Tonight We played a game of LFS at the local Phoenix club. I think it went rather well considering that two out of the four players had never seen the rules before. We got 8 turns done in about 3 hours which was just enough to get a result.
Austrian CNC Solid/Cautious
1st infantry Division solid/bold (1)
Orders - ATTACK - Advance to take village directly to the south, then move on to the village, south east on this
1st brigade .
Line C SK+1
Line C SK+1
Line C SK+1
2nd brigade
Line C SK+1
Line C SK+1
grenadiers B SK+0
Attached grenzer rifles C (6) SK+2
attached medium battery C (6)
1st cavalry brigade solid (2)
Orders - MOVE - support 1st infantry divisions right flank, by move 2
Hussars Light B
Hussars Light B
2nd Cavalry Brigade Poor/cautious (3)
Orders - MOVE - support 1st infantry divisions left flank
Curas heavy B
Curas heavy B
Dragoon medium C
Dragoon medium C
Scenario
The Austrian army enters the map the to north west with any orders you choose. Your objective is to secure all villages shown on the map. You secondary objective is to retain as much artillery as possible as this is in short supply. There is a single battalion of landwher (D) protecting the farm to the east but it wont hold out long. You have 1 additional dummy blind which enters with the rest of the army in any order you wish.
Victory
The game will last a maximum of 8 turns. If either side reaches 10 victory points then the game will end immediately
+1 Per enemy unit routed from the map
+3 per village held
-1 if battery lost
French CNC able/bold
1st infantry Division solid (1)
Orders - MOVE TO hill/town forming defensive line roughly in line with road joining village to hill.
1st brigade
Line C SK+1
Line C SK+1
Line C SK+1
2nd brigade
Line C SK+1
Line C SK+1
Line C SK+1
Attached medium artillery (6) B
1st Cavalry Brigade solid/cautious (2)
Orders - MOVE TO in advance of above division but do not engage the enemy. Once main enemy is spotted, MOVE to support left flank of main body
Dragoons Heavy C
Dragoons Heavy C
Light Division able/Bold (3)
Orders - ATTACK town to the north of current position then HOLD
3rd infantry Brigade
Chasseurs B SK+2
Chasseurs B SK+2
1st cavalry detachment
Chasseurs cheval light D
Chasseurs cheval light D
Scenario
The main French army enters the map from the south-west with any orders you choose. The light division will enter from the South east with orders to take the farm to its north-east. You have 1 additional blind which may enter from either route.
Victory
The game will last a maximum of 8 turns. If either side reaches 10 victory points then the game will end immediately
+1 Per enemy unit routed from the map
+3 per village held
Pre Battle
These initial orders were sound on both sides. The French planned to build a defensive battle line joining the village in the north to the village on their own side. The Austrians however chose to abandon the village to the north, seize the village to the west and then march everything eastward. I could see that this may well work due to the Austrian superiority on the southern half of the table.
Turn 1
The Austrians moved forward their entire force in a single block with the infantry division in the centre, supported by cavalry on each wing. Their Dummy blind Marched North. This was probably to try and divert attention from what was to be the main battle. The French moved the light division to take the town as per orders. Their Infantry advanced to take the hill while their cavalry guarded the flank. I could see that they were using their dummy to bluff a larger centre.
Turn 2
The Austrian Left wing (heavy Cavalry) was spotted semi deployed. The French then moved their Dragoon Brigade to match off to the Austrian left wing. Both players fully deployed before choosing to reveal their troops here. I think both were keen to get their figures on the table and it didn’t much matter at this point anyway. The Austrians main infantry division also revealed itself so that it could garrison the village to its front. This was the Austrians first mistake. By positioning their blind behind a village, they gave themselves very little room to move. They would struggle for the rest of the game to get their forces around it... To the North the French light division also left its blind to prepare for an attack against the village there.
Turn 3
Early in this turn the French took the initiative by charging the Austrian hussars on their right. It seemed like a decent idea but when it came to adding up the modifiers things looked bleak. They were enfiladed by a town and also outclassed in quality and quantity. Their commander and supports were unable to even the balance and they were beaten back, shaken. The hussars then drew their card but couldn’t charge due to a poor/cautious draw. I decided to make all the cavalry commanders cautious, just to be evil :) Things were going better for the French in other areas of the map. Their cannon were firing into the semi deployed Austrians, bouncing through and causing much bloodshed. Their Light infantry was also making good progress in taking the northern village. They chose to move their dummy behind their village in the east to give the impression this would be garrisoning it. The Austrians spent most of this turn trying to get their army in order. Fully deploying their Heavy cavalry and getting their infantry round the village was eating up their pips.
Turn 4
Hussars missed their turn due to another poor/cautious card. The CNC takes control of the situation and leads the elite hussars to victory against the shaken dragoons. Interestingly they also rolled a 6+ which forced them into pursuit, taking the CNC with them!
In other matters the French B class Cannon fire at the heavy cavalry, causing yet more carnage but the Austrian horsemen hold their ground. The town to the north taken by the elite Lights and the battle starts to sway in favour of the French.
Turn 5
Austrians reform their over impetuous cavalry and prepare to support the centre. The Austrian heavy also came to their senses and started to take action. They charge the guns who had killed so many of their comrades but are beaten back from murderous grapeshot. The French finally occupy the eastern village. While this was clearly in their zone of control, I reminded them they needed to garrison it to get the victory points!
Turn 6
By this point the French had moved two regiments of the northern light division to threaten the Austrian left. These light cavalry (D class) charged the Austrian dragoons but were beaten back mercilessly. It was turning out to be an embarrassing battle for the republics cavalry arm...
Turn 7
Very little action. The French light cavalry reform after their defeat and lick their wounds. The Austrian hussars move in to support final attack while a single infantry battalion prepares for an attempt to take the village.
Turn 8
The Austrians prepare for a last ditch assault..
In one last push to snatch victory the Austrians hurl their infantry battalion at the village. Although the olds are against them, even a fire fight result could force the French back and lead to a contested village. This would perhaps just be enough to win the game. It was not to be however as the brave infantry were forced back after a brief round of musketry.
Conclusion
Although the Austrian plan was sound they seem to have lost the battle on turn 4 due to deploying to early, behind the village. They were unable to take advantage of their greater numbers in the south of the map and drive the French back. It must have been frustrating for poor Euan to see the weakness of the French village to the east but be unable to get his main force into position. All in all a good game which everyone enjoyed. Even with fairly large forces it seems that we can get 8 turns completed in club time. As we get more experienced with the rules I expect it could be done in perhaps 2 1/2 hours rather than 3.
Viva la republic!
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