Altenzaun 1806 with Commands & Colors

With all of my French and Prussian troops now rebased (except for some artillery units) I've been enjoying a few games of Commands & Colors using my Hexon terrain from Kallistra. I do still plan to share an AAR of a game using Shadow of the Eagles as mentioned previously, but the easy set up and play of C&C is too much to resist whenever I'm stretched for time - which seems to be most of the time!

Altenzaun is a scenario that I had never tried before. The Prussians are trying to effect a retreat over the Elbe with the French in hot pursuit. Yorck is conducting the rearguard action to keep the French at bay. The French are more numerous but the Prussians are fighting from a well defended position with both flanks fairly well secured and lots of light infantry to play with. With just five victory banners required, the battle could be won quite quickly, so I anticipated some cautious play on both sides to begin with. In addition to the usual casualty victory banners, the French would gain 1 banner for each unit exiting the Prussian edge of the board, while the Prussians would gain 1 bonus banner for each 'Scout' card played.

Above: the view from the French left/centre. Their line infantry are supported by two light cavalry and one artillery unit. Marshy ground, hills and forest areas will make any assault on this side quite difficult.

Above: the French view from their right. The Elbe is impassable terrain. The Prussians are weaker on this side but might be able to redeploy troops from the centre if need be. A quick assault from the French here could be their best chance of victory.

The Prussians have 5 command cards and four Iron Will tokens in this scenario, and move first. The French have 4 command cards. I didn't play with any Tactician cards this time.

Early moves were cautious by both sides. The French slowly moved up their forces on both flanks, while the Prussians shuffled a few units around on their left flank to present an even stronger defensive line along the trees. Their jägers edged forward and began sniping at the French light cavalry, causing some hits and forcing them to retreat.

A 'Short Supply' card played by the French saw the Prussian foot artillery unit in front of Osterholz being sent back to their baseline, but the Prussians were able to move units forward again and re-establish a presence on the hills on this side.

Which was just as well, since this is where the first big move of the game came from the French with a 'Cavalry charge' card. The jägers quickly formed square whilst the adjacent artillery was able to hold its ground with the help of an Iron Will token. At the end of the combat, all four engaged units had one casualty each (I'm using small blank mdf bases to mark hits here). With a unit of light infantry in square, the Prussian are down to four command cards, same as the French.

The Prussians responded with a Scout card which gave them their first victory banner of the game. The light infantry unit in square was able to cause another casualty on the French light cavalry, who were unable to do any damage in return (effectively rolling zero dice due to fighting uphill against infantry in square).

A 'Co-ordinated advance' card from the French saw them moving artillery and line infantry up on the left and centre, while one of their leaders on the right flank led a unit of line infantry forward to follow-up the cavalry assault on that side. The light cavalry unit that had forced the jägers into square was ordered to move forward out of harms way, and was now well positioned to exit the Prussian side of the board if the opportunity arose.

Both sides settled into a few rounds of blasting away at each other before the French made the next significant move: Flank Attack. On the right, one of their light cavalry units charged off into the Prussian rear for 1 victory banner, while their light infantry unleashed a volley against the jägers and...

...sent them packing.

French: 2 banners
Prussians: 1 banner
With their light infantry square gone, the Prussians are back up to 5 command cards.

Following the action on the French right, the Prussians decide it's time to seize the initiative and launch a surprise attack against the French left with a 'Bayonet Charge'.

Here's how the Prussian left looked before the card was played.

The two light and two line infantry units in and around the woods are ordered forward to attack the French.

They give a good showing. The foot artillery and infantry unit nearest Altenzaun are both routed, and the other line infantry unit is forced to retreat two hexes.

French: 2 banners

Prussians: 3 banners

The Prussians are only two banners away from victory, and things are starting to look a bit desperate for the French. They respond with a 'Force March' card and to try and fight back on their left.

The combat is vicious and ends honours even. The jägers are driven out beyond the marshland whilst Ware and his unit destroy the Prussian line infantry in front of them. To Ware's right, the other French line infantry unit fairs badly against the Prussian infantry led by Bila (looking a bit like Blücher!) They take another hit and are forced to retreat. In Commands & Colors, Prussian line infantry receive an extra dice in melee combat when they don't move, and in this case the French (already slightly weakened) weren't able to inflict any damage before the Prussian fought back.

French: 3 banners
Prussians: 3 banners

The battle hangs in the balance with troops engaged on both flanks. In the centre of the battlefield things are fairly quiet but, crucially, the two injured units of French light cavalry sheltering behind Altenzaun are left exposed by the holes appearing in the French left.

Unable to press the attack on their right flank, the French look once again to Ware to win glory for France, but his battle with Bila's Prussians goes badly and his unit is mauled and left with one hit remaining.

Sensing victory is within reach, Yorck delivers the coup de grâce with a card that has been in hand since the start of the game: 'Fire and Hold'.

Ware's unit is a prime target for the Prussian jägers...

...and is the first to fall.

Prussians: 4 banners
French: 3 banners

The winning banner then comes with the fall of the French light cavalry which already had two hits. One hit and three flags was enough to remove the remaining two hits and give the Prussians their fifth and final victory banner.

A view of the battlefield at game end:

The French had tried to get another light cavalry unit off the board on the right flank but had run out of command cards for that side. Everything hinged on the battle to their left but the Prussians proved too strong.

Yorck and his men carried the day and the Prussian main army was able to safely cross the Elbe, just as it did in history.

Another great game of Commands & Colors. For solo play, I find it hard to beat. My main interest is quite simply a desire to line up the soldiers and watch how it all plays out. C&C lets me do that every time, without ever feeling repetitive or predictable. I could play this scenario many times and the narrative would likely be different every time.

Shadow of the Eagles next. I promise!