ATTACK ON BLENHEIM'S VILLAGE PROJECT 1:1 Second Part

I come back to an old dream of mine: the assault of the Cutt's coloumn at the Battle of Blenheim, reducing the measure from 28 mm to 15 mm.

The precision of the trimming of the papersoldiers is not as precise as in the other scale (i.e. 28 mm), but the total vision of the array is quite amazing, considering that the width remains the same.

I started than with the Hessian - Kassel Brigade (second line) called the Wilke's Brigad, on 5 battallions. The usual order of battle for this brigade quotes every battalion to a 400 men force each. Obviously this was not the concrete case.

I decided than to increase or decrease the numbers. For instance the Leibgarde Hessen Garde is increased to a  total amount of over 500 men.

Top: 3 battallions one after the other: Erbprinz von Hessen-Kassel, Leibgarde and Hessen Grenadiere Regiment. Around 1.500 papersoldiers.

This scale is quite convinient considering that I can keep a rate of 140 papersoldiers/hour; this means that in a good raining day it's possible to create a 500 men battalion in one boring afternoon. Soon new battalions will be published.

The idea is to recreate the entire brigade as a first step.

This particular way of basing the papersoldiers allows to deploy a battallion in a quite short time (around some 40 seconds); then using the unique big green base it is possible ot move the battallion in one movement, but having the possibility (impossible with the other normal figures on the market) to split the battalion itself, for example for entering a village in a house-by-house fighting, or detaching a single unit for scouting or - for this period - grouping grenadiers to fight together.

As a wargame system I will use my diceless rules, where every stand has its particular 

- capcity of fighting

- level of morale

- capacity of cohesion

Every category (Elite 1 and 2; Veterans 1 and 2; regular 1 and 2; militia) has its particular attitudes; for example the Hessian Leibgarde is quoted as "Elite 2"; it has then a morale  between values of 0,90 and 0,80; considering that is has 12 stands, there will be:

1st  stand - morale 0,90

2nd stand . morale 0,89

3rd stand - morale 0,88

2 stands will have the same as other, usually the center ones (o,85), etcetera.

In this way also inside a battalion there will be a part higher morale and cohesion and a part with less, always insider a category (Elite 2). 

 

ATTACK ON BLENHEIM'S VILLAGE PROJECT 1:1

Hi guys,

today it's a day of changing... We actually it is! My team Juventus just bought Cristiano Ronaldo and the entire town got crazy with that!!!

So spaeking of changing I also changed from the 25 cm papersoldiers, cut 1 by 1 to a easier way to represent a battalion with  a 15 mm papersoldiers;

I also changed the way to glue them. Every base has 8 or 9 rows for 4 men each, i.e. 36 papersoldiers/base. They are quite little as you can see in this picture:

In the front a 50 cents coins to give you the idea how little they are.

I decided to dedicate this scale to the Cutt's Division that attacked the Village of Blenheim.

Here I represented the Infantry Battallion of Hessen-Kassel "Erbprinz von Hassen Kassel"; it is said this unit fought with around 400 men. Actually a full strengh Hessen - Kassel Battalion of the epoch had around 650 men. I also decided for this unit to keep the old style 4 ranks deployement of the battalion. As you can see in the foreground there is half-company of Grenadiers, while the second half is at the end of the battalion.

Above: I decided to deploy this proud battalion on the table, without the green fields. I know the 25 mm scale is better cut but they give quite an impression even in this way and very easy to move and to play with

Bottom: a better view how they are glued.

Finally - bottom - you can see how light they are and easy to deploy. The green base - around 55 cm wide is self standing and will be very usufull to move with one finger around 420 men, like a real Commander of the epoch.

To be continued....

1676 BATTLE OF HALMSTAD DANISH CAVALRY

I was finally able to deploy 7 (out of 8) Danish cavalry squadrons at 1:1 ratio, that partecipated to the battle of Halmstad in 1676.

Each squadron has arount 60 horses. They are all set on magnets, giving the possibility to remove them easly, and stick them to the base as well very easly.

BATTLE OF HALMSTADT I & II SAJELLANDSKE NATIONALE RYTTEREGIMENT 1676

Danemark: today I was able to set up also the another squadron partecipating to the battle of Halstadt  in 1676. This time is the Second Regiment Sajellandkse. To distinguish it from the first I changed the colour of the saddles, while the standards remained the same, as it was in reality. 

In the first picture I put in evidence the officer with black cuirass.

The colours

The 2 squadrons

Total around 130 papersoldiers at 1:1 ratio


Dragons to be done

BATTLE OF HALMSTADT 1676 - 1 SAJELLANDSKE NATIONALE RYTTEREGIMENT

I come back after a little while on this blog. I decided to try to finish my 1:1 ratio Battle of Halmstadt between Danish and Swedish during the  the Scanian War in 1676.

So I went on in drawing and trimming the Cavalry Regiment of the Danish troops that where missing. Here I represent the (reduced) squadron present at the Battle of Halmstadt of the Danish 1st Sajellandke Rytter Regiment; The unit was quite undernumbered and therefore I represented it with barely 62 men.

The first 2 ranks (row) represent the unit with swords while the 3rd one wears pistols for caracole.

In this picture (below) the unit is marchin in coloumn. I indeed set every base with around 8/10 /12men; then 6 bases and 2 flags (every battalion was composed by 2 companies)

.

Problem was also to understand on how many ranks the unit was set during the Battle. In this case I tried a 2 rows/rank array, even though the painting of the epoch I found seem to represent the cavalry units on 3 ranks

Below: 2 ranks

Below: 3 ranks unit

Last picture: an idea how a 3 ranks unit could turn left at 1:1 ratio.

KOREAN BATTLESHIP 1592 "PANOKSEON"

The Korean Navy, during the Japanese Invasion 1592-1598 - played a huge role in containing the Japanese. Their most effective ship - alogside the Turtleship - was the Panokseon class.
From WIKIPEDIA

Panokseon ("board roofed" or "superstructured" ship) was an oar and sail propelled ship that was the main class of warship used by Joseon Korea during the late 16th century. The first ship of this class was constructed in 1555.^[1] It was a ship made of sturdy pine wood, and was instrumental in the victories over the numerically superior Japanese Navy during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98). Admiral Yi Sun-sin (1545–98) of the Joseon navy employed them alongside turtle ships during the war with great success.

A key feature of a panokseon was its multiple decks. The first deck had non-combatant personnel, such as the rowers, who were positioned between the lower deck and the upper deck, away from enemy fire. The combatant personnel were stationed on the upper deck, which allowed them to attack the enemy from a higher vantage point. The panokseon also had a raised roofed observation platform where the commander stood.

Characteristics (Wikipedia)

In line with the traditional structure of Korean ships, the panokseon had a U-shaped hull and a flat keel. This feature was due to the nature of the Korean coastal waters, which have a large tidal range and flat, expansive tidal plains. A flat keel enables a ship to sit comfortably on the tideland when the tide is out, after coming ashore or inside a wharf at high water. It also ensured greater mobility and a shallow draft and in particular allowed a ship to make sharp changes of direction at short notice. This panokseon was one of the main reasons why Admiral Yi was able to employ the Crane Wing formation at the Battle of Hansan Island with great success.

A model of panokseon centering on the commander deck.

Panokseons were propelled by both sails and oars. Of the two basic types of sail, square and lateen, the square gives a strong performance downwind but struggles windward, whereas the fore-and-aft lateen excels against the wind, though requiring a large crew to handle it. In the West, square sails were used in the galleys of Ancient Greece and the Viking longships, and the fore-and-aft variety as early as the Mediterranean dromons of the Middle Ages. When the Age of Discovery began in the fifteenth century, multiple-masted ships equipped with both types of sails eventually appeared. In Korea fore-and-aft sail equipped ships had been in use since the eighth century. The panokseon and turtle ship therefore had two masts by default, and their position and angle could easily be managed so that the sails could be used in all winds, whether adverse or favorable.

The ships had two to three levels stacked up on top of each other. By having multiple levels the rowers at the bottom were relatively safe, and marines at the top would have a height advantage over the enemy, firing down upon them and avoiding boarding of the ship. The upper deck had a tower in the middle of the ship that would be used for command and observation. The deck of the panokseon was broad and flat, making it ideal for the installation of cannons.

Panokseons came in different sizes, the largest vessels estimated to range between 70 feet (21 m) and 100 feet (30 m) in length.^[2] The ship usually had 8 to 10 oars on each side, 50 to 60 oarsman and sailors and another 125 marines (i.e. fighting men).

I decided to try to reproduce in paper one of them.

I've got on internet a paper model of this ship that actually I was not able to set up, and therefore I decided to try to build up one by myself, using some ideas of my own.

 I started with 3 squares and 2 paper sheets to recreate the back of the ship.

JAPANESE INVASION OF KOREA XVII CENTURY: THE SAMURAI

On a site (I will not name it!) I was "reproached" that my papersoldiers aobut the Samurai invasion of Korea did not represent any Samurai figures. Well, they were right. Finally I've got some free time and I had time to prepare some Samurai figures. They represent the Samurai of the (Christian) Daymo Konishi Yukinaga, that with 7.000 men firstly attacked the Pusan harbour.

His crest has the black cross in white field. 

The Samurai are with arches and pikes and sword. In few days I will be able to represent also with matchlocks.