18.64MB - View From The Trenches

wears on the British only get stronger, while the
French get no reinforcements. As Wellington, you
will not be confined by a downpour of rain to slog
north along the one decent road. You will be able
to fan out your army and defend forward river lines
such as the Genappe, which was out of the ques-
tion given the actual weather on that day.
Indeed both players will see for themselves just
how crucial weather could be in battles of this era.
The contrast between the free-wheeling maneuvers
you execute on the game board and the dull plodding
on the Brussels high road which actually took place
will be very great.
In Napoleon and the Iron Duke then, the most
likely evolution of play might be an early thrust
foward by the French, seizing the Quatre Bras cross-
roads from a smaller British force. Next might come
a swing to the west, flanking the Genappe River to
force the British army out of its fortress-like position
centered on Genappe. This presents the French
player with something of a dilemma. In swinging
around this nasty terrain, one advances straight into
British reinforcements, thereby coming against them
earlier in the day. Two steps forward; one step back.
You will have to weigh the tactical advantages
yourself.
If play is successfully maneuvered into the great
open expanse between Nivelles and the north board
edge, the French player will have a better chance
of pushing back the British army and winning the
game. To win this scenario, the French player must
exit five infantry divisions and one artillery battalion
off the board through either the Brussels road
or the town of Hal. Brussels was not the only pos-
sible French target, as anyone who has played
NAPOLEON is acutely aware. The Grande Armee
could also strike for Antwerp. A successful march
through Hal would be the first step in that direc-
tion. To win, Wellington must hold both Hal and
Mont Saint Jean at the end of the game, and must
outnumber the French in combat factors on the
board. If neither player meets their victory condi-
tions, the game is a draw. (If the French meet their
victory conditions, the British conditions are
disregarded.) The scenarios ends with darkness on
June 18th.
Like the two earlier articles, this third scenario
offers a fresh approach to one major segment of
Napoleon's final campaign. As noted, gamers prob-
ably will not recreate the actual events of June 17th
and 18th. As a peace offering to the historical simu-
lation fanatics out there, three short encounters or
"mini-scenarios" are presented here also. The first
of these recreates the battles of Quatre Bras and
Ligny, fought simulatneously on June 16th; either
"half" of this mini-scenario also might be fought
separately for a yet more compact game. The second
mini-scenario allows players to re-live Wellington's
famous withdrawal, screened by his cavalry, from
Quatre Bras to Mont Saint Jean on June 17th. The
third and most dramatic mini-scenario is a re-
creation of the set-piece battle of Waterloo. For a
fan of the Napoleonic era who hasn't got all day
to play a game, these short re-enactments offer a
challenging, enlightening glimpse of military his-
tory as it was made.
Driving the Prussians Back
In some respects, this first mini-scenario over-
laps my previous article, "East of Waterloo".
However, it concentrates more exclusively on the
battles of June 16th and is meant to conclude at the
end of that day. As a result of playing this scenario,
the Prussian army and the main body of the French
will likely be in slightly different positions than those
specified in "East of Waterloo". However, if
players are stringing all the scenarios together in
a Campaign Game, you may wish to use the posi-
tions of the forces at the end of this mini-scenario
of June 16th for the starting positions for "East of
NAPOLEON & THE
Waterloo" instead of those published in my original
article. If so, be sure to remove all units except those
specified in that order of battle. The scenario may
then be played normally, without any changes in
victory conditions. (Note that the optional rules and
unit designation changes in that article have been
superceded here.)
In the same way, ending positions in "Driving
the Prussians Back" can be used as a starting point
for "Wellington Withdraws", the second mini-
scenario presented below, or for "Napoleon and the
Iron Duke" above. In the latter case, however, the
I Corps will need to be added to the board within
two hexes of Gossellies at the same time as the
French units from "East of Waterloo" are removed
from play. Again, play "Napoleon and the Iron
Duke" as described except for these altered po-
sitions.
Ney's left wing of the French army was assigned
to drive forward along the Brussels road on the 16th,
taking the crossroads at Quatre Bras and cutting lines
of communication between Blucher and Welling-
ton. At his disposal were Kellermann's 111 Corps
of reserve cavalry and Reille's crack corps of
veterans. D'Erlon's corps, suffering from unac-
quainted officers and other problems, had gotten
Anglo-Allied Army
hopelessly delayed and took no part in the actions
of the June 16. Girard's division had been detached
from Reille and saw no action at Quatre Bras. The
Anglo-Allied forces begin with a motley crew of
Dutch and Belgian units, including Chasse's troops
whose basic tactic was to run away at the first sight
of French regulars. By the time the battle got under-
way in the afternoon, however, British regulars in-
cluding Cooke's guards were on the scene and made
it a very tough day for Ney.
Further to the east, Napoleon also launched an
afternoon battle against Blucher, who had been
forced to form up and give battle or be pushed
further and further away from his Anglo-Allied
allies. This was the scene of the main action of that
day, in which Napoleon had to apply a heavy dash
of Imperial Guards in the late evening to finally
drive the Prussians back from their positions around
Ligny.
For starting positions in this scenario, Welling-
ton should be placed in W31 along with Alten,
Williamson and Wissel. Chasse, Lux and Krahmer
are placed in X27, and should be routed at the
beginning of the game. (A rally attempt must be
made to keep them in the game at the start of the
first PAA turn.) Cooke, Sandham and Williamson