Lights, Camera, Action!

One of the joys of the Blogiverse are the ideas that can pop up unbidden whilst reading various posts on the Blogs I follow. This happened to me recently whilst SWMBO was watching or, more accurately, being completely engrossed in watching 'The Traitors' on the BBC. So left alone to my own devices I was reading the Heretical Gaming Blog and the Mollwitz AAR and decided to pick up Grant's The War Game to check out the scenario etc. Whilst perusing the book I had forgotten the small scenario in Chapter 12 called 'Action!' that was used to get a handle on the rules.

I immediately thought that this would make a nice and simple scenario that I could fit in on a 'Wargames Wednesday' whilst recovering from Covid. A few jotted notes followed and the game was set up as per the book, with the only tweaks being those for Honours of War, namely the 'National Differences' between the British and the French, the sides I chose for the fight. With both sides having the same troops, the only differences were the British Line Infantry were classed as 'Superior' for firing, whilst the French Cavalry were rated 'Inferior' and as luck would have it they rolled for a 'Dithering' commander.

The table set and the book that inspired the action. The French are on the left, the British the right.

The scenario itself and I must admit that I love the elegant simplicity of the map.

As is the norm now, I will allow the action to unfold via the captioned photos, as well as some gratuitous shots of the figures to try and increase followers to my Blog😉!

The end of Turn 1. The French push forward en masse, whilst the British Line Infantry fail to advance and so the other troops have to try and align with them the best they can.

French Zouaves push through the woods.

"I'm right behind you chaps" could be heard as the British Cavalry advanced at the trot.

British Light Infantry rather well camouflaged in the wood.

Part of the French line.

The end of Turn 2. Both sides continue to close on one another, but the French Cavalry have second thoughts and stay put. Both sides Artillery is struggling to hit the proverbial 'barn door' at this point.

The French Zouves like the look of the Tudorbethan Barratz home.

The French commander in full on 'Dithering' mode.

The brave British Line. Flags from David @ Not By Appointment

The end of Turn 3. The French continue to push forward more quickly than the British, with the Zouaves occupying the Barratz BUA, but the French Cavalry are forced back by combined firing.

"These modern houses are tiny and they do look rather shoddily built..."

The lines are close enough to engage in musketry.

The French Cavalry suffer shooting from their front and flank...

... forcing them to retreat to reform.

The end of Turn 4. With the French Cavalry gone for the moment, the French left flank is hanging in the air. The British Light Infantry move out of the woods to engage the French line as the British Cavalry moves past them.

The Zouves easily loop hole the Barratz house and enfilade the British line, but just fail to force it back.

However the French line is not so lucky and one Line Infantry unit is routed.

The British Cavalry pass the Artillery.

The end of Turn 5. The French Cavalry once again dither when they were sorely needed to bolster the flank that was wide open. Both sides shooting is devastating, but the French come off the worst.

The British lose a Line Infantry unit, but the French are about to do the same as well as their Artillery.

Caught in the flank from the Barratz house is enough to rout the British Line Infantry.

The French about to be forced to retreat.

The inert French Cavalry.

As the French retreat the domino effect leads to them both routing.

The Zouaves with their dubious prize.

The British Cavalry eager to get to grips with the French.

End of Game

And suddenly it was all over as the French simply could no longer offer any meaningful resistance.

Post Game Thoughts

Well that was a nice little game that I could fit in for my 'Wargames Wednesday', with the actual action taking about an hour to play out. A few thoughts as always:

• Initially I thought that having Horse Artillery would be better rather than Foot, but by Turn 2 both sides were close enough for the action to begin, even if the shooting was pretty poor. Also for a SYW game Foot Artillery is naturally the right choice.
• Having the British rated Superior for Firing was just enough to give them the edge when it mattered.
• The French did have a big handicap when they rolled for a Dithering commander on top of their Cavalry being classed as Inferior. This was just enough to allow the British a bit more room for manouevre which they used to good effect.
• Once the British gained fire ascendancy it was hard for the French to get back into the game, as with so few units, there is not the time nor the numbers to fall back and reform etc, whilst keeping the enemy occupied.
• This sort of engagement would work equally well with Sharpe Practice II or Rebels & Patriotsm but I liked the feel of it being a petite guerre action with the HoW rules.
• Having read the first part of Horace St Paul's diary, this sort of action seemed to be quite common, with the Austrian's especially sending out a force composed of Grenzers, Grenadiers, Light Cavalry and Artillery ahead of their main force, whether to make contact with the enemy of to seize some ground in advance of the main force deploying etc. So something like this would make a nice start to a small campaign at some point in the future.

What Next?

I hope to fight Grant's version of Mollwitz soon, but this will most likely have to wait whilst we have our windows replaced next week, which will cause quite a bit of disruption for 3-4 days. At least I'm feeling pretty OK now so at least I might be able to get some painting in if i'm lucky...

TTFN.