The Corlears Hook Fencibles played two games of the 1866 Battle of Langensalza using the Bloody Big Battles (BBB) rules. The first game saw Rick as the Hanoverian CO Arenschildt and Ken as the wayward Prussian CO Flies. I umpired. Scenario rules prevent the Hanoverians from crossing the Unstrut River if Prussian infantry keeps making aggressive moves.
Ken marched the advance guard onto the bridge in column. Rick formed up with two brigades and supporting artillery, blowing the advance guard away. But he could not cross the river.
Ken pushed 11th regiment onto the bridge and was again shattered. Rick was rolling well.
The remaining Prussian units were along the road north from Langensalza facing north. The Hanoverian cavalry made an incredible march and charged into the flank of the Landwehr, beat them and fell on the artillery.
Prussian artillery on the hill was silencing enemy artillery and disrupting enemy infantry.
The Hanoverian 3 Brigade closed on the Prussian left flank.
The Hanoverian cavalry rallied and cut the Prussian artillery down from the rear.
With most of his infantry hors de combat, Ken threw in the towel. The game had lasted 5 turns of a possible 8. Prussian losses were 10 infantry stands, with 3 run away (of 15) and 2 guns overrun (of 3). Hanoverian losses were 2 stands of infantry (of 20) and 1 artillery (of 4). The game lasted two hours. The Prussian MVP was the artillery unit on the hill, dealing out heavy blows before the cavalry did them in. The Hanoverian MVP was the cavalry, defeating the Landwehr, driving off one artillery battery and riding down another. We broke for dinner.
After dinner I said I'd show them how the Prussians could win the scenario. Yeah, right.
My first plan was to rush over the river and capture the village of Merxleben with my lead two units. My advance guard (which starts the game disrupted) rallied but didn't move far enough to storm the village, so I moved them to the right and lined the riverbank. They would stay there for the rest of the game. 25th Regiment stormed forward in road column and attacked the village. If my dice were hot I might take the village.
Hanoverian fire disrupted them but no serious losses were taken. So much for Plan A. Plan B was to hold onto the objectives already held at the start of the game and cover my flanks from the two Hanoverian brigades positioned to envelop me.
The 25th Regiment took some losses while getting off the bridge and reforming. Then the Hanoverian Guards struck. The picture lists the wrong regiment. Always check before saving.
So much for Plan B. Plan C was to try and hold onto two objectives for a tie.
The Grenadiers moved to the rescue but became disrupted by artillery fire.
And then the Hanoverian 4 Brigade hit them in the flank. Two ties in a row saw both sides lose 2 stands and become shaken. The Grenadiers finally fell back after the third assault round.
On my left, things also went downhill.
After the Prussian half of turn 8, we called it a draw. Each side held two objectives (blue and red stars) and had no real shot at capturing another.
We had played 8 turns in just under 2 hours. Prussian losses were 6 infantry stands with 1 run off and 2 artillery. Hanoverian losses were 6 infantry with 2 run off.
The Prussian advance guard was still lining the riverbank. They needed a full movement roll to pull back and never got one. They drove back several assaults, including one by the Hanoverian cavalry.
scratchbuilds another Victorian flying machine.
