We played a pleasant Napoleonic game with early period order of battle and organization. The historical battle of Malsch (or Ettlingen) was faught between elements of the French and Austrian armies near the Rhine. Historically it was a draw.
Our game also ended in a draw with, as expected, the stronger right flanks of each army managing to best the weaker left flanks, but only after an intense struggle. The game, like the historical battle, divulged into two separate battles within cannon range of each other. The little Alb River (in some of the photos) being the de facto dividing line. The French attacked through the Black Forest on the east side of the board. The broken terrain made maneuver difficult and artillery largely ineffective. Eventually it was the more numerous French who prevailed by weight of bayonets. On the western side, on the banks of the Rhine, it was a very different battle with the open plain providing plenty of room for cavalry to maneuver. It also provided a perfect laboratory to show the unwieldy command structure that prevailed early in the period. Neither Desaix or Charles could keep their units in hand. Here it was the preponderance of Austrian horsemen who swung the battle in favor of the "White Menace".
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDiatribes are simply often humorous recountings of the games played by the Long Island Irregulars. We play with toy soldiers and are unabashedly happy to have never lost this part of our childhoods.. Archives
November 2023
Categories
All
|