Marengo - Part 3

Today we completed the game.

The end of the French 17:00 turn and Dessaix is rushing to the rescue.  Napoleon is sitting on 10 eliminated units out of a maximum of 13 (once the final reinforcements arrive at 17:30).  Melas has lost 8 out of a maximum of 12.

Ott continues to put pressure on the defenders of Castel Ceiolo.

It is necessary to go in with cold steel.  It is a very bloody affair.  One brigade of Austrians is shot up and repulsed, but they have support and after a trying fight come good on a reroll, but at heavy cost.  The French however have lost another unit, the Austrians as well, although they have remnants to rally.

Ott is now free to move up and support the final Austrian attack by Melas.

However the French Consular Guard and a brigade lead by Dessaix strike first.

Dessaix leads his men to victory and tips the Austrians over their morale limit.  They are broken, but not hopelessly broken.

There is a gap in the French lines where a brigade used to be.  Oh no, the French have now broken.

The Austrian Grenadiers were destroyed in a very protracted fight that went for three rounds and also used the last French free roll.  Very exciting stuff.  

With the loss of the grenadiers the Austrian morale has now hopelessly broken.  At the end of the 19:00 turn, both sides' morale has collapsed.

It is a draw.

The Austrians, with five free roll counters left, claim a moral victory.

With Dessaix approaching Marengo, Ott would pull back to cover his line of retreat, only to find himself potentially cut off.

A challenging scenario and one that was fascinating for exploring the end game mechanics of fatigue and breaking morale, something I can rarely recall doing (normally time calls a result - the beauty of playing at home meant we could continue the game at our leisure).

While I was only umpiring (and yes, running Ott) it was a significant victory for me.

1. My troops got some use.
2. I got to see Stephen's troops in action.
3. We completed a significant recreation of an historic battle.
4. The rules worked well.
5. I got to play test the new scenario.
6. My movement trays worked.
7. My large print labels worked.
8. The printed map worked.

That is more than a win for me, plus it was a very friendly and sociable affair - thanks Mark B and Stephen N.

Cheers!