Even more from Roy on Vintage Waterloo

A couple of weeks ago I dropped in at Roy’s house where he was hosting another Vintage Waterloo game for some of the members of his local wargame club. It was a great afternoon and it was very useful for me to get some feedback on my rules Musket & Marshals – in fact most of the players seemed to have a better handle on things than I did!

Reille's men attempt to out flank Hougoumont.

A general view of the battlefield from the allied side of the table (La Haye Sainte is the building in the centre).

The allied line on the ridge between La Haye Sainte and Hougoumont.

Napoleon made an early move with his heavy cavalry against the allied line to the east of La Haye Sainte.

This confident move by the Emperor apparently brought great success later (although this was after I departed with the camera).

I didn’t have time to stay and play properly but I did get involved in umpiring the section of the battlefield on the allied extreme right flank by Hougoumont. It was quite an intense little fight that was made extra difficult for the French player as Napoleon (in his wisdom) had failed to deploy a single gun battery west of the chateau. We did get some varied action however including cavalry against square, cavalry charging horse artillery and a couple of cavalry melees.

Mostly Dutch troops (with one British battalion) were forced into square on the allied right by the antics of some French light cavalry - this was the bit I helped to umpire and I was pleased with the way the rules dealt with the various tactical situations.

Another view of the French infantry advancing past Hougoumont.

The Young Guard - that's the lovely unit painted by Matt B for Roy (with the red flag).

The Old Guard is moving up - Napoleon seemed quite anxious to get them into the fray!

Some very Old Old Guard here by the looks of it.

My thanks again to Roy for his hospitality (lunch was just superb) and also to the players for being patient enough to give my rules a serious run through. Roy and I are yet to play our ‘official’ game of Vintage Waterloo but we have decided that when we do we will be running it as a multi-player affair.