Italian Wars Gendarmes

Output is low and production is slow, but in this short post let me roll out a new unit of gendarmes from the painting queue.

These bad boys still on their painting sticks.  Finished but not based.

All of the miniatures are from Wargames Foundry.

Here they are based and with standards flying.

Not sure what I'll paint next. Either some light cavalry or command stands.  We'll see.

Partizan

Five Rejects went for an away day to Newark. Before this starts to sound like an Enid Blyton Famous Five tale, I should say five pretty mature blokes went to a wargame show!

To see Ray's and Lee's far better and fuller posts go to:

Don't Throw a 1: The Other Partizan 2025 - The photos Part 1

Don't Throw a 1: The Other Partizan - The Photos Part 2

BigLee's 'Miniature Adventures': The Other Partizan Wargames Show 2025 – Full Video Report

The first and most important stop was breakfast. A full English with black pudding, yum yum!

With body sufficiently fuelled for the day, it was now time to feed the soul... i.e. enjoy the show.

What follows are some of my highlights, in no particular order, from an excellent exposition.

This French Revolutionary Wars participation game was hosted by Garry David Wills, author of Throwing Thunderbolts.

Nice to see this scenario from the book on the tabletop.  It was on small table (6' x 4' I think) with 15mm figures.  A good looking game that, importantly, I feel that I could replicate at home or in the shed.

One could not help but be attracted to this giant game of Risk.

A reimagined version of Europe.  A riot of colour and shapes.

Personally, I found the spectacle hard to decipher and a little too fussy to look at.  Nonetheless, it couldn't be ignored and I'm sure those who played it enjoyed it.  Certainly 10 out of 10 for the imagination and effort that went into it.

There were, what seemed like, quite a number of World War Two games.

This was a great looking table.

A lot of time, effort and craftsmanship had gone into producing this recreation of Operation Charnwood.

There were (or at least it seemed to me) quite a few World War Two games on display at Partizan.  No bad thing, but I did come to a realisation that (for me) certain types of WW2 games don't make for great wargaming spectacle.  More thoughts on this later.

In quite close vicinity, were two medieval games.  There was the Battle of Agincourt and this one, the Battle of Montargis.  Both looked great but the latter would be my pick as a medieval highlight. 

With 28mm figures in big units, this was a feast for the eyes.

I liked the great array of troops, the relatively straightforward terrain and the camp.

The castle at one end provided a superb backdrop, as well as a good photo position.

This Pike and Shot game from North Star had some eye droppingly lovely figures.

The table top looked great without being a distraction from the figures and the game.  A wargaming spectacle being demonstrated.

It is hard to go wrong with the lovely colourful uniforms of this period.

This game of the Battle of Salamanca, 1812, presented by the Forest Outlaws just looked like a battle.  Using Kallistra hexagon terrain, it had the appearance of big formations engaging.  Again, the terrain did not overshadow but complimented the idea of a wargame being displayed.

I must be drawn to Horse and Musket games.  This rerun of the Battle of Leuthen looked the part with its lines of infantry and cavalry deployed across a battlefield rendered in the simplest of fashions.

The Wargames Collective put a lovely skirmish game set during the Siege of Vienna, 1683.  The figures looked like 54mm in size.  I don't know where they got them from but they looked great.

Barry Hilton of the League of Augsburg always put on a good looking game and this one was no different.

Gorgeous troops moving across his teddy bear fur.  

One of the many WW2 games.  This one from 1st Corps. The Battle of Kamenewo, 1941.

I think it was this view of German guns in the long grass that really caught my attention.  I just thought that this looked the part.  I could imagine the gunners crouched down in the long grass as the breeze made it sway.

I think that one of the best games was the Battle of Kolin, hosted by Simon Miller who was testing his rules for the 17th and 18th century.

The ranks of figures in lines advancing across the table looked fabulous.

The figures were all 40mm semi-flats.  All were home cast and from the collection of Steve Metheringham.

After thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed the show.  Well done to the organisers and all those who presented their games - demonstration or participation.  There were many more games that I could have featured.  However, I picked these ones as my highlights - not as the best games, just my picks.

It was interesting seeing quite a few different games using Midgard as their rules of choice.  I'm tempted to get a copy just to see what's the fuss.  Though at the price, I might wait to find a second hand copy.

On a personal note, I realise that I have a distinct leaning towards preferring a type of game as show or demonstration games.  Especially if the aim is to show off wargaming as the spectacle.  Unfortunately, World War Two games come relatively low.  I think that is because of two reasons that immediately spring to mind.  First, where the action is based in an urban setting I wonder if the demonstration is about construction and modelling rather than the wargame being the spectacle.  Second, WW2 is in camouflage.  So, unlike 19th century and earlier periods, the troops and vehicles are duller and rightly disappear into the scenery - that's the point of camouflage.  I'm not saying that modelling, making buildings etc. is not part of our hobby, it is.  It's just a personal view.

I really loved seeing the horse and musket games.  The flats from the Battle of Kolin were something special.  Seeing the games set during the days of Louis XIV was great.  It made me hope that Ray dusts off his Nine Years War armies and puts a game on in the shed.  It's been a very, very long time Ray, and they look fantastic!

The show was great.  Space was very tight.  I'm guessing the organisers wanted to squeeze as many games in as possible.  Nonetheless, it was a treat.  The day started brilliantly with a full English satisfying my physical need and ended with the wargamer's soul uplifted by the sights of the show.

The Fictional Battle of Gioco di Guerra - An Italian Wars AAR

Having done solo and one on one playtests with my adapted Flower of Chivalry rules for the Italian Wars, it was time to stress test them with a group of Rejects.  So, via Zoom, Jonathan, Ray and Dan took up the Valois cause whilst Steve, Surjit and Lee defended Habsburg honour.

For a report from a player's point of view, let me refer you to Jonathan's post - Palouse Wargaming Journal: Clash Course in Flower of Chivalry

Background
King Francis I is marching his army north to overwinter around Milan.  However, Charles V is in pursuit.  At Gioco di Guerra it becomes clear to Francis that Charles is catching up and that he must turn to fight.

The Armies

French – Army Morale : 9 Francois I - Efficient	Imperialist – Army Morale : 9 Charles V - Plodding
Vanguard (Jonathan) De la Pole (initiative 7) 1 x Gendarmes 1 x Swiss Pike 1 x Crossbow	Vanguard (Steve) Colonna (initiative 7) 1 x Men at Arms 1 x Landsknecht 1 x Arquebusier
Main Battle (Ray) Seigneur de Monluc (initiative 6) 1 x Swiss with x/bow 2 x Crossbow 1 x Artillery	Main Battle (Surjit) Pescara (initiative 7) 1 x Colunela 2 x Arquebusier 1 x Artillery
Rearward (Dan) Aubergny (initiative 6) 1 x Gendarmes 1 x Landsknecht 1 x Crossbow	Rearward (Lee) Leyva (initiative 7) 1 x Men at Arms 1 x Landsknecht 1 x Arquebusier

The Deployment

The French are marching and facing north.  The Imperialists have already starting shaking themselves out of march order.  They are facing north-west, towards the French.

A view from the north looking south.
The hills do represent obstacles to movement.  The wooded hexes can only be entered by the missile foot.

A view from the south looking north.  The Imperialist direction of travel indicated by the arrow.

The Battle

Colonna wastes no time, and energy, in rushing to secure the hill that threatens the French left and vanguard under de la Pole.  De la Pole responds by quickly turning and beginning to deploy.  The French rearward, under Aubergny does likewise, taking advantage of Imperialist sluggishness by Leyva and Pescara in the centre and rear.  However Monluc, leading the French Main, does not seem to have got the message and has not moved at all!

Whilst Charles' centre and rearward shuffle forward in unison.  Colonna is finding that his troops need to rest after their dash to the hill.  Meanwhile, de la Pole moves menacingly closer.  At last, the French centre has woken up and turns to deploy whilst Aubergny starts moving towards the southern hill.

De la Pole is now in a position to start engaging.  With great lethality, his Gascon crossbowmen let loose their bolts at Colonna's now exposed men at arms...

... their morale (and armour) dented by the volley, the men at arms retire to lick their wounds.
Meanwhile, Monluc is beginning to advance the French centre towards Pescara's deployed main battle.

With both the Imperialist flanks stalled or needing to rest, Pescara deploys his artillery and stiffens the resolve of his men.  It is clear that the French are going to bring the fight to them.
Seeking to win some sort of advantage, Aubergny issues a personal challenge to Leyva.  Both rearward commanders clashed in a deadly duel, from which Aubergny was carried back dead!

Taking advantage of the lack of command in the French rear, Leyva and the Imperialist rearward obtain the south hill.
On the northern flank, a combination de la Pole's and Monluc's crossbowmen disperse Colonna's Landsknechts.  As the imperialist pikemen's morale collapsed, de la Pole's gendarmes charged Colonna's arquebusiers.  For some reason, the charge was soft and failed to sweep the gunners from the field.

All Battles are now engaged:  Colonna's damaged men at arms barely managing to approach the northern hill; Monluc's Swiss and Pescara's colunela engaged in a titanic push of pike: Leyva's men at arms charging down from the south hill to crash into Aubergny's gendarmes.

The French gendarmes manage to withstand the initial armoured impact while a brutal battle of the pikes continue in the centre.

In swift and decisive fashion, the Imperialist centre and vanguard collapsed.  Colonna's men at arms are done away with by de la Pole's pike.  Leyva's gendarmes are thrown back by the German men arms in the south.  And whilst the Swiss in the centre were annihilated, the colunela succumbed to missile fire which was the straw that broke their weakened back! 

Leyva's gendarmes and pike attack the Imperialist pike defending the southern hill.

In the north, the gendarmes make heavy weather in dealing with the arquebusiers - actually, I made an error in reading a stat line!!!

So, after just under 3 hours of play the French win a decisive victory.

Both armies started with 9 army morale points.  The final score was 7 - 0 to the French.

The dead pile.

Afterthoughts
From a game perspective, the French probably played it better by deploying and holding a line.  This allowed a missile unit from their centre to support Jon's vanguard in its attack on the hill.  The Habsburg vanguard dashing off may have led to that command being isolated and easier to pick off.

From a rules/playtest point of view I was pleased with how things panned out.  I thought that it was fun and completed in just less than 3 hours - and that's with players not familiar with the rules.

I will look at the rules about personal challenges.  Whilst they are a lot of fun and provide some drama and jeopardy, I will probably calm them down a little and limit the number of challenges permitted.

I made a couple of mistakes during the game.  Both being a misreading of a unit's stats line during a melee.  Each unit has two melee factors - one versus mounted, the other versus foot.  I muddled them.  Both times it affected the French for the worse.  So, my error did not impact the result.

I will also take a little time to reflect on those melee factors to consider if small tweaks are necessary.  My first thoughts are that they worked fine.  However, I'll bend some thought towards it.

The command/orders worked well to create uncertainty.  The players were far from able to do what they wanted when they wanted.  However, a sound plan and patience can still be rewarded.

I look forward to feedback from the players.