Battle of Oeversee, February 6, 1864

I played a game of this 1864 battle over Zoom with the designer of the scenario, Konstantinos Travlos, Saturday afternoon. He has been designing scenarios for Bloody Big Battles with a small table (3x3), a few units per side, short length and intended to play in an hour or so. Our game took under 90 minutes, including the photo phase of each turn. The scenario is here. His website is here.

 

It features the Danes (with dismounted ACW Union cavalry standing in) fighting a rearguard action against the Austrians during the Schleswig-Holstein fracas. Dice determined I played the Danes, the easier role. The table and both sides are below. Austrian units will be in italics in this report, but not in the photos. My bad. 

On the first turn, the Austrians held fast and shelled my lines. I then advanced and scattered the Austrian hussars, before their pretty outfits were photographed.

Then the Jaegers entered in road column and began moving around my left. Our fire silenced an artillery battery, which limbered and retired.

 

The 17^th Infantry and the Jaegers would continue to fight their own private battle with bullet and bayonet for the rest of the game.

 

The Austrian 14^th Regiment arrived and disrupted the 1^st Infantry.

 

They advanced to threaten the flank of the 11^th Infantry but exposed their own flank to the Danish artillery on the hill. They took heavy losses and became spent. If they managed to charge and win, they could take an objective and get a tie.

 

It was not to be. Austrian losses were 5 infantry and one cavalry base, another cavalry base called it quits. The Danes escaped without losses. My dice were pretty hot early in the game, silencing guns and hurting the 27^th Regiment. They went cold on the fifth turn, with units failing to rally or move and few hits being dealt, but woke up again on the last turn to decimate the 14^th Regiment.

 

It was a fun, fast and furious game. Konstantinos came on boldly, in the best KuK Stosstaktik style. He was met with early dice rolling that made it seem like the Danes were armed with Needle guns. Better luck next time, and perhaps a smidgen more restraint. The game was good. Now I have to figure out how to navigate Discord so we don’t have to refresh the session every 40 minutes.

Next time I play this I'll use French 1870 Naval Infantry for the Danes. Yes, wrong uniforms but they are on white bases since they fought in the winter battles of that war. And they look very nice on the white felt table.