Day Three Quatre Bras Battle: Double Sixes Prevail

The students returned for day three to find that reinforcements had arrived on both sides.  For the French, a brigade of Bachlu's division came in on the right.  L'Hertier's horse artillery arrived in the center.  The allies received Kempt's brigade on their left and a Hanoverian brigade of conscripts on their right.

Bachelu's Division begins to arrive on the French right.

Turn nine saw the sides slug it out with each other.  Losses mounted, but neither side gained an advantage over the other.  On turn 10, however, fatigue began to take its toll.  Sax Weinar's brigade broke after taking a brigade morale test and was forced back faltered.  But Jamin's French brigade suffered the same fate in the French middle, surrendering the hard won farm house.  Adding to the French's troubles, Hebert's brigade of light cavalry suffered extremely high casualties trying to take out a battery of Brunswick artillery.

Thr Brunswick battery in the center/right of this photo delivers a knockout blow to Pire's light cavalry

On turn 11, a French assault on the ridge before Quatre Bras finally achieved success.   A Dutch battery was captured and a hole created in the allied line.  Another boon to the French cause was the faltering of Bylandt's Netherlands brigade due to the morale check forced by the loss of the battery.  On the allied right, a French lancer regiment was able to drive back two large regiments of Dutch and Belgian horse.  This would be the last success achieved by Pire's light cavalry before their demise before the Brunswick guns


On turn 12 an amazing string of double sixes grabbed everyone's attention.  The first was on a roll by a French heavy battery firing at one of Picton's batteries.  The result was the destruction of the battery.  Two more were on the French left in issuing musket fire on Saxe Weimar's battered battalions.  A clear shift in momentum was evident.  Even the vaunted 1st Royal Scots regiment balked in their attempt to close with a French line battalion, rolling snake eyes on their morale test.

Picton's destroyed battery.

A Brunswick battery fell victim to a French charge.  Double sixes on the morale test for the French sealed the battery's fate.

As the day drew to a close, The French players clearly had the advantage, piercing the allied line in two places.  However, allied reinforcements were arriving to plug these breeches while the French were more limited in this department.  Bonaparte's division had done a remarkable job in driving in the allied line.  But no supports appear to be on hand to complete the job.