Dear Diary - a rolling 4 months of comment
Panzer knock-about
The core base module of Panzer by GMT is out on the table. It is quite a meaty game, so I am just pushing a few tank counters about to build up some rule memory.
I have visited this game before, so there is some familiarity, but as always, it is the spotting rule that has been causing me the most work to get to the bottom of and by visiting the BoardGameGeek Forum, it does indeed appear to be a common area of difficulty. The principles are pretty straight forward, but the rules, now in their third edition, would benefit from revisit and perhaps a play aid could be added, strewn with examples.
Anyway, I have put out a bit of a mismatch, simply to stretch what I need from the rules. 4 x Pz IIIM are up against a pair of KV-1S (42)s. The Pz III cannot frontally penetrate the KVs, so I will be looking at manoeuvre, while adhering to command ranges and the number of orders that can be given.
As I have been here before, rather than just using the beginner rules, the 'advanced' gun/armour system is getting dragged in, together with command rules, which deals with command radius and orders.
My first couple of turns were a bit awkward with a lot of rule referencing, but quite quickly, the processes are returning. It will just be a case of repeat, repeat, repeat, while the basics get nailed!
I must say, it is lovely to be getting back to this.
Chopping the French
Moving to my first DBN French Line infantry base, I went for the usual 3 ranks of the 55mm strips that I will be using for this project, but the command strip (the front rank) has the flag bearer and drummer on the far right as you look at the picture.
For a single base unit, this put the flag far too much off centre, so I cut the strip into two 5-man halves and swapped their positions, bringing the flag and drum to the centre of the base - you can see the cut line on the strip's own puddle base (clicking on the picture will enlarge it).
The problem with this is that the two halves sit further apart due to the those two figures in the centre having full arms present, rather than the compressed arms that these strips typically use to get that close order look, making the newly combined figure bases a tad too wide for the base - the solution is to shave down the arms of the two mini strips where they meet and keep them flat.
This gives a tighter fit and visually looks better. A bead of plastic cement glue down the pared-back arms will ensure that the whole line sets straight, unified as one piece.
Anyway, it works, so I will do six more to give the core infantry needed in a 12 point DBN force.
The French get a limber
Much of what I mentioned about the Prussian limber applies here. This is the Warlord Games French foot artillery limber for their Epic series.
The blister pack comes with 6 horses, but I have only use 4 of them and that is enough to fill an 80mm x 30mm base.
In DBN, these can be used to represent the baggage that each force keeps in their rear area and in other games they can be used for their normal function as gun limbers.
Working with this model took me back many years to my teenage time of collecting Airfix napoleonics. I had painted the British and the French armies. My mother had told next door about the strange interest I had in toy soldiers (instead of girls!) and they said they had a nephew with similar interest.
Anyway arrangements were made for a visit to our dining room table. I put out the armies and my wonderful Airfix Farmhouse. 'Peter' (if I recall rightly) turned up with a few metal 28's (probably 25's) amongst which was the most fantastic horse and limber base in the world. I can still get a visual memory of that wonderful piece ...... my mind was awakened to what lay beyond the shelves of Woolworths and my wargaming would never be the same again - thank you!
While I am at it, I just wanted to mention a quick thank you to those who have contacted me to say that they have enjoyed the DBN content and video links, enough, that they have bought their own copies of the game. I very much look forward to your thoughts and plans getting revealed.
A DBN video by the author for 1806
Having decided to look at the Jena battle for my DBN project, I came across the author's video that covered an 1806 game set in the Jena Campaign - a lucky find.
The fight is a 24 point per side battle, so this is double the size of the basic game and can be thought of as a couple of corps per side.
What's interesting is the limitations (and the plusses) that come with an 1806 Prussian army, especially in relation to command and control and this is all explained at the start of the video as the armies of each side are described.
As the game plays, the superiority of the French ability to manoeuvre handily and generally to respond quickly to changing circumstances, demonstrates how the rules, without a lot of rules overhead, bring this about.
Each turn when sides roll for command points, the French get +1 and the Prussians get -1 and this does make a difference in the game, as does the fact that only the French can use columnar assault. If the Prussians can get to grips with their enemy, they are good fighters, but their army could be described as 'plodding'.
Move forward a year to 1807 (Eylau and Friedland) and the Prussian army is better equipped to meet the new style of warfare that Napoleon brings!
Anyway, the video is entertaining and if you are thinking about getting the DBN rules, then this will probably help you decide what to do.
All things Jena Auerstaedt
Starting out with the Epic scale for DBN armies, I have something of a blank canvas. My Napoleonic 28’s are French / Austrian, so I wanted to take the opportunity to field something different and the Prussians is where my gaze has fallen. So the Epic project will see a pairing of newly formed French / Prussian Pocket Armies.
Rather than just going with some generic forces to fight some generic actions (which I find fine most of the time), selecting a theatre / battle might just impart some extra flavour on the play and so my shelves were scanned for inspiration.
‘Boom’ as the cool generation is saying! Jena - Auerstaedt 1806.
I have a rather beautiful book on the subject, Jena Auerstaedt - The Triumph of the Eagle, from the pen of E.G. Hourtoulle and published by Historie & Collections.
The 120 page hardback, it is chock full of illustration, including lovely full colour uniform plates and nice clear maps of the actions, while also supported by a very readable text on the action and good order of battle and organisation notes - it is a dream book for the wargamer!
Alone, that would be enough for me, but my beady eye noticed that I also have four boardgames on the Jena Auerstaedt subject;
The Coming Storm by Kevin Zucker from Operation Support Studies.
Trois Batailles en Allemagne by Didier Rouy from Pratzen Editions and Legion Games.
Jena - Auerstaedt, one of the old Napoleon at War Quads, recently republished by Decision Games.
Deux Années de Gloire, of the Jours de Gloire series, published by Vae Victis
If nothing else, this offers a ton of play opportunity and will allow me to really get a detailed appreciation of the battle(s) and also, there will be that thing of situations created in the boardgame playings, being suitable for transfer to the figure table, where they might generate some interesting set-ups for the DBN armies.
At the moment, I am quite happy working with themed scenarios rather than getting hung up on pouring hours into going for exact historical replication of battles.
Having a quick look at the characteristics suggested by DBN for my two armies in 1806, The Prussians get a -1 to their command point allowance, their musketry range is reduced to reflect their lack of skirmishing capability, they get a bonus in close combat and cannot use column for assault.
The French get a +1 to their command point allowance and an additional bonus when using column attack.
These differences might bring some interest to the table. Anyway all of this is looking like there will be a goodly amount of Jena related gaming over the coming months.
There is some box artwork for the four games mention above over on the Battlefields & Warriors Blog if you want to see that. LINK.
https://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2026/09/all-things-jena-auerstaedt.html?m=1
Reinforcements!
I made a run out today to the Warlord Games' shop to pick up the main bits needed to complete stage one of the DBN Epic project.
This turns out to be one box of Prussian cavalry and one box of French infantry. As an extra, I added a French Foot artillery limber.
I already have a Prussian limber fully painted, which I did as a bit of a fancy when doing the Napoleonic Pocket Armies, however, it seems that these have a specific use in DBN, acting as the Army baggage, stationed in the rear, so now I will have one per side.
I hadn't realised that Prussian Landwehr have their own box set rather than sharing a sprue, but they can wait, I have plenty in the painting stash to be getting on with and I already know from experience, that if I have too many unpainted Epic sprues winking at me, then I lose the enthusiasm to paint!
As I have decided to get the figures based BEFORE painting and then to do a rough and ready speed paint job on them, then I will soon be setting up games with these little unpainted fellows fighting their way to victory while they wait for their turn at the painting table.
I have done this sort of thing before and it becomes quite motivational to see the armies with one more painted unit each time they go down onto the table.
A new folder for DBN in Epic
Over on the left menu, 5th yellow tab down, I have opened a new folder for my DBN project that is being based around the Epic scale figures from Warlord Games, together with some games with figures from my 28mm collection.
It is early days, but the folder will be added to as the project moves forward.
A tale of two tank platoons
I have just re-bought back into the 'Panzer' series, which looks at WWII tactical action.
In September 2018, I put up a post called A Tale of Two Tank Platoons. In introducing the game play, it looked at an action from the perspective of how tank crews from both sides on the east front were trained.
I think the post has been one of my favourites during my time as a blogger and so rather than write up something similar, I thought I would simply give a link back to that article - I hope you enjoy it.
LINK
https://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2018/09/panzer-and-tale-of-two-tank-platoons.html
The 1066 games get closer to release.
I am advised that my 1066 boardgame (Dragon Ships and Iron Knights) and Geoff Nobles 1066, Year of Destiny boardgame, both published by Legion Games, have arrived from the overseas printers and are sitting in Chicago, waiting for customs clearance.
It is a fair bet that they should be ready for shipping out to customers by the end of September.
Closer to home, with DBA in mind with the Epic scale figures, I have sent off for some MDF bases (55mm wide) with a view of getting two DBA armies temporarily mounted, so that I can carry on using the rules, while the units get rotated through the painting queue one by one.
Hopefully as they arrive, I will have the figures for another French Dragoon unit, painted and ready for basing.
Finally, I would just like to thank those visitors who are popping in here regularly to read this stuff.
A first game with DBA
To give the DBN rules their initial outing, the napoleonic 28mm French and Austrians were ordered to the table. These figures are based on 80mm bases and here, 1 base represents 1 unit.
For the starter game, I went for the standard 12 points army per side, which roughly equates to 12 units per side and used the scale of 40mm equalling 100 Paces.
A table 4' by just over 3' was enough to allow the armies to breathe.
The French army included a Cuirassier unit and one of their artillery batteries was horse. The Austrians had jägers that can operate in 'bad going', plus they got 2 hussar units that count as Superior.
French columns advance over the bridge, crashing into the Austrian muskets, pushing them back, but there was a nuanced problem in the French getting off the bridge. There we Austrian hussars in the area and the first unit off the bridge couldn't turn to face that threat, because they were operating in the Zone of Control of enemy muskets and they couldn't just attack the muskets, because they would expose their flank to the hussars .... so, they pulled back to within the confines of the bridge!
A shooting match started there, which just started to rack up casualties. The bridge had become a stalemate.
In the centre, the French slowly advanced, inconvenienced by the fordable river. They did manage to engage the Austrians, but not in time for anything to be resolved there.
It was on the French left that the drama unfolded. French Horse Artillery engaged the enemy jäger, while the cavalry, led by the Cuirassiers, struck at the Austrian Grenzers.
It was close, but one unit of Greasers were seen off, bringing the total Austrian losses to 4, which brought the game to an end with a French victory (the French had only suffered 1 loss).
Actually, over on the Austrian left, their hussars had positioned themselves ready to strike the French right flank. For fun, I played this part of the action out, just to see whether another turn would have helped the Austrians ..... it didn't, the hussars were (just about) seen off!
Overall that was an enjoyable first game with DBN. I will take the rules away for a re-read, which have been helped by this playing.
The 28's looked magnificent on this compact table and the randomised number of Command Points generated each turn for each side, helped keep things fluent. This small game that would end when one side had inflicted 1/3 losses on the other (4 units) took 6 turns to play, probably taking no more than a couple of hours for a first game.
For the same account, but with extra pictures, you can visit the Battlefields & Warriors Blog. Just click on the first photo and manually watch the slides. LINK
https://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2026/09/first-battle-with-dbn.html
An opening shot from the game table
Above - the French left flank in my first go at DBN in an 1809 game. I am playing with a 12 point per side game, which equates roughly to 12 units on each side. The table is 4' wide by just over 3' deep and units are deployed at 600 Paces into the table (which at 40mm to 100 Paces, is 240mm). The figures are 28mm.
This is the cavalry wing comprised of 1 x Cuirassier (elite), 1 x Hussar and 1 x Horse artillery (elite). In the background you can see the stream and part of a windmill and to the right is the French centre, composed if line and light infantry.
I must say that to the MK I eye-ball, it all looks very nice.
A bad back and legs have seen me pack away two boardgames games, barely started, over recent days, so this is the third attempt at getting a game going.
Having set it up, I will start play tomorrow and for now just content myself with re-reading the rules. I am also partway through another video of an 1809 game, which is helping embed the rules to memory.
Blogger is still being a nuisance. Anything posted on the Battlefields & Warrior Blog does not seem to pull through to other blogger's Blogrolls, so in effect the post is invisible without a direct link from another source, such as here. This is seemingly a problem for all wargaming blogs that I visit, apparently Google are aware.
The effect of that is that I am discouraged to spend the time on the usual type of report for this DBN game, which would get posted over there and likely not be seen, though I may be able to use over there as a photo dump and then link to that from here, just so any readers wanting to, can get a chance to see some pictures - or at least more pictures than I can show here due to the site structure.
I will do some game comments here, perhaps on the 'Recent Games' page (left).
Armies for DBN
Having just obtained the DBN rules (Napoleonic) I am quite taken by them.
An early option is to get my 28mm French / Austrian figures onto the table and use their big bases as individual DBN units.
I have also started to build an Epic scale Pocket Army for the napoleonic French and Prussian forces and it makes some sense to re-direct that project, while it is in the early stages, to work for DBN.
That has seen me put the razor saw to my Epic dragoon and horse artillery bases! to bring them down to 55mm frontages, but I like the look and perhaps this is the most viable way for me to hit a few birds with one stone (small armies, small playing space and fairly easy game rules).
I have expanded a little on this over on the Battlefields & Warriors Blog, where there is a nice photo of what I am doing with the Epic bases.
I think I am likely to put a project page up here at COMMANDERS, to discuss and share ongoing progress.
LINK
https://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2026/09/dbn-by-alex-testo.html
The archers of Lord Clifford (Lancastrian).
As part of the ongoing re-basing of my Wars of the Roses archers from a single base per unit to a pair of bases per unit, to work with the Test of Resolve rules, I am pleased to see Lord Clifford’s archers converted and marching off the painting table.
There were 7 archers on the original 80mm base. I have painted up another three figures, with their red / green tabards, to get 2 x 80mm bases, each 40mm deep with 5 figures on each of them.
These are all Perry plastics.
