A bright Tuesday morning, the sound of birds chirping is broken by the sound of marching boots, the Austrians are on the move looking to break the Russian Bear.
The Russian right flank, Infantry and HMGs posed to repulse and advances from the Austrian lines.
A great days gaming, played using Mud & Blood from the Too Fat Lardies, the perfect balance between skirmish gaming and big table tactics all wrapped up in 6 hours.
The Table at 10.00am the view the Russian side.
Both sides push forward their blinds looking to seize the best firing positions and early opportunities to gain the upper hand.
Johnny Turk - opps sorry the Bosnians - are unmasked in the rear fields by a keen Russian observer in the farm house over looking the cross roads, a great vantage point for spotters.
11.00am German cavalry scout the left flank only to be halted by Russian infantry who have already reached the farm complex.
The Russian right flank, Infantry and HMGs posed to repulse and advances from the Austrian lines.
11.20 am Austro Hungarians and Bosnians push down their right flank and highway 255.
The cavalry seek cover within the meadow pinned by the massed ranks of Stotic Russians.
12.30 - Dead lock apart from a long range HMG dual casualties are light as both sides probe for a weakness and await reinforcements. The clock is ticking three and a half hours to go.
The Austrian reinforcements start to arrive.
1.00pm On the Russian left a strong flanking moves satrts to develope with the Naval brigade advancing against a single section in the farmstead, Austrian blinds start to enter the table.
Meanwhile an Austrian probe in the centre is repulsed with heavy casaulties.
2.00pm yet more Russians flood the left flank. Pressure starts to mount on the Austrian right and still no Russian Cavalry in sight.
The Russians start to buckle on the left as Bosnian Artillery puts them under fire and more infantry begin to filter through the fields.
2.30 pm Austrians are forced out of the farmstead having faced odds of 5:1
2.45pm A secondary defence line is formed in the stone walled field but still the Russians press forward.
3.00pm The Austrian right starts to crumble, repeated Infantry attacks forces the Infantry back, whilst Russian cavalry pours down Highway 255.
A HMG team valiantly deploys in the road looking to stem the advancing Russian cavalry.
The mighty Cossack horde.
The Russian left forces the stone wall and whilst sustaining heavy casualties drive the Austrians back with several shock points.
The Austrian HMG lets off a stream of lead but it is unable to stop the charging cavalry and are ridden down, wiped out.
The cavalry are forced to retire, but their work is complete.
The second wave of cavalry pushes further down the road, hitting the latest wave of Austrian reinforcements, who take to their heels.
3.45pm the Austrians surge forwards on the left flank but time was running out and with cavalry now moving to counter the attack will make the Austrian attack hard going.
4.00pm A Russian victory, the crossroads are clear of Austrians and Highway 255 is open.
A great days gaming, played using Mud & Blood from the Too Fat Lardies, the perfect balance between skirmish gaming and big table tactics all wrapped up in 6 hours.
Great figures and terrain! The Battlefield is compact yet gives you plenty of scope for tactics. Everything put together looks fantastic and sounds like a good game was had and that's the main thing.
ReplyDeleteBTW good to see the Tsars boys kick some Austrian butt!
It certainly was CD, good to see your cmapign taking shape.
DeleteCheers
Stu
Great looking game and nice to see varied arrival times of units on the table.
ReplyDeleteIt was far easy to play to a deadline Steve - i.e. when the kids got back from school :-)
DeleteIt also kept the turns moving, well depending if you had the upper hand or not...
Cheers
Stu
Great report, a very nice looking game...and what a cavalry charge! Amazing...
ReplyDeleteDamned risky Phil, but the horse rule for saves on cavalry makes a difference.
Deletee.g. a save on a horse = a shock point.
Cheers
Stu
Lovely minis and wonderful terrain - lots of hard work and inspiration here! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure.
DeleteCheers
Stu
A lovely looking table and some very fine minis. I especially like the Russian flags, they add a lot.
ReplyDeleteI have to admire that Austrian MG crew, sitting down in the road to stop the horde of cavalry. Posthumour Iron Crosses for those fellows!
Your right about the flags, I have a couple of units planned in white, which will really add a touch of colour to the table.
DeleteCheers
Stu
Beautiful game. Love WWI on the Eastern Front.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris - More of your scenario's to follow soon.
DeleteCheers
Stu
Figures and terrain look fantastic - well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dallas.
DeleteGreet looking game as always stu. That's quite a collection.
ReplyDeleteWhere does it end Phil? :-)
DeleteStill think I need a few more Infantry units and a little more Cannon.
Great looking game Stu.
ReplyDelete