Live Broadcast Tabletop game - support of Lets Roll and KeyCon 2020

Another journey into the history of Austerlitz.

This time with some adjusted forces, to see what Bonaparte might have accomplished the storming of Pratzen with.

during deployment Dan-O captured this image

We had plans to record this session fully, yet something happened in the software (or operation of it) and the recording was lost.

I still managed to grab a few still shots and this wonderful one from one of the many players from the US east coast in support of Lets Roll 2020.  Including a key one of the Snappy Nappy operations team.

forces fully deployed at game start

view from the French lines towards the Austrians lining the ridge

Again I was using the dark cloth table covering, with the stones as before to delineate the hill top and bottom slopes.

We made use of the tech at hand and had the French team go into a break out 'room' (digital) to make their plan so that the Allied commanders were 'in the dark'.

Then both sides did their orders maps as required by SHAKO II rules:

Allied map was dead simple - save for the Guard which was explained to my tech leader, Alex

The French map was more detailed and covered the situation really quite well

The missing Russian guard portion called for the Guard to arrive on turn 2 (same as the Russian foot division, to the north) and pass south of Pratzen and move past the point of the plateau into the hollow to the west of Pratzen.  With a turn 2 arrival and a slow march, this would put the division 'point' of the arrow on or about turn 5.

turn 3 overview

The French Guard columns were storming the plateau with Italian guard to the south side of the formation

Russians and Austrians were now becoming intermingled as they struggled to hold the ridge against D'Erlon's division in the north of Pratzen

D'Erlon's view

massive artillery formations were present from both sides, with the French having the Imperial Guard foot and Horse Batteries

the gap between d'Erlon's division and the Guard

Guard on advance with Pratzen town in the distance

French Guard Commander Bessier (represented on the white horse - my own sculpt of Eugene de Beauharnais)

not to be outdone the Russian Imperial Guard under Grand Duke Constantine was now assembling behind their own horse batteries supported by Austrian Horse batteries!

the supreme moment came in turn 5, 13h00 as the French Guard executed an excellent combined arms assault just south of Pratzen hitting the Russian Pavlov Grenadier Guards with both the French Grenadier Guard a Pied and the Grenadier Guard a Cheval at the same time, indeed a turn earlier the Guard Foot Artillery had injured this unit as it moved forward.

game ended after 5 very active turns

The French had a toe hold, and if you look to the top right of the flash photo with troops in it you can see the Allied Imperial Headquarters behind Pratzen (now on fire) and the French Grenadier foot and horse are BOTH in easy range of this vital target.  On turn 6 without doubt the Allied Grand Headquarters would have been over-run, leaving the Allied armies leaderless and at -1 to all rolls for continued survival.

It is hard to say if the French could have claimed to have achieved the same results as Bonaparte, who was reported to have been sighting artillery on the south slopes of the plateau at 14h00.

All in all a great game, had a wonderful time chatting with Dan-O and Thomas after the battle and have some new ideas on how to make our next tabletop broadcast even better.

We are certain to have at least two more opportunities over the next few months as the separation instructions and needs will keep us away from face-to-face for a while longer yet.  Watch here and on facebook for future game events.