Kleiner Fledzug 1757: Results of April II

April II Map

Here's the state of the board after the second turn.

Precis of Operations:

As you will see, the Prussians planned a lightning descent on Karlsbad. Winterfeldt marched over the mountains, and Frederick led his troops on a march almost worthy of "Stonewall" Jackson's foot cavalry, almost 100 miles in two weeks, which is blistering speed in Seven Years War terms. However, instead of returning to Karlsbad, the Duke of Arenberg had marched east to join up with Prince Charles at Schlan. But Charles, in turn, had retreated from his cavalry sortie to the safety of Prague.

Meanwhile in the east, Hadik slowly withdrew, with the Prussian FM Schwerin slowly on his heels, a roadrunner versus coyote race in slow motion. FM von Browne, having probed into Saxony and outrun his supply lines, pulled back into Bohemia as Prince Henry and the Duke of Brunswick watched but did not pursue.

Rules Changes

Having seen the rather devastating effect of attrition rolls on both armies, I decided to reduce their deadliness. For all causes, attrition rolls will now be conducted as per the rules, but all SPs targeted for elimination get a confirming saving throw, and if they get a 5 or 6 will avoid becoming a casualty.

Additionally, while both sides were getting one opportunity to raid or recon an enemy force, I was giving the Austrians an additional opportunity to target Prussian forces inside Austria proper. Given the damage capability of even a scaled-back attrition roll, I'm changing that to an additional recon (but *not* raid) roll on a Prussian force inside Austria.

Finally, while I've been allowing a small chance for dispatches sent between commanders to go astray (get lost or be captured), I'm adding a saving throw, as it were, for those as well, allowing for the possibility that extra copies of a dispatch sent by alternate routes may get through even if one is lost or waylaid.

May I Raids and Recons

The Prussians, having seen the outcome of the April II move, sought to raid the forces of the Duke of Arenberg. Arenberg's partisans proved too much for them however (raid result: unsuccessful).

Meanwhile, the Austrians attempted to raid the force of Prince Henry at Goerlitz, but were unsuccessful. Likewise, their reconnaissance of the combined armies of Frederick and Winterfeldt was turned back. The Prussian freikorps contingents were concentrating on defense this turn!

Next Steps

Now we wait for commanders to submit their May I moves...