Leuthen, an Honours of War refight.

 In between bouts of feeling ropey, I wended my way up into the wilds that are Weardale to refight Leuthen using Honours of War. Colin had invited fellow Amateur Military Gentleman member, Mark Dudley to take part in the refight, alongside John Reidy and Dave Jarvis.

 I think the terrain Colin had created gave me a further dose of whatever ails me, as it was very effective looking.Colin has done a concise report on the battle on his blog Carryonupthedale, so I wont attempt to repeat the breakdown in how we, Mark, Colin and I, commanding the Austrians, lost the battle. Key moments for me, were our inability to halt the retreat of the Reicharmee contingent from move one, which I suppose was to be expected, our inability to drive the Prussian cavalry away, and the loss of my two best commanders, who were then replaced by two 'dithering' commanders which fairly scuppered any chance I had for aggressive tactics.
 Once the Prussian infantry were able to advance in numbers, the game was up for the Austrians.
 Overall I thought it was a very fair result.
 Having re fought Leuthen, with the Blackpowder rules and using Honours of War, I feel the latter gave a better account of themselves.
 There is nothing wrong with Blackpowder, but being a generic set of rules, even with the add on, Last Argument of Kings it just doesn't give, for me anyway, that express feeling of fighting in the 18th century.
 It is too easy to maneuver ones troops in Blackpowder, and it is also too easy to correct any error that a commander makes during a battle. Honours of War is less forgiving.
 If one attempts to replicate the tactics of the period, then you can do okay, which is a good indicator in my book of a decent set of rules. H of W doesnt take itself totally seriously and one can enjoy the experience without getting too hung up on the rules, which are easy to learn, however they are subtle enough to make a wargamer think about what they are doing, and what can be the repercussions should things go wrong.    

                                      

 My cavalry led by a 'dithering' commander stand, waiting to be swept away by the Prussian juggernaut.

 Mr Jarvis [ Frederick for the day] attempts to look like he knows what he is doing?