Go Goldie messages on a Friday, wanting a game Saturday at the Hutt club…..somehow 4 of us managed to make it……and Goldie was still messaging me at 11.48pm about the game…..me only being awake thanks to some noisy neighbor’s boys music!

So Goldies plan was for a meeting engagement where we played down the table…objective to control a crossroads in centre of table(I say centre…but it was a centre on the allied side!)

Goldie(Prussians) and Robert(Dutch/Hanoverians) were Allies and Rob and I were French. Below is Rob advancing onto table…up road with 2 brigade’s of foot and a 2 unit cavalry brigade. I advance on once they are on table. All arrive up the road.

Allied cavalry advances. They similarly advance up the road.

Very early on and French Lancers and Prussians Dragoons fight it out. Thankfully Prussians did not win…or some guns and infantry units would be in peril.

Roberts Hanoverians advance onto table…..I think this was their first battle…which we all know is often fated to be a disaster.

Bit further on Prussians are at crossroads….but some French Lancers are now fighting Prussian Landwehr cavalry…normally you would go ,’ We know who’s not going to win that!’. However, the French were shaken already and could not counter charge…..the perfect target for Landwehr cavalry!

French Legere take out the Prussian battery at crossroads.

So each player had 3 brigades… 2 foot and 1 cavalry…in the belief the table would get to crowded, I subbed in a brigade of Guard cavalry for my 2nd infantry brigade and also the cavalry brigade. Points wise about the same…and they are much prettier!

Robert checking how the advance of his Hanoverians is going…….my infantry were lining a hedgerow waiting the onslaught of 2 brigades!

Robs French advance on the crossroads and hold the wood as Goldies Prussians, who were a bit tardy…finally arrive.

Ahhh…tis a glorious sight……..Goldies Grenadiers had advanced to crossroads….but got themselves shaken…..and were still shaken in our turn…so I sent the Empress Dragoons in…..the 2 dice with ones are Goldie form square…they fail to form square and are disordered….it just gets better and better.

View from behind…..lots of Allied units are now on the field of battle.

Oopys..after combat dice rolls…..I had 8 hits on the Grenadiers…..Goldie needed 3’s to save them…below is the sad tale…..so that’s them gone.

The other Grenadier unit decided to high tail it home as well…and the Empress Dragoons retired on Rob’s French lines.

Goldie now threw his landwehr into the woods and charged square on the side of the wood…his cavalry had previously charged them and forced them into square. It often takes 2 or 3 turns for the attacking column to take out the square in this situation…and so it was again. 

Roberts shooting has forced me to withdraw my damaged and outnumbered infantry back from the hedge line into the woods.

It took several turns before Goldie was able to push Rob out of the wood….but he had a strong line with artillery ready for Goldie.

View from behind Roberts advancing troops…Dutch on the left and the Hanoverians on the right…in distance Rob has a battery on the road…I have a Guard battery on hedge line and infantry in the woods with a unit of Guard D’Honner cavalry on the edge of woods.

Ahem….open flanks…I keep talking about open flanks…..I had attempted this charge my turn before…but was agreed I was not quite positioned for a flank charge…so I moved them so was. Robert attempted to move the Dutch up to cover the exposed flank, but..well…they are Dutch…they didn’t want to move that far…so the Hanoverian flank was still exposed….so I charged it with ‘The Gods’.

I destroyed the 5 units below.

I then carried on into these guys….managed 11 hits…but these lads were made of sterner stuff and held on!

So we called the game.. I think was a French victory. Lots of lessons…..exposed flanks….artillery are weak if in front line and exposed…etc

Fun game though…and its always a delight to use the French Guard cavalry…big, heavy metal Front Rank figures and Goldie did a wonderful paint job on them!

Onto the Whisky of the Week!

Now my favorite whisky of them all is a 500ml wee beauty from Edradour which is simply called ‘Straight from the Cask’ which sadly I currently do not have and am awaiting a resupply!. However, they do make a similar dram under another label, the ‘Ballechin SFTC’. So I treated myself to this for Xmas.

Tasting Notes are:

Nose Smoked meats and honey roasted nuts, with a hint of milk chocolate coming through later on.

Palate Juicy sultanas and raisins, with more meaty malt and smoke developing.

Finish Sea salt, chocolate mousse, and brown sugar.

I must admit to being a wee bit underwhelmed as was expecting a powerful hit of Sherry Goodness as well as the 58.0% alcohol…but this one is a more Peaty than Sherry dram. It is still quite tasty…but pales to the Edradour SFTC.

Til next time…Terry out.