Last week I finally got around to finishing reading Song of Drums and Shakos and finished painting up some Highalnders and French Chasseurs and Voltigeur and Carabiniers… so, on Saturday, when the lad and I had some free time in the afternoon (now that his Theatre School classes have wrapped up!) we have a go at the game.
United Kingdom of the
Netherlands, Spring 1815
SITUATION
As the forces of France and the
Anglo-Allied Coalition maneuver ever closer to the ultimate conclusion of their
campaign at Waterloo, two opposing squads are simultaneously tasked with
scouting a ford across a creek on the flank of their respective armies’ line of
march.
SCENARIO
Ostensibly the object of the
game was to “hold the ford” and if I’d given it much thought I’d have assigned
victory points for being the first to it and maybe some for keeping the enemy
on the other side and away from the ford… but ultimately, as with more SoBH
derived games, it comes down to who routes (or wipes out!) the other force….
FORCES
The British (well… Scottish!)
1x Highland NCO - Q3+, C3,
Sword, Musket, NCO, 76 points
6x Highlanders – Q3+, C3,
Musket, Steadfast, @50 points
1x Sapper – Q4+, C2, Axe,
Musket, Engineer, Strong, 39 points
Total 415 points!?
The French
1x Chasseur Officer – Q3+, C2,
Sword, Pistol, Light, Élan, Leader, 82 points
6x Chasseurs – Q4+, C2, Musket,
Light, Élan, @42 points
1x Sappeur – Q4+, C2, Axe,
Blunderbuss, Engineer, Strong, 30 points
Total 364 points
I must have added something up
wrong when I came up with these forces…?
THE GAME
Finnegan decided he wanted to
play the French, so I ended up with the Highlanders.
(Remember: click on the pictures
for a bigger version)
My Bonnie Highlanders cautiously
approach the ford.
Finnegan and his Chasseurs full
of Élan and horseflesh.
The two parties and their
relative starting positions as they approach the ford.
Did I say “cautiously”? I meant
“BOLDLY approach the ford!” In one move the whole squad was in position, in
cover overlooking the ford. Huzzah!
That luck would not hold long…
Finnegan had less luck ordering
his Chasseurs (full of Élan and frogs’ legs) forward. The Officer boldly lead
from the front – but his men weren’t so keen to follow when they spied the bold
swaggering Highland Lads across the water.
On my next turn I got a couple
of the Jocks across the river and took a few long-ranged aimed shots – which
caused a couple of the Chasseurs to duck – but didn’t succeed in causing any
casualties or even a general route.
These Chasseurs are made of
sterner stuff that I expected…
I guess bullets whizzing by
their ears while standing in the open had a bit more motivating power than the
orders of their officer. The Chasseurs rushed forward to the cover of the wood
near the ford and began returning fire – wounding one of my Jocks!?
A lucky shot.
Actually he probably wasn’t
wounded… the shot probably went through his canteen and he spent the rest of
the engagement trying to stopper it up before all his whisky poured out….
Um… I know it LOOKS like blood... but... it was Red Whisky... or something...
Then my luck went in the tank
(where it normally resides)… When next they had the initiative young Pte
William McDonald charged out from behind his tree towards the ford bellowing
out a fearsome Highland war cry – but as his foot turned on a slick rock the
cry changed in pitch somewhat and for the briefest moment sounded more like the
cry of a wee girl being chased around the garden by her brother with a dead
snake – before pitching headlong into the water. When Pte. McDonald sprang back
up out of the muck he was covered head to toe in vicious black muck and his
sodden kilt hung about his knees. Peels of laughter issued from the wood and
that was all the Highlanders would do THAT turn!
(I rolled one action and Turn
Over..)
Lucky for me, I wasn’t the only
one with no luck at all… Finnegan also rolled a turn over on his first activation
of the next turn.
I guess the French even had a
bit of a laugh at Pte. McDonald’s Expense….
On my next turn I got a few more
of the lads across the ford and took a few shots at the Frenchies in the woods…
One of them fell to the ground and
cried for his mama!
After the next volley from the
French a few of the Jocks sprang up and charged the French position!
In the confused melee amidst the
Jocks took down another Frenchman.
Aaaaand then the French got
lucky and took down one of the Jocks… and knocked over two others…
Aaaaaand then the dishonourable
frenchies stabbed the fallen jocks – taking them out as well…
Things were not going well for
the Scots…
A second wave of Scotsmen
charged into the French position taking down a pair of Frenchmen – evening the
score. Whoever lost the next figure would be making a morale test….
…and that would be the Highlanders….
Of course with their steadfastness the two remaining Highlanders in the melee
stayed…
The Pioneer (who wasn’t REALLY a
Highlander) made a run for the table edge – not that he’d don anything since
the second turn…
That left two highlanders
fighting four Frenchmen… We probably could have carried on and I might have
pulled off a win, but we had other stuff to do so we called it a day… All we
were really after was to try out the system and see if it worked. I think it
worked pretty good.
I’d like to try it with cavalry.
Of course I’d have to BUY some
cavalry to do that…
Actually I DO have a few British
Cavalrymen. I have two batches that were earmarked for a big battle units, but one of the units I
don’t have enough figures for and it seems the company I bought them from (Renegade Miniatures)
is not currently in business so I don’t know when (or IF) I will ever be able
to pick up more to finish off that unit, so perhaps I could use a few of them
for skirmishing. They have HUGE horses though…
Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:
Hopefully I’ll get around to
finishing the report for the end of our Song of Blades and Heroes Campaign.
Painting up the last few British
Riflemen I have – some individually based for skirmishing, some that will go
one multi-figure bases for big battle games…
Posts
