A small fictitious scenario involving combined arms formation of Russians and French. This game is set about 1812 with eight French infantry and four cavalry fighting against ten Russian infantry and six cavalry. Each side had two batteries, but the Russians had an advantage in numbers of guns per battery.
The Russian cavalry brigade of the center was diverse with kurassier, uhlans and dragoons. Opposing them are a couple of battalions of French line infantry and a 12lb battery.
The Russians are more interested in maintaining their line than moving around to occupy the village. Seeing the French light infantry dart toward it will change their mind.
A great overview of the French on the left and the Russians on the right. I station my dragoon brigade behind the river to act as a barrier. When you don't have the advantage of numbers, you must use the terrain to your favor.
The three battalions of the 36th line escorting the 12lb battery. At this range, a march column was still quite safe.
Now the Russian infantry have caught on to where the French were headed and have moved some troops of their own to the village. The Russian cavalry is positioning itself to deal with the almost vacant French center line.
The Cossacks are going in and around the woods while some Uhlans linger behind. The advantage of numbers can be seen here with Russian infantry and artillery to oppose the French dragoon brigade and horse artillery battery here.
Both forces draw closer together. The French columns stagger their advance so as to have room to deploy into line or attack column. The Russians have already deployed.
The three battalions of the 2nd legere are shielded from any fire and can continue the faster formation of a march column to reach the village to secure the flank.
In order for the Russians to squeeze their forces into a smaller area, the artillery assumed a reduced frontage. One advantage I had was forcing them to funnel the Russians in front of their large batteries and block line of sight.
Although I have a cavalry advantage on the flank in quality, I cannot afford to lose any units. I certainly can't trade units against Cossacks. I have to contend to engage a larger force and hold them up as long as possible.
The Russians hesitated in moving into the village but the French manage to slip a battalion into one sector. The other two battalions try to keep the Russians occupied and hopefully inflict more damage with superior shooting.
The large Cossack regiment came on strong but my second unit counter charged and the Cossacks were unable to win the melee against the two dragoon units. The other Cossack unit swung around to the end of the flank, but I cannot deal with it at the moment. The uhlans decided to just move around the forest to meet the dragoons.
The Russian dragoons are attempting to align themselves for a charge against the horse artillery battery. The uhlans here are hoping to catch the French line battalion with their lances.
Some horse artillery fire that hit nothing. Much like the rest of my artillery during the game, they were generally unable to earn their worth. Even a bounce through was generally of no effect.
The undaunted Cossacks came on for another round. This time they will find two dragoon units they will have to fight against. The uhlans here decided to do the same and charged the French before they got charged.
My other dragoon unit that was behind the horse artillery battery came forward to protect the guns and engage with the Russian dragoons. in all out assault. The Russian guns sit quiet and patiently.
Toward the other end, the other uhlan unit decided to have a go at the square. The French 12lb battery mauls the kurassier unit and believes it can wipe it out with the next cannister shot.
The Russians have taken part of the town and look to move another unit around and attack the other sector. The Russian and French line troops move closer and exchange fire.
The uhlans and Cossacks failed and were thrown back with loss. My French dragoon unit protecting the guns managed to repel the Russian dragoons and carry on clearing the Russian cavalry. The Square managed to repulse the other uhlan unit, thus successfully winning all combats this turn.
The French have concentrated the infantry to try and gain some opportunity to break the Russian line here. The French legere column in the rear has an engineer which may come in handy when assaulting the other sector of the village.
The stand off in the center. Bot sides are trying to recover some disruptions before going at it again.
Not my dragoons can turn to try and fight off the other Cossack unit on the flank. As much as I'd like to charge forward against the infantry in front of the guns, I have to regain some strength because the uhlans will be back.
I charge forward to try and break the Russian dragoon unit who is weak and near breaking. Regrettably, it doesn't work and I am tossed back for a change. Another failed uhlan charge against the square and now my 12lb battery faces the kurassiers.
The French columns inched a little forward to get into firing range. The Russian line extends a little toward the village to close the gap.
The flanking unit of Cossacks was thrown back but the larger unit has advanced. The infantry in the center have spotted the weakened French dragoon unit falling back and surged forward.
The Russian dragoons bounced back from the French dragoons and the uhlan unit faired no better against the French square.
The final cannister shot brought the Russian kurassier unit to the verge of breaking, but it was able to finish the charge and won the combat against the artillery battery. The unit is now out of command and cannot recover at the moment. The French line unit changes from square into attack column and now moves forward to blast the nearly broken uhlans.
Still some shooting being exchanged between the two lines before any melee is attempted. The Russians have a couple of grenadier units here and so it's important not to be too aggressive until they're weakened first.
The Cossacks attempt to realign to another attempt at the French dragoons. The uhlans here have recovered some of their strength and are moving through the woods to back up their comrades.
The Russian grenadier battalion charges the legere and the other legere battalion joins with a line battalion to attack the Russian line.
The French line battalion that was subjected to repeated charges while in square, manages to blast the Russian uhlan unit out of existence. My horse artillery battery is brought over to finish off the overly brave Russian kurassier, however they evade me in an attempt to save their lives. The Russian infantry decide to turn their attention to the other French line battalion.
The Russian line is broken, two battalions being lost in a single melee. A Russian grenadier battalion is pulled up to occupy the position. The other grendiers on the hill were repulsed and will continue the musket duel.
Two battalions of the 36th line were eliminated in cannister and musketry fire. The Russian dragoon unit is now free to assist the infantry, since my dragoons who opposed them for so long finally broke.
My horse battery limbers in order to put the kurassier in its sights. In truth, it is harmless, but the Russians are close to breaking and I need the kill. I also decided to risk chasing or catching the Russian battery here and nearly succeed.
A close up of the situation on the hill. The Russians know it's all or nothing as they no longer have equal numbers.
The Russian Cossacks and the last uhlan unit are all eliminated. The loss of the these three units break the Russians. We decided to roll and carry out the game a little ways ,basically to see what would happen but it went really bad for me. Glad it was over as I was unable to win any combats and would have lost four units in a single.
Another Russian battalion assaulting the other town sector, to be repulsed. The final situation on the village hill.
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