Whereas it is known that Warlord Games’ headquarters store has seen many great battles, from ancient times until the present day, lately an action was contested that can only be described in proportion and scale as a truly Epic Battle! Your trusty columnist has gathered the accounts from surviving commanders and compiled them here into a certifiably true and entirely factual account of the battle!
With armies of such grand scale deployed on the tabletop, no one person could hope to command them all. As such, the French forces were led by Dave and Rick while Colin and Jonathan took charge of the British. To add a little German flavour, Ed also commanded a force of Prussians, who would begin in reserve and look to arrive on the French right flank… hopefully!
With Colin (rather sensibly, given his dice rolling track record) surrendering overall command to Jonathan, the British forces deployed in a defensive line, while the French advanced in their traditional column, supported by a Grand Battery of artillery. Dave and Rick began to close in on the British right flank, but their infantry were forced into square by the threat of Jonathan’s lurking cavalry. On the right, meanwhile, Ed’s Prussians had begun to arrive!
Rick’s French forces were able to hold back the Prussians in the main, but a single cavalry brigade managed to break through the line and menace the French centre with drawn sabres. With no reinforcements forthcoming, they milled around the board forcing French infantry to form square until Rick, tiring of Ed’s shenanigans, sent in his heavies. The light German horsemen were no match for the cream of the Emperor’s cavalry, and were sent packing in short order.
In the centre, Dave’s grand battery smashed away at the British, seeking to create a gap through which the cavalry could pour. A weak point appeared, and Lancers charged home, but a gallant counterattack from Jonathan’s British light cavalry held them off just long enough for the guns of the Royal Artillery to redeploy. Blasting the Lancers with lethal short-ranged canister shot, they drove the French attack back in confusion, and the British line was able to re-form.
On the left, the French infantry remained trapped in their squares by the proximity of the British cavalry, and had to endure a reverse of the historical situation at Waterloo as the British artillery pounded the static targets. Eventually tiring of the long-range target practice, a British infantry division moved into musket range and began the bloody work of reducing the French squares to ruins. Dave brought up a large cavalry brigade in support, but the game ended before they could reach the beleaguered infantry. Elsewhere on the table, the British left and centre held strong, but the French had largely nullified Ed’s planned attack, keeping the Prussians bottled up on the edge of the battlefield.
As the smoke cleared, it was clear that the engagement had resulted in a bloody stalemate, with the balance tentatively in favour of the British and their Prussian allies, but neither side having the upper hand – clearly, this battle will need to be continued at a later date, but for now both sides have retired to lick their wounds (and paint more troops)!
Black Powder Epic Battles is the perfect way to fight truly enormous battles on a standard gaming table. Huge armies await your command – rally your forces today!
