Cancon 2000

Waterloo

by Ian Turton

The Plan:

The original French plan of battle called for III Corps to turn the Allied left with a flanking march whilst I Corps pierced the Allied positions to the left and right of the villages of Papelotte, La Haye & Frichemont.

Action at La Belle Alliance: the Guard Grenadiers á Cheval crush two(!) British squares, relieving some pressure on the beleagered Swiss defending the inn. Above La Belle, the Guard Lancers repel the British Light Dragoons. This proved to be virtually the last action of the battle.

Whilst the above attacks were developing II Corps was to conduct a demonstration against the Allied left and Centre, pinning the movement of Reserves. To complete the deception II Corps patrolled heavily towards Braine on the evening before the battle, lighting additional camp-fires in this sector to deceive the allies as to the Emperor's intentions. Once the lead elements of I & III Corps had linked up, the knock-out blow was to be delivered against the allied ridgeline to the right of La Haye Saint by elements of II Corps reinforced by the Guards and the Cavalry Reserve.

With the arrival of dawn it was apparent that Belgian Farmers had deliberately deceived the Emperor with regard to the location and size of Chateau La Haye Sainte. In a fury the Emperor ordered the immediate execution of the guides in question. The order was carried out personally by Marechal Stone.

The First Rounds

With dawn the Emperor also discovered that something was amiss on the French right. It soon became apparent that Marechal Parrish was unfit for active duty. Whether it was the schnapps or a recurrence of gout, the Emperor was never able to determine. However command soon devolved onto a junior divisional commander and the flanking force ground to a halt in the face of a strong Russian column given a similar mission.

The assault by I Corps developed more slowly than the Emperor would have hoped. The exposed brigades of British Infantry suffered heavily under the guns and an impetuous assault by Cossacks was repulsed. However, the attack was not being pressed with the required Élan. Additional brigades of Cavalry and the grenadiers were released from reserve and stern orders arrived telling the harassed Marechal Stone and his subordinate General Bury to get on with it!

Whilst the attack on the right developed (or didn't develop) the Cavalry of the Reserve conducted a manoeuvres on the left leading the Allies to believe that a strong blow was to fall on that flank. This deception prevented the allies from taking decisive action on that flank for over half a day.

The Battle Develops

By midday it was apparent that III Corps was not going to achieve anything beyond generating an increased strain on the Imperial war-orphans fund. However, I Corps was finally making progress and premature reports of impending victory started arriving at Imperial Headquarters.

Whilst I Corps made slow progress General Kvisle (acting commander of II Corps in the absence of its titular commander) begged the Emperor to turn him loose on the enemy. Although Kvisle was champing at the bit restraint was ordered. The time was not yet ripe.

On the left the British ebbed and flowed like the tide. As yet the Prussians had not yet entered the fray and it was apparent that their commanders did not wish to press forward on the refused flank of II Cor ps for fear of an ambush.

Early Afternoon

Lulled by the inactivity of II Corps the British Light infantr y advanced from the ridgeline into the guns whilst the Allied right finally commenced its advance upon the refused flank of II Cor ps. A reinforced Brigade of French Veterans calmly held their positions whilst their Light Infantry skirmished forward. For the balance of the after noon this brigade, steadily reinforced from Reserve, fended off Divisional assaults as the balance of the British and then finally the Prussians arrived on the field.

The Allied grand battery on the ridge had been reduced to a suitable size.

The Emperor turned to Kvisle and nodded. The time was ripe!

The Crisis is Reached

The now immortal phrase had been uttered, "now's your time Kvisle". The Pas de Charge was beaten and with shouts of "Vive Le Emperor", 18 line Battalions from II Corps, and a Brigade of Grenadiers breasted the rise and advanced into the valley. This first wave was followed by a brigade of Guard Cavalry, the Reserve Cuirassier's, Heavy Dragoons, and a Brigade of Light Cavalry. To add weight to the assault both the Guard and Young Guard were committed.

The thin outer crust of British Light Infantry was overwhelmed. The ridgeline was pierced. The Russians were isolated. The battle had been won. Only the arrival of dusk prevented this now famous French victory from turning into a total rout of the Allies. [Er... which battle was this then? - Ed.]

The Aftermath:

The news of the collapse of the Allied Centre was slow to reach the remnants of the 3rd Swiss who still clung to a corner of the shattered village of La Belle Alliance. Although the Austrians had finally arrived in the field they had been unable to make any impact upon the brigades of the Middle Guard and Guard Cavalry which formed the rock upon which several late afternoon assaults broke. For over three hours six battalions of veteran infantry supported by the Middle Guard and two Brigades of Guard Cavalry had held the British, Prussians and Austrians at bay whilst Kvisle delivered the knock-out blow. Vive Le Emperor! But then again it is always an advantage when you fight a battle on the edge of the world!

An evaluation of Elan & the La Grand Bataille:

Bloody good fun! Congratulations Phil for putting on an excellent event, and thanks to Brad Smith for being such a convivial "Enemy of France". As an occasionally critical fan of Élan I must say the Big Bash won me over.

The rules work excellently in big games. With some refinement (my submission for Élan ver. 1.3 has already been sent – sorry Phil!), Élan could in time capture the market - so long as critics give it a chance. The artillery rules in particular make good sense (particularly after a fine 'explanation' by Scott Driscoll), whilst the sequence of play has a fluidity lacking in other systems. Further to this the bonus for moving on roads make sense, obliging players to use the road system to their best advantage for the movement of troops. Certainly the first fire bonus with subsequent rounds on the shaken table makes sense and leads to interesting tactics to ensure that first fire is drawn.

Praise aside, lets look at some of the areas tha t may require further development. It appears too easy for well led good quality cavalry to break steady infantry squares held by good quality infantry. Further to this, exceptional generals appear to have the capacity to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Whilst some allowance needs to be made for leadership, it is questionable whether a bonus in melee should apply unless the general is attached.

Similarly, some of the morale bonuses that apply to leaders mean that battalions under the command of an exceptional or even capable general will seldom run away. I also believe that it is too easy for infantry to charge and too hard to stop them with firepower once they do. However, this is more of a quibble given the capacity to rectify some of the above "problems" by massaging the tables. Finally units seem to move too quickly during grand tactical movement (this is a pre internal combustion engine period after all!). It is too easy for a player who has been "caught out" too shift reserves from one part of the field to another.

In my view the best part of the weekend was the Monday game. Something tournament organisers may wish to consider this when organising future events!

More CanCon 2000 Convention Coverage

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