We Turned Sharp Practice into a Big Battle

The latest video on the channel takes a look behind the scenes of our award-winning participation game based on the Battle of the Berezina, one of the defining actions of Napoleon's disastrous 1812 Retreat from Moscow. Rather than simply showing the finished table, the video explores the thinking behind the project and how we adapted Sharp Practice 2 to recreate a much larger battle than the rules were originally designed for.

The Battle of the Berezina has always appealed as a wargaming subject because it combines dramatic history with challenging tabletop decisions. As the remnants of the Grande Armée struggled to escape across temporary bridges over the freezing Berezina River, the French rearguard fought desperately to delay the advancing Russians while thousands of soldiers and civilians tried to reach safety. It is a battle defined by sacrifice, desperate heroism and impossible choices, making it ideal for narrative gaming.

Bringing that history to life required much more than simply painting figures. The project combined miniatures from several manufacturers, custom-built river sections and bridges, carefully researched terrain, and months of planning to produce a table that reflected both the history and the atmosphere of the campaign. Participation games demand a balance between visual impact and enjoyable gameplay, so every decision had to serve both purposes.

Perhaps the greatest challenge came from the rules. We chose to modify Sharp Practice 2 to cope with battalion-sized formations. Senior commanders activated groups of units instead of individuals, the Force Morale system was extended to create a slower-burning but more dramatic collapse, and several historical special rules captured the unique personalities and circumstances of the campaign. Marshal Ney inspired nearby troops, Jean-Baptiste Eblé accelerated bridge repairs, Cossacks terrorised broken formations, and streams of exhausted French stragglers became moving obstacles that influenced both movement and morale.

The result was a game that remained recognisably Sharp Practice while successfully handling a much larger battle. Although turns naturally took longer, the battle developed exactly the sort of momentum hoped for, beginning with mounting tension before accelerating into a dramatic conclusion.

The project also demonstrated one of the great strengths of participation games. They are not simply opportunities to display painted miniatures but a way of sharing history, discussing rule ideas, meeting fellow hobbyists and encouraging conversations throughout the day. Receiving the show's Best in Show award was a wonderful surprise, but perhaps even more rewarding were the many discussions with visitors who stopped to ask questions, roll dice and share their own enthusiasm for historical wargaming.

The Battle of Caldiero

Yesterday five of the Rejects got together for a game in the shed-o-war. Despite the heat, we managed a seven hour game using Richards own early Napoleonic rules and his miniature collection. The Battle of Caldiero, fought on 12 November 1796, took place during Napoleon's campaign in Northern Italy. Having defeated the Piedmontese and forced the Austrians back, the French Army of Italy had trapped an Austrian force in Mantua and repelled an earlier attempt to relieve the city. By early November, however, Napoleon faced a renewed Austrian offensive as two enemy columns advanced from the north with the intention of joining near Verona before marching on Mantua.

Judging the Austrian force approaching from the east under Alvinczy to be the greater threat, Napoleon ordered Vaubois to delay the northern column while he concentrated his main force around Verona. Alvinczy's advance guard occupied positions between Caldiero and Colognola, with the remainder of the Austrian army some distance behind at Villanuova. Napoleon planned to defeat the isolated advance guard before reinforcements could arrive, using Augereau to pin the enemy at Caldiero while Massena attacked their right flank through Colognola.

In this scenario, the French achieve victory by forcing at least half of the Austrian advance guard to retreat, rout or be destroyed, or by inflicting greater casualties than they suffer. The Austrians must retain control of both Caldiero and Colognola until the end of the battle. Harsh winter weather, including snow, sleet and mud, can severely affect movement, artillery, cavalry charges and musketry, while terrain features such as vineyards, woods and fortified villages further influence the course of the fighting.

The Action

The French apporach the two heavily defended tolwns and the ridge line held by the Austrians

The village of Stra, forward of the main Austrian line, was heavily defended,

Slightly back from Stra was the town of Caldiero. This would be a tougher nut to crack as most of the building here were stone built. 

The ridge between Caldiero and Colognda

Colognda was another town held by the Austrians and was fought over fiercely during the battle

Inspecting the troops. They may look rather ragged, but all of the French regiments were veterans.

Cannon fire marked the begining of the battle

French reinforcements in the form of Dragoons moved around the rear of the army to protect our right flank. 

Outnumbered two to one these Austrians probably don't stand a chance

The French advance begins, and casualties begin to mount immediately.

In the Centre, Stuarts troops advance towards the ridge. Point blank musketry and canister would thin their ranks by the end of the day.

Although the French had half the artillery of the Austrians, their gunnery was better giving them an extra dice every time they fired....pity we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn all day! 

My Dragoons canter round the rear of my infantry, full of confidence. 

The first assult of the day. My Grenadiers attack the village of Stra

Snapshot of the positions early in the fight. Look at all those neat blue lines...it won't stay this way for long!

I take Stra fairly easily, and the Austrians have to pull back their gun to save it from capture. With my left flank secured I can advance past Stra an on to Caldiero. 

My Boys in Stra. The Grenadiers were relentlessly targeted after this and eventually had to fall back and rally. But they never got to see any more action. 

Staurts regiments have pased through the Vinyards and are ready to assult the ridge. With the austrians on favourable ground, and flanked by artillery, any assult will be costly. 

Beyond the village my infantry begin massing for the attack on Caldiero

The Austrian Hussars charge and my heavier Dragoons successfuly counter charge. I have a slight advatage but the result is in the hands of the dice gods... 

...and the dice gods laughed in my face. 

In the distance Stuarts assult on the ridge has begun. My troops are now positioned to assult Caldiero

Stuart launches his assult on Colognda and was repulsed. 

The assult on the ridge was more succesful, but at a great cost. We would later come to regreat getting carried away here. 

Forced out of Stra I was alble to immediately retake it, but again, casulaties are mounting. 

This little village saw a lot of bloodshed.

In the final turn I launch my assult on Caldiero.

I manage to take the town. One objective down, and one more to go. 

Staurt captures Colognda. Thats the second objective taken, but the question remains, have we done enough to win the battle? 

The Outcome

Napoleon's attack achieved only partial success. The French managed to seize Caldiero after heavy fighting, but Masséna's attempt to turn the Austrian right at Colognola failed, denying Napoleon the decisive breakthrough his plan required. With atrocious weather disrupting operations and Austrian reinforcements arriving throughout the day, the French were unable to exploit their initial gains. As the balance of the battle shifted, Napoleon ordered a withdrawal, allowing the Austrians to reoccupy Caldiero while retaining Colognola throughout the action. Although the Austrians won the battle, the victory proved short-lived, as Napoleon regrouped and defeated Alvinczy at Arcole just days later, restoring the French strategic advantage.

In our game Stuart and I managed to equal Napoleons result, capturing Caldiero and Colognola, but just like the Corsican Ogre, at great cost. Meanwhile despite Austrian reinforcements not arriving before the end of the game, they were not far away, so the French could not hope to hold their position. We had taken severe casualties in our centre and like Napoleon would have had to relinquish the field. The game was called as a narrow victory for the Austrians. 

Best in Show at Broadside 2026

The Posties Rejects were back at the Broadside Wargames Show today, hosted by the Milton Hundreds Wargaming Club. Broadside has become a regular fixture in our calendar and we make a point of putting on a participation game every year. We all take turns bringing games to the show, and this year it was Ray and I who had the pleasure of collaborating on a project that has occupied a great deal of our hobby time over the last couple of years.

Today we finally got our 28mm Retreat from Moscow collection onto the table in all its wintery glory. Even better, at the end of the day we were absolutely delighted to be awarded Best in Show. Needless to say, we're both over the moon.

The Battle of Berezina, November 1812

Our game recreated part of the Battle of Berezina, fought between 26 and 29 November 1812 during the catastrophic retreat of Napoleon's Grande Armée from Russia.

To understand why Berezina became such a desperate struggle, we need to go back to June 1812 when Napoleon launched his invasion of Russia. Around 600,000 men crossed the frontier in what remains one of the largest military operations in history. The intention was to force Russia back into compliance with the Continental System and strengthen French dominance across Europe.

The Russians, however, refused to fight the decisive battle Napoleon wanted. Instead, they retreated deeper into their vast territory, destroying food, supplies and shelter as they went. The strategy forced the French to advance ever further from their supply lines while finding less and less to live on.

The two armies finally met at Borodino on 7 September. The battle was a French tactical victory, but it came at an enormous cost, with roughly 70,000 casualties suffered between the two sides in a single day. More importantly, the Russian army survived intact and withdrew in good order.

A week later Napoleon entered Moscow expecting Tsar Alexander I to seek terms. Instead, much of the city was destroyed by fire and the Tsar refused to negotiate. After waiting more than a month in the ruins, Napoleon finally ordered a retreat. What followed was one of history's great military disasters.

Forced back along the same devastated route his army had already stripped bare, Napoleon's troops faced starvation, disease, exhaustion, relentless Cossack attacks and an unusually early Russian winter. By mid-November the remnants of the Grande Armée had reached Smolensk only to discover that its supplies were already exhausted. Worse still, several Russian armies were converging to cut off their escape.

The Crossing of the Berezina

By late November Napoleon's army found itself trapped against the Berezina River. The main bridge at Borisov had been seized by Russian forces under Admiral Pavel Chichagov, while other Russian armies closed in from different directions. The situation looked hopeless.

Napoleon responded with one of the most impressive deception operations of his career, convincing the Russians that he intended to cross further south. Meanwhile, French engineers identified a crossing point near the village of Studienka.

Under the leadership of General Jean-Baptiste Eblé, several hundred Dutch pontonniers entered the freezing, ice-filled water and constructed two temporary bridges. Working chest-deep in near-impossible conditions, they made the crossing possible at the cost of their own lives. Most would die from exposure and hypothermia in the days that followed. As French troops crossed the river, Russian forces attacked from both sides.

On the western bank, Marshals Oudinot and Ney fought desperately to keep the escape route open. On the eastern bank, Marshal Victor's IX Corps formed a rearguard and held off the advancing Russians while tens of thousands of stragglers, wounded soldiers and civilians struggled towards the bridges. It was this desperate eastern-bank action that we chose to recreate at Broadside.

The fighting was brutal. Artillery pounded the French positions while Victor's outnumbered troops fought to buy time for those attempting to escape. By the morning of 29 November, Napoleon ordered the bridges destroyed to prevent pursuit. Thousands who had failed to cross were abandoned to their fate.

Although Napoleon escaped, the cost was horrific. Between 20,000 and 25,000 French combat troops were lost, along with perhaps another 20,000 stragglers who were killed, captured or drowned. Russian losses were also severe, but they had failed to achieve their ultimate objective of trapping Napoleon himself.

The crossing saved the Emperor and his surviving officer corps, but the Grande Armée was effectively destroyed. Of the approximately 600,000 men who had marched into Russia in June, fewer than 40,000 effective soldiers emerged from the campaign six months later. It remains one of the greatest military catastrophes in history.

The Game

For the game itself we used our collection of 28mm Napoleonic miniatures to recreate the desperate struggle on the eastern bank of the Berezina.

The figures are primarily from Perry Miniatures and Front Rank Miniatures, supplemented by miniatures from Wargames Foundry, North Star, Essex and Murawski Miniatures. The ruined buildings are from Charlie Foxtrot Models, now part of the Blotz range.

One of the centrepieces of the table was the Berezina itself. Special thanks must go to Last Valley, who produced the river sections and bridge to our specifications and helped bring the battlefield to life.

Rules-wise, we used a large-battle adaptation of Sharp Practice. Rather than activating individual Groups, we activated entire Brigades, allowing the game to flow more smoothly while still retaining the character and decision-making that makes Sharp Practice such an enjoyable set of rules.

The result was exactly what we had hoped for: a visually impressive table, a game that played well throughout the day, and plenty of opportunities to talk to visitors about both the history and the hobby.

A Wonderful End to the Day

Putting on a display game always involves a considerable investment of time and effort. There are miniatures to paint, terrain to build, research to undertake, rules to adapt and countless practical details to organise before a single dice is rolled. That's part of the fun, of course, but it makes recognition from fellow gamers especially rewarding. So to be awarded Best in Show was a fantastic surprise and a wonderful way to end the day.

Many thanks to the Milton Hundreds Wargaming Club for hosting another excellent Broadside show, to everyone who stopped by the table to chat, ask questions or roll a few dice, and to all the traders, clubs and participants who helped make the event such an enjoyable day. As for the Rejects, we're already discussing what we might bring next year. Though for the moment, we're still enjoying the glow of a hard-earned win.