"Game #4 in the Hungary 1848 campaign: Kapolna" Topic

Our Hungary 1848 campaign is romping forward. Everyone is learning a bit of history along the way: colourful personalities, remarkable feats of generalship, some geography as well … this latest battle, Kapolna, offers a particularly good situation to generate an interesting tabletop game. It's not a simple linear attack-defence, it's more fluid than that, and both sides find themselves having to manoeuvre and attack.

It also features all the pretty uniforms you find in Ralph Weaver's beautiful book from Partizan Press:
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As well as hussars, honveds and national guards in variegated uniforms and headgear, the Hungarians fielded a German "Death's Head" Legion, a unit of Tyrolean jaegers, and everyone's favourite: the Polish Legion.

This was the first outing for my beautifully painted new Hungarian 1848 6mm army. (I've been using proxies until new.) Inevitably, the newly-painted figures curse struck, and they took a battering from their Austrian opponents … I'll do a full parade of the new army another time. For now, an AAR with a few photos of them in action, plus one from my battlefield visit, here:
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Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles
BBB on FB:
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My poor fragile little ego is a bit disappointed to have received zero comments in response to both this and my previous AAR from Transylvania:
TMP link

Is it battle fatigue? (I.e., you're tired of hearing about my battles?)

Is the subject of the Hungarian War of Independence too narrow a niche? (The 100s of hits these posts get suggest not.)

Are my reports too tediously written or repetitive? (I do try to make each one different.)

If I'm boring or annoying my fellow TMPers, it would actually be interesting to know. Otherwise you risk being bored or annoyed another 11 times this year before we finish the 15-battle campaign!

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles
BBB on FB
link

Dear Chris I find your posts and your blog very interesting. The 1848 (Italian and Hungarian side) is a niche, but it is a niche worthy to make it remarkable to the English speaker (én olasz vagyok, de beszelek magyarul es imadom Magyarorszŕgot). I do like the Uniforms and battles of the Szabadsagharc in Hungary but also how the Austrian Empire struggled to survive in between internal problems, Italian war of indipendence and Hungarian war.
I also find the uniforms of the Piedmontese Army and of the Hungarian army of the period really very similar (execept for the 1848 shako, but with the 1849 Piedmontese shako they look really the same, but the colours.

Here some of my efforts, parallel to yours: now waiting an Austrian too for 1848

Reading you, I thought of twisting this for a proxy napo or 1870 battle. Map and other bits ready. Even went to find the period maps etc.
Don't worry most readers are mute, evrywhere.

Well, if you're really asking…

I have never read your blog before. I just now read this battle AAR.

First, I should say, I find you to be a little bit of an infomercial and tune you out. Over time, my collected reaction to your username is that everything revolves around and is seen through a BBB lens.

Thus, if someone asks how they could possibly game the battle of Wagram on a 6 x 4 table, I feel like your contribution is to suggest they use your rules. However, I also feel if someone were to ask how to paint a Russian soldier from 1848, somehow you would channel your answer into a BBB reference. Frankly, I get the impression that you consider BBB something as a cure all and I wonder if it doesn't also come in a liquid form.

It doesn't help that your signature has a link to your blog which also just happens to advertise BBB rules.

I read your battle report "Punch-up in chapel! Kápolna (1849)". It is the first time I have read anything on your blog. My impression is that your writing style is hard to follow because of too much "passive voice", use of the word "as" for a connector, which is always a "killer distraction", and confusions over both object and subject.

Additionally, you force too much "color" into the report without explaining why it matters. You speak of "hopeless Poles" and "cautious Austrians" but I don't know why that is true or how that matters. Are you writing for you or for me?

I ask because you mentioned if the topic wasnt interesting to gamers? It isn't the subject matter but always the writer. If Christopher Duffy or Phil Haythornwaite wrote about the 1848 revolution, I would re-read the books until they fell apart.

Until I found the book "Radetzky's Marches" by Michael Embree, I didnt care at all about the 1848 campaign in Italy but it was an engrossing read and now I am a fan.

For instance, you wrote:

Day 2 started badly for them as well, as Schlick's grenzers, fresh from massacring prisoners at Petervasara, arrived on the northern end of the battle and overwhelmed Dessewffy at Verpelet.

Day 2 started badly for whom? Why are Schlick's grenzers massacring people and why does that matter for the AAR? Are grenzers prone or not prone to massacre? Do you dislike grenzers and want to slander them? Do all your readers even know what a grenzer is?

Which brings me to my last point. Your AAR doesnt seem to make a decision whether your reader knows a lot or very little about this war. I know very little about it. From reading your report it is interesting to note how, at different times, you seem to be trying to write to both audiences. I think an author needs to determine who his/her audience are. You yourself worry that the subject matter isnt very popular and yet write like everyone knows about Schlick's blood thirsty grenzers. I found myself hard pressed to continue your AAR because I could not stop worrying about these grenzers and wondered if they would soon show up at my door. Frankly, they worry me still.

Finally, you demonstrate a need to show the reader that you are an expert on the subject matter. Are you writing these reports for the 1848 cognoscenti, for the casual consumer or are you hopeful that more people will get interested in 1848? I often get the impression that merchants are worried that people wont see their product and believe they have to remind them constantly that it exists. If someone writes high quality copy with a few super photos, they will generate interest in their product. For any business, the most difficult step is letting go of the hard sell.

Having said that, ironically, the one time I wanted to get commercial information about that nifty mat in the AAR, you didn't provide a link, maker or price!

I could go on but I wanted to keep the criticism upbeat.

@paperbattles (Miki): pleased to meet a fellow enthusiast for the '48 (be it in Hungary or Italy), and I envy you your command of Hungarian. I'd noticed your posts about Piedmontese uniforms and I like your work.

@Jcfrog: if my post inspired you to adapt the scenario for a game of your own, I'm happy. Good point about most readers being mute – not everyone is a paid-up subscriber. I enjoy your posts too.

Thank you Miki and JC both for the encouragement. My TMP sub runs out next week and I was seriously considering dropping it, but maybe I'll carry on after all.

@MiniPigs: thank you for taking the trouble to write such a long critique. I was indeed really asking seriously, and I appreciate the feedback.

On the 'infomercial' charge: well, it's not really a commercial effort, more a case of sharing enthusiasm, but I can imagine I sound a bit like a broken record at times. I will try to tone it down from now on.

On my writing style: thanks for pointing out some of my authorial tics. I'll try to avoid them in future.

On "hopeless Poles" and "cautious Austrians": no, this was one specific hopeless Pole (Dembinsky) and one specific cautious Austrian (Windisch-Graetz). These are judgements on them as commanders. I thought that was sufficiently clear, but evidently not, so apologies for that.

"Day 2 started badly for them": well, as the only plural in the preceding sentence was "the Hungarians", I thought that was clear too, though having an intervening photo doesn't help. Apologies for the ambiguity.

On the bloodthirsty grenzers: no slander. According to their own commander, Feldmarschall Lieutenant Schlick, after an action at Petervasara on 24 February in which a Hungarian attack was repulsed, Schlick's men "took some [prisoners] from Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 34, while others including officers were immediately massacred by the grenzers".

As for what audience I'm writing for, I suppose there are several:
- wargamers who already know about the '48 and will be excited to see it being fought
- wargamers who don't know about it but who might be tempted to dabble in the period;
- wargamers who may or may not know or care about the '48 but who might enjoy an entertaining account of a historical game.
That varied audience perhaps accounts for apparent inconsistences in style/level. There's also the factor that I'm trying to avoid repetition and to keep it lively (for myself as well as readers), so my style might be a bit erratic for that reason too.

I don't want to make the blogs too long, so inevitably there will be things which are not fully defined (grenzers, for instance). If people are really interested or puzzled, they can look stuff up or ask. Brevity has its virtues but I suppose also contributes to the ambiguities that annoyed you. It's also a fact that I write these blog posts quite quickly. Yes, I do read them again and improve them before I publish, but I guess some of their imperfections are signs of my haste. I will endeavour to improve my blog editing in future.

As for the battlemat: if you follow the link to the previous Kapolna game when the battlemat was first rolled out, you'll find details of how it was done.

I'm genuinely grateful for your criticism and will seek to do better in future.

Thanks and regards,
Chris

Well Chris thanks to you. I thought you were Hungarian; usually this is a fighting that Hungarian peoplo know and love. I collected a lot of books concerning this conflict but all in Hungarian.
I also admire your way you answered to the critics. Obviously, being Italian speaker I cannot judge or say about style or whatever, I just think every effort out of love for History is worthy.
Also Minipigs gave me a very good advice with the book Radezky's Marches. I will buy now. It was my idea to collect info about the epoch (I have access to tons of books in Italian wrote 20 years after the facts) and I just bought 2 ancient books concerning this conflict. I will check the book Minipigs suggested and I am curious to see what from a neutral point of view is told (I hope he doesn't confuse Piedmont fighting trdition – similar to Prussian – to the Italian. So my intention was to write a book also .. I will quit, perhaps.

I do confirm my love for 1848/49 events and I am hoping an Austrian fan wil add to us. All the best ciao and
Piemont 'd fer (in Piedmontese dialect means "Piedmont is made of iron)

Thanks, Miki. I'm a Brit, but like you, I've got a lot of books in Hungarian, and taught myself enough Hungarian to be able to use them (but it is slow and difficult).

Radetzky's Marches, possibly the only book I ever bought twice – I left my first copy on a plane. There are some battles in there worth wargaming.

Ciao
Chris

Chris, I do read all your stuff. I just don't reply a lot. In fact I own the rules and the scenario book, bought Constantino's Balkan Wars scenario book, etc.

I also have a collection for that niche war and have gamed a couple of the battles off your scenarios.

Plus I am going to buy your book on the war when it comes out.

Thanks, MH. I know you're a '48 enthusiast and your support means a lot.

Writing a blog is a strange business. As far as the AARs are concerned, really I just try to tell an engaging story, preferably one that has some useful or interesting points to make along the way. Different readers will take different things away from the story; some might love it and others hate it.

What's the old philosophical question? "If a blog post gets no comments, does it really exist?" If I thought I was just talking to myself, I wouldn't bother. As it is, enough kind souls like yourself say enough nice things now and again for me to justify the effort of keeping it going.

So: thank you!
Chris

Chris, Hungarian is a hard stuff indeed.
Are you going to publish a book regarding this Campaign? also about uniforms? OOB? etc.?

I am going on with uniforms also for Austrians that could be useful for you too. Do not give up!
And be happy.. on my blog I have pratically no comments… so.. I am doing it out of love for history and … for myself…

10th Jaegerfeldbattlion "Koppal"

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Thanks, Miki. Yes, I have translated the Austrian history of the Winter Campaign:
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Not much about uniforms, but lots of OOB info in that. Lots of editorial annotation as well, and extra chapters on things Nobili doesn't cover, so it's much more than just a translation.

I have some more books on the '48 in the pipeline, details to follow in due course. Uniforms are nice but not really my focus.

Your paper soldiers project looks like a real labour of love. Paper soldiers for the '48 is a niche within a niche, isn't it! I hope there are people out there appreciating your efforts.

Chris