The Battle of Prague, 6 May 1757, part II

The Prussians have outflanked the Austrian army outside Prague and have begun to attempt to turn its flank. The Austrians are able to react and mass their cavalry on what is now their right flank and rush grenadiers and artillery forward to try and hold off the Prussians while the rest of the army changes position.

 Above, the massed Austrian cavalry on their right wing and below, two lone grenadier battalions in the centre, supported by battalion guns. 

 Above, close up of the Austrian cavalry which failed to get moving as quickly as Robbie would have liked! Below, Frederick watches as his leading brigade closes with the Austrian grenadiers.

 Above, the second Prussian brigade crossing the stream. 

 Above, more stationary Austrian cavalry. Below, the Austrians finally manage to charge and hit the Prussian hussars hard, pushing both regiments back. 

 Above, the lead Prussian brigade was beginning to waiver due to severe losses as they engaged in an uneven firefight with the Austrian grenadiers, supported by battalion guns and a battery of heavy artillery. Robbie tried to enfilade the Prussian line but only succeeded in giving the newly-arrived Prussian artillery a wonderful target.

 Above, the Prussian leading brigade fails to make any headway against the combined grenadiers and artillery and is on the brink of being broken as half its units are shaken. Below, Prussian cuirassiers crash into and over an Austrian battery after breaking a regiment of hussars.

 Below, Prussians stalled at the foot of the slope. Both regiments in the picture IR18 and IR23 are shaken and about to retire.

 The Prussian cuirassiers turn after overrunning the Austrian battery and are hit by fresh Austrian cuirassiers. They are beaten in the combat and driven off the battlefield. Below, Austrian-eye view of the second wave of Prussians advancing towards them.

 IR16 Dohna led by Marshall Schwerin on foot with a discarded colour lead the second wave of the Prussian assault. Below: Frederick (on the grey horse) organising his reserves for the next assault. The third Prussian brigade can be seen in the distance and the final Prussian reinforcements have just arrived. 

 Above and below, the Austrian cavalry had driven off the entire Prussian cavalry wing of three brigades. They were ready to wheel and pounce upon John's infantry and artillery. Sadly for Robbie he couldn't get them to move, but John also failed to realign his cannon to cover his exposed flank.

 Above, Austrian reinforcements arrive in the knick of time as both grenadier battalions were close to breaking after holding up the first Prussian assault. Below, the second Prussian assault begins.

 Below, the Austrian line has virtually collapsed as the Prussians surge forward.

 Above, all or nothing Robbie sends his remaining infantry forward in a bayonet charge to try and drive the Prussian off. Both battalions suffer fro close range musketry and are pushed back or broken in the combat. Below, the Austrian cavalry finally get moving again but their frontal charge against the guns is doomed to failure.

 Below, the Prussian artillery supporting the final attack.

 Below, the last of the Austrians, three battalions, have just arrived in time to cover the retreat into Prague. The Prussians have no cavalry left to prevent them from getting away.

Well, it was a long hard slog. The Austrian grenadiers held up then drove off five battalions of Prussians for most of the game before they were ground down and forced to retire. John did well with his outnumbered cavalry as he prevented the Austrians from rolling up the Prussian left flank, even though all eight regiments were put out of action! Marshall Schwerin survived the day, but was still a bit of a bullet magnet. Even when the unit he was with was took massive casualties and Robbie got to throw six D6 to try and kill him - not one six was rolled! Marshall Browne also made it through the day without getting in the way of a cannon ball. The only 'blunder' of note was a precipitous charge by one of John's battalions up the hill towards the Austrians.  They were beaten back but it gave us a bit of breathing space while we lined up the next main assault.

The Austrians did really well and almost pulled it off. Had they broken another brigade of Prussian infantry the Prussians would have had to call off the attack and retreat. With no cavalry left that would have been messy!Sadly, the Austrian centre crumbled almost as soon as the stalwart grenadiers were forced to retire.

The battle ran almost the same course  as the original, as the Prussian cavalry and first assault were beaten off before weight of numbers began to tell and the Austrian line collapsed. Great game which we all enjoyed.

Next month Kolin!

The Battle of Prague 6 May 1757, part I

Robbie and John came up for this week's game, a refight of the Battle of Prague in the early stages of the Seven Years War. I'd been working towards this game for quite some time, since the last SYW battle we refought a couple of months ago, (Reichenberg) in order to get as many of my Austrians completed and on the table as possible. 

Frederick's invasion of Bohemia in late April 1757 had taken the Austrians by surprise. They assembled an army under Charles of Lorraine and Field Marshall von Browne outside Prague, entrenched on the heights to the east of the city to await the arrival of reinforcements led by Field Marshal Daun. Frederick chose to shift his army around the flank of the Austrian army and roll them up from the right. Great plan, especially because it worked. Always keen to rewrite history, Robbie wanted to be the Austrians so John and I shared the Prussians. Forces for the game were as follows:

Austria: CinC Command 9 (maybe a bit generous but I needed to give the Austrians every chance to react to the Prussians as they did historically)

Cavalry brigade (8): 2 x cuirassier and 2 x dragoon regiments

Cavalry brigade (7): 2 x cuirassier regiments

Cavalry brigade (8): 2 x cuirassiers and 2 x hussar regiments

Grenadiers (8): 2 x grenadier battalions and 2 x battalion guns

Heavy artillery: 2 x heavy batteries each of 2 gun models

Infantry brigade (7): 5 x line infantry battalions (2 on table remainder enters turn 2)

Infantry brigade (7): 1-4 line infantry battalions determined randomly (enters turn 6)

Prussia: CinC Command 9

Cavalry brigade (8): 3 x cuirassier regiments

Cavalry brigade (8): 3 x dragoon regiments

Cavalry brigade (8): 2 x hussar regiments

Infantry brigade (9): 2 x grenadier and 3 x line battalions (enters turn 1)

Infantry brigade (8): 1 x grenadier and 2 x line battalions (enters turn 2)

Infantry brigade (8): 4 x line battalions (enters turn 5)

Infantry brigade (8): 2 x line battalions (enters turn 6)

Artillery (8): 3 batteries of heavy guns each of 2 models (2 batteries entering on turn 4 and the other on turn 6)

Cavalry were in 12 figure units and infantry in 36's. 

The stream and marshy ground the Prussians would have to cross slowed them down considerably in the real battle so each unit would have to throw 1D3 to see how many moves it would take to cross. Artillery would only be able to cross by the two areas marked by plank bridges to represent the roads and causeways.  We used our rules of choice, Black Powder, with the Last Argument of Kings amendments and a few 'house' rules. 

 Above and below, the Prussian lead brigade crosses the stream and prepares to assault the Austrian position. 

Part 2 will cover how the game played.

The Battle of the Pragavitz Heights - Crimean War 'fictional' battle.

Paul came up this week for our (almost) monthly game, put off a couple of times due to my back problems. I had set up the table for the next Seven Years War game I am planning, the Battle of Prague, to see what extra terrain bits I might need (hopefully none apart from some ponds it turns out). I therefore decided to keep the terrain on the table and use the Prague scenario transported almost 100 years into the future and hundreds of miles to the east in order to give my Crimean troops another airing, as I don't yet have quite enough SYW Austrian cavalry for Prague proper. Given the major differences in tactics and firepower between the British and the Russians I increased the troop proportions so that the infantry were numerically more or less equal rather than the 2:1 superiority between the Prussians and Austrians in 1757. I didn't tell Paul the game was based (albeit) loosely on Prague. We diced for sides, no choice, 4,5,or a 6 and Paul would take the Russians. Paul ended up with the Russians.

The Russian army played the role of the Austrians and was made up of the following:

Commander in Chief: staff rating 8
Corps troops: Rifle detachment (small unit), Heavy artillery battery (2 gun models in entrenchment), Field artillery battery (2 gun models)
Moscow infantry regiment (9): 4 battalions (2 off table, enter on move 3)
Tobolsk infantry regiment (8): 4 battalions (enter on move 1)
Borodino infantry regiment (7): 4 battalions (enter on move 3 plus 1D3 turns)
Cossacks (7): 2 regiments
6th Hussar brigade (8): 2 regiments
6th Uhlan brigade(8): 2 regiments
Horse artillery: 2 light gun models

The British forces were:

Commander in Chief: staff rating 6 (Lord Raglan)
Heavy cavalry brigade (8): 5 small units of cavalry
Light cavalry brigade (7): 5 small units of cavalry, 1 horse battery
Guards brigade (8): 3 battalions, 1 battery artillery, 1 small unit riflemen
Line brigade (8): 3 battalions, 1 battery artillery
Highland brigade (9): 3 battalions, 1 horse battery (enter on move 3 plus D3)
Line brigade (7): 3 battalions, 1 small unit riflemen, 1 artillery battery (enter on move 4 plus D3)

We used 2/3rds distances for this game, especially given the long ranges involved with the artillery but particularly the British Minee rifled muskets (30" normally). As usual we used Black Powder with my Crimean amendments as I don't necessarily agree with what's in the book.

The streams and marshes were quite an obstacle and would take 1D3 moves to cross. The contour on the large hill reduced movement by half and gave a plus 1 in combat resolution and an extra D6 in melee when fighting from higher ground. The villages would each hold one battalion of infantry. Everything else was incidental and had no effect.

 Above, Russian left wing and below, the British arrive, very slowly as they were literally bogged down trying to cross the swampy river.

 Above the Russian cavalry face (below) the British light and heavy brigades struggling to cross the streams and marsh.

 Above, The Russians charge the heavy brigade and quickly drive off or destroy three squadrons, shattering the brigade. Being small units the British cavalry are very vulnerable, especially against lance-armed troops, so even though they can definately give it out, they can't take it, so to speak.

 Above, the Russian infantry readying themselves for the advance of the Guards' brigade (below).

 Above the Russian Ulan brigade charges the 14th Light Dragoons who countercharge but are beaten and broken.

 The Guards close with the Russians and cause great destruction and disorder on their tight-packed columns - as they did in the real war.

 The Russian Moscow regiment occupied the redoubt after the artillery battery became shaken and Paul chose to withdraw it to a position of greater safety.

 The Highland brigade surge forward while below the Guards are still in a prolonged fire fight with the Russians. The latter tried to close to melee but only one battalion made it through the Guards' closing fire, and although the fight went on for several turns they were eventually repulsed.

 The British battalion above (HM 7th Royal Fusiliers) threw a blunder, resulting in a headlong charge towards the nearest Russian infantry. Not quite what I had planned and they were bounced back shaken and in disorder as a result. Photo courtesy of Mr R Fenton, esq.

 Two Russian brigades were by now shaken and forced to withdraw. Below, two battalions of the Moscow regiment tried in vain to close with the flank of the Guards brigade.

 Above and below, the battered but victorious British advance on the retreating Russians.

 Above, the Russian view from the redoubt. Below, the Cossacks finally made it across the stream and threatened the British left flank, but it was too late for them to change the outcome of the battle. 

 A donkey accompanied by an ass. Not sure which is which........

 Above, the Rifle brigade skirmishing with the Russians on the hill. Below, the victorious Russian cavalry. The lancers and hussars between them managed to neutralise (i.e. break or drive off) both British cavalry brigades.

 Above, a spent force; the British cavalry. Below, Lord Cardigan and General Scarlett shift the blame  for the shameful humiliation of their cavalry brigades onto one of their recently deceased aides de camp! 

The British got to move first and made slow progress trying to cross the swampy river along the baseline. On the left the Heavy Brigade were drawn into combat by the Russian hussars and two squadrons of the former were broken and another shaken and forced to retreat, effectively putting the entire brigade out of action.

In the centre the Guards and their supporting brigade advanced on the Russian position. The Guards spent much of the battle engaged in a prolonged exchange of musketry with the Russian line which had advanced to the edge of the escarpment. The Russians tried a few bayonet charges but they were either shot away before they could close or held and pushed back by the Guards. The other British brigade on the left made slow progress towards the Russian skirmishers and artillery, taking some casualties on the way.

Paul's reinforcements arrived more or less on time and were thrown into the fight. The remains of the Moscow regiment (in red hats) occupied the redoubt as the gunners had become shaken due to sniping from the British riflemen. The last brigade made straight for the British to the left of the Guards and tried to drive them off. Meanwhile the British reinforcements had arrived and were pushing straight up the centre in the hope that the unsupported Guards would hold long enough for weight of numbers to tell against the Russian centre. The Highlanders took quite a battering but held off another Russian bayonet charge and one English battalion in the third line managed to throw the only blunder of the game and charge three moves right at the Russian line. They were bounced back quickly enough in disorder and shaken.

Meanwhile all along the line the British infantry and artillery had been wearing the Russians down to the point where two brigades were broken with most of their units shaken or routed. On the British left, the Light Brigade finally made it into action and predictably while doing some damage to the Russians were driven back. Having a stamina of only '2' and a save of '5' against lance-armed cavalry made them very brittle but they look very pretty and are actually figure-for-figure a match for the Russians. Paul's Cossacks finally made it across the river and were moving into a position to threaten the British left centre but by now the Russian line was in retreat.

A decisive British victory? Just about, as there were no cavalry left to exploit the situation. The Russians always have a hard time against the British (which is right if we are to believe the history books) but they have won in the past quite convincingly. Not this time though as they didn't have their usual numerical superiority in infantry and especially artillery. They would normally field a full division (which is what I have) of 16 battalions supported by 4 batteries (each of 2 gun models). I also made their cavalry commanders better than normal to better reflect the scenario where they were playing the role of the Austrians. The British firepower is of course deadly but not overwhelmingly so (Paul might disagree) as with a save of 3+ and a stamina of 4 the Russian columns can take quite a battering.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable game and its always great to get my Crimean troops on the table as they look very splendid indeed!

Playing with the Devil in another Thirty Years War game.

Robbie was up this week for a rematch. I made a few changes to the terrain and a couple of amendments to the armies, but not much. The Catholic League/Imperial forces were given a redoubt within which to place some of their guns and one of their cavalry commanders was 'promoted' to Pappenheim, giving his brigade of horse some rather nasty advantages, i.e. one unit of cuirassiers was given the 'terrifying charge' rule and all other units were given 'ferocious charge'. The Swedes were unchanged from the last game. I played the Swedes again.

Robbie deployed in a traditional way with cavalry on both wings with a strong centre of infantry. He placed his redoubt on the right flank. I deployed all my mounted troops on the right flank, the Yellow brigade on the left, and the Blue and Green in the centre. The Catholic League went first but in miserable set of command rolls pretty much remained where they were. My right wing horse also failed to advance very far if t all. In the centre the Blue brigade failed its command roll; in fact they only passed ONE in the entire game! The Yellow brigade moved to the bridge and river to secure my left flank and the Green brigade advanced albeit slowly, towards the enemy.

 Above, the armies deployed for battle, and below, the Swedish right wing, including the cuirassiers who blundered almost off the table in their first move!

 Above, the Imperial left wing infantry battalia and below, Pappenheim's cavalry brigade.

 The Swedes managed to charge into Pappenheim's brigade who were caught at the halt, thus loosing their advantage. Sadly, the Finns and Swedes were eventually driven off broken but not without seriously damaging Pappenheim's cuirassiers and harquebusiers. Robbie charged my unit of commanded shot (below) and utterly routed them. The cavalry of both sides wore each other into the ground until two Swedish brigades and Pappenheim's brigade were broken. Robbie's Croats managed to cause enough of a nuisance to stop my remaining brigade from doing anything for the remainder of the battle.

 (Above, the end of the Swedish commanded shot and below, the Finns and Swedes clash with Pappenheim's cavalry.

 Above, both sides stand off, worn out shaken and broken by the combat on the Swedish right flank. Below, Imperial infantry on the attack.

 Below, the Swedish Blue brigade. This was the nearest they got to the enemy having failed all bar one of their command rolls. Even the parson was unable to intercede on their behalf.

On the Swedish left, the Yellow brigade held off probes by Croat cavalry. The Catholic League grand battery was largely masked and ineffective throughout the game. Robbie moved his right wing horse along his rear in an attempt to switch flanks but in the end they made little progress and ended up shoring up the faltering infantry in the centre.

The Swedish Green brigade crossed the river and assaulted Robbie's centre, successfully shaking and pushing back his veteran regiments, despite taking close range artillery fire and being charged by Tilly's lifeguard.

In the end the Catholic League/Imperial forces were ground down and would we reckoned have made a fighting retreat before the majority of the Swedes crossed the river. With almost no cavalry left the Swedes would not be pursuing. Neither side had a significant advantage so as the Swedes would retain possession of the field we declared it a 'winning draw' for the Swedes.

Oh, the other highlight of the battle was the departure of Gustavus who was attached to one of his horse squadrons when they broke. The ignominy of it!

One point in the rules caused some debate. The new supplement allows Swedish shot to fire during a charge. We decided that the Swedes would fire BEFORE the defender's closing fire, giving them the chance to disorder their target and gain some advantage in the melee, assuming they made it. Was that right? Seemed so but the rules make no mention of how to deal with the 'Swedish salvo'.

Good game.

Thirty Years War game using "The Devil's Playground"

Robbie and John were up again last week. Robbie asked if we could do a Thirty Years War game using the new Pike and Shotte supplement. I had just received my copy and was interested in having a go. Before carrying on I have to say that whilst a very pretty book with lots of eye candy I'm not sure about the provenance or accuracy of some of the 'army lists', my first impression being that the armies were mostly designed around the figures available from Warlord Games. They're all very 'samey' and everyone gets to have a storming party! That's my cynical old git view anyway and I am happy to be proved wrong. There are also some very 'interesting' takes on troops types and capabilities and some of the historical background stuff is not IMHO that well researched or too general. My biggest attack of the squirms came when reading the refight of Breitenfelt. Now I have refought this in the past and intend to again on my bigger table. It just didn't look right and there were too few troops. Anyway, like I say I was happy to give them a go, as if nothing else they give everyone be they veterans or newcomers a solid framework within which to play an enjoyable war game. Original research can't be beaten though.

Right, we diced for sides and Robbie got be the combined Catholic League/Imperial army leaving John and I to split the Swedes between us. The Swedes' objective was to capture and hold all the river crossings in order to get their baggage across and so continue their march deep into Catholic territory devastating it on their way.

The armies were as follows:

Catholic League/Imperial: CinC Tilly Command 9

Two battalia of cavalry, each of 2 cuirassier and 3 harquebusier squadrons
Three battalia of foot, each of 2 pike blocks and 4 musket blocks.
Two companies of commanded musketeers, one each attached to two of the infantry battalia
Four squadrons of Croat light cavalry
One battery of 2 heavy guns
One battery of 2 medium guns
One light gun.

All the commanders were rated 8. One of the infantry battalia was classed as elite veteran Bavarians, one as veteran troops and the other as run-of-the-mill mercenary troops.

The Swedes were led by Gustavus himself who is rated as a 10.  All the other Swedish commanders were rated as 8.

Left flank cavalry: 4 squadrons of Swedish horse and 1 unit of commanded musketeers
Right flank cavalry: 2 squadrons of Finnish horse and 2 squadrons of Swedish horse with 1 large unit of commanded musketeers
Yellow brigade: 1 pike block, 3 musket blocks and 1 battalion gun (all stubborn and elite)
Blue brigade: 2 pike blocks, 6 musket blocks and 2 battalion guns (all elite)
Green brigade: 2 pike blocks, 6 musket blocks and 2 battalion guns
Reserve cavalry: 2 squadrons of cuirassiers
Artillery: 2 medium guns

Changes and additions to the rules include a 'Swedish Salvee' rule where Swedish musketeers can fire before charging, a 'Swedish feathers' rule (although I am unsure if they worked and/or were used in Germany) and some changes to the morale saving rolls needed for the better class of infantry, e.g. previously musketeers saved on a 5+ but this has been improved for many to a 4+. The rules also include additional factors to take into account of fighting with the advantage of higher ground which was an omission in Black Powder and the original Pike and Shot rules.

On to battle. The Swedes moved first. John's horse on the extreme left managed three moves and swept round the wood and into a unit of Rob's cuirassiers. The infantry of the Yellow and Blue brigades moved forward but the Green brigade failed their command throw. The Finnish and Swedish horse on the right edged forward towards the river while the guns deployed on the hill. My dragoons made it over the river but were charged by Robbie's Croats and forced back.

Above and below, the Catholic centre deployed in readiness for the Swedish assault.

 Above, Robbie's Croats cross the river before charging the Swedish dragoons and driving them off. Below, the Swedish Blue brigade advances. 

 Above, The fickle finger of fate as the Catholic League cuirassiers are hit in the flank by John's Swedish horse. The cuirassiers were pushed back in disorder.

 Above, the shaken Swedish dragoons rallying behind the stream. The Croats facing them were soon shattered after being hit in the rear by a squadron of Finnish horse.

 Above and below, the Blue brigade reached the river bank when an Imperial pike block charged over the bridge. In the melee the Swedes pushed back the Imperialists after a protracted push of pike.

 Above, the Catholic right flank was pretty much shattered by the Swedish horse and in a fairly brief period of time both brigades of cuirassiers and harquesbusiers were shaken. They, or at least the unshaken squadrons, did however pose a threat to the Swedes and continued to slow down their advance.

 Above, on the Swedish right the Croats were driven off but the Swedish horse were left exposed to musket and artillery fire which broke one squadron before they could be extricated or get into a position where they could attack. The Finns failed to get across the river to charge the artillery so the moment was lost to roll up the Robbie's left flank.

Above, Swedish and Catholic League infantry shoot it out over the river with no side gaining a real advantage until the Swedish light guns were brought up to point blank range.

So, Robbie's right flank had been shattered and his left was in a 'stand off' with the Swedish right under fire from the Swedish artillery which had finally got the range. In the centre the Yellow brigade was halted but the Blue brigade was winning its fight with the Catholic League infantry facing them  who were close to breaking.  We called it a day and declared a  Swedish victory.

The rules in the new supplement did work well. The Swedish infantry fire power was quite deadly, as were the Swedish and Finnish horse if they caught the enemy stationery (cuirassiers and harquebusiers can't counter charge). As usual it was command rolls, or the failure to make them, that scuppered Robbie's troops, and three blunders!

We're having a rematch this week so I expect a different outcome.