So on this turn of the campaign……as we near its conclusion…and it had better as Its dragging on a bit…..

So defending Gonnesse is Alan(Kliest) with a Prussian force of 4 divisions. This is Alans first battle of the campaign and in the past year, he reckons only had 4. And to cap it off, he had a headache so all I could hope for was he would last to turn 6! For some reason Alan was not allowed to castle up in the corner, which seeing the Prussians weren’t allowed to flee knowing Napoleon was coming for them(the sensible thing to do) was %^**&^%$.

Here come the French……very pretty. They were a mixed bag of Old Guard, Middle Guard, Young Guard….line infantry…heavy and light cavalry and there may have been a battery in there somewhere as well. Plus old Nappy himself turned up…poor Alan.

This battle is reminding me of a Shark in a Fishbowl….Russ and 3 other French players v Alan…..and hasn’t started yet……I better get a drink now.

So here is Prussian left flank….mix of regulars in line with some batteries with landwher and cavalry in support. Horse battery in reserve for some reason. Russ has his guard on the extreme left ready to hit the Prussians on the table edge…where artillery can’t hit him. French Old Guard do not fear infantry, only artillery can hurt them.

Below is a brief bright spot for the Prussians where a charge is defeated, alas the French stayed.

A bit further on and you will notice a paucity of Prussians. By now I had decided to adjourn upstairs for a whiskey. Will give a briefing on which one later.

French have launched Cuirassiers at Prussian lines, making them form square. By staying within 12 inches they are able to keep them in square ready to charge columns in next turn. At least I hope that’s how it went down!  French Guard piling in on the flank. At some stage another division of Young Guard wandered onto the battlefield as well.

End game and Alan has not held on til turn 7. He did rather well all things considered but having to extend out and some deployment issues(you deploy in the buildings, not in front of them Al!). French have wrapped round both sides of the town clearing away supporting units and boxing the Prussians in. 

So rather a beating for Kleist who has been annihilated without destroying any French units. Russ and his 3 Frenchie players played well but my ‘Sharks in a Fishbowl’ analogy was borne out.

So the French can send 3 Divisions down the road to fight at Claye if they so wish.

So my new feature will be the Whisky of choice for the night. And with the way the games are going I need one(or 2)!

Tonites is a Talisker 15 year old.

The tasting note is:

Nose: A seaweed iodine note is the first to spring from the glass – but it’s sunny and inviting, not industrial and heavy. Kelloggs Cornflakes, honey-roasted cashews, tangy cinnamon, warm nutmeg, and caramel notes build on the sense of sunshine, while an undercurrent of peat smoke brings depth. Water rounds it all out a bit and gives more of a velvety impression.

Palate: The rush of sweetness is a real surprise – on the front of the palate there are peach notes, raisin and perhaps red cherry. Then it’s all about that rich spice, along with the peat – a delicious abutment of pepper heat, bright allspice and rolling smoke. With water, it gets even sweeter and a little quieter, but still really tasty and mouth-filling.

Finish: Long and rich, but with a happy lightness, too.

Now I don’t really get all those tastes, but I do listen to Ralfy’s Reviews and Review 844 is this Talisker 15. Apparently I was tasting Old Engine Oil, which after letting it breath and adding water…then breath and more water and a miracle happens. Whatever! But…tasted darn good!!

Now I must apologize for slowness of posts but between WordPress doing weird things and the laptop I have being an antique its a mission. However, new machine will be here soon so expect improved reporting. I can’t manage to edit the pictures so apologize for crazy sizing. Hopefully can correct.

Next report is written and so as soon as work out how to change pictures sizing, will post it!