Crouch ridge

Stanstead was a fine start to a season but the first big Napoleonic association event was here, in Essex, at Crouch ridge. 

It was a modest turnout and everyone had taken a covid test and it was outdoors. Sadly pingmageddon had hit some units, one after a training event took down most of the regiment. The French would outnumber the British for a change.

It started off wet but the wizard J'Ohn used fire magic to stop the rain by ten o'clock, it worked bar a couple of very brief showers.

He would also summon me a pint when the beer tent.. well, beer gazebo.. proved to only take cash! I know we dress like people from a previous age but....

    Top of the ridge looking down to the estuary of the river crouch, of all the places the French might have been driven into by bad weather... It was fortunately right on a vineyard! 

I would be joined in medical matters by the infirmiere, Tony, who is a great showman with a display of medical tools, bones, leeches and severed limbs strewn about. We came to a good pair up where he is the surgeon's assistant who learnt everything in the field and has stepped up as the surgeon is.. missing. Whilst I am the university taught Doctor who deals more with sickness, disease and everyday ailments (Although see below). 

I must confess I enjoyed sitting In the Imperial tent with Napoleon and a couple of staff and having a glass of wine, a lunch time tipple, but I will ALWAYS remember that I fought barefoot in my youth in the muddy fields of Valmy! 

Me, second rank, 37th man in from the right. 

The enemy approach from the camp, we must steel ourselves for the fight! It apparently looked great with the French appearing from nowhere on the ridge.

Both days battles went really well (bar some confusion after a unit decided it would die and disrupt the rough plan on day one). The downward slope meant the French could come down into a natural amphitheatre. Spliting into two main groups we could advance in a pincer movement down to the British and now we have the 2eme as a group of dedicated skirmishers they can contain the usual interference from the inevitable riflemen. 

  Said troops tried to get behind us on day two by going into the field but this was unfortunately off limits as a farmers field. Our officer is a great leader who did of course rise from being a trooper "Oi, get out of the f*cking field. It's not ours.... Chris, tell them to Fu*k off!"   

In the second battle I got to draw my sword to stand by the Eagle as the unit moved a little further away.   Shortly after that three of the 60th rifles tried to charge the flank and I found myself in hand to hand combat, cutting a greenjacket down. Then moments later trying to treat his wound, at least I already knew where it was. 

       The dead and wounded in the tall grass                     receive assorted treatments.

                             Rocket troupe! 

Only moments after getting back a very keen member of public started plying me with questions, until my voice started to dry out, but it was still enjoyable to see someone so intrigued by our display and also as an Essex man, he became open to the idea that the French/Napoleon did bring some good changes to Europe and the Brits were not the avenging angels at all. 

One casualty of the second day was my fall front trousers (so called because of a square flap at the front), literally as the 'assemblé' was sounded for the battle I had a wardrobe malfunction, the second of my buttons decided to give up and I had to improvise with a length of bandage being tied around my waist. War is very hard on the trousers. 

I have over a month to sort that out as the next event isn't until September at Fort Amherst, pings nonwithstanding.

Vive L'emporeur!