Had another solo game today - again Conquest Austrian (Res Cuirassier) v 100YW French (Org Light Cav). Dry Hills terrain. French attacked.
The early going in the game was similar to my first game - the French charged across the table, this time using superior numbers to outflank the Austrians. A Chasseur regiment was able to charge the Austrian battery frontally and easily rolled it. This created a pretty big hole. Things looking grim for the Austrians.
But luckily the Cuirassiers arrived early, and broke the Chasseurs and the French horse guns. But they found it hard to exploit their success - they faced two French light cav who kept the Cuirassiers at bay with either fall backs or countercharges.
Elsewhere, the French certainly held the upper hand, their extra unit of light cavalry made a big difference. But it was hard work. At one point 3 French battalions in attack column side by side (aka the phalanx) attacked 1 Austrian (large) battalion in line. Despite a number of attacks, by the end of the game all they had managed to do was drive it back to its baseline. Even if the Austrians did not successfully fall back, in combat it was (disorders aside) 24 dice v 12 dice - about even. Large Austrian units in line can take a lot of punishment and put out quite a bit of fire.
At the end of turn 16, neither side was broken and the objective was intact. Extra time. As the extra turns passed, pressure really built on both sides as they amassed disorders faster than they could remove them.
In turn 19 (ie French turn), a couple of Austrian infantry units finally broke, pusing the army over 1/3 losses. The dice for another turn succeeded. In turn 20, the Austrian repaid the compliments, and the French passed their breakpoint. But alas, the Austrian's failed to roll better than 20 with 5 dice, so the game ended with a decisive French victory. If the Austrians had passed the test and there had been a turn 21 (both admittedly unlikely), the French would probably have suffered a marginal loss. Both sides lost 10/29.
So the game went right to the wire - hard to think how it could be closer. Could have easily been a draw if the game had ended in turn 19, or a decisive French win or a marginal Austrian win.
Questions:
1) I presume unless specifically noted, any terrain piece can be superimposed on any other. The Austrians placed a wall as their first choice, so the French placed a wood on top - allowed?
2) Does artillery have espirit and discipline?
3) Do enemy units block line of sight for firing. If I have an enemy unit in my firezone and a friend entirely behind that enemy unit also in the firezone, can I fire?
Cam