Hold the line!!! (Another Seven Years War - test gaming!)

Giving in to an acute Severe-Emergency-Strategy-Wargaming-Complex (an infliction of the psyche), me and Bart simply HAD to play a game (over house party)! After some technical issues, Bart was choosing the Austrians, maybe because they were closer to home, than their Russian adversaries in this purely fictional scenario, where the Zar had actually joined forces with King Frederick. And the latter asked for a divisional auxilliary to help a nearby battle, while the Austrian General countered this with the allocation of an infantry division to stop them.

Fundus were my 28mm collection of Seven Years War Austrians and Russians (of Crusader Miniatures and Wargames Foundry provenance). The line up pretty simply stuffed and linear, we wanted to keep it simple as it was just a 6x4 table and the first time over house party.

Bart was just defending by firing and kept my artillery pretty much silenced the whole game. He did some careless attacks (due to lack of intimate knowledge of the rules and being on the other side of the ether his distance estimate was somehow compromised) which regrettably was acerbated as he didn't seem to roll more than 2 out of possible 4 staff officers - the Two staff general!

Me in return was able to exploit this misfortune as well my fortune and attacked on the whole line and threw his centre in disarray -  he later admitted that this was when he thought the battle was over.

BUT (yes, there always is!) - somehow the Russian fighting elan fizzeled out under constant Austrian fire and he was able to consolidate his lines, while I was more preoccupied with rallying (Hold the line order!) than charging (orders) and was paying later on the price for that.

My guns were off, one flank off unstable, the the centre followed suite into chaos (as cannon fodder) - then the inevitable last all out charge (on my left flank) went, pretty much no impression at all on the Austrians ... I conceded defeat. Well done Bart! It was a very enjoyable and thrilling game that was on the knifes edge and could have gone either way.

As a conscious Ekatharinian divisional commander (if there was such), surely, I had done my duty to the new zar and had to preserve the integrity of the Russian army and had to retreat! Superiority in Austrian fire power won the day! 

Initial set up

The Russian contingent

The Austrian response

The Russian advance

and the Austrian return fire

the pretty and larger units of the Kaiserin

the Austrian Nadasdy Hussars were send to retreat to the table edge!

Then the heavy cavalry clashed! Russian Leib guard vs Stampach Cuirassiers!

but the Russians were send away this time!

then the Austrians began to fire in earnest ...

my Russian Leibgarde cuirassiers too near the table edge

and all I got was one staff officer!

so I ordered the brave Russian grenadiers to attack!

my cuirassiers were off the table

but while in disorder the Austrian centre was under pressure

while lines were quickly summoned to fill the gap my centre charged!

and also the Gruzinsky Hussars had another go at the Hungarian counterpart

as one can see the Austrians centre was giving way pressure on all fronts

The Gruzinsky killed off the Nadasdys

now the Sempach cuirassiers recollected themselves ....

and charged again!

but just managed to disorder the Russian line

and got disordered in return after the line retreated

but somehow the Austrians kept up the firing momentum

and kept the Russians at bay

and the Austrians eliminated the Russian artillery

it was now tables turned

it was the Russian centre in a precarious  position

the hussars were called in ... but too late

a last ditch attempt from the Russians

the Russian grenadiers withering away before Austrian guns

Even then the Austrians charged!

the Russian centre melts away

the last Russian charge! on the left!

but was send away

This was when I conceded defeat - The Austrians were unbroken in melee and had the upper hand in fire power, while my lines were melting away...