Advance!

Ziegler's Headquarters: Day One, 4.40pm

Just after 4.30pm Kugel commences his furious fire. The rapidity required of the Nabstrian cannon-fire requires a switch to normal munitions. In parallel, there is vigorous drumming, shouts, and the clattering of equipment. Colonel Toplitz-Hande begins forming up his Bachscuttel battalion.

At 4.35pm, a messenger arrives from Pfannensteil reporting the movement of enemy cavalry from Schrote. He will shadow them and determine where they are going.

Toplitz-Hande sits on his horse, surveying his troops as they form up.

‘Isn’t this going to be a tad dangerous, my good Colonel?’ he asks of Ziegler.

‘What?’ replies Ziegler, applying soot to his face. ‘Forming into attack column and then conducting an extended advance in the open against enemy muskets and artillery? Well, I suppose it carries certain dangers. But I wouldn’t worry about it. It’ll be dark soon – you’ll probably get lost long before you take really heavy casualties’.

‘Well’, says Toplitz-Hande, ‘that’s a relief, then’.

‘Come on my fellows, let’s be having you!’ shouts Toplitz-Hande. In deference to the presence of artillery, the colonel forms his five companies into an open column.

At 4.40pm, as the dusk deepens, Toplitz-Hande salutes and then gives the order to advance.

At 4.40pm, in response to Pfannenstiel's intelligence, a picquet of dragoons is despatched to cover the Tinkel road and another to cover the Widenlau road. Given the gathering darkness, who knows where they will end up: the roads, possibly; or perhaps Sweden.


Hunchmausen's Headquarters: Day One, 4.40pm

Judging that the enemy have pre-empted his own attempts at a night attack, Baron Hunchmausen orders his grenadiers out of the remaining houses and into a position behind the hills. This turns out to be a wise move: between the existing fires and the renewed bombardment, the remaining dwellings are in the process of being turned into some serious fixer-uppers.

It will be dark at 5pm. In the deepening gloom, the troops in Schrote can just make out what appears to be a single battalion of enemy troops formed into column. They are probably Bachscuttelers because, helpfully, they are dressed in white. They have formed up just to the right of the western road, presumably so that they can use the road as a guide for their advance.

The column begins its march towards Schrote. The baron orders his guns to wait until the enemy column comes within medium range before they open fire. In the meantime the Ostmarck grenadier company and the other line company, both currently in reserve, are ordered to  move to support the Liebgrenadiers and guns.

The enemy column continues to advance, following the road. The defending guns get two turns of fire in before the column disappears into the inky blackness. The cannons roar, and the artillery scores some definite hits, the balls heartwarmingly skipping through the enemy ranks. The fire, however, does not appear to halt the enemy advance.