Pages

Saturday 23 December 2017

The Battle of Königstür: The scenario, the terrain, the starting positions, and the values of the playing cards in the pack of unit activation cards

The Scenario:
A Prussian Korps had been sent to seize the town of Königstür, a small town at the northern end of a valley to the north of Vienna. By taking control of the town – and thus the valley as well – the Prussians would be able to quickly advance and capture the Austro-Hungarian capital.

The Korps comprised two infantry divisions, each of which had four infantry regiments and an artillery regiment. In addition, the Korps commander – General Schwartz, who was regarded by his superiors as being a very competent but not outstanding officer – had a regiment of elite Jäger at his disposal.

The Austro-Hungarian High Command was well aware of the threat posed by the possible capture of Königstür, and had sent a strengthened infantry division – led by General Rot, who the High Command considered to be one of their less gifted officers – to occupy the town and the surrounding area, and prevent the towns capture.

The enhanced division comprised four infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, and two regiments of elite Jägers.

All artillery units started with enough ammunition to fire six times. Once their ammunition is expended, they would have to be re-supplied … but that would take some time.

The Terrain:
The battlefield viewed from the north (i.e. from the direction of the Prussian advance).


The battlefield viewed from the east.


The battlefield viewed from the south (i.e. from the direction of the Austro-Hungarian advance).


A map of the battlefield viewed from the north.


Starting positions:
The Prussian and Austro-Hungarian forces entered the battlefield as follows:
  • The Prussians arrived on the battlefield in two separate divisional columns; the 1st Division at C8 and the 2nd Division (accompanied by the Korps commander and the Jägers) at G8.
  • The Austro-Hungarians arrived on the battlefield at D1.
Command ability and the value of playing cards in the pack of unit activation cards:
The two commanders were graded as to their individual command ability, and this determined the value of the playing cards they had in the pack of unit activation cards.

General Schwartz was rated as 'Average' and commanded eleven units. 11 ÷ 2 = 5.5, which when rounded up equalled 6. He was therefore allocated black playing cards to the value of five, six, and seven.

General Rot was rated as ‘Poor’ and commanded seven units. (7 ÷ 2) – 1 = 2.5, which when rounded up equalled 3. He was therefore allocated red playing cards to the value of two, three, and four.

12 comments:

  1. Hi Bob,

    Well that is my Christmas reading sorted.....

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David Crook,

      Everything is ready and in place ... and all I need to do us to start fighting the battle.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Looking forward to see how your new rues play out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jhnptrqn,

      So am I ... and with a bit of luck I should have some idea how well they work by the end of the day.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Stephen Briddon,

      I am about halfway through the play-test, and the rules seem to be working better than I hoped.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. Of course, perversely I am scratching my head over your OPERATIONAL ART rules to use for my ever elusive Western Desert Campaign plan. I have been fiddling with this for years now and never get closer - perhaps this might provide the framework to get going.

      Delete
    3. Stephen Briddon,

      My OPERATIONAL ART rules were intended to be used to re-fight World War II battles on the Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War, and although they worked, they somehow felt rather unfulfilling to use. Funnily enough, when re-written for the mid to late nineteenth century, they seem to work better.

      As the play-test is progressing, I get the feeling that the introduction of some of the design ideas from my PW rules has made them better, and that I need to re-visit the original rules again. The end result may well be suitable for your Western Desert Campaign project.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. David Cuatt,

      I hope that you'll enjoy reading the forthcoming battle report as much as I've enjoyed fighting it.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. The year is 1866, I dare say? This looks as though it might be just the thing for my Ruberia-Azuria Wars... Looking forward to the narrative!

    Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      The scenario is set during 1866. It assumes that the Austrians didn't surrender immediately after Koniggratz, and the Prussians had to march on Vienna.

      I am hoping that the rules will work for the 1850 to 1890 period, but will also work for earlier or later periods with a few minor changes.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

Thank you for leaving a comment. Please note that any comments that are spam or contain phishing messages or that come from Google Accounts that are 'Unknown' will be deleted.