1812 Retreat from Moscow - Scenario 4 - The Eagle

 The final game of Pazoot's Battle Chronicle's 1812 Retreat from Moscow sees the French trying to find the battalion's Eagle standard before rejoining the column to avoid the wrath of the Battalion commander.

Once again the French were lucky. especially as I realised that for all four games I should have been rolling twice for Russian reinforcements each turn rather than just once! Since it has been pretty hairy getting through with the lower number of Russians I think it may have been a fortuitous mistake for my first campaign.

Opening situation. The French come in from the top right and need to exit over just one of the bridges with the Battalion's Eagle. The Eagle is hidden in one of the houses.
As previously the team found a telescope they get +1 on looking for the Eagle but as they also took a green hat from the body of the Cossack leader's wife there are six Cossacks on the table already - top left corner. 

All the possible Russian heroes that can get on the board.

End of turn 1. No houses searched yet. The Lancers race forward as do the Cossacks. One Jager enters from the top left.

End of turn 2. The French lancers engage one group of Cossacks and kill one, while the French infantry form a firing line to shoot the second group. One house has been searched but no Eagle. Two more Jagers enter from the top left.

End of turn 3. All the Cossacks have been killed in melee or shot (red dots). Marc has suffered a wound from return fire from the lone Jager. Another house has been searched but still no Eagle. Three Russian infantry appear on the right middle.

End of turn 4. The lone Jager is run down by Lancer Francois but he then suffers two wounds from the other two Jagers' muskets. The three Russian infantry advance and fire at Edouard who is closest to them but all miss - will his luck hold? (spoiler....no!). A third house is searched but still no Eagle!  The French have moved so that they will definitely find the Eagle next turn and then will have to race to the closest bridge. But the Russians are closing in with four more Russian infantry appearing in the top middle.

End of turn 5. Finally the Eagle is found and luckily it is in the house closest to a bridge. The French rush towards the bridge. Marc is caught in melee and suffers another wound. Edouard is also unlucky and this time the Russian infantry's fire is more accurate and he suffers two wounds. Five more Cossacks appear in the top left corner, a dangerous spot if the French can't reach safety.

End of turn 6. While Christophe considered staying and fighting to help Marc and Edouard the others have all rushed across the bridge and heavily outnumbered he followed them. Marc is cut down by the Cossacks and Edouard by the Russian infantry.

The remains of our band of stragglers.

To be wounded in battle is almost a sentence of death as your movement is lowered and safety becomes further away. Only the wounded Francois makes it, thanks to his trusty steed "Baguette".

Of the original six only Alain and Benoit remain. The fallen are added to the growing list of the Battalion dead, Christophe, Edouard, Gaspard, Luc, and Marc.

Wrap up.

Well it has certainly been worth the money and after a break I will play through the game again. This time using all the rules 😁. I have updated my Campaign Roster and also the Quick Reference Sheet to make it easier to remember everything.

And in a personal best a project has gone from purchase, figure painting, making the terrain to playing the game in only 3 months and 4 days! Beating my previous record by at least 5 years 🤣😮🤣

1812 Retreat from Moscow - Scenario 3 - The Killer Wind

 The third of the four scenarios in Pazoot's 1812 Retreat from Moscow Battle Chronicles game.

The French stragglers need to get through the village and collect loot to survive the night while avoiding the chasing Russians. But with a raging blizzard their sense of direction can be confused and the exit can shift randomly and the Russians can appear just a short distance from them. 

While not as lucky as last time their luck still held and they nearly all made it out of the village.

The situation at the start of the game. The French need to get from the top right to the exit at the bottom left. However, each turn the exit may move around the left or bottom sides.

Our pursuing Russian heroes. Lots of Cossacks.

Our French team. I have added their names to the bases. While the white painted numbers were very effective in not being apparent on the table I couldn't read them. 😂

End of turn 1.  The French have split into three groups consisting of: three unwounded infantry, three wounded plus the cook, and the two Lancers. This means each group can move at the same rate.
 Two Russians have turned up on the right.

End of turn 2. The lancers have attacked the two Russians killing one. The unwounded French have looted some bandages, a sword and a telescope. The wounded head towards the center of the board but two Russians have appeared on the right.

End of turn 3 - The Lancers finish of all the Russians on the right -  red dots. The unwounded French loot some warm clothing while the wounded loot some bandages....still no food. Two more Russians appear from the snow storm from the south.

End of turn 4 - Those two Russians are quickly shot by the wounded French. The unwounded French and Lancers head for the exit and any remaining loot in that direction. Some firewood and vodka is looted.    Three Russian Jagers appear on the left.

End of turn 5. The wounded group looks to find some more loot at the bottom left of the village. The unwounded French trade fire with the Jagers killing two of them but Marc receives a wound. The exit appears tantalizing close to the French unwounded group and Lancers. During the turn the French loot more Vodka and firewood.     Four Russian infantry appear out of the snow at the top, partially hidden by a building.

End of turn 6.  After killing the last Jager the two French infantry and the two Lancers escape the village. The remaining French troops head towards the exit and pick up any convenient loot but they are now in a very dangerous position with two groups of four Russians after them.

End of turn 7 - Russian fire is ineffective and they can't reach the French for melee. The French loot vodka, a sledge and bandages, a poor return for the risks taken. Four more Russians appear from the south. With the Exit now disappeared out of reach will the French survive to the next turn? They need one more man to get off the table, preferably Alain and the cook (otherwise the horses are toast)

End of turn 8. A sudden flurry of snow and the exit appears very close. "Lucky" Luc has cunningly thrown a bag of gold coins towards the closest Russians, distracting them, but unknowingly has dropped his lucky rabbits foot that took him through three battles and five years in the Grande Armee. The remaining two Russian groups close in and fire, wounding Luc twice meaning he will move too slowly to make the exit next turn.

End of turn 9. Luc is shot down in a hail of musket fire just short of the exit, covering the escape of the others. They will remember his sacrifice if they make it back to France.

As they huddle around their campsite the French pray for Luc and count the day's loot and wounds.

In the campaign phase they can heal all the wounds with the bandages and vodka they looted. the firewood and remains of the sledge get them through the night without frostbite, plus without Luc and with the efforts of the cook they have just enough food (including a food point carried over from last scenario). The horses eat their fodder hoping tomorrow they will be just as lucky.

The telescope will come in handy in the next scenario although the Green Hat they looted before may cause problems. No gold coins are left but with everyone unwounded their prospects are brighter.

Thoughts on the scenario.

It is very interestingly balanced. As more loot is collected the chances of getting anything other than Russian infantry falls and with a maximum of just twelve of them it makes it easier to escape.

While the victory conditions say you need to get food, I thought that as I have the horses and the cook I would be able to feed everyone anyway so I just let that slide. Escaping the Russians today is more important than eating tomorrow.

The moving exit marker made the game very exciting. At what point do you start escaping? I should have left the cook with the unwounded French as they move faster and as she doubles the amount of food losing her would have been disastrous... especially for the horses.

1812 Retreat from Moscow - Scenario 2 - Through Frozen Streets

 The second of the four scenarios in Pazoot's 1812 Retreat from Moscow Battle Chronicles game.

There is no doubt that the French were extremely lucky in the first play through of this scenario. Not only were the Russian reinforcements few but they also appeared away from the French soldiers. The loot that was investigated was a mixed bag but did supply the necessities as well as some useful equipment. On to the detail of the game.

The starting positions. The French need to get from the top right to the bottom left.

The Russian hordes/heroes available to stop them.

End of turn 1 - One loot point has been investigated and it is food! Only one Russian line infantry appears and the Lancer is ready for him.

End of turn 2 - The French continue their investigations / pillaging. No civilians have been asked to join despite their wailing. Two lots of horse fodder have been discovered, at least the horse will be well fed before it gets eaten.
The Russian that appeared has been run down by the Lancer (red dot) but one more has appeared on the left hand side of the board.

End of turn 3 - The French head towards the exit. Two more loot points are investigated and they find a Pretty Green Hat, some gold coins, and some food. Now all they need is firewood!
The Russian soldier charges in bravely to close combat to no effect and battle will continue next turn. From the top two more infantry appear.

End of turn 4 - Another bag of coins is discovered. The Russian soldier is killed in close combat when Marc charges in (red dot). Both the new recruits have shown their bravery. The two Russians move from the top but their musketry is lacking and they hit nothing. Four more Russians appear on the right hand side but they are well away from the rapidly evacuating French. 

End of turn 5. The first French soldier reaches safety and the others are close behind. Marc throws his gold coins to the closest Russians and this will delay them two turns as they dig them out of the snow.  More gold coins and firewood is found and Luc takes pity on one civilian and brings him along. But his kindness is not rewarded and four Russians appear just to his rear.

End of turn 6 - Five French soldiers have made it off the board and only Alain remains, slowed down by searching a house and finding some blankets to stop the cold, will it be worth it. The four Russians shoot at him and cause one wound. He will make it off just in time.

The post game examination of the loot. Two food, three horse fodder, bag of gold coins, firewood, a green hat, and some blankets. Oh, and one civilian.
But importantly only one more wound and no one lost.

Campaign Phase.

Food

Their luck continues and the civilian they rescued is Margurite the cook, who can make an additional three food points, giving them an automatic six food points before they see what the food they looted is worth. The food they looted becomes another 3 food points so now they have 9. What to do with the additional points? They decide to recruit another infantry man (Louis) and another Lancer (Francois on the condition that they can always eat his horse - both being hungry they agree, although his horse is not very happy about it!)

Frostbite.

The two wounded are let closest to the fire as is Marc who found the firewood. Benoit, Luc, Christophe, and new recruits Louis and Francois brave the cold. Luc and Francois both end the night with frostbite, one wound each.

Morale

Plus one for the two new recruits. (But Morale stays at 5 as I added two for the two new recruits at the end of scenario 1 instead of just one)

Will the next encounter be so easy? Let's hope so for our starving desperados, but the reality is that it can go from bad to worse.