Noon on the battlefield
After the 5th advanced along the road in the prior turns the forces are now better positioned to attempt to dislodge the 7th Militia who are sitting in line formation behind the sunken road hex.
The FR 6th Lancers charge, then successfully recall after they see the Dutch move adroitly into square formation.
2Co forms at the square! They inflict a hit.
Now we want the 61st and the 3rd Ligne to advance and attack the 7th.
But first we move a few Cavalry units to get ourselves situated in case someone decides to attack the rear od the 61st.
The 61st advances in column and switches to line formation, undergoing a ragged volley from the square [1/3 Firepower]. No result.
3rd Ligne advance s and stays in column . Their advance is along the other side of the sunken road.
During the fire phase the Dutch fire defensively first.. They have zero impact
The fire resolution for them is: 6×2 then doubled again [per Fire Chart and the fire value modifier for passing a ‘to stand roll’ which they did], but divide by 3 [for being in a square] for a net 7. Vs a defensive rating of 9 for the 61st being in line. With a roll of 21 they miss.
The 61sts fire is far more effective. They multiple their base number by 3 for being in line for 30. [There is some uncertainty if this is then halved, but I went with the higher number, resulting in a 4:1 fire event. Rolling a 21 inflicts a step loss /increment loss. The 7th this time fail to pass their morale check. Rolling a 23 against a 26 rating becoming disordered.
3rd Ligne now cannot return fir or do offensive fire as each hex can only be shot at once.
During the assault phase we combine the melee values of the units to conduct the attack… Im unclear here if that is accurate or not. It appears to be.
26+23=49. X3/2 for the defender being in a square, and the Dutch are halved for being disordered. So in any case, the the max odds table would be reached. The Mele value of the Dutch is 13 halved. . the French roll a 36. This is a DR result. Which in English means Rout or PGD in counter terms a Grande Disorder.
One of the odd things here is the number of different words that are used for the same thing. We have the assault phase, or depending on the rules Combat, that use melee values for instance. Then routs, are Plus Disorde Grande….ok. Why not call the results a PGD instead of DR – Defender Routs? The verbal gymnastics are a bit conceited, I suppose it ‘adds theme’? But then the whole system seems more than a little pretentious.
You really only want to get into this sort of system if you care deeply about and know about the formations, the OoB, their capabilities no doubt so you can argue ad naesum about whether Pire should be a 2 or a 3 rated leader. Or whether the scenario rules cater to all the vagaries of the battle, delighting each other in your tid bits on “knowledge”. So it really is for or so it seems to me the deeply detailed aficionado of Napoleonics, not a lay guy like me that could not tell 1 Brigade from another by their piping.
I think some team play here, or play with folks who are deeply into this would be more fun than plying solo. Im probably going to re try this with a different set of rules in the near future as Im a sucker for punishment and really want to find a replacement for the now defunct MMP NBS system. I enjoy the Rising Eagles games, but to be honest it is not scratching the historical itch and to a lesser extent the tactical nuances itch… tough to get this right AND be playable.
I’ve been selling off this series from my collection. Would be interested in trying the Vive l’Empereur system from Legion.
Enjoyed reading about the action, and more importantly your thoughts/take on the game. I`m sold on the Vive L`Empereur series as the optimal middle ground between ease of play and getting too far into weeds. Just a shame its nigh on impossible to get hold of the earlier Prazten editions, though the 3 Legion releases are all excellent.
Have to agree with you. It has those wonderful command rule options. It is a bit dfiddly with the long skinny counters but forgivable. I do think gun fire/musketry is a bit powerful – perhaps moreso than historical where the assault was really the thing.
Your observations about the audience for La Battaille are spot on, Kev!!! This is, basically, the Advanced Squad Leader for the Napoleonics set. And not only do they revel in the “verbal gymnastics” (great Elvis Costello lyric reference there; hats off!) and the “conceit” of their ‘Frenched-up’ terminology, they also embrace the utter madness of their 3+ ruleset situation like it was a brass badge on their collective shako!! (You are entirely correct, though, that the terminology needs to be CONSISTENT through the rules, charts, and tables, otherwise, confusion is, well…. plus grande!)
I tend to LIKE the flavor such “puffy-shirted French conceit” adds (even though I would verbalize it with an Inspector Clouseau-style mocking exaggeration), while wondering, “Why do the French find it necessary to take the L out of Assault, just to make it their own?” and pondering how puny and ineffectual the word “Feu” sounds compared to the English “Fire”. Napoleonics are possibly the most PROCEDURAL tactics ever conceived in ordered combat, with combined arms tactics among artillery, cavalry and infantry forming the ultimate “rock/paper/scissors” contest. A system like this makes that readily apparent.
Agreed. I just think that if we want to attract players to a system [ which these guys dont given print runs etc] you would make it more consumable, and approachable. Im sure its a fine system. But I do not wish to fight it. I wish to play it.
It is a shame that such a good looking map and nice counters suffer from complicated rules!
Last time I saw such bizarre, and even surrealistic French wording, I was in Tokyo, looking at some shop the owner of which apparently thought having a French name for his business was most fashionable, but did not have much clue about the language.