Having been soundly beaten by Evert's French in our first play, I was looking for revenge.

Both armies move forward gradually, then Marshal Davout's force on the right {for simplicity I'll use left and right as they are in the set-up picture, rather than from each army's point of view} attacks to remove the two Russian infantry units on that flank. {That means the score is 2:0 to me.}

The Russian Cuirassiers move into the empty space on the right, only to be rebuffed by Davout's (Light) cavalry, while both sides' Light infantry skirmishes on the left.

Generals Augereau and Saint-Hilaire lead the French infantry forward in the centre. Augereau, on the left side, removes a Russian Line unit and both get troops onto the Russian hills. {3:0}

But the Russians are quick to push them back, eliminating one of Saint-Hilaire's units. {3:1}

Battered French units retire, but one Line infantry (centre-left) is caught and finished off by their Russian counterparts. {3:2}

More skirmishing follows, with the Russian cavalry trying to get into the action. As French muskets have cleared the hill in front of him, Gen Saint-Hilaire moves onto it. His Line infantry is backed by the Old Guard, who've marched across the battlefield. However, the Russian Cuirassiers on the right kill off the Light cavalry in Davout's force and force one of the infantry units into square. {3:3, however the French get a banner for holding a hill to make it 4:3.}

As the Russian infantry moves forward in the centre, Russian Grenadiers take the hills centre-right, pushing Saint-Hilaire back. Their muskets kill Marshal Davout! {A "Force March" from Evert and lucky dice take the score to 3:4}

Saint-Hilaire's Line infantry and the Old Guard fight back to remove a Grenadier unit and re-take the hill. {4:4 and then 5:4 as the banner for the hill comes back.}

Despite taking casualties from musket fire, the Old Guard follow Saint-Hilaire's men onto the hills as they destroy another Grenadier unit. {6:4}

Russian fire fails to dislodge either French unit from the hills, but does kill the Line infantry under Gen Augereau in the centre, the General retreating to the town. {Evert uses a "Fire and Hold" to make the score 6:5, but then it's 7:5 when I get the second banner for the hills.}

Another French win, then, but a tougher battle (and slower game with fewer "Bayonet Charge" and "Force March" cards) than last time. Evert's French having won 3:7, the aggregate is 10:12 to him. I'm slightly miffed by losing Davout to that 1/36 chance, but that's the game. The stats say this scenario is almost 50:50 and I can see that, with better cards, the Russians should be able to take the battle to the French.

Evert and I arrive at the main part of the battle of Eylau. (I'm slightly disappointed that there's no special rule for the snowstorm that had a big effect on the historical battle.) Evert gets to play French first and opens hostilities.
The French forces on the left under Soult advance. {For simplicity, I'll use left and right as they are in the set-up picture.} After an exchange of musket fire the French infantry charges on the left (led by Marshal Soult) and centre-right. They obliterate two Russian infantry units on the left and force another to retreat in the centre. {A "Bayonet Charge" and some good dice from Evert see the score immediately 0:2 in his favour.}
However, the space on the left allows the Russian cavalry to attack, forcing the victorious French infantry into square. A French advance on the right takes out a Russian Light infantry and pushes back the Russian Cuirassiers while the Russian Heavy cavalry on the left retires in the face of French Light infantry. {A second "Bayonet Charge" takes the score to 0:3 and the Russians are in disarray.}
The Russian Cuirassiers come back on the right, taking out a French Light infantry while the Russian guns force back the French Line infantry next to them. {1:3, but the French will get a banner for holding the hill on the left edge of the battlefield, to make it 1:4.}
French infantry advances again on the right with the Russian Cuirassiers retiring. An exchange of fire between the infantry and artillery on the opposing hills right of centre removes a French Line infantry (damaged in the initial French attack). {2:4}
While the artillery finishes off the remaining French Line infantry in square on the left, Gen Tutchkov leads the Russian Light cavalry to cause serious casualties to the unit under Marshal Soult that's just come out of square. {4:3}
The French attack again on the right, to be met by the Russian cavalry. Gen Saint-Hilaire leads his Line infantry onto one of the Russian hills and destroys the battered Russian Line sheltering behind it. {5:3 and then 6:3 for occupying a second hill.}
In response, the Russian infantry, Grenadiers to the fore, advances in the centre. To no avail, Saint-Hilaire and his men eliminate the Grenadiers attacking them to win the battle. {7:3}
I thought my Russians were doing okay, but failing to shift the French off the hills left them at a significant disadvantage. A fine win for Evert in what was a quicker game than usual (must be all the Bayonet Charges and Forced Marches).

This scenario was one of the games featured in our league's 2021 season. The league uses Blue Command cards only, so no Tactician stuff.

It was played 14 times and the results ended up as 7 wins each for the French and Allies. The banner split over those 14 games was French 75, Allies 76. So it really could not have been much closer.

Also worth remembering the scenario was designed before that Tactician cards were invented. Maybe they unbalance it?

Just played this scenario using tactician cards and lost 7-2 as the Russians. Not sure what I did wrong that would produce such a lopsided outcome. The two sides slugged it out at distance for a long time, scoring hits on each other but not eliminating any units. The French finally drew first blood on turn 7, eliminating a Russian light infantry unit. I tied it up soon after 1-1, but the French slowly pulled away. As mentioned earlier, I can't identify any really obvious mistakes on my part. But two events in the game seemed especially damaging to the Russians- on turn 5, I played an elan card with a good result, activating two artillery, one infantry and a cavalry. I attacked a french light cavalry unit on my left flank with the heavy curassier unit, using combined arms, resulting in a 9-dice strength attack. The French foiled the attack by playing a charge-if charged card, and destroyed 2 units, while I scored just 1 hit on my 9 dice. Although I forced him to retreat and followed up with a second attack with my cavalry, I scored just one hit, while an infantry attack on the same unit resulted again in just one hit. The upshot was that the unit survived an overwhelming attack and survived for the rest of the game, while inflicting almost as much damage as it had received. The game seemed to kind of unravel for me from that point onward, especially after the French rolled very well on a rally card and restored 4 infantry steps, shifting power in his favor.

I'm not sure exactly how I would play this game differently. One thing that is difficult for the Russians is that although they have three guards grenadier units, all of them are poorly positioned at the back, with units of lesser quality blocking their access to the front. I kept hoping for a force march or grand maneuver card so I could better position my units, but none ever arrived. As a result, I ended up using a bayonet charge more as a repositioning move than an attack card. The russian right flank can also be difficult if the french light infantry gets into position in the windmill hex. and is flanked by a line infantry on the hill. One mistake I think I did make was using the cossacks cavalry there purely as a screen, with the light infantry set up behind. I might have been better off simply holding my units out of range and daring them to move forward.

It was a frustrating game, especially as it appeared fairly well balanced on the surface. Ah well.
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Taken from Napoleonics - Commands and Colors System website.
www.commandsandcolors.net/napoleonics/
Page title: 206 Eylau - 8AM to Noon (8 February 1807) - Napoleonics - Commands and Colors System
Page link: www.commandsandcolors.net/napoleonics/ma...8-february-1807.html

One win each for French and Russians. Both games 7-6 so a balanced scenario . In the first game the Russians were very powerful in the centre with massed batteries, the French required a grand manoeuvre to send everything to the right, including the Old Guard who were brought forward on a tactical card from the baseline. The resulting right flank attack did enough to secure the victory. On the second game the Russian cavalry removed the French cavalry threat and thereafter kept a few units in square, reduced the French cards and slowed them down.With virtually no action on the right flank (French left flank) Russian grenadiers attacking though the centre finally sealed it.

Easy French win 7-2, Benningsen was very unfortunate. After ordering a bayonet charge which destroyed Legrand on the hill the Russian infantry had bungled into a French Fire and Hold order... boom, 4 banners.

Strange match. The French won 7-3 thank to a great combination of cards: force march in their left, plus Grande manoeuvre plus two infantry combats first and one artillery canister. The French just advanced all troops in that side close to the Russians. The Russians had a bayonet charge even, but the French tactician cards destroyed the Russian lines and the artillery canister made the rest. The French had almost free way to occupy the hills winning the battle.
If the French had a different hand I don't see how they could win.
It was fun, though.

7-6 French victory. With the remaining 2 blocks of a French infantry unit in square on their hill with Russian Cuirassier and Light cav swirling around them, another French infantry unit stormed the hill and destroyed a Russian infantry unit for the win.

Funny, I played that yestarday too.

7-5 to the Russians. Or 7-6 ..... but close either way.

7-2 for the French against an inexperienced and unlucky opponent.

Just won again with the French (3rd time in last 3 game, can´t believe it).

After a excellent start of the Russian, with 2 Cavalry Charges and some other good cards and dice, which destroyed my 2 ART in first turns, weaked other units and forced 2 into square, an incredible coming back was following.

With a Bayonett Charge in my hand, i prepared my center INF (with the OG), to charge the center hills. The Russians moved 2 turns ago, 2 of their center ART
to the russian right flank, so i saw a Little last chance

Attacking then with the Bayonett Charge, the OG fight indeed as an Old Guard and killed one russian GR in 1 roll. The second GR was increased to 1 block.
The russian couldn´t counter this charge effective, so i occupied in my next turn 3 center hills, which gave me the last VP to win.

Vive le Emperor

Logfile attached:

The scenario was played in MT6, with 3 Russian and 2 French wins.
On the whole, it was one of the better balanced Expansion 2 scenarios, which does not really say much. Seems to be moving towards more pro-Russian here.

I think, this is probably the most unbalanced scenario, I have played so far. Russian having good luck on rolls and great cards, gives French no chance to win. Could have been 7-5, but Russian even got a Rally
Final score, pretty devastating 7-3, which could easily be 9-3.

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The Russian player gains one Temporary Victory Banner for each town hex of Eylau occupied at the start of the turn.

Q: Does the church hex counts for this voctory condition?
A: Yes, the church also counts since its effects are the same as a town.

I believe, you are right
the Scenario designers/Publisher should use a editor, which shows the victory hexes clear (with colored borders for example)

The way I read the special rules, ALL hills 4 hexes or closer to the Russian baseline count as Temporary Objectives and not just the four hills highlighted in green here. That makes 8 hills in total.

Or am I wrong?

I am playing it tonight and I would say "yes". Memoir '44 treats churches as towns / built-up areas.

But the sceanrio on this site shows only the towns as green i.e. objectives.

and I was talking about Maloyaroslavets...
So don't take care of my answer.

No Problem
but i need indeed an official answer, because in all 3 Eylau scenarios, the church hex is in the setup and the victory conditions speaking about "town" hexes.

Oooops !
Sorry, I'm not aware of napoleonic battles like you Guys and I was talking about Maloyaroslavets...
So don't take care of my answer.
I'd noticed that the victory hex are surrounded with green to show them on the forum, maybe the answer is there...
Sorry once again.

We played it that way (I think that is written in the scenario that there are 5 hexagons representing the town ; I don't have the expansion book near to see if I'm right but I'm quite sure that it works this way)

The Russian player gains one Temporary Victory Banner for each town hex of Eylau occupied at the start of the turn.

Q: Counts the church hex to the victory conditions town hexes too?