I Corps repulsed

Game Store Tony and I continued our series of refights of Waterloo using the 2010 crop of Napoleonic Battle games, in this case Battles of Napoleon.

Unlike our earlier encounters, however, this didn't go to the French and neither was it close.

As before my plan as the French was to ignore Hougomont and make a push on the right and center of the map. I kept the heavy cavalry on the left in Reserve to boost my event card hand size a bit and try to encourage Tony to keep his units that started on reserve on that flank (some light cavalry and light infantry) in reserve as well. I planed to avoid Hougomont and it's garrison of light infantry as well, so I hoped to be able to concentrate 11 battalions of infantry and two gun batteries against two batteries of British guns, two heavy cavalry units, four infantry battalions and one stand of riflemen -- 13 units against 8.

And I succeeded in this aim, but it proved to be insufficient. The seven battalions of infantry on the right, with their supporting battery closed on the British line but were stopped cold. Deadly British fire knocked off figures and disrupted units while the mostly ineffective French return fire and melees barely discomfited the Brits. And then the veavies came in and hacked their way through the middle of the French force, the Highlanders on the flank wearied of standing ont he defensive and joined the general advance and by the end of Turn 5 the French attack was in shambles. One battalkion was wiped out and a second reduced to a single figure, several others were down 1 or 2 figures, most were disordered or out of command or both and the guns had been overrun. This carnage cost the British little. One figure was lost from one Highland battalion and Maj. Gen. Pack fell at the head of his troops.

The attack on the center was just starting to develop by then, as I redeployed Donzelot's division from Hougomont to the sandpit area. The French atatck succeeded in taking the sandpit and taking out the British rifleman figure, but not before the French artillery unit was gunned down by rifle and counter battery fire and one French battalion sent back. By this time the Britihs reserves had stirred and were heading that way. While Donzelot and some hope of taking the objective by the sandpit it was doubtful he could hold it, while the objectives at Hougomont and behind the ridge were clearly out of the question. So I conceded at the end of turn 5.

It was in interesting experience, but I think I'll need to solitaire play the game a few more times to bet a batter handle on how to maneuver the units properly.