We have played Montebello
1859 a lot over the years, using the Bloody Big Battles rules. It is a short, fast scenario pitting a small,
aggressive French force against a larger, clumsy Austrian army. Andrew has
never played it before. He chose to command the lumbering Habsburgs. The dice
were extremely kind to me on movement rolls and in assaults. My few lousy rolls
were in firing, which is less potent in this period before breech loaders.
Every turn that the French can launch an assault on the Austrians (even if stopped by fire) keeps the Austrians from rolling for optional reinforcements.
Basically, it represents the French bluffing the Austrians. I was able to launch assaults for the first 6 turns of this 7 turn
game, a first.
All internet images removed from this post, sorry.
Uniform purists are warned: the French are in 1870 uniforms
and the Sardinian cavalry are actually French Chasseurs d’Afrique. Austrians
wear a blend of 1859 tunics and 1866 overcoats. If that doesn’t make you
blanch, read on.
There are 4 objectives. If the French hold 3 at the end they
win. 2 garners a tie, any less is an Austrian victory.
After dinner and the excellent beer Andrew brought, we began
the game. It opened as usual with Sardinian cavalry charging down the road into
the arriving Austrians. Fortunately for me, the 84th Line marched
down the road at full speed, reaching the outskirts of Montebello . This would prove to be critical.
The Sardinian cavalry not only survived but would prove heroic.
The 84th deployed and took possession of Montebello .
In the excitement, I forgot to bring on my turn 3
reinforcements, the 98th and 91st Line regiments. They
would arrive on turn 4.
The 98th moved up but most of the fighting was
being done by the first two French regiments on the field and the cavalry. The
cavalry marched to the right and laid claim to Genestrello. It had previously
been bypassed by the hard marching French infantry. The 91st
regiment occupied the previously bypassed Cascina Nuova. In previous games the
French have forgotten to take some of these towns and had possible wins become
ties. (EDIT): it turns out that I was using an old draft version of the scenario. Two of the objectives, Cascina Nouva and Genestrello, start off controlled by the French and Sardinian Allies.
The Austrians were finally able to bring on an optional
reinforcement on the last turn, too late for it to get into the fight. They
also finally began to flank the French, too little, too late.
Here’s a close-up of the scrum around Montebello , held by the French at game end
for a win.
We played 7 turns in 106 minutes, a little over 15 minutes
per turn. A bit of time was due to my old Canon getting cranky. It may be time
to look for a replacement. Too bad my cell phone doesn’t fit on my tripod. The
Austrians lost 3 bases of infantry, the French none.
I made some errors: the 74th Line defeated a
raw Austrian unit. That unit should have been marked as spent since it lost a
base. Also, bringing on the reinforcements a turn late was a mistake. I think
that was all. Hopefully as umpire I won’t repeat these.
1 comment:
I must have another go at this scenario. I have all the hill tiles ready cut out.
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