Seven Years War - Koenig Kreig

It was a while back, in 2013 that Mr Steve graced the club with his 15mm Seven Years War collection using Koenig Krieg (KK).

http://devonwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/seven-years-war-koenig-krieg.html

Since that game he has been adding to his collection of French/Saxon/Swiss and British/Hanoverians with Russians and Ottomans.

At this months meeting we got to play with the larger former collection and threw together a meeting engagement using KK.

As you can see we had quite a few toys on the table, numbering eleven brigades on each side, with the Anglo/Hanoverians lined up either side of the small village to the right of picture.

The view along the French lines with dragoons, heavy cavalry and elite 'Maison du Roi' troopers anchoring their right flank

The game was very much a throw down 'play from where you start affair' as the terrain was quickly laid out with undulating ground, a central road and small hamlet in amongst light woods.

Each side took it in turns to set up a brigade and the French planned to refuse their left, with the stronger units set up on the right and opposite the village.

The Allied cavalry deployed against the French right flank

Both sides went very traditional in placing their cavalry on the flanks and in true wargaming fashion nobody kept a brigade or two in reserve.

The cavalry clash first as the French right closes on the Allied line

The first forces to clash were the cavalry opposite each other on the French right flank, and after some early initial success the Allies gradually got the upper hand in the struggle that lasted the whole game and left victor and vanquished well and truly beaten up.

The Swiss brigade advances on the Hanoverians supporting the troops garrisoning the village

As the cavalry got stuck in the French refusal of their left meant that the first infantry fighting flared up close to the village and in the centre leaving the British and allied troops to do all the marching out on their right flank.

The Saxon brigade advances towards the Allied line

As the cavalry tussle starts in the background the two lines close around the village

The fighting around the village involved the elites from both sides as Swiss line, French and British grenadiers got up close and personal, plus the bayonet work became even busier as the French stormed into the village and started a remorseless push into the centre.

Allied cavalry forced back in the initial exchanges

Both sides make gains in the first cavalry combats opening gaps in each others line

As the fighting around the village grew in intensity, the first Allied units started to retreat which was only just held in check, with the rallied units returned back into the fray to resist the French onslaught.

The French and Swiss prepare to assault the village

The Allied force had the quality but the French made up for that in numbers and as the saying goes, numbers have a quality of their own.

The cavalry oblivious to the infantry battle away to gain superiority

The Franco-Swiss forces fighting around the village were forced to keep an eye on both flanks as the cavalry battle swung back and forth on the right and the British marched closer to the left eager to get to grips and force the issue elsewhere along the line.

The infantry close in and the volley fire commences closely followed by the steel

The British brigade advances on the the refused French centre left

British fire-power in line can be formidable but not on this occasion and time and again the French were able to force the issue in close combat.

British cavalry supported the Allied attack on the refused French left flank

And still the cavalry on the right flank went at it with the fighting lasting all day

The French force their way into town amid bitter street fighting

Suddenly a crack appeared in the centre of the Allied line as several battalions broke and fled leaving a yawning gap between the remaining Allied units.

The opposing lines go toe to toe supported where possible by light guns

The Swiss infantry push their way forward in support of the French troops fighting in the village

If the break in the line wasn't bad enough, the village was close to falling to the French and the Swiss on the other side of it had repulsed the attack of the British grenadiers.

Suddenly the Allied line around the village looked vulnerable

The British threw in their Grenadier brigade in an attempt to stem the advance of the Swiss

Meanwhile the British and their allies take the fight to the French left flank

Apart from some sharp fighting by the British cavalry versus their French counterparts out on the Allied right their was little combat affected before the collapse of the centre and as our game closed with the Allied line in some disorder there would have been little else for these British troops to achieve except to act as a rear guard to the other forces now in full retreat.

The vulnerabilities exposed in the Allied line suddenly turned into a gap as a brigade broke and fled in the centre

The Allied troops attacking on the French refused flank were now separated from their comrades around the village 

French and Swiss infantry maintain their grip on the Allied left flank as the British grenadiers are forced back

However the French did not have it all their own way as the Allied cavalry finally broke the opposition, but leaving themselves badly battered

The Allied line is broken in the centre and the village looks likely to fall into French control

The Allied line continues to lose battalions 

As you can see we had a lot of toys on the table and the rules performed reasonably well with the numbers involved, although there are some frustrations with their layout that does nothing to make a quick finding of various rules easy, this despite two of us overseeing the rule looking up process whilst the others pressed on with other parts of the game.

The British on the French left press on regardless

That said I think we all enjoyed the game they created and we whistled along with them quite well considering we hadn't played them for a while and Mr Steve's eye candy collection made the experience better.

The Allied right flank is starting to look a bit messed up

The French left flank resists the Allied assault

French troops start to clear the village

The Allied centre is defeated as French troops occupy the vacated ground

I think at a later stage we will give the collection a go with Carnage & Glory and see what we can do with them.

With their centre and left flank defeated the British and their remaining allies can only look to make a fighting withdrawal

Thanks to Greg, Steve M, Nick, Ian and Mr Steve for providing the fun.