It is another game using the Black Powder rules and the Clash of the Eagles supplement. The setting is Czechia in 1813, near the fictional village of Estrellitz. A Polish army division has encountered an Austrian force occupying two fairly large hills. The game's objective is to capture these hills and potentially seize the town before reinforcements, alerted by the battle, arrive. I have prepared a game scenario loosely based on one of Charles Grant's scenarios.
UMPIRING: Bartek Żynda
1. Forces.
2. The Game.
Before the game, Michael and I agreed to an 800-point game. In designing my army, I decided to focus on artillery and infantry, completely ignoring cavalry. So far, my cavalry had been a mere shadow of the Austrian cavalry. I used Charles's scenario as a basis for the game, making some slight modifications. Before starting, we rolled a die, and the winner could choose to be the attacker or defender. I won and chose to attack. The defender then had to place half of their army on the hills, while the other half would enter the table from the second turn through the town. Scoring was as follows: a player would earn 10 points for controlling a hill, along with the usual points for destroyed units. However, if the Poles managed to capture the town, they would win the game regardless of the scoring. I didn't really count on capturing the town, so I primarily focused on securing the hills.
I pushed forward with momentum. Movement in the attack columns is rapid, but it exposes us to deadly fire, particularly from large Austrian units. Their cartridges have an additional die at point-blank range for the first shot, which means they can roll up to 5 dice instead of the usual 3. Fortunately, I was supported by the Mixed Formation, and my Voltigeurs effectively covered my columns.
In my first attack, I targeted the hill occupied by the Hungarians (commanded by Alasdair). Their Jägers managed to retreat, but this left the rest of their units exposed. My infantry launched a decisive attack on them. After a rather bloody melee, I successfully eliminated their veteran unit first, followed by their cannon, and ultimately destroyed their last unit. As a result, the entire Hungarian brigade was defeated. I did, however, pay a price for this victory, losing one battalion and several shaken units in the process. Nevertheless, the hill was now mine. The Austrian cavalry attempted to mount an attack, but I was able to strategically arrange my units into squares, successfully averting the threat.
The hill occupied by the Germans turned out to be much more difficult to conquer, as they had one additional unit compared to the Hungarians. Michael was in command at this location. Initially, he positioned his Jägers on the flank to defend their positions. This left my attacking units vulnerable to flanking fire during the assault on the hill, which I could not allow. Therefore, I directed my first attack against them. The Austrian light infantry was not equipped for hand-to-hand combat and quickly fell to the Polish infantry. Following this, the melee on the hill began. My artillery provided support, and gradually, we pushed the Austrians off the hill bit by bit, but I was unable to dislodge them completely. Throughout the remainder of the engagement, the Austrians resisted my soldiers valiantly, and I could not push them off their positions entirely. Nevertheless, both sides suffered the consequences of the fierce fighting, with several units left in a shaken state.
After capturing the "Hungarian" hill, another challenge emerged as a fresh Prussian infantry brigade approached. My units, already battered from the previous fight, engaged the Prussians and successfully forced them to retreat. However, this manoeuvre created a gap that allowed Austrian dragoons to seize the hill, which meant I would not earn points for capturing it. The game had to be decided based on points for destroyed units.
The Polish forces suffered the loss of one infantry battalion, while four others were left in a shaken state. This resulted in the Austrians receiving 2 points for the destroyed unit and 1 point for each shaken unit, totalling 6 points. Meanwhile, the Poles also accumulated points. They scored 8 points for two destroyed large units, 4 points for two destroyed Jäger units, and 2 points for two destroyed cannons. Additionally, they destroyed an entire brigade, earning another 5 points. The Poles also caused two large Austrian units to become shaken, which awarded them 4 points, and one Prussian unit to become shaken, which added another point. In total, the Poles amassed an impressive 24 points, while the final score of the battle was 24:8!
3. Links.
MICHAEL:
SESWC (Campbell):
FLICKR:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720325485612
Great looking Black Powder gaming again, Bartek!
OdpowiedzUsuńThank you.
UsuńZgadzam się. Super rozgrywka!
OdpowiedzUsuńDziękuję.
Usuń