Musings on Wargaming and Life: Merde!

Winter is certainly on the way, wet, dark and miserable again last night. I picked up Duncan first last night as he asked to come along to the club and he only lives five minutes away. Dan had offered a Seven Years War game so Duncan was going to be under my command as the French tried to win back the bridge they had lost a few weeks ago. You remember, the one where I had performed brilliantly only to be let down by my subordinates but managed to report back to Versailles first.

This time Duncan had the left and Ian the right, I took the centre with the intention of supporting either flank depending on where success lay. Duncan grasped the bull by the horns and set his brigade off at a sharp pace against the Prussian right only to be ambushed by some light troops hidden in a wood, no problem we thought as artillery was nearby and I turned one of my battalions to take out the skirmishers. The rest of my forces went forward but more cautiously than Duncan's. Ian failed the first of many of his command rolls and stood by watching the battle unfold.

My boys confidently approach the enemy centre.

Ian's shy brigade.

Duncan was determined to force the enemy flank but managed to lose a cavalry squadron and an infantry battalion during the first clashes, no matter a counterattack by more cavalry forced the enemy back and they suffered from musketry, things looked good. Sadly the annoying troops in the wood would not break despite the amount of lead going their way. Duncan was now in a position to force the enemy flank and seeing this I ventured forward against the Prussian centre in support, Ian was crawling forward on my right. My opening volleys crashed out and as the smoke cleared hardly a hair on Prussian heads had been injured, a dreadful opening for my boys. To make matters worse a furious cavalry charge destroyed one of my battalions and upset my careful advance.

The French left stalls.

The troublesome light troops.

Things start to go wrong for the French centre.

Duncan now stalled just as he needed to close while the Prussians now managed to form a solid defensive line to our front, one of my battalions fled as did another of Duncan's, the crises had been reached. The French left again failed to go forward and I threw my forward battalions at the enemy hoping to cause a breach in their line. The peacock Grenadiers failed miserably and were routed, the line troops who had gone in alongside showed them how a charge should be performed and sent their opponents fleeing but in the face of the opposition decided wisely to retire after their efforts. Ian had now advance into musket range and managed to get off a few volleys, Dan opposite him fell back on the objective, night fell and the battle was over.

The Duc d'Ecosse's reputation was in tatters, although Duncan had suffered his brigade was still looking good and hanging on, Ian was untouched as his men had refused to engage the enemy while my brigade had broken and were even now looking for a way off the battlefield. The Prussian right and centre had been tested but had not been found wanting and managed to recover each time it looked like the French only needed that one push, that one good die roll, that one piece of luck. My own die rolling was dreadful, especially for shooting, that first volley which was supposed to clear the way for me was a damp squib and I did not recover. Almost a full turnout for the club, elsewhere there was Chain of Command, Blood Bowl and Age of Sigmar

Things are still quiet here and the painting of my Blood Bowl team has not progressed very far this week. I did manage to order up another half dozen of the excellent trees from Last Valley, I now have all the 28mm trees I shall ever need. The four French Gaddis Games figures which in a moment of madness I ordered from the US have now after five weeks arrived in Canada from whence my mate will post them out to me. I wanted these for engineers but they have become so expensive I shall never put them in harms way.

Map projects continue to be heaped upon me and I have half a dozen in various stages of completion awaiting editors and authors comments or the final touches for the typesetter. This morning I start on partisan operations in Yugoslavia during WWII, a complex set and a challenge from the information sent to me.