment. Such behaviour drove the native warriors crazy!) are not reflected in the rules as written. We played the rules "as written" on Saturday, but had to improvise some of the things the rules didn't cover. Please don't get me wrong; the game and the scenario were great. It's just that the rules didn't cover some of the situations in which we found ourselves. So some table-top jazz had to be played. So long as everyone agrees, why not?

On Martin's end of the field, his lights are falling back and his fusiliers are losing men. Meanwhile, Bear and Kevin's Provincials prepare to sweep around the flank in open order while the remnants of a line company fires on Martin's troops while a fresh company comes up (on the far right,)

Martin's guns keep up a scalding fire.

Brian's light company continues to fire although this time it's the company in line.

The Royal Artillery answers the French.

The lone 4-pounder supports the advance on the British right.

"C'mon! Put 'em up! I can take yez all... wif one hand tied behind my back!"
"Jacques! The captain's been in the brandy again!"

On my painting front, now that Easter is past, I'm busily finishing some commissioned figures for Bear, painting some loot from Hot Lead (Renaissance Poles), and doing up some Warmaster figs 'cause I want to,

Recovering from Easter.

When Easter weekend is over, I take a day or two off. This year our son, Rob, came home from his apartment in London, ON, and stayed a few days with us. His girlfriend, Eva, came along. One of the activities was playing a game of Warmaster. I've felt that this small scale/large army game was one of the best games to ever come out of Games Workshop. It seems to be the ancestor of Black Powder, Pike & Shotte, and Hail Caeser from Warlord games. There is a great deal of resemblance.

Rob and Katie took their Dwarves and Elves and battled Beth's Kislevites and my Thirty Years War Swedish army, all in 10mm. Eva had never played the game and she served as a corps commander in the Elf/Dwarf army. 

The front room is converted into a games room. Pooka did not play but looks on from the floor.

Rob, Eva, and Katie - the "Axes" of Evil... in my opinion (Rob made me write that pun.)

Beth's Kislevites with her regiments of bears in evidence

Kislevite knights, who were undoubtedly based on the famed Polish Winged Hussars

The Kislevites Tsarina in her bear chariot.
We liked the bear chariot from the Narnia movie so much we made one.

Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!The Dwarf battle line advances.

Beth and I won the initiative and advanced. She sent her knights and horse archers out quickly, with her bears on the flank. My cuirassiers and "Galloper" Arquebusiers as well as the Hackapelli regiment moved quickly up the center. My 6 pike-and-shot regiments came up more slowly while a regiment of commanded shot guarded the 5 cannon "grand battery." I ended up facing Katie's Elves who came on quickly with Silver Helms and Reaver Knights as well as a Dragon Rider. Rob used his Gyrocoptors to flank the Kislivites but they were not as effective as they'd been in the past.

Kislevite War Wagons

Swedish cavalry, infantry, and guns.

A view of the Dwarven army from the flank.
Troll Slayers are in the front rank; They WANT to die!

Elvish chariots with Dwarven cannon  and the Dwarven Anvil of Doom around them.
(GW chariots)

The centre of the Elf/Dwarf army - Eva's command

Elven Silver Helms fight Finnish Hackapelli. The Finns got the worst of it.
According to the ECW/TYW rules I found on the Internet, the Hackapelli are fast "Galloper"cavalry (+1 die for each stand on the charge) & Fanatics (Immune from fear). However they are very light and save on a 6+ on wounds.

Kislevite knights and a hero battle Dwarf handgunners backed by Elvish cavalry.

An Elvish Dragon Rider. I found the dragon figures at a bring-and-buy years ago and put a Elven charioteer figure on the stand.
One of Katie's favourite units.

Elven eagles. Eva was enamoured with these things.
(Games Workshop figures.) The thing on the pillar is an objective marker.

The Swedish artillery - 3 medium guns and 2 heavy guns backed by a unit of commanded shot.
(Old Glory and Pendrakon figures)

Some of my cavalry were torn apart by the Elves but my second line of "Galloper" Arquibusiers chewed through some of the Elven cavalry. The Dragon Rider tried to hit my guns but the shot stopped it. (I was amazed!!) Actually the Dragon Rider, which usually make a mess of things, did not have good luck. As it was, only one of my pike-and-shot regiments was engaged and lost a stand to the Dragon Rider. (Three of my regiments had an attached "battalion gun" which serves as an extra shooting dice rather than a piece of long range artillery.)

On the other flank, the Kislivites were driving back the Dwarves into a small town which the cavalry could not enter. The troop caught in the open were ridden down by the Winged Knights, although they took some casualties.

Eventually time caught up with us and we had to call the game. The original intent was to base victory on the taking of two objectives. However, Rob's Dwarves were hacked up badly and he said that tactically the Elf/Dwarf army won, but strategically the Humans had the edge. Our armies were still very much intact and had the game gone on longer, it would have been a more firm victory. Still we take what we can get!

Eva enjoyed the game so much she and Rob took the Orcish and Chaos armies back to their apartment to play when time allows!

Another view of the Tsarina's chariot

The Kislevite cavalry, having opened up the left centre take on the remnant of the eagles.

This is what I faced - spearmen and the Phoenix Guard backed by bowmen.

The fight on the edge of the town commences.

And continues.
(Pendrakon and GW figures)

Kislivite horse archers vs. Dwarf warriors

The Winged Knights charge home.

My pikes and battalion guns hold the line.

Today when I came home from work, I found a D&D game in progress. Rob was trying out the 5th Edition and we all decided we like them. Beth, Katie, and Eva played with Rob DM-ing. Rob and Eva went back to London after dinner this evening. They were going to fencing, but Beth and Katie decided to skip the fencing and come home to rest. There are some cramps and pulled muscles involved.

The rooms and hallways were simulated by dice.

Rob was playing an NPC (Non-player character) for added muscle, I suppose.

Katie and Eva at the table.

Pooka - taken in the family room a while ago.
He looks so forlorn, but he really is well treated.

Happy Easter!

Now a break from my usual blogging topics.
Today is Easter Sunday. For me, this is more than a day to colour eggs and eat chocolate... and I have no problem with either of those activities. (In fact, I enjoy both. In further fact, when I stop typing, I've got some chocolate waiting for me!) For me, this is a renewal of hope and a festival of new life. It's not the Spring, but the Resurrection.

Here the Risen Christ pulls Adam and Eve (representing all humanity) from their tombs.

And one of my favourite Easter hymns:

Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain
            By: John of Damascus
Come, you faithful, raise the strain
Of triumphant gladness!
God has brought his Israel
Into joy from sadness,
Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters,
Led them with unmoistened foot
Through the Red Sea waters.

This the spring of souls today:
Christ has burst his prison
And from three days’ sleep in death
As a sun has risen;
All the winter of our sins,
Long and dark, is flying
From his light, to whom is given
Laud and praise undying.

Now the queen of seasons, bright
With the day of splendor,
With the royal feast of feasts
Comes its joy to render;
Comes to gladden faithful hearts
Which with true affection
Welcome in unwearied strain
Jesus’ resurrection!

For today among his own
Christ appeared, bestowing
His deep peace, which evermore
Passes human knowing.
Neither could the gates of death
Nor the tomb’s dark portal
Nor the watchers nor the seal
Hold him as a mortal.

Alleluia! Now we cry
To our King immortal,
Who, triumphant, burst the bars
Of the tomb’s dark portal
Alleluia! with the Son
God the Father praising
Alleluia! yet again
to the Spirit raising.


Here is a trombone choir from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The next to last melody, with begins with the soprano trombone, is the hymn I've selected above. The Moravian Church tries to use only trombones to accompany their worship music. I played their all-night Easter vigil in Nazareth, PA quite a few years ago.