The Battle of Beaumont 1870 - Quick Strike Battle Report

The Battle of Beaumont took place in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. This game sees the French conducting a fighting withdrawal in the face of intense German pursuit. We used They Died for Glory as the rules for this 15mm wargame and the end result was a very close run contest. 

For more details, army lists and maps please check out Richard's blog posts on this game:

Battle of Beaumont - Part 1

Battle of Beaumont - Part 2

The Battle of Beaumont 1870 - Franco-Prussian action in the shed-o-war

Over the weekend the Rejects got together for another game of 'They Died for Glory' refighting part of the Battle of Beaumont which took place during the Franco-Prussian War. The game commenced a few hours into the start of the battle as the French began a fighting withdrawal and the Prussians did their utmost to catch and destroy this Corp before it crossed the Meuse. 

I was going to post a long, detailed battle report here...but I'm trying to knock a Quick Strike Battle report video instead. So in the meantime, I highly recommend checking out Richard's Blog My Wargaming Habit and his posts on the prep for the game and a review of the battle as it played out. I'm hoping to have my video ready by Friday or Saturday and of course, I will post a link to that here when I have it completed. In the meantime here are a couple of 'teaser' pictures of the game. 

A Changing Hobby? Small Skirmish Games vs Big Battles

Is the Tabletop Wargaming Hobby shifting away from Big Battles towards small skirmish games? This subject arose during last week's SALUTE 51 and was even discussed in at least one of the panel sessions. But is the hobby changing, or is it just that this type of large trade show attracts companies that want to demo their new game-in-a-box?

Rules Review: The 1879 Anglo-Zulu War by Richard Tory

Just because a set of wargame rules are old and complicated does not mean they have no value. 'The 1879 Zulu War' by Richard Tory is over 40 years old but Is still a fascinating and useful reference book with plenty of data and ideas in it that can be worked into your own rules. If nothing else it is a very interesting read and shows just how far rules design has come in four decades. 

 

SALUTE 51 (2024) - The Blogger Meet-up

It's the day after Salute 51 and I still have a load of photos to work through. I posted my Show Report yesterday but I have been sent several pictures from the day and wanted to share a few here. 

Ray organised a 'Blogger Meet-up' for 2p, and quite a few people turned up. Not as many as in previous years, but I know that Salute isn't for everyone. 

The 2024 Blogger Meet-up (Picture courtesy of Carl Packham)

Also present were Ken Reilly, Ray Rousell (of course), Tamsin, Mike Sayce, Mike Whitaker, Carl Packham, Steve, Chris and David.

It was also great to meet up with Alex (Storm of Steel) 

And Adrian..

There were many more people I saw during the day, more than I can remember. Thank you to everyone who came up and said hello. Maybe we'll see each other again at Salute 52? Or another show??

Cheers, Lee

SALUTE 51: Full Photo Report

SALUTE 51 was another fantastic expo for the wargaming hobby in all its forms. Games big and small, from fantasy to historical and Sci-Fi were on display at the 2024 show. Here is a quick photo report of the games from the premier wargames event in the UK.

Salute 2024, or Salute 51, takes place in the Excel exhibition venue in London Docklands, a fifteen-minute drive from my home. I attended with a camera in hand as always and shot hundreds of pictures. This is a huge event, and getting around the nearly 100 games and several hundred traders in just seven hours is a challenge.