1848 - A Rebels & Patriots Trial Game

After given 'TMWWBK' a run out recently, I left the terrain set up to do a 'compare and contrast' game using the 'Rebels & Patriots' rules, again from Dan Mersey's stable. Having been heavily involved in the playtesting for these, I was hoping they would come back to me pretty quickly. 

Background Fluff

The scenario is nominally set during the 1848 Hungarian Revolution, where forces from far and wide across Europe came to fight. Here we have a small Company allied to the Austrian cause coming to blows with an Italian Volunteer Force, fighting on behalf of the Hungarians. The Italians are after a small supply train that is having a rest in and around a ruined Roman temple, with the Austrians moving up to try and rescue said train.

Forces

I tried to keep the forces as close as possible to the previous games, but due to slight points differences, the Austrians gained a unit of Light Cavalry, the Italians a Light Artillery piece plus limber.

Austrians

3 x Light Infantry

1 x Jaegers

1 x Light Cavalry

Italians

2 x Line Infantry

1 x Light Infantry

1 x Light Cavalry

1 x Dragoons

1 x Light Artillery plus Limber

The Action

So with the forces deployed, it was time to kick off the action. The Austrians won the random dice roll to see who would move first. Annotated photos will hopefully give you a feel for the action.

An overview of the table, with the Austrians on the left, the Italians the right.

The cows being moved to a milking shed.

Goose stepping forward, they approach the temple where the baggage train is resting.

The Austrian line, with the Jaegers on the left flank.

The Italian line.

The Light Artillery piece.

Light Cavalry to the left, flanked by Dragoons on their right.

The end of Turn 1. The Austrians moved forward in line (note I forgot to deploy the Light Cavalry!), whilst the Italians response was hampered by their Dragoons and Light Cavalry refusing to move.

The cowherd happy to see troops moving forward to protect him.

Jaegers advance.

Italian Light Infantry occupy the wood.

The Light Artillery yet to deploy as their line advances.

The end of Turn 2. The Austrians advance and begin to open fire on the Italians, but to little effect. The Italians respond, but again their Light Cavalry fail to move.

Austrian Light Cavalry move up as Light Infantry line a hedgerow.

Jaegers occupy the orchard.

The Italian Light cavalry still having a siesta?

As the Light Artillery deploys, the Line Infantry form Line to their right.

Turn 3. The Italian and Austrian Light Cavalry clash...

...with the Austrians coming out on top, leading to the Italians routing off the table.

The end of Turn 3. The Austrians get a slight advantage in shooting, inflicting some Disorder on the Italians, who do the same to the Austrians in the temple.

The Austrians concentrate their fire towards the Italian centre, although the troops by the hedge fail to fire.

The Italian Dragoons fail to respond to the threat to their flank from the Austrian Light Cavalry, which could cause some problems...

The Light Artillery joins the fray, but to limited effect.

Turn 4. The Austrian Light Cavalry charge the Dragoons, who try to evade, but are caught and destroyed...

... leaving the Austrians to follow up into the Italian Line Infantry...

... causing damage and Disorder, but leading to them being forced to retreat. 

The end of Turn 4. After the devastating charges by the Austrian Light Cavalry, the Austrian Light Infantry firing leads to the Italian Company commander and his unit routing off the table.

The Austrians sense a chance of victory.

The Italain commander and his unit break and rout.

All that is left of the Italian force, who wisely quit the field of battle.

The Austrians lead off the 'spoils of war'.

End of the Battle

So after mid-way through Turn 4, the Italians had ceased to be an effective fighting force, with the sudden loss of so many units in quick succession, with the only viable option of them retreating to try and fight another day.

Post Game Thoughts

Well that was fast and furious and certainly lots of fun! Certainly being more au fait with the rules helped, but even so, I still made a few errors, but nothing major that affected the outcome of the game. The action was longer than before, lasting about an hour all told. As always a few musings:

• It may seem a minor thing, but the QRS I was using, had the page numbers for each section highlighted, so it was VERY easy to find the relevant section quickly to check on any queries I had, which certainly speeded up the game. I wish all rules and their QRS's did this!
• The ranges of the weapons and the less deadly nature of them (or so it felt), made for a much better game and felt more right for the period being gamed. I'm sure using some of the weapons options in TMWWBK would provide a similar game, but I will be sticking with R&P for this period.
• Having not been sure how useful Cavalry might be in these games, for this one they certainly turned the tide for the Austrians in the bat of an eyelid!
• Whilst the 3' x 3' table size worked well, I certainly will be moving up to a 4' x 4' from now on, as it just gives a bit more room for manouevre, as well as for space for units to retreat and reform.
• Reading the rules post-game, I noticed I had made a mistake on the attack movement distances, assuming that the normal move rates would apply, whereas in fact if is the 2D6 roll that dictates the distance. Upon reflection, I like the normal moves for Charges, as the Cavalry in Europe was used much more differently than in America. Ditto the Infantry often charged in until improved weapons meant this was not the best option by the 1860's
• In the rules the Commander is part and parcel of his unit, but I like the idea of him actually being able to rove around, to move to where he is most needed, being completely independent until he joins a unit if required. I need to think on this more but the idea appeals to be for sure.

What Next?

Firstly I want to sort out the background fluff for both forces and the setting in general, to help drive the narrative campaign I have in my mind. Once that is done, then I want to look at some linked scenarios from the book and maybe the OHW one, to give me a framework upon which to hand the campaign. Plenty to keep the old grey cells going for sure.

Alongside this some painting and terrain making is planned. I would like to play the next game in my BKCII mini-campaign, but need to paint up some more units first, but the desire to paint WWII stuff is not with me at present, but you never know...

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the AAR. As always any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.