Wednesday 11 November 2020

“Well at least you didn’t take the vineyards!”

The clash of "The Big Boots" 

Well the epic General D'Armee battle across the Pratzenberg and thtough Stare Vinohrady has finally concluded. To state that it was the culmination of years of painting, collecting, commissioning and building would not truly give it justice.
The battered remnants of Repinskys brigade take shelter on the reverse slopes
surrounding Stare Vinohrady thankful to be relieved by the Russian Guard
Russian Guard Hussars clash with the Chasseurs a Cheval of the Garde
Russian squares look on as the ground trembles near them.  The French Guard cavalry 
would have limited success this day however they did stop the Russian Guard advance
The end is nigh for the brave Russian formations of Kaminsky.  Having beaten off attack
after attack the lack of Austrian support to their right was to prove to great a task. The
French managed to get in to the rear of the position and their fate was sealed
The first of many "to and fro" clashes between the respective Guard cavalry formations
A sight to behold
Front Rank Grenadiers and Chasseurs of the Guard
Elite Miniatures Russian Guard infantry bravely take the heights around Stare Vinohrady
French Legere from Elite Miniatures
The initial clash of the Russian and French Guard cavalry saw the Russians forced to
retreat, though they were still a viable fighting force despite the casualties.
Putting up a consistent barrage throughout the battle this battery of Vandammes did well
The Grenadiers a Cheval were forced back
A view from the Allied right flank
On the allied left and centre reserves from Drouet arrive to push the battling Austrian
brigades of Jurczik.  These Austrians had been roughly handled by the French
throughout the battle and struggled with faltering and retreating constantly.  Here I 
have looked to have them counter-attack to save the heights 
Still admiring my vineyard handywork
Down the slopes they go
They really are quite a wonderful sculpt from Peter Moreby at Elite
The Austrian counter-attack is repulsed by fresher troops of Drouet
Out of sequence photo...thanks blogger...however the Russian
Chevalier Garde covers them selves in glory dispatching these chaps 
The Austrian battery which had limbered up and escaped the early assaults from St.Hillaire
made its way back to the crest only to be routed by Elite French Legere.
The Russian Guard looks to push the 4th Ligne back
Chevalier Garde look for more targets
Oh dear...
Out of sequence but hey, what the hell.  This is the "before" shot
Holding on for dear life
A general view of the French left
The French continue their assault down the Pratzen
A view from the allied rear centre
The aforementioned clash between French Guard lights and Russian heavies!
Having dispatched the Chasseurs the Garde Chevalier charge on and hot the French 55th who
fail to form square and become unformed.
Not good for the poor old "Grognards"
A poor faltering brigade roll for the Guard cavalry see them barely stay on table and unable
to stave off the enemy from the exposed 55th French ligne this turn
Advancing up the slope earlier in the battle
Closing in on a conclusion
The French brigades of St. Hillaire, many mauled from the tough Russian
defence, turn and prepare to sweep down the allied lines

The view from the Russian-Austrian allied right



"Time to think about the rest of the war comrades"
Pushed back but not disgraced, the French regroup.  Stare Vinohrady would
prove a harder nut to crack than hoped though the French did come so close
to capturing it very early in the battle only to be foiled by a faltering test on the
brigade at the worst possible time
A view down the table
The Russian Imperial Guard looks to provide the rear guard required to extricate
the remnants of the allied divisions off the Pratzenberg 

So the battle was finally completed. In reality we finished a few weeks ago however it has taken me some time to put the pictures up in the new blogger format which is now starting to become a little easier to navigate.

The game was such a great success.  As an introduction for Ben to play GdA it was perfect as we could leave the battle set up to cater for his busy university and social timetable.  Playing the game consistently helped us clarify some queries we had on the rules and the lack of time constraint meant we could take our time!  Wonderful.

I didn't put a turn limit on the game as we really wanted to work our way through the three combined scenarios though on reflection, eighteen turns would have been about right.  The intention is to refight this within the next three weeks with four or five mates from the Wargames Club.  Ben may become the Allied Commander in Chief this time, though Im sure he will don the French blue again if he gets a choice. 

It has been such a wonderful experience for me.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, the fact that I am playing Napoleonic wargames with one of my sons and having such a great time doing it has been a thrill for me.  We are already discussing our next battle and I'm already looking forward to setting out the terrain and seeing what we can do to have the OOB reflecting as historically accurate as we can muster.

25 comments:

  1. Fabulous looking game mate, really fantastic

    cheers
    matt

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  2. The pics continue to impress and be awe inspiring. I’m glad for you to be having such a good time with one of your sons with such an epic game. I also excited for you that you’ll be putting it on again for your club mates. The effort it took to get something like this together warrants that it should be on the table a few times at least. 😀

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    1. It’s been tremendous fun Stew. We are playing this Saturday with the lads and this should be Tremendous. So much easier now that ben and I had the comprehensive play through.

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  3. Splendid Carlo...
    I think the big cavalry clashes looked magnificent...

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Aly.

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  4. Marvellous, marvellous, marvellous! A brilliant end to a great game Carlo. What a beauty to enjoy with Ben. Great that he is 'hooked'!
    Regards, James

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    1. Cheers Fish and sorry you can’t make it this weekend buddy.

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  5. What a wonderful example of gaming in the Grand Manner , terrific pictures

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    1. Thank you very much Martin and the GM look is exactly what the aesthetic aim is.

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  6. Fabulous gaming - the large cavalry clashes most impressive!

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    1. Thank you very much Dean. Big regiments always look bloody impressive don’t they?

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  7. I'm well impressed with this game Carlo - quite fantastic! I think you're getting me interested in starting a Russian army now having seen this wonderful pictorial feast!

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    1. Now seeing you start up a Russian army Kevin would be quite a sight to see. Thanks for the visit and kind words as always.

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  8. A spectacular feast of eye candy and hard fighting, Carlo. I was happy to see y6our Grenadier a Cheval trumpeter in white bearskin. So classy, even if it is probably an error by certain artists. My meager Grenadiers a Cheval jhave only 8 figures, but by golly one of them is the Trumpeter in white bearskin! :-)

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    1. Thank you very much Peter. I did see some recent heated debate on an online forum where someone who had painted the shots bearskin was chastised roundly by a few “experts” and I just didn’t get it. If you paint your troops in full dress on the tabletop are you a noob as they should be in campaign? I’m like you in every aspect Peter, play the tame, make sure it looks as good as you can muster and gave lots and lots of fun and laughs! Nothing better about our wonderful hobby.

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  9. A truly wonderful spectacle Carlo, especially all those cavalry. Dare I say your French Guard Chasseurs are nearly as good and plentiful as Kevin's!!! So glad you had so much enjoyment with your son, I'm envious.

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    1. Thank you so much Chris. I am flattered by your comparisons with Kevin’s sensational collection. His Chasseurs are the best I’ve seen.

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    2. ...and playing with my son Ben has been a wargaming highpoint for me. Truly blessed.

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  10. I'd been waiting ages to see this but missed it! I love the massed cavalry particularly the Chasseurs a cheval but refuse to believe that the Horse Grenadiers went backwards - that's impossible -you must have taken the photo back to front or inside out :-) That is such a lovely collection of figures, its great when you have a big enough army to field the Guard. Superb, well done Carlo

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    1. Oh definitely believe it Kerry. Ben was suitably disgusted, especially in my sledging for the rest of the clash. It was hilarious. This particular series of scenarios actually was the source of inspiration for me to build the Russian Imperial Guard in the correct 1805 uniform including the Chevalier Garde so it was a thrill to fight this out. It will get many a fun in the coming twelve months I hope.

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  11. Well don Carlo, this is such a great collection of figures

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  12. A stunning game with some beautiful figures.

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