August 1914 - The battle of Stalluponen (again)

Over the weekend of Triples I was joined by Wayne Thomas and on Friday evening we played the Stalluponen scenario which I had previously run through as a solo game.  As befitted our relative abilities Wayne commanded the efficient Germans and I the bungling Russians.  The photos below are all taken from the Russian side of the table. 

Initial dispositions were similar to the previous game and the forces nearly identical.  I say nearly because the Russians (by virtue of drawing a red card) benefitted from a howitzer unit to bolster their artillery strength.  The first photo shows the situation at the end of turn 1.  Stalluponen (and the Germans) is near the top of the frame.

Turn 2 ended with all of the Russian infantry halted and deployed, awaiting the German onslaught.  The Germans meanwhile, are already beginning a flanking manoeuvre.

At the end of turn 3 the Russians have tried digging in, though with very limited success (clearly the ground is hard in August...)  The Germans are now all deployed and look rather menacing!

The Russians have largely abandoned digging and pushed forward to meet the German attack.  One Russian brigade is pushed back but it's chums take revenge on the lead German brigade (which has by now lost 75% of it's strength).

A series of flanking attacks have by now left both sides worn out and the Russian right wing has pulled back to consolidate.  Although the Germans were the first to test for exhaustion, it is the Russians who become exhausted first and begin their flight to the border.  All in all a close run and very enjoyable game.