The Spanish Flank Attack continued

After heading back to work today I decided to come home and play a few more turns of the game. It took about an hour and it was all over. This time I remembered to take a few more photos.

As the Old Yellows screen the Austrians in the farm the Spanish horse press forward in the centre, battering back the Jorger Dragoons.

The Jorger Dragoons sat just behind the infantry line - note that the Spanish horse do not have much in the way of support in this photo.

In a brave act of craziness, the Starhemberg regiment charged the Spanish artillery. Surprisingly they managed to reach it and rout it, opening the road north. This is not a manoeuvre that a general should rely on, but with the artillery being virtually unsupported it was a desperate gamble that paid off.

At the same time St Amant's regiment were keeping the Old Blues occupied, so that they could not offer support  to the artillery.

The Spanish horse decide to charge the Jorger Dragoons again, with Mohito-Borracho urging them on. If they can rout the Austrians then the Confederate army will be split and the Spanish can deal with them in detail.

Except the Dragoons win the combat against the odds. The Spanish fall back within range of the Catalonian Guards who pour in a close range volley. In the hailstorm Mohito-Borracho falls!

With the close range volleys weakening them, the Spanish horse are assaulted again by the Jorger Dragoons. It all proves too much and they break.

In hot pursuit the Jorger Dragoons cut down the fleeing Spaniards

This leaves the Jorger Dragoons slightly exposed as the Spanish line straightens.

The O'Mahoney Dragoons take the opportunity to charge the Austrians, holding all the advantages

But the Jorger Dragoons have their blood up and send the Spaniards into a rout. The pursuit runs them down, and all of a sudden the Spanish flank attack is in trouble.

With all of the Spanish infantry screened it is time for the Confederates to pack up and march off.

The cards enable the Osnabruck regiment to slink out of the farm and march down the road pretty much unharrassed. The Jorger Dragoons fall back to a point where they can counterattack any attempt by the Spanish infantry to interrupt the withdrawal. St Amant and Starhemberg continue to whittle down the Old Blues until the rest of the army escapes. Confederate victory!

 Just a couple of small changes to the rules from this playtest. I was really pleased with how they played. The real test was if they rewarded correct tactics, and they did. The destruction of the Spanish horse due to them over-extending themselves and the success of combined arms in seeing them off worked just as it should. I think that the percentages and modifiers are about right for shooting and combat, although I did reduce the threshold for grapeshot to cause damage.

In this final photo the Old Blues defend a farm against the St Amant regiment. The house is a new farm building that I built this week.

This week I plan to start construction on a few more Spanish buildings so that I can put together a full town for some urban combat.

Nate