What's Volley and Bayonet?

What the heck is volley and Bayonet? V&B is a wargame for the 'blackpowder' period, so think horses and muskets. The best known conflict of the period is the Napoleonic Wars, roughly 1800-1815, starring Napoleon Bonaparte and his attempted conquest of Europe, but V&B can be used for most battles between 1700 and 1890.

The purpose of Volley and Bayonet is to reproduce large scale battles - the smallest force that you're likely to command is a corps, and an individual stand represents a brigade, around 1500 men. This means you can play all the big battles of the period - Waterloo, Gettysburg, Austerlitz, in a reasonable time frame with a manageable amount if miniatures.

Typically a game takes between 1 - 3 hours to play. You can use figures from any scale, although we're using 1/72 scale figures.

Compared to other popular wargames, V&B is much cheaper. For around NZ$50 you can easily get enough figures to put together a useable army. Even a large army would only set you back around $100 - $200 and most figures are available in plastic sets.

The rules are produced by Test of Battle games, and the rulebook can be purchased online at their website. The rulebook contains all the required army lists and material to play the game, there are no extra expansions or army books that you need to buy.

A range of companies make suitable figures for the period. The best resource for finding figures is to visit plasticsoldierreview.com and look up their Napoleonics section. I buy pretty much everything from Ebay or Trademe. There are also plenty of metal manufacturers making different figures.

If you're keen on having a go then get in touch. We play at Auckland City Guard club on Sundays. Our Facebook page is probably the best place to start, or you can contact me directly through the blog.

Battle Report 12/04/2015

Phil and I lined up the troops for a battle this Sunday. Scenario was a meeting engagement in the Peninsula, c1812. Phil took the French and I commanded the British. In the photos below, British are on the green bases and the French have the straw coloured bases. We use 1/72 scale (20mm) figures.

I forgot to grab a photo of the deployment  but suffice to say we deployed in two lines (pretty unimaginitive, I know).

First photo, and we're off to the races. I advanced the British line cautiously, with the cavalry division making a run down the left flank to see if I could catch Phil in a pincer. Meanwhile, Phil decided to make a snap charge against the British line, smashing his dragoon division into the infantry on my far right flank.

First turn: British advanced slowly with the cavalry making a break up the left flank behind the forest. Meanwhile the French make a cavalry charge against the advancing British line. No time to form square!

My recollection of this point is that Phil rolled some exceptionally jammy dice and managed to rout one of my infantry stands, and beat back the Coldstream Guards brigade. Failing a morale roll on my part didn't help, but sometimes I guess you get lucky...

Turn 1: French Dragoons charge into the British line, the infantry brigade on the right gets shaky knees and flunk their morale roll...

The upshot of which was that the British army now had a gaping hole in their line with the French Young Guards division about to plow through...

Turn 1: French Dragoons charge the British infantry.

The French infantry moved out of the way of the advancing cavalry, taking cover behind the trees.

Turn 1: French infantry advancing and taking cover behind the woods to avoid a flank charge by the British cavalry division.

Turn 1: The Coldstream Guards are forced back by the dragoons, and the other stand is routed and retreats beyond the town.

 The big gap in the British line is clear in this photo:

End of turn 1: The French dragoons have routed on British stand and pushed back the other. Bad news for the British.

 Second turn for the British, and I opted to go to ground. I had the infantry form up with a protected flank and everyone went stationary. In a stroke of luck, I managed to shoot down one of the French dragoon stands with musket fire. Fortunately the Coldstream Guards were able to spend the turn recovering from disorder in preparation for a counter-charge.

British Turn 2: Forming square, the British infantry opt to go stationary in preparation for a devastating combined charge of the French Guards and dragoons. Brown trousers on, boys?

As the British cavalry continued to advance around the rear of the French lines, Phil brought up most of his Line infantry division in defence.

Turn 2: The British cavalry advance towards the French-held town. Meanwhile, the French bring up their infantry to protect the rear of their lines.

Despite my best efforts to put up a defence, the combined charge of the French dragoons and the Young Guards was too much and knocked yet another hole in my line. One of Phil's line infantry brigades also broke through on the other side of my guns, leaving the artillery looking pretty isolated and no longer protected by the infantry.

French Turn 2: Vive l'Emperor! The French troops break through the British lines in two places with a combined cavalry and infantry assault. 

 Looking pretty shaky for the British at this point, the French were breaking through in a serious way. Hopefully the cavalry could get around the back in time to help out before the infantry were overrun. On the plus side, one of the French dragoon stands got itself killed in the charge, exhausting the division. Now all the British had to worry about was the Young Guards pouring through their broken lines!

End of turn 2: The French Guards have broken through the British lines. However, the British cavalry is threatening the French rear, forcing the French infantry division to break off and form up in defence. Will the French have enough manpower to exploit their breakthrough?

Turn 3 and the big British counter-attack!The Black Watch and the Coldstream lead the charges against the advancing French infantry. They were supported by some disordered British infantry who had already seen combat once, but fortunately the morale dice come up the right way and the charges went home.

British turn 3: The British counter-attack. The Coldstream Guards, supported by the infantry brigade on their left, charge the guards. The guns are brought around to bear on the Guards who are completely devastated in the ensuing melee. Meanwhile, the 42nd Highlanders and the 2nd division charge into the flank of the other advancing French infantry.

Turn 3: The British counter-attack. Highlanders in the foreground. 

Ignoring the French division attempting to lure them into a combat, the British cavalry division pushed on into the rear of the French position, ready to run down any stragglers falling back from the infantry assault.

Turn 3: The British cavalry advance past the French infantry and take up a position threatening the rear of the French advance. 

Turn 3: The British cavalry sneak around the back of the French lines.

 This was the point where I think I got Phil back for rolling some good dice on his first turn. The valiant British infantry managed to completely destroy both infantry units. Suddenly that French advance didn't look so scary!

French turn 3: With the Grenadiers of the guard eliminated and the dragoons exhausted, things are starting to look bad for the French assault. Phil declares all his artillery are going stationary in anticipation of a cavalry charge.

In response, Phil opted to go stationary with his artillery and his remaining Guards, and brought up his line division to block the cavalry.

French turn 3: All units go stationary! Even the Guards are forming square. The French commander in the middle of the picture looks like he's completely surrounded.

Turn 5. Spotting an opportunity to finish off the Guard, I charged in the Black Watch and the Scots Greys. The artillery were brought up to provide supporting fire. In the combined firefight, the Guards were reduced to just their skirmisher stand, exhausting the division. The remaining British cavalry charged the French line artillery, inflicting enough damage to exhaust that division too.

With the entire French army exhausted, a shaky start for the British had been turned into a crushing victory! God save the King!

British turn 5: The Highlanders and the Scots Greys charge the Guard Chasseurs  in front and behind with the artillery firing across the flank, completely eliminating the brigade.