Montebello For Four!

Round four of the Montebello replays took place last week.  The three previous accounts can be read at No Duke of Montebello, Still No Duke of Montebello, and Lannes Is Still Dead.  Rather than seeing one-on-one contests as in the previous three games, Game #4 pits two against two.  Chris and Dave B (DB) take command of the Austrian Army while Dave C. (DC) and Dave G (DG) take command of the French Army.  There are a lot of "Dave's" on the field this day! 

As a reminder, the table and opening positions look like,

With Austria leading the series two games to one, can Lannes and his French Army pull out a victory in Game #4?  Let's find out!

Elements of Lannes' command, under Watrin (DC) arrive onto the battlefield along the highway and approach Rivalta.  While most of the French are content to drive down the road, units break off to the north entering the rye fields while other units climb the heights to the south.  Without being under immediate attack, O'Reilly (Chris) places most of his command on Reserve to await the attacks he expects will develop.  His artillery quickly limbers and retires to the crossroads in the rear.  Jaegers are positioned to protect the southern flank.

Watrin arrives.

O'Reilly does not wait long to see attacks develop.  Up through the rye advances the 40th line.  Austrian light infantry unleashes withering volleys into the French as they move north of Rivalta.  Casualties are horrific.  Seeing the French waver, Austrian hussars are sent in against the enemy.  Like a cat among the pigeons, the 40th is cut to pieces as the Austrians fall upon their prey.  Not a good start for Watrin's attack!

Fight for the rye fields...

does not go well for the French!

While the destruction of the 40th was unexpected, perhaps its attack is only meant as a diversion to the main attack against the defenders of Rivalta?  If so, then this ploy produces some good results.  The grenz defenders of Rivalta are ejected with great loss and scatter to the winds.  O'Reilly, a second battalion of grenzers, and the light infantry continue to hold the rye fields to the west of Rivalta.  Watrin prepares for another push against O'Reilly as Vogelsang (DB) brings up his Austrian division to Casteggio and the heights to the south in support.

Clearing out Rivalta...

as the Austrians fall back on Casteggio.

Vogelsang forms a solid defense.

With Watrin leading the attack to the south of Rivalta, a second assault goes in against those stubborn boys of the light infantry to the north.  Watrin's attack pushes the grenz out of the rye and then scatters them in pursuit.  To the north, a familiar scene unfolds.  The Austrian light infantry unloads another punishing volley into the attackers.  Coming out of reserve, a body of Austrian hussars charges into the disordered infantry.  One battalion of Frenchmen is cutdown but the supporting legere form square and repel the attackers.  Still, French casualties are horrendous.     

Heavy fighting near Rivalta

Watrin's follow-up pursuit against the grenz brings his men into artillery range.  Fire from Vogelsang's light battery near Casteggio tears through the French ranks.  Maintaining their composure, the French discharge their muskets and the hussars to their front disappear.  Watrin advances to the crossroad.  Casteggio is within sight.    

Coming under artillery fire!

Watrin receives reports that Lannes (DG) has reached the battlefield.  Lannes is bringing up infantry up quickly to Rivalta while his hussars swing out to the south.  Vogelsang continues to shore up a defensive position at Casteggio with one battalion coming forward to support O'Reilly's guns.

Lannes brings up his troops...

as a solid Austrian wall awaits.

Sensing that Watrin is over-extended, O'Reilly sets his hussars into action.  First, a squadron of hussars swings around to catch the weakened 6th legere to the west of the rye.  Remaining calm, the interlopers are driven off as the legere forms square.  Not getting off so easily, Watrin and his light infantry are attacked by O'Reilly and his other hussars.  While one body of hussars is sent away, the second squadron breaks through and destroys the legere before it can form up into square.  In the heavy fighting both Watrin and O'Reilly are killed and both commands are broken.  

Withstanding cavalry attacks from every direction!

The destruction of O'Reilly and Watrin.

Lannes leads an attack into the rye!

With an island of Austrian light infantry remaining fixed in position in the rye, Lannes sets himself to dislodging these stalwart defenders from their place on the field.  Attacking through the rye, Lannes leads a supported attack into the enemy.  Bringing to bear overwhelming force, those brave Austrians are cut down.  The path to Casteggio is now open!  Remnants of Watrin's Division press on to the west as Victor and Chamberlhac (DG) are seen finally reaching the battlefield.  Unfortunately for the French, reports of Schellenberg (Chris) reaching Montebello filter in. 

Destruction of Austrian light infantry.

The French press on!

As Chamberlhac leads his division toward Casteggio, Victor rides off to take over command of Watrin's Division.  Well, what is left of Watrin's Division, that is.  Lannes presses on toward Casteggio while Vogelsang prepares his division for what lies ahead. 

French reinforcements!

Vogelsang needs not wait long.  First, O'Reilly's battery is overrun at the crossroads and then Chamberlhac leads his light infantry in attacks against the defenders positioned in front of Casteggio.  One Austrian battalion is destroyed and a second falls back.  The French suffer too.  One battalion is destroyed in their efforts.

Fighting in the outskirts of Casteggio...

sees some French success.

Schellenberg emerges from Casteggio to the north with his dragoons leading the way.  The remnants of Watrin's Division, on the outskirts of Casteggio, are ridden down in quick succession.  Seeing Schellenberg's success to the north, Vogelsang orders a vicious counterattack in front of the town.  Attacking with support, Vogelsang drives the enemy back.  There appears no chance that the French can make anymore headway toward Casteggio on this front.

French success short-lived as Austrians counterattack....

as the French are driven back...

and destroyed.

With Watrin's Division broken and seeing much of his old command dead on the field, Victor can do more with this brittle formation.  Lannes' command is not in a much more favorable situation.  His command is unraveling too.  In one last effort to throw the jaegers out of the stronghold of Cascina il Giardina, Lannes sends in his hussars.  The jaegers are evicted from the farmhouse and the French take the high ground.  Still, with Lannes nearly at his breaking point and Casteggio firmly in Austrian hands, Lannes has seen enough.  He orders his command to withdraw from battle.

Fighting at Cascina il Giardina...

leaves the farm in French hands.

Casteggio firmly in Austrian control.

In a four-and-a-half-hour session (and late-night for the players), the Austrians can claim victory.  Congratulations to Chris and DB!  Well-played, my friends.  My condolences to the other two Dave's, DC and DG.  You fought hard but it was not to be on this day.

Looking at the Butcher's Bill, losses were roughly even.  O'Reilly and Watrin's commands nearly ceased to exist.

Butcher's Bill

In Retrospect

What are the key takeaways from this action?

• O'Reilly's conduct was the key to Austrian victory.  Of the four games played, Chris steered O'Reilly to best outing yet.  Not only did Chris manage to keep his advance guard in the fight longer, he crippled Watrin in the process.  O'Reilly, alone, blunted the fighting power that Watrin's Division possessed.  The light battalion situated in the rye field to the west of Rivalta gave out much more than it took in the hard fighting.  A swift use of hussars to attack these weakened formations sealed Watrin's fate.  Well-played, Chris!
• Vogelsang's command took up a strong position in and around Casteggio.  Deployed on the high ground, in depth, attacking such positions would have been difficult even with fresh troops. 
• While we hate to bring it up, DC's dice rolling performed up to the standard we expect.  That is, his dice were terrible!  His troops had difficulty hitting the broadside of a barn and any morale tests needed were invariably failed.  Still, DC is always gracious even when the dice are against him.
• Reinforcements.  Both Schellenberg and Victor arrived on the last turn possible in the variable reinforcement schedule.  In the historical battle Victor arrived just in time to turn the battle by pressing on with his fresh division.  In this game, Victor arrived but not in the nick of time.  He arrived much too late to bring his powerful division fully into play.  Had Victor arrived three turns earlier, he may have been in position to assault Casteggio before Schellenberg could pass through Casteggio and overcome the river obstacle.  Faced with fresh and better quality opponents, Vogelsang may have experienced a much harder fight.
• Finally, in perhaps a moral victory, Lannes made it through this battle uninjured!

Very enjoyable game, guys, thank you!

Battlefield Lull

While it has been a busy week, not a tremendous amount of progress on the hobby front.  With nature throwing a switch, temperatures have climbed dramatically in the last week.  What that sudden change in atmosphere triggers is that my workload flips from indoor activities to outdoor activities.  Yardwork jumps to the fore as the garden and lawn spring back to life.  Infrastructure such as sprinkler systems and lawn maintenance equipment need adjusting and a general clean-up is required after putting everything away back in October and forgetting about it.  Cycling back on the roads is seeing a marked increase as well as I test out both body and bike for the upcoming campaigning season.  With that shift in direction, wargaming has seen a bit of a lull. 

Heavy fighting at Casteggio

There was one game on the week's docket.  That remote game, on Tuesday, saw a four-player refight of Montebello.  Tuesday's Montebello witnessed the fourth playing of the scenario, and it was another good one.  With experience from the previous three games and having increased player numbers, I figured the battle might be fought in two sessions.  Well, we managed to fight to conclusion in one long four-and-a-half-hour session.  Everyone was likely exhausted after that mini marathon.  The fellas in England certainly endured a late night.  I finished curating the game photos this morning.  Hopefully, I can sit down and tap out a battle report in the coming days.

On the painting desk, I did manage to produce a second Russian infantry regiment of two battalions for the 1799 project.  Like the Russian regiment produced earlier, these figures are AB Miniatures.

These two, thirteen figure battalions march out as Musketeer Regiment Dalheim.  As expected, the AB sculpts are marvelous.  On the painting desk is a third Russian regiment.  The third regiment will muster out as a grenadier regiment with its short mitre hats.

Painting output was down in April compared against the first three months of the year.  Without going back to painting seasonality analysis and tendencies, I suspect that seeing a drop in April is normal.  We will see if painting ticks up in May.

The lead photo captures a snapshot during the Montebello game with the French attack on Casteggio in the foreground and the detritus of the game room in the background.  The large screen in the background monitors the game in session.

Tyrtov Infantry Regiment

Well, here is a project that has seen no activity at the painting desk in at least a couple of years.  That project is the Second Coalition featuring the fighting in Northern Italy and Switzerland.  Looking back into the Painting Log, no new Russians have been added for nearly six years.  Spurred on by the appearance of the 1800 Battle of Montebello on the gaming table, probably not much of a surprise that a few units for this project would be pushed into the production queue.  Yeah, probably no surprise at all.  I may not be alone in experiencing this Butterfly Effect.

Something similar struck when I fielded a series of Reconquista battles near year-end.  More unpainted figures were pulled from The Lead Pile, primed, and ready for painting.  A few units came under the brush to form new recruits, but several units remain in the Ready-to-Paint box when my attention shifted to something new.  Sound familiar?

Anyway, out from the painting desk today are two battalions of Russian Infantry Regiment Tyrtov.  Figures are AB Miniatures.  While Montebello is still on table with a fourth game slated for Tuesday, expect a few more units to march out from the workbench before I flit onto another project.

In an earlier post, one reader expressed an interest in seeing more of the falls choked with spring runoff.  While that earlier post highlighted the Upper Spokane Falls, the photo above shows the Lower Falls before it passes under the Monroe Street Bridge.  Quite a lot of water passing over the dam and cascading down the falls before entering the gorge.  The photo below shows what the Lower Falls looked like last summer.  Quite a stark contrast.

That's it for today.  Tomorrow, another battle!

Do You Have Enough Opponents?

Today, we consider another new question added into Wargame, Soldiers, and Strategy's The Great Wargaming Survey (GWS), 2025 edition.

That question addresses opponent availability and asks,

Do you feel you have enough opponents within reasonable travel distance?

If the answer is "No" then survey respondents can choose from a Pick List of possible reasons why this is the situation.  Besides the provided Pick List, respondents could also add in their own reason as to why opponents are lacking.

Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of responses from the 2025 survey.  Nearly two-thirds of respondents state that they have enough opponents available within a reasonable travel distance.  The remaining 34% marked that they did not have enough opponents at hand.  

Figure 1

For those in the latter camp who lack enough opponents, the reasons why and those counts are detailed in Figure 2.

Figure 2

Based upon survey responses, the key take-aways for having not enough gaming opponents are:

• Lack of Awareness of Nearby Opponents.  The leading reason, by a large margin (43.28%), is that wargamers simply don't know other potential players in their vicinity.
• Mismatched Interests.  Even when opponents are nearby, opponents' interests might not agree with your own specific wargames or game type (15.86%). Differences in ruleset preferences (9.79%) also present a barrier to finding opponents.
• Geographic Distance.  When distance is a factor, (11.56%) opponents are too far away for regular play.
• Time Constraints.  Wargamers, themselves (10.32%), and opponents (3.30%) are often too busy to play more frequently.
• Dislike of Nearby Opponents.  A small percentage of players (1.30%) simply dislike potential nearby opponents.
• Finally, the "Other" category (4.60%) lumps all of the free text responses that could not easily be classified into one of the Pick List choices.

The survey results highlight a core issue.  That is, many wargamers are isolated either by not being aware of local players or finding that potential local players don't share their specific interests or schedules. While there are many wargamers who prefer solo play, an opponent shortage seems more driven by network and information disconnects than by a dislike of gaming with others.  This pattern suggests a fragmented local gaming community.  Enough players may exist nearby, but these gamers are either not visible to each other, or they play different periods, rules, or styles.  While distance and scheduling challenges matter too, these two traits seem to present smaller issues than discovery and compatibility.  Opponents are probably out there.  The challenge for many is that gamers either cannot find opponents or lack enough agreement in choices to actually to set up a game.  What can we do to improve this situation?

If we want to increase our available gaming pool, the biggest bang for the buck is improving visibility.  Make it easier for players to find other players.  Find out what others play and know when they meet.  A close second is improving compatibility by categorizing possible gamers by rules, period, and preferred game size.

My solution to this challenge was to embrace remote gaming by promoting and supporting the use of Zoom (or similar platforms), Vassal Engine, Tabletop Simulator, wargame-specific online platforms, and other virtual or remote tabletop environments.

The 2021 Great Wargaming Survey (see Remote Gaming in a Changed World) found that remote gaming significantly increased gaming frequency for many gamers and broadened their circle of gaming friends.  It did for me!  Survey responses suggested that gamers who gamed more frequently were more likely to try remote gaming.

By addressing the barriers identified above, the wargaming community can effectively increase opportunities for players to find and engage with opponents even from all over the world.

I am not finished with this survey question just yet.  There are a number of possibilities to explore to see where differences and commonalities exist between the two groups of respondents.  That study is for another time.

Do you have enough opponents within a reasonable travel distance?  If not, which of the reasons listed drive your response? 

Lannes Is Still Dead

Last Monday, I wrangled Reject Lee and Reject Ray into taking their shot at the Montebello battle.  While Richard and I played the scenario twice in prior weeks, I was anxious to see how two new players would handle the situation.  If you recall, in my games with Richard, he wound up winning both battles despite us switching sides for game two.  Ray chose to command the attacking French leaving Lee to command the Austrian Army.  How would Ray and Lee fare?  Let's see!

As a reminder, the initial battlefield situation shows O'Reilly at Rivalta and Vogelsang at Montebello.  Schellenberg is on the march to Montebello from the west.  Elements of Lannes' command enter from the east along the highway.

Initial dispositions

View from the west looking east.

O'Reilly at Rivalta

Vogelsang at Montebello

Schellenberg on the march

Lannes' command

On to battle!

Watrin's Division arrives and moves on Rivalta.

French attack all along the front.
Austrian hussars are driven away to the north while 
two battalions of 22nd Line destroy grenz on the heights.

Following up on their success against the grenz, the 22nd
attacks the supported guns on the highway.

Roughed up in a lengthy firefight,
 the French are victorious and the enemy scattered. 
Austrian infantry in the rye north of Rivalta give way as well
but Austrian jaegers still hold firmly onto Rivalta.

The jaegers try to extricate themselves from Rivalta
but are caught before making it back to friendly lines.
Vogelsang orders his division to form up on the
heights to the south of Casteggio and in the town, itself. 

O'Reilly's command is broken but his hussars retire 
to reform and fight again another day.

Rivalta has already been cleared and O'Reilly is wrecked
 before Lannes and his command arrive on the battlefield.

Schellenberg arrives!

Victor and Chamberlhac arrive!

Vogelsang orders his division on reserve (red discs)
and awaits the attack he knows is coming.

Watrin has suffered losses in wrecking O'Reilly.
Still his division seemingly has plenty of fight left in it.
Even though pressing on is urgent,
Lannes makes a fateful decision.
Watrin is ordered to fall back while reinforcements come up.

Chamberlhac wastes no time.
Leading two battalions of light infantry, he attacks Casteggio.

Although the immediate foe is dispatched,
Austrians on the heights come out of reserve and counterattack.
With casualties heavy to both, the timely counterattack works!
Chamberlhac and his legere are driven back.

Seeing the repulse of Chamberlhac, Lannes leads a charge
into the Austrian guns in the rye to the north of Casteggio.
While the guns are overrun, Lannes' charge is met with
several volleys as the hussars enter the rye field.
Two units of hussars are cut down.
Lannes falls from his horse, dead. 
One remaining body of French hussars is attacked
 in a wave of charges from O'Reilly's hussars.
Lannes' third unit of hussars disintegrates.

Overview looking from west.

With all three of the French hussars destroyed and Lannes, himself, dead on the field, Lannes' command breaks.  Even though the French army has not reached its breaking point, Ray throws in the towel and admits that Lee has been victorious on this day.

View from Vogelsang's heights.

Congratulations, Lee, on a very fine victory.  You utilized reserve status effectively in some brilliant counterstrokes.  Ray, you put in a commendable fight.  I wonder if you could have pressed on with Watrin just a little more?  We will never no.

Attack on Casteggio halted.

As always, a most enjoyable contest.  On the Butcher's Bill, losses were distributed much more evenly than in the previous two outings.

Butcher's Bill

Ray and Lee, thank you for a very entertaining session.  Game duration was about three hours.  Afterwards, Lee said the game made his head hurt.  I hope that was a good thing!  And, yes, Lannes goes down a third time and he is still dead.

Next up, I try a four-player game of this battle.  Stay tuned to see how that goes.