Honours of War - St. Ulrich Solo Game - Part 2

Situation after Turn 2 movement (click picture to enlarge)

Turn 2  (turn sequence: see part 1)

Prussian CiC moves up to the brigadier. Austrian CiC does not move.

Austrians win Movement Initiative and choose to move their infantry brigade first to make room to unlimber the gun. The brigadier is upgraded from Dithering to Dependable, rolls a 4 which results in a 'Steady' command performance, receives a full move and is able to execute the maneuver.

The Prussians choose their infantry brigade, rated Dashing, receive a +1 for proximity of CiC and the result is also 'Steady' (one full move). They decide not to move.

Austrian Cuirassiers next, Independent Unit, Dependable, rolls a 'Steady' command performance, only slightly adjusts its position.

Prussians Dragoons next, Independent Unit, Dependable , also rolls a 'Steady' command performance, they stay where they are.

Final positions are shown in the picture above.

Firing Initiative: Prussians receive a +1 to their d6, roll a 4 +1 =5, Austrian roll a 5. The tie is rerolled, 3+1 = 4 versus 5, Austrians win.

Firing:

The Austrian gun is required to fire at its nearest target. In this case, as both enemy bataillons are equidistant, within 10 cm of each other and each at least half within the guns firing zone, the firing is aimed at both and hits are distributed equally or odd hits by dice roll.
Range is 41 cm, just 1 cm outside canister range! Effective range, superior artillery, moved (it unlimbered) -1 modifier, roll of 2 -1 results in no effect.
(By the way, in Honours of War, all rolls on the Firing Table are done using average dice)

The Prussian 12 pdr gun is normally required to fire at the enemy gun as its nearest target. But there is an exception: A target further away can be attacked if modifiers make this target easier to hit (Rulebook, page 26, Target Priorities). In this case, the Salm-Salm infantry is easier to hit then the gun (Difficult Target, -1 modifier) or the Cuirassiers (superior target, -1 modifier), so they are targeted. A roll of 3 -1 for long range is a 2 which results in a miss.

Now the 'Grazing Fire' rule kicks in (Rulepook, page 26). The ball bounces through Salm-Salm and hits Kaiser positioned behind it. In open terrain, if you roll a 3 to 6 on a d6, you may roll to hit this target too. Roll of 4, yes we are allowed to roll for a hit. Another 4, -1 for long range, -1 for superior target results in no effect

Tactical Commentary:

Have the Prussians committed a tactical blunder by not moving forward and pressing the attack?

They could then have concentrated their fire on the Salm-Salm infantry (in the picture above positioned to the right of the austrian gun) and be able to fire again or even charge the gun next turn.
Pushing forward the Dragoons may also have opened up an opportunity.

It seems that my fictional Generalmajor Meyernick was as confused as the historical one. As Chritopher Duffy writes on page 33 of  'By Force of Arms':

"Meyernick took up a good position with his flanks anchored on the Sebnitz and Kirnitzsch streams, but six rounds of cannon were enough to reduce him to panic and evoke the moral-inspiring cry of 'What shall we do now?' "

Tactical Challenge:

To the players who know the rules:  'What shall we do now?'

-  Engage in a firefight with the infantry, relying on your fire initiative?
-  Engage the Austrian Gun with infantry fire?
-  Charge the gun with the Dragoons  (and the Cuirassiers probably countercharging)
-  Engage the Austrian Cuirassiers with infantry fire?

The advantage of solo play: you get all the headaches.

Please tell me what you think.