Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Finishing Up. A Battle Report.

The sun was already high in the sky when General Turner stopped by Molly with her mule full of Mussels and Kegs of Rum. Satisfied that she was as good for the men as any Field Hospital, he pressed on up the hill and surveyed the Old Enemy. 

As the Royals prepared to storm the town a sudden pre-emptive strike by the 1st Infantry sent them reeling back.  The Light Horse have dismounted behind cover and their rifles have already inflicted a hit on the Dragoons. A rogue rocket that veered right came very near to inflicting another!
 (
Red dots mark where Red suffered a loss, Blue's losses are marked by umhmm ..
Green.. dots)

Even without a balloon hanging over his head he was able to count 3 battalions of Blue infantry, Brigadier Zinn's Oberhilse Field Force no doubt, a handful of Greyclad Riflemen, a squadron of Dragoons, a squadron of those damned Frontier Mounted  Rifles, a stubborn and cantankerous bunch as ever was, and 2 guns, one of them a small popgun on a packhorse. Kegs of rum were a better load for a horse or mule. The ever present Travelling Medicine Show seemed to be setting up shop in behind.

Well, he had his own rifles supported by the Royals under Spye, the Young Buffs and Green Tigers under Stoneforte backed by a 9 pounder and then Nolan's cavalry Brigade, Princess Charlotte's Heavies and the King's damned Hussars on their massive horses. Heaviest damn hussars you could ever want. All nicely backed up by the gallant Faraway Trading Company Rocket Brigade, wonder who gets those if the rumours about the company being taken over by the Crown are true?

Zinn's bluecoats seem to be in town already, that could be a problem. No amount of musket fire is going to drive them out. This will have to be bayonet work.  Well, Tin Hearts all.

Best order Nolan to take the cavalry around the right while the infantry storms the town.


Blue's cavalry has been driven in with heavy losses but not broken but Blue's infantry still holds the town.

Well, this is no good, thought Turner, losses are mounting, all attacks on the town have been repulsed with loss and that damned strumpet is sending more men back to the tents drunk than she is returning them refreshed to battle. However, the original plan still looks the best and the enemy has also been hit hard. Its only Zinn that's holding the 1st Infantry to their work under the artillery fire. I'd half swear he's propping dead soldiers back up in the windows with their muskets.

So I'll order the Royals to march to the centre and then every one in! No holding back.
Its Neck or Nothing now!  (and hopefully that rascal Scott doesn't have any Blue Rabbits up his sleeves).

Lord Snooty looks on as the Blue Army breaks, a sight he has not often seen during his tour as Observer. 
Well, he didn't. General Zinn was wounded once again, look for where the fight is hardest and you will find him there, without him the trickle of wounded blue coming out of the corner Pharmacy became a flood. Across the street, the Buff's stormed first the Stone House and then the Restaurant while the Queen's cavalry once again proved that they earn their fancy uniforms the hard way.

Each side had an army morale of 8. Red lost 1 point for a unit below 1/2 and had been down another for an objective in enemy hands until they retook 2/3 of the town. Blue lost 6 points for 3 destroyed units, 2 more for units below 1/2 strength and another because Red held one of the objectives, the bridge. It was much closer than it looked though as 2 turns earlier the army morale difference was only 1.

While I was clearing the table after this game I belatedly remembered that ``the plan`` calls for this period to be dropped. Some of the figures will fall back into the 1812 collection (musket era), some will be held for a future Northern Indian campaign and others will join those who have already been modernized and rolled forward to the 1870's & 80's (Rifle era) but this was quite likely the last battle of the Origawn War that has raged for 7 years without the armies ever being completed! (?)

Just as well the Queen's troops won the last round, it'll make it easier to explain the later history.

8 comments:

  1. Though one can appreciate the need to rationalize the projects in hand, it seems such a pity to leave behind such an engaging one as this. I have enjoyed the wars between the Oberhilse and Faraway armies!

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    1. Those armies are not going away. The campaigns started in 54mm c 1870 and those wars will continue in 40mm. The 40mm 1840 version started life as a 'what if' historical campaign based on the US-British Aroostock and Oregon affairs. The first 40mm troops for 1870 got rolled in together with the 1840 ones and a new war added. That war is now over but the later wars will continue indefinitely.

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  2. Hurrah! God bless the Queen and well done the Buffs.

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  3. I too have enjoyed the wars- perhaps the plan has scope for amendment?
    Alan

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    1. Sorry Alan. I should have never have deviated from my initail start on this which was for the 1857 - 1885 period byt I was led astray by a desire to do an historically accurate alternate history of 1837 -39 which meant those light blue uniforms instead if the dark blue that I wanted and a cap on technology, and a dearth of figures to use.
      I hope you will enjoy the later Blue vs Red Atlantica Wars as well.

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  4. Always a joy to read these reports, pity they're going to end. At least Lord Snooty was there to see it all. I look forward to new events.

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    1. Well hopefully the newer Oberhilse and Faraway wars will also be enjoyable.
      btw If Lord Snooty decides there is somewhere else he would like to be, he need only give the word, otherwise I think there are enough entertainments and companions to keep him occupied between the wars.

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