A bit late with this AAR from last Sunday at Barrys. A Napoleonic "encounter" in 1814 as the Allies (Brits and Bavarians) approach the outskirts of Paris. At the same time, a French force is heading in the opposite direction. Each force was given its own specific aims by umpire/scenario designer Paul - I played on the Allied side with Barry and Rick - Mark and Chris were the French, with Paul coming on as reinforcements on a random die roll
Initial set up
Chris with his newly minted Duchy of Warsaw force
My Brits advance straight up the middle - our aim was to capture the road that exited the centre of the French table edge
My supporting cavalry - three heavy, one light, plus a horse battery.
Rick (to my right) haired off into a densely wooded area with his cavalry??!
While Barry's Bavarians advanced steadily in a solid block
Chris has painted far too many of these bloody lancers - they look nice though!
My columns got about two thirds of the way across the table - when Paul turned up with the French reinforcements - Chris had rolled a 1 for the turn number they arrived on - oh great!
The lancers charged my riflemen and wiped them out!
My Light Dragoons returned the favour, eventually driving the lancers off
Marks French hussars boldly charged Ricks RA battery - it didn't end well for the hussars!
British battalion's mass to pass through the central crossroads
To my right, the French cavalry were busy, destroying most of Ricks command piecemeal!
The French reinforcements line the ridge opposite the Bavarians
The British cavalry brigade watch the Poles advance
Mark continues to beat up Ricks Brits
"I say, what the hell is that chap up to on the flank, Carruthers?!"
"He appears to be losing his entire command, my Lord!"
Impressive looking Duchy of Warsaw columns advance remorselessly
The lancers clash with British dragoons
The 90th Foot occupy a farm adjacent to the central crossroads
The Light Division moves forward - 43rd and 52nd Regiments to the fore
The French had the advantage of defending higher ground.....
Reinforcements arrive in the form of a Portuguese Brigade of five battalions - well, it's what I had with me!
The Light Division assault drives back one French battalion.
The Poles advance ominously against the British centre
And their massed columns look unstoppable as they move towards the thin blue line of Portuguese
The remnants of Ricks British command move behind the Portuguese troops and reach the road to Paris
The Portuguese bounce the Poles back - and counterattack!
Two or three Polish battalions are driven from the field!
Highlanders v's Poles in the centre
The close combats were inconclusive, neither side gaining the upper hand
The Poles came in again against my Portuguese, supported by French cavalry who had finished beating up Ricks command by this stage.
In the centre, one of the leading battalions of the Light Division were repulsed and fell back in disorder
The Portuguese succeeded in holding then pushing back the Polish columns
The Poles formed line - they do look pretty!
A completely fresh French infantry brigade moves to support the Poles against the Portuguese
Portuguese and Polish lines trade volleys
A final shot of inconclusive combat in the centre.
It was 4pm and time to call it a day. The Light Division had managed to drive off two battalions of French infantry from the heights but the road to Paris was still in French hands. The Bavarians had slogged away against the French reinforcements but not really made any headway, and the British right flank had been comprehensively defeated by Marks French cavalry - if the Portuguese had not arrived, it might well have been a rout! Rather generously, Paul declared the result a draw - in the circumstances, I was more than happy with that result!
A hard slog of a game but nice to get some old friends on the table (most of my Napoleonic Brits were painted 20+ years ago - lovely Front Rank figures cast by Paul and Mark, most of them!)
Beautiful armies, I enjoyed browsing through the photographs, the scene took me back to younger teenage years, when I gamed on a dark green cloth and used crushed ballast for roads - though my armies were badly painted Airfix 1/76 - happy days :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm - glad you liked the report! I think the ballast/sand is a great way to make the roads - you can twist and turn in any direction and storage is pretty easy - a 2 litre milk bottle!
DeleteVery nice looking game sir!
ReplyDeleteAnd agree, beautiful armies 😀
Thanks Michal glad you like them!
DeleteLovely game. Sort of Old Skool as Norm highlighted. I tried that method of road making years ago (and it looked great) but cleaning up after a game was always a bit of a ball ache.
ReplyDeleteWe don't find it too bad JBM - couple of minutes with a dustpan and brush and it's all back in the milk bottle, usually!
DeleteDoes look the fun on a sundy, sfternoon/
ReplyDeleteIt had its moments of frustration, Joe, but overall, it WAS fun!
DeleteGreat looking troops Keith, it did look a hard slog and I bet you were happy with a draw!!! Think I would have been too.
ReplyDeleteCheers Ray, if we had had another couple of turns, I think the French would have rolled up our flank.
DeleteDespite a hard slog and a drawn game, given the beating the Brits had taken, a fine display of figures as always. The thought of ballast roads on my fleece cloth fills me with dread, but it does have many benefits for sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve. The ballast wouldn't work with fleece but we generally use beize which is fine...it would also be OK with the neoprene type mats.
DeleteA charming looking game, Keith. I'll follow Steve's thoughts about ballast roads but they did look the part.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard, I have always quite liked the ballast road idea - but I don't use it in my own games!
DeleteA real mixture of nationalities. Mark's buildings look great and the new Poles are a fine addition.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence - not 100% sure these buildings are Marks, but they could well be!
DeleteLovely looking game, sounds like you were lucky to get a draw, Ive bought my Poles but I have to do the Bavarians and Spanish first! Still could do with some Polish lancers to demolish British units in Spain?
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Nothing like being prepared, Iain - so you have at least three unpainted 28mm Napoleonic armies then??
DeleteSorry Keith,of course don't we all?!🤣
DeleteBest Iain
I am starting to think I am living in depravation, Iain!
DeleteA cracking looking and sounding game Keith…And an excellent way to spend a Sunday…
ReplyDeleteAll the best. Aly
Thanks Aly - certainly a great way to spend any day!
DeleteGood looking Napoleonic game with a table covered in troops. Just like it ought to be! I have used ballast for roads on my table too. For cleanup, I used a small, handheld vac and then emptied the contents back into the ballast container.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon, glad the mound of figures is to your liking! I think the guys may also have used a handheld vacuum in the past...
DeleteAs everyone has said a great looking game Keith and obviously lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ben - I would not say every minute was fun, but overall, it was a fun experience!
DeleteLove seeing a good Nap's table with so many regiments. The prospect of paitning all that though...
ReplyDeleteFun game to follow Keith. I could definitely see the French winning this one if you had more time.
Thanks Dai! Certainly a lot of time and effort gone into creating these collections! I am occasionally struck by just how many figures are in my own collection....but then I realise it is the work of thirty years, with something painted every two or three days(on average), so the numbers do add up!
DeleteA great game and good to see old troops back on the table
ReplyDeleteCheers Scotty....my Front Rank Napoleonics are some of my oldest figures, so it's always good to get them out of their boxes!
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