Busy Week - Fighting in Two Continents

 Great fun this week - on Tuesday I was very pleased to attend one of Jon Freitag's excellent Zoom games. This was one of his biblical scenarios. I was a Hittite, fighting against the army of Ramesses II, in about 1275 BC. I am delighted to say that I was on the winning side; my masterstroke was to manage to more or less hold my flank together, while my colleague The Jolly Broom Man, masquerading as King Muršili III for the occasion, proceeded to win the game all on his own - and decisively too.

My thanks and compliments to Jon for laying on such a great game, and umpiring and game-mastering to his customary high standard. Best wishes also to the other players, for their excellent company and good humour. Jon's excellent battle report can be found on his blog here.

The following day I set off early in pouring rain, courtesy of Storm Ciarán, to drive down to Westmorland, where I was invited to a big, traditional Napoleonic game at the country seat of The Archduke. It was a delightful visit and a fine game. The Archduke was umpire and rules consultant, the scenario was a hacked version of the "Arrival of the Prussians" section of the Battle of Waterloo. I commanded the French, and Stryker, who heroically overcame all sorts of logistical problems to make the trip, was Blücher.

My photos should give a general idea of the atmosphere of the day. I lost (5-2) on units eliminated, but there were also Victory Points available for possession of 3 objectives. My 5ème Légère were finally driven out of Plancenoit Church in the last turn; if I'd held on to it, I'd have scraped the victory on points - though I admit I would not have deserved it!

 

Situation near the start, with Plancenoit Church at one end, the walled farm of Papelotte at the other, and a monument in the centre as defined objectives to gain bonus points

 

 

Prussians attack the 19e Ligne at Papelotte

 

Very quickly, a huge brawl [Scots: Stramash] developed in the centre, while the two armies raced to seize the church

 

 

The attack on Papelotte was eventually unsuccessful, though the garrison suffered heavy losses, and the French took the initiative here on their left

 

 

Elsewhere, however, the Prussians were successful - my cavalry was especially erratic, though that probably goes without saying

 

 

Eventually the 8th turn was completed, and I managed to lose the church just in time. Final reckoning was that the Prussians won 5-2 on eliminated units, and also 15-10 on bonus objectives. The quality of The Archduke's collection and the elegance of his new games room are apparent, I think. These are 20mm figures - a great many Hinton Hunt, all beautifully painted, and also Qualiticast - just marvellous. I also took some pictures of some of the troops who were not taking part, in his very fine display cases - my photos certainly do not do justice to any of this, but I hope they give an idea