In our scenario, before the French can start moving, we need to undertake the Command Segment of the first turn (2.40pm). In this phase, both players designate which troops will be moving this turn. Command distances must be checked to see what troops are eligible, then "maneuver units" (MUs) must be designated--troops who are both in command and assigned some of that side's precious Command Points (CPs) for that turn. Chits representing those MUs and certain other activities go into a cup, to be pulled randomly to sequence units' movements. Light cavalry leaders who are not part of MUs also get a chance to be included, to show the initiative and speed that light cavalry had.
The French and Prussians both get 1 CP in this scenario, because very few troops are involved. Girard sets up with his division, so all of them are in command to begin with. As mentioned, most of the Prussian 3rd Brigade is not allowed to move at all, and 2nd Brigade can't enter play until the Prussians lose much of St Amand La Haye, so 1st Bde. is the only one whose command status matters to start. I've circled its brigade commander here and marked which of his units he can reach--most, though not all of his brigade. Steimetz is within 6 hexes of Ziethen, his corps commander, so if Ziethen could reach another brigade commander, then that officer and any of his troops he could command could be smushed into one big I Korps MU with Steinmetz if there were an army commander to activate Ziethen. Otherwise, there are two 2nd Brigade units in Le Hameau, and one 3rd Brigade unit (those landwehr next to the 2/12th) in La Haye, but their brigade commanders are far away, so except under some exceptional circumstances (there's an aide-de-camp to a corps or army commander sitting with them), they can't be included in an MU. Interestingly, Ziethen can't walk up to a unit and put it in command; I find that a bit curious.
So the French and Prussian 1st MU markers go in the mug (the VASSAL module even has an image of a mug for you to drop them in) and on the groups they represent on the map. Also into the mug go markers for leaders without MUs, regrouping, artillery, and reinforcements. When those get drawn, those elements may come into play (though there are no French reinforcements in this scenario, and no Prussian ones available yet). Light cavalry commanders can attempt to generate their own MUs without the cost of a CP, but we have no cavalry, light or otherwise, in this scenario.
Then the first chit is drawn.
Of course, just to screw with us, Madame Chance brings out the Prussian MU chit first. Steinmetz checks to make sure all his troops that were in command when the MU was designated are still qualified, and then is allowed to move them. This includes 1/24th Infantry and 1/ and 3/1st Westphalian Landwehr, plus the artillery battery, all on the other side of the creek. He can't stuff more than a battalion into town, village, or special structure hexes. He has four more village hexes of La Haye to garrison, so these moving troops will do nicely for that. He can also shift eastward himself so that next turn he'll be within range to activate all the rest of his brigade over there. It would take him away from La Haye, a little, but troops don't need to be in command to shoot or defend, so that should be OK for the moment. However, during the Regroup Action, units that are not close to the enemy and that are out of command can move closer to their immediate superior, so we'll just wait for that to happen instead of taking Steimetz away from the fight.
All those battalions are in column, so they will get their printed movement potential. All three battalions end up moving through the woods south of Ferme le Cuile, which forces them to change from column into general order, but they change back again once they leave the woods. The landwehr are headed to the north end of the village; 1/24th is moving to hold the center of town (where it will hopefully be joined by its sister battalions). 2/12th moves south to link up with the rest of its regiment. The artillery moves into a position where it can shred any enemy fighting in the center of town. Positioning a battery has to be done carefully, as they aren't always easy to move once shifted.
Once all the Prussian MU has moved, its commander is flipped over to remind the player that that MU is done for this turn.
Next chit pulled? Leaders without MUs. At the moment that only means Ziethen. He can help people fight better, but when he gets in the line of fire he may end up a dead 'un (as Girard did historically), so we'll hold off moving him into the fray until we see a need.
Next chit? Artillery, meaning unlimbered artillery may fire. Neither side has unlimbered guns as yet.
Next chit? The French MU! En avant, mes braves!
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