Battle of Alagon, late June 1808

I'm good with either.

I can do either.

I think Mitra would also need to get his mods up to date and then we're looking at more delays so I think we should kick-off at the original agreed time.

For the French this will not be easy.

We've found that the AI doesn't understand uncrossable rivers very well and will try to send units across them. Sometimes the method NSD uses to block movement doesn't work either and the AI can just march straight across so please do not use AI commanded brigades or batteries near the Antietam Creek, try always to send brigades across the bridges in march column and to USE ROADS. Any other order will get things royally screwed up.

If the attackers get into the water right near the bridge that isn't so bad but if stray units get across some distance away that's unfair on the defenders who should have to only hold the bridges, not watch elsewhere.

Please only use road march column to send units across the bridges and its probably best to send one at a time, keeping the others waiting close at the far side. TC one unit and ride with it to get it into attack column or line the instant its across and send it to advance, shoot, charge, whatever. Then ride back and grab a second unit.

If you send a courier across the AI will try and send him through the water and it could take an age to arrive. It'll be quicker to ride yourself using the 'commanders use roads' button.

For the defenders please play fair. Don't place a unit right on the end of the bridge, stopping the attackers from getting across, give them at least some space to try and deploy - they are going to have enough of a headache just controlling their troops in this battle, let alone fighting you.

At the Grizons bridge and the Middle bridge there are stone walls very close to them. I would like to see only 2 infantry units placed on these walls at any one time. No stacking, no overlapping if you can at all help it. The walls make these quite tough positions so cramming in more units will be unfair.

At the start deployment 2 units are on each of these walls giving an idea of what I'd like players of both sides to adhere to.

When troops morale breaks they will run across the rivers but reforming troops no longer recognize the river as uncrossable at all and will always go straight back. Try and TC such rallied units and send them to the bridge again.

This will almost certainly get very messy and could even be frustrating. If it all goes badly wrong, I would ask you all to please be patient with the game and we'll try a different solution next time we meet at a river. If your units (French) are crossing elswhere than the bridges, please don't be offended if a Spanish payer or the Umpire announces it on teamspeak, make every effort to recall that unit.

Thanks everyone, and good luck. I hope this goes okay, but please be prepared for a complete chaosfest.

A player to record a movie at each bridge would be good too, I'd like to see how the fights go - the replay can show you only so much.

I'd prefer the start at 1930.

Best of luck to the French team today, and sorry I won’t be there.  The demands at HQ are just never-ending....

Murat is with you in spirit, however.  To inspire our troops, and put the fear of god into our enemies, I commissioned this portrait of me in my latest uniform.  I’m sure everyone will agree this combines a martial & soldierly air with the restraint & modesty becoming in a Marshal of France.  Diggers is a sucker for silver braid too, so I have have no doubt that he will immediately return to his OOB and bump-up the French morale stats accordingly!

You will be interested to know that the silver tassels are by Alberto Davide of Milan, the exquisite diamonds by Zangger of Zurich, and the superb crimson silk sash from Snell’s of Bond Street.  And aren’t those epaulettes to die for?  They are are of course from Maison Kadski of Paris – ne plus ultra!  I would mention the prices, but seriously my dears, you couldn’t afford them!

And now back to my duties.  Beulah, peel me another grape.

Murat, Marshal of France and Grand Duke of Berg

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Making Uncle Billy howl since 2011

The prissy frog, no doubt, rounds out the costume with tights and a tutu.  

Uncle Billy wrote:The prissy frog, no doubt, rounds out the costume with tights and a tutu.  

It's not my fault.  The outfit came as a job lot

Its the way his girlish curls extend all down his sideburns that is so scary. How does he do that?

(I'm not even going to mention the rouge on the cheeks).

Darr, where are you? We've been waiting 40 minutes! Can you join TS please?

I imagine I might owe many an explanation.

I'm sorry I wasn't there on Saturday, and that I was unable to log on to contact anyone. We've used Century Link (Qwest) Internet for a few years and they have a terrible issue of just dropping out all the time, disconnecting me a few times a day. We switched to Dish Internet, and the technician was supposed to be here early Saturday morning, before 9am, a few bours befkre our game. But, unfortunately he didn't arrive here until the late afternoon to set up our new Internet.

I'm very sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused anyone by this, I shouldn't have tried to get it switched out on our Saturday so quickly with only a few hours of "buffer room".

I have Qwest at work. Same problem. At least I don't have to worry about being dropped while doing serious work like playing SOW.  

At least it wasn't anything bad or serious like illness or accident. Hope your net is working okay now.

As it turned out we just scraped enough players though the Spanish could have used another one. We had a very late start; over 90 minutes after the agreed time but on the flip side the scenario which I had allocated 2.5 hours to, lasted only 52 minutes of game time, so people were not kept any later than if we'd started at 7:30 and the game had run its full time window.

Also the game didn't crash which is always nice on the Antietam map. Kevin dropping was his own fault and its so embarrassing I'll let him tell you all while I go into smug git mode.  

Mr. Digby wrote:Also the game didn't crash which is always nice on the Antietam map. Kevin dropping was his own fault and its so embarrassing I'll let him tell you all while I go into smug git mode.  

Well I'll be jiggered!  That gives me more pleasure than a French victory

Martin wrote:Well I'll be jiggered! That gives me more pleasure than a French victory

Though not before I sent the frogs packing.

Uncle Billy wrote:

Martin wrote:Well I'll be jiggered!  That gives me more pleasure than a French victory

Though not before I sent the frogs packing.

Well. . . it's true enough you did send us packing. However, without the formed-square charge, you'd have never driven those two regiments off that wall and into route. One of them was +400 points and had very good morale before your square marched down and charged and routed them.