Garden Wars - Hot Day Conflict

After the abortive start, where rain was the threat, we got started on a Garden Wars action on 7 July.

My eldest son had invited a friend to check out the minis experience and he chose to command the French forces.

16 Battalions of Infantry, including 2 Guard Class
7 Squadrons of Cavalry, including Guard Dragoons and Chasseurs a Cheval
4 Batteries of foot artillery and 1 &1/2 of Horse Guns

facing them were

Russian:

8 Battalions of Infantry, including 2 Grenadiers
11 Squadrons of Cavalry, with 1 Guard Dragoon, 2 Cuirass and 3 Cossacks in the mix
3 Batteries of foot artillery, 1 1/2 of Horse guns and 1/2 battery of Siege Artillery

Arriving on turn 8 (on the beach areas near the river mouth) British:

4 Battalions of Infantry
Squadron of Light Dragoons

Therefore initially there would be a French advantage until turn 8, when the British forces would arrive progressively until turn 14 when they would all be present and (potentially) able to engage in conflict.

As in the past, we used cardboard 'blinds' for the central and forward most position of the Divisions while they were outside of 'viewing' range, this time decided to be three yards, or 1 & 1/2 times maximum artillery range.

The French deployed with a tight column of Infantry with four divisions in columns to race towards the Russians through the two gaps in the forests.  One column of Guard Infantry was to press through the woods, arriving on the other side some time after the elite Guard Cavalry had pressed into the attack to capture the only bridge across a river that divided the battlefield.  On one flank they sent Hussars, to storm across the bridge.  On the other went a Dragoon Division, with orders to tie down as much Russian Cavalry as possible.

The Russians had not seen the threat to the bridges, and had deployed the Infantry to hold the woods line, and Cavalry to cover the open ground to the Russian right and keep open access to the large beach areas so that the coming British forces could have room to deploy.

The French Dragoons were the first to be detected clearly as the Russians had many cavalry formations covering the open right flank...

French Dragoons in a column of Squadrons in battle formation.

The French probe into the Russian right flank exposed nearly all the Russian formations who were standing still and came within the three yard range of view of this Dragoon force.

Russian Dragoons make ready to assault the advancing French.

First as a threat to the French Dragoons were Russian Dragoons, who began to react in preparation to strike at this column of squadrons, secondly a Cossack force began to move, also in preparation to fall upon the French, ideally after they had been mauled by Russian Dragoons.

Russian right flank, where French Dragoons closed in on three formations of Russian Cavalry

The French decide to strike first, rushing towards the Russian cavalry formations without pausing at all, leaving their field horse artillery far behind them ...

as a sense of scale this is what the right flank looks like with a 6 year old sitting in it

the view from the French Dragoon's perspective, you can just make out the Russian Dragoons in front of the boys knees...

Within two rounds of close combat there was nothing left of 2/3rds of the French Dragoons and they rolled a "2" for Divisional Morale, meaning that they were to retreat to their starting line.

Just after the first French Dragoon attack, Russians had lost all melees and were now in a position to crush the French Dragoon Division

The situation on the Russian left and center were much different.

French Guard Cavalry had run down the river and had routed a steady Russian Infantry Square!  Those French Empress Dragoons are really, really scary when used like this!

Further out to the Russian left, French Hussars were now making ready to storm across the bridge, this could take French troops into the edge of the British landing areas!

By turn 7 the French have reached firing range with the Russian lines

This was about when the heat began to tell on my young players, also the French 'wing commander', my eldest son realized that there was no way to stop the British landings.  This was when his confidence faltered.

I shall close out this posting with a to be continued ...