Battle Report 5/10/2013 - Black Powder Napoleonic's

It has been some time since I've played a game with my Napoleonic collection, which is a real shame since it is the largest collection of have with some 2000+ painted miniatures spanning 4 armies (French, Bavarian, Prussian, and Austrian). I was a big fan of the Republic to Empire rules but I simply just don't have the time to play a detailed set of rules for any given period (since I like to play several).  I find Black Powder provides that ease of play with just enough period flavor added in now thanks to their expansion books (initially I was turned off of Black Powder because of the lack of period rules).

My friend Roy has a British army so I decided to pull out my French and play one of the scenarios from the Albion Triumphant, Volume 1: The Peninsular Campaign expansion book. The scenario was "The Battle of Granja de la Abundancia, July 1810 - Capture la Bandera" - which was the perfect pace for rebooting the brain on Black Powder. The nation specific rules added in the expansion books are what was missing in the original Black Powder release - with the additional rules the flavor of the period really starts to come through in the game.

A must have for any Napoleonic Black Powder player.

The introduction from the scenario: "Somewhere in Spain; in the height of the hot Spanish summer, the French - under pressure from guerrilla raids and suffering from lack of supplies - are making for much needed resources harvested at the Farm of Abundance. The British, well supplied by the Royal Navy, have discovered what the French are at' and are racing to secure the harvest from the French."

ORDER OF BATTLE - The British

Commander-in-Chief (SR 8)
- Lieutenant General Roderick Scholey

Lane's Brigade (SR 7)
- 3 Units of British Line Infantry
- 1 Royal Artillery Battery

Hoole's Brigade (SR 7)
- 2 Units of British Line Infantry
- 1 Unit of Highland Line Infantry

Dale's Brigade (SR 8)
- 1 Unit of Rifles (small)
- 1 Unit of British Light Infantry
- 1 Unit of Cacadores
- 1 Unit of KGL Hussars

ORDER OF BATTLE - The French

Commander-in-Chief (SR 8)
- General de Division Mainarde d'Belle

Dupont's Brigade (SR 7)
- 3 Units of French Line Infantry
- 1 Unit of French Light Infantry
- 1 Line Foot Artillery Battery

Maurice's Brigade (SR 7)
- 2 Units of French Line Infantry (large)
- 2 Units of French Light Infantry
- 1 Line Foot Artillery Battery

Brune's Brigade (SR 7)
- 2 Units of Chasseurs a Cheval
- 1 Line Horse Artillery Battery

I used French Hussars and Lancers in place of the two units of Chasseurs a Cheval (which I have, but need to be re-based).

The table setup was straight forward with a T-junction road and the farm centrally located between the two entry points.  Several key terrain features (hills/buildings) provide victory points for the scenario.

The setup.

I have several Spanish buildings I need to paint up (including making up some orchards), but for now I made do with what I had for Napoleonic buildings.

Ready for action on the tabletop.

Both sides have 12 turns to decide the game - we would need only 8 before the British army broke.

The Farm of Abundance - ripe for the picking!

The French and British brigades march on the board from the road entry points.  The French got the first turn and decided to move the cavalry brigade on first. I was hoping to get the cavalry up to the farm area to slow down the British and give me time to organize and position my infantry brigades for the assault.

The first three turns saw the French and British advancing onto the table and starting to move towards the large hill and farm.  The French Hussar regiment would fail two order tests in a row and get left behind by the house near the French entry point.  The French Lancers would advance to the farm quickly - but in facing off against the British Hussars they would come out on the loosing side and break - taking the brigade commander with them. The French Hussars finally get into the fight and destroy the British cavalry.

The French and British infantry would meet at the large hill and fight it out. Long story short is that the French artillery got into position early and did enough damage that once the French columns got  up the British didn't have enough units in place to stop them.  At the end of turn 8 one French brigade had broken while two British brigades had broken, ending the game.  That being said, we did several things wrong rules-wise through the first half of the game - but by the end we had gotten back in the swing of things. Regardless, we both had a great time and the scenario was a lot of fun.

More pictures of the game below.

That's all for now - happy to be back to gaming after my 3 month work hiatus.