Some Cuirassier Progress

Just to prove I am still slogging away at the Cuirassiers here they are.

As you can see, for a bit of light relief, I have converted a trumpeter and given him a cheery yellow coat. I don’t normally like to chop up vintage castings but fortunately the previous owner had already removed the carbine from this figure which meant my conversion was guilt free.

I’m still marvelling at the excellent quality of this batch of castings. This has been a bit of a tonic as I remember ordering some of these in my last ever order to Hinton Hunt (probably 1974). What arrived were hideous lumps of flash metal with the vague outline of a Cuirassier and I never even attempted to clean and paint one. I think it’s fair to say that by then the moulds were completely shot.

Battle of the Admin Error (Conclusion)

 

This is the state of play approximately halfway through the game. I must say that at this point things weren't going too well for Matt and I.

What? Surely not another Allied cavalry unit broken!

Doh! Tony's Carabiniers have broken my Cuirassiers. There's something wrong with our bloody cavalry today!

The destruction of so many of our cavalry units has forced Matt to put most of his infantry in square. Luckily though the Toskanas appear to have ridden right past the Duke without seeing him.

My last cavalry unit still in good order - the Silesian Hussars - galloping to the left to see off Tony's troopers.

The West Prussian Fusiliers stood under a tremendous cannonade all day but at least these lads didn't break.

Matt hangs grimly on at the church - night or the Prussians must come (hang on aren't they here already?).

The now rallied Inniskillings face off against the Toskana Dragoons. Both sides are disordered and cannot charge for the moment.

Yes, you guessed it - the Silesian Hussars have just lost another cavalry melee and worse still BLUCHER is down!

Nigel throws his infantry against Matt's line but they have become disordered in the process. However his troops have secured the VP location.

Our last cavalry reserve - the Greys - are on the move.

For once the newbies have had an easy battle. In this their first fight the 25th ligne have been mere observers.

The Guard Lancers deliver the coup-de-grace to my Hussars.

More formation dancing from the Young Guard.

Finally the Toskana Dragoons are seen off by the Greys. But it's too little too late as it's the end of turn 8 and the final VP score is 32 to the French and 26 to the Allies.

So ended another highly enjoyable day of playing soldiers although I did feel a bit sorry for Matt being on the receiving end of some uncharacteristically aggressive actions by Nigel. Clearly there was something terribly wrong with the Allied cavalry (not just the effect of the unfortunate Toskana admin error) and I would say that throughout Matt and I both had some shocking die rolls. However, the game did look pretty which is something and it’s always nice to see the Imperial Guard loafing about and to watch in awe as Nigel manoeuvres his troops.

Thanks to Tony, Matt and Nigel for coming along and indulging me once again in the Hinton Hut.

The Battle of the Admin Error (Part 2)

 

Matt gets off to a solid start by advancing his infantry right up to the church. It looks as if those VP's will be in the bag by turn 2.

The Inniskillings trot forward supported by the Blues. There appears to be nothing to oppose them except some low-grade Austrian Dragoons in the distance.

Meanwhile my Prussian infantry are making a determined push for the Windmill. However Tony seems to be wanting to stop them with his Guard Lancers.

The 49th Hertfordshires are forced into square by the sudden appearance of French Lancers. No worries, the British cavalry will soon sort this lot out.

During our pre-game conference I assured Matt that Nigel wouldn't do anything too aggressive, so I was somewhat surprised to see him pushing the Young Guard forward by the church.

And he was coming up on the flank too - what had got into him today?

The A rated Inniskillings cross sabres with the B rated Toskana Dragoons. Hold on, due to the admin error Nigel gleefully pointed out that they were A+ rated today! Matt's troopers became disordered but the Blues were behind them so we weren't worried at all.

Tony was steadily bringing his infantry up towards the windmill. My men were in firm control of the VP site by now.

My horse artillery charged forward, unlimbered and fired at half effect - then this happened. This wasn't quite how I had expected this manoeuvre to develop.

Now Nigel appeared to be putting the Young Guard in reverse - was the Duke of York commanding them today?

The Blues join in the melee with the Toskanas while the Inniskillings leg-it following a second lost round of fighting.

In frustration Matt throws the Light Dragoons against a solid Austrian square with predictable results.

Meanwhile Tony has routed the Brandenburg Musketeers and is now taking on my Uhlans.

While the fight for the Windmill turns nasty.

Yes, Nigel is back where he started!

The Guard take a nap as the battle rages in front of them. None of these gentlemen seem to be even slightly ruffled.

Nigel sees off the Light Dragoons and consolidates his position on the hill.

While the Toskanas rout the Blues

To be continued...