Borodino for Joy of Six - forces preparation - the Army of Westphalia

 Ilkley Irregulars will be presenting the battle of Borodino, Russia 1812, at Joy of Six in Sheffield 4 weeks today.  See how our first playltest went here.

My defensive earthworks are done and I have made some suitable Russian buildings, these are for another post.

I also decided, after the first playtest, to create Junot's Westphalians (VIII Corps).  I looked on Pinterest and found this extremely helpful picture:

I also found more pictures covering the drummers, all the infantry regiments and the Marshals and ADC uniforms.

The Westphalian artillery were almost indistinguishable from the French (unless the guns are a different colour, in which case send me a comment!) so one of my existing gun stands will be fine.

So, six stands of infantry, two with flags and a Marshal to create.  About this time I had a couple of bouts of illness, so it's taken a while to get them finished, but today's the day they had their portraits painted and they relocated to a storage box to await the big day!

The figures are Baccus 6mm - French line infantry 1806-1812 for the most part, NCOs are Elite line infantry 1806-1812, skirmishers French light infantry 1806-1812 and Guard Infantry are French Guard infantry (obvs).  Based for the BBB rules.

Their white coats and bright facing colours will make a nice contrast to the dark blue of the French line and Poles who will be fighting along side them.  

Flags are home prints from originals taken from the now defunct Warflag/Napflag free flag internet site.

Marshal Junot is from one of the Napoleonic Command Packs (Austrian?) and the ADC is French with the addition of a big plume (yellow, in this case).

So, great little project and a nice unit to field 4 weeks today!

Borodino for Joy of Six - 7 Sept 1812 - fought 20 Mar 2026

This year Ilkley Irregulars will be hosting the battle of Borodino, 7 September 1812, at the Joy of Six  Wargames Convention in Sheffield on 28th June.

Friday 20th saw Mike, Charlie, Mark and myself refight the battle as a first run through.  We had all last met at the excellent Battleground show in Middlesborough, where the Irregulars were hosting Waterloo.

Mike and I played Borodino in October 2024 (AAR here) and I played it with the scenario author, Mark Smith, way back in October 2022 (AAR here).  On both occasions the Russians won (merely by not dying too fast....).

OK, so what happened on Friday?  Mike and Mark led the French, Charlie and I took the Russians.  Team Rodina is hampered by having some poorly armed troops (pikemen) and having the right wing pinned until turn 3.  The French (plus the Italians, Saxons, Polish, Westphalians, etc.) have lots of well armed troops - but they have to climb 2 two level hills and assault the Russian entrenchments.

Turn 0

Here's the starting picture - Mike has made some bespoke scenery and I am planning to make suitable buildings and defences.

Turn 2

On the Russian right Charlie defended the Redoubt and Borodino, however, with most of his troops fixed till turn 3, the action was mainly trading shots with the advancing Italians.  There was a fair bit of banter that despite much shooting and Borodino changing hands, neither Charlie or Mark lost any bases for several turns.

On the Russian left my plucky defenders counter attacked and I tried to get various Cossacks and Pike troops to move.  As half my flank is a huge forest, there was much opportunity for my troops to delay.

Turn 3

At the end of turn 3 (lunch break!) the Poles, backed up by heavy cavalry, had pushed my front-line defenders into the woods, however I still held the village and my reserves were moving, slowly, to bring their pikes and ragged muskets to bear.  In the centre more reserves were supporting the Fleches (left hand defences) and I had even advanced to take on one of Davout's assault units.

On the right Charlie had advanced his troops (released at the start of turn 3) and was pressurising the Italians in Borodino.  It was around this time that someone finally lost a base....

Turn 4

Fortified by Baguettes and Borsht (OK, it was filled rolls - very good!) we pushed on.  

On the left, Junot's Westphalians destroyed the Cossacks and advanced against my reserves.  My heavy cavalry support rolled low enough to not move.  Around Ultitsa the Poles got wiped out at the cost of two of my units and Davout stormed the Fleches.  My reserves (lower right) are waiting for the next turn to swing into action.

On the Russian right Charlie moved to contact with the Italians and the cvasualties mounted on both sides.  Ney went straight ahead to assault the Redoubt.

Turn 6

By the end of turn 6 I had lost the Fleches, but had halted any onward moves by Davout by sending in my decent reserves.  In the woods my good cavalry finally turned up to support my exhausted reserve troops and my regulars, whilst low on ammo and disordered, managed to be sufficiently hard to kill that they were still fighting.

On the right Charlie held the redoubt and the Italians were only just across the stream from Borodino.  the column you can see at the top of the picture is the Guard moving to shore up the French left, as the Italians started to take casualties and holes opened up in the line.

Turn 7/8

At the end of French turn 8, with the Russians having completed turn 7, we decided to end the game.  It was decided that the French were unlikely to make any further gains, so we concluded with a draw.  

The Russian left - the Russians are still hanging on in the woods about 9 inches from Ultitsa.  The French have the Fleches defences, however the next objective is unlikely to be taken.

On the Russian right the redoubt is firmly in our hands and a solid line of troops blocks the French direct advance.  The French Guard has reached the stream at Borodino, but the French left flank has some pretty big gaps that the Russians can use to slip troops through.

Conclusion

It was great to have a new player - Mark has played a lot of games under different rules, so was quick to get the mechanisms sorted and start making decisions - he also had some good questions that meant Mike and I were busy checking the rules.  Welcome Mark!

The game is similar to Waterloo, in that the French need to move far and fast to envelop the Russian defences before the Russian reserves are released and the numbers move towards the Russian favour.

On the French left the Italians need to take Borodino AND hold that flank.  On the right, the French need to push through the woods to get behind the Fleches, in this game my aggressive counter attacks destroyed the Poles and slowed Davout's troops.  

It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to our next play test!

French, Italians, Saxons Colin's BBB collection, Russians & Poles are Mike's.  Figures Baccus 6mm.

Borodino, 7 September 1812, refought 4 & 18 October

 Borodino was one of the biggest battles of the Napoleonic wars, with over a quarter of a million troops battling for the road to Moscow.  The French were supported by Italian, Polish, Saxon and other allied nations.  The Russians had occupied defensive earthworks on the Smolensk to Moscow road, the previous day's battle had been to take the first of these.  

On the day the fighting was intense, with the the defences the scene of much close quarter fighting.  I have fought this battle using earlier versions of the scenario, this was Mike's first go.

Here's the map:

Set up - Eugene on the left, Ney left middle, Davout with 4 x 6 bases in the middle to do the heavy lifting and the Poles on the right flank.

Heavy cavalry and horse artillery

Move 2

On the right flank, the Poles and Junot attack in the woods.

On the left flank the Italians take Borodino and decide to advance up to the Russians.

In the centre Davout storms the Russian defences

Slightly later, Davout's left hand block and Ney's troops storm the Raevsky redoubt whilst the Italians move up against the Russians

Davout's troops move against the Fleches whilst the Poles and Junot take on the massed Opelchenie and Cossacks.  These Russian troops put up a good fight, taking several moves to get to break point and fleeing.

Move 4

In the centre, Davout takes the Fleches and drives the Russians down the hill.  The Russians now form a new defence line that proves hard to crack

On the left, the Italians are outnumbered by the Russians and fall back, piecemeal.  The Russians take Borodino.

On the right the Poles and Junot still cannot beat the large numbers of low-quality Russians, who manage to stave off assaults from the French & Allied heavy cavalry

Move 6

On the right the French & Allies keep trying to break the Cossack/Opolchenie block in the woods.  The French move off the Fleches to assault the new Russian position, but cannot break it.

On the left the Russians break the Italians and push them across the stream.  As the Russians now have surplus units, these are directed into the flank of Ney's troops, who are to the left of the Raevsky Redoubt.

In the centre the French have taken the Raevsky Redoubt but the cost means that the Russians can try to slip a cavalry unit into the gap between the redoubt and the Fleches

Move 8

On the left, the Italians got pushed back even further, whilst the Russians moved en masse against Ney

The destruction of the Italians meant that the French Imperial Guard, when it arrived, was diverted to the left flank to hold the line, rather than doing anything useful elsewhere.  The Guard is the "J" shaped column at the bottom of the photo

On the right flank the French finally broke the Russian defensive line and the Cossack/Opolchenie took the one casualty that led to them fleeing in disarray.  As this flank had made such slow progress, the French were now both running out of time and low on troops

Move 10  

By the end of move 10 the Russians were doing well.  Fresh troops had retaken the Raevsky redoubt and Ney's Corps was getting worn down

On the right the French were assaulting the next Russian defensive line but had failed to break it

On the left the Guard stabilised the left flank and stopped the Russians getting a victory point for one of the Smolensk road exits

This was the first outing for my Guard 12pdr, Artillery train and Marshal Murat

With the Russians holding more objectives than the French the game ended in a win for Mike.  

He had done well, building huge defensive blocks of line troops that took some time to whittle down.  Against all expectations the Cossack/Opolchenie in the forest held off the Poles.  My troops, especially those in the forests, struggled to move fast and launch co-ordinated attacks.  With hindsight, the Italians should have got to Borodino and then backed up Ney, rather than going for a frolic on the left wing.

Once again an enjoyable game - my thanks to Mike for hosting and to Dr Mark Smith for writing the scenario.  We had fought one of the biggest battles in history on a 6x4 foot table in a few hours - one of the reasons I like BBB for big battles!

If you haven't already got a copy of the Napoleon's Bloody Big Battles scenario book, do give it a go, it makes for entertaining and engaging games.