Sunday, October 10, 2010

GAME!!

Well well, this is a rare treat if you can call it that, there is atleast a year since last game, like the last time it's a teste game, just to learn the rules, this time the rules were British Grenadier, a AWI version of General de Brigade, it's a complex game, but not super complex, it got some good fundementals from GdB and the new distruption points, basicly before unit take actualy casualties from gunplay and melê the need 3 distruption points or DPs, when a unit gets 3 DPs it starts to take casualties, or figure casualties, in the rules a unit that gets 2DPs but no figure casualties, that is soldiers get hit ect. but the there are only a few wouned and no massive loss of soldier. DPs in that sence means low level casuatlies, and just a unit gets a little out of control, ranks arn't that great, basicly the unit is disrupted.

One thing I notised was it does take some time to play, it's not one of those new lets to it fast rules, nothing wrong with those, but even medium games takes 5-6 hours big games over 8 mabye even 10, my tiny game of just 7 units(well 8 with the gun) took 3 hours, granted I needed to check the play sheet often, but it's still some time for a small game, in realiy the game was very unnessesary, there was never any doubt about the winner, 3 british regimetns with a 6pdr gun, 2 of which are elite units, against 4 american two of which were milita.

The outcoe was never in question, but even with uneven game lasted a good 3 hours and I was suprised by just how hard it was to get rid of the milita.
Also the game lasted atleat an hour and a half before any bases were removed. But then a whole unit went away more or less at the same time.

I took a bunch of pictures it like 30 of them and I forget when they were taken in the round number, so I won't be making a clear round by round play by play thing, just a flowing thing.
First I would like to say sorry for the unfinished gun base, and the unfinished bases for some units and the generals, and there is like 2 brigade generals to few, so the generals are both CinC and brigade generals.

Here's the deployment, the Americans are behind cover, the milita is first with the continentals behind. The british had a easy objecrtive, Normaly this would be two brigades, but since I only had one generals it dosn't show that well, but basicly the britsh brigade is one, and the Hessain and gun is another, so they have diffrent objectives, the hessain objective was to clear out the left hand field. While the british brigade's first objective was to take the house.

The all British brigade, 33rd and 23rd regiments of foot, both are elite, both are 24 strong.

Over the Shoulder you can see the hessain brigade which is actualy just a single regiment and gun.


The American disposisions, Milita in front, behind hedges, then the 1st maryland reigment, that is classed as line, and way back across the road the 2nd maryland which is a elite regiment,

First round is easy, the British move a full move, the 23rd get a DP becasue it scored a 2 on it's avrage dice. but as a elite unit it can take of 2Dps each turn.


The American milita takes an ineffective long volley,


Same with this militia regiment,


In the next round, the Von Bose gets behind the frence, now you can't move just as much as you want, when you throw a dice, you have to move the full distance, it was just dum luck it stoped right at the frence and not went past it, Since it only moved half a move(1 dice) they can fire to, and gives a few DPs to the milita, even tho it was saved a little by beeing behind the cover, the problem is that milita can only remove DPs when a brigadier or CinC is in contact. So when milita gets DPs it's hard to get rid of them.


The 23rd goes into a close hegde and stay there taking long but suprisingly effective long shots.


On the end of the volleys is the 1st maryland, it gets shot to peices, but stays in it, it gets DPs and casualties. Even tho the guys shooting at them are at long range and the regiment is behind cover.


Over the shoulder view from the 23rd.


The Von Bose is fireing, and the gun has finnaly gotten into place, limberd and wheeled(which took some rouds) and started to fire canister into the milita. Natuarly canister and close range musketry is not something militia likes.


The american Brigadier move up to the 1st maryland, this means this regiment can take of 2 DPs every round, 1 for beeing line and 1 for having a brigader conected.


I did have sevral pictures of the 33rd fightig with the milita, but those didn't turn out so well, so lets just say they got into a firefight, while the others you've seen on pictures, finnaly the 33rd charged, but the milita didn't stand up to the charge and retreated.



The 33rd wheel, as it looks like the militia is just going to continue to retreat.



Now the birgadier has moved to the front milita unit, it has been on 3 DPs for a long time and taking heavy casualties from canister and musketry, it did pass a moral test, when it lost more then 10% in a single round.


The 33rd clashes with the 1st maryland.


At the same time the milita unit lost it's first base, and started to retreat, the von Bose followed after it.


To my suprise the 1st maryland, looses big in the mele then follow up with snakeeyes on the moral test and despersed in the wind, bringing great shame to the it's home state.


The right hand milita did get it's act togeather and tried to move into the rear of the 33rd, but is met by the 23rd in close order and ready.


The milita and 23rd stands face to face and just hammer hard and fast at eachother with muskets. The 23rd beeing elite is almost impossible to defeat in toe to toe firefight, especaly if you are milita, but they can't charge, they would never survice it. So they just hope to get a double six and mabye to a little damige.


The milta in the left field disperses and 33rd and Von Bose advance at the 2nd maryland.
The 2nd maryland see it's gettig flanked, even the artillery is trying to flank, soon it will be shot to peices from 3 sides. it does what it has to do, it charges the Germans, in a desprate hailmary.


Beeing elite and chargeing it gets sevral bonouses and wins the mele, does quite alot of damige to the Germans.


23rd and milita still just shooting, the milita takes some casualties but hold on.


It looks like the 2nd maryland might have done it, but it looses more then 10% in a single unit in the mele, and to suprisingly fails the moral test and starts to retreat.


While the Elite 2nd maryland retreats, the Hessains recover and starts to follow the maryland regiment

The maryland is very unlucky retreats again, and only bearly recover at the 3rd atempt to rally.
It marches on the enemy, mabye another desprate charge can save the day.



No such like, first the 6pdr opens deadly cannonade on it, it takes 4 casualties ontop of the 5 it has allready from the previous charge and firefights, at 9 it would need to take another moral test and now it has over 50% casualties, but it's not over, the 33rd levels it's muskets and give out a thundering volley, dozens of marylanders fall, half it's remaning officers fall at well, and when it test morale it disperses, it was only half a casualty away from automatic despersal anyway.




At the same time the 23rd finnaly get a double six, and the volley devestates the milita that has now slowly be eroded away from constant fire, this volley was the last slap in the face, and it disperses. This is the posisions of the Britsh as it ends, The fighting took a long time, and the Americans gave up 3 feet of table before giving up and going awaty. It was bloodly, I expected to push the milita away easy and then mabye have a harder fight with the continetals. Instead the 1st maryland was the first to go way, and the milita took ONE HELL of beating before going away, I think more militamen died and got woned then contientals, even tho the 2nd maryland was quite devistated.
In the british camp, the Hessain got the most of it, with 4 casualties or 60 in 1:15 scale, pluss the smaller casualties that don't count in the DPs, the 33rd got away with 2 casualties, or 30 dead and wounded, the 23rd, didn't loose any figures so it's casulaties must have been minor. Probebly becasue it never got into mele, and fought milita for most of the time, exept when it was hidden well in the brush and hedges.
As I said I did know who would win, I don't think a single american geneal would have fought this battle, it was almost even in number of soldiers. And half the Americans were milita.
But the milita fought very well and lost dearly for it. Brave milita, had you only had twice as many, there might have been harder for the British.





























9 comments:

kendo said...

Good one G-F

AD said...

Nice report. Also, I really like the terrain.

Gunfreak said...

Thanks, I was hopeing someone would notise the terrain, I spent a lot of money on it.

Gunfreak said...

By the Way AD, Love your blog,

I'm gonna paint up that Lamb's Artillery Company, are the guns yellow to, it looks like it on the painting

James said...

What's your ground scale ? Is that a keep or a house ?

James said...

Busting your chops, Truls.

Your figs looks great, especially those redcoats. And with the scale of fig you're using, I think the terrain looks real good. Now all you need is about 4 more tables of that or more, unless of course the rule set supports small scale actions well.

Gunfreak said...

I Think I can have about 16 or 18 units, pluss skirmishes and guns on my table, it will be a classick "guildford" type battle, amercans in 3 lines, it won't let to do alot of flanking, atleast not until some of the units are out of play, but then it will still be fun. A battle with 18 units will take atelast 6 or mabye 9 hours, so it's a two day game.

I'm doing a bigger battle in 10mm, that will let me play around with flak attacks and cavalry ect.

James said...

Yes, I suppose if you line 'em length-wise you could fit quite a few on there. I liked your write up too. You give a good snap shot of the rules and how they play. Have to say I'm a little particular to Johnny Reb. Maybe sometime you cna post a battle report on that one too.

PS I gotta get in touch with those house painters. They did a nice job.

AD said...

@Gunfreak, regarding Lamb's Artillery: The picture is intended to show the gun carriage as natural, unpainted wood. To the best of my knowledge, what their carriages looked like is not known. If they were painted, they probably would have been grey or red-brown.