Shadow of the Eagles game - Turns 4 and 5

TURN 4

Going into turn 4, the Prussians won the initiative for the fourth time in a row. On their left flank, the newly arrived landwehr infantry moved up and deployed into line. Beside them, the 'Inferior' rated cavalry failed their command test and were not able to move nearer the enemy, instead reforming into column.

The Prussian left flank

In the centre, the Prussian hussars prepared to fight another combat with the French hussars whom they'd defeated and pursued in the previous turn. In the town, Kraus's infantry took up position on the northern edge and got ready to defend themselves against the French facing them.

The Prussian centre

Outnumbered in the field, the French really needed a successful roll for the arrival of their reinforcements, and they got it! Leroy's three battalions finally arrive on the road and make haste towards the action.

Reinforcements arrive for the French

On their right, the French advanced one of their infantry units towards the Prussian landwehr, while in the centre the foremost infantry battalion of Boche's brigade decided to charge the Prussians in the town. The French rolled a pair of lucky sixes and managed to inflict enough closing fire on the Prussian unit to cause it to fall back, weakened. They pursued and made contact again, meaning the fight would continue in the upcoming close combat phase.

Charge resolution in SotE involves both sides firing before the units close. Either both sides will close and fight in the ensuing close combat phase or – as happened here – one side will be forced to fall back due to an accumulation hits.

Inside the town, the Prussians are pushed back by a determined French assault

Elsewhere on the battlefield, the firing phase saw various units taking hits from artillery and musketry.

Onto the combat phase and the first fight was the clash of hussars. Here, the Prussians were victorious yet again, forcing the French to fall back beyond their lines with the Prussians in hot pursuit. This pursuit by the Prussians brought them into contact with the chasseurs a cheval, which meant another charge resolution had to be resolved. The battery of French horse artillery beside the chasseurs provided supporting fire as the Prussians closed, and caused enough damage to force the Prussians back.

The Prussian hussars are fired upon by the French guns...

...causing them to take casualties and fall back, weakened.

As the cavalry battle swirled outside Nebenstrom, inside the town the fight between the French and Prussian infantry units reached a bloody conclusion as each one caused enough hits to rout the other.

Now you see them, now you don't!

Nebenstrom is suddenly empty of troops

The battlefield at the end of turn 4

The battle was well and truly underway now, and both sides had lost one unit of infantry. Neither army had control of the town, but troops on both sides were still nearby. Over on the left, the French cavalry had been beaten off, but the Prussian hussars were looking a bit spent. Fournier's infantry brigade had abandoned any hope of attacking the town and would spend the rest of the battle defending the French right flank against the Prussian landwehr infantry and cavalry.  

On the Prussian right flank, Goode's brigade was getting nearer to emerging from the woods. The French reinforcements had arrived, but would they be in time to protect the French left flank and also support the attack on the town?

TURN 5

Incredibly, the Prussian won initiative in the 5th turn - five wins in a row! Unfortunately for them, the landwehr cavalry failed its command roll and still hesitated on the flank. The landwehr infantry were made of sterner stuff, however, and the unit on the right charged against the approaching French column.

Landwehr charge the French column

Further over to the right, the Prussian uhlans (with brigade commander Schrode having attached himself in the previous turn) decide to charge against the French chasseurs. The French cavalry successfully rolled for a counter-charge and the two units clashed in the middle.

Elsewhere, infantry from Kraus's brigade moved forward to gain a foothold in the town.

Another of Kraus's infantry units move forward into the town

Prussian uhlans clash with French chasseur a cheval

On the French side, their line infantry moved closer to the town but couldn't charge across the stream in a single turn, so had to be content with waiting until next turn.

View from behind the French lines, with Prussians emerging from the woods top-left

The combat phase in turn 5 saw two engagements. One was the Prussian uhlans against the French chasseurs a cheval; the other was the Prussian landwehr in line against the French infantry in column. Closing fire had not stopped either charge, so it was on to the all-important close combat dice rolls.

The infantry combat ended with both units on 3 hits. In SotE, close combat resolution is quite interesting in that the winner is determined not by who causes the most hits, but rather by which side has the least amount of hits at the end. In this case, the French actually caused more casualties (2-1) but because both sides finished on 3 hits,  neither side was the winner. Draws like this (where neither side has a better rating than the other), mean that another round of combat is fought.

This time, the French won again, causing the landwehr to fall back. However, the French were themselves left weakened and are unable to pursue.

Prussian landwehr fall back from the fight, with both sides exhausted

In the other combat, the Prussian uhlans were victorious. The chasseurs fell back and collided with their own hussars. Since the hussars were still quite battered, I decided to push these back rather than have the chasseurs pass through them (you have the choice). The uhlans pursued but due to the difficult terrain on this side of the town, they failed to catch the chasseurs.

Another cavalry clash ends with the French falling back

Above – this is how things were looking on the Prussian left at the end of Turn 5. You can see the Prussian hussars and one landwehr infantry unit are both quite injured (5 hits each). The French lines are now better organised, with the infantry unit on the outside now moving round in column beside the artillery. The leading French column, however, is 'weakened' and won't be able to advance closer to the enemy unless it can rally hits. I wanted to attach the brigade leader, Fournier, to it during the rally phase, but he wasn't close enough. To the left (out of shot) are the Prussian landwehr cavalry. Will they finally succeed with their command roll next turn and be able to do something?

Leroy brings his columns up towards the town

Above – another view of the town from behind the French centre. Leroy's line and light infantry are coming up in column, while the remaining two infantry battalions from Boche's brigade are poised to rush into the town in the next turn. The unit pictured on the right still has the army general, Dubois, attached, whilst his opposite number, CinC Wolff, is attached to the Prussian infantry unit that is now partly inside the town.

The battle really did feel finely balanced at this point, and the turn limit of 8 was looking like it would work out well. The Prussians had regained the town but were looking less strong in the centre than the French. Leroy's brigade was still some way away, however, and might not be able to do anything as far as attacking the town went, especially with Major General Goode bearing down from the Prussian right.

The cavalry battles had been fascinating, with the Prussians giving a good account of themselves. What was going to happen next in that part of the battlefield was anyone's guess...

Turns 6, 7 and 8 to come tomorrow!