Action Report

Thanks to everyone who commented on the deployment for Saturday's game in the previous post.
The game itself was hugely enjoyable...
I made sure that I wrote notes as I went along, even down to every dice roll, primarily to keep a full personal record, but also to enable me to reflect on tweaks needed to the rules on reflection.
You will be relieved to know that I am not going to reproduce those notes in full here... but will contain myself to just a few of the pictures of the game's key stages. I am sure you will get the idea...

First, a reminder of the deployment:

Below: Alt-Braunschweig Regt approaches the enclosure. Time to get the flock out of here!

Below: First shots. The Pils-Holstein light gun opens up, narrowly missing Picardie regt.

Below: the firefight for the enclosure begins.

Below: In full swing... volleys break out all along the line.

Below: the Grassins are in the enclosure, Alt-Braunschweig having routed, but rallied on the other side of the wall.

Meanwhile, in the centre, The Holstein Hussars have charged the light gun and Picardie.

Having chased off the Jagers, the Chevaliers de Rouen are reforming beyond the farmhouse. 

Below: The Grassins take some punishment and rout from the enclosure.

The firefight in the centre has resulted in Normandie and Picardie retiring.

On the French left, the Chevaliers de Rouen charged the Leibgarde and the light gun. The Pils-Holsteiners held, and were then reinforced by the Kronenbrau Kuirassiers. The destruction of the brave Chevaliers was merciless.

And so, the French staff decided to call it a day.

The Casualty Return

In the end, the French decided to retire from the field, after a very hard-fought and close run thing.
The full casualty return is as follows:

French

• Picardie - 15 casualties, ended the game retiring in good order.
• Normandie - 22 casualties. shaken, but retiring in good order.
• Royal Ecossais - just 4 casualties. Ended the game in possession of the enclosure, but ordered to retire at dusk.
• Arquebusiers de Grassin - 5 casualties. In rout!
• Chevaliers de Rouen - wiped out in a desperate melee, involving the enemy Leibgarde, Kuirassiers, and Jagers!
• Nassau Saarbruchen Hussars - zero casualties! Ordered to retire from the field, covering the infantry withdrawal.
• Ligth gun - crew wiped out, gun abandoned.

Pils-Holstein

• Leibgarde - 11 casualties. Morale ok. (They claim to have taken the colours of the Chevaliers de Rouen as they threw five 6s out of 20 dice in the final melee, wiping out the French horse)
• Kronprinz Grenadiers - 7 casualties. Morale ok.
• Alt-Braunschweig (Prussians) - 11 casualties. Morale ok (although at one point they were broken and routed out of the enclosure under heavy fire form the Grassins and Royal Ecossais. They soon rallied and returned to the fray, defending the eastern wall of the enclosure).
• Kurtz Jagers - 2 casualties. Morale ok. despite being driven off by the Chevaliers de Rouen, they were able to seek refuge in the woods (2 pairs remained in the farmhouse). They returned to join the final big melee on the right flank.
• Kronenbrau Kuirassiers - 1 casualty. morale ok.
• Holstein Hussars - 9 casualties. they took a battering in a melee with Normandie, the light gun and Nassau Saarbruchen. However, their morale never broke (very lucky dice!) and the small residue of the fine regiment retired in good order.
• Light Gun - crew wiped out.

Overall losses:
French - 46 infantry, 10 cavalry, 2 gunners
Pils Holstein - 31 infantry, 10 cavalry, 2 gunners

Game Notes and Mechanics

The game was played on a 6x6 foot table.

• You will note in the photographs that there are sundry 'super-numeries' (officers, drummers, sergeants) hovering around the fringes of the units. They are simply there for aesthetics and play no part in the game.
• The eagle-eyed will notice red beads which represent casualties. Because the figures are multi-based, these beads simply slot over the figures' bayonets when a casualty is inflicted. It's a simple system.
• The coloured counters represent states of morale. For example, yellow for shaken, red for routing.
• The rules in use are my own.
• Terrain is scratch-built, with trees and stone walling from Last Valley.
• The farmhouse was scratch-built by me, and has a lift-off roof to allow figures to take position inside.
• The figures are my own range, and include painting by myself, James Brewerton, Mark Allen, and David Jarvis. The flags are by myself and Mark Allen. All figures based by me.

Right, that's it from Kreuzung Bauernhof.
Back to the studio!