General de Brigade

I finished my miniatures class toward the end of July and then began a class to add a certificate to my teaching credential. That limited my wargaming activities somewhat. But the class has ended and I still have a couple of weeks of summer left, so I dusted off my Napoleonic collection for a small battle.

The practice with Die Kriesgkunst made this easier than previous games. The scenario had a French divison, supported by a brigade of dragoons, attacking an Anglo-Hanoverian division trying to defend a town. The Hanoverian regulars were on the allied left and the British troops were on the right. Four batallions of Hanoverian landwehr were in a second line as a reserve.

The French attacked right away. The first action was between the two skirmish screens. The French definitely got the better of their adversaries. Following the skirmishers came the blue-clad columns. They were successful in each instance, driving back the allied line. On the extreme left, the dragoons forced an English regiment into square which was subsequently blasted by a battery of horse artillery.

After about six turns it was apparent that the French had been successful in driving off the Anglo-Hanoverian division. The French columns, with their plus two bonus for being in column was just enough of a benefit to win three out of four meles. I was again surprised to see how ineffective the artillery was unless it was firing canister. And then it was devestating, knocking out at least four or five figures at a time!

I have a much better feel for the rules, and so I was able to move at a more rapid pace, which made the game much more enjoyable.

This week I want to finish painting up about 250 ACW figures to either sell or use to replace older figures in my collection. It's nice to have a little time before school starts up again.