1815 - New England Rebellion

RULES: Fire and Fury
Scale: 15mm
Figures: Old Glory
Hosted by Jim Carpenter
The game was played on Friday 2/8/08 and we had 9 people show up for the game. The battle was a fictitious battle in a fictitious war. We played the first Civil War in 1815 in which New England decided to break away from the United States. They were supported by British and Canadian forces. The rebels set up defenses outside of Hartford Connecticut and decided to hold off approaching Federal troops led by Ole' Hickory himself, Andrew Jackson. The Federal troops approached from two roads from the south and consisted of troops from Kentucky, Tennessee as well as the regular army.

    

     There was a mix of veteran and militia armed with muskets and rifles. There was support in the form of 6lb guns and cavalry. The rebels were mostly green troops of militia quality supported by British and Canadian regulars. They also had artillery support and were entrenched waiting for the approaching government troops. Federal troops steadily advanced to the defenses and began to fire to soften up the defenses. The Federals had a distinct advantage as they had rifles instead of smooth bore muskets. Casualties were light on both sides as the exchanges went on for a few turns.The defenders remained static for as long as they could, waiting for reinforcements. The defenders enjoyed modifiers making it difficult to to hit them and giving them a favorable ground advantage for the upcoming hand to hand combat. Here the rebels troops can be seen exchanging fire with the federal troops in open field. Their veteran status of the federal troops gave them a slight advantage. In a wider shot of the battle you can see the rebel set up, reinforcements are staged in a town behind the battle. Canadian and rebel troops advance to the center in an attempt to halt the advancing enemy. British cavalry an be seen moving along the tree line trying to get to the flank in support. The red markers show disordered units that have already been engaged. As you can see the rebels had good coverage and a well organized reserve to act as a relief force if needed. Since this is an ongoing campaign it is important not to lose units completely, they will be needed for the next engagement.

    
Now he battle gets fully involved. Red markers are marking the disordered troops all over the field. The rebel militia (New Englanders) are taking the brunt of the attack. To the right you see British flags marking the the better quality troops, they were held in reserve. The blue and white chips mark low ammunition and silenced cannons. Andrew Jackson can be seen on the left on his command stand. Casualties began to pile up on both sides. On the rebel left flank you can see the rebel forces holding up inside the town and in their defensive position. Columns of federal militia stream to meet an approaching rebel unit. In Fire and Fury it is a huge advantage to have one unit supporting another. Riflemen in green uniform advance down the road with more militia to their right. Six pound cannons are coming up in support to deal with the rebel defenses. The federals stop the advance to stay out of musket range but remain in rifle range. The rebels use cannon fire to shake things up instead.
The rebel forces start to become disordered and have supply problems. A second line of defense starts to develop in an effort to stem the tide. Rallying green troops is very difficult. The disorder causes your troops to fire at half strength. The low ammo causes a half strength as well, so the unit with multiple color chips is very ineffective in its current state. At the bottom of the picture troops meet in hand to hand combat. It was a hard fought game indeed.
Federal troops poor over the top in an attempt to catch the disordered unit in a vulnerable state. The federal troops have broken through and are pushing the rebels back with the bayonet. In this game melee causes much more casualties than firing. At the bottom of the picture you can see another engagement. Canadian and British troops are waiting in the rear.


The federals have punched through the rebel defenses. The troops will need to reorganize before the next advance. With the flanks secured the rebels will need to establish another line of defense. Andrew Jackson is really pouring it on, but will the momentum carry on?
15mm is a great scale to see the detail of the figures and for gaming large battles. The rules are a club favorite and the night went very fast.

    
    At table level the figures make an impressive sight. Here is the militia from Kentucky and Tennessee mixing it up with the boys from New England. The artillery is moving up in support and is having difficulty keeping up. They only move 8 inches compared to the 12 inches that infantry moves. When the infantry receives a 1.5 move rate (18 inches) they can leave the artillery in the dust. Militia and regulars hit the rebel line simultaneously. The federals are moving in support of each other and there just isn't enough rebel units to counter. In the rules you count all stands making contact and in support, this gave the federals a 3-1 advantage. The situation is critical for the rebels and they are being pressed. The defenders make a valiant stand but just can't hold the line any more. The federal fired and caused a disorder result to gain additional advantage before pressing the attack. If British and Canadian troops had been present, perhaps there would have been a different outcome.
    The center of the rebel line is compromised. The federal militia scored high on the maneuver roll and were able to move at 1.5 time the normal rate. They hit the left flank of a rebel unit creating a delaying action. This unit was outnumbered 4-1 and took heavy casualties.
Rolling to maneuver adds uncertainty to the game. A low roll could just have easily been made causing the unit to halt for a turn. It was a bad day to be a rebel as the momentum stayed with the Federals. Here is an overview of the battle, federals are on the left of the picture. As you can see there is not a lot of clutter in the game. Maneuvering troops makes for a better game than just plowing straight ahead and hoping to roll well. The game started to wind down when Federal troops started to enter the town. The rebels had trouble holding on as the Canadian and British forces just looked on. Andrew Jackson had the rebel towns put to the torch as there was no room in this country for traitors. We played an entire game in about 3 hours and had a blast. The rebel troops were a outmatched by the quality and concentration of federal troops.
The rules are fun, but the trouble (and strength) with a club our size is that we never play the same rule s frequently enough to get really good at them. I may not ever master a set of rules but I am never bored and we always have a great time....barring politics.
I hope to have another post in 2 weeks.

Fall of Khartoum

Our battle of Khartoum actually spans two battles that were held on two different nights. We used "The Sword and the Flame" rules through out the campaign.

The dervishes have held the city under siege for several weeks. Supplies and living conditions in Khartoum have been poor. The defenders are fewer but morale remains high in the hopes that relief is on the way. The fort is buzzing with the news that British troops have landed in Egypt and they are working their way south. A gunboat was spotted heading toward the town, could it be the relief they have been waiting for?






















At this point the dervishes decide to attack. If they can press the battle then perhaps Khartoum will fall and the infidels will be put to the sword. The great and all knowing Madhi commands that the battle is today.
Thousands of dervishes come screaming out of the hills. The defenders have been stunned by the awesome sight. The desperate struggle begins as Ansars, Fuzzy-Wuzzy and other tribesmen pour forth to destroy all that is unholy.



The dervish forces close in for the kill as rifle fire has not been entirely effective. The issue will be decided by cold steel.
The +1 for defending the wall really helps even the odds for the Sudanese.

The dervish enjoy the ability to throw spears prior to closing for hand to hand fighting.

The terrain and figures were accumulated over the years by Jim Ferich. There are several different manufacturers represented on the table. Jim has been playing these rules since their inception.

The close quarters fighting continues on, the Egyptian and Sudanese infantry decide to fall back to stronger defensive positions. There are just too many tribesmen to fight and they are being overwhelmed.
Infantry takes position behind the barricades to await another fanatical charge. Artillery and reserves are repositioned to deal with the threat.

Smoke can be seen on the river, an approaching gunboat is spotted, are the relief forces arriving?






















The tribesmen lose heart and withdraw at the sight of the unexpected force. They have no desire to face the artillery and machine guns of this new threat.
The gunboat arrives to the horror that it has been shot to pieces steaming to Khartoum. There is no supply column or relief force accompanying the crippled steamer. The meager supplies are offloaded, perhaps the survivors can hold out.

The sailors tell Pasha Boyle-Gordon that the river journey has been hazardous and there is no escape. The gunboat is too damaged to remove civilians.
The dervishes watch from the hills with great interest.









The following day the Madhi commands his army of faithful to go forward and finish off the defenders. There is no sign of a relief force, and Pasha Boyle-Gordon must be killed. There are too few survivors to man the walls around the fort. The have consolidated to defensive positions through out the town. The dervishes pour through the outer walls with ease. Allah is indeed great.
The defenders have no choice but to hold fire until it is necessary.



Pasha Boyle-Gordon looks on with interest and great concern. He holds his position with fewer defenders as casualties mount.His loyal body guard stands by his side throughout the ordeal.
He exudes confidence despite the odds, is his will enough to carry the day?

The dervishes roll through the streets raping cattle and stampeding women and children!
They never knock before entering either, how rude! How un-British!!
The dervishes stopped to kill any wounded infidels they happened to come across.

The buildings are foam core, they look great don't they?


The battle carries through the streets as dervish rifles take their toll on the defenders.
The tribesmen with rifles scale up to the rooftops using ladders. The spearmen skewer anything moving in the streets and houses.

The defending Sudanese prove a tough match even when out numbered. Mounted officers help decimate whole units of attacking Ansar. There are just too many, the defenders fall back the last remaining defense of the inner fort. The gunboat offer support from the river. Soon the walls are covered with Tribesmen hell bent on destruction. The battle rages on.

The defenders take many enemy with them as they fall. Artillery crews were soon overrun by natives. One by one the defending units fall. Even the Pasha Boyle-Gordon has defend against the onslaught. He defends the doorway with his body guard. He kills 20 of the screaming tribesmen (he gets a +3 to his roll, and Eric rolled very well all night), but another unit of angered Ansar step on and over the bodies of their fallen to strike, they are more frenzied then ever. Finally a spear finds its target.


The epic defense of Khartoum is over. The struggle was the stuff of legends. The London newspapers will carry the name of Pasha Boyle-Gordon to history.

The campaign continues on as the dervishes gained 25 points for capturing the town of Khartoum.

ACW Fire and Fury - Petersburg

Figures: 15mm from several manufacturers.

Rules: Fire and Fury

These rules are a club favorite, they enable you to fight large battles in a short time . They are no longer in print, a real shame as they are really fun to play.
Basing: Four figures are on 1"x1" square bases, 6 to 10 bases make up a brigade. Two to three brigades make up a division. I only wish I had a copy of these rules. They can be used for any horse and musket period.
To move each brigade the player must roll a D10 to see if the brigade moves and the distance it can cover. Units wheel up to 45 degrees with a maximum move rate of 12" for infantry. 18" for cavalry and 8" for artillery. Leaders are rated from poor to excellent and can effect movement and melee rolls. If a unit is in disorder it has a different movement chart, but can rally as part of its movement.
Fire combat is based on the number of stands and the distance involved. Artillery has a devastating canister shot of 10 points, when combined with infantry it is very lethal.

Game Report5 Union players against 3 Confederate players

The Confederates were to hold the Union forces off and prevent them from reaching the town. To start off with the Confederates had 2 infantry brigades with 1 artillery piece in a redoubt and 2 Cavalry brigades with 1 horse artillery piece deploying freely. The Union was to randomly enter on 3 roads from the opposite roads. As you can see there was a lot of ground for the defenders to cover .



The defenders get a defensive bonus, fire combat rolls at a -2 against the redoubt, in melee the defenders get a "favorable ground" modifier. It seemed a logical choice to place the infantry as the Confederates would be out numbered. If they could weather the Union storm there would be hope.



Here come the "Blue bellies"marching in column on a road toward the prepared defensive positions. It would take a couple of turns to reach small arms fire so the Union troops would be in column as long as possible.


More and more Union troops in the advance. The confederates were hoping the Union troops would bottle neck by entering more troops on a single road but it did not happen. The Confederate horse artillery would fire off a few long range shots in hopes of slowing down the enemy. They cause some disorder but it was little effect.
Finally the Confederate reinforcements arrive. AP Hill starts to enter, hopefully he is not too late. The rebels need to reinforce their left flank and establish defensive positions in their center and right flank. The Confederate units are smaller but are better quality.


Union cavalry are excellent troops when dismounted, they are advancing on the rebels taking a few casualties along the way. As they got closer they were greatly reduced in strength.
The rebels get help on the left flank, the red marker is used to show low ammo. The Union troops are preparing for an advance followed by an assault. The white marker is used to show disordered units. Eventually these troops would make a desperate attempt to attack the Union troops by coming out of the defenses.


Here is a close up of the Union troops massing in the center for an assault. I wanted to show the detail of these excellent figures painted by Alan and Jim C. It looks like hand to hand combat will be the preferred offensive strategy.
Confederate forces arrive to match the Yanks in the center.
Here is a birds eye, the Union is on the left, Confederates on the right.
Her is the Union advance from their view of things. You can see the Division Commander is controlling his 2 brigades and artillery. The guns must be deployed to soften the defenses. The unit on the left is in line, the one on the right is in column. The column formation gives you a +1 to your movement roll.
More columns of troops advance on the Union left, there is no shortage of troops for the North. Those Yanks breed like cockroaches, or they could be newly arrived from foreign lands. Welcome to America, here is your rifle , now head south.
A mistake made be the Confederates is that we did not deploy a brigade in support of another. The Union moves in force. Fire combat and melee in the center. The Confederate player (my son) rolled poorly, the Union decimated the center of the line in the opening stages of the battle.Confederate cavalry moves to attack the center with the aid of infantry. The Union troops were repulsed , but with out loss.... a common theme. The South just couldn't roll well at the critical moment in the center of the line.The Confederates pull a risky maneuver by assaulting artillery on their right flank, as you can see the south is in a pickle. The North's guns were causing havoc, so they had to be dealt with. The first battery fell, a break through charge took out a second battery. After that the infantry was left unsupported against overwhelming odds.Wave after wave of Union troops assault the center. The South could not hold on much longer. Confederates are disordered, the Union advance moves steadily forward . AP Hill is giving orders to hold, the Union die rolls really did the south in. If you roll poorly you can't pull off a win no matter what quality you troops are. The Union juggernaut rolls forward, the Confederate right flank ceases to exist and the game was called.

Recap: The game lasted just over 3 hours. A Union victory was the final result. A blessing and a curse our club has is that we play different rules every game, so I constantly make rookie mistakes when playing.... but we have an endless variety of periods and battles so no complaints from me.

Sudan Campaign - Akasha

The Battle of Akasha has taken place on the 4th turn of the campaign. Egyptian forces have moved south again as they fight their way to Khartoum. The Egyptians have had a run of luck beating back every assault from the Mahdi. They have now encamped at Akasha and have awakened to the sound of the sentries calling the alarm.

As you can see the dervishes have started very close to the perimeter but they are spread outmaking a consolidated attack difficult. The Egyptians are surrounded but get a defensive bonus that proved very critical in the fight to come. If the dervish break through they can kill any wounded they come in contact with which would cripple the relief effort, they must hold at all costs.

The dervish cavalry was held to punch through at a critical moment when needed. Here we see camels employed to support an Ansar advance against the southern facing of the camp.They were part of 3 tribes attacking the one area. They are good troops but against fixed defensive positions they had a hard time.

The Egyptians are really in the thick of it. The camels are pushed to the breach as the Egyptians put up a steady fire. A mass attack of Ansars is also stretching the defenders to their limit. The Egyptians had to shift their defenses to close the breach.

Wave after wave of Ansars attack, the fighting has resorted to hand to hand combat. The very survival of the relief column hangs in the balance. The +1 modifier for defending the terrain proved to be the crucial factor. The dervish infantry just couldn't pull off the deciding blow to break the line.

The Naval Brigade was positioned on the North side of the camp. It did not see much action as it it would be too dificult for the dervishes to deal with. The gun would eventually be repositioned to repel Mahdist rifle units in the eastern hills. A very effective weapon to eliminate waves of crazed tribesmen.

Egyptian infantry started taking casualties, the wounded and dead begin to pile up. The Egyptians managed to hold on as the Ansar could not deliver the death blow to their enemy. This battle proved to be the turning point of the game. The Ansar did not take many casualties, they were pushed back by the Egyptians. They had trouble rallying to go at the Imperial dogs once again.

The camp was saved , the last few dervish units skirmish to cover the retreat. Once again the Egyptians have defied the odds and beaten an enemy many times their number. It looks like the Egyptians will beat the British to Khartoum, unless something goes terribly wrong, but what are the chances of that?

Now it's time to count the dead and wounded, the Egyptians are slowly being eroded away in a game of attrition. The Northern district is being handled well, but the real test lies further south. Since the southern district has a higher revolt index there should be considerably more Mahdist tribes rising up to repel the hated infidels. Now on to turn 5.

Sudan Campaign - Suakin

Suakin was another battle in our campaign. It had been under siege and supplies were running low. The city is key for one reason, it is the only port outside of Egypt that can receive reinforcements. Troops from India are currently enroute, so the city had to be saved. An infantry company of Egyptian infantry was sent to aid in a break out attempt.
A you can see the Egyptian defenders are manning the walls, there are only 2 roads of escape behind them. Should they flee there is no guarantee they would be able to reform on the far side of the river. The defenders were bracing them selves for a massive attack.
This is indeed the thin white line. In the background you can see the main attack as a large contingent of dervish tribesmen charge the defenses. In the foreground is the feint to keep the defenders in place. If they can keep the Egyptians from supporting their other company then the dervishes have a chance.
Now is the desperate struggle in brutal close quarters fighting. The fate of the town came down to a single die roll, if the dervish wins it they will have broken through the main lines and seized the town. The Sword and the Flame at its finest.
The Egyptians held and are now counter attacking the dervishes who begin to flee. Suarkin has held and is able to receive troops arriving from India....and there was much rejoicing. At this point the Egyptians had won 3 in a row, a pretty good run of luck. I wonder how long it will hold up. Now the campaign is at turn 4 and another battle awaits. Egyptian troops continue south to Akasha where they must fight to regain the town. They are becoming fewer in number.

Sudan Campaign - Wadi Halfa

This battle took place on the third turn of the campaign. The town of Wadi Halfa, although it was only worth 5 points, was key as it is required to establish a rail line to help speed troops south. The Mahdist forces captured the town and was using it as a strong point in the Northern district. I remember this as the battle of the Allah'mo.


Here the Mahdi defenders were on the walls to repel the expected counter attack. The defenders had few musket or rifle units, so closing with the enemy for hand to hand seems to be the best tactic.



Egyptian infantry starts off across an empty field. Although the dervishes are not the best shots, they are sure to lose a few infantry. he Egyptians are well trained and led so it will be difficult to break them during their advance.



The Egyptian infantry advanced across the field and have scaled the walls with the help of supporting artillery. In this picture it is good old hand to hand. More dervishes wait below for their chance to close with the infidel dogs. The dervish artillery is manned by a captured crew of non-believers, if they do not fight, then they die.



Egyptian cavalry advance too close to the main gate and are rushed by frenzied natives. The cavalry easily evaded the onslaught thanks to phased movement. The dervishes realized they could not catch the cavalry and had to dash back into the fort.



Due to bad rolling during combat the dervishes lost the west wall. The Egyptians were now ready to fire at close range and clean up the town, although there were much less troops then what they started with. This particular company of infantry lost most of their company and will be hard to replace for future battles.




Boats can be seen approaching the Northern wall, they are loaded with Egyptian troops preparing to storm the North wall.
It looks bad for the Mad Mahdi's forces, the Eastern wall and half of the Northern wall have fallen. Now disciplined fire will rain down on the defenders of the faith. The Northern wall was taken at a high cost. How will the Khendive of Egypt replenish the ranks as the rebellion is at its peak.



The dervishes hold up in their last corner of town, the only thing they can do now is take as many infidels with them as possible before they break out to the open desert.

It was another victory for the Anglo-Egyptians. It will be interesting to see how much longer they continue to push on before the losses add up. At this point the Egyptians do not seem to need the British troops headed for Egypt.

Sudan Campaign - El Obeid

Our club is currently involved in a Sudan Campaign using the rules set The Sword and the Flame and will last throughout the year, it started in March. Luckily, I game with veteran players (some more than 20 years' experience) who have accumulated vast amounts of beautifully painted figures from Foundry, Old Glory and several other manufacturers too numerous to mention as well as eye popping scenery. So here is an era where there is no purchase necessary and the only limit to the battles is in relation to thesize of the game table (12'x6'). Last night we played out the battles occurring on turn 4, but this is an attempt to catch up on what happened in the previous turns.

To obtain the campaign rules please check the SUDAN CAMPAIGN link on this blog.

Currently all provinces are in rebellion as the Mad Mahdi has been spreading the word (and Sword) across the Sudan. Egyptian and Sudanese forces were initially placed through out the Sudan with various strong points. Once the rebellion was under way, many of the small outposts fell with out a struggle(no table top game required) to ambush. Any other forces managing to survive were placed under siege with a limited amount of turns with supply. Khartoum is reinforced with extra infantry companies, artillery and cavalry. If the supply runs out, the defending units surrender....Khartoum is in a desperate state.


The Great Khendive of Egypt has sent relief forces south, but they will need to fight their way to Khartoum the entire way, all of the provinces are in revolt. England is sending help in the form of Guard and Highlander companies, and India has dispatched Cavalry and infantry support as well.





The Battle of El Obeid was the first tabletop game of the campaign. It was a small skirmish played out to get things rolling in the campaign. Egyptian infantry was breaking out away from Mahdist positions in a key town. The game played quick as the Egyptians had to march across open terrain to close with the enemy, it is a bit easier with artillery support.



Old Fuzzy is a tough opponent, in the rules "The Sword and the Flame" they get a bonus +1 to their melee die roll. As a frequent dervish player these are my favorite troops. Nothing too fancy, just close fast and kill. In this game, however, they are on the defense, milling about in the brush waiting for the infidel.



Dervish cavalry had attempted to sweep around the left flank,but they were checked by accurate gunfire. Eventually the Dervishes could not stand against the withering fire of the 2 Egyptian infantry companies. The Mahdist forces left the field and the Egyptians survived to fight again.... but as the revolt grows, so does the number of Dervish forces available for another skirmish.



A critical piece to the campaign system is that losses to Anglo-Egyptian infantry companies are very difficult to replace. If the player decides to fight to the last man and the unit(s) are wiped out, then that force is not available for the remainder of the campaign. Losses taken by the Allied player continue through to the next turns. So if a 20 figure company looses 10 men in a battle, then there is a chance that only 10 men are available for the next battle. So Allies must be cautiously aggressive in their approach. The Dervish/Mahdist forces have no worries about attrition. They may continually fight to the last as the number of units is dependent on the revolt number of the district and a die roll. A higher index and a lower die roll means lots of dervish units....very replaceable units at that.