1812 Rescue Mission

I managed to occupy the kitchen table this morning and play through, solo, the Sharp Practice scenario I designed recently. 

It's June 1812 and the "French" corps commanded by Marshal Macdonald has crossed into the Russian province of Livonia. The corps is made up largely of German and Polish troops who, now freed from restrictions on foraging in friendly villages, hope to fill their empty bellies. 

Leutnant von Hitwunde leads a small force of Prussian infantry to search a village near the army's line of march. He is aware that Captain Früschli, a rather foppish Bavarian officer attached to the General Staff, has ridden on ahead intending to use the church tower as a vantage point. He plans to sketch the countryside over which the army must march.

As his column, slowed by a waggon to carry off gathered supplies, draws near to the village, von Hitwunde spots a small patrol of Russian dragoons riding toward the village. Given the angle of their approach, they will be invisible to Früschli because of a large tree beside the church tower...

The battlefield - the Prussians enter on the road
bottom right. The Russian Deployment Point is just visible
behind the trees on the right edge of the table.

Turn 1 went just about as poorly as it could for the Prussians. The Russian dragoons' card came up first only to be immediately followed by the Tiffin card. The dragoons were deployed nine inches onto the table with the small woods on their left.

Turn 2 saw card Blue 2 come up first. This represented the Prussian NCO. I decided that the Prussians would send him off with one Group of infantry to wade across the stream and advance on the village in a right hook. As things would turn out, this would be completely ineffective. Having run up to the stream (picking up a point of Shock) they would spend the next six turns rolling appalling movement dice and struggling to cross the stream!

Also on turn 2 the Russians continue to canter towards the door of the church. 

I treated the single Bavarian standing guard as a one-man infantry unit. Activating on a Flag card after Tiffin, he stepped into the open and fired his musket at the approaching cavalry. He was obviously panicked and the ball flew wide.

Turn 3 saw Lt von Hitwunde arrive and lead his men in column along the road towards the bridge.

After an early Tiffin card, I decided the Russians would want to take out the sentry before he managed a lucky shot. I used a Flag to activate them and they charged the still-reloading Bavarian.

Faced by charging impact cavalry and with an unloaded musket, the Bavarian was cut down without inflicting any casualties on the Russians.

Turn 4 saw one Flag card each and then Tiffin. The Russians used theirs to dismount at the church door. This gave me the chance to use some dismounted dragoon figures I built out of left-over parts from the Perry Allied Cavalry box...

... and von Hitwunde's men continued their march along the road.

Turn 5 began with a Random Event that saw the Prussian column, with spring in their step, surge forward onto the bridge...

... with the accompanying waggon now lagging behind.

Needing to catch the Russians before they disappeared into the church, Von Hitwunde decided to act. Spending three Flags to move out of sequence he urged his men forward. Rolling a 6 on a single move die, the front of the column rounded the end of the riverside woods and loosed a volley into the dragoons killing one of them and inflicting three points of Shock.

At this point, finally, the card for Captain Früschli, the Bavarian officer came up. I decided he would attempt to progress his sketch of the countryside. One roll of snake-eyes later, he was two-twentieths of the way through his Task!

On a Flag after Tiffin, the dragoons retreated into the church.

Turn 6 was brief; a Russian Flag and then Tiffin. I decided the Russians could use the Flag to barricade the door as long as they didn't roll snake-eyes. This they avoided, slamming home the bolt with a satisfying clang.

On Turn 7 things began to go wrong for the Russians. Their Leader, serzhant Majevskii's card came up first and he rallied off two points of Shock in preparation for an assault up the staircase to try and kill or capture Früschli. 

Unfortunately, the next thing that happened was a Random Event. As the last activation was the Russians completing the task of locking the door, the rules suggested that this had failed. There must have been rot in the wood where the screws held the bolt in place. With an ominous creak, the door slowly swung open!

After that the Tiffin card came up. The Prussians used a Flag to reload.

Turn 8 began with von Hitwunde's card. He launched the men into a charge but they were unable to reach the door before the Russians finally got it barred. Elsewhere Feldwebel Klopp's men finally got across the stream, far too late to make a contribution to the action.

Turn 9 saw the action reach its climax. The Prussians assaulted the church. I resolved this as a round of Fisticuffs with the Prussians deemed to be assaulting a major obstacle and the Russians to be defending a high/wide one. 

The results were decisive; for the loss of one man, the Prussians inflicted three casualties including knocking out Majevskii and inflicting a second point of Shock. Added to the two additional points of Shock received for "losing by two" this was enough to rout the Russians. The two survivors fell back 15", I assume having broken through the east window of the church.

The game was great fun; I really enjoyed how the narrative pretty much wrote itself. It's good to know that von Hitwunde survived and can take his place in the campaign proper when Richard P and I finally get round to playing it. Perhaps the captured dragoon sergeant will play some role in our first game?