1812 Invasion of Russia in 54mm

Conrad offered to run a 54mm Napoleonic game here at the Burrow so on Saturday he arrived with his car stuffed to the gunwales with boxes of La Grande Armee and the army of the Czar. What appears on the table is not a small fraction of his collection; he has some 40-50 ‘French’ infantry battalions alone, each of 24 figures. Where he puts them I do not know, and I’ve been to his house!

As well as Conrad we had Richard, Neil and John the Red. Richard and I were the good guys, er the Russians, tasked with holding a series of low hills and delaying the French attack as long  as possible. We were outnumbered in infantry but we had the edge in numbers and quality so far as the cavalry and artillery were concerned. We used Black Powder without any of my normal house rules, to keep it simple.

What followed was a tremendously enjoyable game, especially as we (the Russians) held the French and sent them packing. Indeed we were all done by lunchtime, so this holds the record as the quickest game played here. We still went through six or more turns in the two and half hours of play. 

Essentially, Neil led his German cavalry forward against our right wing but despite catching the Guard Cuirassiers in the flank were broken. The same fate fell on the Badem Hissars when they were charged by the  cuirassier, destroying one brigade on the Deench side.In the centre Richard our CinC advanced rapidly against the Poles and Wurtemburgers advancing slowly towards us. In a prolonged fight the Wurtemburgers were broken but so was Richard’s brigade. On our left Co rad moved his mixed foreign brigade forward and formed square facing my light cavalry. My grenadiers charged the Croats and then the Portuguese, eventually routing them - goodbye the third French brigade and the battle was over in time for soup.

Here are a random selection of photos culled from those I took as well as contributions from Richard and John. 

Neuchatel, Croats and Portuguese.

Bavarians

Russian uhlans and hussars on our left 

The centre advances 

The Russian centre 

The Poles 

Russian Guard Hussars

Btn Neuchatel

My Grenadiers were held by the Croats but overran the Portuguese Legion easy enough.

The collapse of the French right.

Our centre in action 

 Broken Wurtemburgers 

Broken Baden Hussars

The end is nigh, and the cat of war declares a Russian victory!

There was some talk about all of us moving into this scale but fabulous as it is it ain’t going to happen here.