Waterloo in Reverse Part 2

 

The second batch of photos from my game in 2020

Combined British and Netherlands batteries on the far left of the Allied lines. The British howitzers in the foreground are by Qualiticast.

The Guard chasseurs outside the garden of La Haye Sainte having already taken casualties and are now preparing for a cavalry attack. The line battalions just moving over the ridge have yet to take the hint.

In the middle ground the British 69th & Brunswick 2nd Line in column. The 1st Foot (in line) are severely weakened. To their rear the Brunswick Leib battalion move towards the ridge while their 1st Light comrades to their rear have already been sent packing. The 2nd Nassau Line to the top right of the picture have formed into square to receive an the attack from the French lancers and dragoons.

Red Lancers of the Guard and Empress Dragoons charge in towards the Brits and Brunswick. Infantry columns to their rear move down the slope.

The battle rages around LHS. From the left: Prussian and Dutch Belgian columns move towards the  ridge; Prussian Jagers attack the buildings from the left while Prussian line maintain a hold in the orchard. The dragoon defenders have steadily been reduced in number. French line move down the road to reinforce Guard Chasseurs (usually the other way around!); Carabiniers have moved from the ridge past LHS perhaps to threaten the Prussians from their rear; Guard Grenadiers behind the carabiniers hold their line while a second battalion can be seen retreating back up towards the ridge; Light Infantry Voltigeurs move in to take their place.  

The action further to the right. The retreating Brunswickers look to have left it too late to form a square as the Lancers close in.

.....and as seen from the Western edge of the battlefield. At this stage the allies look strong on their left flank but decidedly vulnerable in the middle ground. 

Will those Prussian Guard Grenadiers take on their counterparts or leave it to the cavalry? 

The dragoons are near to exhaustion but the occupiers of the garden are untouched. 

The view from the middle of the French line

Further to the left, French cavalry can be seen at the top left of the picture approaching a seemingly weak section of the allied line

Horse Artillery of the Guard in the centre of the picture are poised to let fly at the British columns

I'm actually no closer to remembering the outcome of this game....let's see if the memory comes flooding back during the next post! 

"Waterloo" in Reverse Part 1

This was a game from 2020 where I used my Waterloo terrain but reversed the position of the armies. Apart from the terrain it intentionally bore no resemblance to the actual battle. It was however an opportunity to field my entire collection at the time, including some Spanish and Portuguese. I used my random deployment method for this game i.e. a roll of the dice determined where and when the unit/brigade entered the table. I think I may have given dispensation to some freshly painted French Dragoons which I wanted to defend La Haye Sainte.

Just a quick word on the terrain: heavily influenced by Siborne's larger model, I sculpted slopes from foam approximating the topography. For road texture and the sandpit I used railway model filler. All sections were first spray painted and then covered with scenic scatter. For the middle ground I used hex tiles, some reversed and sculpted with a cobbled road effect. All terrain made to fit my 7x5 ft table. 

I made no notes of the game at the time so hopefully the pictures will most of the story where my memory fails.

2nd Dragoons arrive at the gates of LHS. These are Clayton Hinton Hunt from 1997 except for a Kennington officer and the bugler (manufacturer unidentified). LHS dates from early 1970s, modified in accordance with a Terry Wise article in Airfix magazine. 

They'll soon dismount and be replaced by their alter egos.

Forces mass on the allied left. Newline 1st Life Guards and Kennington Light Dragoons in the foreground. Hinton Hunt Prussians to their right.

The Old Grumblers making an earlier than usual appearance at the crossroads

The Guard start to move forwards past "Wellington's tree" or should that be "l'Arbre de Napoleon" 

1st Life Guards 

A major Prussian assault on LHS about to be "worried" on their flank by the Guard. British cavalry on the left move towards the ridge.

Meanwhile in the centre of the field a British brigade moves steadily towards the French line.  Brunswick/Nassau troops to their rear are moving down the slope into the valley.

Newline 16th Light Dragoons in the foreground in their old style Tarleton helmets 

A line of Young Guard voltigeurs and tirailleurs wait for the British columns who are beginning to be threatened to the right of the picture by a column of Guard Grenadiers.

  

Dismounted dragoons defending LHS while Guard comrades march past to tackle the Prussians

 

The allied cavalry Brigade yet to press on to the ridge 

  

Over on the allied right the Union Brigade have reached the bottom of the slope but face Hussars and Chasseurs de Cheval (out of picture) 

In the centre, half of the British columns have veered off to the left to confront the Guard. The rest of the columns press on, now supported by the Brunswick/Nassau brigade

 Lancers and Empress dragoons (just visible) on the French left advance across ground recently vacated after the Union Brigade/Hussars melee (I can't recall how that action was resolved but there were probably withdrawals on both sides). Massed columns of line infantry follow on. (1st Lancers on the left are by Kennington)

More pics of the battle in the next post.

23rd Light Dragoons

Here is my latest Hinton Hunt unit, the 23rd Light Dragoons.  These are one piece castings BN50, six of which were bought on ebay 5 years ago and the remainder were recently donated, very kindly, by Stryker. Some needed quite a bit of work to remove the excess metal between the right arm and the body (my mini drill used as a grinder did the job pretty well). I also replaced a few short sabres with hammered and filed pieces of flash saved from other figures. After a little deliberation and with some sense of guilt I stripped the prepainted figures rather than try to convert their finish to match what I was hoping to achieve.  

Stripped, flash removed and, with just a couple of new sabres to add, they are ready for undercoating. 

Undercoated and waiting for the first top coat. Part of the hobby I really enjoy is the uniform research which of course can be a challenge in itself. In this case, different sources showed cap lines as either yellow or white. I went for yellow as a contrast to my other dragoons which have white.

Ready for battle but after after some delay due to a large brush being thrust in my direction for some much need decorating work (my incentive being that it was the room I use to paint my soldiers!)

Painting some of the detail on the one piece castings can be fiddly but they don't look too bad from this angle 

Lots of flash ground out from between the horses hind quarters

Now joined on their flank by the 11th Light Dragoons

I'm sure these guys will be brigaded together in future battles although at Waterloo the 23rd were with the 1st and 2nd Light Dragoons of the King's German Legion.

Plancenoit Part 2

 More pics covering the conclusion of this game from last year.

The defenders of the church prepare to repel the iminent assault

and here they come

Plenty of ammunition if required

Ok, I know the Prussian Guard Grenadiers weren't at Plancenoit but they were downgraded to line for this encounter. 

The Prussian right flank consisting of landwehr (including Kennington Hanoverian and HH Dutch Belgians playing Prussians). They are moving on to the higher ground to the right of the village

Their advance viewed from the centre

The French defenders have not yet reacted to the threat to their left.

A bird's eye view of the position to the left of the village

The Prussian Landwehr begin to assault the building on the left while their comrades (out of picture) swing around to move into attack on their right

 The Prussian assault on the right is destined to be beaten off. 

Prussian generals ponder their options (Fine Scale Factory figures)

The Prussian battery is still searching for targets in the village

     

With heavy losses on both sides in the village interior, the Prussians move fresh troops in from their left (looking very similar to defeated comrades recently removed!). The French Guard also make their move to meet this attack and take the place of depleted Line defenders in the village.  

Line against Guard...the outcome should be a foregone conclusion.

Landwehr looking even less likely to succeed

    

 Young Guard Tirailleurs lead the attack, Grenadiers and Chasseurs to their rear

The end is surely nigh for the Prussians

With the support of the artillery to the left of the Guard the Prussian advance

is stopped.

I drew the game to an end at this point with the French having succeeded in holding the village from successive Prussian attacks. Their left flank attack did indeed prove no match for the Guard. The French Line controlled the village long enough to delay the need for the Guard to be introduced and their eventual participation proved decisive.

As I intended this game to concentrate action in the village itself, there was no scope to move further Prussian reinforcements in from the wider off table flanks. That would have been interesting and prolongued the game but pressures on other uses for the man cave won the day!