The 1812 weekend went with a bang! The French under Marshal Davout made a valiant effort on September 5th but were unable to take the Redoubt at Shevardino despite charging it three times including once with a regiment of Cuirassiers! Their consolation prize was to storm Shevardino village on the last turn of the game with the valiant 1st Bn of 111 de Ligne and hold it on the last throw of the dice against a counter attack by Russian Grenadiers. Well done Simon
A roving band of cossacks surprised the the 1st bn of another regiment of Compans Division, slaughtering them and carrying off and Eagle to the Tzar!
The 'Terrible 57th' fought their way through a brigade of Jager, up a hill, through corn fields and into the mouths of Russian 12pdrs north of the redoubt only to be repulsed.
Day 1 was declared a Russian victory achieved with the help of their religious contingent of priests and the Black Virgin of Smolensk perjoratively named the God squad, the Holy Rollers, Vampyre Wars,Rasputin,Witch Doctors and other sundry titles (mostly by the French!)
Day 2 opened with a grand battery symphony which emptied the Southern Fleche before the game began. The base number of 92 artillery dice frightened even the French who were firing them. The stoic Russians duly repopulated the Fleche and the fighting began. In a very bloody day of combat the gallant Gauls managed to capture all three redoubts.. but not at the same time! Meaning, the Southern fleche was emptied by artillery, repopulated, stormed by the 57th and 1/ 111th(what heroes
, retaken by Russian grenadiers and then partially lost again when the 61 de ligne assaulted it on the closing turn of the game. A half battery of very worried Russian gunners were clinging on at the final whistle.
The Northern fleche was stormed by the 24 Leger and 72 de Ligne but counter attacked by the Odessa Regt, Vilna Regt and various grenadiers. In the dying moments of the game both armies were inside the fortification.
The smallest, Central Fleche was immune until in the last move when the 8e Cuirassier charged them and steam rollered over the breastworks killing almost the entire garrison. Thus in the dying moments the French had captured one and were contesting 2 fleches.
Amidst all this mayhem French infantry and Russian Jaeger were fighting in woods on both flanks and the Cossacks of the Guard made a spectacular charge hitting the 4 Chasseurs with 24 combat dice and chasing them off table towards Shevardino never to be seen again!
Result - a draw.
Photos to follow.
Also see David Imrie's Saxon Dog Blog for more pics!
NEXT ACTION : 16/17 October - 1815 fighting on the Sambre.
NEXT ACTION AFTER THAT: February 2011 date tbc:
Return to Borodino. The entire front from Utitsa to Borodino including the Fleches and the Raevsky Redoubt. Enquiries to
wordtwister@hotmail.co.uk