Over The Hills game played

Game of Over The Hills today at Stephens using a Borodino scenario from an old (circa 1999 good grief I feel old !) Wargames Illustrated magazine.

This pitted my French advancing against Russians defending an artillery redoubt.
A big game for Over The Hills in hindsight especially when fielding our 4 base units (could have used 2 base ala FOB) but great fun anyhow.
Over The Hills are an excellent rule set with a lot of period flavour with the multiple options for formations and indeed rules.
Not having played the rules for a while it took us a bit to reacquaint ourselves with the intricacies of the set (definitely suffers from less than user friendly layout) when including the numerous optional sections but they are so rewarding once sorted.
A more tactically nuanced set than FOB so not as fast playing but whilst similar in feel to Gen De Brigade they certainly play faster than that also excellent set.

In the game the Redoubt was proving a tough nut for French artillery to damage.
French on left were pushing into Russian defenders but their weak right wing Brigade was Shattered.
Sadly we had to call time just as the French Cavalry Division was about to appear with Russian mounted due following turn.

Stephen got to use his newly acquired 'mouse mat' style terrain mat and very nice it is too.

Field Of Battle once more 'The Garde Au Feu' scenario

Another outing for FOB2 today using the same battlefield as last game but with scenario (adapted again from GDB) this time having French Guard attacking the villages in Gross-Goschern area to wrest them from the Prussians and Russians.

Another simply super game with this excellent fast playing rule set.

I lost 2 Generals today (rolling 1 on a D20 twice !!) and a unit of French Guard Lancers wrecked complete havoc on a Russian Brigade wiping out 1 Mounted and 3 Foot units without so much as suffering a single Out Of Command result (no odd rolls) or Pursuit loss (again no Odd rolls in final combat !!).
This saw Allied left wing collapse and the Prussian contingent also suffered at hands of Young Guard facing them.

Whilst Allies only lost one (Klein-Gorschen) of the 2 villages they held initially the losses were such that they folded at second attempt of an Army Morale card after running out of Morale but only after a hard fought and bloody battle.
So the French gained revenge for defeat in last scenario.

After three excellent games using FOB we are happy with it as a fast play set for big games (we have fielded 25+ units each in these scenarios).

I love the sweep and excitement this rules system engenders and the narrative it 'reveals' during a game.

We have now settled on a few small house rules for Napoleonic games which we feel suits our understanding and desires for the period (I like that the rules can take a few tweaks without fuss).
Essentially these are:
No unit can charge to contact when interpenetrating another.
Horse Artillery can Limber/Un-Limber on an Odd or Even winning Move roll.
Infantry Charged by Cavalry resulting in an Immediate Melee/Melee must try to form Square by rolling their DD vs Cavalry DD, if they roll higher they form Square and Cavalry must fight the square.
Infantry in Line in Melee with Cavalry are down 2.
If Infantry fail to roll higher they fail to form Square and count the down 2 above.
This compulsory roll only occurs in Class I terrain and only if flanks vulnerable (ie no terrain or Square within 2")
We have also reduced the Close (Cannister) range of Artillery to 4".
Foot Skirmishers can be fielded as 3UI units that are permanently in Skirmish and which must attempt to Evade if Charged (DD vs DD again).
Infantry in Line Moves at 4" per segment.
Raw Infantry can only charge to Contact in Attack Column.


Young Guard assault Klein-Gorschen

Russian Guard defend area of Gross-Gorschen

At start as French Guard appears

Doomed Russian left wing

Garde Au Feu..................................

Prussian Reverse units contest a slight rise (Note the 3UI Skirmish units)

Russians await with Blucher urging them on

Prussian Commander falls putting his troops Out Of Command (yellow markers)

Struggle in front of Gross-Gorschen

French Guard Lancers riding into flank of Russian Grenadiers

French push Prussians of the rise

All that remains of Russian left.
A Routing unit and a rather lonely and forlon (replacement) Commander

Field Of Battle another Napoleonic scenario 'Lutzen: The PrussianCharge'

Another Napoleonic scenario played using Field Of Battle 2 rules today.
Scenario was an adaptation of a Gen De Brigade scenario 'The Prussian Charge' set around the action of the villages quadrangle near Gross-Gorschen in May 1813 as part of the battle of Lutzen.

We used our 2 base units again (as I dont have enough Prussian Grenadiers/Guard) with reduced scale (we use 1/2 of inch measures converted to base widths or 40mm which is essentially doubling the inches and using cms !).

A super game it was with Prussians taking Gross-Gorschen rather easily but then struggling to get any move cards for what seemed ages !

French reserves beat their Prussian counterparts to the field and Prussians struggled to deploy or gain ground.
They did take Klein-Gorschen on their right after a struggle (we gave +5 morale chips to a side if capturing/re-capturing a village, 10).
French guns managed to Rout several Prussians units of which I only recovered half.
But I was draining French morale through my own shooting.

French ran out of Morale first however they never actually gave any to their enemy !

The 10 Morale gained from capturing the villages proved the difference as when French pulled an Army Morale card which they failed the Prussians had a mere 6 remaining.

A close run thing and a hard pounding.

Great stuff with an excellent set of rules which I love for the 'narrative' style game they generate.

We plan to use same table to fight the follow-up scenario 'Le Garde Au Feu' with Young and Old Guard trying to take back control of area.

Field Of Battle - Battle of Polotsk scenario played

Game today at Stephens using the ever excellent Field Of Battle rules.
Game was a scenario (from Peter Andersons super Blunder on the Danube collection) entitled Polotsk set during 1809 campaign.
I used French with Bavarians (Wuttermburgers and others standing in as we have no Bavarian units) against Stephens Russians.
Another super game using these rules (despite the Artillery units being a bit over powered).
No time to do a proper AAR will just hope picture convey something of the action.
French lost..................