Pikemans Lament, GNW scenario Part 1 (The Battle of Ishkutchnayia)

[DintheDin]

Hi all,
Today we played a Pikemans Lament Great Northern War scenario, 36 pts each.
Here are the OOB and the map of the game:

[DintheDin]

The battle of Ishkutchnayia

A GNW fiction scenario with Pikemans Lament

A few days after the battle of Poltava…
A Swedish battalion managed to escape relatively intact and is retreating to the West.

Two Swedish columns have stopped at the crossroads (see map) before the Ishkutcnayia village. Each of them escorts a wagon, one with the some of the army payroll money and the other with some important documents of the King.  
They are eight groups, as described in the OOB. Between them, two groups of invalid and wounded (classed as raw shots). Their task is to exit the map via the Northwest road, or through Ishkutchnayia village, but the villagers are already alerted and manning the village fence.
From the Northwestern road, some Russian garrison troops are already on the map. There are four spots marked as ambush, three in woods and one behind the small knoll. The Russian player has hidden in two of them two Cossack units (playing as dragoons). Six more Russian groups are left to enter the table. On round one, after the Swedes move first, from the corners A1 and A5 (arrows) three Russian infantry units try to enter (with move activation). On round Two, three Russian cavalry units attempt to enter from squares G1, G3, F5 (arrows).
The Russian Major Timofei Arkadievich Zdravin, escorted by a unit of Russian Guards (gallopers), enters preferably from G3.
For the moment, the Swedes see no enemy and have the first move. Their leader, Colonel Ake Blohm (marked with a star-see map) has an escort of veteran Drabant Guards and is classed as elite, yet Aggressive (stamina 4, attack 3+), which means that he has the benefit (or drawback) of a wild charge. The Swedish regimental cannon have only three rounds of shot. Also: the invalid, the cannon and the units escorting a wagon move on the road with only 5” and out of the road with only 4”.
Before the village there is a low knoll sufficient for only two groups to stand and be considered on higher ground. Could it be needed for the Swedes to make a last stand there, or is it a trap?

Honor points:
Swedes: 3 points for each wagon exiting the map, 2 points for each invalid and wounded group that exit, 2 points for the cannon, 1 point for the rest. -2 points for each invalid and wounded unit that perish, -1 point for the cannon, plus the value points for every Russian unit destroyed.
Russian: 3 points if they capture the money wagon (they don’t know which) and 0 for the other?!? Plus the value points of each Swedish unit destroyed and half the value points for each Swedish unit that remains or leaves the table half strength.

The game ends if the Russians lose 5 units or the Swedish 4, or when all the Swedes leave the table.

Oh! I forgot!
Plus 5 honor for the one who meets the game end condition.

[DintheDin]

The Swedish starting position, the Iskutchnayia villagers posted behind the fence and a unit of Russian Garrison troops, marching from Northwest.

[DintheDin]

On the tray, waiting to enter the game, from left to right: Two units of Cossacks (as dragoons), two units of Dragoons (as trotters), Major Timofei Arkadievich Zdravin with his escort (Gallopers) and three units of infantry (shot)

[DintheDin]

Ishkutchnayia

[DintheDin]

The Swedes on the march

[Plynkes]

Ooh, I like those table-level shots. Really nice.

[DintheDin]

Two more Russian platoons enter from the SW and NW edge...

[DintheDin]

Ooh, I like those table-level shots. Really nice.

Thank you! More are coming!
Swedish grenadiers (Forlorn Hope), marching to their (obscure) destiny...

[DintheDin]

First ambush revealed! The Cossacks emerge from the woods to harass the Grenadiers, causing them one loss.

[DintheDin]

Russians appear from everywhere, but the Swedes retain a better troop command, as they have the interior lines (Clausewitz)  
Behind the knoll, the second Cossack ambush is revealed!
Major Zdravin enters threatening the tail of the Swedish column!  

[DintheDin]

Colonel Blohm is furious! He makes a wild charge against the Cossacks, but this is what the Russian player wants! In the woods, both units play with attack-defense 5+ and stamina 2... So the Swedish retreat with a bloody nose, but the Cossacks don't fare any better, either, they take a bad morale test and leave the woods.

[DintheDin]

In other places, Russian cavalry loses everywhere!
-The Grenadiers charge the Kossacks, who failing to evade, retreat with losses!
-Major Zdravin attacked with better odds the trailing Swedish infantry unit and is also repulsed, now hiding behind his Trotters!
Having fallen half strength, it is dubious if he's going to try to attack again! - I was his unfortunate commander  
-The other Grenadier unit attack and mangle the second Russian Trotters! They fail a second morale check and rout!

[DintheDin]

Panos P. was playing the Swedes. It took him 10 minutes to grab the rules and he gave me a rough treatment!
Here, his rearmost Swedish infantry is exchanging pot shots with my Dragoons (trotters)

[DintheDin]

I try to make a semicircle with my infantry to stop the Swedish advance... Then, I bring double aces and one four-points Russian unit must leave the table, considered lost!    
I send the infantry to the right to the box - they were recalled by my superiors somewhere else as reinforcements... Before they have a single shot!