The War of the Rhabarberian Succession - Turn 3 Cavalry Clash

For the first battle of the campaign, the action took place across the junction of two squares, so I simply took the most likely area where the engagement would take place and transfered it to the table. The layout was dictated by this and the detailed notes that accompany the boards squares, as to what was in each square: for example here the river is deep and so is not fordable.

Both sides deployed as per the campaign map and I rolled to see who would go first, with the Prusskians (red) winning. I decided to use Black Powder II for the game, but had toyed with the idea of Rebels & Patriots, but went with the former as it was a while since I had played the latter and would also keep continuity across the campaign.

Deployment
The Ruthenia 1st cavalry Regiment was guarding the bridge, with the 6th Division's cavalry squadron approaching from the South West. The Prusskian 4th Cavalry Regiment was in the North West corner, with the 6th Cavalry Regiment coming in from the East.

Turn 1

The Prusskian 4th Cav. got 3 moves on their die roll and advanced to threaten the bridge as well as protecting their flank. The Prusskian 6th Cav. only managed one move, but it was enough to deploy into line, ready to charge or counter-charge the enemy.

The Ruthenian squadron seeing it was outnumbered, simply advanced to 'observe' the Prusskian 4th Cav. The Ruthenian 1st Cav., seeing their rear threatened, turned about and charged the enemy, who counter-charged them as well.

The opening moves.

The cavalry clash to the East of the bridge.

Both sides take hits and Disorder.

Both sides have units that have to retreat and the enemy follows up.

In the centre it is a draw and both sides withdraw.

Turn 2

The Prusskian 4th Cav. perfectly poised to attack over the bridge, Blundered and moved to their left. In the melee by the bridge, both sides lost a unit, whilst one Prusskian unit could not charge due to being Disordered. In the Ruthenian Turn, one unit made an Initiative charge whilst the other could due to being Disordered.

The Prusskian Turn and both sides lose cavalry units.

The irregularly arranged blocks are the broken units.

The Ruthenian cavalry charge in and the Prusskians counter-charge.

The combat ends in a draw and both sides retreat one move.

Turn 3

The Prusskian cavalry made a mix of Initiative and Ordered charges, with the Prusskian 4th Cav. coming in over the bridge. Outnumbered and having already taken hits, the Ruthenian 1st Cavalry Regiment broke and fled the battlefield. Seeing this the Ruthenian cavalry squadron quietly withdrew back towards its parent unit.

The Prusskian cavalry have the upper hand.

One Ruthenian cavalry unit outflanked and attacked in the rear.

The Ruthenian cavalry Shaken and Disordered

The Ruthenian cavalry breaks and the other retreats but is followed up by the Prusskian cavalry.

The end of the action.

The destruction of the Ruthenian 1st Cavalry Regiment.

End of the Game

A short, sharp action that ended up with a convincing Prusskian win. As this was a campaign game, I made a simple roll to see if any 'lost' units would 'survive' ready for the next Campaign Turn. The sole Prusskian loss returned as did two of the three Ruthenian losses. It could have been worse. The Prusskian cavalry now has the upper hand, but the Ruthenian 1st Cavalry Regmiment still poses a threat. We will have to wait and see how this may or may not affect Campaign Turn 4.

Post Game Thoughts
As always a few thought on the game:

• This was more closely fought than the outcome at first suggests. It could have easily gone the other way or ended up in mutually assured destruction.
• I thought BPII worked really well for this little clash and it did feel like a cavalry engagement, with the action ebbing and flowing and not being drawn out.
• Allowing units to possibly recover post-game felt right, reflecting the dispersed and disordered units reforming and making their way back to their respective sides . It also meant that one loss might not affect the balance of the campaign too much, leading to it being over before it had begun.
• I enjoyed getting my blocks out again as I like the old school look of them and it makes it easier to see what is going on on the table when playing solo.

So now onto Turn 4 and it remains to be seen what action, if any, might unfold. So until next time...