OK so I have uploaded 9 good quality pics of the game from day 1 which I hope you enjoy!

The pics have turned out really well but we could do with more Russians
Cheers
Dave

Yes, the pictures are very mouth watering. Any of the Russian Kuirassieres, especially of the guard variety?

Once again it seems I was in the wrong hemisphere at the wrong time. Drats!!

Salute
von Peter himself

Same here
I m definetly in a Wargamers Wasteland and I can only look at the beautyful masses of troops on that lovely modelled terrain and envy you all who had the privilege to fight up there

So where was I....Ticket Vienna-Glasgow, hm, GBP 300.- I should start saving money.

Best Wishes

Günter

Gunter... Austria is not so far away.....
We had two Americans at the event (although both now living in Scotland!)

Plan far enough ahead and anything is possible!!

Cheers

Barry,

Excellent photo shot's of the Borodino weekender, it does look like a
INTENSE EPIC game.The photo of the 20 guns firing from the Raevski redoubt is a favourite.It's a wonder there were any of Jim's and Bill's men left after this battery fired canister at point blank range.
Great explosion markers from David O'Brien in the photo "100 Guns".

Ray.

Damn thats expencive, I get tickets to london and glasgow for like £30, that two way.

Good to meet all of you at the game last weekend. It was a fun and intense weekend. It was probably a turn too far for me, both in terms of battlefield results - the death ride of the Russian Cuirassier - and physical endurance - I was exhausted by the end. I now have a pretty good handle on the rules for infantry and know I need to read up on cavalry before running a game. I took a bunch of pictures, but I haven't downloaded them yet, but I'll let you know when they are posted.

-David Stokes

Welcome to the Forum David

Yes I would say that was a pretty intense baptism of fire even by our standards. The stakes were high and the players were VERY engaged with the challenge of beating the enemy.
The thing that pleased me most was the amount of fighting we got done and the closeness of the result to reality even down to the point of certain units performing to the historical picture.
The player's exhaustion at the Fleches table and the huge number of close combats:

Infantry v infantry
Infantry v cavalry
Cavalry v cavalry

together with the relatively low level of 'musketry' marked the battle out as something a little more akin to atavistic ancients warfare that elegant Horse and Musket warfare.

The casualty rates were huge. Most non close combat casualties were caused by artillery (as is correct) but there were at least 6 instances of regiments fighting each other to annihilation without breaking from the combat..

in R2E terms this does not represent total extinction but rather extinction of combat effectiveness via casualties, fatigue, disorder, broken weapons and lack of leadership.

As one of the Umpire team I was knackered at the end and felt like I had been in a fight!

Congrats to the players:

Bold French attacks and oh so gritty Russian defence!

Another great weekend, definitely the most intense battle I have ever played in.
The sheer size of the forces involved was staggering,and resolving some of the combat rounds was a huge undertaking, for which I think all the players owe our 2 umpires a great deal of thanks, as without their goodwill & patience none of us would be enjoying these wonderful events.

The quality of Barry's terrain was quite brilliant, hopefully it will appear around the convention scene, so that many more people can appreciate it, and it goes without saying that the figures were top notch as well.

Looking forward to some more great pictures of a truly epic Sunday.

Thanks to all involved it was a great weekend.


Bob

Bob thanks for that and I actually agree with many of your sentiments about the intensity of the game. Although this was a real challenge to manage I actually found it to be the most rewarding of all of the R2E weekenders so far. It felt absolutely right in the tension and confusion. Watching the Russian players obey but be frustrated by their commanders decisions was very interesting. Each had his own view about how the battle should be fought but like true subordinate commanders they obeyed orders!
The French were visibly stung into action by the appearance of Napoleon on the table and his dissatisfaction with their sloppy deployment around the Fleches! Quite funny to watch the spurt on that the French got after that!

Dave and I were just discussing some extensions to the scenario... some mods to terrain and effect when we do it again and have decided that at Falkirk this year we will run a modified version of the Raevski table.

We have also discussed a one day event simulating the Borodino flank with masses of Cossacks and Dragoons against the Italians!!!

Yes Barry, Dave mentioned to me that you might extend the scenario, easier said than done with regards to logistics, but I'm sure that with your extraordinary bounds of enthusiasm not a huge problem.

I think this would create an even better game with more chances to exploit around the flank of the weak Russian left, until Prince Imrievich and the cream of the guard cavalry come to the rescue.


As to the 1 day game, sounds like a great idea, bring it on.

Bob

Not that many Italians. Just the Royal Guard. Would be fun to do!

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to say that I had a fantastic time at the weekend. Never felt so knackered and worn out from throwing dice. First time I've come away from a game having had my command completely destoyed at the fleches and felt that I'd won.

Much thanks to Barry and Dave O'Brien for answering so many questions, including the daft ones, and am looking forward to the next one, where, no doubt, me and Bob will sort the world out over a couple of beers whilst everybody else sleeps!!

Cheers

Gerry

True Vets at the bar Gerry!

Glad you enjoyed the gig.... I need to go and paint up more Russians, we clearly didn't have enough at the weekend!