The Napoleonic Wars, Shadow of the Eagles, 28mm

We decided to play a Napoleonic game – a fairly limited affair, so it could fit onto a 6×4 foot table. I don’t think Chris had tried Keith Flint’s Shadow of the Eagles before, so this was mainly about introducing him to the rules. He’s actually played Kieth’s SYW version, Honours of War, and the mechanics are very similar. So, it wasn’t a major struggle, although there are a few important differences, which still catch us grognards out! In this one, set in the Russian Campaign of 1812, we set the action in late August, a couple of weeks before Borodino. In it, the Russians were holding as key road through the forest to the south of the main Smolensk to Moscow road, and Ney’s III Corps was ordered to seize it, so the French could outflank the Russian army gathering around Vyazma, some 50 miles to the north. That was our excuse anyway, asd this was an entirely fictitious scrap. In this game, the French had two infantry brigades, each of four battalions and a gun battery, supported by two brigades of light cavalry. The Russians had a roughly similar-sized force, but as they were on the defensive, the onus was on the French and their German allies to smash their way through the enemy centre. We also substituted Ney’s Wurttembergers for Hesse-Darmstadt and Baden troops, as those were the allied toys I had in my collection! It was going to be a fairly tough challenge for the French, given there were more Russians that Ney expected. His attack was led by Gen. de Division Razout, with his French brigade (Joubert’s) advancing down the road which bisected the centre of the table, and the German brigade under von Koch supporting their right flank. The French cavalry led by Gen de Brigade Mouriez were massed on the French left flank. So – en avant!In this game, Chris and I shared command of the French, while Sean gamely took charge of the Russians – troops from Gen. Kaptsevich’s 7th Division – part of Dochturov’s VI Corps. He sensibly had his infantry massed in the centre, with a screen of jagers out front, and his two gun batteries atop the hills flanking the road. His cavalry was in reserve, but he was aware of a path through the woods on his right flank, so he covered that too. The French attack got off to a slow start, as Chris’ Germans kept failing their rolls to get moving. The cavalry though, surged forward, heading en masse for the track through the forest opposite the French right flank. The Russians moved cavalry over there to meet them, along with a horse battery, so it was clear this was going to be a major fracas. Meanwhile the French infantry brigade aimed their advance for the left-hand hill beside the main road. Of course the big advantage the Russians had was their artillery. they got three firing dice rather than two, to reflect their larger gun batteries. These began punching holes in the ranks of the French and German infantry as they advanced, although on the other side the French and Baden batteries (that’s the Badeners below)  began to cause casualties among the Russian gunners. So, as the two sides moved slowly into contact it was all to play for. The real climax of the battle, though, was the cavalry clash. In it, two Russian hussar regiments advanced through the gap in the forest, one regiment behind the other, while the French 7th Hussars and the Hessian chevaux-legere regiments charged towards them. The leading clash was between the 7th and the leading Russian Mariopol hussars, with the other regiment on each side supporting the chargers.The outcome was bloody, but indecisive, as essentially both sides suffered so badly they were forced to withdraw to the rear. Meanwhile, on the right of the French cavalry, the 6th Chasseurs-a-Cheval charged and overran the Russian horse battery. It was all to play for – the fight decided by either the Russian Soumsky Hussars or the Hessian chevaulegers. Still, as the two cavalry forces lined up, attention turned to the main French attack.There the driving back of the Russian jaeger screen was the easy part. Less fun was the attack on the Russian guns on the hill. Still, the two battalions of the French 4th Infantry regiment charged home, and took surprisingly few casualties as they charged. The Russian gunners, though, withdrew and left their guns, confident that the two battalions of the Pskov regiment behind the hill could retake the guns. The French though, were doing well.The real problem with the whole attack, though, was the lack of movement on the German side of the table. The two Baden battalions had barely moved, while the Hessian Leibregiment was now advancing, but it was still too far back to offer Joubert’s brigade any real support. The hope had been that they would deal with the right-hand Russian gun battery, but while it was suffering from counter-battery fire, it was still dominating that side of the table. That, though, was where we had to stop the game. The battle still hung in the balance, but with the cavalry fight a stalemate, and the French pretty much over-reaching themselves in the centre, it looked like the Russians would hold their ground. There was a lot that could happen though, but as it was time to go hope we decided not to fight the second half again, as the battle so far was a draw, and so honour on both sides was more-or-less satisfied! 

Tags: Shadow of the Eagles