BLUCHER Battle Report - Grognards Assemble!

 

This week the suggestion was to get our 4 active club members around the table. So, I supplied all the minis, terrain, lists and rules know-how for a game of our much beloved Blucher. 

It was 1815 and there would be French vs Prussians on the field. The French were attacking and trying to grab 2 objectives or, much more likely, break their opponent by routing 6 units of Prussians. 

The above image shows the French light cavalry division awaiting their commands from their central position. Two French infantry corps were sent left while one held the right. 

The Prussians amassed their cavalry on their left flank then sort of jumbled all their infantry in a mixed pile elsewhere to hold the objective ... and get in a muddle. 

This game focused on the cavalry quite heavily ... especially on its misuse. 

As stated the French, supported by good MO dice, drove their attack toward the objective on their far left. Eight brigades on infantry surged forward as the drums sounded. The artillery had been formed into a battery in the centre. 

On the French right, their objective was guarded by 4 brigades and one battery. These guns were sighted by the Emperor himself which was evidenced when country battery fire saw the destruction of the advancing Prussian cavalry's horse battery. The French, over confident, misjudged the charge distance and faced a single charge not in prepared positions. This passed with limited damage. 

The Prussian cavalry had used ALL their MO points to push this quick charge. As can be seen above, they were totally isolated with no infantry support - and now no guns. The French formed into square and the Prussians were no so close, the squares began to fire volleys. This is exactly the way that cavalry should never be used. 

In fact, later in the game, these infantry were so unscathed by this "assault" they attacked the flank and rear of Prussian cavalry in columns - destroying one unit. 

Meanwhile, the real deal was happening on the left. The French halted to pour devastating skirmish fire into the Prussians. Their guns responded but the French were winning. Charges resulted in several Prussian units sheltering behind their lines with only a single hit left. Unfortunately, the French could not reach these units. As the game progressed, the French assault left few of their enemy without damage. 

The Prussian general used many MO points to pull back his cavalry. Only half this force remained functional with the remainder sheltering out of gunshot on the hill - but unable to play a further role. 

Then, Napoleon judged the time ripe for a counter thrust. The light cavalry burst from their reserve position. This halted the piecemeal Prussian advance in the centre. They had retained their largest corps as a reserve and now struggled to find the MO to bring these troops forward and plug the yawning central gap. Their misuse of cavalry demanded command points (MO) each turn to extricate these troops from their peril. 

The French released one unit of chasseurs to run down some infantry then threaten the guns. 

The remained of the French light turned to attack the wounded Prussian cavalry.  Now three French attacked two Prussian but it was a seesaw battle. The French cavalry were blunted but none were routed. At the bottom of the above picture, the defending infantry now threaten the cavalry flank. 

And the French 10th Hussar stand defiant and victorious on the field. Elsewhere the French attack had done its work. The Prussians reached 6 broken units while the French had only taken 2 (or 3?) of their 5 required. But, as stated above, the Prussian battlefield was littered with units struggling to remain under command with many soldiers streaming across the fields. 

So there it was, a tale about cavalry, but the main part of the battle was really about infantry ... 

Blucher 1815 Battle Report 15mm

After some time, I returned to Blucher. I still prefer this set of rules to any other Napoleonic set - even Lasalle 2. They allow rules to operate in the background while players focus on the game. 

My good friend Nic played the Prussians while I played the French. It was a 200 point game. The French had 11 units of foot, three foot batteries, 3 units of heavy cavalry and one horse battery. 

The Prussians were fielding 1 Grenadier unit, 4 line, 6 landwehr and 3 reserve units. Along with this they had 3 foot batteries, 1 horse battery, 3 light cavalry and 1 landwehr cavalry units. Quite a large force. 

The French units were the attackers and moved first. They also had a glut of MO points allowed them to take several key positions in the terrain. 

Unfortunately, rumours of the Emperor put the Prussians into a stupor of inactivity. They had very few MO in the first three turns of the game.

They did push one corps up onto a hill that held the objective ... 

... and march into a town where the other lay. 

By this time the French infantry were well down the field, especially on the left and in the centre. 8 of their 11 infantry units were aimed at taking the objective on the hill. By pressing up they could also command a narrow gap between a marsh and forest that reduced the Prussian ability to deploy forces into the centre of the table. 

French fire was withering while Prussian cannons seemed unable to make a significant dent into the French. The MO drought led to a piecemeal advance on toward the French right. This led to the loss of one infantry to French cannon and the isolation of a reserve infantry brigade. 

Into this gap the French heavy brigade pounded forward ... 1 dragoon followed by 2 cuirassier and a horse battery. 

In the centre, 2 French infantry units advanced down from the hill to plug a narrow gap in the terrain (mentioned above.) The Prussians could not easily deploy their cavalry and certainly not in force. 

The French decided to hold spending MO on their left. Three infantry units and one battery would hold this side with their flank anchored on a wood. Little action would occur here other than the isolated Prussian reserve unit was whittled away by accurate skirmish and cannon fire (especially when forced into prepared - or square - formation.) This is also show below from a soldier's view. 

The Prussians needed their MO elsewhere and these troops were never really utilised in the game ... at some times they marched forward then back again. 

The French heavy cavalry column pushed into position. Two were sent further forward, riding over a battery before turning and attacked the rear of the Prussian centre. 

French troops formed up and laid a withering fire upon the Prussians who held the hill. Soon these retreated ... 

To be replaced by reserves which were hurriedly moved from the centre. 

The Prussians surged forward relying on their numbers to sway the battle through repeated bayonet charges. They were unwilling to engage in shooting against the French. 

After several charges the French stood firm then released scything volleys into the Prussians who stood staggered directly to their front. Losses were mounting. 

Above shows the result of French heavy cavalry movements. The dragoons and one cuirassier were behind Prussian lines. The Lithuanian Dragoons (blue centre right) had stood up to two direct charges from French cuirassiers but had been hurled back by infantry not in square. 

Now they faced a terrible decision ... to ride forward or turn to face the cavalry attack. 

The French again pressed forward with their centre ... now a little battered but in quite good condition. One headed through marshy ground to flank the Prussian held hill and, ultimately, threaten the objective. 

The French right was now a scene of inactivity. Note the yawning gap on the upper left of the image where the heavy cavalry had rode. 

The game was called at this point. The Prussians were dangerous close to break point and the French units in the rear of the line had begun to rout more units from the field. French infantry were still vital enough to press the attack while the Prussian had almost no units that had not taken at least a third or more of the hits. The French had won the day!

 

BLUCHER Napoleonic Battle Report

After three weeks away from games the phone rang hot with pleas for a return of Blucher. Our club finds Blucher near perfect for a weekday evening game. We can put of figures on the table giving everyone a consider force and the feeling of actually commanding thousands of soldiers desperately engaged in a distinctly Napoleonic themed battle. 

I put together two army listed to maximise units on the table as I expected four players. As it turns out, one decided not to play and another decided to not bring an army. Both sides used my figures - it would be 1813 French versus 1813 Prussians. Both sides were around 230 points. 

Above shows the centre of the battle where most of the action would take place. The game began with the Prussian player pushing his cavalry division hard down his left flank to try and pin the right flank of the French in place. For three turns he used his available MO points on completing this advance and used an infantry division on his right to seize a village (shown in above image top left.) 

The French did place some battalions into square which halted the Prussian cavalry. They unlimbered their horse battery and commenced fire attempting to whittle down the squares. And that's where the flank remained for 6 or more turns. 

The right side of the above image shows the Prussian flanking cavalry and the line of French squares. It also shows the French response. Forming two divisions into a block and tromping down the middle of the board. (Below shows the single Landwehr cavalry unit that advanced up onto the hill. Again, without infantry support, the cavalry halted. With only a single battery of guns whittling down 4 infantry brigades was going to take a long time. 

It took a little while to shake this attack into order but the French continually used the placement of their commander to energise this mass into forward motion throughout the middle of the game. Turn after turn the French chose to frugally spend MO then Napoleon would be sighted - emblazoning his troops with the energy to attack. 

And what a glorious mass of infantry this was ... 9 full brigades. 

The village (dimly seen at the centre top of the image) had been taken by landwehr but combined fire from two French batteries (include one heavy battery) had driven off artillery support from this flank of the Prussian army. It was a significant loss. 

The Prussians, having spent their MO points elsewhere, had what appeared to be a thin line. It contained 2 grenadiers, line infantry and landwehr. The Prussian heavy battery (bottom right of above image) had been poorly sighted in the shadow of a hill. This robbed it of any line of sight to bombard and limited its angle of cannister fire. 

The French smashed in. Often fighting two to one - or - if the odds were good - the French relied on their skirmishing to rob the elite Prussian grenadiers of vital elan. 

As their line wavered, a vital but hitherto inactive third of the Prussian infantry finally sprang to life. It now toiled in the afternoon heat to enforce the dark blue line. 

The French drums were pounded and brigade after brigade of Marie Louises were thrown in - this was not without loss - but each time elan was being drained from the Prussians. 

Unlike the Prussian cavalry, the French horse advanced then repeatedly charged the Prussian squares - who were first peppered with shot (see the horse battery on the hill in the rear.) Cuirassier and dragoon brigades smashed into the Prussians. None would result in the glorious sweeping away of the square as hoped - it would take three charges before the square could not longer stand. The flank lay open with only way other square beyond the village total unable to bar the egress of the cavalry. 

Looking from the Prussian right flank forward. The village was strongly held but that did not prevent the brigades to the left from being assaulted. Elan losses were racking up. The Prussian division holding their right flank had positioned their better line troops on the end of the line - facing a full French cavalry division. This left three landwehr along the line of the road. Also, as mentioned before, this part of the Prussian line had its artillery shot away early and three French batteries pounded the line as the French had advanced. 

That missing third of the Prussians - dare I say almost their missing 9th legion - emerged from the shade of the woods and struggled into position. In the chaos of battle several messengers were either shot or lost at this point - in game terms this means the Prussians had short on MO in vital moments leaving troops inactive. 

At close quarters, French skirmish fire and musketry volleys were brutal especially as, after a loss or two, the Prussians were pushing single brigades forward to be shot or charged by 2 or three French in return. Four wounded Prussian brigades now struggled to form and hold a coherent line against twice their number of French. Napoleon's fresh recruits poured into the gaps. 

And then it was 10 o'clock and time for all good wargaming boys - who work long hours the next day - to begin packing up the miniatures and get ready for sleep. We all had a great time. The French players were jubilant - but we had started that way - but a clear winner had not been determined by the rules. 

The post-match meeting of the minds came to the conclusion the Prussian left flank was completing weakened and compromised - especially as those French horse chose to ride around a helpless Prussian square and place themselves behind the enemy. Perhaps as many as 4 Prussian brigades looked like being cut off from retreat with around 3 already dispersed and 2 more mauled of elan. The French had lost 2 brigades of foot and 5 more showed wounds of honour from bayonet and musket ball. 

In retrospect ... I put too many troops on the table - maybe would have been better if the final player had joined in? OR There could have been a little less terrain to enable less congestion. Also, we only rolled 2 dice for MO and perhaps should have gone to 3. But, I don't mind difficult command choices as it forces players to assess where the husband their resources. In any game, players who can best utilise their pieces rise - as it should be. 

A really fun game with the right sprinkle of rules. 

(And nice to see over 1000 infantry, over 60 artillery men and 100 cavalry on the table - all painted by me!) 

 

Lasalle 2 Wargame - Napoleonics Mustafa Style

 

The following images tell the tale of a game of Lasalle 2 ... backwards. 

This week's club game saw but two hardy gamers playing. Upon request, I ran my good friend Mick B through the Lasalle 2 introductory scenario. The only difference was that we played with exactly the same army - 8 infantry, 2 foot batteries, 2 light cavalry and 1 horse battery. 

What followed was a great game which we both enjoyed very much. We played with the 3 unit sudden death victory condition. As the above image shows, the Prussians achieved victory on the French left wing. An entire Prussian infantry brigade flanked around the forest and struck the French a fatal blow. When the charge finally drove home, three units were lost in a single combat phase. 

These images show the struggle for the centre and the flanking force in the background. It is taken from the moment of victory. The Prussians had angled their centre and were trying to fend off the French advance. The Prussian cavalry played a key role in this - especially with their 5+ disruption (?) roll - which helped shrug many incoming hits. 

As the Prussians had advanced of their right, it was their left which was held back. The French cavalry tried to take advantage of this with a hook into the Prussian flank and rear. A hasty repositioning of the Prussian cavalry stopped the French from causing certain mayhem by getting behind the Prussian flank. 

The above shows the French main attack. Marshal Mick had pushed an infantry brigade up in support of his cavalry. This put the Prussians in a nasty spot forcing them to endue several torrid rounds of fire. Some poor French musketry and average Prussian rallying enabled the men in dark blue to hold out. 

With MO needed to advance around the flank (including through difficult terrain) it was hard to have the points to advance the Prussian centre. These took sporadic hits from the French foot batteries who peppered their line. In addition, the French had placed their horse battery in a flanking position - pouring fire across the Prussian line (bouncing is a threat in Lasalle 2.) 

The Prussian flank attack shakes out and readies for a lethal bayonet charge. Mick played well delaying this by volleying and falling back. He rallied several hits from these units. The Prussian advantage was less hits and one more infantry unit. Marshal Mick also shifted a foot battery from the centre to bolster his line. But the Prussians pushed ahead. 

The French advance. 

As stated above, these images are in reverse order. The above shows the long road which the Prussian right hook took. It asked much of the centre to hold on. 

Here the Prussian cavalry only just got into position before the French could outflank the line. It took forgoing MO points and using the division commander to allow an additional formation change in the beginning of the phase. Unfortunately, I don't have an image of the original Prussian cavalry position. They had ridden straight into the centre of the battlefield and forced the French infantry into squares. This was vital as it held the French in place for the Prussian flank attack. 

Okay, going to brag ... those hussars look GREAT! These are my newest painted unit. They are the 10th Hussar who were attached to the III Corps of Ney, then Souham, during the 1813 campaign. The labels on my French units all come from this formation. Likewise, the Prussian labels are from Yorck's Corps from the army of Silesia. These forces tackled each other time after time in the spring of 1813 - my favourite period of Napoleonic history.