A Near Run Thing

Background
My armies, scenery and rules are designed to wargame my 1813 campaign.
For many years all of my games have been based on the campaign.
There is a considerable amount of work to do between campaign phases.
This results in a, for us, long period between games.
This is an attempt to fill that gap, and allow us to fight a non campaign battle.
Our first attempt had to be Waterloo.

Table at start of battle

The table is loosely based on Waterloo.
The orders of battle are the same as for my campaign.
The three British corps have three British infantry and one Portuguese brigades.
The Portuguese represent the Dutch Belgian troops at Waterloo
The French have one Guard corps and two line corps.

There are three game objectives.
On the left Hougoumont, in the Centre La Haye Sainte, on the right woods.
The side which holds at least two of the three at the end of the game will win.

End of move 2

French have advanced towards the three objectives
Napoleon centre right has no command
1 corps advance towards La Haye in the centre
2 corps advance towards the woods on the right
3 corps advance towards Hougoumont on the left

British advance to support the three objectives
Wellington left of cross roads has no command
1 corps hold Hougoumont on the right, cavalry advance
2 corps hold La Haye in the cente, cavalry advance
3 corps hold the woods on the right , cavalry advance

End of move 4

French advance to attack objectives
Napoleon leads two infantry brigades in attack on La Haye
1 corps cavalry lose melee and rout
2 corps gunners 10% casualties and rout
3 corps artillery rout hussars

British vacate all three objectives to avoid artillery fire
Wellington takes command of Hougoumont
1 corps cavalry rout, gunners flee to square, garrison withdraw from Hougoumont
2 corps cavalry fail morale and rou t, garrison withdraw from La Haye
3 corps artillery hit gunners who rout, garrison withdraw from woods

End of move 6

French enter Hougoumont
Napoleon wins infantry melee between La Haye and woods
1 corps advance between Hougoumont and La Haye
2 corps rally infantry and gunners, cavalry retreat to regroup
3 corps advance and enter Hougoumont

British cavalry rally
Wellington prepares to counter attack Hougoumont
1 corps cavalry rally
2 corps cavalry rally, two infantry brigades rout
3 corps cavalry rally

End of move 8

French attacking all three objecties
Napoleon infantry melee in La Haye
1 corps advance between Hougoumont and La Haye
2 corps attacking woods on the right
3 corps infantry melee in Hougoumont

British counter attack all three objectives
Wellington regroup three infantry brigade behind Hougoumont
1 corps counter attack Hougoumont
2 corps counter attack La Haye
3 corps defending woods

End of move 10

French take Hougoumont
Napoleon attack on La Haye fails, old guard rout
1 corps young guard hold be tween Hougoumont and La Haye
2 corps attack woods
3 corps occupy Hougoumont

British retake La Haye
Wellington prepares counter attack on Hougoumont
1 corps four brigades in rout
2 corps retake La Haye, rout old guard
3 corps cavalry rout, infantry fight to hold woods

 

End of move 12

French hold Hougoumont and woods
Napoleon rallies guard to the right of the main road
1 corps withdraw infantry out of artillery range on the left of main road
2 corps capture woods at the end of move 12
3 corps hold Hougoumont

British hold La Haye Sainte
Wellington attempts to rally routed 1 corps
1 corps one infantry brigade in square covers rout of corps
2 corps hold La Haye Sainte
3 corps lose woods at the end of move 12

French casualties 6 infantry and 1 cavalry (2,500 men)
British casualties 8 infantry, 3 cavalry and 1 artillery (3,600 men)

Hougoumont from the allied side

1st British corps have abandoned Hougoumont and are in rout
One infantry brigade has formed square to hold off the French cavalry
The other three brigades, plus the cavalry are all in rout

La Haye Sainte from the allied side

2nd British corps hold La Haye and are concentrating behind it
The French Imperial Garde have retreated to regroup
French and British artillery exchange long range fire

The woods from the allied side

3rd British corps are intact and grouped behind the woods
The gunners have abandoned their guns to seek safety behind the infantry
The highland brigade have just broken and routed from the woods
The supporting infantry have all passed their morale test caused by this rout
One brigade has formed square on the left to hold off the French cavalry.

Summary
The French hold two of the three objectives and win the battle

But the outcome was decided with the last dice thrown in the game
The British held the woods on the right throughout the game
The highland brigade held the woods with 20% casualties
An elite French brigade charged the woods at the start of move 12
The French rolled a 6 for combat and a 5 for morale
The British received their third casualty and an automatic rout with 30% casualties
The French passed their morale test and held the woods.

This was a much more interesting game that I had expected
It had a flavour of Waterloo, because the result was uncertain until the end
Either side could have won and it was appropriate that the dice decided.