I ran two games at the Williamsburg Muster. The first was a Napoleonic game in 15mm, using the Neil Thomas rules (the version from "Wargaming: An Introduction"), between a British army and a French army.
The two armies were the same size (typical for NT rules), but the British were definitely mainly on the defensive, as they set up in an extended infantry line (with artillery) defending a church. The French were assaulting the line, bringing their infantry up in column, while probing for local weakness with their artillery and cavalry.
The tactical problem to solve here for the English is: There is nothing that can stand up to the French Heavy Cavalry. The problem for the French is: How to succeed against the superior English firepower, while assaulting (and no numerical superiority)?
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| British in Line, defending the church of San Miguel |
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The rules from the introduction book and the rules from the specialized Napoleonic book differ in a few areas - one of them is how musketry (with special national characteristics) is treated, the other is how artillery (same consideration - special national characteristics) is treaty. Here I think we used generic values, but a slight nod to British infantry musketry, since they used the 2 rank system vs. the more typical 3 rank system used by the French and most other nations.
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| British Cavalry move out from behind the line. |
There were some other differences, notably the superior quality of the French Heavy Cavalry (only one unit, but what a unit!!).
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| French Infantry respond to British Cavalry |
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| The French on the move past the village of Duertez. |
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| French Columns and French Cavalry, advancing. |
In all, it was a great game, the four players really enjoyed themselves, and we got to talk a lot about the typical characteristics of the Napoleonic period and Napoleonic wargaming.
