Battle of Kolín

Ihr Racker, wollt ihr ewig leben? "Rascals, do you want to live forever?" (Frederick II to soldiers falling back down the slope at Kolin; tradition) They were meant to go around. At one o'clock on the afternoon of 18 June, the Prussian army is marching east in a long column along the Kaiserstrasse, the imperial road from Prague to Kolín. On the heights to the south, Daun's Austrian army holds a line facing north. The king's plan is to march the full length of the road, swing round Krzeczhorz and the oak wood at the eastern end of the line, and strike it from the flank. But Croats are hidden in the cornfields along the road and in the village of Chotzemitz, and they are firing. On the right, Manstein is already in contact with them. [How the Prussians win] You may activate 11 units per turn; the Austrians 12. Take Krzeczhorz (25 points) and the oak wood (10) with Hülsen's advance guard (Hulsen Avantgarde), and roll up the heights from the east. The slopes in front double the defender's strength, and the central height Przerovsky Hill (25) costs more the more directly it is climbed. At the start you hold Novimiesto on the road (10) and Planian, the way you came (15). The victory line is -35: if the score margin seen from the Prussian side exceeds -35, you have done better than history. [How the Austrians win] Do not give up the heights. The eastern end is thin at the start. Bring Nádasdy's horse and Wied's reserve (Wied Reserve Div.) east and retake Krzeczhorz. The Saxon chevaulegers and the de Ligne dragoons behind the slope (five units) are standby units: from turn 8 (16:30) each turn there is a chance they rouse, starting at 30% and rising by 25% per turn. If they are attacked, or an enemy comes next to them, they rouse at once. [Commanders] Prussia: Frederick II; Prince Moritz of Anhalt-Dessau (Moritz), who led the main body; Hülsen (Hulsen) with the advance guard; Zieten (Zieten) with the left-wing horse; Tresckow (Tresckow), wounded and taken prisoner; the Duke of Bevern (Bevern); Manstein (Manstein) on the right; Pennavaire (Pennavaire) with the right-wing horse; Krosigk (Krosigk), the cavalry general killed charging into the centre; Seydlitz (Seydlitz), colonel of the Rochow cuirassiers; the Normann dragoons (Normann); and the Guard (Garde). Austria: Field Marshal Daun (Daun); Nádasdy (Nadasdy) with the right-wing horse and Hadik (Hadik) with the hussars; Wied (Wied) with the reserve; Serbelloni (Serbelloni) with the cavalry reserve; Benckendorff (Benckendorff) with the Saxon chevaulegers; the de Ligne dragoons (de Ligne); and the Croat border troops. [Decisions to try on this board] - (Prussia) Manstein is entangled with the Croats. Shake them off and keep marching east, or turn to face the slope where he stands? - (Prussia) Once Krzeczhorz falls, roll westward along the top of the heights, or strike the slopes in front at the same time? - (Austria) Wait for the Saxon horse to rouse, or come down the slope on your own initiative? [Outcome] Hülsen took Krzeczhorz and the oak wood. But the right wing turned south too early, and the king wheeled the main body too soon, so the Prussians were drawn piecemeal into the slopes in front before they could get round. In the evening the Saxon chevaulegers and the de Ligne dragoons rode down from the heights, and the Prussian centre and left gave way. The Prussians lost more than thirteen thousand men, over a third of the army, and fell back on Nimburg. The siege of Prague was lifted and the king left Bohemia. Maria Theresa marked the day by founding a new order for military merit. At Nimburg, it is said, the king sat on a water pipe and went on drawing lines in the sand with his cane (tradition). The column marched east along the road Croats fired from the cornfields The right wing faced south first The Saxon horse came down from the heights Soldiers who had not meant to live forever ended, that day, the legend that the king could not be beaten The morning march, and the king viewing the enemy from the Golden Sun inn, are folded into the opening set-up (the column stretched along the road, the advance guard arrived in front of Krzeczhorz). The Austrian line is grouped into a few units per line rather than by regiment. 1 hex = 350 m, 1 turn = 30 minutes, 1 CS ≈ 450 men. T1 = 18 June 13:00, T3 = 14:00 (Krzeczhorz), T7 = 16:00 (the slopes), T9 = 17:00 (Saxon horse), T12 = 18:30.