1. The objectives at hexes 7, 34 (100), 36, 25 (100) will NEVER get taken by the Swedes. There are just too many Northern Coalition forces blocking the way. Add to it the Swedes would have to brave passing before that massive gun line in order to take the latter. I was able to take the objective at 20, 14 but only held it for about 2 turns. I was swamped by the enemy cavalry and forced to retire.
2. The map needs more room to the north. The Swedes are pressed up against the board edge giving them no real effective retreating ability.
3. Swedish infantry in line can decimate the enemy cavalry. That is partly why I prevailed in the game. The Allies have very few infantry units which is their Achilles heel. Avoid the Allied guns at all costs.
4. The Swedish cavalry is very strong but I got headstrong at one point I lost a stack of them early on but then pocketed a couple of stacks of the enemy to offset my losses.
Flow of action:
1. I pushed out with the Swedish right wing and cross the river to take the objective at 20, 14. At the same time I pulled back my exposed left wing to a location near Borczyn, hex 44, 5. From there I was able to form a good line and David never did crack it.
2. As mentioned before, my attempt to take the objective at 20, 14 initially succeeded but then with the arrival of the hordes of N-A forces I was forced back.
3. Use infantry and cavalry groups to defeat the Allies in this one. There is no Square formation for the infantry and many of us that have played Napoleonic battles have to get used to the fact that they can hold their ground rather well. Just form line and shoot the cavalry to pieces.
4. The Swedes have very little artillery. Find locations to place them where the main Allied gun line cannot hit them. They are no good in any kind of a artillery vs. artillery fight.
This is a pure defensive situation for the Swedes. They have ZIP ZERO chance of advancing to the south to take any of the objectives. I had to concede the objective at 50, 8 as the Swedish left wing is too exposed.
I think my biggest beef is the map. Why put a player up against an imaginary wall like this? Its not really fair to the Allied player either who easily could have turned the Swedish left flank and caused their army to fall back just with an "indirect movement" to the north. Get rid of all of that area to the south.
Some of the scenarios in the Campaign Shenandoah game suffer from this too. Far too much area that is never used. It ends up being exploited by lone cavalry raiders detracting from the battle itself. In this case, you have all of that Allied cavalry that have an imaginary boundary that they have to adhere to. Is there a big river to the norther? Swamp? We are not given any indication by the Scenario Briefing.
It would be better to add 10 hexes to the northern side of this map. Even if it it impassable it gives the player some "geographical definition" for the battle. The Nida River serves this purposes admirably in giving a visible reminder why the Swedish player cannot turn the Allied left flank. The map should be no more than 44 hexes north to south, once you add in 10 hexes to the north. This new map dimensions would still include the town of Kije in the southeast.
----------------------------------Conclusion-------------------------------------
David threw in the towel before the scenario was over. By pulling back the Swedish left I denied him his true force in the game: his large swarms of cavalry units. The action on the Swedish right flank, across the river to take the objective, could be considered either a diversion or a poor attempt on my part to take an objective. In the end I didn't need that objective to win. In that the Nida River is an impassable barrier, there is no way for the Swedes to turn the Allied left flank.
I know that if we played this scenario again we both would play differently. There is no need for the Swedish player to cross the river on their right flank and my plan to pull back the Swedish left is the correct move. It can be classified as a "Defensive Situation with Counter-Attack Possibilities" at best. As stated before, if the Allies somehow allow the Swedes to take those objectives to their rear they should be sent to remedial battle planning courses!
