Barcelona Lasalle Tournament 2013

Barcelona 2013

After a brief spell playing FOG N we decided to return to playing Lasalle. Four of us from Alicante made the long road trip to Barcelona to play in the the Lasalle Tournament. This time we played two games instead of three but with two supports. Personally I feel playing with two supports works the best for games, giving you more options to balance a game.

 

The Participants were:

 

French & Allies

Paconey: Div Inf Imperial+ Light Cavalry and reserve Saxon Cavalry (Despertaferro)
Javi: Div, inf. Conquest+ Light Cavalry and reserve Dragoons (Desperta ferro)
Anquises: Div. inf. Imperial+ Inf. Elite and reserve Cuirassiers (CROM)
Juanete: División de inf Conquest+ Light Cavalrygera and reserve Cuirassiers (Club Alea Iacta Est)
Caboeloeyen: Frances Peninsula +Inf. italian and reserve  Dragoons (A. napo)
Marechalde saxe: Div. Polish 1813+ lancers 1813 and  reserve  Dragoons fr. (A.napo)

Coalitión & Friends

Nº13: Avantgarde Austrians + infantry y reserve cuirassiers (taifa)
Keioth: Avantgarde Austrians + hussars y reserve cuirassiers (Honor y Gloria)
Ngash: Russian Guard+ cuirassiers and reserve Light Cavalry (Wargames & Rol)
Bollito: Prussian liberación+ Light Cav + reserve Cuirassier (Desperta ferro)
Koza: British Light div. + Brig. Brunswick and reserve Light Cavalry (Honor y Gloria)
Phil: British Light div + Brig. Brunswick and reserve Light Cavalry (Wargames & Rol)

My first match was against Eloi with his French Peninsular Division with an organic Italian Brigade and reserve Dragoon Brigade.

For the first time in a tournament I used my British Army, I decided to use Peninsular Light Division with an organic Brunswick Brigade and in reserve my Light Cavalry Brigade (Impetuous of course).

There was some special rules for the tournament, one was that there were 4 extra objectives one placed on each players flank but nearer the middle of the table than the players actual edge and a central objective placed in the middle of the table worth 2 points.

All of the six tables were laid out similar to the ones in the book but each side was a mirror image of the other, so each sides terrain was equal to the others. Each player had to place their objective and one player had to be the attacker, only to see who would deploy first and also the defender could place one extra piece of terrain. 

I was planning on being the defender for the games but due to the objectives being forward of the deployment zones I choose to attack. Eloi choose to defend so there was no need to roll. 

 

Eloi's French Army Deployed

Eloi Deployed his infantry in the centre covering his objective. Instead of mixing his conscript and veterans into two commands he kept them seperate with his conscript brigade covering his left flank.

My British army ready to attack

I used my artillery to cover my left flank and my main infantry Division was going to attack his centre and my Brunswick Brigade was to support the main attack on the right flank.

 

With being the attacker, my brigades advance quickly in march column

 

The French deploy their foot battery to fire on my advancing large units. 

 

My forces unit's form columns of attack as they begin to pass the town in the centre 

 

On my left flank my cacadores get ready to drive a unit of french irregulars out of the wood.

 

My Cacadores clear the woods and I capture his right flank objective. My Highlanders break an Italian Infantry unit but my Rifle Regt have been pushed back and are countercharged by two Italian units and are broken. So much for Captain Sharpe and Harper.

 

I feel better when my cavalry appear on my right flank. Now my Brunswickers can attack.

 

In the centre things are not going that well, although my Scottish Regt attacks and routs another Italian regiment and is in sight of the main objective. It has become surrounded by 5 French Dragoon Regiments because the French reserves have appeared.

 

The Italians start to press in the centre and I have to bring up some reinforcements to shore up the line.

 

Meanwhile my cavalry start to gallop around the French left flank.

 

 

My Scottish regiment forms square and waits for reinforcements, the Brunswickers are close but the sneaky French have unlimbered a horse battery and are firing cannister into the Scottish ranks.

 

 

Unfortunately the Brunswick are too late and the Scots are charged on both sides by cavalry and infantry.

 

 

To the shout of "avenge zee Jocks" My Brunswicker's charge the French conscripts and drive them back. Also my British cavalry charge and ride over a conscript square.

 

 

Some French Dragoons try to flush my irregular infantry out of the woods but in true Robin hood style, I move my unit forward and  gives them the slip.

 

                                The French Dragoon unit backs up to have another go.

 

 

But as my Brunswick and cavalry push through the French left flank and destroy another conscript unit. The French have arrived at their breakpoint and the game ends with a Decisive victory to me.

With capturing all the objectives, I get 33 points and after the first round I am in  first position.

 

We stop for lunch and go to the same pizza restaurant as last year and catch up with old friends Paco and Javi from Palma Mallorca.

 

After lunch and due to the competition running late, the organisers decide to play the next round with each player choosing one support. I wasn't too happy with this decision because a) the British army doesn't work well with only one support b) I had just spent 3 weeks painting my new Brunswick Brigade and now I wouldn't be able to use it.

 

Due to my poor Spanish I compounded the issue by thinking my next opponent was pulling a fast one by choosing French light cavalry which was not on his original list. It finally dawned on me that the player I should have played had not turned up and I was playing Marc and Oscar who had kindly filled in at the last moment with his Bavarian Army. I would like to extend my apologises once again to Jose Ma, Oscar and Marc for me behaving like a "burro".

 

The table was set out as a crossroads with very little terrain, therefore I elected to be the defender. I used for my extra piece of terrain a narrow hill (ridge) that I had bought with me and was in very high demand (Jose used the other one I had bought and Miguel asking to use this one). 

 

The Bavarian Infantry advanced in march column, whilst the French Cavalry advance onto my open left flank.

 

                                 My British cavalry brigade evenly face their rivals

 

I charge with all my cavalry units, My opponent does not try to fall back but just accepts the combat, As often happens my first unit loses and is forced back, but my other units fare better and the French lose two units. 

 

Five Bavarian Infantry advance in typical Lasalle close order columns, My infantry units advance onto the ridge and pour volleys on to the dense mass before them.

 

 

My cavalry break the two remaining French cavalry units and now my plan is to fall onto the Bavarian Infantry Rear.

 

 

My Infantry retire behind the ridge and a British Infantry Reg charge the flank of the Bavarian attack force that have been weakened by the previous volley and rout it. The Bavarian-French Army has now reached breaking point and it has only reached turn 7.

 

 

This is where my new secret weapon the narrow hill comes into action. Because my troops have retreated behind the hill the Bavarians can not charge or fire at them even though they are in range because they could not initially see them. The Bavarians climb the heights and I pour another volley into them and then charge.

 

As always with my dice rolling,  not everything goes to plan and I lose two combats but break another enemy unit.

 

I countercharge once again and break another unit, now there are only two Bavarian units left surrounded by five British Infantry units and with my cavalry now bearing down on his rear. The Bavarian-French Army is defeated and have lost 8 units whilst my British Army hasn't lost any.

 

Even though this was an easy victory, I still had to play it right because if it ended to soon then I might not have broken enough units to gain enough points to win overall. Also I was aware that time has a way of going quick and if he kept on rolling over his turn number and we run out of time then the game could end in a draw. As it was I just beat Salva to the top prize with us both having two decisive victories each but I had the most points.

 

 

Me still in shock at winning receiving my prizes from Oscar and Jose Ma.

 

Salva receiving his prizes for coming second.

 

Juanete receiving his prize for coming 1st out of the French Commanders

                   Team Alicante at the end of the day with Jose Ma and one of the sponsors from Bandau Wargames.

Once again this was a very fruitful and enjoyable day which we will be hoping to repeat next year. I thought the rules for playing with two supports (objectives etc) were very good and it was a pity we couldn't play another game with the two supports in the afternoon. Maybe it would have been better to have kept it to the the normal 16+ turns instead 20+. A Big thanks goes out once again to the organisers and also the Sponsors for supporting the event.

There were a lot more demostration Napoleonic games going on during the day which you can see pictures of at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.274000196063710.64392.100003611960669&type=1

One of the guys playing from Seville (numero 13) anounced on the stage that they would be organising a Lasalle Tournament in the  next couple of months time. So a roadtrip to Sunny Seville look like its on the books.