Mad for War at Rapture, Part One

At the weekend the Rejects were at Rapture Gaming Festival at the Historic Chatham Dockyards.  

We enjoyed the opportunity in assisting the excellent and affable Barry Hilton, of League of Augsburg fame and author of Mad for War naval rules, to demonstrate his game of the Dutch Raid on the Medway, 1667.

Before I report on the game, let me share the excellent vessels at the dockyard.  All of which can be explored on board.  There is so much more at the docks and is well worth the visit

HMS Gannet, a sloop of the Victorian Royal Navy.  Built in 1878.

HMS Ocelot, launched in 1962 it was the last Royal Navy warship built at Chatham Docks.

HMS Cavalier, a CA Class Destroyer launched in 1944

And onto the game!

In short, this is the 2nd Anglo-Dutch War.  The Dutch want revenge for a raid that the English did the year before.  The English navy had been run down and neglected as royal coffers were empty for a number of reasons, recovering from the Great Fire of London in 1666 being just one of them.  The Dutch entered the Thames estuary attacked Sheerness and gained entrance to the River Medway where they proceeded to wreak havoc.  They captured the English flagship.  In all over 30 English ships were sunk, burnt or captured.  It was a disaster!  warning: there are better and fuller histories to be found.

Barry's board with a view over the Royal Chatham Docks of 1667.  The buildings are 2mm models from Brigade Models and the ships are 1/2400 scale.

Some English ships on the river Medway.

The first game we played represented the Dutch approaching Sheerness and seeking to pass the English and gain entrance to the Medway.  As an aside, and as someone who used to live in Chatham, the River Medway is affectionately and accurately also referred to as the River Mudway!

The Dutch have to get at least two ships off the table to the right of the fort that can be seen in the distance.

The English have fireships, which gives the Dutch something to think about.

The Dutch engage closely while the English light their second fireship.  Alas one misses and the other explodes doing damage but not enough to stop the Dutch gaining the River Medway.  Score one for the Dutch.

The second game represented the Dutch approaching the chain barrier that was stretched across the river to stop raiders.  To win the Dutch had to break through and capture the Royal Charles, the English flagship, before it can be towed to safety.

Barry explaining the scenario and ships to the Rejects.

The Dutch, on the right, approach the chain barrier as shore batteries open fire... to little effect.

The first Dutch ships break the chain, but now approach English gun ships.

However, the lead ships quickly neutralise their threat.

And continue to move on.

However, the river is narrow and the Dutch find themselves getting in each others way.

As the Dutch captains struggle to make sense of the situation and navigate the river and obstacles, the English are now towing the Royal Charles away.  However, one ship finds space and the chase is on.

The Royal Charles just needs to be towed off the table.  At the last moment the Dutch catch up and manage to execute a boarding action.  The English flagship is captured with nothing to spare. Phew!

So far the Dutch are on course to raid the dockyard... just.

With not enough time to play the last game, we opted for a short open clash.

The Dutch start in the bottom left. The English start with the wind advantage.

The English quickly engage.

And blow a Dutch warship out of the water.

However, the Dutch recover some equilibrium and the English suffer as this ship is raked from the bow.

And boarding actions are conducted, with the Dutch capturing two English ships.

Apologies for the poor battle reports.  A lot was happening with the games being very immersive.  A real credit to the rules which ensured close, tense and thoroughly enjoyable games

The next post will show the attack past Upnor Castle and on the docks themselves.

Camping and Glamping

I was supposed to move onto painting some figures.  However, a couple of unfinished items called to me, both of them 2mm terrain pieces.

First up are two camps for opposing 2mm armies.

I wanted camps/baggage so that if cavalry lost control after a victorious melee there was a target for them to race towards and plunder.

All models are from Irregular Miniatures.

I used compact discs (CD/DVDs) for the bases.  I can't claim original thought here.  The inspiration came from YouTube - follow the link to Prasutagus The Orwell Wargamer and his TYW 2mm camps.  His look better than mine, but I'm pleased nonetheless.

So here is the first camp.  Hopefully you can make out the line of wagons arriving.

This second camp have the wagons parked and the horses grazing.

If camping is not your style then how about this?

This is from Brigade Models 2mm buildings catalogue.  This is sold as a Mediterranean hotel.  However, I think that I might be able to get away with using it as some sort of walled or fortified manor.  What do you think?

Now... I really must get back to painting some troops!

More Military Architecture

Just finished additions to the castle and walls that I recently completed - see this post.  These were more walls, roofed towers, a gatehouse and ravelins.

My aims are to maintain flexibility in the shape of the fortifications on the table, and to reflect in a slightly loose fashion the changing art of fortification in the 16th century.

With the advent and advances in artillery there was a recognition that the old style castles and city walls were vulnerable.  With the continual warfare in northern Italy during the 16th century came the development of the "trace italienne".  Essentially, this is what we would start to recognise as Vauban forts with low silhouetted bastions, hornworks, ravelins and glacis.  For example, Palmanova looks very much like a "Vaubanesque" star fort.

Map of Palmanova in 1593 by Joris Hoefnagel

Unfortunately, this new style fortification was very expensive.  So, city walls and towers were often just shortened and filled in with rubble, then bastions etc. placed at vulnerable points outside.  Ditches were both deepened and widened.

It is some of the latter that I hope to reflect.  As you can see in following image of Amiens, the city walls are basically the medieval ones.  However, dotted around the walls around are what appear to be bastions/ravelins.  The star forts are those of Henry IV's siege lines.

Siege of Amiens 1597 by Frans Hogenberg 

This can also be seen in the following painting, with what likes like a bastion in front the medieval city gates.

Henry IV at Amiens 1597, artist unknown.  Musée de Versailles

So, how have I done?

A walled town (Amiens?) with its medieval walls "modified" with aspects of the trace italienne.

And with hornworks replacing the bastion by the city gates.

I'm thinking about how best to represent the ditches that surrounded the walls and bastions, whilst still maintaining flexibility of layout.  However, this will quickly go onto the "to do" list while I finish making more 2mm roads and give in to the itch to paint some soldiers.

Becoming a Chatelain

In a hobby you never "need" anything... you "want".  However, whether it's a want or need... I "need" fortifications for my French Wars of Religion period.  Castles were present at battles like Arques, though many also had the latest military architecture added to them such as hornworks, bastions and ravelins.

I've started by painting this 2mm castle I acquired from Brigades Models.

All the towers and walls come separately, and the keep comes as a single model.

The attentive ones amongst you will have noticed that there is no gatehouse on the outer curtain wall.  I have another order on it's way with another gatehouse section, more walls, roofed round towers, plus hornworks and ravelins to allow for a 16th century upgrade.

For comparison, here it is next to 28mm figures.

And a birds eye view.  I was originally planning to paint the tower roofs terracotta, but further research led me to go for the slate instead.  

 Unlike the outer walls, I based the inner bailey as a single model.  

However, I have kept the keep unattached so that I can swap it in and out.

Here is the keep on it's own base.

And with those 28mm figures for size comparison...

... and with a 2mm pike and shot unit.

My intention with the painting and basing of the component parts was to maintain flexibility in how the castle could be combined and used to represent multiple fortifications rather than any one specific.

As you can see, I have based the walls and towers to permit a range of angles.

And finally, all the separate parts.

I'm now just waiting for the next order to arrive (postal strikes permitting!!) to add to the walls and give it the possibility of a 16th century face lift.  I may even cut a couple of the incoming walls to give me some half and one third lengths as well.