La Garde recule...mostly

 I was invited by Richard and Paul to a game of  25mm Napoleonic's using the Black Powder (first edition) rules at the monthly meeting of the Canberra Regional  Wargamers. I was to take command of the Austrian part of an allied Austro-Prussian force, Richard taking the Prussians with Paul to command the French.

First Moves.
Our basic plan was for The Austrians with two brigades of infantry and a supporting Prussian Uhlan brigade, to advance up our left flack, with Paul's Prussian Guard infantry, guns and cavalry dealing with  the centre and right flanks.

Onward to Paris! (in theory)

The first orders were moving forward and shaking out into line. The light infantry brigade leads the way. Across the field I can the French artillery and two regiments of Napoleon's Garde Imperiale marching inexorably forward. Yes, I had a two to one advantage, but these are the Immortals of France.

The battle is joined.

 Fire!
As the lines of infantry drew closer, both sides unleashed massed volleys of musket fire. My infantry were hitting the Guard, but were struggling to match the returning volumes of  disciplined musketry. So there was nothing for it but to fix bayonets and commit to the action!

The cavalry smash into the Guard.

Fix  Bayonets!

The cry of CHARGE  is heard up and down the Austrian lines as  infantry and horsemen surge forward into the teeth of the French muskets. 
The Uhlans crash into one of the Guard regiments still drawn up in their attack column. The Guard staggers back under the sheer weight and ferocity of the cavalry charge. This is a fight the Guard will  not win and they buckle and flee rather than falling   under the hooves of the Prussian  cavalry. La Garde Recule!

Charging alongside the cavalry, the Austrian Fusiliers smash into the other Guard regiment. The fighting is savage, but the  Austrians are thrown back! But here I am able to deploy my numerical advantage and commit a supporting regiment to the attack. I am taking losses faster than I can inflict them. I have to  now rotate an new  unit into the meat grinder.

Charge the Guns!
The French artillerymen, finally manage to bring their guns into the action to support the hard pressed Guard. I have to now deal with this new threat and order my cavalry to reform and charge headlong into the close range fire of the French cannons. The French gunners, maybe surprised by this sudden onslaught, desperately fire grapeshot but are unable to bring down any of the on-rushing horses. The cavalry are now amongst the cannon, and they go to the dreadful work of lance and sword, cutting the artillery men down and putting the survivors to flight.

I pull back to avoid being flanked.

With the French guns also routed, I then tried to deal with the remaining Guard regiment. But they simply soaked up volley after volley and would not give ground. 

I still had the numbers and could have pushed harder to the attack. But the the French now managed to swing one of their centre brigades to bolster the beleaguered lone Guard regiment holding that entire flack of the battlefield. With my lead units now with the danger of being seriously enfiladed buy fresh troops, I had no option but to fall back to reorganise my battered brigades.

Prussian and French Cavalry clash on the other side of the field. (photo by I. Haidon)

Meanwhile...

While all this  was going on, my Prussian allies were not being idle. The bulk of the allied and French cavalry were engaged on the other side of the battlefield. Charge and counter charge were launched. Although badly outnumbered,  the Prussian Dragoons had  better coordination and support, and even talking significant looses were able to put all of the French cavalry to flight.  Now with the  French left wing being total open, the Prussian infantry swung into  action, and supported by cannon and cavalry (what was left of the  them) tore  into  the exposed flank  and methodically rolled up the line.

Endgame.

At this juncture, it was time to assess the situation. On the French right,  the Imperial Guard still held and now were being reenforced by two regiments of line infantry. I was reorganising by batted units and was  preparing to once again go on the offence, The Austrians still had the numerical advantage and a regiment of cavalry ready to  exploit the big gaps in the French battle line. 

The French centre was empty due to having to move a brigade to support the Guard on their right. The Allied artillery held this centre position. On the  French left  the Prussians were making  short work of the remaining infantry regiments still standing and would soon control both the left and centre of the field.

So a victory for the allied Austrian and Prussian forces. 

Also a big thankyou to Richard and Paul for inviting me into the game. 
And finally to that lone regiment of the Imperial Guard, "La Garde meurt mais ne se rend pas!"