We played the Montebello scenario one more time last night, in large part because I'd been working on the rules and didn't get around to changing the scenario. This is to test our Bonaparte Waltz rules, normally played with a unit = a brigade. Here we took it down to single battalions.
I started out as umpire while Rick took the Austrians and Tom the French. Once again I didn't take pictures until the game was over, so they are all at the bottom of this AAR.
Rick was aggressive early on, pushing O'Reilly's advance guard into action with Lannes' small force. Then the rest of Lannes' corps arrived and O'Reilly started backing up while the main Austrian column marched forward. Rick used reserve moves to build a force for O'Reilly to fall back on. One Austrian battalion was cut off and scattered, while O'Reilly's cavalry were also dispersed. Most of O'Reilly's advance guard got back across the creek. A pattern was becoming evident. Tom would roll well for initiative but his combat dice were pathetic. Rick couldn't get the initiative (Lannes had a +1 compared to Ott) but his combat dice were smoking. Our combat system is based on rolling various numbers of combat dice, with any 5's and 6's re-rolled for effect. Rick often ended up re-rolling half or more of his combat dice, while Tom was squeaking out a few. Aside from that, both were playing pretty well.
The Austrians got back across the stream in pretty good order. A disordered battalion of conscripts saw off an anemic attack by two fresh French battalions. An exhausted battalion was charged by the lone French cavalry unit. A supporting unit fired and the cavalry went about. One or the other of these events broke Tom's spirit and he threw in the towel, having played 7 turns in a little over an hour. We broke for dinner.
Once the chili had been dispatched, we returned to the table. I picked up the fight where Tom left it. My combat dice were better than Tom's, which wasn't hard. My initiative rolls were strong for a number of turns. Rick's combat dice continued being strong to average. I charged across the stream and was driven back. Then Rick attacked and advanced across the stream the other way. I put in almost every fresh unit left and drove the exhausted Austrians back across the stream, into the southern part of the village of Casteggio. During Rick's next turn he ordered his line and rallied a number of disordered units, but he left the exhausted units in the town. My initiative dice collapsed but I played a card to seize it back. The next turn I rolled poorly again and the Austrians finally got it.
With time running out and lots of white-coats in my way, I tried a desperate move. Two fresh French battalions moved up to the stream, led by Victor. An "on the double" card sent them across and they stormed the part of the village held by the exhausted units, sending the Austrians tumbling out. This left two disordered French battalions and a general deep in the midst of the Austrians. Rick organized a six-battalion counterattack, led by Vogelsang. If his dice were really cold, the Austrians would be driven off and a large hole opened in their center. It would be too little and too late to win but would put a better face on my defeat.
It was not to be. Rick rolled 19 combat dice and got a decent six re-rolls. They translated into two hits and four retreat/disordered results. The cover of the town enabled me to save one of the hits. The other hit gave Rick a shot at the risk to leader table and he got a re-roll on that. Victor's horse was shot, negating Victor's ability to ignore one retreat. Both battalions ran out of the town, escaping in a hail of Austrian musket fire. But Victor didn't make it. He was dragged in front of Vogelsang as a prisoner.
On the remaining turn of the game I put in my last fresh troops and managed to storm a bridge north of Casteggio, pushing back a battalion and General Ott. The game ended with an Austrian victory. In truth, Rick had won twice. First he broke Tom's will in 7 turns. Then he let me carry on from there and beat my head against his line for another 8 turns.
The second part of the game took an hour and 45 minutes. So the whole game of 15 turns took just under three hours, with 16 French units vs. 21 Austrians.
French losses were 1,500 infantry from a force of just under 10,000 and General Victor taken prisoner. The Austrians lost 1,200 infantry and 150 cavalry from a force of 12,000.
I was quite satisfied with the game. The combat system has been solid for a while but the command-and-control system has been all over the place lately. Tom's suggestion of two sets of pips, one for activation and another for rallying worked well. I think the number of pips still needs some reducing and there are a couple places where the game can be further simplified. But it is nearly done.
paints the Dogman from the Flintloque starter set.
