Friday, September 15, 2017

Crossing Point - 12:00 Gordon Calls a Council of War; Opinions Appreciated



The surprisingly valiant South Mordors retire from the field having done everything orcishly possible to oppose the crossing. I suspect this was down to Col. Symmerson having run off to show his captured Eagle to his superiors and "Muvver" giving Sgt. Hogswill unusually precient advice this day.

This post follows Crossing Point, Brute Force - 11:15 and precedes Crossing Point: Endgame

What would you advise?

General Gordon (the NPC GOC) is convening a council of war.

Situation:
The South Mordors have retired and nothing more can be expected of them.
The enemy is across the bridge in some strength. Three (-) infantry battalions and two cavalry regiments. Another, and worse yet, Cuirassier regiment is already on the bridge.
As you will see from the situation map, Gordon's left flank is pretty open and basically hanging on air.

Mission:
Mission: crossing point currently occupied by the Cuirassiers.

Available forces:
The Killmore Highlanders
1/Gobilinado Line
2/Gobilinado Line
The Eyes'n"Gourds Foot (somewhat isolated to the left)
The Joccian Greys Heavy Dragoons

Still en route, but as yet unaccounted for:
The Glasgeegian Regiment of Foot
B/RA Foot Battery

These troops may be arriving from the West, the South, or the East. We really have no idea from whence they may appear.

Enemy forces:

In addition to the three infantry (-) and three cavalry units already noted as being south of the river, a further 1 infantry battalion, 1 grenadier battalion, and 2 foot artillery batteries remain north of the river.

I have come up with thee plans, and am soliciting opinions and options for other courses of actions.

Plan 1: Call it a day. Cover the army's withdrawal with the cavalry, and try to salvage as much as possible.

Analysis: Unpalatable but what I would do. However as I am actually playing the Red side, my judgement may be biased here.

Plan 2: Concede the crossing point for now, counter attack later. In this instance the Eye'sn"Gourds would move eastward in square. The cavalry will move westwards and try to cover the open flank. 2/Gobilinado will form a reserve.

Analysis: Outnumbered 3 to 1 in cavalry I am not sure the efforts of the Joccian Greys, however gallant, will suffice to settle my open flank. This option also allows the enemy to continue crossing in force. The end game might well see Blue's infantry having to attack northwards while under threat of a cavalry attack from west, south, and east.

Plan 3: Move on the bridge right now, before the enemy can reinforce his bridgehead further. The Killmores will advance, pausing only to volley occasionally in order to keep Red at a safe distance, and then form line south of the bridge, facing north. 1 and 2 Goblinado will form first at a right angle to the Killmores, running North-South until the Eyes'n'Gourds come up at which point the four battalions will form and open square. The Joccian Greys are tasked with shepherding the movements of the Eye'n'Gourds towards the main force at which point it will disrupt Red cavalry actions as able.

Analysis: With Red having two batteries of guns north of the river, Gordon's command would be subject to cannonade and unable to reply. This is the most risky option and might well lead to the loss of Blue's entire force. it poses a special risk to the elements not yet arrived as their entry points will be far from the main force and in enemy cavalry country.

"Well there you have it Gentle Rats, Orcs, and Goblins. Your thoughts are most welcome".

I plan to post this in a few places, including my blog, and keep the discussion open until Monday morning-ish, to give everyone who might be interested a chance to speak up.

Thank you all in advance for your help.

EDIT 9/24/17: I have added photos of the battlefield at the time this request was issued. Purely eye candy as the map at the top and the text above spells out the situation nicely.







































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