Impromptu Games

My bad Grog

I had to leave early and didn’t get a chance to apologize for the inadvertent social distancing.

I had it in my mind that they had a division occupying the back objective. And I wanted you to hit that division from an angle they would not expect, with me helping by distracting their attention. And then we would land in the rear of the French attacking Miko and Ehey. So once you took Boos I just had you press North. This assumption got planted in my mind when i raced to the first objective early in the game and sat there to maybe have the French think we were there in strength while waiting for Ehey. I saw cav to my NE which did not surprise me but then saw infantry to my North on that road from the Northern objective. So I thought there was something back there. Bad assumption.

I told Ehey and Miko to stay on defensive once the French arrived in strength near where I was and my plan was to bring the rest of my cavalry back on the flank to harass that French attack. That turned out to be a bad idea for two reasons. First of all, fighting with a cav + inf division is different than fighting with a division that has cav and inf organic. The former takes closer coordination. The second reason is the French were at the objective in strength. So I was too weak with cavalry only against a strong division and too far from Ehey.

I waited too long to check out the objective. Had I done it sooner i would not have been concerned when you said you were moving north in open terrain, which is why i had you slip west a bit farther. Once I realized it was empty i quickly brought you over.

But way too late. A series of bad assumptions on my part and I kept that mental picture way too long. They had all 4 divisions together and we didn’t. We were defeated in detail and took only one objective.

Now re-write that Pat assuming you are Donald Trump and everything will seem like a glorious and massive victory in which you personally were leading at the critical places at each significant turn of fortune!

Our first encounter with Ehey and Miko went badly as their artillery was stomping all over Shaun's Polish infantry as he advanced on Badenhausen. For quite a while I was thinking we were going to lose that exchange. Then Uxbridge attacked on my left, a movement I hadn't been told about but then our C-in-C Kevin confirmed it and I took my cavalry over on the offensive to support him and finally wore down Mikos cavalry.

I think a special mention in despatches needs to go to both our new players -Uxbridge with only his second time commanding a division and his first vs a human player and Shaun commanding the Polish brigade which got stuck in against Ehey in fine style.

On the up side for the Russians Grog was able to deny me getting anywhere near Boos so it was only a minor French victory. The dreaded GARLIC-1812 virus was stopped.

And finally - LOL at Grog's comments. That's twice now you've wandered off for your own private day out in our battles. When are you going to join us again?

EDIT: For anyone interested here are the OOBs and a map showing both corps start positions, the blue and green circles were on the other sides maps and hinted at where enemy had been reported. The red circled stars were the three objectives. Securing two of them would be a minor victory and securing all three a major victory.

FRENCH

I Corps: Maréchal d'Empire Louis Nicolas Davout (15735 Inf. 5787 Cav. 78 Guns)

PHIL  1er Division: Général de Division Charles Antoine Morand (8685 Inf. 22 Guns)
   Brigade dHenin: Général dBrigade dHenin (2160 Inf. 4 btns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   Brigade Mielzynski: Général de Brigade Mielzynski (3285 Inf. 6 btns Avg. Exp. 4.8 )
   Brigade Beganski: Général de Brigade Beganski (3240 Inf. 6 btns Avg. Exp. 4.7)
   7e/2e Artillerie à pied: Capit. 7e batterie à pied (8 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   12 Polska Bateria Stóp: Kapitan 12 Polska Bateria Stóp (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   4e Garde batterie à pied: Capit. 4e Garde batterie à pied (8 Guns Avg. Exp. 7.0)

KEVIN  7e Cuirassier Division: Général de Division Thomas-Guillaume Lorge (2847 Cav. 18 Guns)
   Brigade Lourde Dornes: Général de brigade Dornes (600 Cav. 1 regt Avg. Exp. 8.0)
   Dragons de l'Impératic: G-de-b Raymond de St. Sulpice (1675 Cav. 2 regts Avg. Exp. 9.0)
   Brigade Chouard: Général de brigade Chouard (572 Cav. 1 regt Avg. Exp. 8.0)
   6e/6e Artillerie à cheval: Capit. 6e/6e batterie à cheval (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 5.0)
   2e/5e Artillerie à cheval: Capit. 2e batterie à cheval (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 5.0)
   5e/6e Artillerie à cheval: Capit. 5e/6e batterie à cheval (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)

UXBRIDGE  Italiano  Guardia Reale: Général de Division Domenico Pino (7050 Inf. 20 Guns)
   Brigade  Borstel: Général de brigade Borstel (2500 Inf. 5 btns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   Brigade Gengoult: Général de brigade Gengoult (2750 Inf. 5 btns Avg. Exp. 5.4)
SHAUN   Brigade Lonchan: Général de brigade Lonchan (1800 Inf. 4 btns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   5 Polska Bateria Stóp: Kapitan 5 Polska Bateria Stóp (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   1. Westphalia Fußbatterie: Capit. 1. Westphalia Fußbatterie (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   2e Batterie de la Jeune Garde: Capit. 2e Batterie de la Garde (8 Guns Avg. Exp. 8.0)

MARTIN  1er Dragon Division: Général de brigade Armand de La Houssaye (2940 Cav. 18 Guns)
   20e Bavarian cavalerie: Généralmajor von Seydewitz (1180 Cav. 2 regts Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   1. Bde Chevaulegers-Lanciers: Colonel Colbert-Chabanais (660 Cav. 1 regt Avg. Exp. 8.0)
   Brigade Thielmann: Generalmajor Thielmann (1100 Cav. 2 regts Avg. Exp. 8.0)
   5e/6e Artillerie à cheval: Capit. 5e/6 batterie à cheval (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   1er/2e Artillerie à cheval: Capit. 1er/2e batterie à cheval (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   7e/1er Artillerie à cheval: Capit. 7e batterie à cheval (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 5.0)

RUSSIANS

8-y Korpus: General-Poruchik Mikhail Borozdin I (16690 Inf. 6570 Cav. 84 Guns)

 27-y Diviziya: General-Mayor Dmitry Neverovsky (8060 Inf. 18 Guns)
   Brigada Kadyshev: Podpolkovnik Nikolay Kadyshev (3080 Inf. 6 btns Avg. Exp. 4.9)
   Grenader brigada Shatilov: Polkovnik Ivan Shatilov (1820 Inf. 4 btns Avg. Exp. 5.8 )
   Brigada Pyshnitsky: Polkovnik Dmitry Pyshnitsky (3160 Inf. 6 btns Avg. Exp. 5.0)
   1-y Tyazhelaya Batareya Polozheniye: Polkovnik Vasily Glukhov (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   23-y Batareya Truppa: Podpolkovnik Yakov Sablin (12 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)

 Karpov Kazaks: Polkovnik Baturin (ADC to Karpov)(3500 Cav. 24 Guns)
   Legkiy Kavaleriyskaya Brigada: G-M Panchulidzev II (1200 Cav. 2 regts Avg. Exp. 5.0)
   2-y Dragunskiy Brigada: Polkovnik Baron Creitz (1240 Cav. 2 regts Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   Gvardiya Kavaleriyskaya Brigada: G-M Ivan Shevich (1060 Cav. 2 regts Avg. Exp. 8.0)
   6-y Konnaya Artilleriya: Podpolkovnik Yakov Zakharzhevsky (12 Guns Avg. Exp. 5.0)
   10-y Konnaya Artilleriya: Podpolkovnik Mikhail Semange (12 Guns Avg. Exp. 6.0)

 2-ya Konvergentnaya Grenaderskaya Diviziya: G-M Mikhail Vorontsov (8630 Inf. 24 Guns)
   Brigada Ivelich: General-Mayor Peter Ivelich IV (3220 Inf. 6 btns Avg. Exp. 5.0)
   Grenader Brigada Diedrich: G-M Andrey Diedrich (2450 Inf. 4 btns Avg. Exp. 6.3)
   Brigada Bogdanovsky: Podpolkovnik Bogdanovsky (2960 Inf. 6 btns Avg. Exp. 4.8 )
   7-y Batareya Truppa: Podpolkovnik Evstigney Talyzin (12 Guns Avg. Exp. 5.0)
   33-y Batareya Truppa: Podpolkovnik Flegont Bashmakov (12 Guns Avg. Exp. 4.0)

 2-y Kavaleriya Diviziya: General-Mayor Baron Fedor Korff (3070 Cav. 18 Guns)
   Niejine Draguny: General-Mayor Vsevolozhsky I (660 Cav. 1 regt Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   Kazak Brigada Bykhalov I: Polkovnik Bykhalov I (1170 Cav. 3 regts Avg. Exp. 4.6)
   Dragun brigada Davydova: Polkovnik Davydov (1240 Cav. 2 regts Avg. Exp. 6.0)
   8-y Batareya Truppa: Podpolkovnik Zakhar Shusherin (6 Guns Avg. Exp. 5.0)
   6-y Batareya Truppa: Polkovnik Aleksey Nikitin (12 Guns Avg. Exp. 5.0)

I don't know who commanded which division but the Russian team was Pat, Miko, Ehey and Grog.

Map:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tx8qqd83ju9ksn0/Boos_Both_Maps.jpg

I made the scenario early in January and don't recall exactly why I handed out so much artillery. I might have been thinking that some of our PvP games go into stalemates with lots of caution being shown so I thought that by adding in a lot of guns it would make it dangerous to stay close to an enemy but not do anything. I was also aware that the Russians with their big 12 gun batteries usually only get allocated one per division and when that's lost they are in trouble so I wanted them to have a little more flexibility. As things turned out this was not an artillery battle at all (from my perspective anyway) as the ground was not good for guns.

Replay files in 3 parts:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/og6ggx2yhr4bqsg/Boos_Replay.rar

Despite the result, it was a hard fight. Ehey and Miko put up a very stout defense even though they were greatly outnumbered. (I need to watch Ehey's view of the battle on his mixer channel). Even though Pat's cavalry and Mike's infantry turned out to be non-factors, I constantly had to keep watch for them. When Uxbridge told me there was no infantry on his side of the field, only cavalry and guns, I knew Pat was in command which meant there would be some wide flanking maneuver. Keeping watch for their appearance meant I could not use my heavy cavalry to its full extent to crush the Russian left. I had to be content to just break the line so Phil's infantry could push forward.

I did catch a glimpse of a Russian infantry btn. far to the north during this period, so I was convinced it was headed for Austingen. But it disappeared very shortly which left me a bit confused. Pat's cavalry and guns had shown up in the west a few minutes prior but after capturing a reg. of uhlans, the rest quickly fell back over the hill. They then reappeared about 15 minutes later in the north, but with 2 of my horse batteries trained on them, they stood no chance of attacking the rear of Phil's division. After throwing a few canon balls at them, they too fell back out of sight.

The biggest surprise of the day was watching Mike's division march cross country towards Boos. That meant it had been hiding out far to the north the whole time. That was a real head scratcher.

Frankly there is not much of a trumpian positive spin I could put on any of it. I played poorly as CinC and average at best as division commamder

My initial impulse once Grog hit Boos was to turn him east and hit the French flank. But I out-thought myself. The rest is history.

I do not like admitting being out-generaled but I was for sure yesterday. It was a poor performance on my part And I wasted excellent talents of Miko, Ehey and Grog. Kudos to Kevin and the French side for excellent play. They worked it very very well.

Having said that, a lesser man would hand in his sword and ask to be reduced to division or brigade command. Not me. I want another crack at the enemy as PvP CinC. If memory serves, that makes me 1 win and 2 losses against Kevin. I want to make it 2-2.

I was Voronstov. The French cavalry beat me to Badenhausen by only a few minutes. They pushed Pat's cavalry back. Given my position at that point I knew fighting for the town probably wasn't a great idea without reinforcements. The French at Badenhausen had deployed in a wheat field which made me double hesitant to attack, since I didn't really even know what all was there. There were guns everywhere and in the wheat field even knowing where they were didn't make it any easier to judge what their line of sight was. The orders came to take the town if possible, and to otherwise keep them busy. I saw more infantry arriving in the east in front of Miko and that pretty much ended any ideas of being the aggressor I had. My guns had limited targets and even less efficacy shooting at things in cover. With the assumption that somewhere our other corp was doing something important I simply tried to stay alive while keeping their attention.

On the second(?) restart I forgot to put the game capture window live for a few minutes. During that time I had pulled my remaining 2300 men towards Boos. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came back there was a Bavarian cavalry battalion right in front of me, literally separating me from my infantry who still marched on because I had TCd them. Fortunately they were close enough to each other that the cavalry only took one battalion before running away themselves. I am spared having to relive the embarrassment of the event by my production mistake though

I was hoping to get three again like last time but my cavalry were too tired and disorganised. They grabbed some loot and went home.

Now that Europe and Britain have caught up to the US, we can play today at the usual time, 14:00 EST, 19:00 GMT.

Unfortunately I can't make it today, have a great game all.

I'm not going to make it, either chaps.Sunday evenings are a rarity, especially if I play on the previous Friday. Have a good game and see you Tuesday, hopefully.

How did it go yesterday? Who was there?

Phil and I (with part time help from Ehey) led a brilliant assault on an objective. Secured it. Set up a socially-distant luncheon. Worthy of great stories.

There was other stuff going on at the other objectives with the other divisions. I think Kevin did something at some point, like crossed a creek.

Indeed. Pat was fighting against one brigade and had his hands full until Ehey came up behind the Austrians and scattered them. Most of the time Ehey was with me fighting three divisions. Donkeycod had his first go at division command and did very well, defeating an Austrian division.

I think my cavalry won every single engagement they were in. I only lost a battalion to the usual over excited soldiers running down the enemy into their backfield, finding themselves surrounded, and surrendering. Fun game. If you want to watch cavalry murdering people in all directions its on the stream.

Yes, the dice were very favorable to you. I wouldn't have been able to defeat those three divisions without your able help.

You also need to consider the cumulative morale impacts it had upon the Austrians after Phil and I crushed that first division. Made your fight against the 3 other formations (a kitchen platoon and a pair of local militia regiments I believe) a bit easier than it otherwise might have been.

I also have to wonder if the way they ended up deploying against Pat and Phil hurt their officers ability to get couriers out or something. When I was having the cavalry battle it was immediately in the rear of the Austrian division. I sent a small light cav unit over to just keep the infantry in check, not wanting them to interfere with the ass-kicking I was giving the Austrian cavalry. They ended up charging without orders from me into the infantry who apparently didn't form square with 2500 cavalry 100 yards behind them. Basically I accidentally broke that line.

There were two times the game froze up for a little bit and I was very worried we'd have to restart and whatever RNJesus streak I was on would be over.

Is there a replay available please gents?

Here you go: Pat's Embarrassment

I can play today at the usual time, 14:00 EST, 19:00 BST.

I shall be there.

BTW in regard to Sunday's replay, I thought Pat and Phil were deeply committed officers sending a whole division to chase after two beaten enemy battalions and three guns. That's dedication to the full defence of the objective. No cause for concern about misuse of force there. At all. I mean, for sure, its better that officers make absolutely sure of victory rather than, for example, never showing up at all which of course never happens in our battles.

Agree 100 percent Martin. Important to be thorough.

I went house to house looking for Austrian stowaways. You can never be too sure

We positioned one of our batteries to fire at the back entrance of a house where we suspected some jaeger fugitives to be, and in the process convinced the homeowner to open up his wine cellar. This was a critical juncture of the battle in my view.

But to be absolutely clear, we were there under orders from our CinC. He let us loose to pursue the remnants to the NW of the objective, which we did until it was clear we were overextended at which point we consolidated our position to ensure preparation of a robust luncheon.

Napoleon himself declared that an army marches on it's stomach, so one must commend you for following the first principles of strategic operations.

I watched Ehey's view of the battle on his mixer channel.  The dismemberment of his division in Tuesday battle was very impressive.  It made me glad to be the reserve artillery commander that day.

Even I had to appreciate the irony of telling Sean to stay put so I could find out where the French were going to deploy their infantry. When I found out it was too late, though I'm not sure having the third brigade there would have made much of a difference. When I finally came out of denial about the cavalry it was too late.

That was a nice example of cavalry and infantry working together. The French infantry advancing out of those woods towards you was particularly ominous. With their cavalry acting as a screen, there was no countermove you could make.