Category Archives: Battle Reports

Before anyone gets too excited, it’s worth pointing out that the question is aimed at Black Powder players and is somewhat rhetorical. The question arose from my last battle at the White Hart with Duncan. A battle that I lost and as is often the case, as I drove home, I reflected on the turning points of the engagement. Of course the dice could have been kinder but that is often the first thought when you lose a battle. You remember all those failed saves, poor rolls to hit, command rolls that failed and of course the dice imposed blunders.

Sir Sydney Ruff- Diamond watches on as Private James Riddles rebukes the French!

However, there was a moment when I recognised that some of my frustration should have been reserved for the way in which I had been managing my army, in particular the use of my Commander, Sir Sydney Ruff-Diamond.

The battle between Duncan and I was a pretty standard club game, although Duncan had chosen to make one of his Brigades reflective of a French Avant Garde brigade. It was composed of four small light battalions, three small light cavalry regiments and two horse artillery guns. A strange mix to be sure and not from the standard Black powder order of battle. To add to the unfamiliar line up, another brigade was composed of ‘large’ units of Polish Battalions, with a further brigade of French Infantry, supported by Heavy cavalry. I was fielding my usual British force of 3 Brigades of infantry in the centre, supported by a brigade of Light Cavalry on the left and a brigade of Heavies on the right.

The battle at first followed my usual plan. Form a decent defensive line, hold the flanks with the cavalry, threatening when there was an opportunity and break the opposition with fire power. There was a problem though. At first the French Avant Garde brigade (or light Brigade), was just a nuisance, picking away at my superior numbers. It was also somewhat cumbersome in that with so many units to move, brigade orders were not suitable and inevitably a failed order resulted in many of the units not moving.

Napoleon takes charge!

That changed when Duncan committed his commander in chief ( Napoleon no less) to the far flank of his army to support the brigadier. With two attempts at command rolls, the brigade stated to function even more effectively. Not only were the units moving as they should but there were two commanders on the spot to rally shaken units and send them back into battle again.

Meanwhile, the British continued with the time honoured method of leaving the army commander some where in the middle of the battlefield just in case he was needed to move a unit. Of course the problem being, the further you are from your units, the more likely you are to suffer a penalty on your command roll and fail. By not committing my Commander he became ineffective, whereas Napoleon was right on the spot, controlling the critical thrust of the French attack.

Polish Artillery supported by infantry

The outcome of the battle was resting on either flank. To my left, I was losing to the French Light Brigade who were gaining territory and gradually shaking more units than was healthy. To my right, I was enjoying a certain amount of success,  although in driving back the large units of Polish Infantry I was again taking casualties. Things came to a head when my right flank failed to sort itself out from repelling the Polish and began to fall back. Had Sir Sydney been on hand, he may have been able to rally a unit or order a spare battalion to plug the gap. He was however,  sitting serenely in the centre, just in case he was needed…

The balance tilted in favour of the French and it was Napoleon himself who was on hand to observe the final casualties forcing the British from the table!

So in future, I will remember that the Commander figure of my army is not just there as decoration. He needs to be near to the critical action to support the brigadier should things not work out as planned.

As we all know, at Waterloo, it was Wellington who was the ‘hands on’ General, riding up and down the Allied Lines all day, bolstering his troops where necessary. On the other hand, it was Napoleon that was ‘hands off’ delegating control of the Battle to his Marshals. Perhaps in future, Sir Sydney will be more like Wellington!

Well actually it was nearly half past six (1830) by the time we had laid out the table and decided who was battling who. As it was some six weeks since my last wargame, I was very much looking forward to a game of Black Powder and a chance to deploy my troops on the table. My opponent, Keith Tait, was fielding a force of Austrians against my usual force of British. Neither of us was particularly concerned about points and as we each had the same sized  Really Useful troop boxes, we decide to just put everything on the table and commence battle. As far as deployment went, we just got on with laying out the troops as they came out of the boxes without worrying too much about what went where in relation to each other. If that all sounds a bit too casual for some, I can assure you that sometimes the best wargames can come from the worst preparation. This Battle was a case in point. As I had low expectations of the outcome I didn’t actually take any photos of the game as it unfolded so you will have to use your imagination as to how the battle looked. Fortunately, I can include some pictures of the troops involved on my army and I have attempted to draw a simple map showing the general deployment of the troops.

The map above shows the deployment with the Austrians at the top of the page, with the light blue depicting light cavalry, dark blue the heavy cavalry and the grey blocks are the infantry brigades. The British are deployed at the bottom of the page, but in this case, the red blocks are the infantry brigades. The green ovals represent woods on the battlefield.

The Austrians had superiority in cavalry, with two additional regiments and had decided that their plan would be to break through the British left flank threatening the rest of the line. In the meantime the two centre brigades of infantry would advance to engage the British centre whilst the largest Austrian brigade would secure the right flank, preventing the British Infantry brigade and cavalry from threatening.

The British plan was simply to hold the Austrian cavalry as best that they could with 4 regiments of lights facing a total of 8 regiments of Austrians. In the centre, the two infantry brigades would secure a defensive line between the two woods, with the final Brigade and heavy cavalry , holding the right flank and attempting to break the Austrians here.

Two problems arose for the Austrians. Despite their numerical superiority in cavalry, they were unable to bring their numbers to bear to any great effect and by committing both brigades of cavalry they simply got in each others way. Even worse, the heavies failed to charge home leaving themselves exposed to the british infantry and artillery fire, resulting in heavy casualties for one of the regiments, which was to break and retire from the battlefield.

The british hussars charge!

The British Cavalry were able to beat off the Austrian Light Cavalry and for once, held their discipline, regrouping to face the next charge.

In the centre, the British infantry were able to form their defensive line but a blunder fractured the left hand brigade as two battalions mistakenly moved to the left of the woods and formed square. In the event, this worked well for the British as they were able to constrict the space preventing the Austrian cavalry from maneuvering and protecting the flank of the remaining battalions. In addition, a small detachment of 95th Rifles were able to take up position in the woods to give covering fire and further harass the Austrians. Seeing that the centre needed reinforcing, the British brigade on the right flank moved across to the centre, effectively conceding this flank to the Austrians. However, the two regiments of British Heavy cavalry were able to charge the opposing Austrian infantry, forcing two battalions into square and pushing the remaining infantry further to the right, relieving the pressure on the centre. The two centre Austrian brigades pushed forwards regardless and the battle began to reach it’s climax.

Battle situation at half time!

With the Austrian Cavalry snarled up on the left Flank and the Austrian infantry brigade held up on the right flank, the decisive fight would take place in the centre. Initially, the British fire power stopped the Austrians in their tracks. The British first fire was extremely effective, causing numerous casualties and disordering many of the Austrian battalions attack. Even worse for the Austrians, the large brigade out on the right simply refused to move and remained pinned by the British cavalry and a failure to pass command rolls. Despite this, the next round of combat saw the British fail to inflict any further damage to the Austrian centre and at last the Austrians were able to charge home. The outcome remained in the balance.

British fire superiority proves effective!

The Austrians smashed into the British lines and were able to break through, breaking one British battalion and pushing back the rest of the brigade. The cost to the Austrians was to lose two of their own battalions and to take further casualties. Even as the Austrian Infantry broke through, on the left, their heavy cavalry had accumulated sufficient casualties to shake the whole brigade and to the Austrian armies dismay, they withdrew from combat. On the right flank the Austrian General was becoming increasingly frustrated with his Infantry, who, despite all attempts, refused to move to support the centre and continued to be harried by the British heavy cavalry.

The Blues harry the Austrian Infantry!

The Austrian success in the centre was short lived. Despite being pushed back and losing a further battalion, the British had inflicted sufficient casualties on the Austrians to break the Infantry. Both sides brigades were fragmented but it was the British who had sufficient reserves to recover and reassert their dominance in the centre.

The Austrians break through but are fragmented. They are nice easy targets!

The Centre of the Austrian army had lost all impetus and was picked off battalion by battalion until the two brigades broke. This was effectively the end of the Austrian army, with three of the five brigades now broken. Victory for the British! For once, the British Cavalry had kept it’s discipline, holding both flanks whilst the infantry used the superior fire discipline to beat off the opposition. No doubt the Austrian Brigadier in command of the right will have questions to answer as to why he failed to support the centre!

95th rifles were a thorn in the Austrians flank throughout the battle!

A most enjoyable battle for me, particularly as I had such low expectations, having been away from the wargames table for some time. Once again, I am convinced that Black Powder, whilst not the most accurate representation of Napoleonic warfare, is certainly one of the most ‘playable’ games that I have come across and as far as an evening club game, I think that you would be hard pressed to find a better rules set.

At long last we have started our Black Powder Campaign. The idea is that the campaign will provide an  ongoing narrative to our regular Thursday night Club battles and encourage us to try out new scenarios and of course build our armies. This week there were three battles happening and to give you an idea of how the campaign works, I’ll describe the battle that my General, Sir Sydney Ruff-Diamond was involved in.

The first part of the campaign was to randomly choose one trait for each of our Commanders. Fortunately, all of my brigadiers were ‘normal’ with the exception of my Light Cavalry commander, Rowland Hill, who came up with Timid for his aggression Trait meaning that he will have a -1 when issuing a charge order. My opponent, Wayne, or rather his General, Michel Loup, the infamous French commander also had just one Brigadier with a unique trait. One of his Brigadiers, Colonel Cantona, had the High Decisive Trait giving him the option of a re roll for failed commands but failed re rolls will result in a blunder!

We were using our own points system, which although imperfect, is quick and easy to use and allows us to put similar sized forces on the table. If you would like to know more, I’ve covered this in a previous blog here:

http://arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk/black-powder-for-club-nights/

Tonight we were gaming with about 40 points a side.

We then chose our scenario by rolling a D6. Again, we use a simple list that I have previously posted here:

http://arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk/scenarios-for-black-powder/

Tonight’s battle would follow the ‘Off Table Deployment’ rules.

With the scene set it was on with the battle. The British started well, deploying onto the table successfully in two turns and they quickly formed into a defensive line ready for the French. Except the French failed to arrive. On the first turn, none of the French brigades deployed and it was not until turn three that the French Army was actually on the Table.

The French Army finish a leisurely meal before deciding whether to give battle!

With the French arriving so late on the battlefield, they were unable to use their superior mobility to out manoeuvre the British but found they had to commit to a full frontal assault. To make matters more difficult, whilst they were superior in Cavalry strength and Artillery, they lacked infantry support should things go wrong. Sir Sydney Ruff-Diamond had anchored his right flank against a wood, preventing any break though here by the French. He deployed all of his Cavalry on the left flank, opposing the main bulk of the French cavalry. Although out numbered, Sir Sydney was confident that the British Heavy cavalry would be up to the task of holding the French.

French Cavalry threaten the British left flank.

General Loup ordered his Cavalry forward but due to a misunderstanding ( failed order…) the French Light Cavalry found themselves leading the charge whilst the heavies sat back and watched. The British response was immediate and the Scots Greys charged into action, mauling the French Lights and pushing them back, masking their own artillery.

On the right, a  French Hussar unit was holding the entire British flank in position but unfortunately, despite Colonel Cantona’s decisive orders, he was unable to get his brigade into position to take advantage of the situation. So rapidly did he give orders, that eventually, some of the French blundered and moved in the opposite direction! Sir Sydney, as cool as ever, held his position, wearing the French down with artillery fire awaiting the inevitable French charge.

Once again, the French Cavalry surged forwards and once again, they were met by the counter charge of the Scots Greys. The French Heavy’s had the worst of it and even though they were led in a personal charge by none other than General Loup himself, they were pushed back, the General barely surviving the combat.

General Loup leads the French into battle only to be repulsed by the Greys!

The British, encouraged by the success of the Cavalry began to edge forward into musket range and the French line started to take casualties. Goaded by the impertinence of the British and still still battle crazed from the abortive cavalry charge, General Loup ordered his infantry brigade to charge the British line. When a clear head is required, Colonel Cantona is the wrong man to have as your advisor. He too, ordered his Brigade to charge and the French Infantry smashed into the British. After some initial success, the French now paid the price for their lack of infantry. The British line held and the subsequent counter attacks allowed them to outflank the French Brigades, counter charging to great effect.

Pressure relieved as the British charge home to the flank

General Sydney Ruff-Diamond looked on with pride as the French were repulsed in disarray. General Loup had gambled that he could break the British line and allow his Cavalry to mop up but he had under estimated the British resolve. There was nothing left but to surrender the field.

Sir Sydney graciously accepts the French surrender.

A great start to the Campaign, with certain Commanders already making a name for themselves and in Cantona’s case, living up to the name that he had been given! Both army commanders will gain an experience point for their Army that in time will allow them to improve that traits of their commanders. The British also gained a French flag, a victory marker that will, if sufficient are accumulated, allow Sir Sydney to upgrade one of his units.

I hope that more battles will follow!

As I mentioned in my last blog, our gaming group, the White Hart Gamers, played another of our mega games two weeks ago. Once again the battle was based around the fictious town of Bitteburg and following the Allies defeat in the first battle of Bitteburg, we had decided that this would be the last in the series! The scenario was that the French, having driven the Allies from the field of battle at Bitteburg had caught them and would attempt to destroy the last allied army in a final set piece battle.  The set up was very straight forward. There were three players per side, each player having his own Corps Commander as per normal Black Powder rules. In addition, the player in the centre was the overall army commander, who could give three additional orders with no distance penalty. The idea being that, the overall commander could use his influence to link the three ‘Corps’ together.

Set up and ready to go!

We held back at least two brigades each in the initial deployment. They could be deployed, a brigade at a time, on the Corps Commanders orders, but only within D6 of the centre of the players deployment zone.

Set up complete, the battle commenced. For the French, it was simply a matter of pushing the Allies from the table to win. The Allies were tasked with breaking the French Army. As with all of our previous games, once we were started, the game effectively broke into three separate ‘mini games’ with very little overlap. As the French forces in front of me quickly advanced, I became engrossed in the battle in my sector, paying little attention to what was happening elsewhere!

Joint Anglo Prussian Forces await the French onslaught

My immediate plans to form a defensive line between the woods and church was thwarted by the refusal of my infantry brigades to move! In fact, the light infantry and Artillery had moved into position only to find they had no support at all from the rest of the army. Even the capture of a French Spy was of no comfort.

A French spy is apprehended!

To make matters worse, two of my Artillery batteries blundered, limbering their guns and advancing straight into the waiting enemy!

Under Pressure from the French.

As the two Armies closed to engage, a relentless fire fight ensued but on this occasion the British were out fought. The forward British units were picked off and the rest of the army refused to move! Perhaps the previous battles were beginning to undermine morale! Fortunately, I had reinforcements to bolster the Allies and the Prussians deployed in an attempt to relieve the pressure.

Here come the Prussians

The French Brigades began to waver under the Allies numerical superiority and at last their central brigade broke, retreating in disorder. Well, almost… Despite this small success, the Allies were unable to capitalise on the break in the French line and through blunder and failure to move, found themselves again in trouble. Unable to rally the troops, it was now Allied brigades that began to break and create panic in the Army. Matters were brought to a head when a French Battalion blundered and charged the British defensive line. It should have been a bloodbath for the British but the French carried home the charge destroying the Battalion of Hanoverians facing them and causing the supporting battalions to rout as well. Even a late charge by the Scots Greys could not halt the French.

The Scots Greys prepare to charge

The British line was stabilised by the introduction of yet another reserve brigade. The French were pushed back but this temporary success was short lived as the French brought up their own reinforcements. As the battle came to a close, it was the French that remained in the ascendancy – the British had decided the day was not theirs and withdrew from battle.

Time to survey the battlefield and plan the final assault!

The French had edged a victory. If my battle on the left had not gone so well, things were even worse on the right where after some initial success, our Austrian allies had also been pushed back and badly mauled. The battle in the centre was not quite so decisive but overall it was clear that the French had won the day.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, this was the last battle in this series and a 3 -0 score overall for the French was a pretty emphatic victory. The next big day will be slightly different. Having experience of running these mega battles has given us food for thought as to whether we can run a campaign in a day with several smaller engagements taking place on different tables. Watch this space to see how this works out.