Friendly Temptations

25mm Foundry WWI French Infantry

My gaming buddies often have a gift exchange at Christmas.  Sometimes, the gifts are meant to fill a small niche in an existing project or expand upon reference material.  Other times, the gifts are less altruistic and the goal is to "guide" the recipient into a desired direction.  I, of course, have been guilty of both.  One of the gifts from Scott this past Christmas may fall into the latter category.  That is correct.  One of the gifts from Scott!  Very generous guy.

25mm Foundry WWI French Infantry

With an interest in WWI history and Chain of Command (CoC), Scott had been dropping a few hints that it might be quite fun to build small forces for CoC WWI.  Until listening to Dan Carlin's four part series on Blueprint for Armageddon, I never held much interest in gaming WWI outside of air combat games.  Anyway, without further explanation, I now find the early years of the war very interesting.  

Scott, knowing my attraction to the French in their pantaloon rouge, noted that the French went into battle in 1914 sporting such a uniform combination.  To further "prime the pump" one of the gifts contained an eight figure pack of Wargames Foundry WWI French.  When I opened the package, he said, "here, give these a try!"  Did I hear snickering under his breath?  I cannot quite recall.

With that, the figures went into the painting queue and here they are.  Scott, thank you for the figures.  They were a fun little painting distraction.

The second gift from Scott?  A wargame from Worthington Games entitled, Hold the Line.   Hold the Line is a low complexity hex and counter game featuring a number of battles from the AWI.  While only one game has seen action on the gaming table, it was good fun and a very enjoyable one hour spent.  I look forward to more outings with this one.   

Hold the Line: Bemis Heights

BTD German Gebirgsjager

Rather than succumb to a recent Black Tree Design offer of 50% discount against WWII infantry, I maintained a modicum of restraint and instead struck out to paint a few of these figures already resting at ease in The Lead Pile.  My limited WWII interests tend to focus on the sideshows during the early campaigns of the war.  Since German Gebirgsjager saw service in both Norway and Crete operations, German mountain troops seemed a reasonable addition to my British and German 28mm Chain of Command forces.  A small pile of BTD Gerbirgsjager lay in The Lead Pile so I began by pulling enough figures to form one section.  Going through the BTD Gebirgsjager lead  I found enough figures to field a full platoon of three sections.  A second section is on the painting desk now.  

The BTD figures looked good with much character in their unpainted state.  After applying paint, I am even more impressed with these German mountain troops.  Excellent figures with enough raised detail to make the figures a snap to paint.  Looking forward to diving into the second section of these models.  First, the painting desk is a bit backed up with several other units readying themselves for departure from the work station.

Commendable Service from...

Yes, Campaign Games Miniatures (CGM) and owner Dermot provided a most satisfactory experience on a recent order.

I have always had exemplary service from CGM over the years.  That, based on a handful of orders over the years.  As a figure manufacturer, CGM's 15mm Napoleonic figures are first rate and rank only slightly below AB.  Some figures I rate over AB.  CGM Napoleonic cavalry are especially well done.  Shipping from Barcelona, Spain to Spokane, WA has always been incredibly fast.  On one order, Dermot tried to connect me to an order while I traveled across his great Spanish countryside.  He gets high marks for effort on that one!

CGM's Shopping Cart user interface is the best I have encountered.  Adding and deleting from the Shopping Cart is a snap.  No 40% of order value for shipping to USA either.  Rather, CGM's shopping cart calculates shipping charges on the fly so a buyer always knows the shipping cost upfront.  Now, I encountered a few glitches with the shipping costs but that was due to the webmaster entering in incorrect weights for some of the Battalion Packs I was planning to order.  A couple of quick email exchanges with Dermot and the issue was resolved with shipping cost computed appropriately.

What this interface means for the buyer is that orders can be optimized to minimize shipping cost.  Three examples follow:   

Two Battalion packs of infantry carry a 4.00 euro shipping cost to USA

and 12 Battalion packs of infantry carry a 10.60 euro shipping cost to USA

While 13 Battalion packs of infantry carry a 21.50 euro shipping cost to USA.
Shipping threshold identified with 12 battalion packs!

Given this little exercise, I optimized my order to maximize figure count and not exceed the 10.60 euro shipping cost.  Well, not exactly maximizing figure count since I added a battalion pack of cavalry into the order.

My order for 15mm Napoleonics came to 120 foot and 8 horse for 63.27 euro.  Breaking these down on a per unit basis, these figures cost 0.45 euro per foot and 1.11 euro per horse including postage to USA.  That is a bargain!

In addition to his own CGM figures, Dermot also stocks Mirliton Miniatures from Italy.  Mirliton manufactures my favorite cavalry for my 15mm 1859 project and ordering through CGM is much less expensive than going direct to Italy.

As for shipping speed, I placed my order on 13FEB2017 and the package from Dermot arrived in my mailbox on 22FEB2017!  From ordering to receipt from Spain to Washington State in eight days!

Great product, user-friendly shopping interface, reasonable shipping rates, and fast service; four good reasons to give CGM a look.  Well done Dermot!

Italian Archers for Great Italian War

Two Impetvs skirmish stands of Italian archers muster off the painting desk.  These bowmen are a forerunner to a larger tranche of Italian Wars' figures preparing to debouch from the workbench.

These eight figures are from The Assault Group (TAG) and will provide some light infantry support for a potential Venetian contingent.  Rather than fielding an entire Venetian army, more likely, they will be utilized in whichever army could use some bow-armed skirmishers.

Decked-out in a red/white motif, these figures lend a touch of Venetian flair to my eye.  The TAG figures are excellently sculpted but more slight and slender than many other manufacturers' figures.  Having painted a TAG pike block (see TAG pike block), a few arquebusier (see TAG arquebusier), and now a few archers, I find the TAG Renaissance range quite pleasing.  I ought to consider investigating TAG cavalry.

Assyrian Chariot #9 Rehab

The last chariot in the long rehab project rolls off the workbench!

This last chariot is the King's chariot adorned with sunshade and leopard skin covered horses.  Quite a spectacle of conspicuous consumption.

The King's chariot required more rehab than the others before.  The riders were detached with arms missing on a few, one wheel was broken, and the sun shade was in three pieces.  To fit into the storage box, the King's ride had to have the sunshade "chopped" making his ride even more customized.  Put back together with the standard touch ups, the King and his fleet of nine chariots are ready for battle.  Next, plans for painting and fielding a gameable force is in order.  

With a large number of Assyrian figures summoned to The Lead Pile in anticipation of this project, time to get out the pencil and paper to draft an army list or two.  A group shot of the nine refurbished chariots arrayed for battle is a good idea.  That activity I will save for a future post when the game table has sufficient cleared space.

Assyrian Chariot #8 Rehab

After more than one month halt in the chariot refurbishment project, work resumes on the two remaining war carts.

Chariot #8 required the removal, flipping of the yoke, and reattachment like all of the other chariots.  One reader asked how the yokes were originally attached, why they needed to be flipped, and how could I tell?  To help answer those questions, see the photo below showing the original attachment to the yoke.

Yoke affixed upside down

The yoke ought to be connected underneath the tongue with the yoke collar fastened through the top and not the bottom.  A quick pry off from the tongue, a flip and reaffixing is all that is needed.

After that, a few paint touch ups, a coat of stain, and Dullcote are all are needed to bring #8 up to specs.  Chariot is from Wargames Foundry.

Eight down and only one to go!

The Spoils of Victory!

Pasha Moustasha painted by Mad Padre

During The Mad Padre's 2016 Diplomacy campaigning season, I took up the role of Turkey, "the sick man of Europe."  Coming into the game after the initial rounds of diplomacy, I was under the gun from the start with many alliances already in place.  Some of these alliances clearly had a big target painted upon Turkey.

Fall 1907 Maneuvers (Turkey in yellow)

Coming to power following a coup, the strict but amiable Pasha, guided Turkey on to victory by Fall of 1907.  After the Fall 1907 turn, Germany, in second place to Turkey, conceded to the Pasha.  Turkey was declared the victor holding 15 of the 18 Supply Centers needed to win outright.  The game was great fun with much behind-the-scenes diplomacy and intrigue.  To get in the spirit of the game, Turkey produced a regular propaganda newsletter entitled, The Ankara What.  Publishing that tabloid was great fun.  I bet back issues are still available.

As a reward for victory, Michael generously offered to paint a figure to honor the winner.  In the role of Turkey, I could think of no more suitable figure than Bob Murch's Portly Pasha Moustasha.

Portly Pasha Moustasha arrived in yesterday's post and I am most pleased with the result!  Michael has rendered the Pasha expertly and captures his personality perfectly.

Michael, you provided the Diplomacy players a top-notch gaming experience, all deftly moderated by yourself.  It was great fun and I always awaited each missive with great anticipation.  Your Pasha is fantastic and will always hold a place of honor upon my shelf.
Thank you! 

Russian Infantry in the Crimea

Activity at the painting desk returns briefly to push out a 23-figure battalion of Russian infantry for the 25mm Great Game project.  While the project is yet to see action in anger, Russian and vassal forces will be in good position when called up.

Figures are Wargames Foundry from the excellent 25mm Crimean War range.  As mentioned many times before, these Foundry Russians are terrific sculpts and the greatcoats make painting and readying for battle a snap.  The battalion seen here is the last of the Foundry Russian lead in The Lead Pile and march out in a mix of helmet and forage cap.  Four such battalions can now be mustered for action. 

Enough figures for only one more unit remain to complete before plans of project expansion.  In The Lead Pile are 23 figures to field one more Russian infantry battalion.  The figures this time are a test batch from Great War Miniatures.  At first glance, the Great War look a bit more chunky than Foundry but should look fine on the gaming table.

BatRep: Montebello 1859 Part 2

French advance on Austrian positions

Back to the replay of Montebello 1859 using Risorgimento 1859 rules.  To help reduce unit naming confusion, Austrian infantry battalions are prefaced  by "IR" wherein French infantry battalions have no such designation.  The two previous posts in this series can be found at:

Montebello Setup
BatRep Montebello First Hour of Battle 

Picking up where the battle left off, the battle has reached 3:30pm with Forey's French division's initial probes on Genestrello transforming into a hard driving offensive against Austrian advance positions.  Genestrello has fallen and Urban's command is reeling from a number of battlefield reverses.

Austrian hussars screen battered infantry

3:30pm.  Stadion grabs the initiative in an attempt to stabilize his situation.  Although his mission began as a recon in force, he seems to have smacked a hornet's nest and Frenchmen are swarming out of the Voghera hive and descending upon his overextended positions.  Everywhere! 

Schaafgottsche brings up reinforcements through Casteggio

In front of Montebello, Urban moves to join 3/IR39 which only manages to recover from disruption and not loss of combat effectiveness.  On the eastern approaches to Genestrello, Schaafgottsche attempts to rally 3/IR59 to no avail but the 3rd Jaegers rally.  No offensive actions are undertaken by the Austrians across the front as the bottom of the hour is spent consolidating lines and attempting to bring order out of the chaos of the initial contacts with the enemy.

Austrians fall back from Genestrello and prepare Montebello

Austrians regroup at Montebello

Forey continues applying pressure on Urban's positions between Genestrello and Montebello.  Beuret's brigade attacks Schaafgottsche.  The 3/84th pushes back 3/IR59, 1/91st disrupts 1/3 Jaegers, and 1/84th drives 1/IR40 back towards Montebello, disrupted.  Beuret drives all before him.  North of Genestrello, one squadron of Montferrato light cavalry attack one squadron of the 12th Hussars who are attempting to delay Blanchard's advancing French brigade.  In the clash, both squadrons take casualties and break off for the rear.

Cavalry clash north of Genestrello

4:00pm.  After pushing back much of Schaafgottsche's command, Forey maintains his momentum and presses on.  Leading the 1/91st, Forey attacks the 1/3rd Jaeger disrupting it and forcing it to retreat.  The 3/IR59, nearing collapse, is hit by 3/84th while Schaafgottsche attempts to rally this beleaguered battalion.  The French scatter 3/IR59th and Schaafgottsche falls, mortally wounded.  Seeing the destruction of its adjacent support and the death of its commander, 2/3rd Jaeger loses its nerve and begins a retrograde back to Montebello.  Before it can reach safety, however, the 1/17th Chasseurs catch the unlucky jaegers and force it back a second time.  The jaegers make their retrograde with a bit more urgency.  Keeping pressure up, the 2/17th Chasseurs close in on 1/3rd Jaegers.  Although Stadion himself intervenes, the jaegers fall back towards Montebello.  As the jaegers retreat, the light infantry passes through the already wavering 1/IR40 and 3/IR59 battalions.  Seeing the jaegers withdraw under pressure is too much and both battalions retreat as well.

French chasseurs begin probing Montebello defenses

Austrian defense of Montebello

Advancing along the main road and into short range of the Szluiner Grenz, 1/84th unleashes a short range volley before the grenz can react and the Austrian border troops fall back with moderate casualties.  As the French advance continues, 1/74th and 2/98th in combination drive off a squadron of the 12th Hussars while the 3/74th charges the 3/IR40.  3/IR40 retreats before the French can close.  This unforced retreat uncovers 2/IR40 and opens it up to an attack by 3/98th.  Getting off a volley, 2/IR40 causes some casualties to the French and the attack devolves into a firefight as neither battalion is willing to give ground. 

Birds eye view of attack on Montebello

Concentration at Montebello from behind French lines

Desperate from the collapse of his positions along the main road, Urban's column focuses all efforts on stabilizing his dire situation.  While Urban and Stadion join wavering battalions to rally them, Austrian artillery in Montebello fires into the 1/17th Chasseurs causing casualties and slowing down its advance upon Montebello.

French prepare for assault

4:30pm.  With Urban's position collapsing quickly and no succor from either Hesse or Paumgarten's columns, Forey maintains the initiative and presses on.  The 2/Novarra light cavalry swings around Montebello and attacks 3/IR39 from above as Stadion is attempting to rally it.  Although wavering, Stadion's leadership allows the 39th to change facing and pour a volley into the approaching Sardinian cavalry.  Suffering heavy casualties, the Sardinians press on and scatter the remnants of the battalion with Stadion seeking cover.  With the destruction of the 3/IR39th, many of the battalions around Montebello become disrupted.  Unable to stand up to the scattering of IR39, Baum's artillery and 3/IR40 retreat back towards the Coppa River. 

Destruction of 3/IR39

Pressure mounts on Montebello

Beuret's guns pound the Szluiner Grenz and it falls back to the rear.  1/17th Chasseurs attack Schaafgottsche's guns after the fail to slow the chasseurs advance upon its position in front of Montebello.  Fire from the chasseurs is too hot for the gunners.  The battery limbers and makes its escape although a few guns are captured.  As Forey continues his advance astride the main road, fire from the 3/98th routs 2/IR40 carrying it off into the rear.

17th Chasseurs a Pied attack the guns!

Trying to relieve pressure from Urban's column, Hesse to the north launches an all out attack against much of Blanchard's brigade.  Despite an advantage in numbers, attacks by both IR31 and IR61 end in disaster for Hesse as both attacks are repulsed with heavy casualties.

Hesse's attack repulsed

5:00pm.  While Montebello remains in Austrian hands at the 5pm hour, Stadion considers his options.  Having expended his chance in the north to turn the French flank and much of Urban's column in retreat back towards the relative safety of the Coppa, Stadion abandons thoughts of maintaining a foothold on the western bank of the Coppa River.  With limited passages across the river, Stadion will put in place strong defensive positions should Forey consider a pursuit.  Urban abandons Montebello and will conduct a fighting withdrawal back to the river.  Forey will not oblige.  Unable to pursue and cross the Coppa in force, I give the French a marginal victory.

Postscript.  This replay generally mirrored the historical battle quite closely although holding Montebello until 6pm by the Austrians would have been a difficult proposition.  The tabletop commander, Baum, found taking Cascina Nuova too great a task; a task his historical counterpart managed briefly.  Capturing Cascina Nuova would have held up the French crossing of the stream and aided Baum's reinforcement of either Genestrello or Montebello later.  As it was, Baum's initial attack was bloodily repulsed and not only were the French not held up at Cascina Nuova but the battered Baum was unable to assist in the defense of Montebello.

Several factors conspired against the Austrians.  First, the qualitative advantage in both troop and leader effectiveness put the French in a position of local superiority at all critical points on the battlefield.  Although the Austrians outnumbered the French, poor leadership and a mission of a reconnaissance kept the Austrians from bring that numerical advantage to bear.  Not only could the French give out and take more punishment but superior leadership allowed French troops much greater flexibility in either responding to local threats or taking advantage of local opportunities.  

Another factor was that of reinforcement arrival.  French reinforcements arrived promptly and slightly ahead of the historical schedule while their Austrian counterparts were much slower in making it to the point of decision.  In fact, Paumgarten's Center Wing played no role in the battle except for covering Urban's retreat back across the Coppa.

To fight Montebello again, I must consider and weigh all of these factors.  Historical accounts state that many of the Austrian troops lacked motivation and did not stand up to the French opponents in an equal fight.  Was this due to troop quality or the quality of its leadership?  Most of the Austrian command structure, I rated as either "Poor" or "Average" based on historical performance  Perhaps a "Poor" rating was too severe?

In a refight, perhaps Baum ought to fall back on Montebello immediately rather than marching forward to engage the French at Cascina Nuova?  Rather than keeping Urban and Hesse active at the expense of Paumgarten, perhaps, Stadion ought to focus on getting Paumgarten engaged more quickly at the expense of Hesse?  I may try that strategy next time.

Even after such a long hiatus with the rules, I am pleased with the progression of the battle.  A number of questions arose during play and several annotations have been scribbled into the game log for later consideration.  While the game was played using the QRS only, the time may have come to codify more of the intricacies of the rules and get those down on paper rather than maintained in my head or as a series of game notes.  I want to give Montebello another trial before the dust settles both over the rules and my mind again.  Getting this collection back out onto the gaming table after a two-year lull was great fun.

A Few More Moors - Cavalry for the Reconquista

Seems cavalry for the 28mm Reconquista project has been making a regular appearance on the painting desk in recent months.  Today's painting desk offering presents a four figure stand of Arab cavalry to join the growing cavalry contingent for the project.    

Two such Moorish stands were mustered out in December followed by heavy Spanish cavalry in January.  With the calling up of this more recent work, The Lead Pile shows few remaining Black Tree Design Warriors of Islam cavalry remain.  The Painting Log shows seven medium Arab cavalry units can be fielded for Impetvs.  That is a lot and does not include all of the light and heavy cavalry present in the ranks for the Almoravid/Almohad armies.    

These figures, like so many in the project, are BTD figures from their range of Warriors of Islam BIG cavalry figures.  Still, a few Arab cavalry remain in inventory including enough to field at least one more camelry stand but how many camelry units does one need?  Looking at The Lead Pile, I guess at least one more!

With the Arab cavalry supply almost exhausted, I need to re-evaluate the status of the project and see what options require consideration to rebalance the armies.  A large number of Spanish (Feudal) cavalry await in The Lead Pile from BTD's most recent cavalry sale.  Focusing on European cavalry ought to help rebalance the lopsided nature of the opposing cavalry arms.  More foot units ought to be under consideration too but other projects will be seeing activity first. 

BatRep: Montebello 1859 - First Hour of Battle

French close in on Montebello

After having Montebello out on the gaming table for a week or two, I finally pulled figures from their storage boxes and deployed them onto the table.  To refresh memory of the scenario setup, Order of Battle, and brief historical commentary, see the earlier post, Montebello 1859 Setup.

Initial Deployments

View of battlefield from east

As seen from the Initial Deployments photo above, Urban's command holds a forward position along the main road and railroad.  Schaafgottsche's brigade is dispersed with units in Genestrello, Montebello, and Casteggio.

Genestrello

Montebello

Casteggio

Urban's second brigade under Baum is poised ready to attack one battalion of the 74th protecting the railway bridge at Cascina Nuova.  Forey, with his two brigades, is hurrying to the front with a few elements already in position guarding the stream along the line of Genestrello-Cascina Nuova.  The allied northern flank is protected by four squadrons of Sardinian light cavalry regiment Aosta. 

While skirmishing had been heard in the vicinity if Genestrello for about an hour, Stadion in Montebello along with Urban order Baum to push the French from Cascina Nuova and capture the railway bridge crossing the stream.  Urban orders the defenders in Casteggio to take to the road and come up in support. 

With orders in hand and without artillery to soften up the defenders, Baum launches an attack on Cascina Nuova at 2:30pm led by two battalions of IR40.  The French 1/74 Line coolly holds its fire until the Austrians close to short range and then unleashes two quick volleys.  Taking moderate casualties, the fire from the 74th stops Baum's attack in its tracks.  Both battalions of IR40 are disrupted.  The 2/3rd Jaegers, in front of Genestrello, target 2/84th Line inflicting enough casualties to disrupt the battalion.  Being nearby, Beuret attempts to rally the 84th to no avail.  To the north of Genestrello, Hesse's column begins to challenge the Sardinian light cavalry screen.  In an attempt to break through the cavalry screen, the 3rd squadron of the 12th Hussars charges one of the squadrons of the Aosta Regiment.  As it closes and the Sardinian cavalry responds, the 3/12 Hussars loses its nerve and breaks towards the rear in rout. 

Beuret attacks Genestrello

Reacting to the aggressive Austrian activity, Forey sets his division into action as Beuret advances on the Austrian held village of Genestrello.  2/84 rallies as 1/84 moves up in support and forces the third battalion of IR39 back from the stream north of Genestrello, disrupted.  Beuret brings up his 4kg RML battery and unlimbers near the bridge along the main road.  The 1/3 Jaegers positioned in front of Genestrello is the battery's immediate target.  Not able to hold fast against bombardment, the jaegers take casualties, are disrupted, and seek safety behind the lee side of Genestrello.  As the jaegers are being driven back in front of Genestrello, the 17th Chasseurs a Pied and three squadrons of Novarra light cavalry work their way around the south side of Genestrello.

Austrians abandon Genestrello

As the 17th comes up on the Genestrello defenders from above, it engages both 3/IR59 and 2/3rd Jaegers.  Both Austrian formations take casualties and are driven back from Genestrello.  Adding into the collapse of the Austrian forward Genestrello position, the 2/84 and Beuret's battery pour fire into the 1/3 Jaeger and 3/IR39.  Both formations retreat out of Genestrello, disrupted.  Near Cascina Nuova, the 1/74th pushes IR40 back even farther from the crucial railway bridge.

French attacks and Austrian retreats

With Genestrello separating the retiring Austrians from the rapidly oncoming French, the 3rd Jaegers and 3/IR59 shake off their disruption.  Its combat effectiveness teetering on the brink, 3/IR39 falls back in search of safety while 1/IR40 moves out of Montebello to cover IR39's retreat.  Schaafgottsche's Casteggio garrison continues its repositioning towards Montebello.

Urban's fighting withdrawal to Montebello

That concludes the first hour of the battle.  The Austrians have lost Cascina Nuova and Genestrello by 3:30pm.  Historically, both of these outposts fell around the same time.  The difference in this replay is that Baum, suffering from a sharp repulse against Cascina Nuova, is in much worse shape than his historical counterpart.  Falling back towards Montebello as he did historically, the combat effectiveness of his less motivated troops puts his command in grave danger.  Both have an effectiveness down to two which makes for a brittle command.  

A good portion of Schaffgotsche's command is in trouble too.  Taking heavy casualties from the French assaults on Genestrello, support from the Casteggio garrison will be needed soon to shore up the defenses at Montebello and allow Schaffgottsche's troops a bit of time to recover.  Historically, Gaal's brigade began reinforcing Montebello by about 3pm.  That will not be the situation this time.  Gaal is still at least an hour's march from Montebello.  He needed to move out with more alacrity but not to be this time.

Hesse on the northern portion of the battlefield has been delayed by the Sardinian cavalry just as witnessed historically. Spillberger's column approaches the railway bridge spanning the Coppa River but he, too, is too distant to offer immediate assistance.

The French, for their part, moved quickly and thwarted the attack on Cascina Nuova and overpowered the Genestrello defenders without suffering many casualties.  French artillery and the well-trained chasseurs a pied made a defense of Genestrello a tough proposition for Urban.

3:30pm positions looking from Voghera

Many of the Austrian infantry are of poorer quality than their French counterparts and once the starch was knocked out of the tunics, fighting toe-to-toe would be a losing battle.  The larger Austrian battalions never made their superiority in numbers felt in this first hour of fighting.  The Austrians also suffer from a disadvantage in command quality.  In this first hour, Austrian commanders were several times outplayed by their French adversaries.  The flexibility offered by good or excellent French officers proved powerful when compared to the poor or average Austrian command structure.

As for the arrival of French reinforcements, perhaps, some arrived on the battlefield a little earlier than expected.  Still, the game timeline follows the historical battle chronology quite closely.

With the start of the 3:30pm turn, Stadion grabs hold of the initiative.  Perhaps he can sort out his far flung commands and give them a chance to prepare for the next wave of expected French assaults?  Having much of Schaafgottsche's command reeling back from Genestrello followed closely on its heels by the victorious French, will Urban be able to prepare a solid defense of Montebello in time?  The answer to these questions will be answered in the next installment of the battle.