Empire to Revolution - Hunting Expedition

 Arthur found the scenario 'A Hunting Expedition' in the Empire to Revolution supplement for Through the Mud and the Blood.  It's actually an excellent intro scenario for M&B.  Each side gets only a single level II leader and a squad of soldiers, so players can quickly learn the basics for movement, spotting, firing and special tasks, as well as the use of blinds.

In this scenario, an ambitious young Austro-Hungarian officer has taken a squad of soldiers (represented by German soldiers as I don't have any A-H in my collection) to seek a prisoner to interrogate, while on the Russian side, a group of Cossacks are on the search for some tasty provisions, which they hope to find in the barn.  In the photo below you can see the table setup by Arthur - I think he did an excellent job, it looks great.  Russians enter on a blind at the top (as seen above) and Germans from the left.

Germans entered on a blind, but were immediately spotted by the Russians.  

Russians were spotted in the second turn!

Russians immediately started to run for the barn.  Thanks to a few turns in which the 'time for a snifter' card came up before the Germans could activate, the Russians had a bit of a head start on the run.  M&B isn't a game to play if you want your troops to activate reliably, but I like the unpredictability - even when it doesn't go my way!

Russians reach the barn while the Germans are still mucking about in the orchard.

Germans reach the edge of the orchard as the Russians emerge from the barn, and immediately start a fire fight.

Russians keep pulling back toward the table edge, but their progress is impeded by the accumulation of shock.

The Germans manage to wound the Cossack officer, who is left behind as the remaining Cossacks flee the field.  

This is a nice, quick scenario.  Our playthrough really demonstrated the effect of the 'snifter' card, as there were many turns where one side or both failed to activate.  This is either a great example of M&B's approach to 'fog of war' or maddingly frustrating depending on your take on the rules.  As I mentioned before, I like the randomness but recognise how annoying it can be for someone who prefers more predictability in a game!