Haven't posted for a while so a bit to catch up on so here goes. A few recent games at New Buckenham Historical Wargamers
First up my first game of Carnage & Glory, a Peninsular War battle between Spanish and French, Mengibar part of the wider Battle of Bailen in 1808. The French had to hold a ridge line against three times the number of Spanish. I commanded the Spanish right wing and after a few teething problems getting used to a new rule system and way of playing, computer moderated, it was a great game and victory for the Spanish. Everyone seemed to enjoy not rolling dice for a change and another C&G game was planned in for the near future.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and it was Carnage & Glory again, this time in 15/18mm and Central Europe in 1814 with the French Guard squaring off against Austrians and Wurttembergers at the Battle of Bar-sur-Aube. This time I had command of the Austrian left flank tasked with trying to take bridges on the far right of the French position. However unlike their historical counterparts the French players reduced the length of their lines and sat behind a formidable screen of artillery which took a heavy toll on the advancing allies.
Apart from some success on either flank the allies didn't even make it into contact with the main French force before our troops started melting away due to fatigue, failing morale and casualties inflicted by artillery.
Little did we allies know that as we ran out of time the hated French artillery was about to withdraw to rest and resupply!
The game ran smoother this time as people were more familiar with the game play and I'm sure we'll see these rules again at the club.
Finally a game of Shako II back in 28mm. This time a fictional Napoleonic Peninsular War battle based on the ancient Battle of Cynscephalae in 197 BC.
The Battle saw a combined Anglo/Portuguese and Spanish force take on French and Poles for possession of a strategic plateau. I really enjoyed this game not least because the majority of the British and all of the Portuguese figures were from my collection.
I commanded a British division on the right flank tasked with assaulting the right hand end of the plateau. Spanish and King's German Legion troops would attack the left while in-between Portuguese and British would demonstrate against the centre to prevent French troops from here being used to re enforce the flanks. The Spanish and KGL were faced with the whole of the French cavalry to their front so the allied cavalry division swept across the front of the plateau and charged in support. After some initial success this division was subjected to counter charges and swept from the field. This left just a regiment of Spanish Hussars and the 1st KGL Hussars as the only allied cavalry remaining, it would prove to be enough.
My assault went badly initially as I forgot I couldn't change formation when in an enemies frontal control zone which meant I assaulted up hill in column into French troops in line support by the inevitable artillery. To make it worse British don't get flank support when in column in these rules.
Once this attack had been repulsed I reordered my troops and went in again.
In the centre after some brave attempts first the Portuguese then the British were either destroyed or routed, but they had done their job, weakening those French in the centre and preventing their redeployment.
To the left the KGL Hussars100 went on an epic rampage, destroying or routing two French and Polish cavalry regiments before smashing into two infantry squares, cutting through both of them before catching another battalion in line before pulling back to recover. This destroyed the French right before the KGL infantry followed up, as my assaults finally began to succeed against the French Left.
The game was finally called as the remnants of the French huddled, almost surrounded towards the end of the plateau.
A great game played over a day and a half.
More on these games can be found on my blog.
Mengibar
Bar-sur-Aube
Dogs Head Plateau
Tony.
paints the Dogman from the Flintloque starter set.
