The Battle South of Hartford 1815

Rules: Regimental Fire and Fury
Scale 15mm Infantry is based on a 3/4" frontage and the bases are 1" deep
Host Jim Carpenter Figures: He thinks they are Old Glory but he forgot
Federalist Players: Jack Pope and Jim Ferich
Union Players: Eric Boyle and Joe Schulze(me).
This is a continuation of campaign we started in about 2007. I know it's a long time between games but we have been caught up in Black Powder, Hail Caesar and other things, also Jim is a slow painter. This is the second game in the campaign, so the third game should be played sometime in 2016 or 2017. Hey, some of might even live to see the 4th game. Just kiddin'.

Set up: This game is based on actual events but the federalist movement never took up arms. The federalists presence was strong in New England at the start of the 19th century. The year is 1815 and the argument between the size and scope of government was raging in the new country (hmmm...sounds familiar). Alexander Hamilton and friends involved in the Federalist movement in New England thought it would be better to break away and form their own country. President Madison disagrees and sends his army led by Winfield Scott to "negotiate". In this fictional account the Federalists are blocking the advance of Unionists forces led by General Winfield Scott. The Unionists are advancing to Hartford Connecticut to eliminate the uprising. (The actual attempt to break away died in a political convention infiltrated by pro union delegates but you cannot wargame that, and who would want to). The Federalist troops are raw as they never have seen combat. They missed all the fighting during the War of 1812 so they were rated as raw with average leadership. To balance the game they are more plentiful than the better quality Unionists advancing upon the.

The Federalists take up defensive positions to block the advance.




The Federalist troops ready themselves for the coming storm. They feel confident in their position and think they can hold. The units are large but they wear down quickly.




Let's get ready to rumble! The Unionists arrive on the table and they don't want to talk it over anymore. Their troops did some fighting in the War of 1812 and plan to dish out some heavy handed learning to the Yankee dissenters. The plan was to put a few units in the center to absorb punishment tie down the center. Neither of us wanted to attack fortified positions in the center supported by artillery. We decided to use the balance of the troops to attack the flanks. We thought this would stretch the defenses to the breaking point. I took the left flank and planned to advance as far as I could past the town to get a position behind the defenses. Eric took the right flank to attack the hill. We would share responsibility for the center.





As Eric advances he take fire. His lead elements are in extended line and become disordered making further advancement more difficult but not impossible. Extended line move faster and are a little more difficult to hit. In these rules you roll on a maneuver chart. If you roll well you can rally to remove the disorder and move full. If you roll poorly you get stuck in place, it depends on dice, leadership, and troop quality.






On the Unionist left flank the brigade advances at a steady pace. I am able to move normally but I was hoping for a double quick move. Damn dice. In a surprise move the Federalist form column in an attempt to get into the town. A very risky move with the opposition close by but what the hell, we are risk takers.





Meanwhile on the far right flank Jack (Federalist) is trying to hold the hill. Eric fires his opening volley which kills the brigade commander. He is shot from the saddle. Most of the Federalist forces are in disorder. The Unionist cavalry moves up to try and clear through some of the wreckage. Casualties build up quickly on both sides. The fight for the hill is in question.





A top view of the Unionist center and right flank.




A top view of the Unionist center and left flank. Note how the Federalist cavalry has moved up in support. The cavalry tried to check the advance of Unionist infantry on the extreme flank. A good move as Federalist forces in the town started to give fire and disorder the enemy, making then vulnerable to a cavalry attack. Then the Unionist center advanced to gain an enfilade shot on the Federlists in field column. We did not intend to advance the center but the target presented itself. It also helped that I rolled a double quick move which advanced the infantry 12 inches. The column was well within close range for musketry.






The result in the center was that the Unionist militia devastated the column of Federalist infantry. The raw troops just melted away.

The assault on the hill turned into a frenzied melee. The Unionist cavalry was repulsed as infantry squares formed. Federalist infantry fought bravely but were slowly pushed back a few inches. Several units were disordered on both sides as cold steel meets bone and sinew. Supporting units tried to change the balance during this slugfest.

The Unionist infantry shake off the disorder, rally with elan, and wheel right. The cavalry moving up so quickly really worried me. I thought I would have to soon form square which would pin me in place the rest of the game. What I did not know was that the Federalists were hiding 2 units of Indians and a unit of Canadian infantry in the woods on the flank of the Unionist infantry (damn sneaky of them!).

 

In the center the Unionist infantry advance into the fortifications. The infantry was forced to stop after they negitiated the linear obstacle. The remaining Federalists were in disorder, Alexander Hamilton will really be upset to hear the center collapsed. The militia unit closes on the remainder of the infantry that took heavy casualties.

 

During the same turn the Unionists gain the hill but are outnumbered. Holding the position would be difficult. They could get support as the troops in the center could be sent to assist.

 

At this point we called the game. We played about 3 hours as felt the Federalists were at a disadvantage. They would likely pull back to keep the army together. The Federalist dream of New England independence is on hold at the moment. We now leave it to Jim Carpenter to tell us how future events unfold based on the results of the battle.

News Flash!!!!!

Campaign Recap from Jim Carpenter : I think we're done with the First American Civil War.  With two defeats, the Federalists have nothing to stop the Unionist advance on Hartford.  The Americans and the British had signed a peace treaty in 1814, so they would be withdrawing their troops back to Canada, along with their Indian allies.  Since Andrew Jackson commands the southern wing of the Unionist advance, we can safely assume that any Federalist leaders who didn't escape to Canada were caught and hung.  The rebellion is over.

Force on Force - Rules Review

Force on Force is a set of rules from Osprey Publishing that covers modern conflicts. They were developed and distributed by Ambush Alley games who have a strong and loyal customer base. The fire combat is based on shifting dice, so a D6 is worse than a D8, a D10, or a D12(best). Dice are shifted depending on the circumstances. Insurgents may have a D6 firepower which really bad, but may be a D12 morale as they are fighting for their cause against an invader.A typical US infantry unit is uses a  D8 or D10, with Navy SEALS using a D12.

I have played these set of rules about 6 times now and feel comfortable enough to rate them. The rules are based on gaining initiative and the person with intiative can perform actions one unit at a time. The person losing initiative can react fire or react move to a unit that takes an action during its inititiative. By the way Insurgents never get the initiative, a true assymetric engagement.

Organization: C+

The rules are organized by the sequence of play but do have some problems with organization, especially related to reactions. There are rules regarding movement, fire, and morale throughout the book several sections apart making it difficult to put all the pieces together.

 Here is an example:

On page 69 the rules state, "Remember that units lose 1 die of firepower and 1" of movement for each reaction after the first".

Well I checked the movement section on page 31 and there is no mention that a unit loses 1 inch of movement per reaction. The reference should be made under the Movement section as well.

I think the authors tried to cover reactions as a seperate section but since reactions can be movement or fire they influence movement and fire rules in other sections of the book. During the last game I played I was flipping back and forth so much I got frustrated and developed an outline. The organization of the content is my biggest problem with this set of rules.

Examples: A

There are a lot of eamples in the book for specific rules. There are examples for passing and failing dice rolls to help clear up any confusion. Some diagrams would help but the rules are supprted by a strong forum at Ambush Alley.

Support: A

The rules are supported by a forum on the Ambush Alley site. Rules questions and clarifications are frequently listed. Now one may state that a well written set of rules does not require a forum and you may have a case. I have found that every rules set I own has some gray areas that need clarification or some sort of house rule without exception. The website is user friendly and free down loads.

Complete Content: C

I have been flustered by missing content that is included as an addendum online. When playing out a game against insurgents I attempted to clear an unoccupied building. Page 115 refernces the section on how to clear a building of insurgents and refers you to the Building Clearing table. I went crazy trying to locate the table that was mentioned and failed to find it after a long search. I started twitching and cursing as I flipped back and forth reading the same lines over and over again expecting to see a table magically appear out of no where. We eventually skipped the rule completely and moved on. The following day I went on the forum and discovered that the table was accidentally left out of the book during printing. The table is given as a down load on the Ambush Alley website. Another issue is that the optimum fire bonus is not referenceed for vehicles on any QRS I could find. Even though vehicle weapons are always in optimum range so the bonus should be listed on the QRS as a reminder.

There are a lot of pictures included from Osprey books. This can help as a painting guide and understand the variety of troops you can use. I never knew there were Lebanese Marines....hmmph. Sadly there is little eye candy but oh well.

Playability: B+

Movement is very simple and rolling for fire and resolving combat is very easy. The complexity comes in rounds of fire and reactions. You have to remember how many times you fire as you lose fire dice and 1" of movement in every reaction, so an active unit will finish their move short of the intended location if it reacts multiple times. It doesn't hurt to use a players sheet for infantry and vehicles either, I developed my own but you can probably find one on line. The more you play and resolve reactions and chains of reactions the more confident you feel.

Overall a solid B+

You don't need a large investment in figures or terrain. After playing a couple ot times I really like these rules. A game can be played in 2-3 hours and the rules are scalable to involve whole platoons of infantry if you want a gmae that big. The rules are worth the purchase, just be sure to run a small game and build confidence. If you want to play a counter insurgency game then for F*%#s sake get the building clearing table from the website first.

The French Collection - My 28s

Happy Thanksgiving, and if you are reading this from another country then Happy Thursday!

I spent part of the day going through my basement storage area pulling out boxes and totes of figures.

Well, I finally started pulling things out of storage. I have been painting Russian figures from Old Glory, Perry and Warlord and it is taking a long time. I thought I should look at the French figures I painted last year because I forgot what I had completed. The infantry and cavalry are based on 50mm x 50mm masonite bases.




The completed French so far

  I have 5 units of infantry with 4 bases per unit and a 3 stand unit of Legere. I was able to find enough figures to make a 4th base. There are 4 bases of artillery and 13 stands of dragoons. I also have 30 figures of skirmishers based singly on 25mm square masonite bases. I also have 5 mounted officers based singly and one base of 2 mounted officers that can be used as a divisional commander. Lastly I have Napoleon on a large command base with 2 other figures. I plan to use them for Black Powder but they can also be used for Lasalle which makes the skirmishers important to the collection.




The infantry


A majority of the figures are Perry plastics with the balance from Old Glory. The Napoleon figure was a gift from an HMGS convention. I also have a Marshal Ney figure from another convention which is on the painting table.



Perry French dragoons

 The dragoons are also Perry plastics which have amazing quality. I did have difficulty assembling them and I am not looking forward to doing the cuirassiers, but I really liked how they turned out. When I assembled them, I had to keep making corrections. I damn near glued my fingers together and lost a few layers of the epidural on my right thumb and index finger. Lesson learned.

10mm - Something Different

I am thinking about starting a 10mm project in the near future. I have always been interested in the Seven Years War involving the forces of Prussia and Austria. I am sure the Mrs will be happy to know I will require more storage space for another project. She has a tendency to say, "You have little army men, why do you want more ?" She does allow for hobby time whenever I want to paint or play so I can't really complain. I have it pretty good. I did pick up a copy of the Osprey book for Leuthen and Rossbach. The OOB and maps are a great resource, but not too much on uniforms.

OK, got it.

Why 10mm? Well I want to have the ability for maneuver during a game. I have played quite a bit of  28mm horse and musket and we use a similar approach due to the size of units, figures and game space. You line up across from the opponent, march straight ahead. Then we  shoot and melee until one side breaks and then its over. Don't get me wrong, I love the games I have played, but I just want something different. I like making the decision to send a division to guard a road that can be used by an opponent to flank my army. I like the movement and management of reserves and the strategic deployment of brigades to assault or hold key areas. I guess this is just me harkoning back to the time when I would spend a weekend playing SPI's Terrible Swift Sword, or A Gleam of Bayonets for hours on end.

So now I want to dive into the world of 10mm. The cost, availability and quality is an attractive combination. The figures don't appear to be so small that you can not see the figures. It is true that most of the gamers I spend time with have vast collections of 15mm figures and we could pool our resources to run a grand game. There are three reasons for me not to look to 15mm. The first is that it is difficult to coordinate having everyone available who owns 15mm figures, making the option of co-hosting a game difficult. The second is that the figures (Pendraken especially) are attractive to me personally. I am not a good painter, the figures seem more forgiving to my lack of skill. The third is that the game is easier to transport, especially at conventions.  Since I need to buy all of the figures to fill out the forces of 2 opposing armies I can only see 10mm as the way to accomplish the project. This blog is an excellent way to reference my decisions for consistency as I make progress.




The complete set up. Good lord  it's a lot of ground.



As you can see the Battle of Leuthen is no small feat. I need figures, terrain, bases and everything else to run a successful game. The map of the battlefield shows the vast distances needing to be negotiated as desperate Austrian commanders try to manuver troops into position.




Wurtemburg Grenadier...hmm looks Prussian


 So before I buy any figures or terrain I would like to list out the requirements and cost for the project on this blog. I need to decide on the number of figures per unit. the number of bases, the rules, the size of the game space. Will I just do the Prussian assault on the Austrian left wing, or concentrate on the grand battle; thus giving the Austrian commanders the opportunity to right so many wrongs of the actual battle? One thing is for sure, I want units that look like nasses of men, horses and equipment, not just game pieces. I will probably need more figures than I plan for, but 10mm allows for the option without breaking the bank.

I am still undecided about the project as I am still paining up 28mm Napoleonic Russians. I can't start another project until I make more progress on my 28mm Russians and French. But I can still make plans and dream. I am still learning the basics of the Seven Years War and I need to do some more research before pulling the trigger on this project. Perhaps in late 2013 or early 2014.




This is Fred, he hates Austrians, Russians, and French...research complete.



Indian Mutiny

Rules: Black Powder
Scale: 28mm
GM: Jim Ferich

The Indian mutineers are trying to stop a column of British troops from exiting the the board to continue their relief efforts. The rebels have amassed an impressive force to meet the British. They construct a fortification on the raod and deploy to defend their position. The 4 units of cavalry are deployed to the far right flank of the mutineers. Infantry and artillery deploy along the road while peasants emerge from a town on the far left. Most of the leadership of the mutineers is 7 and the peasants are a 5.



Peasant mobs emerge....poor leadership will keep them static.




Mutineers hold the center




The fortifications block the road and more mutineers arrive




The mutineer cavalry

  The British set up off table. Soon the skirling of pipes is heard coming down the road. Then the ground shakes as the thunderous advance of British cavalry is felt. The cavalry rolls extemely well with 3 moves. This takes them far ahead to meet the mutineer cavalry in turn 1 and set up a melee very early in the game. Another good roll brings Sikh and loyal Sepoy infantry to within rifle range. Sadly the British main force blunders and marches left. The pipers must have taken the wrong road during their confident advance which delayed the attack another turn.



Some British forces move fast and prepare to engage on turn 1

 The British and allied cavalry make quick work of the fragile mutineer units. The British cavalry wins the initial combat and is eligible for a sweeping advance. A second mutineer cavalry unit is caught in column and quickly destroyed on the continuing combat round. Mutineer cavalry had a good morale but given a poor stamina of 2.



2 mutineer cavalry units are disordered and 1 is shaken (blue chip)



The British left keeps pace with the advance

 With the destruction of the mutineer cavalry the Britsh horse sweeps around the flank and approaches the road. Mutineer infantry units are dispatched to guard the flank. These British trained Indians form square to block the approach. British guns are brought up with the cavalry to make a hole. The cavalry is kept at bay by the infantry square through the game. Eventually the cannon fire will break the infantry square at the end of the game.



Oh crap

 The British right flank blundered a second time which again delayed the attack. The British left flank moves to the center to attack the fortifications. The club record for blunders in a single game belongs to me, which is 3. This night the record was to be tested by another valiant opponent.



Mutineers block the way



The main road with the British center making it to the board edge after several blunders



 Then the Highlanders in the center finally arrive to pressure the center of the field. Cheers go up from the mutineers as 3 units of Sepoys arrive on the left flank to put the battle in doubt. This bolsters the defenders spirits after seeing the cavalry swept from the field so quickly by Loyalist Indians and British.



3 units of Mutineer reinforcements arrive.

  With a poor roll of initiative the left flank  British infantry fail to move. The Highlanders gain a good result and get 3 moves. The aggressive Scots take cannon and musket fire and several of their number fall. Finally they reach the defenders when they emerge from the torrent of fire in a disordered state.
A melee ensues and the result is a draw. The Mutineers have support and the Highlanders do not.



Highlanders arrive in a disordered state

  The rest of the British units slowly navigate the field with little or no movement. British canons supporting the attack are in medium range and open fire with some effect.


The British Infantry is stalled for now

  In a daring move a unit of mutineers exposes their flank to british artillery and advances on the Highlanders. The flank attack will help pressure the stubborn Scots to rethink their attack plans but it does sacrifice the unit of Sepoys in the process. In a stunning result the highlanders are finally repulsed and forced back in disorder after taking a high number of hits from several directions.



The Scots retire in disorder after being flanked




Supporting troops are now close as another assault is planned. Once more into the breech.

  Finally the Naval Brigade moves into position with supporting artillery. The Mutineer unit of Sepoys that flanked the Scots is destroyed. The steady Scots continue to take casualties as the assault is prepared. The slow advance by rolling poorly causes casualties on the British. At this point the British commander in the center had accumulated 3 blunders which equalled my record in a previous Civil War game.



Jack Tar at the ready!

  Rifle and canon fire are exchanged in an attempt to soften each other for hand to hand. We all know what is coming as we try to dish out more than we take.



Mutineers face off against the coming storm.

  The British infantry finally gains intitative to advance on the fortified position. The Mutineers become desperate. Soon the defenders on the road are broken after taking high casualties from accurate fire. More British advance to support and the supporting artillery makes the difference.



Every rifle is brought to bear  on the attackers

  The British announce the charge. Bugles sound and men scream and run forward. The highlanders work on eliminating the supporting infatry outside of the fortification in an attempt to even the odds. Another mutineer unit is shaken as the Scots pour fire into their ranks. In a streak of luch for the rebels the Highlander unit is also shaken and rolls poorly on their break test, they are finally broken and flee the field!



The assault on the fortifications




The assault on the fortification sans Scots

  The melee in the fortification goes poorly for the mutineers as the center is now broken. The British forces rush into the fortification and open the road. The game is then called.



The final result is the taking of the fortifications.


The game took three and a half hours. We did need to look up a few rules but overall we played without being slowed down be tedious rules. We did have some problem deciding how to treat fortifications, which will be considered as occupying buildings in the future.

The Pathan Death March

Rules: TSATF
Scale 25mm
Figures: Old Glory, and others.
Game Master : Jim Ferich

On Friday the 13th our group assembled for a game of one TSATF, a favorite rules set of ours. The British had to advance through a valley somewhere in the Northwest frontier to burn a village and make an example of the local population. Hearing that the British were advancing in force the locals took to arms and ran to the hills. The mountains and hills were ripe with Pathans and the British formed their strategy as they entered the rocky wilderness. The two units of Guides from India (commanded by me) supported by a mountain gun were to be a blocking force on the left flank. A force of Ghurkas and Indian Infantry supported by a mountain gun (Leo) advanced in the center and was to be supporting the main attack while watching the flank. On the right flank the British infantry and Lancers (Jerry) were to advance and burn the village.

The Pathans (Jim C. Cliff and Chris) were to prevent the British from burning their village. The Pathans had also constructed a fort overlooking the valley which had a garrison of infantry and an artillery piece. Most of the sneaky cowardly heathen Pathans were deployed as hidden units and refused to present themselves for the slaughter, which is their nature. The cavalry and garrisons were positioned on the board at the start.


The village




The Hill fort...what a model!


The first British and Allied units began to deploy scouts in the first turn. This kept the chance of an ambush in check as the main units followed. In most of our games natives use ambush tactics to slow the British attack. I usually forget about the use of scouts and made a mental note this time.



The Guides advance..less a few poor souls



The Pathans in the hill fort drew first blood against the Guides who advanced in open order. The scout was killed as the dreaded King of Hearts was revealed for the casualty....oh well time to send out another poor bastard. The mountains gave cover to a majority of the British and their allies as the main Britsh column advanced.



The British move with scouts in the lead




The column snakes through the mountain pass

 The Pathans slowly revealed themselves to the advancing column as shots rang out from the village and the hills. Shots were exchanged and a few hits were scored on both sides. The jezails had a longer range but were less accurate. The British betteraccuracy which was countered by the use of cover by the Pathans.



Pathans emerge

 The Lancers made a valiant charge against the Pathan artillery. I use use the word valiant to temper the result which favored the Pathans who were able to shoot the Lancers from their saddles. This was a charge of legends as the unit of cavalry was lost. The British now know the resolve of their foe.


The Charge of the Lancers

 It was at about this time that we hear screaming natives advancing from behind us. The unit of Ghurka infantry had to about face and deal with the new threat in traditional fashion, first with rifle fire then in melee. The Pathans were cut down in the frenzied charge and died like men. With the flank secured the Ghurkas advanced in the following turn looking over their shoulders. Thank goodness we kept units in reserve.


Ghurkas deal with a new threat

 The Guides were in the process of advancing on the hill fort and suppressing the Pathans to eliminate any flanking fire during the assault on the village. It was bloody work but it had to be done. A unit of the Guides advanced to the base of the hill while the second unit climbed up on a nearby ridge to offer supporting fire. The artillery was firing in support. During the action the lead element of guides was reduced to half strength and the wounded was being carried which also reduced firepower. The 10 survivors exchanged fire and gave as good as they got. The Ghurkas (Leo) offered supporting fire as well which made the difference.



Advance to the fort




Guides and Ghurkas giving covering fire

 The Pathan artillery in the fort was suppressed and the supporting infantry took heavy casualties. The lod=ss of the pathan leader (thank you ace of clubs) was too much and the Apthans eventuall gave ground. By this time in the battle the British timetable for the assault was in shambles. The British were held up for 5 turns as they slowly advanced under withering Pathan fire. The Guides finally began advancing past the fort to hold the flank of the assault.




The Guides advance...finally


At this point we were near the end so the British had to make an assault. The British infantry were given orders to charge the village. The British infantry charged in with the support of the Lancers. The British were able to close the charge and the Pathans were able to stand. At this point the killing began.



The charge to the village




The fighting begins




The Pathans have the advantage of terrain



The British are repulsed and retreat behind the cavalry




The supporting troops are discouraged.

 During the melee the British lost almost every die roll. Upon investigation we discovered that the British had a 6 sided die that was numbered 1-3 twice making it a 3 sided die for results. So we had to re-roll the combat and although we fared better we still lost the melee. A morale check of the Pathans gave a retreat result. The village was now open. At this point we called the game. Jim, the GM, decided not to bring in the extra 120 figures of Pathans as he thought it would unbalance the game. The British did hold the field in the end but paid a high price. We finished the game in about 3 hours which is really good for having 6 players. The most memorable event of the night was the die numbered 1-3. This happened before as we had a player rolling a D20 that was numbered 1-10 twice giving him a high success rate during firing.