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.

Friedland 14 June 1807 - refight 2nd August 2024

A week after losing really badly at Eylau I once again donned the hat and cloak of Napoleon to fight the next battle in Mark Smith's "Napoleon's Bloody Big Battles" scenario book.  See here for more on these scenarios.  Mike hosted me in his wargames room in sunny Ilkley and battle commenced.  

Firstly, here is the map:

I was on the left of the table and Mike was to the right.  Here are the initial dispositions:

The French left

The French right.  The brave Russians have advanced as far as the bend in the river.  In the background is Friedland, with an impassible river on two sides and a Lake and a stretch of impassable river on the other.

Russian Turn 2 - French reinforcements head left

In the centre the Saxons & French assault Bagration's troops.  If Saxons are your thing, see my 1809 army here

By turn 3 things are hotting up.  In the centre the reinforcements shift left, whilst an infantry unit backed up by the Imperial Guard push towards Friedland.  

To the left Mortier has lined the ridge and the French cavalry are heading towards the extreme left hand river crossing objective.

Meanwhile, Ney is in the Sortlack Forest, wishing for some sort of road to get him out and adding a little impetus to getting the traffic jam sorted.  Overall the French are swinging left whilst pressurising the defenders of Friedland.

By turn 5 French plans are going well, if a little slow.  On the right Ney exits the Forest and moves to the centre.

In the centre the French cover Friedland and continue to shift their troops to the north of the Muhlen Floss.  The Russians defend the trees to the left and reinforce Friedland.

On the French left Mortier bombards the trees but bides his time.  His infantry, supported by K Cavalry, advance towards the extreme Russian right.

A little later....  French assaults go in to the middle of the Russian line.  Ney's infantry head for Friedland at top speed.

Mike shifts his Russians as the French assault on the centre pushes in his line.  French weight of numbers begin to tell as more fresh Frenchmen pile in.  Mortier provides flank cover at the right end of the wood.  On the extreme left the French and Russians standoff, neither side prepared to risk an assault.  In real life both side's skirmishers are probably trading food and drink...   

About turn 7 Ney's Corps infantry has moved into combat range of Friedland and driven off the Russian artillery defending the town.  One unit of Ney's cavalry has taken a big loop to go to Sortlack and claim that village for France.

On the left the extreme left is static, the French have broken the Russian line and are facing the Friedland defenders over the Muhlen Floss.

Here's another photo of the centre, before the assault.

Here's the French going in with the Russian defenders getting flanking fire across the Muhlen Floss.  The Russians get pushed out of Friedland and lose enough VPs for a French win.

The final French move in close up.  The Guard cavalry was made up of the Empress dragoons (who got a post here ) and the Dutch lancers (post here ).  Yes, I know they weren't there, but they are pretty and they need some time on the table.  It was nice to be able to field almost all of the French troops needed.

In conclusion:

Mike fought really well, made good use of cover and defended stoutly.  My dice rolling was better than Eylau and I won more firefights and hand to hands.  

The battle was in contention all the way through and delivered HQGE High Quality Gaming Experience - which is what we expect from BBB.  

Thanks to Mark Smith for an interesting and engaging day's fun!

Leipzig 16-19 October 1813 - Birthday refight 21-24 April 2023

 As part of my recent birthday celebrations my friend Mark laid on one of the big Napoleonic Battles - Leipzig.  The real battle was fought over 4 days, our refight also accommodated other birthday related activities, so it lasted 4 days as well.

Wikipedia tells me it was the largest European Battle before WW1, so it's a must for any gamer interested in the Napoleonic wars.

Mark set up his games table and I took the Allies.  I had a number of strategic towns and villages to capture in addition to Leipzig.  There was a scenario option to threaten the French escape route over the causeway at Lindenau , which I took.

I don't have the BBB scenario map, so here's the map from Wikipedia to give some idea of the scale of the battle and the forces involved.

I opted to be aggressive on day 1, which had mixed results - Gyulai spent the day sparring with Bertrand for Lindenau, Blucher got half his army to move forward, Schwarzenberg tried to assault over the river and got rebuffed.

Day 1 pictures here:

Slightly out of focus - the battle for Lindenau.....

Schwarzenberg- held at the river line, with large numbers of troops but too small a deployment area to make their numbers tell.

 Schwarzenberg's left, with the 7 strong Silesian Landwehr in the middle attacking the aggressive Poles in the village on the river....

End of day 1 here:

Schwarzenberg slipped troops into the wood to threaten the French left.  Mark "that's an impassible river"  Colin "not according to the map - the river starts in the wood"  Mark "bring me the head of the imperial cartographer...."

Schwarzenberg's left - in the centre the 7 strong Silesians have evicted the Poles and crossed the river, but in the centre the French still hold the river line. 

A view of Schwarzenberg's gains and losses.  The French still hold the river line in the middle, but with the Allies in the woods to their left and the Silesians across the river to their right, it may be time to withdraw....

Meanwhile, Blucher's army has assaulted the French frontally (mainly shooting rather than assault) which has enabled a mixed infantry & cavalry force to arc left and get over the river line.  In the top centre of the picture Mark has sent his reserve cavalry to counter this threat.

Overall, as the sun set on the first day of the battle, the Allies had much to be pleased about.  The French river line defence was broken in three places, the Emperor has had to commit all three Guard units already.  In the distance more Allied troops can be seen.....

In the scenario the second day is a night move, as both sides in reality had some minor skirmishes as they consolidated the gains made / shored up the gaps in the line.  Mark duly readied the Grand Armee for day three......

Day three dawned with the French in new positions, hoping that shorter defence lines will counterbalance the huge numbers of Allied troops advancing from all points of the compass.

Bernadotte arrives

To the left, the French hold the hill.  The raw Allied troops occupying the lower left village have opted to "stoutly defend" rather than charge the Middle Guard and 4 batteries on the hill.  This increased their chances of getting a medal at the end of the campaign considerably.

Schwarzenberg gets more troops.  Mark is stockpiling disrupted markers in the middle of the battlefield....

The Lindenau refight starts again.  The blue and white buildings are Leipzig, now full of French defenders.

Finally, Blucher - whose army is now facing an undefended river.....

Day three saw the Allies advance to within musket range of Leipzig, which triggered a die roll to see if the French engineers, worried about the pressure on Lindenau, blow the road on the causeway over the marsh.  

The Allies assault Leipzig

The winning dice!

We fought the battle over 4 real days, it was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate my birthday.  

We agreed that there were a lot of troops to manage - with only two players we spent a lot of time moving around the battlefield.  It would be an ideal battle for 4 or 6 players - it would probably have gone a little faster.

BBB worked well - there were a number of hand to hand battles that were closely fought, no results were wildly unrealistic.  

I would definitely play it again!

Pre Christmas Game - Borodino 7 Sept 1812 - refight 21-23 Dec 2022

Over Christmas I had the opportunity to play test one Mark Smith's Napoleonic battles - in this case Borodino, 7 September 1812.  We first fought this in 2018, at the OWS club.  

For this playtest Mark had changed the orientation of the map so that instead of a deep battlefield, we had a wide battlefield.  This made flanks less secure and opened up the possibility of flanking manoeuvres.

We got to halfway through move 7 (the French go first, so French move 7, Russians move 6) before we ran out of time (not helped by my being ill for part of the time).  We also had to fit in shopping trips, etc, which is why we played over 3 days.  This is a really huge battle and would probably be better played by two teams of three or two, but with just two players per side, it is very do-able!

My thanks go to Mark for putting the game on, writing the scenario and providing the troops!

Here are some pics of the game.  All taken mid-game, so there's some paraphernalia lying around.

Early stages:

Russian right - white squares show that these forces cannot move until turns 3 or 4.

More reserves, held in place till turn 5.  After which they moved slooowly forward. 

The whole battlefield

French left looking towards Russian left

The French attack goes in

Russians hammer the French left flank

The French take the Redoubt

The position at the end of French turn 7.  Mark played the rest of the game as a solo game and tells me the Russians did hold on for an eventual win.

All in all it was a cracking game - a good playtest of the scenario and good fun to be with Mark at Christmas.  I hope that it gets an outing at OWS soon.

A nice end to a good year of gaming and BBB!