Napoleonic solo action - using Black Powder (and Clash of Eagles)

Got in some action on table with solo Napoleonic game.

I started of using General D'Armee rules but found those difficult to use in solo mode so after some deliberation I decided to use Black Powder (a 'Marmite' set like Piquet) with add-ons from the excellent Clash Of Eagles supplement.

BP works pretty well for solo play as each side completes its turn in its entirety before other acts with only minimal interaction such as Closing Fire (if charged) and fighting in Melee.

Not a big fan of the 'buckets of dice' melee system but to be fair it does make things exciting to a degree.

I used 2/3rds of written ranges so Infantry shoot out to 12" and Field Artillery to 24", I think I would reduce the maximum Musketry range to maybe 6" as 12" just looks too long on table with 15mm troops.

Most certainly a fast playing game with BP (at its core it is a very simple game) and the Clash Of Eagles supplemental rules go a long way to generating decent period flavour, if one can remember them all in heat of battle !

I would personally place it well behind Piquet/FOB, Shako and GDA/GDB in pecking order but it does appeal for large multi-player games as very free and easy gameplay 

Couple of pics from session with Gen D'Armee, note Hesitant Marker on Brigade at stream and Brigade Skirmish Screens deployed (a system I stole for FOB).

And from the Black Powder sessions:

French push forward on left

Action in centre (note French Lt Inf in Mixed Column formation (ie with skirmish screen)

French Brigade crosses stream under fire from Prussian artillery

French pushing forward across the field

Prussians hold ridge line as French push in centre

Prussian Dragoon reserve committing itself to right flank as a unit of Uhlans were overrun

Victorious French Chasseurs force Prussian foot into square as they advanced after melee

Prussian line under pressure

French have taken the village

Prussian holding on left

A Blunder sees French Brigade Retire one move after crossing stream !

But they then get a double move and push forward

Exchange of musketry and casualties mount on both sides

Prussian Reserve Battalions arrayed as French Columns advance

Prussian Dragoons tackle more Chasseurs (after destroying a unit) but melee is indecisive (both units Shaken)

French Column shaken by artillery but survives Break Test 

Another French column Shaken and forced to Retire behind village (In BP units Retire 1-3 moves or are Broken and removed instead of Routing on table)

More Shaken French in centre

A unit of Prussian Hussars broke themselves against a 'Hasty' square on left but the square now charged by fresh Prussian foot.

Overview

General d'Armee - Battle for Mont St Jean

Game at Mikes using General d'Armee and scenario from 100 Days 'Battle for Mont St Jean' simulating d'Erlons ill-fated assault at Waterloo.
All figures were Mikes (bar a few French skirmish bases I brought) and he set up the terrain using his excellent mats (I do so covet those !).
We diced for sides with Bryn and Simon controlling the British forces and Billy and I the French with Mike umpiring.
Last time I played GDA was June last year and it showed especially as had not had chance for more than briefest skim over (the chaps had not played for awhile either) and was relying (ha ha ha) on memory of using them.
Still despite not really knowing what we were doing rules-wise it was a good game with poor old d'Erlons force coming a cropper in face of British Infantry (Cavalry not part of this scenario - it would only have been worse) on ridge after plodding across table.
Not performing Charges correctly with regards support units as I forgot (Wargames 101) to physically move them in support of chargers meaning when we went through 'check-list' they were sitting back outside support distance despite having advanced across 4' of table arrayed just so as to take advantage of support rules whilst avoiding Massed Column target.
However I did managed somehow to recall that British foot 'winning' charge phase could counter-attack.
Simon did not use but Bryn did to hurtful effect on Billys units.
With a couple of Brigades Faltered and time moving on we called it a clear British win despite the central British Brigade melting away (2 failed Falter rolls).
The uniqueness of d'Erlons assault formation is maybe (without a specific scenario rule) tad hard for GDA to replicate with its Stop-Go movement system.
In GDB one could simply give all his Brigades Assault Orders from get go but in GDA the system of ADCs and rolling to Activate Brigades every turn makes it hard to keep his units in the rather monolithic massed formation, hard to say definitively on one play of scenario and without fully grasping rules.

I had also forgotten how much I like many aspects of GDA with the excellent Charge and Outcomes tables, straightforward shooting and moves and nice 'Napoleonic' feel to proceedings overall.
The kind of arbitrary ADC/Orders system not my favourite aspect but generally it works in the game.





French advance begins (note 'perfect' deployment re supports/mass !)

British left commanded by Simon (some blokes in white uniforms standing in as Brits)

Bryn on British right as Billys skirmishers appear

Billys Brigades approach (again set up 'perfectly' !)

Billy had a 3rd Infantry Brigade as an on-table reserve but we both totally forgot about it (theme of the night) as it was marked by paper in lieu of figures (damn British ruse !)

Bryn relaxed as his troops 'hug' the reverse slopes with only guns and skirmishers showing

Brigade in British centre was soon to melt way (IIRC after loss of gun battery ?)

Simons Brits doing same Reverse Slope hugging action.

View across Billy and Bryan area of contention with Mikes excellent La Haye Sainte in distance (not actually part of this scenario - a larger version includes farm)

Simon and I discussing the finer points of Deployments and Off Table Reserves (another rule we got wrong as they should have been treated as Reinforcing Brigades). 

General D'Armee - Gilly 1815 scenario

Game today at Stephens using GDA rules and the first scenario from the 1815 supplement, Gilly.
This scenario depicts first serious encounter after Napoleon maneuvered near Chareloi in June 1815 coming up against a Prussian blocking force at village of Gilly.
An interesting scenario and one which legitimately has Napoleon actually in charge on the field !
I of course used my Prussians against Stephens French.
Been a while since we used GDA (November 2018) but we got into the flow of the Command ADC system and turn sequence pretty quickly.
Couple of usual queries over the wording (actually lack thereof at times) of some stuff with multiple targets being main query today as in unsure if when a unit fires it can or must target/effect all units in its 'beaten zone' (indeed we may have discussed this before !).
We ruled volley fire is indeed split but not 100% clear.
Fun game with French Cavalry stymied by the stream (the could only cross in Column at the bridge or singular ford) although with hindsight we realised that the Empress Dragoons could have crossed and changed formation in one turn.
As it was the French sort of refused their left allowing one of my Brigades to advance across the stream and for my Reserve Landwehr Brigade to redeploy to my right.
Central French Brigade was under Infantry Assault orders from start of scenario but never really defined its target and so sort of languished on its side of waterway.
But French Artillery did some damage to the large unit of Prussian Musketeers in the village.
French did try one assault on this weakened unit but retired once faced by reinforcing 2nd large unit.
However in GDA units cannot be driven back by shooting as such when assaulting a built up area so always at least a chance to oust defenders which we thought was better than the 'fortresses' in OTH.
Game not finished (too much waffling as ever) but whilst French were weakened one of my Brigades was Faltering (I had rallied 2 previous Falters with uncharacteristic rolls of 6) with a unit Dispersed and had lost a battery of guns.
However debatable if the French could carry the position in 4 turns remaining (10 turn scenario possibly extended one turn per broken Prussian Brigade)
GDA have a lot going for them generating a game that feels to us quite Napoleonic and is fun system to play just some definition/clarity lacking.



Prussian right with ford visible (placed by French)

Prussian centre with unit in village (compulsory) and impassable marsh areas (placed by Prussians)

Prussian left with Landwehr Brigade in Reserve

French main strength on my right

Action develops in centre as Skirmishers engage

Mounted Brigades look acroos stream at each other.

French Attack Columns forming

And advance as Prussian deploy to counter

Landwehr Cavalry suffer from French Guns.

Prussians under Pirch forge across stream as Landwehr starts to redeploy from Reserve

General D'Armee again - Eisdorf scenario

Another game with GDA today using a GDB scenario covering action around Eisdorf 1813.
I used my Russians again against the attacking French.
A very bloody and hard fought game with Russians succumbing in the end to multiple Infantry Assaults.
One unit of Neapolitan Line lead by a Brigadier took the core of two of my Brigades with a Carry On charge result !
I did have a chance to swing things with a Infantry charge of my own which gained Elan giving me 6 dice to French 4 but (needing 4+) I rolled no hits in melee whilst French inflicted 4 out of 4 on my lot !!
We are getting the hang of the basic concepts of GDA fairly well now but as ever a couple of things were tough to work out.
It seems that Artillery can shoot through any size gap as long as it can target any part (ie even a single mm) of a target unit but we decided that in future to make a base width minimum (Ie 40mm with our units).
Also tough in this scenario to use my reinforcing Brigade as restricted to crossing river at Bridge and as rules are written a Brigade in Reserve can only (?) be committed to the battle line so cannot really go in behind another Brigade.
We again decided to allow Brigades to move into a 'support' position behind another Brigade from Reserve as this seemed reasonable rather than having to redeploy a forward Brigade or wait until a gap appears once a Brigade is dispersed.
We are also realising that units are fairly generic in GDA with not much in the form of national characteristics compared to some sets.
Russian Line infantry are essentially same as French with no sense of Russian stoic nature or indeed French elan, however the French are more bit efficient in use of their ADCs.
So not as nuanced as say BP can be or even FOB but the biggest strength of GDA is IMHO the Charge Procedure/Outcomes with most charges being resolved without troops resorting  to an actual clash of bayonets with a retire or retreat outcome more likely outcome on Charge Results table, this 'feels' quite Napoleonic.



Russians deployed

Battery on ridge (fairly meaningless in GDA)

Prussian battery support Russian colleagues

Joy disinterested on French deployment

French right

Eisdorf in center of Russian deployment

French left

Initial moves

Horns locked on my left

And to right of town

Neopolitan unit about to charge from behind Skirmish line

Russian right

Neopolitans have swept away all Russians before them !!

My Infantry at left preparing to charge............to their doom 

Cossacks suffering