Napoleonic Action, with 'Battle Command'

 One of the best mechanisms in Battle Command (Piquet:Field of Battle's young petulant brother who steals his older sibling's cash to buy cheap beer...or something along those lines...stretching the metaphor is great)...is the nature of 'command'. 

Well led French on the left, face up against beautifully dressed Minifigs apologists on the right...

 

For card initiative, movement, rallying etc. the commander's dice (d8, d10 or d12 normally) is rolled vs the opponents' command dice (initiative) or an opposed roll on a d6 - how well you do, and whether roll is odd or even, makes a huge difference.

'So ...much...cotton...can't..see a damned thing!'

 For example, it will dictate how many move segments a command group gets, or which side gets to draw cards first, or how easy it is to rally units which have taken hits/disorder etc.

'I hev seen zis ground before Dieter...Yeah...it's Waterloo mate.

So you can imagine, when a side is controlled by a D8 (with mainly D8 command group leaders) vs a D12 army...well - you begin to understand how well these rules replicate victories like Austerlitz and Marengo - where an outnumbered, but well commanded General can outmatch his opponent, and, as happened today, leave half of his opponent's army redundant - wondering what the heck just happened.

Thanks to the rigours of poor command, only part of the Russian force would even gets its hands dirty...

So my nephew, wanting to try Napoleonics, brought his fledgling French force (aforementioned D12s with the wee Corsican ) and I matched it with a Russian-Austrian force (many, many d8s) - this scenario was indeed, so fictional, that I used an old 'Cigar Box Battlemat' - of 'Waterloo' for the battlefield...ahem.

'Are you the Guard???'

Figures include: Minifigs from the 70s, the odd plastic general, Prinz August, Garrison (thank you C.) amongst others.

The French units, advancing with Ordre Mixte, have a grand battery which devastates some of the units which close later during the Allies' attack in the centre

French heavies close quickly on the Allied left

Poised to charge the Austrian guns, left exposed

...as they also make a rapid advance on the Allied right, into the valley

It doesn't end well for the Allies - as the action gets straight into gear

The allied left under extreme pressure from the outset, their command rolls meaning they just can't get a break

The French secure the Allied right, threatening with cavalry - though they are facing Russian heavies (Airfix Waterloo farmhouse part, and Bellona injection mould are the buildings)

The French keep the initiative, smashing the flanks

...also making a demonstration in the centre

One of the Russian brigades begins to move, as the Austrians in the centre...consider their position

Finally, and Allied attack develops in the centre - so many units - unfortunately, they are mostly crap!

'Wait..uhhh...are we attacking the Imperial Guard ?'

The French hold the centre, whilst destroying the flanks

Despite the number of Russians on their right flank, including the Lifeguard, they never get off the ground...watching their cavalry bleed themselves with charge after charge against the French Horse

The Austrian push in the centre ignores the fact that their cavalry on the left is being decimated...slowly

Steady Russian move...straight into the guard, and the grand battery...I hope they have music! The guns on the hill take an awful toll on them

A desperate Allied attack in the centre...with less than solid flanks

The Allied left collapses

...as the French launch their own counter-attack, in the centre

The Austrians take terrible losses, though hold, for a time

The end of the desperate cavalry action on the Allied right - French win

'Vee seems to be much bigger zan zey are...Da, ...it is a scale thing...'

'Pour La Gloire!'

In the end, the Allies were donating morale cards to the French cause consistently, and with a morale card coming up...it was all over, and a great French victory. Pour la Gloire mes Amis!!! A great game!

Le Duc on the Road XXVI - Maranello - 'There are two religions in Italy: Catholicism, and Ferrari!'

The second part of this trip was centred upon Italy's real passion: Football (world cup notwithstanding)? the Romans? Good food? An obsession with bad actors doing dodgy accents? - Noooo - I refer of course, to Ferrari.

A massive F1 exhibit, with the history of the best (and worst) of times, and all of the awards won throughout the decades. Truly outstanding!

 There are two museums - one with a theme (music personalities who have owned Ferraris), and one attached to the factory, with a deep historical perspective, and then a factory tour (though you aren't allowed to take pictures during the tower - I can assure you however, that the factory and test track are phenomenal). Also, it was 100 degrees Fahrenheit (30 deg Cent.) heat, with no wind and thankfully, cold beer...

The 'Prancing Horse' statue in Maranello - emblematic of the Ferarri symbol, which has an origin story all its own.

The theme museum with lots of musicians' cars as a theme this week

 

A rapper owned this (uhhh don't ask me who). Kate Bush's car hadn't arrived yet

A model from the swinging 60s

Michael Schmacher's seminal car from the 90s seasons

The Ferrari "Prancing Horse" (Cavallino Rampante) was originally the personal emblem of Italian World War I fighter ace Francesco Baracca. 

After his death, his mother presented the crest to Enzo Ferrari in 1923, suggesting that it would bring him good luck. It certainly did...

Outside the factory museum, an F1 car is trapped in steel tubing, trying to get out ...note this pic for later, when the storm hits...

One of the original 1940s models - very nice

50s racing model which won everything!

The most recent 'Le Mans' racing car - superb!

The entrance to the factory - after this point, there are no pics allowed (despite me spotting a couple of lads breaking the rules :O - clearly Merc employees). The company employs 6,000 people, and seems superbly organised - especially so for a company which essentially makes 'one-offs' - THOROUGHLY enjoyable, and highly recommended.

Remember the F1 vehicle in the pipes...this is what it looked like when the storm hit - yikes!

To end with, jazz musician Miles Davis's car - beautiful.

Now, in the obvious and endless and well-known (!) Tolkien vs Ferrari debate between the 'Prancing Horse' and the 'Prancing Pony', I think the winner is obvious... 

The Prancing Pony...

The Prancing Horse...

The answer Luigi, is obvious...