All the participants had arrived at the venue in central London by 10.00am, and preparations for the start of the re-fight were well underway.
In the centre of the battlefield was the city of Leipzig, with two smaller towns forming the basis of the outer ring of defences.
After a quick break for coffee, the re-fight began, with the Russians pushing forward on the Allied right, ...
... the Swedes and Prussians in the centre, ...
... and more Prussians and the Austrians on the left.
As these forces gradually pushed forward ...
... the French mounted a fighting withdrawal, ...
... centred on Leipzig.
By the time lunch was over, the increasing pressure on the French was gradually beginning to have an effect.
On the Allied right a Russian cavalry charge ...
... caused considerable casualties on a French cavalry brigade.
The French Cavalry Brigade eventually dissolved and the Russian Cavalry exploited the gap ...
... and charged forward yet again, causing further French losses.
The depleted Russian cavalry then withdrew to recover.
Elsewhere the Swedes continued to advance, and the cautious Austrians gradually pushed the French right flank back. The Prussians continued to move forward, and having pushed the French defenders aside, some of their cavalry entered the city.
The battle ended ...
... with the French in retreat, beaten but unbowed.
Readers are strongly advised to double click on the individual photographs shown above in order to see them in detail.
In the centre of the battlefield was the city of Leipzig, with two smaller towns forming the basis of the outer ring of defences.
After a quick break for coffee, the re-fight began, with the Russians pushing forward on the Allied right, ...
... the Swedes and Prussians in the centre, ...
... and more Prussians and the Austrians on the left.
As these forces gradually pushed forward ...
... the French mounted a fighting withdrawal, ...
... centred on Leipzig.
By the time lunch was over, the increasing pressure on the French was gradually beginning to have an effect.
On the Allied right a Russian cavalry charge ...
... caused considerable casualties on a French cavalry brigade.
The French Cavalry Brigade eventually dissolved and the Russian Cavalry exploited the gap ...
... and charged forward yet again, causing further French losses.
The depleted Russian cavalry then withdrew to recover.
Elsewhere the Swedes continued to advance, and the cautious Austrians gradually pushed the French right flank back. The Prussians continued to move forward, and having pushed the French defenders aside, some of their cavalry entered the city.
The battle ended ...
... with the French in retreat, beaten but unbowed.
Readers are strongly advised to double click on the individual photographs shown above in order to see them in detail.
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Thanks for taking the photos Bob - and for posting this so quickly. I've spent the afternoon sorting out the toys so my own blog post will be along later in the week.
ReplyDeleteTim Gow,
DeleteA pair of CDs with all 183 photographs on them will be in the post to you either tomorrow or on Tuesday. (The CDs are duplicates of each other. When it comes to sending things like that in the post I tend to opt for a 'belt and braces' approach!)
I have uploaded the photos from my blog to an album on the FUNNY LITTLE WARS Yahoo Groups page do it hat people who don't read my blog can get a taste of what the game was like.
All the best,
Bob
Excellent looking game , glad the weather was nice !
ReplyDeleteThe Good Soldier Svjek,
DeleteIt was a great day of wargaming; excellent company, great location, and loads and loads of toy soldiers ... and despite the occasional threat of rain, the weather stayed fine.
All the best,
Bob
Wonderful wonderful - H.G. Wells on the floor of his Eternal Playroom or on the closely cropped lawn of his eternally sunny Edwardian garden would certainly applaud. It looked a great game and great fun. Many thanks for sharing. Mark, Man of TIN blog
ReplyDeleteMark, Man of TIN
MIN Man of Tin (Mark),
DeleteI think that H G Wells would have enjoyed being there yesterday ... and I think that a lot of other people would have wanted to be there as well.
All the best,
Bob
Great post. Archduke Piccolo will love this !
ReplyDeleteJacko,
DeleteI am very pleased that you enjoyed this blog entry ... and I'm sure that the Archduke would have enjoyed being there.
All the best,
Bob
Fantastic! The playing field is so large without the restricting borders forced by a table top. It adds to the realism.
ReplyDeleteDan Foley,
DeleteYou are spot on. The space available on a lawn (or large floor) is far larger than anything that can be created using multiple tabletops.
All the best,
Bob
Yep - definitely one of those 'wish I coulda been there' events. Great pictures or some very fine looking troops and buildings.
ReplyDeleteArchduke Piccolo,
DeleteWe would have been only too pleased to have welcomed you to take part.
Perhaps the opportunity will arise one day. We can but hope.
All the best,
Bob
It was a hell of a thing. Glorious stuff.
ReplyDeleteConrad Kinch,
DeleteIt was a great day ... and it was great to meet you again!
All the best,
Bob
Looked like fantastic fun. This would be about the only thing that would encourage me to get the Lawn Mower out on a regular basis!
ReplyDeleteLee Hadley,
DeleteIt was a very, very enjoyable wargame to take part in. Interestingly, the grass needs to be of a reasonable length; short enough for the figures to stand up easily but long enough to give some cover.
All the best,
Bob
Marvellous stuff. Well done, all.
ReplyDeleteBarks,
DeleteCheers! I think that we would gather more frequently and fight other battles if it were at all possible.
All the best,
Bob
Unusual and great looking game!
ReplyDeletePhil,
DeleteIt was on both counts ... with hopefully more to come in the future.
All the best,
Bob
Quite an adventure down the path tread by our hobby pioneers. I would have enjoyed seeing the players in action. Are there photos of participants on hands and knees?
ReplyDeleteJonathan Freitag,
DeleteI do have some photos of players kneeling - and some actually lying down - during the game, but felt that they didn't help to tell the re-fight's narrative.
I understand the over 250 photographs were taken during the game (I took 183) and I am sure that they will feature on other player's blogs.
All the best,
Bob
What a joy seeing these photos and knowing that somewhere in the world a group of wargamers and toy soldier collectors were enjoying a grand, epic game in 54mm! Glorious! Thanks for posting these photos!
ReplyDeletePrivate W.,
DeleteIf you'd like to see some more photographs of the battle, visit Tim Gow's MEGABLITZ AND MORE website.
All the best,
Bob