A Socially Distant Wargame
A Fictitious Austrian War of Succession Wargame
The Battle of Distanza, 15 June 1746
When I
started doing this Ray asked me to do a guest post on his blog. So here we go…
There is
nothing more sociable than gathering around a gaming table with good friends in
order to test our wits against each other and to enjoy great conversation (all
of us Rejects), have a good laugh (again, all of us) and to win a hard fought battle
(most of us, but seldom Big Lee).
Whilst
Covid-19 forces us into social distancing and for many a chance to reduce a
metal mountain. It has also temporarily
swept away our opportunity to meet and game.
Who knows when us Rejects will gather in Posties shed next and enjoy
those egg mayonnaise sandwiches to the tune of clattering dice that herald the
death of some unit somewhere on the table – usually Lee’s due to his appallingly consistent bad rolling.
So, with
this in mind, I decided to use the simple means of email to bring together at
least some of the Rejects in order to play a socially distant wargame. For this I co-opted Ray and Lee as the
players while I provided the game and to umpire.
The premise
is simple.
- I send out the photos and information about the situation
as it currently stands. Lee and Ray
must then reflect on the situation as it appears.
- The players will then email me their orders – no rush. We’re not doing this in one day. It’s not a Big Mac to gobble down, but (hopefully)
a cordon bleu delight to be savoured.
- Advice to Lee and Ray is that they are as precise with
their orders as they can make them and be clear about the level or degree
of engagement.
- They can then return the photo with arrows and annotations
on it if they wish (a JPEG copy of the battle top situation is sent alongside
a word document).
- I will then carry them out by following through one or
more game turns. Adhering to the
orders given, or at least to the spirit of them until the commands have
been fulfilled or foiled.
- I will then contact and update Lee and Ray with the new
updated situation (effectively back to step one).
Hopefully,
this allows Lee and Ray to act us the generals commanding – thinking carefully
about the clarity of their orders, because I will have to execute what they
have sent.
There you
have it… clear as mud!
The action
will take place on a 4x4 foot space on my table in my cellar. Lighting’s not great, so don’t expect gallery
quality pics.
The figures
are all 6mm Baccus miniatures.
The rules
that I am using are Koenig Krieg. I
could use Black Powder, which would work well with written orders. However, I went for Koenig Krieg because it’s
initiative and therefore action/movement is more unpredictable in it changing
from one side to the next within a turn.
Now I just need
to get the background and deployment information to the fledgling generals.
Background to the Battle of Distanza,
15 June 1746
This is a
fictitious battle and any resemblance to real people or events is entirely
coincidental. Here goes…
In response
to spreading Austrian influence in Northern Italy, France has entered Piedmont
to protect the alpine passes and to eliminate the force that threatens to envelope
all of France. The Empress, Maria Theresa,
however, sees an opportunity to go beyond consolidation of control in Lombardy.
So, each commander must now seek to
destroy the effectiveness of the other on the plains of Piedmont and Lombardy.
It is 11am
and the Austrian and French armies having been circling each other for days. Both forces are evenly matched but not
identical. So, they have been trying to
outmanoeuvre the other in order to gain a battlefield advantage.
The area
around which the opponents have been marching is set out below.
Both the Austrian
and French armies consist of four brigades.
These will all start in march column.
None of the
hills impede movement. Entry into woods should be avoided.
The villages
of both Sociale and Distanza can be occupied by one infantry unit each. The farm complexes can be moved through and
deployment across without impediment. Artillery
can be deployed alone in the farms and will get some protection.
The rivers
are fordable along their whole length but crossing them may (or may not) slow
movement. Defending on a riverbank
defers advantage in melee but not defending in a river.
Victory Conditions:
The aim is
the destruction of the enemy’s ability to engage in offensive action and
therefore force them to retreat. This is
based on breaking the opponent’s morale through the destruction of units
(artillery does not count).
So next up…
deployment.
Very interesting. Looking forward to it
ReplyDeleteCheers Martin, should be fun!
DeleteA great idea
ReplyDeleteGotta agree Neil.
DeleteInterest grabbed ..... more please soon! :-)
ReplyDeleteWill do!
DeleteLooking forward to seeing the results Ray, a good idea
ReplyDeleteCheers
Matt
Rich is a clever chap!
DeleteIt's shaping up to be a good game
ReplyDeleteVive la France!
DeleteA big learning curve in communication in getting your orders across and understood. Should be good fun for the umpire with the overall view of the situation.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing how the game develops.
Stay safe,
Pat.
Technology is a wonderful thing Pat.
DeleteI'll enjoy watching this play out. Seems like a great idea.
ReplyDeleteIt should be fun.
DeleteNot as organised but I am doing the same, we need to keep going.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right we do.
DeleteA group of friends are doing something similar, but without the table - see Marks blog 1866 and all that...
ReplyDeleteI'll check it out Keith.
DeleteGreat idea and you have some additional fog of war communication issues!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
All this technology wizardy will end in tears, who know whomfor though ?
ReplyDeleteGoof luck with this very intersting long distance gaming.