Tuesday 2 January 2018

A Bridge too Near

On Saturday morning JC arrived to take part in the annual JC-WM stoush. Still smarting from his stinging defeat of twelve months ago, JC once more took command of the Prussians and was determined to wreak his revenge.

The rules in use were Stryker's Muskets & Marshals v.5.3, although with a special amendment. The untried Prussian reserve battalions, we decided, would test for their moral class the moment they came under fire. One D6 would be thrown for each battalion: a score of 1,2 or 3 would make it C class and a 4 or a 5 would bump them up to B. Throwing a six, however, would make it A class fanatics, driven by an unquenchable hatred for their former French overlords.

The situation

A strong Franco-Bavarian advanced corps of two divisions has established a bridgehead across a river, occupying the hills and villages on the far bank. The French have to hold these positions until nightfall (10 turns). The Prussian mission is simple - to seize and hold the bridge and cut off the French.

La Debacle

To cut a long story short, it was a swift and decisive Prussian victory, which left JC feeling very pleased indeed. Almost nothing seemed to go right for the French.

Let Battle commence....
JC's plan was to throw everything he had at the bridge and the farm, while leaving a token force to delay and disrupt any counter offensives by the French left. My plan, such as it was, was to cram as many of my best troops as I could into the approaches to the bridge. The strong task force in my centre and left, I assumed, would easily deal with JC's right, which was made up of C-class troops and a single regiment of hussars. Aaah, this'll be a breeze, I said to myself.

As JC's forces straggled forwards, I prepared my riposte.
This'll teach him, I thought.....
But there was method to JC's apparent madness. His advance may have looked a bit disorganised, but is was bristling with firepower. I discovered this by rashly attempting to ride down the Neumark Landwehr with my lancers.  It...um... ended Murat's ambitions.

...but the only one receiving a lesson was me.

As the lancers retreated to safety, JC's crack Silesian marksmen advanced into the woods flanking the approaches to the bridge. A deadly firefight ensued against the French Combined Voltigeurs lurking amongst the trees - deadly for the Voltigeurs, that is. The Silesians hardly suffered a scratch.

If you go into the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...

It was my first intimation of JC's uncanny dice-throwing abilities. So much started to become clear when the Empress Dragoons were utterly annihilated after only two rounds of melee with JC's Leib Hussars. More or less the only thing I could do after that was to lob cannon balls at them until they scuttled off for cover behind some trees. The Lutzowers, by the way, spent the entire battle lurking behind that hedge.

I forgot the Leib Hussars are invincible......

Safe from any sort of cavalry menace on his flank, JC sent in his Silesian regulars and 21st Reserve Regiment against the farm. The 21st, to JC's distress, tested as C-class, and sure enough the two battalions could make no impression at all against the farm, which was valiantly held by the 13th Legere. They needn't have bothered, however, as it had absolutely no effect on the rapidly unfolding debacle going on behind them.

It was just like Rorke's Drift, which would have been fine but for the 
Isandlwana which was also starting to unfold just off camera.

I knew something was up when JC's 18th Regiment tested as A-class as soon as they came under fire. In no time at all they were carving through my Bavarians. Most remarkable of all, however, was the performance of the B-class Field Battalion Bremen. They not only stopped my Imperial Guard in their tracks but then beat them up in fine style.

JC seeing off my crack battalions armed with only Prussian reservists
and Hanoverians

With mounting panic there seemed nothing for it but to launch an attack with my Swiss, supported by the remnants of the Lancers. Amazingly, they managed to see off JC's Cuirassiers, but it was all far too little and too late.

One of my very few and entirely pyhrric victories.

The end came in the next move. With my Bavarians and voltigeurs already routed, I had only a single battalion of line infantry left to try and stop the rot. They'd barely begun to move, however, when the Guard broke and fled before the absolutely unstoppable Hanoverians. With JC's Prussian foot guards bearing down on me, half my infantry gone, and all my cavalry in tatters, there was nothing for it but to thrown in the towel.

La Garde Recule, made all the more atmospheric by me
accidentally smearing my phone's camera lens.
JC, needless to say, was absolutely delighted and so, in a way, was I. This is just the incentive I need, I thought, to crack on and paint some more Frenchmen.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

WM

20 comments :

  1. A great looking game Matt with some unexpected combat results! More Old Guard required perhaps?

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    1. We suspect witchcraft, Ian. It was a massacre!

      There were no more Old Guard scheduled for the Phase-2 French, but this is being reviewed.....

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  2. As soon as I read about the possibility of reserve units going 'Tonto' (A-class fanatics!) I just knew the writing was on the wall for the Frenchies. Looks like a fun game and it's nice to see your troops aren't condemned to life in the display case but get a chance to strut their stuff on the table, just as their creator intended.

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    1. It was like the zombie apocalypse, Rob, which was exactly what we'd hoped. You should have heard JC's evil cackling.

      Getting all the lovely toys out is what it's all for. I may feel differently once I've broken a few bayonets, however.

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  3. A colorful kick-off for the new year. Love it!

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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    1. Thank you Stokes. There was no time for lovingly setting up the shots this time (too many troops!), but it was a brilliantly sunny day which lit up the tabletop.

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  4. Congrats for your Pyrrhic victory...and for the pictures, superb!

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    1. Merci encore, Phil. Yes, some of the Baron Gros's best work, I'd say!

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  5. Wonderful stuff... all those beautiful toys...

    I think I shall be doing a bit of retro this year... it’s just to shiny to resist...All I need to do is get the toys... : -)

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Cheers, Aly. I've been checking out your blog and could see that you're a grandmaster of shininess already.

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  6. Excellent stuff. How did your unit of Garrison figures perform ?

    Rather than more Guard perhaps you should give the French extra artillery so they can form a grand battery. That will give those Prussians something to think about.

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    1. They never got into action, Mark. The rest of the army collapsed before they could move.

      More artillery would certainly help, but what I really need is some decent cavalry!

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  7. "decent cavalry" eh, what, like the Empress Dragoons.... Face it, nobody beats the Leib Husaren. Fabulous game, WM, thanks for brightening the New Year.

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    1. I think I'm going to ban them in future, Archduke, unless they're on my side!

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  8. Well, Matt, C'est La Guerre. The guage of war is always variable. Your deployment looked fine, your opponent should take some credit for concentration of force, using interior lines and throwing some very good dice. He ran at the Frogs in fine Blucher style and was repaid by the dice gids. Tears will have welled in Stryker's eyes as he read of the disaster to the Garde . Would he have something as Ancien Regime as a pomaded handkerchief to dab away the drops?
    More close ups of the delightful figures and flags would be good...we never tire of them.

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    1. It was a bit rushed, this one, in terms of photography. I think I'm reaching the limit of what's feasible in terms of army size for each player. The answer may be to re-enact everything when my guest generals have gone so as to get some decent photos done?

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  9. Your posts are killing me WM! Back here in Tennessee it the temps are in the single digits and my painting station in the basement is unheated. I had a full week off for the holiday and couldn't make myself paint given the temperatures. I have a little space heater that helps, but not in temps this low.

    Your games really do look like they stepped out of the pages of my Bruce Quarrie Airfix guide to Napoleonic Wargaming! Maybe 2018 will be the year that I can get enough units fielded for an actual Battle. The Russian side is not too far away....

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    1. I don't think you're doing too badly at all, David. It took me two years before I thought I had enough troops to mount a battle!

      In the winter I park myself next to the old coal range in the dining room and do my painting there. This is allowed so long as I tidy up properly afterwards!

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  10. Nearly two weeks now and I'm going cold turkey - if I don't get a fix soon I shall have to put my foot down and forbid any more frivolous jaunts to South Island... ;o)

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    1. Hi Rob. I have returned. Normal service will resume...er...eventually. I need to regather the threads, as it were.

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