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.
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.
