Background image is Les Dernières Cartouches (The Last Cartridges) by Alphonse de Neuville

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Fight for St Amand: The French Advance

 


Girard's first move takes his skirmish screen close to Le Hameau, with the rest of his men moving toward La Haye and his battery looking for a good position from which to bombard.

(The solid pale green hexes are ground slightly lower than "ground level", bottomland closer to the creek.)

The reinforcement chit, which I should probably just have left out, comes out next. Last is the regroup chit. This allows units that were not part of MUs some limited rearrangements. In this case, the remaining units of Steimetz's brigade can move closer to him, trying to get into his command distance for next turn. That's the two remaining battalions of the 24th, the remaining landwehr battalion, and the landwehr's jaeger detachment. All of 1st Brigade is now within his command range except the two jaeger detachments posted at the southwest corner of La Haye, and they don't need to be in command to shoot, which is their job for the foreseeable future.

We are finished with the Maneuver Segment of 2.40pm. No infantry are within firing range (one hex for most infantry, two or three for skirmishers) of enemy, and no artillery are unlimbered, so no Fire Combat Segment. No units are in position to assault, so no Assault Segment. Reorganization Segment: no one is disordered or routing. Morale levels are checked and all are at Level 0, since no casualties have occurred. No cavalry are exhausted, no units are in Administrative March. Leaders flip back to their ready side. The first turn is over; only ten more to go.

Turn 3.00 pm.

In Ligny, a check must be made at 3.00pm and every hour thereafter to see if there will be a thunderstorm. French roll 5,3; no storm. Command Segment: Same MUs for this turn. First chit out is Regroup; nothing applicable at this time. Next chit is the French MU. 

The 12me Legere's two normal-sized battalions move up to the Prussian jaegers in Le Hameau, ready to blast them from close range. Both the French and Prussian skirmishers can fire at two-hex range--the schuetzen can even fire at three. However the musket-carrying French are 1/2 firepower at two-hex range, while the rifle-armed Prussian jaegers and schuetzen fire at full strength at two hexes, so no reason to give them an advantage. The small legere battalion positions itself to take pot shots at the understrength fusiliers in the village. The other regiment in that brigade, the 4me Ligne, moves up in column, ready to rush in if the Prussians waver. Girard's other brigade moves up to face off against La Haye; the lights also shake out into skirmish order with the line columns and guns behind them, but they don't enter the long range of the schuetzen just yet. Girard moves to maintain his command distance with all his units.


The next chit is non-MU leaders. Ziethen holds position for now. 

The next chit is the Prussian MU. Steimetz sends the 1st Westphalian Landwehr to occupy the north end of La Haye and moves the 24th Infantry into position in and behind the center of the village. He moves his staff position slightly north so as to keep in contact with the landwehr, and he tells his single battery to unlimber in pointblank position behind the center of the village. He could have had it position further up the slopes leading east from the stream, but artillery can never fire over friends even if elevation allows it line of sight (LOS), so it would be difficult to find a position where it could hit the French on the other side of La Haye, and up close it will be able to use its full effect.


The next chit is artillery, but the Prussian guns as yet have no targets and the French guns are still limbered. That concludes movement, so we go to Fire Segment. 

Next up: Actual Shooting!

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