Dominion of Fredrick the Great - Rules Review and Battle of Koln

 

The Dominion of Frederick the Great rules offer a fast-paced, accessible system for mid-18th-century battles. They will likely be loved or hated by wargamers, depending on personal taste. The battlefield is split into four sectors—left wing, centre, right wing, and reserve—and combat between each sector is resolved with a single D6 roll per side.

Dominion of Frederick the Great is published by Ork Publishing and available on Wargame Vault (https://www.wargamevault.com/).  There are a number of “Dominion of …” rules available covering from  Ancients to ACW.

These rules excel when used as part of a wider campaign. A full battle plays out in five to ten minutes, keeping the momentum of the campaign moving. Below is a step-by-step run-through of the 1757 Battle of Kolín from the Seven Years’ War, which I completed as part of a solo SYW campaign in under two hours.  

See my blog post  Solo Campaign - Seven Years War - 1756 - Prussian invasion of Saxony and 1757 - Prussian invasion of Bohemia for the wider context 

Set up for Koln 1757	The set up ate the start of the battle: Prussians: 2x Cavalry, 2x elite Line Infantry, 1x Line Infantry Austrians: 1x elite disciplined Cavalry, 1x Cavalry, 1x Skirmishers (Croat Grenzers), 1x elite fortified Line Infantry
Turn 1	There was minor skirmishing on the Prussian left flank but the centre was the scene of fierce fighting with both Prussian and Austrian elite infantry being destroyed. The Prussians filled the gap with more elite infantry and the Austrians with their elite cavalry.
Turn 2	The fierce fighting in the centre continued with both sides loosing troops.  The Prussians filled the centre with their reserve cavalry.  On the Prussian right flank their cavalry were defeated by the Austrian cavalry.   This left the Prussians with a gap in their right wing and the Austrians with a gap in their centre.  Both sides failed to rally their lost troops.
Turn 3	Sensing the chance the cavalry in the Prussian centre flank charged the Austrian Grenze Skirmishers however to no effect.  The Austrian left wing cavalry then changed across the battlefield and caught the Prussian cavalry by surprised and smashed them.
Turn 4	A close fought battle but a historically correct win for Austria.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any thoughts and comments.