The following is a report of a game fought using "Warfare in the Age of Reason" rules and mostly Old Glory 15mm figures (the Prussian FreiKorps are all Essex). SYWA member Scott Cameron is the commander of the Austrians and James Manto is the Prussian commander and totally objective war correspondent.

The normal AOR games had started getting a bit stale, since they usually involved Scott forming a solid defensive line in festung-Cameron, while my outnumbered Prussians attacked. So Scott decided he'd better come up with something a little more interesting if he ever wanted to play SYW again! The scenario is completely fictional. The town in the middle, quickly dubbed Klumpenberg, is a major Austrian supply depot and the focus of six roads (three per table edge/army). Each army begins with its advance guard brigades on the table. The remaining brigades had to dice for when they arrived and which road they entered on their table edge. This made for some very exciting moments, and the opposing commanders actually had to think and improvise their battle plans as the situation developed. We've repeated this idea again, over slightly different terrain and with different results, but it is always exciting.

A Stunning Victory! Austrian Cavalry Crushed

Klumpenberg, Silesia (Reuters) - The invincible cavalry arm of the Empress' army was crushed this weekend in a stunning upset by the Prussians commanded by the Crown Prince Henry. Early reports indicate heavy casualties in the Austrian army and the loss of a vital supply depot. Prussian headquarters report that the white-coated horde is retreating toward Bohemia. The King has commanded a special thanksgiving service to be held in Berlin.

The battle began when the Prussian advance guard, commanded by Baron von Furstenberg, fell upon the town of Klumpenberg which housed an important supply depot for the Austrian army. "Jawohl," exclaimed the dashing one-eyed Red Hussar General in an exclusive interview. "It was all we could do to keep the Freikorps out of the storehouses! Good thing the Whitecoats showed up or they'd all be drunk!" The Austrian main army quickly moved to liberate their depot while the Prussians rushed reinforcements to the scene.

Prince Henry arrived quickly with the Kurassier brigade and the brigade of Grenadiers. He quickly reinforced the town with the Grenadiers and the Garde while the heavy cavalry moved up to support the Red Hussars. The Kurassier brigade of General Schmettau lined up and charged alongside the Hussars, overpowering two of Maria Theresa's elite Hungarian Hussar regiments and capturing their colors. The Hussars retreated behind a brigade of infantry that had deployed in support. The Austrians gained some small revenge when their Croat battalion overran the Horse Artillery that had valiantly stayed to support the cavalry charge rather than retire to safety.

On the left flank of Klumpenberg, two brigades of Austrian infantry had arrived supported by numerous cannon. Von Kleist's regiment of Freikorps Uhlans began skirmishing to force the Austrians to deploy early and give the rest of the army time to show up and consolidate their hold on Klumpenberg.

Once the Austrian artillery deployed to fire, they shifted towards Klumpenberg to harass the newly arrived Austrian heavy cavalry and prevent their launching an attack before Prince Henry was ready. The Prince expressed his deepest thanks for the efforts of Colonel von Kleist and ordered an extra ration of rum for the intrepid lancers.

The main weight of Austrian cavalry began to arrive opposite Klumpenberg, forcing von Furstenberg to retire and Schmettau to realign his frontage. The rest of the Prussian army had by this time arrived. Bevern's brigade and the heavy artillery were on the left of the town, and August Wilhelm's brigade supported the cavalry on the right. The brigade of Dragoons, reinforced by Hussar Regiment Totenkopf, shifted from the left to the right to support the Kurassiers against the growing weight of Austrian cavalry that was massing on the Klumpenberg heights.

Bevern's brigade was forced to deploy early due to an aggressive advance by the Austrian Grenadier brigade. However, the superbly drilled Prussian infantry coolly deployed into line and started delivering close range volleys. The heavy guns of the Prussian positional battery deployed in the middle of the brigade and unleashing punishing salvos at close range. One battalion of elite grenadiers was routed with exceptional casualties and another was broken after suffering heavy losses.

On the right wing, Prince Henry aligned himself on the right with the second Kurassier regiment, Schmettau in the center with the Garde du Corps Kurassiers, and von Furstenberg on the left with his Red Hussars. The Dragoons and Black Hussars formed a second line in support. With the infantry of both armies cheering them on, the opposing cavalry charged. The two Austrian Kurassier regiments were quickly overpowered and the Prussians carried on to attack the supporting line. Prince Henry was critically wounded by a canister ball when leading the Second Kurassiers against the Austrian horse artillery on the heights. Demoralized by seeing their chief fall, the Second Kurassiers broke.

Rallied

The Austrian hussars had rallied and regrouped by this point and charged in on the flank of the Prussian heavies, but to no avail! The Garde Kurassiers, supported by von Furstenberg and his badly depleted Hussar regiment, defeated the assault upon their flank and smashed another regiment of Austrian Kurassiers and the crack Dragoon Regiment de Ligne which had delivered the decisive charge at the Austrian victory at Kolin. The Prussian heavies then carried on to overrun the Austrian horse artillery.

On the far right, the notorious Black Hussars (Regiment Totenkopf) exacted their revenge upon the Croatian Pandours and overran them within sight of the line of Austrian infantry. In Klumpenberg itself, the Grenadiers and Garde infantry were advancing out of the town beside the Freikorps skirmishers to attack the flank of the enormous Austrian force that was gathering to crush General Bevern's heroic brigade.

With several regiments in rout, his center in complete disarray, and his right wing now threatened by the fearsome Prussian Grenadiers, the Austrian Commander in Chief ordered a withdrawal. The two brigades of infantry, who had not seen much action, withdrew along separate roads, covered by a sadly depleted cavalry screen. With the Crown Prince retired from the field due to his gallantly earned wounds, the Prussian pursuit was ordered by Generals Schmettau and von Furstenberg, and the Dragoons marched off at a civilized pace.

Prussian casualties were amazingly light. Prince Henry is recovering from wounds suffered in the final charge. The Red Hussars suffered heavy casualties, but they never broke despite being engaged in the heaviest fighting all day. The casualties among the infantry were minimal and the one battery of artillery was recovered. The Austrians lost about a third of their army, mostly in the cavalry arm, plus a battery of artillery. Three cavalry colors and a brigadier were captured.

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