Battle of Ocana 1809 - Shako Large Battles AAR

 

Having bought Shako about a decade ago as I got back into wargaming I finally got round to getting it on the table - at least the large battle version. I've often described SLS as being "Shako-like" based on the read of the rules - now I'm not so sure!

Nearly ENDEX

The game still played out pretty much the same was as in reality and in SLS, French cavalry pummelled the Spanish cavalry and then came to the aid of the infantry. All over (i.e. 50% breakpoint) in 6 turns, 2 more than SLS but probably played more quickly (~2hrs cf 3hrs). The fights were also not quite so decisive, and seemed a lot more bitty, the Spanish infantry and cavalry having a few more wins against the French, and not crumbling so quickly, but not enough to change the ultimate result.

Spanish Cavalry in the Attack for once!

Overall though whilst I found the Shako rules pretty straightforward and playable, I did feel that there were some crucial things missing for the type of game I want to play. My main issues were:

• Kills count against the breakpoint not the combat strength. In combat the more damaged unit just gets -1, regardless of how many kills it has. So in theory you can have a BP7 STR5 unit with 6 kills fight at only -1 against a fresh unit. I know lots of rules for for 1 or 2 damage states only, but I do like mine to be more gradual.
• Dice tend to outweigh ratings. Most battles were something like STR4 plays STR2. But each side then adds D6, so lots of times the STR2 unit beat the STR4 unit. This is what accounted for bittiness I think - you could never be sure which way fights would go - even vaguely. In large Battles there are only about 3 DMs, so they make little difference again.
• There is no morale test or cascading morale tests, so units fight to breakpoint, and neighbours aren't bothered if they rout
• There is no real friction, if you want to charge you charge, and defender always stands
• If you win a melee you suffer no casualties

Skirmish rules worked OK though (quick 4+ per outscore), ditto artillery and rallying (although no ability to actually rally kills).

French Infantry advance to victory!

I'll certainly give the normal scale rules a go some time as they look to have a bit more finesse, but I think the basics are the same. I also understand that Shako2 doesn't have any big changes, so probably not worth buying to try instead. Certainly more to my liking than Black Powder though.

Victorious French Cavalry

Who knows I may even get GdB on the table some time!