 |
| A reminder of the situation leading up to this battle. This is the night of the 17th April and will only broadly reflect where the troops will be positioned the following morning within their respective part of the battlefield. The numbers shown have changed slightly due to the change to Black Powder rules. Red 4 is Blantyre's Brigade along with the 2nd KGL Light Dragoons who will march to the sound of the guns during the morning of the 18th. |
Continued -
Table Size = 6'9" x 4'6"
Figures = Baccus 6mm
Rules = Black Powder 2
Start Time 0900 hours = 32 turns
The Battlefield
 |
| The square numbers are top 14A9 - 10. Middle 14A14 - 15. Bottom 14A19 - 20. |
14A9 – Firm grazing land, hedgerows, Farm, river deep.
14A10 – Soft cultivated land, Fences, Farm. Impenetrable swamp to the north.
14A14 – Open terrain, river deep, rough roads, stone bridge.
14A15 – Firm grazing land, fences, farm.
14A19 - Firm grazing land, fences.
14A20 – Soft cultivated land, fences.
Orders of Battle
Those familiar with my orders of battle from previous games will recognise these which are modified versions. I have left space next to each unit for any notes to be made. e.g. those that have been shaken or broken which will affect casualty figures.
The single letter column refers to the size of the unit with 'R' representing 'Standard' and the number the number of cannon models. I have retained the number of figures purely for my reference. The square box in various unit stats represents 'First Fire' and will be ticked off when utilised.
The square boxes in the Corps commander stats refers to the number of re-rolls each Corps Commander is allowed. ADC's can be despatched by Army Commanders to improve brigade or division command rolls as per the rules.
A note on unit sizes. All figure bases contain 6 infantry or 3 cavalry figures. I have settled on:
Infantry - Small = 4 bases, Standard = 6, Large = 8.
Cavalry - (each unit 2 bases deep) Small = 6, Standard = 8, Large = 10.
A reminder that an infantry base has a frontage of 15mm and cavalry 20mm
Artillery are 2 per battery and 1 per 1/2 battery or battalion gun.
Many battalions have suffered heavily from attrition leading to amalgamation with other units. For the French, their 2nd and 3rd Divisions were no longer viable as divisions in their own right and therefore the latter was scrapped with its surviving troops, now a single brigade, transferred to the 2nd Division. Many other brigades are struggling with fewer amalgamated battalions.
The Dutch and Hanoverians, who have been in action since the beginning, are similarly struggling.
 |
| A photo tour around the battlefield beginning with the Brunswickers on the allied right flank. |
 |
| Next to the Brunswickers are the Dutch/Belgians with their cavalry to the rear. |
 |
| A view of the Dutch and Brunswickers from the French position. |
 |
| The view towards the north of the allied line. The 3rd Division occupying the centre to the left. |
 |
| Supporting the 3rd Division are the two British heavy cavalry brigades. To the rear are the combined 1st and 2nd Life Guards of the Household Brigade. More regiments are en-route from Britain. |
 |
| The Anglo/Hanoverian 1st Division occupies the allied left flank. Here the Guards Brigade lines a hedgerow with Dornberg's light cavalry to the rear. |
 |
| Hanoverians occupy the most northerly allied position. |
 |
| The now legendary Hanoverian Brigade commanded by Best is positioned on the extreme left. |
 |
| Turning now to the French. The Young Guard and Guard light cavalry are in the centre of the photo with a large cavalry presence on the far left flank. |
 |
| The entire 4th Cavalry Corps now much depleted. |
 |
| In the French centre, the 2nd Division deploys across the front with the 7th Division in reserve to the rear. |
 |
| The 4th Division making use of as much cover as possible supported by the 1st Cavalry Division. |
A mouthwatering prospect! The French IV Cavalry Corps might be depleted, but it still looks scary to me. They do seem to have quite an edge on their left flank against the allies. On the other flank Best is blocking it all off - do you allow movement around eth flank to avoid the table-edge / edge-of-the-World issue?
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Rob. The French right flank abuts an impassable marsh so the edge of the table is the limit. On the opposite flank there is scope to leave the table if necessary. I underestimated how much space would be required and in hindsight would probably have added another 9" to the length on that flank.
DeleteWhat a splendid set up as always Jon:)! As Rob has said, the French left wing looks rather capable of flanking the Brunswick chaps as it stands, but let's hope not.
ReplyDeleteA few thoughts on BPII if I may be so bold, with the tweaks suggested below from the Glory Hallelujah! supplement and our own games:
- Units that make more than one move per Turn cannot then fire.
- Units can only charge those they can see at the start of the Turn.
- Fighting against units in BUA's is rather tough for the Attacker. Therefore for wooden buildings, a +1 morale bonus works well and +2 for brick or stone. The +3 we reserve for rather well fortified farms houses etc (think Hougomount).
- Also to give the ebb and flo of a contest for a BUA, we allow Defending units to retreat as per the result on the Breaktest, rather than ignoring it unless Broken. Hope that makes sense?
Many thanks Steve, especially the advice on rules changes. I will definitely add those which make a good deal of sense. It did seem odd to me that units could race across the battlefield and deliver a volley before the defenders could fire. Once I have my head fully around the rules I had intended making some tweaks if necessary and adding some of the more detailed 'useful rules' to those already implemented.
DeleteI made the right call not using the skirmish rules for now, the Brunswick Jagers being the exception. For a game of this size there is a real chance they would have fried my brain!
I agree with Steve J above, a fantastic set up Jon.
ReplyDeleteThe Brunswickers will need to roll really well!
Many thanks Ben. The Brunswickers are certainly going to need help!
Delete