The Sawmill Village Refight Concluded. . .

 

The story of my life during our game yesterday and today.  I could not roll 'em high to save my life it seems.

Well, the rest of our Sawmill Village refight played out in just one hour this Sunday afternoon, between 2 and 3pm.  All in all, the game lasted about 4.5 hours across two afternoons.  

While things began to go in the wrong direction for yours truly during yesterday's seven-turn session across the table from Young Master Paul, they went from bad to worse during turns eight and nine today.  Lady luck was very much against me, and I never managed to make any decent die rolls when it came to attempts at close range musketry, close combat, or saving throws against my son's hits against my own men.

Parenthetically, out of three Yatzi games with The Grand Duchess  on Friday evening, two were abysmal.  Clearly rolling dice high is not my forte!

But returning to wargaming for a moment,, and worst of all, Young Paul was firmly in possession of Hasenpfeffer Village at the center of the table by Turn 8 at which point my center, held by the hodge-podge Ernestine-Sachsen Infantry, gave way after failing a morale check.  

They were rallied in short order by General Phillipe de Late, (my tabletop alter ego), but it was a case of too little, too late.  Except for a few minor events around the battlefield during Turn 9, none of which led to anything decisive, de Latte decided that it was best to withdraw his battered army and live to fight another day.  

My humiliating loss notwithstanding, The Young Master immediately asked when we might play again and added that he really enjoyed playing toy soldiers with Dad.  So, it looks like a win-win situation desptie my being tactically challenged.  I never did manage to get my cannon and crew into action (shakes head sadly).

-- Stokes

 

Young Master Paul casually marches part of his Leib (Grand Duchess Sonja's Own) Grenadiers into the center of Hasenpfeffer Village early during Turn 8. 

 

 

A random cannon shot later that same turn brought down several men, causing the Ernestine-Sachsen Infantry to break.

 

 

The blaggards headed for the rear at the run.

 

General Phillipe de Latter managed to rally them and halt their flight, but he could see clearly how things would play out.  The proverbial die, ahem, had been cast.

 

My company of Croats never managed to get into their intended position either and, of course, turned tail shortly after the rout on their right.  They never fired a shot, blast 'em!

Way over on the southwestern part of the  tabletop field, the respective bodies of cavalry never managed to achieve very much besides glowering at each other.  The game ended before either Paul, or I could declare a charge.

It seemed like a sound idea to wheel the infantry on my right into new formations and begin marching them to safety by the start of Turn 9.

 

I did manage to ride down Young von Bauchschmerzen's isolated half-company of grenadiers outside Hasenpfeffer Village before our game concluded, but he made his saving throw for the one hit scored, so all I could manage at that point was to scatter them back into the relative safety of the village.

 

General de Latte, never one to hang around when the smell of defeat is in the air, took off in search of a local coffee house for a mid-afternoon snack, accompanied by his immediate subordinate Major di Biscotti and their aides.