Firstly we hope Alan Lawrey’s father a rapid recovery from pace-maker surgery - we are human beings first & war gamers second! There were about 12 players at Tabletop Hobbies for Tuesday Historical Gaming night and as the game masters set up the games to be played - we cruised Phil Gilgor’s store for new items to purchase before retiring to the game room action for the evening. There were three games presented which included Squad Leader - the Battle for the Tractor Factory including all the city board, squads & weapons, and tanks! Also presented was a Napoleonic 15mm Shako game with about a corps on each side. The third game presented and the game I played in was a 7 Years War "Battle for Silesia" between the Prussians and Austrians. There were 4 people playing this game and we used the Shako rules-set with some modifications for this earlier period battle (no forming squares)! Both sides (Austrian/Prussian) had advantages - the Austrians had "bigger units" that could take more hits before being eliminated but could not move and change formation - the Prussians had "smaller units" (less hits to destroy) but could both move and change formation! We chose up sides and I was the Prussian commander, while the game-master Chad Gilbert was my cavalry commander. We surveyed the table and found a good central hill on our side of the table with a left flank "wooded" hill and a right flank smaller "wooded" hill. Across on the Austrian side was a central couple of hills but both of the Austrian hills have "tall wooded areas" close by blocking their fields of fire from those hilltops! We determined to use that "terrain flaw" to our advantage! As for "orders of battle" both sides started with the same total number of units of infantry & skirmishers, cavalry, and artillery gun batteries! Both sides started with 12 infantry units, 1 skirmisher, 5 cavalry, and 3 gun batteries! The Prussians did have 2 Grenadier units versus the Austrians 1 but the Prussians also had 2 Militia infantry units also. Both sides set up their troops on their sides of the table 15 inches in (with-in artillery range) and we Prussians had all of our 5 cavalry (3 light & 2 heavy) with the horse artillery battery on our right of our central hill - we placed our other 2 artilleries ( 1 heavy, 1 foot) on our middle hill with great fields of fire to the middle of the table - I took great effort placing all 12 of our infantry (and skirmishers) into 2 groups - 1 on the left flank and 1 in the middle but not blocking the artilleries fire from the central hill!! Also having played Shako rules before I placed our 2 Grenadiers units (although assigned to separate groups) next to each other knowing these were our best "charging/melee" troops and this would give us a hammer in the middle of the opposing lines when we closed! The Austrians put all of their cavalry on our right with their horse artillery too. They also put their second artillery (foot) on their central hill (with limited field of fire off to our right) and 4 of their infantry units on our right where we had not deployed infantry! They deployed the rest of their infantry (and skirmishers) to our left of their central hill and they put their heavy artillery at the end of the line on our left! The Austrians also deployed their units in "line" formation to save having to spend a turn changing formations! The Prussian infantry units in the middle were deployed in "line’ but the Prussian infantry group on our left was deployed in "column" because they could advance faster and the Prussians could "move & change formation". Also the left group of Prussian infantry was "masked" from enemy artillery fire by a wooded hill out in the middle ground! As the battle opened both sides forces advanced toward the middle grounds fighting and both sides cavalry formations on our right quickly met in "charging/melee" actions across the right. The Austrians won 3 of 5 battles here and also killed our horse artillery battery on the right! It looked bad on the right as our cavalry was forced to drop back and give ground with both sides there taking lots of hits! I felt if we could not get some balance back there the artillery batteries on our central hill would be over-run in a couple of turns! The main infantry forces of both sides advanced into the middle with-in firing distances and exchanged our first firings! Because the Austrians had committed 4 of their infantry on our right, we had a superiority of firing units on this left-middle front! I also rushed forward with my left "columns" then deployed to "line" close in where I could get 2 & 3 units to 1 Austrian "firing advantage"! When the firing was over the first turn of infantry firing - we both had some "staggered" units with hits but I had both my Grenadiers "un-hurt" ready to "charge/melee" the "most-hurt" Austrian units across the middle. The Austrians had placed their Grenadier unit to the left rear as a reserve to attack our flank if we left a hole there - we had more units than they did and there wasn’t a hole! The next turn the Prussian Grenadiers both charged & melee’d" hurt Austrian units in front of them and the Austrians melted away in the melees - there were two holes in the Austrian lines ( in the middle & on the far left) and the Austrian Grenadiers there in reserve were now outnumbered 4 to 1 by Prussians on the left! The Austrian heavy artillery on the far left was hitting the Prussian left and a Prussian infantry there advanced toward the gun to "mask" the other advancing Prussians beginning to flank the Austrians here. In the middle the Prussians moved forward to fire 3 to 1 against the forward Austrian line ( the smaller Prussian units took up less space than the larger Austrian units) and the Austrian rear units could not shoot thru their forward units to hit the Prussian line. The Austrians were melting away here! On the right the Prussian cavalry had retreated back to the table edge to reform and receive new orders! The lack of Prussian opposition here allowed the Austrian cavalry and artillery from the right to advance to "flank attack" the open Prussian right infantry flank! We tried to kill the assaulting Austrian cavalry with our massed central artillery but missed - the Austrian cavalry killed our front line infantry unit by charging it in the flank - luckily the next turn our artillery fire from the central hill killed this hurt Austrian cavalry and the threat to our open flank was over - the Prussian cavalry on the right had also reformed and re-entered the battle to "threaten" the Austrian cavalry/infantry advance so they slowed down to form line against Prussian cavalry attack! As the Austrian middle infantry fell back before advancing Prussian units, we moved a couple "spare" units (infantry & skirmishers) over to the right to form a line protecting our central hill battery. We pressed forward in the middle and on the left with 3 & 4 to 1’s against weakening Austrian infantry resistance! The final phases involved the loss of an additional Prussian infantry (the unit masking the Austrian heavy guns which were now out-flanks behind the Prussian infantry lines. The Austrian Grenadiers made a final counter-attack "charge/melee" into the flank of a Prussian infantry with a +3 die-roll advantage (the Austrians rolled 1/ the Prussians rolled 6), the Austrian Grenadiers took 3 hits and "melted" away! As the Austrians to our left rolled for "formation integrity" the Austrians on the left routed off the table, the Austrians left on our right had not the strength or desire left to attack a "superior" Prussian force and they retreated off the table leaving the Prussians victorious!! The Austrians had 4 infantry, 3 cavalry, and 1 gun battery left at the end - the Prussians had 10 infantry, 2 cavalry, and 2 artillery batteries left! There was a couple of points in the battle when victory was in doubt, as the Austrians were victorious on the right flank in the cavalry battle early and just as the main infantry forces closed to firing range. The turn-around was the Prussian Grenadiers "charge/melee" attacks against the 2 hurt Austrian infantry units and the "breakthrough’s created by the holes left when those 2 units died! We enjoyed this 7 Years War game battle and learning the Shako rules! We look forward to the next Tabletop Tuesday every Tuesday night at Tabletop Hobbies, the Ft. Leav. Simsats Aug 7th at the U.S. Army Museum, the LSHS Recruits-Con Sept. 17th/18th at Lees Summit High School (check out www.recruits-con.com) , Border Wars HAHMGS Con Oct. 1,2,3 at the Best Western on S.W. Trafwy. in K.C.Kan., and Command Con Nov.19-21 in St. Louis at Grant’s Shelter! Till then, good gaming all, Harold (Harold’s Old Games) Morgan in Gladstone Mo. (N.K.C.Mo.) Back to Table of Contents Penny Whistle # 61 Back to Penny Whistle List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Lion's Den Publications. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com