Monday 17 June 2019

The Great Game. A refight of the Battle of Waterloo. Part One.

 Well I survived the weekend in Glasgow and can now reflect on what happened and what one can repeat from the experience [what happened in Glasgow stays etc etc]
  Because it was a intensive weekend I will post in two parts.
 The event certainly deserved the title of The Great Game and I would argue there could never be a better advertisement for wargaming and wargamers in general.
 What wargamer wouldn't want to take part in a refight of the most famous battle of the Napoleonic Wars.I will admit it isn't my favourite battle but then being a bit of a Napoleon fan it wasn't the best advertisement for his undoubted genius. So piles apart I took a command at the biggest re fight of Waterloo.
Anyway back to the event. I have nothing but admiration for the organisers led by Professor Tony Pollard for what they achieved.
Backed up by a host of volunteers and students who ran everything from the purpose built lighting with spotlights etc for dramatic events, war correspondents announcing what was happening every 30 minutes, umpiring, first aid and anything else you could want, it was impressive to say the least.

 80 brigadiers, 40 generals, 22,600 figures, 4 tables stretching 36 feet by 6 feet covered by cloths copied from the original Siborne plans. Wonderful buildings of all the key features sponsored by Sarissa Enterprises.
Television cameras, national press, wargaming press, you tube whatevers etc it was basically a cornucopia of wargaming goodness.
Brilliant.
 I would also like to thank the companies that sponsored and assisted in making the game possible, especially Warlord and Perry for generous discounts and not forgetting Martin at Warbases. The weekend was also graced by the Perry twins, Guy Bowers and several painting gods who had provided units and commanders.
 On top of that, wargamers traveled from every part of the globe, including New Zealand [hi Rob] who only came to watch by the way, from Australia, the USA, Canada, Italy, Holland, France, Germany [hi Johannes] Canada and Singapore and of course County Durham.

 On top of that there were lectures organised to cover the campaign with knowledgeable guest speakers and a 'Ball' hosted by actors quoting anecdotes from the campaign. Oh and there was a free bar handing over strong drinks and beer from the period. I must admit its the first time I've been 'asked' to leave a university because they were closing for the night and everyone else had gone!
But the drink was free!!  I cried as they ushered me out forcing me to go looking for a dubious kebab.

             Hougoumont. What a beast especially when stuffed with elite and veteran infantry.
 The most important thing it was to raise funds for charity and a practical one at that. To help veterans of our forces return to what we class as normal life. In order to build a closer bond 40 veterans took part in the game even though many had never wargamed before, I think they 'got' what wargaming was about and if not I think they had a good laugh at us.
So on to the game. In order to make the event work, Blackpowder 2 rules were used. Now love them or hate them, they were perfect for such an event. Yes they can be simplistic at times but they certainly worked under the stress of this epic game.
 It helped that there were plenty of umpires, but to be honest they didnt have too much to rule on because the game was played in a great spirit devoid of the potential pedants, cheats and rule judges.
 The armies were set up as per the original battle but after that the players could chose whatever they thought would work best.
 Sadly the French [ me included] didnt have a designated wargaming Napoleon or Marshal Ney so started the game without a plan! We had an honoury Napoleon in the Chancellor of Glasgow University but he was only there for the initial move and after that we struggled with a lack of command structure. Wargamers have very different ideas about tactics etc.

 After a couple of moves it became very obvious that we would need to quickly put one together, but I digress. The umpires had also allowed Lobau's VI to be positioned near to Placenoit simply because of the huge table distances involved, their loss from the centre became very apparent as the battle progressed.

                                  La Haye Sainte. Rammed full of rifle toting Germans. [roll one miss!]


 As for the Prussians, well there were thousands of them naturally. Their commanders were only allowed to be activated following designated dice rolls. They to could change their dispositions once they were activated.
 These were led by a nasty group of Dutch wargamers with a smattering of those dastardly German types. We needed to keep an eye on them later in proceedings.
  I had purposely chosen the Tirailleurs of the Young Garde for my command knowing they would be used fairly quickly if we followed history. The Garde were positioned on the fourth table naturally and our original orders were to prepare to advance towards La Haye Sainte when required whilst acting as the main reserve.
Unfortunately after the initial orders it was down to the Garde players to decide what we should do with the reserve.
 After three moves the correspondents announced that there was troop movement on the extreme of the French right flank. The Prussians had apparently thrown successfully to begin moving! Personally I thought those nasty Euros chaps had been doing a bit of fiddling.
 Because the Garde was the reserve, the players were able to watch proceedings on the main table and as we stood it became very apparent that the French commanders needed to have a scrum down to agree a plan. Being a pushy so and so, I took it on myself to ask the chief umpire Bill Gilchrist if he would make a decision whether we could do this and then announce that at the first break we were going to have a meeting.
                                            The Young Garde and part of the Middle Garde.
                                                    [Apologies about this image.]

 Bill agreed that we could have a ten minute discussion! [thanks Bill!] So the Garde commanders got together to decide our plan prior to the meeting.
 To be honest the vast majority of the French players had clearly had the same idea simply because they recognised that otherwise we would fall into making the same mistakes as the original French generals had done at the battle.
 The plan put together was simple and any wargamer who has re fought Waterloo will have decided in doing what we suggested which was namely a right hook against Papelotte and Frischmont whilst D'erlons First Corps engaged the allies near La Haye Sainte.
  There was to be no attack on the monster that was Hougemont and instead it was to be merely contained whilst Jerome's veteran command were to swing left with support from Kellerman etc. Meanwhile the Young Garde and Middle Garde would march towards Placenoit whilst part of the VI corps would advance towards the Prussians and form a line where the woods narrowed the battle field. These would be supported on the middle table by Simmer who were under the command of a lovely French lady who was a very aggressive bugger. God help the Prussians there.
  Her father a retired French Naval officer was leading the VI corps, they were quite a team.The Old Garde would march to La Belle Alliance to stand ready to pounce when ready.
 Ah yes, best laid plans, etc etc. 

After the lunch break the simple plan seemed accepted except the commanders of Jerome's command saw fit to do the following..... Lads, what about the plan????


 Meanwhile on the Allied left the Dutch units decided to advance forcing poor Kellerman to attempt to slow down their inexorable advance with cavalry and no infantry. Oh and their allotted horse artillery had somehow ended up with... yes you guessed it, Jerome!
  On a more positive note I was moving and felt the French could do some damage.

  As the first day of battle came to a close it was very clear we would have to rethink the plan. We had made great progress against the three villages on the French extreme right. We were causing damage in the centre as the grand battery slowly formed. The extreme French left was holding their own and miraculously and against all wargaming sense Hougemont was ablaze and the British Guards pushed back.
 The Prussian players had however been very sneaky and had marched Northwards towards the villages of Papelotte etc.and didnt seem to want to march towards Placenoit.
They had also appeared in strength and were beginning to link up with the light cavalry of Vivian. I told you they were crafty so and so's.
 The day ended with a quick shower and back for the free drink and ball.
 In the next post I will recount how a brilliant young garde commander struggled to save the day for the Emperor........

30 comments:

  1. So impressive. To get all of this from someone's grand idea into something that would work so well on the day is really something special.

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    1. Having talked to Tony Pollard over the weekend one had to be impressed. The man was packed with energy and enthusiasm for all things historical. His extensive links to the university and media was invaluable.

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    1. Just sometimes Ray everything comes together at an event to make it work. I have been to lots of things that just fell short but this time it all fell into place and really was a pleasure to experience.

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  3. No doubt a unique experience - well done to all concerned. And I'm looking forward to reading about this YG commander's exploits!

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    1. I will be honest I have toned down my observations in the posts, basically I did okay but never delivered the killer blow simply because the Allies were abale to use reserves to good effect.

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  4. Lovely report Robbie we fans of yours are lucky you were there to report back so amusingly. And you have the bonus of real Europeans to criticise it must have been heaven! Look forward to the next instalment.

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    1. Surprisingly Chris I said my wit for the residents from over the wall. I found the French and Dutch very very good wargamers who really knew their subject. Our delightful female brigadier was a mean gamer and very charming.

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  5. What a spectacle! If I would have known about this 6 or 7 months earlier, I would have gotten a flight to the UK and participated in this! Envy!

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    1. I know the organisers tried to keep the media informed and Soldiers and Strategy did do a piece on it but like everything nowadays its gets drowned in everything else.

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  6. Splendid stuff! This must have been a very enjoyable event. Looking forward to reading about your Young Garde exploits in Part Deux.

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    1. Thanks for that Johnathan. I dont think I played that big a part in proceedings but then I knew that when I chose the Tirailleurs.

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  7. Great report Robbie. I'm looking forward to Part Deux to see how the Guard commanders grasped the nettle.

    Jim

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    1. Thanks Jim. I grasped the nettle but it didnt matter. Thinking about it now the commanders around Placenoit were happy in their own little [large] game but it buggered up the French chances altogether.Still I suppose they enjoyed themselves struggling for a positive spin on things.

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  8. Excellent report Robbie. I have quite enjoyed following this event over the various media streams during the weekend and feel envious of the participants. I see you even managed to get interviewed for the Daily Mail.

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    1. Thanks Paul. My wife reckons I sounded like a clown, to be honest what I actually said and what was written didnt really bear any resemblance to the interview. There was a better one [I hope] coming on You tube. The two women could have asked me anything they were so attractive.

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  9. What an extravaganza, Rob. I wish to god I had gone but the Emperor decided to send me to the Vendee instead!!😐. Looking forward to the next instalment...

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    1. I think you would have really enjoyed the whole experience Dave. I spent a lot of time with David Imrie who is great company. As for the game, I think even your tactical abilities would have shone.

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  10. Great looking game (total understatement!),I look forward to hearing how your poor die rolling exploits contributed to the eventual French defeat!
    Best Iain

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    1. Iain, my dice rolling wasnt bad to be honest. The problem was we had troops in the wrong places and the distances made it very hard to react to each challenge. It made for a great game though.

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  11. A truly memorable experience Robbie! But the burning question is, how were your dice throws?!!!

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    1. Alright Dennis, I took my 'special'poker dice and they were okay. Not a blunder in sight although my shooting and saving was only average.

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  12. Great report Robbie, nail biting wait for the next instalment. Jerome eh...

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    1. Ah Jerome and his fellow players. Quite a crew with some 'interesting' tactical ideas. I will put down to what happened as inexperience and not pigheadedness.

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  13. Great report and pictures Robbie. Wish I'd been able to go and take part but plenty of photos on Facebook. It did seem from reading other reports like the French or some at least some of them had their own agendas when it came to a.plan and tactics. Must have been a great experience.

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    1. To be honest Colin it was very hard on the old back and feet. Who sits down at such events? Youre right about own agendas, except it was only four players. All the rest all 116 were very good. I wish there had been an award for gentlemanly behaviour as there were many to choose from.It really was a great example of how to play a wargame.

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  14. Brilliant report. I followed the event on Twitter. It looked brilliant and I was worried you Frenchies were going to alter history :-). As you say, what a wonderful advertisement for the best in Wargaming. If there was a wargaming ‘gong’ then I think the good professor should get it!

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    1. Most definitely. Tony Pollard and his team of volunteers were excellent. Nothing wasnt thought of and frankly there couldnt be a better advertisement for the hobby. The actual players were very very good and were on our best behavior.

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My 6mm Napoleonic set up.

My 6mm Napoleonic set up.
Austria 1809.

Austrian Hussars

Austrian Hussars
Hinchliffe figures

Austrian Grenzer

Austrian Grenzer
Austrian Grenzer

Smoggycon 2013

Smoggycon 2013
Smoggycon 2013

Smoggycon 2012

Smoggycon 2012
Smoggycon 2012

Smoogycon 2009

Smoogycon 2009
My French getting another beating