SITREP: Sunday update #2

Last week I worked on some of my Northern French buildings and a new group of AWI Continental skirmishers for Sharp Practice 2.

On Friday I received a package from Fantasy Welt that I had just ordered last Saturday. Kudos for their celerity. It included Perry's amazing American Farm House and Rubicon's Utility & Light pole set. I also ordered a batch of 6 extra 8cm tall trees. 

The two Northern France buildings I worked on where from Patrick Miniatures. I painted them in a way they can also be used for my Llardona 1808 long time Peninsular War SP2 project.

Work in progress

My AWI Continental Skirmishers were a pack of North Star figures for Muskets & Tomahawks II. To be precise the French & Indian War French Canadian Militia 1 6 figure set. They look amazing. Really rugged woodsman style. My only criticism would be that I had to work hard to remove the cast marks from the lower legs. It took longer than cleaning most plastic figures.

I've also started researching a bit the possibilities for next year's big Winter War / Eastern Front project for Chain of Command. I found it's better for me to use a Pint Sized Campaign to guide me. That way I can figure out what miniatures and terrain to buy / make. As there was no official campaign for the war in Finland, I found Winter of No Surrender which at first sight seems quite well documented and useful. To complement it I also purchased Storming the Citadel an official PSC from the TooFatLardies. That allowed me to realize that I will need plenty of Russians and Finns as both use four squad platoons. In my shame pile of lead I have plenty of Soviet Russians from Warlord Games, so should be quite enough, but only a limited amount of Finns (by the same maker). In addition, seems that Warlord Games Finn squads lack a LMG, so I'll have to figure out another source or a conversion to get some. 

Back in the saddle & Recap '21

Much has happened in the last year and work and the arrival of a new family member took priority over my hobbies. Finally my life has stabilized again so I can again dedicate some time to one of my favorite and most fulfilling hobbies, historical miniature wargaming. 

I plan to retake my Western European WW2 village project and my Peninsular War Llardona 1808 one. 

Looking at the short term future I'm especially curious about the advent of a 02 Hundred Hours, a new small skirmish game about small night commando raids during World War 2. It was developed by Graham Davey (Grey for Now), one of the main developers of the successful Test of Honour. It's stealth mechanics makes it quite different than any other proposition I've seen on the market.

Another title I'm keeping under watch is Dead Man's Hand by Great Escape Games. It's a simple small skirmish game set in the old Far West, a theme my gaming partner is especially interested in. 

My final wargaming game count for 2021 was:

14x Test of Honour

11x Sharp Practice 2

6x Chain of Command 

All in all, I consider it a decent and variated amount. 

Llardona 1808

To give some character to my ongoing Peninsular War project I decided to call it "Llardona 1808", strongly inspired by the great Sidney Roundwood's Laarden 1688.

The focus of my project will be to reproduce a stereotypical Catalan small village and the clashes around it. The creation of a fictional location gives me a certain amount of creative freedom on the narratives of future games. 

The name is created through the union of the Catalan word "llard" (which unsurprisingly stands for lard) and the toponymic suffix "-ona" which can be found in different cities and villages around Catalonia (Barcelona, Cardona, Girona, Solsona, etc.). 

As in most historical gaming related projects, I try to research as much as possible to be as accurate as I possibly can but at the same time allowing some leeway for extra kicks and giggles. Bear in mind that I engage this project as an excuse to learn about the conflict and the era, which means that I'm obviously not an expert and I most certainly will make plenty of mistakes. 

To gain a broad knowledge on the conflict I decided to delve myself into the book series A History of the Peninsular War by Sir Charles Oman, written at the end of the 19th century. I found it to be close enough to the period to have plenty of contemporary sources, but distant enough to allow a colder analysis. And well, it’s engaging and fun to read.

Going Peninsular

As it's said "plans don't survive contact with the enemy". And my 2021 plans did not survive the first contact with my playmate. After serious consideration we decided that we'll focus the next months on the Napoleonic era. Specifically the Peninsular War. 

The Peninsular War has always been a conflict I wanted to learn more about. Especially since I've done plenty of trips around the Iberian Peninsula and its landscapes are quite dear to me. From the wet cold North to the more arid South. 

We determined that the system that seems more suitable to simulate the guerrilla warfare that occurred there is TooFatLardies Sharp Practice 2. 

Guerra del Francès

As the conflict is quite broad, I've decided to start focusing in the nasty skirmishes and battles in the fierce Principality of Catalonia. What is commonly known as "La Guerra del Francès" (in Catalan). The conflict in Catalonia can even be considered its own autonomous conflict. While it has some links to the Peninsular War, there are many features exclusive to it.

To understand the importance of Catalonia, one must learn how Napoleon ordered its annexation to the metropolitan France, to keep it under his personal power, unlike the rest of the Peninsula that was given to his brother Joseph Bonaparte. 

As the well known British historian Charles Oman said: "Far more than any other section of the Spanish nation do the Catalans deserve credit for their unswerving patriotism. Nowhere else was the war maintained with such resolution.". "There was no recognized leader, no general of repute, to head the rising of the province. Yet the attack on the invaders was delivered with a fierceness and a persistent energy that was paralleled in no other quarter of the Peninsula. For six years marshal after marshal ravaged the Catalan valleys, sacked the towns, scattered the provincial levies. But not for one moment did the resistance slacken; the invaders could never control a foot of ground beyond the narrow space that was swept by the cannon of their strongholds. The spirit of the race was as unbroken in 1813 as in 1808, and their untiring bands still held out in the hills, ready to strike at the enemy when the least chance was offered. Other provinces had equal or greater advantages than Catalonia for protracted resistance: Biscay, the Asturias, and Galicia were as rugged, Andalusia far more populous, Valencia more fertile and wealthy. But in none of these was the struggle carried on with such a combination of energy and persistence as in the Catalan hills.

First forces

To keep the first investment reasonable and versatile I'm planning to acquire enough miniatures to develop a French Light Column (as stated in the rulebook) manned by Voltigeurs and Dragoons. On the "allied" side, I'm pondering adding a Light Column that includes light infantry and riflemen, as well as some Catalan "Somatent" Skirmishers. 

These forces will allow me to represent the clashes in the late war, from 1812 to 1813. The idea is to keep expanding them with new Catalan units like the Miquelets, as well as Spanish regulars and even Royal Marines that conducted raids over the coast. 

In the black powder era there's few miniatures producers that can beat Perry Miniatures, so I'm planning to build the bulk of the forces with their amazing figures. 

Terrain

Battleground is key for any miniature recreation and I have set my eyes on the Charlie Foxtrot Pantile collection as In my humble opinion is the one that represents more faithfully the Southern European / Mediterranean buildings.  Unfortunately the consequences of Brexit and all its inconveniences may force me to simply purchase a token order.