Sharpe Practice - Game Report 2

A further encounter in 1809

Kevin and I decided that we needed a break from ADLG and CoC so a mutual decision to enter the world of Sharpe Practice was agreed upon with alacrity. For a change we chose the Attack-Defend scenario with the French attacking the Austrians; the Austrians were fortunate to be in defence. As it had been sometime since our last game, we expected a lot of page turning to remind ourselves of the rules, and indeed this proved to be the case!

The Austrian's were commanded by Leutnant Sharf who had command detachments from the 19th Infantry Regiment (IR) (from 1st, 2nd and Grenadier Companies), 2 companies from the Vienna Freiwilliger, 2 Companies for the Broder Grenzer Regiment, a squadron of Dragoons and a 4lb field gun. Although Sharp Practice is a skirmish game, in my mind I relate the stands of infantry and cavalry as half infantry companies and squadrons respectively. Actually, with troop size and man spacing this is about right!

On to the game, this farm complex on the road provided a sound defensive position; with the woods to the rear right of the farmhouse. Lt Sharf anticipated that this would indeed prove a strong position and one we would be confident that the French would find it difficult to break. He deployed 1/19th IR forward of the farm to allow the gun to deploy. The Freiwilliger under Feldwebel Volkstein were deployed in column of companies in the wood.

The remainder of 19th IR were in column of companies behind the farm, unfortunately when they started moving forward to the left command rather broke down. To their left are the Dragoons. In the distance within the wood on the left and the field to the left of the barn are the Broder Grenzers.

In the distance we could make out the drums of a French column advancing. These were from last minute reinforcements for the French whose commander failed to get his sums correct; mixing up the unit costs with the number of figures in his units!

A group of very spirited French dismounted Dragoons came forward skirmishing. The audacity of their advance and firepower caused grave discomfort to the men of the 1/19th IR.

They were sufficiently perplexed as to withdraw prematurely though the artillery piece they were protecting. The sole benefit of this was that the 4lb gun would be able to fire a round of grapeshot at these irritating Dragoons.

However, no sooner than the Dragoons were shocked by the artillery, another French column was seen to hove into view advancing down the road.

The fire from the column soon caused problems for the gun crew who were not expecting fire from the column to be so effective. Behind them the 1/19th have fallen into absolute confusion and were seen to be countermarching trying to get into a better position to support the guns.

The fire has completely unsettled the gun crew who have abandoned their position to leave the 1/19th IR to hold the line. In support of this Feldwebel Volkstein has brought forward the Vienna Freiwillige into line to bring fire to bear onto the advancing French column.

While the French column continued to advance down the road, the other column and supporting skirmishers is advancing against the Broder Grenzers and is bringing down intensive fire on them.

An enemy line advanced into the woods and threw out a section of the Broder Grenzers, however 2/19th and Gren/19th have advanced and formed line and has started to deliver well practiced volleys at the French.

On the right a fire fight has now started between the Vienna Freiwillige and the French column, which has now deployed into line.

All the Grenzers have now been withdrawn, and casualties on the 19th IR are mounting as a result of the fire from a French 6lb cannon which eventually arrived late to the battle. The Dragoons have been brought forward ready to launch a counterattack.

Their charge is more than sufficient to cause the French to fall back, the charge was effective in stabilising the situation, but it left the Dragoons very exposed to the woods on their left.

From the woods the French infantry turned smartly to their left and charged driving the Dragoons back and preventing a rout of the remains of the French defeated by the Dragoons.

The French decided at this stage to withdraw and not press the issue, and to leave the objective in the hands of the Austrians until such time as they had reinforcements to finally defeat them. An excellent game, and despite the rules-page-turning we had a surprisingly good grasp of what we were doing, and I don’t think we made too many mistakes that would have changed the outcome of the game.

ADLG - Game Report 307

Taifa Kingdom (204) vs Feudal Scandinavians (218)

For my final game it was a pleasure to face up against Cameron and his Scandies. He won the initiative and decided to defend in the plains, and the terrain could not have been any better for him. This left me the problem of how a Cavalry army was going to attack and beat a line of spears. I decided to err on the side of caution and placed the foot on the right and I left the centre Cavalry command in column so it could then move left or right as the situation or my mood took it.

The plan was to try and exploit the one weakness I cold see which was the lone bowmen on the right of the Scandie line. If I could break through there with a supporting attack by the Knightsto the right of the field, I might be able to penetrate the left cavalry column into the depth of the enemy position. Another bold and courageous plan your highness.

Well, that went well didn't it? Not! An attack against the Bows failed and the enemy cavalry have intervened. One last throw of the dice would be to throw in the Heavy Cavalry.

The attack in the field stalled, while the supporting attack saw the loss of two Heavy Cavalry. A breakthrough on the left was increasingly unlikely as the casualties increased.

The Cavalry was disengaged but not before a unit f Knights was destroyed. While attempts to take down the enemy bowmen on the right by both Light Cavalry and medium spearmen both failed miserably. In the centre the infantry have also failed to shine through; on reflection it is unlikely that the Taifa won more than two combats the entire game!

Outcome

A crushing Scandie victory in which they lost only 3 cohesion points. Karma is complete.

Tournament running scores: One Draw, Three losses, One win; this left me 20 out of 24 (no wooden spoon this time around).

Lessons Learnt

I could have fought for a draw, but where would have been the fun in that?

Perhaps it could have been better fun if the melee dice had been a little more balanced?

ADLG - Game Report 306

Taifa Kingdom (204) vs Ghaznavids (201)

After a crushing victory over the French over night (6 to 4) could I do any better on Sunday in Devizes. While there were 5 Ghaznavid armies in the competition Harry's was the first (and as it happens, the only one) I would fight; that is the benefit of being in the lower half of the competition draw. I decided to attack in the plains, but the plain I would have wanted to fight over was not the plain I found myself on. I always assume I could play it safe in a competition, but that isn't me. So I decided the best form of defence is to attack.

Hence, I committed all of the Cavalry to try and overwhelm the centre before the elephants on the flank could intervene. A bold and courageous decision your highness. On the left the light troops drew back the veil of the elephants waiting in ambush behind the hill; hardly a great surprise!

The Cavalry and Knights in the centre started to charge and disperse the enemy horse archers. On the right two squadrons of Heavy Impact Cavalry charged a threatening enemy light cavalry unit with the express purpose of trying to protect the line of cavalry in combat. And as predicted in the previous game the dice gods and karma meant that the Cavalry battle didn't go the way we would have liked. On the left the elephant does what elephants do best, but their supporting troops although they lost the first round fought back in the second.

On the left in spite of a successful counter from the Taifa spearmen the elephant and remaining impetuous swordsmen continue to defy the odds. In the centre we have managed to further disperse the horse archers but have failed to drive them from the battlefield. The sacrifice of the cavalry against the elephants on the left has been to no avail as we have failed to defeat the enemy cavalry.

Outcome

• A crushing Ghaznavid victory in which they lost 8 cohesion points.
• Tournament running scores: One Draw, Two losses, One win with one game to go.

ADLG - Game Report 305

Taifa Kingdom (204) vs Arab Indian (135)

For the final game of the day it was a pleasure to once again play Paul, and his Arab Indians another army I had considered for the event. He won the initiative and asked me to defend in the plains. While we deployed in a similar manner as before with foot centre and horse on the wings, the Arab-Indians decided to deploy foot right and horse centre and left.

At the outset I decided that the left wing was not going to face down the enemy foot on our left and would be much better employed in the centre against the enemy horse. On the right our Light Cavalry have skilfully manoeuvred out of their ambush to place themselves on the enemy's flank to pepper them with javelins.

For the discerning reader the absence of the enemy right wing in tis view may raise an eyebrow. Suffice to say they decided to charge into contact against our own right wing to be destroyed after two rounds of melee combat. In the centre the Taifa left wing has now deployed sufficiently to engage the enemy centre.

The remaining cavalry has made contact, however, the Taifa right wing is now poised to rejoin the fight from behind the enemy's flank and rear. A heavy screen of light troops is protecting the Cavalry's flank.

Once again, the Cavalry battle has gone the way of the Taifa Kingdom, as the enemy infantry advance on our foot.

With the Cavalry battle on going one way it has allowed the Taifa Heavy Cavalry to intervene in the infantry battle.

Outcome

A Taifa victory losing 6 cohesion points during the battle. Spoiler alert as poor as Paul's dice were in combat, mine would be worse later in the competition; remember what goes around, comes around.

Tournament running scores: One Draw, One loss, One win with two games to go on Sunday.

Lessons Learnt

A lopsided victory in which one could learn very little, other than to pray for that quality of dice in every game. Or is that being greedy?

ADLG - Game Report 304

Taifa Kingdom (204) vs Kingdom of Sicily (188)

Game two against Johannes's Army of the Kingdom of Sicily; perhaps I should abbreviate that to AKoS – perhaps not! Once more I was invited to defend in the plains. I was familiar with this enemy army, as I had been considering it myself although Johannes's army design was somewhat different. He deployed with a weak foot centre of mediocre heavy spears, and on his right (my left) were medium impetuous knights while on the right were medium impact knights. For our part we deployed similarly with foot centre and horse left and right.

The initial advances were quite tentative with Light Troops doing their screening thing.

I pushed the left wing forward to try and goad his impetuous Knights into attacking my Knights. I advanced the foot and right wing together for mutual support.

And goad them we did! The initial contact was one of the fiercest first rounds of melee combat I have seen for a very long time, with us prevailing by only losing one heavy cavalry to the Sicilian's one Knight. For the ADLG bean counters the combats went from left to right (Taifa first number) 6 to 1, 1 to 6, 6 to 3. However, the mobility of the Heavy Cavalry has allowed them to reorganise and now attack the flanks of the Sicilian Knights. On the right two Heavy Cavalry have engaged the enemy bows; and bows as they can do not only withstood the charge but also inflicted two losses on the cavalry!

The centre and right move into contact, where honours are about even along the line, and certainly not as damaging as the last first contact! For the ADLG purists the light infantry man at the left end of the infantry line is not in contact as they were slightly behind the line of the spearmen could n't to their right. On the left we now have the job of trying to finish off the remaining enemy Knight as quickly as possible to allow the left wing cavalry to regroup and support the centre. However, the Medum Spearmen are well placed to support as well.

Outcome

From this reasonable position it all went south as the Taifa foot and horse crumbled, leaving the Sicilian's master of the battlefield with a win, in which they lost 19 of their 24 cohesion points.

Tournament running scores: One Draw, One loss, three games to go.

Lessons Learnt

What could have been either a costly Taifa victory or a mutual destruction was compromised by the dice gods.

ADLG - Game Report 303

Taifa Kingdom (204) vs Berber (211)

Up bright and early on a very warm sunny day in Devizes for Attack. We were all primed and ready to go. First up for me was David's Berber army, and no surprise it was almost the reverse army to mine with two foot commands and one mounted command. Despite this the battle A very period clash of arms. David invited me to attack in the plains. I chose to place the foot on the left with the two Cavalry commands centre and right

The foot formed on the left to protect the camp while the horse went to do their thing.

With the benefits of the Knights in support the line of Cavalry engaged the enemy heavy spearmen as soon as possible. However, only for one of their number to be destroyed on contact, while the remainder managed to survive. On the left the light troops are bravely trading space for time.

The fight between the Berber's Christian Knights and our own has been eventful with both of us suffering; they lost two of their own while we lost one and a heavy cavalryman. On their right the Knights and their Commander continue to battle on against the spears, hoping beyond hope that the light cavalry on their flank can be overwhelmed and their colleagues could rejoin the fight. The foot have now moved forward to engage the Berber foot troops in order to support their comrades in arms.

The battle between the Knights has started to swing in favour of the Berbers. While on the right the Berber light cavalry disengagement has potentially allowed the remaining cavalry to intervene where they are needed most. The foot has defused the threat of the enemy right wing and is now ready to fight.

Outcome

A creditable draw with both of us losing 14 cohesion points. A blow for blow battle.

Tournament running scores: One Draw, four games to go.

Lessons Learnt

By being forced to defend and with the Berber's springing the ambush I was unable to develop the right flank sufficiently.

I was starting to consider whether it might have been better to group the Knights in a single command.

ADLG - Game Report 302

Taifa Kingdom (204) vs Zapotecs (285)

For my second game I was confronted with a large army of Meso-Americans; Zapotecs to be precise. I won the initiative and decided to attack in the plains. The terrain we arrived at couldn't have been more conducive for a defender, but what ever happened I needed to take the fight to the enemy and try and get my Knights into contact with the Zapotec swordsmen in order to win the battle.

My plan, for what it was, was to use the foot on the right to occupy and delay the enemy force I suspected to be in ambush on the enemy left. While this was happening I move the cavalry, led by the Knights around both sides of the marsh in the centre. A bold and courageous plan.

So far so good, the foot commander has moved his light troops to the left to screen the marsh. On the left the Light Cavalry seized their opportunity to attack the flank of the enemy as they moved into the field in column and were successful. However, the CinC was a little dilatory in moving up in support!

So we have positioned ourselves where we think we need to be to execute the plan. Although the CinC on the left should be further forward, and besides this problem the gap he was is too narrow to adequately deploy his command for the full effect.

In the marsh the light troops have occupied the enemy to their demise, but hopefully it should buy us sufficient time to achieve the goal. On the right of the marsh the Knights, supported by the Heavy Cavalry, have shown their full potential against medium swordsmen. On the left we have yet to make contact. To overcome the problems of the narrowness of the gap, and the threats that could come from the field, the Light Cavalry and one Heavy Cavalry unit are moving into positions to threaten the field; a few Javelins might we upset the Zapotecs.

And indeed the Zapotecs are being roundly punished by the Javelins. But to their right the CinC rather botched getting his troops in line to exploit the gap and the Heavy Cavalry units made contact without the Knights in support; silly CinC! On the right of the marsh the Zapotecs don't know when they have been beaten and refuse to just run away. While the foot have doing what they need to do by buying time and space by dying for the Kingdom.

Another costly mistake from the CinC meant that he failed to spot that his Heavy Cavalry were to far from the enemy to be able to make contact with then, and as such their colleagues fighting to the left of the marsh were caught in flank. To the right of the marsh the enemy are still refusing to do what they are supposed to do. Time and space are being traded by the lives of the Kingdom foot.

Outcome

With the temperature rising at Entoyment in spite of the fan, and not because of us, we both agreed that the Kingdom conceding on 22 out of 24 with the Zapotecs on 20 of 29 was a sound move.

Lessons Learnt

It was always going to be difficult to take on such a large army in terrain of their choosing.

In a competition I might well have played the game very differently, but this game was not that!

ADLG - Game Report 301

Taifa Kingdom (204) vs Ghaznavids (201)

With two days to go before Attack in Devizes, the message went out "Who wants a final practice before Saturday?". And of course, I was not one to refuse the opportunity to spend time gaming rather than painting. We all convened at a rather warm Entoyment to have a couple of games. Despite the breeze from the fan blowing over the table (thanks for nabbing those tables Paul) it was a tad warm. First up for me was a further battle against Kevin's Ghaznavids, where I would be attacking in the plains. We deployed classical, foot centre, cavalry on the wings, with the Brilliant (?) Cinc left (here he dismounted on of his Knights to support the foot) and Mr Competent on the right.

We advanced with the majority of the Army moving left of the hill with the field. At this stage we were a little wary in our advance because we didn't want to alert and activate the hesitant Ghaznavid General in the centre; sleep deeply and long dear General.

The inactivity in the centre did in fact spur the enemy to move off their hill and in doing so expose their flank, to the right wing Cavalry command. In being wary on the left I have been duly punished by the Ghaznavid Heavy Cavalry horse archers.

In the centre the Ghaznavid command has been punished both by the spears and the Cavalry in their flank, with the elephant feeling rather exposed. On the right, however, the Kurdish Cavalry has bested my Heavy Cavalry, while on the left the need to attack the enemy has shaken the hesitancy out of the General and he has come out to play and he wants revenge.

Outcome

A close fought battle with the Ghaznavids coming out the winners but losing 20 of their 22 cohesion points in the process.

Lessons Learnt

On balance I didn't need the dismounted Knights with the foot, but at the outset I didn't know that the enemy centre command was going to be unreliable.