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| With Saint-a-Mont fallen the Duke was now on a sticky wicket, the French could advance on the ridge without fear of flanking fire. |
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| And advance they did! |
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| The Guard Cavalry and Heavy Cavalry reserve pushed forward determined to take the initiative. |
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| With a crisis point looming the Duke moved to the right to steady the ranks "Now, Mercer give them some canister!". |
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| But by now many of the gunners had been picked off by French skirmishers and nothing could halt the advance of the Guard. |
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| The Brunswick Horse Artillery did cause some execution amongst the enemy cavalry but it was not enough to turn the tide. |
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| All along the line the allies were taking heavy casualties and even poor Lord Hill was down. |
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| One small success for the allies - the Swiss were sent packing but this was against the run of play. |
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| As the 45th and 105th ligne swept up on to the ridge. |
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| On the opposite flank the Young Guard and Guard Marins prepared to charge. |
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| The Duke ordered the Guards forward but it was not enough "Gentlemen, the last one back to Brussels is a rotten egg!". |
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| The Guard Marins storm the ridge and see off the Brunswickers - another glorious victory for the French and not a single soldier of the Old Guard with so much as a scratch on him! |
It was fun to get all the figures out on the table and play through the game although a shame to see the Duke trounced once more, I should have let the Prussians arrive!
Hi IAN- Well played old chap- superb Armies- well done. Hope the Duke can have better success during the next Battle. Thanks for posting. Cheers. KEV.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kev, I believe the Duke will be receiving reinforcements soon!
ReplyDeleteI don't think even the real Duke could've done anything against those odds. At Waterloo he had an advantage in infantry even before the Prussians arrived - Napoleon's army was larger but his substantial cavalry and artillery advantage meant he was short of foot sloggers. Once you then subtract 6th Corps, Young Garde and some Old Garde battalions it's no surprise the cavalry had be thrown in to make up for the lack of infantry - no need for any rubbish Ney thinking the Allies were retiring.
ReplyDeleteA shame your Old Garde fresh from the paint-shops of Gay Paris weren't allowed to lead the way with the bayonet. But I'm much the same with my Gendarmerie de la Garde du Roi who always seem to be following on behind everyone else - those uniforms are just too special to get messed up. War is such a dirty business.
Stunning game!, very inspiring. The sheer spectacle of the game is wargaming at it's best.
ReplyDeleteRob, I just put everything on the table which left the allies a bit short of troops - something I hope to remedy this year!
ReplyDeletePaul, thanks for the comment, the troops did look colourful so must do this again soon!
ReplyDeleteA really lovely looking game Ian...
ReplyDeleteI splendid example of why I love shiny Napoleonics...
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly, glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteSmashing. Really enjoyed write-up and pictures. Those Swiss chaps have some difficult times - how's their batting average? Maybe it's just when they fight for me.
ReplyDeleteTony, no they have a bad time whoever they're fighting for!
ReplyDeleteAhem, or possibly eheu, I seem to remember a glorious victory for the combined Swiss brigade chez vous last year, Ian. I need to say that, having once got them annihilated in a church yard. Truly superb spectacle, this. Thanks encore.
ReplyDeleteYour new Guard unit will now need a new battle honour added to their standard. As its French Victory you will have to rename the battle 'Not quite La Belle Alliance'.
ReplyDeleteA marvellous spectacle.
ReplyDeleteNigel you're right of course so I clearly need to paint another Swiss unit!
ReplyDeleteMark, I'm not painting anymore battle honours on that flag!
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt!
ReplyDeleteSpectacular, if a somewhat puzzling result. Where on earth was the Union Brigade? I think you may also need to acquire the 52nd!
ReplyDeleteAll the best
WM
WM, good question! Actually the Blues & Greys were on the left flank and routed two French cavalry units for no loss but had no real effect on the course of the battle. I don't think they made it into any photos.
ReplyDeleteI like the ‘bijou’ Airfix farmhouse! I’m tempted to buy another just to copy it.
ReplyDeleteNotice how, despite the table being covered in splendid old school soldiery, I manage to pick out the plastic house....
Yes but Its not just any old plastic farmhouse but an integral part of the youth of many of us!
ReplyDeleteThey all look beautiful, but those massed ranks of the garde à pied are something else.
ReplyDeleteReally difficult to win Waterloo without the Prussians, then or now!
Thanks James, I would agree, once the farms were lost it was game over!
ReplyDeleteThis is just a feast for the eyes in so many ways. Out of curiosity, how long did the battle take with that many troops on the table? I dream of one day being able to manage it!
ReplyDeleteDavid, I ran it over two sessions each of a couple of hours and played eight turns by which time things had developed to a satisfying conclusion. It does help having a permanent table!
ReplyDelete