FPW Battle of Louvigny (Part 1)

So after a month or so painting up the final figures that I needed and giving Thom enough time to paint up as much of the French I Corps as he could, we were finally ready for the 3rd battle of our club campaign. After the previous battle of Drouville, the French had fallen back northwards towards Cheminot to lick their wounds and await reinforcements. It also gave them a chance to re-organise their army. Reinforcements arrived in the form of I Corps, now up to 4 Divisions of infantry, 2 reserve cavalry divisions had also  arrived. Also IV Corps joined the army, though the battered XII Corps was reformed down to 2 infantry divisions and a cavalry division. Total strength for the french was now 11 infantry divisions and 5 cavalry divisions. Now the army of Alsace felt confident to take the battle to the Prussians.

The Prussian III army though had gone into quarters, exhausted from 2 battles and long marches. After the Battle of Drouville, the army took the opportunity to refit. The weather was preventing any advance. But now the clouds cleared and it was time to hunt down the French army again. A number of reports had come in. From the 25th Division at Solgne, they had already been skirmishing with French infantry and were requesting aid. Scouts had also reported sightings of a large body of French gathering around Cheminot.

In a change from the last 2 games, each Corps commander was tasked, using provided maps to get their Corps to the battle. It helped fill in the time while painting figures. It looked like to columns, one advancing to Cheminot and the other to Solgne, then in an unusual twist, the Bavarian I Corps, decided to swing right before reaching Cheminot and headed towards Louvigny. Rumours of cavalry officers were demoted at their failure to notify the Corps Commander that the French were still in Cheminot. The Bavarians now realised their mistake when scouts came riding back late in the afternoon. French troops were to their front at Louvigny and now the French at Cheminot were advancing onto their flank from Cheminot. We would have our battle on the morning. Riders were urgently dispatched to the other Corps to alert them to their predicament.

Table layout

So we gathered at the club on Saturday to get the game underway. We got through the first 8 moves. So far the Bavarian I Corps has held its ground. The French III Corps moving from Cheminot has been very tardy in its advance, leaving the majority of the fighting to IV Corps, just south of Lovigny. This lack of co-ordination could be costly as the Baden Division from XIV Corps has arrived just west of Eply. and now the Wurtemburg division has started to arrive at Racourt, further strengthening the Bavarians position.

Over on the Prussian right at Solgne, the Hessian 25th Division and the French I Corps got stuck into each other from the 1st move. Hessians gamely held their position, despite the loss of their dragoons in a reckless charge. Meanwhile the Prussian VI Corps has arrived and went straight into action against the French I Corps, helping to even out the odds. 

French on the left, Bavarians to the right

French III Corps moving through Cheminot

Bavarian I Corps anchoring their flank on Eply

French IV Corps moving past Lovigny and Saint-Jure

French IV Corps commenced firing on the Bavarians

French I Corps moving past Vigny

Hessian 25th Division defending Solgne

View from 2nd Bavarian division toward french IV Corps

French cavalry move through Saint-Jure

Bavarians brace for the attack

Timely arrival of the Baden Division

VI Corps supporting Solgne

French I Corps begins their assault on Solgne

Fighting at Solgne

French IV Corps pushes across the stream

The thin blue line

The fighting around Solgne intensifies

Overview of the battle

French III Corps, still tardily moving forward

Baden troops emerge from the woods to engage French I Corps

So after 4 hours including a break for lunch the game looks well poised. The French have seen the arrival of XII Corps and the reserve cavalry divisions to assist in the assault, but has the chance gone? The Bavarians have secured their position and the timely arrival of XIV Corps supporting their flanks has tipped the balance in their favour. However if the French III and IV Corps can coordinate with the support of XII Corps that can still deliver a hammer blow to the Bavarians. Meanwhile fighting around Solgne is looking to be a brutal one.

Tarantine Cavalry

Just a quick post as I managed to complete some Tarantine light cavalry. The beauty of these is that they can be used on both sides. Makes them very versatile. The figures are all from Museum miniatures. 

I'm just waiting for the bases to dry out for another 2 bases of Italian infantry. I've also received my order from the plastic soldier company, they are some test figures from the Cromarty forge 3d printed range. Enough Triari figures to complete my allied legion as well as enough Gauls for 5 bases of 6 figures. The 2 spare figures will be painted up first and added to some old Essex figures I had left to complete a 6th base.

Gallic cavalry

So with a second free sprue of Warlords Epic scale Gauls, I decided to paint up the rest of the cavalry figures. This gives me an extra 3 bases of cavalry and a base of light cavalry. They aren't bad figures but definitely on the small size. I may try some of the old Museum miniatures Gallic cavalry as they are a close size match to bulk out the numbers, else I'll end up replacing them all.

Heavy cavalry

All the bases together

As an order arrived from Museum miniature it will be back to the Romans for some extra cavalry in readiness for an allied legion. I also have some Roman commanders to lead my legions as well as some Tarantine cavalry, 1 base each for the allied legions. The other 2 bases I will add to my Italians, of which Ihave 2 more bases of heavy infantry to complete.

More Romans

With a few days off work, I took the opportunity to get a second Roman legion done. Once again I went with the black shields to sort of keep a theme for the army. Their tunics though are a different shade and I added white to the helmet plumes. This way I can combine the bases when I try the Midgard rules in the future. All the figures are Museum miniatures 'Z' sculpt range.

Combined legions

Very happy with how these have turned out, I now need to turn my attention to the allied legions that were raised from the Socii to fight alongside the Romans. Now there isn't a great deal of information on these. It is assumed they would fight in the Roman fashion, but be probably less uniform as they would be drawn from different Italian cities. So looking through the available figures from Museum Miniatures, I'm thinking of using the Samnite figures for the Triari and a mix of equiped Hastati for both the Hastati and Princeps. I'll also paint the shields in a mix of colours to highlight that they are allied troops.

Enemies of Rome

Well if you are going to fight the Punic wars, you do need some enemies to fight. Now after a rummage through the lead pile I managed to pull out enough figures for 2 bases of heavy infantry and a base of medium infantry to represent one of the Italian city states such as the Campanians who decided to through in their lot with the Carthaginians. The figures I believe are from Essex miniatures, pretty quick to paint up and I've deliberately gone with simple shield designs.

I enjoyed painting these as they are a lot more irregular looking than the Romans. So I decided to order a couple of packs from Museum miniatures to add two more bases of heavy infantry and a couple of bases of Tarantine light cavalry. This will make a nice little allied force or even a small stand alone force to fight a Roman legion.

The next figures I painted up was some Gallic cavalry. These are from the free sprue that came with the Wargames Illustrated magazine. They do look a lot better than the last 'epic' scale I painted. I have enough of these for 3 more bases of cavalry and a base of light cavalry. I also did a size comparison against the original Museum miniatures and the new  'Z' sculpts. At a push I could add in some of the  Gallic cavalry from Museum miniatures as they don't scale to badly to these. However they do look small against the newer 'Z' sculpts.

L to R: Museum, Epic, 'Z' Sculpt

Now it will be back to some more Romans. I made a decision to paint the second legion with the same shields as the first, this way I can double base them up for Midgard, while also retaining the option as two legions for Basic Impetus.

More Republican Romans

 A few more Romans completed for my 1st new legion. 1 base of Triari, 1 base of cavalry and 2 bases of velites. All figures from Museum Miniatures and their 'z' sculpt ranges.

Looking at the completed legion, I only have 8 bases. I can of course add some allies for small games of Basic Impetus. Visually I am undecided and may look to double up the bases, I have the figures which were earmarked for a second legion that I can use. But I don't want to get carried away and end up with more figures than I actually need, as I want to also add the Gauls, Carthaginians and Italians etc or do I stick to the plan and paint up another legion and 2 allied legions using the same number of bases. That would give 20 bases of heavy infantry, 8 bases of velites and 6 bases of cavalry, as the allied legions will have an extra base, to which I can add small allied contingents as well as work on the other factions. 

I think this is a decision I need to sleep on.

Old figures / New figures and a new project "Punic Wars"

A while back, well in July 2024 I started to re-base my old ancients figures for use in Basic Impetus or even Midgard, when I get around to purchasing the rules. So this weekend I decided to try and get the bases finished. So first up are the a Hoplite Greeks, figures are all from Essex miniatures. I had lots of fun with these when I first got them over 30 years ago. Also the days before shield transfers, these were never my best work, but will never get re-painted, they contain too much nostalgia.

The next batch was some Republican Romans from Museum miniatures, pretty serviceable figures, need to paint up a couple of extra velites to complete another base. I've also ordered some test figures from Cromarty forge to get the missing base of Triari as I only have the Hastati and Princeps. 

It was while doing these I remembered the new Romans I picked up last year. The new Z sculpts from Museum Miniatures. Now the idea of a new project is forming, The Punic wars. Initially I want to concentrate on the Italian Peninsula, some Carthaginians, Gauls, Italians, Numidians, Spanish and Elephants. I've already dug around the lead pile and unearthed enough figures for 2 bases of Italian heavy infantry and a base of medium infantry.

So the new project is born and the first troops are completed. 2 bases of Hastati and Princeps completed. I've gone for black shield for the first new legion. Lovely figures and very quick and easy to paint up.

My idea for a legion will be 2 bases each of Hastati, Princeps and Velites, supported by a single base of Triari and cavalry. The Triari and Velites are already painted, just need their bases finished. The old Roman figures I have can represent an allied legion which will have the extra base of cavalry.