A couple of things learned:
On the back of our games so far, I'd say that the cannon rules in Sharp Practice need a tweak (how does one cannon-ball end up killing soldiers from several groups in a line formation? I mean, wouldn't it plough through one area and "shock" the others?) With this in mind, we'll trial a rule that includes rolling for casualties as normal for the single targeted group of a formation, with "kills" on other groups on either side just counting as shock. This would represent the panic caused by the impact ... and maybe add a bit of balance to the cannon rules
If you are the defending army in this "defence in depth" scenario, there is no advantage to deploying early if the enemy has a cannon. The Grenadiers took another pounding, despite being in "hard cover" behind the bridge. Poor old Schiettekatte and his troops. It never rains - it pours!
The Battle - A Dry Run at Piessting
To earn a major victory, the French had to march up the board to capture the Austrian primary deployment point at the very back. The Austrians basically had to stop this from happening by defending their advanced deployment point on the right (the far side of the bridge of the river Piessting) and a shallow ford across the river on the left (behind the ruined church, top left of the photo above).
Major Volte-Face's French deployed quickly and a bonus move (4 flags) allowed them to fairly fly up the table from the deployment point (the ruined walls at the bottom of the screen, by the Italian cannon that you can just see poking it's nose out). In the shot below, Volte Face is trundling with intent towards a field of goats/sheep. He has a spot of worrying on his mind ...
From the Austrian end of the table (above)
(Above) The Austrian Grenadiers deploy to defend the bridge and their secondary deployment point. A foolish move really, as now they are a sitting duck for the artillery!
And the Grenzers grace the table, seen here about to hunker down in hard cover within the ruined church. They are egged on by the officer and sergeant figure from the jaegers. It's the hats, I just can't resist the hats ...
Sheep. Looking worried that they are about to be advanced upon from the rear by Major Volte-Face. The Grenzers find a comfy spot in the ruin to swig a quick bottle of wine before battle. This explains their shoddy aim for the rest of the battle. The main clashes were focused on the French left flank, with the Grenzers firmly in the firing line. In the next few photos, Major Volte-Face's fusiliers advance and deploy into line amidst the frolicking sheep before delivering a cracking salvo into the Grenzers in the ruins. Ouch! To add to the pressure, the voltiguers under Sergeant Blase (after deploying late, I mean turning up early is just too much hassle) whisk their merry way up the battlefield and join the fray against the Grenzers. The brave Grenzers are now outnumbered 3:1. Good odds, if you've been drinking wine in a graveyard for the previous hour. The shock and casualties pile up on the Grenzers. The hard cover is really saving them - the first kill being ignored each time.
Suddenly the focus switched to Captain Cliche's fusiliers who made a mad dash up the road in an attempt to seize the bridge. They unleashed their first-fire controlled volley (below). But of course, the ever-reliable Hauptmann Hamsarni and Sergeant Mustard had already loosed a first-fire controlled volley of their own which had devastated the French ranks (look at the left-hand group which has already lost 4 killed and is teetering on 3 shock).
The next chits were vital - Hamsarni yelled something agitated in Hungarian as two red flags emerged - Sharp Practice! The second volley was not as impressive, but inevitably Cliche's men began to withdraw. He spent the rest of the game creeping (sheepishly?) away back down the road before consolidating his remaining command into one group and a bucket-load of shock.
The game was punctuated by the regular boom of Sergeant Flatulento's cannon (below). By the end of the game it had whittled the Hungarian Grenadiers down quite considerably and this saved Captain Cliche's bacon and backside. Flatulento had roped in a drummer to help load the cannon. Flatulento proceeded to sing a traditional Italian falsetto battle-hymn to the annoyance of all and sundry.
Cliche about to consolidate and rally his remaining command. Not many left by this stage ... he spotted a wooded area and squatted there for the remainder of the game, gnashing his teeth and wailing uncontrollably into his boots.
Meanwhile, the Grenzers managed to snipe away at their foes but to no real effect (below). Another couple of volleys later and they were off back to the river, tail between their legs. The heroic Captain Longabuscu and his side-kick, Corporal Curlicu, did their best to rally the men. So in true tabletop style, the freshly-painted unit was devastated and pretty useless! I suppose they slowed down the advance ...
"Bad things happen" rolls. The Austrians' morale is beginning to dip. Next: the Grenzers consolidate behind the church ruins. And more wine for Curlicu. The Grenzers behind the river have been killed - but being pretty and all, they hung around on the board to add to the general confusion.
Volte-Face had been quiet for a couple of rounds (below). Note the lack of sheep at this stage - thoroughly troubled no doubt by Volte-Face's legerdemain. But with time ticking, he shoved a couple of sheep into a shed for later and got back to booting his fusiliers up the board. They advanced on the river and ... we had to call it a day.
Colonel Schiettekatte had declined to deploy with the Austrian fusiliers - even at this stage - as the Austrians still had 3 deployment points to play with. The Austrian morale was falling and Captain Cliche had rallied his men (and was heading for cover to avoid any more casualties). On balance, the Austrian forces had slowed the French advance but I reckon another couple of turns would have made the difference. Only a devastating first-fire volley from Schiettekatte's fusiliers against Volte-Face's pretty much untouched units could have swung it towards an Austrian victory.
Dispatches:
Volte-Face: Tres bon. I have a nice set of woollies to keep me warm for the rest of winter. Our boys performed better than anyone in the world, ever. Sure, Cliche got a bit excited and charged ahead in the hope of standing heroically on the bridge with his sword in the air (dramatic). Sure, he had virtually no-one left at the end. But my boys and the voltiguers made mincemeat of the Grenzers. Kudos to the Italian cannon and their consistent hammering of the Hungarian Grenadiers behind the bridge. Very handy indeed. Two more turns and we would have captured their deployment zones. Vive L'Empereur!
Schiettekatte (from a cafe in Vienna): What? There was a battle, you say? Well undoubtedly Hamsarni and Longabuscu fought valiantly to the last man. Now I'm rid of them I can claim their weekly pay ... what? They didn't die and didn't necessarily lose? Possibly a draw? What is a draw? Isn't there overtime or extra time? No, I don't think it was a bad idea to deploy the 12 Grenzers against around 40 soldiers on our right flank. They were fine. Just a few scratches. No, I don't think it was a bad idea to deploy the Hungarian moustaches at the start of the game behind the bridge. What do you mean a cannon reduces the level of cover? Surely those moustaches count as extra cover? Bah, bring me a bratwurst, boy, you know nothing of soldiering and linear tactics!
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