CANCON 2015 - 6mm Napoleonics

It has been a minor break from 3mm over the past week to prepare for CANCON 2015. For those who aren't familiar with it, CANCON is Australia's largest gaming convention, held every Australia Day long-weekend in late January in our capital, Canberra (very conveniently also where I live!).

As per previous years, my mate Ray and I ran a Demo / Participation game this year, assisted by John. As this year is the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, our theme this year had to be the 'Hundred Days' campaign of 1815.

We fought three of the campaign's major battles over the first two days of the convention, using Ray's very extensive, and fantastic looking, 6mm Napoleonic collection. Of course these aren't 3mm, but as brilliant small-scale miniatures and grand-tactical level gaming, I had to post them up on the blog.

Saturday was the re-fight of the battle of Quatre Bras in the morning, and Ligny in the afternoon. Sunday was dedicated to the 'big one' - Waterloo itself. Some photos of the three games follow.

Quatre Bras: Anglo-Allies vs French

The Quatre Bras battlefield.
French reinforcements are at the bottom of the photo.
(The huge Corps is D'Erlon, who arrived in the last turn of the game - far too late!!)

 

The French pushed valiantly for Quatre Bras, but couldn't quite get there. The Anglo-Allies held on for a draw.

Ligny: Prussians vs French

The French pushed the Prussians hard during this battle. Napoleon (played by Yours Truly) surprised the Prussians by spearheading the assault right from the opening moves with the Guard Corps. The Young Guard took and held Ligny, and the Old Guard also got amongst the enemy.

The other French Corps also did admirably, forcing a crossing of the Ligny stream on the right and centre, and driving back the Prussians in a number of places. No objectives were achieved on either side, but the French inflicted heavier casualties, for a 'winning draw'.

Waterloo: Anglo-Allies & Prussians vs French

The deployments...

 

Kellerman's heavy cavalry.
My favourites are on the left - the Regiment of Carabiniers in their snappy uniforms

The French pushed hard, trying to win before the Prussians arrived to influence the battle. I played Napoleon again, ably assisted by a number of participating members of the public.

The French plan was to demonstrate on their left flank, ignoring Hougemont and screening the main attack on the right. II Corps (Reille), supported by III Corps' (Kellerman's) Cuirrassiers, performed this task well throughout, but took some heavy casualties fighting off attacks from the Anglo-British corps of Orange, Brunswick, and Hill.

I Corps (D'Erlon) attacked with great elan up onto the Mont St Jean ridgeline, supported by most of the Guard Corps (Drouot), including the Grand Battery of artillery. In some hard fighting, the French captured Le Haye Saint and Papelotte and the Anglo-Allied Corps of Picton and Uxbridge were driven back from the ridgeline. But French casualties were heavy. A counter-attack on the right flank by the British heavy cavalry was thrown back and destroyed by IV Corps' (Milhaud) cavalry (with assistance from some of D'Erlon's Ligne infantry brigades).

Wellington had held long enough that the Prussians (Bulow's Corps initially) started to arrive from the east of Plancenoit, but their initial assaults were held by VI Corps (Lobau), supported by the Young Guard brigades. At this stage, night fell, with the French holding the eastern half of the ridgeline and most Prussians still to arrive. We decided it was a close draw (perhaps a 'winning-draw' to the French, since although they had taken heavier casualties, they were on the ridgeline in a strong position to repel counter-attacks). 

It was a fantastic game, and a hard-fought battle. There was great participation and very favourable comments from many members of the gaming public.