Seven Years War - The Battle of Hohenburg : PART TWO

 A Dinos "Honours of War" scenario

Please see PART ONE for background (and thanks to everyone who commented on it). This was my take on Dinos' "Take these Guns" scenario and I played it twice with different players. This one I'm calling Hohenburg 2  for simplicity but it feels different to the first battle as I had to take the role of a player, and we had no neutral umpire. As I mentioned in Part One all the resources for this scenario are in the 18th Century Download section in the righthand sidebar here.

Based on my observations confirmed by player feedback this time I tweaked the Austrian/Imperial brief to allow the reserve units to come on in a much more random way. That would mean much less control for the Austrian player over where and when the reserves would arrive and slightly improve the game balance.  Paul B was the aged "Dithering" Austrian general this time and I played the "Dashing" Frederick II (The Great!) of Prussia.

Overall view of the visible units at the start 

Me enjoying the view from Frederick's baseline

Once again the permitted Austrian deployment zones
and the numbered potential entry points for reserves 

Due to our need to keep initial dispositions from each other
no formal maps are available, so this sketch will have to do,
plus the photos below

The Austrian dispositions. Paul has put all his cavalry on the left flank (one regiment is hidden behind the hill crest), one infantry battalion between the redoubts, and one well back hidden near the camp.

My Prussians are deployed with a strong cavalry brigade, under Zieten, on the right, The mandatory frontline Infantry brigade in line formation will switch to column and march round the left flank. Brigades in Lines 2 and 3 are already in march column and will push through strongly on the right behind the cavalry. At this stage I'm trying desperately to avoid a frontal advance against the guns.....the best laid plans etc....!

Luckily Zieten got a double move to start so I could deploy his cavalry into line, press up the hill, and was met by Paul's Cuirassiers counter-attacking.

My Wurttemburg Horse Grenadiers were repulsed back to reform, but luckily the double moves were coming for the infantry helped by Fred, and my two flank movements were going to plan........

.....Sufficiently to get Paul looking pensive.....
Actually he is thinking how best to use his hidden cavalry regiment!

At this stage I was hoping Paul had spread his cavalry and expected a regiment to be coming over that crest against my left flank Hussars. 

But then he brought that hidden regiment forward with his "gotcha" expression as a rare crack in his poker "game" face. 

The Imperial Cuirassiers have retreated, but a Dragoon regiment takes on my Grunburg Dragoons. Time for my Hessian Fusilier brigade to start  changing to line in case his cavalry break through 

So now it seemed unlikely my left flank move would be opposed but I'm trying to keep the range from the artillery as long as possible

It was actually part of my plan to split his artillery fire as I felt the left flank could sustain the odd Hit from one battery. But Paul is now manhandling his middle battery to  confound my right flank even more. The cavalry action is now intense.

There are mutual 4 or 5 Point Hits forcing withdrawal of our cavalry but the Imperial force still holds the crest and the hiatus gives the artillery a nice open view! 

It's still looking promising in theory as the all-Grenadier 2nd infantry Brigade came forward in column of march  

The Hanoverian Grenadier battalion at the end is only small and, deliberately, in this scenario orbat, only standard effectiveness . I always think these RSM figures are cute and "classic".

2nd Brigade starts to form line - facing left as I'm still trying to split the guns' fire. In the distance my third cavalry regiment has suffered a reverse

A closer view shows the fusiliers in line shielding the cavalry who are being helped to recover their Hits by Frederick (2 at a time for a Dashing Commanding General)

My left flank attack has at last pulled Paul's static infantry battalion over to that flank

I like this picture as it looks like an organised 18th Century battle; but in reality I'm struggling. By now the cavalry were supposed to have forced back the opposition to give the infantry a chance to be deploying right on the flank of the large redoubt....but still I've got it all to do! 

The view from the Imperial Colonel von Muddel's brigade position towards my left flank column

Another cavalry clash on the riverside flank. At last I've managed to break one of Paul's regiments (the red dragoons in the centre spot) but my Prussian Dragoons (light blue) have been forced back to reform around the bridge (I'm secretly fingers crossed Paul doesn't get a random reserve unit here now).

In fact that reserve turned up on the other flank. A Dragoon regiment came through Hohenburg town and deployed behind the infantry. I'd now have to be a bit canny how I pressed on this flank.

This rather poorly lit photo sort of reflects the depression setting in over the Prussians! The combination of setbacks, reforms, erratic initiative rolls and trying to avoid the cannon fire has truly split my force badly by now.

2nd Brigade is hoping to get past the guns with minimal losses but, as luck would have it, only a single move was rolled which gave Paul time to turn one battery and hit them with canister fire in enfilade. I'm firing back at the other battery with musketry and battalion guns but the odd Hit will not dislodge them.

Paul's own slight setbacks have forced him to reform a line from the big redoubt down to the camp. But I'm in no position to exploit it properly, constantly under close range cannon fire. 

Another sign of my desperation. As stated in the Prussian briefs there are Victory Point penalties for bringing forward or sustaining losses to the "Reserve line" represented in my game by the Grunburg Foot Guards (foreground). But I'm throwing caution to the winds and trying to give those Austrian guns too may targets, hoping to keep them shifting and deducting 1 from their firing. Up ahead the Hussars and 1st Grenadier Brigade are squaring up for a fight.

Hessian Musketeers are attacking the redoubt gunners with the bayonet as the cavalry clash again on the right. Action is hotting up in the distance by Hohenburg town; but in the foreground the Erbprinz Grenadiers are still struggling to recover Hit Points 

At Hohenburg town my infantry are trying to find ways to advance and fire yet still negotiate the stream and bridge. To ease the pressure I was very happy to counter-attack Paul's reserve Dragoon regiment  with my competent Standard quality Prussian Hussars 

An overhead shot of the same situation - action all along the front now. At right I'm still reforming Prussian Dragoons but in front of them the Grunburg Dragoons are pressing and being met by a now reformed Imperial Dragoon regiment

The outcome was that the Hessian Musketeers got beaten off at the redoubt; so yet another battalion rushes downhill to reform in dead ground. The cavalry melee is resolved by mutual retreats - this backward route becoming familiar territory to the Grunburg Dragoons. Fred watches them go by like a frustrated football manager seeing a key striker limp off the pitch.

Between the redoubts Paul has outwitted me again, turning both guns on the Grunburg Grenadiers - they didn't stand a chance......In the background the Hussars and Dragoons are fighting.

On the right flank a Hessian Fusilier battalion is down to 3 Hits (orange marker) and is about to get charged........

.......no surprise that they are broken by a Superior and Large Cuirassier regiment. By Hohenburg my Hussars have been pushed back and Paul has withdrawn his Dragoons to between the redoubts 

It's all happening over there now. The Imperial infantry regiment breaks (yellow marker) under combined fire from two Prussian Grenadier battalions. Those Dragoons charge the Hanoverian Grenadiers and are repulsed but not before they have weakened the Hanoverians, who have to retreat. This cannon has turned on the Grunburg Foot Guards and causes a 4-Hit Retreat on them too. So much for my effort at a pincer movement on this redoubt!

The other Hessian fusilier battalion breaks during a further attack on this battery in the big redoubt. Beyond them the Imperial Dragoons by the camp have received a charge standing and opted to fire instead of counter charging. The 1 Hit inflicted couldn't save them though.......... and the melee sent them racing off the table - Done For

..........However, it contributed to my Horse Grenadiers having to retreat back whence they came, once again, and leaving the Prussian Dragoons isolated

A round up of photos at the end of Move 8:

At the top is my only success. The Hussars are about to sneak through Hohenburg's streets in column of march to see if they can loot the camp. 1st Grenadier Brigade will inevitably overpower the gunners in the small redoubt. The Imperial Dragoons have withdrawn to cover the camp. Seven other Prussian units are visible but they have all suffered badly - retreating, rallying  or just "dazed" - well that's how it felt after so many setbacks from the redoubts.

The Grunburg Foot Guards and Hanoverian Grenadiers are both in retreat, trying to get as far away from those guns as possible!

To make matters worse Paul had succeeded in getting another reserve unit. This time a Grenadier battalion from over that bridge on the Schmidafluss. Now he would be well placed to ensure my units on this flank could not escape the "no recovering Hits within 30cm of the enemy" rule.

And so the sun sets over a now peaceful Imperial encampment as they can hear the distant drums of the main army relief column approaching. Major General Holzenkopf has managed to secure his pension through a notable victory.

Army Points lost (my system not the HoW rulebook) - 11 AP each - could not be closer on this statistic alone, reality on the ground tells a different story.

Conclusion

It was now after 5pm and we'd achieved 8 Moves. Both armies theoretically had a long way to go to "break" (Prussian 28 APs, Imperial 22 APs). But, seriously, look at the way my Prussian army is spread in relation to the main objectives - both batteries and the camp. Would you carry on, or retreat to fight another day? The Prussians had lost 3 units "Done For" and those Dragoons by the big river bridge had not recovered points yet, could not rally, and would be forced to surrender by continued proximity to the enemy. I could imagine how a real Frederick might have felt - so much effort and loss for so little gain. The scenario would force him to leave the field next move, so why wait? Only two moves till the Imperial main force arrived and the objectives would not be achieved, nor the Imperial force broken. I was content to concede and pull back the 10 remaining units. Paul had cleverly used just enough of his stretched resources to "fight the fires" as they occurred, and thwarted me at nearly every point.

It had been one of hardest fought games of Honours of War that I could remember. An exciting game full of incident in which the actual losses, in both games, were disproportionate to the tactical situation gained, making the outcome in doubt for a long time. As I said at the beginning of Part One this scenario looks like a walkover for the Prussians, on paper, but the reality proves very different. I thoroughly recommend you try it - a different rule set might of course switch the balance but for HoW I've got to compliment Dinos on a very clever  idea. If you think you are a "been there, done that" 18th century wargamer, maybe tired of conventional games then give this a try - you will be surprised. The opening conditions on the Prussians in particular force a Frederician style of infantry lines and oblique attack, and the Austrians have strong artillery and cavalry to meet it. To me it felt convincing and thoroughly satisfying for that, even if the outcome was dire. Richard's Prussians in Game One were universally noted to have been unlucky with the dice, but with me as their commander I cannot say the same, so it must be a genuinely difficult challenge. My main advice would be that my tweaking to suit my battlefield, and my maverick attitude to slavishly following a set scenario, probably let us down this time, so stick as close as you can to the book. Dinos evidently knows what he is doing!

Finally, grateful thanks to Richard, Ken and Paul for giving me two great days of entertainment and socialising and I hope they all enjoyed it. I loved the opportunity to get some parts of my esoteric collection down from the shelves. What a great hobby we have, and how lucky we are to have Keith Flint and Dinos Antoniadis to help bring the 18th Century to life via "Honours of War".