Friday, October 15, 2021

Battle for the Farm House - La Haye Sainte - Black Powder

Finally got to game the La Haye Sainte Black Powder game today. Used a mix of the mid-size and larger game scenarios that came with the Warlord Games set. I wanted to add a few more supporting units, to include some cavalry. Here's the set up prior to the game - with a bit of inspiration watching the old Waterloo movie with Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer. 

EDIT: A little more details of the game - the French had two brigades of three infantry battalions each; a cavalry brigade of one Cuirassier and two Lancer units; two horse artillery batteries and several small detachments, including an Engineer/Pioneer unit.

The British, besides several small detachments of KGL Lights and Nassauers in and around the farmhouse had two brigades of two line infantry each, two RHA batteries, small detachments of 95th Rifles and a unit of Scots Greys.

The French started the game as attackers and almost all of the units were successful activating and moving towards the farmhouse. The British in their turn attempted to move along the flanks of the farmhouse towards the French. One brigade of French infantry managed to get through the orchard and up against the southside of the farmhouse in turn 2. While the other French infantry brigade moved into assault against the KGL unit guarding the barn door on the western side of the farmhouse. The French cavalry moved up to the KGL Line on the western side of the battlefield and forced them to get into square. The British Line on the eastern side of the road slowly moved up to support KGL inside the farmhouse. In turn 3, the French stormed into the farmhouse and took on the small detachment of KGL Lights inside. A fire was also started on the roof of the stables which the KGL were not able to put out. The game was called when an overwhelming number of French were inside of the farmhouse and courtyard.

We played four turns, with the French having four battalions assaulting into the farmhouse. Now this probably stretches the basic rules with the amount of units allowed in a building/structure, but we went ahead with it.

The scenario booklet actually has smaller units in and assaulting the farmhouse - companies and such. The stables on the western side did catch fire in turn 3 and was not able to be put out successfully by the occupying KGL.
The French had a Cuirassier and two Lancer (Polish & Dutch) units. They destroyed the one British cavalry unit - Scots Greys. The French cavalry also held off two KGL line battalions by having them stay in square for most of the game.
Here's where things got out of control - that is the number of French units in the farmhouse. The French had actually gone into skirmish formation, but we left them on the movement trays for ease of handling. One thing that was evident was the break test results for skirmishers. We thought it was way too advantages especially when resolving combat with heavy cavalry.  We plan to use the artillery break test results for small/tiny infantry units in the future. Thinking of giving infantry skirmishers vs. medium/heavy cavalry the same results as artillery during break tests. Basically anything 4 or less is destroyed.
With a few tweaks, like the one mentioned for small/tiny unit break test - and limiting the amount of units in the farmhouse, I plan to host this at our next Enfilade convention. Granted it's a ways out, but a few more playtests will be needed.
Anyway, I was glad to have finally gotten this game in, having finished the farmhouse over a year ago. It was good to flesh out the scenario and use the special rules like the French Engineers breaking down doors, setting buildings afire and also scaling walls.

Thanks for stopping by and wishing you all the best.

28 comments:

  1. Looks like a great game! No clue about either the rules nor the period, but it certainly looks cool

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    1. Thanks a lot, Nick! I really have only a superficial knowledge of the actual battle histories. I'm more interested in the uniforms :) That said, watching the Waterloo movie was inspirational enough for the game. Lol! Kindest regards, Dean

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    1. Thanks a lot, Mike! Finally got around to gaming again; and it was great. Kindest regards, Dean

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  3. The table looks great Dean - I would have liked to read a bit more of how the game played out but thats ok - your farm house building looks fantastic!

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    1. Thanks, Keith. I'll add a few more tidbits of the game. Warmest regards, Dean

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  4. Nice looking game that I think would make an ideal table for the convention. Good job in getting all of this together … and at last getting a game :-)

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    1. Thanks, Norm. Yes, I think a good game at a con. Enough nuances to make it interesting; and yet have time for a conclusion. Warmest regards, Dean

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  5. Beautiful wargaming spectacle, Dean, especially with Steiger commanding in the background. Your La Haye Sainte is an impressive architectural feature. Great job!

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    1. Thank you so much, Jonathan! Yes, the movie is definitely a fun watch and motivation for gaming. Kindest regards, Dean

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  6. Interesting game. Very good table and great numbers.
    Anyway, Dean's a great report.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, Alexey! Warm regards, Dean

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  7. An impressive battle! A lot of figures and a great terrain. Congratulations, Dean!

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    1. Thanks a lot for the compliments, Denis! Much appreciated. I plan to add something to more clearly define the western higher ground/slope adjacent to the road. Also need to create a better looking sand pit too - although the 95th really stayed out of the action for most of the game (even historically). Kindest regards, Dean

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  8. Ah! A Legendary part of great battle!
    Looking epic Dean!

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    1. Thanks, Michal! It was good to try out the scenario. Lots of good feedback and have ideas to improve upon it. Warmest regards, Dean

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  9. Bloody and intense...a spectacular and superb battle!

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    1. Thank you kindly, Phil! There certainly was a lot of action going on all around and inside the farmhouse. Kindest regards, Dean

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  10. Game looks fantastic. nice work! Re skirmisher, would part of the interaction be that there's not a clear "target"? Heavy cav are a hammer, but they need a nail, not a cobweb?

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    1. Thanks for the great comment, Markus. The thing with the stock Black Powder break test results really make artillery fragile - we thought tiny units of skirmishers should be at least as weak as gun batteries. More playtests for this scenario in the future. Kindest regards, Dean

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  11. That's a fantastic setting you are playing in. The TV in the background, that huge wargaming table, those brilliant looking minis ... I am envious :)

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    1. Thank you very much! Yes, it was great watching Waterloo while setting up the table. In fact, it inspired me to add more units to the game. Warmest regards, Dean

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  12. Great to see all those Naps finally getting stuck into battle. Lovely to see 👍

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    1. Thanks a lot, Matt. I was glad to finally get the farm house and figures on the table. I hope to get all of the figures I painted up from last year in some games soon. Kindest regards, Dean

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  13. Fantastic looking game! Nice to see so many beautiful troops and buildings at one place!

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