Turn Four Musketry, Act II. . .

General de Latte's Irish Grenzers open fire on the Stollenian 2nd (von Laurenz) Musketeers opposite them in the valley below.

“Ah,” began de Latte, “I thought you’d never ask!  I’m going to have my Irish Grenzers under Colonel O'Malley fire at your von Laurenz Musketeers.  Five of the former are 9"-12" from the  left wing of the atter.  Blast!  I rolled a 1. The result is nucupatory!”

“Bad show, old bed warmer, bad show!” cajoled General von Tschatschke, adding, “Looks like your grenzers can’t hit the side of a barn.  But next time.  Surely, it will be better next time.”  Across the gaming table, de Latte gnashed his teeth and continued. 

“Four of my Mittau Volunteers in open order are 12" from the right-hand gun of your lone artillery battery.  I’m going to have them fire on it.  I roll a 4 on a D6. As it's 4 firing figures or less, the result is halved and halved again due to long range fire. One casualty is inflicted upon your gunners.  Not bad for troops in open order who are advancing downhill, I dare say.”

“Inconsequential, my dear de Latte, inconsequential,” snorted von Tschatschke, continuing with, “Come on!  Give me five of your best.  Your what for.  Your sixes and sevens.  Your ins and outs.  Your overs and unders.”  De Latte grimaced and began again.

“Hmmm.  I don't remember if the rest of my Mittau Vols moved.   If they did not and are within range of your artillery battery, I think they will fire upon the nearest of the gunners then.”

“Oh, bad luck I’m afraid de Latte,” said General von Tschatschke, making no attempt to conceal his glee, “You moved those boys this turn, so no firing until Turn Five.”

“Confound it!” said General de Latte.  “What about von Flickenhoffer's Fusiliers?  Are they within range of your von Laurenz boys?   If they are, then let’s have them fire away!” said the Frenchman, his Gallic fighting spirit returning. 

“So sorry, my dear de Latte, but your nearest troops from the Von Flickenhoffer Regiment are 17" away.  Still too far for you to fire on my troops it looks like.”

“Agh!” General de Latte threw up his hands.  “Let’s save it for the next turn then! “That’s about it for any musketry this time around.”

“You never know old whetstone,” von Tschatschke shot back, “You might be lucky next time.”

“Yes, next turn,” agreed General de Latte begrudgingly.  He sighed with great theatricality.  “Shall we move on to assessing our respective artillery effects then?”

“But of course!” said von Tschatschke expansively, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.  To the guns!”  Across the table, General de Latte shook his head, took a sip of the now tepid coffee, swallowed, and made a face.

“Sumatran, you say, eh, von Tschatschke?  More like last night's dishwater if you ask me.  Still, maybe a little something medicinal would help get it up on its feet."  He adjusted his monocle, removed it, polished it absentmindedly with a handkerchief, and replaced it.  "Now, where did I leave my pocket flask?”  He looked around the drawing room.

"I don't know about your pocket flask, old pillow case," replied General von Tschatschke with a mirthful smile, "but we've recently passed the 200,000 visitor mark.  Not bad for a blog that's still several months shy of turning six years old, what?"

Turn Four Musketry, Act I. . .

General von Tschatschke's Leib (Grand Duchess Sonja's Own) Grenadiers unleash an initial volley on General de Latte's Charging 11th Hussards.

“Ah!  There you are,” said General von Tschatschke to his guest as the latter entered the drawing room in his stocking feet.  “Have a nice rest?

“Oh, my head.  My aching head,” began General de Latte as he listed into the room and sat down gingerly on a damask chair at his side of the gaming able.  “No more brandy for a while I think.  How long was I asleep?”

“Oh, I should think about. . .  31 hours give, or take a few,” von Tschatschke replied with a devilish grin. “Fresh coffee I think,” he added to the butler, who had just entered the drawing room silently and then left again without comment. “Now then, let’s talk about musketry and artillery fire.”

“If we must,” answered de Latte, rubbing his temples.  Von Tschatschke began.

“First, we have my Leib Grenadiers versus your 11^th Hussards.  I have 24 grenadiers in the first rank who threw 3D6, scoring a total of 8 casualties.  Blast!  Not as many as I was hoping for.”  Across the table, de Latte brightened.

“Ha, ha!”  he exclaimed,  “ Looks like the game is not quite up for my hussars, eh old lumpy porridge?”  From across the table, von Tscastschke frowned at his guest.

“May we continue?” he asked.  “Thank you.  Next we have my Von Laurenz Musketeers versus your Irish Grenzers in the wood.  Eight of my musketeers are within 12” of the Irish grenzers, so casualties are half the number thrown on a D6.  They rolled a 1, damn their eyes, so no hits at all.”

“And I thought your dice were loaded, old spoon,” chuckled de Latte, his enthusiasm returning slightly.

“Another remark like that, old sugar bowl, and I’ll have you horsewhipped,” replied von Tschatchke.

“Come, come old cow creamer, you’ve become so touchy since your retirement,” replied de Latte

“It’s these blasted red dice, or I’ m losing my touch” von Tschatsche shot back.  “Anyhow, as I was saying, on the matter of my Jager zu Fuss in Eispicke Village versus your  Flickenhoffer Fusiliers, half a dozen of my jagers in are within less than 6” of the left flank of your fusiliers, meaning I can roll only a single D6.  Casualties are the number shown on the die, which comes up a 6, so your men suffer six casualties.  Ha!”  Along his side of the table, General von Tschatschke began a rather staid victory dance as the butler returned with a tray of cups, saucers, and the requested coffee.

“Good Lord!  Von Tschatschke!  Von Tschatschke!" exclaimed de Latte.  "Self control!  Do exercise some self control.  There’s a good man."

“What?  Oh.  Yes.  Of course,” said von Tschtschke and collected himself.  “Have some coffee de Latte.  It’s Sumatran I think.  Bought a boatload of it from some  Dutch merchant I know.  A van Hoegaathet I think his name is.  Or was it van Doudelijk?”

“The game, old trivet, the game, please,” reminded de Latte.

“Of course, of course” answered von Tastchatchke.  “Let’s see.  Oh, yes.  My Jaeger zu Fuss in Eispicke Village versus your Mittau Volunteers.  Five of my jaegers in the village are within 10-12” of your two formed companies of the Mittauers.  They thrown a single D6, halving the results and then halving them again due to the long range at which they are firing, to arrive at the number of hits they inflict.  They roll a 6, which is halved to a 3 and halved again to 1.5.  If we round up, as we agreed to earlier in the game, that is 2 casualties suffered by your Mittauers at the hands of my Jaegers.  Does that sound right to you?”

“My head is spinning,” replied de Latte in a flat tone.  Do total everything up for me.  I’m afraid I am having trouble following your train of thought.”

“That’s because you’re not concentrating my dear de Latte.  You must concentrate.  The key is concentration.   Concentration, I tell you!  Let’s see.  That’s eight hussars, six fusiliers, and two of your Mittauers. . .  Hmmm. . . Looks like you have lost a total of 16 men due to my musketry, old roasting pan.  Hand them over.”

“Now, now, von Tschatschke.  You know that I am perfectly within my rights to count those men as effectives when I return musket fire, and we only remove our respective casualties once your own casualties have been determined,” corrected General de Latte.

“What?  Oh, yes,” General von Tschatschke answered.  “By all means.  Let’s not jump the gun just yet.  Now, which of your units are unleashing fusillades this turn?”

Further Developments around Neu Sittangbad. . .

Here are a few more artist's renderings of the unfolding Battle for Neu Sittangbad at the start of Turn Four.  These should be of some help to our tireless cartographer, one Gregorius d'Cor, a friar of the Franciscan Order, who by some strange quirk of fate has found himself attached to General de Latte's retinue where his surveying and map-making talents are being put to good (??!!) use.

Next, we have less high-angled illustration that manages to show almost the entire battlefield around Neu Sittangbad, including the Stollenian engineers across the Blau Zwischen, the isolated Jaeger zu Fuss in Eispicke Village, and O'Malley's Irish Grenzers emerging from the woods along the ridge on the northern edge of the Sittangtal. . .  Frightfully close to von Tschatschke's left flank!

As impetuous on the Field of Mars as he is in the boudoir, General de Latte decides to lead his brigade of dragoons and horse grenadiers on a circuitous route through his own rear area and around Eispick Village to support his Mittau Volunteers and 11th Hussards on the southern edge of the battlefield.  He is accompanied here by his aide, one Captain Paolo di Biscotti, a young officer of noble birth, who has been seconded to the Army of Zichenau from his usual Neapolitan dragoon regiment.

 Left with little choice but to follow orders, the commander of Zichenau's Grenadiere zu Pferd, a Colonel von Schmetterling, orders his troopers to turn threes about and follow the Trumbach Dragoons to a new position along the southern edge of the Sittangtal.  "There is simply no way this development can have a favorable outcome," he mutters to his orderly as the cavalry column sets off.

The Outlook for von Tschatschke Appears Grim at the Start of Turn Four. . .

To start, here is a photograph showing the bulk of General de Latte's Army of Zichenau at the start of Turn Four after (most of) his orders have been carried out.  You'll note that his front line of infantry has deployed from columns of four into three-deep lines and is closely supported by a more fragmented second line of infantry, cavalry, and two batteries of limbered artillery.   De Latte's Mittau Volunteers are somewhat ahead of of their main line, supporting the 11th Hussards, who have charged and closed with Stollen's Leib (Grand Duchess Sonja's Own) Grenadiers.

And here is the now fully deployed Zichenauer front line from another angle.

De Latte's engineer battalion and von Auflauf Infantry advance in support of their front line troops while the red battery unlimbers and aims itself at the enemy jaegers holding Eispicke Village.

The rest of O'Malley's Irish Grenzers move into the woods atop the ridge along the northern edge of the Sittangtal.  About one third of them are now within musketry range of the von Laurenz Musketeers, who hold the left flank of  the Stollenain line.

Due to the extremely close nature of the battle, and perhaps fortunately for von Tschatschke, General de Latte's Grenadiere zu Pferd and Trumbach Dragoons have yet to shift their position to the southern side of the field.

Here is a general picture of the Stollenian front line.

General de Latte's third company of Mittau Volunteers  advances downhill in open order toward von Tschatchke's guns.

A vicious melee seems poised to develop between de Latte's 11th Hussards and von Tschatschke's Leib Grenadiers and artillery battery near the southern edge of the Sittangtal.

De Latte's red battery of artillery loads charges of shell and waits for the order to fire on the enemy troops holding Eispicke Village.

Safe for now, a company of Von Tschatschke's engineers watch and wait on the far side of the Blau Zwischen River.

Unaware that a battery of enemy artillery has trained its sites on them, General von Tschatschke's remaining Jaegere zu Fuss make ready to fire on the flanks of de Latte's first and second lines of infantry.

The von Laurenz Musketeers refuse their left wing to meet the threat posed by General de Latte's Irish Grenzers, who no have a firm hold on the wooded ridge along the northern edge of the Sittangtal.

"Oh, I say!  You there!  Von Waldmuenchen?  Have those new John Lobb riding boots I commissioned last summer arrived yet?"  General von Tschatschke seems unphased by developments elsewhere on the field of battle.  A clever ruse designed to fool his opponent General de Latte?  Or is it, instead, compete failure to grasp the precarious nature of his hold on New Sittangbad?

Orders Issued for Turn Four. . .

"Right you are, old biscuit," said General de Latte, "Turn Three is finished then.  Here are my orders for Turn Four. . ."

1) The Ermland Garde and von Flickenhoffer's Fusiliers to deploy from columns of four into three-deep line (officers, NCOS, musicians, and color party to form the rear  line) and fire continuously on any enemy troops that come within range (i.e., 12” or closer).

2) The Mittau Volunteers will close on the Leib Grenadiers with an eye to bringing them under attack when the melee is done.

3) The Light Company of the Mittau Volunteers (still in open order) will either bring the crew of the nearest gun (assuming the other crew is busily being melee'd by 11th  Hussards) under attack via musket fire or will continue to advance with the intention of doing so next move.

4) Von Auflauf regiment will continue to advance in support of the main infantry line.

5)The Red Artillery battery will cease it's advance and bring the nearest manned building of the Eispicke Village under fire.

6)The remainder of the artillery - is it within range of the von Laurenz musketeers? If so - open fire if it can draw a Line of Sight. If not, continue to advance.

7)Is the most advanced company of o'malleys within range of von Laurenz? If so - open fire. The remainder can move further into the wood with an eye on penetrating toward your cavalry - without exiting the wood!

8) Have the pioneers continue their advance on Sittangbad.

9) Is there much room for my cavalry to maneuver? If so, my cavalry will advance one full move south in the direction of the hill between Eispicke Village and the marshland whilst at all times remaining out of range of your musketry.

"Here's where it gets really interesting, what?" De Latte rubbed his forehead. "Perhaps I'll take some coffee this time old man. No more brandy for now I think."

"Coffee and clay pipes of the finest Virginia tobacco it is, then, old muffin," replied General von Tschatschke, who picked up a small bell from the end of the gaming table and rang for the butler.  "And here are my orders. . ." 

1) The left wing of the Von Laurenz Musketeers will refuse itself 45 degrees, to face the enemy grenzers, emerging from the wood atop the ridge to their left.

2) The remainder of the infantry line will hold its position and meet any close enemy activity (6” or less) with carefully controlled volleys of musketry.

3) My battery of artillery is to fire another salvo into the exposed  flank of the 11^th Hussars, while keeping careful watch on the approaching Mittau Volunteers.  If/when the latter approach to within 12”, the company of men manning the guns will realign their pieces and fire canister on the approaching infantry.

4)  The cavalry, one company of Engineers, and Wolmar-Bock Regiment of infantry will hold their current positions outside of and before Neu Sittangbad. 

5) The remaining company of engineers will complete their task of laying charges along the toll bridge and then withdraw to the far side of the Blau Zwischen River, to observe the battle and determine if/when the toll bridge should be blown up.  Should the enemy enter Neu Sittangbad, detonation should not happen until all friendly troops have broken off contact and withdrawn across the river.

"I think you'll agree that my orders seem deceptively simple, eh, de Latte?  Economy of action and all that," intoned von Tschatschke with a sanctimonious air.  "Now, de Latte," he continued, changing the subject, "I see that our coffee and pipes have arrived.  Do help yourself to the tobacco in that small carved wooden box to your left over there.  It came all the way from Virginia in the American colonies.  Bought a boatload of it from some chap called Washington.  Or was it Jefferson?  Hardly matters I suppose.  Have you got a light?  Oh, I say!  Are you feeling unwell?  Do sit down.  You're a bit green around the gills."

The Close of Turn Three in the Battle for Neu Sittangbad. . .

 Above, General de Latte's 11th Hussars charge home on von Tschatschke's Leib Grenadiers at the close of Turn Three. 

". . .  And that's how the Colonel von Adalnowski's kitchen maid became Frau von Topfsange, Lady of the Manor.  Damned bad luck for poor von Topfsange though.  She never did learn how to hold her tea cup properly.  And the way she danced the Minuet.  Scandalous!  I've heard they moved to Riga several years ago now.  There was a Lutheran bishop there, a cousin to von Topfsange and quite a sharp player at the card table I am told.  Anyway, he had one of those lovely old red brick townhouses with the gabled front in a better part of town that had a receiving room, furnished with red damask chairs and a maroon chaise lounge with golden dragon flies all over it, made by a Monsieur d'Oie from Paris, of whom you might have heard, and he. . .  De Latte?  I say, De Latte?  De Latte!  Wake up, old shaving mug!"

"What?  What?  Oh, frightfully sorry there, old razor strap!  Must have dozed off.  You lost me somewhere around  the stable boy falling down the well with an armload of Frau von Adalnowski's best silverware and the costume ball to celebrate Old Uncle August's 91st birthday."

"Never mind, never mind." said von Tschatschke, "Now, where are we on the table?"

"End of Turn Three, old fruit," smiled de Latte, stifling a yawn and rubbing sleep schmutz from the inner corner of his right eye discretely with his pinky finger before continuing, "My hussars have closed with those grenadiers in your front line.  Doesn't look good for them, what?"

"What?  Oh.  Um, no.  Not good.  Not good at all," replied von Tscatschke.  "Melees take two turns, correct?  Shall we agree to conclude Turn Three then and issue our orders for Turn Four?"

"Yes, let's," replied General de Latte in a decidedly gleeful tone.  "We can resolve the melee at the end of Turn Four after we exchange and execute new orders for the rest of our units.  Tally ho!"

"Steady on, old shaving brush!" exclaimed General von Tschatschke, "Steady on!"

And here is another view of the same scene.  It does not look good for Grand Duchess Sonja's Own, but there are, nevertheless, a few hussars still in the way of one half of von Tschatschke's Battery of guns.

The Stollenian Line Opens Fire. . .

 Above, General von Tschatschke's battery opens up on the enemy hussars and infantry.

"Looks like we have some artillery fire and musketry to resolve this turn, old pineapple!" cracked General von Tschatschke from the bottom of his brandy snifter.  

"I suppose you're right, confound it," was the best General de Latte could muster through the haze of heavy blue cigar smoke that hung over the gaming table.  "But these are damn fine Cubans, what?  Now, explain to me again how all of this works.  I'm afraid," he added, motioning to his empty brandy snifter, "that I've had too much of this stuff!"

Half of von Tschatschke's Leib (Grand Duchess Sonja's Own) Grenadiers unleash a volley on General de Latte's dangerously close 11th Hussars. 

"Certainly," replied von Tschatschke.  "My battery of two guns fired on your Mittau Volunteers and hussars.  The right-hand gun failed to find it's range at 20"-21", rolling a 1 when a 4+ was needed.  The left-hand gun was 5" from the hussars, so a hit was automatic.  Then, I rolled to determine the number of hits, and threw a 5, which at that close range is the number of actual casualties inflicted.  These must be halved since the target was cavalry and the hits can be assumed to be divided between horses and men.  Correct?"  

"Righty oh, old bean" nodded de Latte boozily.  "Do, go on."  Von Tschatschke continued.

"That would give us 2.5 actual casualties," he finished.  "Should we round this up to 3?"

"Blast!  Three casualties it is then," blustered de Latte.  "Now, what about the musketry?

Here's a worm's eye view of the same firefight from the southern edge of the battlefield.

"As far as musketry is concerned," began von Tschatschke, pouring himself another brandy,  "twelve of my Leib Grenadiers in the front rank fired on your charging hussars.  I threw a die for eight of them, rolling a 4, and another for those extra four figures, a 3, halving the results for the latter.  So, if I have everything worked out correctly, it looks like my musketry scored 5.5 hits, which is halved on cavalry targets, yielding 2.25.  Does this sound correct to you?  Or should we round down in the interest of preserving our sanity?"  

"Oh, round down I should think in the name of sanity by all means," concurred General de Latte, blowing smoke rings toward the parlor ceiling.  "So, how many casualties do my hussars take from all of these volleys and salvos?  Mathematics was never my strong suit back at school you know."

"Umm. . .  Five altogether if we have figured everything correctly, old courgette.  Do you want to remove them yourself, or should I?" added von Tschatschke with a leer.

"Humpf!" replied General de Latte, handing over the five hussar figures.  "I didn't really need them anyway.  Now, how about that melee?"

"Melee away, my dear de Latte, melee away!" cajoled von Tschatschke.  "That reminds me of the time I rode with a Colonel von Adalnowski and a Major von Topfsange against the Austrians back in '40.  Have I ever told you about it?  A simply smashing time. . ."

"Quite often, I am afraid," interrupted de Latte abruptly from his side of the table.  "But don't let that stop you.  Far be it from me to stand in the way of a good story!"

"Well," began von Tschatschke, gazing dreamily across the room, "It all started during a long weekend at the Colonel's country estate in the Tatras, where von Topfsange and myself were guests, in the spring of 1740.  And the colonel had a housekeeper.  A Frau Erdbeeren, to whom we privately referred as Vivian l'Vivandiere. . ."

Move Three Orders Excecuted. . .

Zichenau's General de Latte has ordered what appears to be a general advance.  Above, you can see his front line of infantry almost within musketry range of the Stollenian infantry.

Here, you'll observe General de Latte and his officers, advancing just behind the first line of infantry and cavalry, not far from the waiting Stollenian line now.

General de Latte has order his second line of troops to advance in close support of the first.

Here's another view of the Zichenauer advance, accompanied by the dastardly General de Latte and his evil minions.

The grim Stollenian Army awaits the Zichenauer onslaught.

A rash move by General de Latte, I think!  He has ordered his hussars to charge the flank of the stalwart Leib (Grand Duchess Sonj'a Own) Grenadiers the Grand Duchy of Stollen's Household Regiment.  The outcome might be less pleasant than those brash young men in braided dolmans and fancy pelisses suspect.

It would appear, much to General von Tschatschke's chagrin, that the Irish Grenzer's have reached the wooded ridge along the northern edge of the Sittangtal and have begun to do what light troops do best. . .  open up and swarm around any available unsuspecting targets.  In this case, that includes von Tschatschke's Von Laurenz Musketeers and his regiment of Anspach-Bayreuth Cuirassiers, both barely visible through the trees here.

Here, we see de Latte's Mittau Volunteeers marching in support of the 11th Hussars with their leftmost company taking the hill at the double in relatively open order.

Here we see the right of General von Tschatschke's line, which now includes a fully deployed battery of guns just itching for the order to fire on those pesky hussars and approaching Mittau Volunteers on the hill nearby.

Apparently sidelined, General von Tschatschke's remaining Jaeger zu FUss hunker down and occupy three of the buildings in Eispicke Village.

Move Three Orders. . .

Here is another sketch map of the battlefield, showing the new situation at the start of Turn Three, drawn by General de Latte between puffing on his Cuban cigar and chiding the tactically challenged von Tschatschke.

After several minutes of good-natured banter over snifters of brandy and Cuban cigars, de Latte and von Tschatschke wrote their orders for Turn Three.  General von Tschatschke shared his first. . .

1)  My jaegers in Eispick Village are to occupy empty buildings, hold them, and fire on ANY enemy roops that pass within close range (i.e., 6” or closer).

2)  Main infantry line Von Laurenz Musketeers and Leib Grenadiers to deploy from columns of four into three-deep line (officers, NCOS, musicians, and color party to form the rear  line) and fire continuously on any enemy troops that come within range (i.e., 12” or closer).

3) Artillery battery to stop advance toward hill and deploy  in space between marshland and infantry line, opening fire as soon as possible on advancing enemy and cavalry formations in sight.

4) Engineers to continue in their task of laying charges along the toll bridge spanning the Blau Zwischen.

5) Independent company of Wolmar-Bock Regiment to reach and occupy fieldworks before Neu Sittangbad’s town gate.

6) Remaining troops to occupy their current positions.


"Looks like your troops are in for it now, old shoe" grinned von Tschatschke.  "I'm through playing around with you now!"  He took another puff on his cigar and blew out smoke rings toward the ceiling.


"Entirely predictable and ineffective, my dear von Tschatschke," chuckled de Latte from his side of the table.  Here are my orders. . ."

1) 11th Hussars will charge the flank of the Leib Grenadiers.

2) Light Company of the Mittau Infantry shall mount the height in open order and attack the artillery battery as son as possible with musketry. The remainder shall pivot on the village of Eispicke and advance upon the flank of the Leib Regiment in support of the Hussars.

3) TheVon Auflauf Infantry shall advance in support of the rest of the Infantry a full move.

4) von Flickenhoffers' and the Ermlande Garde will advance upon the enemy infantry and engage them with musketry.

5) The Trumbach Dragoons and the Grenadere zu Pferd will remain out of musket range of the enemy.

6) The Field Artillery will advance to within 18" of the enemy infantry.

7) The "Red" Artillery will advance 12" in the direction of the Village of Eispicke.

8) O'Malley's will enter the wood and line it's southern perimeter closest to the von Laurenz Musketeers and (finally);

9) The Electoral Pioneers will march at all possible speed for the Town of Sittangbad.


"Well, I'll be. . .  " hiccoughed von Tschatschke, reddening visibly and dropping his cigar accidentally from his mouth into his snifter of brandy.

"Looks like someone wasn't paying attention when they taught about the importance of mutual support between the different arms, old boy," said de Latte as he tapped ash from the end of his own cigar.  "Now, do we have any musketry to resolve this turn?"

The Game is Afoot Once Again! Move Two Melee and Artillery Results. . .

The Stollenian Jaeger zu Fuss, within and outside of Eispicke Village have not fared well during Turn Two.  The red-coated battery of Zichenauer artillery on the hill at the eastern end of Sittangtal (remember them?) fired on the village once again this turn.  This time, however, they found their correct range, and inflicted two casualties on the enemy troops holding this isolated group of half-timbered wattle and daub structures.

Elsewhere in the same vicinity, Zichenau's dastardly, though dashing, first squadron of hussars wreaked havoc among that isolated platoon of Jaeger zu Fuss, inflicting six casualties in bloody melee before retiring the requisite 12" to rally and regroup.

And here we see those smug ruffians gathering around their colonel and guidon just outside the northeastern edge of Eispicke Village.  No doubt, they are bent on spreading more panic and confusion elsewhere along the Stollenian lines during subsequent turns.

"Oh, I say!" exclaimed General de Latte, "Your jagers have taken a damned good whacking this go around old boy.  Time for you to get serious about things like winning, eh?"

"Er, what?" answered General von Tschatschke in a fluster.  Is that brandy on the tray over there, old shoe?  How about a snifter of that for the old tactical abilities?"

"By all means," replied de Latte.  "Help yourself, but I'm afraid you'll need more than that now that the rest of your jaegers are pinned down in Eispicke Village.  A Cuban cigar would be just the thing, I think."

"Oh yes," said von Tschatschke, warming to the idea, "That would do nicely.  Shall we agree to start Move Three then?"

"Move Three it is, then, old boy," said de Latte with a smirk.  "Here are your cigar and matches.  Do help yourself to the brandy.  There's a good chap.  Snifter glasses are over behind the bar.  Now, how about those orders?"