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| The blooding of Günter's Saxon Army against Karl XII's Swedes |
Barry Hilton - Well, our Derby adventure is over for another year and we finished off 2013 in style with a new format featuring 4 separate tables through which the players worked their way over two days. The idea was something we'd used in our League of Gentlemen games for WW2 and Vietnam. The principle is to allow the maximum amount of variety for each player over the two days with four chances to win and partner new people every session.
It seemed to go down very well with the players who entered into the spirit of the game(s) and worked in teams with great enthusiasm.
To give as broad a flavour of the period and allow BLB to breathe in different situations I set the games in four theatres and at slightly different dates between 1689 and 1703.
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| Ramsay's men brace for yet another Highland charge |
Date: July 1689: In the Central Highlands of Scotland General Hugh Mackay of Scourie took his small army out to hunt down and destroy the forces of Bonnie Dundee. They meet in a steep sided glen and four times replayed their encounter.
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| Williamite guns watch over Athlone 1691 |
Date: July 1691: Central Ireland: General Ginkel has Athlone under siege. The town is about to fall to King William's Army... through the dawn mist the thunder of an army on the march can be heard and the Williamite Army stirs from its slumber. Patrick Sarsfield has arrived leading a relieving force which bears down on the besiegers like ravenous wolves.
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| Maison du Roi attack the Allied rearguard at Neerhespen |
Date: 29th July 1693: King William's army is shattered and the Maison du Roi have cracked his line. In the panicky retreat the entire army is heading for a tiny bridge over the Geete. A rearguard begins to form to protect the valuable artillery train and the possessions and mistresses of numerous general officers. Will they be able to hold back the waves of French cavalry pursuing them?
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| Drabants mix it with Saxon Kurassier |
Date: July 8 1702: In Lithuania Karl XII of Sweden faces a Saxon army over twice the size of his own. He must attack over a marshy stream and break the massive enemy army commanded by the King of Poland- Saxony August the Strong.
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| Liberty from tyranny? Who said that? Athlone 1691 |
Most of our 13 players managed to play on every table commanding a different army each time. This taster allows us to share an overview with Blog members with the promise that we will revisit every scenario in detail, show lots more pictures and explain how each game went. Each was played four times and we got a variety of results. In the meantime, enjoy this little treat with photos of units from the collections of Adam Hayes, Colin Napier, Adrian Howe, Gerry Donohoe, Jim Masson, Bob Talbot, Gunter Heim and myself. Additional painting by Andy Thomson, Peter McCarroll, Tam Nish, David Imrie and Alan Wedderburn.