A fair while back I tried a Map Game version of the Waterloo Campaign. I called it the 'Hundred Minutes' - stupid name, but the thing itself went with a swing. But I was always conscious of the numbers being a little bit wrong, especially for the Allies. So, I'm revisiting, as I promised myself I would do. This time I want to formalise the rule set a bit more clearly, so this is as much a play test as anything.
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| Early morning 15 June 1815, the sun breaking over the Ardennes forest as we look northwest towards Charleroi. |
The French set the ball rolling on Day 1, with the Anglo-Dutch and Prussians following on. For each of the subsequent days all three armies roll for initiative, with each army making its moves and fighting its battles in descending order of die roll. Otherwise, it's IGoUGo.
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| Marschal-General Prinz von Blucher surveys the Prussian II Corps at Namur |
I also added two commanders on the French side, Marshals Ney (commanding the 'Left Wing') and Grouchy (commanding the 'Right'). They, along with Napoleon himself, Wellington and Blucher, add their figure to the combat count.
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| Allied Cavalry Corps setting off from Alons across the Dendre River. |
I'll discuss the mechanics more at large another time. For the moment, we're still in Day 2 (17 June 1815), with the Prussians still to make their moves. The Anglo-Dutch, then the French, have already made theirs.
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| The Duke of Wellington waves forward from Brussels his Corps of Reserves |
Plenty of excitement already: three battles fought, Prussian I Corps badly knocked about, and the news from Quatre Bras isn't looking too good for the Allies, either. To add to the Allies' problems, a sinister development around Namur may have placed Blucher in something of a quandary.
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| The Imperial Guard takes up a lot of road! Ahead of them are II and III Corps. The Emperor himself oversees the march.  |
Marshal Grouchy had barely arrived at Charleroi with IV Corps when they were assailed by the Prussian I Corps. Not all the Prussian Corps could participate in the action, as 3 elements, a gunner, infantryman and cavalry figure, being back along the road, although they could join the main body, could not participate in the battle. This was due to a move restriction which counts an attack as a hex move.
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| Battle of Charleroi, 15 June: Prussian I Corps against French IV Corps. Marshal Grouchy lends his countenance to the French side. But, in the foreground, where are II and III Cavalry Corps going...? |
So these 'reserves' awaited in Fleurus(Ligny) the outcome of the action. The two sides were fairly evenly matched, the Marshal making the difference:
Prussian I Corps:
4 Infantry, 2 cavalry, 1 gunner, all three arms present = 4+2+1+3 = 10 dice
French IV Corps:
Marshal Grouchy, 4 infantry, 1 cavalry, 2 gunners, all three arms present = 1+4+1+2+3 = 11 dice.
However, the battle outcome didn't match the evenness of the strengths!
Prussia lost 4 infantry and 1 cavalry figure;
France lost 1 cavalry (having just the one to lose instead of 5!)
This was a heavy defeat for I Corps. They fell back upon Fleurus, gathering in their reserves as they did so. Overnight, some of the stragglers were rallied in. At the end of each day, each side gathers in half their losses by each arm, rounded up for infantry, and down for other arms. As Prussia lost 4 infantry in the battle, they get 2 back. They lost 1 cavalry, but half rounded down is zero. The French also lose their cavalry outright - rather a blow for them, as theirs was the sole representative of the mounted arm!
In the past I used a different convention: each side lost the lesser of each side's losses per arm. That would have meant both sides get their lost cavalry back, but what of the infantry? The Prussians lost 4, the French none. Do the Prussians get all four back, or none? I think the more usual 'half returns' might be fairer.
On 16 June, the Anglo-Dutch made the first moves, I Corps, with Marshal Ney leading to Soignes, Cavalry Corps through Waterloo towards Nivelle, and the Reserve Corps to Quatre Bras. The French moving next, IV Corps followed up their victory at Charleroi to engage I Prussian Corps again at Fleury (Ligny); II Corps pushed up the Brussels road to engage the Anglo-Dutch at Quatre Bras, and I Corps marched through Mons towards Soignes. Leading the Imperial Guard, III Corps swung left upon reaching Seneffe, also heading towards Soignes where lay the Anglo-Dutch I Corps. The Imperial Guard, meanwhile, was pushing directly up the road towards Nivelle, which the enemy cavalry corps had not quite reached.
That left the four Division-sized French Cavalry Corps, and Count Lobau's VI Corps. Word having reached the General's ears indicating enemy troop movements nearing the Meuse around Dinant, he directed his small Army Corps east from Beaumont to Philippeville, with the view to marching upon Gives or Laneffe depending upon events. II and III Cavalry Corps themselves crossed the Meuse, the latter entering Yvoir. That separated the Prussian III Corps from the IInd, but II Cav Corps rather cheekily recrossed the Meuse at Namur, entering the town from which Blucher and the Prussian II Corps had departed the day before.
The French brought the Allies to battle at Ligny and Quatre Bras both...
I'll suspend the abbreviated narrative there for the time being. The two battles have been fought, with some interesting consequences for both sides. I have some vague notion that this, or possibly the Echmuhl campaign revisited, might form a chapter in a future Compendium. If that is a goer, I want what gets printed there to be fresh, if not altogether new, at least containing more than what appears in this blog or elsewhere.
One of the features of this revisit is my attempt to reflect the strengths of the various corps a little more closely. This means the Prussians in particular are a deal stronger this time around. But the slightly enlarged corps generally take up more space along a road, and I doubt that the French Imperial Guard will fit into a single hex. This could have some interesting effects. At any rate, the details might be left for another time.
The Little Great War -
This one I am placing on hold for the time being. I have two battle reports to ... erm ... report, and some campaign moves, so the thing hasn't fallen over completely. In fact looking at the pics has restirred the blood at least a little. But I have this itch to scratch first.
To be continued...
