Blucher Revisited

Hi Team

It's been a few months since I played a game of BLUCHER so Rowan and I decided to have another game.

We settled on 250 points each and Rowan commanded a Russian Army consisting of:

1. Guards Corps of Grenadiers, Heavy Cavalry and Massed Artillery, 

2. Corps of Cossacks, and; 

3. 2 Infantry Corps with Massed Artillery.

I commanded a 1814 French Army of 3 Infantry Corps, (one heavy with ‘Marie Louise’ Conscripts) and a Cavalry Reserve Corps. The Cavalry Corps and the 1st Infantry Corps were each blessed with a Brigade of Horse Artillery (both were to do sterling work on the day). 

 Above: The Troops deploy. The Blucher system of using Cards for deployment really goes a long way in creating that 'Fog Of War' feel so often missing from miniatures games.
Below: The French Deployment left to right:
2nd Corps: Mainly Conscripts with a single Brigade of Light Cavalry in support.
3rd Corps straddles the road, consisting of 'Marie Louise' conscripts and a Brigade of Lancers. Behind the hill in the centre is 1st Corps with the bulk being 'Veteran' Infantry and a Brigade of Hussars and massed Horse artillery. On the far right is the French Cavalry Reserve with 4 Brigades of  Cuirassiers and a massed Horse Artillery Brigade.

The French were able to get a localised advantage over on their right flank by ‘Reserve Marching’ (a swift redeployment) of the Reserve Cavalry Corps against the Cossacks. The Russian Guard Cavalry attempted valiantly to come to the aid of the scruffy Cossacks but were brutally handled by the French Cuirassiers and Carabiners. 

ABOVE: The Russian Guard Cavalry rush to help the beleaguered Cossacks as the Russian Infantry redeploy to their right and Grenadiers redeploy to their left,... This was judged by the French CinC as the best time to pressure the centre! 

This was surprising really given the superiority of the Russian Guard Cavalry being one point of elan stronger and having the 'SHOCK' trait. The French 'Heavies by 1814 are on poor mounts so only have an 'Elan' of 6 and no 'Shock'!

As this was going on the Russians on their right under Barclay d’Tolly advanced on the French left and the two garrisoned Villages. 

The French on THAT flank had a concealed Corps around some hills and d’Tolly seemed cautious and deployed his Corps into ‘Prepared’ (Squares and Dense Columns) as a Brigade of Chasseurs a Cheval hovered nearby.

As these events unfolded on the flanks the French advanced their 1st Corps which was predominantly veteran infantry supported by a Brigade of Hussars and a Massed Horse Artillery Brigade advanced in the centre.

ABOVE: Top right of the photo we see the French Cavalry Reserve clashing with Russian Guard Cavalry as the Hussars, Horse Artillery and Infantry of 1st Corps strike the Russian Infantry redeploying 

As the Russian left collapsed and centre was threatened d’Tolly and the Russian Grand Batteries spurred into action and captured the two villages!

ABOVE: Barclay d'Tolly's Corps advances but seems (from the French perspective) wary of the undisclosed French Brigades beyond the high Ground,... "Is that the French Imperial Guard? Is napoleon on the field"?

But the losses on the left and the rupture of the centre was enough to convince the Russian commander Marshal Kutosov to call it a day.

A great game where the dice rolls went the French way at the critical moments.
I also think my 'clearer' recollection of the rules (such as Reserve Moves) helped.

We did a couple of things wrong in regards to the rules but nothing major.

It's worth noting we used the excellent 'Scharnhorst' campaign system to create the battle which is fun in itself.  

A rematch is on the cards!

ABOVE: A contemplative French Commander contemplating why he has on such a ridiculous hat

The French Imperial Guard Cavalry

Hi Team
Like most wargamers interested in the Napoleonic era I eventually found myself drawn to attempting to recreate at least some part of Napoleon's 'Guard Imperial'.
The main motivation for doing so was my avid interest in The 100 Days (Waterloo) Campaign of 1815.
Many gamers of the period shun this campaign due to the fact it's a rather small campaign in comparison to the campaigns or 1805-06, 1809 or 1812-14.
Also, the British and her allies (or The Allies and the British) are not the traditional 'Stovepipe Shako wearing' icons we associate with The Duke of Wellington but a rather 'ignominious army'.
But for me I find it a fascinating campaign full of 'What Ifs'. Napoleon concieved a brilliant strategy but his execution was abysmal.
Anyway, it's also a campaign where we see his Guard pitching in unlike most campaigns where its held in reserve. The exception being the 1814 Campaign for France where The Guard was heavily involved,...
My French Imperial Guard not surprisingly is based on that Guard that was involved in the Waterloo Campaign.
I've gone with using exclusively the magnificent PERRY MINIATURES range in 28mm throughout.
So here they are so far,... (I've still to add the Polish Lancers).
FLAGS from GMB.
I've included a little blurb on each regiment obtained from Wikipedia (if you can believe that)!
  
 The Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale (in English: Horse Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard) constituted a light cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively. They were the second senior "Old Guard" cavalry regiment of the Imperial Guard, after the Grenadiers à Cheval. The regiment had its origins in the Guides raised by General Bonaparte during his Italian Campaign of 1796. It was the Chasseurs that usually provided personal escort to Napoleon, and he often wore the uniform of the regiment in recognition of this service. The regiment was not only known for its lavish uniform, but its combat history as well.

Chasseurs à cheval (on the left) protecting the Emperor at the Battle of Friedland, while cuirassiers salute him before their charge.The Emperor is again in his green colonel uniform of the Chasseurs à Cheval.

The Dragons de la Garde impériale (Dragoons of the Imperial Guard) was a heavy cavalry unit formed by Napoleon I through the decree of April 15, 1806. The "dragoon" regiments of the line had distinguished themselves in the German Campaign of 1805, and therefore Napoleon decided to reorganize the cavalry of the Guard and create within it a regiment of dragoon guards. This regiment was colloquially known as the Dragons de l'Impératrice (Empress' Dragoons), in honor of Empress Joséphine. Following the Bourbon Restoration, they were renamed Corps royal des Dragons de France (Dragoons of France Royal Corps) but were disbanded shortly afterwards. 

The Empress Dragoons at the battle of Hanau

The Gendarmes d'élite de la Garde impériale (English: "élite gendarmes of the Imperial Guard") was a gendarmerie unit formed in 1801 by Napoleon as part of the Consular Guard which became the Imperial Guard in 1804. In time of peace, their role was to protect official residences and palaces and to provide security to important political figures. In time of war, their role was to protect the Imperial headquarters, to escort prisoners and occasionally to enforce the law and limit civil disorder in conquered cities. The unit was renamed Gendarmes des chasses du roi during the First Bourbon Restoration but was disbanded in 1815 during the Second Restoration.

The Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale (in English: Horse Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard) constituted a heavy cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively. They were the senior "Old Guard" cavalry regiment of the Imperial Guard and from 1806 were brigaded together with the Dragons de la Garde Impériale.^[1]

A part of the Republican Consular Guard, the Grenadiers became the senior "Old Guard" heavy cavalry regiment when the Imperial Guard was founded, in 1804. Their maximum official complement was just over 1100 officers and troopers, commanded by a general of division or a seasoned general of brigade, with some of the most famous cavalrymen of the time as commander.

Rarely committed to battle during the Napoleonic Wars, they were usually kept in reserve, alongside the Emperor, during the most significant battles of 1804-1815. When sent into action, such as during the battles of Marengo, Austerlitz, Eylau, Hanau or Waterloo, as well as during a number of actions of 1814, results were usually impressive. The regiment was disbanded in 1815, after Napoleon's downfall and the second restoration of the Bourbons.

"Heads up, gentlemen, these are bullets, not turds". Colonel Louis Lepic harangues the Grenadiers à Cheval as they are forming for a charge under intense fire at the Battle of Eylau in 1807. Painting by Édouard Detaille at the Chantilly Museum.

The 2e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers de la Garde Impériale (English: 2nd regiment of light cavalry lancers of the Imperial Guard) was a light cavalry regiment in Napoleon I's Imperial Guard.^[1][2] They were formed in 1810, after the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France, but their original purpose was to serve as hussars of the Dutch Royal Guard.^[1][2] The units, who were of an elite order, were known for their loyalty and military might, as well as their professionalism in and out of battle

Col. Baron Pierre David de Colbert-Chabanais leading the Red Lancers at Waterloo

Quatre Bras Refight with FoG:N

ABOVE: The Battlefield at the commencement of the game.

This weekend myself and two friends decided to play a refight of Quatre Bras. With a FoG:N tournament approaching we decided that these rules would be an excellent set to use to fight the battle.

Arnaud (as usual) commanded the French Corps and would be Marshal Ney. Tyler would play the part of William, Prince of Orange and Wellington (on his arrived on the Battlefield).

The Orders of Battles I obtained from HERE.

To make the battle less predictable and more interesting I set up all of Ney's forces on the field with the exception of Jerome's Division arriving on the 2nd turn. The French heavy cavalry would arrive only on a roll of 4,5 or 6 on turn 3, on a roll of 3,4,5 or 6 on turn 4, and 2,3,4,5 or 6 any turn there after.

The Allies would start with only Perponcher two divisions on the field with all the other divisions of I Corps arriving over the next turns one division at a time

Viscount Hill's Corp, (II Corp) would arrive the next turn after the last of I Corps divisions with each division arriving as follows after rolling anything other than a 1 or a 2:

On a roll of 1 or 2 The Corps Cavalry

On a roll of 3 or 4: Sir Thomas Picton's Division

On a roll of 5 or 6: The Brunswick Infantry.

Simply put when the last of the 1st Corps arrived we roll a D6. As long as a 1 or 2 wasn't rolled the Corps commander would arrive with Wellington (Exceptional 'Charismatic') who would replace the Prince of Orange (Competent 'Charismatic').

Now another D6 was rolled. If a 1 or 2 was rolled then the following divisions from 2nd Corps would not arrived, assumed to be caught up in the traffic jam on the road leading to Quatre Bras. If a 3,4,5 or a 6 was rolled then another D6 was rolled to see WHICH division arrived.

Simple!

 ABOVE: The initial Allied deployment.
BELOW: The buildings of Quatre Bras.

 The battle opened with the two French infantry divisions advancing cautiously towards the Dutch Belgian lines. The French cavalry (a small brigade of lancers and a large brigade of Chasseurs) and their artillery support made a wide sweeping flanking move on the allies left flank.

Fortunately for the Allies just at that time the British Guards brigade arrived and quickly moved off the road to cover the allies' left flank.

This flanking movement from the French soon fizzled out to nothing. The French effort now switched to the Dutch Belgian brigades in the center to the west of the Charleroi - Brussels road.

BELOW: The French Lancers and Chasseurs a Cheval that attempted to envelope the Allies' left flank.

 BELOW: The French 5th Division

 BELOW: The French 9th Division commanded by Foy.

 As Prince Jerome's Division moved towards the French right flank in support of the now stalled cavalry movement another British division (LtGen Alten's 3rd Div) arrived consisting of the 5th Brigade of English battalions (the 33rd, 30th, 69th and 73rd Foot) and the Hanoverian Brigade consisting mainly of conscripts. The 5th Brigade moved off to support the English Guards on the allies left whilst the Hanoverians moved to support the Netherlanders and their German kin in the Nassau Brigades in reserve.

 ABOVE: The French 9th Division of Foy, Bachelu's 5th Division and in the distance the French 2nd cavalry Division of Comte Pire.
BELOW: French 2nd cavalry Division of Comte Pire. sweeping towards the allies left flank.

BELOW: The British Guards foil the French Cavalry sweep.

 ABOVE: Sporadic artillery fire in the center.
BELOW: The British Guards. Two Brigades block the French Cavalry.

 BELOW: The Hanoverian Brigade moves down the road. The British 5th Brigade moves up on the left of The Guards.

 ABOVE and BELOW: Action on the Allies' left flank.

 Impatient for a breakthrough and not willing to await the arrival of the Heavy Cavalry division that was a due to arrive Ney hurled the Guard Light Cavalry at the Netherlands Brigades and some Dutch artillery.

The Dutch Militia Brigade were in tactical formation and scrambled to form squares and the Dutch gunners ran to the British Guards for cover. 2000 Guard Chasseurs a Cheval, Mamalukes and Lancers descended upon the Dutch infantry. Their disordered squares were torn apart by the Guards just as the French heavies under General Kellerman arrived to support the developing attack in the centre. 

BELOW: The French Guard Light Cavalry move towards the center.

ABOVE: Foy's Division spars with the Belgian infantry
BELOW: The French Guard Light Cavalry commence their charge.

 After slaughtering the Dutch militia the Guard Lancers charged on again and crashed into the large Nassau Brigade (the 2nd Nassau Infantry Regiment) that was in reserve. Yet again the Prince of Orange's men could only form disordered squares and they too were swept away.

As the the French Guard cavalry was slaughtering the Dutch militia a Nassau Brigade (the 28th Orange-Nassau Regiment) was busy driving off Husson's 1st Brigade from Bachelu's 5th Division who had been caught withdrawing after a failed assault on the British artillery.

 The Allied cavalry division arrived as the French Guard cavalry had started their advance and moved off to the east in an effort to envelope the French cavalry that had now stalled in front of the British Guards.

BELOW: The all conquering Guard Lancers destroy all in their path.

 The situation was now as follows:

The French cavalry envelopment of the Allies left flank had stalled thanks to the British Guards and was now itself in danger of being enveloped by Dutch Belgian and Brunswick Cavalry.

The French Guard Light Cavalry Division had smashed both a Dutch and a Nassau brigade and was pouring into the centre whilst a Nassau Brigade had counter-attacked on the East side of the Charleroi - Brussels road and driven off a brigade of French infantry.

On the allies right flank very little had happened at all apart from the batteries exchanging some round shot.

Wellington now arrived on the battlefield to take over from The Prince of Orange. The large Hanovarian brigade was place in the center.

The Nassau brigade that had driven off the French 1st Brigade was now itself taken in the flank by counter-attacking French infantry and destroyed.

 The French Guard Chasseurs a Cheval now wheeled right and overran a battery whilst the Guard Lancers wheeled left and took the Belgian brigade in the flank and destroyed them on the edged of Bossu Wood. Only the 27th Jagers remained of the 2nd Netherlands Division!
BELOW: The Belgian Infantry Brigade is taken in flank by the Guard Lancers.

 Now the French Heavies came into action. The Cuirassiers and Dragoons charged through the gaping hole made by the Guard Light Cavalry and came charging onto the Hanovarian militia in the center.

An all to familiar pattern emerged. The Hanoverian militia failed to form solid squares and were run down by the French heavy cavalry. The British had deployed the 5th Brigade behind the Hanovarians but they suffered the same fate as the Dragoons followed through onto them. As had happened in the real Battle of Quatre Bras the British 5th Brigade had been cut to shreds by French Heavies,...

 ABOVE and BELOW: The Hanoverians meet their fate.

All the while the remaining divisions of the allies 2nd Corps had failed to arrive.

At this point Wellington conceded defeat and ordered the remains of 1st Corps to retreat towards Brussels.

It was a excellent game. The failed arrival of the Allies 2nd Corps sealed the fate or Orange\Wellington though if any of the Germans or Dutch had formed solid squares they might have held on long enough for the 2nd Corps to arrive and save the day.

It just wasn't meant to be.

Oh well,....

 ABOVE and BELOW: The destruction of the British 5th Brigade.

As usual, feel free to leave comments.

Cheers

UPDATE:
Eric asked a question that deserves a fuller explanation:
"Why do you refer to the units as Brigades when FoG:N says the units represent 'Regiments'"?

Hi Eric
I refer to the units as Brigades because that is what they are. The authors of FoG:N (for reasons I'll never understand) say the units represent Regiments. The truth is rarely did entire Regiments take to the field. Normally it was Battalions FROM regiments that would come together to form Brigades (a collection of Battalions). Let's look at a FoG:N unit in this battle. The Allied (Brit) 5th Brigade for example. 
To make a small unit in FoG:N (1200 to 2000 men) then we have 1 battalion from each of the 30th, 33rd, 69th and 73rd Foot each providing an average of about 500 men. NOT a Regiment at all. Actually 4 battalions from 4 different regiments. Now look at the French 1st Brigade from the 5th Division. 4 battalions from the 2nd Light Inf Regt and 2 battalions from the 61st Line for a total of just over 3000 men (a LARGE unit). Again, 2 different Regiments. To try and create two 'Regiments' would result in a SMALL 2nd Light Infantry but not enough (only 800 men) to make a SMALL 61st Line Regiment. So I settled on a LARGE Light Infantry unit with a SKIRMISH element due to the preponderance of Light Infantry from the 2nd Light Infantry.  
By contrast the 2nd Brigade of the  2nd Netherlands Brigade consists of 1 LARGE unit made up of 3 battalions from the 2nd Nassau Line regiment with a total of 2600 men! 
Oh and all the miniatures are either AB Miniatures and a handful of Fantassin / warmodeller figs.
I'd use FoG:N if you are trying to fight the whole battle or Lasalle if you want to fight just a part, like the fighting around Bossu Wood.