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Sunday, 23 October 2011

Advanced Guard Division - Blucher, Jena Auerstadt 1806

Corps of the Day

Today we have the Advanced Guard Division, of the Northern (Prussian) Army at Jena Auerstadt.

A Large Division with a lot of hitting power, effectively a small Corps in this case.





The Advanced Guard of the Prussian army during the Jena-Auerstadt campaign. The coloured pins on the board that you can see here (near the light horse battery, and in the background), are approx 1km apart and show the distance grid across the whole field. One of the advantages of using carpet as the base board for the terrain.
Overhead view of the whole Division. Cumbersome command structure requires a small command radius for this Division ... which makes that cavalry arm a bit of a waste :(  The Measuring Stick seen in the center shows the extent of the command radius for this Division.

Under the command of Blucher, this Division has a lot of mobility and hitting power. On the right flank we have 1 regiments (3 bases) of quality Hussars, and 1 regiment (3 bases of Dragoons). Even fighting alone against a French Corps, this large cavalry element can cause a lot of damage.
A view towards the Division HQ from the rear of the right wing.
A commander's eye view of the left wing of the Division. A strong light infantry regiment - Waschau Fusiliers, and another regiment of Hussars in reserve.
One of the many benefits of the AB figure range is the extra casualty figures you can get. In this case, this Division has its own custom casualty markers, with the same uniforms and facings as the fusiliers. Nice !  In this set of rules, I am using casualty figures to mark unit morale states on board.
A view of the Division from the front across their left wing. Although under cumbersome command radius, they can still cover a front of approx 2km, and still have a decent reserve.

A casualty figure to the front of the unit- with the correct fusilier shako, and Waschau Regimental facings. To the rear, another double casualty marker (2 figures)

The double casualty marker - a severely wounded fusilier figure, and a kneeling priest passing the last rites over the unfortunate. -2 Morale for that !


Just out of interest - here is a comparison of an 18mm AB figure next to a 15mm French Voltiguer from Warrior miniatures. The AB's are discernibly bigger than the 15mm ... but on a big battlefield, its nowhere near enough to affect the visual impact of the game.

You can also see the quality difference - the AB is a cleaner figure, and the ABs have a lively variety within the one pose. Both of these manufacturers (Eureka for the ABs, and order direct from Warrior) .. are great guys to deal with, so there is no difference in the service there. The warrior figure though is significantly cheaper. 

My advice on which range to buy ?  GET BOTH ! !  The more the merrier.  I will be happily using a mix of figures from all sorts of makers for these armies anyway.


Vorwarts ! Down with Boney !


Bonus points if you noticed (and correctly identified) the Grenztruppen Der NVA parade tunic hanging in the background.

I forgot about that when taking the photos .. but there you go. Der NVA was arguably the last of the 'real' Prussian armies ... and very much owes its existence to the events on the day at Jena Auerstadt.







2 comments:

  1. Not my scale, but to me the 15mm Warrior Voltiguer actually looks bigger than the 18mm AB - maybe because it's chunkier?

    In 25/28 mm scale I happily mix Minifigs, Old Glory, Essex, Foundry and others - just NOT in the same units

    Peter

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  2. I think its the camera angle on this one - the Frenchie is uphill of the man from Warsaw, and I think the head may be a lot bigger on the warrior figs.

    I will do some more side by side shots soon, as there is a discernable difference in the ranges.

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