Edinburgh Wargames
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The Edinburgh Wargames Journal
Issue 62 - September 2011
Periods featured this issue: The Napoleonic War, The Seven Years War, The American War of Independence (28mm) & The Second World War (12mm & 20mm)
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The Napoleonic War: The Bridge over the Burro, Spain, 1811 (General de Brigade) 28mm
This fictitious little Peninsular game , with a couple of brigades a side was set around a bridge in Spain - a crossing over an important river. The British had seized the bridge during the night, but the bridgehead was poorly-defended, with just two battalions of foot and some riflemen on hand to hold off the French until reinforcements arrived. The French turned up in force - six battalions in two brigades, one appearing from the eastern (long) table edge, the other from the north. The aim was to crush the defenders before the rest of General Hill's Division could come to their rescue. Thanks to Dougie's car trouble we had a very late start to the game - leaving less than two hours of playing time. The pressure was therefore on to achieve a reach a conclusion in the short time we had available.
Fortunately for my British, a lucky die roll meant that the reinforcements began appearing almost as soon as the game began. Just what unit from the pool would arrive was in the lap of the gods, and as yet more luck would have it the first unit on the table was a battery of 9-pounders, which were soon ensconced on a hilltop on the near side of the river, just to the north of the town of Puta Madre. They arrived just in time to pour flanking fire into the French infantry brigade that was approaching the bridgehead for from the north. That, of course, was when I started rolling low, and for the next few turns their fire was singularly ineffective.
Meanwhile Dougie's French attacking from the west deployed from column into line, hoping to pin the British line with musketry while a third battalion swept the olive grove to the south of the British line of the skirmishers who were ensconced there. First blood here went to the French, whose own skirmishers charged and drove back their British counterparts - light infantrymen detached from the British foot. That left the men of the 60th Rifles to hold the line. Fortunately for the British their second unit of reinforcements had arrived - the 16th Light Dragoons - which passed through the olive grove to deploy in the open ground to the south. Behind them came a British infantry battalion - the 28th Foot, who also turned right after crossing the bridge, and deployed in the olive grove, with their backs to the river.
The arrival of the cavalry prompted the battalion on the left of the French line to form square. Thanks to their rather rash "Assault" orders the British light dragoons had no choice but to try to charge home. They did, and were promptly bounced back. All this bought time for the French to bring up their own supporting cavalry regiment - Chasseurs a Cheval - who formed up and charged the reforming British horse. Meanwhile over to the north the French brigade attacking from that direction was starting to suffer heavy casualties from the British guns. By contrast the French artillery didn't achieve much, apart from inflicting the odd casualty on the British reinforcements as they crossed over the Burro bridge.
The French cavalry charged, and were met by the counter-charging British light dragoons, who had just managed to recover from the disorder caused by their rash charging of the French square. I have to say, my light dragoon have never been particularly lucky on the tabletop, but this time they came through. The French chasseurs were driven back in disorder, and true to form the British horsemen gave chase - no doubt halloing like they were chasing foxes. This of course did little to influence the battle in the centre, which had degenerated into a tough musketry exchange, with the outnumbered British gradually getting the worst of it. Only the faltering of the second French brigade thanks to enfilading British artillery fire prevented the British line from being overwhelmed.
At that point we had to pack it in. The battle was still all to play for, as by now the British had brought up a full three-battalion brigade of foot, and were deploying through the olive grove to counter-attack the French from the French southern (left) flank. If truth be know the tide of battle was slowly swinging in the British favour, helped mainly by the fire of the Royal Artillery battery, and the charge of the light dragoons. Still, the French had the edge in the centre. The question was - would the British line hold long enough for the counter-attack to smash open the French line? We'll never know. Thanks to that car trouble and our lost hour of gaming we never got to finish the game. While General de Brigade is a great set of rules, its also detailed, and games take time to play out. If we'd been using Black Powder we'd probably have had a resolution, and have time to spare. Next time we'll tailor our choice of rules to the time we have available!
The Napoleonic War page The Age of Bonaparte page
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The Seven Years : The Battle of Kolinsky, 1757 (Black Powder) 28mm
We called this engagement the Battle of Kolinsky, as it was largely based on the Battle of Kolin (1757), only we used Russians rather than Austrians. You all know the set-up at Kolin - the Austrians (Russians) set up on a ridge, and the Prussians deployed off the road to attack them, concentrating their force on the far right of the enemy line. Well, we sort of followed this, except a lot of the Russians (and a brigade of Austrian foot) were off table, and arrived on the wrong end of the 12 foot table from the fighting. Yes indeed - the Prussian commander Dougie Trail came up with the scenario. That meant that the Russian brigade holding the end of the line - the guys in the red waistcoats - had to hold their ground until help could reach them.
Over on their left the Austrian allies had deployed a powerful force of cavalry - some six units - four of them cuirassiers. They were faced by the bulk of the Prussian horse, although for some reason the bulk of the Prussian cuirassiers were on the opposite flank of their army, screening a bunch of Cossacks. The battle started with a furious cavalry scrap which more or less continued on all evening. Iain Gale commanding the Austrians did well, despite not really knowing the rules, and rolling two blunders in succession, which saw half his force pulling off the table each time! By the end though it was starting to look a little dodgy for the Prussians, whose hussar units were starting to break.
The main Prussian attack went in through the oak wood - the assault force moving so quickly my hapless Russians didn't get a chance to react. Well, to be honest I failed to activate the brigade in red waistcoats, and the Prussians moved very quickly indeed. They moved past the small oak wood and launched themselves against the flank of the Russian brigade, rolling up a battery of guns and pushing back the first battalion of Russian line. The Russians rallied though, and formed a makeshift line of sorts, but the pressure was on. To help things I moved up a small brigade of Russian cuirassiers - my reserve in that sector of the battlefield - and they charged the left flank of the attacking Prussians. The unit of grenadiers they attacked was forced back, but they soon rallied, forcing a standoff between the Prussian grenadier battalion on the hill and the cuirassiers, who spent the rest of the evening charging in, bouncing back, reforming and then going in again. Meanwhile the Prussian attack had run out of steam after rolling up another Russian gun.
That was when the Prussians sent in another brigade, aiming to hit the flank of the red-waistcoated Russians on the hill. This time some accurate Russian artillery and musket fire stopped the advance by disordering the leading Prussian battalions. The disorder was repeated on subsequent turns, and so the attack never materialised. It was probably just as well, as the hard-pressed Russians on the hill were heavily outnumbered, and would have folded under the added pressure. One battalion had already routed, and the rest were holding on by luck more than judgement. At that point the long-awaited Allied reinforcements arrived - a brigade of Austrians (three battalions), followed by a brigade of Russians cavalry. They all appeared at the wrong end of the 12 foot table, and had to advance across 9 feet of tabletop before they reached the critical right flank. The cavalry though simply deployed on the left flank, bolstering the screen of Cossacks down there, and manoeuvring into position to countercharge the Prussian horse if they made any kind of aggressive move.
The Prussian second-in-command in charge of the unengaged right flank decided to add to the pressure on the Russians by launching an assault across the centre of the table. This was somewhat reminiscent of Pickett's Charge - they were going in against a fresh waiting line of Russians - two brigades - backed by two batteries of artillery. The key was going to be the cornfield which climbed the slopes of the ridge in the centre of the Russian line. If they could break through there then the defenders would be slit in two, and the Russian position on the right flank would be rolled up. It was a bold move - and a foolhardy one. Russian guns and infantry broke two units in a single turn, and what had been an attack at even odds began to look like a suicidal bid for glory. It was clear that as the Russian cavalry rode into position the attack would have to be called off, and the Prussians would have to come up with a new plan.
Back on the Russian right (or Prussian left) the Austrian cavalry was slowly gaining ground against their Prussian counterparts, while the red-waistcoasted Russians had held on long enough for the Austrian infantry to reach them. That was the point where we had to call it a night. The course of the battle was still undecided, and victory could have gone either way. While the first Prussian attack was halted the second brigade was ready to advance again, and given a few more turns the veteran Prussians might have won the day. As often happens we played a game that was far too big for the couple of hours we had at our disposal. Still, it looked magnificent!
Both sides had around 15-6 battalions of infantry on the tabletop, and a similar number of small cavalry units. Both the Russian and the Prussian player had more units in boxes off the tabletop, and would have loved to deploy them if we had the time to continue. Yes, we had a lot of lead, but the game was very fast moving. I can't think of another set of rules that would allow us to command so much, and play so many turns in such a short period - just over two and a half hours. Next time we do a big Seven Years War game we'll try to stage it somewhere where the time and space to do what we want. The main thing though, is that all the players had a great game, it played out smoothly, and it was a real treat to take part in!
Seven Years War page
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The American War of Independence: Trouble in the Carolinas, 1781 (Black Powder) 28mm
This was actually two games in one. The first one was over so quickly that the battle was refought - so two games for the price of one. This small American War of Independence game was very loosely based on the Battle of Cowpens, fought in the backwoods of South Carolina in January 1781. In the real battle, Colonel Tarleton's "flying column" of around 1,000 men was chopped up by a similar number of rebels - a mixture of continental regulars, militiamen and cavalry. I recently refought the battle using British Grenadier rules, and that time the Americans won, although the remnants of Tarleton's force were able to retreat in good order (see Issue 58). For over a year my wargaming crony Bill Gilchrist has been trying to adapt Black Powder for the American War of Independence, with distinctly mixed result. The problem centres around the fact that the rules work best when you've got two armies with relatively similar abilities. He's been struggling to accurately reflect the generally poor quality of American militiamen, and this game was another of those experiments, trying to tweak the factors to get it right.
I say "loosely" based on Cowpens, as Bill's order of battle meant that the poor British were outnumbered, rather than having rough parity of numbers. The British had around 100 figures on the table, and the rebels fielded almost 170. As for the troops themselves, Tarleton probably had a greater proportion of cavalry at his disposal at the real battle (a double-edged sword), and finally - for the purists amongst you - the 71st wore trews, not the kilts worn by their tabletop counterparts! As for the battlefield itself, the real thing was fought in open woods, but this one was played out in the open. Also, in this refight the British had to cross a gaudily-based stream which didn't feature anywhere near the real engagement, spanned by a fantasy wooden bridge wide enough to drive an American interstate cross over!
Okay, on to the first game. The Americans had a free deployment, so rather than setting up in three lines like they did in the real thing, they deployed in a long line, which made the most of their firepower. When the British advanced the Americans bided their time, then charged with their militia (!!!) to drive in the British skirmishers. They then proceeded to shoot up the oncoming British at close range, forcing the British Legion infantry to break. That left the 71st Highlanders to face three enemy units, and when they charged one unit they were charged in the flank by the supporting American militiamen (!!!). Throughout the game the British Legion cavalry stood around, waiting for orders that never came. The breaking of the Highlanders effectively marked the end of the game - fought to a conclusion in just 1 hour 15 minutes.
That meant there was plenty of time to stage a refight. For this one Bill removed one of the kick-arse units of South Carolina militiamen, and made the rebels deploy historically in three lines - rifle-armed skirmishers, militiamen, and finally the regulars, supported by two small units of cavalry. This time the British were more cautious, and concentrated their three infantry units (the 7th Fusiliers, 71st Highlanders and the British Legion foot) on their left flank, in an attempt to counter the American superiority in firepower. The Americans advanced, and the game on this flank developed into a long-range musketry duel that achieved little, apart from pinning the best British units in a corner of the table. The Americans began lapping round the British flank, so the British Legion cavalry swept forward to drive them from the field. Amazingly, not only did their target - a skirmish unit of American riflemen - stand their ground, but they even repelled the assault, buying time for the Americans to reform their line, ready for another cavalry assault. When it came the Legion Cavalry charged home, but were bounced. With time pressing the game was brought to a close, but it was clear that there was now no real way that the British would win the game. There it was - two British defeats in two games, and a continuation of their poor track record in American War of Independence games at the club using Black Powder.
To be honest, Cowpens is pretty hard to win for the British with more historical orders of battle and more detailed rules. When they're outnumbered so comprehensively, and the American commander behaves aggressively with his militiamen, then a victory for the good guys becomes even harder. No doubt Bill will continue his Black Powder tweaks, but until he manages to find a way to reflect the historic capabilities of American militia then those British defeats are probably going top continue!
American War of Independence page
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The Second World War: Durham Ridge, Libya 1941 (Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier) 12mm
This small game was played out in Orkney, between Angus and Mark Colston, a head teacher and a former paratrooper. This was Mark's first post-Napoleonic game, so I let him have the good guys, while I commanded the Nazis. The scenario was set at the time of Operation Brevity, in mid-May 1941. "D Company" of the Durham Light Infantry held a low ridge overlooking the main road from Tobruk and Sidi Azeiz to Fort Capuzzo, a few miles to the west of the fort. The Germans conducted a "reconnaissance in force", spearheaded by two companies from the 5th Panzer Regiment, supported by two platoons of panzer grenadiers and a reconnaissance company. They had ample artillery and air support available, but until this could only be used once they'd identified exactly where the British positions were.
This small game was played on a 7' x 5' table, with the ridge, a road, and a small house. The Durhams were dug in, with sangers covering the ridge. The platoon blocking the road weren't so fortunate, as they hadn't time to improve their position before the Huns arrived. The Germans launched their tanks straight at the ridge, advancing cautiously, and trying to spot the enemy as they went. On the road they were a lot less cautious, and the reconnaissance company barrelled towards the building before fanning out into line - a column of trucks behind them. They soon ran into trouble. A 2-pounder AT gun knocked out the lead armoured car, while the others were pinned by British fire. The infantry de-bussed behind them, and began shooting back.
Over on the ridge the British got lucky again, knocking out a couple of tanks with 2-pounders, and even scoring a couple of hits with their Boyes AT Rifles. Soon the German advance was stalled, as tanks began to be pinned, forced to retire, damaged or knocked out. The tankers called on support from their divisional artillery, and the guns did a good job of plastering the ridge. The first barrage all but wiped out a platoon of the Durhams, dug in on the right (northern) side of the ridge, and for the moment the 2-pounders were suppressed. Thanks to the barrage, the Germans managed to regroup, and resume the advance. By now the reconnaissance had developed into a full blown hasty assault. Unfortunately the German player (that would be me) rolled pretty poor initiative dice, which meant that the infantry supports were trailing far behind the panzers. This would be an old-fashioned cavalry charge - against dug-in infantry.
The panzers reached the base of the hill, only to have the AT gunners recover from the suppression caused by the artillery barrage. As a result the tanks were met by close-range anti-tank fire, which managed to knock out one of the two German panzer companies. The GErman tried outflanking the hill with a pair of Pz. II's, but when these tried to close-assault the company headquarters they managed to knock out the attached mortar section, but came a cropper from opportunity fire from newly arrived British tanks. In the subsequent close quarters fight the Durham's headquarters section knocked out the remaining Pz. II with - I presume - sticky bombs, grenades and lots of pluck.
Those British reinforcements consisted of a squadron of A13 cruiser tanks from the 7th Armoured Brigade. They were immediately targeted by the Luftwaffe, and a Stuka attack succeeded in knocking out one tank and damaging the other. Fire from the remaining German panzers succeeded in knocking out another British tank. Another squadron of Vickers Mk VI light tanks destroyed what remained of the German reconnaissance company, and began engaging the German infantry which had deployed behind the reconnaissance vehicles. At that point the German player called it a day. The reconnaissance in force had rather rashly been turned into an assault, and the enemy proved too strong to dislodge. The remaining tanks withdrew under cover of smoke, and drove of the British light tanks before collecting their supporting infantry and heading back off the table towards Sidi Azeiz. I suppose I should have been more cautious, and plastered the hill with whatever I had before launching an unsupported tank assault. Still, it was fun, and the main thing is Mark won his first Second World War game, and consequently vowed to play more of them!
Second World War page
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The Second World War: Drive on Mga, October 1941 (Rapid Fire) 20mm
This week, for the want of something better to do, the chaps decided to invade Russia. The game was set in October 1941, during Operation Barbarossa. Army Group North was approaching Leningrad, and had already encircled the landward side of the city. General Zhukov, commanding the Leningrad Front ordered a counter-attack, which resulted in the recapture of the railway town of Mga, on the western bank of the River Neva. This game centred around the German counter-attack.
Essentially, the Germans attacked in two columns, each following a road that led from the west or south-west corner of the table to Mga. The right-hand column was a reconnaissance force - a motorcycle battalion, backed up by a few light tanks and support weapons. It veered off the road to cut the railway line leading into the town, then kept going, taking casualties all along the way. This "death ride" ended when the remnants of the German column sought refuge in a wood behind the town. Having lost about two-thirds of the battalion, these guys stayed put for the rest of the game, breaking cover only to knock out an anti-tank gun that was holding up the main German advance.
The main German assault was spearheaded by a powerful force of tanks - a mixtures of lights, mediums and a few of the more powerful Pz. IVs. They had a tough time of it at first, fighting their way forward through the fields that the Russians were using as their forward line of defence. Eventually though they broke through this crust of Russian infantry, and approached the town, which was already under artillery fire from German artillery. At that point Russian reinforcements arrived in the form of an armoured train, sent to the front from Leningrad. What followed was a bizarre duel between the well-armed train and the German tanks - a duel the train eventually lost. When its flaming and shattered carriages were finally silenced the Germans moved in for the kill, helped out by air strikes that pounded the defenders, and protected the German tankers and panzer-grenadiers from enemy fighters.
The Russians threw in their tank reserves - a couple of under-strength battalions of light tanks - T26's and BT-5s. Tghese light tanks were no match for the Pz. IV's, who now dominated the approaches to the town. The loss of the Russian armour was the final straw. What remained of the Russian garrison of Mga was overrun or driven off, aided by the remnants of the suicidal motorcycle battalion. As the evening drew to a close it was clear that Mga had been recaptured by the Germans, and the blockade of Leningrad would continue.
Rapid Fire always produces a high-octane, high carnage game, and while the rules lack the subtlety of Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier, at least they're fun to play, fast-moving and - er - decisive!
Second World War page
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