When two patrols clash - a Sharp Practice imagi-nations AAR

Here is a game I played at the club last Sunday.

The scenario was an encounter between a Syldavian patrol and one from Borduria in the border region between the two countries to the north of the Zympathian Mountains, where the foothills flatten out to form the Great Bordurian Plain, known as the Pjinfold in the local dialect.

The Syldavians were pushing northwards to see how many Bordurian troops were in the region, in advance of an incursion by a force comprising several brigades.

The Syldavian force was a small column of Fusiliers and Grenadiers from the Splitz Regiment, supported by Jägers. The patrol was accompanied by an ammunition wagon.

Opposing them was a hurriedly-assembled force from the Freikorps Schtroumpf, supported by some Bordurian Fusiliers and local Hajduks, or border troops, also with an ammunition wagon.

The terrain was lightly-wooded with a number of rocky outcrops and a few fields of cereal crops. The Syldavians were on slightly higher ground.

The Syldavian commander, Kapitän Heinrich Chzippz led his troops towards the low ridge that dominated the centre ground.

They were opposed by a line of infantry from the Freikorps Schtroumpf, led by Kapetánios Ioannes Doukas, the youngest son of a local Bordurian landowner, supported by fusiliers from the Krupski Regiment.

Elsewhere, Syldavian  Jägers were opposed by their opposite numbers from the Smederevka Hajduk regiment.

Both forces were soon engaged in a musketry exchange, with both sides taking shock.

Further exchanges of fire saw the Syldavian Grenadiers taking a lot of casualties, which soon led to them breaking and fleeing the scene. The relatively early loss of one group of Jägers, who were acting as a skirmish screen didn't help matters either.

Both sides were soon blazing away, with accurate shooting from both sets of skirmishers taking a toll on the lines of troops.

Before long, a crashing volley caused one group of the Freikorps Schtroumpf to flee.

Eventually, the rest of the Syldavian fusiliers joined the fire fight, causing casualties and shock. Unfortunately for the hapless  Kapitän Chzippz, his forces were getting the worst of the encounter, with his force moral falling steadily.

Accurate musketry from the Bordurian Hajduks and skirmishers were  whittling away at the Syldavian line, and shock was making the Syldavian return fire less effective.

The Bordurians were dismayed to see a random event  force a group of infantry charge forwards, only to be wiped out by the staunch Syldavian defenders on the ridge. However, this was a false dawn for the Syldavians, who were being forced to withdraw back whence they had arrived, leaving the Bordurians in possession of the field of honour.

This was an exciting game, with Brian, commanding the Bordurians the eventual victor. Once again, the martial prowess of the Bordurian Autokrator's military machine proved too much for the Syldavians, who never really recovered from the loss of their elite Grenadiers. 

One thing this game really showed perfectly is how effective the Sharp Practice rules can be with regards to shock. The Crashing Volley rule, which inflicts double shock, can be devastating and can force groups of troops to break once they are taking casualties.

However, as things turned out, it really was a case of Goodbye, Mr Chzippz.