Fleurus 1690-re-fight.

Yesterday,Paul and I took part in a re-fight of the battle of Fleurus(1690) hosted by Charlie Wesencraft's group,in the Seaton Sluice Community Centre.
When we arrived,the terrain and figures were being sorted out,and the commands handed out.
As there were 8 people present,the commands easily fell to four per side,myself,Mel,Bruce and Mike being the allied commanders,whilst Charlie,Dave,Paul(K) and our Paul were in charge of the Franco-Bavarian army.

The simple,but effective terrain was enhanced by various buildings,windmill and woods-all was set for a great game,in this light and spacious room.

The Franco-Bavarian "team" discuss tactics,and a battle plan before the game started(which is more than the Allies did!!!)

With all the figures set out,the game started with a vigorous attack by the French,and an equally vigorous defence by the Allies.What we didn't know,was that our Paul had an enormous out-flanking force,coming onto us through the woods,in the foreground of this shot!
Mel,who was commanding that flank,was in for a shock!!!

Here they come!! artillery,infantry and cavalry-no wonder Mel looks Melancholy(good joke that!!)-Mike is over-seeing Paul's attack,before hurrying back to the flank he was commanding,to try and prevent the same from happening there!!-Dave had brought on an equally enormous force to threaten the flank,putting the allies under considerable pressure!!

Dave's troops arriving,backed up with a brigade of cavalry commanded by Charlie-however,some great dice throwing by Mike,saved the flank,causing a bit of a "bottle-neck",so for a while the right flank was secure.

After an ineffectual bombardment,from both sides,in the centre,I decided to try and force the French hand by launching a cavalry attack,hoping to stop both Pauls(!) from advancing!-this should have worked,however my "raw" cavalry bounced off the famous Maison du Roi cavalry,fielded by Paul(K)!!-things were now hotting up all over the table-time for refreshments???

A light lunch of soup and salad(tea and coffee could be had all through the day) and lively conversation,was a welcome break for half an hour or so,and then back to the battle........

Charlie's Bavarians are attacking the ridge,but took frightful casualties(the red "caps" on the figures denote casualties) and his attack stalled-hurrah!

My central infantry are taking all kinds of shit,shot and shell,but are holding their own-casualties are mounting on both sides,and we were forced to take an "Army Morale"-the French passed their morale,but we didn't!! and the whole army had to retire back one full move,giving the French a huge advantage-this does not look good!!

The Franco-Bavarian commanders take great delight in persuing the retreating Allies!both of our flanks are under pressure,and over-whelming numbers are counting against us(well that's my excuse!) so it looks like "curtains" for the Allies!

One final shot,showing the sorry state of the Allied army.
This was a good game by any standards,and a big thank-you goes to our hosts-maybe we can reciprocate in the near future(?)