Military Modelling May 1980
Playtest “The Key Point” Teaser
Last month's Scenario is
fought and described by
C.S. Grant.
Setting The Scene
Last month the ''Key Point" teaser presented a
scenario where a garrison force protecting a
border crossing find themselves in a
desperate struggle to hold out against an
enemy flying column sent to seize the sud-
denly vital junction. This teaser was fought at
Dover in a mid-eighteenth century setting. The
table was set out in accordance with last
month's instruction, the river in this case being
made of blue crepe paper. The fords were not
marked on the table but more of this anon.
It was decided to give our usual umpire a
break and Charles Grant therefore undertook
to command the Prussian garrison. His forces
were as follows:-
Map
Reference Name
A. Livgarden infantry
B. Fynske infantry
C. Warasdiner Grenze
battalion
D. Wolfenbuttel cuirassiers
E. 1 battery of artillery.(2
guns)
F. Gun covering bridge
His written orders presented to him by me (the
umpire) were:-
"Your orders are to hold the bridge crossing in
the area of "Drynck" which forms one of the
entry points into our country over the River
Licker.
Hostilities between our country and
our neighbour are expected in the near future.
The conflict will probably develop about two
day's north west of your position and will of
course be quickly resolved in our favour.
The bridges you guard must on no
account be destroyed without orders (in fact
you do not have the means to do so even if
you required)".
(These orders are almost three
months old and no further information has
been received. Being on a minor front no
action has been taken to improve the area
defences. It is now dawn of 29th December.
Your forces "stand to" as in the custom).
At this point no enemy had been seen.
The Prussian commander asked for the
following standing order to be noted - "On
firing a single cannon shot (guns already
loaded) the cavalry forward of the bridges will
retire to the north side of the town firing the
buildings on the south bank en route. The
cavalry will then assemble to the, north west
of the town".
While the Prussian commander was
being familiarised with his situation, the com-
mander in chief of the French flying column
was ensconced in another room. This was no
lesser person than Andrew Green. I had given
him a rough (and I do mean rough) sketch
map of the battlefield and the following written
orders:-
"You are to move with all haste to seize the
bridge crossing at the island of Drynck over
The situation at period 9 on map 1 shows
the French deploying from the south as
the Prussians withdraw and fire the
houses. The squadron of Wolfenbuttel
Cuirassiers attack the stationary
Chasseurs de Fischer.
the River Licker. This must be achieved during
the day of the 29th December so that at last
light our main army arriving can cross over
and deploy during the night. This will enable
us to meet the enemy on their side of the river
on the 30th with our full might."
(Your advance regiment of light
cavalry is three periods ahead of the advance
guard. It enters the battlefield as indicated on
the sketch map. The main part of the flying
column enters on a 6 inch front in the order of
your choice.) You have:-
Map
Reference Unit
1. Chasseurs de Fischer (light
cavalry advance guard)
2. Cuirassiers du Roi (heavy
cavalry)
3. Auvergne infantry
4. Navarre infantry
5. Rohan-Soubise infantry
6. Royal Ecossais infantry
7. Arquebussiers de Grassin
(light infantry)
8. 1 battery La Fere (2 guns)
9. 1 battery Champagne (2 guns)
"It is now dawn on the 29th December and
you approach the objective."
The French commander now threw
one die for the period of his arrival on the
table; the resulting three meant that the light
cavalry would enter on that period; the main
force arriving three periods later. The
Chasseurs de Fischer, 1, were ordered to
advance towards the island and then due
north to the river bank east of the town.
They were to observe and report from this
position. The main body, on arrival would
advance north, the skirmishers leading,
and supported by artillery fire from the high
ground to the south. These brief orders
were sufficient for initial deployment and
would suffice until the French commander
was better placed to plan the assault in
detail.
With the French commander and
his aides still out of the room (until period
three) the Prussians threw one die, a two.
Consequently, on the second period a hot
and dusty messenger galloped towards
the town from the north west. On the third
period he met the Prussian commander
with the following message:-
"After a reverse, our main force
two day's march to the north west of your
position has withdrawn behind the River
Licker destroying the bridge behind it. The
enemy is now likely to make all haste to
seize the crossing at your location."
"It is vital that you hold the bridge
crossing until dawn on the 30th December.
This will enable my main army to regroup
with the reserves and march to arrive at
your position and deliver a crushing blow
to the enemy in the act of crossing the
River Licker in force on the 30th."
"The enemy's advance force must
not be allowed to secure the bridge
crossing for its main body during daylight
on the 29th December. Provided the
enemy have not secured the bridge
crossing by the evening we will have
them."
This message arrived therefore, at
the same time period as the Chasseurs de
Fischer entered the table from the south.

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The Prussian guns fired the signal shot and
their heavy cavalry began to comply with the
standing order.
In brief then, the Prussians were faced
with holding and the French with taking the
bridge crossing in the 24 periods of daylight.
The Struggle Begins
With both commanders now in the
same room and the preliminaries over, the
struggle was now ready to commence. The
appearance of the Chasseurs de Fischer
coincided with the gun signal from the island
causing the two halves of the Wolfenbuttel
Cuirassiers (D1 and D2) to fall back over the
respective bridges firing the houses on the
south side of the river en route. There being
no wind (decided by a die throw) there was no
drift of smoke to obscure visibility and little to
encourage the fires. Several fires went out
doing little damage and had to be restarted. In
one case a house survived the battle though
the failure to reduce it did not affect the issue.
The Chasseurs de Fischer had
pressed bravely north unopposed for three
periods before the Arquebussiers de Grassin,
7, heralded the arrival of the main force in the
south. They were followed by the Cuirassier
du Roi and the first battery of guns. The latter
had barely arrived on the slope of the
southern hill when a well aimed Prussian
cannon shot carried away the complete team
from one gun, much to the consternation of its
crew. At this stage one of the Prussian aides
(Rob Waldron - the other was Ian Osborn)
asked about the possibility of barricades and
was rewarded with the information that there
were wagons and stores in the town,
represented by four model wagons which
could be used for defences. It should also be
noted that the Prussian commander had
asked about fords over the river, and because
of his period of residence in the town, it was
assumed that he would know these and they
were pointed out to him. His French
counterpart pursued a similar line of
questioning independently and was told that it
was likely that the river was fordable in
several places, but that only close
reconnaissance would reveal these positions.
In the seventh period the half squadron of
Wolfenbuttel Cuirassiers, having fired the
houses by the south east bridge, took
advantage of the momentary hesitation of the
Chasseurs de Fischer just to the east to
deliver a charge. The latter having no orders
to attack and being somewhat surprised,
received the charge standing. Just prior to this
they had detached a troop and these were
heading north to investigate the barge and
house in that direction. The first round of
melee fell to the Prussian Cuirassiers, their
weight and momentum understandably being
a considerable advantage. In the second
period of action the Chasseurs de Fischer
fared even worse and they retired from the
scene leaving their colonel, several officers
and almost a squadron dead on the field. The
detached troop, unaware of the disaster to
overtake their parent unit, moved to the house
and investigated the barge. This recce party
located the ford just north of this area, but by
now the Prussians were taking some interest
in their activities and the Warasdiner Grenze
approached the opposite bank intent on
guarding the passage. (The situation at this
stage is shown in map one, period 9).
During these activities the French
column screened by the Arquebussiers de
Grassin, advanced towards the bridges as
their artillery (despite the initial set back)
moved up the southern hill towards the
intended battery positions. Once in position
they were able to reply to the Prussian guns
which had been finding their mark among the
French infantry columns. The first shot -
guided by the hand of fate-brought the battle
to a premature end for a Prussian General.
Struck from his horse among his brigade in
the centre of the island, he retired to the side
lines to watch the remainder of the game from
some celestial height. The noise and conduct
of the French commanders at this event owed
nothing to the ancient codes of chivalry and
warfare established through the centuries.
If this was a bitter blow for the
defenders, the commander was somewhat
heartened by the events elsewhere. As the
remains of the Chasseurs de Fischer rested
after their melee, a cruel volley of musketry
fire from the island removed their future role in
the battle from doubt as they broke and ran.
This volley came from half the Grenze
battalion while the remainder were entering
the ford looking intent upon driving the
isolated troop of Chasseurs de Fischer away
from the barge and house.
The First Thrust
Across the Prussian front beyond the
south bank of the river things were hotting up.
The Arquebussiers de Grassin were
established along that bank occupying the
burned out and damaged houses. At this
stage I was passed a written order for the
Cuirassier du Roi instructing them to launch
half the regiment across the eastern bridges
and overthrow the Prussian gun. As umpire,
satisfied that the order was properly given, I
Left, map 2 shows the first thrust. The
Cuirassiers du Roi at the eastern bridges.
Gun 'E' has just been destroyed. Right,
map 3 gives the final assault. Note the
wasted Auvergne infantry (3) east of the
breaking Royal Ecossais (6).
awaited the action with interest. The charge
then ensued, the Cuirassiers narrowing to two
figures abreast as they rattled over the bridge.
Military Modelling May 1980
At the end of the first bridge they met a
picket of six figures from the Fynske
Regiment who bravely stood their ground.
Two were ridden down and the others
pushed aside. The cavalry pressed on to
the second bridge with their own members
increasing the pressure behind. They were
across/this bridge before the Prussian gun
could fire. At the far end of this bridge the
bulk of the Fynske were massed, some
behind wagons and barricades, pressing
forward to protect the gun. The melee
which ensued was in fact relatively small
as few of the cavalry could come to grips
in the narrow defile. One gunner and a few
infantry fell, not without bringing down the
odd cavalry man. In the same period (12)
the French batteries pounded shot across
the island and succeeded with a cheer in
destroying the other Prussian gun (E).
The next period saw the
continuation of the desperate battle around
the bridges. However, the cavalry could
make no impression and now found
themselves at a disadvantage in the close
fighting. A detachment of Fynske, having
righted a large wagon, were able to push it
across the northern mouth of the bridge,
literally squeezing out the cavalry. This left
those on the bridge useless while the tail-
enders battled with the Fynske picket and
the few remaining on the north bank were
hard pressed by the infantry (map 2,
period 13).
At this point, the remaining
Chasseurs de Fischer troop had
recognised their Regiment's plight and,
seeing the Grenze fording the river, they
abandoned house and boat and departed
south in some haste. The Grenze resumed
the north bank where they were joined by
the whole of the Wolfenbuttel cavalry.
Returning to the melee on the
bridge, the third period (the Dover rule is
normally for only two periods of melee,
however, in the defile three moves are
fought) was as inconclusive as the first
two. Though the Fynske had lost a few
men, the gun was safe and the
Cuirassiers, not without casualties
themselves, had to retire. Indeed, a couple
had to surrender having had their
withdrawal blocked by the wagon. For
good measure the Cuirassiers suffered a
few casualties from musketry as they
disappeared back to the other half of the
regiment on the south bank. (It was a wise
commander that did not employ his whole
cavalry regiment in this assault because
further numbers would have only added to
the problems without adding to the

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effect.) The first attempt had pressed the
Prussians but as it was unsupported by
infantry it could not succeed.
The Struggle Heightens
Despite the failure of the initial assault,
it was only the precursor of a much heavier
and determined attack. As the Cuirassiers fell
back in the 14th period this was the situation
-two regiments of French infantry, the Navarre
and Rohan-Soubise, were approaching the
west bridge while the Royal Ecossais and
Auvergne were heading for the east bridge.
The south bank of the river was lined with
Arquebussiers de Grassin sniping across the
river at the defenders. This whole force was
supported by the massed fire of the two
battalions on the south slope.
The French fire was particularly
effective and the recently assailed Prussian
gun was soon firing on alternative periods.
The Wolfenbuttel Cuirassiers had crossed the
river during the action around the east bridge
and were now in the region of the boathouse.
In response to this, the Auvergne, perhaps
unwisely, allowed themselves to be drawn
away to the right, from their rightful purpose,
in order to face the cavalry in line. This left
only the Royal Ecossais making straight for
the bridge.
In period 16 the barge, for reasons
best known to the Prussians, was cut loose
from its moorings and pushed out and down
the stream. This accomplished, the
Wolfenbuttel Cuirassiers began to return
across the river as the Auvergne infantry
belatedly moved towards them. The Royal
Ecossais now mounted the first bridge and
moved towards the little island losing heavily
at the head of their column from the musketry
fire of Fynske. This however could have been
much worse had not the Prussians gun finally
succumbed to the French artillery fire.
Towards the west bridge the Navarre
had deployed into line producing supporting
fire for the Rohan-Soubise as they
approached the bridge. The crisis point was
imminent. The day was three-quarters spent
and the French had no option but to press
forward their attack with all haste.
In the next period, the Rohan-Soubise
charged across the west bridge into the
wagons and barricades which protected the
Livgarden infantry. The fighting here was
fierce as the French tried desperately to
mount the debris to get at their enemies.
Mounds of dead French infantry choked the
bridge while others were forced to jump into
the river because of pressure behind and
insurmountable obstacles in front. The fire
support from the Navarre did little to help in
the front line of the melee though casualties
fell elsewhere.
On the east bridge things were going
less well for the attackers. The Royal
Ecossais, crossing from the little island over
Military Modelling May 1980
the second bridge took a dreadful volley
from the Fynske now being supported by
the Grenze. The result carried away the
Colonel, two officers and at least the first
few files of the columns - the Regiment
wavered. With the Auvergne deployed
pointlessly near the boat house, the gallant
Scots had no support. After a further
attempt to move forward with similar
results they broke and ran.
Returning to the west bridge, the
narrow defile with its barricades proved too
great an obstacle and the three periods of
melee achieved nothing for the French by
way of gaining a foot-hold. They fell back
much reduced in strength.
Conclusion
The French force was spent and in
the 19th period the signal to fall back was
given. They had neither the strength nor
the time to make another attempt before
dusk.
The French had tried hard to
master the Prussians but had allowed
themselves to be drawn into piecemeal
assaults. While the massed battalions
were of some effect they might have done
better to use one battery in this way and
the other in close support right up by the
bridges. For the Prussians the battle had
not been without its anxieties but they
rightly remained victorious on the field.
 Military Modelling May 1980
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