Company F, Where Are You...?

 A "Pony Wars" Test-Run

I missed the "Pony Wars" rule set by Ian S. Back back in the day but, having heard so much about it over the years, decided to splash out last year on the reprint; a very pretty book, with some nice artwork and cute old photographs, a LOT of tables and a potentially useful set of cards. Designed largely for cooperative and/or demonstration/participation play it sounded as if it had some mechanisms ideal for solo and, at the very least, would likely provide some ideas to be nicked and tweaked for other periods etc. 

Anyhoo, I decided to have a slimmed down try-out, tweaking the "Albany" table set up from the last table game (and before I altered it for the second campaign battle).  

Technical Notes:

Basically I tried out the PW threat generation/action/reaction system, rather than the full rules (I have move/shoot/C&C rules). After the bulk of the enemy arrived I also cut down the number of card draws; making them dice throw per move/detachment dependant, as per my usual "Event" processes. 

I didn't complicate matters with too many settlements, the fort, miners etc. and  limited reinforcements for the cavalry, so the Card Pack was adjusted accordingly. I also used SP style Token Activation for leaders/units, rather than IgoUgo and my House Combat & C&C rules rather than the somewhat complex (?) percentage chart system in the game.

As I did this in 6mm I used two companies (troops) of cavalry at a 1:1 ratio (one of the joys of 6mm) at, say, 40 men per company.

I can run to about 230 hostiles (horse and foot - but don't look too close at the horse...) on the table at the same time.

The Backstory:

Captain Beech and Lt. Aspen (of E and F Troops) have been ordered to the Brown Beaver Agency after a request from the local Agent. A number of families from the resident tribe have gone awol from the Reservation. This is a concern since a not-insignificant number of bravos (in fact several score) have been going missing over the last few weeks - possibly influenced by a renegade warrior named Two Trees (a situation which the Agent had not seen fit to inform the Authorities until now).

The Captain has been ordered to seek out the wandering families, who are believed to be in the vicinity of the Little Beaver headwaters, and return them to the Reservation. He has been given several friendly Brown Beaver scouts as guides and interpreters.

Information from passing trappers have indicated that there are tipis camped in Hemlock Valley, near the Balsam farmstead and where the stage road from Cypress Springs crosses Little Beaver Creek. This is where the troops will head first. 

The terrain is hilly and somewhat broken, with outcrops of rock, clusters of impenetrable thorny scrub and patches of woodland, particularly by Little Beaver Creek. In the north west corner there is the edge of the Trembling Forest - which could prove a haven for hostiles or fleeing families.

[Technical Note: There are no "Passes" or Buttes as used in the "Pony "Wars" rules. Instead of "Passes" I will use "Ambush Points". These are basically any spots on the table - cover, pockets of ground, "choke points", narrow valleys etc. -  where hostiles might hide in waiting. Local forces will emerge from the table sides (as per the Rules/dice throw) or the native villages or from ambush.]  

The Plan and Game:

OK.. So the plan is that both Troops will move until they spot the village. A Plan will then be formulated.

Three uneventful moves into the game and good progress is being made. Scouts report they can see tipis in the distance, and the force gathers on a high point we will call "Rocky Hill". To their front, along the creek and nestling beneath the tree-covered foothills of Trembling Forest, they can see the native camp. We halt the command on Rocky Hill to consider our options.

We won't want the hostile civilians to make off into the forest, so the plan is that the C.O. and Troop E will proceed out of sight of the villages to the Balsam Farm, accompanied by a detachment and First Sergeant Elm from F troop. The rest of F Troop will hold, hull down, at Rocky Hill.

On arrival at the farm the F Troop detachment will escort the settlers there to safety. Meanwhile, E Troop will move on the village due north, to cut off the escape route to the forest.

As soon as E Troop makes its move (signalled by bugle call and gunshots) the remainder of F troop holding at Rocky Hill will charge the east end of the village. This combined assault should be enough to cow the natives there. These will be then be gathered together and escorted east alongside the creek, up onto the Stage Road and off the table. Simple..... 

Meanwhile, scouts to the south east of the main force spot a group of twenty or so braves galloping north/east between them and the farm. Two scouts take cover, while one gallops to inform the main force.. 

E troop and the detachment move off - avoiding the high ground so as not to be seen. However, on reaching a narrow spot in a valley between some woods and a long hill, lets call it "Boulder Hill", they come under fire from the trees. The cavalry take hits, and rush away from the shooters, climbing up to Boulder hill. Here E Troop dismounts and forms a skirmish line among the rocks, but the detachment from F Troop, having lost men, including First Sergeant, Elm, and become disorganised climbing the hill, panic; riding off towards Rocky Hill.  

From Boulder Hill E Troop exchanges fire with the natives in the woods. Lt. Aspen dismounts one of his sections on Rocky Hill. These give supporting fire from the flank. 

However, the group of braves seen earlier by the scouts react to the sound of the shooting and race to the ridge-line overlooking Boulder Hill. From here these warriors open fire on the Flank of E Troop. Captain Beech pulls two sections back at an angle to face this new threat and there is an exchange of fire with the natives on the ridge. 

Within two further moves the Indians in the wood become discouraged and pull away to lick their wounds. 

[Meanwhile a card draw starts "The Drums". This is not good, as it allows an off-table build-up of potential enemy reinforcements.]

The panicked unit from F Troop rejoins their Lieutenant and rallies on Rocky Hill. Aspen organises his command, but takes no aggressive action; preferring to maintain a firing line in case of more hostiles emerging and await further orders.

At Boulder Hill things aren't going well. Although the shooters in the wood have pulled back the mounted hostiles on the ridge get lucky; several troopers of E Troop fall - including Captain Beech himself, killed outright. This and the sudden build-up of shock, prompts a rush for the horses, and the next thing I know E troop has totally panicked, and rushed off towards Rocky Hill. Not at all good.

The shooting, meanwhile, has alerted the folk by the tipis, and they have already started slipping away into the woods. Things have gone VERY wrong indeed very quickly.

[These civilians are marked by Blinds and are activated/moved in the usual way]

As the fleeing E Troop pull alongside Rocky Hill, their First Sergeant, Oak, quickly joined by Lt. Aspen, manages to halt their flight and regain some sense of order.

The mounted hostiles on the ridge are content to cheer, as they watch the cavalry run off. Then, seeing Aspen making no move, they race across to Boulder Hill and occupy it (no doubt dealing with any wounded troopers left by E Troop's flight). They stay here for several minutes. From their point of view it is "Job Done".   

However, all of this takes time - and over by the tipis practically all of the women and children have run to the safety of the forest. THAT objective has sailed; leaving only the settlers at Balsam Farm to be "rescued"....

Up on Rocky Hill Lt. Aspen gathers together the remains of E Troop and his own. He still musters over 70 troopers, plus scouts. With no movement among the tipis it would look as if those birds have flown. He comes to a decision, and will proceed to Balsam Farmstead. However, as he watches the hostiles on Boulder Hill, he formulates a Plan...  

First Sgt. Oak of E troop will lead two sections of men down towards the river, as if to move on the village. Hopefully that will draw the hostiles down from Boulder Hill, allowing Aspen to charge them, and trap them against Oak's men and the river - or at least to scatter them.

However, as soon as he has given his orders, smoke signals can be seen coming from the trembling Woods. As if in response to this, the mounted hostiles on Boulder Hill fall back to the ridge, where they are joined by the riflemen from the woods. Hmm..... All very suspicious, but Oak continues down to the river.

On Aspen's next activation he sends scouts down to inform Sgt. Oak of the latest developments and a change of plan. Aspen will bring the whole command down towards the river, join Sgt. Oak, then proceed along the river flats before heading up to the farmstead.

While Aspen's men make their way along the river flats, the mounted hostiles on the ridge return to Boulder Hill on Aspen's flank - unaware of the scouts climbing up the opposite side - while the hostiles on foot run to the scrub on the river end of the ridge to Aspen's front.

[Technical Notes: While this is going on, with the Drums Beating, the hostile reinforcement cards are building up. When (or if) these activate Aspen's command could be in serious trouble.]

Next turn the hostiles on Boulder Hill spot the scouts - who see them at the same time. The scouts react, and try to turn and run. The hostiles also react - and charge - easily overrunning the scouts [Some hurried dice tests], who are cut down in their saddles as they try to flee. However, this brings the hostiles on the hill in view of Aspen's men.

As if prompted by all the noise from Boulder Hill the hostile riflemen on the ridge open up at Aspen's column. This is probably a mistake, as at this distance they are unlikely to cause much damage. The sudden volley causes a stir among the troopers, but no casualties.  Aspen moves, but then the riflemen get another chance to shoot. A trooper falls, and the men of Oak's section start to get worried.

Next move; the Drums stop... Oh, oh..... Suddenly the eaves of Trembling Forest echo with war-whoops, as about 125 hostiles rush from the trees, the majority of them mounted. But can Aspen see them..? Some quick eyeing-in at table level. He can see SOME - but will have no idea of how many there might actually be. 

[Quick decision table, since I have more knowledge than Aspen and I don't like playing All-Seeing Eye....

Ok.. He can see and hear an unknown, possibly large (they are noisy) body of hostiles coming out of the trees to his front right. He has been shot at from cover on high ground to his left flank and taken casualties. He has hostiles to his left rear who have killed the scouts there. Earlier on his commanding officer was killed, some of the men of the leading troop broke, he has lost his own First Sergeant.  All pretty bad.

However, I never did a "Personality Test" for Aspen (I was "playing" the now deceased Cpt. Beech), so I'd better do that....

Using an SP type process he turns out to be a good-looking young buck, of average build, from a good military family, went to military college, is mild-mannered and polite - even chivalrous - with no known vices. He has a good seat and is accomplished in the hunting field and with weaponry. He has been in action twice already and is reasonably secure in himself. He is above average in courage, being neither rash nor cautious. As a result of all this he is popular with his men and they are reasonably confident around him.

Ok.. This suggests he will be able to assess the situation calmly and sensibly, come up with a reasonable number of actions and give calm, precise orders which will be obeyed.

I start the stopwatch..... It takes about a minute and forty five seconds to sum up the situation, make a quick Ad Hoc Decision table based on his personality and the options open to him, and for him to make that decision, call over his sergeant and pass the orders.. So a full move.]

Aspen decides that pressing on to the Balsam settlement (which may have already fallen) against an unknown enemy is too risky at present, as is retracing his steps on the south side of the river. Instead he will lead his men to join Oaks, then across the creek and up onto the the high ground above the bluffs which run parallel to the creek. These will allow him to view the field better, assess the size of the enemy force and, if necessary, pull away with flanks secure - with the bonus, if the enemy presses too close, of the undulating bluffs providing places to halt detachments to delay any pursuit.

On the other hand, once above the bluffs he is confident that he can form a fighting line and scatter any attacking enemy force (of whatever size) foolish enough to attack him, with firepower; then allowing him to proceed to the farmstead - if still standing (which he will be able to see from the bluffs).

He moves his force down to the creek to join Sgt. Oaks. but as they reach the flats gunfire erupts from high ground. 

Meanwhile the mounted hostiles in the vicinity of Boulder Hill move along his flank, eventually turning towards the creek, as if to cut him off from heading east.

The two cavalry scouts, on the south edge of the board and who have (wisely) been laying low all this time, take the opportunity race eastwards.  

Aspen's men reach the woods by the ford and cross the creek.

Fire suddenly erupts from the trees and bushes - ambush [card] !! A trooper falls, and Aspen's men become shaken, but he forces the pace [lucky CP tokens] and they begin to mount the ridge on the north side of the creek.  However, the gunfire has prompted the mass of hostiles by the forest edge to race down to the noise.

Next move the whole hostile force, all war parties, home in on Aspen's command and, as they mount the narrow track up the ridge above the bluffs, the rear of his column (the remains of E Troop) is struck by warriors of the Boulder Hill band and another trooper falls.

Things are hotting up. The column comes under fire from hostiles on foot by the creek, causing panic among Aspen's men, then more hostiles arrive at the bottom of the track to the Bluff Ridge; but this only causes confusion among the braves, as both groups struggle to close and count coup among the apparently fleeing troopers. However, despite this, three more cavalrymen fall to the spears and tomahawks of the braves.

Suddenly a stroke of luck for Aspen [three CP tokens and good dice]. At the brow of the Bluff Ridge he rallies his Troop, is able to dismount most of his command and form a firing line. E Troop is still panicked and in disorder, as it rushes up the trail, but things could be worse.

As we go into the next move, again, Aspen is lucky [first token to be drawn]. Inspired by his encouragement his men fire with a good, orderly volley towards the hostiles. It only causes a little disruption at this range, but seems to do the trick; sending a message to the hostiles that the troopers are organised and waiting on the high ground. The main force of hostiles halt on the slopes south of the creek. None of the hostiles on the north bank want to make a suicide charge up the narrow trail to the ridge, and their mounted elements begin to fall back to the main group.

Aspen, given breathing space, considers withdrawing slowly, by sections, along the ridge. He is unlikely to be followed; so far as the hostiles are concerned they have got their women and children off to safety and successfully seen off the cavalry. They have nothing more to prove and nothing to gain by losing men to a retreating enemy.

However, there is still the settlement. In theory Aspen's sixty-odd remaining troopers should be a match for the hundred and eighty or so hostiles visible, but with any element of surprise gone and his men - especially E Troop - jittery he is in a bit of a quandary. He COULD pull back along the ridge, pass down the larger coulee to the east, cross the creek and try to reach the farmstead - risking more ambushes and an attack from the hostiles - or simply return to the fort.....  

Aspen decides on one last throw of the dice. Leaving two sections and E Troop's bugler on the bluffs, with orders to move about to demonstrate their presence and respond to firing - but to skedaddle if the hostiles move forward - he will take the rest of the force east to the coulee, cross the stream and make his way along the low-lying land out of sight of the enemy, until level with Rocky Hill. He will then form line in the dead ground and rush the enemy flank, building to a charge on approaching.

His force does this without incident. Meanwhile the hostiles are content to exchange desultory fire with the section on the bluffs. 

Aspen's main body move along the top of the bluffs without incident. They negotiate the coolee and cross the creek, reaching the dead ground beyond unseen. So far so good.

As soon as Aspen's force is in position he gets them in order, then trots them forward, up out of the dead ground, in two lines..

His (bugle blowing) line of horsemen appears "out of the ground" on the flank of the hostiles, and they panic - perhaps assuming that this is a new force ("Here comes the cavalry!!").

 


However, next move the hostiles Activate first, and move further off at high speed. There is no opportunity for Aspen to charge to contact.

The main body of hostiles moves to the edges of Trembling Forest, and halts.

For Aspen the idea of charging into the trees - with his horses needing a period of slower action if they are not to become blown - is not an option. Instead, Aspen turns his command and moves off into the dead ground and valley between the ridge and Boulder Hill towards the farmstead. Among the trees the hostiles hesitate. They don't like the look of things.

While Aspen's men on the bluffs, seeing him marching off and the enemy pulling back, quickly mount-up to make their way back to the fort, Aspen, out of sight of the hostiles, continues to the farm without incident. The folks here have not been attacked or molested, but agree to come back to the fort with Aspen's force. He makes his way eastwards with his charges. 

The hostiles have no cause to lose men harassing Aspen, having secured their vulnerable women and children and already have counted coup against both E troop and the men they caught crossing the creek and at the foot of the trail to the bluffs and, to their mind, seen them off. They decide not to needlessly risk any more lives against this "new group" of Long Knives...

It seems to me that things have reached a conclusion, narrative-wise. Aspen can leave the table with the settlers - which he does. Roll credits...

Conclusion:

That was a fast moving piece of fun. The rules and systems worked, though I thought the "pick a card every move" process - fitting to a demo or co-op game where you want constant stimulus to keep folk interested - was a bit "overkill", and moderated this (with a dice test to draw a card) once more than 160 hostiles were on the board.

Also, I was working 6mm, not 15-28mm, on a 4.5 foot x 7 ft table. With 6mm you can do wide-sweeping movements which suit the genre (plus go for a 1:1 ratio) but this will mean more moves, and thus more card drawing.

I can see this as a great idea for a near-RPG or inter-unit (say, between forts or troops) campaign for a group/club, as well as working for solo.

Were this part of a campaign this would count as a "lose" for the cavalry - and a mixed result for Aspen personally.

 

The cavalry got a punch on the nose, losing an officer, a senior NCO and several men, failed to secure the tribe's civilians, failed to cause any significant loss (from the cavalry "body count" point of view) to the hostile warriors and withdrew (albeit in the face of superior numbers). 

Aspen himself SHOULD have come out of this well; he took command after his superior fell, rallied his men, developed a plan on the hoof and carried this out - securing his men and the settlers.

However, he is the sole surviving officer in a cock-up, plus totally neglected to address the issue of the bodies of Beech and his troopers; which were left to be treated in traditional manner by the tribe, and which will need to be recovered - at risk - by a burial detail.

Were this part of a campaign, his future career (and promotion) would depend greatly on how his immediate superior feels about him personally - and the political considerations higher up. If they want a scapegoat he will be in the frame.

However, given his family background and connections (plus his "bankability" as a personality) he might come out of it well, and even step into Beech's boots; especially if the Army wants to sell the "Beaver Creek Incident" as a success ("Junior Officer Steps Up And Saves The Day" etc.) rather than a damp squib....

But those bodies could very well come back to haunt him, and affect the morale of his next command. Kipling (as so often) comes to mind: "The papers 'id it 'andsome, but you know the Army knows.."

As always, comments/snipes etc. welcome.

  

Off on a Tangent....

The Curse of a Butterfly Mind....

As has happened before (See "The man Who Found Too Much" and the related follow-up posts) a simple query on the Solo Facebook group has got the Little Grey Cells bouncing about....

The query related to "combat between Icelandic Vikings and American natives", with mention being made of the "Battle of Vinland" and suitable rules systems.

As always my first thought was "it's not the rules system" for the running & hitting that will make this different, it's the narrative and different cultural aspects. 

Anyhoo... Here are SOME random thoughts (in italics - as posted on the Group - and others)...

The Vikings:

"The Norsemen's reasons for being there will be simple (land hunger or trade/profit). They may (or at least their elites may) be willing to risk falling in battle to a greater degree than the locals but this is NOT a going to be a raiding warband....".

So I'd have a very mixed crew (of different ranks down to slaves and women) with a right old mix of available resources and motivations - and not a tooled up warrior band. In theory this should be three ships and 140 chaps of all sorts.

"Crew make-up will be crucial. Have they brought any/many REALLY skilled hunters with them? Spears/throwing spears for hunting they'll have - but any bows at all? If not they may have a problem... What food do they have...? Which craftsmen do they REALLY need to protect."

However, I'd go straight back to source to see what that says - Eric The Red's Saga; all there on the wonderful Gutenberg...

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17946/17946-h/17946-h.htm

Plus:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_the_Greenlanders

For further inspiration I suggested Thomas Holt's "Meadowland".

The Rules:

My thoughts here were;

"Any basic hand weapon/hand missile weapon rules (simplest always being best) where you have rules to allow for different equipment/troop types/fighting methods will do the basics - no need to spend for those, you can use free rules/home-bash easily.

However, the main piece of "situation chrome" won't be the fighting/moving mechanics but the different mind sets, abilities, motivations and intentions of the participants and the "culture clash"... Otherwise you'll just end with (yet another) "marginally different" Dark Age Bash rule set but just with different figures.

Personally I'd also look beyond simple skirmishes and do this as a "fill in the map" mini campaign.. This could be set up really easily and would be a LOT of fun..."

It was suggested that the Norsemen's equipment (maille and metal weapons) would give a major advantage in combat... Being very suspicious of rules that stress technology over psychology my thoughts were; 

"On paper. In reality the technological advantage will be minor, as maille use will (or certainly should) be heavily restricted to a small minority [of vikings] (as will swords) and stone/shaped hardwood is as good at inflicting crushing trauma as anything else..

Sharpened stone is as good as piercing, cloth/flesh etc. as anything else...

As for maille (OK, later comment, but it gets the point over): Letter from Gonzalo Mendex de Canzo to King Philip III in 1600 "For war with the Indians no other armour except this (padded armour) is of any value. As for the coat of mail, the arrow could go through it and splinters of it would be very dangerous; the buffalo-leather coat designed to absorb sword-cuts is pierced very easily; and the corslet (plate breastplate) is very dangerous, moreover, if the arrow hits it will re bound and injure the next person..."

Metal axes will be more effective cutting against indigenous wooden/bark armour, but have to hit right and provide no more blunt trauma than a shaped hardwood weapon would.

But mainly the approaches to hand to hand will be culturally different because the Way of War is different...

Case a) Weird guy in some kind of protective gear (like indigenous wooden armour traditions but bigger/better) wants you to get into his kind of fight..

Response from people who see no advantage in dying stupidly in battle: Never get into his kind of fight...

Case b) Guy is seemingly wearing/carrying something which protects him REALLY well.

Responses;

1) You never go hand to hand from the front and, like Kipling's British in Burma, you don't go for him "When none of your mates is near" (One to distract, One to hit from behind).

2) Shoot his legs out - they HATE that... Or poke 'em with a spear (Rock beats paper. Spear beats sword)..

Or run past quick and bash/slash his knees and ankles from behind.

(Remembering where most Viking period wounds are archaeologically 🙂).

Case b) Guy is wearing something which slows him down and affects his movement and fighting abilities in dense terrain.

Get him to follow you into dense terrain... If he's THAT stupid enough to want to die in battle, give him what he wants....

The rules should reflect all this - and certainly NOT have indigenous folk fighting like vikings..."

WRONG KINDA FIGHT......

The Locals:

First thoughts were:

"Meanwhile, unless there is a real expert out there who has evidence for the contrary, I see no reason why the Ways of War of the aboriginal folk of the north east woodlands should have altered much from the earliest descriptions we have of them. That is that only an idiot gets himself killed unnecessarily, and that their conflicts will  normally mainly consist of individual or small scale raids  being undertaken for reasons of social advancement, recreation/excitement, religious obligation, for the capture of women and slaves, plundering, revenge or as a Rite of Passage - with larger group actions only being prompted by the drive to take territory or trade routes, or to defend same or out of fear of a threat to same or due to some misunderstanding which leads to such. 

I guess I'd look further into the differences between the (apparently more aggressive) Hunter/Gathering peoples and the agricultural folk".

I also included a link to:

https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1947.49.2.02a00020

I also did some more research, including in Jones's "Native North American Armor Shields and Fortifications".

However.......

I soon realised I (you guessed it) was looking very much at the indigenous peoples we know most about ( i.e those woodland folk further south than Newfoundland who were still around to write about in detail in the 16th/17thC) rather than the indigenous Newfoundland folks who had (largely/likely) been of a different culture (possibly more like the Thule/Inuit ?) - and who had suffered from a European presence since late medieval times before being recorded....

https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/aboriginal/beothuk.php

https://www.heritage.nf.ca/.../abori.../beothuk-clothing.php

From the saga there are "missiles" (bows/javelins), slings and what sounds like a staff sling in use, plus shields by the locals...

So, conclusion was that we probably have a very different look for the locals than the "Woodland Indians" one initially imagined...

Also, re-reading the sagas (it's been a while) it sounds like (as so often) that the conflicts were more due to misunderstandings than anything else...

Personally, the more I think about this the more I'd go for a blank map campaign - but maybe further south than Newfoundland? Unhistorical, but possibly with more going for it...?

A (maybe) painting project for the future.... (?)

Next up a Battle Report from the other month (as already promised..?)

1776 and All That (part seven/the last)

They think It's All over.....

After the action at Jackson's Farm we move to the last map move in the 1776 Saratoga Scenario - and the randomised leader activation makes things tricky for me...

Grey assaults Philadelphia, which falls. This alone probably loses me the scenario - but Washington, up in the hills, simply just doesn't have the manpower to contest things, so there's nothing I can do. 

In the north Burgoyne splits his troops at Albany; leaving a garrison there and himself heading up towards Ticonderoga (hoping to thwart Lafayette's move along the St. Lawrence? Who knows..?).

Warner, lacking the troops (or bottle?) to tackle Brant, moves to reinforce Fort Oswego.

Despite the "friction" encountered at Jackson's Farm Clinton (unluckily for me, dice-activated before Gates on the map) has swept up the Mohawk Valley in pursuit of Gates. I decide to break down the move down with simple dice tests (with a penalty for Clinton) to see how far Gates gets before being caught up.

Luckily Gates makes it past Fort Stanwix before the British get near. This is key. As Clinton approaches Stanwix he then has a choice - attack the fort, and risk losing contact with Gates, or pressing on. He elects to attack the fort and takes it in two assaults.

Meanwhile Gates continues his march unmolested and joins Warner at Ft. Oswego. 

With the fall of Stanwix the British have now definitely won the scenario.

Lafayette is too slow making his way up the St. Lawrence to take Montreal or Quebec.

Washington, in the hills north of Reading, is impotent, due to lack of men.

Stark could have run minor interference in New England, but hasn't enough men to make a difference or to force a battle and is being pressed by Howe and another detached force. He withdraws into the White Mountains.

At move end, while the Americans hold one of their objectives - Ft. Oswego - the British have taken Ticonderoga, Albany, West Point, Ft. Stanwix and Philadelphia, so have piled up the Victory Points.

On the other hand, looking beyond the scenario, the Continental forces have avoided costly losses, so still have two viable armies in the field. Personally I think THIS should count in the VP tally, but I don't make the rules. Were this part of a longer campaign this successful avoidance of destruction would be counted a good thing....

However, HAD there been a further move or two Lafayette could have pressed further into Canada, but he would likely have had to face Burgoyne and the Canadian garrison troops (now released from their static role by his incursion). A defeat here for either side could have been disastrous.

Up by Lake Ontario Gates could possibly have been forced to battle by the combined forces of Brandt & Clinton. Or he might have slipped away (again) and headed south to join Washington - or even (more unlikely) north to follow Lafayette. Who knows..?

Looking at how the game panned out The (dice-controlled) British were FAR more active than historically.

The march on Philadelphia was perhaps predictable, as was Burgoyne's progress towards Albany. Howe' unexpected move into New England stopped Stark being a nuisance, but it was Clinton's march on West Point then, critically, on to Albany that was the clincher.

Had Clinton not pushed beyond West Point - and had instead sat there, or, say, had reinforced Howe' push into New England, or even pulled back to New York -  Gates, when facing Burgoyne's (rash?) attack at Albany, would not have been worrying about the threat to his rear, and thus would have had the aggressive and capable Arnold, plus his regiments, at his side in the redoubts above the town. Had Arnold been there, to perhaps blunt Fraser's flanking move, the Battle at Albany COULD have been a Saratoga....  

Conclusion:

THAT was fun.... 1776 was already one of my favourite board games, always repays replaying, and has proved to be perfect as a "scenario generator". Had I wanted to I could have fought a number of fort assaults and a city assault, as well as the two field battles. The great thing with tying a battle into a campaign being that by there was a reason for each fight AND a clear intention/objective on the part of the combatants. Using a board game makes campaign "creation" far, far less work..

I will note down down the forces Gates/Clinton/Brandt & Warner would have had next move at Ft. Oswego, and also the respective forces available to Lafayette and Burgoyne in Canada - thus giving me two ready-made battles to fight out later, should I so wish.

That was a try-out WELL worth repeating.

As always, I welcome any queries or feedback. Next, a different write-up of a different battle I fought the other week, working with the "Pony Wars" rule set. Watch this space.

1776 And All That (part six)

The Battle of Jackson's Farm;

Right, a quick bit of thinking and messing about with the table and I'm good to go.

As this will be a likely be a short fight (I reckon) I've created a random layout (below) rather than get bogged down in maps etc. (note the river and other bank in the photo are "cosmetic photo-shopping". I should be so lucky as to have that big a space..)

Basically the north edge of the table will represent the vegetation edging the Mohawk River, the rest of the table the re-entrants and general "messiness" of the hills etc. in the rough vicinity of present Jacksonburg (pic) before the main, modern routes were carved through them. 

One problem - as one can see from the pic below - it's ALL bloody woods !!" (I'm assuming the big empty fields, like the roads literally carved out of the landscape, are all new....).

Being UK-based, and never having been to New York State, and really having previously only looked closely at maps (rather than Google Earth) of this area before this campaign I am slightly staggered by just how much dense-looking woodland there still is - and I was born & bred in the most wooded County in UK... The daft thing is: I should know this already... I've seen the movies, and the documentaries and read the books. There are LOTS of trees in the eastern states. I knew that.. But....

So... Back to the table. There ought to be more tree cover. It SHOULD look something like THIS:



However, moving guys about on a tree-covered table is difficult (once upon a day I'd have fought a battle like this in board game style) so that the physical on-table wooded areas are actually deemed Heavily Wooded Thickets while all other areas, except enclosed fields and "rocky clearings", are deemed to be "ordinary" woodland (which from the Web looks much like the woodland we have round this part of the world).

Thus, I reckon Special Rules are called for ...

Woodland Movement: All movement unless in fields, Thickets or on tracks is assumed to be taking place in woodland.

Woodland restricts line of sight to 50m*.

All infantry units must be in open or extended order to operate in woodland without penalty. Units in close order move at two thirds speed and suffer 1 disruption point per move if moving.

Mounted aids proceed at half speed.

All units in woodland count as being in soft cover UNLESS within 10m of shooters.

All non-light troops/skirmishers suffer 1 Disruption Point while moving in Woodland.

*Blind shooting by volley may take pace at normal ranges but uses twice the ammunition. Non-volley shooting out of LoS is not permitted. 

Some "rocky areas" in the woodland are deemed "clearings" (marked out on the table by small twigs and rocks) so count as normal open ground/fields.

Thickets: Only skirmish/light units or units in open order may enter thickets. No horse can enter thickets.

All units move at half speed. Line of sight is reduced to 10m*. All units in Thickets count as being in soft cover within 10m and hard cover beyond that.

All light troops/skirmishers suffer 1 Disruption Point and all non-light troops suffer 2 Disruption Points while in a Thicket. 

(*Blind shooting into thickets by volley may take pace at normal ranges but uses twice the ammunition and all results are halved after all other factors have been taken into consideration. Non-volley shooting out of LoS is not permitted.).

Victory Conditions: Clinton needs to rout or destroy the defenders or get at least 6 elements of his main force off the West table edge and his heavy train to the midway point of the table in 24 moves to claim victory.

The Colonial force needs to prevent this.

The Game (Summary): 

I set out two regiments of my guys among the fences at Jackson's Farm in two lines. The other units are extended in a line south to a hill a little more than halfway across the table. I do not have enough chaps to muster any more of a reserve than the second line at Jackson's.

I spend the first few moves pushing forwards detached companies as strong pickets to reveal/provoke/draw on the Enemy Blinds (advance units) in the woods.

Slowly I become aware of movement ahead, and facing both my flanks. There is firing at the far right on my line, then reports of suspicious movement on my actual right flank. Over the next few moves it is clear that there is a significant force moving through the woods towards - and more worrying, beyond - my flank.

Enemy units open fire on my troops on my right flank and in the centre. 



Just as I'm getting worried about my right flank a firefight develops to my front - where three manhandled enemy light field pieces appear, and open fire on my guys at Jackson's Farm. 

As I ride over to see what's happening on my right more enemy appear. Hessians and redcoats are in the woods, and my men start falling back.  There is suspicious movement around, and soon to the rear, of my right flank. 

At Jackson's Farm a regular regiment supported by light troops appear in the woods by the river. There is a short firefight, but then an enemy assault sends my guys reeling. 

Meanwhile my centre unit falls back and my right is seriously unhappy. I decide it's time to fall back to Mohn's Farm and form a second position there.

All the time the enemy keep up the pressure. There are a couple of successes (a British regiment is checked and badly mauled at Jackson's farm by my second line and another mauled in the central woods) but my men are getting jumpy.

The big problem is the feeling that we are being outflanked. I want to get my guys back to Mohn's Farm, and the walls and fields commanding the road, so that this issue isn't relevant, but the enemy advance is relentless (if slow in the woods). 

 

I head back to the road, but a swiftly advancing enemy unit charges out the woods, breaks the unit I am with - and my general is captured.

The enemy are now pressing on towards Mohn's Farm themselves - and whenever the Redcoats get the chance they are aggressive; throwing bayonet charges at my flustered troops.

Just west of Jackson's Farm, the supports of the broken unit, already demoralised by the artillery fire and having their mates flee through them, and seeing another unit break and their general captured - plus being cut off from the road to Mohn's Farm by more enemy emerging swiftly from the woods to its rear and flank - butt-end their guns and surrender.

It really is time to fall back to Mohn's Farm, but there is now no central command to coordinate things, so each regimental commander makes his own decision. 

It's a bitty process, but my remaining units begin to rally at Mohn's Farm. However, with enemy Blinds pressing forwards, and more more enemy now emerging from the woodland to command the road westwards, things are going to pieces.

But time is nearly up - although their baggage train has been slowly advancing along the road and has now passed Jackson's Farm - there is little chance the British will exit six units off the map edge in time. 

And so, outnumbered by two to one, and with no central command, my men, regiment by regiment, decide to withdraw rather than stand against the overwhelming numbers. It is probably the best thing to do.

Endgame - but my boys at least have the satisfaction of knowing that the enemy advance has been slowed by their actions......

Conclusion: Phew... That was tense.

Throughout, the Blinds (represented in the table by "dust" clouds.. Yes, I know it's woodland, but I couldn't be bothered to make a load of birch seed bird flocks) clustering round my Right Flank were a real worry (Clinton doing his signature outflanking), and by the end I was seriously outnumbered.

Had I fought another move I would either have had to skedaddle, at the risk of being charged as I did so, or lose two regiments in pointless fighting around Mohn's Farm (losses Gates could well do without). It would have delayed the British further, but they had already used their last move.

The British achieved half their Victory Conditions (Clinton got his Baggage Train more than half way across the board), but failed to get the required six units off the west table edge (though two more moves would likely have done this for them; maybe three if my lads had been wasted in a fight at the farm...). 

Enemy losses were light. Mine far, far heavier than I would have liked; a regiment surrendered (not to mention the general) and my gross losses in actual casualties or missing totalled 540 men (more than a fifth of my force) though a majority of these will either be wounded, "temporary deserters" or lads hiding-up in the woods, and intending to make their way to Fort Drayton by the backways.

I'll do the calculations for the campaign later. 

I guess it was kind of a draw. Most of my guys lived to fight another day (as did Gates's force) but I lost a lot. Even if Clinton didn't catch Gates the fight was a "British Victory" on paper in that they held the field and suffered less. So call it sort of even but the British winning on points. 

The above was a precis of the battle. I did a (long) near move-by-move write up as I went along (and, as sometimes happens, took far to many random photos). If anyone is interested on more of a blow-by-blow I can post that (just make a comment). 

As always, thoughts, queries & comments invited.

The Game Blind Processes: 

For this game, to see if Enemy Blinds appear I throw a 1x12D each move, adding 1 to the dice throw (cumulatively) for each move AFTER the first complete move.

On a (modified) score of 12 an Enemy Blind is created/has been spotted.

To find the location of this Blind I dice 1x6D for EACH Picket, then for the centre of each space of four inches more than four inches away from a picket - including the ends of a picket line.

Note that at the end of each Move a marker is moved 6 inches along the long board edge. Only friendly units east of this marker need make this test.

I do the same for any forward (first line) units without pickets to their front/sides.

The highest scoring picket/unit has encountered/become aware of something and a Blind will be placed.

In the case of different units drawing the highest score then all highest drawing units have seen something and Blinds are placed accordingly.

Blinds appear 4 inches distance from the spotting unit; to their front, or flank if a flank test. Enemy Blinds cannot be placed directly in the middle of Thickets. Neither, initially, will they be placed behind friendly units, but that may be possible if dictated by card draw.

In any Blind Location tests where a friendly unit is already within four inches of an existing Blind such a unit adds one to it's test throw for each such Blind already so placed.

I also make a single test per move for eastern end of the Main Road to Schenectady.]

Next move I push a rifle company to investigate the Blind. They get within 50 yards of the Blind and... 

There are two Blind Movement Tokens in the tub mix, but Enemy Blinds only actually test once per move even if the second tokens is later drawn.

The test is a simple throw of a 1x6D.

On a result of 1-3. Blind remains stationary.

On a 3-4 Blind moved forwards four inches with a direction test made based on IMP.

On a 5-6 Blind moves four inches plus 1xAveD in inches towards nearest Patriot force/unit.

Once a friendly unit moves to within clear LoS of a Blind a test on a standard card deck is made as follows (right click, open and expand).

Other Thoughts: 

Below are some ideas that came to me during the game, for me to ponder over at some time....

Panic: Thinking here about F&I war variant..? More research needed.

Units which are in themselves within 100 yards of hidden Enemy Blinds or which have come under fire while in Woodland or in or within 25 yards of Thickets may be subject to Panic Firing.

Test 2x6D per move per appropriate unit.

On a result of 2 or 12 Theatre-Trained Regular infantry will fall to panic firing.

Veteran Militia riflemen or Theatre-Trained troops on a throw of 2.

On a result of 7-8 all others will fall to panic firing.

A unit which fails a Panic Firing Test will halt, suffer 1 Disruption Point per move, remain stationary and fire in a direction (dictated by 2x6D dice throw - see below) using double ammunition until rallied.

On a result of 2 to 3 half the unit deploys to refuse its left flank, receives an additional Disruption Point and shoots half it's strength to that flank and half to it's front. Neighbouring friendly units in range may take casualties.

On a result of 11 to 12 half the unit deploys to refuse its right flank, receives an additional Disruption Point and shoots half it's strength to that flank and half to it's front. Neighbouring friendly units in range may take casualties.

On a result of 3-10 unite fires to it's full front. Neighbouring friendly units in range may take proportionate casualties.

Any unit in woodland or thicket taking casualties from unseen shooters (including from friendly fire) will take twice the number of Disruption Points (but not casualties) inflicted on it that move. 

Baggage/Artillery Train: Thinking about baggage...

A heavy baggage train can only move at full speed on tracks. It operates at half speed in fields. The train cannot climb steep slopes. It cannot enter thickets. It cannot enter very rocky ground.

If operating off-track (other than in fields; so thus in woodland) it moves at one quarter speed and MUST be preceded/accompanied by a full regiment; which is assumed to be manhandling wagons, cutting and laying timber to allow it to progress at all etc. etc.

This regiment becomes, effectively, part of the train. It cannot fire or attack or move away from the train while so committed. It cannot separate itself from the train without spending a whole move doing so. If it separates itself from the train the train cannot move - not even to retrace its steps. While part of the train, and until subsequently rallied if it detaches itself, it is already considered Disrupted to level two (note; this disruption level does not affect movement of the train). 

Heavy to medium artillery cannot deploy in Woodland. Light guns can, but must be manhandled and not use limbers.

Further Thoughts on Scouts and Spotting: 

Thoughts about Blind reaction tests using a table like this....? Hmm... Of is that a complication I don't need. The system above worked fine....

I thought about using Blinds for friendly units (only be placed if a friendly unit "seen" by a hostile unit subsequently moves out of LoS of hostile units). Why..?  Because their presence could affect AI decisions. Maybe a thought for another day...

As with the rest of the above; thoughts etc. welcomed.