Seven Years - Wargame - test game

Me and Peter met for an 28mm Seven Years War test game at his place. I would bring my entire Russians and Austrians (nearly finished) - while my Prussians had to wait, because their are still in the shop(s)...

My Seven Year wargaming project is nearly taking so long as its title, but I had some changes in mind that would speed up the process of leaving blood on the table!

1st I changed the charge order to take 1 support unit with them.

2nd the looser of any combat would suffer the combat damages PLUS on additional reduction in status! If it would be enough that he had to withdraw 2 moves, all his supports would have to move 1 movement back as well.

Peter took the Austrians and me played the manyfold Russians. The set up was plain, some woods and a BUA in the middle.

Peter got the 1st turn and advanced pretty quickly into the hamlet, but somehow got bottle-necked with his Imperial sized units between the two woods. On the other hand, I had more command, but struggled to make my numerical advantage felt - cumbersome, too many units and too many units needed repair.

Then Peters and his fabulous modernised Austrian gunnery system, not to mention his lucky dice annihilated my Russian medium guns. On top of that he shot away one of my veteran grenadier units.

At least at the flanks my cavalry superiority should make all the difference - but to no avail! We had agreed to that the Hussars were normal cavalry (just 2" faster), but again he seems to send me away to my lines again and again! In the end he agreed on a draw, but I think the Russian were in no state to expect an Austrian full fledged attack of his centre, but then we ended the game.

At the end Peter suggested a bonus/malus for "no clear target" (-1) and to speed up the cohaesion decline even further, that the Staff officer can only rally one unit status up regardless - which means that "routing/fleeing" units can only be pushed back to shaken status, after spending 2 SO‘s!!! Next time!

Apologise my camera was set up on non-auto focus the whole time and only a few images were thus representable ... 

Initial set up

The Austrian right cavalry flank

The Austrians came fwd and then got stuck

My veterans/grenadiers to get shout to pieces soon

the big gap in my/Russians centre at some point

the big gap in my/Russians centre at some point without blur

my final Horse attack that rolled too low ...

Just about 105BC somwhere near Greece

Last week we played Romans versus the Macedonian /late Greek Mercenary armies, by the rules of "To the Strongest", 28mm at Peter‘s. Campbell and Bart proudly presented their Roman armoured proletarian raffle, while me and Peter presented our Seleucid Specialist Forces (by the courtesy of Peters magnificent miniature collection). 

We had large unwieldy phalanges and both flanking cavalry and an elephant, that should count for something! While Campbell and Bart had just tough Roman Republican troops and people on horses. And a ballista (scorpio) that would count for nothing!

I don‘t know what their plan was, but it sure didn't seem to work. They seem to wait for us to come to them, which we did, which was nearly fatal for us, and also their Romans shittiest cavalry held out for a very very unbelievable long time ... just to succumb at last. On Peters side the elephant made its way and the cavalry outflanked the Romans.

In "To the Strongest" out-flanking is somewhat the beginning of the end! My classical Greeks can vouch for that (which weren‘t allowed to come out that day, probably not to demoralise the SPQR civilians too much). 

So to cut their "pilae" and "iugulae" and the rest of the story short, we put an end to their sufferings by thrusting our "lancea" in their "sterna" of some more units and won by coins ("nummi"), which is what you get when you annihilate units of the opponent in those times. What a mercenary mindset - but hey thats what we came for, isn't it?

initial set up

our ranks

Barts Romans

Campbells nervous Romans

Us Greeks coming to the enemy

Romans climbing hills

Helenistic Greek Cavalry meeting Roman Horse dilletarii

Romans still climbing hills or forming up

Roman "Friends on Horses" are getting decimated

Romans still climbing hills

Romans forming up around hills - they really like them!!

Peters Cavalry at their flank 

My cavalry searching for Equestrian hobbyists of the Romans