The Continuing Battle of Snowhill

"So you think, I‘m fucked eh? We are never going to take that hill?  For that Insolence, I‘m going to make you Brigadier of the left flank and you are going to attack the British in the woods, if you like it or not!" said the American General to the Polish commander of the Artillery train. "That is an order!" 
All his staff fell silent, everybody knew that this was a death sentence ... but they also knew that their prospects didn‘t look better either...

We continued the last ‘Winter‘ battle where we stopped ... and it looked bleak for the American.

To my aid Bart came along and agreed to take over the left flank of the American wing (two line regiments and one militia).  And even better he came with a battle plan. Never to be shy, he proposed to flank the British on both sides and then to shoot them off the hill!

Gesagt, getan, we agreed on the plan – if I would be able to take out his only artillery, we could, with the help of the rifle men, take the British slowly off the hill, one by one – a siege basically.

So Bart started the attack on the flank, I shot what the barrels could hold on the centre, never to forget to aim for the last British gun, and advanced with my right flank.

The British retreated, the Cavalry nearly out of my flank and stood their ground and took the hits.
They even blew off one single healthy line regiment from my flank attack ... now a failed flank attack!

In between the American got a bit lucky and destroyed the only British Gun.

Then Bart attacked - and his Brigardier got shot with the only line unit out not in the woods - now we just had two commander, and the left flank could only move with the CinC orders ... looked like a failed pincer movement. -  devastating!!!

But then Paul decided to go with his CinC to the cavalry and rally his small Dragoon unit – just to be shot away from my American, badly hit and shaken unit ... and they blew them away, inclusive of the British General and CinC!!!

Now the Battle had truly turned, not only the British could be out gunned and out ranged with two American gun units and one Riflemen unit, the British right flank was immoveable (lacking their CinC also their brigadier). All I need to do was just move my units to the left or centre, and then slowly bombard the hill until no British unit was strong enough to defend hill.

A tactical victory, I probably wouldn‘t have won, if Bart would‘t had got "fresh" air into my demoralised Battle planning. A great game in the end, even with a dead general!!

The Polish flank attack into the woods

The other flank attack ...

The Battle still raging on

The American centre got mauled

The Riflemen moving for a better aim at the Grenadiers

Still more shooting than fighting

The Heroes of the centre - Militia!!!

The British without a gun ...

The Polish flank attack still moving on - even without a Brigadier!

Hans Caspar David Friedrich Goethe Schiller Nietzsche, the Bearded, Duke of Saxony

The Stradioti are finished

Yeah finally, after loosing the plot with the rigging of the San Augustin, I was in for the kill for my newly finished stradiots. They are the Perry westernised one, and indeed look well fed. As I imagined them been brought to the table by the most holy Serenissima, I gave them a little branding on their bow equipment (the Markus Lion looks rather like a Lizard) but they look neat on the table.

The Battle of Snowhill

A fateful decision to make, but he had to take the hill no matter the cost. And immense they would be.  If he would linger too long the British would wrestle him down, If he would attack too soon, they would shot him down. Such was the peril the American General was in that he called for a battle council. Where he explained his strategy and his plans and his tactics. All his staff listen very carefully and after being asked about their gentleman opinion, there was a long and uncomfortable silence. Then his Polish Artillery commander Bartolomeus Hackstech stood up and said: " Its impossible, you're fucked." and left the tent...

I was the American and Paul was playing the Brits this time. While I had about 12 regiments/units on the table he only had 8. We used 'Eve of Battle' again to produce a very different Battle set up.

It was winter, heavy snowfall prevented the first three turns all shooting and the movement would be halved throughout the entire battle. But there was a catch: while I used my card to gain numerical superiority, Paul played a 'Strategic Objective', i.e. he 'bought' with his cards that one single terrain item would be my objective for victory. Also he drawn 'barricades' and 'scouts' and delayed one of my units.
I only had a swamp a river (uncrossable) but  luckily an 'enfilade' which allowed 25% of my units to deploy at either side. But then Paul contered with 'Lost Depeche' which allowed him to re-deploy all of his troops at the end of my deployment. A very powerful card which topples even the 'Enfilade'.

Therefore he deployed the Grenadiers as scouts behind barricades on the hill, which was also a strategic hill, i.e. had a combat bonus for the defenders. His Light Infantry and the Hessians backed up  his right flank behind the hill.

What shall I say, as predicted the first battle movements were a slow, and thanks to some blunders, a very shaky matter. Paul managed to get all his troops into perfect positions, failed at a flank attempt from his Dragoon regiment. Some shots were exchanged, but not real harm was done. Some club friends came along and commented very precisely on my (The American) chances, which were minimal. Nevertheless we like to continue this maybe next time ...

At the end of deployment 

The Hill far far away ...

The Americans attempt to soften up the British flank

More Brits hiding in the woods

The American approaching ...

the American centre

When we stopped the battle

Trafalgar! Trafalgar!

Oh du lieber Augustin! And I said wouldn‘t collect any Napoleonics? - In the club a couple of friends decided to buy and built the fleet of Trafalgar in 1:2000 and refight the battle with the rules 'Kiss Me Hardy'. Being said, promptly done?  ... We did some test battles and - I‘m hooked, har har!

But I‘m not mad. I will do some sort of semi-pseudo-super-minimal rigging, just for the sake of saving my sanity. I‘ll leave the ruin of the mind for others.

This is the 1st ship: Le Spaniard Diablo! San Augustin! Ole!

Funny coincidence, I basically grew up on this ship, which is located at the eastern shores of the Rhine and is a small town in fact. Which sounds totally mad, and proves that even the slightest instalment of any rigging has a detrimental effect on my logic.

The French are coming! Conclusion

How did that happen? The earth has turned upside down, indeed! Beaten by the French, bested by Rebel-Rabble, who turned his own strategy against him. What a shame, what a shame (lament!), Oh what a shame! Let the retreat sound! Let‘s hope we can run faster...
And with that Lord Taylor disappeared out of sight of his own staff, leaving just a faint smell of something very hm... behind, never to be seen again.

This was the conclusion of the last battle, we were able to recreate where we stopped last time. (I have to remember that one!)

The American, played by Paul, were still hidden in the woods on their left flank and ‘shadowing‘ my right, that had retreated to the centre almost.

The British  had managed to enter the woods in the centre and two units, one of them the upgraded Light Infantry,  were closing in against Indian scouts and Militia.

On the right the American Cavalry elite was badly beaten and the remaining Continentals were facing advancing Hessians and Grenadiers. For the American it looked bleak.

The game started and the british advanced further, mauled and shot at the Rebel lines and attacked what seemed just a sweeping up of the right flank of the Rebels. – But it didn‘t happen. The Hessians disintegrated.

The American CinC came to help to rally the cavalry and the counter attack destroyed my redcoats and my weakened grenadiers.

In the Woods the badly mauled French came to help the Indians, just to be shot off my advancing artillery, into their flank - Autsch.

After that the mainly intact French reserve stormed into the woods and deleted my British line. An event that was publicly recorded in the annuals of the wargaming club, even a French visitor could‘t hide his amusement and wonder.

Alarmed of the disintegration of the British flank and centre the British CinC quickly ordered troops from the left to the right, but all in all a little too late. They shared the same fate.

At the end the American counter-attack did that what I had hoped would have done my troops, if my Hessians would have beaten the trapped American cavalry. They swept up the battle line from the flank. Paul countered my plans with the exact strategy I had in mind. If I think about it, I still don‘t know how he did it!!!

All in all it was a very thrilling and highly entertaining game this time. Well done Paul!

The start of the critical phase

The fateful attack of the Auxuerre Regiment

The American guns loosing their targets

The Auxuerres again enfiladed by British Guns

The victorious Saissoinnais re-capturing the woods

The revitalised American right flank begin to roll-up the British

Again the American guns can‘t find targets ...

The first advancing continentals are getting hurt.

Finally the American army came out of the woods!

Rolled up to its very centre, the British commander sends for parley ...