The annual Crisis Point weekend, organised by the incomparable design genius Richard Crawley is taking place this weekend 12-13 April. The theme this year is Andreivia Through The Ages. Mr C himself organised a 20mm game set in the 1990s using Arc of Fire rules.
Plan A was for m'colleage Neil and I to run a 6mm game set in the 1762 War of Andreivian Succession, using the Maurice set of rules. It became apparent however that preparations would not be complete in time. We thus moved on to Plan B, a 6mm 1990s game using Cold War Commander, staged by Neil, Richard Phillips and me. Several players subsequently had to withdraw from the weekend, to the extent that we would struggle to put on the 3 games planned. So we switched to Plan C, cancelling the CWC game and Neil and I joining the 3rd game offered, a 20mm outing using Force on Force, rules that we both bought over 10 years ago but never managed to play, hosted by Mark K. At 10.30pm the Friday night before the weekend, we were informed that Mark had a family crisis and so could not attend. We thus - at literally the 11th hour- hastily cooked up Plan D, a return to 1762 Andreivia, Maurice and a less ambitious set up.
The Country and initial deployment, set up as per the rules in Maurice. Neil and Ron took the side of the English Honourable Black Sea Company, while Ned and I commanded the royal army of Andreivia, reinforced by a brigade of French "advisers", who had been helping train up the native forces.
The fee for the weekend included lunch and refreshments provided by the Crawley family. Most players have contributed to the rations as well, so that we have more cakes than players! I at least have eaten well today.
I don't propose to give a full running commentary on the game, mostly as I did not take that many photos but also because this evening's refreshments have somewhat clouded my memory. Ned and Ron picked up the rules quick enough and we rattled through the opening war of manoeuvre.
On John Company's left, Ron's forces swiftly advanced to contact.
On the Andreivian left, my force kept a tight formation. Not wanting to take on the English regular cavalry with my irregulars, I advanced my regular infantry on the left flank while my irregular infantry and cavalry moved through the woods in my centre.
First blood was claimed by my Andreivian irregulars, who took advantage of their numbers and cover to defeat an English line battalion with musket fire. The time for manoeuvring was over as firefights erupted across the front line.
Ned meanwhile took advantage of the hill to his centre to shake out into a firing line, protected by the river to their front. The river acted as a very effective defence, preventing Ron's infantry from safely assaulting Ned's frontline.
Not wanting to charge the Andreivian pike armed infantry in a frontal attack, Neil's cavalry never really got into the game. They did charge and destroy my artillery, but were then led a merry dance by my irregular cavalry, who continuously evaded his charges. Eventually, musket fire from my irregular infantry (with a considerable helping hand from Ned's irregulars who had captured the town in the centre of the table) did for the English cavalry. I was able to then roll up Neil's regular infantry and defeat them piecemeal.
Ron had some success with his cavalry, steamrolling over Ned's irregular Andreivian horsemen. An amusing incident also occurred when Ned's irregular cavalry charged Ron's guns, only to be thrown back by the Company artillerymen and broken in the process. That river proved to be too much of an obstacle though and, when the dust settled, Ron's British and Company infantry had been smashed, leaving the Andreivian army masters of the battlefield.
Considering that the game was thrown together at the last minute, it performed admirably and filled the day. Ron and Ned grasped the concepts of the Maurice rules quickly and both displayed inventive use of the card system, playing events and disrupt cards to good effect. I've never seen CinC's moved around the table so much in one game. I think that we managed a good combination of manoeuvre warfare without the battlefield becoming too spread out.
Many thanks to Ron and Ned for joining our battle and getting stuck in to the game with an admirable gentlemanly competitive spirit. A big thank you to Neil for doing most of the heavy lifting with getting our game on. Not sure what will happen tomorrow. We may resume the War of Andreivian Succession with another Maurice battle. Mark K has said that he may come for Sunday so we might be trying Force on Force. Or we could try one of several boardgames that have been offered. Let's see what the day brings.
