Sunday 16 August 2015

White Plains 1776- Battle at Chatterton Hill

We slaughtered the on coming British, shot the Dragoons from their steeds, stemmed the Hessian tide and stand steadfast for 12 turns!!! That is nearly a day in Black Powder measurements!

But I'm not so sure if we did Washington truly a favour.

Well, OK there was these victory conditions that the British win, if they had units on the hill, while we don't, for one turn, and every turn we could hold on, one regiment would get away (further) from the British main force(on the campaign board). Yes, we saved probably 12 Continental Army Regiment to get away to fight another day ... at the cost of hrm, well, 14 of ours, amongst them Haslets Chickens and the Smallwood's Regt. and the beautiful 3rd New York Regt., ouch!

Howe on earth could that have happened?

Well, first of all Bart (as von Heister) opted for Rall to come in on the hill on the other side of the Bronx (Angus played the Hessian troops) and the other Hessians von Donop came in a bit late. Bart got the artillery battery in position on Woolf Pit Hill and bombarded the American line the whole battle for no good (for the ones who don't know Bart he used his famous "orange" dice, I think I will join the club petition now to abandon this "device" as the average mathematical possibility of sixes are clearly over 16,666% on that one).

So ,we lost unit after unit to Bart merciless artillery fire. Meanwhile Angus, aka Rall, came out of the right flank and shoot my State levies and militia down bit by bit. He didn't even gave me the grace of a melee (until later when he lost "the other" unit of the total British casualties).

Then Bart ordered the Dragoons to sweep around, over the bridge into our rear, just like historical one did, but crucially at the end of the battle. Because our troops got re-inforcement at that moment , they shot the dragoons off their saddles. That was the American height of things, from then on it went only from worse to §$%&/!"!

The Lobsters took the field, textbook style. And we got the bloody noses this time, big time.

We "maybe" saved the day, but certainly not our own arses.

(Figures: provided by me and Jack, mostly Perry or Perry-Foundry, Flags: mine are mostly Flags of War some GMB, Jack's flags are all original but stone-washed until shrunk to the exact size, Terrain: the hill, by me, the rest courtesy of the club)

Angus' battle rap on:
http://www.edinburghwargames.com/Journal%20109.htm
Bart's battle rap on:
http://asienieboje.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/white-plains-1776-battle-at-chatterton.html

Battle set-up at the start 
Barts infamous battery

The Hill at the start

Angus Hessians swarming downhill to the right

The LI and the Jaegers give fire as well

The Hill now severely decimated

Jack in awe of Barts dicing

The British croaching in

Point of view von Knyphausen 
The British arrive on the other side of the Bronx River

The Americans hide behind the hill they should defend

The LI and the Jaegers are the 1st on the Hill

The Americans retreat "fighting"(?)

Von Donops Hessian Garde Reserve slurrs onwards

Leslie's Brigade is on the Hill

The Last stand of Haslets Delawares

Meanwhile the Artillery  keeps pounding on ...


Last fights on the Hill

The last few Americans are fighting to the last ...


Von Donop cuts their retreat

The last stand of the 3rd New York Regt.

End of a very bloody battle!




6 comments:

  1. This hill is a cemetery! Beautiful pictures, splendid armies and terrain...

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  2. Thanks Phil! I'm still proud of my compound hill somehow. :)

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  3. That was great game. Thank you for giving me the guns, that was pure pleasure! I love your hill, very nicely done and of course the all your and Jack's minis. Can not wait for the next games. I am happy that this campaign finally started!

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    1. Thanks, I thought so myself! Enjoy the guns while you can, in the campaign you will have less (unless you built them of course). And the matter of the orange dice, we will bring in front of the Den Haag Justice Court, of course.

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  4. Replies
    1. Thank you, Rodger! It was marvelous, I can imagine the American camp got a sense of how devastating the British Army can be. Usually (and hopefully) that will keep them thinking... :)

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