Napoleonic Wargames Blogs I've seen in December

Bavarians, Bavarians, Bavarians!   

Amongst the best looking with amazing flags. The plastic Victrix are now for sale as vonpeterhimself  points out. The breakdown is as follows: 

36 x Marching units

16 x Firing units

4 x Command units

2 x Mounted colonels

all for £30  (just about 50p per figure - when was a quality 28mm figure last that cheap!) and they look amazing.   The balance of marching to firing could be improved - it feels like more skirmishers thane most will need. 

I also spotted some beautiful Perry Bavarians in their pre christmas napoleonic game:

With that fab falling figure from the pack of figures under fire.   The depth of figures now available in plastic 28mm is extraordinary - I was a delighted to see Prussian Reserve Infantry from Atlantic appear in 2021 : £25 for 60 rank and file (buy your command from others.)

Rules 

Dining Table Napoleon has reviewed Lasalle II, concluding:

this is an excellent game system, fully justifying the rave reviews I have seen of it. The turn play system – both sides interact without the use of phases or player-turns – is especially clever and works really well. There are intricacies which you can miss on first play, but generally the rules should be very quick to pick up

Other bits: 

Storm and Conquest blog has added some painted Mamelukes - very clean painting style. 

Cirencester Wargames Club put on a Christmas 1812 game, summer 1812.

Thomas Reviews the Spanish company Campaign Miniatures and their 18mm Austrians 

Chris Greggs review of his gaming year includes some 1806 battles in Gloucestershire. (amazing table)

 

Napoleonic Blogs - some things I found recently.

 

I was frankly amazed at the quality of information and images in the site https://miniatureaddiction.info.

I really good example is this on ... 

Go and gorge on the fab pics of this Battle of Borodino on Dave's One Man His Brush blog... here's a taster 

https://wargamingraft.wordpress.com/  talks us through building an Austrian Farmhouse circa 1809... click to have a nose at it finished. 

 

Valleyboy blogged months ago about Napoleonic commanders. I love the vibrancy of the painting here. 

and ...

Victrix have some British Dragoons in the pipeline....

along with Bavarians.... 

and Chasseur-a-Cheval of the Guard....

Then there is the return of Partizan: 

https://youtu.be/HJ5Wk5GREkM

Salute 2019 - picture review (yes I know I'm late)

Prussian Battle Flag from Leipzig in 1813 - Landwehr? Something Else?

I spotted this flag for sale.  It appears to have been white (or gold?) with embroidery and to have hung vertically.

The seller says it Prussian and from Leipzig in 1813 but doesn't give any explanation of why?  Does this flag ring true? Which service would it be?  More details here.

The Battle - By Patrick Rambaud, a short review of a Napoleonic Novel

Usually novels set in the Napoleonic Era use battles as the back drop. In this the Battle of Aspern Essling is the main character and it looms large.

The Battle is an award winning novel written by Frenchman Patrick Rambaud.

He tracks the two day battle itself through a combination of personalities,  Berthier and Bessiers, Massenna and Davout  and Napoleon himself, alongside a voltigeur a cuirassier and a staff officer.  The characters are filled out (although maybe could've been a little fuller).

The struggle of the battle, the choices and hazards, the way in which fate shapes futures are vividly painted, at times brutally.

I raced through this - reading it filled out my understanding of this piece of history more vibrantly than any traditional history might have done.  I recommend it as a great way to while away some time.

I bought a used copy from my local Oxfam shop.  You can also look here:

Amazon      EBay
Military History on Audible.

bookshop.org (support local indpendent bookshops this is a link to one of three graphic novels.

 

Musee de la Cavalerie - Saumur, visit summer 2019

Right folks - some pictures from my summer visit to the Cavalry Museum in Saumur, hosted in one of the old building used for training French Cavalry -  mostly images from Napoleonic times.

Worth an hour, not much more.