With October comes the beginning of the closing stages of the 1812 Campaign, the virtual destruction of the once Grande Armée and the beginning of the end for Napoleonic France. It all began with the evacuation of Moscow by the bulk of the French-Allied army on 19th October (and Mortier's final withdrawal on 23rd after having tried, thankfully only partially successfully, to blow up the Kremlin). Then followed the initial march south, the key, bloody battle of Maloyaroslavets, the redirection of the army's retreat along the original line of advance, leading to the rapid disintegration of the former Grande Armée—hier la grande armée, et maintenant troupeau (Hugo). You may follow these dramatic events, and those of the entire campaign, thanks to two intrepid bloggers: Thanks to both. MurdocK also hosted a fine looking game based on Maloyaroslavets at the recent Dak-Kon Convention in BC, Canada using mini-scale and Fast Play Grand Armée rules. The game successfully captured the escalating nature of this encounter battle and the log-jams of bringing reinforcements into the fray. Not so successful was the Avon Napoleonic Fellowship's first attempt at the game earlier this month. Some key changes made by yours truly and a very defensive Eugène produced a game with only one mêlée, in the last turn of the day! _Vereshchagin.jpg) |
| End of the Battle of Borodino (Конец Бородинского боя) by Vereshchagin (WikiCommons) |
Up in bonnie Scotland a small group of Napoleonic wargamers staged a fine looking Borodino game for the bicentenary, featuring the attack on the Grand Redoubt. Thanks to Paul for posting some pictures.