Battle of Torgau

The Seven Years War System Volume II

by

Adhoc-Edition

  The Battle of Torgau was tactically pretty much of a draw. The Austrians did lose the heights, that were their main line of defense, after dark by an attack by Ziethen. However, both armies had been mauled by the vicious fighting and were in no shape to continue or for the Prussians to follow up this hollow victory. So, tactically you could call it a small Prussian victory. Strategically, the Austrians were becoming weaker because of the money spent on the war. After Torgau Austria was never again able to field as large an army as fought here. Prussia itself was getting worn out and soon Frederick was forced to just try and block the different armies attacking Prussia. With the death of Catherine the Great, Russia left the war in 1762. Really, all of the combatants were quickly running out of resources, except England, to continue the war. Peace was signed in 1763, and Frederick was left in control of Silesia. His land grab during the War of the Austrian Succession and Austria wanting to revenge its loss and take it back was the real cause of both wars.

 

 This is what Adhoc-Edition has to say about the game:

"Torgau 1760, the second game in the "SYWBS" series, will simulate the battle fought on the 3rd of November 1760 in northwestern Saxony during the Seven Years War. King of Prussia Frederick II the Great commanded the Prussian Army: 48,500 men (62 bns, 102 sqns) and 246 guns. F.M. Graf Leopold Daun commanded the Austian Army: 55,500 men (67 bns, 116 sqns) and 275 guns.

The games from the "SYW Battle System" (SYWBS) are highly playable grand-tactical portrayals of battles of the Seven Years War. The series’intent is to show how command operates on the battlefields, using the weapons and tactics of the period. The system emphasizes command & control and high playability.

The games all share the following characteristics: Scale = 200-220 m/hex (219-240 yrd/hex) Time = 30 min/Turn (60 min/Hourly phase) Counter = 1 Brigade, 1 Battalion, 1 to 3 Squadrons, 1 Battery. 1 Strength point = 100 men approximately.

Game components: 1 x A1 (58x81cm - 23x32") - 5.5 x A4 Countersheets (720 x 15mm 5/8" square counters & marquers and 52 x rectangular counters) - 4 x Orders/organization Sheets - 2 x Rules books (Simple & Standard V4.0) + 2 x Playbooks - 5 x Player Aid cards - 1 x Printed carton box."

This is a picture of the map from the designer. 

 The map is very well done, almost beautiful. To me, it really invokes the time period that it represents. However, because of the paper it is made from you do get some deep creases in it. I would suggest using a plexiglass piece over it. I did have one "for just such an occasion (Foghorn Leghorn)", but it seems I lost it in the move. 

 The game comes with a plethora of player aids and two rulebooks. The rulebooks are titled 'Simple Rules' and "Rules'. They are both made up of glossy paper and are printed in two columns. Both have many examples of play and have a sequence of play on the back of each rulebook. All of the documents are in full vibrant color and evocative of the time period. The Simple Rules are 27 pages long while the Rules are 39 pages long. The game takes an interesting change of pace with its playbooks. There is a separate Austrian and Prussian playbook. The first eight pages of both have identical and excellent historical recap of the battle. The six-scenario information and setups are next. The first is a 'Free Setup' one at the beginning of the battle. Scenarios two through five have the setup instructions on a full page on the left with the right side being a map. The formations that are already placed on the map at the start of the scenario are shown on the maps. Scenario six is the entire battle with the historical setups instead of the free setup in scenario one. The Austrian playbook does have a map with the troops position. The Prussians are approaching the battlefield. The Austian playbook is one page longer than the Prussian one because of the map for scenario six. The end of both playbooks has the order of battle for their respective armies. These OOB's are an integral part of the game system. More on this below.

 Now we go the player aids. They are also glossy and are made of card stock. It is easier to list them:

Austrian Terrain Effects Table/Austrian Units Data

Prussian Terrain Effects Table/Prussian Units Data

Rules Reminders (two-sided)

Charge Opponents Ratio Table/Charge Results Table

Austrian Relative Firepower Tables/ Fire Combat Results Table

Prussian Relative Firepower Tables/Fire Combat Results Table

Order of Battle for the Austrians under G.F.Z. Lacy

Order of Battle for the Prussians under G.d.K. von Ziethen (the battle was fought in two separate actions)

Order of Battle for the Prussians under Frederick II

Order of Battle for the Austrians under F.M. Graf Daun (the last two are two foldable pages)

 We advance forward now to the counters. The counters are beautiful and really immerse the player into the 18th century. Most of the Brigade counters are two or three hex rectangles. As battle or movement affect the units, normal square counters are used. The counters can show line, column, and other formations. One thing you will not find on them are number values. This paragraph will explain how to use the OOB's in the different playbooks.

"All units on the OOB's have important values, under their name. Each value is for each status of the unit: 'B' if the unit is still within its Brigade and in the same formation (Brigade counter used. unit's square counter still not used). 'F' if the unit is Well Formed within or not within its Brigade (unit's square counter is used). 'S' if the unit is shaken and, finally, 'P' if the unit is Panicked."

 This means that you will need to cross reference your units with the OOB's in the playbooks to find out their combat values. You will probably also need to swap out the larger rectangular counters for the square ones during play. I will do a close up on the OOB's to illustrate this.

 The only other thing to mention is the game is sent in a flat pack that also contains the game box to be assembled by you. The box is surprisingly strong once put together. I have had other normal sized and weight games placed on it and it had no issues.

 How do the components of Torgau measure up? In my book they get an A- for their beauty and ease of reading etc. The only thing I am not a fan of is the deep map creases. 

This is a picture of the multi-hex brigade counters from the designer

 Now we get to the crux of the matter, gameplay. I have seen a good number of beautiful games ruined by bad game mechanics. The next question to be asked is do the rules give a historical representation of 18th century warfare?

 The first thing I want to say about gameplay is this. The game does come with both Simple and regular Rules. However, like most good wargames, they adhere to the GIGO principle (garbage in, garbage out), meaning that you will have to put some effort into learning the game. If you are a seasoned wargamer of even the Napoleonic era, this game and its rules will come as no surprise. If, however, you are only used to pushing cardboard panzers it will take some time to get used to. The biggest difference between the Simple and regular Rules is the inclusion of orders into the mix. This also includes the time it takes to send an ADC off on his horse to the troops in question. Some wargamers are not a fan of orders in game rules. However, I like their addition in games that simulate warfare before radios were commonplace. It is true that the designer has given us the Simple rules to do away with more tracking and forget about the time lag. 

 When you are first presented with the game, the number of counters seems large for a smaller battle such as this. This is in comparison to other battles that have about 100K troops all totaled. The reason the counter number is so large is because of the way the game handles some mechanics. Each unit will have multiple counters depending upon its status at that moment. So, counter clutter is cut down, and you also do not have stacks of informational counters teetering on top of the unit counters.

 I believe that it most definitely helps a player to be immersed in the subject matter of the games they are playing. In fact, most of my gaming is totally dependent on what military history I am reading at the moment and not the other way round.

This is actually double-sided

 The crash of brigades and squadrons in the game seem to me to really give plausible 18th century results. The Battle of Torgau was a close and highly contested one. This was not an easy win for Frederick, as with Rossbach. In actuality the battle came down to the wire. The Prussians became the winners almost in a double overtime situation. This was not the Austrian army of the War of the Pragmatic Sanction, and the rules and the designer's ideas show that. 

 Victory is decided by points. Each side in the different scenarios have their own special conditions. Units that are panicked or removed from the board are either added to your total (enemy units) or added to your opponent's score if they were your units. Some of the scenarios also have points given for control of certain hexes. So, pretty standard fare in wargames.

 To me, the game does make a good representation of the pageantry and linear form of warfare used in the Seven Years War. The different rule sets allow the players to decide how immersed into it they can get. Even with the Simple rules you will feel like you are commanding Prussian or Austrian brigades across a battlefield from over 200 years ago. The rules are not the cookie cutter kind. They are not designed to, nor do they feel like, replicate other eras of warfare with just prettier counters. This game sucks you in and makes you not so much care about the cardboard counter, but you do get a rush when a brigade that is faltering is able to make one more push to crack the enemies line.

OOBs for both Ziethen and Lacy scenario

 Thank you Adhoc-Edition for allowing me to review this game. I am much more versed in the earlier battles in the Seven Years War like Kolin. So, this was also a chance to increase my knowledge of the era. I am also a big fan of Field marshal Daun so that also adds into the equation. Adhoc-Edition has added a few battles to their Seven Years War System in the interim. Please check out the entire line below.

Robert Peterson

Adhoc-Edition

Battle of Torgau

 By Force of Arms

The Austrian Army in the Seven Years War

by

Christopher Duffy

 From as far back as I can remember, I have always been extremely interested in the history of Austria and Austria-Hungary. As far as history books go, Helion & Company publish some of the best military history books on the market. So, wanting to review this book was a complete no-brainer for me.

 This is the second volume in the series by Mr. Duffy (who unfortunately passed away in 2022). The first volume, 'Instrument of War', covered the political and national goals of Austria in the Seven Years War. This volume covers the actual battles and warfare of that war. So, for the first time really, we get to see the war from the Austrian viewpoint instead of the Prussian. Most books that have been written about the European theater of war, this being the first real world war, follow the career of Frederick the Great through it. The lack of a well written and all-encompassing book on the Austrian involvement was decried as early as 1881 per the author.

 One of the best things about this book is you get to see the entire history of the war. A lot of books talk in depth about the first years of the war from 1756-1760, but only pay lip service to the war from 1760-1763. The book shows you both the victories and defeats of the Austrian Army throughout the war (yes, Frederick the Great did lose a good number of battles). However, not only that, but it also shows the reasons behind the successes and failures of the Army.

 The author switches easily from discussing the war on a strategic level to the tactics during its battles. One thing the book has which is absolutely essential in military histories is a great abundance of maps. The maps are also incredibly clear and well-drawn. You can follow the course of all the battles and the war easily with them. The book also includes black and white photos of some of the areas of the battlefields as they look today. It also comes with portraits of some of the main players in the history of the war.

 This is a fine work that has been needed for quite a while. For those of us who are interested in the Austrian side of things in the war, it is a veritable gold mine. This book should be on the shelf of any person who is interested in military history and specifically the Seven Years War. Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this very fine book. 

Robert

Book: By Force of Arms: The Austrian Army in the Seven Years War Volume 2

Author: Christopher Duffy

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

The Seven Years War

by

Oliver Keppelmueller

 Once again we find ourselves trudging through the snowy landscape with Prussian grenadiers. Old Fritz is in front, in his old clothes, with a few days of meals spattered on them.

 This game is absolutely amazing in that is a one man labor of love. The fact that one person coded this whole game is almost unbelievable, and he should be given kudos just for this. The game tries to do one better on a 'Total War' game by being historically accurate. Most games this ambitious have a multitude of programmers working on them, whilst little old Keppelmueller toils on alone. Let us see if the game is a stupendous victory or a stunning defeat.

 Just like the aforementioned series, this is a strategic and a tactical game. I was going to say wargame, but it is much more than that. It has wargame elements for sure, but it also has country building. It is almost as if the 'Europa Universalis' series and a 'Total War' game had an offspring. The games is much more to the simulation side than just a game of the Seven Years war. 

 The game was released in late 2015and has been continually updated since then. There have also been two DLCs released for it: a 'Battle Pack' which we will look at momentarily, and 'The Pomeranian War'. The author had some help and the Pomeranian war was actually done by llja Varha. In reality, the Pomeranian War did not include much actual fighting. It was Sweden's attempt to win back some of its Baltic possessions on the cheap, while Frederick was fighting for Prussia's existence. The PW DLC adds the chance to play the campaign as Sweden and possibly try and win back your Baltic empire. The PW also adds the following:

- new playable nation: Sweden
- 5 new campaign scenarios for Sweden, where you may attempt to lead the nation from 1750 all the way through the war, or go for historical goals in the two major operations of the war. Or maybe even restore the empire of the era of great power, ”stormaktstiden”, lost in the Great Northern War...
- two new national policies: Naval invasion preparations and mercantilism
- new nation specific historic events and march music for Sweden
- revised and expanded roster of Swedish military units
- bonus scenario for the French, with historical strategic goal of invading Britain in 1759

 The following pics are form the start of the battle of Kolin from the Austrian side.

 The battles are in 2 or 3D. You can zoom in and out with the mouse scroll. The troops in 3D do not equal an AAA release, but again this was one man's game. The actual battlefields and especially the topography is very good. The AI in the battles is good as far as going after the victory points. The only failing I have seen is that the AI uses it's troops non-historically. More than a few times the AI has charged uphill with cavalry at my Austrians who are steady in line and fresh. It appears that the AI uses its infantry and cavalry interchangeably. Charging into the fray with whichever is at hand. With the battle pack DLC you also received the ability to create your own battles. This in itself gives a big boost to the game and it's replay ability. Hopefully some modders will use this feature to create more battles and maybe some from different wars. I may still get to play a computer game as DeSaxe. The battle pack gives you these historical battles:

 The victor in battle is not just decided by casualties inflicted or taken, but also relies on victory points on the map. You either have to keep control of or capture them. You can see that North America is not only represented in the choice of battles, but also plays a large part in the campaign games, especially if you are playing England or France.

 Just as in other games like this, I tend to play the historical battles, and they are a game in themselves. I am not really a big fan of sandbox wars or battles, to me it usually leads to too many non-historical things happening. Of course to the sandbox aficionado, this is meat and potatoes. So the game has parts that will suit you, whatever your appetite.

 The full campaign game is more like a thesis for a doctorate in economics. The campaign game is so intricate that the game really does need a tutorial that holds your hand while getting the hang of it. There is documentation, and YouTube has a bunch of videos on it, but the average gamer might be put off trying to learn how to use the different nation building functions. It is a bit of a shame, because Mr. K has put a lot of work into it, and it is well worth the extra time to learn the campaign game's ins and outs. For those of us who are not into nation building we can just hand this off to our AI ministers, and continue with our wars. The campaign games are different for each nation and are as follows:

 In the 1750 campaign you are free to try and use any political or military strategy you can dream up before war breaks out. Prussia's need for Silesia and Austria's burning desire to have it returned will cause war to break out at sometime. Then when you add in the colonial policies of England and France you will see the world sitting on a tinderbox in the 1750s.

 The game as a whole is a diamond in the rough. It is uncanny that it is the work of one man, but it still could use some polish on the UI, for example. Mr. Keppelmuller has been continually working on his opus for a while now. I see no reason not to purchase the game with its DLC and be awed by its continued development. Of course, he is working on a sequel of the War of the Austrian Succession (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).


Robert


Game: Seven Years War
Developer: Oliver Keppelmueller