Some Napoleonic Action....AAR Final Part Posted 28 Dec 21.

[CapnJim]

As you may know, I did up a couple "What if...?" War of 1812 battles set in the 1814 Niagara campaign (see the thread below).  One of our regular wargaming group took that "2nd Battle of Lundy's lane" scenario and converted it to Napoleonic action.  We plan to play it this Thursday coming.

The French will take the British place in the scenario, while the Prussians will take the US place.  We'll expand the board from 6'x6' to 6'x10'.  I'll provide OOB details and an AAR after we play, but the preliminary OOBs look like this:

French Division
Avant Garde (a battalion of Middle Guard, a battalion of Leger, and a battalion of Swiss)
3 Regiments of Ligne, each with 3 battalions
2 batteries of guns
1 squadron of horse

Prussian Division
2 Fusilier regiments, each with 3 battalions
2 Landwehr regiments, each with 3 battalions, and each with an attached battalion of Fusiliers
2 batteries of guns
1 Squadron of horse
1 detachment of Jagers

As I mentioned, I'll provide a more detailed OOB and an illustrated AAR after we play...

[CapnJim]

Okay.  We fought our battle this Thursday past.  As I mentioned, it's based on the "What if...?" 2nd Battle of Lundy's Lane covered in a separate thread below.  One of our gaming group (Ted) adapted it to the Napoleonic 1815 Hundred Days Campaign, setting it early in that campaign.  A French force under Ney collides with a Prussian force led by Blucher himself.   The French take the British place in the original scenario, while the Prussian take the US place.  The map and deployment rules stay the same, with the terrain updated to reflect 28mm Europe.  The figures are Ted's, while the terrain is mine.  Here are the adapted OOBs:

French Commander:  Ney
Independent unit:  A squadron of horse.
Avant Garde:  A battalion of Swiss musketeers, a battalion of Legere, and a battalion of Old Guard.
Ligne Regiment: 2 battalions with a battalion of Swiss musketeers and a battery of guns.
Ligne Regiment: 3 battalions with a battery of guns.
Ligne Regiment: 3 battalions.

Prussian Commander:  Blucher
Independent units:  A squadron of horse, and a battalion of Jagers.
Landwehr Regiment:  3 battalions, reinforced with a battalion of regular musketeers and a battery of guns.
Landwehr Regiment:  3 battalions, reinforced with a battalion of regular musketeers and a battery of guns.
Regular Regiment:  3 battalions.
Regular Regiment:  3 battalions.

Part 1:  And So It Begins...

I played the Prussians, and Ted played the French.  We rolled for entry turns and points, and Ted Deployed his Avant Garde on the Hill with the church.

I brought a Regular Regiment on from the south, moving up to the wood line near a farm.  My Jagers and Horse came on the road from the southeast.  The Jagers moved north through the woods, while the Horse spread out into line and moved up along the road.  Ted moved his Horse up the road from the north, and formed line near the Tavern at the intersection on the hill.

Then, my Regular Regiment on my left moved up through the wood line near another farm.  Ted countered by moving his Swiss and Legere battalions from the Avant Garde down off the hill.  The Legere made it to the fence line near the center of the field.   On my right, the Jagers moved further north through the woods, while the French and Prussian Horse moved toward each other along the road.  I brought one of my Landwehr Regiments on from the southeast, and they moved up behind my horse.  And ted tried to bring on one of his Ligne Regiments on the road from the east, but only one battalion made it on.  This road, and the French activity on and around it, would prove critical to the battle as it unfolded...

Back on the Prussian left, the French Legere battalion misunderstood their order and charged over into one of the Prussian musketeer battalions.  The Legere lost badly, and ran pell-mell away from the battle.  As the Prussian Musketeer Battalion (that beat the Legere battalion) turned to face the Swiss Battalion, that Swiss Battalion moved back up to the cemetery on the hill near the church...

To be continued in part 2...

[duc de limbourg]

Thanks, always like to see a Napoleonic AAR. Which rules do you use.

[Norm]

Thanks. The long lines do look nice.

[CapnJim]

Thanks, fellas - Ted does a marvy job on his minis.

As to the rules, we used Black Powder, modified a bit.  We assigned playing cards to each regiment, and the independent units.  We then drew cards for both both the movement/orders sequence and the firing sequence.  The turn sequence goes like this:

A.  Army Commander attaches to a Regiment, if he chooses.
B.  Draw cards for each regiment/independents units, and the chosen regiment/independent units do order tests/move as normal.
C.  Remove all Disorder markers, save for those units in Melee. 
D.  Draw cards for each regiment/independents units, and the chosen regiment/independent units fire as normal.
E.  The Army Commanders move, unless they did so earlier in the turn.
F.  Fight all Melees as normal.

We really enjoy this modified sequencing.  We've been playing Black Powder this way for the last few games, and it adds some a little more uncertainty to the games.  Some "Gosh, I really hope I move/fire first..." going on...

Part 2 will be posted tonight or tomorrow, and Part 3 after that...

[CapnJim]

And here we go...

Part 2:  There's Never a Gendarme Around When You Need One...

When we left our intrepid combatants, the Prussian Regular Regiment on their left had sent the French Legere from the Avant Garde packing, and the Swiss Battalion had gone back up to the cemetery on the hill by the church.  On the Prussian right, the Prussian and French Horse were lined up against each other along the road south of the tavern, and a Prussian reinforced Landwehr Regiment had moved up in column of battalions behind their horse.  And the French were trying (with limited success) to bring on a Ligne Regiment from the eastern road.

As the French Ligne Regiments (another was trying to come on) were entering from the eastern road in a rather confused and piecemeal fashion (Marshal Ney was desperately trying to sort things out up there...), the 2nd Prussian reinforced Landwehr Regiment came up the southeast road, it too in column of battalions.  Meanwhile, the Prussian Jagers worked their way north through the woods, and began firing on the French Ligne Battalions jammed up on the eastern road.  The lead Landwehr Regiment began shaking out into a supported line of battalions, and unlimbered their guns behind the Prussian Horse, who promptly moved left to unscreen those guns.  The French Horse looked on in horror...

On the Prussian left, their lead Regular Regiment was trying to form a cohesive line near the farm, as they could see dust clouds on the road to their north.  They knew another Prussian Regular Regiment was coming up behind them, and hoped it would be soon...

Back on the Prussian right, The French Regiments up on the hill were still trying to sort themselves out into some form of cohesive position near the intersection with the tavern, as they set up a battery of guns behind their Horse.  A French Ligne Battalion turned to face the Jagers, as well.  They would get the better hand against those pesky Jagers, who would end up retreating back south, deeper into the woods to get away from the French musketry.  But, to the Jagers left, the Prussian guns and muskets tore into the French Horse and the Prussian Horse threatened their flank.  The French Horse fled back north, unmasking the French guns.  Too bad the battery from the follow-on Prussian Landwehr Regiment had joined their brothers from the lead Regiment, and gun duel was 2 Prussian batteries to 1 French battery. Oh well...

The lead Prussian Landwehr Regiment moved north up the road and through the orchard, while the follow-on Landwehr Regiment moved to their left, and began their move on the French-held hill.  The Prussian Horse moved north, screening the Prussian infantry and working their way into the French rear.  A battalion of Landwehr battalion, sensing the French Battery was weakening, charged up the hill - that would prove fatal to the guns...

Over on the Prussian left, the lead Regular Regiment had formed a solid line near their farm, waiting for the French to appear before them, and for their brother Regiment to appear behind them.  But, in the course of doing so, they broke the Swiss Battalion at the cemetery on the hill, which in turn broke the French Avant Garde.

While the matter was nowhere near concluded at this point, things were looking up for the Prussians.  Stay tuned for Part 3 to see how things ended up..... 

 
 

[CapnJim]

And now, the final one...

Part 3:  Forward, my Children...

On the Prussian right, the Landwehr battalion that charged the guns contacted a French Ligne battalion in their flank on their way in, sending that battalion streaming in panic to the rear.  Then, it was on to those French guns...

The French, all jumbled up near the intersection at the tavern, did the best they could to try to set up a defensible position.  They had chased off the Jagers in the woods, but were facing 2 reinforced Landwehr Regiments closing in on them from the south.  2 Prussian batteries were pounding away at them, and while the French Horse was nowhere to be seen, the Prussian Horse had worked its way into the French rear.

Then, on the Prussian left, their follow-on Regular regiment appear from the south, and moved up to form a line to the left of their brother Regiment at that farm.  Just in time, too.  A French Ligne Regiment came in on the French right from the north, and a battalion charged in attack column right into the Prussians.  One battalion.  One battalion only.  The other 2 battalions took a more, um, deliberate approach to getting into the fight.  That one battalion was doomed, facing 6 battalions of Prussian regulars.

Back on the Prussian right, the Prussian Horse and a Landwehr Battalion had caught the other Swiss Battalion in a vise between the church and the tavern.  The Landwehr charged one flank, while the Horse charged the other.  The Swiss, steady as they were, put up a good fight.  But their fate was sealed too.  As was that of the lead French battery, who was finally charged by that Landwehr Battalion.  By now, Blucher was on the field, having come on with his Regulars.  He sensed the situation up on the hill by the tavern, and rode over to that flank with all due haste, urging his "Children" forward up the hill.  And up the hill they went.

The 2 Prussian Regular regiments on their left now faced only 2 French Ligne Battalions, who (undaunted by the odds) stepped it out and charged right into the teeth of the Prussian Regular Battalions.  The French put up a brave fight, but ultimately Prussian numbers won out, and that Ligne Regiment broke and headed to their rear.

Things were now very grim for Ney and his ever-weakening force.  His Avant Garde and his right Ligne Regiment was gone, as was his Horse.  His other 2 Ligne Regiments were all jumbled up, and taking the worse of what the Prussians pressing up the hill offered.  And the Prussian Horse was wreaking havoc in his rear.  One by one, French Battalions broke, until there was little left with which to carry on the fight.  the Prussians had won on the west end of the field, and more Prussians were now up on hill between the church and the tavern in force.  The gig was up.  Ney reluctantly ordered a general retreat, and it was all over.  First blood in the Hundred Days Campaign had gone to the Prussians...