2mm Wargame

       I have been trying to get a game in since my wife went back to work and things are getting back to normal. However, I still couldn't figure out what to play. I found myself looking though my collection trying to decide which armies to use.  On Sunday I was looking at the stats for my blog, along with the most popular hits. And then I did something I rarely do; I went back and started reading some of my posting. In the last year I used my 2mm armies quite a bit. I decided to use them for a game.  When in doubt, they are the answer to get a game going.

    I have been reading David Chandler's " The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough". I was surprised at the amount of cavalry the armies had back then.  I have also been thinking of wargaming battles between the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Turks.  During this period the Turks had 45% cavalry in the 1648-1715 period ( the period I'm thinking of wargaming), the Austrians 30%. For this game both sides will have 6 units, so the Turks have 3 cavalry and 3 infantry units. The Austrians have 2 cavalry and 4 infantry. I used A Stronghold Rebuilt "See the Elephant" rules, with minor changes.

The Turks are at the top of the photo, the Austrians at the bottom.

The Turks send forward two cavalry units to seize the hill in front of their line. They manage to drive off one Austrian  cavalry unit.

The Turks move off the hill to engage the advancing infantry.

The turks push back the other Austrian cavalry.

The Austrians move some infantry to the hill on it's left flank.

The Austrian cavalry and infantry engage in "close combat". With this rule, if they eliminate or force the other unit to retreat, they can advance into the vacated space, then engage again with one dice. However, if the enemy unit is not eliminated or forced to retreat, they get to battle back with one dice.  For the Austrian cavalry, which has already lost one stand, it is a dangerous move.

However, it paid off. The Turks lose one stand and retreats. The Austrian infantry  force the Turks back up the hill.

The Turks now bring forward their infantry to give the cavalry time to reorganize.

The  Turks on the hill causes 50% losses to the infantry in front of them; the Austrian cavalry loses another stand.

The Turks eliminate the last Austrian cavalry stand.

The Austrian infantry is now trying to hold back two Turkish units.

The Austrian infantry loses another base.

The Turks hits the infantry's left flank.

The Austrian infantry is pushed back two squares.

The Austrians are almost down to 50% and the Turks still hasn't lost a unit. The Austrians wisely retreat.

It was good to get a game in, even if I had to rush it.