Post of Honour & Shadow of the Eagles

Checking the blog today, I was taken aback by the fact that I hadn't posted for nearly 2 months. How time flies! Anyway, I reckoned a report on a couple of recent games using my own rules and featuring real historical actions might make a worthwhile post.

A Word About The Rules

I was asked recently why I developed Post of Honour for the SYW, when Honours of War was already published and doing quite well. The answer is that, after HoW was published, I decided it might be fun to develop a generic set of Horse and Musket rules with a definite Old School feel. As so often, I started with Donald Featherstone-style basics for movement, firing and melee, but soon realised that these wouldn't really do for 21st century wargaming. To cut a long story short, after a year or more of tinkering, I came up with a reasonable system, but at the same time changed my mind about the 'generic' idea, and instead fine tuned the rules for use with the horse and musket figures I had - that is, the SYW. And so that was Post of Honour.

PoH was always just a fun project that satisfied my Old School tendencies, a project never intended for publication as it would obviously clash with HoW. However, the whole 'generic' thing had got me thinking about other Horse and Musket periods with which I was less familiar than the SYW. Top of the list was an historical wargaming period that was extremely popular, but which I had hardly ever gamed and knew very little about. That period was Napoleonics. So I found some inspiration and spent a couple of years reading lots of books about the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and adapted and expanded PoH into Shadow of the Eagles, which eventually got published by Partizan Press.

The publishing process was a fun experience, especially co-operating with the graphic designer at Partizan Press to produce the best possible product. Being published by Partizan also got me a couple of reviews and a supporting article in the glossy magazines, which was great. But I was also quickly educated in how a set of rules in a heavily populated market like Napoleonics can get lost in the crowd. To keep the rules in the wargaming 'public eye', I would have needed levels of motivation and a desire for self-promotion that I really didn't have  What actually happened was that, after SotE was published, I simply moved onto the next project that took my fancy. This turned out to be WW2, and a set of rules that ended up being called Startline.

And that's where I am now. HoW and SotE are out there and still selling. PoH and Startline are both available for free via the Files section of my wargaming Facebook page. I did think at one point I might try and get Startline published, but development has been slow and involved. WW2 can be a real bugger to write rules for, particularly if you want to be comprehensive as regards both the nations involved, the full time-period from 1939 to 1945, and all the aspects of the conflict from infantry to aircraft. And then there's that 'crowded market' thing. If it applies to Napoleonics, it applies in spades to WW2. So maybe publication isn't worth aiming for.

Anyway, I promised two battle reports. Here they are.

1. The Battle of Znaim 1809

This was a Napoleonic action played at the Cirencester Wargames Club, and as usual the game was planned and set up by Stu, the club's host, Games Master and general lynchpin. The Battle of Znaim (pronounced 'snime' according to the interweb) was fought in 1809 and was the last battle of the Fifth Coalition. You can check out the details of Stu's scenario on his blog, but briefly the battle involved nearly 37,000 French against around 40,000 Austrians, so Stu had to do some tricksy 'bathtubbing' to represent the two armies.

It was nice of Stu to select SotE as the rules to be used. The club had tried out both Lasaalle 2 and Blücher recently, both of which I found interesting and enjoyable to play, but Stu found that SotE flowed quickly and intuitively and I guess they took his fancy. Maybe it was the slightly old school feel as opposed to the feel of the much cleverer sets I just mentioned. He developed a few house rules which streamlined play slightly, and these worked well. 

I suggest popping over to Stu's blog for a proper account if you're interested - here I will just put up some images along with some random comments. Thanks to Chris at the club for letting me use some of his photos. Overall, the game was quite a scrap, and developed into a very toe-to-toe, see-sawing slogging match which was both involving and entertaining. The photo at the top of this post is from the game, and amply demonstrates the intense nature of the fighting. Here, we can start with some shots of the initial deployment. 28mm figures were in use:

These are Claperede's French force, with the village of Zuckerhandel in front of them.
This Corps was under my steady(ish) hand.

On my left was Beckers' corps, with Tesswitz ahead over the bridge,
the latter already occupied by Murray's brigade of Austrians.

Here we see the Austrian corps of Alstern occupying Znaim itself.

Battle commences! French on the left, Austrians to the right. My French infantry
occuppied Zuckerhandel, and just about managed to hang on for the rest of the game.

In the centre the cavalry regiments from both sides quickly piled up and
a series of close combats ensued, with fortunes swinging back and forth.

Tesswitz was attacked by French and Swiss brigades but the Kaiserliches held on.

On the extreme right two regiments of French cavalry elect to hurl themselves
up the hill against Austrian infantry temptingly deployed in line...

...but an emergency change into square was successful and the cavalry fell back.

Overall, the French attacks had failed and the Austrians were the winners. 
Honestly, they were a lot more cheerful than the photo would suggest.
I think I caught them at a bad moment.

A grand game indeed, using a 10' x 4' table and six gamers. The centre of the table was defintely where the main action was. However, sometimes minor dramas catch our attention. The two atttempts by the small French cavalry force on the extreme French right to dislodge Austrian infantry on the heights in front of them was good fun. In both cases a quick change into square was made, with the inevitable result as the French cavalry tumbled back over the river. C'est la guerre!

2. The Combat of Sandershausen 1758

For this game I was the host, and so the clock was turned back 50 years to the SYW. Sandershausen was a small engagement in Germany between Hessian forces under the Prinz von Ysenburg, and a French force under the Duc de Broglie. With 8,500 French troops against 6,500 Hessians, it would be possible to represent the various battalions and regiments on a 1 to 1 scale.

The initial inspiration was from Dinos Antoniadis' HoW scenario book, published last year. Sandershausen is the first scenario in that book. I also quickly discovered the battle had featured in Charles Grant's Wargaming in History, Volume 1, from 2009. The map below gives a good picture of the layout of the engagement, and is taken from Dinos' book.

© Dinos Antoniadis 2025

I made a couple of tweaks to the scenario as developed by Dinos. The first was adjustiing the forces - PoH doesn't have 'small' or 'large' units, although it does have provision for half units. In the end I made all the units a standard size, but the French battalions in particular were a little undersized in real life, so to keep the force ratio correcct the number of French line battalions on the table was reduced from 11 to 9. The five small units of cavalry in the French second line became 3 full size units. Satisfyingly, when the terrain was laid out, this meant the French occupied the same area on the table as shown in the various maps of the real battle. 

Secondly, I placed an objective marker on each of the roads leading off the table to the north, representing the Hessian need to cover their lines of retreat. I should add that the French troops were portrayed by my 28mm Austrian figures, whilst Prussian models represented the Hessians. Table size was 8' x 6'.

An interesting aspect of this battle is that the terrain and the available forces resulted in a rather non-SYW deployment, with light troops on the wings of both armies and the cavalry towards the centre. This was to result in a rather Napoleonic feel to the action, but with the infantry unable to form squares.

And so to a photo report on the action:

The terrain completed. One layer of old TSS 20mm thick tiles had to do for
representing the higher ground upon which the Hessians deployed.

The troops are now added. The area in front of Ellenbach is marked
with some lichen pieces to show an area of particularly steep ground.

The Hessians had a clear plan, and part one was a determined
cavalry spoiling attack against the French centre-right.

A French infantry battalion was sent reeling back, but the French cavalry
were themselves soon involved. The cavalry sortie had done well,
but the French left continued forward towards the high ground.

The left-most French infantry battalion plunged into the woods to
help out its light infantry comrades.

On the extreme right flank, French progress towards Ellenbach was slow.

The French centre is thoroughly disrupted whilst the
big cavalry melee is sorted out.

Overview at mid-game. Part two of the Hessian plan was revealed
as their infantry line fell back steadily, trading space for time.

The French left continued to press forward up the slope. They charged in but were repulsed.
This photo shows their high-water mark.

On the opposite flank, Ellenbach was still disputed at the end of the game.

Things were equally undecided on the wooded banks of the Fulda River.

After the Hessian cavalry were finally sent packing, one regiment of
French dragooons managed to break through to one of the
objective markers (left), but it was not quite enough for a victory.

After the planned 8 moves, the French losses were light - one weakened unit and one sub-general killed, which made just 1 break point lost. The Hessians had five weakened units, two units routed and one lost objective, which came to 6.5 break points lost. They were just half a point from breaking and losing, but it was enough - they had done their job of delaying and disrupting the French advance.

It was clear that if one more move was played the French would rout at least one more Hessian unit and the Hessians would break. It had been a close game, with everything to play for right to the end, which is ideal in a friendly wargame such as this. 

Final Words

The real Battle of Znaim lasted 2 days, and ended in what is usually agreed to be a draw. Our game represented the action on the first day, during which the French took both Tesswitz and Zuckerhandel. So in our wargame the French had achieved less than they had in real life. It was generally agreed that the failure to take Tesswitz was at least partly due to this being the first game of SotE ever played by the commander representing Beckers - his attacks had been piecemeal as result of not fully appreciating how to apply the rules to best advantage. He was sitting right next to me, and I should have advised him better.

The progress of the Sandershausen action had been more in line with how the real battle progressed - the Hessian tactics were similar to those in the real battle, using their cavalry to disrupt the French infantry advance and then slowly falling back as French pressure increased. Despite their advantage in numbers, the French have a tough task to win this scenario - I felt that the two objective markers on the roads behind the Hessians should have been a bit nearer the French, to make the French task at little easier.

One final thing worth mentioning is that the 'non-SYW' style of Sandershausen is far from unusual. It is evident when one starts to check out SYW battles that the idea of linear battles with infantry in the centre and cavalry on the wings is only part of the story. As I mention in Honours of War, terrain and the realities of manouevring troops, as well as innovative tactics by commanders, often created battles far from the coventional cliché. A major example was the Battle of Hochkirch, which I had good fun wargaming many years ago. If you check the link, you'll find I'm still using the same felt battle mat more than ten years later!

Anyway, it was very pleasant to play two decent-sized games that used my rules and were both successful and enjoyable.

'Til next time!

Saumur Tank Museum, and Flames of War Grumbles

Musée des Blindés, Saumur, France

I had the good fortune recently to visit this well-known museum whilst on holiday in France. What a great thing it is to have an understanding wife! I thought I'd include a few photos and a couple of comments on this blog.

The museum occupies a more suburban setting than Bovington,
and feels a little cramped.

One of my favourites. The Panzer II looked ready to start up and drive away.

Interesting to get really close to that 20mm appliqué armour.

R-35. Four colour camo, including pink. Or is that purple?
No wonder the French lost in 1940.

Another fascinating vehicle - one of the 21st Panzer's SP conversions.
A 10.5cm howitzer on a Hotchkiss chassis.

Panzer III in lovely condition.

Marder III with Russian 76.2mm gun.

Another favourite AFV of mine - a Jagdpanzer 38.

The mighty Jagdpanther.

Nice to get close to some interesting anti-tank guns.
This is the Russian Zis-2 57mm L/73. Now that's a long barrel!

World's only running Tiger II. A magnificent vehicle,
let down by a feeble display. See my thoughts below.

Jagdpanzer IV with battle damage.
Look at the way those welds have failed and the armour has cracked.
And note the round that has half-penetrated the vertical front plate. 

Outside the museum, with no info display, I found this fabulous Panther restoration. 
Don't have any details. A shame the museum didn't flag it up in any way.

A bit of an overview, showing the rather bare and bleak interior.

As you can see, the museum has a great collection. There were, of course, many other outstanding AFVs on display, apart from those shown above. It was a fine experience to be up close and personal with so many classic vehicles. But at the same time, the museum was a bit of a disapointment. As you might be able to see from the photos, the museum is rather like Bovington 40 years ago - something of a tank warehouse. 

Bovington has made great strides over recent decades and is now a fine, modern museum with absorbing, informative and imaginative displays. Saumur is, I'm afraid, stuck in the past, consisting of rows of AFVs with small information plates by each one, and not much else. This may be due to underfunding or any number of other reasons, but I have to say the experience is definitely second rate. 

Just to take one example - the Tiger II at Saumur is the only one running in the world. And yet there it sits, with its little information board, with nothing to celebrate this or even mention it. There should be a whole display explaining the provenance of the tank, explaining it's restoration, what it takes to keep it running, etc etc. But there is just about nothing. A great shame and, to be honest, simply not good enough. And that lovely Panther which I found hiding round the back of the museum. I think it was in running order, and it had been beautifully restored, but who could tell? 

So, for the tank nut this an unmissable visit. But this is also a museum which needs major investment, along with some imagination and flair, and frankly a bit of love. I'd be interested in the views of anyone else who's been there recently.

Flames of War are making me cross again

If you take any notice of what's going on in the world of FoW, you'll have noticed that 'the Poles are back'. In other words, the 1939 Polish range is being revived. As someone who games this period in 15mm, I guess I should be pleased. But I'm not.

First of all, I'm still rather miffed at the way the original range disappeared without any warning many years ago. I assume the reason was that it had ceased to make enough money. But even when the original range was available, it was full of holes. How about a Vickers 6 ton tank, so that the famous 'Black Brigade' could be represented? No chance. Tows for those 37mm and 75mm guns? Not a hope. How about some of those funky half-track prime-movers the Poles used in their mechanised units? Not present. As for a model of a 'Taczanka', the distinctive 3-horse wagon mounting an MG that supported the cavalry, well, forget it.

But here we are - the range is back. Or parts of it. Prominently offered is the Armoured Train, which of course provides a really worthwhile profit margin at £120. To be fair, the fact that 7tp models are now available as plastic kits rather than resin is positive. But at the time of writing there is no sign of any of the ubiquitous TKS tankettes, for example. But guess what? What is available is a '14TP Tank Platoon'. 

"A what?", I hear you say. Yes, the reason you've never heard of the 14TP is that it never existed as an operational tank. The 14TP was a Polish experimental tank, and the single prototype was never completed. It would have made a very competitive medium tank in 1940-41, but Poland's defeat ended it's development. However, here we have a complete platoon ready for combat. A bit of fun? Certainly. No issues with that - once all the historical models are available. But the basic vehicles that the Poles used in 1939 are being ignored in favour of a fantasy. This really is bollocks, IMHO. Sometimes I think the word 'historical' should be banned from any FoW communications. 

We all know the reason for this nonsense, of course. All together now - "Tanks Make Money".

I have little hope that all those missing models I listed above will make any appearance in the new FoW Polish range. But there we are - solace can be found by fielding a dumbass 14TP platoon. I dare say they will sell well. But dare I conclude that sometimes history deserves a bit of respect? In a hobby commonly called 'historical wargaming with miniatures'?

And on that sour note I will say farewell. 'Til next time!

World War Two Without Tanks

WW2 was my first wargaming period, and I have been gaming it for the best part of 5 decades now. Over that time I have often reflected that many, perhaps most, WW2 engagements didn't involve tanks at all. This would be particualrly true of the period I mostly game at the moment, the 1939 Polish campaign. But of course, tanks are a lot of fun to game with. Rather like their effect on real warfare, they provide the mobilty and firepower which can enliven wargames, bringing manoeuvre and the hope of that decisive breakthrough.

Nevertheless, I have thought many times over the years that some infantry-only, or at least some non-tank, games would be worth trying. But I must admit I can't actually remember ever having done so. Well, a couple of weeks ago I actually bit the bullet and got round to it.

The rules, of course, were Startline, and the period September 1939 - the Polish campaign. I decided to use the 'Bypass' scenario which I had used before for a Startline game, as it would test the idea of a tankless battle quite well. I don't think there's any need to give full details of the forces. Suffice to say the defending Poles had a company of infantry with supporting artillery plus some anti-tank guns, a cavalry platoon and a platoon of tankettes. Oh yes, and an armoured train! The Germans also had an infantry company with off-table fire support, plus an assault engineer platoon, a platoon of armoured cars and a recce section on motorcycles. They also had a little ace up their sleeve in the form of a section of 2 88mm-armed 'Bunkerflaks'. About 40% of the Polish force would start off-table as reserves.

The game, though tankless, did therefore have some armour in the form of tankettes and armoured cars, and the attackers had trucks and motorcycles to help them with their attack. To put it another way, I decided not to go cold-turkey in my pursuit of infantry-only WW2 gaming. Best to ease myself gently into things, I thought. 

The Game

So, let's see how things went using photos of the action. There were two game objectives - the road bridge and the railway station.

Overview at game start.
The Poles are deployed around the village and railway station in the centre,
the Germans are deployed on the left hand baseline.

Polish infantry in position.

On the far side from the approaching Germans,
Polish AA guns defend the station.

No tanks, but plenty of other vehicles. The Germans wait on their startline.

With the recce motorcyclists and the armoured cars rated 'skilful'
they got off to a cracking start, outflanking the Polish defenders
and heading for the road bridge objective.

Meanwhile the German Pioneers and an infantry platoon
put in a diversionary attack against the village.

The Polish tankettes arrive from reserve. Armed only with machine guns,
their chances of stopping the German advance seemed slim.

The armoured train arrived and was directed towards the bridges.
It would be the Poles main hope of making a decisive difference.

Helped by a shielding smoke screen, the German outflanking force make
good progress. The armoured cars have reached the road bridge,
but have been cut off by the Polish tankettes..

Here come the cavalry! They arrived on table at the rail bridge.

Here we see the results of a very eventful move 5.
A Stuka strike has damaged the train, but fire from the train
 and a rare Polish air strike have claimed 3 out of 4
of the German armoured cars on the road bridge.

Motorised Polish infantry reserves arrive in the village,
but the German diversion has already been easily seen off.

Both attacking German platoons have taken heavy casualties
and have retreated (left of photo).
At the top of this picture it can be seen that the 2 Bunkerflaks
are suffering from the attentions of Polish anti-tank guns.

At the end of the game, the road bridge was disputed,
with a lone German armoured car facing the Polish tankettes
and the arriving Polish cavalry.

Well, having no tanks didn't stop the game from being very mobile and exciting. The German armoured cars managed to race across the board to a vital objective, only to be isolated and largely destroyed by hastily reacting Polish forces. As the attackers had not taken either of the two objectives after 6 moves, the Poles had won. My main disappointment was that the anticipated firefight between the armoured train and the Bunkerflaks never took place! The soft-skinned Bunkerflaks strayed too close to the village and were sitting ducks for Polish 37mm anti-tank guns.

If I had left out the Polish and German AFVs, the game would certainly have needed to be expanded to 8 or more turns, but this would not really have been a problem as Startline moves along at a reasonable pace. Nevertheless, it would be fair to say that a true infantry-only battle would be more suited to a daytime game rather than a 2-3 hour evening battle. 

It was great fun to get the armoured train out of storage after a long lay-off, and also give the Polish cavalry a rare run-out. And having some air attacks always adds spice to a WW2 game. Although a solo game, this battle was a lot of fun.

Until next time!