Wargaming Waterloo 2015

I'd like to draw your attention to four more games of the bicentennial years that have been reported recently. As usual, this post is designed to merely whet your appetite and so send you to the originals for more information and photos of the marvellous games.

Games of the 1814 Bicentennial
Montmirail 200
Once again using the Lasalle rules, 'vive l'empereur' and his friends have recently completed a most impressive looking game of the Battle of Montmirail in 15 mm.

Click here to see the post on his blog.

Fere Champenoise 200
Continuing his excellent efforts to stage games of the bicentennial years and following on from the earlier re-fight of Brienne, Mike and his friend Jerry recently completed a re-fight of Fere Champenoise.

Mike's report may be accessed via this link.

Earlier Bicentennial Years
Borodino
A battle from a campaign that 'rewards' study and wargaming again and again. Conrad Kinch continued his re-fight of Borodino in stages with the southern, Utitsa sector.

His report is in two stages, so click here for part one and click here for part two.

The Big One Approaches
Waterloo 200: T minus 7/12
Like so many groups around the world, the boys at the Service Ration Distribution are preparing for the bicentennial by biting off bits of Waterloo prior to the big one in 2015.

Read all about their game based on the attack of I Corps here.

The lads at the Mortimer Street Marauders recently completed a grand game of the Battle of Lützen in 28 mm; using their split tables to good effect.

Chief MSM writer, Jeremy, has posted a colourful report of the game in three parts.

Lutzen 1813 - Batrep Part 1
Lutzen 1813 - Part 2
Lutzen 1813 - Part 3 - The Finale

Colourful in terms of both JJ's witty reportage and marvellous photos. Click on the links above to see more.

Leipzig in the Garden

David "MurdocK" has continued his series of 'garden wars', large-scale games in terms of both terrain and figures.

This time he took on the big one: the Battle of Leipzig.

Click here to see the impressive result. Marvellous.

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War of 1812

A recent discovery by this correspondent is the excellent War of 1812 wargaming blog. This features a most-useful compilation of information about units and uniforms extracted from various sources on the web. Even better are the reports of the re-fights of battles from the war that Chuck and the group have conducted, using General de Brigade rules.

Battle of Stoney Creek, 6 June 1813

Battle of Chateauguay, 26 October 1813

Battle of Crysler's Farm, 11 November 1813

Battle of Lundy's Lane, 25 July 1814

Second Battle of Chippawa (this one is fictitious, but it looks so good that I added a link here anyway, even though this site is dedicated to historical re-fights!)

I am sure that there are more to come. Well done fellas!

An update from fellas at the Service Ration Distribution of their practice games for Waterloo 200.

This time it is the attack of II Corps on Hougoumont, played out in grand fashion.

The link above is to part one, so there is more to come, even ahead of the real thing in a few months!

Today's links are to two fabulous looking re-fights of the southern sector of the Battle of Leipzig: the area around Connewitz, Holzhausen and Probstheida.

The photo above is from a game called Dolitz and Probstheyda that Paul A. and co. played back at the end of 2013 (I missed this one!). A marvellous game in 15 mm based on a scenario for General de Brigade.

The one below is from solo-gamer Phil's game of the same sector using 1/72nd figures and his modified version of Volley and Bayonet rules.

As usual, click on the links above to see more photos of these games, and to read the reports.

As the curtain draws on 2014 : 1814 and we enter the final year of the Napoleonic bicentennial, so preparations for Waterloo 200 pick-up a pace.

Doug H. in Canada has recently posted preparations for his solo effort.

Great stuff Doug!

Chris & co. continue preparations for their monumental Waterloo (La Haie Sainte) at 1:3. This time it's Kevin's figures for (most of) Ross' battery Royal Horse Artillery.

Stunning!

Speaking of stunning, first cab off the rank for Waterloo 200 will likely be the massive game that is being set up by my friends at the Nunawading Wargames Association. Here are two views of the table looking west (above) and east (below).

This is the third Waterloo for this group, so they will be mixing it up a bit this year for the game commencing on 8th January. We'll look forward to the posts on Ben's and Paul's blogs.

Tim (aka Picton) and Darren (aka Ney) have busied themselves placing the figures for the Nunawading Wargames Association's bicentennial edition of Waterloo. All is now in readiness for the big game.

View from the French left, Young Guard in the centre, Plancenoit to their south-east

As mentioned previously, this group has re-fought the battle twice previously, so the umpires will be throwing in a few 'what-ifs' this time around. To quote the organisers' briefing to players:

This year’s battle explores all the what ifs and what could have beens associated with the battle. So hindsight will only give you a guide as to what may happen. ... Do not expect the battle to follow the historical course. I have pages of what ifs, random events and possibilities...

Everything from the weather to interpersonal relationships between generals has come under scrutiny. All events will be diced for at the appropriate time.

Sounds intriguing doesn't it? Look out for links to the reportage of the game which commences on Thursday, 8th Jan.

It is upon us! 2015, the bicentennial of Waterloo.

This blog will be providing links to bicentennial games of Waterloo and other battles of the Hundred Days, aiming to act as a repository into the future.

They have begun already.

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First cab off the rank was the Nunawading Wargames Association (NWA). Their annual big game being a re-fight of Waterloo, with a few options thrown in.

Our correspondent Ben 'Rosbif' is preparing the reports of the game, so for now I can only direct you to his latest 'teaser'!

The NWA boys were closely followed by Doug and Seth in Vancouver, Canada. They played the first of several versions of Waterloo on Doug's 8' x 5' table.

Their first version of the famous battle was played sans les prussiennes. Read Doug's report here.

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While Waterloo will be the focus of effort for most groups and the ultimate aim for this year, it is not the only game of the Hundred Days being recreated.

The Association Les Riflemens based in Bourg en Bresse, France refought the Battle of Quatre Bras.

As usual, Phil has put together a report of the game replete with special effects and maps of the action!

As all Napoleonic wargamers know, Quatre Bras was accompanied by the Battle of Ligny, fought between the main French army under Napoleon and Blücher's Prussians.

Simon and the gang in Ayrshire, Scotland have played a massive re-fight of the battle, reported on his Service Ration Distribution blog.

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Many, many more bicentennial games are to follow and we'll make links to as many of them as possible.

One that we are particularly looking forward to is Chris and Kevin's 1:3 game of the area around Hougoumont and La Haie Sainte.

Chris has recently posted four updates of this project showing:

- KGL Hussars,

- Life Guards,

- KGL infantry, and

- record keeping and bases.

Be sure to come back for more to follow...!

Our wait is over as Ben 'Rosbif' has posted his report of the first part of the NWA's Waterloo 200 game, played back in early January

Meanwhile, back on the 16th + ~200, Simon has distributed the ration in the form of the conclusion of their grand game of the Battle of Ligny!

The other battle of the 16th June 1815 has been re-fought by the fellows at Liphook Historical Wargames, who readers of this blog will know have completed many wonderful bicentennial games.

See more of David's photos of the game here.

As part of his preparations for the Napoleonic Wargaming Society's bicentennial game of Waterloo, Mark H. 'Sun of York' combined with fellow member Mark B. to play a game of the action around Plancenoit—twice! They used a mopboard published by the Napoleon's Battles Yahoo Group.

Report of original game.
Report of version two.
Links to additional photos.

While the main focus for many wargamers in 2015, Waterloo is not the only 'game in town'. Chuck and his colleagues have been working through re-fights of the battles and skirmishes of the War of 1812. Their latest is a fine looking game of the Battle of Chippewa.

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Meanwhile, preparations for other Waterloo 200 games continue apace:

at the Hall of Heroes in Campbelltown New South Wales,

at the Napoleonic Wargaming Society in Perth Western Australia, and

in 6 mm by 'Pushing Tin' in the United Kingdom.

Not a wargame, but this diorama of the development of this diorama of the in Battle of Ligny deserves a special mention.

It has been a while since the last update, so that there is much to recount:
- a diary of the Hundred Days a day at a time,
- more games from the Hundred Days campaign,
- preparation for Waterloo, and
- testing ahead of the big one.

There are also several games from earlier bicentennial years to report.

Let's get going, shall we?!

A look back at the Hundred Days Campaign

In recognition of the bicentennial, our good friend David (aka 'MurdocK') has begun a count-down of the Hundred Days, combining reminiscences from past games and campaigns with quotes from Chandler's Campaigns of Napoleon.

Games of battles from the Hundred Days Campaign
Breaking all the records, Doug 'Dots of Paint' has already staged three versions of Waterloo—yes that's this year! His third was run at the Trumpeter Salute wargaming convention and won equal 'Best of Session' with another game of Waterloo, in 15 mm!

His report of game 3 is at this link, with further photos if you click here.
This link will take you to version 2!

There are now further reports of the NWA's bicentennial game of Waterloo. Ben 'Rosbif' (aka Uxbridge) has completed his three-part report and is now joined by Paul 'Duke of 1815' (aka Prince of Orange) with his first two instalments.

I recently 'discovered' Tim D's 'Wargaming Rediscovered' (apologies for the bad pun) in which he reports a solo game of Quatre Bras using Age of Eagles rules, played back in September last year.

Simon and co. from Ayrshire combined with the Glasgow Tradeston Wargames Club to stage a grand game of Wavre, all in marvellous 1/72nd plastics, at the Dumfries Wargames Show.

The Avon Napoleonic Fellowship have begun their bicentennial games, recently completing part 1 of Quatre Bras, also all in wonderful 1/72nd! :)

Not a wargame, but we continue to display photos from updates of this diorama of Ligny, 'cause it's just so marvellous!

Preparation for Waterloo
Ian 'Stryker''s preparation for Waterloo using vintage Hinton Hunt figures continues apace. On parade recently were the 42nd Foot ('Black Watch') and his lovely work on the grenadiers à cheval.

The fellas at the Napoleonic Wargaming Society in Perth, Australia are planning Waterloo in 15 mm and 28 mm. Carlo 'Pyjamas' recently displayed some of the latter; Dutch-Belgian and Nassau infantry and artillery and Dutch-Belgian heavies.

Peter 'Gonsalvo' has been busy painting Prussian units for the first of the Hartford Area Historical Gaming Society's bicentennial events, Waterloo as a "Campaign in a Day" to be held Sunday 26th April. Below are a couple of photos of his Prussian dragoons to whet your appetite.

'Pushing Tin' is pushing along nicely with his preparations for Waterloo in 6 mm. His latest: British artillery.

Back in 28 mm we have some superb looking Brits being prepared for Waterloo at 1:3 (see playlets below) thanks to James' fine painting. A small selection below, more wonderful examples on his blog.

Play-testing for Waterloo
The most anticipated game of the bicentennial, by me at least, is Chris, Kevin and cos action around La Haie Sainte at 1:3. A photo from their third play-test below, with more to be found here.

Ralph 'Sparker' and co. recently held their penultimate Waterloo 200 practice game. It was all about the arrival of the Prussians and a fine looking affair it was too.

Games from earlier bicentennial years
Marking the end of the 1814 campaign, Dean put together this marvellous game based on the Battle of Toulouse.

More photos on his WAB Corner blog.

Peter 'Gonsalvo' took time out from preparation for the Waterloo bicentennial (and other projects, to be honest) to stage a re-fight of Katzbach at the recent at HAVOC convention (28th March).

See his report and more photos here.

Going way back to the middle of the Napoleonic Wars, JJ has run a most intriguing game based on the little re-fought night attack on the first day of Talavera.

That must be what happens when we have three games of Quatre Bras played in quick succession, surely?!

First we had a solo version played out by Mark 'Sun of York'.

Then we had the same game played at the Napoleonic Wargaming Society, which Mark officiated over, producing a quite different result.

Lastly we have the second and final part of the Avon Napoleonic Society's bicentennial game of Quatre Bras.

Of course, not all wargamers/groups who are observing the bicentennial of, arguably, the world's most well-known battle will be running their re-fights bang-on the day, but it does mean that the level of activity has increased significantly.

Below is a photo summary of what I have been able to gather, with links to the appropriate blogs or webpages.

Play-tests and Preparations for Waterloo 200

Battle of Waterloo at Huzzah 2015
Adam C. has provide a highly photo-pictorial description of this multi-player game played over several tables using Blackpowder rules.

Quatre Bras at Huzzah 2015
Another of his reports from the convention, this time an earlier game of Quatre Bras.

HAHGS Waterloo 200 Campaign Game
Peter's marvellous reports of this fabulous 'campaign in a day'.

Splitting up the commands

History as written by the victors

A few words from the Prussians

We look forward to their game of Ligny at Historicon
A couple of posts of units being prepared here and there.

Liphook's Re-fight of Ligny
Some photos on their Facebook page where you'll also find an open invitation to their Waterloo 200 game to be held 5th/6th September.

The Waterloo 1:3 Game
Play-test—this is jaw-dropping!

More troops. This time a squadron of the 2e dragon.

Antipodean Waterloo Prep
Preparing troops for the game.

Gathering Forces for Another Antipodean Waterloo 200
This time in Perth, Western Australia
One and another post of four about the preparation of the forces.

Other, Waterloo bicentennial-related activities

Airfix Conversions
Paul has been doing wonders converting Airfix figures around the theme of Waterloo
Highlanders

British line

Diorama's of Waterloo

This is magnificent!

Clean-up of the Waterloo Diorama at the Green-Jackets Museum in Winchester

Not to forget games from earlier bicentennial years

Battle of Brienne 29th January 1814
Another fine solo effort from Phil of York, UK.

Battle of Raab, 14th June 1809
The first five turns of this marvellous looking game have been posted

Battle of Eggmuhl 22nd April 1809
Big game, big units and plenty of Jenkinsonian wit!

Waterloo 200 times six
The clear "winner" in terms of the number of Waterloos that they have so far fitted into this bicentennial year are Doug H and his wargaming colleagues from Vancouver, Canada.

He recently posted a report of the sixth Waterloo that he has been involved with, this time held at the at Enfilade 2015 in Washington State USA.

A fine effort!

Preparing for Waterloo on 13th June
That's the date for the Waterloo game to be conducted by Mark "Chasseur" and others who are based in Christchurch, NZ.

Mark has put the finishing touches on his figures for the game and recently posted photos of his French lancers, line artillery in greatcoats and Guard artillery.

Waterloo at 1:100 from the "1:3 Team"!
In addition to putting together there marvellous game of the action around La Haie Sainte at 1:3, Chris, Kevin, James and Richard are also re-fighting the entire battle at 1:100.

Chris recently posted some photos of their excellent looking terrain for this larger scale battle (and later a couple of posts showing step by step on how it was made).

Vintage Waterloo WIP
Ian 'Stryker' is preparing units for his Vintage Waterloo using Hinton Hunt figures.

Two of his recent posts have shown completed units of Grenadiers à Cheval and 11th Light Dragoons.

Quatre Bras Play-test
John has posted a report of a dogged struggle from a play-test of Quatre Bras.

It was a tough battle for the generals with "Foy, Jerome and Bachleu all falling in combat", while, "on the allied side, Picton, Perponcher and Slender Billy were casualties".

Hougoumont Scenario
Another John posted his report of a scenario using Blackpowder rules of the 'battle within a battle' that was the struggle for Hougoumont.

He summed it up thusly, "an Allied victory, a historic result, a good game". To which I'd add a marvellous looking chateau, as I'm sure readers would agree!

Four fabulous re-fights of Waterloo were played in three countries over the past weekend (that I am so far aware of) plus another that was completed earlier in the month!

In Wellington, NZ

A big re-fight in 28 mm using two tables running roughly SW-NE that shared a common edge over half of their length.

Click here for the first of several reports from Mark (aka Chasseur)

In Perth, WA, Australia

Games in both 15 mm and 28 mm were held at the Napoleonic Wargaming Society's 200th Anniversary 're-fight in miniature' of the Battle of Waterloo

Click here for Mark's summary of the 15 mm game
Click here for more photos of same
Click here for Carlo's overview of the day and preliminary summary of the 28 mm game
Click here for another overview of the day

In Ayrshire, Scotland

A big re-fight of "Waterloo 2015 in plastic: featuring 7 134 figures and 90 guns.

Click here for Simon's preliminary report of the game

In Cotswold village, Gloucestershire, England

Waterloo at 1:100, from the lads who will be later staging the attack on La Haie Sainte at 1:3.

Click here for Chris' first report of the game

It is Waterloo 200, the historical conclusion to the bicentennial of the Napoleonic Wars!

This event has already brought forth many marvellous commemorative wargames around the world, with more to come as the year progresses.

In fact, the years 1992–2015 have seen a bustle of activity amongst Napoleonic wargamers. A wide variety of games, big and small, using a range of figure scales, rules and interpretations have been conducted in clubrooms, sheds, halls, wargaming conventions, attics and gaming rooms around the world. Links to some of these are presented on this blog (see tabs above).

But what of the experience of staging these games? What have people learned about the history of the period, the actions of the participants, even about themselves and their wargamng colleagues?!

To this end we thought it would be interesting for all of us Napoleonic wargamers to record some survey information about the Napoleonic bicentennial wargames that have been played - and how they turned out. The survey is aimed at groups/clubs and individuals who played out battles over the last few years.

Fittingly, the survey has gone ‘live’ today. It will remain open until 11 Sep 15, and we'll try to post updates on the Wargaming Waterloo blog as to how many responses we're getting. We'll then aim to write up the results during Oct/Nov so as to publish them online, and hopefully also get a summary into one or more of the wargaming magazines.

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T92HYK8

We hope you find can find the time to complete it, and we look forward to sharing the results.

David Burden & James Fisher

There has been an excellent response to this survey since it opened on 18th June.

Twenty-seven people have already completed the questionnaire. A further 12 people began, but have not yet completed it. Hopefully they will be back to finish the job soon!

A few interesting 'teaser' stats so far.

The gamers are doin' it for themselves

Nearly half of the respondents so far played their bicentennial wargames solo.

House rules rule!

Rules used	Often	Usually	Always
In House	1	3	2
Blackpowder	2	1	1
General de Brigade	0	2	1
Napoleon’s Battles	0	1	2
Shako	2	1	1

Only rules with a total of three or more responses in 'often', 'usually' or 'always were included in the table above.

The most commonly played battle so far?

Waterloo!

Name of battle	Whole battle	Part battle	Total
Marengo	6	1	7
Talavera	6	3	9
Coruna	6	1	7
Aspern/Essling	5	2	7
Salamanca	8	0	8
Borodino	7	2	9
Montmirail	7	0	7
Quatre Bras	15	3	18
Waterloo	17	5	22

Waterloo at the Hall of Heroes
A mega-game of Waterloo involving 20 players was played on the weekend of the 12th–14th June at the "Hall of Heroes" in Campbelltown, NSW. Our aim was to refight the Battle of Waterloo in unforgettable style – the wargame of a lifetime.

Played over five tables and planned to take 12 moves it was one hell of a wargaming weekend!

Click here to read Ralph ("Sparker's") report and see more of his marvellous photos of this superbly huge game!

Waterloo 2015 in Photos
No report, but click on this link to see some excellent photos of this bicentennial game of the famous battle.

Falkirk Wargames Club: Waterloo Day

Click for a report of the game and Paul's excellent descriptive video here.

Battle of Waterloo 200th Anniversary - Christchurch refight
Wargamers in New Zealand stage three separate superb bicentennial games of Waterloo in Wellington (linked to previously and below), Christchurch and Auckland.

Here are a couple of photos from the Christchurch game.

More photos and reports of the game held by the Christchurch 'chapter' on Mark 'Chasseur's blog, Ion the Archduke's blog and on John's Wargaming Info. blog.

Waterloo 200 at the wn Auckland Wargaming Club
The third NZ bicentennial game was played at the AWC on 21 June 2015.

Waterloo 200—Quatre Bras & Waterloo
Conrad Cinch and his friends played Quatre Bras and Waterloo in one weekend!

Waterloo 200 at the Avon Napoleonic Fellowship
We at the Avon Napoleonic Fellowship were joined by friends from the Napoleonic Wargaming Society for Day One of our own bicentennial game of Waterloo, 200 years and 9 days after the original.

(Thanks to Biko for these great photos)

Click here for more photos of part one.

Waterloo 2015 in Nottingham
Annual big game + 2015 = bicentennial game of Waterloo!

Report and photos here.

Solo Waterloo 200—d'Erlon's attack
Well and truly bitten with the Waterloo bug, Sparker played a solo game of d'Erlon's attack.

Plancenoit 1815:2015 Battlerep
Paul and co. in Scotland staged this marvellous game of Plancenoit, for which Paul recorded his first video--top stuff!

Plancenoit 200
Across La Manche, L'Atelier des Portes d'argent also recognised the bicentennial with a game focussing on Plancenoit.

Quatre Bras in 10 mm
In 'The Shed', a fine game of the Battle of Quatre Bras which is reported not once, nor twice, but thrice by different players!

Battle of Ligny 200
Having already played Waterloo six times this year (!) Doug and co. changed their focus to Ligny for the bicentennial!

Ligny & Quatre Bras in 6 mm
Serial players of bicentennial games, Painting Tin and Crafthole played a marvellous, concurrent game of Ligny and Quatre Bras in 6 mm, making full use of what the scale offers. Fabulous!

Report of part one
Report of part two

Quatre Bras in 6 mm
Another game in 6 mm this time focussing on Quatre Bras. A fine looking game.

Battle of New Orleans bicentennial game
Not forgetting the North American theatre, which concluded with a massive, famous battle, by the standards of many in that theatre, in/famous Battle of New Orleans.

Click here for the full report; try your French, or just enjoy the photos!

Multiple Games of Quatre Bras
David 'MurdocK'played Quatre Bras several times recently, including a demo. game at his son's school!

More Waterloo 200 From Wellington NZ
Read John's report of this marvellous game, which includes a brief video.

There is also a report along with an excellent 40-minute programme on Radio New Zealand, complete with a description of the build-up, interviews with players and the first few turns!

More on the 1:100 Waterloo Re-Fight in the West Country
We have already featured this fabulous looking table and game, but let's have more shall we?!

This time from part three.

More Waterloo in 'The One True Scale' from Ayrshire, Scotland
We previously linked to the preliminary report, but now Simon has posted part two and part three.

Wonderful stuff!

More Waterloo in 28 mm from the Napoleonic Wargaming Society
The Napoleonic Wargaming Society's Waterloo Day has also been mentioned previously on this blog, but Carlo has posted some more photos of the 28 mm game of d'Erlon's attack (which featured along with a 15 mm game of the entire battle).

The date of the bicentennial of Waterloo may have passed, but further bicentennial games have been played or are planned.

Below is a photo or two from each and links to the original report(s).

Waterloo 200

Across the figure scales we have smallest to largest, which in terms of the ground-scale is largest to smallest!

Waterloo & Wavre in 6 mm
Taking full advantage of the figure scale, the serial players of fine bicentennial games known only by their pseudonyms of 'Pushing Tin' and 'Crafthole' fitted the entire area of both battles, with a little 'slight of hand' so that "from Mont St. Jean up to the starting position of Prussian I Corps (was) the correct distance,... Wavre itself (squeezed) on the end of the table... only a couple of feet short of the actual distance".

See Pushing Tin's excellent blog for report of:
the set-up
part one of the game
part two of the game
the scenario.

Waterloo at 1:33
Moving up the figure scale and down the ground scale is the Avon Napoleonic Fellowship's game of Waterloo using 1/72nd/20 mm figures. With a figure scale of 1:33 and a ground scale of 1 mm to 1 m the entire battlefield was fitted into a 'T'-shaped table that represented 3.6 km at its longest and 3.2 km at it widest.

See reports of:
set-up
part one 11:30–13:00
part two 13:30–15:30
part three 16:00–17:30
part four 17:30–20:30

Waterloo in 25 mm
The Liphook Historical Wargames' battalion/squadron/battery level game of the Battle of Waterloo was played over two days in early September. The multi-player game featured "over 4 000 25 mm figures on a table measuring 23 by 18 feet overall... using the latest version of the Group’s ‘Art of Command’ rules".

Click here for the photo album of the game.
A summary report was posted on the group's Facebook site on 8th September 1815.

d'Erlon's Attack at 1:20
Using General de Brigade, with d'Erlon's I Corps represented by 250+ figures in each column...

Report of the game

Waterloo at 1:3
At the other end of the scale, massive units for a game focussed on the attacks on and around La Haie Sainte, commencing around 1.30pm on 18th June 1815. Much of the lead-up has been featured previously on this blog, but now you can see the photos and read Chris' report on his blog.

Part one,
Part two.

More to come

Ian 'Stryker' has been working towards his vintage Waterloo, using Hinton Hunt figures, for many months now. The game is scheduled for the end of October. They will use their in-house 'Muskets and Marshals' rules.

The lads at Northern Wargaming are preparing a Waterloo campaign

Mark, Sun of York, is staging a re-run of his bicentennial game of Waterloo. The original, played at the Napoleonic Wargaming Society's Waterloo 200 Day was incomplete due to time restrictions. The game began today and will be played to the end.

Some photos and links to reports of further games of battles from the bicentennial of Waterloo and the Hundred Days.

Quatre Bras
Played on 30th May by the San Fernando Wargamers using La Bataille rules.

A brief description courtesy of Stephen Phenow
"After a tense battle around Quatre Bras, the French were repulsed by Dutch and Nassau troops. The 5th British Division re-enforced the cut up Brunswickers and the French were forced to fall back.

The Quatre Bras table at 1" = 47 yards

The French final push into Quatre Bras that failed

Further photos and a full report are on their Facebook page.

Plancenoit
Another fine looking game staged by the San Fernando Wargamers. Stephen's summary in-brief reads:

French VI Corps with 2nd light division cavalry support advanced to the Bois de Paris to drive back the Prussian IV Corps. While this succeeded for a time, eventually IV Corps outnumbered the French. French VI Corps was in turn flanked by two brigades of Prussian I Corps and were cut off from Plancenoit and destroyed. Napoleon never sent Guard re-enforcement because the French were so far forward that he judged Plancenoit to be safe and by the time he realized it wasn't, it was too late.

The table for Plancenoit at at 1" = 47 yards.

15th /16th Brigade's second attack against French VI Corps. The first one failed.

Once again, a full report is on their Facebook page.

Waterloo
Some photos from Mark 'Sun of York's' second game of Waterloo in 15 mm, using the new, fourth edition of Napoleon's Battles.

The initial set-up

A brief summary, paraphrased from that on Mark's blog:

After five action-packed turns it is 14:00. French attacks have gone in on the left and right of the Anglo-Allied position. Hougoumont was attacked in the 13:30 turn and, as the defending Guards died to a man, is open to being captured. However, the Anglo-Allied troops will have a chance to reoccupy it in the 14:00 turn. The Imperial Guard are on the move in the centre, but the Prussians are beginning to arrive.

Attack on Hougoumont

Full report of part one available here.

Thanks once again to all those who completed the questionnaire about games of the Napoleonic Bicentennial.

A summary of the survey, along with some contributed photos of games staged by wargamers from around the world are a feature in the next issue of Miniature Wargames including Battlegames.

I'll be posting links to some final games of the Hundred Days' battles plus additional photos of various bicentennial games that were sent in by the games' authors on this blog soon.

Below are some links to the last games from the final year of the bicentennial (that I am aware of)

'Best of Show'—Vintage Waterloo
There were some wonderful games of Waterloo in the recently-passed bicentennial year, but this was, for mine, the 'best of show'.

You can read Ian's reports of the battle on his blog.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Final

Waterloo Version Two from 'One-Eyed' Mark
Mark H. originally staged a game of Waterloo for the Napoleonic Wargaming Society's 'Waterloo Day'. Unable to finish the game within the limitations of a day, particularly one in with plenty of interest from visitors, he ran it again in October/November.

Read his detailed accounts on his blog:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Ligny in the Antipodes
Brisbane to be precise, where Donald 'Ochion' and co. staged this wonderful looking game.

More here

Plancenoit superbly done
Staged at the Crisis 2015 show in Antwerp by Stefan 'Monty' and co.

Link to report

Quatre Bras 'Rediscovered'

A lovely game of Quatre Bras, using Le Feu Sacre rules, from Tim at Wargaming Rediscovered.

Link to his report

Grimsby Quatre Bras
I missed this one the first time around.

Link to Paul's report

Conwy Wargames Club Nov game - Plancenoit 1815

Complete with a beautiful representation of the famous church.

The 'megalomaniac's' report here

Another battle of Waterloo
This time from the Napoleon's Battles unofficial group (thanks to Mark H. for the piccie and link).

Author describes it thus, "Huge slugfest, traditional D'Erlon attack in right-center, British Artillery mishandled, finally Reille and Middle Guard attack routed Wellington's army."

See more at this link
(Unfortunately you must be logged-in to Yahoo in order to merely see the pictures, which is something that I find most frustrating. No wonder they are losing 'market share'!)

The 'winner' is... Steve St Clair
Steve St Clair, who recreated the battle, well the figures at least, at 1:1 in 6 mm scale! A mammoth effort.

I came to his story late. There was a lot of coverage about him in June/July 2014, much of it 'syndicated:
Washington Post
Voice of America
America on Line

I cannot find what he did for the bicentennial. Do any readers know?

Thank you once again to all those who completed the questionnaire for the Napoleonic Bicentennial Survey.

As mentioned previously on this blog, an article about the survey has been published in issue 396 of Miniature Wargames featuring Battle Games. Only a small selection of photos could be published in the magazine, so I asked people to contribute some more to publish on this blog.

Below is but a smattering of the photos available from these games, let alone all the others completed around the world. The tabs above provide links to the full reports of games completed (that came to my attention).

One last time then, a selection of Bicentennial games, in historical chronological order! (not all years represented)

1799

Novi
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

1800

Hohenlinden
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

1807

Eylau
Thanks to David aka 'MurdocK' (http://murdocksmarauders.blogspot.com.au)

1811

Fuentes de Onoro
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

1812

Salamanca
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

Borodino
Thanks to the Avon Napoleonic Fellowship (http://avonnapoleonicfellowship.blogspot.com.au)

Borodino
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

Berezina
Thanks to Mike and Rod

Berezina
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

War of 1812
Canadian Militia thanks to Douglas (http://dotsofpaint.blogspot.com)

1813

Lützen
Thanks to Jeremy from the Mortimer Street Marauders (http://maraudermoments.blogspot.com.au)

Dennewitz
Thanks to the Nunawading Wargames Association (www.nwa.org.au and http://rosbiffrog.blogspot.com.au)

Leipzig
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

1814

La Rothiere
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

Craonne
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

1815

Ligny
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

Quatre Bras
Thanks to Jeremy from the Mortimer Street Marauders (http://maraudermoments.blogspot.com.au)

Waterloo
Thanks to Mike and Rod

Waterloo
Thanks to the Nunawading Wargames Association (www.nwa.org.au and http://rosbiffrog.blogspot.com.au)

Waterloo
Thanks to 'one-eyed' Mark of the Napoleonic Wargaming Society (http://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com.au and http://napoleonicwargamingsociety.blogspot.com.au)

Waterloo
Thanks to David aka 'MurdocK' (http://murdocksmarauders.blogspot.com.au)

Waterloo
Thanks to Bob of the Table Top Gamers (http://www.tindictator.com/TTGS)

Waterloo
Thanks to David from Liphook Historical Wargames (https://www.facebook.com/LiphookHistoricalWargames/)

Plancenoit
Thanks to Stephen from San Fernando Valley Wargamers

Sadly, the bicentennial of the years of the Napoleonic wars is over.

Hopefully this blog will remain as a tribute to wargamer's recognition of this historic anniversary of the Napoleonic era.

The tabs above provide links to reports of games that have been featured on this blog. It's a fine record of wargaming endeavour!

Of course, fabulous looking and enjoyable Napoleonic wargames will continue to be played by people from the wide world of wargamers who find the period so interesting, evocative or just pleasing to the eye from a tabletop point of view. Be they re-fights of Napoleonic battles, fictitious actions or games from a campaign they never fail to provide a high level of interest, fun, challenge... and great photos!

Bookmark blogs from the links mentioned above to follow these into the future.

West Country Hougoumont

There were such a lot of photos on this game that it took me over 18 months to get round to doing a proper report on my blog. James has kindly allowed me to guest here to bring the links to any readers not aware of them.
The game took place over three days in September 2015 and involved 8 wargamers and about 3000 figures on a custom built terrain, 8 feet x 12 feet, scaled to one inch = 3 metres.

Here is my, and Kevin East's, report on the game West Country Waterloo - Hougoumont

And terrain makers might be interested in my various how-to blogs on building this rather demanding model
Part 1 - Concept , design and basic groundwork
Part 2 - Making the ponds
Part 3 - Woods, fields, crops and roads
Part 4 - The formal garden

A few pics to whet your appetites to visit

Thank you James.

Chris Gregg

Gloucestershire

Two and a half years in the planning, terrain-making and painting. Played over four days using 3 700 figures with six players plus and umpire, this version of Quatre Bras is truly massive and magnificent. But don't take my word for it, visit Chris' blog to read about the pre-game deployment, part one, part two as well as the results and planning.

A truly fabulous Napoleonic wargame, from the gents who brought us La Haie Sainte and Hougoumont at 1:3 during the bicentennial years proper.

Four bicentennial forays

Marauders' Lützen

Leipzig in the Garden and War of 1812

Waterloo 200 Play-test: Attack on Hougoumont

More bicentennial catch-ups: Leipzig, the southern sector

(More) Preparing For Waterloo

Ready for Waterloo 200

Waterloo Bicentennial Begins

Waterloo 200: long-awaited report of the first for 2015, battles of the 16th & other bicentennials

Waterloo 200: momentum builds

The Twelve Arms of Quatre Bras

Waterloo 200: T minus 25 days

Waterloo 200: further preparations, further games

Waterloo 200: It's All About The Games From Here On

200th Anniversary of Waterloo—Napoleonic bicentennial wargames survey went live today!

Napoleonic bicentennial wargames survey—some preliminary results

Waterloo 200: Links to More Fabulous Games

Waterloo 200: further games recognising the bicentennial year

Waterloo 200: further games from the Hundred Days

Napoleonic Bicentennial Survey in Press

Links to some final bicentennial games

Napoleonic Bicentennial Survey—additional photos

The bicentennial is over but this blog remains

Hougoumont at 1:3 scale - a late report

Quatre Bras in the West Country: a concerto in two parts