General Wargaming

Battle of Albuera, July 1815

Posted by Ochoin on 15 Jan 2018, 11:07

Our fourth & final (for a while) Napoleonic game was fought out yesterday on a scorching Queensland Summer’s Day (40c).

The scenario was a disguised historical battle (Albuera) set in Belgium sometime after a French victory at Waterloo.
An Anglo-Dutch force, under Orange (miraculously healed from the bullet wound inflicted by Sharpe) held their ground against a larger French army under Marshal Davout (rushed up from Paris to replace Ney).

The A-D had some Veteran British infantry brigades but also recruit-quality Dutch-Belgians & a Campaign quality D-B light cavalry brigade. In terms of unit size & quality, they tended to the extremes. The French on the other hand were nearly exclusively solid Line quality.

The battle ended with an emphatic win for the Anglo-Dutch.

POI:
1. We have now all had at least one game and the ‘General D’armee’ rules have everyone’s seal of approval
2. Whilst a few rules (eg the fact all cavalry moves at the same speed, you can’t fire a village, & the Destiny rules) may or may not need tweaking in the future, the rules produce a fast, enjoyable & acceptable result.
3. Skirmishers, used aggressively by both sides suffered. Indeed, a skirmish line of 95th Rifles, attempting to shot up a Horse artillery battery was wiped out whilst a French skirmish line was forced to retire by a well directed volley from a Dutch battalion. This ticks my box as I think skirmishers were way too powerful in other rule sets.
4. A brigade of Belgian militia battalions, stationed as sacrificial lambs in front of the A-D line, stood up to artillery barrages & repeated assaults by French cuirassiers, losing a battalion & having others mauled but blunting a strong French attack. In the previous games, such recruit quality troops have been a weak link so interesting to see how with some lucky dice, such troops can be battle winners.
5.The judicious use of ADC taskings is crucial to the game’s outcome. Indeed, this major aspect of the rules means the game is a tactical exercise for the players & not just a slug-fest.

donald

(I may get around to sticking up a few photos but I think you’ve all seen enough of my layout for a while).
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Ochoin  Scotland
 
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16 Jan 2010, 04:00


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