Back in June, Gary Sheffield and I fought an online PORTABLE WARGAME battle entitled 'Seize and Hold!'. On that occasion, I commanded the Prussians and Gary controlled the Hungarians. At the end of the battle, we decided that when the opportunity arose, we would swap sides and fight it again ... which we did on Monday afternoon.
The following black & white photographs show the progress of the battle.
So, Gary beat me for a second time ... but it was a very enjoyable battle to fight, which more than made up for that fact.
I think that we both agreed that the turning point was the failure of the Austrians to bring their artillery forward soon enough. The Prussians did so, and it enabled them to dominate the centre of the battlefield and to help to weaken the Austrian troops defending the ford. The longer range of the Prussian needle-guns was also a factor, as it enabled them to shoot at Austrian troops who were unable (or unwilling) to get close enough to engage the Prussians with their rifled muskets.
The photographs were originally taken in colour, but the sunlight affected the colour balance, and I converted them to black & white as this made them easier to manipulate and see onscreen.
The following black & white photographs show the progress of the battle.
The battlefield before the battle started. The Prussians were going to enter from the top of the photograph and the Austrians from the bottom.
Turn 1: Both sides rush their light infantry forward along the road in order to reach the bridge first.
Turn 2: The race for the bridge develops ... as both sides bring on other troops, including their artillery.
Turn 3: The Austrians get there first ... just! In the meantime, the Prussians send forward reinforcements who threaten the ford whilst the Austrians hurry infantry forward to cover that river crossing.
Turn 4: Fighting on and around the bridge intensifies, and the situation at the ford continues to develop.
Turn 5: The fighting on and around the bridge begins to deplete the strength of the both the Prussian and Austrian light infantry, and the Prussian troops at the ford begin to engage the Austrian defenders.
Turn 6: The fighting on and around the bridge produces a stalemate, and the Austrians bring forward more infantry along the road in the hope that they will be able to swing the balance of the fighting in their favour. At the same time, the Prussian troops at the ford are able to exploit the longer range of their needle-guns to great affect as they out-range the rifled muskets used by the Austrians.
Turn 7: The Austrians pull back their light infantry on the bridge in the hope that their artillery can sweep the Prussians off it. It is worth noting that the Austrian light infantry was already much depleted by the fighting and on the verge of becoming ineffective. Whilst this was happening, the Prussian troops at the ford were causing considerable casualties on the Austrian defenders.
Turn 8: The Prussian remained in control of the bridge as the Austrian artillery had been unable to dislodge them. One of the Austrian infantry units defending the ford totally collapsed, leaving the remained seriously outnumbered by the Prussians.
Turn 9: With casualties mounting, the Austrian commander realised that the day was lost. The Prussians controlled the bridge and were about to assault the Austrians defending the ford. As night was fast approaching, he made plans to withdraw his troops as best he could. He conceded the battle to his opponent, but took comfort in the fact that the Prussians had also suffered considerable casualties. (In truth, the Prussians had lost 6 SPs and the Austrians had lost 11 SPs).
So, Gary beat me for a second time ... but it was a very enjoyable battle to fight, which more than made up for that fact.
I think that we both agreed that the turning point was the failure of the Austrians to bring their artillery forward soon enough. The Prussians did so, and it enabled them to dominate the centre of the battlefield and to help to weaken the Austrian troops defending the ford. The longer range of the Prussian needle-guns was also a factor, as it enabled them to shoot at Austrian troops who were unable (or unwilling) to get close enough to engage the Prussians with their rifled muskets.
The photographs were originally taken in colour, but the sunlight affected the colour balance, and I converted them to black & white as this made them easier to manipulate and see onscreen.
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Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteGood to see you and your Friend gaming the Franco-Prussian War PWG..I wouldn't worry about loosing with the Austrians and loosing both games so far played Bob- it's the entertainment value that counts and company that is good. I can count on one hand the games that I've actually won in the past ten years - Greg Mc is a very good player and hard to beat- best I can do at times is what Greg calls a "Technical Draw". Stay safe and well there in London. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI’ve never minded losing a wargame if the result was reasonably realistic. We both tried slightly different tactics this time around, and we learned some useful lessons from the encounter. We have another battle planned for the end of the month, but that will be a colonial action.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
DeleteI look forward to your next Colonial battle with Gary-knowing it is one of your favorite periods - it will be very interesting to view your report of the action. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI’ve yet to write the scenario, but I think that it might involve a small fort that is being besieged and a relief force trying to get there before the defenders are overwhelmed.
All the best,
Bob
I have discovered a wonderful side effect of carefully photographed battle reports like this. If I click on the first picture it takes me to a slideshow view of all the pictures in the entry. But if I quickly click the right arrow I get to watch a quick time lapse view of the battle that unfolds! It's fun and really brings the report to life.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure other readers have noticed this but if they haven't I urge them to give it a try.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteI never realised that you could do that! I’ve tried it, and you are right, you get a sort of time lapse impression of how that battle progressed. That is something that will have to try to take into account in future.
All the best,
Bob.
Another great game Bob. How do you find playing against someone who's not physically in the room?
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteBecause we both have the layout on our respective tabletops, and as we have adopted a common system for identifying individual grid squares (e,g. E12, K7), it is simplicity itself to tell each other which units we are moving and where to.
One of us acts a game controller, and the other checks and records what is happening. All dice throws are done by the respective players for their units, and we rely on honesty to both convey the true results and to adjudicate them accurately.
Using Skype to keep in communication with each other during the battle is cheap, although I don’t thinks that is is quite as good as Zoom.
There is still quite a bit of friendly banter exchanged both before, during, and after the battle, and this ensures that the ver6 essential social aspect of wargaming is maintained.
All the best,
Bob