Russo-Swedish War - Battle in the Snow

John came round yesterday for a game so I thought I’d inflict another Russo Swedish War battle on him, this  time using General d’Armee. 

Before I go further, yes I know that there’s far too much cavalry for the war but they’re my toys and I can do what I like in the privacy of my own home. They also look rather nice and that’s that. The scenario was a simple one, this time with the Swedes launching a counterattack after their previous victories over the invaders. John drew what was to become the short straw and took the Swedes. There were ten battalions of infantry, four half battalions of jäger and three ‘batteries’ of artillery. They also had two dragoon regiments. My Russian defenders had a cavalry brigade of three regiments and a battery of horse artillery, and two brigades of infantry, totalling 12 battalions and a battery of foot artillery. Russian batteries were 12-guns strong so each of my batteries has six models! Not such a big deal in General d’Armee thankfully, and as it turned out not such a big deal for the Swedes either!.

The photos illustrate how the game developed. Hopefully my narrative makes everything clear. For reasons I’ve still yet to fathom Blogger has randomly reordered the photos but most I hope are now where they belong.

The Swedes on the right, faced with a numerically superior enemy, must attack.
 

This brigade held the Russian right.

My very first shot of the game and I threw a double one. Low on ammo and a fatigue casualty!

The elite Savolax brigade attack the Russian right.

The Russians facing the Finnish jäger took heavy losses, but their return volley was impressive. A throw of double six, so even on the inferior shooting line the Finns took several hits. Better still I rolled double one on the destiny table, thanks the the double six, and the enemy brigadier fell off his horse and took flight, causing the brigade to falter!

Both armies close towards each other in the centre. The white shapes track the route of a frozen river. Will it hold?

The Russian cavalry brigade really had nowhere to go thanks to the terrain, and was restricted to making the odd short advance when they weren’t failing to activate.

The Russians counter attack in the centre.

The Russian centre slowly advancing.

We actually had a cavalry combat when my Uhlans and the Swedish dragoons clashed. The Swedes were victorious and forced the Russian cavalry to retreat.

Slightly vulnerable Russian jäger with the Swedish cavalry looking rather too close for comfort. 

The retreating Savolax brigade failed two faltering tests but being elite the worse that could happen was to keep retreating. They did eventually rally and rejoined the battle.

The outnumbered and valiant Swedes attack in the centre. 

Russian dragoons waiting impotently behind their artillery.

The cuirassiers before they made several attempts to cross the frozen river. They eventually made it and charged the Swedish dragoons but failed to defeat them decisively.

John conceded defeat at this point and began to pull his forces off the table. The terrain and general slug-like speed of the Russians meant that no effective pursuit would be likely. Had the Swedish Savolax brigade on their left not faltered I suspect they'd have driven my right flank backwards thanks to the pesky and very effective Finnish jäger as one of my battalions had taken 10 hits and was on the verge of breaking.

It was a difficult one for the outnumbered Swedes but not impossible to pull off but not impossible. The Russian cavalry had nowhere to play and our artillery was particularly inefficient. One half battery had four casualties, ALL as a result of suffering fatigue casualties! They’re all off on a manual handling course in Archangel shortly. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable game even though it took a little while to get back into General d’Armee. 

Battleground show in Stockton tomorrow so no game but I will have some photos.