Regular Monday SOW HITS games

https://vimeo.com/29598334

Baldrick: The thing is: The way I see it, these days there's a war on, right? and, ages ago, there wasn't a war on, right? So, there must have been a moment when there not being a war on went away, right? and there being a war on came along. So, what I want to know is: How did we get from the one case of affairs to the other case of affairs?

Edmund: Do you mean "Why did the war start?"

Baldrick: Yeah.

George: The war started because of the vile Hun and his villainous empire-building.

Edmund: George, the British Empire at present covers a quarter of the globe, while the German Empire consists of a small sausage factory in Tanganyika. I hardly think that we can be entirely absolved of blame on the imperialistic front.

George: Oh, no, sir, absolutely not. [aside, to Baldick] Mad as a bicycle!

Baldrick: I heard that it started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich 'cause he was hungry.

Edmund: I think you mean it started when the Archduke of Austro-Hungary got shot.

Baldrick: Nah, there was definitely an ostrich involved, sir.

Edmund: Well, possibly. But the real reason for the whole thing was that it was too much effort not to have a war.

George: By Golly, this is interesting; I always loved history...

Edmund: You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent war in Europe, two superblocs developed: us, the French and the Russians on one side, and the Germans and Austro-Hungary on the other. The idea was to have two vast opposing armies, each acting as the other's deterrent. That way there could never be a war.

Baldrick: But this is a sort of a war, isn't it, sir?

Edmund: Yes, that's right. You see, there was a tiny flaw in the plan.

George: What was that, sir?

Edmund: It was bollocks.

Baldrick: So the poor old ostrich died for nothing.

Edmund: Yes, that's right. You see, there was a tiny flaw in the plan.

George: What was that, sir?

Edmund: It was bollocks.

 

One of the finest scenes in British comedy.

Anyone for Plum duff and custard?

Baldrick

if the cat is small enough...I rather prefer "rat au van"

can we get a game going tonight? I know Martin J is not around - but would be great, since I missed out on the other two glorious fights...

the usual time perhaps? 2000 BST, USMC, RAF?

I'll be there. GMC, BRB, AFAIK

I can throw a Nappy game together. It will have to be Russian. We have to stop these spankings.

I figured as much... but playing as the Russians is way better than not playing at all

We could play as the French vs the Russians...

Nyet.

We need an 1813 OOB - Prussians, Russians, Austrians and Bavarians vs French.

Which makes me think, we'd need a set of Bavarian unit classes on the Coalition side.

As a change from Waterloo, we are planning a Reisswitz Mod 1860s game vs the AI tomorrow.

This requires the Gettysburg game. Hopefully, this will provide a chance for those who don't have Waterloo to get their MP fix.

Will post scenario details later this afternoon.

Martin (J)

Background

It is 16.00 hours on 20th October 1866.  After a long period of peace in Europe, war broke out between Blue and Red in the spring.  Blue have generally had the better of the fighting, and in this region have occupied a number of Red towns, including Walkenberg, which is the HQ of their VII Corps, under the Landgraf Heinrich.



Special report for Red - General Kopacki

Things are generally going badly with the campaign against the evil Blue.  However we see an opportunity for a stunning reversal in this sector.   Although it may slightly outnumber us, the Blue corps has gone into winter-quarters rather early, and is widely spread.

Your force has been put together from a number of corps, and represents the finest of our army.  Use it wisely, but you must use it with vigour to cripple or destroy the enemy corps.  This may be our last chance to reverse the tide of war.

As the hated enemy occupies Red territory, local supporters have given us what is believed to be reliable information on the enemy forces (reflected in your map).

21st Division
(Maj Gen Vastengen) 4 battalions, 4 squadrons, 1 battery

22nd Division
(Maj Gen von Chemnitz) 6 battalions, 4 squadrons, 2 batteries

23rd Division
(Maj von Lutter) 4 battalions, 12 squadrons, 1 battery

A late, unconfirmed, report puts a regiment of cavalry at Mosburg.   If true, these may be from 23rd Division.


Your own forces are as follows:

Kopacki's Force
(General Kopacki)

Rumohr's Division
(Maj Rumohr) 5 battalions, 7 squadrons, Baggage train

De Wendt's Division
(Maj Gen de Wendt) 4 battalions, 7 squadrons, 1 battery, Baggage train

Chryzow's Division
(Maj von Chryzow) 4 battalions, 7 squadrons, 1 battery, Baggage train


Technical issues

The armies of both sides are armed and organised in similar fashion.  Infantry and jaeger battalions consist of 700 men, cavalry squadrons of 175, and artillery batteries of 8 guns.

The infantry are armed with newish Lorenz rifled muskets.  Although these are most effective at considerably shorter ranges, they can kill at up to c300 yds.  As a result, infantry are no longer trained to fight in square, relying on firepower to defend against hostile cavalry.  Jaegers use the same weapons but are especially proficient in open-order fighting and are often better shots.  It has been found that the new rifled artillery can be quite vulnerable to infantry fire, as they frequently cannot use their maximum range of over 2,000 yds.

The jury is still out on how much all of this should change the tactics for making an infantry advance.  Some argue that assault columns will suffer severely from more accurate fire, but others point out that only with the faster columns, can advancing infantry cross the killing zone in a reasonable time.  Recent engagements offer examples to support both arguments.

The cavalry see themselves as a 'shock' arm, and are neither armed nor trained to fight dismounted.  Charging formed infantry is of course more difficult than it used to be, but there have been cases this summer where cavalry has successfully charged formed infantry.


Uniforms

The bulk of the Red and Blue armies are dressed in these colours, with the exception of a few specialist troops.  Chief amongst these are the jaeger battalions, which are uniformed in more 'natural' colours - brown for Red and green for Blue.


Before the game

All Red forces start in the same place, so I will allow time for a brief pre-game team chat.

Suggest we aim for a 20.00 UK time start and meet-up on T/S shortly before.

You will need to download the latest version of the Reisswitz Mod v1.7, as I have made a few improvements recently https://www.dropbox.com/s/9kps9s2p313krb6/KS%20Reisswitz%20v1_7.zip?dl=0

You will also need to put the latest version of KS SOW Supplemental Maps 1.09 in your GB Mods folder.  You can get that from the Napoleonic set-up page here https://kriegsspiel.forumotion.net/t1451-set-up-for-sowwl-napoleon-games-for-kriegspiel-style

Martin (J)

I'd like to command some troops in Reisswitz for the very first time - I have always been the CinC so far....

so if I have to take this role again, I'd like to be given some form of field command as well, if possible!

No problem. I'm sure that either, or both, can be arranged.

Martin (J)

Given Roland's pacifist leanings, I'm not sure he has the wherewithal to lead us against the stinking Blues. Suspect as he is, I think we need to keep him at the very front of the advance, preferably with the tip of a sword in the small of his back.

"....and we shall have peace!"....

Red scored a stunning victory yesterday over the Blue VII Corps, virtually destroying it.  Just as dusk was falling, the Blue commander, the effete Landgraf Heinrich, was surrounded SW of Telmdorf, along with one of his divisional commanders and the remnant of a battalion.  Your correspondent’s war artist, Ms Carlotta Martinez (age 23), captured the scene in an aquatint below.



Red were aided by some unusually good and accurate intel, of which their plan made excellent use.  All officers and men of our brave nation performed well.  The vile Blue crumbled like the curs they are.

This triumph may well have turned the course of the 1866 campaign.  If not the war.  The neutral, Green, is believed to be considering whether to ally with a resurgent Red in the spring.

Burlington H Grumble
Walkernberg Spiegel