Broadside 2021 - Posties Rejects - The Battle of Montenotte 1796

 

Last Saturday the Rejects visited and out on a game at Milton Hundred's Broadside. The show has moved from its usual home in Sittingbourne to the Medway Sports Park in Gillingham, (which ids only 20 minutes down the road from where I live!)

The old venue was pretty cramped, while the new one is absolutely not!

You can see from the photo above the rough size of the hall, there is another 30 odd feet behind me as well. One of the best things about the new venue was the light, I've never been to any show were the room was so well lit, nothing was in shadow at all. It was strangely quiet as well, due to the sound proofing on the walls. 

So for me it was a brilliant move and a brilliant show.

Setting up our game, The Battle of Montenotte 1796

This was the third time we've played the game, the two previous games were both historically accurate, as the French completely smashed the poor Austrians. We tossed for sides, Surj and myself were unlucky getting the Austrians, so we knew we were on for a hard job.

Surj moves our artillery off the hill, that hadn't happened in either of the last games.

The French are acting from two sides, there aim is to get to the opposite side of the table, past the village in the distance, to cut off the Austrian army. The Austrian battle plan was to attack French outposts near Genoa, towards where the French are set up at the bottom of the photo. But the French moved first to attack Montenotte.

The whole table

Surj , Postie, Lee and Richard.

To try and hold the French up, I pushed our Grenzers up  and gave fire.

Surj moved his line units up towards the two hills to support the troops already on top.

Both sides of Richard's board explaining the battle in full and how he made some of the terrain.

I'm still holding the hill, but for how long?

On the other flank Postie is pushing the French line up, but Surj has managed to fill the hills with Austrian troops.

Lee charges the French line.

While Surj guards the left hill.

And the right hill.

The game was running very slow, we were getting a lot of people asking questions about the game, which we were happy to answer.

I missed a few game turns whilst chatting to visitors, Surj and Smiffy carried on playing the game.

My troops have been pushed off the hill, while Surj has also been pushed off the right hill.

But at least he knocked back one of the French line units.

Another turn has gone by, the Austrians have been pushed back on all sides towards Montenotte Superior.

But he's still managing to hold up the French on the right hill.

We were asked about the town of Montenotte and why we were using 15mm buildings

(They don't look like 15mm in the pic I know)

Richard tends to use the next scale down building for all his games, using 15mm, a town looks like a town, if we used 25mm buildings you'd have to use 1 or 2 buildings to keep the same footprint and that just doesn't look right. I tend to agree with him.

The French are trying and failing to attack the mountain village of Casina Garbozzo. They need to take the village before they move down and try and take the pass.

Hold the line boys, hold the line.

Its a bit of a mess really!

At this point in the game me and Lee went off to choose who we thought was the best game.

More on that later.

When we came back the game was nearly over.

David from the blog The Ragged Soldier, kept coming back to see our game and have a chat.

He was joined by his pal, Dave, who being a Napoleonic buff, loved our game.

Smiffy kept forgetting the mask was supposed to go over his mouth????

The French were nearly at Monetenotte, while the Austrians were nearly off table.

Which way are we supposed to be facing?

The man of the day makes an appearance.

Young Boney himself, in a heavily converted Trent Miniature

Nearly there.

As the French move and make contact with Montenotte, my Austrian brigade near the table 

edge have throw a morale check. Surj thrust the dice in my hand, nit trusting himself to pass the throw. I threw 2 x D6 and got a 5. 

Which was a fail, they route off board and the French win!!

Surj actually screamed "No", let me throw instead, as he re-rolled the dice.

The fumble fickle of fate, he also threw 5, so that was it!

A French victory, but nowhere as easy as the 2 practise game.

Well done Postie, Lee and Smiffy, but mostly to Richard for his very cool game.

And now for the rest of the show.....

In another post that is...