Lecco 1813 AAR - Shadow of the Eagles

We played a scenario of Lecco 1813, very loosely based on the actual battle of 1799. Bill and I last played the Shadow of the Eagles rules in the summer of 2021 and were both rusty. Andrew hasn’t played them at all, but he’s always game for a battle. 

It was decided that I play the Austrian defenders, Bill the French (in italics) and Andrew would take the French reinforcements arriving later and watch the game being played before diving into the deep end of the pool. Die rolls determined that my first brigade, holding the earthworks, was commanded by the inept Graf Fleischkopf III, with a magnificent pedigree and excellent connections at court. The French got one inspired brigadier, who Bill courteously gave to Andrew for his infantry brigade. After discussing what inept (sometimes brigade is out of command) and inspiring (sometimes the brigade can make double moves) meant, by the time the reinforcements arrived, we all forgot to roll for the inspiring chap. The inept one worked his magic a couple times before he was shot.

 

I forgot to take a photo of the initial deployments, but the Austrians didn’t move and the French marched on from the north table edge. The yellow strips are the end of the world; here be monsters. The rivers and streams are impassable except for the three bridges. The two objectives are the town of Lecco and the bridge over the river, the one guarded by earthworks. I decided against holding the town, since it was on the wrong side of the river. I figured losing the town and a garrison was worse. The only troops on the north side of the river were two battalions and a battery in the earthwork. 

Two French Regular Battalions charged the earthworks as the Austrian battery limbered up and pulled out. One French unit was stopped by musket fire both from the earthwork and from the 2^nd brigade battalion across the river. The remaining battalion closed with the Austrian defenders and tied in the close combat. An immediate second round was fought, with the French coming up short. They had 6 hits by this time and the retreat called for one more, which routed them. The other battalion had retreated far enough so they just avoided getting a morale hit for seeing the rout. The Austrian defenders were the worse for wear and tear, with 4 hits.

Graf Fleischkopf III was shot down while attempting to rally a beat up battalion. The battalion then took to their heels. On rolling to see who the next brigadier was, it turned out to be Graf Fleischkopf IV, with all the martial skill of his father.

My plan turned the battle into a siege. In the past, 7 turns into a Shadow of the Eagles game would see both side in sad shape. But this game saw a limited number of units fighting around the earthworks with cavalry on both sides marking time in the rear. Andrew left his light cavalry brigade off-table, save for their artillery. Also, the staffs of both sides spent time gang-rallying weakened units, bring most back into somewhat better shape.

 

Bill and Andrew hadn’t seen each other since early 2020 or before, so we spent a long lunch catching up before the game. We then played 7 turns in 2 hours, 40 minutes, averaging 22-23 minutes per turn. Not bad for two rusty players and one neophyte at the rules. But my defense plan ensured that we might need another 7 turns to resolve the game, perhaps more.

 

And now for a list of the rules mistakes made, and who benefited from each.

 

Advantage to the Austrian defenders:

Attacking units DO fire during charges. The two columns that charged the earthworks would each have rolled a firing die before contact. One might have carried the works.

 

After talking about the inspiring Brigadier, forgetting to roll. He never got to have a double move.

 

 

Advantage, to the French attackers:

 

Units that make significant moves (1/2 or more) get -1 on dice. We didn't do any.

Flanking fire less restrictive than I thought. Austrians would have had more flanking fire than the French.

 

Forgot to apply -1 for inferior units. French inferior units fired like regulars. Austrian inferior units never got into the fight.

 

Provisional units were treated as regulars. Between this and the flanking fire, I think another French unit would have routed.

Artillery get +1 firing at dense targets (like company (i.e, assault) columns.

 

Bill thought the rules were more complex than he remembered. Andrew thought they were just fine. Maybe we’ll give the Valour and Fortitude rules (by the Perry brothers) a try next. Maybe not. Most likely faster, but will they taste as good?

 

In any case we had a good time. With luck we can get another game under our belt this month.