Trying Out "Napoleonic Large Battles" from "Grid-Based Wargaming": "Surprise Attack #11"

This weekend was relatively light on extracurricular events (this will change dramatically in a few weeks as our children's spring sports schedule ramps up) so I figured it was as good a time as any to try out Peter's "Napoleonic Large Battles" which I had been itching to try since he started developing them.

(Apologies for the plethora of links below, but this post ties many posts from the last few years together)

Over the past few years I had become intrigued by boardgame-miniature wargame "crossover" (ever since I was introduced to my friend Bryan's "Battle of Cedar Mountain" played with minis on a huge, blown up, laminated SPI Cedar Mountain hex mat, and also a game of Lock and Load publishing's "World at War 85" game) and had delved deep into the construction of the old GDW "First Battle" series of games, trying to make the boardgame "feel" more like a miniatures game, while still keeping the same functionality and smooth play.   (LnL Publishing's Cold War and WWII famously successful wargame lines really excelled here and that was exactly the "feeling" I always sought.)

 In terms of porting over the "First Battle" rules to the tabletop, I feel like I was successful with the updated combat results table, and had also embarked on a similar quest with the old SPI "Napoleon's Art of War" set of rules.  While I did put some fun trials together, nothing really "stuck".  As it turns out, Peter from "Grid Based Wargaming" was bit by the same bug, and, in my opinion, really cracked the code on porting the SPI games to the tabletop with his "Napoleonic Large Battles" rules that he recently made available.

One of the benefits of using boardgames and boardgame scenarios as minis games is the huge task of research in terms of Orders of Battle, Terrain, Reinforcements, and Victory Conditions have been done for you.  So a "crossover" set of rules has tremendous potential for new gaming opportunities given the huge wealth of boardgames available on almost any conflict in human history!  So those interested in similar ventures, can find a shovel-ready game system to play virtually any of the old SPI games where a unit = a brigade equivalent of troops, even without a gridded surface.

Peter's rules are clearly set at the boardgame level with you as the Army commander.  Units are pretty much "stuck" when they make contact and as a famous Prussian Field Marshall once said, once committed, they "cannot be withdrawn at will", only through a successful combat or a retreat, brilliantly reflecting that once committed to combat, the commanding general has little control over what happens.

Surprise Attack #11 - 2 x units of Dutch-Belgians start on the table

To try out Peter's rules, I played a relatively "small" battle - Scenario #11 from the One Hour Wargames book.  This battle recreates Quatre Bras and I thought would be perfect to try out a new set of big-battle rules.  I used the 6 unit limit and rolled up for the French: 3 Line Infantry, 1 Light Infantry, and 2 Cavalry units, and for the Allies I rolled up 4 Infantry, 1 Light Infantry, and 1 Artillery.  The Dutch-Belgians start on the table and I wanted to use my 95th Rifles stands as my "lights".

British 10mm painted as Dutch Belgians.

My "lights" which are the famous 95th Rifles and I just had to plop them down!  Sean Bean is in there, somewhere.

Ney's Forces all start on the table, arrayed against the Dutch-Belgians. who only have 2 units at-present.

The stipulations of the scenario are such that no charges are allowed on turn 1.  This is OK because no one has the range to reach the Dutch yet, anyways.

Stepping off onto the attack!  The French hold nothing back!

French Light Detachment and Heavy Cavalry move up while the Infantry Corps makes its way up as well

The Dragoons are hoping to flank the impassable scrub and move around the Dutch

In a surprise move on their Turn 2, the Dutch-Belgians launch a spoiling attack!  It's highly unexpected.

Lights and Infantry Brigade launch an attack against the advancing French

Voltiguers in action!

The attack does not go well for the Anglo-Allies who take 1 casualty from the battle.  I'm not sure I'm forming the combats correctly, and treated everything as 1 large combat.  In the SPI game, I remember that you can combine combats, provided every unit being attacked, could be attacked by every unit attacking...(say that 5 times fast).  Peter's rules state that every unit within 3" of an enemy unit must be attacked.  I think I have the latitude to form how that happens, but got confused when there were units who were further away than 3" to *some* units in a combat, but within 3" of *other* units who were in the combat.

This probably could or should have been 2 separate engagements, with the "Rifles" taking on the "Voltiguers" and the DB Line taking on the Cuirassiers?

I think this probably should have been 2 x separate combats

Turn 3 the French react and advance with elan, assaulting the Dutch-Belgians who are blocking the road.

I didn't take a picture of it, but another combat that was treated as one large combat which probably should not have been.  The DB resistance along the road crumbles seeing the French charge headlong at Quatre Bras.

Reinforcements are already taking up positions in and around Quatre Bras as 2 x British Line Brigades arrive on the scene.

The flanking dragoons assault the British as they are taking up their positions.

And suffer 3 casualties for their troubles!  The Dragoons would evaporate on Turn 4.

Worth mentioning here that the "veteran" rating is deadly.  I made the British all "veterans" (not the Dutch Belgians) and the +1 to the combat totals really put a hurting on the French.

Heavy Fighting to storm Quatre Bras on Turn 5!

Just like in a boardgame, units in an enemy zone of control (ZOC) must attack each turn, so things move really quickly in Peter's rules.  It's out of your hands, now, and your troops are committed!  Once again, the Veteran rating of the British, the garrisoning of Quatre Bras town, and frankly some low rolling, really hurt the French here and by Turn 6, right as more Anglo-Allied reinforcements are arriving, the French assault broke down.  Only the Voltiguers and the Cuirassiers are left standing!

Storming the town!

A retreat result from the first assault, this French brigade cannot make his retreat distance due to the woods and is destroyed!  The remaining units come back on "in the same, old way"!  Note the Cuirassiers in the upper left attempting to block the approaching British columns!

After the French attack broke down on Turn 7 I called it as they only had 1 remaining unit on the table.  The game ended after about 30 minutes of play.

LESSONS LEARNED / THOUGHTS

If you were looking for a good, "big battle" set of rules to play out literally huge Napoleonic battles with minis, these are your rules.  One of the downsides to using the OHW scenarios and structure were the 6 x units per side.  I could have doubled the amount of units and that might have given me a slightly longer game.  The CRT is clean, easily applied, and understood, and movement and timing become just as important as the combats, as you need to plan ahead and only become "stuck in" at the time and place of your choosing.  That's vital, and the mechanics force you to think like a general, not a Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel.  Most rules, admittedly, have you doing much more tactical things than is necessary (which is a classic conundrum of Napoleonic rules from time immemorial but that is a post for another day :)  ) but players like me always want everything.  We want columns, line, and squares, but we also want to fight out Wagram, in a single afternoon, and play with all of our toys on the table...

Peter threw out the rulebook here and produced some novel rules that really make you think like an Army commander.  I did not even miss squares or assault columns, because I was too busy thinking about committing the infantry in the assault, and trying to put as many advantages on the defense together that I could, something that as a general I would probably be doing.  Reading the terrain, matching the enemy's intentions, and trying to ensure a victorious result (or avoiding a calamitous one).

I did run into some problems such as laying out the combats and being unsure of how to form combats, but that was due to my unfamiliarity with the rules and also the fact that I was playing them off my phone and not a printed out QRS.  

In the SPI rules it's  a bit vague when you get into really sticky situations regarding ZOCs and you have to kind of forge ahead and see how it works out.  It may be that your combats were not legal (in the SPI games).  With Peter's rules I found that I wasn't sure if they were legal or not (IE forming one large combat, multiple times) and I probably should have been a bit more careful in the long run.

The light infantry rules were also a little unclear to me at times when on the offense, but I forged ahead and tried to be as literal with them as I could.  Some considerations when playing these rules:

Keep your infantry together to the greatest extent that you can.  Chances are you are going to need them and I highly recommend 3:1 odds when assaulting a built up area!

Veteran Troops are tough.  If you dont have 3:1 odds, soften them up with artillery first (if you can).  If there isn't enough artillery....quit!

Cavalry are highly mobile.  Use their mobility as a screening force to block enemy reinforcements from arriving too soon.  Especially light cavalry.

Bottom line - these were great rules and I was wondering about converting them back to a hex grid to see how they'd play (reverse-reverse engineering?).  But overall my hat's off to Peter for developing a wonderful, truly novel set of "big battle" Napoleonic rules with very low rules overhead.  I plan on getting a "36 Inch Battle" together with them using a medium sized engagement like Friedland to see how they play with many more units on the table.