warg~es pronuses you armies, figures& terrain in which you cantue justifiable pride.

PHOTOS: 25mm Dixon Samurai FS2 with back banner S82, Essex 25mm Napoleonics, Tin Soldier 25mm Aztecs, 25mm Essex AB3 on H31 and MP34, 15mm Donnington CF17, ACW5 and ACW25. Essex 25mm Knight M25

ESSEX • 25mm Ancients,

Medievals, Renaissance, Napoleonics and Colonials

• 15mm Ancients

DIXON • 25mm Samurai and

Marlburian .15mm Samurai and

Napoleonics

TIN SOLDIER • 25mm Aztecs .15mm Ancients and

Medievals

DONNINGTON • 15mm Ancients,

Renaissance and ACW

CORVUS • 25mm Ancients and

Franco Prussians

INTEGRAL TERRAIN • Full color terrain­recommended by WRG

ftWARGAMES~, •••••••••••••• WARGAMES SUPPORTS WARGAMERS

1410 Promenade Bank Center Richardson, TX 75080' 214 / 241-3425

EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR OF STANDARD GAMES, INTEGRAL TERRAIN, NEWBURY RULES AND ESSEX, DIXON, TIN SOLDIER, DONNINGTON , CORVUS, KONTOS AND MILITARY MINIATURES

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ESSEX

1000 Point 15mm Annies Contact us for complete listing.

25mm Napoleonics • BRITISH • French Curassier

25mm Late 17th Century Send $2 for samples and full listings.

15mm Ancients Each pack includes 8 Infantry, 6 Command, 4 Cavalry or 3 Mounted Command for $1.99 per pack. VIKINGS Code VA 1 Command Pack:

Mounted General, Mounted Sub-General, Mounted Noble

VA2 Command Pack: Two standard bearers, three assorted chieftains, one Ulfhednar (wolfskin one)

VA3 Huscarls (assorted poses)

VA4 Bondi spearmen (assorted)

VA5 Bondi axemen (assorted) VA6 Bondi archers firing VA? Bondi archers (assorted) VA8 Berserks (assorted) VA9 Mounted Huscarles

(assorted) VA10 Mounted Bondi

(assorted) LATER FRANKISH BRETON OR NORMAN NA 1 Command Pack:

Mounted General, Mounted standard bearer, Mounted Noble

Franks NA2 Medium infantry NA3 Heavy infantry NA4 Medium cavalry with

horse NA5 Heavy cavalry with horse Lombards NA6 Heavy cavalry with horse NA? Medium cavalry with

horse NA8 Light archer (assorted) Bretons NA9 Mounted Knight with

horse NA10 Light cavalry with horse Normans NA 11 Mounted Knight with

horse NA12 Dismounted Knight NA13 Heavy spearman NA14 Medium spearman NA15 Crossbowman NA 16 Archer (assorted poses) NA 17 Swabian two handed

swordsman NA18 Command Pack: 3

Officers, 3 standard bearers

EARLY SAXON, FRISIAN, SUEVI, BAVARIAN OR THURINGIAN SXA 1 Command Pack:

Mounted General, Mounted Sub-General, Mounted Noble

SXA2 Command Pack: 2 standard bearer, 3 chieftains, 1 horn blower

SXA3 Noble warriors, H.I. (assorted)

SXA4 Noble warriors, M.1. (assorted)

SXA5 Spearmen, (assorted) SXA6 Archers (assorted)

SXA? Levy, javelin or improvised weapon (assorted)

Welsh WA 1 Spearmen M.1. (assorted) WA2 Spearmen H.1. (assorted) WA3 Archers (assorted poses) WA4 Javelinmen (assorted) WA5 Light cavalry, javelin &

shield WA6 Heavy cavalry, javelin &

shield NOTE: For Command Packs use SXA 1, SXA2.

PAINTED 25mm UNITS & ARMIES

Beautifully detailed units are only $32.95 Hoplite' Lychimacid' Hellenistic Late Roman ' Mithridatic Saxon' Patrician Roman' Byzantine ' Avar Tang Chinese' Norman' Varangian' Anglo-Danish' Crusader' Anglo-Irish' Mongol Free Company ' English Civil War ' Skythian Seleucid ' Bactrian Greek Middle Roman ' Parthian Palmyran' Lombard' Bulgar Welsh' Arab ' Aztec ' Pecheneg Khitan Liao ' Imperialist ' Prussian ' Mamaluke Burgundian ' Polish' Alexandrian' Asiatic Successor' Maccabean Jews' Early Imperial Roman Bactrian Greek Huns' Indian' Slav Khazar Tibetan ' Viking ' Norse Irish ' Samurai' Medieval Scandanavian' Teutonic Knights' 100 Years War' French' Wars of the Roses'

NOTE: At the time of writing we have immediately available, full painted armies of those marked ' above.

MORE 7th EDITION 25mm STARTER PACKS

$29.95 (No other discounts apply)

Pack contains 2 pair of average dice ($3.50 value) plus the following Essex, Dixon or Tin Soldier figures. Contact us for complete listing.

SKYTHIAN 1? Horse Archers BACTRIAN GREEK 24 Pikemen 14 Longbowmen MACCABEAN JEWISH 20 Foot of the Phalanx 18 Archers PALMY RAN 24 Roman Auxiliaries 14 Roman Legion :aries LOMBARD 1? Lombard Noble Cavalry AVAR 14 Slav Spearmen 12 Slav Axemen 12 Slav Archers BYZANTINE 38 Psiloi Bowmen WELSH 20 Archers 18 Spearmen T'ANG CHINESE 20 Spearmen 9 Crossbowmen 9 Archers VARANGIAN 24 Axemen 6 Berserkers 8 Archers ANGLO-DANISH 24 Huscarles 14 Great Fyrd GEORGIAN 28 Qmani Archers 10 Knights SICILIAN 15 Knights 23 Archers CRUSADERS 24 Crossbowmen 14 Knights TEUTONIC KNIGHTS 16 Longbowmen 12 Knights 10 Prussians FREE COMPANY 14 Longbowmen 12 Knights 12 Crossbowmen BURGUNDIAN 19 Crossbowmen 19 Longbowmen

NEWBURY RULES

• Ancients Fast Play Rules-$5.95

• Ancients Army Lists-$5.95 (The aboYe are being play·tested for the 1967 National O1ampionships)

• Medieval Skirmish Rules-$3.95

DIXON

Marlburians Code

GA 1 Officer with spontoon GA2 Officer/Ensign with hat

in hand GA3 Officer/Ensign with open

coat GA4 Drummer GA5 Musketeer with 12

Apostles, sword in shoulder belt

GA6 Musketeer with 12 Apostles, sword in waist belt

GA? Musketeer with matchlock

GA8 Musketeer with flintlock GA9 Grenadier GA10 Unarmoured pikeman GA11 Armoured pikeman GA12 Levy/Rebel in coat,

open-handed GA13 Levy/Rebel in waistcoat,

open-handed GA14 Levy/Rebel in shirt-

sleeves, open-handed NOTE: Each figure (except Officers and Drummer) is cast with a variety of up to 10 different hair styles and head gear!

15mm Samurai 21 figures are now available including cavalry. Send $2 for samples and full listing. 15mm Annies • Late Samurai-$24.95 • Samurai-$29.95 • Middle Period-$32.95

AVAILABLE IN '86

Don't settle for second best. (or worse) It pays to wait for the best.

25mm • Early Imperial Roman • Marian Roman • Maccabean Jews • Hellenistic Greek • Camillan Roman • Skythian • Franco Prussian • Bactrian Greek 15mm • The best of Mikes Models • Tin Soldier Late Romans and

Samurai • More Essex

WE MAKE IT EASY

Price-breaks for clubs. Over $25-FREE postage, $50-10% , $100-15% and $200-20% Discount. DEALER INQUIRES INVITED Telephone orders 214/241-3425 and use your major credit card . Mail orders add $1.50 shipping and handling charges to all orders under $25. COD is an additional $1 .50 Please mail check & your order to:

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1410 Promenade Bank Center Richardson, TX 75080 • 214/ 241-3425

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M!t:t)'i, ~d~ Second Edition

Rules of play for battles of the age of Frederick the Great 1740-1786 An old favorite just got better! The Second Edition of Koenig Krieg employs the same fast, fun system as the original, and adds these features: • Clarifications to original rules. • More optional rules. • Expanded orders of battle. • Better graphics.

Copies are available for $10 each, plus $1 postage, from:

Barry Gray Parkwood Village Apts. Building 4, Apt. H South Amboy, N.]. 08879

DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME

SPECIAL OFFER. Send in the front cover from your copy of the first

edition of Koenig Krieg, and take $4 off the price of the second edition!

VERLORENE HAUTE Rules for the Renaissance 1453-1688 A faster, simpler alternative to that other Renaissance game, that really gets you into the action. Great for large, multi-player games.

• No order writing. • No bookkeeping. • Streamlined combat & morale procedures. • Three complete historical scenarios.

~----------------------------------------------------------

o Please send me copies of Verlorene Haufe. I enclose $11 payment per copy.

o Please send me copies of Koenig Krieg. I enclose $11 payment per copy.

o I am enclosing covers from the first edition, and deducting $4 for each cover.

Name: ____________ _

Address:

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NORTH AMERICA'S FOREMOST MINIATURE GAMING MAGAZINE

FEATURES

THE TWELVE YEARS WAR Par Condray describes the Age of Marlborough ... .. . . . . .. .. . . . . .. ........ .. •.. .. ..... ... . .. . . . .. .. . . .... . . . ..... . ...• . ..•...•.. . . ...... .. . 5

WAR ON THE GREAT LAKES - PART II Jon Williams completes his descripti on of the ca mpaign .. . ........ . ....... ... • . .. .. • .... • .... . ... . ............ . .. . ..... . ...... .. .. ...... .... 9

BETWEEN WIND AND WATER Bruce M illigan brings us a survey of Age of Sai l Rules ..... . .......... . .. ........... . ..... . .... ... ...... ... ..• .... ... . . . . . . . .. .. .......... .. 17

ON THE DECORATION OF SHIPS Jon Wi lliams helps us paint our models . . . . .............. .. . .... ... ... ... ... . .... ...... .. ...... .. . . .. . . .. . • ..... . . . . . .. ...... . . . .. ....... 21

WHY NOT SINGLE FIGURES Greg Nichols with a case fo r skirmish gaming ... . ........ .. ............. .. ......... ... ............ . ........•.....•............... . . ... .... 25

WAR GAMING WITH 54MM FIGURES Nick Nascar i and H.G. W ells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 29

WARGAME FIGURES FOR THE SUDAN CAMPAIGN Lynn Bodin updates his review of an earli er issue ... .. .. .. ... . . . ... .. .. . .. . .. .... . .. . .... . ..... . ................. .. . . ......•.... ..... .. . . .. 31

THE ARMY THAT WRG FORGOT John Thull with an army list and a battle report on the Lydian Army of Croesus . . .... . ..... .. .. .. .. . . .. . . ...... .. ... . .. .. .. .. ............... . ... . 43

NAPOLEONIC BATTLE OF MANEUVER Mark Makin with a batt le report usi ng Le Grand Tactique .. . ... .. . ... . .... . . ... . ....• . .... . .. ......... ...... . .. . . . ... . . . . . ... ... ... .. .... . . 47

ESPRIT DE CORPS Norman McLeod w ith a n in-depth review of these Napoleonic Rules .. ... ... .. . . . . . .................. . . ... . . .... . ..•....•. . ... . . . ....... .... 51

CAMPAIGN IN ITALY Jim A rn old with Wurmser's Second O ffensive ................................................................ . ...........•..... .. .... . ... 61

DEPARTMENTS

SAPPER'S REPORT: Whalers on the Nile with Gary Williams .... . .. . .. . .... . .. . .......... .......... . .. . . . ......... .. . ........ . .. ... . . . ..... .. 33 GAMMA BALLOT . . ......................... .. .................. . . . . . ....... . ... . .. . ..... . ... .. ... . . . . .... .. . . . .. . . . . . ... . . .. . .. . . . .. 36 THE REVIEWING STAND w ith Jay Hadley ..... . ........... . ..... . ..... . .. . . ...... . ...... .... . . ... . .............. . ... . ... ..... .. ...... . . . . 37 THE COURIER DISPATCH w ith Hal Thinglum ........... .. . . ..... . .. .......... .. . . . ....• • . . .. •....... .... . . .....• . ........... . .. . .. . . ..... 57 THE MARTIAL ART OF PAINTING Base maki ng to identify units with Jay Hadley ... . . .. . ... ...... . .............. . . . ...... . . . ... . .. ... . ......... 62 DISPATCHES FROM THE FIELD Letters to (or at) the Editor .................... .. . . . .. . ...... . ...... . .. .. ... .. ..... ... . . . . ... . . . ... . . . ....... 63 VOLLEY FIRE What you like (or hate) about The Courier ........ . . . ............ . . .. .. . . .. ... . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . .... .. . . .......... . . .. . ..... .. . .. 64

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~~u·tt.i~tt MANAGING EDITOR: Richard L. Bryant

BUSINESS MANAGER: Leo Cronin ART DIRECTOR: Joseph Miceli

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Bruce Milligan THEME EDITOR: THE AGE OF SAIL

Jon Williams

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS William Abrams; Ken Bunger; Phil Barker; Robert Beattie; Lynn Bodin; Rodman Burr; Pat Condray; Jay Hadley; Peter Hall inger; Ian Knight; Paul Koch; Doug Johnson; Robert Mosca; Nick Nascati; Cliff Sayre; George Schneider; Kruse Smith; Walter Simon; Ned Zuparko.

STAFF CARTOONISTS: Jon Rettich Jose Niera Jim Birdseye

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS: Pat Condray Tom Desmond

THE COURIER DISPATCH Hal Thinglum

STAFF ILLUSTRATORS Alan Archambault, AI Karasa

John Thull , Joe Matthews, Larry Schuman John T. Olive, Terry Manton

THE COURIER PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. Richard L. Bryant, President

DIRECTORS Richard Bryant, Leo Cronin, Gloria Miceli

THE COURIER is published approximately bi-monthly at Brockton, MA 02401 USA.

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BACK ISSUES Recent back issues are available for $3.50, USA; $4.00 Canada & Foreign surface; $5.00 Foreign airmail. See last page of issue for listing. Monies in US funds drawn on US banks or International Postal Money Order. Subscriptions sta rt with NEXT published issue after receipt of payment.

No responsibility is assumed for statements of fad or opinion made by the authors. No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited manuscripts, but all sub­missions are welcome, no query necessary. All sub­missions should contain a self-addressed STAMPED envelope large enough to return the submission.

This magazine and other publications ofThe Courier Publishing Company are sold with the understanding that every reasonable attempt is made to deliver them safely through the mails. The Courier Publishing Company is not responsible for items lost in the mails. Replacements will be provided at their usual cosL

ALL DOMESTIC DEALER INQUIRIES, ADVERTISING COPY AND INQUIRIES, DOMESTIC SUBSCRIP­TIONS AND ARTICLES to THE COURIER, Box 1878, Brockton, MA 02403.

Entire Contents Copyright © 1986 by The Courier Publishing Company, Inc.

VOL. VI, NO.5

THE VANGUARD

EDITOR'S NOTES

WHERE IS MY COpy - IT'S ALREADY IN THE STORE!

We spend so much time answering complaints about delivery ofThe Courier that I felt that I should try to clear the ai r (again !).

First, for those that don't already know, The Courier, in spite of its professional appeara nce, is a part time, part-of-our-hobby effort by th ree partners and many volunteer editors and authors. Because of the volunteer aspect and the logistics of putting together a magazine which is typeset in one state, pasted up in another, and printed and mailed in a third, our " schedule" is approximate at best. Our promise is that you will receive 6 issues jam-packed with interesting and helpful art icles for your subscription dollars. The delivery may stretch over 14 months, but you WILL get them. For the 6 years si nce its inception, have have been trying to get The Courier on a constant bi-monthly schedule but am constantly defeated by one item or another interfering with someone's spare time needed for an issue or a maily delay or a printer problem. Any of these ca n resu lt in a delay of several weeks.

The problem with themail is the one most binding and the one I get the most complaints about. Let me explain how we mail The Courier. Bulk Orders (read those going to stores and distributors), without which we cou ld not print enough copies to keep the subscript ion price under $30, are mai led by the printer via UPS and arrive in 3 to 5 days at their destination. The subscribers' copies are mailed THIRD CLASS by the printer AT THE SAME TIME but take 2 to 4 weeks to reach their destinations.

"Why not use 2nd Class or why not mail subscribers' copies ahead of time so as to reach all recipients about the same time?" you ask. First, Third Class is guaranteed by the Post Office to be faster than 2nd Class and secondly, we have enough trouble as described above keeping a schedule without trying to mail half our issues several weeks before the other half.

One way you all can help to speed delivery is give AMPLE NOTICE of an address change ... at least6 weeks. Contrary to popular notion, some individuals in the Post Awful refuse to forward 3rd Class mail in in spite of our guaranteeing forward and return postage, they often destroy the magazine, sometomes only returning themail wrapper. This requires that we spend up to $4.00 ($.98 postage to return it to us, $1 .00+ to get it back to you and often $2 for the cost of a new copy) getting the issue to your new mailing address where it should have cost $.15 if we had the correct address in the first place. This is w hy we insist on the subscriber paying for issues " lost in the mail" where we did not have a correct address.

Finally, I hope that The Courier brings you enough joy and information so that you will forgive the vageries of delivery and understand that we are trying to do the best we can.

TIME TO VOTE

In this issue you will once again fine theGAMA awards nomination ballot. Also printed is a listi ng of everything we could think of that had been released new between Nov. '84 and Nov. '85 (to be eligible for the 1985 award presented at Origins '86) . Please write in anything you feel is eligible and that we may have forgotten ... but PLEASE VOTE! This is the once cha nce that you have to reward your favorite product and encourage its manufacturer to provide more.

NEW COURIER DISPATCH EDITOR

This issue I would like to take the opportunity to welcome Hal Thinglum to The Courier staff. Hal will ed it the Courier Dispatch. Many of you know Hal 's fine work with the Midwest Wargamer's Association Newsletter. He will bring his abi li ty to ferret out newsworthy hobby items to these pages (see page 56 for a biography). I am sure you will join me in expressing my heartfelt thanks to the departing ed itor, Rob Maclean. His effort was a great help in taking some of the load from my back.

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I THE TWELVE YEARS WAR -W~GAMING THE AGE OF MARLBORO

This scene depicting the greatest cavalry battle of the war is a watercolor by R. Simkin "The King's Carabiniers at Malplaquet". Their immediate opponents are probably the Gendarmes du Roi of the Maison du Roi. The combat lasted for hours until the French Army retreated in order - still covered by cavalry charges.

From 1702 to 1714 a war was fought throughout Europe with echoes abroad. Known as the War of the Spanish Succession, it represented the rise and peak of the career of John Churchill , Duke of Marlborough. For that reason it is usually known to English speaking military historians and a few gamers as The Age of Marlborough. In spite of a rash of interesting works on the period, including David Chandler's "War in the Age of Marlborough" and " Marlborough as a Military Commander", the period has been slow to catch on in England and more so in the Colonies.

On the face of it, this period has all the ingredients to interest the amateur military historian and/ or warga mer. If anything it is easier to represent in miniature than practically any period with the possible exception of the classical periods of antiquity because of the formations and the tactical conventions in vogue. Even more than the two great wars of mid-century, The War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War, this era was characterized by an emphasis on Ii near formations and massed fire power. The last pikes were phased out of Queen Anne's armies shortly before Marlborough took ship for the low countries, and the old customs of sending out forlorns or enfants perdus in front of the massed infantry survived mainly as outposts or as advanced elements of storming parties. At first even the firing lines often formed 6 deep as a survival of the days of the pike, but experiments in massed fire tactics abounded and in western Europe exceptions were few. The main advanced tactics involved platoon fire (Holland, England, Prussia) while conservatives fired by rank in formations 3 to 5 deep. Grenadiers, who had started out in the late 17th Century as a somewhat anarchistic sort of light infantry were rapidly turning into elite companies of the line, although the grenade remained in limited use.

This was a great age for cavalry. If you count dragoons, who were beginning in most armies to put on airs and function as cavalry on occasion, the troop ratios of this period offer plenty of squadrons to perform the proper function of cavalry. Compared to the more or less

5

stable infantry formations, the cavalry definitely added tone to the brawl. Most battles were decided by a decisive cavalry charge. I n Napoleon's day a ratio of 1 saber to 4 bayonets was adequate. Given the ratio of manpower in a battalion versus that of a squadron, that amounts to almost 1 squadron per battalion. In the Seven Years War Prussia had the highest proportion of cavalry with a field strength of about 3 foot to 1 horseman. By comparison Austria deployed 143,610 (paper strength) foot to 31,678 horse, or more than 4 to 1. Allowing for detachments of infantry in garrison, it was not unusual for early 18th Century armies to field around 2 squadrons per battalion, thus, by Chandler's count:

Battle Allied Strength French Strength Blenheim (1704) 65 bins 160 sqdns 60 guns 79 bins 140 sqdns90 guns Ramilles (1706) 74 123 120 70 132 70 Oudenarde (1708) 85 150 110 90 170 Malplaquel (1709) 128 253 100 96 180 60 ·Chandler reports 25 guns captured at Oudenarde. but lists none in the order of battle. Faure (Trophees) repo rts that the French artillery had been inadvertently left behind. Only 10 guns arrived which had been sent foward on the initiative of the chief of artillery, LTG St. Hillaire. All were captured.

During this period cavalry was relatively homogenous. The stable garden variety " horse" regiments of England, Holland, France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire were usually armed with two pistols, a carbirie or musket, and a broadsword. As a rule they attacked in line at some sort of trot . Dragoons were socially inferior, and were still subject to infantry duty. Depending on the army they might be expected to a mixed degree to serve on horseback as cavalry or on foot as infantry, but not quite so well as either. True light cavalry had put in an appearance in Western Europe. Its representation was somewhat limited because the principal employer, Austria, was faced with an Hungarian revolt off and on during this period, and hussars were by nature Hungarian. French and Bavarian hussars tended to be deserters from the Austrian service. As yet the Hussar was considered at least as disreputable as dashing. Col. MacCarthy (Sabertache 70-S) reports that two of the first four French hussar colonels were cashiered for some sort of misbehavior.

Cavalry tactics were relatively conservative. Most horsemen still tried to get some use out of their pistols. However, while some authors (e.g., Fosten-Blenheim) accuse the French and others of using the "caracole" it appears not to have been a battle tactic. Approaching at a trot, in lines 3 to 4 deep, continental cavalry would discharge pistols prior to impact.

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