The Battle of Waterloo in 6mm Part 4

2.00pm - 3.00pm

The Allies won the initiative test but elected to pass control over to the French. They hoped that the 1st Corps columns would fail any charges giving the Union Brigade their chance for glory.

Following the compulsory move phase, the Order phase involved dicing for, and calculating the command dice for the next 4 turn period (see under 'Rules' label for command & control system). All command dice were allocated to Corps and Divisional Commanders, who in this turn allocated dice to individual Brigade commanders to assist them in their 'Orders' die roll. Several Brigade commanders failed to activate but the one most likely to cause difficulties was that of Somerset. His die roll resulted in a 'Hold' meaning his Household Brigade was prevented from moving any further forward. Clearly the heavy cavalry squadrons were struggling to negotiate the various squares in their path:

Household Brigade struggling to pass the squares in centre of photo.

Starting the charge phase, Pegot's column (on the right flank of the 1st Corps) charged a Hanoverian Battery of artillery who had left it too late to retire. A poor dice throw in response to the charge resulted in them dispersing from the field. The triumphant column continued towards the ridge summit but did not have enough movement left to make contact.

Donzelot's Divisional column that represented the best hope for the 1st Corp now made it's charge. Volleys from the 7th Belgian Line and the 1/28th Line caused 3 casualties. Not great considering what had happened in the battle so far but it was enough to force the 1/17th Line to retreat. It's immediate impact was to disorder the 2/17th Line directly behind them before they streamed down either side of the column.

Continued ...

The Battle of Waterloo in 6mm Part 3

1.00pm - 2.00pm 

A note about how I dealt with the Grand Battery barrage. Wellington instructed all his units apart from Artillery and Skirmishers to ensure they were behind the ridge and they were to lie down (cavalry dismounted). I had Bylandt withdraw from the front of the ridge at 12.30pm and he formed up between Pack and Kempt's brigades as done historically. 

The Grand Battery was ordered to fire on the ridge and in a 30 minute period they expended 3,600 rounds of ammunition inflicting approximately 500 casualties. Not many for such a heavy barrage. A combination of cannon balls burying themselves in boggy ground rather than bouncing, and most of the allies were out of view lying prone no doubt limiting the damage caused. 

I therefore allocated a stretch of ground in front of each battery which was to become their target area. If an allied artillery battery was in view and in that area then they would be the target. For all others behind the ridge a die roll would be made for firing with a -4 applied (equivalent for against skirmishers) to allow for the hard cover occupied by the allies and the fact they could not be seen.   

The Grand Battery opens fire:

Continued ...

Building Templates for 6mm figures

The question of representing figures in buildings has come up several times in forums and facebook groups. Many of the 15mm mdf buildings have removable rooves but I have never seen this in 6mm and I doubt if it is practical.

I have been experimenting with sketching building templates on paper with the footprint equal to the number of figure bases it can contain (in my case 15mm x 15mm). When figures enter a building they are placed on the template. In this way it removes clutter on the tabletop (I used to place figures next to the building which was not really practical) and also prevents the need to physically remove the building replacing it with figures. I always thought that would look rather odd.

Here is an example of the templates I created for the Waterloo battle currently underway.

As you can see the building roughly correlates with its position in the village, farm, chateau etc. The paper is taped to a board which makes it easy to move around and quickly check who is where. When the building is attacked it is easy enough to quickly check the numbers contained therein.

I am still playing around with this and it will probably need some tweaking yet, but so far I am pleased with the results and for me anyway, it has solved an irritating problem.

For those with different base sizes it should be easy enough to adapt.

The Battle of Waterloo in 6mm Part 2

11.30am. - 1.00pm.

11.30am:

Napoleon issues his orders having surveyed his troops.

At 11.20a.m. 5 batteries of artillery bombard Hougoumont. Principally the woods and orchard. I represented this by one turn of artillery fire prior to the main attack at 11.30a.m.  All 5 batteries were firing on light infantry dispersed in a wooded area affording them some cover.

The Battle of Waterloo in 6mm Part 1

Background

 How the game will be played
Terrain & Figure details

Orbats

Situation at 11.30am. (photo tour of battlefield)

Background:

I can recall walking home from school one day in 1970 and seeing incredible posters up on billboards advertising the new 'Waterloo' film. I saw the film with friends and that, combined with Airfix releasing their Napoleonic sets and my new found hobby of wargaming, started a desire to play this battle. I had no idea at the time how I was going to play it. My collection of Airfix French infantry, Highlanders and Cuirassiers somehow fell short!

In the early 80's I turned to Heroics & Ros and began collecting and painting figures with the intention of playing it at a ratio of 1:25. A career change, house move and various other real life factors conspired against me and I momentarily too a break from wargaming in the late 80's - early 90's.

Nap Campaign: The 2nd Battle of Ainsworth (Prussia) Part 3

And the result of the Prussian Army Break Test is:-

Normally this would be the end of the game. However, this is a campaign! Whatever happens on the battlefield now could affect future events. I therefore created rules for this eventuality. This is an extract:

Nap Campaign: The 2nd Battle of Ainsworth (Prussia) Part 2

A little more detail now about what happened between Foy's Division and Kraft's Brigade. Firstly to clarify that it was not just Foy's Division but also included Gengoult's Brigade of the 10th Division. This brigade is in the centre right of the photo attacking the Prussians in the woods. The two brigades of Foy's Division are Gauthier's Brigade (attacking Prussians centre left) and Jamin's Brigade (bottom left and yet to engage). Gauthier's and Gengoult's Brigades had clashed with the Prussian 9th Infantry Regiment (strung out through the woods with all 3 battalions in contact). Immediately behind the 9th Infantry are the 2 battalions of the 26th Infantry (middle top) and the 3 battalions of the 1st Elbe Landwehr (in woods to right of 26th) and all in column formation. To the right of the photo is part of Reckow's 2nd Elbe Landwehr.

Nap Campaign: The 2nd Battle of Ainsworth (Prussia) Part 1

The night before the battle:

As dawn breaks on 18th March 1808, Blucher can now see what his scouts had been reporting. There was indeed a substantial force threatening his left flank. It was too late to redeploy. He therefore intended to hold his left flank with the forces available on that flank and gamble on a full concentrated attack on the French left intending to roll up the French flank. If he can break the Imperial Guard French morale will collapse.

Nap Campaign: Map moves 16th March - nightfall 17th March 1808

Nightfall 16th March

Nap Campaign: The Battle for Youngsport (Portugal)

The night before the battle:

Wellington selected a defensive line of hills to the north of Youngsport where he intended to hold off any French moves on the Portuguese capital, which was also the port of entry for any reinforcements from Britain. The flanks were protected by the sea on the left and a deep river on the right. The British troops were positioned on the left covering the coast road to Youngsport. The Portuguese were to hold the centre covering the main inland road to Youngsport, and the right flank. The newly arrived Spanish formed the reserve. British units were being rushed to the front line as soon as they had disembarked.