Road Blocks Can Be A Problem

There is an old army saying "Fastest with the most-est" but  having studied military history, planning, and keeping a reserve, can also help a General to win.

For those who have just dropped in, the Northern and Southern armies were racing to seize a crossing over the Bloostream River, while preventing the enemy to do the same.  Each army had 4 brigades of infantry support by cavalry and artillery and both were hurrying along parallel roads heading south.    

An observer in a balloon made this illustration of the armies deploying.

Both armies grabbed their end of the 1st bridge while rushing cavalry and infantry to seize the bridge in the town to the South. General Porter, the Union commander, ordered his 2nd brigade to rush by the road to reinforce the town. The 3rd brigade was ordered to move by road to block the ford in the middle in case it was attacked and the last was to move to a central reserve position.

It was soon obvious that the Union cavalry had out ridden their Confederate enemies, crossed over the far bridge and seized the town. General Kinch, quickly ordered his 2nd brigade to cut directly across the fields to seize the ford, while the cavalry and the 3rd brigade were to try to beat the Yankees to the town or to throw them out if needed, His 4th brigade was ordered to follow the road and be ready to move towards the ford or the town as the situation dictated. 

The 2nd Rebel brigade marched hard, crossed the ford, and prepared to hold it.

The fighting was heavy along the line but the Yankee cavalry had reached the town first (by the turn of a card).  In the center, the 2nd Reb brigade had to halt their march to the town to face the Rebs coming over the ford. As the 3rd brigade moved up, there was a traffic jam. Porter decided that the quickest answer was to have the 2nd Brigade withdraw and resume their march while the 3rd Brigade deployed to push back the Rebs crossing the ford. 

A fierce firefight around the ford soon broke out and lasted much of the day.

The 4th Yankee brigade found themselves in a traffic jam, with the road blocked by artillery and the 3rd Brigade and 1st Brigades, all involved in a fire fight with the enemy. There was little for them to do but act as a reserve and prepare to advance over the bridge or ford as the situation developed. 

On the far end of the battle field, the fight was bloody on both sides even though much of the fighting was at long range.

The 4th Southern brigade had been marched up the road as a reserve. As they approached the fighting, they were in a good position from which they could move speedily to any of the three crossings.

It appears that the balloon corespondent was still hanging around.

At last the General made his decision. There was no room at the first bridge or the ford but the town was lightly held and it was wide open to a fresh brigade, The order was sent: "Storm the town and carry the Southern bridge."

The 4th Reb brigade veers off towards the south and marches .

No time was lost.  

The 4th Brigade stepped out, deployed with two regiments in the front and one in reserve, and then advanced on the town despite artillery fire and musket balls. The 2nd Brigade and cavalry, despite heavy losses, continued to press the rest of the Yankee Brigade and the dismounted cavalry. 

In moments, it was over.

All across the field, Union brigades, having taken heavy losses in the firefights, collapsed and ran. Only the reserve brigade was there to cover the retreat,

Now, this was supposed to have been a 16thC game, but an urge came over me....so.....that MIGHT be the next game. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE (maybe...for some...) Over the last decade I have had at least 4 gracious gifts of various plastic 20mm ACW figures, many painted in various styles, some still paint-less. I've been very appreciative of these donations and they have swelled my armies and broadened my options, BUT my table has shrunk from 6'x8' to 5'x6' to 4'x5'. As a consequence, I don't have much room for many more 1/72nd ACW figures. SO, if anyone wants SOME OR ALL of the reserves, drop me an email (rmacfa@gmail.com) with your address and I'll pass them on to be enlisted elsewhere. 

Are We There Yet?

Almost!  

The current game in progress

However! I can find a gazillion past versions of my ACW rules, but NOT the set that worked well for my rearguard game last year, or the river crossing game before that. 

Sighhhh.... This week, I've made several attempts to dig out various past versions of my ACW rules but none had a right feel for me at this time, or seemed capable of a 3-4 hour game with few hundred figures. The rules for last couple of games last year were good BUT....where the heck are they in the depths of my computers!!!!??. 

Rearguard Action

 2025 River Crossing game 

But, tomorrow is Saturday and there's a dog show on, so I'll be home alone (people wise) with only a handful of chores to be done. Its just a few adjustments to get the rules working the way I want again, so I'll dig back into the archives, and other sources, without many distractions, and get the game going again.

Now Where Were We?

Why is it that house and yard tasks usually seem more important to some people than me playing a game? Ah well, its a lovely, rainy day, I've dug out the last, untested, horrible, version of ACW rules and have fixed it and am finally ready to go!

Plastic Army of the Potomac, 2026, about to be tested with 8 stand infantry brigades.

  

Contact!

 "Enemy in sight!"

"Brigade! Dismount and open fire!"

To be continued.......

70 years later, on another continent.......

a similar incident happened......

But how it turned out, is yet to be discovered.

Another Bridge Too Far? (Conclusion)

Now the fighting became serious.

The fighting was noisy and bloody!

At last the Scots marched on, and were sent to clear the left flank. The Emigres were ordered to support the riflemen in the town by the far bridge.
(No dice here, the ...ummh, British player... forgot to move them on to the table for 2 turns! (head slap!)

Order/Counter Order! The Emigres were ordered to halt and wait for new orders as the French had concentrated their forces and stormed the 1st bridge while at the ford, the French infantry deployed and opened fire, daring the British to try crossing!

The British General spotted a fault in the French plan and seizing the initiative, (ie a red card came up giving the British the first move this turn.) ordered the Highlanders to advance towards the bridge, and the Dragoons to charge the flank of the French line! The French broke and ran back through the column just crossing the bridge. The Dragoons pursued, and the battle was over.
(The French had had so many 1st move cards that...'their general' hadn't expected that!)

Now....hmm....what should I play next? 

Let Us Go Over The River (Pt 1)

 It was early in the morning in Flanders in 1794 when General McDowell, with an escort of Dragoons, rode ahead of his column of infantry to see what the situation was. It was soon evident that the French rebels had arrived there first, and were already crossing. He sent an Adjutant to hurry his column of infantry.

As one of those American Rebels would say in the future: "Get there fastest with the mostest!" 

Soon the redcoats were flowing onto the battlefield. A squadron of Light Dragoons were pressing on with speed to stop the enemy cavalry from crossing over.

The French Black Hussars threw back the Light Dragoon but did not destroy them, and Heavy Dragoons were at hand with riflemen moving quickly to take post in the town houses. Before long, the Black Hussars, were ordered back across the bridge with Dragoons to support them.

The terrain was too broken up for long lines but both armies had learned a lot about flexibility in the America's during the Rebellion.

To Be Continued

....To be continued

Now The Hurly-Burly Is Done.....

 But I don't have time to make a full post this evening.

I do have time to post a mid-game sketch by some artistic junior officer after the battle. (unhuh)
 (Double click on the picture to get the full screen version)

Tomorrow then!

More Rumours of the Battle in Progress

OK, OK, between chores, looking after a pack of hounds while their 'Mom' is off to a dogshow weekend, and trying to figure out which of several versions of the rules I want to choose for going forward, I haven't gotten too far but I think I'm set and the game is about to resume should finish by noon (knock knock) and the report be posted later.

In the meantime:

(Click on the photo for the full size version)

Please stand by!

And So It Begins

 

To be continued....

Annnnnd We're Back!

Taxes all done, a week earlier than usual!  The table has been cleaned and has returned to being a wargame table. I wasn't sure what to put on the field of battle, so I shook my head and "French Revolution in Flanders" came up.

Scenario #25 in Grant&Asquith's "Scenarios For All Ages".
Click twice on the picture for full size picture.
(I'm not sure if I have played it since 2009 but not recently anyway.)

I think there might be a battle tomorrow......

Ahhh, Spring!

The time when my soldiers go into Spring quarters while I spend too much time on cleaning up Winter's debris and preparing for Summer.   In the meantime, here's a link to a game from last April:

Somewhere in Flanders, 1793 (click)  from last April

or...looking back a decade to 2016: 

1/72 ACW from April 24, 2016

"Regular service will resume soon."

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.