Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of the Big Battalions => Topic started by: DintheDin on August 17, 2018, 12:00:25 PM
-
Last Saturday Greg and I played the battle of Weissenburg, French vs Austrians, Wars of Austrian Succession with Honours of War rules.
The background of the battle and the scenario can be found at the Honours of War forum
http://honoursofwar.com/thread/334/wei-enburg-2nd-scenario
thanks to Damnitz, who has studied extensively the Wars of Austrian Succession and brought to life by refighting some not so well-known actions of the period.
Here is the map of the game and our initial table setup, seen from the French side.
-
French order of battle:
CinC M. Coigny (Dith.) / FM Seckendorff (Dash.)
1) Lt.Gen. Montal (Dep.)
3 bn.s inf.
1 heavy artillery
2) Lt.Gen, Clermont-Tonnerre (Dep.)
3 bn.s inf.
2 light artillery
3) M.d.C. Mortaigne (Dep.)
3 cav. Légère (u.a. Mestre de Camp)
4) Generalmajor Waldenheim (Dash.)
3 bn.s hessian infantry - large - Superior for fire only
1 french cavalry
5) Generalmajor Oettingen ? (Dith.)
2 bn. bavarian infantry - small
Move forward in the first turn
With the same order, the pictures of the respective brigades
-
Austrian Order of Battle:
CinC FML Nádasdy (Dash.)
I) Oberst Forgach (Dash.)
1 bn. Inf. (superior)
in Wissembourg (heavy cover)
ignore orders, except on a special roll of a 6 (attacks like normally)
II) GFWM Puebla (Dep.)
4 bn.s
1 light artillery
ignore orders of backward marching, except on a special roll of a 5-6 (if they refuse to move back, you can choose to move forward or sideward)
III) Obristlieut. Trenck (Dash.)
2 units light inf. - small
IV) GFWM Trips ? (Dep.)
2 hussars
-
Rounds: 6
Victory conditions:
French: occupy the churchyard of Altstadt (no enemy near (5 cm) for one turn) or breaking the enemies army.
Terrain:
Altstadt BUA
Wissembourg BUA heavy cover
All redoubts and churchyard of Altstadt heavy cover
Lauter fordable river
-
Both of us agreed that 6 turns was very tight and the French had to do their best to dislodge the Austrians from Altstadt and the two redoubts.
Greg's Autrians were outnumbered but they were already in position.
My French brigades were in columns of successive lines, an unwieldy formation, many losses were expected as in the actual battle.
Round 1. The French move forward. The Austrian light battery opens fire.
-
Montaigne's three Cavalerie Legere regiments, supporting the small Bavarian contingent.
Clermont-Tonnere infantry brigade is facing the most difficult task, to cross the river and attack the enemy redoubt at all costs.
-
Round 2. The French start crossing the river Lauter.
-
The battalion on the head of the Hessian column received three hits from combined gun fire and fire from the defenders of Altstadt.
Attacking the village with a unit having already three hits would be a suicide, so I waited until the second Hessian battalion passed in front.
This was quite wise decision as the first battalion was nearly to be done for. It received one fourth hit from grazing fire and had to retreat and reform.
Two french light gun batteries open fire against Alstadt
-
I let only one heavy gun battery pounding Weissenburg and veered my rightmost French brigade to attack the Austrian battalion guarding the left flank of the grand redoubt.
The other French brigade, advancing, engaged in a firefight with the redoubt, got three hits inflicting one to the redoubt defenders.
-
Round 3
The Altstadt defenders, engaged in a firefight with the Hessians are on the verge to break (3 hits).
The Austrian light battery finds always target on the dense Hessian column.
Greg moves his hussars to cover his right flank.
But the Bavarian and French cavalry brigades dithered twice to cross the river -a reason why we didn't see a cavalry battle in this game :D
As for the Bavarians, the only task expected from them was to pin in place the dangerous Trenk's Pandours
-
The battle seen from the Austrian side
This Austrian light battery posted on a little hillock, was a real instrument of death.
-
Central redoubt. The first French battalion move back with three hits. The whole French army is in full attack mode.
But for the attack to be successful, needed impeccable, orchestrated maneuvering, something lacking even from their real counterparts :D
The "red" French brigade advance rapidly to meet heavy fire from the Austrian battalion opposing them as well from as from the Wissenburg defenders.
-
Superb looking game, loads of lovely colourful miniatures, super!! Great to see WAS getting some love. :)
-
Superb looking game, loads of lovely colourful miniatures, super!! Great to see WAS getting some love. :)
Thank you! Only this year it is that I discovered how interesting WAS battles are!
I'm about in the middle of this report, please stay tuned!
-
Altsdadt fell to Hessian hands! Their attack was successful and the defending Austrians retreated with four hits.
The French cavalry in columns, finally on the move.
The Bavarians, in the middle of nowhere, do not dare to advance alone, waiting for the cavalry to come and cover their left flank.
-
The French on the attack!
Bad news...
Salis Swiss from the "red" brigade are done for with 5 hits
Conde battalion from the "white" brigade receive 4 hits and retreat...
(amber "tears"=2 hits, blue 1 hit)
-
The rest units of the Hessian brigade cross the river. The capturing of Altstadt is consolidated.
The second "red" French battalion on the attack. Both French and Austrians receive four hits and disengage retreating!
-
The Bavarians gazing at the Pandours and the Austrian cavalry, blocking their way.
The French cavalry brigade is coming, but is at the wrong side of the Bavarians! They must pass behind their back and cover their left!
-
All the Austrian infantry is loaded with many hits.
The battalion that formerly defended Altstadt found refuge behind the cemetery walls and is recovering.
End of Round 5 and Forgach superior battalion, having received 3 hits from heavy artillery and being afraid to be encircled, abandon Weissenburg!
My nearest French battalion was 15mm from Weissenburg.
I asked Greg: Aren't you afraid of leaving Weissenburg?
In case I bring a 6 I make a double move and capture the city!
He wasn't. He was right lol
-
The long awaited French cavalry just passing behind the Bavarians
The central redoubt is cleared from the Austrians, but at a cost. One French battalion is done for. The Austrians retreat with four hits.
-
Round 6
The crescento of the battle! The Hessians attack the cemetery wall! Will they able to take the cemetery?
-
Dramatic moments!
A bloody fight! The dice decide...
The Hessians receive 5 hits and are done for!
The Austrians with 4 hits abandon the cemetery!
If I had one more round...
-
Some last pictures to show how close the French were to a total victory:
The Hessians continue pouring in the village and only one Austrian regiment of Hussars is blocking the way of Austrian retreat.
-
The French cavalry would attack the only Austrian Hussar regiment protecting their right flank.
The Pandours in danger to be encircled.
-
The main redoubt abandoned is outflanked by French infantry.
Altstadt captured, Weissenburg abanoned.
The cemetery remained no mans land.
The French had lost three infantry battalions, one from each brigade.
At the end of the battle three Austrian infantry battalions were immobile, reforming. And the rest two with three hits.
Ah, just one cavalry charge away!
One could call the battle a very very marginal French victory.
Last edit: 19/8
But... wait:
p.36 of the rulebook "Army breaking points and winning the game"
...In some scenarios it may be necessary to specify a turn limit within which specific objectives must be achieved.
These should preferably apply to one side only, so that if objectives are not achieved within the turn limit that side will lose...
The scenario said that the French had to take the cemetery by the end of turn 6.
Since this was not achieved, albeit by how close, means that the French did not attain their goal, so it is an Austrian strategic victory.
-
Well done Dinos , another great AAR. You,re certainly enjoying your WAS battles with Keith Flint’s HofWar rules. I,d be interested in a quick review of these rules , if you ever get the time .
-
Well done Dinos , another great AAR. You,re certainly enjoying your WAS battles with Keith Flint’s HofWar rules. I,d be interested in a quick review of these rules , if you ever get the time .
Hi Colin, I'm glad you liked it!
I'll try tomorrow, as tonight it's too hot for staying in front of my desktop.
I like these rules and I manage to gather a small group of buddies who are interested and who have armies of the period.
As I have finished a 15mm sizeable French army, I'm eager to see them in battle!
Cheers!
-
Absolutely EXCELLENT!!! Seeing this tells me why I like ball and musket so much! The armies look great and one cannot help love those colorful uniforms!!! Very well done!
Terry
-
What figures are you using? So many lovely painted units on show be interested to find out who you use. :)
-
Absolutely EXCELLENT!!! Seeing this tells me why I like ball and musket so much! The armies look great and one cannot help love those colorful uniforms!!! Very well done!
Terry
Thank you for your kind words!
Long ago I was dreaming of playing with tricorn armies so, now I'm very happy!
-
What figures are you using? So many lovely painted units on show be interested to find out who you use. :)
Greg's Austrian infantry is Minifigs and his horse Essex.
My troops are mainly Blue Moon with some Old Glory.
-
Many thanks for that, great stuff. :)
-
Many thanks for that, great stuff. :)
One more of our games here:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=110718.0
-
Well done Dinos , another great AAR. You,re certainly enjoying your WAS battles with Keith Flint’s HofWar rules. I,d be interested in a quick review of these rules , if you ever get the time .
Before I write my personal view, let us speak the author for the game
http://honoursofwar.com/page/authors-notes
When I discovered Honours of War, I had already based a good number of figures for another game system. I was pleased to see that HoW is forgiving considering the base length, the only requirement is opposing units to have the same frontage and the frontage of the infantry battalions to be roughly equal with the long musket range.
You have to organize your army into "brigades", their brigadier being of various quality, Dithering, Dependable or Dashing, this plays a role in the brigade behaviour in movement and charge.
Grenadiers or Guards units can be classed as superior, conscript and garrison units as inferior and the rest as standard.
For movement a movement initiative die is thrown and then the players move their brigades alternately, opponent may react while you charge by countergarging or evading with his light units. Initiative die is thrown also for fire. Melees must be resolved within the same round, one (or sometimes both) engaged units retreating or done for.
There is no base removal, a unit can live until it takes five hits. With one or two hits it is ok, with three fights with reduced strength, with four it must retreat and stay at a distance from the enemy to recover hits. At five it says goodbye. When having taken a number of hits, staying in a certain distance from the enemy is crucial to recover hits (only the first hit cannot be recovered). The role of the C-in-C is, among other things to stay close to a battered unit, as he may reduce his hits by one at the end of his turn. So, moving around your commander to take position in places that the battle is hot, is of strategic importance.
The hits table is very simple and the game uses average dice (2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5). If this kind of dice is not available, you may play with a d6, interpreting 6 for 4 and 1 for 3. The whole QRS takes only two pages and after you read the main rules a couple of time, it is very easy to play only with it, I introduced the game to some friends giving them only the QRS and in a few rounds they could follow the game perfectly. The QRS for any figure scale are downloadable from the HoW forum.
What I enjoy most, is cavalry battles! The ebb and tide of cavalries clashing, other units destroyed, other retreating, other following up and after a (say) 2-3 rounds, units that recovered coming again to fight! The spectacle of two versus two cavalry brigades in successive lines, charging and countercharging is majestic!
Infantry attacks against built up areas or behind fortifications are also very thrilling, it needs preparation with artillery until the target is softened before the final assault.
For giving the feeling of the period, there is also a chapter for National Differences (move or fire initiative, or difficulty in deployment). A simple points value table lets you decide in how many points you may play a fiction game and buy your armies. I wish I could have a buddy interested in Imagi-nations campaigns, this set of rules would be perfect!
HoW was designed for SYW, but also WSS, WAS, Jacobite Rebellion, even AWI have been played.
I have seen a few other systems, but I'm happy with HoW and stuck with it as it can float my boat! :)
-
How wonderful wargame! A very good AAR. Iwish I were with you guys, but I will play the next game!
-
Iwish I were with you guys,
So do I , Mr. M. 😎
-
So do I , Mr. M. 😎
This is very flattering and much appreciated!
If you happen to drop by Athens you will be a honorary guest!!!
How wonderful wargame! A very good AAR. Iwish I were with you guys, but I will play the next game!
Miltiades, Autumn is coming and be sure it will be full of SYW, WAS and WSS games!
-
Great looking miniatures and very comprehensive AAR cheers for sharing. We also play Honours of War at our club.
-
Great looking miniatures and very comprehensive AAR cheers for sharing. We also play Honours of War at our club.
Hi! I'm glad you like them!
I'm watching your activities, very active club, beautiful minis and terrain!
Looking at your blog regularly, you're doing a great job there!
Eager to see your next HoW game!
-
For anyone who would like to replay the battle, I made some markers for the game.
-
Dinos , you know how much I like your markers and units . 😉😁👍
-
Wow, that's a really comprehensive battle report. :) Lovely, lovely, lovely. Indeed a very underrepresented conflict (usually this coincides directly with how much of a legacy was built around the conflict in question in the UK). I'm incredibly unknowledgable about 18th century warfare I'm afraid, but it does look mighty fine. Also: Austrians. Always a welcome sight!
-
Dinos , you know how much I like your markers and units . 😉😁👍
I can fulfil three* wishes of yours! Just say it and it will be done! lol
*or more
-
Wow, that's a really comprehensive battle report. :) Lovely, lovely, lovely. Indeed a very underrepresented conflict (usually this coincides directly with how much of a legacy was built around the conflict in question in the UK). I'm incredibly unknowledgable about 18th century warfare I'm afraid, but it does look mighty fine. Also: Austrians. Always a welcome sight!
It is always encouraging to hear so good words from a person like you, you have excellent command of the English language and your reports are fully comprehensive and much enjoyable!
I feel happy to write a full battle report and I always do not forget to mention the Orders of Battle :)
On the net you may find some fine AARs with no OOBs :'(
Yes, it is a very underrepresented conflict, one can't find a lot in English bibliography, in HoW forum I was lucky to meet Damnitz, who has studied the period extensively and has worked a number of scenarios from engagements formerly unknown to me
http://honoursofwar.com/thread/450/battles-historical?page=1&scrollTo=3504
Perhaps you may find some scenario that triggers your interest to recreate the period on table!
Austrians! I know they are your favorites, since we met in... Vienna lol
Here you may find some 1/72 Austrian SYW plastics, 25+ years ago, when I started painting
http://honoursofwar.com/thread/521/years-ago-austrian-pics-games
Thank you again for finding the time to read my AAR and comment. Cheers!
-
Dinos' 1/72 scale beauties are what gave us the initial means to start playing the SYW a few years back (and, when we agree to squint *just so* the WSS as well), with Volley&Bayonet. Although he's jumped ship to 15mm -and with some of the wonderful figures available there, who could blame him?- we'll still take them out from time to time to give them a spin.
Aris K.
-
We'll give them a spin for sure, my friend! And you will be there, commanding the British! (Or the French? 8) )