Yesterday evening my neighbour and friend Robert and his son Luis were here to know more about our hobby of wargaming and wanted to play a short battle. They aren´t wargamers, but Robert is Master Sergeant in the German Bundeswehr. So it was easy to explain him our gaming rules. During the battle he presented himself very serious in manoeuvring and absolutely cruel with the ennemy...
We deployed our armies in the short sides of the terrain not to use the whole latitude of the field and placed several hedgerows imitating the East-european landscape how it is be found in Moravia, Silesia, Pommerania.
I leaded the Russians wit 4 regiments of infantry and 4 regiments of cavalry- Robert the French with 6 regiments of infantry and 3 regiments of cavalry.
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| Russians in the foreground, French in the background |
My first attack was formed by two spearheads of cavalry to break the week parts of the ennemy´s deployment (heavy cavalry used the street, the lightblue hussars the field). The artillery prepared the movement by some hot volleys of 6 pdr-guns.
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| Russian cavalry attacking in spearhead formation: Archangelsk dragoons and Jelisawetski Ulans (bottom), yellow Charkowski hussars and lightblue Slobodski hussars. |
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| Russian cavalry attack (view from above) - the French dithered, unsure what will happen. The regiment Commissaire Général did a bow (bottom left). |
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| Then the French reaction: the Mousquetaires du Roi launched a counterattack, supported by artillery fire. |
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| I a second step, the French closed their ranks and prepared themselfs to buffer the attack - with some success. |
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| The Swiss regiment "Lochmann" suffered under some hits, but did not wave.. |
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| Same scene, total view: the French benefit from their superior number of infantry - and the reserves. |
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| just a funny impression - because of the lack of good light in the basement, a little bit blurred.. |
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| Russian artillery firing from the background. Left side: the secret howitzer "Shuwalow" from Manske |
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| Robert was very nervous, as the Russian Ulans broke his defending lines and circumvent the French on the left side. The French regiment Orléans could not stop them. In the next two moves, the Ulans circuit the ennemys´ lines and attack the French artillery from behind. Great shock for the French, because their general is in danger! |
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| French counterattack on the left side. Funny is the mix of Sash and Saber figures (Auvergne, center) with some Nürnberger Meisterzinn (Royal, bottom left), Prince August (Piemont, center left) and Manske (Permski, top). |
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| The battlefield was tattooed by fire and destructions.. on the right the Russian Manske-Grenadiers forwarded. They prepared already the hand grenades... |
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| Great victory for the Russians: the Ulans captured 2 24-pdr. mortars (center) and bombed the French lines from behind. Quel terreur!! |
But, after nearly 2,5 hours of wargaming, the Russians gave up. The tactic with a fast cavalry attack between the French ranks was impressing, but not enough effective: Russian cavalry lost 80% of its troups by passing the 3 ranks of the French army.
The captured mortar did some hits, but not more. The French general, target of a the Ulan´s capturing command, escaped to the left side.
The French reorganized their infantry and moved on left flank forward against the weeker Russian lines. So, if we had continued the game, 1 hour later the Russians had to move back and defend the rest of the army - 4 French regiments against 1,5 Russian regiment.
As gentlemen in wargaming, the Russian general send his greets to Monsieur le French Général and withdrawed.
A nice game and a good test of the new gameboard.
