BIG SUNDAY GAME - Warsaw 1764 - an obsession ...

28mm - BIG SUNDAY GAME!! - this time Seven Years War or better the Second Polish War of Succession - Me (Prussians, Russians and Austrians) and Bart (Saxoniand and Poles) with our respective collections.

The Russian- Prussian forces were positioning on a hill to hold onto, while the Poles, Saxonians and Austrians would make their day count.

It was magnificent! The onslaught on the Russo- Prussian lines was relentless, Bart opted for a pincer attack and nearly succeeded! his Tartars were bheind my lines harrassing the Prussian defenseless guns.

But his Saxon army had bled to death while attacking the centre village and the fortified hill. Also the Austrian cavalry was beaten, a little too late but nevertheless!

The Russian cavalry was able to secure the flank (wow!) after it looked most of the battle like a clear breakthrough.

Bart fought hard, but my guns were devastating and too much for the few Saxons. I agree that the next storming of a artillery fortified position needs double if not triple the amount of battalions. Not Everybody can be as good as the Prussians ... ;)

The initial lines...

The Russo-Prussians advancing to the right flank ...

The first clashes of cavalry...

The seydlitz hussars in front of the Austrian ocean of white ...

The Prussian half of the hill...

The Prussian artillery position...

The Russian artillery position ...

The Russian advance to the centre village ...

And the Russian left flank advance ...

BUT the Poles slide through the trees ...

While the  other stay in reserve ...

The battle continues into chaoes ...

The Prussian cavalry has its difficulties vs the Austrians ...

Still the Austrians don't move ...

The fight of the centre starts ...

The rules used ...

The Russian Cavalry is ... suboptimal ...

The height of the battle ...

The Prussian Hussars are tough, but not unbeatable ...

A little too late the Austrians move ...

The poles harass the Prusian guns ...

Nothing that I could do ...

Then the Russian cavalry close the gap ...

The end of the battle ...

The Prussians Horse break through ... too late ...

The polish attack is successfully blocked ...

The centre is held ...

And the Austrian attack is halted ... with a heavy cost ...

The Prussian guns are running out on ammo ...

Still harassed by the Poles ...

But the centre is still safe ...

The Russian guard plugs any gaps ...

The Polish cavalry can't break through ...

Even though they look nice ...

The Seydlitz Hussars retreat ...

1813 - The long Bridge - Fictional Napoleonic battle - Austrians vs Franco-Poles

 It was time for a 28mm, Napoleonic Black Powder 2 game!

Bart and Alistair and Campbell were fighting with Barts collection for that Bonaparte, while me and Tim and Bart (the younger but also Polish) were fighting for the true Emperor Franz with my 28mm Austrians.

We both had around 800pts agreed beforehand: I had a grenadier brigade a veteran Hungarian brigade and a Grenzer brigade, plus a light cavalry and a heavy cavalry brigade, each commander was topped up to command 8 - in return my brigades were just 3 units big... including the guns - very brittle.

The field was a little river and a bridge with two BUAs next to it on each side - box standard - basically who had the bridge wins ...

First the Frenchies rushed forward to the river and shot at us ... then we moved and hrrm more or less successful forward. Then Alisdairs Guns blundered and rushed over the river limbered... ouch! Tim and Bart the younger charged forward. Then in our centre, my guards and Grenadiers moved forward - both armies were basically lining up next to the river...

Then Bart the older charged my village (BUA) and failed and broke and ripped a big hole into his line - Huzzah! Tim was even charging Alisdairs square and nearly broke it! Campbell charged and failed to break Bart the younger. For the record, Bart the older "considered" retreat!!! it looked abysmal for the Poles. We should have then stayed and shot the F... out of them, but ...

But then Tim charged with the Hungarian out of the Woods and failed a break test that followed - then Bart counter-attacked my brittle Grenadiers and wiped them out ... we basically missed a complete centre - a victory ripped out of our hands that can only happen to Austrians ... a very long and eventful battle that could have gone either way - but ended Austrian- style ...

We will do it again, same style and win the war anyway, hehe.

Joke aside, the Austrian cavalry and the shooting was not to be trifled with, but then we lost again by attacking, hahaha! Bring the Austrians to attack and you win...

Initial set up

Barts Polish Uhlans

The French centre

My Austrian Chevauxlegers ...

The grenadiers and the Hungarian veterans

Our centre advanced!

Tims heavy cuirassiers take a bite off Alisdairs  guns ...

Bart the younger is making problems for Campbell

The gap where ones Poles were after they attacked my house ...

Barts counterattack after already Tim lost his Hungarian brigade ...

... we stopped it there. :)

Polish war of Succession - a very wet affair ...

...  it was time again for 28mm, Seven Years War, the Saxon crossing of the Elbe, but then Bart wanted his Polish cavalry on the field so we changed war, but not the scenario. It was raining, any unit that shot had a 50% chance for wet powder and artillery had only 6 rounds of ammo. anyone who wade through the river got definitively wet ammo, was disordered and (in case of the infantry) could drown in 1in6... extra point for guns that made their way over the pontoon...

Bart and Tim (the Polish-Saxon side) were relatively shy and just send some tartars over their pontoon bridge - who got promptly shot back to Warsaw. Apart from that it was onto me and the Prussians to carry the war to the white skirts.

My Hussars got over the river and attacked but got beaten back. Then after Barts ammo was going to end my whole Prussian line started the crossing at once - it was exhilarating like the crossing of the Marne must have been, but also with the same frustration in the end.

His Tartars attacked my cuirassiers and what a shame fought them to retreat back over the river, the dragoons the same, I nearly lost my centre. If the river wouldn't be so deep the tartartwoud have killed them in a sweeping advance.

Then all my units got shot back over the river again - nobody drowned, but still my all-out attack was crumbling. 

Yes its a good idea to cross a river in bad weather (no shooting!), but no it is still hard work even with just the melee. 

At the end we called it a draw, but I had unit loss 2 vs 1, while I got a honourable mentioning for more units over the river than they had (4 vs 1).

Now I have enough of river crossing battles for the next 24 months...

Initial set up: Left the Prussians - right the Polish/Saxons

My light right wing with the Hussars...

Tims large two brigades of Saxons ...

My heavy left flank with Grenadiers and medium guns ...

Dogs! Advance!

The elite of Dresden awaits ...

The Prussians reach the river ...

The Poles just wait ...

There, tartars at the bridge ...

My Hussars just over the river ...

The tartars attack ...

Bart does not dare to commit ...

The Prussians at the river ...

The Saxons still don't move ...

Tims frustration while trying to find dry gun powder ...

My attack faltered ...

Toims brigade advance to the river ...

No real advance of the left flank ...

The guns ablaze ... or more often not ...

My cavalry goes over ...

Re-arrangeing guns ...

The Prussians wait too ..

Shortly before the crossing ...

Guns fire... the Prussian powder seems dry ...

Then the whole Prussian army crosses ...

4 units were over!!!

Then the Cuirassiers got hit ...

Tims brigade withdraws back ...

And one after the other unit got shot and pushed back ...

The rest was censored by King of Prussia because of concerns for the battlefield reputation ...

Next time maybe I'll fight like a Prussian, today I'll drink like a Rhinelander. :)