Battle of Copenhagen 1704. 10.3.13.

Last night 4 of us turned up to play this ficticious battle,based on a French invasion of Denmark.
The battle centred around 3 strongpoints,namely a small and insignificant village called Falst,occupied by one "raw" regiment of Danes(this village was meant to be just a "thorn in the side" of the attacking French,under Graham,but it turned out to be a "Hougomont-style" nuisance instead,with the French sending 6 regiments against it,and Brian sending his English reinforcements (3 regiments) to support it !!!!

The other 2 strongpoints were a town on the left flank of the Danes,called Mon,defended by me and attacked by Paul,and of course the city of Copenhagen,defended by Brian.
Reinforcements,in the form of an Irish brigade and a brigade of English (arriving by ship!) were due on move number 3.

This first photo shows the Danish left flank,and the town of Mon,about to be assailed by numerous French troops under Paul's command,the Irish are about to come onto the board just beyond the bridge.

This shows Copenhagen, and Graham's initial positions facing the city,plus our centre made up of cavalry and supporting infantry,what could go wrong? once the English arrive it's game over,isn't it??

Hurrah,the English ship has just sailed into the bay,the troops have manned the landing barges,and now it's up to Brian to decide where they will land,obviously it will be where they are needed most ,won't it ??

The Irish have also arrived,they will no doubt,like the English (?) make a real impact on the game !
At this time my centre and flank were being sorely tested by attack,after attack,Paul and Graham combining their infantry and cavalry wonderfully well. But don't worry,the English are going to land in a tactically important place soon.

On the Mon flank,my left,Paul has just forced one of my regiments back and has captured my gun (pure luck of course !) the centre is now looking fragile,however I've done well in the town and am holding my own (no law against that-yet!!)

This shot is of Hougomont,sorry Falst,being attacked by 3 regiments of French,you can just see the English "swanning around" in their little boats in the background,will they land on the flank of the main French line,or maybe in Copenhagen itself,ready to take some of the pressure off my troops, oh the suspense is killing me!!

The massive cavalry battle in the centre erupts! Graham did well here,supporting his front rank with squadrons from the rear squadrons,and pushing me back,however I refused to be drawn into a mass melee,and retire my rear squadrons to the flanks,ready to attack him if the opportunity arose,and it did!!

This shot shows Graham wondering ,like the rest of us, why Brian has decided to land his "veteran" English brigade behind the "Hougomont" which has become Falst,Graham also panicked and threw the rest of his infantry into stopping the English!! The French have a saying for this "quelle cock-up!!
The astute reader will notice that I am under considerable pressure on my flank and in the centre,I wish I had some reinforcements! Is that the Irish I see forming a beautiful firing line,combining nicely with the French right flank troops? I wish I had some reinforcements!!

My flank and centre have collapsed under weight of numbers,from the original French force under Paul,plus of course, his reinforcements,I wish I had some reinforcements!

That's right,sail away and report a victory to the Admiralty,Mon has fallen,Falst is in a state of ruin,and Copenhagen is about to be captured,if only I had some reinforcements!!
Brian and I lost the game,which was played in good spirit,correct tactics were used,and the "bay" was used,what more could you want from a wargame-well,some reinforcements would have been nice!!

Roll on Thursday when Brian and I will be play-testing my Indians and Rangers.