Napoleonic Again with Rule updates

A third Napoleonic game to make sure the rules are where we want them. Me defending with the Russians against Steve with the French and Italians. The key to the game would be the three villages across the centre of the table initially held by the Russians. A good opportunity to test the house fighting rules.

Steve also has a game report from a different perspective on his blog here Nations In Arms I imagine the perspective will eb a bit different to mine.

Three Divisions of Russian foot each have a village to defend supported by a gun battery. on my right flank I have a brigade of cavalry and a horse battery and a further brigade of grenadiers are off table.

The French have 4 Divisions of foot with 5 batteries of guns and a brigade of cavalry in support.

As we will see much of the night became about holding or re-taking the villages so plenty of opportunity to push the rules and see if they broke. Spoiler alert they didn't.

We roll for Ammo randomly for each battery at the start of the game, the Russian Horse battery got a 6 so gets 12 rounds of ammo.

My Dragoons on the right flank are slightly better quality than the French lights so hopefully I can take advantage of that.

The massed French in the centre push forward "Vive La Emperor!"

We draw cards which we can play to enhance our own position of hinder the enemies, I play this one to slow the French advance in the centre as I have concentrated the bulk of my forces to hold the wings.

My artillery is busy also in the centre, the two batteries dont make up for the lack of infantry in depth but can thin the French out before they hit my centre. Three sixes, that will do. The two's both cost me a round of ammunition. 

Steves counter battery fire is devastating and my artillery is on the verge of breaking.

I push my Grenadiers forward on the right and play the Forward card to increase my movement by 50% they have a fair way to go to reinforce the villages.

Another three sixes, the dice are with me tonight....well lets see if it lasts.

As the French storm the right hand village I play my devastating fire card, this doubles my firing dice to 6 only needing 4's to hit.

Sometimes you already know how you are going to roll before the dice leave your hands, 6 misses!

Despite the poor firing dice the French bounce off in the assault phase and regroup.

A second assault takes the village and pushes the Russians back, I have enough troops to re-take it but the mauled ones are int he way of the fresh troops so will take me a couple of turns to re-organise and go again.

Fresh troops organised we go again and the village is retaken from the French.

On the left the French close with another village.

The dice desert me and the village is taken by the French.

On the right the French go in again against the village, neither side gains an advantage and the melee goes on with reinforcements thrown in.

The French take the right hand village, again, and the Russians re--organise to attempt to retake it....again!

At this point my camera ran out of battery so no more pictures.

However the right hand village changed hands 3 more times with the Russian Grenadiers putting some back bone into the Russians when they arrived. Something I often have read about in Napoleonic battles but rarely seen in games.

The centre village saw off an attack but then later I eventually lost the village whilst on the left the village having been lost early failed to be re-taken 3 times!

This all felt right, it made me think of Waterloo with the taking and re-taking of La Haye Sainte and the multiple assaults on Hougoumont. Cracking game the rules really feel like they are pretty much there now.

Overall another thoroughly enjoyable game.

Thanks for stopping by.