Had a game last week where premise was its post Waterloo, French won it and Allies have scattered. A French mixed force is holding a position with other units arriving in support. Some Allied commands are wanting revenge…….
The forces are:
French:
Paul Goldstone – holds central village with a Division of 2 Brigades of 4 Bttns infantry each and 1 battery. His 3 commanders must be 2 rated 7 and 1 rated 8.
Russ – brings a supporting force on Pauls right – of 2 Brigades of 4 Bttns Young Guard Infantry with 1 battery. In support are 2 Large Guard Cavalry Regts, the Chasseurs and the Grenadiers.
Terry – on Pauls left at some stage French cavalry brigades would arrive. Before I could bring some on in turn 2 we had visitors. John Hutton was in town for a course so Hairy Phil bought him out. So I handed command to John. He bought on a brigade of 2 Hussar Regts. Then 2 Cuirrasier and then 2 Lancers.
On the Allied side we had:
Rhys with a full Prussian Brigade of 9 Infantry and 2 cavalry and 2 batteries. They were tasked with taking the village.
Paul Weakley – On Rhys left and opposite Russ was a mixed force of 3 Brigades. Namely 3 KGL Cavalry, 5 Hanoverian foot and 4 KGL foot plus supporting artillery.
Alan was on Rhys right and commanded a British cavalry force comprised of 1 brigade of 3 Hussars/Light Dragoons an then the Union Brigade of 3 Dragoons. Al forgot to bring on the horse artillery!
Central French position PaulG has a brigade either side of the road with battery on road. The hedge counts as unclear target and 6 inch penalty to cross. The small buildings are just there for aesthetics. The Church and Farmhouse on other side of road are both defensive zones where 1 Bttn can take refuge.
Russ commands to the right of the central village.The 2 Brigades of 4 Bttns each in front, the battery in between and the Heavies of the Guard in reserve.
Alans British light cavalry brigade out for revenge! In background in the centre is Rhys right hand brigade which failed to move.
The Prussians in the centre where left brigade advanced and right brigade failed. In background can be seen PaulW Germans!
As if to prove a point Prussians charging the hedge line. This Bttn had one charge to its right which took some damage from closing fire and failed morale test and withdrew.
The Allied left where the Germans are in the 2 farmhouses and the Young Guard look to be flowing around their left flank!
The left hand Young Guard brigade advances into gap between central village and flank farmhouses. Prussians have some disordered units on left while on right they are closing in on hedge line.
Prussian masses approach hedge line while in background a swirling cavalry engagement was going on. PaulG has a Bttn facing out into the melee giving fire support!
Cavalry combats are quite brutal affairs. Disorders and casualties quickly accumulate and it becomes a race to reorder, remove casualties and get units back into combat. The British are a challenge to face and play. The re roll misses and must charge on if win makes them have the effect of causing more casualties than you expect and the out of control charge if they win. It does mean that the quickly are exhausted and end up disordered or shaken but are a lot of fun.
A close up of Alans heavies!(Front Rank miniatures of course…all heavy cavalry needs to be Metal Front Rank. I reckon deserve a +1 at least extra in combat)
The Prussians are gaining the advantage. At rear of village are PaulG’s dearly departed. Rhys eventually took this position.
I must admit I can’t recall Russ ever playing a defensive Nap game! Here he is still pressing forward!
And Goldie has bought into this idea as well….what is he doing in front of the hedge. He was meant to hold the village!!
Hey, Goldie……these guys are marching the wrong way! You have units in front of hedge, and now marching out the back road……I sense a firing squad in your future! So Pauls left brigade is gone berger and the right one has advanced out of the village. I seem to recall the aim was for the French TO HOLD THE VILLAGE.
And on the Allied left flank the Germans are pushing through the surviving Young Guard. Paul had not only stopped Russ flowing around the flank but was rolling him back up the flank in the end.
This concluded the game. Rhys was pushing into the Village in the centre right and holding PaulG/Russ push on its left. PaulW was pushing his Germans forward on the left and on the Allied right the cavalry of both sides had fought each other to a standstill.
So an Allied Victory is declared.
And here is the Garages Guard. The Big Boy on the right is my Caesar. The wee lass on the left is his sister Jasmine who we met at a big breed walk around the Wellington Waterfront. Caesar likes to make regular checks on us while we are gaming in the garage! He is a Leonberger and is 2 years 4 months old and still has to gain a bit of weight but will end up between 75 and 80kg in time. His tail can be lethal to near the table!
Addendum
The following are the observations of the Commander of the French Imperial Guard Cavalry Baron Russ de Bri
- The Gods rode down in a single charge 2 of Paul W’s battalions that had come out of the village. In both cases there was a French infantry unit also in the charge.
- Cavalry in the front, infantry in the flank in the initial charge and the Gods hit the flank of the second infantry that had been charged by French infantry during a sweeping advance charge.
- The Chasseurs a Cheval of the Guard charged a shaken Hussar unit that had routed the Guards artillery and only drove them off taking 3 casualties themselves. Stamina 4 so not shaken(stamina 4 so not shaken). They spent rest of game rallying.
- And a Blunder on a morale rally( thats a roll of 2 dice with 6’s) caused the Chasseurs a Cheval of the Guard to advance and stand in front of an artillery battery and line of infantry.. They were shot up but passed the rally test. In their next turn they used the light cavalry training to fall back disordered and spent more time rallying.
Final observations on the French Plans……by Baron Russ
- No clear objective
- No plan
- Half arsed , unsupported, uncoordinated effort moving forward
- Defeated piecemeal as should have been
terrysgaragegaming 
Another great German victory … just like the real Waterloo. There, that should get the blood pumping at increased pressure for some readers! 😀
I am full of admiration for Alan and his noble self handicapping in the game. Perhaps his horse artillery should count as extra fresh in the next game. 😀
And did I miss the photo of the French Guard Cavalry blundering into a killing zone of artillery and musketry? Or have I got the story wrong? Or should I just look at an UNOCCUPIED area of ground and that is where the French Guard Cavalry blundered into a killing zone of artillery and musketry?! 💥
Top photo of the day – Caesar and Jasmin! ✅
But seriously … didn’t the Prussians do well … and I’m hardly biased at all! 😎
Salute
von Peter himself
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Cheeky sod!
Have Russells thoughts on the Guard Cavalry as their noble commander so will add them in.
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