I Went Down To The Crossroad, Again!

At last there was a cold, windy day, not at all appropriate for my outdoor 'Toodoo' list, just right to finally try the new, improved, quicker, less tedious, rules, using the same scenario and armies.
(Note: several units were swapped to make it easier to figure out which game a photo showed. )

The two armies rushed forward and a long and bloody close quarters fight ensued.

For a while, the Republic's army (Blue) seemed to be well on their way to victory.

It wasn't as easy as it had looked though. At the crossroad itself, the elite Royal Fusiliers, supported by riflemen, faced the veteran Republican Regulars, supported by a battery whose only target was the enemy riflemen. The fighting here was fierce with heavy casualties on both sides, and no advantage to either as was the case of the house to house fighting in the town.  An attempt by Republican Volunteers on the right to flank the Red line was quickly brought up by the threat of a flanking cavalry charge if they advanced farther, and by the fire of the Queen's artillery supported by riflemen. 
At last, after a heavy firefight, the Queen's Fencibles fixed bayonets and drove the enemy riflemen from their cover. With only one infantry battalion in good shape (and having reached a 1/3 losses=no  attack point), the Blue General ordered a retreat before it became a rout. The Queen's troops had also suffered heavy losses and  and General Turner was content to let the Republicans go, leaving his troops to secure the village at the crossroad.  

_____________________

Well, its time to get back to some of my "before winter gets here" chores, so just a quick word on the latest version of the rules. There is nothing revolutionary or original but it was less detailed which helped get the playing time for a small solo game to a finish in 13 out of 15 turns, in something like 1.5-2 hours. (That wasn't in 1 session though, but broken into about 4 sessions over 2 days due to other, non-wargaming, duties and distractions. However, the Winter Wargames Season is coming!) 

There was nothing this time that 'felt wrong' to me though lots of details were left to the little metal officers, and there was a very reasonable mix between a player's choices and actions,  and the effect of the dice. 

I'm looking forward to trying them again, but its time to give these lads a break and get someone else on the table. 

I just need to decide what!  Requests will be considered.

And We Are Back!

 At last the refight has begun.

(I swapped out a few units to make matching photo to game easier.)

To be continued....

A Good Day

It was a very good day with a number of long time friends. 

I don't often appear in my own blog but that handsome young fellow with white hair and beard is me.

We played a few turns then broke for lunch, joined by another of our old group and never got around to going back to the game 

I have to confess that at least 3 of us were not exactly enthusiastic about B____ P_____, which was my opinion when they first came out and a number of us tried them, several times.

As old Doc Ruddy used to say: "You pays your money and takes your pick."

Week? What Week?

 Friday already?!?

Well, it seemed like a good plan. There were few projects and chores on my list, none of them urgent really (I earned 5 stars for procrastination) and I had reset the table, fiddled the rules again, should be easy enough to replay...ENNGGGHHH!  "Wrong!".......

Sunday I'll play, I thought, but an old err longtime friend is back in town for a visit. Oh well, toy soldiers are patient so last Sunday I drove the 45 minutes into the city to play in a 25mm Dragon Rampant game with 3 long time friends. 

Monday came.....oh, ok, OK this needs doing, and maybe a Nor-easter blowing in? Maybe,. Well, better get around to this and that first, after all "Winter is Coming!" .......... I'll play Saturday........ then I got another invite with the old gang (dating back to the late 70's for me) for 10mm Black Powder on Saturday.....let me see........ 

A 12mm game from last year, probably 4 of us. There was hard fighting and one side or other probably won. Those closest to the camera were under my command.

So....maybe Sunday for the chores then.......

Lost Dispatches

I'm starting to almost look forward to the Winter Campaign season when I can usually get a whole game in on a single day. Sighhhhh....... Anyway, one must work with what is and this small, basic 12 turn scenario was played over a week, 1 or 2 turns at a time, with 3 extra turns added. The details are already getting blurred in my mind but the pictures will tell the important bits.

The scenario was a simple encounter at a strategically important crossroad with the 40mm 1840's fictional armies of Oberhilse (Blue) and Faraway (Red). 

Faraway's cavalry and riflemen reached the town first and occupied three of the four houses while one of Oberhilse's volunteer battalions seized the farthest house.  

(** Note: As usual. clicking on the pictures will give you a closer/larger view )

The fighting in the village was fierce and prolonged. Oberhilse's dragoons were sent forward to drive off the skirmishers who were starting to target the gunners but with 6 dice vs 1, the republic's dragoons who had driven off the Queen's dragoons, took 1 hit from the rifles, whiffed their roll and came tumbling back blaming their repulse on their tired horses.

The fighting was prolonged and bloody. As the sun started to sink towards the horizon, the commanders held a quick truce and agreed on 3 extra turns.

When the last turn was done,  both sides had suffered heavy casualties and while the Queen's troops still held onto 3/4 of the town, the Republic's troops held a section on the edge of town which gave them control over the eastern road. After a short parley, the Commanders agreed to both pull back, rest &, reorganize their forces, clean up the rules, bring the start lines forward, and start again at a day and time agreeable to both sides.   

Never Depend On Dice

 

Back On Track!

 HUZZAH!  Life is returning to normal and I had time to finish the game on table. 

But not time enough to write up a proper report. Some sort of report should come on Friday.

One Of Those Weeks

 Domestic duties and weather  have been encroaching on hobby time but hasn't stopped it all together.

To be continued.....

Its Not Over Yet!

After some "poking about" and consideration, I decided that I didn't need to do anything drastic. I just needed to go back to the rules I used in the June game and the August game, tweak them, and test them again! 

Battle for the Crossroad. 

Just a simple fight for the Crossroad on a Sunday morning. 

Yes, yes, yes.....NO!

 Ah well, it felt promising when it started.  

The armies deploy and the gunners on both sides prepare to open fire. 

To be fair,  it worked "ok", but there were too many little things nagging at me, and the game was taking longer to play than I wanted but ended only a little over 1/2 way through the maximum number of turns. Considering that the rules were well based on various rules that I've written over the last 20 years, initially, (loosely) inspired by Joe Morschauser's rules crossed with 50 years of miniature wargames, I had hoped for better. On the bright side, I'm now free to try something "completely different".  This coming weekend is the last dog show of the season and its an 'away' one so I'll be home alone to try the scenario again with the brand new rules which will miraculously appear by then.  

Anyway, here's a brief, illustrated battle report. The Queen of Faraway's force (Red) were under orders to seize the bridge and march off the far end of the road. Oddly enough, the Republic of Oberhilse's force (Blue) had the same orders but going the other direction. There were two spots where men and horses could ford the river but the artillery and ensuing supply train could only cross by the bridge. The game was set at a maximum of 15 turns, and an aim of around 2 hours playing time. It lasted 8 turns and about 4 hours.
(It was also played over 5 days but that was mostly due to outside duties, and a little bit to periodic vain attempts to fix various rules issues from a largely game quality viewpoint.)

Each side's HQ had discussed 3 possible plans and finally selected one plan. (rattle, rattle, roll)

I wasn't really expecting the Light Dragoons to overrun the gun, then chase off the enemy cavalry but they were inspired.  
(Umpires were called in to inspect the dice and certified them.)

Apart from the cavalry charges, the fighting stalled into a prolonged and bloody firefight.

The fighting went on for a few more turns until Blue had lost enough stands to reduce their army morale to the point where they could no longer attack. They might have been able to hang in for a draw but their Commander valued his troops over a draw with a strong chance of a rout before then. 

Stay tuned........ 

Early Report

The battle began in earnest today, this illustration just made the late edition.

 No report on the action was included but more news will be published as soon as we get it.

Evening Encounter

It has been over a month since the last clash between Oberhilse and Faraway, the truce was now over and both armies were still searching for a way to get over the river unopposed. Unfortunately for both armies, they each found what looked like a good place, the same place, and both moved the available troops to the location, at the same time. 

Once again, the Little Bluetaip River flows between the armies.

It was a long march and both armies started arriving in the late afternoon. There might be a bit of skirmishing and probing before the day was over, but the main battle would have to wait until the armies were all up,the ground explored, and a battle plan formed.

A Smaller But Bigger Clash

 About 40 years earlier, and 14mm shorter, but still shiny,  on an October afternoon......

Coming soon to a blog near to your screen....