War of 1812 - Battle of Lundy's Lane

On Thursday this week Julian and I tried out my War of 1812 figures using a scenario from the Battle of Lundy's Lane from the Canadian Wargames Group 1812 booklet and the Command and Colors hex based rule set we used a few weeks ago for Talavera.

We had a great little battle that was all done and dusted in a couple of hours, with Julian commanding the victorious US forces.

The scenario started with 5 British battalions, 3 guns and a cavalry unit facing off against 4 US battalions supported by 2 guns. On move 5, the Brits could get one battalion of reinforcement if they rolled 1 or 2 on a D10, on move 8 the US could get 4 battalions if they rolled the same, then move 10 ANOTHER 4 US battalions plus two more guns might arrive and finally on move 12 the British might have another three battalions turn up. If we did not roll 1 or 2, then the next turn it was 1,2 or 3, then 1,2,3 or 4 and so on, until the reinforcement arrived.

Amazingly, I rolled a 1 on move 5, Julian rolled a 2 on move 8 and a then 3 on move 11 so that basically all the reinforcements arrived as soon as they were able to! We didn't make it to move 12 so the final British reinforcements were a moot point.....

We had the usual 1 point per captured flag or leader, with a total required for victory of 7. Incorporating part of the Canadian Groups scenario, the US could gain 2 points by holding the position where the British guns started the game (these guns were not permitted to move from this location)

The game started well for the Brits as they shot up three battalions of US regulars advancing across open ground in front of the heights occupied by the guns and the Royal Scots. However, Julian had a couple of cards that helped him out here, where he was able to roll to replace lost stands, so that although he suffered quite a few casualties, all three battalions survived to close up on the position.

They then unleashed some steady fire on the heights occupied by the Brits and after a couple of rounds, had wiped out the Royal Scots and killed the British commander - two points to the US,.

I was getting some pretty useless action cards which prevented me from doing much in the centre - where all the action was. My light dragoons (actually US light dragoons but I had not brought all my Napoleonic Brits along) charged the right most of Julian's advancing Yanks but they formed square and reduced my potential 4 combat dice to 1! This created a stand off between the cavalry and infantry that lasted the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, I had activated my one battalion of extra regular British infantry, whilst next move, 4 more battalions of US troops arrived. Julian then played a card that allowed up to 4 units to move 4 hexes instead of the usual 1  - and immediately he had 4 fresh units close to the centre of the action.

His first line of three battalions wiped out the artillery battery with small arms fire then assaulted the hill, engaging the two British units there. He captured the artillery position and gained another 2 victory points.

In the next move I was able to play my own bayonet charge card, recapturing the artillery position and destroying a couple of US units - but next move, Julian assaulted again with four fresh battalions PLUS he rolled to successfully bring on another four AND he had that bloody fast movement card again! So now I had two fresh battalions holding the orchard to the left of the hill, two half strength battalions on the hill being attacked by four fresh ones, and a cavalry unit tied up against a square.

That must have been move 11 because the game ended 7 points to 2 and I never got to the point that I had the chance to call on my last reinforcements!

General view of the battlefield - Brits position on the right, US attacking from the left. The British gun position was on the nearest hill hex to the camera

The Candian Wargames Group version of the scenario that we used for the map - we did not use their rule set however 

 The British left, a regular battalion, a militia battalion (played by Canadian Voltiguers in grey) and behind them, the Light Dragoons - as mentioned, represented by the US rather than British figures

 The third regular battalion, represented by one of my two West India Regiment battalions - all the figures shown are Old Glory by the way

 The figures representing The Royal Scots on the hill - they are OG Second Edition figures

 One of the regular US infantry battalions

 The main advance by three of the four US battalions, heads towards the British centre

 The Glengarry Light Infantry (rifle armed according to the scenario) in position next to the Royal Scots

 A slightly reduced US battalion with the leader figure (US Light Dragoon) attached 

 The US advance - note the absence of the Royal Scots between the guns and the Glengarries......!

 Another view from the US side - they should have been wiped out by rifle and artillery fire but I just could not draw the right cards! The Glengarry  Light Infantry have been driven back and the artillery reduced from 3 guns to 1 by mausketry

 The British left flank was secure the entire game, but these three battalions would have been more use in the centre!

 The first US assault - three US battalions on the hill, the artillery wiped out and their position taken

 Close up of the successful US assault

 British counter attack - two US battalions wiped out

 And the second wave of US regulars arrive to retake the position

The inconclusive melee between the Light Dragoons and a square of US infantry - in the rear the victorious American forces occupy the heights

Sunday 10 September a "The Men Who Would Be Kings" game.

Today I went over to Andrews place and took with me some of my Colonial British collection, as well as the recently painted Zombie Survivors women featured earlier in the week on this blog. Julian was due to come to but as it turned out, he did not arrive until after lunch, so we tailored the game accordingly.

We have played two or three games of TMWWBK before and they have all gone well for the British, but today was a different story. Andrew had upgraded his native forces to obsolete rifles rather than muskets, but there still seemed to be about twice as many of them as there were of the British. I think I made a mistake choosing two units of lancers - in the close country in which the game was fought, another two infantry units with rifles would have been more useful. I also rolled my unit morale a bit averagely - both cavalry were grade 5 (the best possible) bit two infantry were 6 and one infantry was a grade 7.

We also had some specific task cards borrowed from the medieval version of the same game, giving us game points for achieving certain tasks - Andrew had a really good card which was to avoid having his overall leader involved in any combat for the whole game and he would gain 3 victory points! His second card (unknown to me) was to initiate the first combat, which he duly did in move two or three. In turn, my task was to have one of my nits closer to the enemy base line than any enemy unit at the end of a game turn, to gain 1 point and the second was something pretty unachievable, like destroying more than half they enemy force. 

In previous games, the Brits modern rifles have had a battle winning impact, with a range of 24 " compared with 12" for the muskets, but with the natives now sporting rifles, albeit less modern than my boys, their maximum range was increased to 18". In addition, there seemed to be a lot more cover in this game than  previously, which added an extra kill dice requirement if the target was in the terrain - so at long range, you needed to get 3 hits per infantry figure.

The writing was already on the wall I think before Julian arrived, but after lunch, he added another three units of rifle armed Pathans to Andrews force whilst I gained two more Indian army units. I pulled back into more defensible position but I really did not have enough troops to contain the 2:1 or greater advantage of the natives. On top of all this, my dice rolling throughout the day was abysmal - in most cases, I was rolling 12 dice - even my six lancers got to double their melee dice up to 12 when they were charging - but I would be lucky to roll 2 or 3 hits, and in many cases I needed 3 to kill one wily Pathan, sniping at me from the concealment of the abundant cover. I did manage a couple of good volleys near the end of the game that more or less wiped out an entire unit in one shot, but it was far too late and the Pathans were also able to destroy two of my five infantry units by rifle fire. 

The game was still a good way to spend a wet and windy Auckland day but it was a decisive defeat for the Empire forces.

The images show my British troops - all Old Glory - plus Andrews natives, an eclectic mix of ranges and - in the last few images - Julian's Pathans who are once again Old Glory sculpts.

Royal Marine Light Infantry

 Most of the British force deployed on the base line at the start of the game

 View along the British Base line - Bengal Lancers nearest the camera

One of Andrews excellent home produced scenery pieces

 The Bengal Lancers advance to engage native cavalry on the British left flank

British infantry advance in the centre

 Native cavalry on the opposite flank

The Bengal lancers engage with the native cavalry...

 ...and drive them back. They continued with a break through and inflicted another casualty but then suffered rifle fire from the adjacent infantry and had to retire

The native cavalry on the other flank open fire on the British lancers

And the lancers charge them.......

 ....killing most of them and driving off the remainder

                                      A general view of the centre of the table from the British side

 Julian's three extra units join the fray from the British left

The British pull back to a stronger defensive position

 A view of the advancing natives from the British position

Julian's Pathans advance 

 Andrews native forces in the centre advance en masse

 Above and below - the final British defensive position

 Andrews forces continue to advance despite losing a unit to short range rifle fire

 The Pathans on the British left move in for the kill

 A final view before two British units disappeared and the game ended

The victors - Pathans occupy positions previously held by the Royal Marine Light Infantry

Viking warrior discovered in Sweden was a woman, researchers confirm

The Independent

Swedish scientists have revealed that the body of a Viking warrior long presumed to be male is, in fact, female. A team of researchers from Stockholm University conducted a DNA analysis of the skeleton and confirmed that it belonged to a woman. The 10th-century skeleton, the researchers concluded, is the first confirmed female high-ranking Viking warrior.

Scientists had long assumed that the skeleton was male – despite early indications that she may have been female – largely because of the status symbols buried alongside her.

Early archaeologists uncovered a sword, an axe, a spear, armour-piercing arrows, a battle knife, two shields, and two horses in the grave, signifying the buried individual’s status of as a “professional warrior”. A set of gaming pieces found in the grave indicates the individual’s “knowledge of tactics and strategy” and role as a high-ranking officer, the scientists said.

Because of this – and because no such high-ranking female Viking has been discovered before – most researchers assumed the body was male. When early analyses indicated the body was female, some suggested that the objects buried alongside her belonged to someone else.

“This type of reasoning takes away the agency of the buried female,” the researchers write. “As long as the sex is male, the weaponry in the grave not only belong to the interred but also reflects his status as warrior, whereas a female sex has raised doubts.”

To quash those doubts, the researchers took a DNA sample from the skeleton’s arm and tooth. The sample revealed a lack of Y chromosomes, signalling that the individual was female. The scientists also noted that the skeleton’s bones were “thin, slender and gracile” like a woman’s, further supporting their conclusions.

The skeleton was first discovered in the 1880s in the Swedish town of Birka. The city is located on the on the island of Björkö, and was an important trading centre for Vikings. The area now contains more than 3,000 Viking graves.

These latest findings, the researchers write, “provide a new understanding of the Viking society, the social constructions and also norms in the Viking Age.”

“Our results – that the high-status grave Bj 581 on Birka was the burial of a high ranking female Viking warrior – suggest that women, indeed, were able to be full members of male dominated spheres,” they conclude.

Great news - I now have historical evidence to support this army of Shadowforge female Vikings!

Talavera 1809- refought twice in one evening

Tonight I went to Julians for the first time in about 3 or 4 weeks. He had dug out and tidied up his original Willie Figures Napoleonics first purchased and painted over 45 years ago - yes, thats how old we are! We used the Command and Colors Napoleonic rules set from the same stable as the ACW game we did a couple of months ago - you draw "action" cards and they define what you can do next EG move three units on the left flank or activate 2 units in the centre etc. It can be frustrating if you have a definite plan to attack on the right but your card draws keep presenting you with activation cards for the left!

In the first game commencing about 1700, I took the British, comprising four cavalry units nine infantry units and three batteries of guns. Julian commanded the French who had three larger cavalry units - four bases instead of three - thirteen infantry units and again three batteries of guns.

To win the game, each player had to capture seven victory points by either killing a leader or destroying a unit

The initial French advance on their right with the cavalry was successful and they knocked out one of my units and killed the leader - so two points to Julian. I managed to come back despite having fewer cavalry and evened it up a bit - the French retired to lick their wounds. The action moved to the centre with an exchange of gunfire and after a few rounds of this, Julian played a "bayonet attack" action card that allowed him to move four units forward two hexes rather than the usual one AND fight at the end of it. His French columns had an advantage in close combat and added an extra dice to their combat factor, but this was negated by the fact all the units he was attacking bar one were on higher ground. My artillery stood his attack off although he pushed back the one infantry unit on my right that was not on higher ground. But in the next move, I managed to flank his attacking line with a cavalry unit and combined with artillery fire, this drove off or destroyed three of the four units.

By this stage Julian was behind in the points score something like five to three, plus several of his units that had not been destroyed were in a pretty bad way - comprising one or two stands. He tried one last ditch frontal assault along my line but again the Brits stood firm and repulsed the Froggies. He got his score up to five but then I was able to put three units onto one of his and wiped them out, winning the game just in time to stop for dinner about 1900.

Some of the pictures are again not that great - I am sure it has to be the romantic subdued lighting because I don't have problems with any other pictures I take on my phone. I removed the worst but I have left in some that are pretty crap because they show one of the salient points of the game

The scenario map in the rules handbook

Initial British position - the centre

The French centre opposite

A view along the table, French to the left

The "abilities" cards for my British force

French cavalry advance on their right, the British left

The British centre after a couple of turns - I have combined two of my batteries into a "grand battery"

French cavalry success - they had destroyed one of my units and killed the leader

The French cavalry continue to advance but shortly after this I counter attacked, destroying one French unit and severely handling another, which forced them to retire

My cavalry counter attack

The first mass attack by the French columns - four battalions storm across the creek

The result of the attack - one unit reduced to a single base, two of three guns from the right hand battery gone - but the line held!

British response - a cavalry counter attack from the flank was supported by the guns and three French battalions were wiped out or forced to retire with heavy losses

Lull after the storm - the British line reforms

The French left wing infantry advances 

The view from the French side of the British centre 

The British right from the French perspective - oversized Guards and Light infantry battalions plus smaller unit of Rifles - a very hard nut to crack!

The British left flank anchored on the heavy cavalry and highland infantry on the high ground

The final French attack - two battalions assault the highlanders on the high ground on my left flank

At the same time, one unit stormed forward on the right, destroying one battalion of British line infantry......

.....before being assaulted on three sides by the guards, the light infantry and a line infantry unit. This was the end of the game as I had reached seven victory points!

GAME TWO

After dinner we reset all the units in their original positions and swapped sides, so this time I commanded the French assault. Having seen how hard things had been for Julian, I decided the best plan would be to redeploy half my force form the left and centre over to the more open right flank and make my main assault there - which is all very well but if you keep drawing action cards that say Probe on the Left, Advance on the Left, Scout the Left Flank etc, its a bit hard! On he British side, Julian seemed to be having about as much luck with his cards, so we had several early rounds where not a lot happened, punctuated by groans and swearing as we picked replacement cards that were still of no use!

Eventually I did manage to get a couple of cards that enabled me to do what I wanted and against expectations - both mine and Julian's - my two units of French cavalry were able to defeat four units of Brits, leaving me with a four to one advantage in the victory points. A few more useful cards followed whereby I was able to resurrect several units that had suffered casualties, including returning the cavalry to almost full strength again, much to Julian's irritation! The cavalry promptly charged a unit of highlanders who despite the opportunity to do so, declined to form square in the face of lancers - a bad mistake as it turned out!

I then used a Forced March card to rapidly redeploy four units from the centre to my right wing and all of a sudden, I was able to implement the plan I had made from the start. I played the same "Bayonet Charge" card Julian had used on me in the first game to send three battalions to assault one British unit holding a small village. I did need the 3:1 advantage to overcome this unit but the attack was a success, another victory point to the French, and the only British unit left to interfere with my left flanking movement was removed. My third (fresh) cavalry unit joined the other two and together they assaulted the British position on the height on the British left flank, wiping out a battery of guns and reaching the magical seven victory points.

The photos of the second game are pretty average - it was later and there was no natural light left so I think thats the reason but here they are for what they are worth

French cavalry engages the Brits - fortunately due to the terrain I was able to get two on one against the guys on the hill. The single stand to the left of the hill is the remnant of another British cavalry unit, and the remaining two are widely separated from each other

A turn later and three of the four British units are gone from the table and I had three victory points on the board

 I continued my flanking advance on my right, bypassing the British occupied town as my cavalry swept around the rear of the British position

 Another view showing how far I was able to exploit with my cavalry units, who really did most of the hard work. The lancers on the hill are just about to finish off the last element of the highlanders who didn't form square!

My three on one assault on the village......

....and the result - sorry about the dreadful quality of the photo!

The final assault on the British position on the height of their left flank - my third cavalry unit joins the other two to deliver the final blow and win the game for the French this time

A selection of the "action" cards I had at the end of the game - a bit out of focus unfortunately

So... a great way to spend four or five hours at the end of the working week winding down after the stresses and strains of dealing with customers and their strange and unreasonable demands and expectations! Not surprisingly, I informed Julian that I "quite like" these rules - but they do hamstring you a bit if you do not get the right cards and this affected both of us in the second game.

On Sunday, Julian and will be at Andrews place, probably playing The Men Who Would Be Kings colonial rules and maybe some sci fi game where I can use my armed ladies from my previous post - will let you know on Sunday evening!