With my son still at home and after the stout defence by the French in the previous battle Wellesley (apparently recovered from his death) was persuaded to attack the strong second French position. Again I so.not run through the detail of the battle which is adequately covered on Wiki. In essence Delaborde had successfully pulled back to what was an even stronger position. Wellesley again attempted to out flank the position with Portuguese troops under Col Trant and the 3rd Brigade under Gen Ferguson. He led the main assault. The terrain was very difficult with the front of the French position cut by deep rocky gullies. The British assaulted up these after being initially repulsed they made it onto the plateau but before the position was outflanked the French managed to withdraw in order.
Tuesday 29 December 2020
Battle of Rolica (Afternoon) : Commands and Colors
Monday 28 December 2020
Battle of Rolica : Command and Colours
Well Christmas Day has been and gone, the country is in and out of lockdown and the weather has been pretty poor but luckily we were able to be together as a family for the first time since last Christmas which has been really nice. With some pre ordering I made sure I received a handful of hobby related gifts.
Monday 21 December 2020
AWI Campaign Old Molly : Part 3
The conclusion to our mini series didn’t make it into the Christmas Review (those who may have missed my last post check it out for some light Christmas entertainment) and even this may not be the last post of the year. But last night we played the third and concluding part of our Old Molly trio of battles. If you wish to see the background just scroll down a couple of weeks.
The Rebels having captured the gun at Oak Tree Forge and survived by the skin of their teeth the ambush, they must now cross Oak Tree River to get the gun to safety. For those who have the rules this is pretty much the Bridge to victory scenario. The British have crossed the river further upstream and have sent a force to prevent the bridge being built. The Rebels have two small units of engineers who must build the bridge, once they are in the river by passing activation tests, needing a total of 60 points. For the rebels dusk can fall anytime after 8 turns up to a maximum of 14.
On to the action 😀
Sunday 20 December 2020
Christmas Review 2020
Something different this year I decided to do a short Christmas 2020 review video. Hope you enjoy it
Have a great Christmas
Matt
Thursday 17 December 2020
Inspirational Books and SYW Commanders
Following Iain’s post of his inspirational book I thought I would do the same. Then I realised I had done it back to celebrate my 500th post here https://wargamesinthedungeon.blogspot.com/2018/08/celebrating-500-why-did-i-start.html
However, as a reminder this was the first military book I had , it is an unashamed piece of historical literature written before the madness of the First World War when many genuinely thought battles could be ‘glorious’. The pictures are wonderful 😀
Tuesday 15 December 2020
AWI Campaign ‘Old Molly’ Part 2
The scene was set for the second instalment of our Old Molly AWI campaign. The Rebels have capture the famous siege weapon and now need to transport it to safety. The British Commander Colonel Archibald Watts is reluctant to allow the valuable artillery piece to fall so easily into the enemies hands. Despite a bloody nose from the first encounter he has hatched a plan to recapture the gun knowing the likely route of escape he has led a small force of light troops to set an ambush. On route, to bolster his force, he has hired some local natives, promising them payment from the King’s purse for each Rebel scalp taken.....
The scenario in brief. Ambush scenarios can be difficult when the enemy is expecting the attack. To create some sense of unexpected challenge I set two random factors. Firstly the Rebels who were strung out on the road would randomly select the order of March. With variable troops qualities and the cannon itself to contend with this would increase that sense of disorder as the ambush kicks off. Secondly the British who had a smaller, but more mobile force would also have random entry points, rolled for as each unit entered play. The scene was set. The Americans need to get the cannon off the table ! But will also get points for units which escape.