The 18:15 To Waterloo

A couple of days ago a bunch of us met up at the UK Defency Academy in Shrivenham, to play Waterloo, using the excellent Bloody Big Battles rules. Lt-Col Dave, my old sparring partner, put together the scenario and Major Tom, kindly gave us access to a spacious room in which to play.

The Protaganists

From left to right: Nigel (F), Dave (A), Chris (A), myself (Wellington), Major Tom (P), Robin (F), Stu (F) and Lt-Col Dave as umpire. Adam (Napoleon) took the photo.

The Allied Plan

Lt-Col Dave had provided both sides with good pre-game information, which naturally the other side had no clue about. Just the right amount of 'fog-of-war'. In a flurry of e-mails, we the Allies agreed to:

• Keep the Infantry behind the ridge line, out of sight of the French guns.
• Keep the Cavalry as a mobile reserve.
• Target the French guns as they moved forward to try and prevent 'grande batteries' being formed.
• Artillery not shooting is wasted Artillery.
• Contest La Haie, La Haie Sainte and Hougoumont for as long as possible, to act as break waters to the French advance.

The Game

Well it was a full on day, so as and when time permitted, I took some photos of the action as it unfolded. Hopefully this will give you an idea of how the game played.

Chris (Allied left flank) and BBB author, sorting out troops with Lt-Col Dave. Dave and Robin chat in the background. Adam has his back to the camera.

A view from the allied left flank, with Nigel pondering French plans with Robin.

The French right flank, with their Cavalry covering Plancenoit.

The French centre.

The French left flank.

The French view of Hougoumont.

It looked like the French plan was to mask Hougoumont, and press forward in the centre and attempt a right hook on the Allied line. Napoleon's 'daughters' ready for action.

The right end of the French centre.

The Allies have the Guards in Hougoumont. The French deployed first, to allow us to adjust our own deployment.

The end of the Allied right flank.

A view along the Allied line, with the Infantry and Cavalry out of view of the French.

The Allied right wing.

The Allied centre and Mont St Jean.

The Allied left wing.

The 'Ball' has opened, with the French moving en masse towards La Haie Sainte.

Alten's 3rd Division were to perform heroics, holding off the French for around 2 Turns. The French Artillery is disrupted but the Allied guns, forceing them back, which was our plan.

The French move towards La Haie.

The Saxe-Weimar Division was to out perform the heroics of those of Alten's 3rd Division at La Haie Sainte.

It looks like the French plan to mask Hougoumont, rather than attempt to assault it. Dave on the Allied right wing attempts to move his Cavalry round to threaten the French rear, but repeated failed orders meant he was stuck in place for the moment.

Alten's 3rd Division is eventually forced out of La Haie Sainte, but has done sterling work and will certianly be mentioned in dispatches!

The French push forward as Adam (Napoleon) moves units to threaten La Haie and the Saxe-Weimar Division.

The French left flank is open to attack from Hougoumont.

The Saxe-Weimar Division holds out against all the odds, given that they are a Raw unit and are outnumbered.

"Give me night, or give me Blucher!" The Prussians arrive, commanded by Major Tom.

The British move forward to provide support at La Haie.

The Guards attack out of Hougoumont towards the French left flank...

...forcing them to deal with the threat, thus taking some pressure off the main Allied line.

 La Haie and La Haie Sainte are now in French hands, so they now push forward towards the ridge.

The brave Saxe-Weimar Division is still somehow combat effective, but only just, and has withdrawn towards the Allied positions on the ridge.

More Prussians arrive, but much to Major Tom's chagrin, he can't get them moving forward as much as he would like!

The Allied right moves some units down off the ridge to pressure the end of the French left wing.

This coupled with the ongoing battle around Hougoumont, is tying up the French left wing as we hoped.

The French close in on the ridge, but have been pushed back, but at the cost of the Allied guns being forced to retire, most of them off table.

The Allied troops display admirable 'sang froid' in the face of the French advance, as the French have brought the Old Guard forward to try and effect a breakthrough.

After all their exertions, the Saxe-Weimar Division is Spent and close to breaking.

The Prussians still unable to effect a break out.

The British move back into Hougoumont, have achieved their aim of breaking yp the French attack.

The French mass for the attack and...

... break through onto and over the ridge, threatening Mont St Jean. Desperate measures sees the British Heavy Cavalry forced to charge the French Old Guard, to try and slow them down.

It's not looking good for the Allies, as out of shot, the French take Mont St Jean on their last Turn of the game...

... only for the British to re-take it with literally the last die rolls of the game!

Despite having broken through on the ridge, the French have run out of time, as night falls and the game ends.

End of the Game

So with an epic and rather cinematic end to the game, we awaited the umpires decision on the result, which proved to be a draw, as both sides had two objectives a piece, which seemed a fair result, or so it seemed for the Allies!

Post Game Thoughts

Well that was an absolutely cracking game, which went right down to the wire! You can't ask for more than that. As always a few thoughts in no particular order:

• The scenario worked a treat, so well done to Lt-Col Dave and Major Tom for this, as for us players, it really did make for a great, enjoyable and challenging game.
• The venue was superb and us lucky Allied players had a bit of a tour of the 'big toys shed', which featured a real mix of AFV's, aircraft and other stuff, which we didn't get to see more than a fraction of. Sadly no photos were allowed there, but Major Tom was a great guide and frankly we could have spent hours wandering around and chatting.
• Chris and Dave kindly allowed me to be Wellington, which worked well, given that they were both very experienced players, which meant I could concentrate on the bigger picture. I think our initial plan worked well and as the game unfolded, we were in agreement on how bes to react to the various French threats as they developed.
• The French players were brilliant and worthy opponents and a pleasure to cross swords with.
• The game was played in the right spirit from start to finish, with plenty of good natured banter all round, which really made for a great gaming atmosphere and experience.
• The game lasted 9 Turns and I reckon we ended up playing for nearly 6 hours, with a break for lunch. It was quite intense, as there is a lot going on in a small space, so I think we were all a bit pooped mentally at then end of it, but in a good way.
• Now regular readers will know that I'm not a big fan of Waterloo as a wargame, as too often over my gaming life I've seen endless attacks on Hougoumont, La Haie Sainte etc on the games table or in magazines. But this completely changed my opinion, as it made gaming Waterloo FUN, challenging and with plenty of replay value! Not something I ever expected to say. This is testament to both the rules and the scenario.
• There is talk of another get together later on in the year and, if we are lucky, this might become a regular get-together a few times a year. Fingers crossed on that front!

What Next?

Well certainly no wargaming for me as we are off to Austria soon for nearly two weeks of much needed R&R. When we return it will soon be time for the annual trip to the Colours wargames show, all being well. Chris and Dave will be there, putting on an ACW game, The Wilderness, using BBB, so that should be fun to see and have a go at, as well as a good chat too.

After that the aim is to finish off the mini-campaign set during the Greco-Italian War 1940, then I'm not sure what will follow after that. Plenty of options and ideas as always.

As always, thanks for reading and getting this far and any comments greatly appreaciated, assuming Google has allowed you to see this post!

TTFN.

Cotswold Wargames Day - Part 1

Sunday didn't dawn bright nor clear, but rather dull and wet, but this didn't matter much as I was off to the annual Cotswold Wargames Day, held for the second year at Big Battles in Cirencester. Luckily I managed to miss the very heavy rain on way and arrived just before 8.15am, and I must say still somewhat bleary eyed! Andy and Derek were already there, the great chaps who set up and run Big Battles. As is usual at the show, we spent a lot of time chatting, which is half the fun of the day, but eventually I did get the game set up and underway before 10.00am.

I was playing solo as my gaming chum is between deployments with the Armed Forces, but not a problem, as BPII works perfectly well for solo play. The game was pretty much as per my trial run out last week, but I did keep the Heavy Cavalry, Dragoons and Hussars, which felt right as I was playing Napoleonics afterall.

Given the nature of the day, I didn't take any notes at all, but hopefully whilst the game is still fresh in my mind, I should be able to give a good overview of how things played out. So without further ado.

An overview of the 6'x4' table, a rare luxury these days.

A Blue Brigade with Hussars for flank support.

The main Blue force.

The objective. I increased the space around the bridge and reduced the size of the chateau.

The main Red force.

The Red force that would arrive on a random turn decided by a dice roll, Turn 3 in this game.

The end of Turn 1. 

The Blue Brigade advances in march column.

The main Blue force moves towards the objective, but is still strung out on the road (off table).

The main Red force makes good progress towards the bridge, sending Hussars across the river to cover the flank.

The end of Turn 2.

The Hussars fail to move, leaving the Blue Brigade without flank cover.

Both sides near the bridge and begin to deploy.

Blue has got some Light Infantry into the woods which Red has not spotted. These Light Infatry will be a thorn in Red's side for most of the game!

Red push forward and their Heavy Cavalry moves from one side to the other to try and meet up with the Hussars in due course.

Blue still moving towards the bridge. They have Dragoons covering their right flank.

The end of Turn 3. Blue's Hussars have Blundered off table (bottom of photo). Red's flanking force has arrived and both sides begin to engage one another.

Blue is forced to re-deploy to face the threat to their flank, rather than push on towards the bridge. They sorely need their Hussars due to Red's Dragoons nearby.

Light Infantry open fire at each other.

Red has taken up a good position by the river.

The Red Heavy Cavalry join the Hussars.

Blue is forced to deploy to meet the threat from Red across the river.

The end of Turn 4. Both sides begin to consolidate their positions, but the Blue force on Red's side of the river has lost and Infantry Battalion already and no sign of their Hussars either.

Red inflict losses on Blue, but can't get their Dragoons forward to really pressure them.

Blue manages to form a decent line to face off against Red.

Blue's Heavy Cavalry finally arrives as their Dragoons spy the Red Hussars.

The end of Turn 5. Blue's Hussars finally make it back to the game as both sides try to gain fire ascendency over the other.

The Hussars arrival gives hope for the embattled Blue Infantry.

Both sides trade shots by the woods and the bridge, but just can't deliver that killer blow. (Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but the Red Light Infantry probably should have charge the Blue Light Infantry in the woods).

Blue comes under pressure and two units have to make a Disorderly retreat, having narrowly avoided taking Break Tests.

The end of Turn 6. 

A cavalry clash between the Red Dragoons and Blue Hussars sees the latter manage a drawn combat and both sides have to withdraw as they were Shaken.

Blue is just about hanging on, but Red is close to losing a Line Infantry unit too.

Red sees a Brigade take enough losses to quit the field of Battle.

Blue is still holding on.

The end of Turn 7.

Not much change here...

... nor here.

A Cavalry clash sees Red lose it's Heavy Cavalry, but the Blue Cavalry holds its ground, protecting the flank and LoC.

The end of Turn 8. Both sides are pretty much on the ropes now.

Red finally manages to break the Blue Brigade that has held out for so long.

Blue is in a strong position, with two BUA's their side of the river.

The Red Hussars have held off a charge from the Blue Dragoons, but they still face the blue Heavy Cavalry.

A view from the Blue position by the bridge.

End Of The Game

After 8 Turns it was pretty much up for bothh sides. Red did not have enough strength to be able to control the bridge and its environs, given the Blue had the advante of the inn and the Chateau their side of the river. Red did have the chance to turn the Blue left flank, but it would have taken time and some luck to do. So in the end a draw with neither side capable of defeating the other.

Post Game Thoughts

So another fun game of BPII, with swings of fortune, with Blue coming close the losing enough units to swing the game Red's way, but somehow Fate intervened to save them. As always a few pondering on the game:

• Having played the scenario twice now, I do think it is a hard task for the side that doesn't have the Inn nor the Chateau. They also do not start the game with all their troops on the table, but this does give them the chance to catch the other side by surprise and mount a flank attack.
• Like the previous scenario played from OGW, I feel this would be better off as part of a campaign, rather than a stand alone scenario, but then that could be said of many we play!
• I'm still learning how to play Napoleonics as it were, in terms of when to form into Assault Columns, or Square or when Cavalry can or should charge Infantry. I think some small trial situations are in order on my 2'x2' table, just to get au fait with the rules and the options available.
• Playing on a 6' x 4' table was a rare luxury and especially being able to wander freely around all sides, something that is tricky to do at home, without major re-organisation of the dining room.
• Lessons learnt from the trial game payed off here, such as more space around the bridge in terms of the BUA's as well as both sides arriving in column of march. We do not always have the timme nor the inclination to re-play our scenarios, but they can help refine them for future use.
• I must admit I did find it hard to play both sides at the show, as you spend a lot of time chatting with other games, which is part and parcel of the fun. But remembering where you were in the game or what you had planned, can go out the window after 10 minutes chewing the cud! 
• I think it also highlights how many units per side we can reasonable cope with in a game. Normally 2-3 Brigades is more than enough, so around the 'magic' 12 units per side mark. More than that I personally I begin to struggle, but maybe I should slow down a bit, especially now that I have a dedicated games room.
• I must give Keith Flint's 'Shadow of the Eagles' rules another go, as and when time permits. I stuck with BPII for this game as I'm so comfortable with them now, it made it easy to play this at the show, even a newbie Napoleonic player. Let's see what I fancy playing next.
• I had lots of nice comments about the look of my game, both the terrain and the figures, with the latter drawing quite a lot of attention. Always nice when that happens.

Well done on getting this far and I hope you enjoyed the AAR etc. As always, any comments greatly appreciated!

Next up will be Part 2 of the show...

TTFN.