3rd General de Brigade game

On Saturday afternoon six of us gathered in my garage for a third General De Brigade game. Two of us had some experience, but the other four players were just getting acquainted with the rules. The game was a fictional scenario that had the British and Brunswickers trying to push beyond a bridgehead. The photo below shows the attack force just prior to setting out.

The allied strategy was to pin the French right and make its major attack on the weaker French left. The Brunswickers were particularly aggressive on the extreme left of the allied assault. One of the highlights of the game came on about the fourth turn when the 95th rifles rolled a double six. The French brigade commander was within range, so had to roll. The youngest member of our group, at 14, tossed snake eyes and saw his general run away in a panic!

The allied attacks on the left tied down most of the French forces, but at a very high price. Two highlander battalions took severe casualties while trying to drive off a French battery. The gunners were eventually driven off, but not until both highland units had suffered over 30% casualties.

The French commander, Tim, was very aggressive on the right flank. His swift counter-attack basically shattered the tightly packed Brunswickers and sent them fleeing back across the bridge.

The British attack on the French left, however, was much more successful. In the photo below the British unit fired a volley at long range and caused only one casualty, but the morale roll was a paltry three, so the threat was turned away.

In the last turn of the game, a second British unit charged a battery of horse artillery, which chose to stand. It passed morale, but was destroyed on the consequent mele. This created a hole in the French line which would be hard to plug as there were no reserves on this side of the battlefield

Everybody had a good time. We were able to get through seven turns in about four hours. Not bad considering our inexperience with the rules.

2nd General de Brigade game

Thanks to my new blog, I made contact with another person here int the L.A. area who was interested in General de Brigade. We played our first game tonight and had a great time together. We scaled down the Waterloo scenario in the rulebook. Slava took the French and I had the British and allies. At left is a picture of Slava moving his Guard forward.

The picture above captures the opening shots of the battle.

To the left is a photo of two Guard battalions that are close to coming to grips with two Brunswick battalions. The right hand Guard battalion had suffered several casualties from the supporting British foot battery.

Below shows even more of the line as the French make their final push on the ridge.

The British guards unleashed a murderous fire that stopped three French guard battalions cold. Two faltered and the third was forced to retreat

Even on the extreme right of the allied line, the French met some stiff resistance from a Nassau battalion. The lone allied cavalry unit also switched from a support order to assault which forced two battalions into square, slowing the advance on this flank dramatically.

We called the game at this point. The French had made significant gains on the allied left, driving back the two Brunswick battalions. Additionally, they had brought up their 12lb battery into a position that would allow it to enfilade the ridge. The Dutch/Belgian brigade changed orders and began to march to the battered flank, but it would probably be to little too late.

As could be expected, the French casualties were extremely high while the allies were incredibly light.

My thanks to Slava for helping me get a much clearer grasp of the rules. I look forward to many more tabletop encounters!

General de Brigade game conclusion

The final turn of the game was an eventful one. In this bound, the French coordinated an attack
on the allied right. It was a formidable task, as the left portion of this line was held by two British regiments. The assault met with mixed results. The photo above captures the highlight of the day. A small French battalion was able to drive back a much larger British counterpart. The battalions to the left, however, were not as successful. The second picture captures the first "double six" of the game, rolled by the British battalion on the left. This faltered the Frenchmen and stunned general de brigade Gauthier, causing him to withdraw from the field for one turn. Lloyd's battery to the right also halted the second French column.On the extreme right of the allied line, the French endured a withering volley from a Hanoverian line battalion and pressed on into mele, forcing the men in red to retreat, and continuing to threaten the entire line.

On the allied left, the firefight continued with the French taking the worst of it. The resulting casualties made any further aggression on this flank out of the question. At this point, the game was over.

I learned a lot from this encounter. Artillery wasn't as devestating as I thought it would be, and several infantry volleys had little effect. But casualties were still inflicted. In this game, the attrition really takes a toll. Maneuvering was also a challenge as the units were tightly packed. This was especially true when trying to pull the cavalry back from its attack. It moved quickly, though, and was quite enjoyable.

GDB Game continued

Turn four- The French enjoy some initial success when 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 4th Legere are able to cross bayonets with the Luneberg Light Battalion. The Lunebergers are routed which creates a dangerous gap in the allied line. Supported by the two battalions of the 100th Ligne, Jamin is poised to roll up the allied right flank.

Turn five- While Jamin reforms his infantry on the French left, Husson's brigade charges up the ridge held by three Brunswick battalions and a foot battery. Two of the battalions and the battery are sheltered behind a stone wall which will prove to be very helpful. When the smoke from the Brunswick volleys cleared, all four French battalions had been halted. The column on the extreme right of the French attack is even forced to retreat.

My first General de Brigade game

After dabbling with the rules for several months, it was time to try out my first game to see how they played out. The scenario was fictional, pitting two allied infantry divisions (British/Hanoverian and Brunswick) against three French (two infantry and a light cavalry). The picture at right shows the British/Hanoverian division holding the cross roads. A wood is to their right which is held by the Hanoverian light battalions. To left is a ridge that is held by the Brunswick battalions. On the extreme left is the Brunswick cavalry.

Turn One- The Allies won the initiative and chose to let the French go first to discern their intentions. Three of the four French infantry brigades were ordered to assault as was the lancer brigade. The fourth French brigade was to engage the Brunswick light infantry on the extreme right to protect the flank of the main assault. The chasseurs a cheval were also on this flank for support. Cleeve's KGL foot battery fired the opening shot at a limbered French 12lb battery. Depite the vulnerabilty of the target, only one hit was inflicted.

Turn Two- The French won the initiative and continued to move forward. Cleeve's battery continued to fire, joined by Lloyd's battery and the Brunswick horse artillery.

Turn Three- The French win the initiative again and keep it. Jamin's brigade engages the Hanoverian light infantry in the woods. The French 12lb battery unlimbers and fires at the Allied infantry, but to no effect.