Grand Armee (part 2)

In the second half of the year we played a couple of games from the 100 days.
Quatre Bras was played first (obviously).

The allies were just about holding the cross roads at the end of the day.

The units that are in "walls" are actually in built up areas (BUA), I had the buildings on a removable base in side to swap for occupying troops. By Waterloo game I had gone for a more realistic look on the BUA with small counters to represent the occupying troops.

Quatre Bras - 2nd August 2017

5th November 2017 - Waterloo
 As mentioned earlier BUA were changed and we also introduced the cavalry blown rule.

The battle was 3 player per side with myself as umpire/Prussian. The Prussians didn't arrive til turn 4 and the French had tried to anticipate this, however some heroic use by the British Cavalry meant the were a bit battered by the time the Prussians arrived.

La Haie Saint finally fell to prolonged artillery fire, but there were no French troops available to occupy.
The French really suffered with poor command rolls. If being completely fare and as we never reached the final turn it was a bloody draw.
The French guard tried to attack up the right centre but were pushed back and suffered when being pushed back through their own troops.
Papelotte ended in french hands but no other BUA as they decided to by pass Plancenoit.

The troops allocated to fend off the Prussians (Lobau) had a long way to walk and terrible command rating, as well as being last to be given any CP, quite often they didn't move. They were helped though with the late Prussian arrival.

 

Some pics from the attacks around Hougomont, French gave up attacking it and tried to go round.

 

 

Grande Armee (part 1)

During  last year we played quite a few games of the excellent mass battle rules - Grnade Armee.

This rules have bases that each represent a brigade.

Each turn a force gets a number of command points (CP), this is random each turn. However turns are split into "phases" each phase has a round of move/shoot/combat. The number of phases are random and the choice is to use CP at the beginning or try to spread them out.

There is firing by Skirmish troops and Artillery, but all other combat is represented by making base combat. This is the closing of brigades and either a firefight or firefight and a charge. No formations are needed as its assumed the brigade commanders choose the correct one.

The rules focus more on command and control and can prove quite frustrating when you have run out of command points for the turn and a vital commander refused to move.

2nd August 2017
 A first practice game for everyone to try the rules out.

25th August 2017
 Our Next game was Corunna.

The French seemed to have command problems and the allies held the line til the end.

Continuing my review of 2017 gaming.

This time we focus on - Chosen Men

This is a good set of skirmish rules and we have decided to display a game of Chosen Men at Phalnx Show in June.

1st Game - 22nd February 2017
First game and everyone had a unit each, victory went to the French with the Allied Colonel facing a French Dragoon Firing Squad.

2nd Game - 25th October 2017
More units added to the forces, including Cavalry so everyone was up to 2 units each.
For the show we are going for pointed commands and even more units are planned.

This time the allies were victorious, with the French Dragoons feeling the full force of of British volley fire.

Black Powder

Wednesday 25th January 2017

Only played one game of Black Powder (non campaign) game in the last 10 months.

It was a pointed game, and the French came out winners. It helped with blunders that put a British gun out in the middle of the battlefield all alone.