Day Three, week four

The second battles came to a conclusion today.  The Russians were clear winners over the French and Austrians.  The French started out very boldly and paid for it  when fired upon by four Russian batteries.  The Russian light cavalry were able to defeat their French counterparts on the left flank.  After several attempts, the Russian cuirassiers were finally able to switch to assault orders and proved to be the telling blow, destroying most of a French brigade and breaking the line to assure the victory.

On the other table a much more chaotic conflict took place.  The losses were high on both sides.  Cheers rose from the Austrians when a double six forced Fredrick the Great to check his own welfare.  To the horror of the Prussians, he was killed and things looked very grim for them.  But towards the very end of the battle, Marshal Daun was also subject to a test due to a double tweleve.  An eleven was rolled, indicating that a bullet had hit his pocket watch, demanding a second roll.  A one spot came up, meaning the watch was of inferior quality and the marshal was dead.  Both commanders had been killed!  Has that ever happened before.  In the end, the game was determined to be a draw.

So, going into the last battle tomorrow and Friday, the Russians are in first place with three points, the Austrians and Prussians both have two points, and the French have but one.  The last battles will see the Prussians take on the Russians and the French going up against the Austrians.