Gerolstein Invasion Of Ozzz Mark 2

 Today Mat and I have swapped armies so that I command Ozzz and Mat commands Gerolstein.

The Gerolstein army has a strong cavalry wing and better firearms that allow troops to make a half move and shoot (although thus allowing a save for the targets). They also have longer range.

This time Ozzz won the set up first roll, making the Gerolsteiners reveal their positions but Mat got the move first roll. He immediately advanced his cavalry towards my right and edged up his infantry guard and machinegun. I played it defensively on that flank. My artillery scored a hit on his elite cavalry, halving their numbers. My heavy Munchkin cavalry defeated his elite cavalry but more cavalry was on the way.

The Gerolsteiners lucked out on their wine ruse as the Wizard was on to it and had his spies collect the bottles before his troops could get drunk.

Meanwhile, on my left flank my Quadling troops advanced with benefit of cover. The Giant accompanied the advance and then my giant eagle and owl attacked the flank of Mat's infantry!

What Mat did not know is that my amphibians are advancing along a tunnel in the mountain and would appear on that same flank, in a couple of moves. (They were literally on the table at the start of the game but could not be seen due to the mountain. Stinker, ain't I?) I have also written this down with their movement indicated. However, will the river monsters attack them as they emerge from the tunnel? That is a question I'll clarify soon. 'Will we roll to see if the monsters attack anything at the mountain river's edge and should we use a direction dice to indicate their movement. In fact, will the big monster be distracted into eating the small trilobity one?)

BELOW:

Gerolstein's elite cavalry

                                                       A view of the Ozzzralite left flank

          Ozzzralite militia on the right flank about to enter the forest. Cavalry and artillery hold the far right flank. Elite Munchkin grenadiers are in the foreground.

                           The elite Gerolsteiner cavalry charge the elite Munchkin cavalry. However, their numbers were already depleted by the Munchkin artillery and the Munchkins, protected by their breastplates inflicted more damage than what they received.

                                                  The Gerolstein advance on my right flank

                                             The Munckins play it defensively but inflict high casualties on the advancing Gerolsteiners.

                          The artillery works overtime. Into the valley of death rode the Gerolsteiners....

                                                       More Gerolsteiner cavalry advance.

            Glinda, the Good Witch, from the left flank, orders her Quadlings to advance but they come under fire from Gerolsteiner artillery and rifles.

       Quadling grenadiers also advance from the Ozzzralite left flank. Further forward Shrek, the giant (as opposed to Shrek the ogre) and the scarecrows advance under cover of rocks and trees. Shrek is a smart giant so does not need dice rolls to see if he falls over.

              Meanwhile, the Ozzzralite amphibians advance through the mountains' caves.

                           A river monster and large trilobite cavort in the mountain river but they are at the cave entrance!

                        Gerolsteiner troops and cannon before they were attacked by Shrek...

                                                       Munchkin militia in the forest

                                                   Duchess (The Gerolsteiner commander)

                                   Gerolstein's machine gun opens up on the militia in the forest.

                                                             Gerolstein's grenadiers

                            A Munchkin woman is engaged in discussion with a horse and a moose, all spies for The Wizard. She had ensured that the wine planted by the Gerolsteiners had all been collected before  Ozzz's troops could get drunk on it.

The Cowardly Lion had his mojo today but was not required in close combat. He did, however, direct the firing of the Munchkin militia.

                                               The Duchess is under attack from a gigantic eagle! All her staff officers have been sent to designated units so she must defend herself! She swings her scepter and hits the eagle on the beak.

                                Meanwhile Gerolsteiner cavalry fight the Tin Men and their inventor. The horses, upon hearing the creaks of metal, initially, were jittery and refused to charge; then the tin men charged. In the end the cavalry prevailed, destroying both most of the mechanical men and the inventor.

                                                   The last of the Ozzzralite cavalry retreat.

  The Wizard's grenadiers exchange fire with their grenadier enemy. The Wizard's magic adds to their effectiveness.

                                  The amphibious troops emerge from the tunnel. The River monster is too engaged in his meal of the large trilobite to bother them. They edge around it and scale down the cliff.

                                                 The initially tough Gerolsteiner right flank. They were all to be pushed off the battlefield or into the lake!

HIGHLIGHTS:

The strategy of using cover and advancing from my left flank proved very successful especially when the gigantic eagle and owl attacked the enemy infantry's flank. The giant also joined in the havoc. The ultimate result was that multiple enemy units were 'pushed off the board' or into the 'lake'. (An earlier dice roll had determined that the gap in the table was a lake which could be crossed only by winged creatures).

The amphibians would have been useful just to claim a table quarter but they played no part in the battle.

Mat's cavalry charge: tremendous bravery and determination was shown by his cavalry but in the end the infantry was too far behind to save most of the cavalry from destruction. My cavalry also made a suicidal charge towards close of battle, the main object being to shield the advance of my grenadiers.

At close of battle Gerolstein's Duchess was in peril and her army reduced to a much diminished unit of cavalry, an undermanned machinegun and a much reduced grenadier regiment. The Ozzzralite forces were in possession of most of the battlefield and was now much greater in numbers.

STRATEGY

The game played out pretty much as I expected. I took a risk on my thin right flank but expected my artillery would do a lot of damage before being over-run. I also kept my troops out of the way of Mat's fire power until towards the end when I lost all my cavalry (less numerical, from the start, than the enemy cavaly). The cover on my left enabled me to get my heavy hitters in close and to roll up Mat's right flank.

FIGURES

My artillery Munchkins started out as plastic firemen. other Munchkins are smaller scale metal and plastic 18th century troops, the Quadlings are 1/32 scale Napoleonics. The Gerolsteiner grenadiers were converted from beat up old Lone Star, Cherilea and Crescent British guardsmen; some I am still painting and rushed to try to finish them for the game. Then there are Timpo Action pack French Foreign legion and ACW. The Duchess is a metal figure from The Armchair general. The Ozzz flags include ones from Wars of Ozz and the Gerolstein ones are from The Armchair General.

The Gerolstein cavalry are made from Timpo Action Pack Napoleonics and ACW Britains Detail actually painted as Bolivian or Chilean (I think) cavalry but so far they have served in Gerolstein's army. They also make passable French cavalry.

The eagle rider started life as a Masters of the Universe one - yes they made small one piece guys too!