Bataille Empire - Game Report 12

Austrians of 1800 vs French of 1800

Kevin had expressed an interest in Bataille Empire so I agreed to put a game on for him. He hadn’t read all the rules at this stage, but the key points and game mechanics in the Quick Reference Sheet were sufficient to guide him on what to do. The tactics to employ would come with practice. My one word of advice from my own games was that the rules reward Napoleonic tactics of keep reserves, by deploying in lines, and mobile reserves to exploit gaps. As with the previous game with Adam I recommended that we simplify the game by going for a “Battle” scenario.

So, we started off well. Apart from the glaring mistake, which we discovered in retrospect, that Artillery cannot cross a stream. However, I am not sure that it diminished the game at all. As the Austrian I decided to send the Advance Guard with its Grenzers and Hussars to move in from the Left and attempt to flank the French line of battle. The Cuirassier Division was in reserve. The main attack would be delivered by two infantry divisions, each advancing three up and two back. For added simplicity I decided to not opt for battalion guns for any regiments.

The Austrians have as required formed line to move within tactical distance of the French. The Advance Guard has advanced well with the Hussars moving to the right of the building. The French have responded to the threat posed by the Advance Guard by sending around their Heavy Cavalry Division to engage the Grenzers and Hussars.

A charge from the French Heavy Cavalry has forced a regiment of Grenzers into the the building, while the other decided to form square. Once the Austrians were pinned in this way the French Cavalry withdrew to observe. Although the Hussars have come up in support they lacked the space to move and charge the French. Along the line the Austrian infantry has now all formed line, at which point the fire fight commences.

On the Austrian right the French Light Regiment has attacked and thrown back in confusion two Austrian Regiments in disorder. Equally the French infantry fire has proved much too effective for the Austrians who were forced back in disorder.

Outcome

After 4 game turns the result was a minor French Victory.

Lessons Learnt

For a proficient and knowledgeable ADLG player the Bataille Empire rules are very accessible. However one does need to adopt very different tactics – of course!

This game flowed well, without too many issues.

The one issue that was easy to resolve by reading the charge sequence and prohibitions was whether the Hussars could or could not charge.

The impact of the French Light Infantry charging home was strong and valuable evidence of the need to deploy reserves in this game system.