MY GAMING WEEK: IN HER MAJESTY'S NAME AND C&C NAPOLEONICS.

I have had a break from blogging for a month or so, for a number of reasons. I am back and looking to post on a reasonably reasonable basis.

This past week has seen me playing a new game and an old favourite. On Wednesday, we had a game of In Her Majesty's Name. This was an all in game just to try out the rules. David set up the scenario, using some of the terrain that he has constructed. The scenario was simple, capture the scientist in the engine house in Kew Gardens and get him off the table!

              The engine house that David constructed with the Airfix beam engine inside.

It ended up being a race between my Scotland Yard company and Derek and David's companies. We managed to give the shooting and combat rules a good test. There were a lot of extreme rolls on the go: about a dozen each of 1s an 10s, which were automatic failures and passes respectively. I was deemed to have won the race, but the result was not the purpose of this game. Here are a few photos from the game.

  On Thursday, Rick & I played a Commands & Colors Napoleonic scenario, using the terrain from the La Platavilla Don Featherstone tribute game from last year. I took the British. I had to set up my forces before Rick deployed the French. This simulated the morning mist screening the French advance. The river was fordable, but was in spate and infantry units ran the risk of losing hits if they crossed the river.

                                                                Starting deployments.
When the French deployment was revealed (Rick had deployed the French, taken a photo, then took then off the table) I found that I had fallen for the ruse and had deployed to defend the bridge, rather than anticipate cavalry attacks over the river.

The game became a race to redistibute my forces to meet the cavalry threat before they got across the river. Here are some photos of the game.

There was an air of inevitability about the French cavalry attack. They brushed aside the only British cavalry unit before falling on the flank. The French attacked across the bridge to keep my forces in place. The cards even added to the narrative: for the first four moves I had no centre section cards. This modeled the confusion that would have been felt in the British centre. In the end, i managed to form a defence with a few units, but ultimately lost seven blocks to nil. A decisive victory for the French.

 

A very enjoyable week of gaming.

THURSDAY GAME: BATTLE OF THE RIVER COA.

For Thursday's game, Rick put on a Commands & Colors Napoleonics scenario. The set up is shown above. Crauford had disobeyed Wellington's order to pull back over the bridge near Almeida and had deployed the Anglo-Portugese light division to defend the crossing from Ney's French.

I took the Allies and Rick the French. This is my view of the centre. Crauford is beside the bridge. each allied unit that escapes across the bridge is worth one victory banner.

The view from the bridge.

 

 Allied left flank. Windmill in the middle of the picture, Almedia (and it's guns) extreme left.

In the centre, the French advance, the Allied right flank bear the brunt. The artillery on the high ground do their best.

The French attack in the centre drives the Rifles off the table. It threatens to do the same to a unit of British line. However, they rally and take a toll on the French attack, helped by a unit of Portugese line.

French light cavalry on the left flank rout a hussar unit. The hussars, along with a unit of heavy cavalry mount a charge, powered by the appropriate card! The heavy cavalry are pushed back.

The hussars are also destroyed. Rick plays a counter attack, to take advantage of the two units of light cavalry on the flank.

 

 

 The heavy cavalry repulse the French, but take casualties.

Meanwhile, on the right flank, French light cavalry force a unit of British light infantry into square, but take fire in return.

Back on the left flank, the French light cavalry brush off the remaining British heavies and force line infantry into square.

                   The cavalry are driven off by accurate fire from supporting British infantry.

Crauford began to get a sinking feeling as he watched a series of units pass his position in retreat over the bridge. This was tempered by the fact that each unit leaving in this way meant a victory banner!

 

The French advance in the centre drives all before it.

                                             The French advance overuns the breastwork.

The Allies are chased from the field. 

The French won by 6 banners to 4. Bizarrely the Allies 4 banners came solely from exiting units: the French lost no units. Rick used the French light infantry well; to screen the advancing line infantry. The cavalry did their job on the flanks.  

An enjoyable game, despite losing.

ENCOUNTER AT LA PLATAVILLA: DON FEATHERSTONE TRIBUTE GAME.

On Thursday, Rick put on a tribute game in memory of Don Featherstone. The scenario used was based on Encounter at Platdorf, the tribute scenario from Miniature Wargames 366.

I played the British and Spanish Allies whilst Rick took the French. The rules were C&C Napoleonics using 15mm figures on Hexxon 2 terrain.

Here are the starting positions. It is a meeting engagement. The Allies are at the top of the picture. The poker chips represent objectives that are worth victory banners. 7 banners wins the game.

 

 A view across the French lines.

 

Fire from French Light Infantry causes enough casualties to make this unit innefective for the rest of the game.

British infantry disrupt a french cavalry charge. The red poker chip defines the bridge as an objectivev that only the British can score, but the French can deny them.

 

The Allied lines early in the game. 

 The French begin to advance. The cards are with them!

 

The Allied right flank is pushed back following a bayonet charge.

French lancers force the bridge defenders into square.

 

 

The French pressure on the Allied right begins to tell. The Spanish have been outflanked. Two units are destroyed.

The British come off the hill to try to stop the French before they reach the bridge.

The French had reached the 7 banners required for Victory. The British launched a desperate bayonet charge to try and reduce the deficit.

 

This game was an enjoyable tribute to the great pioneer of wargaming in the UK.

 

This was a good test for the C&C Napoleonics game. It was the first 'unnoficial' or 'made up' scenario that we have played. It was a great game; even though I lost!