This is my first effort at editing a video. In the future, I hope to do many more solo play videos.

The Pub Battles system played solitaire works great for playing out ‘What-if’ scenarios for two reasons. The first is that it plays so fast that you’re not investing a lot of time if your idea doesn’t pan out. Second, is that balance doesn’t have to be a concern, no one has to play the losing side for the entire game.

This time, I’m using the Stuart scenario that assumes Stuart stayed with the army doing his job, rather than gallivanting around trying to capture headlines instead of vital intelligence. This variation includes Stuart’s cavalry on day 1, instead of Day 2. Adding to this, I’ve accelerated the arrival of Ewell’s Corps by one turn, to reflect the initiative gained by improved local cavalry intelligence.
In the Stuart variant, the Union cavalry shows up on day 1 as well, or this would indeed be a complete rout.

Note that retreat distance is 1/3 foot move, no matter who is retreating.It is important to note the difference between what is explicitly shown by the game, and what is implicitly simulated.
Explicitly, Buford formed for battle, Chambliss attacked, Buford retreated. There is no follow up by the attacker, Whether they can take advantage of the immediate result is determined by next turn’s chit draw, and the order is not absolutely good or bad. Implicitly, this can be thought of as a fighting retreat, or delaying action.

If Hill is drawn first, he can immediately contact Buford. When Pleasanton is drawn, Buford can either stay and fight (since he is spent, Chambliss’ two dice could eliminate him!), but he probably will move away and choose a new position from which to carry on the battle.

If Pleasonton is drawn first, he could retreat further, or he could rally (cavalry doesn’t need an unpacked Baggage Train to rally). If he rallies then Chambliss would attack him at a disadvantage since he would still be spent. Chambliss could rally and let Heth advance to contact. If this were to happen, then Buford would have the option retreating before combat (fresh cav attacked by foot).
All that is explicit. Implicitly, there is a lot going on, even if no actual dice are being rolled. When a unit moves away from an attacking unit it is not as if they waited for the attacker to arrive and then simply marched off. What it shows is that the attacker was not able to bring the situation to a decisive resolution. This can be an example of a skillful delaying action, or maybe there was some of many innumerable reasons the attacker did not get there in time (indecision, faulty intelligence,  unclear orders, broken axle, et cetera). This is why I say the chit draw is elegant. Rather than try to simulate exactly why the intended attack was not successful, it merely shows that it wasn’t. 
Also, recall that the chit draw simulates simultaneous movement. The different chit drawn orders don’t reflect “first this, then this” linear time, but different plays of initiative and the enemy ‘showing their hand’ first. It also shows the benefit of the corps and divisional level officers out thinking/out fighting their immediate adversaries.

This is also where the game removes you, as General, from puppeteering your command structures.  You just can’t be everywhere at once!

Onward to turn 2!

With this variant I am accelerating the arrival of the Confederates by a turn. In a meeting engagement where everyone is trying to be firstest with the mostest, this should set the Union up for failure. This is the benefit of solo play, I can try things like this and no one gets stuck playing the losing side for the whole game.

I have advanced the Union Cavalry’s arrival by a turn as well, because I have no doubt what an extra turn beyond the turn they are already getting would allow a little too much mayhem…Maybe save that for a later day.

Stuart arrives and secures Gettysburg ahead of Hill’s column who march the whole turn to get everyone on the map. Overall, this is a good problem to have, but it limits one’s options to simply marching along the road. There are several minor roads along the way, but they would stretch the line out even longer, and there’s a whole army behind ’em!

Buford races back towards the Union lines as Reynolds deploys his two divisions along the Peach Orchard and Cemetary Ridge. Cemetary Hill is no longer in reach. This will be a very different battle! One thing that does favor the Union is that as they fall back they get closer to their arriving troops, whereas Lee must spend more time marching to the front lines. Things will be worse for the late arriving Hood.

Day 1 will be very interesting.

On turn 3 I make an interesting observation. I always wondered why battles were so set piece. Why one army set up and waited while another army did the same, as if they had seen the “set up diagram” and just filled it in. Now, I see the actual process begin. Two opposing armies move towards each other, then deploy into lines, then attack.

You can also see quite clearly in this photo the march column eighth inch blocks I use to show units in March column on major roads (block on top) and those on minor roads that are forced to be more stretched out (block behind). Rodes’ Division and Baggage Train of Ewell’s corps (coming in from the top) is stretched out over 3 miles! Meanwhile, the first two divisions of A.P. Hill’s III Corps have deployed in attack formation just South of Gettysburg.

Both opposing cavalry commanders are located on the Union left allowing their respective divisions to attack if necessary (thus remaining a threat), while to the East they are taking up more defensive positions.

Reynolds and Howard are planning their defensive strategies and sending off more messengers to Meade, pleading for him to come on at all hazard with greatest expedition.

Turn 4. Meade’s First and Eleventh Corps have set up a makeshift line, but it seems not nearly wide enough! Ewell forms up on the western flank and Hill on the eastern.

Turn 5 In the first heavy combat of Gettysburg Reynolds and Howard have launched an attack in an effort to stun the Confederates fist thing and unbalance them. Starting from the left, Buford’s cavalry charge Hampton’s crack division in an effort to prevent them from freely harassing the attack that is being delivered just below McPherson’s Ridge.
Rule comment: As per the diagram on page 6 of the 3.0 rules (flanking), the blocks must line up as close as possible, but are not required to touch. In the photo, all units are considered to line up evenly, even if the actual shape of the blocks don’t allow it. Their real counterpart divisions would have had much more elastic frontages than the wood blocks allow. The determining factor is whether or not at least half the base width is in contact. It would take several pages of examples to show all possible permutations of this rule. Pub Battles merely asks two gentleman if they could agree on what would likely happen.

Note that Lee’s player drew his commands first, which allowed the Union the rare chance to attack without fear of a Confederate maneuver to prevent it. This simulates a well executed attack where everything goes right…At least until combat begins.

In a good example of Confederate elan, A.P. Hill’s troops score three hits on their union attackers whilst the Union only scores two hits. The rebs were flanked, so they needed 5+ to hit, and the Union only needed 3+. Barlow (Union) was eliminated, and Heth’s boys fell back (they should both be spent, I realized after I took the photo). The rules require the first hits to be taken on the front unit, so it would have been required to flip to spent and retreat. Then the unit backing up could have advanced forward and fought another round. However, I did not think fighting another round with being outflanked would bode well, so they both pulled back. The Union unit backing up the eliminated unit advanced to fill the vacated position (this is the only “after combat” movement allowed. Heth’s boys on the right suffered two hits as well and fell back.

Buford’s troops delivered one hit on Hampton, which their elite status allowed them to ignore, whilst they delivered one hit on Buford. Buford’s mission accomplished (denying Hampton), he fell back, electing not to continue the fight on unequal terms.

Turn 6 Here is where the rest of II and III corps arrive. The Union army is pushing up along seminary ridge almost to the day’s starting line. Additionally, it looks as if Reynolds’ Corps will recapture Cemetery Hill.

All of which is accurate, but misleading. Since Pleasanton is over with Buford, facing Hampton and Stuart on the Western flank, the entire cavalry force of both armies on the Eastern portion of the map are without Corps leadership and cannot attack. Furthermore, Wolf’s Hill has been invested by Ewell’s II Corps, and the Union has nothing to fill that gaping hole in their center. Over the next two turns (the rest of the day) the North will get almost no reinforcements, but Lee will be joined by Longstreet’s large Corps, minus Pickett who will arrive fresh in the morning.

The battle could look very different in a couple of hours…

Turn 7. Well, Now we have jumped ahead to turn 8. I have been working on this for awhile and have gotten quite tired. I have forgotten to snap a picture of turn 7 when Lee’s I Corps arrived. The thing to not is that the last division of Hill’s Corp had to leave the road to allow them to pass.

Turn 8 movement ends with Lee finally gaining some initiative. Longstreet swings wide to the left and Hill makes an attack in the center as Ewell is poised to take his deep into the Union right where the Union cavalry delays their southern counterparts on the right. I am once again tired and making mistakes. Pleasanton is over with Buford leaving the rest of his Corps out of command. That cavalry could not have attacked.

Turn 8 after combat. Suddenly, the Union position seems weak with most of I Corps and all of III corps spent. Next is a night turn, with movement, but no combat.

Whoops! Except I realized I had forgotten to bring on Slocum’s XII Corps, and this would have changed things dramatically, With Hancock’s II Corps and all the Union Artillery arriving in the night.

So I decided to call an end to my experiment, for now. I see that it is possible, with the right circumstances, for the Union to hold out.

But what if Jackson had survived the last engagement, and what if Stuart’s cavalry had remained in place… That’ll be my next game.

This is a handy guide to bringing you up to speed with the scenario in general, and the 3.0 play in particular.

In the photo below, I have shown the river crossing points available to the Austrians. Of note is the Monte Castello crossing at the top of the map. This crossing was not used historically, but it did exist. Also of note is the fact that six of the blocks for each army are either unpacked Baggage Trains or Detachments, which means that neither army is quite so numerous as first appears. Also, French reinforcement are placed near where they will appear.

The situation, at first glance, is pretty straight forward; the Austrians need to breakout and reach their supply lines by nightfall (end of turn 8). There are however, some complications.

First off, is supply. At the end of turn 8 any units unable to trace a supply line are considered eliminated for victory point purposes. Alexandrie is an Austrian supply source during the game, but after turn 8 the Austrians must have captured one of their supply lines or they lose.

If a Baggage Train cannot trace a line of supply to a supply line, they cannot recover spent units.

Secondly is the time crunch. Austria gets a surprise turn 0 that allows them to get a jump on the French. They need this. If you measure in 2/3 inf move increments from the crossing east of Alexandrie to the eastern map edge, it will take them almost all game to reach their supply lines. The French don’t need to defeat them so much as delay them without being defeated themselves.

In the game setup I have pictured, the Austrians are investing the northern route heavily. I want to see if they have any better luck moving up the road in column and cutting out over half the time to get to their nearest supply line. I have artillery massed in the center with some infantry escort in hopes of drawing off some French responsiveness, or make them pay for abandoning the center. In the south I am threatening the French supply lines, again to drain off the critically overstretched French army. I want to have something to distract Desaix when he appears!

The question I have about this strategy is whether or not having to snake the Austrian army out in a long road column is going to be their undoing.

Between two human opponents, Fog-of-War (FoW) is handled by not knowing the identity of Fresh units or HQs. Your opponent doesn’t actually know where key units are located. In solitaire play, even if you have a brain injury like I do, there is no way to truly keep your opponents positions hidden. Additionally, you generally have your hands full keeping track of all the game’s functions when playing solo.

Pub Battles is an ideal system for for playing two handed (both sides, solo). When playing solo, the idea of outsmarting your opponent in competitive play makes no sense. Most truly solitaire wargames do not impress me. The difficulty is usually reflected in tougher die rolls, which just comes down to luck. However, most people that play wargames also do it because it is a chance to recreate a battle and understand the conflict more deeply. In that regard, Pub Battles accommodates the requirements of the solo gamer handsomely. It is details light, simulation heavy. You create your own narrative of how and why the events that are happening in the battle are occurring.

One aspect that is totally different when playing solitaire is the way Fog of War (FoW) is handled. In two player games, FoW is handled by limiting reliable information to players, just like their historical counterparts. In solitaire play, just keeping track of all the basic info you need is quite a challenge, much less obscuring anything.

Enter the chit draw mechanic.

In a two player game, a critical part of the game is the Alter Turn Order ability which allows players to try to control when different commands are activated, allowing you to outmaneuver and outplay your opponent. This is a null concept in solo play.

In solo play, Fog of War is simulated by the chit draw mechanic limiting each side’s ability to capitalize on a position just because they know where everything is. Yes, you know that enemy Baggage is exposed and it is but a simple matter to march a unit up and attack it. However, you need to be able to move before the other side can either move the baggage, or garrison it. This is an example of a very dramatic and critical win/lose chit draw.

Every chit draw makes the game play a little different, just like every battle would have been fought a little different if any of an incalculable number of variables had played out differently. Rather than try to simulate exactly what happens (a truly impossible task!), the chit draw merely shows the result of all those probabilities.

This means that you can play the same battle with the same forces, using the same strategy, and get a different game every time. Mathematically, this becomes quite staggering. Brandywine has 5 chits to draw each turn for a total of 25 different openings on turn one, by the end of the second turn that increases to 625, with 15,625 variations on turn 3, 390,625 on turn 4 , and 9,765,625 different games by the end of the fifth and last turn. Nearly ten million different games, not including the numbers of different combat results, means that’s a lot of variation for even as small a battle as Brandywine. That’s almost 407 days straight play time. If you only played one game a night, with exactly the same strategy, that would be over a thousand years.

All of which is to say, no game of Pub Battles ever plays out the same way. Waterloo is a huge battle that probably has the least variability in basic strategy. Wellington lines up, Napoleon lines up, Napoleon charges the British line hoping to break it before the late arriving Prussians overwhelm him.

But even with that basic an analysis, it is still a fun game. I have played it over a hundred times, probably more than any other Pub Battles title, and every game is still an edge of your seat nail biter. The chit draw and combat results are always different. You have tough and interesting decisions every turn. At what point, and where, do the British want to deploy baggage and solidify their line? Do that wrong and you hand Napoleon the easy victory he is counting on. Too late, and there is no army left for Blucher to rescue. The French must balance keeping the pressure on, in spite of losses, or pause to recover and face the possibility of encountering a fresher, more numerous, opponent.

I have never played a solo wargame that has kept the tension ratcheted up to such a high level. There are no mathematical certainties, you have to rely on your gut feelings and instincts. Experience is your friend. You need to have an appreciation of the probabilities, but all together, it is that undefinable “something” that makes for consistent success.

For the first time ever, I am playing a second day at Brandywine. The British were trying to avoid heavy casualties and underestimated the colonial’s tenacity. Knyphausen’s smaller wing, instead of demonstrating across the Brandywine, drew the short straw and had to march the nearly twenty miles around to come in and outflank Washington. This left Cornwallis watching and waiting with the Sledgehammer of the British expeditionary force.

Predictably, this got hung up, helped by the Colonist’s stalwart defense. Toward the end of the day, Cornwallis launched his assault and suffered heavy casualties. His right wing collapsed and the intrepid Greene crossed Chadd’s and Pyle’s ford in a brilliant envelopment that left the Grenadiers falling back in disorder as night came.

That night Greene recovered his command’s losses and was able to refresh one division. Cornwallis was able to reorganize his best troops, under Mathew, and was ready to put an end to this congressional nonsense.

The bandaged hearts show the recovered units. If Greene gets activated before Cornwallis all he needs to do is send General “Mad” Anthony Wayne forward to make contact with the bags (arrow) and the Rebels will win. If Cornwallis is drawn first, then Mathews (the recovered British unit) will be able to block Greene’s exhausted troops, giving the Knyphausen time to break the American lines.

Nothing is a sure thing, but whoever is activated first will probably win. In a solitaire game, I may not even bother fighting this out (Ha! Yes I will!), but imagine how exciting this would be with an opponent. You’ve fought all of day 1 and the British were almost winning (but getting frustratingly denied) until the last couple turns. Suddenly, with Green across the Brandywine, everything has changed.

Now the chit draw becomes very intense. If Greene’s chit is drawn first, Cornwallis will need to roll 1-4 to jump ahead. If he fails, Howe is near by and can try to roll himself. If either of those rolls is successful, then Greene can roll to jump ahead of whomever got the jump. Greene’s only disadvantage is that Washington is out of command range, and so can’t support the way that Howe can. If Washington were to be drawn ahead of Cornwallis, then he could move within command range of Greene and support him (Actually, I just measured and he comes up about an inch short, so he can’t). The Rebel player would have needed to anticipate the possibility of needing to support Greene, and moved Washington during the night turn.

This is why I am so enthusiastic about the chit draw mechanic. It is so simple, yet the opportunity to Alter Turn Order can have deep strategy that takes time to master (read about it here). In this case the players wanted to go first, but even more frequently the attacking command will want to go after the defending command.

As a player, you can see right where the British Baggage Train is unpacked. Greene would not necessarily know where it was, or whether or not is was vulnerable to a sudden attack. Cornwallis might not be able to organize Mathew’s troops, or recover the Grenadiers in time to counter a rebel effort. Rather than endless charts, rules, and tables, that try to limit the player’s god-like knowledge of the battle; Pub Battles simply uses the chit draw.

Instead of the instant Victory Washington could have got, we instead envision Cornwallis getting the jump and activating first. Knyphausen and Cornwallis get their way…And pay dearly for it!

Knyphausen’s attack is bloodily repulsed, but Ferguson and the Hessians fall back to their own supply caissons and are able to recover, unfortunately his line troops are too decimated and join the ranks of the Glorious dead.

Meanwhile, Mathew and the Grenadiers reform and dare Greene to come att’em. Greene declines the invitation and bugs out, hoping to make it back to their own lines to recover and join the main defense.

Turn 4 of Day 2 sees the American cavalry outmaneuver their British counterparts when Washington’s chit goes first. Even if they had not captured the British Baggage, Washington’s dice had been too hot for Howe. British casualties were far too heavy for what should have been a British cakewalk.

After I cam back to pick up the game, I thought I might go ahead and see what might have happened if the colonials hung on and didn’t abandon the field before dark. What if they tried to hold on instead on turn 6. Turns 6, 7, and 8 are a long time to hang on when there is almost no room left to retreat. The edge they have, and the only edge that could make this workable, is they can unpack their baggage train right behind the line, whereas the English have their baggage unpacked a couple miles away across the Brandywine.

With the new 3.0 scenario, Washington is given Maxwell’s brigade as elite troops. One must note that light troops were the elite troops of the Napoleonic era. They were trained in marksmanship, whereas the rank and file were just drilled on reloading. Actually having troops practice with live fire was very expensive. Maxwell’s light troops were self-trained marksmen of the frontier.

Here among the glorious dead you can see the Hobbits of the Shire under Bilbo Baggins (actually commanded by a Took) fell in a distant land.

This is a good example of chit draw affecting the battle. Abercromby’s troops were not able to attack before Maxwell and Strand could draw fresh men and equipment from their Baggage Train and recover. With only one turn left, there is no way Howe can reach the American bags. He needs to inflict 50% losses or he fails.

This was really close and not decided until the last combat of the last turn.

Too keep it random, I setup and then rolled a die (1 or 2 and the British come in from the left, 3 or 4 in the center, and 5 or 6 on the right). I rolled a three so that means two things: 1) they come in right behind Knyphausen 2) The game start on turn 1, which means it’s going to be a long day for the Colonial forces.

The question isn’t whether Howe can beat General Washington’s ragged army, but how easily he can do it. The British want to brush aside the rebel army like it was nothing. Too many casualties and Washington will declare a Colonial Victory. The catch is that the British can Unpack Baggage Trains and recover from spent without fear of colonial depredations. The colonists risk their baggage being overrun if they Unpack their bags, but how long can they last as more of the army becomes spent?

The casualties from turn one are seen in the lower right hand corner. I am using my homebrew rule that allows casualties to be absorbed by either unit if one is supporting. Since Mathews and the Grenadiers are both elite, they absorb two hits before one (Mathews has to flip to spent, when the Virginians roll 3 hits. Nevertheless, the Virginians did manage to stop two of his Majesty’s finest units, and live to tell about it.

On the right you can see a detachment across the Brandywine in the woods. This is Greene’s Forlorn Hope mission sent across to cause problems. In a regular game, the British wouldn’t know it was just a detachment. In any event, if they just ignore it, Greene’s men could capture a Baggage Train and give the Americans a decisive victory. Given this risk, Knyphausen takes no chances and sends Ferguson’s elite Scotsmen with their broadswords to do a little bushwhacking.

At this point I could have unpacked some colonial baggage and might have held off the beleaguered Brits, now well away from their own Baggage Trains, but with rioting beginning in nearby Minneapolis and heading my way, I decided to play it safe and wrap it up, so I could attend to my own affairs.

I like the way the easy to see rivers look and play, but I totally understand if you treat your expensive maps with more care.

If you’re not real close to the map you can’t really even notice the colored rivers. If you decide to do this, you have to take time to make sure it is a river and not a road. It is not always obvious. On maps with more hills I will frequently draw a contour line along the top side of the slope lines with a regular pencil. This helps when the map is covered with blocks and it becomes hard to determine where the upslope is. On the Marengo map the slopes are few and so is the piece count, so I don’t touch the map.

The Austrians must breakout to the North or East and It will take them almost the full game to get there, even without the French in their way. If they get too held up (likely) they will have to use column to gain some distance, but that means the French can really put them in the hurt locker. The game can last into a second day, so the French must ultimately stop them. Instead of waiting for Godot, they are waiting for Desaix (who shows up turn 5)! Desaix’s arrival can be decisive IF the Austrians are too exhausted.

This battle is a pressure cooker every time!

I have gotten notice that my 3.0 kits (Available here) have shipped, No doubt to arrive tomorrow! You can imagine what 3 extra blocks could do for French Fog of War. As well, the Austrian detachments could look like Ott’s light troops had taken the Northern road. When playing solitaire, they make effective speed bumps, forcing the Austrians out of column as they race to reach their LoCs.

The 3.0 rules clarify that the Northern road crosses the river at Monte-Castello, and that optional Northern route is pretty good for one of Melas’ other commands, as it draws off units the French can ill afford to spare. It is not a sure-win strategy, or the game would be broken, but it is an option. I chose to go with a more historical start, “Hey diddle diddle, straight up the middle!” After all, the Austrians have the strength of numbers, why not concentrate?

The Austrians start on turn 0 with a free, unopposed move. I used this to get my artillery within range of the French lines so I can start reducing units to spent on turn one. If I can wear the French down, he will have to deploy his baggage trains early and that would be great for the Austrians.

The French try to buy time because on turn 3 Murat gets another cavalry division and Turn 5 Desaix appears. I do not have the 3.0 upgrade kit yet, so I have made some temporary Baggage Trains with my column markers. On one side they say “Mobile” and on the other “Set” to show them unpacked.

The Austrian dragoons are moving up with the Grenadiers to create some combined arms breakthroughs in the French line. If the French cavalry can force the Austrian cavalry to protect the Baggage Trains, they might ruin the Austrian plans.

In the night, both sides unpack one Baggage Train and try to recover some spent units. The Austrian Baggage is safe, but only because the Austrians are protecting it well. Protecting it with troops that are desperately needed elsewhere!

Turn 1 sees more rallying and repositioning of exhausted troops, but turn 2 finds Desaix doing Desaix things and driving back the Austrian flying wing under O’Reille that was Pushing for the Northern LoC. In an attempt to force a decisive issue, Melas commits his Grenadiers and the Kaiser’s Dragoons against the French Guard and the Corsican usurper of all that’s good in Austria.

Note that here I elected to use my cavalry breakthrough rule to create a quick end to the game. Ordinarily, the retreat of the Guard would have ended the combat and given the Guard a chance to survive, pending chit draws and Alter Turn Order rolls. If I were playing against somebody, that’s the way I would have went. But it was just me, and I like the dramatic ending. When I’m playing solo, I rarely care to fight it out to the bitter end, versus a human opponent, it’s “Never Surrender!”

What do you think, do like the breakthrough rule, or do you prefer the official rules that leave the outcome to the following chit draw? I can’t really decide, I like both for different reasons.

After my quick two turn game last replay, I thought I’d try again. I figured when the situation for a possible cavalry breakthrough move occurred, I’d decide then if I want to change the rule or not.

In the mean time, I thought I’d try the Grouchy variant that allows Grouchy’s Corps to start arriving as if the original message had called him hence. This is turn one after movement, but before combat. Bulow’s IV Prussian Corps HQ can be seen on the extreme right. If this were any other army and a major road, the whole corps would arrive in almost one turn. Instead, it is a minor road and the Prussians must have two blocks trailing each unit to show their huge baggage trains. It will take most of the game to get them on the battlefield!

Here we see a more typical French first turn. Spent French divisions everywhere, whilst the British line remains largely intact. When the French infantry failed to reduce any opposing divisions to spent status, the cavalry road off rather than face an enemy in squares. The French lost two infantry divisions and the British had two Corps level artillery put out of action for a bit.

This illustrates the Charge! rule that allows certain units (listed by scenario, but frequently Elites and Heavy Cavalry) to move and attack immediately! This is that moment when time seems to stop (as when the Guard is committed). In this case, everything is being thrown in, trying to create a decisive moment.

I did not try to blur out Kellerman’s division, but what a cool effect my poor photography has accomplished this time! There is a Baggage Train a few hundred yards off. Even if I had decided to use my cavalry breakthrough rules, it wouldn’t have mattered, II Corps’ chit has not been drawn yet (remember, this is a Charge!, so there’s still lots chits to draw) and they will move to safety when they get a chance.

The combat phase (above) shows the true chaos of war. Charge and counter-charge, desperate men putting in their last ounce of strength. Bulow’s column is cut up by Grouchy’s incoming Corps.

On turn 3 Wellington unpacked a Baggage Train and that has allowed him to form a coherent line on turn 4. He had to wait until the French had a chance to either stall or break through. They stalled, and his gamble paid off. During the turn, before regular combat, the answer wasn’t so obvious. Now it can clearly be seen that it was the right thing to do.

The late afternoon looks to be a lull before one final storm towards dusk. The French troops are spent and Grouchy has not made it onto the battlefield, yet.

I have my own way of resolving multiple unit combat. The official rules do it from the inside out, first contacted to last. That works, it is the official rule, and I will support and answer any questions as to how that rule works. I happen to do it the opposite way, outside in. I do this because it keeps the suspense up. Resolving from the inside out tends to make counter-charging flankers pointless since it won’t have any affect on the main battle.

I want to take a moment to look at this combat from turn 3. A classic flank attack being itself flanked. Remember, the actual turn order does not necessarily describe the way events turn out. It is not as if Brunswick flank attacked CIV Watier as he attacked Halkett’s spent Rehnish troops, and then Quiot got the idea to flank Brunswick. That might have happened that way, but I think it is more likely that Watier had requested support and D’Erlon sent Quiot’s division who went wide and found the Brunswickers coming to the aid of the hapless Halkett. Photo effects courtesy picmonkey.

The Old Guard just can’t catch a break and the Brunswickers throw them back, then to top it off, they throw back the Curassiers as well. After that effort, still fresh, they do retire across the swamp to prevent any more cavalry attacks. They leave a lone lorn attachment to warn of any more French perfidy.

At this point with all 17 Corps present on the battlefield it becomes surprising with each chit draw to see who still hasn’t moved. One more grand French effort. If they don’t break the British line this time they will be hard pressed to accomplish anything other than “desperate” measures.

From what I can gather, the appearance of Grouchy only serves to counter-balance the Prussians, not save the day. I am beginning to come of the opinion that If the French don’t win early, they probably aren’t going to win, much like Confederates at Gettysburg.

Napoleon’s Waterloo turn 6

It is turn six and the Guard’s chit is drawn early and the blown Curassiers and spent Old Guard attempt the impossible one more time. The French use the Charge! rule again.

I show a stunned Guard having retreated, but in reality, they rolled three misses and the Brunswickers rolled three hits. A 1 chance out of 64 occurrence. It was not meant to be. Napoleon surrenders.

In reality, the French have nothing left to mount another attack. The oncoming Prussians don’t allow Napoleon to draw troops from anywhere else to mount another attack, and Grouchy won’t make it by night fall.

Plus, I always feel if the Old Guard is eliminated the French are done.

This game I decided to test a few homebrew rules. The problem with testing more than one rule at once is the likelihood I’ll forget one of them. This time I forgot to use the rule that hits can be applied to either the lead unit, or the supporting unit. The one I did remember was one where attacking cavalry (including cavalry supporting an attack) can follow up and keep attacking after combat. One final rule I was playing with also was one that required eliminated units to retreat before their elimination. These rules can be seen here in my homebew post. What transpired is an interesting study in play testing.

Again, this is a solo game, so I have the British facing reversed so I can see their labels without having to spin the map around. My goal is to recreate, not to “win.”

The game opened fairly well for the French as the Grand Battery was able to severely damage the center of the British line. Although they weren’t able to follow up that success, the two flanking attacks that did occur did well enough in their own right.

The initial French combined arms assault did manage to destroy the British Artillery, but d’Aubeme’s supporting division drove them off and the British unpacked a Baggage Train which allowed it to recover. Picton’s Elite Highlanders filled the forward position. The center seemed secure. Until the Chit draw helped the French get a flanking and combined arms attack on those troops, as well as inserting a flank guard on the flanking unit and preventing a British cavalry from foiling the flanking maneuver.

However, the following combat phase the French then rolled three hits, forcing the Highlanders to retreat, only inflicting one hit themselves, but pushing back I corps’ artillery and pushing back and disordering the HHC! That was followed up by the French rolling another three hits! This caused d’Aubreme’s division to retreat, pushing the previously retreated units past the Unpacked baggage before being eliminated. Now the supporting French Curassiers had their chance and they pursued, ending up adjacent to the unpacked bags and winning the battle on turn 2!

This could lead one to conclude that the pursuit rule is too strong and breaks the game. Perhaps it is, but I am still not convinced. For this amazingly decisive win to occur a few perfect storm events had to happen. The first was unpacking the bags in direct line of the breakthrough. This was actually not a bad move, it allowed the British to quickly and efficiently rebuild their line after the first turn. They were not expecting a French breakthrough. This was sensible. The real key element of the perfect storm was the French rolling 3 hits while the British rolled only one, followed by the French rolling 3 hits again. The chances of rolling 3 hits are only 1:8, the chances of Rolling three hits twice in a row is 1:64! So you could expect these results only once every 64 games, AND that would only be so devastating if the Baggage were unpacked where they were.

Of course, pursuing cavalry may still be too deadly, even if they are historical!