Trouble in Golpen Und Burpen 2: Clash at Karlseck

Readers will recall from a recent post that I enlisted some friends from the Anglo-Irish brain trust to help me prepare a battle using the Scharnhorst campaign system from Sam Mustafa's Blucher.

Responding to the invasion of the Electorate of Golpen Und Burpen by Austria's General Von Smettana's Army of the Moldau, Napoleon has sent Marshal Ferdinand Le Gros (dubbed "the grossest of my marshals" by Napoleon) with a scratch force of three corps to check his advance.  Le Gros' forces responded to the invasion from the north and concentrated his troops in the SE, as so.

General von Smettana, seemingly unworried by the French doctrine of concentration of force, decides to push his advance Korps south to seize the town of Karlseck and its bridges over the Schlurpen, a minor river.   He entrusts the mission to his subordinate commander, Klenau, known as an able defensive general.   The rest of his force will follow, except for a cavalry column pushed out to the west.

LeGros rubs his hands in glee as his scouts report in that there are perhaps four infantry brigades holding Karlseck.   He orders his other corps to converge and attack.   In the Scharnhost system, a friendly column adjacent to an enemy column (not on a diagonal) can declare a battle, and the battlefield covers six squares of the campaign map with the attacking unit in the centre.

Once a battle is declared, the columns on the battlefield are frozen in place.   The defender has a turn to bring his unengaged columns onto the battlefield if there is room, provided that they do not pass through another friendly or hostile column.   Von Smettana brings his cavalry columns onto the battlefield, but the rest of his army is stuck north of the battlefield and will have to hope to enter as reinforcements once battle begins.

Using the campaign map as a guide, I now recreate it on the tabletop and prepare this guide for the French player.  Once I get the commanders' intentions from the players, I'll fight the battle myself, though if any major decision points arise, I may ask them for further guidance.  Clever viewers might notice my new church as part of the town of Karlseck.

Next post I'll share the orders of battle, and show the deployment and opening moves of the two armies.

Which one are you cheering for?

Cheers and blessings to your die rolls,

MP+