A second outing for Big Battles, Small Armies saw a home-brew scenario pulled together to try the rules with a mixture of unit types.
The commander of Army Red has been ordered to take the hilltop village, currently held by an Infantry Battalion of Army Black. Red has 3 Infantry units, 2 cavalry and 1 Artillery. Black has 3 Infantry and 1 cavalry..jpg)
Day 1 Dawn .jpg)
Red pounds away at the village with artillery
Both sides advance Cavalry and Infantry
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| Day 1 Midday - Red's artillery falls quiet having made no impression Red's infantry and cavalry are both engaging the enemy |
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| Army Black's commander is wounded! |
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| The afternoon wears on with little give on either side |
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| Night time Day 1 - Army Black rallies |
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| Day 2 Dawn - Red attacks with new vigour |
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| Red's artillery re-enters the battle Black's cavalry is forced back |
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| The ferocity of Red's attack has been costly |
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| Day 2 Afternoon - Red's attack falters |
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| End of Day 2 - Both sides reach 0 Army Morale |
With both sides simultaneously reaching zero Army Morale (akin to both reaching Exhaustion Point in PW) the battle was over. Army Black had held the village and were therefore the victors.
An interesting battle. It's also interesting because of the game length. For me, my battles usually last 3-5 turns. Perhaps this is due to play style. In my games attacks seem to develop quite quickly with both armies more or less fully engaged by turn three. As disorder sets in one army or the other usually collapses within another turn or two.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I'm missing something! I do throw impressively bad dice...
DeleteI don't know, perhaps a more detailed account of one of the game turns? Or I could do one, playing out one of your turns but with me generating the results?
DeleteI'll have another read of the text first! I've probably plunged in assuming I know what I'm doing and missed something..
DeleteI do like the hilltop village. Did you make it yourself ?
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Thanks Alan - Yes, it's a Monopoly (boardgame) Hotel and House with a coat of paint stuck on a 2" mdf base.
DeleteVery nice. Army Black may well have held the village but, in the big picture, they now have to contend with the fact that the cavalry of Army Red has bypassed the village and is now operating in their rear (severing lines of communication etc).
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the first day Black remained in position, behind the walls (defences) of the village - I would have been tempted to allow the Red force to withdraw a square at the absolute end of day one and perhaps to then reorganise slightly at the very start of the second day.
Cheers,
Geoff
Cheers Geoff. Army Black will need relieving - sounds like another game is needed!
DeleteAnother good report, MJT. How do you find the BBSA multi-day battles compared to the previous Risk army outings, with PW and/or OHW combinations?
ReplyDeleteCheers Martin.
DeleteYes a nice expansion of the 3x3PW, though I need to go through it again as I think I've missed something (see above).
Thanks. Maudlin Jack, for an inspiring battle report that has restored my 'mojo' - somewhat lacking of late - and encouraged me to get out my own RISK armies an experiment with Mark Cordone's BBSA rules from PW Compendium 3. I may use bigger squares so that I can use more stands to portray a battalion and use a single stand as a detachment to hold a farm or small village.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd be rather disappointed if a battle only lasted 3-5 turns; your game length is much more to my taste, though I might shorten the time represented by a turn so a similar action could take place in just one day.
Arthur, Great to hear that your mojo has returned! I think most wargamers (probably most hobbyists of all sorts) have those moments where interest wanders off - I am currently struggling to get some painting done.
DeleteI'm in limbo with the BBSA rules as I'm in doubt as to whether or not I'm playing correctly but hope to be back soon. I'm interested to read that you are also using RISK figures. Please let me know how you get on with Mark's rules; I know I really enjoyed this game even if I interpreted erroneously!
Arthur, I originally came up with this to fight full battles where units are divisions or even corps, with an eye towards fighting a whole campaign in an evening. That said it can easily be adjusted for smaller actions. Just give all units the number of strength points in the relevant Portable Wargames rules instead of just two and double the number of turns until nightfall. Adjust the exhaustion point accordingly and you will have a longer more detailed game. I hope this is helpful.
DeleteMark, Rereading your rules in PWCompendium 3 I found no reference to units being divisions or corps, so your reply is very helpful in making your intention clear. Therefore, I should be looking at the Army-level rules in Portable Napoleonic Wargaming to resolve Shooting and Close combat, rather than any other PW rules, when I try BBSA out. Maudlin Jack used a base to portray a battalion in his game, so he too must have failed to appreciate your aim.
DeleteI assumed it was open to the interpretation of the individual user! (I mostly use a base of infantry as representing a battalion)
DeleteGosh, they pounded one another into submission. What a terrible battle of attrition.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your time counter/measure. A beaut and graphic player aid and wonderful addition to the photographic record too.
Regards, James
Thanks James! An analogue recording device seems appropriate for my type of gaming.
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