Battle of Poniec 1704

[smjohnso77]

Thanks Paul for another Great Northern War battle. It seems impossible for the Swedes to win though. They grind up the Saxon cavalry, but they can't get behind the Saxon infantry because they keep pivoting and firing until they rout the Swedish cavalry army. Fun and starts out well for the Swedes, but not sure how to get at the Saxon infantry with positive results. Also, I was expecting reinforcements for the Swedes, but they never showed up. So I guess I misunderstood on that. Great games Paul. Thank you.

[Paul59]

Thanks Paul for another Great Northern War battle. It seems impossible for the Swedes to win though. They grind up the Saxon cavalry, but they can't get behind the Saxon infantry because they keep pivoting and firing until they rout the Swedish cavalry army. Fun and starts out well for the Swedes, but not sure how to get at the Saxon infantry with positive results. Also, I was expecting reinforcements for the Swedes, but they never showed up. So I guess I misunderstood on that. Great games Paul. Thank you.

That is strange, the Swedish reinforcements should show up on turn 15.

I play tested this many times, and I think I only failed to win once, but it was always a tough fight. You have to use your 2 central regiments to pin the Saxon infantry into facing forward, don't be afraid to charge them frontally even though the odds don't look great. You usually don't lose the impact too badly and only rarely get disrupted, and your cavalry will withdraw before the melee phase. At the same time attack furiously with your 2 flank regiments, try to move them out to the flanks as much as you can, and when you charge into the Saxon cavalry at an angle you will usually be able to hit some Saxon infantry in the flank when the cavalry pursue. Once you get in behind the Saxons and start disrupting their formation they are done for. Don't be afraid to take some casualties, handle your cavalry boldly.

Initially in testing, I had the reinforcements showing up on Turn 10, but that made it really easy for the Swedes. With them arriving on turn 15 it may save the original 4 cavalry regiments from exceeding the 40% routed limit, and allow them to carry on the fight. If you move the reinforcements up quickly, they may be able to join in the fight decisively for the Swedes, if needed.

cheers

[smjohnso77]

Thanks Paul. Good advice. I'll give it another try.

[smjohnso77]

Well, Paul my reinforcements showed up on game turn 7. I barely had enough time to get them into the fight to win, but I did manage to win. Thanks!

[Dino_SWE]

Thank you for a very enjoyable scenario Paul!
I managed to win before any reinforcements arrived. Which was cool as they felt more like background fluff anyway.