The armies of all nations were made from a series of building blocks – divisions from two or more brigades, brigades from regiments, and regiments from battalions or cavalry squadrons. For example, the following French division formed part of the VI Corps of the French Army of Portugal 1811. 1st Division (General de Division Jean Gabriel Marchand) 1st Brigade (…
In this comprehensive article, Dark & Bloody Ground author Pete Brown examines the Battle of Quebec and suggests ways to make the battle more interesting to refight as a wargame, along with some alternative options to keep your players with 20:20 hindsight on their toes… View in Store I have always had a love for the…
We’re very proud of our Nottinghamshire heritage here at Warlord Games, and were delighted to uncover a connection between our home city and the Dark & Bloody Ground of the French-Indian War. Raised in 1741 by Daniel Houghton as Houghton’s Regiment, Nottinghamshire’s first British Army regiment spent its early years on garrison duty in Gibraltar and Nova…
On April 6th, the city of Nottingham commemorates Badajoz day, recognising the achievement of one of its citizens during the siege in 1812! Having stalled the now-disgraced Marshal Massena at the Lines of Torres Verdas (Despite being outnumbered 2:1 by the French), Wellington launched an offensive across Portugal and into Spain, driving the French army…
The clashes between British and French forces during the Napoleonic wars saw two rather different approaches go head-to-head – the French attack column vs the British firing line! The French attack column Having suffered many defeats during the 18th Century, some in the French Army had become convinced that the advance to contact or ‘shock’…
We’ve arrived at the climax of the Napoleonic Wars. Returning from exile, Napoleon rallied his forces and began the campaign that would end at Waterloo. Following his defeat at the Battle of Leipzig and eventual loss of the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba. Kept under guard, he…
As the weather gets wintery, we’re continuing our series of articles on Black Powder 2 with a long march into Russia. This week we’re looking at Napoleon’s Russian campaign. Despite being the undisputed master of Europe, Napoleon was plagued by an unceasing guerilla war on the Iberian peninsular and growing discontent within his empire. Trade…
We’re starting a new semi-regular series on the uniforms and accoutrements of various armies. Last week, after our brief look at the French-Indian War, we’re returning to the woodland to show off how easy it is to differentiate your regiments. Painting uniforms can be a daunting task, but often a rewarding one. Having an army…
Dr Roger Pauly is an expert on all things Napoleonic Portuguese, so to celebrate the release of our brand new Portuguese artillery pieces, we asked him to write an article on the history of the Portuguese army during the Peninsular campaign. Dismal Times Roger: March 17, 1809, was not a good day for Portuguese Lieutenant-General…
“In battle they [British gunners] display judicious activity, a perfect coup d’oeil, and stoical bravery. … English troops take few guns into the field with them …” – General Foy Thanks to the writings of Mercer and other Royal Horse artillery officers, an impression is given that the entire British army artillery consisted of horse…
Dan Hewitson
Andy Hobday
Tom Mecredy
Graham Davey
Rich Dando