These Portuguese Freeze When Trying to Seize the....Building (Bugger, my alliteration well ran dry!)

The Portuguese brigade tasked to take the buildings from the French: A bridge too far?

Last Saturday at the Croydon venue was the first meeting since the wandering gypsies returned from their Waterloo sojourns, so the Napoleonic games were swelled to their normal numbers after a couple of weeks of slim pickings.

I was partnering Darren B. with his 1805 Russians against John R. and Vana with my Peninsular War Anglo-Allied division. We settled on a randomised entry of the board with control of a line of hills and a BUA at my end of the table as the objectives for the game. I came on in the bottom right hand corner of the board, with Vana rolling to come on the board at 90° to me! That was going to be an interesting start to the game... John and Darren rolled more mundane entry points opposite each other on the other side of the board.

After an aggressive start which my cavalry put a stop to, Vana settled for seizing and holding the BUA which formed part of the game's objective. Apart from a little to-ing and fro-ing along the line, not a lot else happened in the game! (Well, there were a couple of charges I put in, but the less said about that, the better...)

Darren had much better luck on the other side, seizing and holding the line of hills which formed the rest of the objectives, and turning John's flank.

My division's starting position. You can just see Vana's French in the top left corner!

I started with my best infantry, all my artillery and both small light dragoon regiments on the right, ready to repel the French.

Vana started directly in front of the BUA with an echeloned line of infantry facing my direction.

At this stage it was just me and Vana on the board: Darren and John were to come on in the next move.

John looking pensive (or constipated, not quite sure...) 

The 71st, 50th and 92nd get ready to repulse the French tide, with the help of the artillery and cavalry

First turn: My infantry form line behind the artillery and cavalry, with the Portuguese in reserve. the left flank move in columns to a position to threaten the BUA which Vana has occupied. Vana moves his lancers behind the infantry.

My objective for the day; Vana's French make themselves at home!

Vana makes a gap for his lancers.
My horse battery takes first blood for the day, knocking a figure off the column which just formed in the centre.

Vana's lancers charge the guns. My light dragoons took the opportunity charge and met them in the middle...

As the lancers were in column and my light dragoons in line, I had the upper hand before the dice roll.

I sent the lancers on their way and careered on into the closed column, which stood their ground and repulsed my cavalry,  neither side taking casualties.

He then sent artillery and another small infantry battalion up to threaten my guns. The 50th wheeled into the flank of the oncoming column and poured in a devastating flank fire, causing 2 casualties and forcing it to break and flee.

My guns took the opportunity fire on the other battalion which tried to advance, knocking another figure off and forcing them to withdraw, as well.

Darren and John enter the board. not only did we experiment with entry points and entry timing, we also rolled for initiative every turn, just to spice things up. It could have caused some headaches if things had worked differently, but things evened out. Still, it caused some anxiety!

One of Darren's big Russian units with accompanying regimental artillery.

Russian hussars and horse guns.
His figures are Elite Miniatures, preparation for our replaying of Austerlitz in 2017

Guard Cossacks

Darren prepares to seize the high ground, which comprises the main objective for the day. Now, for me to just pry the BUA from Vana's grasp...

Vana stubbornly advances in the cavalry danger-zone without adopting a defensive formation and gets whacked for his trouble

My cavalry end up poised on the flank of another defenceless infantry column...

...but Vana brings some reinforcements to see off my threat with some flank fire.

Run away! Casualties and failed morale test tend to do that...

Vana deploys cavalry and infantry out to the left of the BUA. The left I'd sent to target the BUA now had to hunker down to meet the threat.

Vana pulls back to consolidate his line to the right of the BUA

Back on the left, I launch a charge with my heavy dragoons at Vana's infantry across the ploughed field. He had a 40% chance of forming square, which I thought was good odds in my favour. However, the dice gods are fickle and he formed square.

In the ensuing combat my dragoons were forced to retreat, but managed to not lose a figure.

Things began to look a bit dire as his brigade advanced on my two regiments, one of which was in square to counter his cavalry threat.

A rather shaky view of the battlefield viewed from the right flank: I have massed my Portuguese reserve in preparation to seized the BUA closest to camera. Darren has command of the high ground in the centre and far left of the table.

After a pitifully ineffective close range artillery barrage, my charge goes in (only the heads of the columns have been moved into contact)

The ensuing melee ended in a frustrating draw with disorders and losses. Curse you dice gods!

In the top left of the picture, Darren comes off the high ground to threaten Vana's flank.

Vana moves back, taking the pressure off my left.

The light dragoons get a rush of blood to the head and attack the line. Vana had assumed he was in an anchored line between BUA and column, but he hadn't made it a closed column, so the line wasn't cavalry-proof. However, he just fired instead, taking two figures with some inspired shooting and resulting in my cavalry disintegrating and running for the rear, never to be seen again!

My heavy dragoons rejoin the line, but there's really no opening for me to go on the offensive.

Time to re-organise my Portuguese brigade and add some back-bone; The 92nd Gordon Highlanders join in to add so muscle. Vana had added another battalion to the garrison, so my next charge really had its work cut out.

I pushed to guns up to close range to blast the buildings, but missed again, and then had the embarrassment of losing a gun to long range musketry!

The charges goes in again! (Front figures only until combat resolved)

In another display of pusillanimous dice rolling, my attacking force didn't even come into melee, bottling it and retreating before contact!

Darren, on the other hand, was well in control of the high ground...

...and was in the process of rolling up John's right flank. 

As it was July 4, there was a War of 1812 game between Steve and Quinny.

Not going well for Cousin Jonathan , though. Washington's that-a-way!

The Americans weren't celebrating that day.