Friday 18 March 2011

Corunna, 1809 - battle report - Command & Colours

I have now played through this game and offer the captioned photos below by way of a report.  For consistency, I will refer to left and right from the French point of view.  No bias - I tossed a coin to decide.  As this was a solo game, I did move about a bit more than usual, so the photos are taken from a number of angles.  The game was played on my Hexon terrain (see previous post http://megablitzandmore.blogspot.com/2011/03/corunna-1809.html for a photo of the initial setup), and used my 15mm toys.
The central village of Elvina, with British Line (left) and Light infantry poised on the ridge line.  The Line troops may look like Brunswickers but that's just a trick of the light.  Honestly.  I really must get more Brits.  Moore is just behind the Lights.

More British infantry.  On a hill.  Gosh.
Pigeon's eye view of the French centre advancing on Elvina.  The chaps in the white shako covers are lights.
The Brits have come down the hill to garrison Elvina while the French happily bombard it.  Gen. Mermet can be seen bottom left.
Meanwhile on the right the French splash across the stream towards Piedralonge, led by local commanders Merle and DeLaborde.
Some accurate musketry from the Brits in Elvina kills two bases of French lights.
Near Piedralonge more French light infantry die (two) while the survivors run off (the two flags - 1 hex retreat each).
Despite casualties (and a dearth of suitable cards) the French press their attack on Elvina.  The surviving British lights are seen off by the continued bombardment.
On the left a French Dragoon unit has lost 75% of it's strength in a protracted struggle with the Brits.  That British infantry unit shouldn't be too cocky though...   At this point in the game honours are even.
The French have nearly cleared Elvina, but the British guns have finally made it on to the hill.
The British Line unit on the left is literally blown away by the French gunners.
The French right presses on.
The game hung in the balance from a few turns in.  At first it looked as if Moore would have plenty of time to provision his ships, and indeed enjoy a leisurely dinner before embarking. but the French pressed on, their superior numbers enabling them to pull back spent units and send forward fresh troops.  The end finally came when the single stand infantry unit which Moore was accompanying was taken down by the muskets of a French column.  A good death, but a death nonetheless.

I am looking forward to playing this scenario again soon with 'real' players.

10 comments:

Paul said...

Nice post Tim. Some lovely painting as well.

Corunna? I prefer Corona myself...Hic!

Tim Gow said...

Paul
I can take no credit for the painting. Well very little. My Napoleonic forces have been largely built up by random purchases (usually quite cheap!) at shows and Ebay. This game does however include 60% of the 15mm Naps I have ever painted. The other four figures are still in their box...

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

Honours to the French :(

I had a bad feeling in my waters. I'll have to look into this game set, its simplicity is appealling

All the more "realistic sets" I've played leave me with that "revising for the A level maths exam" feeling!

Ted Henkle said...

You did a splendid job of merging a boardgame with miniatures.

Ted

Tim Gow said...

Geordie
It's a pretty painless system to pick up, and over and above the 'Ancients' version, this has quite a few 'period-specific' features. Definitely worth a look.

Tim Gow said...

Ted H
I was introduced to the Ancients version of C&C last year by John Drewienkiewicz, so he deserves the credit really. I'm sure the boardgame is fine, but I like to use toy soldiers!

David Crook said...

Hi Tim,

The game looks great with figures and on the Hexon as well - the Spanish army is due out in expansion number which should make a refreshing change!

All the best,

DC

Tim Gow said...

David Crook
It's a good excuse to get some toys out! I'm aware that the Spanish Army is the next instalment due out - I'd better get some Spaniards!

Conrad Kinch said...

It's a tough battle for the British - I've only seen the redcoats carry away the palm once in about half a dozen plays.

All the more reason to celebrate the victory!

Tim Gow said...

Conrad
We'll probably be playing Corunna again on Wednesday, so we'll see if the Brits do any better.