Russo-Swedish War 1808: Battle of Leppävirta re-refight

The custom table I built for the Leppävirta game we played last summer was still intact in my workshop (check it out if you want to make any sense of this game) so we took it for another spin. We used General de Brigade rules again but changed the scenario a bit. Instead of the troops being deployed historically at the beginning of the scenario we recorded their marching order on paper and had them march on the table and essentially bump into each other. Having a meeting engagement this close to each other is a stretch of imagination as both sides have plenty of dragoons to give advance warning that the enemy is near, but it makes for a fun scenario.

The frozen lake near Leppävirta sees battle once more! Dragoons on both sides have deployed to screen the marching columns but it will be a hasty deployment for the rest.

The Savolax brigade has put it's artillery to the front of the column. It's risky but will prove important.

The Russians have an equivalent number of troops. Their artillery is at the back.

The Savonian artillery deploys quickly and opens fire on the Russian cavalry.

Savonian Jägers move to the right flank and skirmish with their Russian counterparts.

Cossacks more around the Savonian left. Any baggage in the rear is in serious trouble!

The Savonians have managed to deploy more quickly and achieve local superiority in firepower on their right. Artillery, infantry and jägers make it hard for the Russians to form up for their attack.

The Russians attempt an attack on the Savonian line but face too much fire so they retreat. The Savonians swing around the right, routing the Russian jägers in the forest and now threaten the Russian artillery which hasn't been able to deploy effectively. We call the game at this point as the Savonians have suffered only minor casualties.

The jägers push towards the Russian battery

The game was pretty much decided by the artillery. The Savonian artillery was on the front of the column and was able to deploy quickly and start firing right away. The infantry then moved to protect the battery while the dragoons screened the manoeuver. The Russian artillery was at the rear and wasn't able to deploy with a good line of fire during the whole game. The rest was simple math as the deployed battery gave the Savolax brigade more firepower. The Savonians could just wait and keep up their fire as the Russians were forced to charge as they couldn't match the Savonians at long range. It didn't end up well for the Russians.

I'm not sure if putting the artillery up front was gamey and unhistorical of me, but it proved decisive!

Paukarlahticon V

The fifth Paukarlahticon was on 3-5.June and there were more people than ever there. 30 people came to play over the weekend which I am really happy about. A lot of games played, a lot of beer drunk and lots of war stories in the sauna!

Here are some random photos of some of the games played there. I will make separate posts on Cold War Commander and General de Brigade so you can check those out too.

A lot of Muskets & Tomahawks and Ronin going on this time. I think this is Ronin, correct me if I'm wrong.

Epic 40 000. My Dark Angels vs. Necrons. Looking good!

Or not. I was wiped away promptly. I really need to learn how to play this game :)

Late night drunken Bamboleo.

Good old Heroquest. Which is the best game ever made, obviously.

A tutorial game of Frostgrave.

Soldiers of God. I was interested in this but was too busy showing off Frostgrave to pay too much attention. It looked pretty card driven.

A friend of mine brought his 3D printer. 3D printing will definitely revolutionize our hobby in the coming years. I'll show off some printed stuff I paint later this summer.

The printer at work.

There were boardgames played as usual but as usual I was preoccupied in the miniatures section. If someone took photos, send them and I'll add them to the report.