A mini Lobositz, with Arthur's 'For SHAME' rules

Look out boys, here they come..

I thought I'd try a game with Arthur Harman's recent 'For Shame' rules from Miniature Wargames magazine issue 457  ( it's been pointed out that 'SHAME' = Simple Horse And Musket Engagements  - thanks, Martin S !) .  As described in an earlier  post, my 'Soldier King' Seven Years War period campaign has thrown up an interesting battle at Wittingen.  I hope the campaign can act as a common thread to string battles upon, and  is  flexible enough to  allow me to try out different rules and methods of setting up scenarios as each encounter comes along. 

And so, to the battle: I showed the attacking Prussians and the  ( heavily outnumbered ) Austrians before,  now we need  a battlefield. Given the unbalanced forces,  I wanted a setup that made things challenging for the attackers - after all, the defending  Austrians  would have taken up as good a  position as they could.  I had a look through some books of scenarios, and lighted upon  no. 21 from Neil Thomas 'One Hour Wargames',  entitled 'Twin Objectives'.  A larger attacking force must secure both a wooded hill and a  village ( which we will promote to represent the town of Wittingen )  - and rather pleasingly the original inspiration was from a Seven Years War battle, that of Lobositz.  Given the Prussian preponderence of cavalry, it seemed particularly appropriate. Another massed charge, perhaps?

The scenario demands that the defenders station one unit on the wooded hill in the North East, and the rest of their forces close to the Southern table edge, anchored on the town ( note that  'North' in the scenario is actually South in my campaign, and all directions here follow the campaign alignment - Prussians moving southward ) . The Prussians enter from the North, and crucially they must control both the wooded hill and the town at the end of the fifteenth turn in order to win the game ( of course, being a campaign, simply 'winning the game' is  less important than the condition of the armies at the end..). So  the Austrians placed one brave battalion on the hill, and another,  plus their gun,  in the town  ( no doubt hastily loop-holed and barricaded ), with their third battalion West of the town  and their Light Cavalry to the East, to threaten the attacker's flank. The Prussian horde entered, led by their three much-vaunted Guard Heavy Cavalry units, the victors of Rahden: infantry massed on the left , ready to assault the hill. 

The rules were 'tweaked' but only very slightly - I translated  Arthur's suggested square grid to hexes,  with move distances and ranges the same. Next, Arthur's  rules for cavalry attacking infantry had a very Napoleonic flavour, assuming that the foot would try to go into square - I gave the disciplined linear infantry of the 7YW period a better chance, by subtracting one attack dice from the cavalry if charging frontally - and of course not requiring the foot to form square. Instead of 'flowing around', I reckoned a cavalry unit that did not break their  infantry target would simply 'bounce back' a couple of hexes  towards their starting position; that  seemed plausible.   Given that these were new rules to me, there was a bit of thinking required, and I will give a bit more detail for the first few moves, to show a little of how ( I think ) they work, I hope this doesn't make for too long a post. The later moves may go at more of a canter! 

Cuirassiers shaken, Horse Grenadiers Charge - on Turn 1 !

It was a case of action well and truly from the start - in Arthur's rules the artillery fire at the start of each turn, and the Austrian gun made great practise immediately. Firing at the Prussian 1st Cuirassiers, the gunners' three dice rolled two 'falling flags' - which caused quite a jolt to the target's  morale, requiring them to halt. One might suppose their  senior officer had got in the way of a roundshot! So immediately, the Prussians' imposing Heavy Cavalry was dealt a blow. This perhaps stung the remaining Heavies - their   Horse Grenadiers immediately launched a charge on 1st Battalion Botta d'Adorno infantry, West of the Town. As 'Guard' quality Cavalry ( normally 4 dice ) charging formed infantry frontally ( less one dice ) they rolled three dice, and inflicted one 'fallen flag' but no 'Sabre' , so  no Combat Value ( CV)  reduction. So the infantry were somewhat  shaken, but kept order - fire with only one dice. That took -1 CV from the cavalry.  Having not broken the infantry, I decided the charge had 'bounced off'.

 Meanwhile the Prussians began dealing with the wooded hill, sending their two Jaeger units to advance on  the 2nd Botta infantry frontally, while the two Von Kleist foot units moved around the hill, threatening the defenders' flank and also  screening their comrades from the threat of the  Austrian cavalry. The hill's defenders ( 2nd battalion  Botta )  gave a first volley to 1st battalion Jaeger, their three dice scoring one 'flag' and one CV reduction - not bad shooting, and the 'Flag' means the Jaeger will get one less dice when they respond. 

From the above you can perhaps see how combat effects work in these rules : I think we can imagine that units  in effect suffer casualties ( CV reductions ) and/or shaken morale  ( 'Fallen Flags' ). Casualties wear them down slowly - lose over half their initial CV, and a unit cannot move or fire offensively, and if CV reaches zero, must retire.  'Fallen Flags' reduce morale, weakening fire/combat power , perhaps causing them to halt or be unable to attack, and if the number of Fallen Flags reaches the unit's quality level ( 3 for Trained/Veteran , 4 for Guard/Elite ) then again they must retire.  Commanders can try to 'rally off' Fallen Flags, but that's not easy - need to roll a 6. Neither of my commanders managed that in the whole game! 

In Turn 2,  battle was properly joined on the hill, with 2nd Botta giving another stinging volley to 1st Jaeger  ( 2 more off their CV , now already down to 4 from initial 7 ) , the Jaegers' volley in response being quite ragged ( and the Austrians on the wooded hill were in cover, so one less dice ) - no effect. 2nd Jaegers tried cold steel - charge up the hill! Less one dice due to the cover, but they inflicted one 'Flag' on Botta, reducing the defender's fire dice by one, and in turn receiving just 1 CV reduction.  The Jaegers not being halted or broken, close combat would continue.

The fight for the wooded hill

West of the town, the Austrian artillery made more excellent practise, finding the Prussian Horse Grenadiers had come within canister range, and promptly peppered them - down 2 CV points for the cavalry. To add insult, 1st Botta stepped forward and used their muskets, and the Horse Grenadiers lost  one  Flag as well! This drew a furious response, with both 2nd Cuirassiers and Horse Grenadiers charging  1st Botta in succession. But the resolute Bottas stood firm, both charges bounced off, and the foot lost just 1 CV, inflicting -1 CV on each of their attackers. Stout lads!    

On Turn 3, things began to go Prussia's way. The Austrian gun spattered the Horse Grenadiers with  more canister ( -1 CV ) , but the Prussian gun had now unlimbered, and opened counter-battery fire, immediately achieving a 'Fallen Flag' on their opposite numbers ( despite their  being in cover in the town - good shooting ), so the Austrian gun would fire with reduced effect.  On the hill, both Jaeger units managed to get to close combat with 2nd Botta, who suffered another 'Flag' down. One more, and they would have to retire..  Meanwhile West of the town, the Horse Grenadiers pulled back from the withering fire,  2nd Cuirassiers charged 1st Botta yet again - and bounced off yet again - but now step forward the Prussian Guard Fusiliers with a crashing volley, and Botta suffered one Flag and 2 CV losses.  In response their own musketry discomfited the Fusiliers - one Fallen Flag.  1st Botta had 'played a blinder' so far, but that Fusilier volley hit them pretty hard, coming after the wear and tear of the cavalry charges. 

Brave Botta vs Guard Cavalry and Fusiliers

 In Turn 4, although the positions of the units changed little, the situation did. The Austrian gun's lucky streak continued as they inflicted another 'Flag' on the Prussian Fusiliers, bringing them to a halt, but Prussian muskets and bayonets proved decisive. On the wooded hill, the Jaegers in close combat inflicted a third Flag down on 2nd Botta, and in the musketry duel to the west,  the Fusiliers did the same to 1st Botta. Both Austrian battalions now had as many 'Fallen Flags' as their troop quality value - so both must retire from the fight. This would leave the hill objective in Prussian hands, and allow them to focus on objective number two, the town - and it left only three Austrian units in play.

Faced with this setback, on Turn 5  the single Austrian  Grenze Hussars  squadron decided for decisive action, with a pell-mell charge into the heart of the Prussian array, targeting their gunners! I like the  charge procedure - the attackers roll their dice, and that determines the defenders' response. The cavalry rolled one 'Flag' and one 'Sabre' - not enough to rout the gunners, but it forced them to fire hastily and then take shelter with the nearby von Kleist foot, leaving the cavalry,  albeit also suffering one Flag,  occupying the gun position ( hmmm.. I don't think there's a rule for 'spiking' the guns? ) .  In return, Prussian 2nd Cuirassiers turned around and charged the  Grenzers from behind - but their dice were very poor, and allowed the Hussars to counter-charge. They too made no impact, and under the rules the combatant units pass through each other and turn about, ready for another charge next move, if willing.  Quite a flurry of action, and it felt 'right' for charge and counter-charge. 

Turn 5 , the whirling cavalry melee: Hussars chase off Gunners but are charged from behind by Cuirassiers ( more Cuirassiers to front are still halted by artillery fire and can take no part, frustratingly for Prussia! ) 

 

 The following turn, the Hussars sensibly  decided to pull back towards the town, while both 1st and 2nd worn-out Botta battalions began to retire, allowing Prussian Jaegers to take possession of the wooded hill.  Their one remaining full-strength Cavalry unit kept the Hussars under threat, and the two Von Kleist battalions began to advance on the final objective - the defended town. 

The Prussian gunners regained their gun and resumed a duel with their opposite numbers, and were getting the better of it despite the Austrian's position in the cover of the town - so on Turn 7, the Austrian Light Horse  tried another desperate 'charge for the guns' ( sadly only a squadron, not a light brigade..) , but to little effect. Poor dice saw them 'bounce' , and they were promptly attacked by Prussian 2nd Cuirassiers. These rolled most effectively, taking 1 CV point and  two Flags from the Hussars, which was decisive - the Austrian Lights had now lost three flags, and they too must retire. Just one battalion and a gun ( also two flags down thanks to counter-battery fire ) remained holding the town. Things looked bad for the Austrians..

Prussian foot assault the town - defenders hold firm

 

The Prussians could now throw two battalions of Von Kleist and one of Jaegers at the lone Botta battalion barricaded in the built-up-area, and their general hoped to 'rally off ' a Flag and get his Guard Fusiliers moving again too, while the guns continued their artillery duel.  BUT he ( that's me, of course) made the mistake of throwing in the three battalions piecemeal as they came up, rather than a simultaneous mass assault.  Given the powerful advantage of defending a 'BUA' in both musketry duels ( reduce fire by TWO dice ) and bayonet charges, on succeeding turns  the Austrian foot saw off 1st von Kleist  ( reduced to CV of 3, may not attack further ) ,   2nd von Kleist  ( also down to CV of 3 ) and 2nd Jaegers ( reduced to CV 4, perilously close to retiring ).  The 1st Jaeger had taken a battering in attacking the hill earlier, so were left to occupy it, in safety.  All attempts to get the Fusiliers moving again had failed, and cavalry may not attack a built-up-area,  so by the end of Turn 10, the attack on the town had effectively stalled.

How it Ended - Bottas hold on, just!

 Finally, at the start of Turn 11 the Prussian gunners saved their commander's wounded pride, by winning the artillery duel. They inflicted  a third 'Fallen Flag' on the Austrian guns  - which must now retire from the field.  This left the 3rd Botta d'Adorno battalion as the sole remaining Austrian unit. The Prussian foot were not going to be able to dislodge them;  the guns might eventually batter them into submission,  but for now they had halted the Prussian attack.  In 'scenario' terms, this looked like an Austrian victory would result if playing on to Turn 15. In 'campaign' terms, the Austrians had four-fifths of their units out of the battle, and the remaining battalion well advised to wait for darkness and slip away, leaving the depleted Prussians in possession of the town. 

"It was the Guns wot won it.."

I'm sure I have overstayed my welcome now, so we can leave it there. I hope I've given a decent impression of how I got on with Arthur's rules,  which I liked, on the whole - it felt like a sort of mix of 'Portable Wargame' and 'Command and Colours'.  Action was fast and furious, as promised, and I hope I understood the mechanisms right, more or less. A few questions arose, and a bit of tinkering might be in order to make them more attuned to pre-Napoleonic combat.  I think those can be the subject of my next post. 

Meanwhile,  I hope you've enjoyed this account, as I did the game;  keep safe and well, everyone.