Friday, April 20, 2012

Battle of Hofenfreuden part 2

 As the battle commences, the Lorraine Grenadiers are ordered to assault the Hofenfreuden farm buildings. (I'm still yet to build some truly "old school" buildings for my 40mm stuff so these buildings are Conflix prepainted buildings...nice stuff if you don't want to do the painting.)
 Colonel Gerlach's jagers prepare to give fire...

 ...meanwhile the French make the first move with the Royal Rousillion Cavalerie seizing the high ground with their commander the Marquis de Montmirial in the lead.
 The British counter with the 4th horse Regiment (Col. Honeywood in command)


 the first shots in the battle...the jagers pot some grenadiers...it's just so easy out in the open like that...

 The first clash of cavalry sees both the commander of the 4th and the commander of the Royal Roussion unhorsed and wounded with the British getting the best of the melee.
 The Royal Rousillion is forced to retreat and regroup...
 meanwhile the Lorraine Regiment closes on Hofenfreuden farm causing several jager casualties including Colonel Gerlach (only a light wound...as the Col. is legendary for dodging the worst of the musketballs and has had his coat holed more than once!...alegedly his tailor is a wealthy man because of it...!)
 The French grenadiers make a stout charge on the farm but are sent off with heavy casualties...
 Both sides regroup their cavalry and form up to clash again.
 ...as the Lorraine regiment delivers the first regimental volley of the game...inflicting significant losses on the 12th.
 a squadron of the 4th Horse makes an abortive attempt on the French gun but suffers many casualties...and has to regroup with their second squadron.
 Col. Gerlach's jagers deliver an effective fire on the Lorraine Regiment as it passes the farm.
 Finally the British infantry advances and the Lorraine regiment delivers an effective volley...but still the red line comes on...
 both sides trade deadly volleys but the British are more accurate and the Lorraine Regiment is reduced to 50% and must withdraw.
 The cavalry clashes again in the final moments of daylight....
 ...as the Lorraine Regiment flees...

 a final clash of sabers...
...and it's all over for the French. The mighty 12th Regiment of foot rolls over the shattered battlefield...a victory for the British...3 colors captured and a serious bloody nose for the French.
Time for a debriefing and a martini!

The "Charge" rules are fantastic at this scale, with great "classic" flavor and perfect for introducing my new little gamer to the joys of battlegaming.

We have decided to finish a unit of uhlanen to bolster the French (of course they will be the Grand Duchess of Grolstein's bodyguard... so well known here on Lead Gardens of 25mm fame..)...so maybe we can manage a rematch over the weekend.

14 comments:

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said...

Delightful!

Best Regards,

Stokes

Archduke Piccolo said...

Glorious! Just... glorious!

littlejohn said...

Thanks guys! it's amazing what you can do on a small 4x5 table if you plan it right. and...The Uhlans are coming!

tradgardmastare said...

Splendid game and most exciting to read the battle report. The conflix buidings look good and do the job well

Mark Dudley said...

Lovely Stuff.

Rodger said...

Excellent!! Love the photos and the report.

tidders2 said...

Superb, great looking game and lots of lovely piccies

-- Allan

Ross Mac rmacfa@gmail.com said...

Charge! and Prince August are a match made in heaven! I've enjoyed this report a lot. I really like your Brits. Painting up some PA redcoats is on my list for this summer.

Great stuff.

-Ross
http://nqsyw.blogspot.ca/

Peter Douglas said...

Very inspiring stuff.

Cheers

PD

Bluebear Jeff said...

Much fun . . . and it goes to show that one doesn't need a table jammed full of troops to have a good game.

I love the classic look to everything on your table.

Good show, sir.


-- Jeff

Steve-the-Wargamer said...

Brilliant!Lovely game, nice report...

littlejohn said...

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments...it makes the return for a long absence all the better...the uhlanen are done and a unit of hussars are in the works so the next battle will be a bit bigger!

Mark Dudley said...

Hi

Did yo use the simple or advanced version of the Charge rules ?

littlejohn said...

@ Mark,
We used the advanced version. I was also wondering if anyone ever tried to introduce some role for the command figures in a unit. In Grant's rules they are an important part of morale, but in "Charge" they are just there to bolster numbers. I was thinking a good house rule might be to allow them a save roll when they were hit, thus the more officers, the more staying power for the overall unit. Any ideas are much appreciated.