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The situation at the end of turn 12. |
Turns 13 - 16
British Left
Vallin's cavalry brigade has been moved forward to strengthen Toussaint's infantry brigade ready to counter the advance of the British 5th Division. |
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The situation at the end of turn 12. |
Turns 13 - 16
British Left
Vallin's cavalry brigade has been moved forward to strengthen Toussaint's infantry brigade ready to counter the advance of the British 5th Division. |
The objectives for each allied Division. |
Turns 1 - 4
You will be able to find the strategic background to this battle in the last "Map Moves" posting which is located under the "Napoleonic Campaign Map Moves" label on the right.
The compliment of Native Americans has been completed, albeit 120 short of the 600 mounted figures recommended in the rules. Having seen advice that 480, or even 360, should be enough I have decided to leave it at that. There will be tepees and Bison to be painted up in due course.
The completed Natives. On the left is a pack of dismounted Braves and a pack of villagers. |
The most recent figures just completed. A pack of 120 mounted Braves. |
Prior to the Natives, a pack of Settlers and Civilians was completed. The wagons had been done previously. |
Table Size: 6' x 3'9"
Figures: 6mm Mostly Baccus and some Rapier
Rules: My own (based on General de Brigade)
ORDERS OF BATTLE
Roman
1 x CinC + 2 sub-commanders
Auxiliaries -
Durotriges
1 x CinC + 2 sub-commanders
Total 642 figures
An overview at the start. The Romans deploy around the fort with all infantry ready to form testudos when necessary. |
I am acutely aware that my blog posts are becoming a little rare of late! A combination of real world commitments and, dare I say it, a lack of wargaming mojo. I have the Roman invasion of Britain battle on the board but it is progressing at a snails pace. I do though try and maintain some sort of momentum in painting and modelling. Even if it is only half an hour during the morning.
To that end, here is an update on what I have been working on. Since January it has all been terrain, ships and planes. This is probably just about the longest spell where I have not painted any figures. A couple of weeks ago I decided it was high time that I made some progress on other projects. First up was Pony Wars.
Rear Admiral Arthur Palliser commanding the WESGROUP sweep breathes a sigh of relief having successfully evaded any Japanese patrols. It was now important to locate the Batu Kharu supply convoy to buy the allies time. His flagship, the heavy cruiser Exeter, with the light cruisers Dragon and Durban, the destroyers, Encounter, Jupiter, Scout and Tenedos, heads north straight into a force 8 gale.
Visibility was heavily reduced and WESGROUP searched in vain. Unable to locate the convoy they head for home in Singapore.
Several damaged Japanese ships are drydocked for repair bringing turn 1 to an end.
There will be a delay before I return to this campaign having switched to another era, the Roman invasion of Britain which will be the subject of the next posting.
IJN Western Attack Force (WAF) - Allied WESGROUP (RN)
Rear Admiral Arthur Palliser commands the WESGROUP sweep intending to intercept the Batu Kharu supply convoy. His flagship is the heavy cruiser Exeter, with the light cruisers Dragon and Durban, the destroyers, Encounter, Jupiter, Scout and Tenedos sailing out of Singapore. Intelligence has been received from a sub reporting a sighting of what is believed to be this convoy. It has been confirmed this intelligence has been deemed accurate and therefore increasing the possibility of interception.
The weather is a rough Force 7 and overcast reducing visibility. As the fleet heads north Japanese land-based aircraft sortie to intercept but failed to locate them.
The wind drops to a Force 5 and still cloudy. Palliser curses the weather improvement raising the prospect of his force being located by the Japanese Distant Cover Group patrol. He need not have worried. The veteran Vice Admiral Ozawa was demanding answers from his lookouts as to why they failed to spot the Royal Navy ships. It was now just a question of locating the supply convoy.
IJN Eastern Attack Force (EAF) - Allied EASGROUP (US)
Rear Admiral William Glassford in the aging light cruiser, Marblehead, prepares to lead out his similarly aging flotilla of destroyers. Each has to test to ascertain if any have mechanical problems. As they slip their moorings, the Paul Jones announces it has engine damage. It could continue but its speed would be reduced. Believing it would be more of a hindrance than an asset, it was decided it would remain alongside for repairs.
Heading out of Tarakan in Borneo, Glassford's force is now reduced to 4 Clemson class destroyers, the Stewart, Parrott, Barker and Bulmer. They hope to intercept one of the Philippines invasion convoys. The weather is a relatively calm force 4 and cloudy allowing for carrier born air operations. The IJN light carrier, Ryojo, launches its aircraft but they fail to make contact with the US group.
As the Marblehead and its escorts continue the wind speed drops to a Force 2 and the skies clear. Not exactly what Glassford was hoping for with a Japanese patrol lurking out there somewhere. Sure enough, the EAF Distant Cover Group made contact during daylight 0800 - 1200.