words and pictures: Alistair Massey

For Tuesday’s Honours of War scrap, Stuart devised a scenario that was a rearguard action in Emsdorf, 14th July, 1760. It was played on a 6′ x 4′ table, where the front was the narrow side and play ran along the longer one. Assembling his troops, the Prince of Brunswick devised a plan to catch Glaubitz’s Bavarian force off-guard in its positions on a bridgehead guarding a crossing of the River Ohm.

The battle began with a furious Hanoverian attack, the stuff of which legends are made. Without halting to fire, the brigade rushed upon the enemy with a double move. The cost was high but it meant that there was less time for Glaubitz to put his defences in order. Meantime, the Hanoverian and Hessian brigades skilfully deployed to threaten the shaken Bavarians on their flanks. The Duke of Brunswick was clearly waving his hat in the right direction.

The next major development was to take the Francophile Bavarians by surprise. A rather motley regiment of Hanoverian Hussars seized the moment and charged the Bavarians in the flank near the centre of the table and went on to destroy a battery that had been specially placed to repel the Allied advance. A poor initiative rating is a severe handicap in these circumstances. With his communications cut, the Bavarian commander waved his hat towards the rear, so he could regroup on the other side of the river.

The main rules question that arose was about the nature of “pursuit”, whether it is the follow up of the beaten enemy or a movement in the same direction as a charge. We agreed that the rules envisaged a pursuit move as an extension of the charge move and allowed targets of opportunity.

This was a valuable little scenario that only took two hours to play. As well as geographical objectives, the Bavarians should perhaps be awarded points for delaying or fending off the Allied vanguard. Thanks are due to Stuart for devising the scenario and umpiring.

Emsdorf Scenario notes & OoB’s etc. – Emsdorf – 1760