Today at the Club

Against all expectation I managed to secure a pass to get to the Club today. I hadn’t committed to a particular game but knew that Richard, Ian and Lawrence were doing a 28mm French Indian War skirmish and that there was likely to be a 6mm Grande Armee game. I was quite keen to see the latter but ended up taking a small group of militia in the big game and then watching the 6mm game, which was quite interesting.

The FIW game will hopefully get a full write-up on the Club Blog in a day or so but basically a French column with Indian support were approaching a small town held by a company of redcoats supported by militia and ‘friendlies’. The French Indians pushed down each flank but took heavy casualties and were driven off. As the French columns crossed the river to deploy they thought better of it, retired, thought better of that and crossed again. The British line then formed up and advanced and the French retired again! We were using the solo mechanics of Richard’s rules and the result being that the rules for formed troops need some more work!

Here’s a quick picture but those taken by Richard and Lawrence that will accompany the full write-up are much better – the camera is one among many of the weak points of my current phone! Good fun anyway as my militia only managed one volley but it was a pretty devastating one!

The 6mm game, which I’m also hoping will get a blog writeup was a clash between French and Russians, with Napoleon himself leading the French. The Russians lined up on the main hill, with reserves hidden behind and prepared for the French assault.

Cossacks prepared to sweep round the left flank:

To fall on the flank of the advancing French:

The French pushed up the hill and assaulted the Russian lines:

After punching a hole in the center they prepare to meet the advancing Russian reserves but were pressed on either flank by Russian cossacks and Guard cavalry:

And the Russian Guards prepared to push them off again before the French reserves arrive:

At the end of the game the issue was still open with the potential for the corps battling in the center to collapse, possibly taking the morale of the army down before the reserves really got stuck in!

It was a fun game to watch as the battle ebbed and flowed over the hill with the Russians trying to create the space to deploy their still powerful reserves. The rules seemed to work really well, with some nice mechanisms, a nice flow and the game really looking the part. The rules seem to be gaining interest at the club with a few people putting together armies and plans for a campaign coming, likely to be 1815. I’m very tempted to paint the odd corps for this, probably Prussian and quite fancy Prussians for 1806 as well. The rules are apparently due for reprint but I’d like to pick up a copy anyway. Yes, I definitely feel another slight diversion coming on!