Sharpe's 'Sharp Practice' Practice

Matt breaks out his skirmish troops from his Napoleonic forces again, but this time to play a rule set that he's just bought, 'Sharp Practice' by Too Fat Lardies, rather than his home-brewed ones. It's a character driven set of rules, with the 'Big Men' being all important in managing the troops.

From Furness Wargamers in Shakos

Tel, Dave M and Jim are the Honourable French. Keiron, Tony and S.O.Else, the Perfidious Rosbifs. A 'Big Man' each, plus one extra to command the forces, Kieron and Dave M doubling up respectively.

With only Matt having the rules, and himself having never played them, he took on the role of referee\rules lawyer. A simple scenario, capture and hold the four buildings on the table, with those holding the most winning.

Fuentes Warm Up

The final test of Matt's Frankenstein style home-brew rules, before their first big outing at the much delayed St George's Day game.

A small affair between the French and the Spanish, who were instructed to hold a built up area. The Spanish had the much larger force but was up against good quality French, including four high quality Guard Cavalry units.

Road to Waterloo - Again

Another play test of the 'fast-play' rules for next years Waterloo game, as the rules finally settle down after about five iterations. Again it is an hold the village scenario, set in the Peninsular (Iberian, not Furness)

Two brigades of British and Portuguese, lead by Tel, plus some Heavy Cavalry and Guns, defending against the massed forces of the Matt's French.
 

 

From Furness Wargamers in Shakos

St George's Talavera

The annual big near St. Georges Day game. This year was the Battle of Talavera in 28mm.
All figures provided by Matt.

From Talavera 2012

Battle of Albuera

A re-fight of the Battle of Albuera at Matt's using the 'In The Grand Manner' rules. This was one of the bloodiest battles that the British ever fought in.

From Albuera

Spanish Smash

Round to Matt's for a game of 'In The Grand Manner' his favorite set of Napoleonic rules. Set in an undisclosed place in the Peninsular (Iberian not Furness), the French have launched a surprise attack against the allied flank. The Spanish forces had been given the job of holding a farm on that flank, or, given the disparity in the sizes of the forces engaging, at least delaying the oncoming French advance.

From Peninsular '10

Napoleonics - part 2

Thursday meet to finish of the game from previous Sunday. The French are still assaulting the Portuguese town of Mirandela.

The French failed to rally their troops in the centre. Many of them having already taken damage in the previous encounter at Braganca and were not eager to face any more after the failure of the initial attacks. The cascade effect on morale roles left the French Centre and Right totally void of Infantry.

The Spanish holding the village still came under persistent fire from a French battery, but with the aid of some musket volleys and counter battery fire from the neighbouring guns on the left they managed to inflict enough damage to dislodge the guns and with it remove the last immediate threat to the centre. The one British unit in the area then advanced out into the open to try and threaten the battery that was causing grief against the British line. This had some success as the guns had to redeploy to face towards the threatening troops.

A stalemate occurred on the left flank. The French Cavalry, once they had removed the remnants of the FGL and Spanish cavalry, refused to take on the squares of the Portuguese and Spanish infantry. The squares had also moved onto the other side of the hill in order to gain protection from the late arriving Horse Artillery, leaving any potential attacks by the cavalry unsupported.

The forces on the allied right continued to trade fire as the French attempted to weaken the British line with both Artillery and sorties by the Polish Lancers. Eventually the French committed two columns to plough into the line. One targeted at the British infantry, the second at a gun battery. Some quick support allowed the line to hold and forced that column to retire. The other column was more successful and managed to rout the battery. This column was too isolated to press the attack and so next turn, along with the rest of the French forces, withdrew.

And so both forces broke off to lick their wounds, and the game wound down to a close.

Napoleonics - part 1

A game arranged by Matt for Sunday Morning\Afternoon. Unfortunately the guest of honour (Kieron the Guardsman) that the game was arranged for, failed to turn up. This might of been because of his map reading skills or possibly a hangover. The game went ahead anyway.

A brief campaign set in northern Portugal as the French forces attempt to force a way over\around the river Droubo to Oporto. The rule set is 'In the Grand Manner', which I thought I had played in the past but I can't remember ever playing this version of it.


View Larger Map

After an initial (and very brief) battle at Braganca where a small force of Spanish Infantry attempted an holding action against the three encroaching French Divisions, both forces started to congregate around the middle of the map, as the Allies leading forces fell back to link up with additional units moving up from Oporto.

The few units of Allied Cavalry deployed on the far left flank with the Portuguese Infantry inside them on the left. The Spanish stayed lurking in the cover of the village, with the British line infantry holding the right. Most of the French cavalry lined up against our left, but the elite Polish Lancers (you could tell they were elite by the way they were painted!) were set up against our right as shock troops. Also against the British was the major thrust of the French Infantry assault with a large density of columns waiting to advance and engage.

The KGL and Spanish cavalry some how managed to beat the odds and had caused enough disruption in the French cavalry to stop them from effectively supporting the Infantry advance in the left and centre, with only a single isolated column managing to contact, and rout, some artillery. A few columns tried to advance against the centre but were repulsed before contact. The was also a shocked as the Poles were temporarily repelled, but they still bought the time needed for the attack columns to move into charge range, and charge they did.

So things are balanced with the Portuguese and Spanish holding the left flank and centre with a partial lull as the French reorganise, but with the British under immediate pressure from the columns of the French crashing down onto the right.


At this point we called it a day, but agreed to carry on the fight next week.