Skirmish Wargaming Scenarios

I've been going back to my skirmish wargaming roots lately and have been reading the classic Featherstone book on Skirmish Wargaming, with a focus on my medieval projects in 15mm and 28mm. There's a really good narrative scenario here, based on a sally by the English defenders of a besieged castle in 1429 during the Hundred Years War, the objective being to spike a French bombard in the siege lines. This would make a great scenario for Ecorcheurs! or even for Lion Rampant, giving me some ideas for my own games or even a linked campaign based on the background in the book. 

English Retinue Lion Rampant Extras

I've been busy with work the last few days so not much has moved on the work bench front, apart from a six point Lion Rampant units of six elite infantry Men at Arms, bringing the force up to a respectable twenty two points. I am still planning to add ten more longbowmen to round out the retinue but, in practical terms, it's more or less complete. I can also use these for Ecorcheurs! which is an added bonus. This weekend I'm hoping to get started on painting at least one unit...although it's going to be tricky to squeeze in some time due to family commitments.

Algy Club Game

Next week I'm running a club multiplayer game of Algy that I had to postpone from a couple of weeks ago due to illness. This will be the Biggles and the Black Ravens scenario, featuring No.55 Squadron Airco DH4 bombers against the Fokker DVII scouts of Jasta 18. For this game I'm going to ignore the restriction on tricky and hard manoeuvres for bombers, as the DH4 was renowned for it's manoeuvrability, especially when not loaded with bombs as these had already been dropped in the historical action. I may also pack a formation move / fire card for the RAF, just in case someone wants to try to reformate, even though the scenario prohibits this based on actual events. Hopefully, I've thought of everything that might crop up, but you never know when multiplayer games are in full swing!

Jumping the Gun

One of the Lion Rampant scenarios I've always wanted to play is 'Defending the Indefensible', which features an objective to be defended or attacked, depending on which side you are on. The suggestion in the rules is a siege weapon of some sort, so a trebuchet seemed like a very good idea, although a bombard might be more appropriate for the Hundred Years War. Any excuse to field an impressive bit of kit!

I did some burning about and found this 3D printed model of a trebuchet from Parabellum Miniatures, for a very reasonable price tag. I'm not a massive fan of 3D printed stuff but this looks really good, if it survives the UK postal system? The idea will be to model this on a base to act as both a scenic feature in the mini-campaign I'm planning to run, but also as an objective for the aforementioned scenario. 

It's a bit extravagant but why not?

Lion Rampant Heavy Infantry Spearmen

I've just finished assembly of the extra six figures required to field a full four point unit of heavy infantry spearmen for the English Retinue. These use the English archer bodies and heads with arms from the French infantry box set. I also included a leader figure which uses the opposite, armed with a sword and buckler and equipped with a mail coif, no doubt looted from the enemy. I just need to spray undercoat the extra figures before I crack on with the ten additional longbowmen, which I'm hoping to get sorted by the end of the week.

Lion Rampant English Retinue Expansion

You can never have enough longbows!

I've decided to double up and expand the Ecorcheurs! English Retinue to a full 24 point retinue for Lion Rampant, as it only requires an additional twelve to sixteen figures. The first thing to do is to add six additional heavy infantry spearmen, using longbowmen bodies and arms from the French infantry set, to create a twelve strong unit. After that, it's either six more elite infantry men at arms in full harness or ten more longbowmen, the latter to build a second six point unit of veteran archers. Either way I'll be two points short of the full two dozen but I'll make up the difference with a special leadership bonus of +2 points. All this will take longer to prepare and then paint but I'm not in a rush, so will be painting one unit at a time. It will be good to get back to some 28mm painting after years off doing other things!

Lion Rampant Second Edition Short Cuts

I've been reading through the Lion Rampant Second Edition rule book this morning, in order to plan my 15mm War of the Roses project, when I stumbled across the expanded section on reduced size warbands (p101/104). In the original rules there was a brief paragraph on using half sized, twelve point forces but the new version goes into a bit more detail, with three different approaches suggested. These include half sized units, the twelve point retinue angle and a new system using strength points. I realised that with two more 28mm men at arms, I could field four or five half sized units, giving me a decent sized retinue for the Hundred Years War, without the need to assemble and paint another sixteen plus figures. I'll have a think about this but it would be a good way to double up my forces for Lion Rampant and Ecorcheurs! in addition to the War of the Roses 15mm stuff?

Ravenfeast Anglo Saxon Skirmish

I had a look at these free, simple small scale skirmish rules last year, designed for Viking era scenarios but flexible enough to be adapted for other things. I'd like to explore this further as it is ideal for solo skirmish wargaming with a minimal footprint and small number of figures, but I'm not so keen on the Viking bit. The plan is to shift the action back to the mid-Saxon period of the early 8th to early 9th century, using the 18mm Wiglaf Miniatures range of figures, individually based for skirmish scenarios. I've ordered a few packs that will potentially give me one or even two Anglo Saxon raiding parties, one Mercian and the other West Saxon, with the option to get some Welsh at a later date. It all fits in very well with my medieval focus for this year's wargaming, even if it's very much an early medieval project!

Ecorcheurs! English Retinue Ready to Paint

I wrapped up the assembly of the Perry Agincourt box set figures today, with four spear armed 'soldiers', six longbowmen and the last three men at arms. I added a banner holder to the latter, as one features in the rule book scenarios, but I'm a bit dubious about having a banner bearer in a tiddly skirmish game, so a fourth men at arms was also included as a potential substitute. This gives me a retinue of twenty two figures in total but I'm going to add a couple more spearmen to make it up to twenty four. I can then start on the actual painting stage of the project at some point later this week.

Ecorcheurs! English Retinue Update

After a bit of a holiday hiatus I've got back to the workbench this afternoon and have added four longbowmen and two soldiers to the English Retinue. They need some fettling and filling here and there but otherwise are ready for painting. I used some spear arms from the Perry Miniatures French infantry set for the 'soldiers' after trying and failing to glue polearm parts to the English archers bodies. I have two more of these to assemble then a couple more longbowmen and two or three men at arms, which will give me enough figures for the example retinue in the Ecorcheurs! rule book, albeit in the early 1400's.

Peter Pig War of the Roses Reinforcements

We've been away in Devon for a few days visiting things and catching up with the relatives, so nothing has been happening at the workbench. However, the reinforcement packs of figures for my 15mm War of the Roses Lion Rampant project have arrived in my absence. These are the 'new' additions to the existing range, designed to add some variety to the poses. I have to say that these are some of the best figures I've seen from Peter Pig, especially the character packs and the fighting infantry, which are brilliant. I can now move forward with this project as I have a good range of figures to choose from when assembling two retinues, avoiding duplication as much as possible. Brilliant!

Winter Terrain for Ecorcheurs!

One of the obstacles to any project is terrain, especially in 28mm skirmish where you need quite a lot, but I'm planning to re-use some existing winter terrain to keep this down to manageable proportions. I have a small collection of winter terrain from previous Bolt Action and What a Tanker! games that I can use for the Hundred Years War Ecorcheurs! project and can also add some more medieval stuff later on. This is what I originally planned to do for Lion Rampant in 28mm, with the War of the Roses, as winter terrain just looks right for the period. I think this will work well and avoids me having to start from scratch.

15mm War of the Roses with Midgard

The 15mm War of the Roses project slated for later this year is built around Lion Rampant, which is an obvious choice for a small battle, semi-skirmish theme, but I'm also thinking of doubling up using the Midgard rules from Reisswitz Press. I originally assumed these were early medieval, fantasy oriented rules but it was suggested that they would work well for the later medieval period by Dex McHenry, all round good bloke that he is.

I've looked into this further and he's got a very good point, especially as the author has already used the rules for exactly that, with sample army lists available to download for Mortimer's Cross. The advantage of Midgard is that it requires fewer figures than Lion Rampant, with two units of longbowmen in the latter being three units in the former, assuming eight figures per unit, although I could also just stick with the standard twelve figure units for visual effect.

https://mogsymakes.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/wars-of-the-roses-for-midgard-heroic-battles-force-13-14.pdf

This would allow me to build a couple of Lion Rampant retinues while, at the same time, building respectable armies for Midgard. I really need to take a closer look at the rules now, so will order a copy and start some number crunching. All I would need are some movement trays or sabot bases to be able to use the same figures for either set of rules, giving me the opportunity to scale up the 15mm games from semi-skirmishes to small battles.

Thanks Dex!

Medieval Naval Wargaming

I'm away in Devon for a few days which might explain the lack of activity at the workbench. Not to waste any time, I've been contemplating the potential for some medieval naval wargaming later this year, to complement my 28mm Hundred Years War and 15mm War of the Roses activities. I've looked at this before, focussing on Long Face Games Lord of the Seas rules and Ganesha Games Galleys and Galleons, the former for fleet level battles and the latter for tactical ship to ship actions.

Unfortunately, there aren't many options for miniatures, aside from some medieval cogs in 1/1200th scale from Reiver, Ral Partha and Navwar, or some STL files for 1/2400th scale multiple ship bases from Long Face Games. I'd like to use 1/1200th scale for visual impact but that would limit the scope to tactical, rather than fleet level actions like Sluys or La Rochelle. I need to give this some further thought but there may well be scope for the latter if I can find a way to print those STL bases at an affordable cost?

Ecorcheurs! Hundred Years War Historical Background

Once upon a time, in the last century no less, I studied medieval history and archaeology to postgraduate masters level, not that it's been of much use since. This might explain why I'm currently exploring some historical contextual background for my Ecorcheurs! Hundred Years War project, especially as it was my third year depth study for my first degree. 

I currently have two potential options, one in the 1420's and the other the 1440's but both with a personal connection of sorts.

As I grew up in Cornwall I thought it might be nifty to make the retinue part of Sir John Cornwall's military forces during the siege of Meaux in the winter of 1421-1422. During the siege his seventeen year old son, also named John, was tragically decapitated by a stone cannon ball. Not a nice way to go but at least he wouldn't have known what hit him!

Prior to this I thought he would be a good candidate for a retinue commander tasked with patrols, raids and counter sorties during the siege. As this occured in the deep mid winter, it would also make good use of my existing winter terrain, saving me some time and effort while allowing for some further terrain scratch building, which I really enjoy.

The second option is to focus on the retinue of Sir Thomas Hoo in Lord Talbot's forces during the expedition into France under Richard Duke of York. He served as bailiff and Captain of Mantes in 1440 and 1441, at which time one of his retained men at arms was James Jaquemin, an apparent name sake of yours truly and possibly a very distant ancestor, although that is a long shot to say the least! 

Allez Les Bleus!

In Cardiff for the rugby today and it's absolutely heaving with French supporters, including the other half and the offspring. With some time to kill I popped into Waterstones and blew a book voucher on this new paperback on the Agincourt campaign, perfect for the holiday reading this week. A bit ironic really. Allez Les Bleus!

Ecorcheurs English Retinue on the Workbench

The first half of the English Retinue for Ecorcheurs! has now been built, using the Perry Miniatures Agincourt plastic box set. There are nine longbowmen and a single man at arms in full harness, as you can see from the pictures. I have three more longbowmen to add, as well as four to six 'soldiers' with polearms, using the English archers with arms from the French infantry box set, together with two or three more fully armoured men at arms. I'm enjoying this project!

Lion Rampant 15mm Reinforcements

This has been a very slow burning project of mine, going way back to 2014 when I originally thought of doing it, but a recent birthday gift of a Peter Pig voucher is bringing it back to life. The original idea was set out here:

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2014/09/lion-rampant-war-of-roses-retinues-in.html

...unfortunately scuppered when I realised there wasn't enough variety in the figure poses to make it look right. A while back, however, Peter Pig released a whole set of new packs to solve that problem, but I've been putting off getting some due to the cost factor.

With the impetus of a twenty five quid voucher this problem has now been solved. I've ordered some packs of levy, retainers and household men at arms plus Margaret of Anjou as a scenario objective (!) and Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, as a retinue commander. 

This year is now definitely going to be focussed on the medieval period, so it's yet another string to my bow to have a 15mm Lion Rampant project waiting in the wings. I'm also thinking of a naval angle for this year, air warfare not being an option for obvious reasons, but more about that at a later date!

Gladiators over Malta

I was reorganizing the book shelves last night when I found a long forgotten paper back copy of this classic account of the defence of Malta in 1940, focussing on the famous Gloster Sea Gladiators, often referred to as Faith, Hope and Charity. There were in fact six of these but only three were airworthy at any one time. This will be really useful to fill in some gaps in my Bag the Hun scenario research notes and will also be a good book to read over the half term holidays. Tally Ho!

Ecorcheurs! English Retinue

In advance of my copy of Ecorcheurs! arriving from Northstar, hopefully at the weekend, I've started planning and assembling an early fifteenth century English Retinue, using the Perry Miniatures plastic box set. Judging from the example retinues on the Ecorcheurs! website, a typical retinue mainly consists of longbowmen with a handful of men at arms in harness, so that's what I've opted for, albeit for the latter period of the Hundred Years War. The retinue will consist of eighteen or so longbowmen and about three or four men at arms, with perhaps a few extras to make up the numbers for Lion Rampant units. I've already glued together about a third of the contingent and hope to get the remainder ready for painting over the half term break. It's been a refreshing break from tiddly planes or ships and I've enjoyed it immensely already! 

Biggles and the Black Ravens Tweaks

                  

Before I sign off on the Algernon Pulls It Off! project I have a valedictory game to run at the club next month, with six players signed up and ready to go. The scenario I'm using has enough aircraft to stretch to two per player, allowing for those that get shot down to have a back up, but one RAF player would only have a single crew. To fix this, I've added a sixth DH4 and crew to the RAF flight, using an aircraft that was forced down earlier in the day. This is a simple fix and won't unbalance the game, whilst keeping the scenario historically accurate as far as possible. Bombs Away! 

Ecorcheurs!

I am looking for something completely different and suitable for solo play,  as a break from my air wargaming efforts that have taken up most of the last twelve months. Yesterday, I noticed that the new Gripping Beast small skirmish rules for the Hundred Years War are now available, so I'm going to take a dip. 

I studied the Hundred Years War for my first degree and have the Perry plastic boxed sets of French and English figures, so all I need are the rules and some terrain, of which I have just about enough for a basic set up. I can also scale up any forces I produce for Lion Rampant, which was my first option for this period. 

I've made a start on some English longbowmen already and the rules are in the post, so things are looking up as far as medieval wargaming is concerned, with The Barons' War also on the schedule for later in the year. I'm looking forward to something really different and plan to rope the boy into some games, once I've got things up and ready.

Algernon Pulled It Off!

I've come to a natural end with the Algernon Pulls It Off! scenario project now that the WSS and Lard Mag articles have been published. I set out this time last year to try and revive the moribund rules by setting up both a Facebook group and the scenario research project, the aim being to give the game a boost and myself a focus for the year. It's now time to draw a line under it and move on to new things, whatever those might be. I won't be abandoning Algy but I've had enough of aerial wargaming for the moment and want to do something completely different, as I've found myself stuck in the wargaming doldrums of late and need a break. Toodle Pip!

Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy 1918 Article

Despite being unwell today I was cheered up by the arrival of my copy of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy, including my article for Algernon Pulls It Off!. It's written by me, with the models and photos kindly supplied by no less than Steve Dean, who was very helpful in sorting out that side of things. Who knows, maybe I'll get another article in the magazine one day?