Wooden Wars: KublaCon -Part II

"Follow me and I'll show you how a marshal gets splinters!"

~Marshal P. Grose, Battle of La Haye Bloque 

Continuing on our battle reports of KublaCon battles, I submit to you, gentle readers the second battle for La Haye Bloque, which occurred  Saturday afternoon, and the Battle of Block-o-Dino which was run Sunday.

  

La Haye Bloque

When I set up the games to be played, the idea was to have 5 players per side, each commanding 2 units. Before the first battle was over however, the signup sheet had filled up to something like 26 players for the subsequent battle.  As no signup survives contact etc. etc., I took on 20 players, each commanding one unit. Mayhem and fun ensued! 

A battalion of the blue army column marches to the buildings.

And gets some attention from the enemy.

Captain B readies to fire, while her father acts as ADC.

Opposing units clash in La Haye Bloque and Woody fighting ensues.
Note the medal on the building. This is the objective reward.

Blue army holds La Haye Bloque, for the time being.

A red army unit holds another objective as it gets pounded around them.

A commander's eye view of the battlefield.

I sadly did not get to document the winner of the second battle, a cavalry unit from the Red Army commanded by a young lady, who after turning the enemy's flanks, ran down their guns and captured the flag.  The whole battle was one of the "splinter-iest" ever recorded in Wooden Wars' history, as battalion after battalion took a heavy pounding or met in hand-to-hand combat.

Block-o-Dino: The Great Redoubt

The titans of war cast shadows across the battlefield. I think this was
the point where I offered a medal to anyone who brought me coffee!

Sunday morning:   And the sun shone from the grand foyer down over the redoubts of Block-o-Dino.  Fortified with a large coffee, thanks  to my ADC , I quickly reviewed the conventions of battle with another 20 eager players. There were some decorated veterans in the throng, so the battle started rather quickly with the attacking blue army's infantry units bravely forming into march columns and weathering heavy cannonade as they marched towards the guns. 

A birds eye view of the battlefield

Another shot. Note the blue and red skull and crown number markers.
These were shuffled and placed at each unit to show activation.
It really gave a good fog of war and is very easy to track.

Cavalry on both armies were dancing about hoping to catch an infantry unit or a gun battery, with some success.   The redoubt held strongly, as ball after ball was deflected from its de Vauban-esque star fort pattern. Vauban knew his stuff when it came to rubber balls. 

The unit advancing in column ended up capturing the enemy's flag.

A battery of guns firing just after the unit advanced. It was missed.
These guys were not!

Red army cavalry flank a redoubt and capture a gun- and a medal!

Same cavalry unit then charged a square. Note counting up attacks.

After  about 7 turns and a 15 minute potty break (for young and old... I did mention it was a Large coffee, right?)  a single infantry unit made it to the great redoubt  and over the wall, taking down a gun and crew, then gaining the initiative and hitting an infantry unit in the flank completely knocking it over! 

Red army storm the redoubt , capturing a gun!

Then charge the enemy in the flank, knocking over a full battalion.
The flag was taken the next turn.
The kids in the background are brother and sister facing off.

A special mention to the grognards, like Mr. B Burke, commanding a
unit of cavalry. Note the square behind him.

 The Red army knew that they were in dire straits and moved a grenadier unit forward to defend the flag, but alas not far enough.  There was a chance that the unit would get an activation before the attackers and they could charge and drive them back. Unfortunately they did not, and also did not take into account that the attackers could (and would) move a baton PLUS the length of the mounted officer.  The brave unit captured the flag and the red army surrendered! 

These games were a blast to run, and all the players were a real pleasure.  The really cool take-away from this battle were some of the kids on the flanks watching and making comments on tactics and what they would do with such and such unit.  Welcome to the next generation -  and watch out for them, because they've truly earned their spurs under fire!

Next time we'll review some of the units involved in the battles, and some exciting news about when Wooden Wars will finally be available for all!

 Until then, I remain your most Obd't Toy Maker