Friday Night at the Fights

Philippoteaux' Combat de Montebello

Yes, once more into the breach of the Battle of Montebello.  Having faced off against Jake in two earlier battles for Montebello, one more replay is in the offing.  In the third of our running battle series fighting over the ground in the foothills of the Apennines, sides will be switched and I take the role of commanding the French and Sardinian forces under Forey.

View towards Voghera with Genestrello
and Montebello in the far distance

In the second of our FtF games (see Battle of Montebello), Jake's French penetrated the Coppa River line using lightning strikes from his Sardinan cavalry with support from the French Chasseurs d'Afrique.  Will I, as the French commander, experience the joy of running amok in the Austrian backfield?  Will Jake's Austrians muster more resistance than I managed when commanding The White Menace?

Initial deployments

With Jake visiting Spokane and a free Friday evening, what better test than to reset the troops onto the table and give Montebello 1859 one more trial.  The prior two FtF games against Jake have been tough fights and the scenario's continuing interest has not dulled.

Besides the camaraderie of a one-on-one game night, a bite of dinner, and conversation, the rules have been enhanced with the recent frequent outings.  Processes thought sound when developing a system in isolation can be refined quickly when tested against an active opponent.  While it is said no plan survives contact with the enemy, I find a corollary might be that rules' development thrives on contact with the enemy.  Of course, that enemy ought to be a live opponent willing to stretch the confines of the rules.

Combat de Montebello

Given the two previous FtF encounters, the QRS for Friday's game will see slight modification.  Visualization of the Response Test results has been molded into a matrix making results much easier to see at a glance.  Emergency Response actions have seen modification to include Opportunity Fire range determination on a probabilistic basis, and an upgrading of artillery from Very Small to Small BMU.

Likely the biggest change to undergo testing Friday night is the introduction of the notion of an Enemy Zone of Control (EZOC).  To allow mid-19th Century cavalry the ability to perform a more "sticky" screening task, EZOCs will be enforced.  I thought cavalry screening worked well before to slow, hinder, and harass an advancing enemy.  We will see if this change makes a difference.  The EZOC rule itself is simple and should cause little increased overhead to game play.  Finally, Reinforced Line (Attack Column) has been given a little more punch and resiliency in Close Combat.  Perhaps this modest upgrade will encourage attacks or defense in depth?  We will see.  That is about it for the changes.  Really, all of these amendments are minor tweaks to the game engine.  The QRS still fits on one double-sided 5" x 7" card.

This might be the last replay of Montebello 1859.  With an OB for Montebello 1800 in place, it may soon be time to switch attention from the western half of the game table to the eastern half.  The eastern half of the game table (battlefield) will likely see the brunt of activity when we turn back the hands of time and tackle the 1800 Battle of Montebello.  First, I must plot a strategy for tonight's game.