Sunday 17 September 2017

Dust Up at Dapol. Part One

With four new regiments to play with, it was time for another battle. Last Sunday was the selected date, and so the two armies assembled that afternoon to fight it out.

Two guest generals took command. They were my very good friend, DM, aka the Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Driberg, a Hanoverian general lately returned from Ceylon; and Wellington Lad II, aka the Chevalier D'Essex. My role was to act as umpire and to take the photographs.

Stepping into our time machine, we dialed back to the summer of 1969. While Neil Armstrong was taking one small step for man, back in Wellington a giant leap for Hintonkind was in the making.




As we stepped out of the machine, blinking in the strong sunlight of that soft and sleepy Sunday afternoon, the sepia tones of the 60s gradually resolved themselves into glorious, Humbrol-enhanced technicolour.


The situation was as follows: it is late spring, 1813, and Napoleon's forces have pursued the beaten Prussians onto the North German plain. As the French approach the Elbe, seeking union with Davout's Corps in Hamburg, they are surprised by a much-reinforced Prusso-Hanoverian army near the small village of...er...Dapol.

The mighty (and surprisingly colourful) North German Horde prepares to advance!
Chevalier d'Essex: Sire, there are thousands of them!
Napoleon: Paff! We'll make short work of that menagerie! Or, at least..Buelp...you shall, Essex. I'm afraid I had a little too much Leibfraumilch at dinner last night.
Uncertain about what to do, Essex deployed his forces en cordon, with the cavalry massed on the left. He was strong everywhere and nowhere.

Ney (leading the 45th): It's an outrage! I should be in command!
Soult (commanding the 3rd Swiss) : Be careful what you wish for, Old Boy!



The wily old Driberg responded likewise, massing his elite Prussian guard cavalry on his right.


Driberg: Zey von't know vot iz hitting zem! Heh heh heh!
Meanwhile, on the far left, Dörnberg's Lüneburg Dandies hovered in isolation. What on earth was Driberg planning?

Dörnberg: We're not to attract any attention, Gentlemen, so try to look inconspicuous!
The Prussian Steam Roller Advances

Driberg immediately ordered the advance. The massed columns lurched into motion, drums beating and trumpets blaring.

Driberg: Now remember, lads, no deviations. Straight up ze guts!
At a loss to know what else to do, Essex responded with a general advance towards the heights. The Combined Voltigeurs swarmed into the woods.

Essex: Er....Go forwards, er, sort of thing!
In no time at all, the rival cavalries were facing off against each other. The Prussian cavalry superiority looked ominous.

Driberg: Heh, heh, heh. Hook, line und zinker!

Ney and Soult looked on, appalled. Go forwards? They should be manoeuvring towards the centre! Soult sensed impending catastrophe.

Soult: *Sigh*. Come on , Chaps. At least we can try to look our best, eh Lads?
The Bavarians behind the French left also sensed that discretion was the better part of valour and bolted for the village.

Marbot: Follow me, Bavarians! It's as safe as houses in here!

Charge and Counter Charge

Driberg seized the initiative and ordered the cavalry to charge, but in the centre and left things started to go awry almost immediately. Perturbed by the movement of the French right, parts of the massive central column began veering off course, while the Estorff Hussars, contrary to orders, impetuously started forward.


Driberg: Not zat vay,! Up Ze Guts, I said!
As the Pride of Potsdam thundered towards his line, Murat ordered a counter charge. The two cavalry masses met with an almighty clash of lances and sabres. The Empress's Dragoons held their own, but things started to go very badly indeed for the Vistula Lancers. Murat cursed his luck.

Murat: Not again! They're only hussars, Dammit! 
Someone had Blundered...

The Empress Dragoons battled on against the Prussian Garde du Corps, trading casualty for casualty.



Ornano: Have at them, men, they're only DKs!

But the Vistula Lancers were outmatched  and forced to retreat, losing heavily all the way.

Murat: I'm never going to be King of Poland at this rate!

Meanwhile, in the centre, the French and Prussian skirmish lines traded potshots, albeit to little effect. As the French massed on the heights, Driberg narrowed and deepened his assault formation in preparation for the decisive push.

Driberg: Aaach, it's only vun battalion of Imperial Guardsmen! It's nutzing, boys, nutzing!
Dörnberg was worried, however, by the advance of the Swiss, who might burst onto the Prussian flank at any moment. Reluctantly, he sounded the charge. The Estorffs leapt into action...

Soult: I sometimes wonder why I bother! Is this really the best they can do?

....only to be stopped dead in their tracks by the measured vollies of the Swiss, who had calmly formed into square. Soult remained unruffled. For the idealistic young Lützowers, however, the  carnage was horrifying.

Lützowers: !!!!!!! Perhaps ve are missing too many of ze university lectures, nicht wahr ?


To be continued......

WM

34 comments :

  1. Excellent - great fun, and sumptuous visuals. What rules did you take back to 1969 with you?

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    1. It was Muskets & Marshals v.5.3, Tony. Haven't seen version 6. Nope, not here, I don't know what you're talking about.

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  2. Even with two to one againstthem the French guard are still a formidable proposition. Best to stand off and shoot them down...shades of 'Waterloo'!

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    1. Quite so, LG, but I'm afraid the Chevalier has never seen the film. It did't quite work out that way!

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  3. A nice looking game with impressive and splendid lines of battle!

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    1. Thank you, Phil. This was exactly what we were aiming for!

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  4. What a magnificent spectacle, and described with much humour :) Those pics just left me shaking my head in awe. I don't know how you bear to lay those figures on their sides! Great to see the Airfix/Dapol buildings on the table too.

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    1. Cheers, Lee. I may need to review this policy, or at least get some better glue. The PVA on one of the Landwehr stands failed not long afterwards and four of them popped off!

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  5. Bravo! Encore!
    My weekend just keeps getting better - I thought I saw Murat and the Vistula legion on the way out in the background of the previous post - that and the massive Allied superiority in the centre boded ill for Johnny Crapaud. The only question was where were the Swiss and the rest? One clue was v. Dörnburg and the dead hussar(?) just edging in stage left. Now we know, and the explanation seems to be that Ney is keeping his powder dry so he can reprise his rear-guard speciality.

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    1. Thank you, Rob.

      I can see that I gave entirely too much away with my tabletop teaser!

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  6. What a cracking looking game...and such pretty toy soldiers....
    My wargames butterfly is all a flutter... :-)

    All the best. Aly

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    1. It took an awful long time to get to this point, Alistair. I'm very hopeful of much more in the future, however. After three years of steady HH bombardment, DM/Driberg has been sufficiently softened up to declare that he may, just possibly, you know, just casual-like, paint up some Austrians.

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    2. Aly - give in. You know its inevitable.

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    3. Aly, my sincere apologies. I shall endeavour to spell your name correctly in future!

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  7. Glorious! A truly wonderful feast for the eyes. Eager to view Part II.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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  8. Excellent Matt - a visual feast!

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    1. It was indeed, Ian, which may feeble photos have only partially captured I think. I really must learn how to operate my phone camera properly!

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  9. WM you have totally nailed vintage 20mm napoleonic wargaming! What size is your table? Mine is 4x4 foot at the moment, currently in negotiation with the better half to extend to 6x4, how much space does she need in the hobby room for cake decorating for Pete's sake?

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    1. Thank you, Dave. I've been daydreaming about doing something like this for...ooh...about 45 years, so it had to be done properly!

      The table, I assume, is the Ping-Pong standard, being 5ft x 4.5ft, or there abouts. Any more troops and I'll need to paint the other half, although it'll be a bit of a squeeze to get it into the sun room.

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  10. Fantastic looking game. This game and figures, and others on yours and Stryker blog, not only got me to dig out my old Hinton Hunts but acts as the motivation to keep assembling and painting my small but growing collection.

    Looking forward to seeing part 2.

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    1. Don't blame me, Mark. It's Stryker's fault entirely. Those Nassauers......It shouldn't be allowed!

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  11. Have to echo the comments about the inspiration to keep painting! I still have so far to go before they can see the tabletop. I had to smile when I saw the three Dapol Buildings in your game - I have the same three with the first coming to completion very shortly.
    One quick question; I noticed both players had their batteries together. Are you playing two guns to a battery or were they just combining into a grand battery of sorts?

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    1. None of the buildings were painted by me, David, but I hope to put this right before too long.

      Both sides opted for grand batteries. A bit of reading up about the Battle of Windy Pass had been going on, I suspect!

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  12. A great looking game, I love the simplicity of it all, no fuss, just effective scenery and fantastically painted figures. A great spectacle. I look forward to reading the rest.

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    1. Thank you, Simon. I'm a great fan of Grantesque brutalism. He obviously understood the mid-60s zeitgeist. He's the sort of chap who would have gone round the house ripping out the Victorian doors and replacing them with veneered chipboard!

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  13. Wow, classic and beautiful combined. Hats off to you sir!

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    1. Thank you, ABC. I'm a very big fan indeed of your magnificent armies, and not least the extraordinary conversions.

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  14. I've gone and ordered a couple of units.

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  15. Thank you for the After Action Report (or, Mid-action Report, rather). Grand looking battle. Wonderful spectacle. Very inspiring.

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