State of Play: Commands & Colors: Napoleonics – Eggmühl, Day 2 – French Left, 22 April, 1809

 

Over the last few weeks, T and I have been playing twice a week instead of just the usual Monday game. This means I’m struggling to catch up on my AARs for the Eggmuhl cycle of scenarios from the Austrian Army expansion (GMT Games, 2013) for Commands & Colors: Napoleonics (GMT Games, 2010). This post covers the third scenario in the cycle, but our last to play. I will post a short note with links to the five scenarios in the order they appear in the Australian Army scenario book for any who wish to consider them in order.

While it would have been nice to have worked through these in their proper order, it’s fitting that we finish on Day 2, French Left. This is the biggest, busiest battle of the Eggmühl cycle, with the highest Victory Banner count to achieve, well, victory – nine Banners.

Once again, the French player holds an edge in the scenario, with twenty-two fielded units to the Austrians’ twenty-one*, four leaders to three, and a six-card hand-size to their opponent’s four cards. An extra field formation or two is neither here nor there, perhaps, but holding half-again as many order options as your opponent should lend a palpable advantage. T also fielded more leaders – 4-3 – and all of his began the game attached to effectual units. At the end of a four-game winning streak, I felt the chill of failure breathing down the back of my collar.

Initial set-up (neither of us noticed the French being short one Line unit).

The first round was spent by both sides positioning their forces for better advantage. T lead off round two with an order to Attack Center. Three French Line units engaged with the Austrian Line positioned in the town of Unteraiching and the nearby woods. In this scenario, Unteraiching is worth a temporary Banner to the side that hold the town at the beginning of its turn (this is why the Austrians begin the game one Banner up on the French, a small concession against the overall imbalance). The other two towns, Oberlaiching and Obersanding, are each worth a banner to the French if they can take and hold the towns. The French Line struck in melee, losing their advantage to the terrain. At 50% odds of inflicting damage, and the further possibility of causing a rout (rolling a retreat symbol), this should have had a tone-setting impact on the defenders. 

End of round 2.

Instead, the rolls nearly all came up horses and cannons, with only a single block loss to the regiment holding Unterlaising. Return fire saw two of the three units pushed back to lick their wounds. The Austrians replied with a Coordinated Advance, which allowed further fire in the centre, breaking two of the hereto attacking French line (for two banners) and the annihilation of a third that had probed on the French Left into the grange of my Grenzers, hidden in the trees. This would portend the eventual, tragic outcome for the French.

I took the precaution of photographing some of my phenomenally good rolls as proof for
the guys in my Wednesday group, who otherwise wouldn't believe I was capable of such.
These were all melee rolls against French Infantry units.

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Note: dear reader, it is at this point that my memory of the proceedings begins to faulter for a couple of rounds. On this particular night I was subject to a nasty headache that while not debilitating, was quite distracting. I remember parts of rounds, but none in full. I remember that the hilltop battery on my Left weathered Cavalry attacks from two sides intent on dislodging the guns from their redoubt, and I think my retaliatory rolls sent both into retreat (I don’t think it was during the last round with the French-played Cavalry Attack order, but I couldn’t swear it wasn’t). Nor did I have the presence of mind to take board-state photos at the  the end of every round, which I’ve got into the habit of doing.

End of round 5. I'm pretty sure.

I took some paracetamol when I first arrived at T’s, but they took a little while to kick in. I must have been feeling more myself by round 6, as my memories of the last two rounds are somewhat clearer – I remember at one point being surprised when I notices I was ahead by a couple of banners. The coffee probably helped as well (I’m a great believer in the restorative benefits of caffeinated beverages, and T always has decent coffee on hand).

To wit, I don’t feel I can take any credit for the win. I think it mostly comes down to T’s poor card-draws – something he again bemoaned throughout the session – and his continuing abysmal dice-rolls. I do remember picking up two more banners but not the situations in which they occurred.

Entering into the sixth round – technically the very end of the fifth, with a lucky card draw, is where we can return to the action at hand with some clarity of memory (and photographic evidence).

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End of round 6 (more confident of this one).

A fortuitous draw of a Bayonet Charge order game be the necessary tools to close the battle. A Take Command - Center order allowed me to whittle down one more French Line unit that had bravely/foolishly ventured deep into the Austrian lines. T’s Cavalry Charge lead to some mayhem on the French Right, bagging him two more Banners – one depleted Line and one of my Cavalry – at the cost of few blocks from his own horse. The French had finally found their dice mojo (a technical term – look it up). But this proved to be too little too late.

Unterlaiching (left) and Oberlaiching both remained in Austrian control for
the duration of the game. Unterlaiching, only just.

The Bayonet Attack order put four French Line units – two single block, two half-strength units within striking distance of my forces. Playing the order, three of them fell (though the attached Leaders in two cases both escaped to their lines). The battle was over, the Austrians – against all expectations – victorious.

It took just seven rounds for the Austrians to blunt the French advance, with a final score of 9-3 in the Austrians’ favour. The Austrian losses were heavy; among the Infantry overall losses amounted to over four units’ strength, though only two Line and one Light Cavalry unit lost all cohesion. The French seemed incapable of landing a definitive blow, and it cost them the battle in sort order.

End state. Eighteen of twenty-one Austrian units still present
on the field (barely in some cases).

The battle was over much more quickly than either of us anticipated, especially after the previous Attack on Eggmühl taking ten rounds to reach a five-Banner threshold. It should have been a closer game. From the beginning, T conducted his troops admirably as the orders to hand would allow. And the end he became reckless, making Cavalry charges into the trees and ordering troops deep into the enemy lines. But overall, his tactics were solid. Once again, though the dice gods ignored his entreaties, and instead blessed me with rolls of which I have rarely seen the like.

Austrian losses - it wasn't as bad as it looks.

French losses - yeah, it was as bad as it looks.

 

Order cards played, in order played (French to the left).

*The eagle-eyed may have noticed a discrepancy here. T had set up the game before I arrived, and I only gave the board a cursory look -over before we started play, so we both missed it, but the French side was down one Line unit on their back line, just inside the Center on their right. I only noticed this prepping the photos for the post. The way the game played out, with the orders each side drew and committed, I don’t think their presence would have been the pivotal factor tipping victory into French hands.