1759 - Battle at Fourarmiesewitsch - Seven Years War

 Somehow it was Sunday again and all previous arrangements went out of the window, so that in that spirit we decided to go for a 28mm, Seven Years War (Seven Years rules) fictional battle including all collections and every little miniature we had. Bart would play his Saxons along side my Prussians while opposing him were me (as the Russians) and John as the Austrians. We had a 16x6 foot table and enough fourage to survive a big Sunday game in the sun.

The Austro-Russian side deployed first and then Bart could exploit that by following suite, so he had a bit better command structure (9 real commands plus the automatic staff officer) while me and John basically had two armies with 5 commands each. We outnumbered him, but he had the better troop quality.

And that was the problem in a nutshell, we just enjoyed ourselves too much rolling dices and pushing miniatures along the board that we just approached the enemy as and when units and small opportunities arrived. Bart was able to exploit that and fending off our piecemeal attacks each on its own.

His dice rolling was also better than mine, which on the whole is not really difficult, especially on that day. John was too eager to send his cavalry into the slaughter, frontal attacks especially on formed line were multiple times tested - yes, its possible, but even if the defender rolls bad and at the same time the attacker/horse rolls good, the result is a sorrowful limping back of the not so proud cavalry.

My Russians used their howitzer for the first time! But otherwise had no chance of using their nationality special rules (+1 support - but Bart did not attack my infantry  ... hmmpf)

We lost a lot of horses that day, my flank caved in and my centre was pulverised until it was no more and the Prussian main batteries were literally running out of ammo (we sometimes play with a certain amount of ammunition, to give it an extra difficulty). 

Bart won decidedly a difficult battle - congrats ... but we will do it again I presume, as everybody including the inept Austro-Russian commanders, had a lot of fun!

Russian losses: more than a full brigade inclusive a commander - 8 units
Austrian losses: 5 units

Saxo-Prussian losses: 5 units

Initial deployment on the right the Austo-Russians

The Saxo-Prussian Cavalry flank right before me

The Russian line, in the background the Austrians

The Austrian flank

and opposite the Prussian infantry

opening moves

The Russians advance!

Even got some villages!

While the line is neat and unbroken

The cavalry combat on my side begins

I'm already losing units

... and more units ...

The Seydlitz hussars are threatening my cuirassiers!!!

While the Austrians try single attacks

Bart pointing to our thining centre

By that time my flank collapsed

And I tried to cling onto farm houses ...

The Reusch Hussars eying up my disordered dragoons

Meanwhile the beautiful Saxons advance to the village

Russian grenadiers are hiding/defending the huts

same on the Austrian side ...

while the main part of the Austrians just not advance ...???

John the Austrian CinC musing ...

I hold the corner more or less ...

Now my cavalry is outnumbered!

The Prussian Cuirassiers advance ...

while my thin centre waivers ...

And the Austrians enjoy complicated marching patterns ...

a single grenadier charge ... hmmm

apart from picking my units up .. all quiet on my flank

the village holds

The Austrians try it another time

but without support ... ouch!

The last Austrian Hussar charge ...

... landed directly on the death toll table! (utmost right)

The Saxon-Prusian DT - table speaks for itself

Sooner than later my flank would have been outflanked!

So just someone needs to tell the Austrians that they lost ...

1758 - The Battle at Glücksbach - Seven Years War

It was time again for a Big Sunday Game at the club, when me and John decided to go for a 28mm, Seven Years War game, totally fictional of course, with my collection of (mostly Crusader, Foundry and a few Frontrank guns) using my ruleset of "SevenYears", as most of the other suspects abandoned the ship for other amusements.

As John wanted to play the Austrians and serve her Majesty Maria Theresia, I obliged to take up the roll of the Prussians. I toned the Prussians a bit down and gave them the same command structure as their opponents. Everybody got roughly the same amount of  troops, 2 horse brigades, three infantry and a fist full of guns. Huzzah, first fire for everybody, the Prussians had 1" more  movement due to their drill, the Austrians had large units and had the better guns, which John did not exploited, but for that later.

To quicken the pace we both started in deployed lines, horses at the flanks the rest in the middle, nothing too avantgarde - BUT John started with 3 horse units at one side, which inspired me to some Frederizian Schabernack. ;)

Now it must be mentioned that John was a novice to the rules, but he took it like a fish to the water. His Grenadiers were massed at my right flank and pressured me the whole time and even proceeded to ruin my flank, totally and fully, it broke down. BUT I had withdrawn my tow horse units there and transported them via lots of staff officers and "forced marches" to my left flank, and it gave me the idea to turn the lines 90 degrees and leave him my right flank.

It took awhile to get my horses there, and inbetween it looked dire for me. My artillery was so abysmal, even John noticed it and left his softened up centre "unrallied" for two turns as he could "count on my bad dice rolls". And my right was losing infantry units now by turn!! 

I wondered why, probably because he was a novice to the rules, he left his big (medium) 3 piece gun battery behind on a hill and due to distance could only lightly pepper my line.

Then finally my adhoc strategy had payed off, my complete cavalry arrived and I started the charges! One after the other of his cavalry units had to gave way and was beaten. Then I used my centre as a reserve and advance - only then he used his gun battery  more against me, but now there were too many targets.

At last he conceded defeat, I had 8 vs 6 units/casualty advantage, the front line had turned 90 degree, but my right flank had just about halted his grenadiers ... many times Fortuna gave them just the pip they needed.

Had John more aggressively used his guns or worse moved them just a bit nearer, or got his grenadiers earlier into the fight, I would have lost the battle, so I was lucky at Glücksbach (lucky little river).

It was a thriller of a battle and could have gone both ways many times. So maybe we will do it again some Sunday!

The initial set up

the Austrian left flank and the Savoyen dragoons

vs my Seidlitz hussars at the same spot

I move my guns off the hill

the Austrians keep suspiciously quiet

the lines drew closer

skirmish around Klein-Glücksbach

his grenadiers and dragoons advance ... OMG!

The Austrian oblique order

While he ankers his light right at the "Glücksbach".

my cavalry moves to my left I abandon my right flank

and kept a Prussian line just behind the road

Then the Austrian come nearer and the firefight begins

The Prussians blaze away before they can come nearer

in the hope that will stall them

Fine lines of white

and a silent gun battery

The firefight along all the battlefield

my shaken Jäger in Klein-Glücksbach won‘t just not accept defeat

The grenadiers come too near

the centre holds keeps quiet

My cavalry is ready ammassed

while my right flank is under heavy pressure

I withdraw shaken units, others retreat ...

one Prussian Infantry in the angle point of the Austrians ... blazes away

Now the centre of the Austrians advance too

But my cavalry has done the damage

the lines are turning to 90 degrees ... slowly

The grenadiers firing volley

after volley

but their centre gets shaken badly

The grenadier attack is halted

they fire away but don't advance

still my units crumble

one units grenadiers more or a charge ...

the shaken Savoy dragoons go!!!

The absolute rattled right of mine

The last Austrian dragoons to fight my cavalry hordes

Multiple times I send the Austrian Hussars off table

until they stop returning

The shattered Austrian right ... their gun battery unprotected

The casualty table with the final tally

The Prussian right still holds

The Austrian centre is now his right flank

some last turns ...

That just cemented my strategic position

at the end - the Austrians withdrew!