From my side of the table... Action dans la vallée de Platteville... 1870

Greetings...


My lovely daughter came over on Saturday for a game of toy soldiers...
We decided to get the Franco-Prussian collection out and play Action in the Platteville Valley from Donald Featherstone's War Games... Using Black Powder.

This was one of the first wargames books I ever owned and still one of my favourites... I thought it was about time Mharaid was introduced to this scenario...

The table set up ... with sunbeams dancing across the meadows...

The initial deployment... Mharaid... aka...Von Rust took command of the Prussians... to the left of this picture... and I... Malchanceux... took the French...of course.

Rust's advance guard made a dash for the hill...

I blundered...

Throwing a one...

Sends me back off the table... a classic start!

Rust also blundered... but rolled a six...

Which means that her next brigade charges on to the field of battle... sigh!

The rest of the Prussians move forwards...

My beautiful cavalry make a dash for the bridge...

My infantry head towards the field and hopefully on to Platteville...

Our forces move towards each other... even my advanced guard have got onto the field of battle...

My infantry continue there advance... somewhat slower than I would like...

 

As Rust moves forward at a good pace... My Light Infantry/Advance Guard refuse to deploy into open order...

But still manage to inflict the first casualties... Hurrah!

 In her turn Mharaid proved that she too can roll bad dice.... or is she luring me into a false sense of security....

I sadly forgot to take the pictorial evidence ... but this is the aftermath of me stomping all over Rusts light horse...

This is how things looked when we popped out for a bit of lunch at my local...

It doesn't look to bad for the French...

Rust appears to be out of luck as I charge her infantry in the flank... Hurrah!

 

As Rusts centre spreads out... unlike my Advance Guard... my Infantry seem to have problems getting across the field... maybe its the fresh brambles in the hedges or the carrots in the ground they just wont move forward...

As my infantry make like fish in a barrel waiting to be shot...

My beautiful cavalry give some of Rusts infantry a good kicking... I like my beautiful cavalry.

Alas in the background you can just see my Advance Guard buggering off for good... sigh!

I new it was going to well... my Chasseur d'Afrique Blunder their way back to the bridge...

This is the dice roll for my men in the field firing... the black dice is of course Mharaid's save for the only hit I got...

This is Mharaid's return fire in her move...

Ha!... Saved them all...

And again...

Ha! I say Ha!

Unfortunately this is as good as it gets...

 

My men stubbornly refuse to charge or even advance forward towards the enemy...

I failed all of my activation rolls... I had no intention of retiring voluntarily... where would the fun be in that!

Mharaid continued to roll high and shot all those fish that I had so kindly put in a barrel for her...

Another victory for my daughter and another excellent day in her company... which is really what it is all about...

Till the next time...

I can always dream of my beautiful cavalry doing glorious deeds...

All the best  Aly