I've been very sluggish in all things hobby-related, lately, including updating this blog! This game happened over a fortnight ago, but I still haven't documented it. After I do, I'll have caught up with my batreps, as I forgot to put the SD card back in the camera for last night's training game with newest member, Philip; D'oh!
This game turned out to be a 3 vs.2 game after Quinny joined the French side with Tim and I against Andrew B. and Steve commanding the Prussian forces in an 1815 game. Quinny took command of the French cavalry while Tim took overall command as well as commanding the two right hand divisions. I commanded the left 2 divisions and was given orders by Tim to fulfill.
Basically, my first division was tasked to capture the church on the hill while the 2nd ws to follow up Quinny's cavalry wherever they ended up. With a small initial confusion between divisions, which resulted in a crossing of lines when the cavalry cut across my front, I set about my mission.
Even though we won the initiative, the initial maneuvering meant that the Prussians gained the church first. While I was indulging in traffic control, Quinny's cavalry caused merry hell with poor old Steve. Even though Steve has been a member of the club for a few years, he hasn't been able to make enough meetings to become thoroughly familiar with the rules, so was was feeling a little under the pump with the number of troops under his command for a start, before Quinny came bearing down on him from all angles!
Andrew was also threatened by Quinny's cavalry in the centre. His squares and closed columns of Landwehr infantry were easy meat for my infantry when they moved into position. It was on the left flank that I eventually came a cropper. Although I managed to capture the church, I couldn't get enough pressure to bear to break his infantry, especially when his cavalry and artillery moved up in support. In a mirror image of what I did to him in the centre, he did to me on the left! My artillery didn't even get to fire before it was overrun, still limbered. In the centre, my infantry had outstripped my artillery and then broke the Prussian line without their help! Once Tim's infantry advanced, after being held in reserve, the Prussians' position was looking decidedly shaky.
Bonaparte's legions did for Blucher's hordes in a small measure of vengeance for their Waterloo defeat!
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| The brave French fellows! |
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| My gallant general |
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| My two divisions facing the Prussian hordes! |
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| Orders from the Boss |
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| A la baionette! |
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| Quinny's orders. He didn't need to be told twice! |
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| The Enemy! |
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| Traffic congestion on the way to Paris. |
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| Quinny's first move shows he's following orders to a T. |
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| The rest of his cavalry on the right wing follows suit... |
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| ...and charges the guns! |
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| He successfully wiped out the guns and repulsed the counter-attacking Prussian cavalry |
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| On my flank, his cavalry support my infantry by scaring the landwehr into square. |
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| The rest of Quinny's cavalry look for opportunities, while the enemy forms closed columns. |
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| The hussars back up the horse battery |
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| Quinny's successful lancers now get support from his chasseurs on the right flank. They again charge the guns in a gutsy, but successful move. |
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| The infantry of my 1st division assault the Prussian held church... |
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| ...and easily take it. |
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| My 2nd division follow up Quinny's cavalry... |
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| ...who've gone off on a beserk rampage. 3 out of 4 battalions have formed square, but one hasn't and it's about to cop it! |
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| After destroying the column, the chasseurs come to a stop against the square... |
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| ...and are repulsed. |
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| The hussars tried to emulate the chasseurs' success by charging another Prussian battalion in column. The artillery in the flank puts paid to that idea. Especially as they were 12 lbers! |
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| The leading 2 battalions of the 2nd division charge the Prussians just outside the flanking artillery's opportunity fire range |
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| They concentrate on the right hand column, shrugging off the ineffectual supporting fire of the other columns |
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| The remaining battalions of the division await their turn, while the first two get stuck in. |
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| The Prussinas square up in response to Quinny's threat and fire into my flank at the same time. My troops hardly notice! |
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| Two more battalions charge the hapless Prussians, smashing the square in the process and carrying on into the the other column, breaking the whole brigade. |
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| My last two columns charged at the lone landwehr column by the village, but the were too near the 12 lb battery. My charge was repulsed with heavy losses! |
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| In the meantime, Quinny set his chasseurs in an oblique charge on Steve's line, outside the fire arc of all the artillery and infantry, which just chewed up everything in his path. It was an awesome sight, and was the most successful action that those figures have ever undertaken! |
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| After passing through the church, the lead elements of the first division are confronted by hordes of Prussians. They need to keep going forward aggressively, or they'll get rolled up from the flank. |
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| I was hoping to punch through the landwehr with superior quality troops, but just didn't have the numbers to do it. |
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| By then Andrew had pinned me on the left with cavalry and then sent in his infantry to finish the job. Exactly what Quinny and I had done to him and Steve in the centre! |
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| His cavalry got me into square... |
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| ...and then his infantry followed up... |
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| ...breaking battalions... |
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| ...with the resulting divisional morale test failing and the whole division routing! |
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| Still, Quinny and I had forced a big gap in the centre... |
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| ...and with Tim's big attack on the right, it was curtains for the Prussians! |
