Fort Ricardo 1710.

Even Graham's late cancellation couldn't stop this game from being a "Classic" I had to re-jig the sides putting Paul in charge of the Irish,Richard in charge of the Bavarians,Brian in charge of the Danes,and myself in charge of the Spanish and Austrians.

The simple scenario,showing initial troop dispositions,Brian had to ride to the terrain on his left to see if it was long grass or marsh,then ride back and tell his infantry general before the infantry could move forward-it turned out to be long grass,which halved moves but did not disorder!!

This is a shot of the general layout of the board before any movement,Paul's and Richard's strong defensive positions are quite clear-this would be one hell of a task for Brian and I!!

This is Fort Ricardo,being defended by a gun battery and a regiment of Bavarian infantry-a very hard nut to crack!! My Austrians were given the task,and after two assaults were successful,then Paul counter-attacked and drove me out again!! I attacked along the whole front of the defences facing me,and was severely "mauled" by a combination of cannister fire and volley fire.

This shows my attacks on the fort and the defences,Brian was slowly advancing against Richard's part of the line with his infantry,and his cavalry was negotiating the long grass terrain-if he could beat the Bavarian cavalry on that flank,he could win the game-hurrah!!

In this shot Paul has sent his cavalry forward to try and stop my line from advancing,I countered with my cavalry,and a "ding-dong " battle ensued,swaying first one way then the other-fantastic stuff!!

Brian's Danes have marched half way up the hill,and are giving the Bavarians a volley before they complete their charge! Although Brian's troops "bounced",he persisted and his second line eventually got to grips with the defenders....But what is happening with the cavalry(apparently being led by General Von Tardy!!)?????????

Oh there they are!! After collecting Flora and Fauna from the long grass terrain,they eventually clashed into Richard's cavalry and gave them a "bloody nose" forcing them to give ground,this was the move of the game causing Richard to look for the reserve cavalry to help him,BUT,Paul had decided to take the reserves for himself,leaving poor Richard all alone!!

Look at the lovely position of Brian's cavalry-just about to reform and threaten the whole of Richard's position-well done matey!! Brian's infantry are pressing against the defences as well-is there no limit to this man's abilities??

The final shot,showing the end positions,the fort is still in Irish hands now,but the flank is being assailed by my remaining Spanish infantry,so with both flanks in real danger,Brian and I were declared the winners-hurrah again!!
This was truly classic game,neither side could claim a victory until the last two moves-there was a considerable amount of "gloating" from the Danish commander,plus some epic dice throwing from Richard and Paul,which all combined to make this a memorable game-well done lads!!
Roll on Thursday-probably only one game,but it will be awesome too!!