More Minifigs than ever

I now have more Minifigs than ever I had when they had a near monopoly on 15mm Gaming.  Partly I have come to appreciate their virtues and also, I cannot resist a bargain.  So here are my latest Crimean additions.

I’ve done the rosters, as we Piquet types say, for a ‘Not the Alma’ game and I’m hoping it will be a good one. 

It’s an interesting exercise in many ways. Most of the British, and some of the French are armed with the rifled musket-a huge advantage. I’m allowing a couple of Russian battalions the same but for most of the Russians effective firepower is a close- range affair. Not that they were all bad shots, they were trained to aim low and a quick look at the casualties they inflicted shows they could cause punishment.

Their artillery was probably the best of all the armies involved.  There was a draw- back, Russian standing orders forbade allowing the capture of their guns.  Accordingly, artillery units had an alarming tendency to retreat when the enemy got close, thus sparing the foe devastating canister fire. I might reflect this in the game any enemy within 200 yards and there will be a 50% chance of the Russian guns retiring.

Rating the various units is for me a work in progress, for the present Russian artillery, Zouaves,  Chasseurs and Highlanders are getting the highest rating. At the moment the rest of the British, French and Russians, and perhaps Turkish, are simply regulars. 

Command for everyone but the French is often thought woeful, I'm thinking that may be over simple so time to ponder. 

Oh, and I’ve made the Cossacks adequate fighters but quick to scarper.

I’m hoping the game will clarify my thinking especially around British Guards (Campbell more or less implied they should be shot for retreating) and the cavalry who were full of dashing courage but not particularly deadly.  The Russian cavalry were made up of good enough material but timidly used and again seemingly not very deadly in combat. The French Guards might get an uplift as might General Scarlett and some others. It’s the beginning of a learning curve as we used to say.

One thing I'm decided on is that the story of the upcoming game will be told through the eyes of the individual Brigadiers involved.