Summer Intermission

Its the height of summer, a hot time, a family time, and not much hobby stuff going on to feed the blog but there are nearly 2,000 posts published over the last 10 years  so time to bring a few back for a look.

I'll start with the Raid on St. Michel from 2010 when the blog was new. Rob and I had decided that for the HAWKS room at Cold Wars 2010, we would play through the scenarios from Charles Grant's recently released "Raid on St. Michel" using the HAWKS' collection of homecast 18thC troops, set during the Not Quite The Seven Years War (NQSYW). Rob and I acted as Impartial (or balanced bias) game masters with convention gamers signing up to play the battles helped out by some of the HAWKS where there was space.
The posts can be pulled up by clicking on the Raid on St. Michel label but they come up starting with the end so here are separate links in the proper order.


Not Quite The Raid on St. Michel
(Link to Preparation) .

CW2010 1st Battle of St Stephen
( Link to Game 1 The Raid on St Michel).

CW 2010. Battle of Walmar River Pass
Game 2 The Raid on St Michel

CW2010 The Defence of St. Michel
Link to Game 3 The Raid on St Michel

CW2010: Counterattack!
Link to Game 4 The Raid on St Michel

CW2010: Retreat from Rosmark.
Link to Game 5 The Raid on St Michel

CW2010: The Raid on St. Michel Summary

(I won't reproduce my captured enemy flags and canon here, you'll have to follow the link.)

Storming the Rocky Heights

Somewhere in the Origawn Territory in Southern Atlantica, the Rebels have seized a commanding hill overlooking a vital railroad, and installed a battery of two guns supported by three companies of infantry.

Brigadier Ross was dispatched with a troop of the Director General's Horse Guards, four companies of infantry, two field guns and an Engineer Officer with a platoon of pioneers. His orders were to silence the guns, drive the enemy off the heights, and clear the tracks before a vital trainload of supplies arrived. (15 turns.)

The Dominion forces deployed and pressed forward to engage the Rebel infantry while the train chugged cautiously forward under a heavy fire. The Sappers had barely dismounted when a direct hit by a  Rebel shell blew the engine off the track.

The Redcoats advanced under a heavy fire and charged with cold steel, throwing the rebels back. Less than half managed to retreat up to the plateau.  The Dominion artillery  managed to dig in their gun trails to get maximum elevation and began to throw shells up onto the hilltop.  

The Fusiliers followed fugitives  into a cave and along subterranean tunnels until they emerged on ledge. From there they advanced up a steep path under a heavy fire from Rebel infantry on top. On the far side of the  hill, the  Rifles and Ft Henry garrison  advanced up the main road. A fierce firefight broke out around the edge of the Plateau. 

Casualties were heavy on both sides and the sappers had finally cleared all the wreckage but the sun was sinking and time was running out. The vital train was approaching. It was time for cold steel again. 

So, the vital supplies were going to get through but it had been a close run thing.

Train Busting

Thursday night I watched a 1951 Civil War drama called "Drums in the Deep South". Typical stuff, best friends from West Point now on opposite sides, girl in the middle. However,  one aspect of the movie caught my imagination. The Reb officer has dragged a battery up onto a vertical sided, rocky, hill overlooking a train track feeding Sherman's army, his old Yankee friend of course, is the one given the task of claring him out.

Well, since I now have just such a rocky outcrop, a train, and some toy soldiers.....

Still working out the final details of my scenario. It won't have much in common with the movie beyond the battery on the rocky outcrop and a train, but should be fun or at least a change from my usual scenarios.