Now a while back Goldie suggested playing a Big Napoleonic Cavalry Bash..and in particular the Day 1 Leipzig Big Cavalry Bash around Liebertwolkwitz. Somehow this turned into the Ligny refight we had last month. Soo….without further ado…..the delayed Big Cavalry Bash!!

Now the game I staged was LOOSELY based on the actual battle…… in that the terrain was kind of correct…..the formations were…kind of correct…..but for ease of a good game in one evening…I…..went with the feel and flow of the Evening…..

On the night only 4 Gamers made it…so they had a FEW regiments each to play with.

Rob and Robert were French…Goldie and SteveT were the Allies…I made drinks and….kept replacing destroyed formations and on last turn actually got to roll some dice…….which was not a good idea.

So here we are at start of game. It’s the 14th of October 1813 and Murat has sent Divisions of Dragoons supported by light cavalry down the rise towards the Allied lines. The village of Wachau is on the left and Liebertwolkwitz on the right. Guilden-Gossa is in the foreground where the Czar, Emperor and Kaiser are watching the battle.

Looking down the ridge from Mark-Kleenburg(MK) to Wachau(WH) and then Lieberwolkwitz(LZ). Each has 2 units of French infantry in them who are not allowed to move. The only Allied infantry is Wurttembergs 2nd Corps in squares slowing escaping the massed French gun’s(now masked by French cavalry). The only artillery on the table are 2 Russian Guard Horse batteries in front of Gulden-Gossa(GG) which are not allowed to move and only shoot threats to their front.

Here is Murat behind his massed attack.

The Kaiser watching the battle unfold in front of GG.

Turn 1 and Steve assaults with Russian Cuirassiers to the front…Austrian Cuirassier and CLs go in one flank and Russian Hussars the other. French counter charge or turn to face.

Austrian Heavies took some punishment but saw off a unit of Dragoons.

Hmmm…there were 8 French regts there a moment ago! More Allied cavalry roll in from the rear.

One would hazard a guess this French Dragoon unitis…..in a wee bit of trouble.

Yep…they were…have disappeared and now the Cuirassiers have swept forward into the next Dragoon regt.

Nice clear space for more charges has been created.

Oh look…..2 of my Cavalry regts have appeared…..these are my 4th and 6th French Cuirassier regts…..close to 20 years old now……Front Rankers…I tidied them up as were a bit battle weary and rebased them for this game.

On the French right, Robert through forward the Polish Uhlans (which I also had tidied up and rebased for this game!) supported by several squadrons of Empress Dragoons against Prussian Dragoons/Uhlans. French Lancers advance to the ridge line.

Aerial view…. Empress Dragoons is covering the flank and giving support……otherwise is a fairly even fight.

The Empress Dragoons are very pretty.

I do like Uhlans/Lancers.

Combat was…interesting…Robert charged…Goldie countered…..Prussian Dragoons beat Uhlans who popped…Empress Dragoons then decided to withdraw off table…..then the other Polish Uhlans beat up the Prussian Uhlans…who decided to be elsewhere (Goldie’s hand is a giveaway).

And a crowded section of the table…suddenly…looks like this…Cavalry combat is brutal.

Over on otherside of Wachau….. its not looking good for the French.

The Cossacks over by LZ moved towards French lines…so Rob moved light cavalry to counter….and in response Steve…having a GREAT GAME…sent Cuirassiers into an open FLANK. Sigh…FLANKS…will they ever learn.

Recovering French Dragoons watching the carnage in front of them.

Now Steve had moved the Russian Guard Light Cavalry up to support his Cuirassier thrust through the middle…..so Robert sent Polish Uhlans into an exposed FLANK….. Rob then sent Cuirassiers into the front…..and Robert sent my Cuirassiers over there in case needed as well.

Close up below.

BEAUTIFUL.

Much to everyone’s surprise….the Guard Cossacks…..survived….I know….miracle.

Robert resetting his lines.

Steve was like a ‘Pig in mud’…..attack after attack……for the game I reduced cavalry movement to 2 and not 3 moves so attacks and responses would not be so dramatic…and we could fit more cavalry on the table.

Another division of French lights arrive on the table…..

The previous view of Cuirassiers hitting Hussars in the flank was a pre cursor to the destruction of the French cavalry in this sector. They were in that empty bit of field. That included the NEWLY ARRIVED Saxon Cuirassiers!

Huzzah!

On come Imperial Guard Cavalry…4 regts!

Beautiful.

The Allies will be terrified at this line opposite them!

Over MK way…..Robert and Goldie were throwing heavies at each other…..Austrian and Prussian Cuirassiers, supported by Landwehr Cavalry up against French Cuirassiers and Uhlans. Round1 to Goldie who has wiped out a French unit and swung onto the flank…..my 6th could be in trouble…..

But then I noticed they had 3 wounds…so shaken…so cannot perform a ‘Sweeping Advance’….naughty naughty Goldie……tsch tsch

It then got really bad for Goldie….he lost all the combats….and 3 Prussian Kuirassier’s popped and others ran away……I lost count but he may have lost 6 ot 8 Cuirassier regts alone during battle……

Now what’s really embarrassing is that I finally got to roll some dice…last few games I have spent games in woods or trying to cross streams…….unsuccessfully…so French Guard…I MUST be able to beat someone up with them..alas….Russian Cuirassiers are pretty even…Steve rolled good…I rolled…not so good……the Guard Uhlans refused to charge…and that was that…..but I take solace in the combatants were my troops!!

On other flank…… Robert had the better of Goldie……but Allies had the overall win.

And that was that……we will probably rerun it when rest of guys are available……will lengthen table…remove woods at end…and add the cavalry Russ/Alan/Keith can bring. As it was there were around 60 or so regts used ….ladz seemed to enjoy game…lots of dice were rolled and hopefully the gamers had some fun.

Til next time…Terry out.