Leipzig, 16-18 October 1813, refought Sunday 5th October

 Mike has been keen to fight Leipzig ever since he got his hands on the BBB Napoleonic Scenarios Book , so the other week 3 of us went to the Mike's games room to fight this, the biggest Napoleonic battle.  

As an indicator of the numbers involved, Mark Smith's scenario uses a ratio of 3000 men/72 guns to a stand in order to fit this massive battle on a 6' x 4' table. 

Firstly, the map.  We had a French Commander and an Allied Commander on both the East & West sides of the table, I was French in the West.  All photos will be from the West.

Set up   The southern half of the table.

The northern half of the table.

Move 2 

On the southern front the Allies discovered that the terrain is not in their favour - the French hold the river crossings and have slowed the Allied right hook through the wood.

On the northern front the French under Ney attacked Blucher and checked his advance.  In the middle the garrison in Lindenau hold out against Gyulai.

Move 4  

By the end of move 4 (end of 16th October) the southern French were doing OK.  The Allied right hook had worked its way through the woods and then got stopped there.  The French still held the river crossings at Kannewitz (middle of picture), Krostewitz & Gulden Gossa (middle right of picture).  So long as they can keep the the Allies bottled up, they are in with a chance.

On the French left & middle it's also OK.  Ney has bottled up Blucher's forces and the defenders of Lindenau hold their own against Gyulai.  As night falls, the French hold the villages and all is well.

Move 6

At the end of move 6 things have taken a turn for the worse in the south.  The Allies have broken out of the woods and crossed the river,  The French still hold Kannewitz, but have lost Lieberwolkerwitz on the hill in the middle of the picture. 

In the north the French are under pressure.  In Lindenau (bottom of picture) Gyulai has managed to get his cannon up and extend his line.  Ney has retreated to cover Leipzig and to use a unit to cover the gap in the French lines, where an Allied hand is pushing assorted troops forward!

Move 8

In the south the French held on to Probstheida village, having evicted the Allies earlier.  The defenders of Kannewitz held out against the Allies, who found it hard to deploy enough troops to assault and push the defenders out.

In the north things went badly for the French.  The centre defensive line was just about holding, but Leipzig itself was now under threat.  More importantly, Gyulai had taken Lindenau, so there was no longer an escape route for any of the French.

It was at this point that the French decided to surrender.  It had taken 4 of us most of the day to game the battle, it had been intense and engaging to the end.

Thanks and thoughts

Firstly, thanks to Mike for hosting four of us and to Chris and Charlie for an excellent game.  It was a fun day, with the game in the balance until the end of move 8.

It's a big game, the French need 51 infantry, 8 cavalry and 7.5 gun stands.  The Allies need 90 infantry, 16 cavalry and 13.5 gun stands.  

It needs at least 4 players.  I had play-tested an earlier version with Mark, the scenario writer, with just two of us.  It took a much longer time to play on that occasion and a lot of maths!  Playing with 4 players speeded up play and made the battle manageable.  6 players would have been easy to accommodate.

So, I hope this inspires you to give the game a go.  Get 3 friends (or 5), lay out the table and go for it!

xxx

Waterloo at Fiasco - Sunday 26th October

FIASCO, hosted by Leeds Wargames club, is our nearest big wargames show.  Having already run Waterloo at Joy of Six (see here) it was a much simpler option to organise than last time.  I had also got a proper French Guard Commander stand painted (see here) and was keen to get him in action.  See here for the map and more details.

This time Mike and I were joined by Ned and Charlie, who took the French.  Neither had played Waterloo before, whilst Mike and I had several games under our belt.  So, how did it go on the day?

Set-up - the picture from the British right.  I apologise in advance for the graininess of some pictures - we didn't stop playing for photos.  The French mass is top middle.  The British hold (from left to right) Papelotte, La Haye Sainte and Hougoumont.  Mont St Jean & Plancenoit are further objectives, as is the destruction of the French Foot Grenadiers & Chasseurs of the Guard

Move 2 By the end of move 2 the French had taken Papelotte and surrounded Hougoumont.  The British right had advanced the Brunswick & Dutch troops.

Sideways view - along the line of the battle, British to the left, French to the right.

Move 4  On the British right Charlie has successfully stormed and taken Hougoumont.  His left takes on the Brunswick & Dutch troops.  Ned has started to redeploy to face the Prussians.

The start of the Prussian arrival - forcing Ned to start building a defence line!

  

Move 6   By the end of move 6 the British were under threat - Ned had broken through the hedge line and Charlie had made progress against my large units, causing both of them to go spent.  In the middle the French gear up for an assault on La Haye Sainte.  To the left of the British the Prussians move steadily forward, as the French deploy their cavalry reserves to counter this attack.  

Move 8 On the British right my spent troops had retreated to cover.  Charlie had attempted to assault my part of the ridge but without success.  His lefthand troops were also now spent.  In the middle the Guard assaulted La Haye Sainte. 

On the left Mike's British had sent the french back down the hill and his Prussians advanced steadily on Papelotte and Plancenoit.

Move 9  The last move saw the French assault on La Haye Sainte fail, as did the Prussian assault on Plancenoit.  As the Allies held two objectives the battle was deemed a draw.  

Thanks & Thoughts

Thanks to Mike, Ned & Charlie for playing on the day, rolling the dice and engaging in Banter!  Thanks also to the Leeds club for organising FIASCO and hosting us for the day.

Waterloo provides a challenging battle, with tension for the British in holding on to their defensive line, decisions for the French about where and when to attack the British, as well as the crucial decision over when to pivot against the Prussians.

Charlie and Ned both did well as the French, with Charlie taking out Hougoumont and Ned breaking through the hedges.  Charlie then struggled to assault my defenders (hiding behind the hedge) and his left hook got blunted and stopped.

Ned's offensive ran out of steam and then had to be abandoned as the Prussians threatened the French right.

As with all BBB games, most of the players were acting/reacting most of the time and it was tense all the way down to the wire.  On the very last move Mike's Prussians could have taken Plancenoit, which would have given the Allies a win, rather than a draw.

Waterloo will be offered again at the Battleground show, Sat 29th Nov 2025 at Middlesborough Sports Village TS4 3AE.  Doors are open 10-3 and entry is free.  Come along and release your inner Napoleon!