Valutino Crossing, The Refight: Before we go into the refight, a word about the Map. There is no real need to put onto the table all the Terrain West of the bridge. I have included it for two reasons, 1) I always try to make the Table as interesting as possible and 2) This is such an interesting Battlefield, that we have used it on several occasions. It can be used for other Periods, so far it has seen Fantasy, ECW, ACW and of course three Napoleonic Games up until now. If you do dispense with the Western side of the Table, remember to keep the distance from the table edge to the bridge in mind. It is roughly 3 foot 6 inches from the edge to the Western end of the bridge. And now the Refight. And in the Beginning: This is the first time that I have ever fought the same battle twice on the same night. Because the Italian Player is really up against it, I decided to get the most defensive Player I know to take command of this Army. You know the type, give him a 24` Table and he piles everything into a village in one corner. However I underestimated him, (to protect him I will call him Pasta) Pasta drew his dispositions onto his Map and when the Russian Player ( Stephen) was ready, he began to put down his troops. I thought something was a bit odd when not one Italian unit was placed onto the Eastern side of the river. I grabbed his Map and checked it. Pasta had placed all his Units on the Western side of the river. This meant that the Russians could waltz up to the bridge and blow it at any time. When I asked Pasta if he understood the Scenario, he replied that off course he did. He stated that he was defending the river and the bridge and as the river could not be forded, he had concentrated all his troops with the idea that any Unit crossing the bridge would be shot to pieces. It took me nearly half an hour to explain that the Russians would not be crossing the bridge and that he had lost the game. Eventually the truth dawned on him and we proceeded to play the second Game of the night. This one went a lot better. Game Two/The Italians: Pasta placed his troops accordingly. First of all he formed his Skirmishers into one Unit, this is allowed in our Rules. The 1st Regt was put in Rubiks Farm, the 2nd in Tolstoy Hamlet, the 3rd in Tolstoy Wood, the 4th on Smirn Hill, the Combined Skirmishers in Rubiks Hamlet, the Guards across the road just before the Eastern side of the bridge and the Gun beside the Guards just off the road. Pasta was with the Guards and a Staff Officer was each with the 1st and 2nd Regts. You will note that not one Unit was on the Western side of the river. The Russians: Stephen then began to deploy. It was obvious that he thought that the best way to play this one was to make a direct attack straight down the centre with everything he had. Both his Regular Cavalry Units were placed just South of the road in Line, one behind the other with the Dragoons first. The Cossacks were placed opposite Tolstoy Hamlet. The three Line Regts were in Line with the 2nd Regt straddling the road and with the 1st and 3rd on either side of it. The Grenadiers were in Line behind the 2nd Regt. I will not cover every detail of the battle as it would give too many hints on how to play it, but this is roughly what happened. The Russian Cavalry went for Smirn Hill. Pasta realised this and brought the 4th running to Rubiks Hamlet. The Russian Infantry tried to by-pass the Italian 1st and 2nd but they moved out of their locations and began to threaten the Russian flanks. The Cossacks ignored previous bad experiences of charging Infantry, even Militia; and were shot to bits by the 2nd Regt. Meanwhile The Russian Cavalry didn't fancy attacking Rubiks Hamlet, so they turned around and attacked the 1st instead. This was a mistake!! The Italians were well and truly creamed by the two Regts. Pasta, realising that he was going to lose the 1st, had moved them South towards the table edge. When they Routed, they took both Units of Cavalry with them as they went out of control. What happened next was that the Russian Army became under attack by all the remaining Italian Units just East of Rubiks Hamlet. The Russians were like a huge Square, an easy target for the Artillery who were relishing the task. The Italian Guard went in column on the bridge, four men wide and six deep. The Russian Grenadiers actually reached them but because it was classed as a defile only the front rank in each unit could fight. (Other Rules may vary). It was obvious that this particular Melee would last all day. The end came when the two Units of French Cavalry appeared in the West. Stephen reckoned that he couldn't break the Guards in time before these new Units arrived. The Russians began to retreat. We have fought this Scenario three times now, so far its French/Italians 1 Russians 2. I hope this has created/renewed your interest in Napoleonic Wargaming. If so then why not come to the NDW and take part in a few games. |