Here come the Cavalry!

At last, back to my 'Soldier King' Seven Years War campaign, and the cavalry raid on Piesport that resulted from the recent map moves.  Four units of Austrian Cavalry are about to  descend upon the junction and river crossing town, which is held by two rather lonely units of Prussian foot. 

The Hussars are coming..

How to make an interesting game out of a very 'asymmetric' (and quite small)  pair of opposing forces?  I decided to use Bob Cordery's 'Portable Napoleonic Wargame' , with my home-grown 7YW adaptations, and so  those forces became : 

Prussians  : 

            Oberst von Fruhling :   3 SP 

            One battalion Fusilers,  rated Average , 4SP 

            One battalion von Kleist foot,  rated Average, 4SP 

            Two supply wagons 

             Total : 11 SP,  Exhaustion point 4 SP

Austrians: 

             Oberst  Knurrer :  3SP 

            Two squadrons Grenze Hussars, rated Average  each 3SP

            One squadron Cuirassiers , rated Poor ,  2SP

            One squadron Grenze Hussars, rated Poor , 2SP. 

            Total :  13 SP,  Exhaustion Point 5 SP. 

( I decided that for such small forces the commanders would be quite 'junior' and therefore only worth half the normal 6SP. )

Each side has its challenges : the Prussians could just hunker down in the town and be untouchable, so they have to be given a reason to be out and about. The Austrians could just sweep in, line abreast, and ride 'em down, so they have to be strung out on the road, at least, and not certain of timely arrival. 

So I decided that the Prussians would happen to be escorting their regular supply wagon convoy into town that day.  The Von Kleist foot would accompany the wagons, which would enter from the Northern road;  meanwhile the Fusiliers would guard the town and bridge. There would be some uncertainty over the arrival time of the convoy - a die roll would decide when it arrived on-table, with a 5 or 6 needed on turn 1,  4/5/6 on turn 2, and 3/4/5/6 on turn 3 or later. The wagons would aim to reach the bridge and cross into the town and safety - presuming that the bridge  was still in friendly  hands when they arrived!

Meanwhile the Austrians would enter from  the South-Eastern road, but would also not necessarily be punctual : again on turn 1,  a roll of 5 or 6 would be required for a unit to enter, then 4/5/6 on turn 2, and 3/4/5/6 on turn 3 or later - and only one unit could arrive each turn.  I decided in advance the order that the squadrons would arrive. In the hurry along the roads, with some units of lower quality or less experience, they may have  become somewhat separated. In this way I hoped to inject some random chance into both side's situation.     Finally, regarding  the wagons : if captured by the Austrians and escorted off the table at the Austrian entry point, each wagon would cause the loss of  1 SP  to the Prussians. 

And so it began - or rather, it didn't. On Turn 1 the Prussian Fusiliers kept a watch from their sentry posts, looking forward to the arrival of the convoy with welcome supplies and news, but also alert to the rumours of the dreaded enemy Hussars in the vicinity.  But both sides rolled a '1' for unit entry, so nothing happened!  Oh well, Turn 2 : Prussians rolled '1' again, no supply train. But the Austrians scored a splendid '5', heralding the clatter of hooves and the arrival of 1st Grenze Hussar Squadron on the South-East road. Prussian sentries couldn't miss that..

Arrivals - that convoy is rather late

 

Turn 3 came, the Austrians rolled high again, and their 3rd Grenzer squadron ( an untried, new-raised unit ) appeared, while the first squadron made all speed for the bridge. Prussians finally got their convoy onto the table , with  Von Kleist foot leading it, while von Fruhling in the town chivvied his Fusiliers into firing line, covering the bridge.  And without further ado, on Turn 4, 1st Grenze Hussars put spur to flank, and charged over the bridge! 

Grenzers charge!

 

So, first combat - how will it go? Will the Hussars sweep all before them and capture the bridge, or will the Fusiliers hold their nerve and inflict a bloody repulse?  We shall see.  'Tune in next time,  folks...'

This would be too long a posting if it covered the whole game, so we'll be back next time with the conclusion.  Until then keep well, and safe, everyone.