Tuesday 23 January 2018

General D'Armee - Battle in Belgium Part Two

The French centre brigade moves up to faceoff the veteran British troops to its front


The battle had been raging furiously for a few hours of real time with no major breakthroughs or disasters on either side.  The worst that had unfolded had been the Brunswick Hussars having two squadrons routed by the French Cuirassiers.  This was to force a hair raising order role the next turn to see if they would shake off the ill-effects of some light cavalry tom foolery or whether the brigade would be further demoralised.  Suitable numbers of ADC's were dispatched to the brigade and all was put right with a roll of four!






Action on the allied left starts to heat up.  A RA Battery makes a dash to try and bring some fire to bear on the
advancing French columns to the right.



On the extreme French left flank the light cavalry await orders and simply look to occupy two allied brigades.

Skirmishers prepare to meet the advancing columns with some fire - need to remember the "Skirmish" order!



A view from behind the Cuirassier Brigade.  You can see the Brunswick Jagers scurrying through the woods to their left.

The action for the heights (one victory point) wages on.

The British are intent on bringing additional fire on the French brigade to the right.  You  can now see the British
artillery looking to find a nice location between the friendly lines to lay down some fire.



French legere advance up to meet the Brunswick Advante Garde in the woods threatening the 12 pounder artillery.



A view from the rear of the Dutch Belgian Cavalry Brigade and Nassau.


British lines looking resplendent with their GMB flags flapping in fine simulated fashion in the air conditioning!


Another view of the manoeuvring around the battlefields centre.


On the allied left the first routing Brunswick Hussars have now rallied behind the guns and the second lines
prepare to meet the challenge of French Heavies to their front.


In the right foreground the Legere reach the woods.  In the centre a good indication of the depth of lines in the
allied advance can be seen quite vividly.


"Lets protect those guns mon amie".


Love this image.  The Hussars have rallied behind the guns and the next charges prepare to go in.



Not an ideal result.  The excellent charge process saw the Hussars become unformed and against
 the Heavy French Cuirassiers opposing them, were up against it from the start.  The Uhlans
remain in reserve though as well as two more squadrons of Brunswick Hussars. 
They are outmatched but fighting hard.


"Not quite as many as there was a while ago" - the next line of Hussars are unformed from their routing companions.
This unfortunate rout causes the Brigade to falter - another vital die roll awaits next turn!


A shot from the French line as the columns change formation to line and see what they can do against those
superior British volleys.  Not much I am surely hoping - sorry Phil!


A muted advance against the Nassau on the left peters out to a skirmisher exchange.


A fine view showing the extent of the French Heavies advance on the right.


Another perspective of the action around the heights.






Looking pensive as I try not to look worried about my left.  Just between you and me...I am!

The DB Heavies advance slightly, limber up the horse battery and prepare to demonstrate in front of the enemy...

...hoping to make those French columns at least consider the threat.

Whilst these lads seem very content on the other side of the hill.

The legere have now formed a line whilst the 12 pounders, slightly obscure but still potent, continue to seek out targets.

Close up of the lads.

The Corps Commander himself.  Here he is surrounded by his staff of ADC's.  Once again I opted for the oval bases on
these figures so they would not be mistaken for Generals on circular style bases.  You can see that I have elected to
have an array of allied nationalities to assist the good General with his command decisions this day. Visible are
British, Dutch, Belgian and even a Prussian attached staffer.

Close up view of the 1st Battalion of the 28th Orange Nassau.  Great figures from Perry Miniatures.


Those very same lads advance.




The firefight in the centre continues


The RA find the optimum spot and unlimber.  Those Elite Miniatures guns look like 12 pounders in this shot however
let me assure you they are only 9pdrs. Either way they could be very useful indeed.

On the left the Brunswickers decide that discretion is the better part of valour.  Having seen their compatriots
rout twice from the Cuirassiers, squares are the order of the day until the situation can be steadied.


That was where Phil and I called it quits for the day.


The advantage of a dedicated space for wargaming is obviously the ability to leave things in situ whilst one tries to reconvene for the next instalment of fighting.  This will be very shortly.


A big roll coming up for the Brunswickers to see if they recover their faltering status or become demoralised.  Stay tuned.






21 comments:

  1. A lovely looking game...

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thank you very much Aly - greatly appreciated.

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  2. More marvelous Napoleonic goodness, Carlo!

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    1. Thank you very much Peter. It is such a wonderfully colourful period and I do enjoy it immensely.

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  3. Great report! I appreciate the effort in writing it.

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    1. Thanks Stew for your kind comments and from your excellent blog, you know that often it is a labour of love. One of the things that I do find with documenting and chroniciling the battles is it does act as a catalyst for getting my backside into gear to finish projects that often are only 20% from completion but too often fall through the cracks.

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  4. A great looking game Carlo, those troops are superb!

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  5. Part Two looks as splendid as part one , hope you enjoy some success in part three. The roads look particularly effective by the way.
    Chris

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    1. Thank you Chris. The roads were from Battlefield Accessories and young Jack a while back which were then painted and blocked by myself. Look good on these cloths I think.

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  6. Great reporting from the heat of battle! Lovely photos and details of my favourite wargaming period with a superb terrain,figures and faculty. Simply love it!

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    1. Should read 'facility'. In others worder I am loving your Wargames room Carlo! !👍

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    2. Thank you Kevin. Yes, the room is very nice to play in and is constantly a work in progress in terms of decoration and decore.

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  7. Great looking game Carlo. It is always good to see Grand Napoleonic games being played. Something I do not have a lot of time for these days.

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    1. Thanks Nathan and like you, the need to play a few more Napoleonic games is always the aim that’s for sure.

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  8. Hi Carlo

    I am no different to anyone else here ... a great looking game.

    It seems to me that the future is obvious ... a days leave from work is required from both players so that the game can continue and a further report posted here ASAP! 8O)

    Salute
    Von Peter himself

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    1. Hi Peter and many thanks again for the kind comments. We both do enjoy a good Napoleonics stoush don’t we? I so wish I could but it is so busy that it will have to wait until the weekend which is a preferred comfortable and leisurely pace. Very civilised form of play which gentlemen of our vintagemuch prefer.

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  9. What a spectacular report! Looks like an intense and beautiful game, fantastic pictures and units!

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  10. Good to see those casualty markers in play. And to think all that fighting was taking place just up the street (or two).

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