Quatre Bras 1815 (with 'Battle Command')

 More 'Battle Command' (Field of Battle's Big Brother) today, with a large Napoleonic battle.

 

 

 First time I have had my 'strangely eclectic' Napoleonic collection engaged with these superlative rules.

It comprises 20mm (Revell, Airfix, Italeri), 25mm (Lamming & Minifigs and some items I simply can no longer identify), and 'Prussian Proxy Plastics' (try saying that when you're drunk) serving as Dutch Belgians, Brunswickers (yes I know), and Nassau today.

The scenario was based on that appearing in the 'Napoleon Returns' supplement for V&B, but as set up time was limited, some is off a bit, in terms of layout.

A superb game, highlighting the card action of BC (knowing what to do with your odd/even. good/bad roll vs the options on the card is absolutely critical), and the seamless nature of being able to fire when you like (albeit having to wait for a fire option to come back up), and being restricted by rolling an odd number on the dice, AND the very close nature of the morale deck as it draws down, where both armies in this case, ran out of morale at the same time.

Many...many French columns...mostly old 1970s Lamming Figures (I think)

 

...As it was, the poor French, having broken the Allied centre, then managed to give away their victory to the Allies, in the last minutes of the  battle 'C'est La Guerre!!!'

Cavalry with nothing to do on the left flank ...'time to find zee action!'

The French attack in the centre

French cavalry comes off worst against Allied squares

Cooke is caught out, flanked and hit by French ambuscade and columns, having still been on the road at exactly the wrong time

'Vive la France!'

French attack - massed - in the centre

Column after columns smacks into the Allies

Musketry foiled French plans on their left however...

Cooke tidies things up in the Allied centre, as much as he can

By game end, with both sides working through their morale decks and handing morale cards to each other - the first side to draw army morale could lose out - the Allied centre is shattered...

...as is the French left...but the French 'blink first'!

 A truly great set of rules - well written with mechanisms that actually work, with opposed rolling on multi sided dice, with efficient systems, instead of finding new ways to use d6 probabilities like most other rules do...buy 'em!