Slow Mo Piquet Game 2: the story

This post is the brief narrative of this scenario. The dice roll level nitty gritty is here. 

An Empire corps is in hot pursuit of a roaming Prussian corps that was operating ahead of the mail Prussian line. In the early morning they are trying to rush past a small town, unaware that the Prussians spent the night there.

As the vanguard of the pursuing Empire troops emerges from the hills, the Ansbach Dragoons leading the column take a surprise volley from the Wunsch free bataillon that occupies the woods in front of the city walls.

Flank fire from the woods hits the Ansbach Dragoons leading the Empire vanguard

As the Dragoons mill about, trying to decide between attacking the infantry in the woods or continuing their advance, the first Prussian bataillons  in the town wake up from the infantry fire and start forming up. The first to march out are the Salmuth Fusiliers.

The Empire vanguard tries to push ahead and shatter the Prussians as they march out of town. However, the first Prussian Fusiliers form line in time to receive the cavalry charge with a clean volley and push the Dragoons back.

Ansbach Dragoons charge the first Prussian infantry showing up, just to be beaten back

Some Grenadier officers of the Willemey combined bataillon seem to have spent the evening gambling and drinking, they are definitely slow to wake up. Heads will be rolling when this skirmish is over...
Although the Prussian infantry take ages to form up, enough men march out of town to block any advance of the two batallions leading the Empire vanguard (Ansbach Dragoons and the combined Grenadier batallion).

More Prussians beginning to wake up and march to meet the enemy

The Prussian lines form slowly but in time to block the rest of the Empire vanguard. The Ansbach Dragoons charge repeatedly, being routed with some losses.

As the main body of the Empire vanguard starts to march on the table, a heavy firefight breaks out between the Wunsch Freibatallion and the Grenadiers.

With the Kurpfalz guard advancing on the right, and the Hohenzollern Cuirassiers on the left, a heavy firefight erupts in the central woods

With the Kurmainz infantry, the main body of the Empire vanguard starts to appear

The Empire Grenadiers continue to battle the Freikorps in the woods with little progress and a lot of time gained for the Prussians. 

In fact, the Hohenzollern Cuirassiers do push through an attack on the Prussian right wing, but with the Fusiliers in good order (the Empire's lack of artillery to soften them up shows big here) and supported by their Dragoons, the valiant cavalry charge hurts the Empire troops more than the Prussians.

A last view across the lines of battle before the Empirentroops decide to call it a day and disengage. On the left of the picture, the Prussian infantry managed to form lines just before being hit by a valiant, but unsupported charge of the Cuirassiers. On the right, the Empire Grenadiers are still stuck fighting the Wunsch Frei troops about to retire on their Jager company in the woods at the bottom of the table.

At this point the Empire calls it a day. With only three morale chips left, the Prussian line fully formed and the Empire main body still marching onto the table there is no way they will be able to brush the Prussians aside and progress quickly.

The army characterization built into Piquet made a big difference in this game, giving the Prussians more morale chips and an extra infantry move (which they desperately needed to wake up their sleeping troups), while the Empire barely got its minimum morale chips, and much less effective extra cards (reload and cav move), so they quickly got near their breaking point when the cavalry attacks failed to shake the evolving Prussian line.

The Prussian Fusiliers one-upped the Grenadier batallions by showing up early and beating back two cavalry charges. They will continue the retreat with heads held high until the next clash with the pursuing Empire troops.