2nd Game of Sharp Practice II

As with any set of wargaming rules, there is a learning curve.  After my first game I realized I had done a couple of things wrong, so I had another go at it.  This time I made deployment points and used them.  The French had some extra points to supplement their force with, so they chose a scout which gave them a second deployment point to use.

British deployment point

French deployment point

The other thing I did was use the point system to make sure that each force was equal.  There were a total of 104 points on each side.  I added an artillery piece to the British side to give me some experience with how to handle guns.

Artillery tearing up a French formation.

In the picture above, I had hoped to charge the unsupported gun with the French formation on the hill, but the number of shock points they had accumulated meant that they needed to roll an 8 or higher to close.  I didn't have any command chips handy, so I chose not to risk it.  I fired a volley instead and took out a gunner and inflicted three shock points.

Another thing I am learning is that skirmishers and light infantry are quite vulnerable.  Initially, I was pleased that they could pop away and be a nuisance, but then the formation they were shooting at got to return fire and literally blew them apart.  I gave them the cover bonus for being skirmishers, but even so, they don't hold up well.  A light company was forced to retire.  I rolled a die and the British morale was lowered one point.  A French skirmish group had the same trouble against three groups of British infantry.

A group of the 95th
Rifles suffers 3 losses and several shock points as a result of a volley from a French formation of two groups.

The French dragoons cantered down the road into range of a group of 95th Rifles.  The Rifles got to take a shot and killed on trooper and inflicted some shock.  This was enough to cause the French horsemen to retire and await an opportunity to make an impact. On their left, a large formation of German infantry advanced to attack the village and its Spanish garrison.

Germans making their way toward to the village

On the British left, the artillery forced back a formation of two French groups while three groups of the 28th Foot pushed into a wood and drove back a group of skirmishers.

French infantry retires behind a hill to escape another blast of canister from the British gun.

The 28th Foot clears the wood of a pesky group of French skirmishers.

As play ended for the day the Anglo/Spanish force still had a firm hold of the town, but its light infantry contingent had been whittled down considerably.  Additionally, two formations of French and German infantry were drawing closer to contact.

I did a better job this game of remembering to roll to see if leaders were hit when casualties were inflicted on groups they were attached to.  I also had a better feel for how to use the command chips, though it will take some time to become proficient with them.

Here's a link to a Youtube video I put together:
Youtube link