Waterloo - Turn Five

The battlefield after four turns

The French grand battery fires at the same infantry target as last turn, meaning a +1 modifier, in addition to the previous modifiers, so a roll of 5+ is needed, but the throw lands as a 3.

I win the dice-off (5-3, after a 2-2 tie) to decide who goes first.

I start at Hougoumont, where the Allied I Infantry Corps finally comes together with all four divisions in one hex. Once again the French I Infantry Corps suffers a hit, which is resolved as the compulsory loss of a strength point, reducing the French corps to three bases.

Reg and I then have a little conflab, and agree to make an adjustment to the rules, or at least to our interpretation of them.

The rule in question states: "A unit or figure base must stop if it enters a grid area that is adjacent to one occupied by an enemy unit or figure base and turn to face the enemy unit or figure base."

We took this to mean a base, once in contact with the enemy, is forced to remain in contact unless it retreats out of contact as the result of resolving a hit.

But this strikes us as leading to unrealistic consequences, and so we are going to allow a unit to voluntarily withdraw from contact (if ordered to do so, and the order is correctly acted on). However, a unit cannot move if at any point the move would put it in contact with another enemy base.

Anyway, getting back to the Allied half-turn, I again order IV and V Infantry Corps on the Allied left-flank to bunch up in a single hex. This time, although IV Infantry Corps apparently fails to get the order, V Infantry Corps does, and all four of its divisions congregate in the western half of Papelotte.

Finally I order II Cavalry Corps on the Allied left to mount the ridge, and this it does successfully despite the muddy conditions.

Strength-points remaining: French, 97 of 103SP; Allies, all 84SP.

Napoleon orders the battered French I Infantry Corps to fall back from Hougoumont, and orders II Infantry Corps to take its place in the assault, but the latter is slow off the mark and does not make contact.

However III Infantry Corps does attack, its modifiers being: supporting divisions, +3; corps commander present, +1; enemy supporting divisions, -3; enemy in a fortified position, -2. Total: -1.

The Allied I Infantry Corps' modifiers are: supporting divisions, +3; corps commander present, +1; enemy supporting divisions, -3. Total: +1.

We both roll a 4, meaning neither side suffers a hit.

At this point Reg and I have another conflab - it has dawned on us that the troops in the Hougoumont hex are close to being invulnerable. Because there are four divisions and the corps commander in the hex, any base that is attacked receives +3 for support and +1 for the commander's presence, meaning that even a roll of 1 becomes 5 thanks to the modifiers - three more than is necessary to avoid suffering a hit.

An attacker can cancel the +3 by having four divisions in the hex from where the attack is coming, making a hit possible, although the defenders would have to roll a 1. It would also be theoretically  possible for the French to inflict a further -1 modifier by attacking from a flank or the rear, although that would leave them open to a devastating counterattack.

All of which is a preamble to stating that my opponent and I have come to the conclusion that we just do not like the rules, and we do not feel it is worth continuing with the battle.

Apologies to anyone who is sorely disappointed by this, but we are agreed we are not getting the sort of wargaming experience that we normally enjoy.

So, reluctantly, we have decided to abort our refight.