Greetings...
This weekend to celebrate a visit from the lovely Chris Cound ,Alan Perry hosted a splendid Black Powder Napoleonic Game... Which he has called the battle of Caldburg.
Alan used the same method for hidden movement that he had used in his A.C.W. game...
http://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-my-side-of-table-battle-of.html
The brigades being represented by mounted brigadiers with a number of blanks added to reflect the fog of war...
The brigadiers moved each turn and only revealed their true nature when they were within 30"...
Dave Andrews and I took the part of the glorious Austrian Army... while Michael Perry and Chris were the French/Allied land grabbing tyrants...
Dave and I had a cunning plan... well it was more of a suggestion of an idea of a plan...
We could see that we were probably out numbered so... we decided to run away and pretend that we could not find the enemy... unfortunately hotter heads prevailed...
We decide to put almost our entire force on our left flank and attempt to fight our battle on as narrow a frontage as possible... This took the enemy(and Alan) entirely by surprise... the main part of the French would have to cover a lot more ground to face our brigade of grenadiers that were holding our right flank while our right would overwhelm their German allies on our left... it nearly worked ...
Unfortunately we had forgotten that Alan had halved the moves and ranges and we placed our grand battery to far away to be of any use... doh!
And of course there was my dice throwing...
Our 'Brigadiers' start to arrive...
The first of the enemy are exposed...
My first brigade and Dave's brave Landwehr and Inssurectio... or road bumps as they were referred to...
French heavies... Booo...
My brave cavalry rush in to thump some insolent French Hussars...
Massed artillery... not where it should be...
Some thumping...
The French Allies brace themselves...
Here they are trying to hide behind a house...
Bavarians trying to look brave...
Austrians being brave... for the moment .
Our right flank... looking very pretty...
Our cavalry in the centre... also looking very pretty...
Our brave Grenadiers await the enemy... bravely...
Very pretty... its a shame those guns are in the wrong place...
Even I have to admit that the enemy look pretty...
Another shot of our manly cavalry...
Our Landwehr/Inssurectio show how brave they are... and move forward to collect some lead for the Emperor...
My brave troops eagerly rush forward to get at the enemy...
These guys don't seem as keen...
The Landwehr/Inssurectio decide that the Emperor now has enough lead to keep him going for a while...
Glorious...
My heroic men get up close and personal...
Dave's cavalry punish the Bavarians for not getting into a square fast enough...
Dave's Lancers prepare to get stuck in...
A birds eye view... That infantry brigade could do with moving a bit faster...
My men blast the Allies with our powerful volleys...
The Grenadiers start to engage the enemy...
The Lancers move through the exhausted dragoons and prepare to give the Bavarian Horse some stick...
After moving fresh battalions into the firing line we continue the fire fight...
'That' Infantry brigade decide that they may have left a Strudel in the oven...( yup! a double 6 followed by a double 1)
My volley's smash the German Allies and force them go and check their own strudel...
On our right flank the Grenadiers eventually break and join the strudel hunt...
With two broken brigades each and it being beer o'clock we decided to call it a draw...
A splendid game which could have gone either way... If only that other brigade hadn't been so... crap!
An alternative version of this truth can be found here...
https://www.facebook.com/perryminiatures/posts/2173514316103996?__tn__=K-R
All the best Aly
Wonderful looking game Aly and so many, dare I say it, pretty troops on an incredibly handsome table. Very enjoyable read.
ReplyDeleteHi Carlo...
DeleteIt’s a joy to be able to take part in such a game...
It’s also a terrible temptation...
All the best. Aly
Splendid spectacle—a prime example of why Napoleonics holds such an enduring place in the hobby. “Beer O’ Clock”—I’ll have to use that one 😁. Always an educational experience to visit these parts.
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed a spectacle... I was very taken by The Confederation of the Rhine troops...
DeleteBeer O’ Clock... one of the better times in the day... ;-)
All the best. Aly
An entertaining yarn and splendid pictures to start a fine morning with. Suitably inspired to go and give Billy Yank a damn good thrashing later.
ReplyDeleteThank you Phil...
DeleteGo with a cunning plan... then run away... that’s what I mostly do... ;-)
All the best. Aly
Great looking game that 'teddybear' mat looks very effective .
ReplyDeleteAlan has used many different materials on his table and has got them to tie in together superbly...
DeleteAll the best. Aly
A splendid looking game and a great write up.
ReplyDeleteThank you Paul...
DeleteI think I did rather well... only one blunder. ;-)
All the best. Aly
Only one blunder... you just weren't trying ;)
ReplyDeleteI’m saving them up for later... ;-)
DeleteAll the best. Aly
Another wonderful looking game, Aly! Is it, “No plan survives contact with the enemy” or “we met the enemy and it is us” ??
ReplyDeleteI think it is definitely “we met the enemy and it is us”... ;-)
DeleteAll the best. Aly
What a wonderful! Beautiful units and terrain. A true feast for the eyes.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
It is indeed....
DeleteAll the best. Aly
A wonderful looking game enriched by your unique style of AAR.
ReplyDeleteThank you David...
DeleteI only write what I see ... Honest...
All the best. Aly
Beautiful looking game I do wish I could summon the courage for 28 mm Napoleonics perhaps one day..........after AWI. I will definately use the blind method in a future acw game.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Napoleonics is that there is so much choice...
DeleteNot a good thing for a butterfly like me...
The hidden movement worked really well...
All the best. Aly.
What a wonderful spectacle.
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed...
DeleteAll the best. Aly
Great looking game with beautiful figures Aly....and your dice rolling seems to be improving slowly😊
ReplyDeleteI am hoping to drag my way up to ‘average ‘...
DeleteAll the best. Aly
Lovely looking game and a great narrative, I've decided to make a start on 28mm Napoleonic now,if I leave it any longer I'll run out of time before I die!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thank you Iain...
DeleteI think next year is going to be a bit Napoleonic for me...
As well as getting on with my Shiny Napoleonic project I want to do Napoleon in Egypt... it’s all to pretty to resist... ;-)
All the best. Aly
Beautiful game and entertaining report. I too have joined the strudel hunt many times, lol!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jay...
DeleteI do believe that the Strudel Hunt should be a game in its own right...
All the best. Aly
Fabulous looking game Aly. I think you need to invest in some new dice.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I don’t think it’s the dice...I was using Alan’s...
DeleteI think it’s me....:-/
All the best. Aly
The dice gods will not be fooled by such subterfuge, I know I tried it ;~)
DeleteAbsolutely beautiful looking game!
ReplyDeleteWith games like this... the temptation to drop everything and dive into Napoleonics is incredible...
DeleteBut I am being strong...
Next year however..?
All the best. Aly