'Worst Case Scenario #5' - The Action at Ursensollen, April 14th, 1809

The two screening forces probe for a weakness in their opponent's line.

A couple weeks ago we flew out to Montreal for a short four-day vacation.  On top of lots of great food, fun shopping and some fabulous visits to museums, I also had the great pleasure to meet up with John, Iannick and Nicolas for a Napoleonic game.

A bronze by Vincenzo Vela of Napoleon meditating at St. Helena. Behind him is a painting by Laslett Pott 'Arriving in Front of Moscow' - Weider Collection, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Napoleon's bicorne worn at Borodino. Aso examples of his boots, gloves and shirt - Weider Collection, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

We had been planning this get-together for a few months and in the Tilsit-like preparatory negotiations it was agreed that I'd put on a scenario using my home-brew rules, 'Food for Powder'.

While chatting with the guys online I found that John wanted something historical-based while Iannick preferred a scenario that was fun and challenging (and Nicolas seemed blissfully amenable to anything). So I decided to do something a little different and put together a scenario whose main goal for the combatants was not to get drawn into a pitched battle, but rather conduct a cautious reconnaissance-in-force which could be escalated only if deemed appropriate.

I chose a very small engagement that occurred in the opening days of the 1809 campaign, near a little village called Ursensollen in Bavaria. For each side I wrote up a short preamble describing the central characters, the events leading up to the action, the forces involved and a map of the battlefield.

The French Briefing:

The Austrian Briefing:

Victory Points for Both Sides

+1 point for Identifying Enemy Formations (come within 12")

+2 points for causing an enemy unit to become Spent

+5 points for reaching enemy horizon (12" in from each sides' table edge)

-3 points for having a friendly unit become Spent

-1 point for bringing forward a unit from theTactical Reserve (per unit)

I have to say I was more than a little nervous about the whole affair. While I had chatted with the guys through email and the blogosphere I had never actually met any of them face-to-face. Also, as I was debuting my set of rules to an experienced group of unknown players. I was more than a little worried that they'd not only hate them, but that the scenario would also go pear-shaped and I'd basically find myself wrecking their hard-earned gaming weekend. So, with these paranoid thoughts racing through my mind, I began to have a small case of stage fright as we descended into Montreal.

Well thankfully all my worries were for nothing. You really couldn't meet a better bunch of guys. They were such a pleasure to hang-out with, were incredibly gracious and exercised infinite patience with my stammering and rambling through the game. In short I had a fabulous day out. 

We had a little bit of a late start, but I took my time explaining both the rules and the scenario as I wanted everything to be as clear as possible before the cannonade began. John took command of the French, filling the shoes of General Friant, while Iannick and Nicolas represented the fractious dual Austrian command of Fresnel and Klenau.

The French force stepping off from Kastl with Friant in the lead. The majority of the figures are from  Iannick's beautiful collection of 28mm figures.

At the beginning, both sides had very small screening forces which the players pushed out to see if they could probe and get past their opponents. John advanced aggressively and came very close to punching through the Austrian screen with several squadrons of Chasseurs, but bad luck fouled his plans as some Austrian Jagers managed to crash into square and see off the French probe.

French Chasseurs closing on a battalion of Jagers.

The Austrians unlimbered their 6-pounders and began to punish the approaching French columns but John (Friant) gamely pressed on. The French Chasseurs seeing another opportunity prepared to force their way through, but the Austrians uncharacteristically seized the initiative and ran-up some reinforcements from Ursensollen to stiffen their left flank. Undaunted, the Chasseurs focused their efforts to charge the bolstered Jagers but, in-turn, were taken in the flank by Austrian Uhlans who had forced their way through their own artillery train to come to grips (it was a little generous on the GM's part to allow this but nonetheless it was very cinematic). The clash was decisive and the French cavalry were sent reeling back towards their own lines.

Uhlans advancing with Hussars in support. (These are 'imports' I brought from home)

At around this point both sides brought forward infantry reserves but they chose to shield them from each other's vision by positioning them in dead ground so no intelligence was gained by either side. Very smart.

Just as the Austrian left became more secure due to the efforts of the Uhlans the French began to probe aggressively on the right. A French column pressed back the Austrian screening force of Jagers while one of it's sister battalions began to skirt on the far right flank, advancing towards Ursensollen.

It was around there that we had to stop for the day. The action was still very much up in the air. The Austrians had achieved some rousing local victories but they had not really moved forward towards their objective. The French on the other hand hand had suffered some casualties but were advancing across the entire front and were in a postion where they had a good opportunity to be able to unscreen the Austrian reserves. 

It was a very interesting game and I quite enjoyed watching it all unfold. All of the players did a superb job in keeping to the spirit of the scenario. Neither side wanted to bring up their reserves until they were desperately needed, which gave a very 'napoleonic' feel to the game. I also really liked how they both screened their forces to give nothing away to their opponents' prying eyes - again very characteristic to the period.

Above is a pic of us which I've shamelessly poached from Iannick's fine blog Clash of Empires. Check his blog out as it features many other great shots from the game. (From left to right: Nicolas, John, myself and Iannick)

The rules came off pretty well in the post-game discussions. The guys gave me some great feedback and I think I may have convinced them to try them again in the future. The best part is that I think I've found an excellent reason to have an annual trip to Montreal (as if the food and sights weren't enough)! 

Thanks to John, Iannick and Nicolas for being such great sports. I'm very much looking forward to our next game together. 

(For those who may be interested in taking a look at 'Food for Powder', my plan is to have a playtest version ready for limited release by the end of the Christmas break.) 

Somewhere on the Road to Corunna: A Small Napoleonic Game Using 'Food for Powder'

Lately I've been working on our household set of Napoleonic rules, 'Food for Powder', toying with a couple mechanics and playing around with a few new ideas. So this past weekend I wanted to get in a playtest of the edits to see if we could bust them in actual game play. To keep things simple we played a small game based on a scenario that I've put on several times in the past which seems to give a consistently quick yet decent game.

The scenario is an old chestnut set during the Peninsular War - a holding action at a bridge during Moore's retreat to Corunna. The scene features a weak British brigade of three battalions striving to buy enough time for their engineers to rig the bridge for demolition before the French vanguard can force its way through. A more detailed description of the smaller-scaled scenario can be found here.

The French push back a British battalion towards the river. The 'socket-trays' for the skirmishers are from Warbases.

All of these photos shown are from the last turn of the game.

As a short summary of the highlights, the French, commanded by Peter and Sylvain, advanced towards the British position (run by Stacy) along two lines of approach.  Sylvain's brigade, not being as obstructed by intervening terrain, went into action first. His lead battalion took a good deal of punishment on it's advance from two sections of Royal Horse Artillery along with musket volleys from a blocking British battalion, but they weathered the fire to go into close assault. The resulting melee battered the English infantry, but ultimately the French were spent and had to withdraw from the action.

The French press the British left flank. The 'Advance' marker denotes the path of march which was ordered for this French brigade.

Not to be deterred, Sylvain pushed his second battalion through the remnants of the first, shrugged off the resulting disorder it caused, and closed in for another assault. (At this point Stacy and I looked at each other in amazement as Sylvain typically has all the aggression of a slightly piqued French professor; which, well, he is.)  

So, while being disordered by crashing through their sister battalion, and being mauled by shot and shell, the second French battalion managed to beat all odds, stagger ahead and throw back the British line towards the bridge (the appalling rolls by Stacy at this point were truly epic). By this point two of the three French battalions were broken or spent, but the British opposing the remainder were ground down and falling back.

Peter's French force advancing on the British position. Dragoons at the top pausing while the infantry goes  into the assault.

On the other flank, Peter's French force included a small regiment of Dragoons to which he made good use of by placing them in the vanguard. As the green-clad cavalrymen approached the bridge they induced one of the British battalions to form square. Peter played it cool by not committing his cavalry to the charge, using them instead as a pinning force while his infantry came up for the assault. The British were again pushed back and they began to look nervously to the bridge to see what was holding the Engineers up.

A few squadrons of French Dragoons threatening the British right flank.

The last of the French infantry working its way through rough terrain.

As if on cue, the Engineers signaled that the bridge would be blown in two turns - intoning that it would be best if the brigade extricate themselves and get back over the river before they were cut off. Before we called it for the night we decided to see which side would have initiative for the next turn. The dice were cast and it was determined it would be the French who would react first. We reasoned that it will be a little touch and go for the British as the bridge could quite easily become swamped with men trying to escape to the other side. The French would probably be stopped at the river, but at the cost of a mauled British brigade and perhaps a few guns.

A photo taking in most of the action. The British are being forced into a thumb-shaped perimeter around the foot of the bridge (a precursor to another bridge action in 1944...)

It was great fun to break out the Napoleonics again and the rules seemed to hang together under the strain. Peter had not played the rules before but he picked up the essentials in a couple turns - which is an encouraging sign. There is still some work to be done on them but I think we're getting very close to having a solid beta playtest version soon.

Napoleonic Scenario: Vandamme's Assault on the Stare Vinohrady, Austerlitz December 2nd, 1805

Last weekend Greg and his lovely wife, Linda, came for a holiday weekend visit to which we all ate and drank to excess and caught up on our sleep. Greg and I also took the requisite time to game like men possessed. On top of a suitably bloody game of SAGA, and reacquainting ourselves with 'Conflict of Heroes' we also played a cataclysmic 'Spearhead' scenario set in the opening hours of Kursk. These were all great fun, but undoubtedly the main event was our Napoleonic scenario based on the French attack on the Allied center at Austerlitz in December 1805.

Historically, Vandame's assault on the Stare Vinohrady was virtually a non-contest. The remnants of the mauled Allied IV Column, composed of six battalions of the IR#23, five severely reduced Russian battalions and their attached artillery, tried to hold the heights, but the French had both the numbers and the quality to quickly overwhelm them. Nevertheless, in reading the numerous accounts of the engagement I thought there were a few 'what-ifs' that  if cobbled together could make a viable, if somewhat asymmetrical scenario. The following is what piqued my interest:

• Scott Bowden's 'Napoleon and Austerlitz' describes the Austrian and Russian contingents as separate actions even though they occurred very close to one another on the Pratzen Heights. I think much of this had to do with both the difficulty of communication between the Austrian and Russian partners along with the fact that the Allies wanted to cover-off as much of the heights as possible. Nonetheless, what if the Allies had drawn themselves closer together to better support one another, would it have helped?

• Bowden further describes that the two Allied contingents did not make good use of the available ground, which had several vineyards below the summit (thus the name 'Vinohrady'). These would have slowed down infantry attacks and pretty much nullified threats from cavalry. Historically the Allies deployed well back from the vineyards, surrendering their advantages to the French light infantry. So what if the Allies had positioned their forces to take better advantage of the available ground, could it have aided their defence of the heights?

• In David Chandler's 'Austerlitz, 1805' he obliquely mentions another unit of Kolowrat's command, Infantry Regiment #24, being in support of IR#23. Reportedly this was a depot battalion of around 400 conscripts, but I reasoned that every man would have helped to spread out the line on the Heights and so included them in my Order of Battle. I also added cavalry support to both sides. The French had access to Boye's Dragoon brigade (which was historically on-hand) and the Allies now have two regiments (Dragoons and Hussars) originally from Liechtenstein's V Column of cavalry and Wodiansky's Advance Guard. So, finally, what if the Allied High Command had released more cavalry assets to the defence of the Heights?

So for our scenario I incorporated the above conjectures and worked with the hypothesis that Kolowrat and Miloradovich have decided to concentrate and coordinate their efforts thereby bringing their forces together - forcing Vandamme to engage them as a combined force on the summit, on advantageous ground of their choosing. 

A map of the rough dispositions of the two armies as seen at the start of the action. 

For our game we used our home-grown rules, 'Food for Powder', which do a very good job of reflecting unbalanced engagements. This battle was actually fairly large for a battalion-level game (24 battalions, 4 regiments of cavalry and 3 batteries of guns) so we played it on a 6x10 surface to give us enough room to maneuver. Some may notice that I did not model the Heights on the tabletop - in my reading it seemed to suggest that the path Vandamme took on his assault was along a very gradual slope and therefore would not have granted much tactical superiority to the Allies so I decided to leave out modeling the Heights for sake of clarity.

The Stare Vinohrady today as seen from Vandamme's initial positions.

For our battle we had John and Dan on the French side, while Greg and Sylvain ran the Austrians and Russians respectively.

Here the French commanders, Dan and John, look on with Stacy (on the right) assisting as umpire.

Greg and Sylvain commanded the Austro-Russian force.

The first turn was fairly quiet, seeing the French move towards the heights along their entire front, including their guns. For the Allies, they stayed in place but were very lucky in their reinforcement roll and an composite brigade of cavalry (Austrian Hussars and Dragoons) arrived on their right flank. Greg formed them up in column of squadrons, with the Hussars leading and the Dragoons in support.

In the second Turn the French brought in their own cavalry in the form of Boye's bigade of Dragoons (under Dan). They deployed on the French right flank, in extended column of squadrons, diagonal to the Austrian cavalry. This choice of deployment had a critical impact in the following turns for both sides as the cavalry had free reign in each of their sectors. Eyebrows were duly raised with this heap of snorting cavalry showing up on the tabletop all at once.

Boye's Dragoon Brigade heading towards the Russian line.

Amongst our group, Sylvain is legendary for his caution so you can imagine the hoots of derision when he began to retrograde his Russians in response to the arrival of the French Dragoons. (As you will see Sylvain had the last laugh as his refusal of the left flank probably saved the Allied line.)

Shown here are three of the five understrength and exhausted Russian battalions that held the Allied left flank.

The third turn was a corker. First thing you have to understand that Dan is the antithesis of Sylvain. I like to think of Dan as the General Haig of miniature wargaming. To Dan's way of thinking 'If the first assault does not break them then the twelfth will certainly do the trick...' As such Dan's French Dragoons duly charged the Russian left flank as soon as they got the chance. Since the charge began from a long distance away (practically in Vienna) the Russian battalions had enough time to form squares. Undeterred, Dan noted that most of the Russian squares were not well-formed (our rules differentiate between 'solid' and 'hasty' squares) and so sent in the leading regiment of Dragoons to see if the Russians would loose their bottle. It was not meant to be. The Russians held their position and repulsed the Dragoons, but not without suffering some casualties and disorder in their ranks.

The nervous Austrian line, jammed full of conscripts and raw troops.

Meanwhile in the center, one French battalion decided to take the bit by the teeth and move ahead of the advance in line formation... While up the slope the two Allied artillery batteries hammered away at the approaching French columns, who inexplicably neglected to shake-out into less target-rich line formations and so consequently paid the price.

Back to the Allied left, Greg noted the impetuous advance of the solitary French battalion with an arched eyebrow, and thought it was too good of an opportunity for his Austrian Hussars to pass up. Greg knew he'd have to 'roll Vegas' to get the requisite moves in order to close, but he rolled the dice hoping they'd be kind to him. Well, the dice gods were smiling on Austria and Greg managed change formation, sound the charge and head for the French battalion.

The Austrian Hussars receive their order to charge...

Several French squares watch apprehensively as the Austrian Hussars begin to move across their front...

Again, as the charge originated from so far away the French battalion had a very good chance to form square. In 'Food for Powder' there are Impetus Dice (good mojo) and Friction Dice (bad mojo). Both Impetus and Friction are drawn from unit quality, officer rating and environmental conditions. Both are rolled simultaneously and you literally have to take the good with the bad (or vis a vis). Well, John rolled well enough with his Impetus dice, but the Friction roll was completely off the register - to the extent that the French battalion continued to trudge along, wondering why the ground was shaking, trumpets were blaring and their comrades to the rear were waving their arms and shouting...

'Ah! Zee target is in sight - Sound ze Charge!!'

A French ADC tries to warn the battalion of its imminent danger...

As John would say later, his battalion 'had the distinct misfortune of being ridden down by the 'flyboys' of the Horse & Musket era'. The only thing that saved the French battalion from complete annihilation was that the Austrian Hussars were at the end of their tether and very fatigued, so the mauled survivors were able to make their escape.

... but too late - the Hussars are upon them!

Turn four saw the French grind forward, closing with the Allied positions while the Russian and Allied guns gutted a French column. Nonetheless, the 1st of the 57th 'Le Terribles' got into action against the Russians and quickly broke a battalion that had been forced into square by the nearby French Dragoons. The French guns were dragged forward 'by bricole' and unlimbered in preparation to punish the tightly packed Russian formations. I'm sure there were many muttered prayers in those formations...

In the center Greg knew his victorious Hussars were desperately exposed and winded so he committed his remaining cavalry, the Dragoons to try to cover their retreat.  This turned out to be a little Pyrrhic as the Dragoons were shot to pieces by every French battalion's voltigeurs on their 'Death Ride' to the Hussars' support. Nonetheless, the exhausted 'flyboys' of the game managed to get extricated and began their ride back to Austrian high command to present the French colours they had captured.

Kolowrat receiving the news of the capture of a French eagle.

I'm sorry I cannot give a final account of the scenario as this is where we decided to break for the evening (we spent a lot of time laughing, eating and drinking.) Nonetheless, we looked over the field at 'halftime' and surmised that while the French had certainly been rebuffed in a few areas they were still in an excellent position on the Allied left flank to start an envelopment with combined arms. The fragile Allied line composed of reduced battalions and conscripts had not yet been truly tested and it would be touch-and-go to tell how it would turn out for them. It was really anybody's game.

Looking from the French left across the battlefield.

It was great fun, and all of it due to an excellent bunch of guys to game with. I extend my thanks to them all for making the night so entertaining. A special thank you goes to Greg and John who both travelled great distances to attend and brought many beautiful toys from their own collections in order to make the game that much more colourful - bravo! 

I had such a good time that I'm already planning for the next Napoleonic weekend...

From Curt: 28mm Napoleonic French Cuirassier Unit / Casualty Stand & French Aide-de-Camp (20 points)

A few months ago I began to play around with developing unit / casualty stands for my Napoleonic collection. I wanted something that could pack as much information into one spot and would still look okay on the tabletop. 

I came up with a concept based around a 50mm circular base that would incorporate a 'fin' to mount a unit name card, a couple 'sockets' for 7mm dice to track a unit's status and enough room leftover to make a small vignette with a couple figures.

These have worked out pretty well with the only interm change being that I've added an third dice 'socket'.  (In our 'Food for Powder' rules the dice help track the status of 'Fatigue', 'Friction' and 'Esprit de Corps' - basically hit points). I'm in the midst of making enough for all twelve of my current French infantry battalions and so thought I should do-up a few for my cavalry as well.

Ever since I first saw the 28mm Perry cuirassier casualty set a few years ago I have been keen to work on them. Its funny as I don't even have a cuirassier unit yet, but I couldn't resist using one of the figures as the basis of a unit stand. I've painted him as a trooper of the 3rd Cuirassiers, who served with the 12th and the Carabiniers in Nansouty's Division at Aspern-Essling and Wagram where they saw some pretty hard action.

The second figure is a Perry Miniatures French Aide-de-Camp madly galloping to issue orders to an awaiting brigade.  In our rules these ADC figures carry 'impetus' dice from higher level commanders down to their subordinates to facilitate more complex brigade orders. They also can carry 'Friction' dice if the ADC is serving a particularly incompetent commander - thereby chaos can ensue from botched/misinterpreted orders.

These two lads will give me another 20 points. I can see a depressing theme here... 

Next will be more of these unit stands and the last of my Normans for SAGA.

Battle Report: 'Ney on Ice' - Part II (using 'Food for Powder': a Black Powder variant)

As described in my last post, this scenario set an 'allied army' of Russians and British against a French division commanded by Marshal Ney. 

The game started with the British deployed in one corner of the table to which they had to move across the long length and exit the other side. They were composed of four highly trained infantry battalions, a battery of Royal Horse Artillery, two sections of rocket artillery and two squadrons of Light Dragoons.

The Russians...