Solo, not Han or Napoleon

Where does the time go, I had a bit of a lie in, made the breakfast then sat sorting the campaigns out, which is proving great fun for me at least, for a couple of hours.

I set up my small Seven Years War forces yesterday for a run through today with the Honours of War rules from Osprey. At 64 pages many of which contain army lists it is way lighter than Black Powder which I also have sitting waiting to try, although I have read through the book I wasn't sure how things would turn out on the table. I am a member of the HoW forum and downloaded a QRS, errata and clarifications before starting a small scenario contained in the rule book, Clash at Kutzdorf. Many people have moaned about the artillery being too effective, I don't know so although you can tone it down I played the rules.

The battle has Blue force (British) being attacked in flank by Red (French) as it sits on a ridge, both are almost equal, the French are supposed to have two light infantry battalions but I don't have any of those so they were instead regulars. I just went along with the sequence of play and checked things as they turned up.

You throw dice for initiative and then the players take turns moving brigades or independent units, the same system is used for firing, once this is complete your men react depending how many casualties they are carrying, five is a rout and lifted off, four a retreat, 3 will affect your shooting, any lower and you are fine. The firing is quite brutal and you either get hardly any casualties or you get too many and you are gone or retire, so far I have had one French infantry battalion and one British cavalry squadron lifted off while a couple of others have retired. You always get one hit on a natural five using an average dice, this is brutal as your five will probably get you three or four hits anyway so that unit is retiring or gone, having said that of the two gone from the field one was from melee and one from shooting over at least half a dozen turns. You can rally these hits off but you have to be out of harms way to do it which with linear tactics is not easy, your commander can also rally off hits but I didn't get the best out of mine as you move them first before the troops so they never seem to be in the right place at the right time, something to learn. I have several questions and need another read through the book as I am only half way through the game and will pick it up again tomorrow afternoon. I enjoyed it.

As to the battle the French cautiously advanced into a firing line while their cavalry went for their British counterparts on the right beyond Kutzdorf. The British infantry too formed a line and their left hand brigade moved off the ridge while the Scots Guards took Kutzdorf, prior to this Regiment Bretagne had fled the field. The 33rd Foot now retired as did the 7th Dragoons from the victorious French horse, to make matters worse French artillery fire meant the Scots had to evacuate Kutzdorf, not everything went right for the French though as a battalion of Grenadiers de France fell back leaving both lines in disarray. More fighting to come.