BP Battle Report: Elixheim Turn 1 French - A Good Fight for the French

 Always Start with a Prayer:

Wargamers Prayer: Dear Lord, You give us games that allow us to enjoy each other's company, share in fellowship, experience joy in play, learn from our past and memorialize those who came before us for the sacrifices they made. May you be with us in our games and learn about You as we play. Let's be ferocious opponents on the "battlefield" but even better friends in life. In Your Son Jesus name I pray. Amen. 

Overview

This turn the French respond to the British cavalry advances by charging into them even causing one British regiment to break!

The French have only their cavalry on the board at this time and directly in front of them is the British cavalry set to block or defeat them. 

The French also learn from the British mistake and get their leaders attached to regiments in their command.

Orders

6th Brigade French Cavalry

The British are within 6" of all 3 regiments so they elect to take initiative moves. The Grignan Regt., accompanied by General Beauchamp, charge the Cavendish Regt. which counter-charges they both meet about an 1" apart. The Baume and Maestre de Camp Regiments also use initiative to stay close behind and to the flank to support. 

7th French Cavalry Brigade under Merlode-Westerloo

Pretty much does exactly the same thing as the 6th Brigade using initiative to charge and advance. The Gaetano Regt. and the Queen's Regt will go head to head. Gaetano accompanied by Merlode-Westerloo and is supported by the Acosta and Heider Regiments.

5th Bavarian Cuirassier Brigade under Von Schnitz

Follows the same pattern as the other two regiments. All use initiative. D'Arco, Accompanied by Von Schnitz, charges the Shrewsbury Regt that counter-charges. It is supported by the Wolfsramdorff Regt. and the Weickel Regt.

You can see them both here. D'Arco and Shrewsbury are the further back. Gaetano and the Queen's are closest.

8th Brigade Bavarian Cavalry under General Brauf 

This brigade has little area to maneuver so they choose to stay put. No command roll is made.

Three Melees

Next we go into battle where the sabres clash and men's courage is required of them. 

The first melee is D'Arco's Cuirassiers engaged with the Shrewsbury cavalry. It is a bloody fight. However, in the end the Bavarian's overcome and overwhelm the British breaking them either slaying or capturing all they can. Furthermore, Cavendish was supported by a regiment that had to fall back in disorder before another regiment and stop. The Bavarians however, take 5 casualties and are shaken so they choose to hold their position.

The next melee is Gaetano's cavalry with the Queen's Regt. it is also a hard fight. Both regiments suffer 5 casualties and are shaken. The end result is Gaetano wins the melee while the Queen's Regt has to fall back in disorder before the previously fallen back support unit! They are piling up now. Just like D'Arco, Gaetano stays in place.

Note: I replaced the beads with the markers I used in with 28mm figures. They are bigger than I like but can neatly stack.

The final melee is between the Grignan Regt and Cavendish Regt. Cavendish's men are well organized and fight far better then their French counter-parts. They win the round but Grignan, even with 4 casualties still holds its ground. This fight is not over yet. Here you can see the two cavalries still engage in battle.

The Melee Rolls

1st Melee D'Arco vs. Shrewsbury

	D’Arco	Shrewsbury	D’Arco’s Hit Rolls 10 Rolls				Shrewsbury’s Hit Rolls 7 Rolls
Hand-To-Hand	9	7	1	2	2	4	1	1	2	3	4
Attached Commander	+1	0	5	5	6	6	5	5
Total Dice	10	7	6	6
Dice Modifiers							Shrewsbury’s Rerolls misses (Ferocious)
Charging	+1	+1
Hits taken	7	7					4	5	6
- Saves	3	4
= Casualties	4	3
Shaken?	Yes	Yes	D’Arco’s  Save Rolls				Shrewsbury’s Save Rolls
Combat Resolution
Casualties Given	3	4	1	1	3	3	1	2	3	4	5
Heavy cavalry 1d3 roll 1	1	NA	4	6	6		5	6
Supports	2	1
Total	6	5
Victory	Yes	No
Break Test?	No	Yes
Break Test Roll/Result	NA	2-1	=1 Shrewsbury Regt breaks and is destroyed
Victors Action	D’Arco  does nothing and stays in place

2nd Melee: Gaetano vs the Queen's Regt

	Gaetano	Queen’s	Gaetano’s Hit Rolls      8 Rolls				Queen’s Hit Rolls 7 Rolls
Hand-To-Hand	7	7	1	3	3	4	1	2	3	4	5
Attached Commander	+1	0	5	5	5	5	5	6
Total Dice	8	7
Dice Modifiers							Queen’s Rerolls misses (Ferocious)
Charging	+1	+1
Hits taken	6	7					1	5
- Saves	1	2
= Casualties	5	5
Shaken?	Yes	Yes	Gaetano’s  Save Rolls				Queen’s Save Rolls
Combat Resolution
Casualties Given	5	5	1	2	2	3	2	2	2	3	3
Heavy cavalry 1d3 roll 1	NA	NA	3	6			5	6
Supports	2	05
Total	7
Victory	Yes	Yes
Break Test?	No	yes
Break Test Roll/Result	NA	7-2	=5 Retires 1 move, disorder
Victors Action	Nothing, stays put.

3rd Melee: Grignan vs Cavendish

	Grignan	Cavendish	Grignan’s Hit Rolls    8 Rolls				Cavendish’s Hit Rolls       7 Rolls
Hand-To-Hand	7	7	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	4	5
Attached Commander	+1	0	2	5	6	6	5	6
Total Dice	8	7
Dice Modifiers							Cavendish’s Rerolls misses (Ferocious)
Charging	+1	+1
Hits taken	7	3					3	5
- Saves	3	2
= Casualties	4	1
Shaken?	Yes	No	Grignan’s  Save Rolls				Cavendish’s Save Rolls
Combat Resolution
Casualties Given	1	4	1	1	1	3	3	6	6
Heavy cavalry 1d3 roll 1	NA	NA	4	6	6
Supports	2	2
Total	3	6
Victory	No	Yes
Break Test?	Yes	No
Break Test Roll/Result	8-1	=7  Grignan Holds its position
Victors Action	Unit stays in combat until next round