Welcome To Faraway. May I See Your Passport Please?

 "No, I thought nought." .... "Bob! Quick! Telegraph Fort Belmont for help!"

A close up shot of a critical point in the battle. 

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The garrison at Ft Belmont was on the alert and a force under the command of Colonel MacDuff soon appeared to meet the invaders. A quick conference led to a decision for Brigadier Ross to command the artillery and a company each from the Rifles and Infantry on the left with orders to pin down the raiders until they got the order to advance. On the right, a company of the Royal Highlanders and one each from the Fusiliers and Grenadiers, were ordered to turn the enemy's left flank, and drive them off the field of battle.

Initially the infantry firefights were even, but the Origawn artillery was inflicting steady losses on the Dominion forces while their guns had trouble finding the range.

As the Grenadiers deployed and extended the line, the Origawn infantry started a slow retreat, hoping for support from their artillery. 

Once the flanking attack had driven back the enemy's left flank, the order was given for the whole force to advance.

The firefight was prolonged and bloody and the sun was sinking. Who knew if the enemy was expecting reinforcements any moment. 

Finally, the Dominion's numbers were starting to tell. The enemy gun was silenced, and some of their infantry wavered, ignored the orders to "Rally Men!" and then ran! There was only a small rearguard to cover the disorderly retreat but the Dominion soldiers were tired and their commander was under strict orders not to cross the border.   

(It appears that the original report that the invaders had a gun and 4 companies of infantry, was slightly exaggerated as only 3 companies were spotted. Oops! ......but it was close with the attacker being 6 vs 4,
so it might have been the intended ratio.)  

Happy Canada Day to all!

 Even to those who have never gotten closer to Canada than a blog or two! :)

As I was clearing up the ACW game, there was a twitch in my brain and my table has been 'slightly adjusted' again before laying out a simple game for my 54's who haven't been out since last September, and umh..this day last year! If I break out the 54mm Dominion forces on Canada Day next year, it just might become a tradition.

Dominion Forces arrive with orders to drive a bunch of Fenians back over the border.

The actual game will probably get played tomorrow or the day after as the temperature in my room is now up into the 30+Celsius range.  (-30C is easier to deal with!) 

Rear Guard Action

Three weeks after the Confederate's defeat at Blue Creek the Union army pushed forward with several rearguard skirmishes. When their lead element came in sight of Red Mill crossroad, it was clear that the Rebs were prepared to stop the Union pursuit.

The Rebs were deployed with 1 brigade and a battery on their right flank with another brigade and 3 batteries on a low ridge south of the road. No reserves were visible but there was lots of dead ground and General Kinch could be seen on the long ridge and that, always meant a fight.

After a short conference, the orders were issued. The 1st Division of 2 brigades and 1 battery would make an immediate attack on the farm on the Union left front. The 2nd Division's brigades  would deploy as soon as they reached the field and would receive orders to support the 1st Division or to assault the ridge. The 2nd Division artillery was joined by the Corps artillery and began a prolonged bombardment on the Reb artillery on the ridge. 

The leading brigade deployed quickly and headed straight for the enemy but the hail of rifle and artillery fire caused severe casualties and they were forced to fallback. The division commanded rallied them in person and ordered them to form a reserve and await further orders. The 2nd brigade renewed the fight, supported by Ross's Brigade from the 2nd Division.

The fighting was fierce with heavy casualties on both sides but when Cesar's Zouaves and the Black Hats closed in with a loud cheer, the Rebs fell back hastily. 

For a short while, the battle became a static firefight while the Federal reserves deployed and some of the guns were moved forward.

While the Rebs couldn't risk leaving the Western and road completely unguarded, they had no choice but to shift as many troops to their right as they could manage to stop the advance of the Federal left wing. 

The close fighting was bloody but the Yanks had more men, supported by concentrated artillery firing on the ridge. One more charge by the best Union infantry, broke the Rebel right flank which was defending the stone walls by the Red Mill. The Union now had access to the main road and the eastern back road. 

General Kinch surveyed the wreck of his division, one Brigade broken, two more on the edge of breaking and half of his guns silenced. It was time to retreat. They'd rally and prepare for another fight, but not today.

Fierce Fighting On the Belmont Road

Our  photographer has forwarded this print. 

The fighting at mid afternoon.

      Our correspondent writes  that the fighting lasted all day, with heavy casualties on both sides. 
        

      Full story to follow. 

Now Its Getting Serious.

 I've been slipping a turn in now and then, in between chores, and the armies have engaged on the Northern flank.

I will have game time on Saturday, so a report should be up on Sunday.

And So It Begins

 As soon as the Yankees came within range of the Reb batteries, the guns opened fire.

The Federal brigades immediately began to shake out into line.

To be continued.....

Turning To Face The Enemy

 Welllll, I was going to just pack these little fellas away until next year, but I'm always open to requests 
 (especially if it saves me from making decisions...). So with 2 new regiments added, another battle looms.

So, here we find the Reb rearguard turning to face the Yankee pursuit in order
to give the supply train time to make a clear getaway.  

I expect to hear the thundering roar of dice tomorrow. 

Reinforcements Have Arrived

 These volunteer Zouaves (as in donated by a friend) have finally been painted and are ready to take the table.

Mostly Hat Zouaves + a  couple of officers from my bin of volunteer recruits.

I think I need a few more guns and gunners for both sides, and a few more cavalry units, and maybe some wagons, but THAT'S IT!  No more room in the barracks or on the table. 

If anyone is interested in a free bunch (haven't counted them) of volunteer 1/72nd ACW figures (free apart from postage) send me an email at rmacfa@gmail.com . 

Now to set up the table for the Union pursuit of the rearguard of the retreating Confederate army.

Distractions, Always Distractions

I was clearing up my increasingly cluttered table when I came upon this figure, mostly painted. The figure was (I think) meant to be either blocking or about to club someone. A pose I hadn't seen in an ACW set. (According to Plastic Soldier Review he's from an  Accurate set.)

I didn't have any room for another regiment, and I didn't feel like prying another figure off a base to replace it with this guy. So, I cut the musket away from his left hand and using a little soldering iron to coax the right arm to twist back, then finished painting him. 

He'll now be another casualty marker for when a stand is removed after receiving 6 hits.

General Standing's Brigade

After last week's ACW game, I decided to fill out the ranks.  I've settled on brigade units with 3 regiments/battalions (in case I want to do a smaller game, or if a scenario requires breaking down the brigade to individual regiments, etc).  Each side will have 2 Divisions of 3 brigades each and more guns than they should.  I haven't counted the available cavalry yet but certainly enough for each army to have two small cavalry brigades as well as having as more guns than brigades,

Each battalion has 3 stands including a colour, with 3 battalions in the brigade. (Any resemblance to the organization in Lawford&Young's Charge! is due to good memories.)  I had 6 stands of Yankees at attention but had to go scrabbling through various drawers and boxes but managed to get enough figures for the extra 3 stands, even if the new battalion consisted of more grey plastic figures then blue ones and has an extra officer. Once painted they work. I even managed to find 3 flags, all different sizes but..........

There is one last Union regiment on my painting table. Kinch's Zouave regiment, led by Irish Colonel. 

The real issue at the moment is whether I should play another ACW game before putting them away, or play whichever of my active collections has been longest on the shelf, or the period/collection that is most requested. (requests may be made in a comment on the blog or by email: rmacfa@gmail.com) 

Battle of Blue Creek

At last! The game has been played to a conclusion. The scenario was an encounter with both armies marching to cross the Blue Creek while preventing the enemy from doing the same. There was one bridge on the main road but also two fords on side roads. Each army wanted to force a crossing while preventing the enemy from doing the same.   

Artillery Duel, from the loser's POV. 

Being a recreational game rather than a recreation of an historical event, both sides had equal forces with 'standard' units. I use a deck of cards to determine by colour, who will act first that turn. The size of the deck controls the length of the game. I usual play 15 turns but I bumped it up to 20 for this game.

About 1/2 way through the game, the bridge is still contested but the Rebs have pushed infantry over the fords and on the far side, have also had a small cavalry brigade across the road. 

Fairly early in the battle, an aggressive Rebel Brigadier pushed a regiment over the Western ford. Due in part to the excellent shooting of Yankee artillery, reinforcements didn't manage to come up in time and a full brigade pushed the Rebs back over the creek. 

On the eastern flank, the Rebs managed to push back a screen of dismounted cavalry and seize the ford with cavalry backed by a brigade of infantry. Since there was little room in the bridgehead, the Brigadier had massed his artillery on the far side of the hill with orders to harass or stop reinforcements.
(see 1st picture) 

The battle raged late into the day. Neither side would gamble sending a narrow column over the bridge.
On the Western flank a Yankee counter attack forced the Reb bridgehead to be withdrawn. Firing continued late into the afternoon but neither side had the strength to carry the ford and reinforce it. 
However, the Rebs had a solid bridgehead on their right, though there were no reserves coming, and Yankee guns had nearly silenced the rebel artillery on that flank. 

With a fresh Yankee brigade backing them up as a reserve, and the sun sinking, the order was given to the weary Blue defenders to fix bayonets, fire one good volley and then drive the Rebels back over the river.  (Well, it worked for the 20th Maine...) The Rebs must have been weary themselves and shaken by their losses, because they broke and ran. As the Federal troops advanced, they were able to cross the ford unopposed, cavalry first and secured the road on the other side. With the Yankees reserve (the only remaining fresh brigade on the field) marching to cross over the ford, there was nothing for the Rebels to  do but to retreat before they got cut off.  

Well, it was one battle, not the end of the campaign and the rules need another test. The next ACW game will probably be next week, not next year. 

Behind The Scenes (updated)

Despite a mix of household duties, looking after my health, and taking time to write a new set of rules with a very different approach, I have managed to play about 1/2 the scenario. The reorganization and rules are feeling solid enough, and the play is satisfying my personal likes and goals well enough. In summary, so far its working and is giving me hope!

The battle is engaged across the table (and across the river in at least 2 spots.)

In the meantime, its been 15 years since I rescued the remains of an aborted solo 1/72nd ACW collection that I had started after getting my first paying job after resigning my commission (1981). A few months later I reconnected with some friends and 15mm and 25mm metal were the order of the day again and the little plastic guys retired to a spares bin. When we bought our retirement house in the country in 2005, I had a friend not too far away who was into 1/72nd plastic and was starting an ACW collection. Being a pack rat, I still had those 30yr old veterans and brought them back into service and started to add reinforcements. (see 1st ACW blog post here)

   

One of these is too little, one too big and one is jusssst right.
(picture from 2010 post) 

Anyway, when I got back to the game after a break of a day or so, the early approaches had been made and the armies were about to engage across the table. With movement done I commenced shooting, 1 die per stand. It only took a few minutes to soak in that now the armies were engaged, it would soon be my duty to roll 6 dice for each of the 6 infantry brigades on each side plus 2 dice for each gun and then the cavalry. Depending on the situation, I'd have to roll up to some 60-80 dice every turn once the fighting got serious. I'd have to pay myself to do that! As well, the game would last who knows how long? That's when I stopped and moved over to the drawing board (so to speak).

A 2012 ACW game with a friend.(see blogpost)
(hmm, I think most of the room is a bit tidier now...sort of...the 6'x8' table is now 5'x5' and I don't really miss the extra sq footage) 
The little white house on the table (on the viewers left,) represented my house, which had been built by then.The house by the river is where the stream flows into the Kennetcook river just before it flows into the Avon river. (The owner of that house and my 2nd closest neighbour, a km away, was a good person, a retired naval officer who had attended the same military college as me, but 20 years before me! How's that for a coincidence? 

Anyway, rather than trying to chase the latest glossy games, I went back to Lawford&Young and Featherstone for inspiration, along with other quick play sets including the One Hour Wargame which rules, I confess, I had initially poopooed at first sight (sorry) although the cut down scenarios have been useful. 

The result was retreating from 6 stand Brigade units to fall back on my old 3 stand regiments with 1d per regiment with the score on 1 die equaling the #of hits inflicted on the enemy (with 1/2 effect at  long range and cover etc). Again streamlining, I went back through the archives and resumed the practice of rolling to see how many formations the General can order each turn. (yes with recognition to wrg/dba) With that bit of 'friction' and the simpler rules, after 6 quick turns, the game is now playing smoothly but with tension and moments of triumph and disaster and some clear decisions to made by the "general" ("Only 2 orders this turn? hmmm who to activate"...).

Ant that brings this post to a close. The game will continue tomorrow....or the day after.....or..well soon! 

Another Start

 I hate it when this happens, but its for my greater good. 

Two or three turns were enough to click buttons in my brain as to why the ACW boys haven't been getting out. Sad as it may seem, I'm just don't enjoy big battles seen from a far with brigade units with no history, stories or personality. I do like simple and fast these days and so I "tweaked" the one page rules with much thought and a little bit of testing. It means, smaller actions, perhaps parts of bigger battles or just my comfortable, generic, 'scenarios'. 

One of the satisfying retreats was breaking up my 6 stand brigades and letting my 3 stand regiments once again be individual units. These are again grouped into 2-4 regiments under a Brigadier.  I stripped the rules even more in order to speed play. Then I started again. 

So far, so good.

Tomorrow I "should" be able to finish the last 3/4 of the game in an hour(-ish) and start writing down Generals' names for consistency in narration.

Interuptions! Always Interruptions!

 But I got a few turns in and .Sunday is looking good to play the game.

Stay tuned....

Hastily Trained......

...... but ready to see the Elephant.

News when available.

Where's The Cavalry?

 "The new recruits are still being trained Sir. "They should be in the field in a day or two." 

Strelets R 1/72nd ACW dismounted cavalry.

Its been almost a year since I cut these lads off their sprues and washed them, but more than a year since the last ACW game. Ah well, "Hurry up and wait" is an old army saying and these lads at least are now getting painted and will see the elephant as soon as they are 'dressed' and 'trained'. 

Almost a century later and over 1,000 miles away ......

 ..... a passing hot air balloon snapped a picture of opposing Union and Confederation cavalry heading for an encounter.

I feel a battle coming on.

Gorham's Rangers Take The Field

 This was a tricky lot, but they'll serve. 

Gorham's Rangers primarily served in what is now Nova Scotia from 1744 to 1759 (Some of them probably crossed what is now my yard!) and then joined Wolfe's expedition to Quebec,  Information on how they were dressed is scarce, and mostly speculative since no parts of their uniforms have survived, nor were there any contemporary drawings, just a very few vague descriptions in diaries etc.. Sooo, I decided to go with the most common descriptions, nearly contemporary drawings, and modern day reenactors who usually do a good job of digging into the history. I then crossed that with what I had to work with, decided to drop the sort of skirt or all round apron which wasn't always mentioned or sketched, especially in the early years.

The Scots bonnets seem to be the best bet for headgear and recent(ish) study has decided that the same sort of bonnets were worn by Roger's Rangers despite the old NorthWest Passage movie. Luckily, I happen to have Prince August's SYW highlander mould which includes what we called a 'Balmoral' cap when I was in the Black Watch of Canada Cadet Corps in my teens. 

In the early days at least, many of the Rangers were recruited from First Nations in what is now New England, long time enemies of the Mk'maq and other tribes in what are now the Maritime Provinces, so, I included two of them by darkening their skin slightly. 

Leggings or gaiters to above the knee were common enough but the next bit was tricky. They seem to have worn short jackets and Prince August presented Russians in summer gear without their long coats, but I wanted more poses. I also happened to have the Austrian Grenz moulds. The coats were a bit long and had lace and swords but a bit of work with knife and file gave me a few rather rough conversions, including reducing swords to hunting knives. 

From there, I called heavily on the various interpretations and did my own to make it easy, after all, I want them to play wargames, not sit on display.

Rangers Partly Dressed

Spring!  Spring and outdoor chores!  But I've been making a little time for myself to paint.

Details and just a little shading next.

Recruiting is complete

Now for the training!

These lads will shortly painted up as Gorham's Rangers.  Hopefully the forecast of rain will be accurate, 

Sometimes, Ya Just Gotta Try it......

Well, that experiment is over. 

What triggered this bustle of reorganizing and re-basing a portion of my "horse and musket" armies, was something simple: not being able to divide a 3 stand unit into two half units when a scenario called for it!

Instead of looking for all the Cons of the new units, or the Pros for the existing system, I just reorganized and re-based, with enough units for a small skirmish. game. Both games went well, but......visually, the troops looked like they were in loose order since I didn't want to paint another 6 figures for each battalion, I went from 3x6 figure bases to 4x4 figures. Yup wider frontage with fewer figures and the maximum number of units on the table were diminished.

Given that I wanted to have a choice of smaller or larger games, I decided to just restore the old order but since I had the materials at hand, I cut new bases from thin plywood cut into 2”x2" squares, (I know, but I learned the old Imperial way first and they're my toys!)

All the current painted infantry are done on both sides as are some of the light troops but there are plans for more infantry, sappers,  light field guns with crew, some siege/fortress guns, more Canadian/Acadian militia, possibly a single stand of French dragoons, and, well  time will tell.

And yes, the small portion of 1790's troops who were the first guinea pigs, will be rolled back to standard as well

I have a feeling there'll be another game on the table this weekend.

Rangers Training

 Another step towards being ready for action.

Given they'll likely be used for historical fiction games, I just call them 'Ross's Rangers'

For My Next Act...

 (Anyone remember Rocky and  Bulwinkle? ) 

Anyway, since my current focus is a history inspired version of the fighting in Acadia, I need some of Gorham's Rangers. 

Volunteers anyone? ?.…....

Proposed bits from several Prince August moulds.

Thank you gentlemen! (Hmm, not sure on the standing, firing guy).  Now to dress you.

Hurry Up And Wait

That's the old army saying, but it's all over now. 

Its been 8 months since my last game set in Acadia but the world turns and things are slowly returning to normal. Its also been a wee bit over a week since the table was set, but now the game has been played. Mostly it was the outside world interfering but when I was free, I found that the rules I had spent so much time fashioning and tweaking over the last few years, worked ok, but.....weren't satisfying.  

The games tended to be too fast or too slow, dice had too much effect and the General (ok, player) had too little influence on what his troops were going to do. So, I spent some of my time reviewing a number of old wargame rules, mostly by early wargamers who had fought in real life as well as studying history, and a few newer sets of rules. However, I also revisited bits of various 18th and 19thC memoirs and also a few recent, relevant, history books. Then I tried again.   When they have been tested in a couple of games and consist of more than a one page quick reference, I'll post them. 

Here's how the test game went: 

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Somewhere in Acadia in the 1740's  where the Duc d'Anville's force was still under orders to secure Acadia and evict the British.  Spring has arrived, the snows are gone and the roads are sort of dry most days, but word comes from  Mi'kmaq and Acadian scouts that an army of Redcoats have landed at Pisiquid, and are marching Nor'east. The Brigadier Sieur de St. Lambert was ordered to stop them!   

A Raven took this shot as he flew away from the first "BANG". Honest!

The 'armies' meet at the little village of Nullepart.

 

In short order, the British seized the Church and graveyard as well as a wealthy merchant's  Stonehouse but the French and their allies soon seized 3 buildings, some on each side of the river.
The British had no real option but to push on.

The 27th Foot pushed forward and unleashed a crashing volley! The Mi'kmaq warriors ducked and then began shooting British officers. 

The order to "Hurry up with the Damned Gun!" was acknowledged but the ground was soft and it was hard going, even with a battalion gun. In the village, the Mi'kmaq were picking off redcoats while making good use of their cover. Behind them, the beating drums of Lally's Irish gave all a warning that they were coming. Soon it would be Redcoat vs Redcoat. The British Colonel sent off an officer to request support from the Massachusetts Bluecoats.

Eventually, the British battalions were forced to fallback into cover to avoid destruction, and a lengthy but ineffective firefight ensued. As the sun sank, a firm order came to "Drive those savages out of that town!" The Colonel suspected he was talking about the enemy Irish and ordered the 27th forward to the stonewall, and the Rangers to support them on their right.

The firefight between Irish and Irish was indecisive but the Rangers, judging that the remaining Mi'kmaq were wavering, decided not to stop and stormed the building then turned their accurate fire on the enemy Irish.  

 
The French general surveyed the field and eyed the sun. His force was split across the river and was down to 1/2 strength plus stragglers and the wounded who could no more attacks today. The British had nearly as many casualties but their battalions were still capable of defending and had artillery and the village, stocked with full cellars. 

It was time to withdraw, regroup and send for reinforcements,