Seizing a Base

Bonaparte's Egyptian adventure is well known but not many are familiar with some of the smaller expeditions that did not directly involve the future Emperor. 

This incident was the start of the forgotten expedition to seize the minor port of Demiacre. Under the command of General St. Michel, 2 battalions of infantry (4 Stands each) , a squadron of cavalry (2 stands) and a section of artillery were ordered to secure a village which controlled both a good supply of fresh water and the exit of a pass through the Syrian hills which would lay to the rear of the besieging force. 

The Turkish garrison consisted of 4 companies of infantry and a gun. 

As the French closed in and stormed the battery, dust clouds announced the arrival of reinforcements for the defenders. 

The fighting was fierce.

The 3rd French Battalion was forced to form square as the Mamlukes raced towards them and it was left to the 1st Battalion to seize the village with the support of the artillery. 

A Mamluke charge against the French Hussars was repulsed as was the first charge against the square while the defenders of the village fought stubbornly.

The sun was setting (turn 14 of 15) when finally the Turks gave way after heavy losses and the remnants of their force faded away towards the hills leaving the French to secure the town and wells, and see to their many wounded. 

Game Notes

I'll skip the long rambling bit and just say that I wasn't in the mood for either a few bigger units or the grid so fell back on old habits where each stand is a unit but can be grouped into formations, basically a simplified version of Hearts of Tin. I enjoyed the game enough that I'll write them up and post them once I've played a few more games. 

The scenario itself was improvised as I laid out the table but did draw on my experiences with the scenarios in One Hour Wargames.