Yet another Sharp Practice project!

I suspect therapy is called for. Whilst busy preparing forces and terrain for Crisis Point's foray into the Indian Ocean in the early eighteenth century I'm feeling an urge to build some Napoleonics in 28mm!

The obvious setting for Sharp Practice Napoleonics is the War in the Peninsula. It goes on for long enough and covers a sufficiently broad geographical area that it's not difficult to shoe-horn in small fictional actions or even campaigns. However, I've done the Peninsula in 20mm and I'm not keen to do it all again in a new scale. 

I briefly considered the Hundred Days campaign. No, that's wrong; I quickly rejected the Hundred Days campaign. All the factors that make the Peninsula suitable for Sharp Practice tell against 1815 for me. There just doesn't seem room to accommodate significant opportunities for the kind of smaller actions that Sharp Practice covers.

An old magazine article did have me considering the fighting around Malborghetto as the Austrians withdrew across the Alps pursued by a French army in 1809. The heroic Austrian defence of the forts would make for a spectacular one-off show game but again the short period of time (to say nothing of the need for space-consuming terrain) counted against this option.

In the end I think I'm going to look into the 1812 campaign in Livonia and the siege of Riga. Some of you will be aware that I have an interest in Latvian history having visited the country some years ago. I'm confident with little more investment than in a couple of boxes of plastic figures I can get some interesting games going.

When Napoleon marched into Russia in 1812, he ordered X Corps under MacDonald to march north and capture Riga and then threaten St Petersburg. X Corps was made up mostly of Prussian troops reluctantly allied with the Corsican Ogre. This means that I can wargame the 1812 campaign with no snow and with Russians and Prussians as the forces involved! This appeals nicely to my liking for the more obscure subject matter.

The Black Powder source book "A Clash of Eagles" has provided some basic background information and I'm also revisiting an old friend for more ideas:

There are a number of inaccuracies in the book but it's still a damned fine adventure, rich with ideas that will transfer well to the table top. 

Also inspiring is this:

The diary of a Würtemburger infantryman, it covers campaigns against the Russians in 1806, Tyrolean insurgents in 1809, and the Russians again in 1812. Most of the book is taken up with the author's experiences during the march to and retreat from Moscow but there's still enough about the experiences of an ordinary soldier to be really helpful.

When I get to Wargames Emporium next I think I'll pick up a box of either Prussian or Russian infantry and start building. This will hopefully be a low-impact project. I don't intend to spend lots of time building dedicated terrain and things like wagons and mule trains can be recycled from the Woebetides or Mexican collections.

Wish me luck!