Battle Planning: thinking allowed

A Happy New Year to one and all!  Last time in the 'Soldier King' campaign, we set up the general situation for something of a climactic battle, as the Prussians launched their army into the attack on the Austrian forces at the city of Zouache. Having decided on a battle, I now have to work out how to turn it into a game, using the (somewhat  limited)  resources I have available.  It's quite a challenge, and I am not certain how I am going to make it work, but hope that with a little thought,  I will be able to  see a way forward. And it might be interesting to post my thoughts as I go - 'show your working', as the dreaded exam papers used to say.   

Despite my earlier concerns, one thing I do have is sufficient troops. Here is the defending Austrian force: 

General Dachs steps up

I am going to start by assuming they will be organised with troop designations and Strength Point (SP)  values from 'The Portable Wargame' , as follows:  

Commander - General Dachs :       6 SP       

Three battalions Botta d'Adorno  Line Infantry,   rated Average,   each  4 SP

Two  battalions  'Grenzer' foot , rated  Inferior , each 3SP 

One squadron  Erzherhog Ferdinand Cuirassiers.  rated Inferior,   2SP 

Two  squadrons  Grenzer Hussars,  rated Average,  each 3 SP

One squadron  'Schwarzen' Hussars.  rated Inferior,  2 SP

One gun and crew,  rated Average,  2 SP.

 Giving a total of  36 SP , and Exhaustion Point reached at a loss of 12 SP.

And the attacking Prussian array: 

Von Gehirne's powerful force

Commander - Generalleutnant  von Gehirne :  6 SP 

One battalion,   44th Fusilier Regiment,  rated Elite,  5 SP

Three battalions Jaegers ( fighting as Line infantry ) , rated Average, each 4 SP 

Two battalions  von Kleist Frei Korps,  rated Average, each 4 SP    

Three Squadrons  Cuirrassiers, rated Elite,  each 4 SP

Two Guns  and crews, rated Average, each 2 SP

 Making  a total of  47 SP , and Exhaustion Point reached at a loss of 16 SP.

To arrive at these SP values, I translated  the Soldier King troop quality 'Guards' to be Portable Wargame 'Elite',   while 'Veterans' in Soldier King became 'Average' , and 'Levy' became 'Inferior'. There is no separate representation of artillery in 'Soldier King' forces, so I have fairly arbitrarily allocated one gun to the defending Austrians, and two guns to the attacking Prussians ( this keeps the Strength Point 'ratio'  a bit more in line with the board game army strengths ). Bear in mind that although my first thought is to continue with 'Portable Wargame' rules, ( specifically the Napoleonic Brigade-level version,  with my own tweaks for the Seven Years War ), this is not set in stone, hence organisations/unit configurations  may change.  One concern is , with only a 3 foot square ( or 9 by 9 hexes )  battlefield, are these forces too large? 

I had worried that I would struggle to field all the required units in my customary formats - especially Prussian infantry, but the numerous Jaegers I acquired from the Eric Knowles collection were a big help, making up three battalions. They will fight as' Line' infantry, but I won't worry too much about that - after all in several  of the my earlier games they have served as Line, and sometimes even fought for the other side! I do have a couple of units of Prussian line infantry in the early stages of painting, but realistically they won't be ready in time for this game. So,  Jaegers it is, and the fiercesome Prussian drill masters will enjoy instilling/beating some discipline and order into them..  

The one area I almost did struggle with was light cavalry, given the Austrians needed three squadrons - Eric Knowles' trusty Grenze Hussars only provided two. But then I lighted on some of the plastic  Spencer-Smiths most generously gifted to me by Neil Patterson of the Aufklarungsabteilung blog,  and resplendent in a rather cool, if  basic, all-black uniform.  A quick basing job, and the 'Schwarzen Hussars' were recruited!  I assume these may have been inspired  by the  Prussian Ruesch Hussars or 'Deaths Heads'.  So again, we have some possibly Prussian troops lured to the other side, presumably by large bribes and the attractions of Viennese cafe society - so much more fun than Berlin! Here they are - 'button counters' may wish to look away now:

Latest recruits - the men in black

Yes, pretty basic, and maybe not too accurate, but needs must - perhaps fittingly, they are going to be rated 'Inferior'  quality in the rules. So they may just run away at the first  cannonade, anyway! Or they may perform wonders - we shall see. They'll do fine on the table, for now, and I will take a cue from Brigadier Peter Young, quoted in a fascinating blog post from Tragardmastare recently : 'with apologies to perfectionists in the sphere of military millinery'.   I'm also reminded of one of Conrad Kinch's 'Send Three and Fourpence' articles in Miniature Wargames magazine,  entitled something like 'The Art of Coarse Painting' - in which he adopts Management Consultant lingo re: 'Minimum Viable Product' (MVP). So, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the MVP (or as Google translator has it, Minimal Lebensfähiges Produkt )  Hussars..

So, we have our forces. Now for possibly the most difficult part - the table.  With nine hexes by nine, or 3 feet square available - bluntly, will the armies ( 21 units in all ) fit in?  This is where it may get interesting. But that will have to wait for the next post, as the hour is late, the candles almost burnt down, plenty more thought is  required, and I don't wish to overstay my welcome.

It remains to once again wish you all a very Happy New Year, let's hope 2022 is an improvement - though perhaps that won't be until our unwanted guest Mr. Omicron has done his worst. I predict a quiet January at home, which may at least allow some more  hobby time. Keep well, and safe (and 'boostered', if possible), everyone.