Further adventures of Francois Gaston : French Indian War : Muskets and Tomahawks

Since his last adventure Captain Lockhart has been spending much of his time in the officers mess at Fort William Henry making only occasional forays out into the surrounding forests to ensure any roaming French scouting parties are kept under control. However, the French are determined to probe into British territory. Francois Gaston having recovered from his previous wounds is leading the French efforts using local allied Indian troops and regulars where they are available.

Lockhart has gotten wind of a French scouting party close to the small frontier settlement of Harristown. He has immediately set of with a strong force of regulars from the 48th Foot, Rangers and local militia to see the French off. (We had rolled on the random scenario chart the French objective was to scout all four quarters of the table whilst the British need to stop them, we had two secret missions as well)

A light company of Red Coats cautiously enters the village

Gaston leads his regular forces forward, allied Indians are all in hidden deloyment

Overview of the village, the river breaks the Battlefield into two and is only passable where the sandbars are located.

Captain Lockhart also has a strong Company of Grenadiers from the Fort.

Rangers and the Militia on the right of the River discover Indian scouts in the woods on the hill, when they exchange shots the Natives pull back to regroup

Regulars are now pushing further into the village, whilst Lockhart checks one of the outbuildings ? He once again seems reluctant to lead from the front

Seeing the French regulars in the woods the well trained Grenadiers form line 

The French regulars also form line and fire a powerful volley at the Rangers sending them running back from the edge of the river.

The native scouts have now made it into the village and are in the Church, amongst other things they have found a valuable stash of British Rifles destined for the fort. Although harder to load their range makes them a very dangerous weapon. The Regulars choose to fix bayonets to force the natives away form the church

Cold British steel works wonders but despite taking casualties the Natives are able to withdraw taking the stolen Rifles with them.

By some careful movement the French had managed at this stage to scout all four quarters and achieved their objective. So they have started to pull out, for a major victory the British need to rout the retreating forces.

Unfortunately fate is with Gaston this time and the French and Allied natives are able to pull back unmolested. 

The French claimed victory only to discover that the British had achieved their secret mission, it turns out Captain Lockhart is lying in a drunken stupor back at William Henry. Realising his Captains predicament Corporal Maxwell has taken his uniform and wig to impersonate the Captain his challenge had been to stay far enough away from his own troops so they wouldn't notice. This he had achieved but at the cost of the British Rifles which the Natives would no doubt be using against them in future skirmishes. The end result a draw..........😀

The Adventures of Captain Lockhart : FIW Muskets and Tomahaks

We played a game a few weeks ago using Muskets and Tomahawks and those that follow my blog will know I have been moving from laptop to iPad. As part of the transition I have been looking for a way to do the comic style as easily as possible.....after a few suggestions I have a new app. So as a test and first experiment I can reveal the Adventures of Captain Lockhart.........

I see captain Lockhart being my heroic British character to balance with Gaston in our previous battles. So he will have more adventures in the future. I have learnt loads knocking this up.......

1. It takes ages but gets quicker😢

2. I need to take more close up photos....but don't want this to spoil the game.😠

3. I can do it all fairly easily with the right apps on the iPad.😀

4. Writing comics is fun 😀

48th Foot : French Indian War

Almost another unit completed for my French Indian War collection. These are the 48th Foot. I have painted the two standard bearers but don't have flags yet which I am hoping to get at Salute.

The 48th Foot

As part of a 'special deal' Steve base painted these figures for me, I then took over to complete the bases and finish off with highlighting. Really happy with the result as they match in well with my other British. They are Redoubt figures.

In HIS Majesty's Name : FIW

Our French hero Francois Gaston de Levis is back in action having rescued the Acadian civilians in his last adventure he now has to escort them to safety across hostile territory. The English commander Braddock has sent a strong group of allied Mohawk and Seneca natives to ambush Francois and kill the civilians if they can. Francois has a small group of French regulars and scouts together with some local militia.

We decided as a change to play French Indian War with IHMN which obviously now becomes In His Majesty's Name. The conversion was really easy and with relatively poor quality muskets reducing the range and effectiveness of shooting it worked quite well. The native braves were obviously better in combat etc...I can provide more specific details if anybody wants them)

On to the story........... emerging from the woods on the outskirts of the village Francois and his men can see the safety of the French stockade. But the four surviving Acadian civilians are tired and hungry. Count Beauchamp and his wife together with Pierre Leaubutt and his beautiful daughhter Lilly. All they have to do is get across the small stream through the village and into the stockade.

Scene from the village Mohawks are already in the woods

The natives allied to the British start in the far two corners and immediately start to spread out through the woods, a second small group take cover by a stone wall, hoping for a lucky long range shot.

Francois enters in the far corner

Wary Francois sends out scouts who come under fire. He now has the difficult balance of keeping moving whilst fighting the natives....it is going to be a though challenge !

Francois stays close to Lilly to protect her  ?

As the french spread out it is clear they need to commit to one direction or another if they stay put they are done for as the Natives close in and if they spread out too far they will be picked off.

Coming under fire !

The decision is made and whilst Francois heads north towards the river the rest of the party moves east past the loggers cabin all the time keeping the Count, Pierre and the Lady's under close cover.

Musket start to fly but initially have little effect

All is still quiet around the Church. We also rolled for side plots to add some spice, as the natives I rolled for my War Chief locally known as Chief  Grey Wolf  'madness' this meant each turn when i wished to command him there was a 50% chance he would instead work for the french ! he did this almost 80% of the time so spent most of the battle stumbling around the graveyard mumbling incantations to himself it was obviously a bad day or he had eaten far to many mushrooms.

Chief  Grey Wolf behaving very oddly indeed !

Meanwhile on the other side of the river the real battle was hotting up.

Even the Count gets into combat

The Acadian civilians have come under attack and only the quick thinking of the french scouts manage to fight the natives off. The Count is attacked in person whilst Pierre, Lilly and Madame Beauchamp scamper through the trees towards the river.

Fierce hand to hand fighting

By the loggers cabin fierce hand to hand fighting has broken out, initially Sgt Gronad forces the Natives back with his two handed Pike but eventually there are too many and the Militia supporting Gronad are too weak.

The Count doffs his cap  as he is attacked ?

But what of our hero I hear you say........ to the west Francois is attempting to cross the river perhaps to find a quicker way to the stockade or to bring extra help. However, from nowhere he is attacked as he crosses the river and knocked to the ground, as a pool of blood spreads into the river it is not clear if he is dead or not. All we know is he played no further part in the battle !!! (with his excellent pluck it required a really rubbish roll to get him knocked out thanks Steve !)

mon dieu je suis mort !

Somehow the civilians have made it to the river intact and prepare to wade across....but there are natives watching and waiting to ambush from the other side.

Wonder how deep the river is here ? darling...you first my dear

Luckily I didn't get a shot of the next gruesome action as Madame Beauchamp whilst wading across the River was attacked and slaughtered by one of the Mohawk warriors.

Across the river at last 

Shocked by the brutal murder right in front of their eyes the final three make a dash for it, they have now outrun their protectors who are left to fend of the last of the natives. One final dash but Pierre is caught from behind losing his scalp in the process.

Safe at last the Count and Lilly make it to the stockade

But the blood letting isn't quite over as the remaining french scouts and regulars try to mop up the final Natives .....after all the only good Indian is a dead one as far as they are concerned.

the final confrontation but too late for Pierre Leaubutt

Technically it was a draw with 50% of the civilians escaping, it was a great game close to the end and the IHisMN rules worked really well with 1750's FIW.  Luckily when the french had mopped up the last Indians they were able to search the river bank for their dead and wounded comrades....lying in a pool of blood they find Francois a nasty gash to the head and with considerably blood loss but he is ALIVE. When he has recovered we will be playing again and looking for revenge against the redcoats !

The Adventures of Francois Gaston de Levis : French Indian War 1756

Looking to play a bit more M&T this year so having completed the French Infantry I have been looking for a setting for playing scenarios. The more I have read about the war the less and less convinced I am by the ruthless antics of the Colonial British, this gives me the benefit that I can play either side without feeling any undue favour. 

Throughout 1755 the British under Nova Scotia's Governor Charles Lawrence ordered the forcible deportation of the French Speaking Acadian population. The dirty work was carried out by one Colonel Monckton whose force included the often less than scrupulous Robert Rogers and his Rangers. Often portrayed as a kind of rough diamond British hero a number of atrocities were committed by him in the name of the crown.This then is a perfect setting for some scenarios. 

Our Hero Francois Gaston, Chevalier de Levis has just arrived in the Colony bringing French regular reinforcements. Rogers has got wind of a group of Acadians seeking refuge at a nearby settlement with the intent of capturing them, of course if there is a fight he won't hesitate to kill them off implicating the local Natives as the culprits. Francois has taken a small party of allied Ottawan Indians to protect the village whilst the French regular infantry is being brought up. Rogers on the other hand is throwing his Rangers, some allied Mohawks and a small company of British regulars at the village.

(we rolled the scenario from the Muskets and Tomahawks rule book, together with a secret side plot each........please note I failed my French O'level, yes that long ago....)

The story begins ; the Acadian Civilians are in two groups and once the alarm is given they start to make their way to the church, the Ottawa Indians take up defensive positions around the village. As soon as the Rangers come into view the Ottawa left rip. The Rangers weren't expecting this and one group immediately fall back to consider their options.

Ottawan Indians protecting the village 

The woods to the north of the village give the Rangers excellent cover and they can remain out of sight as long as they don't fire (in M&T as soon as you fire with a black powder weapon you are much easier to spot and shoot at) Francois Gaston can be seen at the far side of the church keeping one eye on his Allies and the other over his shoulder for the French reserves.

Civilians scurrying for cover in the church

Rogers has also persuaded some local British Militia to tag along, not through any great loyalty to the Crown but no doubt looking for ill gotten spoils.

Local Milita are also helping the British

The British allied Mohawks have made their way forward to the rocks in the foreground but are reluctant to charge in! without firm orders from Rogers but he is nowhere to be seen ? (more of that later I think)

Allied Mohawks seem reluctant to engage ?

The Indians in the church yard come under fire from the woods so they are able to start exchanging fire but at this long range muskets are fairly ineffective and casualties are minor.

Allez allez mon amis - the civilians make themselves scarce

At the other end of the village there are mixed fortunes, the Mohawks have temporarily lost their nerve pulling back into the woods but the slow moving British regulars have now come into range, Load.....Aim......FIRE !!!!! a devastating volley at Ottawa close to the Barn who are wiped out to a man. (the white balls of fluff are used to represent black powder weapons so you know who needs to reload)

Mon dieu....je suis mort!

Things are now starting to look uncertain for Francois and the Acadians, the regular infantry has still not arrived, his allied Indians in the Church yard are gradually being pushed back. He calls the other Indians back towards the Church to make a potentially heroic last stand. Whilst good in combat the Indians armed with bows have been hampered upto now with strong winds. (we rolled several special events during the game this being just one of them)

Last stand in the Church yard ?

From the other end of the village you can see how bad things are, the Militia, the Regulars and Rangers are all on the outskirts of the village and the Civilians almost undefended. (I was at this stage starting to worry that the newly painted French Regulars might not even turn up in their first battle !) 

But wait a minute are those the strains of Le Marseillaise (of course not this is pre revolutionary France so we will have to assume they come on with a shouted Bonjour Salute !!)

Not looking good for the Acadians !

In the nick of time a large company of French regular Infantry arrive from the south. The Militia have already caught and killed one of the civilians, the rest are literally fleeing for their lives.

juste a temps !

Let them have it lads or ils ne l'aiment pas jusqu'a eux (ok i used google for this) The regulars buy just enough time for the civilian to get away.

ils ne l'aiment pas jusqu'a eux

But it isn't over yet at the church the Rangers have attacked the remaining Ottawa defenders in hand to hand combat, although the natives give as good as they get they are outnumbered, and the Rangers are close to getting into the church where the other civilians are hiding.

"defend our French brothers and sisters to the last man" 

Luckily the British Regulars are too slow to make a difference in the combats around the church and the Indians who are "elite and savage" manage to hold the rangers whilst paying with their own lives. Although extra time was threatening, darkness fell at this point bringing the battle to a close. Francois had managed to save all but one of the Acadians but at the cost of many allied Indian lives....this may well give problems of loyalty in the future. The Rangers slunk off into the darkness of the woods.

Francois embraces his countrymen

But somehow when they got back to the depot Inn they claimed a draw.....what .......how ? Muskets and Tomahawks allows both sides to have a secret side plot and in the case of Rogers his had been to finish the battle without having been spotted by the enemy, apparently he is not adverse to disguising himself and working as a spy behind french lines. This is why we hadn't seen him during the battle and he had stayed well back in the woods !

Overall then a draw.........and good fun, We hope to be back in Nova Scotia soon but it may be a while with some significant VBCW projects in the pipeline more of that soon.

French Indian War Infantry

I have had these French infantry on the to do list for ages. They have proved a real challenge to complete......sometimes you just loose the mojo on a particular project. Anyway apart from touching up the bases they are done.

They look very bright in the picture but are less so in real life. I have seen several different uniform types for the period, so these are somewhat generic. I definitely feel a raid in the woods in in order. Figures are Redoubt and AW minatures.

I do need to make a decision about the bases as I have held off on all my French Indian collection, I will have to find something simple ?

Going for a paddle : Muskets and Tomahawks

Postman brought me a gift the other day !

I wasn't really planning on buying these, but I had a very small and bizarre windfall and I have been listening to an excellent history of the FIW. Also working on some French infantry but hopefully more of them soon.

Trouble down by the river : Muskets and Tomahawks

Somewhere in the last couple of weeks we also had another run out for Muskets and Tomahawks the set up being a small village close to a river. As I haven't been able to paint any more French the sides are pretty much the same as last time. A native indian war party armed with a mixture of muskets and bows, together with a small contingent of Canadian/French settlers. We rolled up a full scenario this week. And the Indians had to burn the village ! this allowed the cowardly British to sit back and wait.

Indians coming on again with hidden markers (the wolf)

A rattle of gunfire from the woods

With the river only passable at the crossing points the native americans are forced to make a costly frontal assault. With a small flanking party sent he other side of the river.

British rangers supported by Mohawks and a company of Red coats

Skirmishing in the woods

A furious skirmish battle started in the woods as this was gogin to be key to getting to the village. But despite the Natives best efforts the british rangers get the better of it.

Cowardly British hiding in the village !

The French / Canadians kept up a long range exchange of fire with the rangers in the village hoping to pin them down to give the natives time to push through the woods or cross the river but they were running out of time.

Flank attack across the river

Eventually the Natives across the river made a dash for it surprising the Redcoats. They tried to force a crossing under heavy volley fire, but soon the river was running red with native American blood !. Despite frantic attempts they couldn't get across the river and the british were able to call across the Mohawks to strengthen the village defences.

High point for the Native Americans almost forcing the river

Too little too late and the Mohawks strengthen the village defence.

We had time for another game so set up another scenario disappointingly the Natives this time had to kill the villagers in the village. It felt very familiar and I was worried immediately that the Natives had no chance. But .....it shows you can never tell using almost the same tactic the native swarmed across the field, through the woods wiping out any rangers in  their path. In about two turns the natives had inflicted a devastating defeat on the British killed and scalped all the villagers pretty much a wipe out with only a few cowardly redcoats left at the end.

Two fun battles which left me wondering why the natives had done so badly first time....and thinking I really need to get some time to paint up the French and additional British infantry I have. I really fancy some slightly larger French Indian War battles !