An Alternative Seven
Years War Remote Wargame
The Battle of
Stoliboz, 1 October 1756
A Guest Blog
Part 2
– Battle Phase 1, movement in the fog
The players:
Austrian: Ian and Ray
French:
Lee. John and Surjit
The commanders have provided their orders of march and their
orders for each of their brigades.
Please see the introduction for
details (Link)
Now, there is plenty of fog of war in
this game. The players are having
difficulties actually seeing the enemy and knowing where they are. This also makes this blog tricky to write and
probably a short one. As to give a full
account and show accurate photos of the field of battle would provide vital
intelligence to the two sides before they send in their next set of orders.
Fog and some confused orders have
dominated the opening manoeuvres of the battle.
French Surjit and Austrian Ray have
spotted vague and unidentifiable movements and formations through the
mist. The Austrians took the opportunity
to take a speculative artillery shot, causing the French formation to retire
cautiously.
Any casualties? Alas, fog of war I’m afraid – literally and
metaphorically!
The following photo is what the two
commanders were given as an update.
Earlier, I mentioned confused orders. French confusion over their order of march
has induced a delay in the Gallic column hoping to erupt onto the Bohemian
plain. The question remains about how
much of an advantage this may have given the Austrians.
To their surprise, the French have also found that their scouting
in the mist was faulty. The rise,
affectionately known as the Hump, that was south-east of Stoliboz is either not
there, or not so significant a feature.
One is left wondering how many other reconnaissance errors await
discovery!
The morning is ticking towards 10:00am. As the generals speed their adjutants away to
the various brigades with their orders, the Autumn sun is starting to burn off
the morning mist.
Thus, the valley of the Elbe, wreathed with the last concealing
tendrils of mist, finally starts to reveal the fine uniformed troops of King
Louis XV and Empress Maria Theresa as they rush to deploy.
And so, we see what may be the
situation at around 10am.
Too late now for the generals as their freshly sent orders are set
into motion by their brigadiers.
Anyway, is the last of the fog still hiding or deceiving the eye?
Until next time…
Interesting to see, Ray. I've not gamed (remote or otherwise) for over a year now. I can see how hidden movement/troops can work with remote gaming.
ReplyDeleteIts a totally different type of game Dean, its very intriguing!
DeleteI found remote gaming interesting although it does not beat face to face, but needs must, good luck.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely George, but we gotta get our wargaming fix from somewhere.
DeleteIf remote is the only way you can do it, better than no gaming.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteRemote gaming would be perfect for this fog of war effect. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
ReplyDeleteAs long as it swings the Austrian way I'm happy!
DeleteVery interesting
ReplyDeleteCertainly is Neil.
DeleteSounds good. I like the idea of hidden deployment. Makes things far more tactical
ReplyDeleteIt took us a long time to decide what troops were brigade together and where each brigade was going. It was made even harder not knowing where their troops were!
DeleteA great concept for a remote game...I have played a couple of FtF games some years ago that used the troops concealed by fog mechanism...can lead to all sorts of fun and games!
ReplyDeleteVery good use of remote gaming with the fog of war. I think that remote gaming helps increase the amount of time we use an umpire in our games. 😀
ReplyDeleteTwo views not quite showing the same positioning of troops. Which, if either is correct, I'm sure we will find out after the shootings all over. Come on the Austrians for the 2nd win. I hope Lee is throwing the dice for the French!
ReplyDelete