Napoleonic bash part II

Or crash, bang wallop. Let's just say part 2 was a very short and bloody affair, so not many pictures. With 2 extra players from last week, Robbo and Sean took on the roles of the French command so that yours truly could concentrate on umpiring. After 12 turns last week, we only got through 4 this week as both sides got stuck in with multiple combats each turn.

The game picked up with the hopefully timely arrival of some French reinforcements. A brigade of Neopolitan infantry were dispatched to support the Polish brigade who were facing the overwhelming strength of the British. There were also a couple of regiments of light cavalry sent to support the Westphalians, as the Austrians began to use their additional numbers to stretch their lines before delivering a hammer blow.

The British powering into the Poles

The Prussian Centre

Austrians preparing their assault

Huzza, French cavalry to the rescue

The Prussians began to get their 2nd infantry brigade moving to put some pressure on the French centre, they also received their own reinforcement in the form of a light cavalry brigade. 

The crash - Sean, with the Westphalians decided to take the fight to the Austrians. Using his Grenadiers to sweep 2 battalions away, causing one of the Austrian brigades to falter. But with plenty of troops available, Mitch brought up another fresh brigade to shore uphis line, he then advanced to close range with musketry duel all across the line.

The bang - In the centre, things were pretty even, both sides giving and taking casualties. The Prussians were still struggling to make their advantage in numbers to tell. Then it all went wrong for the French. With a prime target in front of them the French artillery produced desultory fire. A couple of casualties would have broken the Prussian regiment and caused the brigade to falter, giving them time to get the Neopolitans into position and another French infantry brigade onto the table. In return The Prussians launched an assault and swept away a French battalion, causing the French centre to falter. All Robbo had to do was roll was anything but a 1.

He rolled a 1

The French routed, causing the whole brigade to retire, The centre was now open for the Prussians to swing left and put pressure on the Westphalians.

The wallop - Over on the French left, the Polish brigade had been fighting a slow withdrawal in front of the British. Robbo then decided to stand and fight. A thin blue line is not as good as a thin red line. The British quickly closed and launched infantry assaults all across the line. The Poles initially held, so far so good. But now the British had a Hanovarian brigade arriving at the fight. With the spare numbers, the British assaulted again, the thin blue line creaked and then broke.

The wallop

With both the Polish on the left and the Franco-Dutch in the centre running, Robbo needed to roll up 3 ADCs just to hold the division. However, due to the failed discipline test he could only roll for a maximum of 2. He didn't get any. Both brigades continued to run. The poor Neoploitans were still trying to get into position, but it was too late. Their 5 battalions would not be able to hold both the British and Prussians.

So game over. What had been a stirling defence by the French was simply undone in one turn with half of their original force routing. Even though the Westphalians were holding the Austrians their rear was now badly exposed and a retreat was in order. Victory to the allies, they had broken 2 enemy brigades and secured the town. Even though the church was still contested, the Westphalins would be forced to yield the ground. At least all the players had enjoyed 2 days of a hotly contested battle.

Napoleonic Bash Part 1

So the first game to start the year was a big Napoleonic bash. I sort of based it upon the battle of Leipzig. I spent the weekend organising the game for 7 players, 4 for the Allies and 3 for the French. The aim of the game was for 2 French Infantry divisions to hold a town and Church against a superior enemy force of British, Prussians and Austrians.Both sides also have a number of brigades held off table in reserve, predominantly cavalry, though the French have a full division of infantry they can hopefully call upon.

The rough map above was supplied to each set of players. The French were defending points D and E. A large British division was advancing from point A, a Prussian division from point B and the Austrians with 2 full divisions from point C. All set for a big clash the disaster struck. Work commitments and the flu bug going around I lost 4 players, all 3 that were due to command the French. So after a quick discussion with the remaining players, we decided to still continue with the game. We still needed to finish setting out the armies and the first few turns would be mainly maneuvering. Hopefully the other players will be available next week. My role switched from umpire to now commanding the French. So with me commanding I didn't get much chance to produce a report, but plenty of pictures to tell a story.

Westphalian's awaiting the Austrians

French infantry holding the center

Austrians begin deploying for battle

The British steadily advancing

2nd Westphalian brigade setting up a second line

Austrians can be seen in the distance

French guns fire on the Prussians

2nd Austrian column advancing

Austrian infantry capture the Westphalian guns

Prussian's advancing (eventually)

British quickly get across the river

Austrians and Westphalians exchange musketry

The British are coming!

Westphalian right flank looking towards the Austrians

The small Polish brigade awaits the British on the outskirts of a village

Austrian battle line

Westphalians holding the line

Prussians finally getting into action

The British engage the Poles

So far the French forces are holding the line, we managed to get in 12 turns. On the French right flank the Westphalians have had the better of the exchange with the Austrians. Their 1st brigade in particular taking heavy punishment. The loss of the artillery though is a disaster. Still the Austrian commander can be heard repeatedly asking where his 'bloody cavalry is'. 

The Center between the French and Dutch against the Prussians is just beginning to heat up. It took a while for the Prussians to get into action. Despite having the shortest distance to cross, they have been hesitant to do so.

Over on the left though, the ominous advance of the British towards the Polish brigade has been measured. The Poles have already stepped back a few turns to keep the British at bay, but now they need to fight. 4 battalions against 11 is not going to be pretty. It was at this point we called it a night to continue next week. The French need to shore up the left flank quickly before disaster strikes and may need to commit either the French or Neopolitan brigade held in reserve.

There are also alarming reports of Austrian and Prussian light cavalry to the north and north east, ready to support their infantry. The British can also call upon a brigade of Hanovarian infantry as well as both light and heavy cavalry brigades in reserve. Hopefully next week will be a cracker and I can return to umpiring.

A bit of re-basing

As my 28mm Austrian collection for Sharp Practice very rarely gets used, I decided to rebase and eventually expand the figures for use in either Black Powder or General d'Armee. They were originally painted up to represent the 15th regiment or d'Alton. 

I decided to go for 40 figure battalions, so another 20 figures were quickly painted up to complete the second battalion. Unlike the already completed figures which were Victrix, these are from Perry as they were passed on by another club member. The uniform is a slightly different cut, no doubt the purists will be aghast, but they are fine for me.

I am awaiting an order from flags of war to add the standard to the second battalion. Once these were done I completed a couple of Brigadiers, some Jaegers and a 6lb gun. These are a mix of Perry and Frontrank miniatures. The Jaegars still need some of their paintwork touched up.

I do still have 12 line skirmshers to rebase. Looking at the unpainted pile, I have enough figures for a Grenadier battalion. There are also some more of the Perry figures, but not quite enough for a 3rd battalion, so ordered another box to put that right and give me a 4th battalion.

General D'Armee, Austrians vs French

Thursday at the club pitted my Austrians defending a ridge against some marauding French. I had 2 small infantry brigades with a mix of Jaegers, Line and Landwehr. They were supported by a small cavalry brigade of 2 Hussar regiments. The French had 2 large infantry brigades supported by some Hussars and Lancers.

To say the game was a disaster for my Austrians is an understatement. When my artillery couldn't hit a barn door, they became low on ammo. My Jaegers on the left got pounded by the enemy. When the enemy charged my closing fire missed. In fact most of my infantry lost Fire discipline which is not good when outnumbered and trying to defend. Still a very enjoyable game.

Austrian left wing

Austrian center

Desultory fire against French skirmishers

Casualties start to mount

Right wing under pressure

Jaegers forced back

Uh oh, 41st regiment about to run

Struggle on the left

French assault repelled

It was nice to get the Austrians on the table again. The game did seem to flow more than previous games. I put that down to less cavalry, which seem to dominate club games and leave little time for the infantry.

Sharpe Practice Austrians VI

I've made another small addition to my core Austrian force. This time in the shape of 2 extra officers, which I'll probably use as either level 1 or 2 to lead my infantry groups. Both figures are from Front rank and mix well with the Victrix plastics.

As I am being out gunned by my opponents  decided to add a 6lb artillery piece from Perry miniatures. Unfortunately you only get 4 crew so I added an extra from Front rank as well as an officer.

I feel that now this force is only lacking in some mounted troops. I have my eye on the Perry's Hussars in campaign uniforms. So here's a few photos of the force so far.

Not a bad little force. The figures from Victrix, Perry and Front rank have mixed well.

Sharp Practice Austrians V

With the club enjoying these rules and a couple of players in the middle of an arms race. I decided it was time to add some extras to my core Austrian force. I've decided on an artillery piece and some Jaegers. While the artillery is in the process of being prepped I made a start on the Jaegers. First up is their officer Lt. Wilhelm Schnauser . I picked him up from Front rank. I plan on  him leading my Jaegers and the 2 units of 3rd rank skirmishes I have.

Next up is his group of Jaegers from Perry miniatures. Bases were picked up from Warbases. These guys have already seen their first action and promptly set fire to the building they were defending.

As well as the artillery I also have a couple of extra officers to help lead my units that need painting up. I just wish someone would produce some plastic Austrian cavalry as i would like to add a couple of groups of Dragoons to the force. Prices of metal 28mm cavalry out of my range at the moment with other projects on the go.

Sharp Practice Austrians IV

I've now finished my last group of fusiliers to complete the core of my Austrian force. This brings me up to 6 groups of fusiliers and 2 groups of skirmishers. I've also got a fair number of officer figures completed as they are vital in the game. I also picked up some bases for my skirmishers from Warbases.

Completed Fusiliers

Completed Force

Skirmishers to the front

Officer look on

So far in our practice games it has become apparent we need more extras such as animals, carts etc. So I've dug out some old models from Gripping beast to be rebased,  probably more suitable to the dark ages but they will do. I've also been picking up some livestock from the Warbases range to fill out the gaps such as geese and chickens. Well better get back to basing them.