Ian and I had another game of Lasalle 2 over the weekend to get acquainted with the rules. We were only up to the second scenario.

The French were attacking from the North on a strategic point in the battle line that were held by elements of the Austrian Reserve Corps.

The village of El Zurdo surrounded by a small forest

The French army of 250 points consisted of one Veteran Infantry Brigade, 2 Conscript Brigades, a Light Cavalry Brigade with an ADC and 3 foot and 1 horse artillery battery.

The French Army

The Austrians army of 200 points consisted of 2 small Grenadier Brigades, a Brigade of Cuirassiers, and 2 foot and 1 horse artillery battery.

I apologise but I am in the middle of re-basing my 28mm Napoleonic figures and some of the flocking is still not completed.

The Austrian Forces

The objectives were the Austrian HQ and the village

(the map is the disposition of forces at the battle of Wagram 1809)

Austrian Grenadiers Advance

The Austrian army are mostly old Minifigs and are my first ever complete army, complete with their original paint work (including gloss varnish). They date back to the late 70’s! Way back then dry brushing paint on the figures to represent campaign dirt was an innovation!

The Cuirassiers are a more recent addition (twenty years ago!).

French columns advancing.

The battlefield prior to deployment.

The Austrian win the first skirmish phase despite their skirmishers being outnumbered significantly.

Being totally outnumbered the Austrian Grenadiers and Cuirassiers advance on the French.

The Cuirassiers sweep over the French horse Artillery that failed to evade.

The second unit of Cuirassiers were not so efficient and were held of by the French Hussars.

Grenadiers advance with artillery support

French shooting was utterly ineffective allowing the Austrians to advance unhindered.

The French Battalion in line cracks leaving the guns exposed.

On the other side of the guns another French battalion is swept away after being forced into square by the Austrian cavalry.

The Grenadiers holding the village of El Zurdo are under extreme pressure but repulse the first French attack.

With all of the French troops now on the field and the second Austrian infantry brigade slow to arrive the Austrians were under extreme pressure across the field.

Charge to the front and flank the French Hussars are completely overwhelmed.

The French baggage (top left) is now in danger of being lost.

The French numbers were now starting to tell and the three Austrian grenadier battalions were being outflanked.

And still the Austrian second infantry brigade fails to arrive.

Being outflanked and outnumbered the Grenadiers charge in an attempt to relieve the pressure. The conscripts flee exposing the baggage even more.

The continued losses due to artillery and volley fire weakens a Grenadier battalion sufficiently for the French to take them out.

The Cuirassiers charge and rout the Second unit of Hussars!

With the French square rolling a one in combat it looked as if the Cuirassiers would break through. The Austrians charge and unleashed their feather dusters and rolled a one themselves. This would become crucial as they were the only French unit between them and the French baggage.

Failing to evade when charged by two French conscript battalions was disastrous for the Austrian brigade battery.

Weakened by the fire of four French units the Grenadier battalion holding El Zurdo succumbed to the combined charge of three French battalions.

With one objective each the French baggage was going to be the decider between a draw and a French loss.

The Cuirassiers charge the French square who again roll a one, and again the Cuirassiers bounce by rolling a one themselves.

Finally the Austrian Second Infantry brigade arrive after six turns!

In Lasalle you need to roll a six for reinforcements to arrive. Each turn you add another die to the roll. It wasn’t until to the end of the sixth turn (rolling six die) that the Brigade General finally found the battlefield.

With night falling and the village of El Zurdo firmly in French control and the Austrians with their reinforcements now on the table confident of holding the other objective this sector of the battlefield had ended in a stalemate.

You can see how crucial the efforts of the French square was in protecting their baggage.

El Zurdo firmly in French control.

The Austrian position is now stabilised with the arrival of three fresh Grenadier Battalions. The Zebra seems to like the forage in the French Baggage!

The failure of the second brigade to arrive until it was too late meant that defenders of El Zurdo were isolated and did well to hold on as long as they did. The delay also meant that the skirmishing ability of the Austrians was also reduced by half continually handing the initiative to the French.

This was a great game that was finely balanced. Initially the Austrian quality was significant but the early arrival of the French reinforcements meant their quantity started to even things out.

The French began with 20% more points, including four more infantry units and an additional artillery battery. This was counter balanced by the Austrian superior quality. The resilience of the Grenadiers meant they were able to withstand significant losses despite being outnumbered. The downside of this was that much of the Austrian momentum was used rallying shock of their units.

Looking forward to our next game.