Bohemian palaces, castles and Salute 2015

After a monstrously busy month at work, it took a few days off before I had the mood to blog again. This was helped today by a decent stroll in the park at the end of my road, where they also happened to be holding a rather nice food and wine fair.

The good thing about the park, is that apart from having stunning views of Prague, it happens to hold a late Renaissance gem in the form of the Belvedere Hunting Palace/ Summer Palace (the photo of which I took this afternoon above). It really is one of my favourite buildings in Prague, and could equally be at home in Florence or Sienna, such is the grace of its design. It's considered to be one of the purest forms of Renaissence architecture north of the Alps. Anyway, it was a perfect spot to spend a few hours with the family over good food and wine.

I also managed to get out to another smart little 17th century chateau, at Mnisek Pod Brdy, about 30km southwest of the city. It was rebuilt in 1656 by a retired Imperial general after the 30 Years war (having been burnt to the ground by the Swedish Army in 1639).

 

To top that I also managed to climb up to Karstejn Castle, which is another giant fortress just beyond the edge of the city, on the Beroun River.

This gothic pile, was significantly altered in 19th Century, so it's not too certain if it's current state reflects any historical reality. It is very large though.

The view from the ramparts is quite good, looking down on the village as it winds down to the river. The village itself has many decent watering holes, perfect on a hot day.

I did of course manage to get to Salute in London. Plenty has been written about the show on other blogs (including the Bloggers meetup), so I'm just posting up a few shots of my favourite games.

For me two games really stood out. Firstly it was the South American Wars of Liberation game by South London Warlords. The Battle of Araure (which had a lovely write up in the show programme as well). Really a cracking and realistic display. It caught my attention for obvious reasons, and

I'll write more about this over on the Orinoco Miniatures blog...

It was also great to finally meet John Fletcher, with whom I share a great interest in the period. A very nice chap indeed to talk to.

 

The other game was I believe the show winner. The gargantuan display of the Battle of Fort George by the Essex Gamesters and Ron Ringrose (and his spectacular ships).

I ended my Salute weekend quite pleasantly, with a few hours digging around Foyles bookshop, topped off by some quiet Sunday pints in a favourite London haunt - The French House; De Gaulle quite liked it as well...

What can we expect in 2015

Well January flew by in a flash. I thought I would have a brief review of 2014 already posted up by now. Needless to say, 2014 turned out different to plans. Lots of things didn't get off the ground, blogging slowed to a halt, and painting virtually evaporated. Though there were a few positives, such as Chain of Command, which proved to be a great discovery, along with getting a British and (soon to be) Soviet platoons painted up late in the day.

The Analogue Painting challenge was entered, with a less ambitious target, though even that may prove elusive, given the hours I'm putting in at work. A few entries have gone in already with more on the way.

The good news though is that I now have another large batch of figures for Orinoco miniatures ready for release (peasant militia, and more Gran Colombians). With these and a few ancillary packs soon to be completed, I hope to have all the figures to put on a key battle from the Wars of Liberation (below you can see the very first preview of some of the new figures).

Putting on the Battle of Ayacucho is the ultimate aim, but for this year it will probably be one of the smaller battles in the north for the liberation of either Venezuela, or New Granada/Colombia.

In regard to battlefields visits, I did manage one very interesting walk during a short working holiday to Crete in September (that is, the family were on the beach, while I sat in the apartment and worked). I'll get round to writing it up, along with several overdue posts on other battlefields I've visited (including Vimeiro, Bussaco, Rolica, as well as the Italian front battlefields from WW1).

I also paid a visit to the Hussite's main town of Tabor, and actually got to bump into a bunch of them celebrating their 600th anniversary in Prague! (Indeed the Hussites are alive and well in Bohemia. Thankfully time has mellowed them a tad, so all we saw was some small Hussite jazz ensemble, which was a very absurd moment.)

On the up side, the stalwarts that are the Prague Wargames Club, proved to be as reliable as ever, and a constant source of new ideas and hobby inspiration. From a humble start back in 2003 when myself and a friend (Nick Dorell) tried to kick off a few games at a small table in a local hobby shop, we now have nearly 30 members, and a permanent clubhouse.
Plenty of games were held during the year, my personal favourites being some Mud and Blood battles from 1914 (the "Race to the Sea" scenario). 

Also, it was great fun getting to grips with Chain of Command; really and excellent set of rules.

The large summer Napoleonic game was also a winner. The good news is that we will attempt most of the Waterloo battle in 15mm using the "General de Brigade" rules in the summer.

So plans for what's left of 2015, well a house move is still on the cards, as are more figures for my Orinoco range. The Auterlitz/Slavkov battle may yet see the light of day in a smaller format, as with the South American Liberation Wars battle. Certainly more games would be welcome, especially Chain of Command. I'm also intrigued by the recent WW1 adaptation of these rules, and scenarios for the Kaiserschlacht campaign of 1918. As for more blogging, let's hope.

As usual, we'll be going on our annual pilgrimage to Salute again this year with other from the Prague Club. Salute 2014 was excellent, and the bloggers meet up as enjoyable as ever. So obviously I'm looking forward meeting some of you again this year at Salute.

Happy New Year 2015

So I'd like to wish all of you and your families a Happy New Year and a peaceful 2015.
Instead of the usual postcard, here are a few shots of a cold and snowbound Prague from my own camera today from Letna Park (just behind our apartment).

Nothing of course that couldn't be remedied with some hot wine in the park :-)

More on the sorry state of my 2014 later, and more modest/non-committal  plans for 2015. Now back to family, food and champagne.

Merry Christmas / Vesele Vanoce a PF 2015

I'd just like to wish all those who stumble across the blog an enjoyable and peaceful Christmas, and good luck in 2015. The blog has been a bit silent in recent months (well most of the year actually). I took up a new senior role at the start of 2014, which has reduced time for painting, gaming, battlefield walks and blogging to virtually nil. I'll try to throw up some posts over the festive holiday on a few battlefields I managed to visit, images of new shiny toys and games, first efforts in the new Analogue painting challenge, and other musings.

Prague Wargames Club big summer game - La Rothiere 1814

So far 2014 has been a cracking year for wargaming at the club here in Prague. Several large Napoleonic battles as well as getting started in new periods/scales/rules (namely 28mm WW1 and WW2 using various rules from the nice gentlemen at Lard Island, shall we say spreading the lard out east). Of course apologies for my lack of posts over the last few months, due mostly to a very demanding period in the work sphere. This may lead to more intermittent posting.

We normally try two big games a year, one to get us through the post Christmas lull, and one before we all head off to the summer homes in July and August. Given it's a year of centenaries and bicentenaries, we chose the Battle of La Rothiere from 1814.

 

We played this in 15mm, using the excellent General de Brigade Deluxe rules. Considering the size of the game, the rules were very slick. We played almost the full battle out on a 12 x 12 foot L-shaped set up which caught  the main attack from 3 sides of the Allied Armies on the French. I think that the layout really captured the essence of the battle which was a desperate fight for the French. You can see this in the picture and scenario map above, and compare to the historical map below.

The battle went too and fro, from when we started at 9am, right up to lunchtime. Mostly dominated by the allies trying to turn the left and right flanks (the French were in an extended "U" shape with the wings turned back as you can see in the map above). The Prussians struggled to get over the bridge on the right flank, the ensuing bottleneck meant their numbers never came to bear, and were effectively stopped by the French artillery; and there they remained all day, taking pot shots across the river.

On the left flank it was a bloodier affair, with neither sides infantry brigades gaining the upper hand as the French held on, whilst in the corner apex of the left flank a massed cavalry battle swirled around for a few hours.

After lunch the allied commander decided to try and punch through the French centre with remaining cavalry, and the main body of the Russian divisions. Unfortunately, the two allied cavalry divisions which had been attacking the apex on the French left had one unit too many rout, and then the first and a few turns later the second brigade failed their morale tests, and both broke, and fled.

On the far left of the French line, the attacking Austrian and Bavarian brigades were held and then broken on the flanks. French cavalry exploiting the exposed wings and forcing a retreat (you can see the cavalry attack going in above).

Then in the middle the Russian attack was stalled by artillery and infantry, and then hit in the flank by the French cavalry reserve, breaking a few 2nd class units in the centre, leaving the whole Russian right flank exposed. Hard pressed at the front, with a large gap emerging in their centre and with the French cavalry now pouring in and rolling up their flank, their was little hope for the Allied attack. A few more rounds confirmed the inevitable, and an unhistorical French victory was declared.

This was really a fabulous day's wargaming, and a very well thought-through scenario by the main organizer Petr. Considering that we had 12 players and well over 2000 figures on the table, we concluded the battle by late afternoon, this was no small feat.

Painting Challenge - The Final Push

So now we nearly are down to the last week of the Painting Challenge, and the final push to get myself over the 1000 Points mark. Arrayed on the table are enough in-progress figures to get me over the finish line. I won't say more about them until the photos are submitted to Curt.

I also have a tray of half-finished figures from my Orinoco range, though I doubt they will be done in time. I'll take more time with them for a photo shoot later in the month. Wish me luck.

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge - Bonus Round: 'Favourite Character'

I thought I would post up my next entry for the "Favourite Character" bonus in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, as Curt already has the images up on his blog. The Challenge is now entering the final leg, as entrants furiously try to reach their targets before 20th March Deadline.

The small vignette I put together represents  General Humbert during his expedition to Ireland in 1798, surrounded by his "Grognards" on the way to the "Races of Castlebar" (so-called due to the very fast retreat of the local British Garrison). He landed in County Mayo with about 1500 men, including many Irish troops and officers serving in the French Army, and then proceeded to tie down almost the whole British garrison in Ireland for 17 days, as he outmanoeuvred and out fought superior local militias and fencibles with a small group of hardened veterans from the Army of Italy.

After several engagements he was eventually intercepted by Cornwallis (of Yorktown fame) and his army of 15,000 infantry. This developed into the Battle of Ballinamuck, where Humbert's force was defeated, and his force surrendered. Many of the French prisoners were paroled back to France, while Humbert was held prisoner for several years before being sent back to France during a prisoner exchange. The fate of the Irish emigre troops who were captured was far grimmer, with most being hanged out of hand.

Later in life, after emigrating to America, Humbert fought again in the Battle of New Orleans in 1812 against the British. He ended his days as a school teacher in America. Anyway, an excellent character who fought a hard campaign against overwhelming odds.

The General Humbert figure is from Trent Miniatures, the marching infantry are from Front Rank. I hope you like them.