A Portable Shiloh - The narrative begins...

 

In the leading map, the Confederate Army of the Mississippi, under General A.S. Johnston advances in the pre-dawn upon the slumbering Union camps. The army, in accordance with the plan devised by General P.G.T. Beauregard, Johnston's 2iC, advances in successive lines of Army Corps, Hardee's three brigades leading, followed by Braxton Bragg's six brigades in line abreast, Leonidas Polk's four and Breckinridge's three brigades behind, as a reserve.

The Confederate array seen from the east. I am tempted to use whatever spare figures I can find to identify the Army Corps by flag design: Blue with white roundels for Hardee; the Stars and Bars for Bragg, and the Polk designed battle flag (upon a field azure, a cross gules, fimbriated argent and charged with 11 stars) for, you guessed it: Polk's Corps. Beckinridge's three brigades could be given variants of the traditional (and, broadly speaking, wrong) CSA battle flag.

With one exception, the Union Army begins the day unprepared, the brigades' constituent stands scattered about their individual camp squares. If caught unprepared, this will impair their fighting ability. To rally, they will have to roll a 6 on Turn 1, 5-6 turn 2, 50-50 Turn 3; automatic thereafter. I think I was a trifle ungenerous, here, as historically the Union army pulled itself reasonably quickly together. The above picture shows Sherman's 5th Division encamped close by Owl Creek; McClernand's 1st beyond. and Hurlbut's 4th in the distance.

The situation close by Pittsburgh Landing: W.H.L. Wallace's 2nd Division camps, and heavy artillery at the Landing itself. To the left of the picture, Hurlbut's Division.

First contact: S.A.M. Wood's brigade hits Hildebrand's brigade whilst attempting to rally. The Union's '5' rolls would have been useful, but the disorganised formation needs 6's to hit. Meanwhile, as Maj-Genl Hardee is with the brigade, the '4' counts. Much of Hildebrand is destroyed; the rest retreats past Shiloh Church.

Of Sherman's other brigades, Sherman rallies Buckland's in time to ready themselves for attack. McDowell's brigade, nearer Owl Creek, is still in the process of organising. By the time the Confederates reach them, they still are unable to form a coherent line.

On Prentiss's front, Colonel Everett Peabody was far more apprehensive than his Division commander of the likelihood of a Confederate surprise attack, was early organising his brigade. Historically, he sent a small force to scout out the situation to the west and south of his position, which soon discovered Peabody's fears to be well founded. I omitted this detail, and the result was that it was Chalmers's Brigade that eventually struck Peabody's.

Of Brigadier Hurlbut's Division, the brigades of Veatch (nearest camera at bottom right of picture above and Williams (further towards the upper middle), along with the Divisional artillery, have been awakened by the sounds of musketry and gunfire to the southwest. Lauman's brigade is slower to react. 
In the far distance, Marsh's brigade was the first to rally. Raith's command nearer the enemy, and Hare's, more distant are much slower to apprehend the danger.

Chalmers's Brigade of Withers's Division strikes at Peabody's brigade attempting to cover the rallying of the rest of Prentiss's Division. CS cavalry companies from Bragg's and Polk's Corps harass the flanks of Peabody's position.

Polk's small force of cavalry encounter hastily organised units of Prentiss's Division west of the Peach Orchard. Inflicting some loss upon the Union infantry, the Confederates are finally repulsed (the 4 Union dice scored 1 hit; the single Confederate rolled a 6!).

The fight is beginning to develop along a wider front. Having driven off Chalmer's Brigade, Peabody is in turn being driven back beyond the Shiloh Church by the brigades of Shaver (Hardee) and Gladden (Withers/Bragg), the latter supported by artillery. More infantry brigades move up behind the lead Confederate forces. In the distance, Cleburne and Wood continue to press Sherman's Division hard. Sherman himself is by this time MIA. 

Alongside and to the right of Gladden, Bragg's cavalry push against the crowd of milling and leaderless Union infantry. Though disorganised the latter are putting up a stout fight.

Having thrown back Peabody's brigade, Gladden's push is interrupted by a desperate - and futile - counter-attack by a few companies of Union cavalry. 

As the Confederate sweep continues, the whole of Breckinridge's command, the brigades of Bowen, Statham and Trabue, led by Forrest's cavalry, are marching directly towards the Tennessee River, thence to sweep up the river bank towards Pittsburgh Landing. This was the original plan for the army, but encounters with the Union army have tended to draw the Confederates northward - in effect, into frontal attacks all along the line.

Seeing off the weak cavalry attack, Gladden pushes on towards the Peach Orchard, where Prentiss has gathered what remains of his Division. A considerable blood letting immediately ensues.

The sweep up the line of the Owl Creek continues. Wood's brigade presses ahead past Shiloh Church to strike at Raith's brigade of McClernand's Division. Cleburne presses back the remnants of Buckland's brigade, leaving the still unorganised brigade of McDowell to the attentions of Pond and Anderson of Ruggles's Division. The brigades of Gibson (Ruggles/Bragg) and Stephens (Cheatham's Division/ Polk's Corps) push up the Shiloh Church road.

Cleburne, Anderson and Pond complete the rout of McDowell and Buckland. The dice show 7 hits on the two brigades, enough to wipe them out, with change. The '1's indicate (a) McDowell's continued failure to form an organised body, and (b) that they scored no hits by way of reply. Farther off, close by Shiloh Church, Wood overwhelms Raith's brigade at once, but Raith's men hand out a few licks of their own before going under. Meanwhile, Hardee's other brigade, Shavers's holds a crossroad between the church and Gladden's brigade. Moving up towards the church itself, Stephens, of Polk's Corps, has pushed ahead even of Bragg's line.

Following up the rout of Raith's brigade, Wood runs into Marsh's brigade. Though Marsh is ready for the fight, with Hardee there to encourage them, the Confederates get the better of this firefight as well. All the same, having advanced rapidly with such success, Wood's brigade has become isolated, and is about to face a much stiffer fight.

Having overcome Sherman's Division, Cleburne, Anderson and Pond have nothing facing them to oppose a continued sweep p the like of Owl Creek. In the far distance, The Confederates have stalled in front of Peach Orchard. Badly knocked about, Gladden needs help from Cheatham's Division. Bushrod Johnson is not far off, and Chalmers has switched across to face Stuart's brigade. 

That isolated brigade does have a battery in support (detached from Sherman's Divisional park), and 4th Ohio Cavalry is also there to help . For the moment Chalmers is on his own...

The fighting about the Peach Orchard have depleted both sides: Gladden's brigade and the troops Prentiss had managed to gather about him. Nearby, Williams's brigade of Hurlbut's Division is attacking Shavers's depleted brigade behind Gladden. Covered by Prentiss's resistance, Lauman's brigade occupies the Peach Orchard area. 

Reduced to half its original strength, Shaver's brigade apprehends as assault by Williams's fresh command. The Confederacy is not having it all its own way.

S.A.M. Wood's brigade has also run into trouble. Having rolled up Raith and Marsh, he has still to overcome Hare's brigade. But now Major-General McClernand has gathered together the artillery of his own and Sherman's Divisions, together with the remains of Sherman's last surviving brigade, Hildebrand's, which also joins the fight. Having lost 25% of his force in his headlong advance, Wood (and Hardee) will be lucky to progress further... unless Cleburne and the others can come up betimes

All this while, Grant, who began the day several miles downriver, arrives to take command. Brig-Genl W.H.L. Wallace hasn't moved his troops off the heights above Pittsburgh Landing, but all his brigades are by now in hand, and ready to march or fight as seems right. Meanwhile crowds of fugitives mill around the riverbank by the Landing itself. In the picture, the fugitives are depicted by the flags of the brigades that have so far been destroyed....

We're only about half-way through the narrative, but this seemed a good place to pause, and await the next instalment.
To be continued...

'Byzantium' - Heads Up

Yes, yes, I know: I should be writing up my 'Shiloh' narrative. I have made a little bit of a start, but a long way to go yet.

The first play test battle, seen from the Rus point of view

Meanwhile, I thought it high time to revisit my 10x10 'Byzantiad' project, about which I posted some articles about April last year (2025). I wanted to polish up the rule set I had been putting together.  There was also a combat mechanic that occurred to me at the time, but which I thought might put the Byzantine skoutatoi - 'protected bowmen' as I styled them - at some disadvantage against the spearmen of the Rus.

My original idea was that both units had 4 Strength Points, but the skoutatoi could shoot; but the spearmen got an extra die for close combat.  The idea that had occurred to me was that instead of counting all 4SPs for shooting and close combat, the skoutatoi counted two SP only for both, although the unit as a whole still counts 4SP. Instead of adding a die for the spearmen, they would count their standard rate (1 die per SP). I was a little concerned that such a scheme would leave the Byzantine foot outclassed, but wanted to see how it would go. Note that the same consideration limits the kataphraktos archery to 2SP only, but they do count the full 4SP for close combat.

So I tried it out. The results were startling, to say the least - and not in the way I had apprehended. Three battles the Byzantine Imperial Army has taken on the Rus, for three crushing victories. The dice haven't been kind to the Rus, but even so, I would not have anticipated the level of drubbing they've taken. The first battle was pretty bloody, but the Rus were routed for a loss of 14SP against the Byzantine loss of 7. Two more battles have been equally decisive.

All the battles have standardised in 25 Strength Points, on a 10x10 square-mesh grid. One SP is for the Army Commander, the remainder for the types of troops. The number of units to the army varies, the Rus fielding just 7 (on account of all their 4SP spearmen), the standard Byzantine army, 9. But, as the imperial army includes the 12-figure kataphraktoi (a.k.a. klibanophoroi), the SP equivalent of 2 cavalry (kavallarioi) units, the army I used for play testing fielded 8 units only.

Rus army. Two units have seized a ridge line...

The Rus:

1 x Command element (mounted) = 1SP 
1 x cavalry unit: 'Charging Cavalry' = 2SP
5 x Spearmen @ 4SP = 20SP 
1 x Horse Archer light cavalry = 2 SP

Seven units, 25 SP, exhausted on -9SP; rout on -13SP
90 figures (excluding command), 80 foot, 10 horse. Represents an army 4,500 strong.

Byzantine army less its light horse.

Byzantine Imperial Army:

1 x Command element (mounted) = 1SP

1 x Kataphraktoi  fully armoured horse = 4SP
3 x Kavallarioi cavalry @ 2SP = 6SP

1 x Prokoursatores lance and bow armed light horse = 2SP
3 x Skoutatoi 'Protected Bowmen' @ 4SP = 12SP

Eight units, 25SP, exhausted on -9SP, rout on -13SP
82 figures (excluding command), 48 foot, 34 horse. Represents an army 4,100 strong.

If there is to be a Fifth Wargames Compendium, I propose submitting a rule set for the the editor's consideration. I will have a follow-up article here to discuss the design considerations, terrain generation and possible army lists for the 10x10 game. 

Before the battle lines could close, Byzantine archery 
drives back two Rus units, and then the kataphraktoi
smash through a third unit of spearmen, wiping out the
whole unit for the loss of 1SP.

Interested readers might like to look at last year's 'Byzantiad' articles here:
'Byzantiad' - a Pecheneg Raid  
'Byzantiad' - Doing the Math
'Byzantiad' - Further Tests
One thing to note: there will be changes to the table of troop types.

To be continued...

A Portable Shiloh

The table set up: CSA advancing; the Union Army in their 
camps. Only one Union brigade would be allowed to 
organise automatically and at once (Peabody's); the rest
had to be diced for.

 

Several months ago - back in April, at the beginning of my rather slack blogging period - I played out the Battle of Shiloh on my well used, much fought over, hex battlefield. This game used the conventions I had developed for my Gettysburg battles as published in the Third Wargames Compendium (2024), and in this blog spot in January 2024. This time, though, the unit formations were brigades, rather than Divisions.

With the exception of W.T. Sherman's 5th, all Union Divisions comprised three brigades, to all of which were assigned 4 stands, and hence 4 Strength Points. All sixteen Confederate brigades were also 4SP strong. Within each Division, the artillery were concentrated in one stand, each with four-man gun crews. The Union also had an independent heavy piece close by Pittsburgh Landing.

Instead of three 4-stand brigades, Sherman got four 3-stand brigades. Actually, Stuart's brigade was separated from Sherman's main body by Prentiss's Division, and stood not far from the Tennessee River bank. It seemed reasonable to give  Stuart a cannon with a single crew figure to represent his allotment of guns.

The table set up with CSA brigades and Union 
Divisional camps labelled. 

The Armies comprised:

Union Army of the Tennessee:

Commanding: Brigadier-General Ulysses S. Grant#
1st Division: Major-Genl J.A. McClernand
    3 Brigades (Hare, Marsh and Raith) each 4 stands (each 4SP)
    1 small cavalry unit of 1 stand (1SP)
    1 cannon with 4-man crew (4SP)
2nd Division: Brig-Genl W.H.L. Wallace 
    3 Brigades (Tuttle, McArthur, Sweeny) (each 4SP)
    1 cavalry unit (1SP)
    1 cannon with 4-man crew (4SP)
3rd Division:    Major-Genl Lew Wallace*
    3 Brigades (Smith, Thayer, Whittlesey) (each 4SP)
    1 cavalry unit (1SP)
    1 cannon with 4-man crew (4SP)
4th Division: Brig-Genl S.A. Hurlbut
    3 Brigades (Williams, Veatch, Lauman) (each 4SP)
    1 cavalry unit (1SP)
    1 cannon (4SP)

5th Division: Brig-Genl W.T. Sherman**
    4 Brigades (McDowell, Stuart**, Hildebrand, Buckland) (each 3SP)
    1 cavalry unit (1SP)
    1 cannon with 3-man crew (3SP)

    1 cannon with 1-man crew (1SP)**

6th Division: Brig-Genl B.M. Prentiss
    3 Brigades (Peabody##, Miller, unattached infantry***) (each 4SP)
    1 cavalry unit (1SP)
    1 cannon with 4-man crew (4SP)
Reserve Artillery:

    1 heavy cannon with 4-man crew (4SP)

Total Army Strength: 106 Strength Points.


Notes:
* Lew Wallace's Division is a few miles away at Adamsville and Stoney Lonesome settlements. They spend almost the whole day marching to the battlefield. 

** Stuart's Brigade was separated from Sherman's camps on the right flank, beyond Prentiss's Division to the left, near the river.

*** For the purposes of this action I have supposed the unattached infantry to have been brigaded together 

# General Grant was himself not with his army as the Confederates began their early morning assault, having to board a boat to transport himself from Crump's Landing a few miles down-river.

## The Confederates managed to pull off an almost complete surprise, but one formation commander, smelling a large, hairy and early-rising rat, gathered together his brigade shortly before the attack. His was the only brigade of the 'front line' Divisions (Sherman and Prentiss) not surprised. How this is enacted will be told in due course.

Confederate Army of the Mississippi

Commanders: General A.S. Johnston (GoC); General P.G.T Beauregard (2iC)

I Army Corps: Major-Genl Leonidas Polk
    1st Division: Brig-Genl C. Clark 

        2 Brigades (Russell, A.P. Stewart) (each 4SP) 

        1 cannon (4SP)

    2nd Division: Major-Genl B.F. Cheatham 

        2 Brigades (B.R. Johnson, Stephens) (each 4SP)

        1 cannon (4SP)

    Cavalry: (1SP)

II Army Corps: Major-Genl Braxton Bragg

    1st Division: Brig-Genl Dan Ruggles

        3 Brigades (Gibson, Anderson, Pond) (each 4SP)

        1 cannon (4SP)

    2nd Division: Brig-Genl J.M. Withers

        3 Brigades (Gladden, Chalmers, J.K. Jackson) (each 4SP)
        1 cannon (4SP)

    Cavalry: (Col Joe Wheeler) (2SP)

III Army Corps*: Major-Genl Wm J. Hardee

    3 Brigades only (Shaver, Cleburne, Wood) (each 4SP)

    1 cavalry (1SP)
    1 cannon (4SP) 

IV Army Corps*: Brig-Genl J.C. Breckinridge
    3 Brigades (Trabue, Bowen, Statham) (each 4SP)
    1 cavalry (N. Bedford Forrest) (2SP)
    1 cannon (4SP) 

Total Army Strength: 94 Strength Points

Notes:
* The Corps of Hardee and Breckinridge were really only Division sized - roughly the same size as any of the Union Divisions.

The commencement of the battle, looking west to east
towards the Tennessee River

The same, looking east to west.

The Union army was attacked in its camps, only Colonel Everett Peabody (Prentiss's Division) being more or less ready to face the onslaught. He begins the battle with his brigade in the process of rallying; the rest of the Union army has to dice to rally and form up, which takes a turn to achieve. Dice rolls required a 6 for move 1, 5-6 for turn 2, 4-6 for turn 3, automatic thereafter. During the early stages of the battle, only Buckland's brigade of Sherman's Division was ready for action when Hardee's Corps struck, though at the eastern end of the line, Stuart was able to rally long before the Confederates got close.

Poor Peabody got embroiled in an unequal fight with the rest of Prentiss's Division seeming unable to sort themselves out betimes. By the time Prentiss get his command together, Peabody's brigade had gone under, and there wasn't a whole lot left of the rest of it!

Sherman's (nearest), McClernand's and Hurlbut's (distant)
Divisions still more or less recumbent.

W.H.L Wallace's Division close by Pittsburgh Landing. To the left of the 
picture, Hurlbut's Division, with McClernand in the distance.

First contact! S.A.M. Wood's brigade strikes Hildebrand's brigade (Sherman's Division)
near Shiloh Church. The surprise was enough to scatter Hildebrand's command
to the winds.

I'll probably write up only a very brief summary of events, though this refight was as eventful as the historical battle. I took far too many pictures!

To be continued...

Waterloo Campaign 2.0 - concluded

We begin the action at dawn of 18 June 1815, with the realisation that I omitted at one point to take some pictures. This is likely to cause confusion in the narrative that I will try to unravel. Permit me too to tender my apologies to readers for the terribly long delay in producing the final instalment of this campaign narrative.

I Corps retreat to Enghien. Up the road from Mons and Binche,
Marshal Ney leads I, III and IV Cavalry Corps  

We resume the story on the afternoon of 17th June. After a series of actions during the day against the French I and III Corps, the depleted Allied I Corps fell back to Enghien, where it was hoped to rally the scattered forces overnight for a renewed battle on the 18th.

 

General situation south of Brussels. The Allied Cavalry Corps
having defeated the French II Corps at Quatre Bras, is about to
come under attack by the Imperial Guard

At Quatre Bras, the defeated French II Corps fell back towards Charleroi, then still occupied by Marshal Grouchy with IV Corps. The victorious Allied Cavalry Corps dared not, however, pursue the French retreat. Too close for comfort, the lead elements of the Imperial Guard, led by the Emperor in person, was threatening the Cavalry's flank.

Napoleon versus Uxbridge - a heavy defeat for the Allies.

Sure enough the cavalry had barely time to meat the attack when it came, shortly before nightfall. It was a crushing defeat: two-thirds of the Allied cavalry scattered to the winds (though half of them were regathered overnight), for the trifling loss to the French of just one brigade of infantry.

Four cavalry for one infantry: decisive.

The overall picture of the Anglo-Dutch situation after the series of defeats - with just one, possibly two, successful action actions to balance the scores - would have been dire, but for the timely arrival of II Corps at Hal. That formation was to form a line with the Cavalry Corps covering the Hal and Waterloo roads to Brussels.

Against the situation on the Brussels Front, matters were more finely balanced along the line of the Sambre. The Prussian III Corps (Thielmann) marching into the French deep right flank heading towards Laneffe, Marshal Grouchy intercepted with IV Corps leaving Charleroi to the recently defeated II Corps, and directing VI to Laneffe itself. Meanwhile, General Exelmans's II cavalry Corps' dragoons evacuating Namur, had followed up the Prussians and entered Fosse, behind them.

For his part, Prince Blucher launched a heavy attack with most of Pirch's II Corps under his immediate hand, and thrown out the Charleroi garrison. That Corps, also named the Second, retreated upstream along the Sambre to Thuin. So matters stood at nightfall of the 17th June. 

Map situation. I won't be using this method of labelling
in future.

Bulow's IV Corps on the march

In the above may I experimented with dice to label the formations of the contending armies. It is a technique I shall be in no all-fired rush to repeat. However it does show the strategic dichotomy that has arisen, with the Anglo-Dutch army under pressure south of Brussels, and the Prussians operating around Charleroi. Bulow's Corps still distant, the situation along the line of the Sambre looks finely balanced.

Marshal Grouchy's attempt to swallow up Thielmann's 
III Corps falls short of complete success...

It seemed for a moment that, despite the fall of Charleroi, the French might tip the balance their way. Coming under concentric attacks from IV and VI Corps, with Exelmans's dragoons menacing his rear, Thielmann's troops did well to survive, and to retreat back along the road to Yvoir. I made, possibly, a little bit of a error here, permitting the Prussians to stay on the road by bypassing Fosse, still occupied by Exelmans. But I was disinclined to go too far down the 'zones of control' track, figuring that the Army Corps survivors would have cut their way out. One for further thought, perhaps,

After forcing out Reille's Corps, Blucher captures 
Charleroi

That victory over Thielmann was rather less decisive than Marshal Grouchy had hoped for. Nor was he well placed to exploit it such as it was. Large Prussian forces were piling up around Charleroi, II Corps had retired away for the Charleroi-Laneffe road, and Thielmann's Corps was still a formation in being. From this point on, the French situation along the line of the Sambre began steadily to deteriorate.

The Allies form a defensive line in front of Brussels

Not that the Emperor was inclined to let the nebulous situation to the south deter his determination to settle accounts in the north. Following up the series of victories around Soignes, III Corps, joined by IV Cavalry, took over the lead from I Corps, marched through Braine le Comte, preparatory to an attack upon I Corps at Enghien on the morning of the 18th June.

The Grande Armee closes in upon Brussels

Meanwhile, in an attempt to interrupt the retreat of Thielmann's Corps, Exelmans launched his own attack upon that depleted formation on the march. Although inflicting considerable loss upon the Prussians - an infantry figure - that was, pretty much, the end of Exelmans' cavalry as an independent formation. Possibly some survivors might join IV or VI Corps later on...

Thielmann eliminates Exelmans's corps of dragoons
in a costly operation...

On the morning of the 18th June, the Prussians seized an early initiative. Prince Blucher led II Corps immediately to Thuin, leaving the town of Chaleroi to be occupied by Zieten's I Corps. Howwever, at Thuin, Blucher received an early check, losing much of his infantry, although the French cavalry were driven from the field and they lost several guns besides. 

Blucher receives a check at Thuin.

Blucher himself was unhorsed in the fray, trampled underfoot as several foot units fled, and had  to be rescued by his staff officers. Only slightly contused (the red '4'), the Feldmarschall Prince remounted and resumed command. He would launch another assault...

Blucher is himself unhorsed in the assault, but survives
more or less uninjured

No better success, however, attended Grouchy when he attacked the Prussian III Corps east of Fosse. Although heavily outnumbered (5 dice to 10), the Prussians fought off the French, the respective losses about even. All the same, so far, the forces Marshal Grouchy now had under command seemed to be holding their own in the Charleroi area. 

Grouchy's final  - and unsuccessful attempt
to destroy Thielmann's Corps.

The day opened with Napoleon's powerful attack at Waterloo, much of the Imperial Guard striking at the Allied Cavalry Corps. 

Napoleon's attack out of Waterloo

There cavalry of both sides bore the brunt of the fighting, but the greater loss among the Allies, they fell back onto the Brussels-Hal road.

Napoleon victorious. Again.

Vandamme vs the Prince of Orange...

According to plan, General Vandamme's III Corps seized an early initiative, and fell upon the Allied I Corps at Enghien. The action could scarcely be called a battle, I Corps being stricken in short order from the Allied order of battle. Although some French cavalry foundered upon the British squares, they were in turn, along with the artillery, overrun by overwhelming numbers of French columns.

The end of the Allied I Corps

Now, although this eliminated I Corps, the Anglo-Dutch would still get some return on the losses during the 'end-of-turn' reconciliation - the overnight rallying and gathering in of stragglers and strays. Basically, I figured upon such troops that survived the defeat would make their way in small groups, avoiding pursuit, until reaching friends. So, added to whatever other losses the Allies accrue during the morning, they could add, theoretically, one and a half infantry and half a gunner to the regathering of scattered forces. Incidentally, much the same process had already been carried out following the dissolution of the French I - III Cavalry Corps. IV Cavalry, though still in being, was now attached to III Army Corps. 

I Corps overwhelmed. Some fugitives survived to 
join II Corps marching up from Alost.

Following the defeat of the Allied Cavalry Corps, the Anglo-Allied commander, the Earl of Uxbridge having replaced the deceased Iron Duke, ordered a counter-offensive against the Imperial Guard at Waterloo. The Reserve Corps from Brussels and the II Corps from Hal.

Napoleon under assault from combined Allied Corps

The practice here with two formations attacking one, is that the battles are carried out in succession, not two against one in one go. After the first battle, losses are removed, and then the second action takes place. A while ago, the Prussian III Corps had to face attacks from the French IV and VI Corps. Now it was the French turn under the cosh.

Reserve Corps attack...

The first action to be resolved was that of Reserve Corps' attack. Reserve Corps got 11 dice; Napoleon got 14. This was a hard fought affair, the French losing 1 foot and 1 horse; the Anglo-Dutch their sole cavalry unit present, and three gunners. Very well, Reserve Corps suffered a repulse, losing several guns besides. 

II Corps attack...

Then it was the turn of the fresh II Corps. The French were reduced to 12 dice, the Anglo-Dutch had 11. This was just as tough a fight, but again went the French way: 3 foot eliminated from the enemy, for the loss of 1 foot and 1 horse. This was a considerable victory for Napoleon, wiping out 7 units for the loss of 4. But the situation remained perilous for Napoleon, as subsequent events were to show.


During the course of the afternoon, General Vandamme led a counter-attack against the Anglo-Dutch II Corps to relieve the pressure upon Napoleon at Waterloo. Winning a quick, but slight victory, he ought to have pushed the Allies out of Hal, but for some reason...

'Daddy' Hill's Corps under attack whilst on the march

... I let them remain in the town to be attacked by the French I Corps. This did not go well for I Corps, the Anglo-Dutch clinging onto their positions with the French assault checked.

Now d'Erlon's Corps joins the fun.

The battle didn't end there. Counter-attacking in their turn, II Allied Corps attacked d'Erlon's Corps. Having the extra die (9 to 8) didn't much help the Allies; the action petering out to a draw: the French losing 2 foot, to a foot unit and a gunner. So far, the outnumbered Allied II Corps was giving almost as good as it was getting.

Fierce fighting around Brussels lasting all day...

Napoleon seemed to have hit a brick wall about Brussels as well. Following up his defensive successes at Waterloo he encountered stiff resistance just south of Brussels itself. Now, following the battering they had already taken during the course of the campaign so far, Uxbridge deemed it wise to amalgamate or at least combine the Reserve and Cavalry Corps into a single formation under his own hand. This formation he led into battle against the enemy.

The result of the hard fought battle was encouraging to the Anglo-Dutch allies.  Although the French got 13 dice to 11, the apparently massive loss of infantry was rendered nugatory by the availability of just two Allied foot to lose. Both sides lost 2 infantry and 1 cavalry: a drawn battle. 

But Uxbridge was not prepared to let matters rest there. Having checked Napoleon's onset, he ordered II Corps - that formation having been driven out of Hal - to attack the Imperial Guard and drive it away from Brussels. The result was a shock to both sides.

At last the Allies enjoy some success!

The desperate attack overrunning several cannon stunned the Imperial Guard, who, despite Napoleon's exhortations, fell back to Waterloo. 

But only as far as Waterloo...

There he halted the retreat. The fact was the Guard had fought against heavy odds (sort of). The numbers arrayed against them had been too much to overcome until the rear elements of the Guard came up from Nivelles.

Marshal Grouchy finds himself in a parlous situation...

The Prussian III Corps retreating across the Meuse at Yvoir, at Fosse Grouchy and the French IV Corps had to turn to face the Prussian I Corps bursting across the Sambre out of Charleroi. Meanwhile, Blucher's second attack at Thuin pushed the defenders out, and back down the road to Beaumont. Nor did Reille's Corps hold there for long. A quick assault forced them to retreat almost as far as the Vire River.

Anglo-Dutch allies hunker down in front of Brussels

Such was the situation as the 18th drew to a close. Napoleon's Guard and two army corps now very considerably outnumbered what was left of the Anglo-Dutch army in the field, the Emperor determined at all costs to drive the enemy through Brussels and out of the campaign. 

General situation, looking west from Namur...

The situation along the line of the Sambre, however, was looking far less rosy for the French. IV and VI Army Corps were an approximate match for the Prussian I and III, but Bulow's IV Corps, still on the march, were now passing through Fleurus. Which way would they turn - northward to help the Anglo-Dutch, or to reinforce Prussia's own successes?

The second day of battle of Brussels

As the 19th dawned, it was the French who seized the early initiative. At once he launched heavy attacks on the Anglo-Dutch line, the Guard assaulting Brussels directly; I and III Corps pounding the Anglo-Dutch II Corps. 

The Imperial Guard's battle was probably the bloodiest of the campaign. At the end of the day, the infantry were entirely spent, but the Cav/Reserve Corps had lost most of their artillery as well as almost as many infantry as the Guard. The four extra infantry translated to the French losing all three of its foot figures; the Anglo-Dutch losses amounted to two foot and three gunners.

Allied II Corps under the heavy assault.

Vandamme's III Corps assault upon II Corps was no less violent. Has III Corps any cavalry to lose, the battle would have been drawn, but as the infantry losses were three to two against the Anglo-Dutch, the result went in favour of the French. Now, I might have mentioned this elsewhere, I have, for a number of reasons, one of which involving the impact upon picture-taking, adopted a move all, then fight all method.  So, though defeated, II Corps has to face d'Erlon's I Corps before falling back. If they defeat I Corps, possibly they won't have to retreat after all!

Anglo-Dutch defences begin to crumble

As it transpired, II Corps gave as good as the got from d'Erlon - taking out two infantry for a foot and the sole artillery figure. All the same, facing odds of two to one, II Corps lost altogether 5 elements (4 infantry plus gunner) whilst inflicting 4 (all infantry). The whole 'Battle of Brussels' cost the French seven elements; the Anglo-Dutch ten!

This, of course was the decisive battle of the campaign as far as the British supported Anglo-Dutch was concerned. Hardly anything remained of the army, as it abandoned Brussels to Napoleon's triumphant Guardsmen, and trudged down the Ghent road, abandoning half its remaining artillery on the way.

The ragged remnants of the Anglo-Allied army 
retreat down the old Ghent road... 

But that was not to be the final word upon the War of the Seventh Coalition. Far to the south, matters were going far less well for the French. Almost cut off at Fosse between two Prussian Corps (although Thielmann's was looking pretty threadbare by this time, Grouchy had to barge past Zieten's Corps to reach Laneffe. Meanwhile, Lobau's VI Corps had fallen back upon Philippeville. 

Battle at Beaumont.

Having allowed Blucher to take Beaumont. Reille managed to cobble together a remnant of his Corps, with which to recover that town. Blucher's confident troops completely smashed Reille's desperate lunge.

Blucher wins a crushing victory at Beaumont

The three infantry and single cavalry brigades simply broke themselves to pieces against the Prussians' resolute defence. This was probably the most one-side battle of the whole campaign.

Marshal Grouchy fared little better in the course of the battle of Laneffe. Little remained of IV Corps after this last encounter. The remnants faded back to join Lobau at Philippeville.

French defeat at Laneffe...

Bulow marching through Fleurus

Before The Prussians could press their advances deeper across the border with France, word came back of the Anglo-Dutch disaster at Brussels. Her army smashed, in effect, Britannia was out of the war, and, as far as the Low Countries were concerned, Prussia was on its own. Although the French forces before him were but a shadow of what they had been, they were still a force in being. Meanwhile, however, Bulow's Corps had just barely arrived in the theatre. Could the Prussians mount a campaign against the forces Napoleon still commanded in the field?

Victorious Grand Armee around Brussels

At this point I declined to test it, and called the campaign right here with a French strategic victory, however marginal. I will admit, though, that, had the real campaign followed this course, it would have merged into a second campaign almost at once, with the issue - certainly not more than 60-40 in French favour, and probably a lot less - still somewhat in doubt. This especially as Bulow's Prussian IV Corps had not yet seen any action at all.

The newly constituted attrition/recovery rules seemed to work very well, with Army Corps formations retaining a considerable presence even after several engagements. Only two formations were destroyed outright: the Anglo-Dutch I Corps, and the French IInd. The Prussian III Corps was lucky to survive several defeats to remain still in being at the close of this campaign. 

The narrative behind the overnight 'reconciliations', indicated that the some of the fugitives from the destroyed Corps would have found their way to the nearest friendly formations and merged with them. Thus II Corps absorbed the returns of the missing I Corps. Had the campaign continued, no doubt Lobau's Corps would have picked up some stragglers from the wreckage of Reille's formation. That might have given it some heft in opposing the ring of Prussians around them.