Mini-Borodino - 3rd Club Game for the Year!

I got a game in at the club last Friday. Hallelujah!

It was a mini-Borodino scenario set up by Tim to help us Frenchies come to grips assaulting Russian gun emplacements dug in behind fortifications. The results show that I have a lot to learn!

I partnered Darren W. who has been an on-again, off-again member of the Napoleonics group, as he also has a bout of severe real-life (read 1-year-old child!). Darren was coming to grips with the rules after a long absence, but showed some tactical flair, whereas I tried to get too fancy and do too much with the numbers I had and succeeded only in spreading myself too thinly and getting bogged down.

Tim masterfully suckered me in to the gap between the town and the woods to the left, while I kept my Italian Guard brigade focused on the battery. I was hoping to get in on his flank, distract enough of his supporting infantry and charge the guns with the Guard. As it turned out, a combination of inferior numbers and some ordinary dice rolling at crucial moments, I was bogged down in my flanking maneuver and repulsed in my frontal attack on the redoubt. 

The consensus was that I should have ignored the gap to my left, secured the town, then sent the majority of my forces straight up the guts at the battery, then to worry about the counter-attack later.

On a positive note, my Italian horse gun battery survived the game and dished out some punishment of its own! Huzzah! (I'm a glass half full kinda guy!)

My Franco-Italian forces on the starting blocks

The table setup, with Russians a the top and Franco-Italians at the bottom

The suspiciously Spanish-looking town, occupied by 2 battalions of Russian infantry.

The infantry support behind the redoubt

More Russian infantry to the north of the town and woods.

The redoubt!

Tim's Russians bravely face Darren's on-coming columns

Here they come!

The redoubt's infantry support. Infantry much?

Italian horse guns on debut!

My forces start their flanking movement after the nearest Italian  regular battalion lost 2 figures in the first firing of the guns! Ouch! They are now skirmished to present a smaller target, while the other Italian regular battalion is deployed in line to also try to minimise 12lber damage.

Darren advances behind skirmish line.

Skirmishers bravely advance...

...only to be scared off by Russian Hussars!

Darren's troops square up and his skirmishers re-form into line. His Hussars then launch a charge at their Russian counterparts from deep behind the infantry.

Darren's infantry squares form a funnel that prevent Tim's hussars from effectively counter-charging .

Cavalry clash, but bounce in an inconclusive melee

Stalemate!

My cavalry move beyond the building, eyes only for the infantry ahead... 

...but not for the artillery to the flank! 

They are tough Italian dragoons, though, so they merely shrugged off their casualties and redeployed.

A brigade attack on one of the BUAs winkled the Russians out

Spreading myself thin, I send another 2 battalions to screen the Russians in the woods.

Russian skirmishers'-eye-view

Meanwhile, Darren advances on a narrower front...

...opposed by a similar force of Tim's Russians

En avant!

The Italian Guard wait their opportunity

Il formaggio grande!

My target for the night and how I hope to approach; in the flank!

These chaps had other ideas, though!  : (

Tim advances a closed column of infantry.

Too tempting a target for my dragoons!

30% casualties and running away! A good charge!

But then came Tim's riposte; one closed column approaches from the front and fires, but inflicts no damage.  Another approached from the flank and fired, inflicting a casualty and a morale check which the dragoons survived.

The 3rd battalion to approach then had a bit of luck and killed the general! Diavolo!

The resulting morale check saw them retreat, to live another day

After that setback, I set my veteran light infantry on those pesky cavalry baiting, general killing infantry.

The first battalion crumpled under their fury (can be seen fleeing in the distance), but the second battalion to be contacted in the breakthrough move was made of sterner stuff; They stood and repulsed the attackers in a bout of appalling dice rolling on my part, and good on Tim's!

Momentum building for Darren's attack

His bold Hussars charge again, but Tim forms square and repulses them with losses.
Darren's later divisional charge was repulsed convincingly and resulted in a failed divisional morale check. As I was embroiled on my own side of the table, pictures of this action are understandably missing!

2 of my battalions form up outside the town, only to be greeted by artillery and massing infantry.

Meanwhile, my battered dragoons re-enter the fray supported by one of the battalions which had been screening the woods.

The Russians' view. Not enough to break through, though.

Valiant dragoons bounce of infantry which had successfully formed squares.

The battalions facing the guns in the town are outnumbered and still have Russians in a flanking BUA.

The Guard over-enthusiastically follow the skirmishers, who had been screening their advance, but they approached too close and suffered for their keenness.

The redoubt's view of the Guard's approach

The ensuing charge was stopped in its tracks with disorders and casualties!
Game over!