Das Weiner Schnitzel Kreig, 1848 - Raiding The Baggage Camp

Background

'Il Cacciatore' having rapidly retreated from Trauberk, had fallen back to his temporary camp by the church of Our Lady of Brezje, located in a small valley. Leaving a small guard for the camp, he had set off to reconnoitre the surrounding countryside, looking for any opportunity to raid and disrupt the Wiener Schnitzel trade.

Things were rather different in the village, where the local newspaper, the 'Trauberk Thunderer', had been full of nothing but praise for Leutnant Joseph 'Fighting Joe' Radetsky and his troops. Whilst the celebrations were still going on, news reached 'Fighting Joe' that the Italian Legion's camp was not too far away and lightly guarded. As he gathered his forces together, the villagers pleaded to be able to come along and liberate some stolen goods, to which he assented and the 'Trauberk Terratorials' were formed.

Austrian Freikorps OOB

Leutnant 'Lightning Joe' Radetsky - 28 Honour

3 x Line Infantry

2 x Jaegers

1 x 'Trauberk Terratorials' (Skirmishers)

1 x Dragoons

1 x Light Cavalry

Italian Legion OOB

2nd Tentente 'Il Cacciatore - 10 Honour

4 x Camp Guards (Small Line Infantry, but no Line Infantry special rules)

2 x Line Infantry

2 x Skirmishers

1 x Dragoons

Scenario D: Bullets & Beans

The scenario is the same as per the rulebook, with the Austrians needing to sack the enemy camp as quickly and thoroughly as possible, before 'Il Cacciatore' and his troops return. Naturally the camp guards need to hold on as long as possible, in the hope that helps arrives at the earliest opportunity...

The Action

As always, the annotated photos will give a flavour of how the game played out, so without further ado...

An overview of the table, with the Austrians coming on from the left, the Italians from the right. the baggage camp is in the centre of the table.

One of the camp quarters, with some quick knocked up carboard tents.

The church of Our Lady of Brezje.

More camp guards.

The last of the camp quarters.

The Italian Legion, with Dragoons and Skirmishers on the flanks, Line Infantry in the centre.

The Austrian Light Cavalry and Dragoons.

Line Infantry and Skirmishers.

Jaegers and the Trauberk Terratorials.

The end of Turn 1. The Austrians got off to a patchy start, with partial movement and 'Fighting Joe's' unit suddenly finding itself low on ammunition (Double 1 rolled). The camp guards managed to Disorder a Line Infantry unit as the main Italian Legion force all arrived on the table.

The Austrian Light Cavalry move to the flank to cover the advance.

Line Infantry come under fire.

The Jaegers and Trauberk Territorials move up to threaten the church quarter of the camp.

The end of Turn 2. As the Austrian advanced, the Jaegers and Trauberk Territorials poured fire into the camp guards by the church, reducing them to half strength. There was some return fire, but to little effect, whilst the main force continued to move forward to support the camp guards.

The Italian Dragoons (top right) move forward to cover the Austrian Light Cavalry.

Austrian Skirmishers close in on the camp.

The Austrian Line Infantry try to move forward.

The Austrians come under fire.

The camp guards by the church are at half-strength and disordered.

The Italian Line Infantry struggle forward too.

Italian Skirmishers line some rocky ground, from where they can shoot the Austrians.

At the start of Turn 3, the Trauberk Territorials charge the camp guards by the church...

...wiping them out, as another unit is Broken from shooting.

The end of Turn 3. The Austrians have managed to clear half the camp of their guards, as the Line Infantry continue to press forward. A poor Turn for the Italians as they fail to shoot when it was urgently needed.

Italian Dragoons engage the Austrian Light Cavalry.

Combined firing allows...

... 'Fighting Joe' to close up to the camp outskirts.

Italian Skirmishers arrive to try and support the camp guards.

The Italian Line Infantry are still not close enough to provide support.

The end of Turn 4. As the Trauberk Territorials sack part of the camp, the rest of the Austrian force presses their advantage and try to clear the rest of the camp. One unit of camp guards Routs after a failed morale test, but fortunately does not cuase major problems to the rest fo the units. The Austrians have a slight advantage...

Jaegers enter the camp ready to try and sack it, as the Trauberk Territorials sack the camp by the church.

Camp guards Rout (red & yellow dice) as the Line Infantry finally arrive and begin to form up to provide support.

At the start of Turn 5, the Austrian Skirmishers charge their Italian counterparts and Rout them!

The end of Turn 5. As the Austrians continue to sack the camp, the Austrian Light Cavalry Break the Italian Dragoons. The Italians continue the fight and suddenly there is welcome news that a unit of Line Infantry has been sent as reinforcements!

The Italian Dragoons retreat Broken (top).

The Austrian Jaegers and Skirmishers come under sustained fire, but all manage to pass their Morale tests.

The Italians still hang on to their camp and its baggage.

Welcome reinforcements await to arrive on the table.

The end of Turn 6 (note I forgot to change to Turn number!).  Both sides suffer units retreating Routed or Broken, with the Italians having the worst of it! the Italian Line Infantry reinforcements fail to arrive and both sides hold their positions as their flanks are exposed as the Skirmishers retreat or Rout.

The Italian Dragoons Rout after a failed Morale test.

Camp guards Rout...

... as does another one.

Austrian Skirmishers Rout too.

The Trauberk Territorials retreat Broken.

A view from the Austrian lines, as the camp is empty of troops.

A similar view from the Italian positions.

End of Game

With both sides having lost their Skirmishers and having little opportunity to sack the camp or save it, without great risk to their troops, both sides withdrew leaving some baggage to the Italians and some being taken away by the Austrians. Quiet descended upon the battlefield, as both sides counted the cost of the action.

The Butcher's Bill. The Austrians lost two units of Skirmishers, the Italians the equivalent of two Line Infantry units, a unit of skirmishers and one of Dragoons. A heavy price paid by the Italians at the end of the day.

The Campaign

Another successful action by 'Fighting Joe' Radtesky saw him promoted to Kapitan and another chance to roll on the Traits table, giving him 'Fortuna Belli', a very useful Trait indeed. Once per game he can re-roll one set of dice rolls by either side.

Honour - 31

'Il Cacciatore' finally managed to put up a decent defence, but at some cost to his troops, but at least he has been sent some much needed reinforcements.

Honour - 11.

Post Game Thoughts

A closer game this time round and certainly one that could have gone either way, but the Dice Gods once again favoured Austria. In no particular order, some thoughts on the game and campaign in no particular order:

• Playing solo and with a narrative campaign does give me a lot of flexibilty in terms of driving the campaign forward. A case in point being the 'Trauberk Territorials', which I added 'free' to Radtesky's force, keeping them with 'Native' stats, but using them as Skirmishers. Likewise the Italian Line Infantry reinforcements will be added to 'Il Cacciatore' next game.
• I keep forgetting the Light Cavalry do have the ability to shoot, which i did remember half way through this game!
• I'm getting more used to using Skirmishers, as they make for a very useful 'screen' for the line Infantry as they advance.
• As before, 'First Fire' & 'Volley Fire' really can be game changers, if you can get them into the right position early on.
• The Double One's & Sixes cropped up a few times this game, affecting Radetsky's unit adversell as it ran low on ammo at the start.
• The game took about 90 minutes to play, give or take, but would be much quicker if I didn't take notes or photos.

What's Next?

I'm going to take a slight pause in the campaign, as I don't want it to feel all too rushed. I certainly have ideas for the next scenario, but want to take my time to decide upon which course to take.

In the meantime some painting will hopefully carry on and possibly some one off games using other rules, such as 'Honours of War'. It's been a while since I used them, ditto the Commission Figurine mdf figures and the OHW scenarios. Plenty to keep me occupied.

Thanks for reading and as always any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.

Das Wiener Schnitzel Kreig, 1848 - Friend Or Foe? - The Battle For Trauberk

The Background

2nd Leutnant Radetsky spent a few days recovering from his wound, being wined and dined by the local gentry, as well as attending quite a few balls in his honour. But alas all good things come to an end and he soon received orders to head back to the front. After the incursion into Austrian territory, his superiors wanted to send him to the border village of Trauberk on a 'hearts and minds' mission, to make sure the populace was still supporting the Empire during all the shenanigans going on in Hungary and elsewhere.

For 'Il Cacciatore' things had been rather different, as he had to make a hasty retreat after the last battle, to rest and reform hos troops. He badly needed a base from which to mount raids into Austria itself, to help interrupt the Wiener Schnitzel supply route, which was crucial for the war effort on the home front and of course for Austrian prestige. He had heard that the local village of Trauberk might be sympathetic to his cause, as they wanted to shake of the shackles of Austrian control, as Slovenian national sentiment was rising during the turbulent year of 1848.

Austrian Freikorps OOB

2nd Leutnant Radetsky (17 Honour)

3 x Line Infantry

1 x Light Infantry

1 x Dragoons

1 x Jaegers

Italian Legion OOB

2nd Tenente 'Il Cacciatore'

1 x Line Infantry

2 x Light Infantry

1 x Dragoons

2 x Skirmishers

Scenario I: 'The Enemy's Enemy' and Objectives

The scenario is based upon a village in the centre of the table, with neither side quite knowing whether the locals will be friendly or not. Once the first unit that gets within 6" of the centre of the village, a dice is rolled to see what the villagers reaction will be. There are some modifiers, with a slim chance that they will defend their homes against all comers, rather than taking sides. The objective is to try and secure the village for your side and to defeat the enemy, taking as few casualties as possible.

The Action

As is the norm these days, the annotated photos will hopefully allow you to follow how tha game played out, so without further ado...

An overview of the table, with Trauberk in the centre, with the Austrians coming on from the South West corner, the Italians from the North East.

Trauberk is strangely deserted and quiet...

A gratuitous shot of some scenic items I finished this week.

And another one!

A wagon train leaving Trauberk before things get ugly.

The Austrian force, with their Light Infantry and Jaegers on the left, Line Infantry in the centre with the Dragoons on the right.

A verys imilar set up for the Italians, with light troops on the flanks and their sole Line Infantry unit on the road.

The end of Turn 1. The Austrian troops made a patchy start, but Radetsky joined the Dragoons to push them forward to the edge of the village, but not quite close enough to trigger a reaction. All of the Italians moved forward but again could not get close enough to the village to see what the villagers might do next.

"It's awfully quiet Sir", as one of the Dragoons said to Radetsky (cue some Ennio Morricone style music and the European version of tumbleweed blowing down the street. If there was a church, the bell would be ringing...).

The Line Infantry advance.

The wagon train leaving 'Dodge City' as fast as it can.

The Italian left advances.

As does the centre.

Italian skirmishers blend in with the hills.

The start of Turn 2. As Radetsky enters the village, the locals suddenly appear, all in support of the Emperor!

The end of Turn 2. With Trauberk on the side of Austria, this inspired the Austrian troops who all moved forward. The villagers pushed to the edge of Trauberk and began to engage the Italians, but to no effect. 'Il Cacciatore' responded to the sound of gun fire as best he could, somewhat diappointed that his 'intel' was wrong about the villager's sympathies. As his troops moved forward, there was some 'Blue-on-Blue' shooting by mistake, but luckily if did little damage.

The Austrian left pushes forward.

The Austrian Jaegers reack the orchard and Line Infantry move up the road.

Line Infantry on the right move up to try and cover the flank (the black dice denotes First Fire).

The villagers move forward to defend Trauberk, but some accurate shooting from the Italian skirmishers sees them disordered but not disheartened.

'Il Cacciatore' moves his Line Infantry forward to try and form line to make the most of their shooting ability.

Italian skirmishers on the left reach the wall and halt.

The end of Turn 3. A poor turn for Radetsky & Co, as about half of the troops failed to activate, including the Dragoons under his command. The Italians failed to capitalise on the Austrian inertia, but did move forward in places and the Trauberk villagers were hit again, but their resolve remained firm!

The Austrians fail to push forward into Trauberk and its environs.

The viilage square is still up for grabs, as the Austrians fail to secure it.

The citizens of Trauberk fall back under fire but remain loyal.

Italian skirmishers move to flank the villagers.

'Il Cacciatore' from his Line infantry into 'Line' so that they can use 'Volley Fire' if the opportunity presents itself.

Italian Light Infantry on the outskirts of the village.

Dragoons and Skirmishers reach the duckpond and engage the inhabitants of Trauberk.

The start of Turn 4. The Trauberk villagers charge the Italian Light Infantry!

The end of Turn 4. After last Turns inertia, the Austrians advanced and engaged the Italians, forcing the Skirimishers on both flanks back, one Disordered, the other Broken. The Trauberk villagers survived their attack on the Italians, but were forced back with a permanent Disorder marker ad they were half-strength now. The Italians suffered as one unit of Skirmishers routed and the other retreat again, whilst elsewhere they failed to activate of missed the proverbial 'barn door'!

The Austrian left flank Disorders the Italian Dragoons by the duck pond.

Line Infantry advance but as yet have still not moved into the village square.

The Austrian Dragoons move forward to support the villagers.

Line Infantry with the advantage of 'First Fire' force back the Italian Skirmishers, causing them to become Broken...

... and a failed Rally test leads to them Routing.

All ready for 'Volley & First Fire', giving them a +2 to hit, the Italian Line Infantry fail to activate!

The end of Turn 5. Accurate and effective Austrian shooting leads to the collapse of the Italian position, as the Italian Dragoons and Skirmishers are routed after shockingly bad dice rolls for Morale and Rally! Even the Line Infantry under 'Il Cacciatore' are Disordered. As a result the Italian flanks are wide open.

The Villagers fall back to have support from the Line Infantry in the cornfield.

The Dragoons control the duck pond.

Finally the village square is secured.

The Italian Dragoons and Skirmishers Rout en masse!

Only three Italian units remain and so there position is untenable, as so they withdraw.

End of Game

Suddenly it was all over! As the Italians melted away, Radetsky was happy to secure the village and celebrate the victory with the loyal inhabitants of Trauberk. His losses had been incredibly light, with barely a scratch to his forces, with the villagers taking the brunt of the Italian ire. 'Il Cacciatore' on the other hand had yet again suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of Radetsky. He needed to lick his wounds and get his troops together again quickly before the inevtitable action that would surely soon follow.

The Campaign 

Another successful action saw Radetsky get a field promotion to a full Leutnant and a mention in dispatches. His star was certainly in the ascendant. With this action he gained enough Honour to roll on the Trait's Table, giving him 'Nom de Guerre' and another 5 Honour points. So now I need to decide upon a suitable name for him.

Honour - 28

'Il Cacciatore' on te other hand had yet again failed to gain any Honour from either action, but at least he hadn't lost any yet!

Honour - 10

Post Game Thoughts

Yet again another fun game of Rebels & Patriots that is really making a 'game-a-week' quite achievable at present! The narrative drive of the campaign is nice and giving me plenty of ideas, without it all becoming too labourious, which is one of the dangers of a campaign. Anyway, onto some thoughts on the game itself:

• It's the first time for ages that I've had the chance to use 'Volley fire' and 'First Fire'. Together they can be deadly as you get a +2 to hit if used together. Add in say a 'Marksmen' option and you might be hitting on a 2+ for once in a game. To be honest you rarely get that opportunity, but certainly for the Defender being more static, this can be a very useful bonus for sure.
• Both sides had some pretty bad shooting rolls right across the board all game. Back to the rifle range methinks...
• I've not had much 'Hard Cover' in my games, even during the playtesting way back when, but it really does alter the game somewhat. Going from 2 hits at short range or 3 at long, to cause a casualty, up to 4 or 5, makes this very significant force multiplier as it were.
• In this game I did use the Double 1 & Double 6 tables, just to see what effect it might have. The Italians did suffer a minor 'Blue-on-Blue' event that fortunately didn't affect the game at that point. With hindsight when the Villagers charged forward, I should have rolled for them as they got a double 6. I did this after the game and they would have got another free action, which could have been significant at that point.
• With regards to the Hard Cover above, Artillery might be an option for this game, but ti does take time to get into place and into action, so has limited used I feel. In a defensive position it would be more useful, if going for the larger calibre guns.
• I did feel sorry for poor old 'Il Cacciatore' as pretty much ever Morale or Rally roll went badly for him and his force! Lady Luck was not on his side once gain.
• Terrain wise it did take a bit of getting used to the BUA being WYSIWYG, after years of it being a generic area template for shooting, LOS etc. 
• The Trauberk villagers were fun to play and it certainly helped the Austrian cause no end, alongside adding a nice piece to the narrative and the campaign going forward. 

What Next?

Well I already have a couple of ideas for the next game in the campaign, but just need to sit down and flesh the ideas out a bit more, before deciding upon which route to take. Alongside this I'm still painting some units, namely some generic engineers-cum-villagers as they are useful for many scenarios, as well as some wagons, for decoration and for certain scenarios. All of these will be used for a vareity of rulesets which is nice.

I've been meaning to make a central piece as a sort of town square for years, but have never really needed one given the rules I use, which are for larger level actions such a BKCII and BPII. However at this smaller action level, I really do need one, as shown in this game, as I had to substitute trees in its place instead. 

I'm not sure why I never got an Italian church from Leven Miniatures, or maybe I did and painted it for a different setting. Sadly their website is still not back up and running, so I fancy scratch building one myself, which should be fun. As the weather is still rather iffy, time outside is going to be limited, so it will keep me nicely occupied and I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

I'm still pondering an AVBCW BKCII campaign, for somethign completely different once this current campaign is over. This is on the back burner for present as I don't want to get too distracted at this stage! But more on that in due course.

As always thanks for reading and if you have the time and inclination to comment, it is grealty appreciated!

TTFN.