French v. Bits & Allies Part 3

 Being fairly new to this rule set, I am noticing quickly,  just how fast units can get used up. Even pulling units  out of line and rallying off "hits", its only a matter of a turn or two before they're "done for ". The French, being the defender, just had to sit and let the Allies just fruitlessly pound away at their lines.  The Allied center melted away and the game was lost for them within 7-8 turns. The cavalry in this game are definitely "glass cannons". One and done in a single turn. Not sure I like that. Even in Black Powder you get a couple turns to decide an outcome. However, the author, if I'm not mistaken, says that a turn is about 10 minutes of actual time. Perhaps a cavalry melee could be that short of duration? Horses and riders get winded, I get that. Some "theater of the mind" is needed with this game. Not giving up on the rules yet. More play time and perhaps some tweaking to my liking.

Here's some highlights from game five of Osprey's Honours Of War.

French v. Brits & Allies Part 2

 Starting from the Allied left. One independent cavalry unit from the Kings German Legion. A Brunswick infantry battalion with a Brunswick jeager skirmish unit. One Belgian infantry battalion that I classed as "inferior". The Dutch-Belgian carabiniers (gorgeous Front Rank miniatures) giving an extra punch to the brigade. All supported by a Brunswick Horse Artillery gun. The Allied brigade commander is classed as "Steady".

The center is four battalions of British infantry. One classed (23rd Regiment of Foot) as " Superior". The commander is classed as "Steady "

The cavalry brigade (The Blues, Scots Grey's and Inniskillings) are not fairing well with a "Dithering" commander. The Duke of Boots will have to keep an eye on them. All supported by a gun from the Royal Horse Artillery. 

The far right is an independent cavalry unit of British hussars. 

The defending French are positioned as follows. Starting from their left. An independent cavalry Lancer unit. I believe the 5th Line. A brigade of cavalry consisting of Chassuers, Empress Dragoons ( classed as "Superior ") and the Dutch Red lancers. Commander in "Steady".

The center is being held by four infantry units. Two from the Guards, both classed as "Superior ". Chassuers of the Guard and a Battalion of Middle Guard occupying the walled farm. Supported by a gun from the horse artillery. The commander is classed "Steady ".

The right is four battalions of infantry with a small voltiguers skirmish unit. One artillery piece and an independent cavalry unit. The commander rolled poorly and was classed as "Dithering". I'm pretty sure this same fellow commanded this brigade with Poles and Swiss, the last game I had. Time to split them up next time!

Napoleon himself is on the field to command and hold the crossroads.

I put small white dice on the "Dithering " classed brigade commanders base just as a reminder.

French v. Brit and Allies Part 1

 Setting up another Napoleonic wargame using Osprey's 'Honours Of War' by Keith Flint. It's another fictional scenario.  This time using my British and Allied forces against my much used French.

I used a card driven, random terrain generator.  I've used this "function" in the past and has yielded some interesting battlefield features. I'll show how I use these cards and their makeup in a future game.

Once the terrain was laid out, I rolled to see who would be the defender. Thankfully, the French won. I really didn't want the Allies to be the defender...it would look too Hundred Days campaign.

Another game of Honours of War

 This is a repeat of the last game, but this time the field works on the Russo-Austrian positions were taken out of this scenario.

The French unfortunately and uncharacteristically, rolled two "Dithering" leadership qualities. One for the brigade commander of cavalry on the left flank and the infantry brigade on the right. Needless to say the army commander was busy to upgrade a notch during the activation phases.

The French drove onto the Russian occupied  hills hard and suffered horrendous losses. The cavalry on left, despite poor leadership,  had no problem defeating the Russian cavalry, thus adding to the threat of the Russian right flank for the remainder of the game.

The same result happened on the Russo-Austrian left. Their cavalry destroyed and driven away with the infantry center collapsed.  The game was really a tit for tat engagement.  Both sides really could not claim victory. With the scenario calling for a "Last Stand ", it was oddly the result for both antagonist. It just became a fight to the last unit standing. Which became rather ridiculous towards the end. This being my fourth game, its pretty clear that units can get eaten up rather quickly.  Pulling units out of line to rally off "hits" can become a never ending chore. I'll continue to play this rule system because it has promise. To be honest, I played the units fairly vanilla.  This rule system require various troop quantity types and clear objectives to scratch the itch and make the game engaging.