Road to Waterloo

Another test game of the proposed 'Waterloo' rules, with the French, consisting of Tel and Tony, assaulting a village defended by the British and Spanish of Martin and Jim. The village spans a river, crossable by troops but with a bridge in place for easier crossing.

Victory conditions are simple... who ever holds the village at the end of the game is the winner.



From Furness Wargamers in Shakos

The French Artillery, deployed on the left, soon ran out of targets after the Spanish horse had retreated off board, and had to resolve to throwing long range shots into the village before it was masked by the advancing attack columns.

The French infantry had difficultly in co-ordinating an attack on the village, only managing to get one column into the attack, as a second one refused to commit. Fortunately this turned out to be enough, as the morale of the defenders collapsed, and they retreated across the stream and through the far half of the village.

The Buffs crossed the bridge in column transforming into line and sending a devastating volley at point blank range into the French attack column that was also trying to reach the bridge to defend the flank of the captured half of the village.
 

On the French right, the troops were slow in moving up, those that did moved towards the village, intending to aid in the assault, then withdrew due to the British Horse Artillery firing some wayward shots at them.

The French cavalry on the left, after chasing the Spanish off the field, then faced the problem of a large force of British Heavy cavalry turning up. Being outweighed, and outnumbered by two to one, plus with the threat of the Spanish returning on their flank, the French did the only sensible thing they could do, and charged! The British horse had two options, take the charge at a standstill or counter charge and contact the French in the river itself. So we end up with a melee in the middle of the stream and both units already disrupted.

Naturally this does not end well for the French, but the British do end up shakened enough so that they have to return to lines to re-order themselves.

This was basically the last act of the night and the game ends as a draw, with the two halves of the village in separate hands.
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