An end of 1813 big game

December proved to be a busy month so It's been a while since the last AAR. I have had a few games but forgot to take pictures of the last game. 

At the beginning of the month I held a big game set at the end of 1813. A lot of people missed out on the Leipzig game so I decided to put on another big game. Rather than repeating the Leipzig game I decided to do a fictitious battle set in December 1813. It was essentially a final attempt by the French to hold up the advance of the allies. To keep things simple I kept the same OOB as the Leipzig game ( basically all our available figures!) with only very minor tweaking.

The battle field had two villages, one held by th French on their left flank and one held by the allies on their left flank.

There are a lot of photos in this AAR as quite a lot happened but I won't go into too much detail, just give an overview of events.

The French left flank.

 

The allied left flank with Russians holding the village.

For the Allies only the combined Russian /Prussian force started on table.

The Prussians were deployed on the allied right opposite the French held village.

TURN1

The French started aggressively as they initially outnumbered the allies and advance across the while front.

Here the French advance on their left flank.

and move through the village.

The Russians hold the village on the allied left aided by a large artillery redoubt.

The Prussians advance.

Not put off by the Larger French numbers the Prussians are up for a fight!

TURN 2

The rapid French advance means they arrive at the allied village before the Russians have fully taken up positions.

In the centre two French (well one is actually Italian) brigades also rapidly advance.

The French move through their village 

and engage the Prussians.

Russian cavalry see off the French cavalry on the extreme allied left.

In the reserve phase the Austrian divisions arrive in the center to support the threatened Prussians.

TURN 3

The French inflict losses on the Prussians

and start to force the Prussians back.

In the center a French cavalry division arrives to support the infantry in the center.

Prussian artillery successfully targets the French cavalry and the Austrians move up to support the Prussians.

The Prussians try to take on the French.

Austrian cavalry threaten the French center forcing the battalions into square. 

As a result of the French successfully forming square the Austrian cavalry fall back.

Turn 4

The French continue their success against the Prussians.

In the center French Heavy cavalry support their infantry and force the Austrian infantry into square.

In the reserve face the Ogre arrives to take command assisted by elements of the Guard.

Overview of the French left and centre.

In the previous turn more Austrians arrived on the allied right flank, including the reserve Grenadier brigade advancing grouch the woods. However the French have seen off the Prussians to their front.

The Austrians work their way around the French left forcing the French into square to hold the enclosed field.

For most of the game the French right was relatively quiet as the battle for the Russian held village stalemated.

TURN 5

French light cavalry advance to ease the pressure on the extreme French left.

and the French move up to occupy where the Prussians had been.

Having seen off the Austrian cavalry the French infantry in the center advance once more.

On their right flank more French infantry move up.

A French heavy cavalry division arrives on their far right but too late to have any real impact.

View from the extreme French right looking at the Russian held village.

The Austrian Grenadiers advance through the woods to stop the French capitalising on the Prussian withdrawal.

View across the battlefield from the French held village.

The battle for the Allied village continues.

TURN 6

With dusk fast approaching on a winters afternoon it becomes clear neither side will make any significant breakthrough.

Poles attack the remaining Prussians on the hill on their centre left position but fail to make an impact.

The Italians charge the Prussian artillery forcing the crew to take shelter in the allied battalion behind.

The French light cavalry on their extreme left fail dismally to hold up the allied advance and are forced to retire with significant losses.

As visibility drops the Grenadiers make sure the French are contained in the enclosed field on the French extreme left.

With stalemate across the table and 6 turns completed the winter sun drops below the horizon drawing the battle to a close. The French ultimately fail to halt the allied advance toward the mother country but it was always going to be a tough ask as per history.

The game was ultimately designed as a spectacle for those friends who couldn't make the Leipzig game. With equal pointed armies a stalemate was always on the cards. 

I've learnt a lot putting on these big games. The dynamics are very different to the usual evening game.  For the next big game I'm going to put a lot more thought into the scenario and try and give the players more of a command challenge.

Hope you enjoyed this AAR.