The French main force try and deploy but come under Prussian artillery fire .
The Prussian gun hidden behind the wall opens fire with deadly accuracy .
The flanking force of Jaegers move out of the woods .
On the other flank the Prussian Infantry moves into Sawmill Village .
The Chasseurs De Pied deploy into skirmish order and attack the village .
The French artillery open fire on the village (the pile of pennies represent the amount of ammo the gun has).
The combined fire of the Chasseurs De Pied and the artillery drive the Prussians back and halt their advance .
The Chasseurs storm the village capturing it for the French ! Huzza !
However on the other flank the Zouaves suffer heavy casualties from the Jaegers and artillery .
They fail their moral test and flee back towards the ridge .
Even entreatments from the French General and Staff fail to halt them - disgraceful behaviour ! .
The French artillery try to halt the Prussian advance - but to no avail ! ( French gunnery was total rubbish - Napoleon must have been turning in his grave !)
The French misery is prolonged by the Chasseurs De Pied being driven out of the village by the fire of the Jaegers and line infantry , this means their flanking unit had to test morale - and failed ! and are seen fleeing in the bottom right of this photo .
The Prussians retake the village ! .
The battle was to last eight moves and all of the French Infantry failed to rally so victory went to the Prussians . A very poor showing by the French indeed . In fact some authorities think it was the inspiration of Emile Zola's novel 'Le Debacle' . An excellent game using some of my favourite figures and a set of rule I think very highly of .
P.S The Battle of Sawmill Village
Excellent report and a fun looking game.
ReplyDeleteThe SS classic range look very good and I can see why you like this collection.
Am very tempted with their Austrians in the same range ,Tony
DeleteThat does look like a fun game! The photo of the jaegers running through the woods at the trail is a good one.
ReplyDeleteDo like that figure pose , ideal for light infantry types , Tony
DeleteMon d____! I am trying to remember if these so called soldiers have ever passed a morale check or beat back these Prussians! Maybe you should paint up some Turko's...
ReplyDeleteStill, very pretty to see.
Some days the dice are not with you , Tony
DeleteEven now, over a hundred years later, the poor French seem to have no luck at all. Mind you they still have the best uniforms!
ReplyDeleteBest uniforms, by far!
DeleteThere's a lot to be said for pretty uniforms , Tony
DeleteHard luck for the poor old Frenchers. They shall come again no doubt.
ReplyDeleteOf course, a practical man would reckon that if he collected an Austrian army for the period - it could fight both the French (in 1859) and the Prussians (in 1866). That's two new wars for only one army...
Impeccable reasoning!
DeleteAm sorely tempted - but have several more projects to finish off first , Tony
DeleteWell done Tony - very Old School look of it with definite charm. Regards. KEV.
ReplyDeleteYou can't beat a high gloss finish , Tony
DeleteGreat looking game,can't wait to see the next. I like the way you add explosions etc to the photos,most effective.
ReplyDeleteAlan
That's me messing about with 'photo shop' , Tony
Deletegreat little game - a classic refought
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourites can go either way , Tony
DeleteWhat they said! Superb. WM
ReplyDeleteThank you , it was a small but exciting game,Tony
DeleteMagnifique!!!, pure inspiration. I nearly missed this due to a pukey bug. When I'm better I do something similar.
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing us this game,
Paul.
Hope your feeling better,very enjoyable game ,Tony
Delete