OT 2018 Round 5

Game 1
Kandras78 (Prussian) 9 banners
Bangla (French) 6 banners

The Prussians began by looking to form two large batteries. Obviously a Bombardment to come. The French countered by withdrawing on the left and advancing their cavalry on their right. A charge broke up the artillery on their right, but the cavalry came back battered. Then the The French raced out to a lead but then the Prussians began their inevitable push. Numbers on their left won them the day, and the artillery on the other flank kept the French on the defensive. In the end, a charge into Wartenburg by the Grenadiers clinched the final banner for the Prussians. The French took out a final banner upon seeing all was lost.

Next instalment in two days.......

Game 2
Bangla (Prussian) 9 banners
Kandras78 (French) 3 banners

The Prussians again formed a grand battery, to stifle any French attack on the left, which never came. Their main thrust was in the centre, where Grenadiers and line infantry supported light cavalry attacking the Prussians there. The Prussians held, their cavalry attacking the Grenadiers themselves, and leaving that elite unit at the mercy of the artillery.
Then the French made a push on the right. Light cavalry attacking the Prussian cavalry there, who somehow survived, and a cavalry charge countered the French attacks. The French then marched out of Bleddin and the nearby woods to press the attack, but the Prussians held again, whittling down the French units with a Bayonet Charge. Desperate measures were needed by the French, and a final Cavalry Charge with two one-block LC units failed to kill weakened artillery units. One was decimated, the other set up for an infantry attack immediately afterwards.
The planned Prussian push for Wartenburg never happened as the French melted away on the right flank.
Two good games with András. Very difficult for the French in both games, and the dice were definitely with the Prussian in game 2.

Game 1
giulio (French) 9 banners
mark (Prussian) 1 banner

A rather tactical game that lasted for two hours. Thanks to good Command cards and nice support of Tacticians cards, French infantry and cavalry acted aggressively on their right flank. I think Mark lacked mobility where he most needed it. The final score does not tell the whole story. Several times the Prussians were on the verge of reversing the course of the battle. But when they finally collapsed on the French right, their fate was sealed. I forgot to save a log file but Mark will post it.

Final score tells the whole story.. Prussians couldn't hit, drew useless cards. I was the Prussians, Giulio the French.

Mark-McG wrote: I was the Prussians, Giulio the French.

Yes, thanks. I corrected the report.

Mark, you were obviously pretty disengaged late on, and just wanted the game to end. Giulio played a "Take Command Left" card and then moved on the right. As it turned out, it was one of the few turns where he didn't cause a casualty or a retreat! You obviously were'nt paying much attention by this stage.
Still, you get those games where you can't do anything with the cards and dice. What price a 9-0 your way next time?

Bangla wrote: Giulio played a "Take Command Left" card and then moved on the right.

True. And it was a perfectly legal move

I took it as an act of faith that he had whatever card he desired, but I suspect this was the
"-Or- Issue an order to one unit of your choice." option, which I did check..

the only card I'd have been surprised to see was a Probe, because I had the complete set..

Yep, Giulio did, in the end, move only one unit. But he ordered two, and actually planned to move both initially. In fact the second unit, the LN, was left ordered which technically makes the turn illegal, but I know I'm being a pedant here
Besides, as I said, he made no kills ... and although Giulio did have the better cards and dice, he played them extremely well to make such a huge banner count final score. I'm already looking forward to watching the reverse match.

Report for game Zamba Bone (French) vs. CaptTonio (Prussian)

Result: French Win (9-4)

A very impatient French general pushed his forces forward from the beginning, but did not get much out of it. After a successful Bombard, the Prussians executed an outstanding Force March on the Prussian Right Flank and drove the French back, leaving only half an LT and the Artillery of the French Left alive. The Prussian Grenadiers, and an LN which sneaked in through the Center, took both Steinmetz town hexes simultaneously.
With a Force March, a Bayonet Charge, and an Attack Center in hand, the French saw their best chance in driving forward recklessly in the Center. One of the force marching LN managed to destroy the damaged Grenadiers in the town and retake one town hex, while the rest pushed through the middle. While unsuccessful initially (the Guard Grenadiers doing mediocre damage and dying immediately), the subsequent Bayonet charge in combination with an Inspired Infantry (battle again after advancing) worked out very well. An LN broke through the Prussian starting formation and eliminated two units (the second being a militia on the base line, by rolling one saber and two flags). The Prussians were taken by surprise and could only muster a minor counterattack in the center (a Probe Center and a Scout Center being the only Center cards they had available). The Prussian Cavalry from the Left tried to salvage the Center but ran into a solid French 1-block-square.
A French Coordinated Advance was a key turn: The only remaining undamaged French infantry (an LT) damaged the Prussian Artillery with a lucky strike (2 hits out of 4), the Infantry in square killed a 1-block RI, and the aforementioned half LT on the Left destroyed a damaged Rifle Infantry on the Left. The fourth order was a French Cavalry on the Right but that one had to swallow Prussian Artillery Cannister. The Prussians hit back on their left but could not kill the retreating French Cavalry. After that, the rest of the French Cavalry joined the fray on the French Right, and together with the heroic LT they achieved victory.