Re: Saalfeld moments
Maturin wrote:
1) Side movements of units and changing face
This has come up a few times with us in a variety of guises.
a) A unit is on a road traversing East-West but is deployed in line facing North. The unit wishes to march down the road to the West in column of companies. How much of a move does this require to change face and begin marching?
Formation Change Table pg 80 - Form Column by Turning a Line through 90' or vice versa - 1/2 turn. So you can turn into column from the line and move up to 7.5cm. This line is missing from the QRS. It used to take a whole move, but this is better.
b) A unit has marched North in column of companies on tactical move orders in the last move and is still over 35cm from the nearest enemy. In the next move it wishes to deploy in line facing West. How much of a move does this require to change face and continue marching?
You cannot have Tactical movement and normal movement in the same turn and you need to be in Column to tactical march anyway (Pg7
. A formation change is normal movement, so as above you can take 1/2 move to turn through 90' and still move up to 5cm (1/2 a line move).
c) A unit in line facing North wishes to reposition 5cm to the West but still remain facing North. Is this ‘shuffle’ allowed? If not what manoever is allowed that would effectively achieve the same result?
Strictly speaking you would need to change into column by turning through 90', then move the 5cm. That is one turn's worth of movement, then the next turn you change back into line by a 90' formation change. I'd probably allow the shuffle if you were outside of firing range or agreed not to fire, but since it is you....two turns
2) Pushing out a skirmish screen whilst on HOLD orders.
A unit in line within its designated hold area is on HOLD orders and for reasons I won’t go into, has its own brigade skirmish screen positioned currently immediately to its rear. It is approached by enemy columns screened by skirmishers who approach to within 5cm of the line. Can the brigade skirmish screen deploy in front of the defending line and engage the enemy skirmish screen?
Yes, no issue there, the skirmish screen can be depoyed up to 20cm forward of the Brigade's position.
3) Routing/Retreating out of buildings
Two units have recently successfully assaulted a building from two faces. One enters the building the other remains positioned outside. The enemy ripostes with two new units and re-takes the building from the OTHER two sides of the building. The defenders are thrown out in rout. Which face of the building do they ROUT from? Is it via the face they entered into the building (which is currently free of figures) of do they recoil through BOTH faces and unform the other friendly formed unit stationed immediately outside on the other face?
[O argued here that as his attack was from two different angles, the defending unit had to rout out of the back of the building in an average spread and would thus catch the other defender on the way……hmmmm…my take was that as the unit had entered the building that way then that was the obvious and logical way back out!]
Rout away from the direction of the enemy, so I agree with Orange, I'd spilt the angle as there are two attackers, for the first half move anyway.
Pg 51 Section 5.1 b)
4) Using squares to block cavalry
Having rather fortunately gained cavalry superiority I had the urge to throw some spare Saxon hussars into the French rear (dastardly but rather fun idea I thought). O rather ingeniously stopped this by forming a wall of dancing squares that continually flitted back and forth effectively blocking the way as the gaps between units were always just millimeters smaller than my unit frontage. (OK….OK… I lost it a little at this point). Is this allowed? Can squares maneuver in the face of formed cavalry in this way? Can any unit saunter around in front of formed cavalry? Can cavalry fold around squares?
[I assume this to be a lost cause…but would like to know anyway]
Yes, completely legal and has many historical counterparts, off the top of my head Winkel Grenadier Bttn after Jena, Prinz August Grenadier Bttn at Prentzlau during the Prussian Retreat, French Reserve after Salamanca (Garcia Hernadez charge), French Old Guard at Waterloo, and NO to folding round squares.
As for the game….well…
O made some tweaks to the ORBAT (as always) which generously gave me (as the outnumbered Prussian-Saxons) use of attached battalion guns and some small increases in unit strengths. Although I managed to throw double 1 twice whilst firing two other batteries (rapidly eliminating them from play) the battalion guns, and some rather fortunate cavalry exchanges rather tipped the play in my favour and on this occasion Marshal Lannes got a bloody nose and Prince Ferdinand lived to morganatically maraud another day…….
The lesson here re-inforced the folly of representing battalion guns as artillery and not adhering exactly to the good DrB’s pretty rulebook. They should ONLY be represented as extra musket fire (immediately lost during retreat etc) as the extra firepower they deliver as 4pdrs makes the units disproportionately effective at holding off incoming. Cheers
M
M, my thoughts above, yes to more photos as well, and I completely agree about the battalion guns. I even think that Broon has been generous allowing an extra 6 figures, RMDs extra 4 fits it better in my view, but I'll not complain too loudly.
Cheers, Gary