Movement Trays

While finishing up Warner's Regiment, I've been playing around with ideas for movement trays. Each miniature has been individually based on a round magnet, which will allow them to be placed on trays without toppling over.

My first experiment was to add four magnets to a base, build up the ground around them, flock the base, and add miniatures. I don't really care for how this looks though. The men stand too high off the ground.

Troops assembled on movement trays. "Replacement Dot" on left.

Various experimental versions

My next attempt was to cut holes for each miniature base in a piece of styrene, add a metal bottom, then flock that. I like this look much better, with each man resting nicely in place on the ground. I made a couple of 2x2 trays and a couple of 2x4 trays in this manner. I think I'm also going to do a few 2x6 versions.

While I was working on movement trays, I decided to add a base to the casualty figure that I have. It works perfectly well without a base, just placed on terrain, but adding a bit of scenery dresses it up a bit. Along with that, I also played with the idea of a “replacement dot” that could be swapped in for a figure on a movement tray if the unit takes a casualty. I like how this looks, so I'll likely make a few others to keep on hand.

Sunday Morning Showdown

Gab and I had a (very) quick Wings of War game this morning.  as usual, she chose a pair of Rolands.  I decided to attempt a new strategy, and see if I could take her down with a pair of faster, more maneuverable planes, so I picked a couple of Sopwiths.

On Turn 1, her planes dove directly toward me.  I broke right, thinking that I'd try to use both planes to take out one of her Rolands, then move onto the next one.

Turn 2 saw us engaged.  Both my Sopwiths ripped into the Roland head on, but one of my guns jammed.  On the second phase, the Roland killed the pilot with the jammed gun, sending the plane down.

Phase 1 of Turn 3 saw the end of the game, as the Roland came around behind me, killing my second pilot instantly.

Daughter: 6
Daddy: 0

The German Flight

The Allied Team

Breaking Right to Flank

Contact With The Enemy!

 

Pilot Down!

An almost instant kill.

I'm being tailed!

Pilot Down! Again.

Another almost instant kill.

Seth Warner's Extra-Continental Regiment

I'm almost finished with my first set of AWI figures, very loosely based on my re-enacting unit, SethWarner's Extra-Continental Regiment of Foot.

The Regiment was originally raised in July of 1775 as a New York regiment, to be comprised of men recruited from the “Green Mountain Boys.” The original Green Mountain Boys were home-grown militia living in and around the New Hampshire Grants (today's Vermont). The Grants were in dispute between New Hampshire and New York, both of which claimed the land. The Green Mountain Boys fought against New Yorkers who were moving onto lands already granted to settlers by New Hampshire, in some cases burning homes and destroying settlements. In fact, when the Regiment was ordered to be raised by New York, several of the leaders had bounties out for their arrest, to be paid by the government of New York.

The Green Mountain Boys are probably most famous for their capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 at the start of the American Revolution. Led by Ethan Allen, the militia version of the Boys, along with Benedict Arnold, captured the Fort on 10 May, 1775 without a battle. Some men, under Seth Warner, then moved north down Lake Champlain to capture the fort at Crown Point.

The official 1775 version of The Green Mountain Boys was led by Seth Warner after the men chose him over Ethan Allen as their commander. The Regiment took part in the Invasion of Canada, seeing action around St. Jean and the Richelieu River. Allen, separate from the Regiment, actually made an attempt to capture Montreal and became a prisoner of war. The Regiment left Canada in November of 1775.

In January of 1776, the Regiment was once again activated to fight near Montreal, eventually acting as the rear guard for Benedict Arnold's army as they retreated from Canada in June of 1776. The next month the Regiment was re-authorized by the Continental Congress as an Extra-Continental Regiment. In other words, they reported directly to Congress, as opposed to any particular colony.

In 1777, Warner's Regiment took part in several engagements of the Saratoga Campaign, including the withdrawal from Fort Ticonderoga, the rear-guard action at Hubbardton, Vermont, and the Battle of Bennington in Hoosick, New York.

Between 1778 and 1780, the Regiment was stationed in the Lake George area, mostly taking part in scouts and skirmishes with the enemy. After severe losses on 11 October, 1780 when Fort George was surrendered, the Regiment was officially disbanded on 1 January, 1781.

For these miniatures, I've painted them in the green-faced-red coats that were ordered when the Regiment was raised. These were originally Perry Miniatures British Infantry, sculpted with gaitered trousers. Warner's was actually poorly supplied, and spent most of the war in stockings and breeches, so this portion of the uniform is incorrect. Our re-enacting unit has evidence that the Regiment was issued both “hats” and “caps”, so I've modified a few figures to have jockey caps instead of riflemen's hats. Since I may use these for some demonstrations of field movements, I've broken the figures down like this:

Privates and Corporals – Riflemen's caps

Sergeants – Jockey Caps

Lieutenants – Tricorns, Muskets, Sashes and Sheathed Swords

Captain – Tricorn, Sash, and Drawn Sword

These pictures show two platoon (4 sections) of Weight Hopkin's 1^st Company, mixed in with some trees that I bought at the craft store. I have another 10 figures to finish painting up to represent Gideon Bronson's 2^nd Company. Warner's was in short supply of bayonets, so I removed the cast bayonets from all of the muskets to portray this.

 

The craft-store trees I dressed up a bit by adding bigger bases that I then flocked and scenicked. For the figures, I based them for two different games: Smooth &Rifled, which uses individual figures for skirmish games, and BritishGrenadier! which uses stands of 4 to 6 figures at a scale of 1 figure per 15 to 20 men. So, for small games, I'll have 30 men. For larger games, they can represent a Regiment of up to 600 men (the historical Regiment was about 500). I'm experimenting with movement tray ideas. Each figure has been glued to a magnet as a base. I then added magnets to a 30mm x 50mm rectangular base, which was then painted and flocked. This way the individual figures can be added to stands for easier movement when in formation. I'm not sure if I like how high they sit, so I may experiment with cutting round recesses into the movement tray instead of building up the layers.

Monday Night Flight

At dinner this evening, G asked if we could play a game of Wings of War. After cleaning the table, we pulled out the planes, and she and her little sisters consulted on what aircraft to use. We decided to up the ante a bit by letting both players control two planes. My three year-old randomly chose a couple of planes for me, which both ended up being two-seaters. Gabbi quickly chose a pair of of Rolands, the plane she's enjoyed flying with the most.

The German High Command

As the game starts, the pilot of my British De Havilland, showing a crew from the American Expeditionary Forces the landscape, spots a German patrol on the horizon. He breaks left, hoping to start a flanking maneuver on the approaching aircraft.

My Squad for The Evening

Enemy in Sight!

Break left!  I'll head them off!

The four combatants end turn one finding themselves just out of range.

So close...

About this time, a crazed French pilot buzzed the area. Leaving both the Germans and the Allies a bit puzzled, she skipped wild-eyed off into the clouds without even a tip of her wings.

Uh?  Let's just not mention this to Command.

Getting into turn two, things start to heat up as the forces divide into one-on-one dogfights and start trading shots.

The contest on the right comes into very close contact, bullets ripping through canvas and wood as the pilots and gunners are close enough to toss insults at each other.

My opponent seems very happy with her position at the end of turn two. I was less happy, as even though I had ripped her plane to shreds with all the close combat, her only damaging shot got my pilot, sending my American plane spiraling to the ground.

She's enjoying this far too much.

One pilot down.

Bummer. Perfectly good plane. Dead pilot.

To avenge the newer crew's deaths, my British pilot swung around, prepared to take out an obviously damaged Roland (both her rudders were out). He quickly lined up his sites, pulled the trigger and … JAMMED! The Roland's wing man, with the more agile plane, turned to line up a kill shot.

Jammed!

Another incredibly close round of combat saw another pilot fall, this time on the German side. Gab was left with a crippled plane. I didn't tell her, but I was down to my last few damage points myself. I slowly swung around, hoping that she would get ahead enough to land in my forward sites.

This isn't going to end well...

German down!

Coming around...

Coming around...

Almost lined up...

The next turn found us flying side by side, matching speeds on each phase. The Roland was just barely out of my reach, as she was behind my forward gun, but just ahead of my tail gun. The tail gunner of the Roland could have gotten me, but as luck would have it, her gun jammed, saving me for another turn.

Frustratingly close...

Even closer...

The final turn saw the end for both planes. I managed to pull ahead just enough to site her with my tail gunner, ripping into her plane, causing her to burst into flame. My opponent, however, cleared her jammed gun, sending lead through the last remnants of my fuselage. As I plummeted to the ground, my only solace was that her crew would soon need to bail out of their totaled aircraft, and that they would need to do it over my friendly lines. So while the Allies may have lost a couple of aircraft, they may have gained a couple of prisoners in the end.

Got her!  Oh wait, I'm going down...

Games thus far:

Daughter: 5
Daddy: 0

Bennington Battle Day

241 years ago, on August 16^th, 1777, Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum and Lt. Col. Heinrich von Breymann led an attack against the town of Bennington in the New Hampshire Grants with the main goal of capturing supplies stored in the village there. Colonial forces, led by Gen. John Stark of New Hampshire, met the German and Loyalist troops just outside of Bennington, engaging in battle at Walloomsac, New York. Stark's New Hampshire men, rebel militia, and Continental Troops led by Col. Seth Warner, defeated the invading troops in what many call a turning point in the Saratoga campaign of the war.

Bennington Battle Monument

Today, in Bennington, a stone monument, over 300 feet tall, marks the location of the storehouse that was the target of the German forces. Each year the State of Vermont celebrates Bennington Battle Day on the 16^th of August. Our only state holiday, we pause to remember the battle that took place nearby.

Bennington Battle Day has another meaning for me. In 2014, the reenactment of the Battle of Bennington was my first time taking part in “Living History”. I had joined up with Warner's Regiment, a group of reenactors who portray Seth Warner's Extra-Continental Regiment, but I hadn't yet taken part in an event. The Battle of Bennington would be my first.

I arrived in the morning with a half-price musket and a few clothes I had sewn for myself, nervous at the idea of spending the day with strangers (I'm a natural introvert). After getting signed in, and meeting Warner's, I quickly found myself in good hands. Spare clothing and gear was literally being thrown in my direction, and within minutes I had been transformed from awkward 21^st century guy to awkward 18^th century militia guy.

Militia at Bennington. I'm in the blue coat, 2nd rank in the center.

During the morning I received some training in basic musket use and maintenance, safety, and some basic commands. By afternoon, we were ready to take the field. Not being safety cleared yet, I was to go out with a wooden driver in my musket, meaning it would function as it should, but would not spark. This would allow me to follow the unit, go through the motions of firing, but not be a danger to myself or anyone around me should I do something wrong. We marched from our camp next to the Walloomsac River to the top of the hill at Bennington Battlefield. Our route took us through the woods, and everyone quickly fell into character. As we walked, warnings of “Keep an eye on the trees. Look for the white trim on their caps,” were whispered. I was easily transported back 230+ years. I was a nervous 18^th century militia man, tagging along with veteran troops, with no idea what to expect next. I imagined the residents of Bennington felt much the same way during the time period.

Once we were at the top of the hill, the modern world came back. It was a warm August day, and health and safety is priority #1. Bottled water was handed out to troops on both sides of the conflict, and jokes were traded as red-coated troops walked past our line to get into their starting position for the public portion of the event. They soon disappeared back into the woods, and we were sent to our starting position.

We started off in a thicket on the far side of an open field. Being New England, the thicket was covered in prickers and pokey things, making it easy to become entangled. Fighting in this kind of terrain, I quickly learned, is the Warner's Way.

My first taste of battle.

Soon the battle started. The pop of a musket could be heard in the distance, then suddenly we were moving. We came out of the thicket, quickly crossed the open field, then were back into the woods. I don't recall when the smoke started, or what was going on along either side of me. My main focus was to stay with the unit, and go through the motions of firing a musket. At some point the word “FENCE!” came through to my brain, and I realized that we were all about to charge through a barbed wire fence in the woods. We came to a quick halt while an opening was found. We all shifted positions to move through the opening, then went back into line. Soon we were through the woods, facing the main road at the top of the Battlefield. Calls of “PUBLIC TO THE FRONT!” were heard. We hunkered down in the bushes, still trading shots with the enemy, just being very careful of where we were pointed.

The charge below, I think, is one of the coolest photos I've seen from an event. When the order was given, the entire militia line sprang from the woods, crossed the road, and assaulted the German redoubt. With the capture of the redoubt, phase I of the recreated Battle of Bennington was complete, and I had had my first taste of being a reenactor.

CHARGE!!

I was hooked.

Another couple of battles happened that weekend, along with a commemoration ceremony. Last year, in 2017, we returned again to assault the redoubt. This time, however, I had all my own gear, and a couple of years of reenacting behind me. That was the year of the infamous Hessian melee attack, which single-handedly wiped out a large percentage of the American forces (2 of us) and caused a disturbing safety issue (fortunately the entire line didn't fire point blank at the guy). Below is my lifeless body, respectfully covered by our regimental pastor as he checked for dead and wounded in the aftermath.

Pvt. E. Davis, slain by a Hessian sabre - Rest in Peace.

A Pilot is Born!

Last evening I introduced my 10 year-old daughter to Wings of War (nowadays called Wings of Glory, and produced by Ares Games). We started off with a simple dogfight, using just the airplane cards. After three victories on her part, we called it a night and promised to play again in the morning.

So, this morning, we added in the miniatures and elevation rules. As I pulled miniature after miniature out of the storage box, her eyes and smile got brighter and brighter. “You have no idea how cool this is!” she said.

Yeah. I do, actually!

Like a Kid in an Airplane Store

As I suspected, she chose one of the colorful German planes. A Roland C.II. In an effort not to be outgunned, I also chose a dual weapon plane, a British De Havilland DH4.

As the game started, my pilot spotted the enemy flying out of the sun of the picture window, directly in our 12 o'clock. Gunning the engine, I climbed a level, but took it easy, trying to determine where my prey would move. At the end of turn one, the opponents were out of range, but heading to lock into combat.

As the Roland passed, I swung around in an attempt to get behind her, but she was still just a bit out of range for my guns.

Turn three brought her in range of my forward gun, which sent bullets flying into the Roland's side.

Turn four saw us both circling. Unfortunately the De Havilland isn't as nimble at turning as the Roland, and I ended up with both German guns ripping into the side of my plane. Unknown to my opponent, as we were keeping damage a secret, I took engine damage and lost left rudder control. My plane also caught fire, which was easily seen at such close range.

Going into turn five, my youthful opponent put a quick end to the game, hitting me with her front gun, killing my pilot on impact. Another victory for the German Empire!

Daughter: 4

Daddy: 0

She didn't even take any damage.