The Big Re-basing: Final Options

I've been going round and round in circles on this for nearly two weeks now. I need to make a decision. So here are the final options swirling around my head.

Option 1: Shallow bases each with 2 ranks.

• 1a: Alala! 2 bases deep. Each row made up of bases 60x15 and 30x15mm
• 1b: Basic Impetus: 1 base deep. 2 bases of 60x15mm.

Option 2: Deep bases each with 3 ranks.

• 2a: Alala! 1 base deep. One base 60x30 and one base 30x30mm
• 2b: Basic Impetus: 1 base deep. Two bases 60x30mm

Oh to clarify....I intend to use Alala! for inter-Greek battles and BI for everything else (Romans-Carthaginians; Romans-Greeks; Carthaginians-Greeks; Persians-Greeks).

Option 1a: Phalanx for Alala! Two shallow bases deep, 2 ranks per base. I might drop 1 or 2 files from this as they are too near the edges.

Option 1a: From above. I might open up a bit of a gap between the ranks on each base so they are equally spaced when they are placed two bases deep.

Option 1b: deployed as a 'unit' for Basic Impetus. 1 base deep. 'Spares' in the background will go towards other units.

Option 1a: Alalas phalanx from above showing how the losses can be taken off. This gives me up to 12 elements so lots of flexibility.

Option 2a (right): 3 ranks per base, 1 base deep. Against 1a. Alala phalanxes. As with Option 1, I'll drop a couple of files off to make them easier to handle.

Option 2b: on the right: 3 ranks per base, 1 base deep. Unit for Basic Impetus.

Options 1b and 2b: Basic Impetus shown against a Roman Principes base. If I were to bring the 3-deep Greeks up against the Romans I'd probably have to beef up the Romans a bit from the odds and ends pile. The Hastati and Triarii (not shown) don't look as underpowered by comparison.

Options 1a and 2a together. To make 2b flexible enough I'd have to split the large base into smaller ones.

What the options mean for Alala!

• Option 1 would give me 7 or 8 units of c.60 for Alala! Roughly 1 figure:20 men.
• Option 2 units would be c.48 strong and I'd be able to make 9 units. 

A unit in Alala! is supposed to be around 1000-1200 hoplites. I suppose 3 or 4 units a side would be enough for battles between competing poleis.

What the options mean for Basic Impetus

• Option 1 units would be 40+ figures strong. Roughly 1 figure:30 men. I'd have enough for 10+units. Plenty.
• Option 2 units would be 60+ strong and I'd have 7 or 8. Probably enough.

This excludes all the Peltasts, psiloi and cavalry floating around that I haven't even got around to thinking about yet!

The Big Re-basing - Thoughts?

I winkled some of the recently acquired hoplites off their bases today and tried them out on different sized bases in different configurations. I want to have a system that is compatible with both the standard basing for (non-figure removal) Basic Impetus and for the figure/element removal oriented Alala! (a hoplite specific ruleset).

Probably the biggest question is whether to go for 3 or 2 ranks. My Republican Romans and Carthaginian heavy infantry are in 2 ranks on 60 x 30 mm bases. Two bases go to make up a unit of roughly 40-45 figures. For the same rules I would use 2 base-units also for the Greek hoplites. Here's a comparison of 2-rank Roman base of Hastati versus a 3-rank hoplite base.

Does the Greek base look too deep by comparison to the Romans? Bear in mind the Greek figures are Baccus and slightly 'chubbier' than the H&R Romans. Both bases are 60x30mm.

A complete Greek unit in 3 ranks. 60 figures in total, so much 'weightier' than the Roman unit of 40-45.

Alternative configuration. Same no. of files per base, but in 2 ranks. In this case I would go for bases only 20mm deep because I might want to use double-depth phalanxes and 30mm would leave too much space. Each base would hold 20 figures so a unit in Basic Impetus would be 40 strong., about the same as the Romans.

The chaps off to the left are in the double-depth phalanx on 20mm bases.

The suggested 'unit' in the Alala! rules is 24 figures in 2 ranks.  Each figure represents c.50 men. For 25-28mm sized figures the rules suggest a frontage of 15mm per figure with a 20mm depth. So the whole unit would be 180mm long. An alternative to individual figure removal is element, with the unit being 6 elements strong.

Rather than simply reducing the frontage to 1/4, I thought I would beef up the number of figures in such a unit and 1/2 the frontage. I'm considering two options:

Option 1

2 bases 60x20mm

2 bases 30x20mm

2 bases deep

2 ranks

Total strength 60 figures (6 elements of 10 figures)

Total frontage 90mm

Total depth 40mm

This would give me about 6 units (3 a side), maybe with 1 or 2 more if I use the Carthaginian heavy infantry too

Option 2

1 base 60x30mm

1 base 30x30mm

1 base deep

3 ranks

Total strength 45 figures*

Total frontage 90mm

Total depth 30mm

* element size might be awkward

This would give me about 10 units.

Wargamers' Generosity / New Project

This feature (generosity) rears its lovely head again. The Polemarch is downsizing his collection, disposing of his ancients figures and ships. I expressed an interest in the Greeks and Early Persians and received them on Monday. As he didn't want any money for them I'm making a donation to Oxfam. I was also tempted by the Macedonians and Later Persians but thought that I would have enough on my hands with the earlier bods. So many thanks and kudos to the Polemarch!

Here's what came in the post on Monday:

Approximately 1000 figures all painted. As well as each other and the Persians, the Greeks will be able to fight my Punic Wars period Romans and Carthaginians. I'm sure there would be differences in Greek kit in the 200 years between the Persian and Punic Wars but who can spot that at arm's length?

I won't be repainting anything (no need!) but I am pondering changing the basing.

1. To try and fit in with the basing convention for the Punic Wars collection.
2. To make them compatible with the Alala! rules that I bought from the Society of Ancients.
3. To make them blend with my 'house style'.

This is complicated because Alala! is geared around 25mm size and figure removal. So I'm playing around with different options on paper.  The suggested unit size in Alala! is 24 figures with a frontage of 18cm in 2 ranks. 

The simplest solution is to reduce the frontage to a third. Which fits neatly with my typical basing convention of 6cm bases. Most of the bases pictured above are 4 x 2 cm with 8 heavy infantry per base giving a frontage per figure of 0.5cm. So that works with 12 figures across 6cm. 

But figure removal would be unviable. However there is an option for element removal. So maybe that 6cm frontage could be made up of more than one base. I'm also pondering whether 2 ranks or 3 would produce the effect that I want. My Punic Wars chaps are 2 deep and they look OK. Finally I could double, triple or quadruple the number of figures per unit. Impressive looking units, but that might leave me short of units with which to field two opposing hoplite armies.

Decisions, decisions!

Out at odd times

Some pics from a recent trip to La Safor, an area in the south of Valencia Province. Mostly of the town of Gandía. These are from the 'old town' area where nearly every building was photogenic. Blogger has uploaded the photos in reverse order, not that they are in any order that matters anyway. Most of them were taken during the quiet siesta hours so there are few people around.

Excerpt from Vicent Andres Edellés, 20th century Valencian poet.
You will assume the voice of a people,
And it will be the voice of your people,
And you will be forever, a people.

Plaque in Valencian to local poet and knight, Ausiàs March. Rough translation:  

Love, love, I have cut (myself) a garment 

from your cloth, dressing my spirit.

More March. Taken from the wall opposite the lines by Edellés.

This reminds me I need to order some Cypress trees for my Italian battles.

Local boy made good. Francesc de Borja, 4th Duke of Gandía. The family are better known to history as 'the Borgias', two of whom became popes. Franny went one better and was canonised. Not sure how much it means given the family's track record.

How the mighty have fallen. From popes and saints to opticians?! Surely the most Gaudiesque shopfront I have seen outside Barcelona.

More detail from the optician's shopfront.

The Lesser-Spotted Margravina enjoying the vista above.

Out on the coast where we were staying, there was a thunder storm late one night. I could see flashes of lightning from the balcony so I walked round to the sea wall and sat taking videos and photos of the sky hoping to catch the lightning. This one came out looking apocalyptic or the scene from the Ten Commandments when the Red Sea was split asunder.

It was actually darker than it appears when I tool this. Bar the blue box on the right it looks like an oasis scene in Lawrence of Arabia or Ice Cold in Alex.

Another Biblical movie shot.

Late night walk along the prom. The lights in the left middle distance are reflections of the lamps on the right I think.

On the last day we met one of the neighbours in the same apartment block. A Frenchman by the name of Juan. The Margravina had previously read that a lot of locals emigrated to France in the 20th century and (they or their descendants) frequently return on holiday. Juan told us that he had inherited the flat from his father who had bought it after returning to Spain many years after going in to exile. The father fought on the Republican side and left in 1939. I'd love to have found out more.

Adéu!

Minden, Take 2 - the Account

This was another close run thing! I got an hour in before lunch and a couple of hours (if that) in this afternoon and finished the game. Below the battle is told through pictures and captions.

Several turns in the French columns have almost reached their deployment areas.  The allies are yet to move. But it gets slightly trickier for the French now as they have to start changing directions and forming up in line. At this point Broglie's infantry have already been slightly held up.

9 turns in the French are getting into position and the allies have finally got going. I made a mistake with getting Sackville on too soon (in the village far left), so I moved him back again.

The French are almost in position. In fact their front lines are and Ferdinand's columns in the distance are still marching up. This is an opportunity that Contades seizes!

Turn 14 (06:45) and Contades launches his cavalry towards the approaching Anglo-German foot. But at least Spörcken with his Anglo-Hanoverian column has got into line in time! Wangenheim sends his cavalry forward (centre right) in a spoiling effort to buy the infantry time. In the foreground Broglie is fully formed up.

Turn 17: disaster strikes Spörcken! His first brigade is routed by the French cavalry in front of the woods in the centre. History 0; Refight 1. Centre right, Ferdinand's cavalry is moving I to counterattack. Centre left, Wangenheim's (light blue coated) Prussian cavalry has taken the opportunity to route a French infantry brigade and charges into a second.

The French cavalry getting ready to attack Spörcken's second brigade.

Turn 19: Sackville finally gets going and accepts his order to swing to the left where Ferdinand is under pressure. Top right, Anhalt is slugging it out with the French in Hahlen.  In the centre Spörcken's 2nd brigade has been routed and cavalry slug it out on the left. 6 British regiments will not be celebrating August 1st in this alternate universe!

A close up view of the centre at the same time

Another view of the centre looking south towards the village of Hahlen.

On the allied extreme left, seeing that Broglie's cavalry is engaged in the centre, Wangenheim's infantry launches an attack on Nicolay (right of picture) 

In rapid succession, the French centre lose a few cavalry and infantry brigades. This takes them down to 50% of units engaged and they score a 3 on the 'wing morale test': a 5 or 6 is needed. A large gap opens up as a result of the retreat of the French centre.

A few turns later Guerchy finally defeats Anhalt and swings the rest of his column north to face the allies in the centre. Sackville has arrived in the centre in time to see Scheele and Holstein infantry finish off the first of Guerchy's infantry brigades on the French left. 

On the left Wangenheim has finished off Nicolay and turns on Broglie. In the distance Broglie haas sent 3 brigades including one of the Grenadiers de France to assault Wangenheim's positions. Both sides stubbornly slogged it out right to the end. The allies, including the British and Hanoverian grenadiers held on by their fingertips and were 1 'hit' away from breaking.

Sackville's column with the 2nd Royal North British Dragoons (aka the Scots Greys) in the foreground.

Broglie is reduced to 50% of his strength but passes his first Wing Morale test.

The allied centre is teetering on the brink. 1 more brigade lost and they will have to test morale.

Just in time, on turn 29 (10:30), Broglie fails the wing morale. 2 corps out of 3 down and Contades has an Army Morale test and fails. It's all over. After a poor start the allies have won!

Post game thoughts

Well that was more interesting from my point of view. Pulling the start back to the French columns having just crossed the Bastau opened up more of an opportunity for them to catch the allies un-prepared. If the allied centre lost 1 more brigade before Broglie they would have faced a morale test This would have left Sackville all alone on the allied right against several French infantry brigades. To avoid outright defeat Ferdinand would have had to order Sackville to keep out of reach of the French (a relatively easy task since the French cavalry was all gone).

I think it's the brittleness of cavalry that was ultimately the undoing of the French. Whilst they were quick to get cavalry into action and gain some early advantages, the lack of foot support in time caused them to ultimately fail. This is ever the danger in warfare when cavalry/armour gets too far ahead of the PBI. It's the old quandary of exploiting victory versus not outrunning the footsloggers.