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.