Had a great game last night for our Memorial Day weekend. I umpired the game my Dad and brother Josh played 4 french divisions. Then My brother Zach and two friend played as five ally divisions. I have been putting this scenario together in my head for about a month now, and it really came through on the table top. I was really pleased at putting the extra work in on a the pulpy fluff gave this game a real flavor. The game was played in 15mm using loose Age of Eagles.
The French briefs:
General Cambronne:
You are on a secret mission. Intelligence has discovered that a splinter of the true cross is held at the church in Vyatka. It is your mission to obtain this sacred artifact. To obtain it you must have a unit outside the church for a full turn with out being melee or firing. They must not become disordered. This is your only task no matter the cost.
You are an experienced commander and gain a +2 on the maneuver chart.
General Dupont:
You have been sent forward on a reconnaissance in force to Pregovia. Use your division to feel out the enemy positions. Attack where you see an opportunity or retreat when things become to hot.
You are an experienced commander and gain a +2 on the maneuver chart.
You are French General Ney:
It is your task to flank the enemy position with 2 divisions. Your task is to take the village of Shevradino then move on to take the bridge at Vyatka. You have heard rumors that the Russian commander at Shevradino thinks himself a Mongol warlord, well defeat this bandit and send him back to the steppe.
Being a superior corp commander your units gain a +3 on the maneuver chart.
Your second division is lead by a new commander and only receives a +1.
Ally Briefs:
General Gregorovich:
You are the hero of Vodkia, all of Mother Russia looks to you for inspiration. At your disposal is a crack Infantry division. You have molded them into an elite force.
As the areas reserve your mission is to hold the bridge across the Sergovia River and the village of Vyatka. Also there are rumors that the church holds a splinter of the true cross. Do not let it fall into the enemies hands. However you do not get along with the Prussian reserve commander. You will do anything to one up him in combat. i.e. (put your men in front of his, or leave gaps in the line)
You are a Heroic leader you units gain a +3 on the maneuver table.
General Ungern:
You have been having the same dream of late. In it the great Genghis Khan tells you that you are to rebuild his empire. Flush with this vision you have taken it upon yourself to build a Mongol horde with the units at your disposal. You lead a Russian cavalry division. Unfortunately you have become so enamored with your idea of building the Mongol horde, you have lost touch with your subordinates and your command has become a band of roaming bandits.
You have taken the village of Shevradino as your operating base. You will hold it at all costs. If any other Allied force comes within your command radius you must roll a D6 on a roll of 5 the units joins your cause and is under your command the rest of the game. On a roll of 6 they see this as an attempt at rebellion and will attack you. Treat the unit as hostile the rest of the game.
Unfortunately since your command has broken down your force receives no bonus on the maneuver chart.
Austrian General Hertwig:
You are a political general and have not become acquainted with your division yet. You are to hold the Pregovia for 2 turns after that you are free to maneuver as you see fit. However being a politician you are not accustomed to grand tactics you will fall back against overwhelming numbers for fear of being overrun.
Since you are not quite acquainted with your men you only gain a +1 on the maneuver chart.
I also gave myself some entertainment by generating random event each turn on a 50% D6 roll. I got this idea from Republic to Empire.
1. A battery which is in position begins to sink up to its axles in the liquid mud.
It must limber up and move this turn for at least a full move from its current
site.
2. Nervousness abounds in the current fluid situation. A report of a large body of
cavalry on your left flank forces you to immediately detach a squadron from
your leading unengaged cavalry regiment and send it off table in that
direction. It will not return. There is no MP cost to do this.
3. A torrential squall prevents any movement for either army this turn.
Reinforcements stand where they have arrived.
4. Damp powder permanently reduces the fire effectiveness of two battalions or
detachments by 50%. Select them randomly from those currently on table.
Simply half available combat groups after all other factors have been applied
for firing purposes from hereon.
5. One of your batteries just happens to be the most efficient in the entire army. It
manages to fire at double rate on its next turn of shooting. This means you
may target the same unit twice or two different targets within the same arc of
fire. It loses only one round of ammunition as an added bonus.
6. Rain soaked uniforms all assume the same dark hue. You mistake the closest
unengaged enemy unit for friends. For this turn only, perform no aggressive
actions against them regardless of their proximity and intent.
7. Your commander takes a fall from his horse in the glue-like mud. He is
incapacitated for 20 minutes and you cannot add his additional MPs to your
total this turn.
8. A rash Infantry colonel throws his regiment forward to engage the enemy.
Your leading regiment need not check its Resolve but will automatically
charge the nearest enemy (regardless of its type and formation) in the charge
phase without the need to spend appropriate MPs.
9. Your corps commander arrives on the field briefly and issues some intelligent
orders! Add 3 MPs to your total for this turn only.
10. A rash cavalry colonel throws his regiment forward to engage the enemy.
Your leading regiment need not check its Resolve but will automatically
charge the nearest enemy (regardless of its type and formation) in the charge
phase without the need to spend appropriate MPs.
Now on to the game! In the pic's we use red dice to represent disordered units and white dice to designate melees.
The Table:
The players setup:
The fight for the fleches. After the Allies initially repulsed the initial French assault, the Guard came in and swept it clean after 4 turns of bitter fighting. After which the Guard swept into two ally divisions crossing the river and sent them swimming back across. This action crushed the allied right and secured a victory for the French.
The fight for the center. General Dupont did not fair as well as the French Guard. In the swirling melee of the center, Dupont in the first 2 turns lost about half his infantry, then lost his whole cavalry division as the Allied heavy cavalry punched into them. Instead of pressing the allied attack into the guard, the allied heavy cavalry wheeled to attack Ney on the French left. This was probably the biggest mistake of the game.
On the French left we had Ney advancing on the flank. Facing him was the Allied 'Mongol" horde. After an initial success the allied cavalry are repulsed. Things then go from bad to worse for the allies as Ney crushes the 'Mongol" division and turns and sweeps the Russian heavy cavalry aside. This area of the fight also had the most random events drawn. With the Allied 'Mongol" gneral falling off his horse, raining confusing both side, and event of the game the Austrian Lancers charging recklessly then being repulsed embarrassingly. They were then cut down to a man the next run.
The game ended with a French victory however the splinter of the true cross was not recovered. Maybe next time. Everyone had a really good time, and I had a lot of fun umpiring.
11 July 2010, 05:34:53 AM