's motivation to paint Napoleonic ships returns!
Warlord Games' John Stallard had been eagerly awaiting the release of an all-plastic Napoleonic British cavalry kit for quite some time… and with the release of Warlord's British Heavy Cavalry – he couldn't resist gathering the Warlord staff at his game room, and playing an epic Napoleonic cavalry battle!
Général de brigade Morgan organized our troops with a vast array of French, British and Prussian cavalry, plus a few supporting pieces of artillery…
Let Battle Commence!
The French forces advanced onto the battlefield with three brigades making their order tests and pushing forward on their right flank and center.
Left to right: Général de brigade Perkés, Général d'armée Listér, Général de brigade Coult, and Marshal Stallard (hiding behind a British Brigade commander, Lieutenant-Colonel H James)
The Allied formations await the coming battle – outnumbered almost two to one, will they hold the line?
Général de brigade Morgan (left) listens intently to his Général… maybe because Général d'armée Listér Scottish accent is a bit too hard to translate into French when he's excited!
Lieutenant-Colonel H James (under the watchful eye of his boss Major-General Pala) is unperturbed by the sight of so much French cavalry, the first rocket shots actually hitting the center mass!
Untouched by British Artillery (for the moment) Général de brigade Morgan advances on the French right flank in all his finery – the Hussars making a fine and colourful display!
…meanwhile on the French left flank Général de brigade Coult finally passes an order and advances his Dragoons over the hills
Major-General Pala gesticulates in his Italian/British accent as he describes his command orders to the only French commander listening… so much so that Marshal Stallard moves between these highly experienced and fanatical enemies to oversee the coming clash.
Général d'armée Listér exerts his full authority and battlefield experience to convince his Général de brigades to do as their told!
The French Dragoons pass their orders and prepare to charge!
To be met in the center by the brave few – the Allied lancers
…the Allied line holds – barely – under the strain orders begin to be failed but at least a cannon on the right flank can be brought into action, plugging a gap at the last moment!
Round 3 begins with the Allies under extreme pressure, they (unlike their French opponents) still have their eye on the scenario objective…
The French begin to argue amongst themselves as their General stretches his tape – will the dragoons that have sat on the hill actually pass an order this turn?
Casualties begin to mount on both sides as turn 4 closes it's beginning to look like a stalemate…
Suddenly there's a French breakthrough on the Allies left flank leaving a lone cannon, with a few supporting rifles in the woods, to face off against the French Dragoons sweeping down on them!
The Dragoons then roll over the cannon with ease – and proceed onward, into the heart of the Allied line, decimating units until they hit the flank of the Scott Greys!
The Greys hold out for a full turn, it could be a game changer…
The Allied Dragoons try the same tactic but a lucky shot brings them to a standstill
As turn six comes to an end, both sides tally their casualties – Brigades are decimated and the battlefield is littered with the injured and discarded equipment… a victory goes to… the Allies!
With a Brigade still in action, the allies fulfilled their scenario objective, upheld by our umpire (Marshal Stallard) – although this is still a bone of contention around the office as the French Dragoons were an inch away from continuing their devastating advance through the allied ranks and one more casualty would have broken the last Brigade and sent the allies fleeing! But that's battles in Black Powder for you – down to the last throw of the die.
With the latest addition to our Napoleonic range being the awesomely detailed British Heavy Cavalry we just had to have this nearly-all-cavalry battle, the great thing with Black Powder is the ability to pull together whatever you have in your collection (and John's is a vast collection!) to form a brigade, meet up with your mates and join forces to create a truly epic and inspiring spectacle on the tabletop!
It was an absolute blast at John's – Pizza, beer, and wine were consumed in various measures and as the sounds of battle faded we left with more heroic actions and tails of failed tests at crucial moments to reflect upon around the workplace… until next time, I'm off to begin my first British troops!
