“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.