The Bloody Toll Bridge Battle

The frontier had been quiet for the last 8 months, since that little incident (click), but the border patrols remained alert. It was in a balmy day in late March when General Douglas received reports of Origawn troops being on the march. A quick study of the reports strongly suggested that they were headed for the bridge near Stone House junction. 

The hidden sharpshooters in the wood caused serious casualties amongst the Origawn infantry while they were searching, fruitlessly, for a ford. The bridge itself was open to the Origawn cavalry.

Word was passed to the local native border scouts and the closest detachments of Faraway troops were called out and started down the road.  The Mounted Rifles and the Governor General's Bodyguard were the first on the scene. The Rifles dismounted and did their best to turn the Hostel into a temporary fort, while the GGBG drew swords and charged into the Origawn mounted rifles, driving them back over the bridge.

After the brief clash of sabres, the cavalry on both sides dismounted with carbines in hand and
 waited for their infantry to arrive.

For a short while, the popping of the skirmishers and dismounted cavalry were almost outdone by the drums, bugles and the marching feet of the infantry, stepping out to get into the action.

Normally the stream was fordable in various places but apparently the heavy snows over the winter had made the fords impassable. It had to be the bridge, or nothing and that was down to the infantry!
(Note: I normally make blind markers for unknown fords etc, but I just rolled when a unit probed a 6" length of water, needing 5 or 6. It turned out, NONE of them were passable. Ooops! Heavy rain I guess!)

And now the bloody fighting began!

Four Origawn units managed to cross and deploy, one after another, under a murderous fire from the Highlanders, artillery and dismounted cavalry. The fight was prolonged and bloody. Late in the day, another Blue unit, the veteran black hats, arrived, having lingered in camp (ie shelf...oops..). 

As the Origawn army started to waver, theBlack Hats rushed across the bridge but were cut to pieces by cannister and bullets. Old Veterans of this action talked for years about "never seen so many 5's and 6's in one fire phase!"

There was nothing for General Lannigan to do but cuss a little, deploy his cavalry as a rearguard and try to get his soldiers into good order for the retreat.

Coming Soon

It's been 9 months since Dominion Soldiers repulsed an incursion by Origawn forces, but the border patrols haven't relaxed their guard.

K

I'm still trying to reduce the number and breadth  of "collections"  a little so that I can focus a bit more on a few and get every collection on the table at least once a year..,..or two.  I have enjoyed the handful of Not-Quite-the-Northwest-Rebellion games but I don't have much enthusiasm for finishing restoration/conversion of remaining antique figures and am low of scenario ideas that I want to play.

To wrap up, I'll just select a portion of the 1st Nations warriors to serve with the Dominion's Redcoats.

Oh look, an 1870ish scenario, all set up.......

Roadblock

With the British line  deployed  , it lost no time in advancing to assault the French position, abatis and artillery fire or not.

Soon the rolling volleys and the persistent popping of the irregulars started to have an effect. The Highlanders attempted to storm the enemy battery but were forced to retreat and reform. 

(Click photo for a larger version)
The British battery was soon deployed and an artillery duel began. French musketry and cannon fire cut swathes in the British line but it didn't stop them until they came to the abatis. This tangle of fallen trees with many sharpened branches was a formidable barrier. 

On the far right of the British line, some Acadians and Mi'kmaq warriors worked their way around the British flank but maintained their cover on the wooded hill, trading shots with Gorham's Rangers with little effect. The British artillery soon deployed and an artillery duel began while the British infantry in the open trading fire with the smaller number of French and Acadians behind the logs in the abatis.

With the sun sinking slowing, General Turner had two choices left, pullback, camp, and try again the next day, hoping the French would retreat during the night and not be reinforced, or try one last assault to break the French right wing, forcing their army to retreat. His force was still stronger despite their heavy losses, and they were trained to use their bayonets for assaults unlike the militia and tribesmen. 

The order went out for an assault and while the charges were repelled by the French regulars (esp Ogilvy's Jacobites in dark blue), the Acadiens by the river, who had suffered from the musket fire and were not equipped for close combat, broke to the rear. This allowed the Royal Americans, (60th foot), to wheel and flank Ogilvy's who had already taken heavy casualties. They had no choice and were forced to retreat. At the same time, the remaining Highlanders stormed the French artillery and opened the road.
 

There was no hope for the remaining French, they quickly retreated to the safety of the woods.

Now The Hurley Burly Is Done...BUT

 I haven't had time to write the battle report today but the game is done. Hopefully, tomorrow will see the full illustrated battle report but, for the meantime. 

The 2nd British Attack
(As is usual, for a larger view, click on the picture, then click again.).

To be continued.......

A Spring Surprise

It had been a hard winter for campaigning and after the failure of the British attempt to march through the snow to make a surprise attack on the outskirts of Belmont, both sides settled into Winter Quarters. Once the snow had melted and the ground dried up a bit, Brigadier Turner  determined to get his men into shape and resume his attack on the Acadian settlements.

"Enemy in sight Sir!"

"A LOT of enemy Sir.......behind an abatis!"

"Captain, ride back to the Provincial Brigade and give them orders to step out and deploy for battle as soon as possible." 

Done! (At Last)

It's just a bit more than 2 years since the first company of Highlanders appeared in a F&IW game. Now, at last, I have the full battalion, regimental colour as well, ready to take the field.

40mm figures cast in Prince August moulds.

 Time to clear the table and come up with an Acadian scenario!

It's Just A Flag Away

The lads are now painted to old geezer level. 

All that I  have to do now, is to produce a regimental colour for the Ensign to wave.

Sunday: A Day of Mostly Rest

 So, now I have three stands of Highlanders with a fourth one 1/2 way there,

(Apologies for the awful lighting....)

'........then I'll need to give the Ensign a Regimental Colour.......pity there aren't any definite descriptions of the original flags of this regiment. At least there have now been some research indicating that all of the 4  Highland battalions in North America in the 1750's/60's wore the Government or Black Watch set. 

Interruptions! Always Interuptions!

Well, I got a bit done on the second half of Fraser 's Highlanders but Mother Nature has again intervened. 

Rather unusually, we are suddenly having a normal winter, several months late and the first one in a few years but there it is.  So its down paintbrush and pickup a shovel.

Italian Greyhounds have a bit of a problem playing in fresh snow over their heads, so the primary winter trench system has been dug out from the house to around the Willow tree.......again.... 

Ah well, the Highlanders will be ready for action ere long.

But Wait! There's More!

 Having got back to painting again, its easier to set to on a larger bunch (technical term).

Once these are done, I'll finally make a go into the new PA British Infantry molds, but will probably wait till spring before pouring in the wood shed!  

Bit By Bit

 Well, I've managed to get a piper and an ensign painted at least:

"Ensign! Where are the colours!??" "Not yet arrived sir!"

A close picture of my simplified version of the sett of the kilt which at this point, was the same as the Black Watch. Like my old kilt, from across the room, or when on the table (them not me), they just look dark, but if  you are closer you can start to make out the variation of 4 colours/shades and the pattern. 
(There was a time when stripes would be straighter on 40's and a bit more regular in width etc., but these days, if I can make out who a unit is at arms length, thats good enough for me.
I have a growing feeling that I'd better get all my painting down before this decade is done! )

Right! Next up: a stand of grenadiers are primed and on a painting 'stick' and the final stand of highlanders are assembled and about to be primed. Will I get them painted before the next game? 

Back To "Work"!

I haven't been doing much painting recently but life is starting to slow down again, so today I finally turned my attention back to the next company of Fraser's (78th) Highlanders, the grenadier company. 

Recruits for Fraser's Highlanders

I can't fit a 40mm Siege of Louisburg game, or even the Plains of Abraham, on my little table but they'll get their share of tabletop fighting in my alternate universe Acadian war. Won't be right away though, the coats on the first batch of highlanders dried darker than I intended and seems to have darkened even more since,  so I'm going to have to get the grenadiers right, then go back and fix the coats on the first highlanders. 

I'll need six more Highlander after than but they don't need to be a full battalion to get in some action. When the time comes, it'll be a matter of deciding whether to paint or play on some quiet day.

Fight For The Ford

When the word came to the Commander on the Frontier that the Saxons and Picts were marching to meet up and ravage Britain, there was dismay. Could enough men be raised to repel them? Should a quarter of each unit be held back in garrison? Would any of the independent British kings answer a call to join forces? After debates and messengers riding there and back, two forces marched to rendezvous at the Inn on the Ford with every man they could spare at such short notice.

Neither side was expecting both sides to arrive at the same time but the battle was soon engaged and the generals were left improvising and adapting plans as the day went on, hoping that their ally would be able to adapt and cooperate.

(Note: click on the pictures for a closer look, click twice for a much closer look!)

The Picts arrived from the North, on the Eastern bank of the river. Their force was all cavalry and light troops, even the spearmen, and they quickly drove back some Roman cavalry and occupied a wooded area which had to be passed to march down the road and cross the ford.

The Saxons were soon up to the ford and started to deploy with a wary eye on the British cavalry which could be seen riding quickly forward on the East bank. As the Romans deployed, the Pictish king called back his cavalry and some of his spearmen to guard a fordable section of the river to stop the Romans from flanking the road ford. The rest of the infantry prepared to hold the woods.

From the south, the British forces soon appeared. Their cavalry rode forward but there was no easy target so their horse archers dueled for a short while with Saxon archers before falling back. In the meantime the British infantry crossed over another ford and began to occupy and fortify a Villa while their Duke studied the situation and formed a plan.

There was a brief time while the Picts watched the Romans deploy in orderly fashion, then came the hurricane of steel.

Before the Pictish warriors could retreat back to their ford, the pursuing Roman veterans were upon them, driving them into the river.

While the some of the British were still crossing the ford, a Saxon shield wall gave a cry and moved to contact. The fighting was bloody and prolonged.

With the Picts out of the way, the Roman Veterans stormed the ford but the Saxons held their position despite their casualties.

The Saxon Hearthguard began to push the Britons back across the villa but those Britain's were led by Prince Micheal and he called upon his men to push the Saxons back. 

All along the line, Saxon and Briton fought and died but behind the British shieldwall, the British knights crossed the ford and thundered along the rear of the British shieldwall, giving them all heart and determination. (and some good die rolls.....)

"Come On! We'll flank'em!"

When the thunder of the hoofs and the battlecries appeared on the Saxon flank and rear, their morale gave way, The shieldwall broke and soon the whole army was fleeing!

An Eagle's eye view of the battle's end.

A Vital Bridge: The Prequel

If memory serves, I have only played this scenario once before. (See Scenario 10 from 'Playing through Scenarios for All Ages' on the 'Links to Old Stuff" column of the main blog page.  ) 

Having been attracted to the Prince Valiant strips, and the Elastolin figures since my early days, (strips only seen by the young me when visiting my Uncle's farm, and figures only seen in store displays.) I decided to get them out and get a brief break from 'horse and musket' games. 

When this century rolled around, I finally started picking up a few Elastolin figures here and there, mostly from HMGS fleamarket tables, and from Ebay. Some were old factory painted figures, not all broken, and even better yet, unpainted, non-assembled, Elastolin figures and one 'lot' of 100 gold coloured vikings for $20!  All in the same pose, running with an empty hand upraised, just right for conversions to all sorts! 

Eventually, I started to played small, skirmish games, initially using Medieval Mayhem (See Battlegames Issue 6). A few years went by and I happened to get some good deals here and there, and now the barracks are holding close to 200 figures ready to do battle which are a bit many for a solo skirmish game. (To be honest, 1:1 individual figure skirmish games aren't really my 'thing".)

So, to be honest, while adding characters and vague narratives, I just want to play conventional wargame 'battle' scenarios with "units".  Luckily, the figures fit nicely on 4 figure homemade bases that a friend of mine passed to me a few years ago.

After some contemplation, I have decided to continue to use them for conventional wargame scenarios, some small battles, some small actions. Today's battle is done and if all goes well, a Battle report post to follow Saturday evening (Atl time).

Yes, Yes....NO!

 But there's always another way.

So, after wasting spending time trying this and that, and restarting the game.....(twice more)  I decided to stay with my existing units but tweaked the rules.....and reread the scenario for the nth time, thus being reminded that the rivers could be forded near the table edges. Ahhhh! Right...that's better than just one bridge......

If all is well, the game will be played to a finish tomorrow (Wednesday) and a battle report posted.

Reset!

This was meant to be a small, quick game, an encounter between small parts of the main armies. 

Proposed 6 and 3 figure units.

Instead, it ended up with almost every painted Romano/British and Saxon/Pict  with a weapon, including some of the crudely painted ones I've picked up here and there and haven't touched up yet. The table was also getting crammed as the four contingents converged. 

Sooooo, after some thought. I decided to reorganize the units into smaller ones. It's only a 25% reduction but it allows a bit more manoeuvre room and a future reserve of bodies if I should ever get an unlikely urge to want to play a bigger, edge to edge, pitched battle.

Another option though, is to keep the 4 and 8 figure units, and reduce the number of scenario units. For example, instead of 6x6 figure infantry units (36 figures) use 4x8 units (32 figures).  

Best to sleep on it and make a decision in the morning.

In Action Again

 The battle has at last begun, will it be worthy of a story?

Time will tell!

Coming Soon....

 Somewhere in Britain......

Stay tuned!

War Resumes on Belmont Island

After another British victory which allowed supplies and reinforcements to make it through, (see Ambush) the fighting on Belmont Isle was limited to small raids and skirmishes when patrols collided. As another New Year's came and went, the French Governor ordered an attack on the British possessions. After a series of meetings with a leader of ex-slaves, and a supply of muskets and powder, a joint operation was arranged.

The British had fortified a road block but had not considered a flank attack from the wooded hills to the east of the British outpost. Patrols spotted the French column and a messenger was quickly dispatched requesting reinforcements.

The forces gather.

Soon the fighting was wide spread while reinforcements on both sides marched on. On the hills behind the British flank, the freed slaves hesitated for a while but then decided to engage. 

Supported by skirmishers and the artillery, the 1st battalion charged the redoubt but was repulsed. With the English preoccupied, the freed slaves came storming down from the hills and a long firefight began.

After a brief pointblank musketry duel, the first battalion broke and ran. The 2nd battalion formed a storming column and assaulted the gate across the road while the 3rd battalion deployed and began a prolonged  short range firefight with the French having 2:1 numbers but the British soldiers being in cover.

A prolonged fight but eventually, numbers counted.

An attack on the main gate was repulsed  but the French skirmishers manage to silence the British gun and they took the wooden barricade for themselves until the gun could be brought up.

At last the British casualties in the redoubt weakened the post and General St. Lambert ordered another assault on the redoubt and one on the gates. On the other flank, two companies of Marines (not yet royal), made an attempt to drive the French from the gun position but the French skirmishers were determined to hold their position and poured such a deadly hail of bullets that the Marines broke and headed back for safety.

The situation was hopeless and the order was given to retreat with the Hussars and the first two companies of marines were ordered to form a rearguard to hold the enemy at bay. 
Behind them, they could hear the cheers and the sound of  La Marseillaise being sung.