2 games-Ancients and Napoleonic

Yesterday,Brian and I played an Ancients game in the morning,and Paul,Brian and I played a Napoleonics game at night-it's great being retired,I don't know if I've mentioned that before,but it is!!
The ancients game consisted of a Carthaginian army vs a Roman army,played out in the snow!!

Brian was the Roman commander and opted to try and overwhelm my left flank with a combination of Velites,cavalry and a couple of units of Triarii,whilst his legion advanced to hold my centre,my right flank was also assailed by heavy cavalry.

This is the start of the game,with Brian attacking my left flank,and his legion advancing,I got the better of his Hastati,driving them back,but Brian exchanged his lines and his Princepes took over causing my troops a bit of "distress".My Elephants were "creeping" up on the Roman left flank,and although Brian did spot them,he was unable to contain them for a move,then,of course, the inevitable happened,he beat them in a melee,they took a morale test,failed it and went "beserk"-oh woe is me!!

This is a shot of  the far flank,we both had put heavy cavalry here,but mine was backed up with Light infantry,that Brian had to deal with,leaving me with a 2:1 superiority,which was too much for him,his cavalry fled and the flank was mine!!

My front rankers, Gauls and Celts, have been driven back,and I have thrown forward my veteran African infantry,against the Roman Princepes.This was a good tussle,and I was reforming my front rankers behind the lines,when disaster struck!! in the form of the aforementioned Elephants,who were in the throws of going beserk,and preventing my Gauls etc. from rejoinng the fray.

Hurry up !! I've a battle to win,luckily I won the left flank as well as the right,so things weren't looking that bad,although I was being held in the centre.

This shot shows my left flank,Brian's velites have been beaten,and my Spanish cavalry are just about to charge into the flank of the Roman Princepes,and turn the tide of the battle.All was lost now for the Romans,and we called it a day (just as well really,it was touching 32 degrees in the garage!!)

Once again a great game,lots of manoeuvre,colour,laughs and rude comments!!
roll on tonight.


The battle of Poltov Bridge,1812. (thursday night)

The scenario,Paul was Russian (after all they are his figures!) and Brian and I were fellow French commanders

This shows the opening shots of the game,with the Russian Grenadiers attacking the Hamlet,stoutly defended by some Westphalian troops.
In the centre the Russian were hurrying to take up positions,as were the French.

Paul's dispositions are taking shape,Brian is moving his troops to try and stop him,and lining his infantry ,along side mine, so that we presented a strong defensive line,what could possibly go wrong?? but I promised not to mention that, Brian,once he was put under pressure,decide to change his battle plan, and abandon me to my fate,by marching off to his flank,that had so many troops on it that it looked like flies on s..t !!

Brian is under pressure in this shot,volleys in the snow,how pretty,I hope that he doesn't get beaten and have to take morale,because if he did he would be pushed back onto the "millions" of his other troops,and that would cause chaos! But it wouldn't happen would it??

Oh dear me,what is happening? it looks like Brian's troops have been pushed back,and Paul is starting an out-flanking move on the left!!!!! It must be said at this point that the French Dragoons,led by the Grand Old Duke of York,don't appear to know what the're supposed to be doing!!

Meanwhile,in the centre,my Hussars are making good progress against the Russian Hussars,and my,unsupported, line is advancing to give those "pesky" Russians a volley.The Hamlet is still being heroically defended!!

Brian's flank,again! with more troops being hastily marched to their impending doom,Paul kept up the pressure on this flank remarkably well, and also kept up the pressure on the centre by eventually beating my Hussars,and charging his columns in to my "frail" line.

Brian has managed to half redeem himself by charging his Dragoons into the Russian heavy cavalry (you can just see them behind the centre "mountain") and beating them,however the increasing chaos and confusion,which I promised I wouldn't mention, in this shot is obvious,and so we took Brian outside and shot him!!

This was another great game,both sides providing talking points,good tactics,plenty of banter and laughs (and a few tears too!)
This is wargaming at its best,roll on next week, we can't  have a club game on Sunday,but that will just make it better next time we play.