Yesterday saw 9 enthusiasts meet in a London park for the long awaited Waterloo 200th Anniversary Celebration Wargame. The sun shone as 2,000 54mm toy soldiers were unpacked and positioned to refight the battles of Wavre and Waterloo across two vast windswept fields. I've always thought the importance of Wavre was rather underrated in the potential importance and significance it had on the outcome of the 100 days campaign, so I was glad to see it included in this event. The players commanding on the Waterloo field set up their respective troops while the Wavre Battle was played out and therefore didn't know whether it would be Blucher's Prussians or Grouchy's French that would arrive to take part in the main event.
This isn't a battle report (look out for a full report on the Megablitz and More blog, see blog list to the left) just gratuitous pictures of some lovely toy soldiers out in the grass on a sunny day.
French light cavalry and horse artillery approach Mont St. Jean, in the background is the chateau of Hougoumont
A closer look at Hougoumont defended by British and Allied troops on the right flank
The farmhouse of La Haye Sainte viewed from Mont St Jean, beyond it is the sandpit defended by the 95th Rifles. The flags in the background represent troops which are not yet visible to the enemy, some may be dummy markers.
French infantry and artillery deploy before La Haye Sainte, further back on the road Napoleon and his staff confer at the Inn of La Belle Alliance
Allied artillery dominate the centre of the field from the heights of Mont St Jean, the much vaunted new fangled Rocket Battery proved devastatingly ineffective!
French cavalry masses on the plain before Mont St Jean
The charge is sounded
The infantry calmly form into square to meet the thundering tide of French cavalry
The squares hold as the horsemen surge around them
The cavalry reform for another attempt
The steady British infantry await the next wave
The Prussians arrive
The Prussian artillery opens up.....
....in support of the cavalry
The final act on the plains before Mont St Jean, the massed cavalry clash
The melee continues for several rounds
Until both sides brake off and retire
The field of battle was so large that you couldn't follow anything that was going on elsewhere, only the the action you were immediately involved with, and that's how it should be. So this is just a flavour of the biggest game we've played to date and no doubt there will be reports on the many other actions played popping up elsewhere on the blogosphere like here on Wargaming Miscellany.
That's all for now folks!
