The Battle of Chimay, June 1815....Game Number 55 Part 1

The opening positions. The French are on the right whilst the Anglo-Dutch are on the left. The small Belgian village of Chimay is closer to the Allied start line than the French which should serve to help offset the small numerical advantage Napoleon’s men enjoy.

This is very much a cobbled together effort. In order to get a game in I had to use my 3ft by 2ft square grid with 3” squares (12 x 8) as my usual gaming table was occupied by various boxes and to be honest, it would have been a major hassle rearranging the man cave to accommodate a larger playing surface. I am planning on using the Brigade level rules from the Portable Napoleonic Wargame as written - mainly because I want to see how they work on a ‘clean’ basis before I start tinkering with them. I have some ideas of how I would be tweaking them - also a few other ideas I have seen on the net - so using them as written may well alleviate the need for any amendments or additions.

For the purposes of this action I have needed to adjust how the units are actually represented as my basing is different to that suggested in the rules. I am using the following:

Infantry - a single 50mm square base with four figures deployed 2 x 2
Cavalry - a single 50mm square base with two figures deployed side by side
Rifles - a single base 25mm x 50mm with two figures deployed side by side
Artillery - a single 50mm square base with a gun and two gunners
Command - a single 25mm by 50mm base with a mounted commander.

I will be removing individual figures to represent casualties but there are two caveats. The first hit a cavalry unit takes I will instead turn one of the figures around to face backwards. The second hit I will replace the movement tray with the single remaining figure. The Rifles will work in the same way.

The forces engaged represent small reinforced divisional sized formations. The French enjoy a superiority in artillery (2 guns to 1) and infantry (8 to 6) although the Allies also have 2 detachments of the famous 95th Rifles. Both sides have 3 units of cavalry - the French have 2 units of Cuirassiers and 1 of Dragoons whilst the Allies have 1 each of Hussars, Scot’s Greys and the Lifeguards.

The aim for each side was simple. They were to seize and hold the village against enemy action.

The Battle of Chimay, June 1815

The Anglo-Dutch initial deployment. The right flank has 3 units of British infantry and the two detachments of Rifles. On the left is a the artillery, 3 units of Belgian infantry and the cavalry

Anglo-Dutch

1 x Command - General Ignatius Montgomery Hyde-Bowned (1 x 6)

6 x Infantry (3 x 4 British, 3 x 3 Belgian)

2 x Rifles (2 x 3)

3 x Cavalry (3 x 3)

1 x Artillery (1 x 2)

Total Strength Points: 44, Exhaustion Level 14

The French. The artillery has taken up position on the hill with the Cuirassiers to their rear and in reserve. The two brigades, each of 3 Line and a Light infantry unit, are deployed either side of the small copse next to the farm in the foreground.

France

1 x Command - General Michel Enstarr (1 x 6)

8 x Infantry (8 x 4)

3 x Cavalry (3 x 3)

Artillery (2 x 2)

Total Strength Points: 51, Exhaustion Level 17

In the early light of dawn General Hyde-Bowned was tired but relieved with the progress his small command had made since it was hurriedly ordered to break camp and march out into the night. His objective was to secure the small but strategically important village of Chimay. The orders, direct from the Duke himself, had arrived shortly before midnight and so a frantic, disorganised stumble across largely unfamiliar territory had resulted. The Duke had emphasised the need for urgency and had neither the time nor the inclination for lengthy explanations - “Dammit Sir, let my order be obeyed!” He testily admonished Hyde-Bowned when he queried a point of detail. With that he hurriedly set to work to get his command moving.

After a long night of endless marching, grumbling, stumbling and cursing, Hyde-Bowned finally stared out at the small and sleepy village of Chimay, his immediate objective, that of arriving before the French, achieved.

Or was it?

General Michel Enstarr had originally been given very similar orders to his soon-to-be opponent but a combination of order, counter order and and counter counter order coupled with the threat of a court martial and possibly a firing squad, had left him cursing the inefficiency of senior commanders and staff officers. It had never been like that when Berthier was around but he was dead. 

His force finally got underway some four hours later than it should have but as the sun came up the small village of Chimay was thankfully on the horizon. Enstarr had no desire to fall foul of the Emperor.

The two sides arrived at more or less the same time but it was clear to both commanders that the Anglo-Dutch had the advantage. Enstarr immediately issued the requisite orders to commence the attack in the hope that he could secure the village before the cursed ‘Rosbiffs’ could settle in as he knew from his experiences in Spain that they would be very difficult to dislodge.

Hyde-Bowned saw the familiar blue columns in the distance and knew straightaway that he needed to act quickly or all was lost. With commendable speed he issued a flurry of commands to invest the village. 

Both sides moved into their respective starting positions as hurried final preparations were made, weapons checked and last minute instructions issued. The grumbles of a missed hot meal and a lack of sleep were subsumed instead into thoughts of the deadly business at hand.

To be continued....