Saturday, May 19, 2012

Battle of Waterloo - Move 11

Table at the start of move 11

Top left – Clinton moves his corps to left of cross roads
Top right – French firefight with highlanders on ridge
Bottom left –Vandamme moves forward in Hougoumont woods
Bottom right – Guard infantry in position to protect d’Erlon’s flank

French Left

French infantry converge on Hougoumont
French have won firefight and routed Dutch infantry far left

French Right

French have routed British on ridge
Guard move forward supported by heavy cavalry

British Left

Half of British infantry have routed from ridge
British light cavalry have routed due to artillery fire

British Right

Wellington has ordered the withdrawal from Hougoumont
British have retreated to cross roads

 Infantry Firefight

Dutch infantry have replaced highlanders who lost first fire fight
Two French brigades engage Dutch in second fire fight and roll 2D6!
Dutch are about to join the highlanders in rout

Wargame rule 12 covers infantry fire fight

Wargame rules can be found at

 Table at end of Game

Game Note
Napoleon has taken Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte and right hand ridge
4 out of 16 British infantry brigades are in rout
2 out of 4 British cavalry brigades are in rout
Halt of the British artillery have been wiped out
Wellington has ordered a general retreat

Most of Wellington’s army is in good order to cover the retreat
All of Napoleon’s army is available to fight next day

British casualties 1800 infantry, 300 cavalry and 800 gunners
French casualties 800 infantry, 300 cavalry and 100 gunners

The result is a convincing French victory
The British are not destroyed, but are too weak to fight a second day

Friday, May 18, 2012

Battle of Waterloo - Move 10

Table at the start of move 10

Top left – Clinton moves his corps to left of cross roads
Top right – French skirmish with highlanders on ridge
Bottom left –Vandamme ready to advance in Hougoumont woods
Bottom right – Guard infantry in position to protect d’Erlon’s flank

French Left

French light cavalry rally behind infantry
Reille occupies La Haye Sainte and moves to attack Hougoumont
Vandamme advances through woods to attack Hougoumont

French Right

D’Erlon moves forward to exchange volley fire with highlanders on the ridge
Napoleon has joined guard to order them to advance and attack British centre

British Left
Picton moves up his reserve to support his shaken highlanders on the ridge
British 4th hussars rout due to artillery fire
Wellington orders Uxbridge to withdraw the cavalry out of artillery range

British Right
 
Hougoumont is under attack again
Cole moves his corps back to the left of the cross roads
Clinton moves his corps back to the right of the cross roads

Skirmish and volley fire are covered by Wargame rules 11 and 12

Wargame rules can be found at

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Battle of Waterloo - Move 9

Table at the start of move 9

Top left – French cavalry under fire from Hougoumont garden
Top right – d’Erlon approaches British held ridge
Bottom left –Vandamme regroups his corps in Hougoumont woods
Bottom right – Guard infantry in position to protect d’Erlon’s flank

French Left

French light cavalry withdraw
Reille occupies La Haye Saint
Napoleon joins Vandamme in the woods

French Right

The guard infantry hold their ground despite more artillery casualties
D’Erlon winning skirmish fight at the ridge
British Left

Picton rallies his shaken highlanders on the ridge
Wellington joins Uxbridge as one hussar brigade threaten French massed battery

British Right

Hougoumont is secure
Cole rallies his corps behind La Haye Sainte
Clinton moves his corps to the right to make space for Cole
 
Opportunity Charge
Cavalry may attempt an opportunity charge on limbered artillery that come within charge range.    The British hussars attempt to charge the guard artillery.   They passed the morale test to do so, but when they then checked the distance they were just out of range.  They must however move forward a quarter move before they can halt.

Rule 6 covers opportunity charges

Wargame rules can be found at

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Battle of Waterloo - Move 8


Table at the start of move 8

Top left – British hold Hougoumont
Top right – British withdraw from La Haye Sainte
Bottom left –French cavalry prepare to charge British artillery
Bottom right – French advance

French Left

French cavalry cut down gunners between Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte
French have retreated from Hougoumont
French have entered La Haye Sainte

French Right

The guard advance supported by heavy cavalry
D’Erlon advances towards British held ridge

British Left

Picton moves up his reserve infantry to support ridge
British cavalry pinned by guard and heavy cavalry

British Right

Hougoumont is secure
Withdrawal from La Haye Sainte has turned into a rout
British gunners all cut down between La Haye Sainte and Hougoumont

French light cavalry charge British artillery

Despite 10% casualties the French cavalry were able to charge the British artillery
The gunners then test to react.  
If they make their morale they can either fire or evade to supports
They failed the test and were cut down by the French cavalry
The lancers suffered more casualties from the garrison of Hougoumont garden
Wargame Rule 16 covers cavalry v artillery
 

Wargame rules can be found at