Sunday 3 March 2019

Albuera – a near run thing

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be invited to Tony’s to take part in a refight of Alubera using his amazing collection of 20mm figures and his C&CN derivative Ramekin rules. This must be the best C&CN type game I have ever played, lots of drama, lots of fun, lots of dice and great company. I played the French whilst Goya and Tony shared the allied command, here are some highlights.

View along the table prior to kick-off. French on the left, allies
on the right. Albuera is centre foreground.
This is the allied left flank comprised mostly of Portuguese
with the KGL holding the town itself.
The allied centre, Spanish in the front line supported by the
British behind them. At one point Goya actually asked Tony
what the plan was, to which he coolly replied "To beat the
French!".
My plan was to contract my left flank and attack with my right,
but not directly at the town, and see what opportunities might
develop.
Despite my best efforts the allied position was just too strong
and after taking heavy casualties the attack fizzled out.
With my right now temporarily disengaged to reorganise, I
thought it would be a good time to see what I could do on the
other flank.
Here I had some real success against the Spanish and literally
drove a wedge through their line. However the British behind
them proved a tougher nut to crack.
This was the now or never moment for my cavalry on the
extreme left, and I sent all 5 units thundering forward in a
dramatic charge - what could possibly go wrong?
Well, it was these infernal chaps (Dragoon Guards beautifully
paint by Lee) who cantered forward and somehow disposed of
the cream of the French cavalry. They didn't do it all by
themselves but it felt like it.
At this stage I was trailing in the VP stakes but somehow
managed to cobble together a large enough force to have a
crack at taking Albuera itself (worth 2 VP's).
After a herculean effort my men gained a foothold in the town
but it was not quite enough to win. 
The final score was 13-10 to the allies (12 VP's were needed
for a victory).

To be able to play such a large game to a conclusion in four hours is remarkable (we must have played at least 15 turns) so 10 out of 10 to Tony for his efforts with the rules and scenario. Despite the hexes this looked, played and felt like a traditional wargame and was a visual treat. On top of it all we had veggie-haggis, neeps and tatties for lunch washed down with a fine onion gravy that Goya in particular savoured.

 My thanks to Tony and Goya for a superb game and the Countessa for a superb lunch!

10 comments:

Rob said...

I read this one on the Prometheus in Aspic blog but it's definitely worth a second look, if only for those beautiful Dragoon Guards who look the equal of any number of Johnnie Crapauds. The game looked great with the possible exception of everything being in column - I do like a nice line of redcoats. Has 'Tony' posted his 'Ramekin' rules anywhere?

MSFoy said...

Well played, you Old Soult! Considering you had a smaller army to start with, your offensive play was super - really good. When your cavalry burst through down your left, and when the town started changing hands on the other flank, I thought we'd blown it. A great game - can't quite get over how good it was!

Stryker said...

Rob - I agree that it would be nice to see troops in different formations but the size of the hexes rather limits this. However to take part in one of these games is a real treat as Tony's troops and terrain are a joy to behold. I think there is a link to the rules on Tony's blog - somewhere!

Stryker said...

Tony, yes a REALLY good game! This was mostly due to your well thought out rules and scenario it has to be said.

Wellington Man said...

I also read this first on Foy's blog, but it was highly entertaining to read the French account. Those damn redcoats, eh?
Best regards
WM

Stryker said...

Matthew - it was a great game with many twists and turns. These are now my second favourite rules!

'Lee. said...

Ian, some great photos there of this wonderful spectacle, a feast for the eyes of any old wargamer. Good to see one of the two Heavy Dragoon units that I painted for Tony in action, I remember they were a bit of a challenge to get them up to the standard I wanted to achieve, so much so that a fine bottle of single malt arrived in the post to help boost motivation! They remain among my best work... if I might say so myself :) Good to hear they fought well.

Stryker said...

Lee -all three of us actually broke off from the action to admire them and I should add that they were pivotal in my defeat so you should be proud!

the Archduke said...

As the old salt himself would have it, "the British are poor soldiers because they don't understand when they are beaten." You're lucky you didn't have one of your Wellies deployed against you.

Stryker said...

Nigel, no wellies in this game although his tree was present!