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.