OT2019 Round 2

Thanks for the game FoxK. It was a pleasure to play with you.

Just to be precise, both games finished 8-6

Rnd 1
Viridovilas (French) 8
FoxK (Allies) 6

Rnd2
Viridovilas (Allies) 8
FoxK (French) 6

Allies(FoxK) vs French (Viridovilas) 6:7
Allies(Viridovilas) vs French(FoxK) 7:5

(I have no idea why this is red.)
M508 - Liebertwolkwitz - (afternoon) 14 October 1813
Game 2 (played 11-10-19)
French Army: Michael Stanley (scipio1zama) – 8 banners
Allied Army: Shavkat Norov (Nemo2333) – 4 banners

The Allies started by joining some leaders up with units, while the French used La Grande Manoeuvre to reinforce the town. The next 8 turns (4 each) saw section cards used to organize forces and fire a few shots, causing some minor damage and costing the Allies a Cossack at the hands of the French HC, who also put the Austrian LT in the woods into square. The Allies attacked the flanks and put 2 hits on a LN in town, but their HC attack on the French HC was met with a “Charge if Charged”, which wiped out the Prussian HC and the leader Puhlen at the cost of 2 Fr HC blocks.

At this point the French had 2 Attack Center and 2 Assault Center cards and looked to be able to withstand whatever the Allies threw at Liebertwolkwitz. I played an Assault Center, pulled back the damaged HC, and inflicted 3 hits on the Austrian LT concealed in the woods. Then I noticed that my OTHER Assault Center card had disappeared from my hand window. I was not happy, but I had no idea how or why Vassal had made the card disappear. I had no choice but to draw a replacement. (As you step through the log file, you see this Assault Center disappear much earlier, but it did not disappear as we played the game until this turn.)
Four more turns of center fighting costs the Austrians the LT and severe damage to a LN, and now Shavkat notices that HE is missing a card from HIS hand window. Vassal is being very wonky today. I also notice that I must discard the cards I play (even after my opponent has done so) before they will move to the discard pile.

More center battling damaged us both, and added another Austrian LN killed. I am now up 5-0 and both of us (unbeknownst to the other) are out of center cards.

The next 8 turns saw both sides playing Scout cards (the Allies) and discarding useless cards (the French) to get better cards in our hands. In addition, the Austrians finally killed a French LN in Liebertwolkwitz, while the French Short-Supplied two Austrian Artillery units to the rear rank.

The Austrians then “Took Command” and launched a devastating attack from their right with two LC and two GRZ, taking the French (who should have seen it coming) completely by surprise. The result was two French LT forced into square (one near Holshausen and one near Lieb…) and the artillery unit near Holshausen completely destroyed. The French reply slightly damaged a LC as it retired & reformed. Four more turns saw some damage to several units on both sides. It also saw each of us completely whiff while rolling 6 dice!

(I must insert a funny note here. I am notorious for forgetting Leader Check rolls. My poor opponent had to remind me numerous times throughout both of our games to make them. During one turn, I noticed one of his leaders prancing around the board, here, there and everywhere. I asked him what he was doing. It took 14 or so moves of his leader for me to figure out that he was once again reminding me that I had forgotten to roll for lc. I was LOL. Thank goodness for his patience and good humor.)

Using a Leadership card, his CU w/Desfours attacked and killed my HC and ran Heritier off the board, then damaged my other HC. I “Took Command” in the center, got my 1-block LT out of Square, and fired off three units in every direction, but got just one hit. His Center Probe finally killed my 1-block LT, and the score stood 5-4. However, there was lots of low hanging fruit, and on each of my next three turns my left flank YG and LT killed an Allied unit on his right flank – first a LC, then a GRZ, then the other LC.

Here is the LogFile for the first game.

M508 - Liebertwolkwitz - (afternoon) 14 October 1813
Game 1 (played 11-7-19)
Allied Army: Michael Stanley (scipio1zama) – 8 banners
French Army: Shavkat Norov (Nemo2333) – 2 banners

This was a long, slow-developing game. This was partly due to neither side having cards with which to develop a coherent operational approach to winning, and partly to the fact that I was taking pain medication after dental surgery that had me looking up various rules that I should have known by heart (plus I often have to be reminded about Leader Checks even when I am in top form.)

Be that as it may – Initial maneuvering and ranged fire over 14 turns (7 each side) saw an Austrian GRZ take a couple of hits (later retreated out of danger), the Austrians position their artillery on the right and take two blocks from the French FA near Holshausen Hill (which retreated out of danger), and the French heavily reinforce Leibertwolkwitz.

For turn 15, the allies used a Take Command card to advance four Austrian infantry towards the town, but they were initially unable to fire. The French responded with a Force March (turn 16) which lit up six infantry units, but only three could fire, damaging two Austrian units and damaging one.

Now began a long engagement in the center around Leibertwolkwitz, with cavalry from both sides getting into the act. Light damage to two French LN in town was followed by heavy damage to several Austrian LN, but also to both French HC, one of which eliminated an Austrian LN for the game’s first casualty. But now a Cavalry Charge by the battle’s lone Prussian HC destroyed both French HC AND the leader Milhaud. The next Austrian turn (Elan) saw the elimination of the French LT in the church, and the next Austrian turn (Bombard) set up a Grand Battery by the Artillery on the hill that rolled 5 for 5 blue and took out a French LN in town. My opponent had a stretch of bad cards – little he could use, some he just played to replace. Then came of long period of back and forth weak attacks and maneuvering, occasional hits that slowly weakened units on both sides. The French continued to reinforce Leibertwolkwitz while I focused on pulling 1-block units back and out of the firing line. He took some shots at 1-block units and missed. He also had another stretch where he had to discard useless cards and just draw replacements. I advanced my 4-block GRZ, but he Bayonet Charged it, got a hit, and chased it all the way back to Baumgarten.. I advanced my Cossacks and attacked a 2-block French LT. He took 4 artillery shots at the Cossack and missed (His die rolling was not very lucky today), then my Cossack put his LN into square and got 1 hit. His response eliminated the Cossack.

Now a large Allied Force (FA, HA, LN, 2xLC) moved up on the right, and next turn used a combined arms attack to eliminate a 2-block LN AND the leader Maison in Leibertwolkwitz, allowing the Austrian LN to advance into town. A French Rally gained a block for FA and LN, allowing a Combined arms attack that took a block from that Austrian LN, but the battle back damaged the French LN and more importantly, forced it from the town I Counter-Attacked his Rally, and my rallied LN attacked and eliminated the French LN for the 8th banner.

This game went 57 turns. I wound up with 7 weakened units on or near the back rank. But I almost always had a card I could play to some purpose, and good die rolls to boot, while my opponent in his defensive position was often hampered by less useful cards. But he fought hard and with patience (and with good humor.)

M508 - Liebertwolkwitz - (afternoon) 14 October 1813

Game 2
Allied Army: mantra 8
French Army: RiverWanderer 1

The battle started with the Allied jockeying their position for the first few rounds of cards, and deciding how to bring to the French. This was finally decided when I drew the the Grande Maneuver card. 4 Austrian Inf units from the center were shuttled to Liebertwolkwitz's door step. The French launched an attack to beat them back, but as luck would turn out the Allies were holding both the First Strike card and Inf. Battle First. With the French attack blunted the Allies returned with a play of Give them Cold Steel. What ensued in the next few plays was a back and forth battle for the town in which the Allies were finally able to firmly take control of it with a commanding VP count. The Allies finished off the battle with Cavalry Charge on both flanks.

RiverWanderer played a good game, but the cards surly favored me as the Allies. As my opponent summed it up ".... until next time..."

508 Liebertwolkwitz - afternoon (14 October 1813) [OT2019-Round Two - 2nd game]
Allies(Bangla) 4 vs French(A) 8 (7+1)

Allies were able to put pressure on the French Left by destroying the Young Guards early on. Then managed to develop in good order for a central push against the town.
French were eagerly trying to reposition their cavalry, and also launched a desperate attack in the middle.
While the French infantry suffered heavy losses, the Cavalry were able to pin the Austrian Grenzen and LT units, severely limiting Command options for the Allies.
Allied Cavalry finally moved forward on their Left but was met with a cannonade.
The French Light Infantry near Holshausen was able to chase a battered Austrian Curassier unit off the field and then capture one of the Grenzer units pinned in square with Gen. Mohr in command. Securing a French victory right before the Allied could have broken the French Center.

Long and tense game. I had the feeling that dice are against me most of the time. Bangla despite all my lamentation was a gallant and patient opponent with an excellent tactical acumen.

Here is the log file for the second match with Giulio.

Game 2

giulio (Allies) 8
soul1st (French) 7

My intention as Austrian was to attack the left French flank but once the units were in position I had no cards to move there and my maneuver stalled. So I amassed my cavalry on the French right, supporting it with a cavalry arty. Twan attacked there at the right moment with a cavalry charge, weakening my troops but also losing his cavalry and two leaders in the process due to my lucky rolls. I tried to attack the unsupported French artillery on the left but without a cavalry charge, with weakened cavalry myself and under the constant grand battery French fire I only achieved to eliminate one french artillery, incurring in heavy losses. Then I tried an infantry assault on the central village but the French line was well position and I had minimal success. In the meantime, however, I had collected the right cards I needed. The Austrian cavalry, supported by two artillery units, managed to eliminate the French arty on the left for the final medal. In fact, it was my opponent to remind me that the 1 block cavalry unit I left on the right hills granted me a victory point! Great sportsmanship by the part of Twan.

Also, a big thank you to Twan for patiently waiting for me to begin the game. I was in a hurry and I forgot to start a log file. So I attach the sav file of the end-game situation (@Twan feel free to add the log yourself if you have one)

TECHNICAL ISSUES

I have no technical issues to report for this game. I recommend selecting the card decks only after the sides of the battle have been assigned to players. I suspect the troubles with cards derive from module inconsistencies in handling player/side correspondence (not sure though).

M508 - Liebertwolkwitz - (afternoon) 14 October 1813

Game 1
French Army: rick 2
Allied Army: togan alper 8

The game started as the historic version at the center and finishged at the center with not much action a t the wings the Austrinas concentrated the russina cav also to the center. The dice and card gods were definitaly against rick, and he rightfully got frustrated. Especially since he had 5 left wing cards collected in his hand. The game ended with the 2 flags at the start of the Austrian turn

Game 2

French Army: togan alper 8
Allied Army: rick 0

Rick decided to conceed having had enough frustration in the first game. So we called it for this round.


It was a great time, and a pleasure to meet and play with rick. I am looking forward to see him in the coming tournaments. Unfortunately, I do not have the logfile. Actually I am sure I save it, but just cant find it in the machine. Will post it later if I can find it.

Cheers

Game 2
Gonzo (French) 8 banners
Gottoman (Allies) 5 banners
Game started with Austrian Inf closing on center town. French LN abandoned and GRZ ran into town on left only to be assaulted and destroyed by French LN. 3 Austrian LN advanced but was put into Battalion Mass and all 3 eventually killed by French range fire and LN coming out of town to assault. French HC killed a Ausrian HA, but then an Allied Cav charge killed one French HC and a French LN on the left that foolishly did not square and suffered 4/4 hits. The YG on left squared, but was killed eventually by art fire. FrenchFA on that flank beat down to 1 block. French HC hiding in town also down to one block surviived multiple range fires and together they were able to kill damaged Austrian LC for last banner. Thanks to Greg for fun and close match.

Sorry, yes it was game 2. I edited the original post to fix it.

rfdoane wrote: Game 1
rfdoane (French) - 5
tyler (Allies) - 8

reading this as Game 2, please advise if otherwise

Game 2
rfdoane (French) - 5
tyler (Allies) - 8

The game began with the French establishing a line around Liebertwolkwitz and the Allies approaching cautiously to trade shots with the defenders. After a few light blows, the action shifted to the French left/Allied right. The French got pushed back to their baseline, but managed to eliminate a few units and took an early 4-0 lead. Utilizing an infantry bayonet charge, the Allies next came crashing down on Liebertwolkwitz and eliminated one of the defenders. The French left was looking very weak at this point, and the Allied attackers focused their attention on depleted units. A late cavalry charge by the French failed to knock out enough units, and a final rush by the Austrian infantry killed off two units in and around Holshausen, sealing their victory.

TECH ISSUE
So what I have noticed is that generally when a player draws a Command card, the module reports it as;
* Mark McG French draws a Command Card
but occasionally, it drops the owner and reports
* French draws a Command Card
and in those instances, I think it copies a card already in hand.

Hard to tell, but I think it only happens in online play (which is of course most games anyway). We could test PBeM to see if it happens, but a negative result isn't conclusive without a lot (thousands) of card draws.
Wondering if it is a connectivity issue, but why just the card draw?

Again on TECHNICAL ISSUES

I did some further investigation. If someone else experiences other glitches with the cards, please tell me if they start to appear after some card is being flipped on its "back" side. This happens when two cards are drawn on the map at the end of a "scout" turn or if some unit goes into square. If the origin of the problem is what I suspect, then you cannot see it when playing solo.

if I can remind everyone the deadline is next weekend, 17 November. A lot of unplayed matches still.

there was discussion at the time the Ancients module was updated of doing the same with the Napoleonics module. At the time I thought that was overly ambitious to start two projects, and awkward timing because the Open was running.

I'm pretty happy with the new Ancients module, and it does seem like this card issue happens more often.
Nobody seems to have a solution for it, or even a good theory why it happens. So maybe a new build is the solution.

Game 1
soul1st (Allies) 4
giulio (French) 8

The game lasted almost 2 hours and was pretty tense. Twain faced the attacker nightmare, as I always had the perfect cards to contrast his attacks. The Allies attacked the central village with well-positioned artillery and a Grand Maneuver that brought four Austrian first-line units around it, also occupying one hex. Problem is, I had forced march and plentifull of center cards in my hand. The French +1 bonus in close combat was very effective and the Austrians were repulsed. The attack on the French left faced a similar fate, as my depleted artillery resisted several assaults and was able to fire continuously on the enemy units. The last option for the Allies was the assault on the hills in the French right. Twan rightly concentrated a lot of cavalries there but rolled poorly in general and I had bombard+fire and old+again plenty of right flank cards. In addition, I also had two cavalry charge cards in my hand and Twan had none. The asymmetry of the hands of cards pretty much decided the outcome of the game.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The quality of this module seems somehow degrading and I have no idea of what's going on. We started with sync problems from the very beginning and we had to discard the played cards twice. At some point, one card disappeared from my deck. It was a section card (2 units right I think) so the problem that also others reported does not seem related to some specific card. I have the impression that the module should be redesigned from scratch... which is a daunting task given its scope.

Game 1
rfdoane (Allies) - 8
tyler (French) 5

The Allies began the game by approaching the village of Liebertwolkwitz in the center. They took some shots at French units in the village and caused significant damage, but not before the French formed a solid line anchored on the village and extending to all three sectors. An Allied attack against the weakened French units was beaten back and resulted in the first eliminated units of the game. The action now turned to the flanks as both sides advanced on their respective lefts. The French took advantage of a spread out Allied right and picked off a few more units, advancing as far as the base of the hill. Simultaneously, the Allied cavalry moved up to the French artillery line and took advantage of back to back cavalry charge cards to decimate the French guns. The French right gave way and more eliminations, combined with the VPs for occupying the hill hexes, resulted in an Allied win.

“was this 3 Bombard cards without a reshuffle?”

I would have to check the log for exact sequence, but we had 2 Elans played and I am pretty sure that the 3rd if not 2nd was after a reshuffle, and of course “only” 1 or 2 in hand at one time. No specific sign of the card bug whereby cards disappear from both hands at once.

Mark B

"From this beginning, the Austrians were able to rely heavily on artillery, helped along by 3 Bombards."

was this 3 Bombard cards without a reshuffle?
Looking hard at a card fault in the VASSAL module, and the Bombard card seems to be a regular contender.
Maybe just because it is more noticable!

M508 - Liebertwolkwitz - (afternoon) 14 October 1813

Game 1
French Army: mantra 5
Allied Army: RiverWanderer 8


An early opportunistic short supply allowed Austrian Light Cavalry to risk an attack on the French left flank Foot Artillery. The risk paid off, leaving the French Left out-numbered and under threat. From this beginning, the Austrians were able to rely heavily on artillery, helped along by 3 Bombards.

Next, an initially successful Austrian assault on Liebertwolkwitz was repulsed and a renewed advance held up by French cavalry action, in turn beaten by Austrian counter-attack. French Light Cavalry was at hand to reinforce their centre and this soon dispatched both the over-extended Austrian Cuirassiers and the Horse Artillery they were supposed to protect.

As the French Light Cavalry swept backwards to give much needed support to their left flank, the second Austrian assault on Liebertwolkwitz got underway. Again this took out a unit but Austrian reluctance to take ground into the town was repaid with a fierce melee response that sent the Austrians reeling back again. By now, it seemed that the Austrian assault had run out of steam and both sides had traded equally in banners, with the French retaining their initial advantage for occupying Liebertwolkwitz.

Austrian artillery had continued to chip away at the French left. Seizing the opportunity to reorganise, the French moved weaker units out of harm's way and instead placed their still intact Light Cavalry into Holshausen with an full-strength Line unit on the nearby hill. Anticipating the threat to their remaining Horse Artillery, the Austrians reorganised as best they could and hoped for the best. The cavalry attack swiftly followed but Austrian luck held, even when the counter-attack (Cold Steel) was challenged by First Strike. The French Light Cavalry had been very effective and their demise was a key point in the battle. Austrian artillery was now free to continue weakening French units and soon a depleted Line was picked off from the French rear, bringing the banner score to 6:5.

On their own left flank the Allies had held back, cautious of the combined might of French guns and heavy cavalry. Russian Cuirassiers paraded at long-range from the French Grand Battery, avoiding casualties despite the occasional, sometimes large, volley. With victory in sight, they made to advance to attack range, one unit was hit hard and had to be retired but the remaining one made contact with the unsupported right-most Foot Artillery. A fortunate retreat ensued and the French Foot Artillery was finished off on the back-line.

The French now emerged from Liebertwolkwitz to chase down depleted Austrians in the centre. Austrian cavalry and infantry came forward to resist whilst, on Gallows Hill, the undaunted Cuirassier unit resumed its roll-up attack on the French grand battery. Once more, the French artillery retreated and was finished off on the back-line, ending the game.

Thanks to Chris for an entertaining game (all 3+ hours!). Looking forward to the next one which we have scheduled for next week.

M508 - Liebertwolkwitz - (afternoon) 14 October 1813
Game 2
French Army: Brent 7
Allied Army: Mark McG 8

played quite differently to the first game, this was mainly a tussle over the village, and then the French left flank.
The Austrians used their artillery and the hill cover to push into the left end of Liebertwolkwitz, but were firmly pressed out again by the French infantry. The French cavalry came up in support, but the Allied cavalry charged in as well, for a pretty equal exchange. From here the action switched to the French left where the rescue of the Young Guard square became over extended and the Austrian cavalry and Grenzers formed a killer combo.

Ultimately, Brent re-aligned with a LGM card to bring his artillery into the centre and occupy the villages. A stand off then took place as both sides sought cards to get an advantage. The gradual drain of units off Gallows Hill to reinforce the centre and left, in particular the final French cavalry gave the Allies an opportunity, and the Cossacks and Curaissiers came up, with the Cossack managing to grab a Hill for the win.

Game 1
Gonzo (Allies) 8 banners
gottoman (French) 3 banners

French charge their HC on the right with great success, killing 2 COS and Prussian HC. Allies Cav responses mixed, losing a CU and getting most of rest beat up, but killed both Frnch HC. French Forced March from middle to right flanks and Bayonet charge killed a LT and pinned 2 cav against bacl edge, then the wheels came off. Five dice against a 1 pt CU gave ignored flag and strike backs killed one LN and Allied Cav charge with HA support killed another and crippled and squared the third with loss of a leader going down with his men. Cav charge had also shot up the French FA on French left. Follow up mv eliminated it and killed a shot up French LT in the left most town hex. Another leader died with the FA for last medal. French FA on Right never fired a shot. Thanks for the game to Greg,