CHOCOLATE BOX WARS INTRO GAME: DANES V PRUSSIANS

 

Danish Army Command Stand Ready to Be Deployed

Greetings, dear readers.  Recently, I ran a game to introduce Charlie, a member of our gaming club, to Chocolate Box Wars. This won't be much of a battle report, I'm afraid, but it will deliver a general flavor of the action (plus some nice pictures of toy soldiers) and the details of the introductory scenario that I've run with some success. It is designed to illustrate a basic army construct, familiarize players with a common range of unit types and special abilities, and to give experience with the common range of terrain types. I think it may be a useful resource for anyone out there who may be looking to get a first game together. You can download the scenario at the below link:

CBW INTRODUCTORY SCENARIO

Read on for a bit more on the scenario and the game. As usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX in this report. 

It fits on a modest table (mine is 6 feet long by 5 feet wide).  The setup zones are 12" deep (0n a 4x6 table, the setup depths would be 8", as per the rules).  All of the terrain is "Cover" (the ponds are impassable).  The individual trees and fields are for effect and have no influence on play. The rough area does not block line of sight.  

The pre-deployment view from the Danish side. 

The pre-deployment view from the Prussian side.

For ease of setup, I put all the troops on the table in a "staging zone" in front of their deployment zones. This way, players can easily see their force and pull units into their deployment areas. Although there are unit labels on the stands and the players have OOB handouts, I also put a "table tent" behind each unit with identifying information (these get pulled after deployment).  I have found that this last bit really helps to move things along, not only for new players but also for practiced players, particularly if they are not familiar with the army in play. This particular game pitted my mid-century Prussians against my Danes in a Schleswig-Holstein war scrum (my preference is the 1st). But the nationalities are irrelevant (the units would be the same for any match). 

One reason I picked the Danes for this game was that I wanted to get my new Danish Hussars on the table (above left).  Given that the Danish Horse Guards don't get much play, I also decided to put them on the table, too (above right). 

The latter are also conversions: the figures are Northstar Austrian 1866 Dragoons with a green stuff roll added to their helmet crests and then painted to show their distinctive big boots and signature mustard yellow coats. I rated them as regular cavalry in this game

(Left) Veteran CBW player, AJ (of AJ's Wargaming Blog), took up the Danes and Charlie (Right) ran the Prussians. Although Charlie may have been new to CBW, he is very well versed in Iron Cross, from which CBW is derived (albeit several steps removed via its companion WWI version, 1914). Thus, he was familiar with the underlying structure--and played well beyond the "learner level" as a result. 

A closer shot of the Prussian deployment as seen from the left flank, with the two Jager Companies and Squadron of Madgeburg Hussars at the end of the line. The Jager Companies would move into the orchard and the small town to anchor the Prussian left, with the Hussar Squadron in support.  The initial deployment for both sides was fairly conventional, with the main (center) being the line infantry supported by guns with the cavalry and other troop types on the edges. 

Charlie deferred and so AJ and his Danes began the game (left). Charlie then countered, and both sides developed the situation, each conducting a balanced approach towards a meeting in the middle of the area. 

A close up of the Prussian center, with the small town being held by a Jager Company with the battalion of Volunteer rifles (brown jackets) to their left holding the gap between the town and the orchard. 

 

A memorable series of events unfolded when the Danish Horse Guards took advantage of an opportunity to make an audacious charge against a Prussian infantry unit. At this point, General Dice took over (for both sides!): the Prussians were able to react, but did so with minimal effect, leaving the next act up to the Horse Guards, who then balked (they needed a 3 or better on a 12 sided dice to complete the action...they rolled a 2!). It looked like a classic "Death Ride" so characteristic of the era might be in the offing. The even more remarkable thing that then happened was that the Prussians again whiffed in their ensuing reaction. Deciding that fate had spoken, the Danish Horse Guards then turned about and trotted (rather majestically) back to their own lines, making a subsequent rally roll to recover their (slight) losses. 

Another shot of the mid-game action from behind the Danish Center/Left: the Danish Guard (in bearskins) and Volunteer Rifles (Green Hats) come forward to shore up two battered Danish infantry battalions in the center (seen to the right: reduced to a single stand each). Black squares are hit markers. Each stand can take four hits (artillery and light cavalry stands take three).  You can see that the opposing Prussian battalions had taken a beating here as well. The engagement between the infantry lines in the center would be the main action, with the advantage going to the Danes. The coins behind the unit stands are my CBW activation markers. 

Over on the other side of the table, the Prussian right, the Prussian Dragoons would also take an opportunity to ride down a pesky Danish Jager Company, but General Dice would intervene on this side as well and keep them from following through. Unlike the Danish Horse Guards, the Prussian Dragoons would take substantial lumps for their audacity (although there was a window of opportunity, unlike the Danish Horse Guard ride, the outcome of events here turned out to be more consistent with such mounted actions in the post-Napoleonic age of the rifle--and characteristic of the turns of fortune that tipped against Charlie and his Prussians in this game).

The scene afterwards with the reduced Prussian Dragoons withdrawn and the Danish Jagers holding the town with a supporting Danish infantry battalion pressing forward. Eventually, the Danes would take the upper hand and the Prussians would reach exhaustion: win to AJ but very well played by Charlie, particularly for his first time out. 

Gracie, pup #2, ignored the fortunes of war and favored the Prussian side of the table for this game. 

A Few Observations:

Although this was another learning game using the playtest/intro scenario, it did produce a few more insights into the system that are worth sharing.  The outcome was not due to one player necessarily "outplaying" the other. AJ did have more experience in CBW, and that did come out, but it wasn't as if Charlie got run off the table. Neither side had some kind of high risk:reward overbalance in one part of the table. In short, it was an even affair, both in deployment and unit handling. The thing that, in the long run, tipped things in favor of the Prussians was sustainment: although both sides suffered losses, AJ was more successful in rallying off hits at key points to keep units from dropping stands. With the differential in Action Points accumulating with stand losses, the balance started tipping more and more against the Danes. It's not as if Charlie was not aware of the importance of rallying off hits, but he was sometimes wrong footed and unable to do so at the moment when needed, plus he had some odd die results that worked against him. Regarding the latter, having watched these events unfold, I have to say that I am still confident that CBW is not a volatile "dicey" system (where units can sit for half the game failing to activate).  In some of the key rally cases, Charlie really did have spectacularly unlikely rolls (the classic "anything but a 1" roll, but on a 12 sided dice!).  Continuing in the importance of unit sustainment thread, the "Retire and Reform" action came into its own in this game more so than in others. Both Charlie and AJ used it to good effect several times to get units out of bad spots to live to fight another day (well, another turn...).  So, in summary, both played a good game, but the difference was in the overall attrition, which built up against the Danes in the end. 

Excelsior!