Lasalle 2 Napoleonics

A return to Lasalle, for me, is a return to that definitive rivalry of the Napoleonic era - France against Austria. Tonight we dusted off the cobwebs (having not played Lasalle 2 for around 2 months) and dived deep once more into this excellent and challenging set of rules. 

Above the French form their line. Having lost initiative, the French formed up to face the Austrians who rushed across the field. This caused some problems as - in the Lasalle scenario 'The Dark Forest' - extensive woodland discourages players from entering. Woodland does not slow movement in Lasalle but increased the command cost of marching troops through it. As command points are always at a premium - neither Ian or myself were brave enough to try. 

At the bottom of the image above can be seen my brigade of Chasseurs. These I kept in the centre - a tactic that is becoming repetitive for me. Centrally placed cavalry can run riot in Lasalle or just halt an enemy advance. They would play a key - but not decisive role in this game. 

Next, an image of my friend's well painted AB Austrian grenadiers. He's been aching to put these on the field but they are a bit pointsy. In this battle they struggled to get into action. As the Austrians rushed up, they then encountered problems in shaking out. Their batteries were impeded. Ian made the choice to hang back with his grenadiers to allow his batteries to fire. 

Above are the poor Austrian brigade who led the attack. Due to holding the grenadier brigade in the centre back, these were thrust forward making them the key French target. The village on Bosco was also an objective for this evening but Austrian morale would crumble before this would fall. 

The glory of the French lines. We too struggled to get clear of the forests but they did protect our flanks wonderfully. The French were in two lines throughout the night - but the second line was only needed once. This played a key role as the right brigade poured forward in attack columns repeatedly smashing into the projecting Austrian brigade around the village. This would ensure victory as four battalions fell in this area while not French losses were suffered. 

A good battlefield shot. The depth in French deployment, while offering excellent support in reserves, did mean we faced bounce through cannon balls throughout the game. Fortunately, timely rallying enabled us to stave off the worst of these result. The recruits of 1813 stood manfully while cannonballs slashed through their ranks for the glory of their III corps and Emperor.