Snappy Nappy

The Austrian Invasion of Italy 1809
Archduke John vs. Prince Eugene

Memoirs of Gen. Broussier:
French Perspective

by Lenny Millman

The main battle table turned out to be the Austrian staging area. The French took an agressive 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 occassional melee. 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.

Overall, the game for me was about a gathering of old aquantances more than the actual battle. My front was very stagnent 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.

More Snappy Nappy: 1809 Austrian Invasion of Italy

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