Battle of Mollwitz - Afterthoughts

After the battle, the victorious General Count Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg reviews his remaining forces on the snow-covered fields of Mollwitz

IN some ways it is easier to command the army that lost in real life.
This may seem counter-intuitive, but your predecessor will almost certainly have made mistakes - mistakes which you can avoid.
The chap commanding the army that originally won, however, can be in something of a quandary. If he follows the plan of the victorious commander, he knows his wargame opponent will be ready for him. But if he deviates, he risks throwing away his advantage.
I was able to improve the Austrian performance by not having my cavalry make futile frontal charges against formed infantry. The lesson that muskets beat sabres is not an easy one to learn, it seems, as the French were to make the same mistake at Minden.
My opponent in our refight felt he got several things wrong.
Firstly, but perhaps of least importance, was how he sent his hussars to their doom. His idea, he revealed, had been to hope the hussars could avoid my cavalry and cause confusion among the infantry around Mollwitz. But half a squadron of hussars was never likely to achieve much by itself and, as he admitted, he had failed to take into account the ponderous movements of the Prussian horse.
A more serious mistake, he felt, was to have advanced his infantry on too broad a front, making them vulnerable to both Austrian guns.*
Thirdly, and most seriously, was his decision to split his infantry, detaching two battalions - a quarter of his foot - to deal with my left-flank cavalry. If my horse had obligingly charged his infantry from the front, his decision might have been justified. But I had no intention of doing that, and my cavalry only closed in when one of his battalions became isolated. As my opponent observed: "The poor so-and-sos had two exposed flanks and an exposed rear - they didn't stand a chance."
At the time, he thought he was copying the successful Prussian tactic from the original battle. But what actually happened in 1741 was that the Prussian infantry as a whole turned to fight off the Austrian cavalry. Only after being successful in that endeavour, did the Prussians advance on the outnumbered Austrian foot.
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So our campaign to refight the War of the Austrian Succession has begun.
The 275th anniversary of the next battle, Chotusitz, is over a year away, which should give me plenty of time to get on with painting more figures.
I also intend to publish the latest version of the rules, and follow with rather more detailed explanations of the thinking behind their mechanics.
*Incidentally, among the changes I made to the rules shortly before the battle - minor tweaks are always going on - was a major one to make the artillery less effective. We felt guns had taken on a Napoleonic aspect in our playtesting, and it was necessary to rein them back. In the event, both armies' guns played a role that seemed well in keeping with the standards of the mid-18th century.

Battle of Mollwitz - The Refight (continued)

TURN NINE

The snow-covered battlefield at the start of turn nine

Both sides' artillery proved particularly ineffective this turn despite my gunners firing canister at almost point-blank range.
They had reason to be nervous - Prussian musketry came into its own, sweeping away the whole crew from one gun and reducing the other to 25 per cent effectiveness. My battalion of Karl von Lotheringen Foot was also destroyed.
My only consolation was that the battalion of von Glasenapp Foot that Frederick was with also suffered casualties and failed a morale test, despite the King's presence.
The other battalion of von Glasenapp Foot fared even worse. Charged in the rear by my surviving half-squadron of Modena Cuirassiers, they were wiped out to a man, although they did manage to reduce the cuirassiers to 25 percent effectiveness.
There was further bad news for Frederick when the remaining troopers of the heroic von Bayreuth Dragoons were caught in the flank and completely routed by my Liechtenstein Dragoons.
Units eliminated at the end of turn nine: four squadrons of Prussian heavy cavalry, the half-squadron of Prussian hussars, three battalions of Prussian foot; one squadron of Austrian heavy cavalry, two battalions of Austrian foot, one Austrian gun.
So the Prussians have lost 7.5 units out of a starting force of 16.5, meaning one more unit elimated and they will have lost the battle.

TURN TEN
The Prussian plight seemed well-nigh impossible of escaping, but there was early cheer this turn for Frederick when his grenadiers charged the crew of my remaining gun in the flank, automatically eliminating them (they had no friendly foot within 4cm).

The Prussian grenadiers charge my gun from the flank. In the background, but too far away to help, are the Nagy-Károly Hussars

There was further good news for Frederick when he managed to rally the remains of the von Glasenapp Foot.
There was no firing this turn as the Prussian artillery had no Austrians within range and I kept my cavalry out of musket range.
Units eliminated at the end of turn ten: four squadrons of Prussian heavy cavalry, the half-squadron of Prussian hussars, three battalions of Prussian foot (7.5 units in total); one squadron of Austrian heavy cavalry, two battalions of Austrian foot, both Austrian guns (5 units in total).

TURN 11
By now it dawned on me that the fairly comfortable victory I seemed to be heading for was suddenly becoming anything but.
With my guns gone, I could not inflict any long-range casualties, and there were no inept Prussian horse left to chase. Instead I was going to have to trust to my infantry and cavalry to finish the job ... but that meant taking on the fearsome Prussian bluecoats.
But just as suddenly as I realised this, the battle was over when Frederick's von Grevenitz Foot, having turned to confront masses of approaching Austrian cavalry, were charged in the rear by my Los Rios de Guiterez Foot.
The badly outnumbered Prussians were slaughtered, bringing their army past its breaking point.

It's about to be all over

An aerial view of the complete battlefield at the end

Next: Mollwitz afterthoughts

Battle of Mollwitz - The Refight

A DAY late, but we are under way.
Here's my plan.
Clearly the Austrians cannot win a pure musketry duel, and I must make full use of my overwhelming advantage in cavalry.
In order to bring about a horse-v-horse confrontation with as little interference as possible from the Prussian foot, I intend copying a manoeuvre used in 1741 - namely sending my left-flank cavalry on a wide arc in order to attack their Prussian opposite numbers from the side.
My right-flank horse will be sent across the Kleinerbach to take on the Prussian horse there.
My infantry will await the onslaught of the Prussian foot. At least my guns should be able to rake the bluecoats with canister when they close to musketry range.
The figure of von Neipperg will be moved to join the hussars.

TURN ONE
Frederick's only moves were to continue getting his right flank into order. He has apparently decided not to advance until everything is ready.
(Something similar happened in 1741. The Austrians were not aware of Frederick's approach, and the Prussians could have attacked them in camp. But the King, uncharacteristically cautious in his first battle, stopped to get all his troops lined up in regular formations.)
I sent my cavalry off on their respective roles - the left wing to outflank the Prussian right, and the right-wing to cross the Kleinerbach.

Looking from behind the Prussian right. In the background the Austrian left-flank horse can be seen swinging to their left

The Prussian artillery, just within range of my infantry, opened fire, scoring a hit on the Deutschmeister Foot, who passed the subsequent morale test.
My guns, not being sited forward of the first line, were out-of-range of the Prussian foot. One gun was able to fire at the Prussian guns, but this counter-battery fire was completely ineffective.

TURN TWO
I ordered my infantry lines to fall back out of range of the Prussian guns, causing Frederick to order his guns to limber (this is shown by pointing the guns away from the enemy).
The only firing was by my left-flank gun, which scored a hit on one of the Prussian guns.
Frederick intriguingly sent his hussars obliquely forward, much to my puzzlement as I was not sure what he hoped to achieve by this.

The Austrian right-flank cavalry cross the Kleinerbach. Directly to their front is the half-squadron of Frederick's King's Hussars

TURN THREE
Frederick ordered his left-flank heavy horse forward, apparently trying to take advantage of the somewhat disjointed state of the Austrian horse crossing the stream.

Frederick's left-flank cuirassiers and dragoons advance

In the centre, I ordered my infantry to fall back some more.
The Prussians began a general advance, which brought their first line within roundshot range of my guns, the von Lehwaldt Foot suffering a hit.

Looking from behind the Prussian centre. The boulder next to the right-hand gun indicates it has suffered a hit

The view from behind the Prussian right

TURN FOUR
Frederick's guns, now within range of my infantry again, unlimbered. Meanwhile, my own guns failed to inflict any casualties on the Prussian foot.
On both flanks there was a clash of cuirassiers, with the Prussians losing the melee in each case. The von Buddenbrock Cuirassiers were particularly badly affected, losing 50 percent of their effectiveness.

Looking from the rooftops of Mollwitz village towards the advancing Prussian centre

TURN FIVE
On the Prussian left, the retreating Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers were caught from behind by my Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers. On the Prussian right, something similar happened as the fleeing Buddenbrock Cuirassiers were charged in the rear by a squadron of my already victorious Modena Cuirassiers.
This was rather careless by Frederick as, under our alternate-moving rules, he had time to get at least one unit out of harm's way.
In a development echoing what happened in the real battle, the two extreme-right battalions of Prussian foot turned to try to deal with the Austrian horse (a sign of General Field Marshal von Schwerin acting on his own initiative, perhaps?),

On the Prussian right, two battalions turn to face the Austrian horse sweeping by

A view of the general cavalry melee on the Prussian left

We calculated artillery firing before the melees, and with dramatic results.
The Prussian Lehwaldt Foot were reduced to 50 percent effectiveness, but managed to pass their morale test. Alas, the same could not be said for my Deutschmeister Foot who, taking their second hit of the battle, found their bravery deserting them and they promptly took to their  heels.

Looking from behind the Prussian guns. In the far background the surviving members of the Deutschmeister Foot can just be seen fleeing between the hussars and Mollwitz village

The melees were something of a disaster for Frederick with both his cuirassier squadrons wiped out. The Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers did as least inflict two hits on their attackers, only to see both hits cancelled by my producing a pair of 6s with my saving throws (cuirassiers have a saving throw from hits of a 6, thanks to their cuirass).
One small bright note for the Prussians was that the Porzellan Dragoons held their own against my Cordova Cuirassiers, each squadron inflicting a hit.
Units eliminated at the end of turn five: two squadrons of Prussian heavy cavalry.

TURN SIX
I moved the figure of von Neipperg to intercept the retreating Deutschmeister Foot, and he successfully rallied them.
My infantry hastily rearranged themselves to plug the hole in the first line, although the Karl von Lothringen Foot, in their eagerness, pushed further forward than their comrades (the move-variation rule coming into effect).
Both my guns fired canister, inflicting a hit on the Prussian right-flank von Leps Foot and the left-flank Brandenburg-Schwedt Foot. The von Leps passed their morale test but the Brandenburg-Schwedt, perhaps shaken by the fate of the Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers, broke and fled.
The Prussian guns had even more success, concentrating their fire on the Rios-Deutschmeister Grenadiers which, thanks to failing their morale test, ceased to exist as a unit.
On the Prussian left, the Porzelan Dragoons, suffered a second round of meleeing against the Cordova Cuirassiers and were also hit in the flank by the Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers. Not surprisingly, the dragoons were wiped out, but not before reducing the Cordova squadron to 25 percent effectiveness.
On the Prussian right, a squadron of my Modena Cuirassiers clashed bloodily with the von Bayreuth Dragoons. Each inflicted three hits, meaning there would be a second round of meleeing. Also on this flank, my other squadron of Modena Cuirassiers suffered a musketry hit from the battalion of von Glasenapp Foot that had turned to help out their cavalry. The cuirassiers failed the subsequent morale test, losing a further 25 percent effectiveness.

An aerial view showing the Prussian centre pushing forward while the Austrian horse are victorious on both flanks

Units eliminated at the end of turn six: three squadrons of Prussian heavy cavalry; one battalion of Austrian foot.

TURN SEVEN
A combination of musketry and canister disposed of the remaining von Leps Foot, although not before they had scored a hit on my left-flank gunners, whose morale nevertheless remained steadfast.
The Prussian left-flank von Glasenapp Foot also suffered a hit from canister, but passed their morale test.
Further to the left, beyond the Kleinerbach, the ponderous nature of the Prussian horse was highlighted when my Batthyány Dragoons caught the King's Hussars in the flank and destroyed them without suffering any losses.
On the other flank, the dragoon-cuirassier melee was again drawn.

Massed Austrian horse prepare to ford the Kleinerbach for an easy-looking prey in the shape of the retreating Brandenburg-Schwedt Foot

Units eliminated at the end of turn seven: three squadrons of Prussian heavy cavalry, the half-squadron of Prussian hussars and one battalion each of Prussian and Austrian foot.

TURN EIGHT
Another bloodthirsty round.
The Brandenburg-Schwedt Foot met their inevitable fate, at the hands of the Prinz Savoyen Dragoons.
It was also a successful round for the Prussian von Bayreuth Dragoons, who finally got the upper hand and eliminated a squadron of my Modena Cuirassiers.

Despite horrendous losses, the Prussian foot, with King Frederick in their midst, continue to close in on the Austrian troops in front of Mollwitz

Units eliminated at the end of turn eight: three squadrons of Prussian heavy cavalry, the half-squadron of Prussian hussars, two battalions of Prussian foot; one squadron of Austrian heavy cavalry, one battalion of Austrian foot.

To be continued

Battle of Mollwitz - Final Preparations

WE were not able to start our refight today, the 275th anniversary of the opening battle of the War of the Austrian Succession, but at least we did make the final pre-battle arrangements.
Firstly, my opponent exercised his choice to sink his identity in that of King Frederick and the Prussians. A strange decision for a huge Francophile? Not when you consider that for centuries it was the Hapsburgs of Austria, rather than a far-eastern province of the German-speaking lands, that was France's chief continental enemy.
That settled, we made our three allowed adjustments to the initial starting positions.
I withdrew the Austrian hussar screen and placed the squadron in the second line where it could be a reserve and support the front-line Deutschmeister Foot, moving the Marquis de Prie-Turinetti Foot and Karl von Lothringen Foot to make room.

The Nagy-Károly Hussars have taken their position in the centre of the Austrian second line

Frederick decided to extend the right flank of his front line so his grenadiers could take up firing order. The von Buddenbrock Cuirassiers moved to the right to make room for this and the von Leps Foot, with the figure of Frederick in attendance, moved out from behind the massed Prussian guns.
Because only three units may be moved in pre-battle adjustments, Frederick was unable to unravel his second line where one battalion of von Glasenapp Foot had to remain out of firing order.

The rearranged Prussian right flank

Battle of Mollwitz - The Set-Up

YOU might think that when refighting a historic battle, the terrain should be laid out first, followed by the troops.
But I believe a better way is to first lay out the troops in their historic starting formations, or at least at the point where you wish to start the refight, and then make the terrain fit around them.
Mollwitz was fought in mainly open country. Even though it was nearly the middle of April, there had been a fairly heavy fall of snow overnight. This was enough to interfere with long-range vision but otherwise had little effect, with Frederick's well-drilled infantry reportedly advancing as if on a parade ground.
Accordingly I have decided the only difference the snow will make to the rules is to deduct one from every die thrown for artillery roundshot (the deduction coming before the score is halved to reckon the potential number of hits).

Bird's-eye view of the battlefield from behind the Prussian lines

The Kleinerbach on the left is a minor stream that can be crossed by horse and foot in a quarter move, without disrupting formation, and by guns in a half move.
The trees along the Kleinerbach have no effect on movement or firing, but the copses between the lines and behind the Prussian army count as cover, slow foot to half-speed for any turn spent partly in them and are impassable to horse and guns.
In the background is the village of Mollwitz - now Małujowice in modern Poland. You might just be able to make out traces of snow on the roofs (actually a sprinkling of talcum powder).

Close-up of the Austrian army

Screening the Austrian forces are the Nagy-Károly Hussars.
In the front line, reading left to right from the Kleinerbach, are the Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers, Cordova Cuirassiers, half of the artillery, Los Rios de Guiterez Foot, Deutschmeister Foot, Rios-Deutschmeister Grenadiers, the rest of the artillery and two squadrons of Modena Cuirassiers.
In the second line, again reading from the Kleinerbach, are the Prinz Savoyen Dragoons, Batthyány Dragoons, Marquis de Prie-Turinetti Foot, Karl von Lothringen Foot, Liechtenstein Dragoons and Sachsen-Gotha Dragoons.
The Austrian commander, von Neipperg, is with the Lothringen Foot.

The Prussians

The Prussian artillery is concentrated to the front-right of the infantry.
Behind them, left to right in the photo, are the von Buddenbrock Cuirassiers, Leps-Glasenapp Grenadiers, von Leps Foot, von Lehwaldt Foot, Brandenburg-Schwedt Foot and, beyond the Kleinerbach, Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers and King's Hussars. King Frederick is with the von Leps Foot. Note that the grenadiers are not in firing order but, like the infantry battalion directly behind them, are bunched together - a formation caused by the Prussian senior officers not leaving enough space between the cavalry flanks. This mistake was apparently a result of distances being misjudged because of the glare of the snow.
The Prussian second line, again left to right as we are looking at them, consists of von Bayreuth Dragoons, two battalions of von Glasenapp Foot, von Röder Foot, von Grevenitz Foot and, again beyond the Kleinerbach, the Porzellan Dragoons.
The national characteristics, for want of a better term, in force for Mollwitz will be as detailed in earlier posts, namely that Prussian foot add one to musketry throws and suffer no movement penalty for wheeling, while Prussian horse take half a turn for any wheel and inflict melee casualties on a throw of 5 or 6 instead of the usual 4-6.
Before the refight starts, each player will be allowed to adjust the starting position of up to three units. This is done by first writing the planned adjustments down on a piece of paper so neither player can react to the other's changes (at least not before the refight properly gets underway).

The Battle of Mollwitz

TOMORROW sees the 275th anniversary of the Battle of Mollwitz - the opening major clash of the War of the Austrian Succession.
It should also see the start of my refight of the war, which will consist of recreating the major battles from the key central European theatre of the war on or as close to their 275th anniversaries.
I hope to refight each battle against my regular wargame opponent, using a campaign system adapted from chapter seven of Donald Featherstone's 1970 book War Game Campaigns.

The cover of my copy of War Game Campaigns fell apart through frequent use

Since I will be hosting each battle, my opponent will have choice of sides (although his strong pro-French sympathies will often make this a foregone conclusion).
The winner of each battle will score two points, with a bonus point if a victory reverses the historical outcome. A draw will mean one point for each general.
Mollwitz, with the possible exception of the Battle of Fontenoy, is probably the most refought battle of the mid-18th century, largely due to the exciting version recorded in Charles Grant's book The War Game (a glance inside the front cover shows this sold for £3 when it was published in 1971).
He gives a good, brief account of the original battle, and an even easier-to-access one can be found at Wikipedia.
I will be basing mine largely on the accounts by Thomas Carlyle and Reed Browning.

I obtained Browning and Carlyle secondhand

The forces for my refight will be as follows.
Prussia:  King Frederick II, seven battalions of regular foot, one battalion of grenadiers, two squadrons of cuirassiers, two squadrons of dragoons, half a squadron of hussars and three guns.
Austria: Count Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg, four battalions of regular foot, one battalion of grenadiers, four squadrons of cuirassiers, four squadrons of dragoons, one squadron of hussars and two guns.
A word is on order about the number of guns (or batteries, if you prefer). I have seen refights on the internet in which the Prussians are given up to five times the number of guns of the Austrians. This is inherently quite improbable and seems to be based on including 3pdr Prussian battalion pieces as part of the general artillery.
The firing of battalion guns, at least in my rules, is subsumed within the rules for musketry, and in my defence I can point out that my numbers are not too far off the proportions of those used in Grant's refight. He gave the Prussians eight units of line infantry, two of grenadiers, two of heavy cavalry, one of light cavalry and three batteries. The Austrians consisted of six units of line infantry, one of grenadiers, four of heavy cavalry, two of light cavalry and one-and-a-half batteries.
Grant's forces consisted of 30mm Spencer Smiths on a table 9ft by 7ft. That is a substantial size of table, but the use of 30mm figures and the large size of Grant's units - a regiment of infantry was made up of 48 men and five officers - meant a considerable edge-of-the-world effect played its part on both flanks of the table.
My forces will be 10mm Pendrakens on a table 6ft by 2.5ft. These factors combined with my smaller units - a battalion of infantry consists of 16 men and one officer - means that whatever other criticism can be made of my refight, edge-of-the-world should not be among them.

Refining/Extending The Morale Rule

Currently the morale rule reads as follows:
MORALE
Test when a unit loses 25 percent effectiveness or more from firing or loses a melee.
Roll a die. If the following score is not made, remove a further 25 per cent effectiveness.
Elite: 3-6.
Regular: 4-6.
Poor, militia: 5-6.
A general may be attached to any unit. Such a unit adds 1 to a morale throw. The general may switch units but is eliminated if the unit it is with is eliminated.
A unit adds 1 to its morale throw if it has a friendly unit directly behind and able to reach it in two turns by normal movement (such a friendly unit can only give support to one unit). Exception: light infantry and artillery units cannot give support in this way.

There is also this related rule under melees:
After a round of meleeing, the unit suffering the most hits, including any inflicted by firing, retreats a full move - with the usual possible distance-variation adjustment - and ends the move with its back to the enemy. A tie results in another round of meleeing on the following turn.
A retreating unit is eliminated if its retreat is obstructed by another unit that is not light infantry or artillery.
If the blocking unit is friendly, it must take a morale test, unless it is cavalry retreated into by infantry.

I am now adding the following to the rules for firing (musketry and artillery):
A unit that loses 25 percent or more effectiveness from firing, and fails the resulting morale test, retreats a full move - with the usual possible distance-variation adjustment - and ends the move with its back to the enemy. Exception: not applicable if an enemy unit with which fire has been exchanged also loses effectiveness and fails a morale test.
A retreating unit is eliminated if its retreat is obstructed by another unit that is not light infantry or artillery.
If the blocking unit is friendly, it must take a morale test, unless it is cavalry retreated into by infantry.

Further, I am adding this:
A retreating unit will be diced for at the start of each move of retreat, needing a 5 or better to return to normal action. A general present with the unit adds 1 to the die throw.
Note that elite units are treated the same as other units - if they broke in the first place, something very serious must have happened to them.

The effect of this rule will be to reduce the gaping holes bereft of troops that appear too frequently on the table.

Updated Rules

ORGANISATION
An army is divided into battalions of foot, squadrons of horse and guns (sometimes referred to as batteries). All use bases 40mm x 20mm.
Most foot have 16 muskets in two ranks, and a separate officer figure. Light infantry have six muskets in loose formation, and a separate officer figure. The bases are in a line, giving a frontage of 80mm.
Horse have six troopers and a separate officer figure. Light cavalry are distinguished by having a more ragged formation. The bases are usually in two ranks, but light cavalry in a screening role may deploy in one rank.
A gun and its crew use the same size base but with one of the 20mm sides as the front. I originally added horses and a limber on a similar base, but have dispensed with them as they take up too much space.
The officer figures are used to help show casualties, or rather loss of effectiveness.
For example, a battalion of line infantry at full effectiveness consists of two bases in line with the 'officer' (it could be a drummer) placed centrally behind.
When a hit is suffered, move the officer to the right to show 25 percent effectiveness has been lost.
When a second hit is suffered, remove one base and centrally place the officer figure behind the remaining base, indicating 50 percent effectiveness remains.
When a third hit is suffered, remove the officer figure, showing just 25 percent effectiveness remains.
Each army also has a general, on a base 20mm by 20mm.
An army has lost when its number of units, including the general, has fallen below a half of its starting number.
TURN SEQUENCE
1. Dice for the right to move first. The winner moves a unit, then the opponent moves, and so on alternately until both players have moved as many units as desired.
2. Musketry and artillery fire. All firing is considered simultaneous, as are any resultant morale tests.
3. Melee.
MOVEMENT
Regular foot in firing order (ie in line in good order, able to fire volleys): 6cm
All other foot: 7.5cm
Artillery: 6cm
Heavy horse: 10cm
Light horse and generals: 12cm
It takes a complete turn for foot to change into firing order.
Light troops may make a half move and fire, or fire and make a half move. No other troops may move and fire in the same turn. Exception: troops who are fired at may return fire simultaneously even if they have moved, but subtracting one from the die.
Guns take a turn to limber or unlimber. Pivoting counts as movement but can de done as part of unlimbering. If limbers are on the table, they are only there for aesthetic reasons - they cannot be fired at, do not count as cover and should be moved out of the way if another unit wants to use the space they are occupying.
Troops may wheel 45 degrees without penalty. Wheeling further costs half a turn. An about-turn is free, but a second in the same turn costs half the movement distance.
Charging, ie movement intended to result in a melee, must not involve a wheel of more than 45 degrees and any wheel must occur in the first half of the distance covered. Only one unit can contact each face of an enemy unit.
Light infantry can be interpenetrated by friendly troops provided the friendly unit's move distance will take it beyond the light infantry. Similarly, light infantry can interpenetrate friendly units.
The Variation
Roll a die for a unit moving its full distance, or within 25 per cent of its full distance.
6...add 25% to the distance covered.
2-5...no change.
1...subtract 25% from the distance covered.
This simulates those ground fluctuations and other unexpected matters that affect movement but are out of control and consideration of an army's general. It should be ignored when the result would be ridiculous, eg a unit sent to defend a river bank being forced into the river.
MUSKETRY
Foot and light horse, except for lancers, can fire.
Musket range: 8cm.
Carbine range: 4cm.
Roll one die for each 25 per cent of a unit's effectiveness remaining and in a single line of bases. The scores needed for a hit are:
Regular foot in firing order: 4-6.
Light foot: 5-6.
Light horse and regular foot not in firing order: 6.
ARTILLERY
Canister: 0-12cm. Roll two dice (one if effectiveness 50 per cent or lower).
Roundshot: up to 24cm. Roll one die (halve if effectiveness 50 per cent or lower).
Halve the score to get the potential number of hits (rounding as normal, except that a half is diced for).
Each potential hit is diced for with a 4-6 scoring a hit on foot and horse, a 6 on guns.
Guns on a hill can fire roundshot over the heads of friendly troops who are at least two contours lower and are nearer the guns than the target. The initial die throw is reduced by 1 (before halving to get the number of potential hits).
SAVING THROWS
Troops in cover cancel a hit from firing with a throw of 4-6.
Cuirassiers cancel a hit from firing with a throw of 6.
Each hit reduces a unit's effectiveness by 25 per cent.
MELEES
There is no bonus for charging (the precise details of how two units come to clash is considered to be at a tactical level far below the control of a general) but there are restrictions on who can charge whom.
Foot may not charge horse.
Artillery and light infantry never charge and never inflict casualties in a melee. Exception: light infantry in a wood or built-up area melee as close-order foot.
A gun may only be charged if it has no close-order foot within 4cm. Artillery is automatically eliminated in a melee.
Roll the following number of dice per 25 per cent of effectiveness remaining:
                         Enemy unit
                        Hvy Cav...Lance...Other Lt Cav...Cl Ord Inf*...Cl Ord Inf^...Lt Inf
Own unit
Heavy Cav             1             2                2                     1                     3             2
Lancers                  1             1                1                     1.5                  4             4
Other Lt Cav          1             2                1                     1                     2             3
Close Order Inf      1             1                1                     1                     1              1
*in firing order and attacked frontally
^all other close-order infantry
Throw an extra die per 25 per cent effectiveness when attacking in flank or rear, on higher ground or defending a river bank or built-up area.
A half-die has a 50:50 chance of becoming a full die.
A hit is inflicted on throwing a 4-6.
Troops in cover have a saving throw of 4-6. Cuirassiers have a saving throw of 6.
Frontally-charged foot may always fire.
After a round of meleeing, the unit suffering the most hits, including any inflicted by firing, retreats a full move - with the usual possible distance-variation adjustment - and ends the move with its back to the enemy. A tie results in another round of meleeing on the following turn.
A retreating unit is eliminated if its retreat is obstructed by another unit that is not light infantry or artillery.
If the blocking unit is friendly, it must take a morale test, unless it is cavalry retreated into by infantry.
MORALE
Test when a unit loses 25 percent effectiveness or more from firing or loses a melee.
Roll a die. If the following score is not made, remove a further 25 per cent effectiveness.
Elite: 3-6.
Regular: 4-6.
Poor, militia: 5-6.
A general may be attached to any unit. Such a unit adds 1 to a morale throw. The general may switch units but is eliminated if the unit it is with is eliminated.
A unit adds 1 to its morale throw if it has a friendly unit directly behind and able to reach it in two turns by normal movement (such a friendly unit can only give support to one unit). Exception: light infantry and artillery units cannot give support in this way.
NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
These can be decided on a battle-by-battle basis.

Example: Mollwitz.

Prussian foot add 1 to musketry throws. They suffer no movement penalty for wheeling

Prussian horse in melees inflict a casualty on a throw of 5 or 6 instead of the usual 4-6. All wheeling costs half a move.

Battle of Einsamenhügel - Aftermath

IT was an exciting battle and very much in the balance until near the end.
Indeed at first the Pragmatic Army appeared in serious trouble as the cavalry on its left wing disappeared, but in the end the superiority of British musketry turned the tide.
The advantage we both thought I would get from siting my guns on the Einsamenhügel turned out to be illusory as their choice of targets was quickly reduced by my advancing foot.
Maurice, on the other hand, cleverly positioned his guns so they could support his right-flank attack without being masked by their own troops. However, this was not enough to turn the tide.
One particularly realistic touch came after Maurice's right-flank horse triumphed and seemed poised to swoop down on the unprotected flank of the British infantry. I was able to foil this by advancing the Hanoverian foot from the second line - their firepower deterring the French cavalry from attempting a charge.
However, we found that generally there was not enough incentive for players to maintain a historically-accurate second line.
Accordingly, I am tweaking the morale section of my rules by adding this clause:
A unit adds 1 to its morale throw if it has a friendly unit directly behind and able to reach it in two turns by normal movement, ie in the formation it is in and without any movement-variation addition. Exception: light infantry and artillery units cannot give support in this way.

The Battle of Einsamenhügel - Part Two

TURN FOUR (continued)
This proved a particularly bloodthirsty turn with the musketry duels resulting in the Pragmatic Army losing the Buffs and Royal Foot.
But it was even worse for the Franco-Bavarians, who lost the Champagne Foot, the Grenadiers de France and one battalion of Kurprinz Foot.

Overview of the battlefield from behind the Franco-Bavarian lines at the end of the fourth turn

Close-up of the cavalry duel between the Modena Cuirassiers and Hohenzollern Dragoons, with the former getting much the better of it and the latter about to flee. In the centre background can be seen the Royal-Buff Grenadiers with the blue coats of the Dutch foot beyond them

Units eliminated after four turns.Pragmatic Army: four (hussars, King's Own Horse and two battalions of foot)
Franco-Bavarians: six (hussars, one squadron of Hohenzollern Dragoons and four battalions of foot)

TURN FIVE
A relatively uneventful turn, except for the Kurprinz whose last remaining soldiers were eliminated by some well-directed artillery fire.
Units eliminated after five turns.Pragmatic Army: four (hussars, King's Own Horse and two foot battalions)
Franco-Bavarians: seven (hussars, one squadron of Hohenzollern Dragoons and five battalions of foot)
And at this point the turn became rather more eventful as, with the outcome of the battle no longer in doubt, Maurice conceded.

Final view of the battlefield

The victorious King George II with grenadiers from the Royal Foot

The Battle of Einsamenhügel

BEFORE battle commenced, we agreed that an army would lose once it was reduced to less than half its starting number of units (rather than less than a third).

TURN ONE
I sent my forces in a general advance all along the front while Maurice sent forward his right flank but held back the Bavarians on his left.



Looking from behind the Bavarian Kurprinz Foot. Close together in the middle distance are the British grenadiers and the Royal Foot, who have King George with them

Both sides' artillery had immediate success, with my Buffs and one of Maurice's Kurprinz battalions losing 50 percent effectiveness.
On the extreme right, from the Franco-Bavarian perspective, the first melee was fought when the two hussar squadrons clashed, each reducing the other by 50 percent.

The first melee involves the Austrian Csáky de Keresztszegh and French Bercheny Hussars. The figure of Maurice can be made out near the centre of the photo with the blue-uniformed Cuirassiers du Roy

TURN TWO
Easily the most significant event of this turn was the big cavalry melee on the French right flank.



The cavalry clash, and the infantry prepare to exchange volleys

The hussars again fought to a draw, each squadron reduced to just 25 percent effectiveness.
But the clash of heavy cavalry was disastrous to the Pragmatic cause - the Hanoverian Von Aldeleben Dragoons were cut down and sent packing by the Cuirassiers du Roy while the King's Own Horse were completely wiped out by the Colonel General Cavalerie, who suffered no loss of their own.

My left-wing horse have all but disappeared, leaving the foot looking very vulnerable

TURN THREE
The bloody hussar melee finally resolved itself...with both squadrons eliminated.
Meanwhile the superiority of British musketry asserted itself on my left flank, while Maurice on his left prudently chose not to order his Bavarian foot to open fire on my advancing infantry as my battalions would have been entitled to fire back despite having moved.
Finally, on my extreme right, the Modena Cuirassiers and Bavaria's Hohenzollern Dragoons - old enemies from our version of the Battle of Blasthof Bridge - came to blows, with the Austrians getting much the better of the first round of meleeing, eliminating one enemy squadron.

Close-up of the red-coated Hohenzollern Dragoons taking on the Modena Cuirassiers

Units eliminated after three turns.
Pragmatic Army: two (hussars and King's Own Horse)
Franco-Bavarians: three (hussars, Picardie Foot and one squadron of Hohenzollern Dragoons)

TURN FOUR

A bird's eye view from behind the Pragmatic lines at the start of the fourth turn

Again at the start of turn four, this time from behind the Kurprinz Foot. Note that I have moved King George from the Royal Foot, where he was in mortal danger of going down with the battalion, to the safer station - I hope! - of being with the Royal-Buff Grenadiers

(to be continued)

Final Adjustments

ONCE both sides have deployed their forces, I allow each player to move up to three units. Again, the player uses a sketch map to mark the moves.
I responded to Maurice's set-up by ordering the Hanoverian horse into the front line on my left and switching my hussars from the right flank to the left. I also ordered the second squadron of Modena Cuirassiers into the front line on the right.
Maurice stood pat.

The amended view from behind the Pragmatic right flank, looking towards the Bavarians

A close-up from behind the French foot

Finally we were ready for battle.

But first ... the view the villagers of Bad Wörishofen had of the two armies stretching into the distance

Adding The Armies

AS very much expected, my opponent ,a dyed-in-the-wool Francophile, chose to take the Franco-Bavarians, and to sink his identity in that of his hero, Maurice de Saxe.
I was tempted to put the famous von Kornberg is charge of the Pragmatic Army as he served me so well in winning our refight of Blasthof Bridge from Charge!, and in leading the Austrians to victory over Frederick's Prussians at the Battle of Christmas Eve (both engagements were covered extensively in my previous blog).
But the Pragmatic Army was really a mostly British-run affair, so I plumped for being represented on the table by the illustrious figure of King George II.
We diced for choice of long side, and I won 6-5 after the first roll resulted in a 6-6 tie (perhaps the dice should have been checked at this point for loading).
I chose the side with the Einsamenhügel, and we proceeded to make sketches of our intended deployments before enacting them on the table.

The Pragmatic Army

Because I had the Einsamenhügel in my deployment area, I went for an aggressive formation as I was able to site my two batteries of Royal Artillery on the crest. From there they could survey the whole battlefield and be high enough to fire over friendly troops in front of them, at least until the armies came too close together.
In the front line, left to right in the photo, are Austrian Csáky de Keresztszegh Hussars and Modena Cuirassiers. Then come four battalions of British foot: Royal-Buff Grenadiers, Royal Foot, The Buffs and the 5th Marines, and on the extreme right is a squadron of the King's Own Horse.
Both the Modena and King's Own squadrons have cuirasses, and the combined grenadier battalion counts as elite for morale purposes.
The 5th Marines are a tribute to my paternal grandfather's regiment (he was a sergeant in the Royal Marines and won numerous fencing trophies at The Royal Tournament). They count as regular line infantry but can also fight as light infantry if needed.
In the second line, again left to right, is a second squadron of Modena Cuirassiers, a battalion of Dutch Buddenbrock Foot and, after the guns, two Hanoverian units: a battalion of Friedrich Wilhelm von Klinkowström Foot and a squadron of Von Aldeleben Dragoons.
My opponent, whom I shall refer to as his chosen alter ego Maurice for the rest of this battle report, selected an even more aggressive line-up, no doubt worried about my terrain advantage.

Looking from behind the Pragmatic lines to Maurice's Franco-Bavarians

In the front line on the far left are three squadrons of horse:  Bercheny Hussars, Cuirassiers du Roy and Colonel General Cavalerie. Both the squadrons of heavy horse have cuirasses, and the du Roy are elite. Maurice has positioned himself with them.
Between these cavalry and the two batteries of French 8pdrs are two battalions of foot: Grenadiers de France and Picardie. The Grenadiers are elite. Behind these battalions are two more: Navarre and Champagne.
Maurice has tasked the Bavarians with holding his clearly refused left flank. There are two battalions of Kurprinz Foot and two squadrons of Hohenzollern Dragoons.
There is a general view that the firepower of British foot at the time of the War of the Austrian Succession was superior to that of most other nations, but almost certainly not a match for the Prussians.
Accordingly, for this battle at least, the four battalions of British foot will have a 50:50 chance of adding 1 to every musketry throw.

The Set-Up

WE had a lot of fun using my random terrain generator to set up the table for its first battle.
The dice decreed two rivers, two hills and a built-up area, and we also let the dice decide where the rivers would flow, the size of the built-up area, etc.

Nearest the camera is the fast-flowing and high-banked Passer River, which turned out to be impassable to troops, and in the centre is the Einsamenhügel.
On the far side of the table is the spa town - little more than a village, really - of Bad Wörishofen, which is set on the Wörthbach River in the shadow of the Kneippberg.
The Wörthbach is impassable to artillery, except via the bridge, but can be crossed by infantry in one turn and cavalry in half a turn. Infantry would losing firing order while crossing.
The Kneippberg is steep, slowing troops to half speed, even while going directly downhill.
The Einsamenhügel is by no means so steep, slowing troops only by a third, and not at all if going directly downhill.
In practice, bearing in mind the size of the table, only the Einsamenhügel is likely to come into play.

Christening The Table

I WILL be christening my new wargaming table with a battle, set in the 1740s, against my regular wargames opponent.
As the guest, he will have choice of sides but since he is a huge Francophile I have little doubt which side he will pick as the battle will see the Pragmatic Army taking on a force of Franco-Bavarians.
Each army will consist of a general, five battalions of regular foot, one battalion of grenadiers, four squadrons of heavy cavalry, one squadron of hussars and two guns, but there will be some differences between the troops' capabilities.
I will also be using my random terrain generator, modified to take into account the larger dimensions of my new playing surface when compared to the kitchen table we had been using.
The table is 6ft by 2ft 6in and the battle is being fought in central Europe, somewhere east of the Rhine.
Random Terrain Generator
1. Mentally divide the board into 12 sectors (two rows of six) each 1ft by 1ft 3in.
2. Roll a die for each sector, a 4, 5 or 6 indicating a terrain piece.
3. If a terrain piece is indicated, roll again: 1-hill, 2-water (stream, river, lake or marsh, etc), 3-wood, 4-built-up area (anything from a farmstead to a walled town), 5- Player A's choice, 6-Player B's choice.
If the exact nature and size of the feature cannot be agreed by the players, more dicing will be necessary. This is also a good way to decide the route a river takes across the board.
Note that on average a battlefield generated under this system will have six terrain features but a stream or river might well run through several sectors while still counting as a single feature.

New Table

MY new, 6ft, foldaway, wargaming table arrived today - excellent value, in my opinion, at £32.22.

The ability to fold the table away and stash it behind the screen (shown at the back of the photo) is crucial when living in a one-bedroom flat in central London
 

Two battles I fought with my regular opponent on my kitchen table - a refight of Blasthof Bridge from Charge! and an Austro-Prussian affair entitled The Battle of Christmas Eve - were detailed in my previous blog.
Both battles were a success but it was apparent I would need a bigger playing surface to avoid any possibility of edge-of-table flank effects.

The table covered in a green cloth with some scenery and a few Austrian troops

I should be able to fight large battles in 10mm on this table without a feeling of constricted space.

Rule Reinstatement

I AM reinstating a rule I borrowed from the elementary game in Charge! but removed when I posted earlier today.
The rule in the earlier post reads:
Light troops may make a half move and fire, or fire and make a half move. No other troops may move and fire in the same turn.
The reinstated rule reads:
Light troops may make a half move and fire, or fire and make a half move. No other troops may move and fire in the same turn. Exception: troops who are fired at may return fire simultaneously even if they have moved, but subtracting one from the die.
This amended rule encourages attacking play and is more realistic in that one turn represents more than the time taken for one volley.

The Rules

THESE rules for refighting battles from the War of the Austrian Succession are adapted, heavily at times, from Neil Thomas's books, particularly Wargaming: An Introduction and Napoleonic Wargaming, with an assist to Keith Flint's Honours Of War.

You may need to read Neil Thomas's inspiring books to find the reasoning behind some of my rules

ORGANISATION
An army is divided into battalions of foot, squadrons of horse and guns. All use bases 40mm x 20mm.
Most foot have 16 muskets in two ranks, and a separate officer figure. Light infantry have six muskets in loose formation, and a separate officer figure. The bases are in a line, giving a frontage of 80mm.
Horse have six troopers and a separate officer figure. Light cavalry are distinguished by having a more ragged formation. The bases are usually in two ranks, but light cavalry in a screening role may deploy in one rank.
A gun and its crew use the same size base but with one of the 20mm sides as the front. I originally added horses and a limber on a similar base, but have dispensed with them as they take up too much space.
The officer figures are used to help show casualties, or rather loss of effectiveness.
For example, a battalion of line infantry at full effectiveness consists of two bases in line with the 'officer' (it could be a drummer) placed centrally behind.
When a hit is suffered, move the officer to the right to show 25 percent effectiveness has been lost.
When a second hit is suffered, remove one base and centrally place the officer figure behind the remaining base, indicating 50 percent effectiveness remains.
When a third hit is suffered, remove the officer figure, showing just 25 percent effectiveness remains.
Each army also has a general, on a base 20mm by 20mm.
An army has lost when its number of units, including the general, has fallen below a third of its starting number.
TURN SEQUENCE
1. Dice for the right to move first. The winner moves a unit, then the opponent moves, and so on alternately until both players have moved as many units as desired.
2. Musketry and artillery fire. All firing is considered simultaneous.
3. Melee.
MOVEMENT
Regular foot in firing order (ie in line in good order, able to fire volleys): 6cm
All other foot: 7.5cm
Artillery: 6cm
Heavy horse: 10cm
Light horse and generals: 12cm
It takes a complete turn for foot to change into firing order.
Light troops may make a half move and fire, or fire and make a half move. No other troops may move and fire in the same turn.
Guns take a turn to limber or unlimber. Pivoting counts as movement but can de done as part of unlimbering. If limbers are on the table, they are only there for aesthetic reasons - they cannot be fired at, do not count as cover and should be moved out of the way if another unit wants to use the space they are occupying.
Troops may wheel 45 degrees without penalty. Wheeling further costs half a turn. An about-turn is free, but a second in the same turn costs half the movement distance.
Charging, ie movement intended to result in a melee, must not involve a wheel of more than 45 degrees and any wheel must occur in the first half of the distance covered. Only one unit can contact each face of an enemy unit.
Light infantry can be interpenetrated by friendly troops provided the friendly unit's move distance will take it beyond the light infantry. Similarly, light infantry can interpenetrate friendly units.
The Variation
Roll a die for a unit moving its full distance, or within 25 per cent of its full distance.
6...add 25% to the distance covered.
2-5...no change.
1...subtract 25% from the distance covered.
This simulates those ground fluctuations and other unexpected matters that affect movement but are out of control and consideration of an army's general. It should be ignored when the result would be ridiculous, eg a unit sent to defend a river bank being forced into the river.
MUSKETRY
Foot and light horse, except for lancers, can fire.
Musket range: 8cm.
Carbine range: 4cm.
Roll one die for each 25 per cent of a unit's effectiveness remaining and in a single line of bases. The scores needed for a hit are:
Regular foot in firing order: 4-6.
Light foot: 5-6.
Light horse and regular foot not in firing order: 6.
ARTILLERY
Canister: 0-12cm. Roll two dice (one if effectiveness 50 per cent or lower).
Roundshot: up to 24cm. Roll one die (halve if effectiveness 50 per cent or lower).
Halve the score to get the potential number of hits (rounding as normal, except that a half is diced for).
Each potential hit is diced for with a 4-6 scoring a hit on foot and horse, a 6 on guns.
Guns on a hill can fire roundshot over the heads of friendly troops who are at least two contours lower and are nearer the guns than the target. The initial die throw is reduced by 1 (before halving to get the number of potential hits).
SAVING THROWS
Troops in cover cancel a hit from firing with a throw of 4-6.
Cuirassiers cancel a hit from firing with a throw of 6.
Each hit reduces a unit's effectiveness by 25 per cent.
MELEES
There is no bonus for charging (the precise details of how two units come to clash is considered to be at a tactical level far below the control of a general) but there are restrictions on who can charge whom.
Foot may not charge horse.
Artillery and light infantry never charge and never inflict casualties in a melee. Exception: light infantry in a wood or built-up area melee as close-order foot.
A gun may only be charged if it has no close-order foot within 4cm. Artillery is automatically eliminated in a melee.
Roll the following number of dice per 25 per cent of effectiveness remaining:
                         Enemy unit
                        Hvy Cav...Lance...Other Lt Cav...Cl Ord Inf*...Cl Ord Inf^...Lt Inf
Own unit
Heavy Cav             1             2                2                     1                     3             2
Lancers                  1             1                1                     1.5                  4             4
Other Lt Cav          1             2                1                     1                     2             3
Close Order Inf      1             1                1                     1                     1              1
*in firing order and attacked frontally
^all other close-order infantry
Throw an extra die per 25 per cent effectiveness when attacking in flank or rear, on higher ground or defending a river bank or built-up area.
A half-die has a 50:50 chance of becoming a full die.
A hit is inflicted on throwing a 4-6.
Troops in cover have a saving throw of 4-6. Cuirassiers have a saving throw of 6.
Frontally-charged foot may always fire.
After a round of meleeing, the unit suffering the most hits, including any inflicted by firing, retreats a full move - with the usual possible distance-variation adjustment - and ends the move with its back to the enemy. A tie results in another round of meleeing on the following turn.
A retreating unit is eliminated if its retreat is obstructed by another unit that is not light infantry or artillery.
If the blocking unit is friendly, it must take a morale test, unless it is cavalry retreated into by infantry.
MORALE
Test when a unit loses at least 25 per cent effectiveness from firing or loses a melee.
Roll a die. If the following score is not made, remove a further 25 per cent effectiveness.
Elite: 3-6.
Regular: 4-6.
Poor, militia: 5-6.
A general may be attached to any unit. Such a unit adds 1 to a morale throw. The general may switch units but is eliminated if the unit it is with is eliminated.
NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

These can be decided on a battle-by-battle basis.

Example: Mollwitz.

Prussian foot add 1 to musketry throws. They suffer no movement penalty for wheeling

Prussian horse in melees inflict a casualty on a throw of 5 or 6 instead of the usual 4-6. All wheeling costs half a move.