A Portable Breitenfeld

This is a very belated posting, my version of the Battle of Breitenfeld having been fought in December, last year (2025). I'm pretty sure I won't be able to find the notes I took of the battle. So this was intended to be less a post-action narrative as some comments on the organisation and play. As it transpired, I changed my plan...

Imperialist Army

Three Armies drawn up. Imperialists to the left
Swedish and, closer to the camera, the Saxons

For one thing Breitenfeld was a battle rather larger than - about twice the numbers of - the Battle of Lutzen that I played through a couple of years back. This required certain adjustments to scaling and unit organisation. Even then it was to run into a problem. But first, we'll start with the armies.

Imperialist centre

Imperialist: Count Johann Tserclaes von Tilly 

Right Wing: Furstenberg and Isolani (1 command stand)
3 Cuirassier Horse @ 4SP = 12SP
1 Croat Light Horse = 2SP
1 Dragoon = 2SP

Centre: Otto von Schoenburg
2 field gun batteries @ 2SP = 4SP
8 Tercios @ 4SP * = 32SP
1 unit of harquebusier horse = 3SP

Left Wing: Graf Gottfried Heinrich zu Pappenheim
6 Cuirassier Horse @ 4SP = 24SP

Totals: 
4 commands and 22 units: 7 activation dice.
79 Strength Points: Exhaustion point = 27SP lost; Rout point = 40SP lost

Swedish Army of Gustavus Adolphus

Allied: King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden

Swedish Right Wing: Sir Johan Baner
6 Charging Cavalry @ 3SP = 18SP
2 Commanded Musketeer @ 1SP = 2SP
1 Battalion Gun = 1SP

Swedish Centre: Maximilien Teuffel
8 Battalia/Brigades @ 3SP = 24SP
1 Field Gun = 2SP
1 Battalion Gun = 1SP

Swedish Left Wing: Gustav Horn
5 Charging Cavalry @ 3SP = 15SP
1 Commanded Shot = 1SP
1 Battalion Gun = 1SP

Total Swedish: 
4 commands and 26 units: 8 activation dice
65 Strength Points: Exhaustion Point = 22SP lost; Rout Point = 33SP lost

The Saxons: small army, and not a lot of room to deploy

Saxon Allies: Prince John-George, Elector of Saxony
1 elite Cuirassier Horse = 4SP
2 other Cuirassier Horse @ 3SP = 6SP
3 Tercio @ 3SP = 9SP
1 Field Gun = 2SP

Total Saxons:
1 command and 7 units = 2 activation dice
21 Strength Points: Exhaustion Point = 7SP lost; Rout point = 11SP lost

Some points to note, here:
1. I made the infantry formations smaller: 2 shot and 2 pike for the tercio; 1 pike and 2 shot for the Swedish infantry units 
2. The tercio were arranged 4 stands deep: shot/pike/pike/shot. Their default strength points were 4SP, but the inexperienced Saxons were rated at 3SP only. Here I might have done better to have given the Saxons the standard 4SP, but rated all but the sole elite unit 'Poor'.
3. The Swedish infantry were arranged with a pike stand in front of two 'shot' stands in line. These units were rated at 3SP. 
4. The tercio received 1 die for shooting; the Swedish, 2 dice.
5. In close quarter fighting, 1 D6 each; the tercio adding 1 to their roll for their heavier weight.
6. Swedish charging cavalry added 1 to their close combat score against Imperialist horse.
7. The Swedish and Saxon contingents rolled separately for activation - Red die for Imperialists; White for Swedish; Green for Saxon.
8. The three armies' exhaustion and rout points were assessed separately.

Opening moves. Imperialists went first, but now 
the Swedes scored 34 on their 8 dice- great roll! -
 halved to 17 units to move.

The Battle:

Right from the start, the limitations of my battle surface became apparent: the enveloping manoeuvre Graf Pappenheim tried against the Swedish right simply could not be done. There wasn't enough room on the table. Methinks the thing would work a deal better on my 6'x4' game board - were it divvied up into a hex grid.

Having said that, the action descended rapidly into the historical long drawn out, indecisive struggle when I called the action.

Initiative and activation rolls for the first turn...

On the other wing, the Saxons were meant pretty much to get rolled. Their strength points for horse and foot had been reduced in the expectations that they would been soon overrun. Not a bit of it. At the end of the day, they had lost one tercio, but were otherwise well and truly still in the action. That rather spoiled the Imperialist programme.

The wings in action early

In the centre, the Swedish battalia rapidly advanced, their firepower putting a lot of pressure upon the Imperialist foot. However, once the latter closed with their enemy, the tide of battle began to turn. By the end of the day, several battalia had been eliminated, and the rest driven back almost to their start line.

Furstenburg versus John George of Saxony. I've had to use 
Swedish proxies for the Saxons. I ought to ask 'Jacko' if 
he still has his Saxons... Figures are Revell.

Imperialist versus Saxons. Furstenburg's Imperialist cuirassiers have taken 1SP loss, but have inflicted 1 each upon horse and foot.

Pappenheim versus Baner...

Other wing: Pappenheim vs Baner. Pistolery knocks over a Swedish strength point (SP). 

Swedish foot rushing to support Baner...

Imperialist left - Pappenheim's - wing. Reinforcements hurrying up top support the leading horse now engaged. 

Saxons not only go first, but score a brilliant activation roll. 
If only they had room to use it...!

This turn the Saxons got to move first. On top of John George rolled a double-six to activate his whole army. In their respective activations, Graf Tilly and King Gustaf Adolf activated 13 units apiece.

General view of the battle. Action has become general on the Saxon and upon Baner's wing in the distance. The centres are closing, two Swedish brigades engaging the Imperialist foot and artillery, and a horsed unit also shooting up the other Imperialist battery.

Pappenheim vs Baner: heavy losses on both sides already. Indications are that perhaps Pappenheim is getting the better of the fight.

Activation dice: Swedes went first, Saxons second, Imperialists third. Swedes got a massive roll to activate 16 units; Imperialist the miserable side of average to activate just 10. The Saxon roll was OK-ish, but restricted to their narrow front, and closely engaged, that doesn't really matter.  The Imperialists are being perceptibly driven back in the centre.

Furstenburg vs Saxons, inflicts 2SP loss for 1SP. This in scarcely rolling the Saxons off the battlefield, though. It transpires that the Saxons in this battle were disinclined to be hustled anywhere!

Action in the centre. The Swedes are pressing, but sustaining rather heavier losses than their adversaries.

Pappenheim vs Baner again. A real cavalry melee has developed. Two of the Swedish horse units have become seriously depleted. The Imperialists have also taken losses, but little concern so far of any imminent collapse.

Carnage in the centre. Costly Swedish cavalry attacks have reduced, but not destroyed the Imperialist batteries. But disaster for the Swedes: a mounted commander - he looks very like the King himself! - bites the dust. The Swedish activation dice is reduced by 1.

General view, looking up from the Saxon left. The Imperialist line is looking distinctively concave as effective Swedish firepower drive back the Imperialist tercios.

This turn, the Imperialists go first. The previous picture indicates that they activated 13 units. The raw Swedish roll here adds up to 24 - rather below expectation (28) - which translates to 12 units activated. It may take a while to get the Swedish reserves into the action!

The fight in the centre. The leading Swedish brigades have advanced rather ahead of the supports and risk becoming isolated. Rather careless addition to the battlefield of spectacles and hearing aids (the latter were new)...

Swedish get to move first in this turn...

... and the imperialist response

Imperialist foot counterattack in the centre halts the Swedish attack. Although the firepower of the three brigades equals that of the six tercios, the former are a deal less able to sustain or endure it. When the tercios close, the power differential will be so much greater.

Pappenheim's fight is wearing down his cuirassiers - 7SP lost so far - but Baner's cavalry is becoming even more depleted, 6SP down, not counting a commanded musketeer company and a cavalry unit destroyed.

The Saxons activate 2 units, but they are still hanging in there. Although the Saxons have lost 5SP to 2SP, they are not shifting. There are even indications that they are driving back Furstenburg's horse.

Next turn: the Swedes go first....

I'll break off the pictorial narrative at this point and resume with a second posting. I had intended just a brief account with a short selection of pictures, but going through them I recalled that I included the initiative and activation dice in most of the photos. It seemed to be worth it, then, to extend the story to feature those rolls, and to observe the ebb and flow of the action. So, it is...

... to be concluded.

What happened?!

Early this year I posted a run-down on armies and navies finished off during the course of 2025. Although I have added a few little items since - e.g. the Settee Empire (Turcowaz) got a small ironclad gun ship, and the chubby merchant fleet got an extra vessel about a week ago - really my forces are pretty much complete as they now stand, with no further additions required. Rather, I find myself with a few loose ends - orphaned figures in trivial numbers I'm not sure what to do with.

That would, one might suppose, offer more time for (a) war gaming and (b) the writing up thereof. That isn't happening... and I don't know why. OK, it's the blahs. Sort of.  I have such a backlog of postings to post; the second chapter of Waterloo 2.0 is in draft (and that has taken a good 6 weeks to get started, even); the first two land battles of the Little Great War have been fought and pictured: and I haven't yet put together a proper war narrative for the Little Great War...

Little Great War: Battle of Azaen, 11 June, 1884

Little Great War: Battle of Azmezidon, 15 June 1884

What happened to my version of the Battle of Aspern-Essling?! That was played out last August! This really is reprehensible.

Aspern-Essling, Morning, 21 May 1809

Aspern-Essling, about midday, 22 May

This morning I was glancing through an old Wargames Illustrated magazine and lit on an article about the 30YW Battle of Breitenfeld. I had clean forgotten that I played out a 'Breitenfeld' on my hex table back in December. Had I posted it? Nope. No idea where the notes went, but methinks the Waterloo campaign narrative will have to wait upon a brief write-up of the 30YW action. This will be less a battle narrative than a write-up of the army organisation, adaptations of the Portable P&S rule set, and the limitations of my small table (or of overlarge armies!).

Midway through the 'Battle of Breitenfeld'. I don't recall 
what was the final result!

I wonder if it is because I have so many projects pretty much completed in terms of established armies. Could it be that I have reached a 'Buridan's Ass' impasse, unable at any given time satisfactorily to decide which project to focus on? Un embarras de richesses it is. Perhaps certain global events are distracting me - I certainly have been following the major conflicts with a great deal of interest, trying to pierce the fog of mal-information this country is receiving and passing off as 'News'. That has had some effect upon my war gaming, and has more than once led to my wondering why I war game at all, or even whether I ought.

Time methinks to wake up, and level off the backlog mountain...

Little Great War: Aithiops Convoy

 

The Azurian convoy intercepted by two Ruberian 
warships.

The hostility simmering between Azuria and Ruberia having broken out into open warfare, the former's government made haste to bring in needed supplies from the Western littoral of its Aithiopian colonies before the much more powerful Rubeian navy closed down the Great Western Ocean approaches. Coming from ports farthest south, and delayed several days by a tropical storm, the final convoy was late reaching the safety of a Bay of Biscuit seaport.

Azurian Convoy ZA13 from Aithiops

Too late. Word had reached the Ruberian Admiralty of the traffic, and a small squadron under Commodore Sir Hailsforth Barrow set out under its orders to intercept any and all Azurian vessels coming up the Iberian coast. He had with him the battleship RMS Royal Sceptre (FP17), and the protected cruiser, RMS Edgar Colle (FP9), under the command of Captain Ulysses Morcroft.
...

Pre-dreadnought RMS Royal Sceptre 

Protected Cruiser RMS Edgar Colle

Convoy ZA13 ran into Barrow's squadron just north of the 41st parallel, and much too far from the Iberian coast to hope to make a run for a neutral port. Commanding the convoy, Capitaine Jean-Paul d'Armagnac at once upon sighting the approaching Ruberian ships, ordered his own ships forward to intercept. At the same time, he directed the convoy to turn shaprly to starboard and make for the Iberian coast. The armed merchant, ANV Asmodeus was to place itself on the vulnerable flank of the convoy as it made off.

As the merchants turn away, the escorts engage the 
intruders

The convoy comprised:
Colonne Tribord (Starboard):

• ANV Duroc d'Asprez (Armoured Cruiser 9FP)
• SS Dubonnet (Merchant 6FP)

Colonne Centrale:

• SS Asmodeus (Armed Merchant 6FP)
• SS Bruillier (Merchant 4FP)
• SS Caramello (Merchant 4FP)

Colonne Bâbord:

• ANV Amiral Ducrot (Ironclad Battleship 12FP)
• SS Equipage (Merchant 6FP)

Battle Stats for ANV Duroc d'Asprez

The opening salvoes by both Ruberian warships were already the writing on the wall, so far as Capitaine d'Armagnac was concerned. Never before had he seen such gunnery! At once Amiral Ducrot took two 9.2-inch shell hits along the waterline, and a 6-inch shell at once knocked out the forward main gun. Captain Ulysses Morcroft had trained well the crew of Edgar Colle. So had the crew of Royal Sceptre proved their mettle: a hull hit below the forward main gun came close to knocking out half of the Duroc d'Asprez main battery as well.

Deeming the pre-dreadnought battleship Royal Sceptre the greater threat, Capitaine d'Armagnac ordered both Azurian warships to engage that vessel more closely, and directed the armed merchant to do its best to keep off the protected cruiser Edgar Colle. The latter was something of an optimistic hope, as its short range 4-inch popguns were hopelessly outclassed by the cruiser's 9.2 and 6-inch ordnance. But if his warships could drive off the battleship and still be able to swim, they might yet drive away the cruiser, and save the convoy.

Unfortunately, the slow speed and puny armament of Asmodeus were far insufficient to prevent Edgar Colle from getting in amongst the convoy. Trying to escape, they turned away to the southeast, whilst Asmodeus, caught wrong footed, found itself drawing away rapidly from the main convoy, with the more powerful cruiser stood in between.

The duel of the big warships didn't last long. Engaging the larger of the Azurians with its main guns, Royal Sceptre slammed in damaging hits, knocking out the main gun astern, and adding to the carnage below decks. Having already taken considerable damage from the deadly opening salvo from Edgar Colle, and despite avoiding a long range torpedo strike, Admiral Ducrot soon went down. Before foundering, its own gunfire landed one minor hit upon Royal Sceptre, and the torpedo just missed.

Such was the outcome of Duroc d'Asprez's own torpedo strike at long range - a narrow miss. But it's gunnery, possibly steadied by the lighter, secondary ordnance coming their way proved the more effective than its consort's had. 

The final duel between raider and escort could have in the end but one outcome. As Royal Sceptre shoved several more shells into Duroc d'Asprez, Edgar Colle set off after the merchant ships. The Azurian armoured cruiser soon left dead in the water and sinking, Royal Sceptre took up the pursuit of the convoy.

Duroc d'Asprez tries to hold off Royal Sceptre
as Edgar Colle begins rounding up the merchants

Edgar Colle sending several shots across the bows of 
the Azurian ships. Well... they aren't scoring any hits,
are they?

Still afloat and determined to make a fight of it, the armed merchant Asmodeus tried to bar the way. Naturally, such resistance was a merely futile gesture, as a single salvo was enough to put Asmodeus under.  Meanwhile Edgar Colle had to fire several shells into the unprotected merchant ships before they began to alter course and mill around in circles. As Royal Sceptre wqas coming up rapidly, neither fight nor flight was left to the convoy. Four valuable ships, together with their vital cargoes, fell into the hands of the Ruberian Navy.

No escape for the merchant ships. Four prizes go to the 
Ruberian Royal Navy

Naturally, this engagement was hailed a great victory by the Trinovantum Tribune, The Londonjon Illustrated News, and the Daily Post. But the Azurians had been not quite a pushover. Having taken some hard knocks during the action, Royal Sceptre was to spend several weeks undergoing repair and replenishment. The Azurian Annals, the Bulletin, and Lutetian Egalitarian heaped praise upon the gallant fight Amiral Ducrot, Duroc d'Asprez and Asmodeus put up against a far more powerful enemy.

A few telling shell hits persuade the Azurian ships' captains
that neither fight nor flight are available options

So the survivors who made it back to Azuria related their story. But the whole action had been decided by the remarkable first salvoes, that knocked half the fight out of the escorts before the action had fairly begun.

Army Accommodations

 

A recent posting on Bob Cordery's blogspot, Wargames Miscellany reminded me of something I've been meaning to do for a long time: tell of the accommodations of my war games armies. His own accommodations look to me convenient and handy - especially the 'army in a box' concept - something I have striven for but never quite achieved to my satisfaction. We begin with these 'tray towers'.

The coloured ones house most of my Napoleonic inventory. We might call this an 'army corps in a tray', in accordance with my Big Battles 4 Small Tables game system. Some 'double up', such as the two French Cavalry Corps in the picture below. I Cav Corps comprises 3x12-figure brigades of dragoons and a park of 1 gun with 3 crew figures; II Corps comprises 3x12-figure brigades of 12 cuirassiers. Also present in this tray are Marshal Murat with his aide-de-camp, and Generals Milhaud and Lasalle. Some sort of horse grenadier staff officer seems to have accommodated himself there as well.

In the following picture, a single French Amry Corps takes up only about half the room. One of the Divisions (the 5th) has been taken out for some work that needs doing on them. This Army Corps (II) comprises 3x24-figure Infantry Divisions, a light horse brigade and a park of 2 guns each with 3 crew figures. Those triangular and trapezoidal profiles you see are bases for the artillery in action. I prefer (for the moment) not to fasten the guns to these bases.

Below are a couple of Austrian Army Corps in their trays. Top tray, looks like I Corps: 3 Line Divisions, 1 Jager Division (rather larger formation than historica1!), and a unit of Uhlans. Again we have a 2-gun artillery park, but with 4 crew figures each. The artillery scale is determined by the number of crew figures, at 1 figure representing 8 guns, and 200 artillerymen. So this formation's artillery park represents 64 guns and 1600 gunners.

The bottom tray shows part of the Reserve Corps of Austrian grenadiers and cuirassiers.

The next two trays hold my British army: foot in the top, artillery and horse in the bottom. The Royal Scots Greys were an indulgence. Now, these trays measure 26cm x 34cm. The plastic being rather soft, the heavy metal figures tend to sag the floor of the trays. This was a real problem with the next tray tower, whose trays measure 33cm x 37cm. That extra width was enough to cause a sag that would compromise the safety of the figures in the tray below. 

Stack of trays. the whole unit can be wheeled around
or the separate drawers removed. I damaged this 
somewhat several years ago when I tripped over an 
impediment I might as well have placed in order 
to do so, slammed into the thing, and took a hefty gouge out of my 
knee. The bottom tray still sticks a bit... and I still
bear the scar.

This I solved by transferring all the metal figures to the less roomy coloured towers. The armies here are all - very nearly all - plastics. The top 5 hold my 30YW armies. The picture didn't come out so I am not showing any. The next two hold my War of the Spanish Succession Imperialists.

WSS Imperialists: 36-figure foot and 
24-figure horse units. I rather wish I had adopted
a different plan...

... and the next two my Prussian Army, inherited when their previous owner was about to deep six the lot. The Paul 'Jacko' Jackson added to the infantry, Italieri plastics, enough to build the army from 7 to 9 units; and I bought some Italieri cavalry. So 'antispiring' (outspiring?) were the figures that it took me an age to get them painted.  And then, just because I liked the look, and had forgotten what Prussian horse I had, I added a couple of metal (Minifigs). The whole army comprises 3 Army corps, each with 3x24-figure Divisions, an park of 2 guns and 4 gunners, and two or three cavalry formations. This army, like my French, has far too much cavalry! At any rate, the whole lot goes into just two of these trays.

Prussian Army

***

A very useful ... thing ... that I could use more of!

Now, the sort of thing pictured above would have been very handy: hardish plastic, deep enough to accommodate flags and uhlans. This is where my Napoleonic Russian uhlans live, together with Aeryth Chromatica Turcowaz cavalry. Not all the drawers have much in them at the moment.

WW2, some board games I've hardly ever looked 
at (including SPI's Fighting Sail), and 
logistics elements at the bottom.

But that brings me to something I discovered several years ago: these 3-drawer cardboard archive tray thingies. There is a word for them, I'm sure. The white box at the upper centre of the picture holds most of the army of Altmark-Uberheim - one of my 'War of the Imperialist Succession' armies.

My rather inefficiently stacked WW2 and such 
cupboard. The white box with the blue apostrophe 
is what is intended to engage the interest here.

Just lingering in this tall cupboard for the moment, all the other random boxes here contain WW2 items: tanks, vehicles, guns. I really must go through and sort it all out.

Altmark-Uberheim army box.

Altmark-Uberheim foot and horse.

Now this set was deeper than wide, unlike all the other cardboard storage that I picked up over the years. Pity, as for several reasons this was the better design.

Not Quite Seven Years War army barracks.

Here we have it. Everything in those 5 boxes belongs to my War of the Imperialist Succession/ Not Quite 7YW armies. Atop the left of the pile as you see it two flat boxes hold the Imperialist Infantry, and I do believe one Archduke Piccolo might be found there. Four of my five Sengoku armies are in boxes to the right, and that little black box contains my 'Jono's World' aircraft stands. The labels on most of those boxes will have to be redone...

The main drawback of these otherwise splendid units, is that they are not very robust. I might yet end up replacing them once they start to disintegrate. Mind you some of these are twenty and more years since their purchase.

Infantry of Hessen-Rohr 5 regiments of 36 figures in all 
4 companies of 8 plus HQ of 4.

What the boxes contain: 5 x 36-figure infantry and 4x19-figure cavalry. 

Imperialist horse: 3 dragoon and 1 hussar regiment.
I have a notion that the green dragoons are below establishment 
at 15 figures.

RED and BLUE armies, and my really tiny
navies overall

Then there are these two. The contain my Chromatic Wars armies Ruberia and Azuria - and badly in need of relabelling. The armies of Turcowaz and Izumrud-Zeleniya have slightly different accommodation that I forgot to photograph: same idea, but metal-bound plastic. Very large drawers on that one. 

Here's where my ACW armies live. Mostly photographic paper boxes, with the occasional chocolate box thrown in. The whole arrangement is sufficient to hold something like 1500 figures. Not ideal, though. Mainly one box will contain a brigade or possibly two of infantry, the artillery have very shallow chocolate boxes of their own (except for my South Carolina Brigade, which has a 2-gun battery in the same box.  The cavalry have separate accommodations.

ACW boxes.

My Chromatic Wars navies live in a chest of drawers, two of which accommodate the 'whole worlds' navies'. Top drawer: 20 vessels of Ruberian Royal Navy; the 6 torpedo boats of Chervenia; some landing barges; the 8 Hellenic and 9 Turcowaz vessels.

Third drawer: 7 merchant ships (2 armed); 19 Azurian vessels (including the two overscale 'flatiron gunboats'), the light cruiser and 3 torpedo boats of the minute Rhumbarbarian Navy; and the 8-ship navy of Izumrud-Zeleniya. Separating the Zeleniyans from the others, are two riverine boats: a sternwheeler steamship, and a Ruberian  'Fly' class gunboat.

The above is what separates the naval accommodations: my Roman Fort. This featured as the fortified wall of the riverine market town of Kachinga in the 'Darkest Aithops' campaign run by 'Jacko' and myself that was kiboshed by COVID19 2.0. 5 years ago. I don't think it will ever be revived, worse luck. It promised to be very interesting. The colonial army was about to be ambushed at Getmai Drift by what remained of the m'Butu tribal forces, though it was very doubtful that the colonial tide would have been stemmed. 

In another chest of drawers one might locate my 'Byzantiad' armies - and my ACW vessels, which, again, I forgot to photograph

Some 'Byzantiad' stuff. Those galley hulls are from a project begun 
decades ago. Still don't know what to do with them.

Other bits and pieces have their own storage spaces - this unit of bins contains several HO-OO scale buildings, some cardboard railway buildings, some Usborne mediaeval, a few plastic, and a number home made. These days I find myself using more often several underscale buildings that I have stashed elsewhere.

Assorted buildings

Below, counters, dice, little magnetic chessboard, and my hearing aid stuff. 

That folded thing divided into green squares
and tucked in between furniture was one of those
  'could be useful' buys. Still not sure what to do with it

And finally, I have found a place for my 1:600 'Jono's World' expeditionary forces. One change I will probably make. I combined the AA and logistic elements, which seemed to make sense, and perhaps those elements will remain so. But I think some separate AA elements are called for...

'Jono's World' Armies. The aircraft stands are 
for my 'Mighty Armada's' game system that needs 
a fair bit of work to complete...

Well ... that isn't everything, but it is most of it. At some future time I might say something about my folders of notes, sketches, maps, ORBATS etc. I had a look at my ACW folder, and discovered that over the years I had accumulated a fairly useful resource. More of that sort of thing another time...