Having never used this rule variant I decided to give it a try with Napoleonics. They are fairly easy to paint up and, although I haven't done much Napoleonic gaming, I had a reasonable idea of how a battle should go from reading around the subject. Jim, my opponent, has more experience in this period so his opinions would be valuable.

We wanted a quick game as we wanted to use Jim's new digital camera to record the game and take a pile of 'snaps' of my other 2mm stuff in action. I decided not to use generals and went for 20 elements a side because the playing area was bigger than normal (approx. 500mm square) so I could include some sample terrain items as well. To get a quick result we decided on 6 casualties as being the end of the battle.

Orders of Battle

 Austrians 1808-1815 

(20 elements)

12xMs (2xGrenadiers, 6xLine, 4xLandwehr), 2xJg, 2xCn, 2xKn (Cuirassiers), 2xCv 

 French 1803-1815 

(20 elements)

11xMs (2xGuard, 9xLine), 2x Ms/Jg (Lights), 2xKn (Cuirassiers), 3xCv, 2xCn

Deployment

The Austrians deployed 8 Ms plus a Cn on their right, all the horse in the centre and 4 Ms, 2 Jg & 1 Cn in column on their left. The main attack was to be delivered on the right and centre with the left holding.

The French right flank division (4 Ms, 2 Ms/Jg & 1 Cn) was in ordre mixed with the lights in line to pass through the farm and then deploy in front of it before attacking toward the centre. The left flank column (6 Ms & 1 Cn) intended to use the road to move rapidly to the junction before deploying. The horse was in the centre to exploit victory on either flank.

Move 1

Low dice made for a rather slow start for both sides.

Move 2

Still hampered by poor movement dice the French can only advance their left. The Austrians fare a little better this time and manage to make a general advance.

Move 3

The French begin to deploy the left column but their artillery gets recoiled by the Austrian guns. Confusion reigns as the horses bolt into the infantry behind and the guns are lost. First blood to the Austrians.

The Austrians continue their general advance and their left wing begins its deployment.

At this point we decided to use 11/2 dice for movement, we probably should have done that from the beginning.

Move 4

The French continue to deploy slowly, their left is beginning to look a bit precarious.

The Austrian right moves up to attack the Guard passing through the grounds of the Chateau. The Landwehr begin their deployment in the centre and the left flank also moves toward the centre. 

Move 5

Detail of the contest for the Chateau.

Move 6

The French Guard finally contacts the Austrian line but the line holds. A brigade from the right is sent along the road to reinforce the centre but the rest of that flank are still trying to pass the farm.

The Austrian centre is almost deployed and the Grenzers from their left are heading for the bad going in the centre.

This is looking bad for the French, they need better movement dice, so far they have scored consistently lower than the Austrians.

Move 7

Big dice all round this turn. The French centre finally sorts itself out only to be disordered by Austrian musketry and the Guard are repulsed.

The Grenzers make it into the bad going, threatening the flank of the brigade coming up the road. The left wing advances intending to prevent the French right joining the battle for the centre.

Move 7

Detail of the battle in the centre

Move 8

The French loose another element to musketry but their horse is advancing into the gap in the centre. Their right is at last getting some troops deployed.

The Austrian Grenzers are now a serious threat to the French flank but their infantry in the centre and right suffer badly from French musketry.

Move 9

The leading battalion of the support brigade is routed by musketry from front and flank but the Austrians loose the Grenzers in the ploughed field.

The Austrian centre and right are still in confusion, can the French cavalry exploit this ?

Move 10

The crucial point is reached. The Grenzers claim another victim as the French cavalry attack the Austrian centre with some success but the French infantry again fail to reach their opponents. The Austrians flank the Guard pinning them against the walls of the Chateau grounds.

The far side of the field has deteriorated into an artillery duel as neither side has enough movement points to advance.

Move 11

The battle for the centre

The French loose a cavalry element and only need one more loss to loose the battle. There doesn't seem to be much hope at this point, the Austrians have only taken one loss so far.

Move 12

The final curtain

The French cavalry charge yet again and push back the right of the Austrian line but to no avail. With one more cavalry element routed they loose the battle.

Conclusion

Although we didn't use the rules exactly as written (no generals and 20 elements a side) we both felt that the rules played well, gave a reasonable result and it did FEEL like we were fighting in the period.

The cautious play of the Austrians, taking full advantage of the opportunities offered by the over-aggressive French general (Me !!), should have given a similar result under any rules. Even though some of the restrictions imposed by the movement dice did seem unrealistic to both players, they did not affect the overall outcome as much as was expected.

A few comments though :

• Artillery range is too long, I would reduce it to 800 paces or have a -1 modifier at ranges between 500 & 1000 paces. Possibly a further modifier for cannister at close range too.

• For this period I think smaller commands are more appropriate so 1 movement die per division of 8-12 elements would give more of a period feel.

• Their really should be some way of giving Elite units an edge, particularly in close combat. +1 is probably too much but there should be something.

• I'm not sure whether the fixed number of casualties is a good idea for later periods, possibly a random element should be brought in here. It would at least bring more tension to the closing stages of a battle and prevent unhistorical attempts to kill that last element.

• Consider the possibility of using average dice (2-3-3-4-4-5) instead of normal ones for movement.