A friend of mine is organizing a Napoleonic game for RoyalCon, and asked me and a few others to try his scenario, kind of a ''répétition générale''. The rules used were the computer-based Carnage & Glory, which were new to all players but Éric, the organizer, who took the role of GM. The figures are 15mm, all of them painted by Éric. The unfortunate absence of a french general meant that the french would all be handled by me alone, while the russians forces would be divided between Don and Jean-François.

The battle was the battle of Kljascicy of 1812, which took place on July 30, 1812. The french, under Maréchal Oudinot, were ordered to go north to find and destroy Wittgenstein corps before moving to St-Petersburg. The battle begins the day after a skirmish in front of the town of Jakubovo, occupied by french troops. Scouts have indicated that far from retreating, the Russian army advances on the town. Legrand & Verdier divisions stand ready to face the threat, with the support of the Castex brigade. Doumerc cuirassiers stand far in reserve should their services be required later.

The Russians have orders to take the town and the plateau where Oudinot is currently. The Division Koulnieff & Berg prepare for the offensive while the Kakhoffski Division is supposed to be arriving any moments.

You can see Oudinot in the back on the plateau, and the town of Jakubovo in the front.

The french army waits for the inevitable russian attack.

Don & Jean-François, generals of the russian army, ponder their strategy.

The Brigade Prince of Siberia marches on Jakubovo.

After discussions, the Russian generals, eager to crush the french, go with an aggresive all-out attack plan. On just the second turn, the Brigade Prince of Siberia, which had moved the precedent turn, charges with it's 5 battalions into the the Brigade Albert, of which 3 are againts the poor 3e battalion of the 26e légère (top left of the picture).

On the right flank of the french, Cossacks approach the Brigade Moreau flank, and the 24e Chasseur a Cheval is sent to meet the threat.

The 24e Chasseur a Cheval advancing to protect the french flank from the Cossack.

The Cossacks temerity costs the russians an early defeat the next turn, as the cossascks flee from the 24e Chasseurs a Cheval who ends up charging the 1st Regiment of the Grodno Hussars instead! The Cossack flee the battle.

While the battles for the town rages on, the russian army left flank advances, connecting with the 3e bataillon of the 56e de Ligne of Moreau brigade.

Unfortunately, I did not really had time to take lots of pictures in the second part of the battle, as I was too occupied; there was a lot of units to control!

The attack against the town is a marginal victory for the Russian; while they manage to rout and later destroy the 3e bataillon of the 26e Légers, the other two battalions in the town stand their ground, forcing the russian attackers backward. While the russians pursue the routed 3e batallion, the 26e Légers' 2 batallions in the town uses cover to their advantage and sends a devastating volley in the 1st battalion of the Mohilev regiment, who turns and flee, leaving only the 3rd battalion of the Mohilev regiment against 2 battalions under cover.

During that time, the middle of both line is occupied pounding the other with Artillery fire, and the russians have the early advantage. The 2e battalion of 19e Ligne of Maison Brigade has had enough on the 3rd turn and breaks, fleeing behind their line. The russian Division Kakhoffski, made up of Converged Grenadier divisions and Dragons, finally arrives on the battlefield, at the great pleasure of the russians generals.

The next turn the 2nd Grodno Hussars charges right into the 1st battery of the 5e Artillerie a Pied, who fumbles it's counter fire and is rapidly routed and destroyed. The Hussars, thirsty for french blood, pursue their charge right into the rear of the 2e battalion of the 19e Ligne. The poor fellows, already routed and shaken by massive artillery fire, are completely destroyed, losing their eagles in the process. Tabarnak! are my exact words!

Seeing that things are not going very well, I start to move two infantry batallions kept on the plateau to support the defence of the town, especially since the rout of the 3e batallion of the 26 Légers left a gaping hole on my left flank. The Russians generals, gaining confidence, starts advancing the Brigade Loukoff, kept in the middle of the line, forward toward the town and toward the Brigade Maison, a bit shaken by artillery fire and the rout of it's 2e batallion.

Seeing it's batallions in the open and at close range, the 3e artillerie a cheval, plus all 3 batallions of the 19e de Ligne of the Brigade Maison with the support of two batallions of the 26e légers (still in the town ) open fire on the Brigade Loukoff, who returns the favour. Lady luck is on the french side today, and the french score devastating casualties. Broken and still haunted by bad luck, four battalions of the Loukoff Brigade rout right into the freshly arrived Division Kakhoffski! This causes one grenadiers converged batallion to panick, and another one to halt while it regains it's confidence, plunging the russian army into complete disarray!

The sudden collapse of their middle would be too much for the russians to handle; faced with mounting casualties while the town was still in french hands, still very far from the Plateau, Wittgenstein and the Russians abandon the battlefield., leaving the french victorious!!

CONCLUSION

It was a fun introduction to new rules, and to the period in general for Jean-François. We talked about it afterwards and came to a few conclusions : my biggest mistake was to wait too long before sending in my reserves, which almost cost me the game. If the town had fall, the rest of my army would have been taken from the flank & rear before anyone could come at their help. The russians had their agressiveness to blame. Instead of rapidly engaging the french like they did, who were protected by cover, they should have used their clear artillery advantage to pound the entire french line, and most importantly the town, for at least one or two more turns. However, it should be noted that we all could have used our officers much better, and many routs could have been avoided by doing so. Éric was very surprised that the town was still in french hands, as he had assumed it to be an easy target for the russian. He anticipated a russian victory (as it really happened), and told us he would make a few changes for the Royalcon game. A few of us will be back at RoyalCon, and having a little experience should help a lot.