Krasnic 1914

 We recently assembled for one of our monthly Friday games, this time put on by Tim. It featured another outing to WW1 with OP14, a game system which works much better f2f than remotely.

The battlefield from the southwest. This time we are in Galicia, the small town of Krasnic is over in the northeast corner. Two large Austrian and Russian armies are blundering around, so far having utterly failed to find each other. Part of the confusion is due to the Austrians having de-trained 100 miles short of their railhead. The Russians won't expect that...

The Austrian Airforce buzzes around aimlessly. The small figures below are Austrian cavalry, so we are doing this one in 6mm. I was cast as the Austrian Army Commander as well as commanding a Corps, Russell and Tom took the other two Austrian Corps. Between us we had the rather imposing force of nine (!) infantry divisions and two cavalry divisions.

The Russian airforce also buzzing around. The game started on the 23rd August 1914, when both sides respective cavalry divisions had finally found each other.

My Corps, six brigades of four stands each representing about one and a half battalions per stand, plus field and heavy artillery brigades. We decided on a rough plan by email before the game. As my Corps came on last, Russell and Tom would pin the Russians frontally, and I'd try and get around the right flank while the Russians were busy. Our overall objective was to capture the towns and push the Russians back. If only we knew where they were.

Both sides had two cavalry divisions on the table, they were assumed to have been in action and were all exhausted, so couldn't advance any more. I just hunkered mine down on the baseline and hoped they could recover overnight.

Various Russian formations appeared in march column south of Krasnic, flanked by their cavalry. This looks to be about a Corps worth. Lloyd, Pete and John played the Russians, with John as Army Commander.

Russells Corps was first on. This was one of our weaker ones with only two divisions, the third was lagging some way in the rear and in the event, never arrived. That village is one of the objectives though, and his marching infantry columns made good progress towards it.

Each Corps is activated in playing card order, and as this is 1914, all sorts of amusing stuff happens on draws of various suits. A spade, for example, forces a Corps to make an assault, however for armies with poor staff, it also prevents them moving or changing formation. Both the Russians and Austrians have 'poor staff;.

Rather more Russians in view now. As each hex is 2km across, they are far too far away to engage. Lloyds Corps is at the top and Pete is in the centre.

Russell is fortunate and activates on a red card, this allows his troops the option to deploy into battle formation from march column prior to enemy contact. The Austrian infantry shake out into skirmish lines and slowly march eastwards. You really don't want to be in artillery range in march column.

Lloyd continues to push on, but Pete draws a spade and his Corps dithers on the plain.

Toms Corps now comes on into the handy gap between Russell and my Cavalry. This Corps is strong, with six brigades. Plenty to fill the front and keep some reserves.

Battle is joined! Toms Corps plunges straight ahead and adjacent to Petes troops. Everyone is still in march column, but the adjacent brigades have spotted each other an can deploy next turn when they have enough movement points. Further north Lloyd deploys his Russians while Russells Corps takes up defensive positions along and just behind the ridge line. They have occupied the village too, and as far as possible, deployed their MGs in a defensive formation. 

As night falls, my Corps comes on in the southwest, and at dawn springs forward towards Johns Corps which has been hideously unfortunate in drawing spades and dithering in march column, while my guys manage to get deployed and steal a march on them. 

Overnight, some losses were recovered and units shuffled around in their formation areas. Most important, all our cavalry divisions reorganised and sorted themselves out, so we now had viable cavalry forces again. This is a bit of a two edged sword as the Army breakpoint is when half the Army's formations are exhausted, and as cavalry divisions are so weak, they are far easier to exhaust than the Infantry Corps which are several times stronger. 

Russell and Tom were now fully engaged with the Russians to their front.

There was heavy fighting along the line of the ridge. it was a good job we had some terrain advantage as our poor quality infantry weren't a match for the Russians in a straight fight, the Russians had more guns too. We had lots more men though.

The north end of our line was a bit more tenuous., held by a dismounted cavalry division and an isolated brigade, facing two entire divisions of angry Russians who already had a toehold on the ridge. 

Meanwhile in the south my Corps was now fully deployed in combat formation, while John was stuck in march columns. Near the woods my troops are already in contact, but having driven back the Russian columns, my two lead brigades have headed off into the middle of the Russian Army and lost their rear communications! Very WW1.

At least my attack has taken a bit of pressure off the Austrian centre.

The units in line in the centre of the screen are my errant Division, now only 2 hexes (4km) from the Russian baseline! They are wedged between the lead elements of Johns Corps and the rear left of Petes Corps. The latter has its first exhaustion card, and the former has taken a real battering from my attack.

The rest of the Russians here are pushed back towards the river, but one brigade does manage to counterattack one of my isolated brigades, with no effect.

In the centre the Russians are suddenly deploying lots of machineguns. The front is about to go static here.

The Austrian high water mark. Only two hexes from the Russian base line. On to Moscow! 

The Russians finally get their act together on the right and my overextended Corps gets a hammering. We are both past our levels to start testing for exhaustion now. There isn't a single formation in play which isn't testing for exhaustion every turn now. 

Sadly the Austrians are the ones to break first. Tom's Corps becomes exhausted, then both Russells infantry Corps and Cavalry Division break too and the Austrians have had enough. Overnight the Russians largely recover, while we don't and the Austrians break contact and withdraw.

That was sooo close, but Russian quality (yes, I know!) triumphed over the Austrian numbers. The Austrian gunners were OK but their infantry are just awful and suffered crippling casualties. In the real battle it was the Russians who fell back, but it was balanced on a knife edge. I thought the Austrian attack on the right was about to finish them off at one point, but it was not to be.

It was great to play a really big game of OP14 for a change, that would have been impossible remotely, and a good outing for Tims freshly painted Austrians.