Battle of Chotusitz - the refight

AS predicted, my opponent chose to be Frederick.

The starting position

Here's my plan.
First, my priority must be to turn my left-wing horse to face the threat from the outflanking Prussians. Command & Control is clearly going to be important from the get-go.
On the other wing, I hope to use my infantry to catch the Prussian cuirassiers before they can free themselves from the Brtlinka morass. That would give my right-wing cavalry a 2:1 advantage in numbers against the Prussian left-wing dragoons.
Generally speaking, cavalry melees should slightly favour me thanks to my advantage in elite units.
Frederick's advantage in guns means I do not want to just stand still with my infantry, even though they are inferior to their Prussian opposite numbers. However, if I can take Chotusitz, perhaps from the flank, my battalions will be at least partly masked from the Prussian guns.

I will be writing up the battle turn-by-turn.

TURN ONE
The first card turned over is a red 10, giving me 10 activation points.
My right-hand gun is just within range of the Prussian gun beside Chotusitz. Counter-battery fire is usually fairly ineffective, but it is my only target, so I take a chance, but with a predictable result.
I use four more points to swing my left-wing heavy horse to face the Prussian cuirassiers, and the remaining points to advance on the right.
The next card is a black 10.
Frederick's Chotusitz gun scores a hit on my advancing Los Rios Foot, but they pass the resulting morale test.
His furthest-right gun hits my Cordova Cuirassiers, who fail the resulting morale test, causing them to flee a move.
He orders his left-wing cuirassiers to leave the Brtlinka morass, but they do not get far in the difficult going, and he sends the left-wing dragoons forward to support them.
His right-wing cuirassiers close on my Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers.
Finally, his infantry in Chotusitz advance to the edge of the village and fire a volley at my Grenzer, reducing them by 25 percent effectiveness. They fail their morale test, losing a further 25 percent and run away.
Next is a red queen, giving me 12 activation points.
My first two points are used in vain attempts to rally the fleeing cuirassiers and light infantry.
My counter-battery fire is again ineffective.
I spent the rest of my points advancing horse on both flanks, and foot in front of Chotusitz.
There was a melee to resolve as my Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers charged Frederick's Buddenbrock Cuirassiers. Both sides scored two hits, but one of the hits on my squadron was negated by a saving throw. His troopers passed their morale test, so not losing a further 25 percent effectiveness, but had to retreat for losing the melee.
Next is a black 10.
Frederick again mostly made cavalry moves, resulting in two melees. The western one saw my Liechtenstein Dragoons defeat his Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers by two hits to one. The shock of the defeat caused them to lose a further 25 percent effectiveness, and of course they had to retreat.
The eastern melee saw Frederick's Posadowski Dragoons and a squadron of my Modena Cuirassiers inflict one hit on each other, meaning the melee would continue in the next phase.
The alternation continues as the next card is a red 10.
I was unable to rally either of my retreating units.
Both my guns fired at the battalion of Glasenapp Foot, which had begun west of Chotusitz, but last phase started to swing round the front of the village. Both guns missed.
My Lothringen Foot advanced and fired at the other Glasenapp battalion, scoring a hit on the half of the battalion that was not in cover (the village can only hold half a battalion at a time).
The eastern cavalry melee was resolved spectacularly in my favour when the Posadowski Dragoons, already fighting one squadron of my Modena Cuirassiers, was hit in the flank by the other squadron. Not surprisingly, the dragoons were wiped out, but did manage to score a hit on one of my squadrons. The hit was thrown for: 1-4, it would have been on the frontally attacking cuirassiers; 5-6, on the flank attackers. In the event, it was on the flank attackers.

Close-up of the Posadwoski Dragoons being hit in the flank by a second squadron of Modena Cuirassiers

The next card is a black 11.
Frederick began by successfully rallying one of his fleeing cavalry squadrons.
The Chotusitz Glasenapp battalion inflicted a hit on my Lothringen Foot, but the other Glasenapp battalion failed to hit my Los Rios Foot.

The fight for the village of Chotusitz is under way

The alternation sequence at last ended, and with much good fortune for Frederick as a black queen appeared, meaning 12 activation points for the Prussians.
My Los Rios Foot were hit by artillery fire, failed the resulting morale test and fled.
Frederick's moves included limbering his centre and right-wing guns, presumably with the intention of moving them into range of my main body of infantry.
He also ordered his hussars forward from the extreme north-west of the battlefield, and they responded by advancing 15cm - their normal move of 12cm was boosted by the movement-variation rule.
His moves resulted in three melees.
On the western wing, his Bayreuth Dragoons wiped out my Liechtenstein Dragoons while only suffering one hit themselves.
But my Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers edged his Porzellan Dragoons 1-0. The dragoons had to retreat, but did not lose any further effectiveness.
On the eastern wing, his Württemberg Dragoons and a squadron of my Modena Cuirassiers traded one hit each.

Cavalry clash east of Chotusitz and the Brtlinka morass

The next card is a red 10.
I had a stroke of good luck when my fleeing cuirassiers got a move-variation of minus 25 percent, which meant they didn't quite exit the table.
My guns concentrated their fire on a single battalion of Glasenapp Foot, reducing it to 25 percent effectiveness, although it passed its resulting morale test.
Cavalry melees on both wings went in my favour.

On the western wing my Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers catch Frederick's fleeing Porzellan Dragoons from behind and will wipe them out in the subsequent melee, although taking two hits themselves

The massed cavalry melee on the eastern wing

The next card is a red queen - 12 activation points for me.
Significant events this phase: i) the figure of Prince Charles, having caught my fleeing Cordova Cuirassiers last phase, used his +1 modifier to rally them just before they could leave the battlefield; ii) my remaining Grenzer did exit the table, iii) the Württemberg Dragoons on the eastern wing were finally wiped out by my Modena Cuirassiers; iv) sustained musketry from my Lothringen Foot forced the defenders of Chotusitz to flee through the village.

Chotusitz's immediate outskirts are left undefended by fleeing Prussian infantry

The next card is a red 10.
This phase started well for me with the remaining Glasenapp Foot in front of Chotusitz eliminated by artillery fire, and Frederick's Bayreuth Dragoons on the western flank destroyed by my Batthyányi Dragoons.
But I rather overplayed my cavalry hand by sending the Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers to boldly attack a larger force of rallied Buddenbrock Curiassiers. They paid the price by being ridden down.
Worse was to follow when one of my squadrons of Modena Cuirassiers, at 75 percent effectiveness, charged Frederick's full-strength Preussen Cuirassiers. My men failed to inflict a hit, but suffered one themselves and lost a further 25 percent effectiveness through falling morale.

My forward squadron of Modena Cuirassiers has been reduced to 25 percent effectiveness and is about to flee

The next card is a joker, finally ending the turn.

Looking from the west at the end of Turn One

 

Units eliminated at the end of Turn One: five Prussian, three Austrian.

To be continued