Maurice - The Conclusion

The Infanterie de Provance was standing firm due to fortunate dice rolling and favorable Action Card draws, but this could not last much longer. Soon the laws of probability would snap back like an overstretched rubber band, and my infantry would break. A decision must be made. A bold move. A decisive move! Now was the time to send in the cavalry! 
 
I had wanted to do it earlier, but in the heat of battle, I kept on forgetting to move my commander out of the way (a charge move cannot interpenetrate another unit). Luckily I had finally remembered the previous turn to spur the French C in C’s horse to move him off to the side. 
 
There was a gap in the middle, and my Condé Cavalry were going to fill it! With a raised saber and a cry, they were off! They wheeled and headed straight for the enemy… but didn’t realize that they would clip the Saltzburger regiment on the way in. The intended charge faltered and turned into a normal movement as I had to position my cavalry for the charge next turn. Surprise was lost. What a disappointment!

Michael, seeing my cavalry preparing to enter the fray, decided to make room for them by routing my Infanterie de Provance. He first volleyed and then charged in with the doughty IR2. Each side took some disruptions, but it was too much for the French and they broke. My army morale dropped to two, so I was still the battle, but just barely.

 
 

Noting that the Prussian IR2 were still licking their wounds after the clash with the Provance unit, the French Condé Cavalry charged into them and broke the IR2 with a powerful combat success!

The Prussian IR9 was not going to stand by and let their brothers go unavenged, so they waded into combat. The first round was non-decisive and so the cavalry charged in again. The French cavalry came up short this time and bounced back, which was all that the Prussian infantry needed. With a grim demeanor they raised their muskets and delivered the death blow to the French army. The Condé Cavalry broke and fled the field. Realizing that the day was lost, the C in C ordered the Saltzburgers from the field. The Prussians had broken the will of the enemy, taken the church objective, and won a decisive victory!
 

Michael and I had a great time playing Maurice for the first time. Even with ignoring the advanced rules and playing a mini-scenario, the game captured the feel and flavor of the period. There were twists and turns in the battle. Michael, who is far more knowledgeable than I am on the Seven Years War, was noting all sorts of things happening in the game that were actual occurrences in the battles of the SYW. The stringing out of my infantry mirrored what happened at Leuthen. Also, just like on the table today, the La Marck infantry did not perform very well at the Combat of Mehr. The Fog of War was palpable as was the shifting rise and ebb of each army’s fortunes. What more could you ask for from a rule set? We are both very excited to play a proper full-sized game soon!

Comments

  1. Now that's a lovely battle! The figures are all museum quality paint jobs. Best, Dean

    ReplyDelete
  2. What Dean said, great painting and aar

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm very impressed with Mauruce, but even more with your lovely minis! Fantastic.

    Cheers, Simon

    ReplyDelete
  4. DeanM - Even though I made a ridiculously large number of mistakes, I still had a great time playing the game. Because it was a mini-game to take the rules out for a spin, I tried things that I normally wouldn't do in a regular game. I learned a lot about how the troops move and how to activate different parts of my army.

    Dave - Thank you very much! I cannot take credit for the figures: they are from Michael's excellent collection and they were all painted by the excellent studio of Ioannis Mavromichalis from Leuthen Journal fame.

    Simon - Thank you very much! I appreciate that you take the time out to read and comment. It motivates me to put more items up. I am looking forward to reading about your Maurice battles!

    - Jeff

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi there,

    thanks for this commentary on the game and rules. What I like most here is the writing style and quality of toys & terrain - seems like you rea having loads of fun! This is exactly what our merry band are doing - "Vive le fun!"

    Also I am keen to learn about Maurice - not to play it really but to pick a few ideas from it!

    Best wishes,

    JJ

    ReplyDelete
  6. Absolutely gorgeous collection of figures, and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Maurice - it really is a terrific game!

    ReplyDelete
  7. JJ - I am glad that you enjoyed it. Michael and I will stage a proper game soon and I'll shoot some pix and write up another report. Oh, if you want to learn about Maurice, go to the Honour site and look at the PDF of the game overview. It talks about the mechanics and what to expect if you decide to purchase. Be careful... after I read that I immediately reached for my wallet.

    Maurice is the best miniature ruleset put out in a long time.

    - Jeff

    ReplyDelete
  8. FMB - Yes, Michael's miniatures are incredible. What was on the table was only a small portion of the SYW figures that he owns. I am looking forward to doing a big battle soon!

    I also hope to have some of my own up there as well in the near future. I put some Front Rank and Crusader miniatures on order. They'll be here soon!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Are the figs in the pictures from Front Rank and Crusader? What about teh flags. I have to admit, they're awfully tempting.

    ReplyDelete
  10. FMB -
    The Prussian infantry is Foundry (older sculpts) and the French are Front Rank. I don't know what the cavalry are. I really like the figures as well. I have started out with Front Rank French and Crusader Prussians for my own collection. I'll get pictures up soon.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, I forgot to mention that the flags are GMB!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts