Clash of Eagles: 6mm Napoleonics at the War Room

Trevor put on a 6mm Napoleonic battle between the French (Rob, Mal, Brian), Austrians (Theo, Jonathan, me) and Russians (Peter, Alex, Greg, Doug) at Rob’s War Room yesterday, using his own set of rules.

In what proved to be a fun game, the French were tasked with defeating both the Austrians and Russians, who deployed to their west (on a large plateau) and north (across a stream) respectively.

The Austrians and Russians conferred and agreed to support one another, while attacking on all sides.

The French deployed with the bulk of their cavalry and much of their infantry (under Rob and Mal) facing the Austrians, who were located on the hill. The French held their centre and north with other corps, including the Imperial Guard, under Brian, in a perimeter delaying action against the Russians until the Austrians were defeated.

Most of the fighting took place on the French and Austrian side of the table, where the Austrians were outnumbered. The Austrians’ planned attack was cancelled out by the French deployment, and they spent the game trying to hold firm on the ridge in the face of French attacks.

Rob’s French managed to break through on the left of the Austrian main line, with infantry and cavalry pouring through the gaps. Jonathan’s command was badly mauled, but Theo stood firm for the Kaiser. I managed to delay the main French assault on our extreme right with some cavalry, and deployed the Austrian guard infantry and five batteries of artillery to shore up our flank on the hill.

Meanwhile, in the centre, Brian saw off a Russian cavalry assault, and seemed to be holding up pretty well, even if other Russian corps were slowly descending on the French right.

When I left at 4pm, it seemed that the French were about to obliterate the Austrians. However, Mal’s infantry were repulsed with heavy losses all along the Austrian line, while the French units behind our lines had no further impact.

The Russians, too, managed to rout one of Brian’s corps and were closing in on the French right and centre. By this point the French had little with which to face the Austrians. In hindsight, had the Russians attacked on a narrower frontage, their more far-flung corps would have arrived earlier. French deployment was unknown to us until the start of the game, however.

While the Austrians and French took heavy losses, the game could be considered an Allied win, given that the French failed to defeat both the Austrians and Russians. However, the French still had unscathed formations in the centre, and the Austrians were effectively neutralised, even if the Russians had more fresh troops on the way.

Overall an enjoyable wargame in a panoramic scale. Thanks to Trevor for umpiring and to Rob for hospitality. Trevor and I might work on a joint battle including my 6mm Napoleonic collection and rules, in future.