Small Napoleonic Armies in 28mm: Second HFG Game, Northern Italy

Bob & I had our second HFG (Horse, Foot, & Guns) game, this time using Revolutionary French vs the Austrians. We used Bob's French Revolution period 28mm French & Austrians, supplemented by some of my 1800-1807 figures. 

Instead of a battle where we were deployed on the field, we had a meeting engagement where both armies marched onto the board. Both armies had average generals this time. 

Below was our Order of Battle:

French:
8 x Bayonets (Line infantry Demi Brigades)
1 x Elite Bayonet (converged Grenadiers)
1 x Foot Artillery
2 x Light Cavalry (Gendarmes)
1 x CP (Massena)
Total: 13 elements/70 points

Austria:
8 x Muskets (German Infantry Regiments/Brigades)
2 x Inferior Light Infantry (Grenz)
1 x Foot Battery
2 x Light Cavalry (Uhlans)
1 x CP (Alvinczi)
Total: 14 elements/70 points

Above - Early in the game. Both sides have marched using road column until they were in proximity. The HFG rules use DBA mechanics. A road column's first march move of a bound costs 0 pips, so it didn't take long for both sides to close. The cultivated fields on the battlefield have no effect in the game.

Above - Both sides have deployed from road column into line formation and are marching towards each other. The French had their artillery as a leading element (top left) and had a lucky long range shot (doubling) against one of the Austrian Uhlan Brigades near the town (left center), destroying it. The Austrians now have only one cavalry brigade.

Above-another view of the same positions/. Note the Austrian infantry (foreground) in Casquet headgear.

Above - The Austrians (foreground) are closing on the French. A gap has developed between the French right (above left) and the rest of the army. The Austrians have anchored their right flank against the small woods (right). The Austrian foot battery is in a position to provide rear support for close combat to 4 infantry elements - the 2 the artillery is in contact with to it's front, plus one element on each side of them. This represents the battery being deployed among the 4 brigades. Also, the Austrian left has evened the score by destroying a French Gendarme brigade with Grenzer musketry.The other Gendarme brigade has fallen back to it's guns after an unsuccessful charge.

Above - The Austrians have destroyed another Gendarme brigade with combined musketry of Grenz and Infantry fire. The Austrians have closed near the gap in the French line.

Above-Another view of the same point in the battle.

Above - The Austrians are closing on the French center-right. The Austrian brigade with the white battalion flag has recoiled from musket fire. On the left, the Austrians have lost a Grenz brigade to punishing fire from the French battery, while the Grenzers caught the French grenadiers with flanking musketry fire, destroying them. Flanking fire is devastating (-3 to the die roll of the flanked unit).** At this point in the game, the French have lost 3 brigades, the Austrians 2.

** This is an addendum to the description above. We realized afterwards that we were using a few old modifiers on our HFG playsheet from earlier versions. Enfilade or Flanking fire is no longer -3 to the die roll to the victim. It is now -1 in the latest version of HFG. Therefore the French Grenadier brigade would have survived, though it's loss did not effect the outcome of the battle. Distant shooting in HFG is generally deadlier than DBA, especially at close range, if the target marched, or is enfiladed. Infantry in HFG have lower combat factors than in DBA, which makes them easier to kill. However, when you have supporting shooters in HFG, you add +1 for each support to the shooter's die roll, which is unlike DBA, where you subract 1 from the target's die roll for each support shooter.

Above - a close-up of the main battle-line.

Above - This was the scene when the Austrian force reached break-point, having lost their other Uhlan and Grenzer brigade at the hands of the deadly French artillery battery. It helps when the French player keeps doubling his opponent's die roll. In the center, the Austrians lost another brigade due to French musketry fire, reaching the break-point of 5. The French kept out of Austrian musketry range while the French were able to engage at longer distance due to their brigades having integral skirmishers (abstracted for play by giving the French longer musketry range). The French lost a total of 3 elements/brigades.

Above - A closer view of the remains of the Austrian army.

Lessons learned: 

The Austrian artillery never engaged because it was deployed to assist in close combats, which never happened. Distant Combat is deadlier in HFG than in DBA. Light Cavalry is particularly vulnerable to musketry & artillery fire. Marching elements can march outside of command range, requiring the general to spend a pip to relocate to keep up with them, or spend extra pips to keep marching them. However, marching in general, especially on roads, makes an army very mobile. Elements can keep marching as long as they have pips and remain outside of 1.5 BW of the enemy.