Waterloo Part Deux

Waterloo Part II: Huns,hits and errors

  It's spring when a young mans thought's turn to...baseball. Baseball,a game whose appeal is a mystery to many but beloved by statisticians (more on stats in a minute). If WATERLOO'S  appeal is still a mystery,maybe this look at a recent game will seduce you.
      In my previous article I mentioned 3 "fronts" that much of the game is conducted on,Nivelles,Quatre Bras and Tilly. In looking to develop a strategy to defeat the PAA,I realized there was up to seven such areas of contention or mini-fronts.The goal is to spread the PAA forces thin,keep him guessing as to where a major strike will come, and perhaps goad him into an ill considered attack.     

     Is that a cavalry unit or Lynn Swan?!

 It's the 11am PAA turn. We can see the 3 main fronts develop already.The forces on the river (by Tilly) are nicely placed-are they going to go up Quatre Bras lane or into Tilly? (Actually most of these forces by Tilly are a feint -once the PAA commits over 15 factors in Tilly it is not worth it to commit to much there.) But he has committed there and these forces are diverted from the hugely important and centrally located Quatre Bras. Adding to the PAA's annoyance are 2 cav units running like a wide receiver down the far east of the board. Little moves like this divert the PAA players attention and a few forces. Keeping as many "boards" in play is the idea,and this creates one of the 7 mini-fronts mentioned earlier.

 "Never tell me the odds" Hans Solo

    Now it is the 7pm turn of the first day and we see action in one of the 7 mini-fronts,the west of Nivelles lane -

By taking a chance on a low odds attack,an opportunity  arises to penetrate the PAA line and get a surround attack on a high value target. The Ist art/cav stack attacks the 4-4, and since he is attacking from the river can advance and create a surround on the 6-4 unit (thus a D2 retreat result becomes a DE). When you see this openings they are worth considering but you will usually want to attack at higher odds. As it turns out my attacks were successful (afterword my opponent told me that the chance of all this working was 1-50-I have no idea but have no reason to doubt him). I felt that the units I chanced in the attack were worth it-your mileage may vary....

  
11am june 17th PAA turn
     This wide shot shows the results of applying pressure on multiple fronts:The French have captured Nivelles and Quatre Bras and have opened up the board. This shot also allows me to point out the 7 mini-fronts-West to east, they are-
Nivelles lane
Nivelles
The Woods (west of Quatre Bras-it's best not to go into the woods but to  "hang around" forcing the PAA player to commit forces to keep an eye on things.)
Quatre Brass
Quatre Brass lane 
The Tilly corridor
Tilly outer lane
  By expanding the front early on the french player can keep his opponent guessing and sometime late in the first day can commit to where he wishes to break the PAA player. he can continue feigns,but must not dawdle too long lest he lose the initiative.