[A Bloody Affair] The battle of Crescent fields - May 1862

To Mj General Mc Clellan

Sir,
Following your plan of advance towards Richmond, probing our right flank, I managed to advance to a place called Crescent Fields. There I encountered a delaying Confederate force under Brg Leigh Eswell, waiting for me. He had a small battery deployed on hill, covering his center, while the 6th Alabama was guarding his left flank.

It appeared he wanted to repeat the Austerlitz plan by attacking strongly on his right, with the veterans of the 6th Louisiana and the 5th Alabama, supported by the 5th SCarolina and the Jenifer's squadron.

His position was strong, covered by lots of cornfields which covered his approach. I mirrored his deployment, sending my superior artillery in a hill in my center. The veterans of the 14th Brooklyn would advance on my right, while the regulars would held the center. The 15th Wisconsin, 27th NY and the regular cavalry would screen his right, ready to take action should the need arise.

My superior artillery, including our new rifled guns, managed to silence the opposing artillery, meaning I could then support my infantry with deadly fire.

Even though we got some local trouble, especially because of false informations from the local, I will insist on the remarquable fighting capabilities of our troups, who managed to use to great efficiency the skirmishing tactics I taught them thanks to my experience during the Indian wars.

The Confederates under heavy pressure charged twice, but were repulsed, and we achieved a crushing victory with a devastating charge when the time was right. This brigade has now been spotted routing towards the west, and we are in pursuit.

Your devoted

Col J. M.C. Lane

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Indeed it was a great victory for the Union. So far, 1862 is a good year for us, with three victories in a row. But remember, all that matters is honour! My scout skill was very useful, because each turn, one of my units could skirmish further than Leigh's units, so even if it's less effective, it can be deadly if sustained for too long. And my Rifled guns managed to destroy one gun section, forcing Leigh to move his battery behind his hill's ridge. I could then move my artillery to canister range, to great effect. I lost 5 bases, but the after battle gave me back three of them.

Now for the pics

Initial deployment. Confederates on the left

THey seem ready to attack

Oh yes, they're eager all right

their artillery is on the hill

Yup, black troups. They need some colour

My units, ready to move: 27th NY, then 15th Missouri and the regulars

The regulars, supported by my artillery, ready to move forward

And we advanced, confident

The cavalry attempt a flanking manoeuver

THey're in the cornfields

I am now fully deployed in line, using cover and skirmish fire to great efficiency

The Confederates are forced to attack

Fire at will men!

Ouch, this is going to hurt a bit

The blurry charge

Confederates' only success: the 15th Wisconsin has been repulsed

But everywhere else, it's an other matter ;)

My shooting has proven decisive

Hey! where has the 5th SCarolina gone?

Where is the cavalry?

[Longstreet] ACW- US regulars

What you have here are 31 US regulars in 15mm from Old Glory. Obviously, the references are from the Iron brigade for a simple reason: Sykes was commanding the regulars at Bull Run, and afterwards, when he took command of the soon-to-be Iron brigade, he ordered the men under his command to follow the regulars' regulations.

Qu'avons-nous ici? Tout simplement 31 reguliers appartenant a l'armee federale lors de la bataille de Bull Run. J'ai recupere des references Old Glory en rapport avec l'Iron brigade, tout simplement parce que leurs uniformes sont a l'origine de ceux de l'IB.

 


I have added a few wounded/ dead in action to represent the unit attacking the Rebs, as they did at Bull Run, before covering the rout. The flags have been downloaded and printed. The blue might be too light, but the varnish seems to have "whitened" it a bit.

Je me suis permis de rajouter quelques pertes par-ci par-la, afin de representer l'unite avancant face aux Confederes, ce qu'ils firent avant de couvrir la debacle de l'Union. Le bleu apparait trop clair, et le vernis semble les avoir eclarcis un peu. Pas grave, car pour le moment, ils sont a la hauteur de leur reputation.

So far, they haven't disappointed me, and fought valiantly, as true regulars would ;)

 

[A Bloody Affair] a time of great news- Spring 1862

Here is a new episode of my Longstreet campaign, set during winter camp 1861-1862

Voici un nouvel episode de notre campagne Longstreet, durant le repos hivernal entre 1861 et 1862

[A Bloody Affair] The battle of Ravi's road-1861

There! Andy and I have played our first Longstreet campaign game. You'll find the batrep in two parts, first with mock letters/dispatches (for roleplay), and then the pics with notes. Hope you enjoy.

Voilà, enfin un CR! Andy et moi avons joué notre première partie dans la champagne Longstreet. Vous trouverez d'abord le CR version lettres/missives, pour le fluff, puis les photos avec legends. Bonne lecture.

[Longstreet]My new heroes

I'm peacefully painting my way through my Longstreet brigade. I have to write down all the historical background of my avatar, but first, let's enjoy some pictures of my newly painted 15mm heroes.

Je peins donc tranquillement, maintenant que je suis en vacances. Et ma brigade pour Longstreet avance à bon train. Il va falloir que j'écrive l'origine de mon avatar pour la campagne, mais ça va venir. En attendant, voici des images de mes dernières réalisations, des héros en 15mm.

[Longstreet] "West Point battery"

Allright everyone. Time to get serious. What would a Union army without artillery? Huh? It's time to get the big guns.


Bon! Allez, il est temps de redevenir serieux. Que serait une armee de l'Union sans artillerie? Hein? Je vous le demande. Franchement... On va donc sortir les gros calibres, la puissance d'un croiseur et les flingues de concours.

Longstreet- 27th New York- The "Union regiment"

My first Longstreet campaign game is approaching, and I need to finish my brigade. Hopefully, it will be done on time. In the mean time, I've finished the second regiment, the 27th New York Infantry regiment, otherwise known as the "Union regiment".



Ma premiere partie pour la campagne Longstreet approche rapidement, et je me dois d'etre pret. J'espere etre dans les temps mais il me faut peindre pour cela. J'ai termine mon second regiment, le 27e New York, aussi appele "regiment de l'Union".

Longstreet- 14th Brooklyn

This is the first post about my upcoming project, a Union brigade, to play the long campaign in the Longstreet rules, by Sam Mustafa. I've created my unit from Porter's brigade at First Bull Run, in 1861. Once I'll have the basics done, I'll add more units.


Voici le premier de mes billets consacres a ma brigade pour Longstreet. Mes premieres unites appartenaient a la brigade Porter lors de la bataille de Bull Run. Par la suite, j'ajouterai d'autres elements. Bon, vous me pardonnerez, mais cette fois, j'ai fait un peu long, et uniquement en Anglais.

Some preparations during the holidays

I often read bloggers saying they would paint more than usual because they're on holidays. How true I would like that to be. My holidays are at the same time as my daughter's, who is 3 1/2... So, while convenient because I won't have to pay someone to take care of her, it also means I won't have time for myself, except when she's asleep from 8.45PM. And by then I'll be exhausted; she's so energetic.

Je lis souvent que les bloggueurs vont avoir le temps de peindre maintenant qu'ils sont en vacances. J'ainerais que cela soit vrai. Les miennes tombent en meme temps que ma petite, qui est une vraie pile Duracel de 3 1/2 ans. Bref, si c'est economique, c'est crevant et surtout je ne peux prendre le pinceau qu'a partir de 20.45, une fois qu'elle dort, et donc je suis un chouia mort de fatigue. Donc on verra.

Battle of Woodcorner house- May 1863- A Longstreet game

This is an after action report from a fictional battle, using Longstreet ACW rules. After this reading, you will find some thoughts about these rules.

Voici un compte-rendu de partie fictif sur une bataille jouee avec Longstreet. Apres ce CR, vous trouverez mon avis sur ce systeme.

Painting inspiration: Don Troiani

As you know, I've been bit by the ACW bug. I now know which brigade I'll paint. Since I wanted to start the long campaign from Longstreet, I decided to play units which actually fought in 1861. I won't tell you which ones, but it should be colourful, hopefully.

So, in order to get motivated, and have some information about them, I had ordered some books, and chosen the ones illustrated by the paintings from Don Troiani. Browsing through the net, I found the 5 I was interested in, and managed to get them for less the £5 each. Very good bargain to be honest. Don Troiani is really talented, and his paintings can be qualified as wargamers porn. If you like ACW obviously.

I'm still waiting for the last 2

Comme vous le savez, j'ai fini par succomber au virus guerre de secession, grace a Longstreet, et surtout a cause de Fred et Denis. je ne vous remercie pas les gars. J'ai fait mon choix parmi les differentes brigades ayant combattu des 1861, car voulant faire la grande campagne, je voulais partir sur quelque chose d'historique. Je ne vous en dirai pas plus pour le moment car il me faut maintenant commander les figs. Tout ce que je peux vous reveler, c'est que cela sera colore. J'aime la couleur et les habits seyants, avec eventuellement des frous-frous, de la dentelle (oups je m'egare).

Donc, pour entretenir la motivation, tout en recuperant des infos sur ces unites, j;ai commande des bouquins, tous illustres par les oeuvres de Don Troiani. Apres quelques recherches sur le net, j'avais trouve mes futurs livres de chevet, desormais recus, pour la modique somme de £5 livres chacun, ce qui fait, quoi, moins de 6 euros chacun. Ce fut vraiment une bonne affaire. Don Troiani est vraiment un peintre de talent, et, si vous aimez la guerre de secession, ses oeuvres font vraiment saliver. Bref, notre porno a nous, quoi.

The battle of Salutesville, 1862

I was today at the Rejects after Ray called me to act as a substitute for a game of Fire and Fury. On my way there, I met Tamsin, who was also invited. After some talks with the local police (erm), we arrived at Postie's, and there we met Jack, Postie (obiviously), Lee, Fran (who was actually cooking, by god the pasta were good, I need you to give me the recipe, simple yet effective, Fran), And Curt. Yup, a real convention, full of celebrities hehe. Once in Postie's shack, I must say I was impressed by the sheer size of the gaming table. 

It was supposed to represent the battle of Salutesville (pun), in 1862. Each one of us played a corps. If I recall, I had the 12th, with some troops from Pennsylvania and Ohio. I won't talk about it much, except it was good, fun, full of swearing from Fran ( and myself sometimes). Quite a lot of head banging because of the numerous ones we all threw. Yep, that was a good game. I can't report much because iI had to leave rather early. My corps, on the far left, had to move forward, push Jeb Stuart's cavalry, and assist the center by sending some troops on the other side of the fordable river. Easier said than done.

I'll just show you some pics and then you'll see a slide. Enjoy mates. To conclude, I had a really good, even though I didn't speak that much. Sorry guys, I'm not very talkative, but then you just can't compete against Fran and Ray :) It was really nice finally meeting you all, and Postie, thanks for the game. In the end, I was given the status of honorary member, French chapter, which I accepted proudly. And Tamsin gave me my well-deserved pize for winning the draw ;)  Anytime for a new game guys.

My favorite pictures:

Come on, not a one!

Pom pom pom, more troops for us

I'm broken, we should concede the draw guys ( before their center broke ours...)

Salut a tous. Aujourd'hui j'etais invite chez les Rejects pour une mega partie guerre de secession sur Fire and Fury. Ce fut l'occasion de rencontrer des celebrites parmi les bloggueurs, et croyez-moi, je ne fus pas decu. Nous avons joue un scenario sur un affrontement hypothetique a Saluteville. J'etais du cote nordiste, sur le flanc gauche avec mon 12e corps. Comme vous pouvez le voir, il y avait de la fig et de la bonne humeur, et des jurons. Franchement, entre les 1 au de, et les deroutes, c'etait que du bon. Je laisserai mes confreres s'occuper du rapport de bataille car j'ai du partir avant la fin. une chose est sure, je reviendrai, car on sait recevoir chez les Rejects.