OT2021 Round 2

Open Tournament
Round 2
...

OT2021 Round 2

Game 1
MarkMcG (Allies) 6 Banners
gotigerssc (French) 2 Banners

Not much came in the way of reinforcements for the French and despite the constant positioning, we could not gain much traction. One of the French officers also failed a leader check. Allies were just all around better in this one.

Game 2
gotigerssc (Allies) 6 Banners
MarkMcG (French) 0 Banners

After the results of both matches I'm convinced that this scenario just doesn't like the French. The critical rolls would not drop for the French again in this one - I believe Mark rolled about 8 dice, on different turns, against a 1 figure LC with no hits. That LC eventually escaped behind the lines as soon as I drew a card in that section. This one ended when a GRZ unit fired at range to knock the FA strength down to 1 and then the Austrian LC took it and a 1 figure HC out to end the match.

Always a challenge and good time to face Mark

Round 2 

Renaud (rjvonline) vs Andrei (gileforn)

Both games ended up on the same score 6-4 for the Allies, but Renaud won on blocks.

I don't remember much of the first game except for incomprehensibly foregoing the opportunity to roll 6 dice (on a Leadership card play) against a weakened French HC unit that could not retire and rally (and then went on to kill one of my units). No matter the Allies still won. The French reinforcements were decent.

The second game (my French against Andrei's Allies) lasted a looong time. We reshuffled the command deck and drew a good chunk of the second deck.  My reinforcement rolls ran cold, hot, and cold. There was action in all sectors. The central sector there was mostly an artillery exchange that initially turned in favor of Andrei until I got 2 Artillery reinforcements and got rid of the Austrian artillery. While my Bombard card was countered by Battlefield Smoke and so I rolled 2 dice instead of 9 (I think), I still got 2 hits to kill the remaining Austrian battery (my luckiest roll of the game by far). Andrei's attempt to outflank me on my left failed, and we kind of observed one another on my right after an initial skirmish. At that point, I had come back from 0-4 to 3-4, and felt pretty good about my chances. I moved forward on my right with 3 full-strength line infantry against his mix of line, light and grenzer, all in BUA or on hills. I used Bayonet Charge, supported by First Strike (for his turn), and then Cold Steel, but the dice failed me, and his mostly didn't (like 3 hits out of 4 dice on my leader unit). While I collected a VP by killing a 1-block LC in the BUA on the opposite flank, I only dropped the LT defending the BUA on the right flank to 1 block. Between battle-backs and melee attacks over 2 rounds, Andrei killed 2 of my line units to get his 5th and 6th VPs. 

Thanks to Andrei with his fair-play!

Game 1
Jaboskov (Allies) 6 banners
Craterus (French) 5 banners

Action started on the French center and right, with each side trying to get organized and in a good defensive position. Artilleries tried to weaken their enemy before a barrage of infantry charges and counter charges.

Game 2
Jaboskov (French) 6 banners
Craterus (Allies) 4 banners

Allies moved forward on the flanks to take advantage of time factor. French artillery and cavalry counterattacks saved them from the Austrian encirclement.

Very close all around. Could have gone either way both times.

509 Lindenau (16 October 1813) [OT2021 - Round Two - 1st game]
Allies(A) 6 vs French(EZPickins) 5

A long, tense and enjoyable game with strange luck pulling and pushing both sides all along.
A slow but purposeful Austrian advance routes Gen. Morand. French Infantry reserves arriving to the field. Ineffective shooting. Allied cavalry bleeding out in the center trying to eliminate a stalwart French battery. French counterattack wreaks havoc on the Austrian lines, Gen. Quallenberg is killed. The French right also moves up but a cornered Grenzen unit battling back slains Gen. Fontanelli.

Hope, my skilled and noble opponent will be able to upload the logs.

1 week left till deadline.. please get matches played and reported. No extensions.

Mark please give us one week of extension. The scenario is interesting but Bob and I, are not able to play it before the deadline. It is my fault, I contacted Bob too late and he already has the weekend full. The post-pandemic world is a hectic place to live in. Maybe we can slow down a little and have one round every 6 weeks?

All the points go to GomJabbar (Brad) for our matches as I am not able to play due to a busy schedule in combination with the time difference with my opponent.

Apologies again to Brad. He really wanted to play but I was unable to comply.

Hopefully my schedule will allow me to play in the next round.

Twan (soul1st)

Game 1
MaxJoeZach [Doug] (Allies)  3 Banners 
RiverWanderer [Mark] (French)  6 Banners

Doug built up strong attacks on the flanks and as French I felt the noose tightening around my fighting retreat. The saving grace was a couple of last gasp melees between single block units on successive turns, with defending infantry fighting first in both. Luck favoured the French, with 3 banners gained in those two late game combats. The Austrian left flank had by now cleared the French off that flank and pressed forcefully towards Lindenau. Just the turn or two before, a Foot Artillery reinforcement had arrived (the only non-Line of the few that arrived in both games). This late arrival gave the French courage to risk their last serviceable LN in combined arms to attack full-strength Austrian LN, in woods but unsupported and with retreat path cutoff. For one final time, the dice proved their revolutionary fervour, resulting in the 5 hits needed to close the game.





Game 2
RiverWanderer [Mark] (Allies)   6* Banners  (*conceded at 4)
MaxJoeZach [Doug] (French)  0 Banners

Opening with a "Forward", the Austrians moved to a holding position on their right whilst calvary coordinated with Light Infantry to snare French Lights on  opposite flank. French cavalry attempted to support an infantry assault against the Austrian left, but was countered by short supply and a succession of "Leadership"-aided combats. This allowed the Austrian infantry to gain the upper hand over their French counterparts.

Meanwhile on the other flank, the Austrians were able to pursue a depleted French LN as it pulled back from Leutzsch.  It was eventually snagged on the back-line.

At 4 banners to none, though still strong in the centre, Doug decided to concede. 





Overall, if dice had favoured the French at critical moments in the first game, perhaps it was the cards that most helped the Austrians in game 2.

Thanks to Doug for two good games and for his help getting them played.

I am adverse to extending deadlines, but I'm also concerned about how few matches seem to be played.

So I'm reluctantly extending the deadline to 7 November,  but any longer and we won't complete Round 3 sufficiently quickly toi have Round 4 over Xmas (which will be a longer round).

I can't emphasis enough that players should organise their matches EARLY, not the last week.