@Dr. the Viking: Thanks very much!
@Shahbahraz: Yus, the Tactical Painter's stuff on the subject is very much worth a read.
I'd say that getting bogged down in prolonged firefights is always a risk. In Sharp Practice the infantry line with those big, impressive volleys is a very powerful tool, which often will decide games. The thing is to get to where you want it, when you want it there, and when it comes down to it having more in that place when the right time has come. And once the firefight starts, it very often stays there, and it's hard to get your line out of it when you realize that the situation is not favourable to you.
With the unpredictability of Sharp Practice (via activation cards and command cards, plus the dice factor), it's not easy to foretell that you'll get your firefight where and when you want it, and under the circumstances you want to fight it. In the latest issue of WSS magazine they mention the old phrase "getting there first with the most", which I assume is at the basis of any open, symetrical combat. So the firefight will feature prominently in those AARs (not the least because it looks good, you can put the puffs of smoke there, it's action-y and you see the uniforms). The nail-biting phases of "can I get my guys there faster than the other guy can?".
It's funny how SP2 toys with our hopes. During the first few phases of the game you work out grand plans in your head of taking an objective or the enemy's deployment point in a glorious coup de main. And while possible, usually those don't quite work out and as time goes on, the game becomes a series of little fires between which the leaders scuttle about, trying to put them out. Having a plan and/or reserves in THOSE phases of the game will really put you at an advantage.
In this latest game yesterday, the big firefight between Cpt.Shandy's three groups of Landwehr and my own three groups of French regulars overall had my guys at an advantage, but only after enduring three or four salvos (which almost made my line crumble). Once I was at the fence though (providing a little cover, leaving the enemy line in the open) my guys were at an advantage and eventually got the better of them.
However, all of a sudden I had all my troops committed (the other two groups in the back basically standing around in a pretty tight spot, without room to maneuver, which they needed dearly) in one way or another. At my right flank the Austrians deployed an annoying group of skirmishers who until the very end of the game tied down my own skirmishers (to protect the flank). The two groups of Grenzers deployed and ran over my left flank were a real problem though. In the AAR you can see how I have Sgt.Bonhomme try to maneuver his two groups to meet and delay the Grenzers, while taking a battering (in hindsight I should have kept them in reserve, but then maybe the Grenzers would have started firing my own infantry line in the flank). When they finally got there, all I could do was a desperate charge, which didn't do a thing really. The Grenzers not just running ahead, taking my wagon away in great parts was just dumb luck (their officer fell over) and the fact that the Austrians had run out of command cards to activate their flanking units.
Another thing with line infantry and their firefights is that once you've committed all of a sudden you got flanks to worry about. Which is the main reason why I always seek to cripple enemy skirmishers early on. An infantry line is pretty hard to knock down once they stand and are led by a high-ranking leader, but getting to fire them in the flank or rear with a group of skirmishers or charging their flank with light cavalry or infantry will put you at a definite advantage.
I think that this game especially showed that the firefight, while deciding in the end, was very much just a ticking clock, while at the same time loads of other things went on.
So yeah, I think that apart from "get there first with the most" (which is great, but uncertain), the infantry line firefight escalates the game to a point where the daring plans and skirmishes fall apart and run into the a series of crises. Having a plan at this point and being able to stick to it (ie having a reserve of two line groups and running them down my wide open left flank) will lead to major trouble for an opponent who decided to stick all his units into a yard. In that firefight I enjoyed an advantage, but the Landwehr held out long enough for the Grenzers to make it dangerously far. If my line had a group break off early on (as they almost did), I would have been in trouble. If I hadn't had the command cards for the Crashing Volley I would have been in trouble (mostly because the Landwehr repaid me with a Crashing Volley of their own right away). If I hadn't gotten rid of the Jägers very early on and if they'd gotten into the mansion I would have been in a world of trouble.
This game especially had several little events working together, which made it especially exciting.
So much for me rambling on. I think that SP2 works very well for modelling certain problems a commander at that level will face. The firefight between lines always feature prominently, because that's where the stuff hits the fan, but I think it's mostly the circumstances surrounding that firefight which will decide the game (that and dash of dumb luck, as always).
Just to waffle on for a few more paragraphs: I played a lot of Chain of Command, and this game's often viewed as having the problem of getting bogged down in firefights. Maybe it's a bit more of factor there, but on the other hand I've been at the receiving end of a lot of MG34s, with just one Bren gun on my side, which makes the 1:1 firefight undesirable to begin with. Apart from the fact that it cripples both sides and leads to a black hole to which you lose manpower and force morale to, it's unpredictable to a point. You know that the firefight WILL break out, but the trick is trying to have it be on your terms. Which usually leads to having to make risk-reward-based maneuver/positioning/baiting/withholding reserves decisions early on, and once the shooting starts these diminish (as your options diminish because troops are committed to said shooting), and it comes down to trying to keep your men in the fight whilst identifying openings to make the situation less comfortable for the opponent.
At least that's what I think. I mean getting in your opponent's face and rolling lots of 6s will do as well.
edit: Oh, there was two more comments while I was typing away. Er... yeah, what shandy said.
He puts a lot of effort into working out these scenarios, I just show up and try to break them.
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