Hook's Farm Replay
Today Mat and I re-played the Hook's Farm game with a change of sides. Here are the pics. Mat had me on the back foot from early on, so much so that I kept forgetting to take photos.
Mat gained the dice rolls to make me set up first and also to set up first. I kept three units in reserve and moved everything up in a general advance. My left flank, near the church, was covered by my toe medium cannons and a unit of lancers. Moving towards the church were my two machine gun teams and rifle regiment. In the centre were grenadiers and infantry. My third cannon guarded the right flank from enemy cavalry.
Mat held his cavalry back (a change for him). As y reserves appeared I placed one unit each of lancers on each flank, including the elite Ruritanians on the left flank.
Mat moved his horse artillery next to the church, supported by infantry. Then his centre units mounted the central ridge with his grenadiers in the centre. The penalty for half move and firing did not stop him from getting some devastating volleys into my centre units. (All his Redian troops had a marksmanship bonus).Things began to look very dire for my troops. However, my two machine guns began to fire from next to the church and somewhat evened things up.
Mat's light artillery did some damage to my centre, somewhat reduced when they changed to skirmish formation. Meanwhile my lancers next to the church moved on to the hill, behinds the church to allow my gun to get in a shot but it missed and Mat's heavy cavalry charged and destroyed the cannon crew. This in turn was charged by my Ruritanian lancers who destroyed them. However Mat's infantry moved up and shot down the Ruritanians. That left my other lancer unit to turn from the hill and charge the infantry. As the infantry was sent packing the lancers reorganised and soon were running down the fleeing troops.
Meanwhile my light infantry was coming under heavy fire and withdrew before again advancing through the forest to shoot at the enemy artillery and later repelling Mat's infantry who also entered the forest.
By move 12 my forces were seriously depleted but began to make gains, especially when the dice rolls three times decided the game would continue.
Meanwhile the remnant's of one of my grenadier regiments advanced and fired on a unit of Mat's other heavy cavalry next to the farm house. The enemy cavalry could not contain themselves and charged the hapless guard infantry, wiping it out. Then my third unit of lancers charged the heavy cavalry and wiped them out. A remnant of Mat's light cavalry (previously mauled by my artillery) charged the lancers but were overcome by superior numbers. When it reorganised my lancers moved into the woods adjacent the farm house before withdrawing and remounting! The infantry that had turned t face this, apparently minor threat were puzzled. What were the enemy up to? I wasn't quite sure myself but soon, instead of charging the infantry on the hill by the farm they rode way past and decimated, in a charge, one of Mat's fleeing infantry units.
Once reorganised I looked for new targets and when Mat nonchalantly (and foolishly) mention that his general was now a potential target guess where the lancers charged. The Redian general ordered his driver to floor it and he just escaped the impetuous lancers. However, he had been brought closer to my infantry!
As the game ended I was left in possession of the church and Mat had the farm. We were getting down to the wire as I was left with a cannon, one under-crewed machine gun, two cavalry regiments and two much depleted infantry regiments. Mat had two infantry regiment and two guns that were not fleeing and two that were. Fleeing regiments did not count to points. regiments. What looked like a sure Redian victory had changed to a narrow Herman one, which might not have been the case if the battle had not continued for three moves to fifteen moves.
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