The raid

'My Dearest Wilhelmine

Having been forced to retire behind the Rotwasser I have felt that I need to keep the enemy on their toes. In keeping with this sentiment I sent General von Kasenstein on a raid of one of the enemy supply stores. He used night to head south and then in the dawn, after successfully absconding with a great deal of enemy supplies began his return journey. By early morning he was within a hand's breadth of the Rotwasser and safety...'

And so the battle is set. A raiding party of two fusilier regiments, a freikorps jager battalion and a hussar regiment are returning to their own lines accompanied by the impedimenta of their recent raid behind enemy lines. Alerted to what is happening the Austrian forces are gathering to cut the Prussians off and recover their stolen goods.

The battlefield on deployment. The returning raiding force led by Von Kasenstein are heading for the bridge over the Rotwasser in the upper right hand corner. Deployed on the hill in the centre are the Warasdiner Grenzer, standing guard. 

The regiment IR 35 Prinz Heinrich deploy to screen the column against the grenzers.

Turn two sees the Hungarian cavalry and infantry under Baron Nokedli that were stationed to the wet of the Rotwasser move south to intercept the raiding column. Their orders are to hold the column in place until reinforcement arrive to surround and defeat the Prussians.

The Prinz Heinrich regiment gets the upper hand in the musketry duel with the grenzers.

The Freikorps jager move into the woods while IR 47 Rohr moves into position to engage the Hungarians.

The grenzers begin to lose their morale.

The Hungarians move into combat with the front  of the Prussian column.

The final volley of the Prinz Heinrich fusiliers sends the Warasdiner grenz scurrying. They do not recover in this battle.

Musketry duels erupt 

The cavalry remain stationary, knowing they have little chance against steady foot supported by their opposite numbers.

As a result, the Hungarians begin to lose the musketry duel. But their excellent morale, bolstered by Baron  Nokedli, keeps them firm in the face of the odds.

An Austrian brigade under Graf von Strudel appears along the main road. Their mission is to cut the Prussians off from their escape.

Graf von strudel advances while on the other side of the hill combat rages.

Nokedli keeps his Hungarians in the combat as long as is humanly possible, but caught in a crossfire, they cannot last long.

Von Strudel continues his advance.

The infantry gone, Nokedli stakes everything on a charge by the hussars into IR 47 Rohr. But this Prussian regiment has barely begun to feel the effects of combat and with its supreme confidence after having routed the Hungarian infantry, it sees off the hussars in peremptory fashion.

And so the Prussians are ready to deliver the coups de grace to the Hungarians and head towards the bridge. But is it too late? Have the Hungarians done their job and delayed the Prussians just long enough to allow the Graf von Strudel to win the day?

Stay tuned...

Nate