'It's the Battle of the Alma Jim, but not as we know it!'

 

Editors Note:

A great start to 2025 saw us enjoying four games for the first meeting in January with a second meeting to take place in two weeks time as part of the club now running two meetings a month from January to April to satisfy the demand for games with the larger club membership we now enjoy.

Our first meeting for 2025 saw the club hosting four games for this the first meeting of two in January. 

So over to the first game AAR for 2025, here presented by David using his marvellous collection of 18mm Napoleonics.

I was lucky enough to visit the Crimea in October 2000. The country had only recently opened its doors to the West and Crimean War tourism was in its infancy. 

View North from the Great Battery

It was not unusual to be presented with a bag full of minié bullets or case shot for a few dollars. The camps were covered with little impressions where a zealous local had scoured the area with a metal detector. 

Ledge on the South Bank of the Alma

The depressions of the tent lines could clearly be seen in the camps and nails, broken metal clasps and bottles littered the ground. Alas, modern development has obliterated the camp sites, commercialism has taken hold and the present situation precludes any chance of visiting. As I said, I was lucky.

Looking South towards the Great Redoubt White Monument

The Alma battlefield was largely untouched. The greater and lesser redoubt were still clearly visible and apart from the Alma being now a stream, no longer with orchards and vineyards on its northern banks, and the villages having grown in size, one could easily trace the course of the battle. What had the greatest effect on me was the small ledge on the southern banks of the Alma behind which the Allied advance faltered. It took considerable courage by the officers who climbed up the ledge and stood on the top, urging their men forward. When I climbed the ledge, I appreciated the reluctance of the infantryman to advance. About 300yards distance, across a glacis devoid of cover, was the Great Battery. It is hard to describe the feeling of total vulnerability felt.

So all this rambling led me to running a game centred around this area of the battlefield. There were a number of interesting things I wanted to try to replicate in the game. I wanted to tie the hands of the British cavalry commander. Raglan was very protective of his cavalry and wanted them kept in ‘a band box’. I also wanted to replicate Raglan’s foray into the Russian position and personally directing the fire of a battery he ordered to the spot, firing into the Russian flank and rear. 

Then there was the inequality of firearms, the British with the ability to fire at a greater range than their advisories. Added to this the inequality of command and control, I thought this would make for an interesting game.

I don’t have a Crimean War collection, but I thought I could get away with using my 1812 Russian and French Army. With any luck, I’d be under the Chairman’s radar and his historical feathers wouldn’t get too ruffled.

Using Nigel Marsh’s (creator of Carnage and Glory) formula of 10 units per hour’s play, I concocted the order of battle loosely based on the order of battle in Ian Fletcher and Natalia Ishcenko’s excellent book The Battle of the Alma. An opportunity also arose for the old Guard to get stuck in for once.

Deployment forced most of the Russians to deploy before the British, no, no, I meant French.

The French then had to endure several turns of bombardment before they could commence movement. 

A general advance was ordered and I issued two orders to the French side.

To the Commander in Chief:

You and a small retinue have crossed the river to the west of the village of Bourliouk and find yourself on a small hillock overlooking the left rear of the Enemy position. You decide this is a most excellent position for a battery and you order one to deploy on this spot. You will direct its fire.

The French commander was somewhat bemused but obediently trotted off the battlefield leaving his Brigade commanders to fend for themselves. To be honest, I don’t think they noticed. They all passed their command and control with ease- except the Guard Brigade.

To the Cavalry Brigade Officer:

You are ordered to preserve the Cavalry as in a Band Box and to undertake Defensive action only

The Cavalry commander was understandably less than happy with his order, but pressed home an attack with his Guards Brigade, who had no success, losing their Brigade commander in the process. It was going to be one of those days. The Russian line held. The centres were fairly equally matched and a series of inconclusive firefights ran through game. 

The imposing Russian Cavalry Brigade got its nose well blooded when it charged the French light infantry. For the rest of the day they were largely ignored by the Russian commander who was busily engaged elsewhere. They did do a useful job of tying down the French Light Infantry Brigade - whose orders had been to tie down the Russian Cavalry. The French commanders now positioned himself on a hillock in the Russian left rear and was happily lobbing shot and shell into unsuspecting Russian units.

The situation was met with a shrug of acceptance and the Russian command missed the opportunity to send his Cossack retinue to investigate the annoyance. He was understandably preoccupied with the flames erupting from Bourliouk village and the forced withdrawal of his left flank from a panicking Brigade order.

The Guards Brigade were also discomforted by the flames which were now starting to consume the orchard. Spurred on by the flames in their rear, they closed to close range and another musketry duel ensued. The smoke drifting across the battlefield obscured the sight of the Great Redoubt. 

I was going to manufacture a reduced casualty rate because of the obscured vision of the gunners but there was no need as the Russian Battery commander consistently rolled low causing minimal casualties. 

The French centre launched an attack and succeeded in pushing back the Russian centre. The French left was enjoying less success and was receiving flanking fire from the Great Redoubt and the Russian Horse Artillery, which forced two of the French Battalions to the rear in disorder.

Both sides were teetering on the brink of Army morale failure, but it was the Russians who blinked first, the French passing their morale by a whisker.

And the French Light Cavalry? The frustration shown was evident and justified. 

Lord Lucan or should that be 'Look On' 
played by Harry Andrews in the 1968 film
'Charge of the Light Brigade'

Maybe we should look more kindly on Lord 'Look On' who similarly had his hands tied. Understanding the handling of the cavalry at the Alma goes some way to understanding the debacle of a month later, on October 25th.

Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava on 25th October 1854 in the Crimean War - William Simpson

I wonder if I could recreate that scenario - without the players throwing the toys out of the pram?

My thanks to Lawrence, Ian, Nathan, Sam, Mike and Paul, who made my life so easy by never asking ‘Why?’ and played the game with such good humour and tolerance.

Figs AB

Buildings TimeCast

Mat. Tiny Wargames