Impromptu Games

THANKS!!

4 players so far, which is not bad for an ad hoc game.  Can always fit more in though, so everyone is welcome.

Let's say we meet on T/S at 19.45 (UK time) for a prompt 20.00 start, as on Monday.

You will need the Reisswitz Mod and the Murfreesborough Summer map.  We will play coop vs the evil Red again.  I'm going to make this game a little shorter, at about 2.5 hours.

Reisswitz Mod v1.5 here https://www.dropbox.com/s/djdtyuoxrxb8zsj/KS%20Reisswitz%20v1_5.zip?dl=0

Martin (J)

The Reisswitz mod hasn't changed from the last couple of games has it Martin?

Yesterday’s battle was a very different affair to Monday’s game of manoeuvre.

Our team represented the crack Blue IV Corps under Graf von Greim (Kevin) of 14,500, consisting of two largish divisions and a smaller Advance Guard.  There was also a small independent cavalry division of about 1,400 under Duke Bernhard of Hesse under AI command.   The Duke was a gallant officer, but a proud man of noble lineage, and had no especial love for von Greim.  His behaviour was therefore difficulty to predict.

Von Greim himself has a certain notoriety.  He is unpopular at court, where the King is affronted by his overweening ambition, loose morals, and unsavoury personal habits.  He is even reputed to drink his tea iced.......

Reports suggested that the Red army on this front was commanded by Field Marshal Vettel.  His forces were believed to substantially outnumber our own, and in fact totalled 22,000 men, organised into two corps.   These were under Marsagli (2 divisions) and Kopacki (3 divisions).  These officers were said to loathe each other however, and Vettel was not a man to knock heads together.  Given this, GHQ believed there was an excellent opportunity to defeat these forces in detail.  Putting just one of the corps out of action would really change the balance of forces on this sector.

As this was enemy territory, there was no information on the enemy dispositions.  It was therefore necessary first to recce and form an appreciation of the enemy deployment.  Which Red corps to attack (first)?  Kopacki’s was substantially larger, but Marsigli was known as a particularly able and aggressive commander.

As it happened, the Blue Advanced Guard bumped into one of the divisions of Marsagli’s corps before any other reports came in.  Red decided to attack, but our ground was good, so we initially adopted the defensive, and our CinC brought up our 2 large divisions on each flank of the Advance Guard.  As they arrived, these forces went into the attack, and 40 minutes of hard fighting drove the Red division from its positions.  Morsey’s division probably had the hardest fight here, and was able to take an enemy battery.

Duke Bernhard had brought his independent cavalry up on our left, and made some minor contribution.  He then sent a cheeky message claiming credit for the victory.  Graf von Greim was clearly irritated by this impudence, and in any event appreciated there was more work to do.  He therefore ordered the whole corps forward to hold a key crossroads, and from there recce in all directions.

Red were by now concentrating, and we soon came under attack from north, west and south.  Again we had good ground, and eventually held their infantry attacks.  Once again both divisional commanders performed well, with Digby neutralising a much larger Red force.  During this phase of the battle, Duke Bernhard’s cavalry division was largely destroyed, which occasioned a hefty dollop of schadenfreude from von Greim, who just sat chuckling quietly and twirling his waxed moustache.

In the latter stages of the infantry fight, von Greim ordered the 2 jaeger battalions of the Advance Guard onto a spur of high ground in order to flank one of the Red advances.  This was a perilous move, as it placed these troops between two larger bodies of Red infantry.  All went well for a time however, but eventually it prompted an aggressive response from the Red cavalry, which thus far had mostly been held in reserve.  Wave after wave of Red lancers charged up the rise, whilst several squadrons of chasseurs made their way through a wood and emerged on the flank.  Our own dragoons and hussars had been brought up by this time, and a major cavalry fight ensued.  The high ground was finally held, but at the cost of much of the Advance Guard.  Apparently its commander is now destined for the firing squad.  Yet another gallant and noble soldier sacrificed on the altar of von Greim’s monstrous ego  

Well played Kevin and the rest of the team.  This was a clear victory!  For once, very few of our wagons were lost, and players are learning how best to use their artillery.  It is still a potent weapon, but vulnerable to infantry.

Martin (J)

It was a very hard fight and a lot of fun. I'd love to say thanks to Martin for making the scenario but am I mistaken in saying this was NSDs sandbox program at it's finest?

It was a very good fight with the division commanders all doing a splendid job. Digby and Mike had especially hard fights on the wings but held their ground and then counterattacked, crushing the evil Reds. Graf Kubrick did excellent work holding the initial enemy in place until the other two divisions could come up and support. In the second fight he made a heroic stand on a small hill which diverted badly needed Red troops from the fight against Digby.

However there was one instant where Graf Kubrick hesitated in carrying out his orders. Normally, I'd have held a drumhead court martial at that moment and delivered battlefield justice. However his good work in the center made me reconsider. I therefore convened a more traditional court with three other officers who just happened to be two nephews and a brother in law that owed me money. The verdict was unanimous, I'm afraid and the Graf along with two brigade and a battery commander had their appointment with the firing squad this morning.

Several senior slots have just opened up in the corps. Applications are being accepted.

Great scenario yesterday it seems like this mod has come together and seems to be one of my favorites right along with LBH.

I would encourage everyone to join Kevin von Lunatic's army there is lot of room for promotion all the way to the top.

Yes, your head might be seen in very high places, such as atop a pike mounted on the city's gates.

Some screenshots from last night's game "Action at Nancy Crossroads". I got so sucked into the fun of playing that it didn't occur to me to take any screens until 3/4 of the way through the battle, so these shots show only my final defence line along the ridge N of the crossroads facing NW and the cavalry fight of the Avant-Garde which was about a 1/4 mile on my left.

Some general shots of my infantry line. The guns interspersed with it are captured Red pieces, my battery was higher up the hill behind.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads01.jpg

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads02.jpg

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads03.jpg

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads05.jpg

Red cavalry moving away from my front (see right background) to attack the Avant-Garde across the valley to the south (left background).

[size=13]http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads06.jpg

The ferocious cavalry melee viewed through my spy-glass.

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http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads08.jpg

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My final flanking attack conducted by the mostly fresh battalions of Colonel Hecht's 17th Regiment. It's good to see such fine soldiers keeping excellent order as they advance.

[/size]http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads04.jpg

As the 17th pushed into the open enemy flank I rode forward to urge the men on. This view is looking back to the south and my own main line far left background. far right background is the Red artillery near Rozieres that shelled my lines all afternoon and was a constant source of a steady flow of wounded from my front lines to the rear.

http://www.atomic-album.co.uk/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads10.jpg


At the end with my hussars having crumbled the Red left flank I was able to ride right behind their stubborn skirmisher line and see back towards my own troops on their ridge. You can see how some units have very thinned-out ranks by now. Not a single man flinched however, the men of the 17th and 18th Regiments did a splendid job.


http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php/22426/NancyX-Roads13.jpg

I wonder if Kevin is kin to Vlad the Impaler?

Hm, odd. Site formatting is adding in all those random "Size=13" tags. I never put those in.

I wonder if Kevin is kin to Vlad the Impaler?

Nein, we can afford the bullets.

But did you recover the cheese and my travelling uniforms?

Yes we did.  I believe both are now on the way to Graf von Greim's country estate, under military escort.  Doubtless for safe-keeping until he can return them to you.  Oh, wait a minute, he had you shot!

Diggers wrote......

It was a very hard fight and a lot of fun. I'd love to say thanks to Martin for making the scenario but am I mistaken in saying this was NSDs sandbox program at it's finest?

It was something of a hybrid, a method I use from time-to-time.  The OOB was customised, rather than a randomised sandbox one.  This enables me to control the forces available, and also to provide appropriate skills and personalities to the AI generals (on both sides).

Deployments for both sides were determined by the sandbox routines.

Martin (J)

Hurrah! The cheese industry will be saved, and I will look fine on campaign!

Er, I think actually you'll look fine at your funeral.

Indeed you made a fine corpse. The holes let out some blood, but a fresh uniform quickly put that right.

So would it be safe to call Red v Blue the Cheese wars?

That would make us the blue cheese, right? And the reds would be the runny cheese.

(I charge fair rates for English-humour material if anyone is planning an end-of-the-pier show this summer)

I know everyone will be shocked... but:




any games set for this weekend?

Try Cheese.com for wonderful names of cheeses; alphabetical, by country, by colour, by type etc! Lots of potential names for characters and Regiments.

Phill
aka
Baldrick
Akaka
The Stinking Bishop

I have lofty ambitions! ;-)

Of course, you can always try and put English names through google translate as well!

Phill Wp
aka
Balrick
akaka
General Ersatzreisekleidung von Stinkenden und Bischof

Last night's battle was again epic and awesome in every way. I managed to make la garde recule which was very satisfying. Waterloo most definitely delivers a better gameplay experience and feels more Napoleonic than the Gettysburg KS Mod.

I do however continue to think the MyGUI change was an epic fail. Its a horrible interface. Kevin's new toolbar is much better than what we had but the different tabs are less than ideal. I feel more exhausted at the end of an SoW:WL game than an SoW:GB one, even with the form square/charge cav clickfest we had.

We've only been doing co-op games so far. I fear the GUI frustration level will go up steeply in player vs player games.

Morning Chaps,

Still not been able to get the mods KS Nap, Sprites and maps mods working in SW:WL, it just stops working. They have dispatched my disks for the game so I may try reinstalling the game again. Most frustrating.

I agree with Diggers, the look and feel of the battles is great, but the vanilla interface and commands is cumbersome and takes some working out. Still, I'm sure the same was said when SW:GB first came out and the initials issues were worked out.

PhillWP
aka Baldrick

it just stops working.

A cryptic comment. At what point in the game do things go south?

on a different note - how were last night's and Saturday's battles? anything good?