End of Crisis at the Crossroads

I wrapped up the recreation of the Quatre Bras game I was playing.  In the end, the allied left was able to drive off the French, inflicting very high casualties on each battalion.  Even the Belgian dragoons came through against their French counterparts.  On the other flank, the Nassau battalions in the woods were able to hold their ground, but two Dutch militia battalions were destroyed when they were caught in the open by French lancers.  The Dutch foot battery was also overrun by lancers.  Despite these losses, it appeared that the Prince of Orange would be able to hold on with the few reserves he had on hand, partiularly the unblooded Dutch hussars.

The decimated French battalions can be seen trying to regroup in the background

The cavalry meles

The French high water mark in the center.

The Nassauers stubbornly hold on to the woods.

All in all it was a fun game.  Several charges turned out to be surprising and a couple of double sixes had an inpact on the overall outcome.  The big Nassau battalions were tough in firefights having so many figures.  The French columns were not successful in punching through them.

To my Camp VIP alums

This morning the president of our local wargaming group, HMGS, called and said that he had a member donate about 50 plastic model tanks and asked if I might have any interest in them.  Many of you have asked about World War II types of battles, so I thought some of you might be interested.  These will be sent to me in the near future and I'll probably keep them at school, so if you are interested, let me know and I'd be happy to pass some of them on to you.  You can let me know of your interest by posting a reply on this site.

Crisis at the Crossroads

Using the book The Battle of Quatre Bras and some magazine articles, I have put together a battle that takes place at about 3:00 during the battle of Quatre Bras.  The scale isn't quite right, but it gives the general idea of the situation faced by the Prince of Orange at that time.  His lonely Dutch/Belgian division was trying to hold the vital crossroads.  The French had gotten off to a late start, but were making up lost time quickly.  Here are some shots from the first three turns.  To summarize, the French columns of Bonaparte's division jumped off and were quite successful in pushing back the Belgian jagers.  Their initial artillery blasts were also very effective (double sixes), but alas, no officers were hit.

Soye's brigade pushes back the Belgian jagers.

Bonapate's other brigade deploys to attack the wood.

French chasseurs a cheval threaten the allied left flank.

Lancers prepare to attack the crossroads.

From behind the French right