One Ridge, Two Bridges - Jan 2, 1746 - scenario notes

Following defeat at Pristina, the Libagioni army (in truth, much of which is made up of KaiserReich contingents) has retreated precipitously northward back toward Libagioni. The unseasonably mild winter weather has encouraged Le Marquis de Fromage to pursue closely on their heals. The demoralized and exhausted units of the army of Libagioni straggle over the bridges of the Lower Cabrera and back into Libagioni territory. Will the Marquis ignore the tradition of winter cantonments and force a crossing with his advance guard in hope of dealing further damage to a weakened enemy?

This campaign scenario borrows heavily (and indeed appropriates the name) of an article in the most recent edition of Miniature Wargames with Battlegames (January 2016) by Steve Jones. My inherently lazy nature means that I'm constantly on the lookout for new scenario ideas. This article provided the basis for what will hopefully be an entertaining game and from which I have unabashedly copied ideas and verbiage.

One Ridge, Two Bridges - Dec ??, 1745

The Army of Gourmandie must cross the river using one or both of the available bridges and then capture the ridge that lies beyond or render the Libagioni army unable to continue fighting. The Libagioni army must retain control of the high ground using the river crossings and woods to aid their efforts. The river can be crossed only at the bridges and these cannot be demolished within the parameters of this scenario.

Each army is divided into two forces. The attacking Gourmandie army is divided equally between an Advance Guard and a Reserve Force. The Advance Guard is available for the initial phase of the battle and the Reserve Force enters the fray only on a turn which begins with at least one Gourmandie unit on the Libagioni (i.e. north) side of the river. The Libagioni army has a rearguard containing a little under half of available units available to defend the river, with the larger main army occupying the ridge and available only after the Gourmandie Reserve Force is in play.

Il Prinicipe Martellato deploys the two portions of his Libagioni army first. The rearguard units must be deployed within one move of either side of the river. Because of the recent defeats and the headlong retreat northward, all units in the Libagioni army are Untested and must roll to randomize stamina when first required (1=1, 2-4=2, 5,6=3). Le Marquis de Fromage may then deploy the Gourmandie Advance Guard no closer than two moves from the river and makes a note of which road will be the point of entry for each unit of the Reserve Force. All may enter by one road or the force can be split between the two.

The aim of each army is to capture the ridge or render the the opponent unable to continue.

Both Il Prinicipe and le Marquis have key decisions to make. Martellato, as defender, must decide how firmly to defend the bridges and at what cost. Le Marquis, as attacker, needs to determine whether to tackle both bridges or concentrate his force on just one, then how to bring his reserve into action effectively.