Battle at Shenanhanandan (or Freefurt) ACW 15mm!

This time it was Picketts Charge, ACW, 15mm and Peters marvelous collection, we had the pleasure to enjoy. As well as the setup and terrain, it was loosley based on Shenandoah or just a 3 bridgehead scenario for me. Bart and Peter were fighting for secession and slavery, while me, Mike and Alisdair were fighting for the nobler cause! 

And we had a plan! Each outer bridgehead was already in (fortified/farm) hands, so we just decided to defend and take the middle furt. Me in particular had the lazy position to bomb the Rebel bridgehead and go straight into a death ride in the middle with my cavalry just to keep the furt open for my combat fellows to close the gap and just keep hold onto it. Nothing much to ask, one would say...

My Infantry brigade with the guns assumed position on the hill and started firing. I took out the rebel guns - so safe flank over there. Then my riders crossed the furt and charged into the enemy horse! Huzzah, we again pushed them back, our cavalry looked a bit less deranged like the enemy one afterwards, but who cares ... even in front of 3 line battalions of rebels! (Barts dice were abysmal, so they were fire locked ...)

Now this would be the part where I would tell you the tale about the glorious pushback of the rebel attack on our heavily guarded bridge head, and the rushing in of the our veteran brigade through the waters ... 

but no. They just didn‘t. Too hesitant! One could get into a fight or get shot or so...

The veterans as well some other brigade were too hesitant to do whatever, apart from moving into position. Rolling with yellow dices that repeatedly produce low numbers (apart from the command phase) doesn‘t help either! If the main assault should be the middle ground you need at least to advance there...

Don‘t let me start on our bridgehead though! Alisdair totally out of sync with his dice! Peter attacked, barraged and then assaulted our position ... successfully, textbook. So we had two contested crossing and one firm in the hands of the Rebels. I even had to witness the CinC, telling me to charge and turnaround the table/tide/battle, as this would be our only chance ... while my men where out of charge distance (the point when just blocking the enemy)...

Congratulations Bart, for winning this battle for the Rebels single-handedly! - Peter must be thrilled.

Apart from that we had a lot of fun - maybe they let allow us tanks next time, that we might have a chance. Or aircraft? Balloons with bomber crews ...  ach!

Initial set up rebels to the right - Yanks to the left

My direct opponent

We assumed position on hill 3

the middle ground advanced

My guns aiming

and the ground trembled ...

My successful cavalry charge!

Peters Rebel are closing in

I‘ll send the opponent back

The furt is free!

Peter attacks!

And send Alisdair reeling

The Rebel bridge head was peppered, but just kept in check...

The centre just as it was before the last turn... and the turn before that ...

This was the last picture taken, after that we presume the photographer was shot by the union command...

Sudan! The British are coming!

Mike was back again with his absolute wonderful 15mm collection of the Sudan War and a good old colonial slaughter scenario with the Osprey title " The Men who would be Kings" as a rule set.  

I opted for the Mad Mullah together with Peter and Alisdair. An old friend had actually a band called "the Mad Mullahs", so I simply had to. Bart went for the British just because he had a red coat on and Campbell fell in love with the Egyptians and I guess Mike helped him. In hindsight that might be debatable.

So we diced out the "Search and Destroy" - scenario: with the infidels coming onto the village, while we were defending it. "A steel walking sheep with my head full of napalm" wasn‘t exactly the way I felt about the tactical situation, as I had two units of tribal cavalry and some tribal men armoured only with sticks and stones - so I decided NOT to attack Bart redcoats frontally, but to sway to the other flank and attack Campbells Egyptians!

Because Alisdair had shot them back to Cairo two turns before, believe it or not - and I wanted a piece of that! So after my first horse unit was shot  out of their saddles, my second managed to attack into the nile allies.

As Bart just waited outside and killed some units off the roofs, I guess, we won the battle, because at the end, we still had the village. The British had one(?) unit lost and the Egyptians were dead or on their way home. Responsibilities (for the desatrous colonial) outcome would be as usual thrown back and forth between the usual culprits.  As we all agreed we had a lot of fun and that it was the Egyptians by default who would be responsible for the defeat.

1655 The Death of Prince Boguslaw - Polish Renaissance last game of the year!!!

As the Last game in the year, Bart wanted to play his 15mm Polish / Swedes collection using the By Fire & Sword rules set. I choose the Lithuanian Skirmish Force of Prince Bogusslaw Radzwill at Podlasie for 13 FSP, Rec 29 size 29). Bart got a Swedish Detachment in for FSP 11, Rec 15 and size 23. Due to the fact that my force was bigger (??), I had to accept that half of my half drunken nobles were panicky. I choose one flank attack of my pancerni unit and two double forced marches of the winged hussars and the clustered dragoon unit.

Bart outnumbered forces were made of a huge reiter unit and mostly veteran dragoons and musketeers, he had two guns as well. The aim of the game to get the hill in the middle (4pts) and or the two t-crossroads (each 1 pts).

I won the first initiative and advanced with my winged hussars and a giant dragoon force atop the said hill. My pancerni cluster was deep into the enemy flank. That was the height of my game and I would have won the battle if A) the time would have stopped there and B) I would have understood the hidden subtleties of the rules better...

Bart moved his shotte with the gun to the right and settled to barrage me. His Reiters were in front of my winged hussars and I daringly decided that my dragoon lump of massed cluster unit, just charged the few highly specialised veteran dragoons/musketeers in front next to the table edge. Good idea? No!

Apparently the dragoons are not made for dashing cavalry charges and these veteran (dismounted) dragoons (even when totally outnumbered) could make a quick step back before my cavalry hit AND at the same time execute a volley that stopped mine in track to failed precisely the charge. As I didn't know, Bart was so kind to show me that this can have the opposite effect, the whole dragoon unit got disrupted and picked apart in front of the savy shotte unable to get their act together. 

Next my winged hussars charged into the reiters and should have annihilated them easily, as we know Polish hussars a well known for that -  but not this time somehow for some reason my dices weren‘t up for and the reiter were exreeemly good -  that so they had to flee ... off table ...

Next the reiter followed the hussars and run into my reiter elite and pancerni elite. But because, I was outnumbered (my points must have all gotten into the booze of the drunken levy nobility units) these units were just picked apart one after each other.

Then I just decided to retreat my cluster beaten dragoons to the hill in a bet to win by retreat!!! (I will patent that move!!) And attack with my hero Boguslaw and the last pancerni cluster the veterans again ... BUT to no avail, unlike when I play Swedes, they can apparently easily fire off any cavalry charge and pick out the commanding unit. 

So I let good old Boguslaw die. Firstly because otherwise I wouldn't have won the combat (point and unit wise and I AM brutal to all my tin troopers regardless of creed)  and secondly because Bart didn‘t like him so, naturally as a guest player I obliged.

Then we ended the battle also as the nobility more ore less left the table. Point wise I wasn't given the hill points as Barts reiter were within 10cm and contested my dragoons. As Bart told me after he concluded the point score it was a draw. My units were annihilated and the rest I really didn‘t understand. BUT afterwards he mailed me that good old Boguslaw was fat 5 points in the victory which made this retrospectively a whopping defeat for the commonwealth.

As we played over House party all miniatures, scenery, set up as well as loveley miniatures and pictures taken were courtesy of Bart.