The Action at Zouache - part 2

Before we were so rudely interrupted,  we left the Prussian attack on the town of Zouache ( in my 'Soldier King' boardgame-based campaign )  after only three turns, though there had been plenty of action due to the pell-mell charge of the Austrian Schwarzer Hussars.   This single unit had stopped the Prussians' main column in its tracks, its infantry having to face about to meet the threat from behind, all thoughts of attack temporarily forgotten. Quite a start! 

The battle continued, with two distinct actions going on - first the Prussian cavalry and their attempt to force a crossing of the western bridge,  and then the 'main event' of the Prussian infantry and artillery column in the North, trying to regain the initiative after the shock of the Hussars ambush. We'll look at them one at a time, starting in the West. 

Opposing Cuirassiers at  the western bridge  

 With the Austrians' 1st Grenze foot threatened by no less than three regiments of Elite Prussian Cuirassiers, the defenders' situation looked challenging,  to say the least. On Turn 4, Austrian general Dachs  ordered his single Cuirassier unit towards the bridge, to offer assstance to the Grenzers. 1st and 3rd Prussian Cuirassiers threatened the Austrian foot from the front, while 2nd Cuirassiers circled to the North, aiming to take the infantry in the rear - on Turn 5, the Grenzers  gave them a brisk volley, driving the horsemen back.  

Meanwhile the Austrian Erzerhog Cuirassiers cantered  across the bridge and charged - hitting the Prussian 3rd Cuirassiers, and starting a milling cavalry fight that continued without conclusion, until on Turn 7 the dice decided it had gone on long enough - both sides took a hit, and both got a 'retreat' result, rather realistically falling back from each other for a brief respite. At the same time  the Prussian 2nd Cuirassiers charged the Grenzer foot, who took a hit, and lost 1SP, which left them with only 1SP remaining.  

Turn 8 : last gasp for Grenzer foot

With things looking perilous for the foot, the Austrian Cuirassiers had little alternative but to charge back into melee in support, resuming their fight with 3rd Cuirassiers. The dice was against the Austrian horse, and they took a 1 SP loss  - but they continued fighting, keeping the Prussians  engaged in melee through Turn 8, and crucially keeping the road to the bridge closed. However this was not enough to save the Grenzer foot, who finally went down under a succession of charges from Prussian 1st and 2nd Cuirassiers, losing their final SP on Turn 8 and being wiped out. Given the odds, they had put up a decent fight. 

 

Hussars running amok, Prussians in chaos

The main event, and the focus of both sides' major efforts, continued to be in the North, where the main Prussian column had been thrown into such confusion by the Schwarzers ambush. Here, Austrian commander had ordered his 1st Grenze Hussars foward over  the northern bridge to assist the Schwarzers, and on Turn 4 they joined in the fight - charging 1st von Kleist foot from behind, while the Schwarzers gave the same treatment to the limbered  Prussian howitzer unit. More confusion for the Prussians, now assailed by two bodies  of Hussars!   The Prussian Fusilier regiment tried close combat against the Schwarzers -  only to be forced to retreat - and the Prussian Howitzers tried to slip away towards the nearby wooded hill. This all added up to anothet turn of precisely zero progress in the attack on Zouache town. 

Turn 5 saw the Austrians win the initiative die roll again - the dice really were  favouring them.   1st Grenzer Hussars continued their melee with 1st Von Kleist foot, while the Schwarzers charged yet again, catching the limbered Howitzers once more, and taking 1 SP from them. Encouraged by the mayhem being inflicted on the Prussians,  Dachs ordered his 2nd Botta foot forward, crossing the northern bridge to support their entrenched comrades there, and put more pressure on the hapless Prussians. 

But on the Prussian turn things began to look up. Their Fusiliers loosed off a volley against the Schwarzer Hussars, and inflicted 1 SP loss on them - their first significant casualties ( by this point they had inflicted 4SP losses on Prussian units!). The two von Kleist units, with a combination of close combat and firepower, forced  1st Grenze Hussars to retreat twice, and the Prussians were able to bring on reinforcements - 1st Jaeger foot, led by their brigadier, arrived and lunged straight into close combat with  the wavering Schwarzers. Some measure of relief for the Prussians, though Turn 5 ended with losses at Prussia -7SP to Austria -2SP.

Next turn,  the by now obligatory Austrian initiative win saw them play first again, with the Schwarzers continuing to harry the Prussian howitzers, and the Grenzer Hussars forcing 2nd von Kleist regiment to retreat - with disastrous consequences, as this brought the Prussian unit into musket range of both Botta regiments - who promptly volleyed, and took 2 SPs from the von Kleists - a shattering blow! 

The Prussian infantry now responded with their own muskets - 1st von Kleist regiment took 1 SP from the Grenze Hussars, and 1st Jaegers finally dealing the fatal blow to the Schwarzer Hussars by taking a second SP off them - as a 'Poor' rated unit, that was the end of their brief but glorious fight .They had caused complete confusion and stopped the main Prussian column dead in its tracks, and inflicted double the losses they suffered themselves - heroic stuff.  

The end of the Schwarzer Hussars

 All this time, neither side's artillery had been able to fire - the Prussians being still limbered ( and trying to dodge enemy Hussars ), and the Austrians simply out of range.  But by Turn 7, the Prussian howitzer unit had reached the wooded hill, - within range of the Austrian gunners! Who promptly missed, but the howitzers,  having lost 1SP already, were in rather a risky position.  

At last,  the Prussians won the initiative for Turn 7, and the Howitzers were able to unlimber, looking to bombard the Austrian Grenzer foot guarding the western bridge ( they did not have the range to reply to the Austrian guns ). 

Von Kleist foot kept up their volleys, again forcing the Grenzer Hussars to retreat.Their field gun unit  also unlimbered, and the 2nd Jaeger regiment arrived on-table: Prussian numbers finally beginning to build up. But the Austrians fought back, with 2nd Botta regiment's musketry forcing 2nd Von Kleist to retreat, and 1st Grenze Hussars charging in, taking the final SP and scattering the hapless 2nd Von Kleist regiment. The Hussars surged forward again, now charging the unlimbered Prussian field guns before they had the chance to fire. 

Turn 8 began with both sides' artillery able to fire - the Prussian Howitzers bombarding the Grenzer foot at the Western bridge, but missing.  The Austrian gunners were more successful, and the unfortunate howitzers were forced to retreat. More bad news for the Prussian artillery followed, with the Field Guns attacked by 1st Grenze Hussars, and losing 1 SP.  But finally the Prussian foot began to rally.  A volley from 2nd Jaegers again drove the Hussars back, and the Fusiliers were at  last able to resume the advance towards the northern bridge. Now the Prussians had four foot regiments available, with one more Jaeger unit still to arrive, with which to assail the two Botta regiments by the bridge - as long as they could keep those annoying Hussars at bay.

Turn 7: Hussars fight on, but will Prussian numbers tell?

 And there we must leave things, for now. It's been a ding-dong fight so far, both sides giving and taking casualties, and fortunes ebbing and flowing often,  within the same turn. The Prussian cavalry have made some progress and may be able to use their numbers to sweep the Austrian Cuirassiers aside and cross the Western bridge, while their infantry in the north finally disposed of the rampaging Schwarzer Hussars, and are marshalling their superior numbers for a push at the northern bridge, where weight of firepower may be telling.  But perhaps crucially, the price has been high  - at the end of Turn 8, casualties stand at Prussians -11SP,  Austrians -7SP. Both sides have 9 SP to spare before reaching exhaustion, at which point the attackers would have to call off their assault.  It's worth noting that the difference of 4 SPs between the protagonists losses is the number inflicted by those swashbuckling Schwarzer Hussars, who behaved heroically in their first fight, despite their raw ( rated 'inferior' in the rules ) status. With their wild charge falling upon the Prussian column, they may well prove to  have done enough to save the Austrian position at Zouache. 

With apologies for the delayed appearance of this episode,  'time and space', ghastly world events  and the toad, work having intervened  -  my next task is to reset the table and play out the denoument. Will Prussian discipline and numbers prevail? Or have their early reverses cost them too much? Will the plucky defenders hang on? We can only wait and see.. Until next time, keep well, and safe, everyone.