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Saturday, 21 February 2026

Plastics in Action

 Having spent a fair bit of time renovating the plastic battalions, I thought it would be good to test them out on the table.  The idea was that a French Corps would probe forward and attempt to force a river crossing to allow the main army to advance deeper into enemy territory.  In an attempt to prevent this  an Austrian Corps has deployed along the river, covering the various crossing points.

The Austrians are strung out along the river bank, occupying villages and woods, seen here as french cavalry probe forward:

The French plan was to feint on the Austrian left and push across the two fords on the Austrian right.  french cavalry and artillery move forward to occupy high ground that dominates the river valley:
A French division arrives to force the two crossings.  The troops are mostly Airfix French:
The game was being played with Command and Colors rules and like most battles, the French plan did not survive first contact with the enemy.  The French did not have a single card for their left, and so the action switched to the right, which was to be a feint. A spirited French attack against the Austrian left saw the defence crumble:
Austrian light infantry were evicted from a wood and an infantry battalion collapsed under pressure.  Suddenly the whole Austrian left was in disaray.

The French supported by cavalry quickly cross the river and the Austrian commander, feeling that he had done his duty in delaying the French decides to withdraw; his forces being too widely dispersed along the river.

The troops looked good and it was quite a spectacle seeing them set up on the table.



12 comments:

  1. How often do we read of a feint action turning into a real attack, sometimes 'faute de mieux' because the real attack has gone wrong, or the local commander exceeds his orders? Reminds me of the action at Lizaso (1813), in which the feint attack was turned into an all-out assault (that got repulsed), whilst the main attack successfully drove the defenders off their ridge.
    Cheers,
    Ion

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    1. Thanks Ion. It was certainly an interesting development, as the French artillery was mostly positioned on the left as were most of the troops, however, I did not bargain on the Austrian defence crumbling as it did.

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  2. Nice to see C&C with figures.

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    1. Thanks Norm. I keep coming back to C&C as it provides a fast paced game, usually with clear results.

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  3. That is a good looking collection you have now. So nostalgic to see all those plastic soldiers on display!

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    1. Thanks Matt. For all of their accuracy issues, I do like the Airfix figures.

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  4. I've only ever played CnC Napoleonics with figures. The 20s look lovely , I have a nostalgic soft spot for the old Airfix figures. I usually play CnC such that you can play any card to activate one unit in one section, although that hardly allows for a mass attack.

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    1. Thanks Martin. C&C can be very flexible. I sometimes play without the cards and roll for initiative/action points. The cards do allow some surprises though, as in this case.

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  5. That column of marching Airfix French looks brilliant. I use C&C combat for some of my games but not the card system, not being able to implement your plan because the cards all say do something different doesn't suit me.

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    1. Thanks Rob. I agree, C&C can be frustrating and for that reason we have developed in house rules to allow play without the cards. However, every once in a while it is fun to play the game as written as the effects of the cards can be quite exciting - as on this occasion.

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  6. Fabulous to see the old Airfix Napoleonics in action Bob

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    1. Thanks MJT. I might have to dig out the Airfix Hussars and Cuirassiers!

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