Tuesday 30 August 2016

Borodino 2.0

 After the trip to Russia it was high time for a Borodino refight, I took command of the russians and my father the imperials. The main difference from the previous refight was that after going there I realized that there wasn't any waterloo style ridge but the place was quite flat, so the only height I have put is the one at the grand redoubt.
Below Utitsa woods and village, over them the Shevardino redoubt & village and the flèches to the left, over the Kolocha river, grand redoubt and village of Semenovskaya to end with the villages of Borodino and Gorki on top.
 View of the newly made redoubts.
 Flèches with lots of guns
 Great redoubt with position battery
 Russian reserve
 Kutuzov & Smolensk's Virgin
 Village of Borodino
 Frenchies before Borodino, Eugene's corps
 Davout's corps around Shevardino
 Poniatowsky's poles on the imperial right flank
 Great battery
 And Murat's cavalry reserve 

 I took the chance to wear for the first time a T-shirt I bought in Russia.
 The battle began and the guns on the flèches made the french battery limber up covering the advance of the cuirassiers.
 The russian cav advanced on the right
 The redoubt's guns also made limber their counterparts

 Eugène quickly launched his infantry on the isolated garrison
 While the french reserve also moved there


 The infantry amassed before Utitsa and pushed forwards
 The guns kept covering the advance of the cuirassiers
 Since the french were pushing to my right I reinforced it with the guard
 The french took Borodino from where I retreated
 And began opening fire


 The imperial guard garrisoned Shevardino
 While the poles kept moving slowly in the Utitsa wood
 I then assaulted Borodino with two units
 I took the guns out of one flèche and moved them towards Shevardino
 Face off in the wood

 Barclay de Toilly got killed in the Bordino assault and some french infantry that assaulted my flank got repulsed and retreated so a good death.
 But the village passed into russian hands

 I moved an infantry unit towards Shevardino
 While charging the poles with my cuirassiers, mauled  by musketry
 Then a deady crossfire began upon Shevardino
 The infantry squared up but the french chasseurs charged regardless, obviously they were repulsed
 Uvarov got himself killed while the cuirassiers struggled with the poles
 The other pole unit charged my grenadiers
 Another french unit that had been marching all day under cannon fire was finally routed by the garrison's volley.
 The poles finally routed
 And even Poniatowsky was killed!
 Davout got wounded in the grenadier fight but the russians were put to flight retreating near Utitsa
 View at the end of the battle: russian victory 3-0. 
Mosow saved for the 2nd time in a row!




 And there was much rejoicing!