Showing posts with label Battlefield Command. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Battlefield Command. Show all posts

Monday, July 10, 2023

Battle of Wachau Playtest, Part 5

Schwarzenberg's first Card is LEADFERSIP; he rolls options to choose MELEE or MOVE as alternatives for the entire army. Leadership won't help him much; he needs to inflict damage on the enemy. Similalrly, only a few units are in a position to use MELEE, and none of them have big advantages. Thus, MOVE it is! Regardless, because MOVE was a possible option, all Allied Routers must move first. It turns out there are TEN of them; one exits the table. 

Movement but the Cuirassiers cannot initiate melee!

Situation after the Austrian Reserve Corp's movement.

A single, plain move for Meerveldt as well. Nothing exciting to do. 

Kleist has a number of outed units, and only top infantry regiments otherwise. The Reserve unit that recently rallied moves back towards the fighting.

The Guard Infantry roll up a single move. The last remaining guardsmen enter the table. 

Overview of Allied Left Center after that. 

Guard Heavy cavalry Division ge3ts a single move; units adjust their positions. The Giard Light cavalry get a double magic move, and also move into better positions. 

Overview after both Cavalry moves.

Light cavalry Division gets a Double magic move. 

Desperate for some decisive results, both units charge. each takes losses from defensive fire; in the case of the mounted Jagers, it is enough to stop the charge (won even roll). The Uhlans press on. 

The defending (Young Guard) Infantry prevails. 

Eugeme gets a single magic move; One regiment moves back to finally give the Russian 12 lbers a fuield of fire, while a Russian column charges, and forces back the Legere with losses.  

Klenau gets a single move; only the battered Uhlans remain on the table and not in rout; they pull back some. 

The second Allied Card is ARTILLERY FIRE; Schwarzenberg rolls up many other options, but artillery is the one area the Allies still hold an advantage. 

A Austrian batteries converge fire on a fresh Old Guard regiment; it suffers 4 UI loss and disperses. A ragged cheer goes up from the ranks of the whitecoats!

A third Austrian battery fires without effect. 

The Prussian Horse batery of the cavalry reserve, newly in position, shoots at some French Cuirassiers; their first shot fails to have much impact, but the second routs the armored horsemen with heavy losses. Things are looking up!

Two Russian batteries converge fire on a Cuirassier regiment with limited effect. 

Newly unasked, a Russian 12 lber battery fires at the Young Guard battery ion the hill. Successive shots by the same unit are not additive, but the damage is still severe, and the battery is "Silenced". 

The next initiative is rolled for, and The French win

The first card is TACTICAL ADVANTAGE. It is saved.

The second card is LULL; the French thwart the Allied attempt to steal the initiative, but, with their 2 cards played, it passes to the Allies regardless. No free card for them, however!

The first Allied card is MELLE; the option is to use MOVE instead for the entire army. With only a very few units that could benefit from Melee, MOVE is chosen. 

Hohenlohe and the Reserve roll a plain double move, no immediate. 

Situation after the MOVE; the Cuirassiers have forded the Elster, and some infantry is starting to ford it as well. Uh-oh!

Meerveldt gets a single move, and makes minor adjustments with it. 

Kleist also gets a single move, and brings up a recently Rallied regiment in support of the gun line. 

The Footguards get a simple double move and also advance. 

The Guard heavy cavalry Division gets triple magic move!

They cannot resist the urge to charge! In the first round the Chebalier Guards are routed by some upstart French Dragoons, whilst the Russian Cuirassiers gain an edge on their French counterparts. 

In the second round the Frenchmen are foprced back with heavy losses. 

Tyhe Line Light cavalry Division gets a single magic move, using it to maneuver.

The Guard Light cavalry gets a double magic move, and all three units charge the enemy!

The Guard Hussars rout a column of Young Guard with heavy losses, becoming Disordered in the process. The charge of the Prussian Guard du Corps is repulsed with losses.  

The Russian Line Corps repositions its few remaining units

The Grenadier Division gets a Triple Magic Move. 

One regiment charges up the hill. over running the silenced Young Guard battery, and continuing on into a loaded French Line regiment. 

They are on the receiving end of a crushing volley delivered at point blank range, and the Grenadiers rout!

Klenau gets a single MOVe; while routers continue to stream for the rear everywhere, the sole unit remaining in good order, the battered Uhlans, pulls back. 

The second Allied card is... ARMY MORALE! Being long out of Morale points, the Allies must roll. Schwarzenberg fails the test big time, and the Allied army withdraws, defeated.

Total French Morale points lost at the end of the game = 36 out of 64; the Allies lost all 72 of theirs. The overall picture is perhaps worse than that - the number of routed and destroyed Allied unit was huge compared to the French The Corps of Kleist and Klenau were all but destroyed, and the Russian Corps of Eugen lost more than half its units. Would it have been enough to knock Austria out of the coalition; probably not. It might have lead the other approaching Allied Corps to revert to their previous strategy of avoiding conflict directly with the troops of the Emperor for a while longer.

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Planning for the last game of the Year

 

New Year's Eve morning we are slated to have a multiplayer Napoleonic game, based upon the Battle of Ocaña, November 19, 1809. Historically, the French, facing a much larger Spanish force, inflicted a decisive defeat, chiefly spurred by their cavalry. 


Overview from the Nortwest

One of several maps of the Battle of  Ocaña available on line, for orientation. 


Overview from the Northeast.


Overview from the Southwest.


Overview from the Southeast.


Another map of the Battle of Ocaña.


View from behind the Spanish right,


Spanish right center.




Spanish left center.


Spanish left, with the town of  Ocaña.


French Right; some Guard Grenadier's of the Duchy of Warsaw are standing in for King Joseph's Guards. 


French right center, with Senarmont's Grand battery. 


French center.


French left center.


French left; just look at all those horsemen!


I have in mind to play the game with Brent Oman's new (not FOB-4" rules, Battlefield Command. While not quite Field of Battle, it's lineage is still pretty evident which is a good thing, at least in my opinion. The most obvious difference is a much smaller sequence deck and with it small runs of initiative only, but with more potential flexibility in how it is used if the leaders roll well for their command activations. The French although significantly out numbered, have better quality troops, on average, and definitely better leaders.  I am looking forward to it!