Matt's Report: Turmoil in the Tyrol

Looking across the table at my opponent I was filled with sympathy. Tom is a friend, after all, and I was about to abuse him rather badly. I wondered what the 3-hour drive home with him would be like after the battle. "Tom, I apologize in advance for what is about to happen," I said. Fortunately he is a good sport. But at that moment, looking over the mountains and rivers of Tyrol, and reading over the special rules for Tyrolian rebels, I was thinking that our long ride home together might be a frosty one.

Those were my thoughts as we prepared to play Snappy Nappy in Russ Lockwood's basement. The campaign was set in 1809. John Burke, Charlie Keller, and I were on the Austrian side. Len Millman and Tom Gallagher were with the French. Fifteen players were on hand (one all the way from Texas), including our group. Each player controlled a division. The Austrian objective was to seize as much territory as we could. We received our briefings and I volunteered to be the Tyrolian commander. Dan Burkey, the Austrian commander, generously let us write our own orders. Dan also provided the figures and worked with Russ on the OB's. Then we all trooped down to the basement where the 6 tables were set up and I found out Tom was in command of the Bavarians garrisoning Tyrol.

The terrain was a nightmare. Impassable mountains covered most of the board. Only a few narrow valleys criss-crossed the landscape. An abundance of unfordable rivers were a particularly sadistic touch. Tom had a Bavarian division, parceled out all over the valley, and I had some Austrians. I also had two units of Tyrolian militia. Although poorly trained the special rules allowed them to fight like tigers in their homeland and I had no intentions of leaving the comfy confines of the Tyrol. I was also allocated six bands of Tyrolian rebels. They didn't have any real fighting abilities but they could appear anywhere, cut lines of supply, and then melt back into the mountains.

On ground scale (or how to do operational and tactical battles on the same set of tables): the ground scale is proportional between the operational and tactical. In other words, when I create the tables' terrain, I slug it to tables' terrain. In this game, 1" = 1/2 mile. However, the actual stand size, firing charts, etc are slugged 1" = 150 yards and about 1/2- to 1-hour time frame. Obviously, creating tables at the 1" = 150 yards would not get you all of northern Italy and the Tyrol unless you had a nice sized gym and the terrain to match. So, by overlaying a tactical scale atop an operational one in proportion, you can fight the entire campaign in an afternoon...and in my basement.

Historically, half the French and Bavarian forces (about 4,000 out of 8,000) in the Tyrol were destroyed or surrendered in the opening parts of 1809, the rest high-tailed it south back into Italy. Even upon their return, French forces, and especially their supply lines, were harassed constantly. Hence, the special rules for Tyrolian militia and rebel bands, which blasted at least one unit, and forced attrition on his others. Also probably taught them a thing or two about protecting supply lines.

On turn one Tom quite sensibly began to consolidate his command and march towards my force. When it was my turn to move I unveiled the first rude shock. I was permitted to place the two Tyrolian milita units anywhere I wanted, and move them. Of course I put them behind his lead brigade and charged it into oblivion. I delivered the second low blow by placing my Tyrolian rebel bands in the villages around Tom's command. He was instantly out of supply.

It was all downhill from there for the poor Bavarians. The supply problem bled them white while I made good use of my 6pdr battery. Tom withdrew to the far side of a narrow valley to make his stand. It was so narrow that I could only advance one unit at a time, in column, to attack. In fact during the whole battle neither of us was ever able to deploy into line. The 6 pdr and some lousy dice rolling sent Tom's units into rout. His division was destroyed. While Tom trooped off to the other table to replace a departed French commander I had other fish to fry.

An Austrian division, under Davidovitch (Wally Simon) had entered from the East. Two French divisions (Pat and Keith) were approaching from the South. Wally moved into a mountain pass to fight them while I was mopping up the Bavarians. Keith sent his division down a narrow valley to the East and Pat deployed to fight Wally. It was a bloody debacle for the Austrians. Wally pressed the attack through a narrow pass. Pat wisely waited for him on the other side. The result was a piecemeal Austrian attack that always seemed to face a 2-1 or 3-1 French advantage. I sent the Tyrolian rebels to cut the French supply lines. This worked well for one turn. Then a French cavalry division thundered onto the board, treating one rebel band like a speed bump, and the supply line was cleared.

By the time I got to the pass to help Wally his division was a ruin. A single brigade was left to rout eastwards. Wally had bought time for my division by bottling up three French divisions, but now the situation was precarious. If Keith could close the ring my supply lines would be cut and my division would waste away in a hurry. Only a single militia unit in a village was in his way. I went onto the defensive. I sent my best unit to guard the back door against the cavalry while I tried to break out to the east. Pat caught me at the pass and I decided to fight him rather than continue my flight. If I could beat his division the tables would turn in my favor.

It was an even match. Both of us had units that had been emboldened by routing the enemy. We each had a 6 pdr battery. The one ace I had up my sleeve was a brigade of elite cavalry, but this was hardly good terrain for cavalry. Meanwhile the French cavalry was setting up for a lengthy siege to open up my back door and Keith was pounding the militia garrison to the East with his artillery. A well placed band of Tyrolian rebels cut off Keith's supplies for a few turns and bought me some valuable time.

In the final turns of the game Keith stormed the militia and took the village and Pat formed up and charged me. The clash between my Austrians and Pat's French was inconclusive. I think that if the game would have continued I could have beaten him and escaped the French trap. But he had shown his tactical skill in dismembering Davidovitch's division and it would have been a close thing. Any delay in resolving our fight would have allowed the French cavalry, or Keith, or both to join the fight.

At the post game BBQ I was glad to hear that Tom had found a more level playing field on the other board. Free from rebel bands and sudden ambushes he was able to fight up a storm. Tom had the honor and privilege of burning the bridges behind the French forces. The fact that he was the only Frenchman on the safe side of the river was a victory of sorts. The drive home was a pleasant one after all.

We all had a good time at the Snappy Nappy game. Indeed, there was talking of organizing a game of our own. The rules are simple. Each brigade is represented by one or two stands. Units are given a training rating. There are no casualties. The whole game is based on morale steps. When you fail a morale test you lose a step and keep rolling until you pass. When you get to the last step the unit is removed. Sometimes a streak of bad luck can eliminate a unit in a single turn.

How It Works

The campaign is played on several tables simultaneously. No attempt is made to keep the action synchronized, which keeps the game running smoothly. Commanders must write messages and give them to the referee (Russ Lockwood). In due time Russ delivers them to the correct person (usually). This adds to the fog of war. The action I was involved in was something of a sideshow to the more important battles to the south. I didn't have a clue about what was going on down there until the game was over. Information flows up the chain of command, but it rarely flows back down. A series of messages between the Austrian commander (Dan) and me went something like this:

Me: Bavarian division is in rout. French infantry and cavalry from the South have engaged Davidovitch.
Me: Bavarian division has been eliminated. Davidovitch is hard pressed. The road to Innsbruck is open. Send orders.
Austrian Commander: Try to help Davidovitch. Probe towards Innsbruck.
Me: Davidovitch is doomed. Supply lines in peril, send assistance if it is available. We hold Innsbruck.
Austrian Commander: No help is available. Help Davidovitch's division.
Me: Davidovitch has no division.

The map was another source of confusion for the players. It was far from being perfectly accurate and we were often unsure of exactly where we were. After the game I learned that the commander of the French cavalry, who arrived on my board at just the right time, was in the wrong place. He had been ordered to move to a different spot entirely! Overall it was a fun gaming experience and we would play again if invited.

Len's Report

The main battle table turned out to be the Austrian staging area. The French took an aggressive approach and moved forward into a delaying action that worked so well that they held their ground until the reinforcements arrived. This developed into the main battle area. The French were holding their own when I left at 3 PM.

The game system stresses luck with a die. Hits have save rolls. Most units fired with a 40-50% chance of hitting and a 50% chance of saving. It should be noted this battle was fought with above average troops. I did not have a combat situation or enough units to really have a chance to explore any tactical combat options and explore the overall effects of combat. Most of the die rolling was artillery fire with an occasional melee.

Well, if you have an operational level game, there are no tactical combat options other than broad maneuvers and certain stances a unit will take (column, line, square, road march). The idea is to test your command acumen. I noticed that Len did a pretty good job holding off Richie until more Austrians formed up and started to create a grand battery of sorts in front of him. John moved to attack Len as well, but Fred intercepted him at the fortress down below and Dave K. entered to push John back into Gorizia.

By the time that occurred, Charlie had poked his nose at Len's fortress, didn't do anything, and was re-routed around the traffic jam to meet with John at Gorizia. Numbers finally started to tell as the French fielded 4 divisions (Len, Fred, Dave K, and Joe) against 6 (Richie, Dan, John, Charlie, Dave M, and a reserve). Historically, the French fell back to Sacile, where Eugene turned and fought with about the same odds...and lost in about the same way. Both fortresses (Osoppo and Palmanova) remained French even as the Austrians flowed by.

The interesting part of the system was that casualties were translated into a morale profile. i believe their were 8 levels and all units start on the second highest. When you lost a morale roll, you kept rolling until you passed. This made it possible to actually have a unit vanish if you hit a streak of bad luck. You can recover from a morale loss but only one step at a time. It was suggested you can recover more than one step based on the unit's initial rating and the quality of leader that was rallying the troops.

All units in a player's command can attempt to recover one morale level IF they pull the entire command away from the enemy AND issue a Rally Order. Then, EACH unit can recover a morale level if they pass a morale check (A failure does no more damage--it just means that the unit's cohesion is still too fragile). This presupposes that the C-IN-C gives you such an order, and that the command is a certain distance from the front lines. However, if you're in the front lines, you only get to attempt tp rally the unit that the leader is attached to.

Overall, the game for me was about a gathering of old acquaintances more than the actual battle. My front was very stagnant which can happen when hits and saves match out. The key to the other battle was how well you rolled when it came time to keep your troops morale.

John's Report

I read an article by Russ Lockwood in MWAN a few years ago in which Russ described a game based on the 1813 Campaign using his Snappy Nappy Rules. Needless to say I was intrigue and since Russ lives here in New Jersey I contacted him. On August 12, 2000 our club participated in our first Snappy Nappy game.

I was given command of Major Gerenal Wolfskeel's division in the 1809 Italian Campaign. My forces were initially ordered to advance on Udine and then continue on to capture St. Daniel's with the help of another Austrian column. If successful I was then to backtrack and move towards Mantua. Of course no plan survives contact with the enemy.

The French had other ideas for my division. Why can't they stay in France where they belong, muttering "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity?" I ran into French garrisons in Palomovia and Udine. A fierce fight quickly escalated into a major engagement as the French fed fresh troops into the battle. It was my typical "buzzard's luck" to attract the majority of the French troops to my one poor division. But General Wolfskeel was not intimidated! My gallant soldiers engaged the enemy with elan to spare. I was eventually forced to fall back across the river to Gorinzia and send out a desperate plea for help.

The arrival of Charlie's division and the Austrian Army Commander succeeded in relieving some of the pressure on my units. I was able to rally my battered troops in Gorinzia. General Wolfskeel had held. Now the tide of battle turned against the French as the Austrians launched their counterattack.

The Mecklenberg Grenadiers fixed bayonets and, with a resounding battle cry, they charged a battery of 6 pounders. The French fired canister into the faces of the Grenadiers. The lads shook it off and charged home, giving no quarter to the doomed gun crews. A unit of Charlie's cavalry hit the battery on the flank, adding to the carnage.

All along the front, from St. Daniels to Gorizia and Udine the scales were tipping in favor of the Austrians as our fresh troops arrived just in time. The French resisted valiantly, but there's a limit to what the men can endure. The French began to crumble and retreat. In an act of desperation the French Army Commander fled across the river with some of his troops and ordered the destruction of the bridges behind him. This left the better part of a French Division on the wrong side of the river where they had no choice but to surrender.

As the fighting came to a conclusion Russ declared the game a victory for the Austrians. On to Paris and down with the Corsican upstart!

BBQ

Next on the day's agenda was the barbecue. The post-game feast is one of Russ' traditions. It's a nice way of making sure a frustrated gamer doesn't try to lynch the umpire. I am looking forward to another Snappy Nappy campaign with Russ Lockwood and company. Maybe some of the members that couldn't make this campaign can attend the next one.

I have some advice that might be useful to anyone that decides to take the plunge and play Snappy Nappy.

First of all, before you start moving, make sure you know which way is North or you'll be lost in no time. Russ has this sneaky habit of setting up the tables in different orientations to confuse the players.

Second, when writing messages, always include the time (real time, not game time). The messages are not delivered immediately and it is important for the recipient to know how old the information is. The situation on the table can change quickly and there will be a lot of confusion. I must say that the fog of war that is created by Russ's rules was nerve wracking. It's a simple system that is remarkably effective. I've decided to use this method myself sometime in a game, so beware!

I thought the morale procedures in the rules worked well and were easy to follow. During the rally phase a unit can attach a commander and recover a morale step. I was able to rally a unit of grenadiers, cavalry and artillery from the brink of destruction. This enabled me to join in the Austrian counterattack and get some payback. A unit can evaporate completely in one turn if you hit a stretch of bad dice rolls. I can remember mumbling prayers and cursing the dice as my best battalion was buried by some bad luck. The morale rules really are effective and realistic.