After the drubbing in Game 2 it was 2 nights later and onto Game 3!
Sadly for me that meant my Germans lost 2 Leopards 2’s from the Orbat for this game… so a tough task just became…really tough!
So for this game I had…..a Pzer Company of 6 Leopard 2’s and 2 Pahs on table in the right top quarter of table. In reserve I had the Pzer Grenadiers and 1 Leopard that could attempt to come on in the bottom left quarter. The Russkies were deployed up to 24 inches in and 32 inches down edge of table. However, they start pinned and bailed out! They were 20 tanks….a Motor Rifle Company, 2 Shilka’s, 3 carnations and a BMP observation unit.
So turn 1 and I move first. I actually had a plan for once! I decided I needed to get rid of the spotters for the Carnations on turn 1. This would force them to move out from behind woods and over an objective marker to see me to fire. Winging it plan from that was to destroy as many targets as I could…..and send choppers into take that objective on turn 5/6.
My 6 Leopard 2s are lined up and shoot the tank unit on the left…which contains the command tank. They managed to destroy them all .
My choppers then took out the Observation BMP. So plan is working so far!
Sadly…my reserve Pzer Grenadiers did not arrive until turn 2…..just the lone Leopard…who raced away and hid behind a tree line and shot up 2 BMPs(target rich environment…but expected it would be destroyed quickly and needed to reduce firepower that would face my Pzer Grenadiers when they arrived).
Goldie manages to destroy 1 of the Leopards.
As expected… the lone Leopard is destroyed. The Shilka’s have raced forward….targeting the Pahs.
My Pzer Grenadiers arrive…..destroy or bailout the BMP’s. Their grunts were behind them sitting on an objective.
My Leopards are dishing out damage.
Carnations move out from corner and sit on objective marker.
Oh dear….the left side Leopard with bail out marker had now had it for 3 turns! last remaining Leopard now also bails out. Its not looking good……
Last turn…the bailed out Leopards remount…move forward and take out last Russian tanks.
The Pahs and Milan crews from the Pz Grenadiers the previous turn had taken out the Carnations leaving this objective uncontested. With the Shilka’s and every other unit of Goldies army bar the grunts destroyed…the Choppers flew over table and took the Objective!
The remains of the Pz Grenadiers …… they poured so much firepower into the BMP’s that Goldie was unable to hit back with much each turn as so many destroyed or bailed out.
Goldie’s grunts on the 2nd objective……they had a very quiet game.
Well…that was exciting! By turn 4 I thought I was toast…….the rolling of 1s and 2s from previous game was back….and Goldie was taking out my Leopards…..but somehow I manage to sneak a win!!
This scenario has each player deploying up to 24 inches in from opposite corners. The Germans lose some Pzer Grenadiers, the Jaguars but gain 4 Leopard 2’s and 2 Luchs. The Russians add 5 tanks but lose the recon BMP’s and gain 4 Shilka’s!
So turn 1 and I have gone all aggressive and have units within 8 inches of the objectives. I had misread the instructions and I was meant to be denying Goldie them…not taking them…so I was way to close to him. Big Mistake!
Goldie deployment…..those Hinds are some huge awesome kits!
Woohoo……turn 1 German shooting…not quite as good as first game…rolling lots of 1s and 2s.
Oopsy…….being in the range of Russians so early meant I got some rapid pain.
Bit I did take out the Hinds again.
Goldies Motor Rifle Company was taking some damage…but to many bailouts which the passed each turn…..
Took out the flankers that got my Leopards last turn.
My Pzer grenadiers were dug in on a tree line by the Petrol Station……Goldie shot them up with the Shilka’s…. 16 shots…needing 6s…he through….8! Twas not going well as this stage for me.
The end is nigh…..
End game…..what a beating! I misread scenario…deployed to far forward…..through way over average for 1s and 2s…..and Goldie was able to elminate my Leopards quickly…as for my choppers…they were hopeless!!
So a good win for Goldie!
Sadly this loss meant for Game 3 I deducted 2 Leopard 2’s from my orbat!!
For something total different, I asked Goldie for a game of Team Yankee. I have gradually been painting a West German force and Goldie has Russkies.
We played the 1st Scenario from the West German book which has the Germans defending a Russian attack.
Only tried 1 or 2 games before so an absolute novice as don’t play FOW either.
So I was defending a wood line in the middle of the table. The Russkies need to capture 1 of the 2 objectives and hold it at end of Turn 2 or 3. They can fail that and take 1 of 2 alternates toward edge of table instead on turn 4 onwards. The Russkies were 80 points of evil and I was 62 points of the righteous!
The Russkies get first move. I can have 1 command ‘Ambush’ which means hidden set up and are placed in my turn. I chose the 3 Leopard 2’s.
Russkies move up and unleash. My grunts were in foxholes and survived, however as a beginner I left my Marder’s in the woods rather than behind., and they got whacked. I had kept my 3 Leopard 2’s as my ambush unit which can be seen now in the woods below. A Gepard is providing AA cover behind the wood. The Russkie marker is an objective.
My first turn was basically fire everything I could! There were 12 T-72’s, 9 BMP-2s and 2 BMP-s to target!! The Mi-24s were out of Gepard range.
Woohoo…..some great shooting was made!!
The wee BMP-s quickly were blown away.
Next turn the Hind’s move up to assault the woods but the Gepard’s quickly destroyed them.
The Motor Rifle Company moved up the flank heading for one of the objectives. I managed to inflict some more damage.
WOOOHHHOOOO….. some more great shooting!
So one side of table now has no Russkies left.
End of game……the Russkies made it to the objective……so I had to destroy them in my turn to not lose the game. So the troops in the woods were shot at by the Jaguar 2s and the Gepards. The troops standing in the open were machine gunned by the Leopards…..and the Russkies failed and were destroyed!
Objective marker, its turn 3 and the Russkies are broken!
That was great fun. basically had no idea what I was doing…so game slower than should have been…but getting a feel for it.
The next game is part of 3 linked so this time I get 99 points as does Goldie. I get to add 4 Leopards, 2 Luchs but lose the Jaguar 2s and some Panzer Grenadiers. Goldie adds 5 T-72’sand 4 Shilka’s!
After the First FPW game of the month, Goldie and I chatted about weapons and the rules and made a change to reduce the impact of the artillery. We reduced them from 2 shots too 1shoot, the Prussians to 60 inch range and the French to 48 inch range. For the Mitrailleuse we took off the -2 on morale saves as at times they are WAY to effective!
So Alan and Goldie were the bad guys(Prusso/Bavarians) while Keith, Robert and I were French. Below my troops on left and Roberts on right. We were the left flank and center of French line.
Prussian left flank with Goldie advancing on village v Keith.
Alan had right of Prussian line.
Goldie took position of the village before Keith…….not good for Keith.
As this allowed Goldie to extend rapidly to his flank.
Goldies force pours around village.
On the other flank its was more…sedate, as I failed to move 3 turns in a row…and Alan wasn’t much better!
Where as Keith was knee deep in it……newly painted Garde Mobile making an appearance.
Goldie attacking the pivot point on Keith’s flank.
While Goldie sent a large force around the left of the village…he also sent a strong force around the right side……
Hmmmm…. some good French shooting and a few gaps appear.
Keith is being overwhelmed on his right flank.
The French left and center…..I have managed to move and am dishing out damage. Beside me in the center Robert outnumbers the Prusso/Bavarians facing him but is not making any headway.
Keith has thrown reserves in to try and hold the line.
And for a first……French Cuirassiers made a charge against disordered infantry…WON THE COMBAT…..but the Prussians passed morale and the Cuirassiers retired…a pivotal point…..had the Prussians popped…a lot of Prussian units were within 6 inches and would have been facing morale tests.
Back in the center…shooting war continued.
The retired disordered French Cuirassiers are facing the advancing Prussians…the French line has collapsed…..
Prussian Uhlans charge the disordered French Cuirassiers(which means they cannot counter charge).
Prussian Dragoons charge into the French Chasseurs.
The French Cavalry is destroyed and the Uhlans sweep into the flank of a line bttn. Goldie’s flanking force is pouring in behind them.
Over on my side….I am slowly pushing Alan back.
And that was that….comprehensive Prussian Victory! Goldies rapid move into Keith’s center(Village) and flank coupled with poor movement dice for Keith meant he was in trouble quickly. Robert held his own in the center and my failure to not move for 3 turns meant I could not put pressure on Alan enough to allow Robert to shift troops to assist Keith.
Was best FPW game yet……the added cavalry and Garde Mobile units are allowing more options as we fine tune the rules.
So onto a Whisky review.
Now I recently had dinner with some of my former staff from my Chevron days who were in Wellington to visit an ill former colleague of ours, so we met for dinner. Imagine my surprise when I was gifted a Dalmore 18 as a late birthday present!
Looking up reviews they say:
Nose: Fruity and spicy with notes of vanilla, orange zest and potpourri, marmalade and sweet milk chocolate. A touch of leather and sultana.
Palate: A delicious fireside dram with notes of chocolate raisins, juicy citrus, stewed fruits, old sherry and pepper.
Finish: A long, fruity finish ending on almond, buttery toffee apples and cocoa.
Which is telling us this whisky is meant to taste like a Chocolate Orange! And it did….quite different to my normal drinking styles…..but VERY PLEASANT!
I had planned on being out of Wellington for the weekend however when the motorway back into city had returning traffic diverted for the weekend we decided to cancel it.
So I joined the ladz for a game at the club.
It was to be Wachau however seeing I was now coming along Goldie felt Guldengossa scenario from our favourite scenario book, ‘Let’s fight Leipzig’ would be more fun. Apparently it was felt this scenario would suit me…give me 4 Divisions of French cavalry and watch the fun or in Goldies words ‘This has to be the most Terry scenario ever’…. as the French player should endeavor to be as aggressive as possible with their cavalry!
So Alan and Goldie were the Russo/Prussian players and Robert and I were French.
Set up below, Robert is the French infantry on the left with Alan opposite him with Russian/Prussian Forces. On the French right is me(Terry) with the French cavalry, some on table and some failing to arrive. Opposite me is Goldie with Russian/Prussian infantry/artillery with his Russian Cavalry off table
Turn 1 and I had to follow the rules and launch attacks, which did to force the Allied infantry into square and pin them.
The French started with 3 batteries off table between the 2 French commands. The Prussian column below is disordered.
French advance on Allied lines.
View down Alans line.
Allies charge the French!
Example below of the French cavalry forcing the Allied infantry into squares.
One of my Cavalry divisions arriving late and positioning for charges.
Alan was getting the better of the combats in the center.
Robert got into the swing of things and is charging away!
Bit a clearance of Allies in center.
Roberts reserve infantry arrived and were used to block center.
An attempt was made below to rush a French column through a gap in the Allied lines and capture the objective of the village….they fell 1 move short!
The Russian Cavalry makes a belated arrival…a mix of Guard and Cuirassiers!
I charged Dragoons into a shaken square, was disordered going in so looking to lose that combat…thankfully I had sent Cuirassiers into the flank of its neighboring battery…who popped and allowed a sweeping advance into the another flank of the square. After resulting combat the square had popped.
Face off between my flanking heavies and the newly arrived Russians.
Alan threw his Hussars to blunt the French advance in the center….combat was a draw and both retired.
I charged the Russian Guard cavalry as per scenario rules!
Meanwhile…..sadly the photo didn’t work…but below is the result of Alans Prussian brigade breaking and backing away…..and my Cuirassiers below(yes they are French Guard…but t we didn’t have enough of them available to us!) have taken out the 2 Russian Hussar units and their pointy sticks.
Having accomplished the breakthrough…they are looking at the Flank of Russian Cuirassiers.
Meanwhile…..the flank cavalry fight was essentially a draw…Russian Guard Dragoons rallied back off table…and my battered heavies are rallying as well.
End of game……Alan’s Russians are hanging on……the Prussians are a broken brigade and retiring…..French have a strong force in the center.
Facing the village are the 3 batteries and infantry so 1 or 2 turns until it will be taken.
On the French right a couple of Prussian squares remain, who are pinned by cavalry…as artillery breaks them down so the cavalry can finish them off. The heavies of both sides are playing further over.
So we agreed it was a French victory as the Village would be taken in a turn or 2. Was great fun and having 4 cavalry forces to play with was such FUN! The late arrival of the Russian cavalry was a bonus and the Russian Grenadiers never made it onto the table(as I was in their arrival spot!).
Alan and Goldie were the Prusso/Bavarians and Keith/Stephen the French. I was on drinks duty.
Goldie had 2 Prussian brigades and a 4 gun battery. His left flank brigade below.
Goldies centre left brigade, guns to the right of picture.
Alans Bavarian horde……he had the cavalry as well.
Keith also had 2 brigades plus Frech artillery reserve…and some cavalry. He is on French right.
Stevens French of 2 brigades plus a gun and machine gun.
French legere in the ruins centre of table.
Bavarian horde…all prints of Alans.
Goldies centre brigade moves up through the woods.
Another view of Alans horde.
There were 2 villages…on French left flank of table and one in centre right…which is one below. Keith is in possession, however Goldie has attacked and got into the village.
Alan has attacked the village on his side as well.
A unit supporting the flank of Goldie assault on the village fell foul of infantry fire…3 batteries and a mitrailleuse…..as you would expect they ‘evaporated’.
Alans assault in village failed and he bounced back.
Over on other flank, after a slow start Goldie had a rapid charge up……..
As you can see from gap below…it did not go very well.
So, in village below… Goldie got in….so 8 attacks v French 6…he lost…..
Alan charges into village to his front again…..
The French legere in woods were still holding on at end of game….had 2 units to its rare for when they eventually popped!
Last picture…was a lot going on at this stage…and I just forgot to take pictures…BAD ME!
So, at games end, Goldies flank brigade was almost if not broken…Stephen’s right hand brigade was 1 casualty away from breaking…so a fun game…normally slug fest for this period. As to which side won…..they can debate that amongst themselves!
So 12 months ago we first played this scenario from the ‘Lets Fight Leipzig!’ book. As I had a home alone weekend I decided to have a Saturday game in the home Garage, rather than transport everything to the Club(last year when we played game at the club, we were banished to the bar area… inadequate space and lessened game fun factor!).
Game was played on a 15 x 6 foot table. We again used the newly printed 20mm scale buildings Alan is printing for me(some now painted!).
The French could deploy up to 6inches in front of Mocken and extend from the River Ekster to the bridge over the stream. The Prussians may deploy between the villages of Wahren and Lindenthal. Mockern was a 3 module village, the others were 1 module.
The Victory Conditions are the Prussians gain a decisive victory if they capture the whole of Mockern, and road junction A. They gain a tactical victory if they capture Mockern alone. The French gain a tactical victory if they hold A and at least one module in Mockern or a decisive victory if they hold the entire village.
Set up was:
Prussians – Goldie took 2 brigades and deployed around Wahren and across to Mockern. The 1st Brigade was in reserve. Alan took the cavalry reserve, 12 pdr battery and 2 Brigades and deployed in the centre.. Steve took the Advance Guard and deployed around Lindentahl.
French – Rob took the 20th Div, 25th light cavalry brigade plus 12pdr battery and deployed in and around Mockern. I took the 21st and 22nd Div’s plus 5th light cavalry brigade and deployed to Rob’s right.
Prussians have turn 1. Steve’s brigade order left his landwehr behind and as crossing the stream would have disordered his cavalry, they moved across and behind the infantry.
Goldie headed for Mockern.
On the right Prussians advance to towards objective A.
A flank was exposed when Prussian cavalry miss understood request to support flank of the infantry. I tried to get 1 Hussar into the flank, then a 2nd into the front, but 2nd only moved 1 move. Was not expecting the flank attack only to work, low odds. But Steve really helped me out….I won the combat…the infantry retired only…I carried on into another unit…won they combat as well…but they passed morale and 1 retired.
Which left me facing the Prussian reserve cavalry. Oh well, I got one glorious charge in! They were charged, got beaten up….retired….got beaten up….retired….I then initiative moved them off the table..shaken/disordered and flank on to Prussians…a target ready for destruction…and tests for the troops around them…so…they REALLY HAD TO GET OFF TABLE!
I think this inspired Alan as he now charged the 12pdr battery……and some infantry charging French line beside them as well.
Steve’s steady advance into my flank continues.
The 12pdr is destroyed… the the infantry charge eventually defeats the French line who retire…the Prussians then retire.
And its lunch time…..so we had a civilized meal upstairs!
Back to the game. I found a church I liked and Alan has printed 2 of these. The second has a destroyed tower. There is also a multi part windmill that will look awesome! Goldie has concentrated his attack to his right and not attacked Mockern it self. It is helped however by Steimetz’s refusal to move!
Here is that attack…it was aided by Rob having one of those days we all have from time to time…you can’t roll a decent dice at any time!
Over other flank and Steve is sending cavalry in to force me into square and then getting infantry up to attack next turn.
Rob’s flank is collapsing. The cavalry was used to keep the Prussian in square.
I decided to try and blunt Steve’s progress…first the flank Hussars charged and forced a column into square….then I charged the Grenadiers and moved up a flanking line in support. In a dumb dumb moment didn’t move them quite far enough and didn’t cover their flank properly. I actually beat the Grenadiers….but they stayed. LOL
Rob has moved his 2nd Cav regt over to help keeping Prussians at bay. In the background you can see Steinmetz is still not moving!
Bit of a mess. Steve has charged the square….Steve moved skirmishing Fusiliers up on 1 flank. Alans’s Pointy stick cavalry have charged in the flank of the combat, this is after Dragoons charged the line to the left of the picture and forced them into square….so they didn’t get to shoot the cavalry as they charged in. Steve then moved up a horse battery to close range of the square. This is when Steve and Alan had the bad dice……they did only 1 casualty on me…I passed morale…cavalry then bounced…..funny!
Back up Mockern way…..for several turns I had been shifting my bttns to the left and away from the right flank…..this allowed me to replace Robs front line, push a unit into the 3rd Mockern module and have a reserve which I threw into 2 disordered shaken Prussian bttns in line. The gap is where 1 was, sadly the supporting units didn’t care. My 2nd charge got disordered going in and fluffed its attacks and the combat is going on.
End game. Steinmetz has still not moved, Goldies force is not strong enough to take Mockern.
Facing Mockern are a mix of Goldie and Alan forces… ..but they and French now have multiple units with casualties on them.
Ha……I threw a legere unit across table and picked on a Dragoon unit that has 2 casualties in it…hoping to max casualties and take it out. caused 1 more so only shaken..
Steve and Alan close on on my blocking force.
Alan has troops facing the ridge but it has mainly been a shooting standoff. Looks pretty thought.
View from Junction A which the Prussians hold.
So that was that, a decisive French victory…in so far as we held Mockern. Robs Division was 1 unit away from collapse……but even then his units would not have to leave Mockern. French plan was to wait for Prussian advance then relocate units to the ridge beside Mockern…and it worked…so a good day at the office for Rob and I! Lots of what ifs…..maybe if Steinmetz had moved…..or Steve has managed to get his troops to move faster…or……and that is the fun of playing these well balanced scenarios……
Now the Whisky of Week is rather special.
Last week with my neighbor I had the privilege of attending a 20th Anniversary tasting for the Kilchoman Distillery from Islay. This was hosted by Whisky Galore in Christchurch and we had the pleasure of the evening being present by Catherine MacMillan from the Distillery.
6 wonderful drams were enjoyed, along with an entertaining tales on the history of the Distillery, and life on Islay.
Now, I only have one Kilchoman in my collection which is the PX Sherry cask. Shortly Whisky Galore will have a limited number of the Anniversary tasting for sale and as we were at the tasting, we have first dibs!!
A review I found said:
Nose: Dried fruit, earthy smoke, orange peel, dark chocolate, and hazelnut.
Palate: Salted caramel, marmalade, sultanas, cinnamon, and coffee.
Finish: Long, sweet, and rich.
Steve joined me in sipping this delightful drop during the game and I believe he left a happy man.
Its been a while between updates….winter..house renovations..work…the list goes onnnnn.
So to kick off with we played another scenario from the excellent ‘Lets Fight Leipzig’ scenario book. This time we are gaming ‘The Kolmberg from October 1813. The situation is:
‘Whilst the main allied attacks went in against Wachau and Liebertwolkwitz, General Klenau and the bulk of the 4th Corps were fighting a separate battle of his own around the Kolmberg. This significant piece of high ground about 4 kilometres east of Liebertwolkwitz dominated the surrounding countryside and its occupation would give the allies an excellent anchor for their rather over-extended right flank‘.
The attacking French force were McDonald’s XI Corps of 4 infantry divsions of 5 or 6 infantry units and a battery supported by Montbrun with 1 Chasseur unit. The II Reserve Cavalry Corps of Sebastiani would arrive to his left at some stage. This had 3 divisions of 2 light and 1 heavy division.
The Allied force was the 4th Austrian Corps of Klenau comprising 3 Austrian Divisions and 1 Prussian Brigade. To their right at some stage the Prussian Reserve Cavalry of Roder with a brigade of Cuirassiers and a brigade of Landwehr cavalry would arrive.
Turn 1 and the Allied right with SteveT, beside him was StephenC and Goldie.
On the French side was Robert opposite SteveT, then Rob and then Nick who was back in town and was going to pop along to join in at some stage
The Victory conditions were for the French to take and hold the Kolmberg and the 2 central villages of Klein Posna and Seifertshain. The Austrians have an advance unit on the Kolmberg and rather than wait to be over run, they charged the French line and assaulted the artillery battery. While some may ponder this move…think it through …they are a stamina 4 unit…the battery at best can inflict 3 casualties…and it puts them now in the flank of French and will be a nuisance to any French attack.
The Austrians defeat the artillery….sustain 3 casualties and form square as is a good formation when Montbrun is near by and also to hold off any French infantry attacks until help arrives.
French charge a bttn into square. Another bttn extends into line so can charge in ext turn. Sadly Robert then failed further orders.
However….the 2 Steve/Stephens get triple moves and race across the table and assault Roberts forces!
So turn 2 and combats everywhere!
So below the square had held the French assault, who now found themselves hit in the flank. A French unit has popped where SteveT is picking up the victor and retiring it 12 inches.
Next French turn and the French line has joined the meatgrinder combat….where there was no victor…..to the right the French won the combat last turn ..the Austrians retired and this turn the French have followed up into combat. The combat beside them was a draw so they are continuing.
Austrians won another combat and formed line to attack the batteries as their turn was next.
Batteries are destroyed.
In the center the Austrian cavalry and Grenz were…. looking pretty and not doing much else.
This is the flank the 2 sides cavalry were meant to arrive on……they seem to have got lost!
Aha French arrive….the light division behind the heavies then blundered back off the table.
Prussian heavies arrived…and yes…they are Russians…as Alan has the Prussian heavy cavalry…and he called in sick…subs were required…..
Now gamer Nick was commanding the French Cavalry…and sadly he is a rather accomplished gamer…….so in came the French heavies. So we have 2 Russo/Prussian and 1 Austrian Cuirassier v 3 French Cuirassier and a Carabinier with the right side Austrian cavalry being a Chevau-Leger. The scenario had it as a large unit…meaning 8 attacks and stamina 4…however my colleagues(ok…Goldie…..who will suffer my wrath in the next game I organize) decided it should be standard size.
So..it did not go well for the Allies.
But all was not lost……I had a fresh Cuirassier unit left….so I did a ‘Follow Me’ into the horse artillery…destroyed it and then hit the stationary Uhlans….so I get 10 attacks…hitting on 3s…saving on 3s…..and have a D3 to add to combat result….Uhlans have 7 attacks on 4s….and ..yep…u guessed it…I got destroyed….and for some reason EVERYONE FOUND THIS HIGHLY AMUSING!
They will suffer vengeance in future games!
So end of game on this flank…..Platov will arrive now and the French cavalry have to withdraw to their table edge.
On the infantry flank…..well…..the French have not gained any objectives and next turn would probably be wiped out.
So a resounding Allied victory. The black buildings are ones I have had Alan make for me. Gone for 20mm scale building as take up less table space and the guys agreed they worked better so will paint them up. Have sent Al file details for some churches…tavern..Manor House and will paint these up…one day!
Been a while since a Whisky review so starting with a beauty. Have had reason to visit Christchurch a few times this year…so I make it a mission to always visit ‘Whisky Galore’. On 1 visit I told them of 2 bottles had finished and wanted a similar bottle..but next level up and the GlenAllachie 18 below is one of them.
The tasting notes are:
This opulent Scotch whisky was patiently perfected in the finest oak casks for 18 long years. Silently slumbering in our on-site warehouses, the spirit underwent continual monitoring until Billy Walker deemed it had reached its pinnacle.
With enticing aromas of honey and mocha, followed by marzipan and dark cherry tones on the palate, it’s a single malt oozing elegant refinement.
Nose: Toffee sauce, cinnamon spice and fresh vanilla pods, with attributes of cocoa, honeycomb and cherries. Taste: Bursts of marzipan, sultanas and rich dark chocolate, leading to wild honey, maraschino cherries and buttercream.
All of which means I have really enjoyed this wee beauty over the winter sitting in front of the fire on a winters evening.
We played another Epic Napoleonic Game in the Garage using 4 of the Borodino boards which gave us a a 16 x 6 foot table to play on.
On the the Franco/Bavarian/Austrian side we had the left flank of Austrians commanded by SteveT, the Franco/Bavarians in the center commanded by Russ while Moi(Terry) commanded the French on the right.
The Allied side had Alan on the right opposite SteveT with British/Dutch, in the center Keith with his newly painted British having their first outing, then on the left Goldie with the Prussian’s opposite me.
Franco/Bavarian/Austrian deployment below.
Allied deployment below.
For this game we halved the movement and shooting ranges at Alans suggestion. Personally, I thought it gave a better feel to the game.
Goldies Prussians with my French in distance.
Keith’s British with Russ’s Franco/Bavarians in distance.
Alan’s British/Dutch with SteveT’s Austrians in distance.
There was a 2 foot no deploy zone on either flank and sides could deploy up to 18 inches in from table edge.
Turn 1 and I managed to get a long range artillery shot to cause a casualty!
Bavarian’s charge a Dutch Jager who lose and pop. Supports hold… although one has its back to Bavarians so may have been unaware of what was happening 🙂
On right after a few turns managed to get columns with skirmishing Legere close to the Prussians on the ridge.
The Borodino Great redoubt was covered in tree’s and classed as a large wood. I managed to get 2 Legere in and Goldie one Jager…..my shooting had them shaken.
Russ continues his attacks on the Dutch.
My Legere are getting shot up by the 2 batteries…but I had a plan!
In the Big Wood, Goldie threw another skirmish unit in.
Part 2 of an attack by the Scots Greys. The French unit had lost the first combat and retired. The British cavalry followed up and finished them off.
Which resulted in some collateral damage to supporting units.
Over on the Austrian Front….. SteveT had thrown Cuirassiers into a unit of shaken infantry…who formed square and popped. The sweeping advance took out another shaken infantry unit. The Allied flank was in a perilous position now.
Goldie moved infantry and cavalry up to attack around the right side of the Big Wood. Russ countered with cavalry charges to make the forward units form square.
SteveT’s large Austrians columns are advancing on the British lines. If you do the math, the British will eventually lose with out artillery having damaged the big columns before they get into contact.
Back on the other flank.. this was my plan…..move a unit up the the village to block the troops in it shooting at my cavalry as they race down the road and destroy the Prussian gun line! Legere have gone into the woods and attacked the Prussian skirmishers as well. I selected my newly painted 2nd Chasseurs for this glorious charge!! Yep…new unit…first charge…sigh…rolled double 6…and a 1. They left the table. They never returned…being renamed Duke of Cumberland’s Chasseurs.
On the other flank however… SteveT was like a cat with a bowl of cream…..the British brigade have broken and the was is clear to sweep around the allied flank/rear!! Woohoo…plan was working.
Back on my flank…another turn on…Goldie in his turn threw a unit of Dragoons into the flank of my blocking unit on the village. Somehow….they bounced…the dice gods can be cruel. In my turn…..this time my lancers charged the artillery. I also sent my 2 Cuirassiers charging up the ridge to hit a shaken skirmishing unit…who formed a square…but importantly…a shaken square so I was able to continue the charge into them.
Sigh……so events went like this…my lancers took out the batteries and hit the flank of the Dragoons who had turned to face the incoming Cuirassiers. The square broke and was destroyed…..I foolishly listened to the others and did sweeping advances into the columns behind…..the day was coming to an end….otherwise would have pulled them back…odds were uncertain…and so…yep one lost a combat and the other retired with a bloody nose…and then got charged by Goldies Kuirassiers…..we both did 2 casualties…but I lost the combat and popped. C’est la vie.
Surprise! StephenC was not able to make the game with his Prussians until after lunch…which I kept from the other players. We randomized which road he would arrive on….. and luckily for the Allies it was their right flank.
The battle in the center…. the Prussians have been forced into squares which Russ is grinding down….the British are unable to push forward(Keith has yet to paint the rest of his cavalry…that will help in future games). At top right you can see Prussian landwehr heading for the other flank.
Below we have Austrian reserves arriving in the top right. However, we also have Prussian Grenadiers advancing past the village in the bottom left!
Austrians grinding through the Dutch while the newly arrived Prussians advance on their flank.
View from Prussian side.
Oh dear…..Goldie removing Prussian Grenadiers(yes they are Guard…but made only Grenadiers for game). That was a surprise.
End of game in the middle… French looking a bit thin…but there is a Austrian reserve brigade…and those are French Guard moving into the front line!!
So that was that….what fun…a full days play…lots of combats…some great dice and some appalling dice were rolled! Weather outside was horrible…wet….windy and cold so perfect way to spend a Saturday ….. we had a great lunch and I shared 4 different whisky’s with the ladz to warm them up!!
Looking forward to the next big game…..should be able to fit another 4 foot board in…….and is an incentive to continue to add units…love these wee chaps!!
Another Epic game that was played Alans with a scenario Alan set up.
Stephen(Dutch/KGL)) and Alan(British) are a holding force and Robert(French) and Terry(Moi -French) are marching on.
The Allied blocking force is below. The British take their left with the Dutch/KGL etc on the right.
French march on with Robert leading(he goes left… I go right)
French now on table viewed from Alans British position.
Rifles skirmishing are shaken. I have moved my Cuirassiers to the flank…ready to charge down the British flank if able.
Yep… we are able to. Column was moved up to block traversing fire. The infantry hit and the battery are on a ridge, so the British battalion on the right has no line of sight to the charge.
Mutual extinction event…British Dragoons v French Cuirassiers. British cavalry get to reroll any misses when charging…….so French players quickly learn to hide other cavalry from them.
Now that the cavalry have done their thing…the infantry get to it…once I got rid of the British artillery(they popped when the unit hit in the flank popped) my columns could advance safely.
We are locked in combat, but the French are winning the combats. The other 3 players all had issues getting their troops to move….even Roberts French columns would not join in the fun!
Alans British are in trouble…..4 shaken foot….1 destroyed…hits on the cavalry……
From the combat above 2 more units have popped. The British are done.
Else where…there was cavalry combat on the far flank that I missed…otherwise Stephen moved up to the center , Robert attempted an attack but a lone unit got stranded and pushed back….. the dice Gods were not anyone friends on the other half of table.
So that was that…….The Dutch and surviving British were heading for Brussels!
terrysgaragegaming 