The Battle of the Flower-Pot Men

"Flobba-dob!"
Translated: "Have at you, sir!"

I'm falling behind in my battle-reporting; this one took place at the club almost a month ago! It was the first outing of the new, improved 2nd Division against a polyglot European force of French, Poles, Swiss and renegade Irish.

Now why the the reference to an ancient black and white childrens' TV programme, featuring a pair of incomprehensible marionettes? Those of you who know my (not-so-secret) identity will understand this visual gag, but those who don't will be able to guess my first name, at least, from this clue; I was playing against Bill.... 

In another stand-'em-up, knock-'em-down game with the village at the road intersection the objective, things started out fairly evenly with both sides managing to secure a BUA of the village each. Instead of going for an evenly balanced cavalry arm, I decided to use my heavy dragoons as a shock force in the centre and only have one other regiment of light dragoons out on the left flank. My right I felt would be safe, anchored by the large highlander battalion, which, I felt, would be able to take on whatever came its way.

That may not have been an unfair supposition if I'd been a little more on top of my game! For a start, I threw away the heavy dragoons in the middle after tempting Bill's lancers to charge my Portuguese infantry line. So far, so good. Bill hadn't realised the lancers were classed as light cavalry and that my dragoons, being heavy, outclassed his severely. What should have resulted in a steamrolling only resulted in forcing the French cavalry to retire. Compounding the folly was the fact that the dragoons went battle-mad and were compelled to take the breakthrough, leaving them right in the French line with their flanks well and truly exposed! Next turn Bill turned his artillery battery to fire into the cavalry's flank causing 2 casualties and a morale test, which they promptly lost and broke for the rear.

My lack of cavalry suddenly became acute; the light dragoons were occupied by the French dragoons out on the left flank, so the rest of the French cavalry had free reign to do as they wished. Over on the right flank, the French Chasseurs a Cheval kept the highlanders pinned in closed column, while the lancers in the centre recovered after their mauling by the British dragoons to threaten the Portuguese infantry.

By this stage things were looking a bit crook for the Anglo-Allied forces, so I thought it was time to go all in. I sent three of the 5 Portuguese battalions at the French occupied BUA, hoping to capture it and weather his attempts at trying to seize it back. In a confirmation that I am not very good at attacking BUAs, my attack failed, mainly because I didn't throw the whole brigade in. Rolling a 1 didn't help either! I compounded my folly by moving the light infantry forward to firefight the Swiss infantry in the ploughed field to the right of the village. Not only did I underestimate the distance from the BUA, I didn't take into account that 3 friendly battalions were retreating nearby. Flank fire from the BUA, plus the nearby retreats meant that the light infantry didn't stand a chance and broke to the rear!

That was the point where I lost the game; a gaping hole had opened up on the right and I had nothing to fill it with. The French lancers rode down one of the remaining Portuguese regiments, while the artillery whittled away the lines in front of them. The Franco-Polish infantry pushed steadily forwards and the French dragoons finally saw off their British counter-parts on the left. The coup-de-grace happened on the right flank where the Swiss wheeled into the flank of the highlanders who had unwisely pushed forwards against the chasseurs. On the left flank the 50th had protected the highlanders' flank, seeing off the Irish Legion. I should have anticipated the Swiss move, but thought it wasn't going to happen as soon as it did, so the highlanders were caught in the flank with no comebacks. The resulting morale test was failed spectacularly and the game was declared a French victory!

The new, improved 92nd!

The other new battalion gets its first taste.

The field of battle, with the objective in the centre.

Bill's polyglot French forces

His Foot Dragoons make the early running.

The rest of his troops make the high ground on the left...

...and on the right.

The new battalion fans out into line...

...next to the Buffs on the rear slope of the rise.

The Gordons form a closed column in the face of French cavalry

The French view

The Portuguese form up on the village

An indecisive cavalry encounter out on the far left.

But in the centre, the dragoons shape up to the lancers.

CRASH!!!!

And the silly bu&%ers go battle-mad! Note the artillery battery to the right.

RUN AWAY!!!!!!

It's up to us now, boys!

The thin red line

The French artillery in the rough ground whittle down the infantry on the extreme left, while the French dragoons wait their turn.

The crisis point is reached: the Portuguese charge on the BUA goes in!

FLUB!

The light bobs have their rush of blood to the head and advance to firefight, copping all the negatives from flank fire and retreating friendlies. SIGH!

RUN AWAY!!!!!

The big gap in the centre vacated by the Portuguese and light bobs.

Bill's recovered lancers give the remaining Portuguese what-for after they failed to form square.

RUN AWAY!!!!

The provisional battalion tries a little tricky manoeuvre into the rear of the limbered artillery, but it was too little, too late by this stage and broke up the line to the left of the village.

The Buffs and Poles duke it out.

But there's a big gap between the nearest infantry lines and the French are about to fill it!

The French guns whittle away the infantry and cavalry to their front with nothing to answer them.

On the right flank, the highlanders advance, pushing back the cavalry, while the 50th Foot screen their right flank against the renegade Irish.

Whoops! Here comes the Swiss!

RUN AWAY!!!!!

The Irish charge the 50th...

...who manage to halt them with a well aimed volley, despite the flight of the highlanders.

The provisional battalion weren't able to prevent the battery unlimbering and firing into their flank!

The Buffs get flanked 

The final cavalry stoush:

CHARGE!!!!

Ends with the British cavalry routed and the victorious French dragoons crashing into the infantry, who were unable to form square. GAME OVER!

A couple of take-aways from this game are that:

1. I am rubbish at assaulting BUAs 
2. I am rubbish at estimating distances from BUAs
3. Just because I can, doesn't mean I should just push everything into the front line.
4. A cavalry threat isn't a threat if it is thrown away to no benefit.

Another Bloody Peninsula Stalemate

The French in possession of the ridge? What is going on?

Another game at the club, and this time I gave the French a go in another battle in the Iberian Peninsula. Amazingly, it was the debut of my Italian infantry which I painted late last year! I was able to take Bill up on his challenge from last game, which was postponed when I had to switch to partner him on the Allied side against the Westphalians. This time I faced his Anglo-Portuguese forces alongside Darren's bicorne era French. Bill was partnered by Quinny and his Anglo-Portuguese in a welcome return to his comfort zone!

In a topsy-turvy battle, the French ended up in control of the ridge, and Quinny even broke the cardinal rule of playing British infantry and charge a battalion while still in column! My battle was mainly against Bill and his Anglo-Portuguese division, which seemed to be based on Picton's 3rd Division, as it had some heavy hitters in it like the 88th Connaught Rangers, which in our rules are a named unit (meaning they are better than a run-of-the-mill line infantry battalion). Darren's pre-1808 uniformed infantry took on Quinny's Anglo-Portuguese forces in a tussle for control of the central ridge, with Quinny complaining about the multiple levels of the hill (more evidence of the upside-down nature of the game; who ever heard of a British commander complaining about the topography? (-: ).

My French command

French infantry

Polish cavalry

Italian infantry (including the 3 battalions getting their baptism of fire!)

Bill's Anglo-Portuguese

Darren sets up on my right, facing Quinny's Anglo-Portuguese.

Allons-y!

Quinny's KGL Hussars.

The Anglo-Portuguese won the initiative and got to move off first. Bill had the worst of it as farmland lay in the way of his objectives; the occupation of the built up areas separating the two opposing sides. He fell short of two of the BUAs in his turn and I cheekily snuck one of my battalions into the BUA on my left under his nose! My horse gun battery set up on the hill to add support, while my Vistula Lancers lurked behind the hill in support of the battery. That battery proved crucial in securing that flank as, for once, nearly every shot found its mark.

Bill's Portuguese just falls short of the nearest BUA (maybe if they were standing up they would have moved quicker!)

My chaps snatch the closest BUA from under the Portugueses' noses!

The lancers throw out a vedette while the infantry march ahead in closed column, supporting the horse gun battery which has just unlimbered.

I planned on holding the left flank and try to suck Bill into disputing the village, but like all plans it didn't really survive contact with the enemy! I had a good combined arms threat in the centre with a small hussar regiment tucked in among the infantry. The allies didn't have any cavalry to counter the threat in this quarter, so their infantry was stuck in an anti-cavalry defensive posture. This allowed me to move my infantry and foot battery up to "soften up" the closest BUA before putting in a charge with my strongest infantry battalions. I judged that my charge approach would take me outside the 3" close range of the next BUA, but my judgement was faulty; It was well inside the 3" range and the flank fire from grenadier rated infantry stopped my charge in its tracks. The following morale test resulted in both battalions breaking. Curse you, imperial measurement!

The foot gun battery blasts away at the approaching British infantry column...

...while my French cavalry make them think twice about advancing any further!

One British regiment secures the BUA, while the other squares up in the face of the cavalry.

Darren's troops conform to the line of my leading troops, while Quinny's troops advance further down the ridge.

An aerial view of Bill's troops on the left of the table. Note the cavalry in the top right coming to the rescue of the troops in the centre.

After an earlier stoush with Bill's cavalry, my Polish lancers get hammered by the British artillery. Time to reverse to the shelter of the woods!

Applying pressure to the nearest BUA. The artillery softens up the target...

...before the charge goes in!
Flank fire from the adjacent BUA proves costly, though.

Failed morale check and the troops bolt!

Time to re-establish the line before the British can exploit the failure.

Old Nosey himself!

The scales turn with the appearance of British cavalry in the centre.

Out on the left flank, Bill charged a single battalion in column which I met with two of my own, much larger, columns. With the success of my counter-attack, the two columns were in danger of being outflanked by the rest of Bill's troops. In a move that could have been fatal for my battle, I moved the battalion from the only BUA the French occupied out into the open in line to support the right flank of the successful columns. I quickly found out how good Bill's British infantry was when he moved one up in line and engaged the line in a firefight. The overwhelming firepower forced the line back and exposed the flank of the columns even worse by allowing the enemy to occupy the vacant BUA! D'oh!

Bill learns the hard way not to charge a single, narrow fronted Anglo-Portuguese battalion against multiple, much wider French battalions!

Abandoning the BUA in the face of superior firepower; not a good idea in hindsight!

In a further blow to my chances of victory, Bill moved some of his cavalry from the flank to the centre in order to neutralise the cavalry threat which had pinned his infantry in place. The ensuing cavalry clash ended with my hussars fleeing the field, and the infantry already in retreat from their failed assault getting caught in the rear by the British cavalry's breakthrough move. Quel désastre!

Charge and counter-charge meet in the middle with unfortunate results for the French!

Not to worry! A dose of musketry in the flank will put things right.

I managed to restabilise the centre after dispatching the British cavalry with a blast of musketry, but now the left flank seemed to be under pressure. Bill's artillery was threatening to whittle away my lancers, opening my infantry to an onslaught. I pivoted the cavalry line to the shelter of the heavy woods, but Bill sent a column of infantry through the woods in order to outflank them. They made heavy weather through the woods and by the time they emerged on the other side, were ripe for attack!

Quinny looking unimpressed, while my gunners continue to pepper the near BUA.

The general attempts to rally one of the battalions which failed to charge home and then got collected in the British cavalry charge. They were beyond control, however, and continued bolting to the rear, to play no more part in the battle.

A lone Italian battalion out ahead of the rest as the British establish a line of their own.

After bringing the Italians back, my line solidifies on the ridge in preparation for the next move.

On the left flank, however, things look set to unravel. The horse gun battery, however, was giving sterling service, inflicting casualties with every shot!
Note Bill's infantry struggling through the woods at the top of the picture.

By the time they emerge, covered in scratches and leaves from the heavy woods, the Polish lancers are ready for them!

CHAARRGGE!!!!

The British infantry turn and run, but the woods block any chance of taking the breakthrough, and leave the cavalry at the tender mercies of the artillery!

Darren was making steady progress on the right flank and managed to get in the flank of one of Quinny's lines. The broken terrain on the summit of the ridge was breaking up Quinny's lines and allowing Darren to exploit the flanks of units which advanced too far over the ridge.

Darren moves up on the ridge, following up a previous successful attack. The British line at the top of the picture is in trouble as Darren has a column in its flank.

Under the cover of a battalion in line...

...the other battalions surge into the flank and rear of the threatened British line!

The view of the battlefield from the left flank, as Darren moves his troops and Quinny looks on.

I tried another attack on the nearest BUA, but Bill had exchanged the battered Portuguese battalion holding it, with a fresh British battalion. This time, I tried screening the attackers from the firepower of the adjacent BUA, to no avail. Even with the magic 3:1 ratio, my dice weren't up to the challenge and the attack faltered again.

The second charge on the BUA is again repulsed. This time I moved a column up to cover the charge from flank fire from the adjacent building. It got mauled and was lucky to survive the resulting morale test!

Meanwhile, Quinny broke the cardinal rule of playing British and charged two of his battalions in column, While my two columns counter-charged to meet his charge, they couldn't match the ferocity of the British attack and ran! The infantry in the the second row formed line to face the British columns (more evidence of a world turned upside down!). After getting rid of a line protecting the British flank, Darren unleashed a volley on the flank of the nearest column, sending it running.

Sacrilege! Quinny charges two battalion in column, to be met by two of my own. Maybe I should have stood and fired? Anyway, the British were successful (or lucky?).

They ended up in between a rock and a hard place, though!

Darren's troops continue causing havoc in the flank of Quinny's line. This time it's the Portuguese's turn...

...and now the British.

One of the two columns which successfully charged mine is met with flank fire from Darren's line in the broken ground.

It fails the resulting morale check and runs!

With no knock-out blow landed by either side and time running out, the game was declared a draw. (However, if control of the ridge was the objective, then I reckon we could say that the French won!)