It's Waterloo day again, and having missed last years annual event, this one had to be spectacular.
An idea for some time was the last hours of Waterloo with the French army in retreat and the final squares of the Imperial Guard holding fast. This would be a tricky one to emulate and quite boring since all the retreating units and the guards would be either routing off the table at start or the squares being pounded by artillery by the allies. So, how to make a game of it? Well, each side was given an objective and the French allowed a chance to rally units from an orderly withdrawal, (instead of a rout).
French Objective:
Maintain as orderly retreat as possible of the field of battle until either the army cohesion or Napoleons morale were depleted. This would allow Napoleon to regroup and fight another day.
The army cohesion was monitored by means of a score sheet which remove a number of boxes as each unit routed either through morale test failure or friends nearby routing.
Napoleon took a morale test at the end of each turn using his command value, and if he failed then his command vale decreased by one. if he passed then the value stayed the same. Should it reach zero then he left the field and the army cohesion dropped by a few points as well.
British Objective;
To break the French squares and maintain pressure on the French either by routing units or running them off the field via a pursuit.
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The French army at the start of the game. Line units are withdrawing and the squares hold firm.
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Turn One
Napoleon personally rallies three line battalions and two cavalry regiments, whilst Marshall Ney rallies the line lancers. The British cautiously advance with the 95th Rifles occupying the farm just up from La Haye Saint, and the 11th Hussars charge the French artillery and in doing so capture Brigadier General Cambronne.
Napoleon maintains his morale at the end of the turn.
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| The 95th rifles advancing. |
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The 11th Hussars capture the gun.
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Turn Two
Various commanders throughout the field mange to rally all the French units, allowing the squares to make slow progress towards the rear. But Napoleon drops a morale point - is this the start of the rout?
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| The squares retire slowly and maintain cohesion. |
Turn Three
The orderly withdrawal continues with little action except a smattering of small arms fire. Napoleons morale holds steady.
Turn Four
Ney leads an impetuous charge of the line Dragoons against the 11th Hussars but while the cavalry is locked in melee, Ney gets killed in the action. Once again Napoleons morale holds.
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| Charge led by Ney causes his downfall. |
Turn Five
Napoleon watches as the withdrawal goes to plan, while the cavalry French Dragoons and the 11th Hussars are still engaged in melee. Clearly pleased with the army's performance his morale holds fast.
Turn Six
Wellington orders the general advance and General Vandeleur and the light Dragoons arrive on his right flank. Additionally support in the form of British horse artillery arrive as well. During the British phase, Wellington himself appears on the field.
Meanwhile the small contingent of French Cuirassier prevent movement by the 95th rifles. Generally, the French hold steady around La Belle Alliance. In an attempt to maintain control, Napoleon's morale remains constant as he rallies the shaken line lancers.
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| Cuirassiers watch the French right flank. |
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| La Belle Alliance and the steady French infantry. |
Turn Seven
Although the British advance in general is moving slow, there are parts which are stalled due to cautious leaders wishing to reduce casualties on an already battered force. The British guns unlimber to provide support for the advancing infantry by firing upon and breaking the first Young Guard square.
Seeing the first square of his precious guard routing, Napoleon's morale dips again.
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| The Young guard scatter. |
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| Chasseurs attack the line. |
Turn Eight
An overview of the battle shows the French mostly under control, The Cuirassiers withdrawing slightly, and the Young Guard back in square. Napoleon is pleased with no change in morale.
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| General overview of the battle. |
Turn Nine
Another square routed following a pounding by the British artillery, which cascaded to another French unit due to morale failure. This reduced Napoleon's morale again by one point.
Still the British were slow to capitalise on these events in order to minimise casualties. But Wellington spurs on his generals in an attempt to end the day.
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| Get on with it! Wellington surveys the field. |
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| But Napoleon is unsure how it's going to end. |
Turn Ten
The Young Guard which rallied, again breaks and finally this time. Napoleon remains stoic, but Bellacourt's small triangular formation on the left flank also breaks under pressure from Vandeleur's cavalry. Bellacourt himself survived but routed with his troops.
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| Bellacourt under pressure before the rout. |
Turn Eleven
Retreat, rout and rallies continue for the French, but mainly it's starting to be a contagious rout with another Imperial Guard square breaking under relentless artillery and small arms fire. This sinking feeling is reflected in Napoleon's morale which dips once again and he retires toward his beloved guard.
The British now maintain contact with the French on all fronts is a concerted effort to end it.
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| The Old Guard about to break. |
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| Napoleon retires to safety. |
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| The general rout. |
Turn Twelve
A few brave Frenchmen hold steady and fire on the 10th Hussars to cause several casualties. Napoleon more fearful of his fate decides to relocate to an Old Guard square while watching the demise of his glorious army. Finally, the withdrawal has become a rout and the British mop up the outlying force the main body of which starts to congest the few roads off the field.
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| Napoleon seeks the safety of a square |
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| The general rout signalling the end of the battle. |
Final thoughts
Although Napoleon did not reach rock bottom of his morale, he was only two points off it, so a close thing. Unfortunately, the rest of the army could not stand with him resulting from a hard fought battle earlier in the day and the sight of so many Imperial Guardsmen breaking under pressure. Ultimately a British win for a similarly exhausted force.
The game was a few weeks in the planning to get the feel and momentum right and in fact was one of the best Waterloo days I have played - ever. Lots of unknowns as in how many French would rally, break, rally again only to get beaten down once more - brilliant!
Lots of house rules were implemented and must be written up to be used in other games.
Quite a few references were used, including Mark Adkins, William Siborne, David Howarth and Henry Lachouque.
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