An Unfortunate Event

John put on this Napoleonic game using the rules from Neil Thomas's 'Introduction to Wargaming'. I have been interested in using his nineteenth century set and these bore a very close resemblance. This particular game featured the Austrians and French, I got the latter and the CO bore a striking resemblance to the Corsican Ogre.

Le petit caporal surveys proceedings from a handy hill.

Austrians masses massing in the distance.

My brave chaps march forwards to secure the first hill.

The main weight of the French was on the right, aiming to outflank the cumbersome Austrians.

The Austrians lumbered up to their hill. The reverberations of their boots made the camera shake.

Over on the right we press on against the Austrians in the distance.

Over the hill we go.

Meanwhile on the right we deploy in l'ordre mixte.

Having been shot at by artillery and menaced by cavalry, we fall back and hide in square on the reverse slope of our hill. Well, it is keeping the Austrians busy.

A bloody firefight ensues on the right, battalions melt away but the Austrian cavalry is driven off by the French.

The French left reforms.

The light infantry battle does not go so well for the French. Oh well, what was that saying about omlettes an eggs?

With the Austrian reserves commited to protect their left, the French left surges forwards once more. Grenadiers led by Napoleon himself.

Desperate fighting continues on the right. The Austrians reduced to less than three bases can't form square and are threatened by the French cavalry.

Infantry and cuirassiers approach the Austrian hill.

The Austrian right is reduced to a single stand, victory is in sight!

Things don't go so well on the left as the cuirassiers are repelled by Austrian Grenadiers fighting in line. Oh dear!

Finally snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the French cavalry fail to overrun one weakened Austrian regiment, and the other Austrians defeat the French infantry in hand to hand combat. Zut alors!

Well, there we have it, never have we seen such a promising situation messed up so completely in a few turns. The Austrian victory cries were thunderous, and the French may have lapsed into somewhat coarse Anglo-Saxon at several points. Ahem.

I really enjoyed this, despite being thrashed. A great set of rules with some very, very clever ideas (the treatment of artillery supports is simply genius) and they produced some really tense moments. As it was the first time we'd played them, the game went on a bit longer than we normally like, but I'd certainly want to play them again and it has made me keener to put on a nineteenth century game.