It's been a while since I took out the Too Fat Lardies Sharp Practice rules, and I wanted to give them a try with some Seven Years War figures, and they worked surprisingly well. I was also reminded of how well the chit/card format works for a solo game.
I dipped into my Prussian and Russian collection to put two small forces together. I didn't use any points, just picked two small forces that seemed appropriate for the Seven Years' War kleine krieg.
The Prussians got a light cannon, a group of 8 hussar skirmish cavalry, a group of six jaeger rifle armed light infantry, and two groups of musketeer line infantry. They had four Big Men: a Lvl 3 in overall command, a Lvl 2 with the cannon, a Lvl 1 w the line infantry, and a Lvl 2 with the Jaegers.
The Russians got a group of 8 hussar skirmish cavalry, a group of six musket armed skirmishers (Pandours), three groups of 8 musketeer line infantry. They had three Big Men: a Lvl 1 with the hussars, a Lvl 2 with the line infantry, and a Lvl 3 in overall command.
After Turn 2 some of the opposing forces are on the table, shattering the peace of the Schlaup Farm and its inhabitants. Prussians on the left side. I wish I knew why I insisted on fighting end to end and not side to side. I randomly selected the Prussians as defenders so they get to deploy a little further forward from the jump off points.
The two opposing groups of hussars looked at each other and growled. It was the Prussians who got the first card and elected to charge at the canter so they catch the Russians standing. Since the Russian hussars are classed as irregular cavalry I thought about giving them the evade option but as I read SP, that is only allowed to troops classified in the lists as skirmishers. So it goes badly, the Prussians lose 2 men and their Big Man is wounded, going to a Lvl 0, but the Russians lose half their 8 men and are thrown back with lots of shock. The Prussian hussars on the left are by Front Rank, I don't have any idea who made the orange chaps on the right, some of my earliest painted figures. Falcon, maybe? Dunno.
Scharf's Rifles arrive and take up position behind a stone wall, which I count as light cover because it's only breast high. This was my first time using these figures and this troop type. In SP their rifles take 2 turns to reload but outrange muskets by 12", so they are useful troops best employed at long range. They do have the evade characteristic which is handy because they are few in number, and a 6 figure group is more vulnerable to shock than an eight figure. In SP, these troops can reduce their reload time to 1 action (the action cost for smoothbore muskets) instead of the usual 2 using the Tap Reload rule, which states that "This is a poor choice in the long-term as it causes damage to the rifling on their weapon, however, in extremis, it may be an attractive option" (p. 43). However, the rules don't state what effect this damage might have and how long before it takes effect. Probably a factor in a campaign game. These are Foundry figures as featured in my previous post, and they are having their maiden action.
More light infantry action. The Russian jaegers (I'm calling them pandours) take up position behind a stone wall and await the Prussian line which are slowly making their way forward through a muddy field. Unlike the Prussian jaegers, the pandours are musket armed, so their only advantage on the table is that they are classed as skirmishers and can also evade. It was a mistake leaving them to face the Prussian line alone. Even with the benefit of light cover from the stone wall they are outgunned six muskets to sixteen, with no range advantage. I should have tucked them inside the farmhouse, but they might have been lost to me from a bad looting test - quite likely, really, given that these are rough and wild troops.
One thing I like about SP is the random events, which can occur if three command cards or chits are drawn. In this case, a random event happened to the Prussian line infantry. Their Lvl 1 Big Man stepped in something awful and, since he is evidently a pomdaded and perfumed sort of fellow, his Command Rating fell from 1 to 0. He would need to get to the courtyard, find a well, and wash. I got a good snicker out of that.
As mentioned, the pandours should never have been left that far forward. They inflict a little shock on the advancing Prussians and their stinky leader, but the Prussians stop, present, and unleash a first volley that kills two pandours and sends the rest reeling back with lots of shock. So a lesson learned.
But what about the Russian line infantry? They were stolidly advancing up the centre of the table. The Prussian light cannon got a few shots in, killing a few and causing shock, but according to the Russian SYW army list I was using, Russian line have the "Stoic Serfs" characteristic, which allows them to "ignore the first point of shock for each round of fire received or round of fisticuffs". A very useful ability that rings true to accounts I've read of battles like Kunersdorf (which had its anniversary ysterday!).
So the Russian line continued to advance at a slight oblique towards the stone wall held by the jaegers, and being careful not to show their flank to the hussars, who in turn were reluctant to face that mass of bayonets.
At this point I stopped taking photos so I'll briefly describe the outcome. The pandours fell back and were out of the fight. The Russian Lvl 3 Big Man was lightly wounded trying to rally them. Meanwhile the Russian line infantry pushed up to the wall, firing at the evading jaegers and killing two of them. Their advance carried two of the three groups in the formation over the wall but the third group was now separated from their comrades by the right angle of the wall, so I ruled that they were broken off from their formation. Leutnant Stinky, having disposed of the pandours, broke off one of his two groups and along with the cannon they made life miserable for the exposed group of Russian musketeers, which lost three men and took a lot of shock.
The depleted Russian hussars thought they might sneak around the barn and catch their nemesis in the rear, but the cards went against them, the hunters became the hunter, and in a second melee the Russians lost two more men without doing any damage. The survivors were out of the fight. The Prussian hussars had nothing between them and the Russian deployment point, so they galloped up, captured the cart of fodder and vodka, and with the Russian morale rapidly collapsing, I called it a day.
Things I learned:
1) I was reminded how good SP is for solo play. As long as I can play a complete turn, I can leave it and come back to it when time permits without forgetting a unit that hasn't moved.
2) I use chits but I really need to make some playing cards, the chit pull is awkward and the way I've painted the MDF chits, they tend to stick together. Also, I allowed myself to put the Tiffin chit back in the cup if it came up too quickly and only apply it the second time.
3) Light infantry and skirmishers are fun to use but the caveats described above apply. They are too vulnerable to be left in the open.
4) Cannon are fun but don't expect too much of them. Rolling ten dice is a pleasant experience, and it will cause some damage, but with two actions to reload and one to lay the gun to get the extra dice, it means that a cannon will at best fire every second turn.
5) Formations, formations, formations. Two, or better yet, three groups of lined infantry in formation, ideally with a subordinate leader to help reduce shock, are terrifying to face if handled properly, and their first fire is a veritable Death Star. However, they are easily disrupted by bad terrain.
6) Don't forget that a Big Man needs to spend a Command Action to activate a group or formation he's with. It's not automatic. It was one of those details I'd forgotten from previous games.
7) A little terrain goes a long way. I think the table I set up had a good mix of terrain to troops.
One final thing, I mentioned that I was using Sharp Practice army lists for the SYW and yes, I have lists for the Russians and Prussians but I'm blessed if I know where they came from. If you'd like them, let me know in the comments and I'll send them to you.
Cheers and blessings to your die rolls! MP+
