The Men who would be Kings; take 2

Captain Marshall took another look at the village through his binoculars.  The place seemed deserted.  Reports of it being a hotbed of the revolt would appeared to be in error, however, his orders were "destroy the village and round up any of the rascals you find".  Another quick look and then the decision.  "Elliot.  Give my regards to Captain Hughes and request that he deploy his gun to shell the village".  Marshall then sent orders to the infantry component of his small force.  It would be an enveloping attack, the Scots on the left, the East Rutlands on the right and the Blue Jackets in the centre.  All were to advance in open order, but be ready to close up if enemy forces appeared.

An overview of the table, the Imperial forces arrive on the left hand table edge.

A close up  of the village.  The counters indicate the strength points of the buildings, which can be reduced through artillery fire.

Before he set off on his task, Marshall had been 'advised' by several of his senior colleagues on the 'craftiness' of the Dervish.  "They can spring up out of nowhere" one old campaigner warned.  "Don't be caught in open order, or you will carved up like a Sunday lunch" another said.  Marshall had discussed these warnings with his infantry commanders after he had explained his plan for the attack and events would show how much notice they took.

Marshall watched his forces move forward.  The Scots made a very thorough investigation of the scrubby area to their left, which destroyed any chance of a concentric attack.  Marshall sent a courier with a terse "make haste"to hurry them along.  In the centre, the Blue Jackets made slow progress through some broken ground, but when they reached the far side they could see Dervish riflemen lining the wall of the village.  The riflemen had been firing to good effect on the East Rutlands who had made good progress on the right.  Even though the redcoats were in open order they lost over 10% of their number.  Undeterred the East Rutlands returned fire and were joined by the Blue Jackets once they cleared the broken ground.

The East Rutlands start firing at the dervish riflemen

Keen to improve the effect of his rifle fire, Lieutenant Carter ordered his men to form close order.   This did have the desired effect, but it also made the redcoats a better target.  It was just as well the Blue Jackets now joined the fray, directing their fire against the enemy riflemen.  Soon, the tribesmen's fire began to slacken as losses mounted.  More encouragement was given by Hughes' gun which had found the range and was now pummelling the village.  One building in particular was suffering and Hughes directed his men to concentrate their fire there.

Marshall's spirits began to lift, this might just work.  An aide then drew his attention to a plume of dust which was approaching the village.  Through the binoculars he saw that a significant number of horsemen were heading towards his forces.  They were not alone; more Dervish infantry appeared from the village and the surrounding broken ground.

Dervish reinforcements arrive

Neither Lennox, with the Scots or Carter with the East Rutlands, could see the approaching dervishes, but Dubney, who commanded the detachment of Blue Jackets saw the cavalry as they made their way through the village.  As they cleared the village and headed for Carter's command he ordered his men to fire at the horsemen rather than the riflemen.  A good number of saddles were emptied, but not enough to stop the horsemen and they crashed into Carter's men.  The redcoats were driven back with heavy losses.  They were saved from annihilation by Hughes, who saw the danger and targeted the horsemen as they gathered themselves for another charge and swept them away with shrapnel.  The pitiful remains of the East Rutlands made their way slowly back to camp, taking their wounded with them.  However, the gunners paid a high price for their work.  A unit of Dervishes had made their way through some broken ground and now charged.  They totally overwhelmed the gun crew and cut them down.

The end for Hughes and his gallant men

 On the Imperial left, Lennox was about to make for the village when he saw two bands of Dervish heading his way.  His men formed line and began firing volleys which scythed through the ranks of the leading unit.  Weakened, their attack was easily dealt with, but the second unit was still at full strength and when it crashed into the Scots, and their line wavered.   Eventually, they managed to drive off their assailants, but it had cost them half their strength.  Both sides now paused to regroup.  The Dervish then charged again and almost wiped out the Scots who were now too few to form close order.

Lennox's command fight for their lives

 Dubney would have come to Lennox's aid, but he was having to fend off the dervishes who had overrun Hughes.  The Blue Jackets managed to stop the Dervish advance with a well-aimed volley, but they were still being sniped at by the few remaining riflemen in the village.

Dubney's Blue Jackets keep the Dervish at bay

The game ended at this point (after the allotted 12 turns).  It was a clear Dervish victory, 10 points to 3, the Imperials getting 3 points for demolishing one house in the village.  The butcher's bill for the Imperials was horrendous.  Only 9 of the 36 infantry survived (2/3rds of those being the Blue Jackets) and none of the artillery.  The Dervish also had heavy losses, but only lost one unit, the cavalry.

Steve and I discussed the game afterwards and identified the need for the Imperial troops to find a position with a clear field of fire, preferably on a hill and force the enemy to attack them there.  Also don't form up too soon and make yourself a good target for the Dervish riflemen.

Blunders on the Danube: an eastern renaissance scenario for Pike and Shotte

 Another outing for the Ottomans this week; this time attacking rather than defending.  The scenario is set in the Danube valley with the Ottomans advancing westwards and Imperial forces falling back.  One Imperial brigade has been left as a rearguard to give time for a convoy to cross a tributary of the Danube.  The rearguard has drawn up in a narrow gap between two marshes, close to the vital bridge.  Hasty defences have been erected and the Ottomans are marching towards them.

An overview of the table with the Ottomans on the left.  A unit of skirmishers is deployed across the front of three units of levy with small units of tufecki musketeers on each flank.  Behind them are two units of janissaries with a unit of assault infantry in the centre.  In the rear are three units of cavalry, held in readiness until after the infantry have broken through and cleared the way to the bridge.  On the right are the Imperial infantry, three units of Austrian infantry behind the hasty barricade, with two units of Hessian infantry in support.  As a final reserve, a small unit of Austrian cuirassier were held at the back.  Some cheveau de frise had been placed in front of the Imperial position.

With a fanfare the Ottoman infantry began to move forward.  Some units of levy moved faster than others, but the units of tufecki made good progress and were soon in position to on the flanking units of of Austrian infantry.  On the Imperial left, the commander of regiment Herberstein reacted strongly to be shot at by the tufecki.  Exhibiting what was later referred to as "an uncharacteristic lapse of judgement", the colonel of the regiment ordered an advance.  Herberstein climbed over the barricade,becoming disordered in the process, but were prevented from reaching the tufecki by the cheveau de frise.  After suffering another volley, the remnants fired one back and inflicted heavy damage on the tufecki.  With their morale shaken, the tufecki were saved by the advance of the levy, which drew upon them the fire from Herberstein.

Herberstein and the tufecki

The cheveau de frise, which had prevented Herberstein from charging the tufecki, now saved them from the levy, who were halted by the obstruction.  In the following exchange of volleys both sides became shaken and the firing died away as officers tried to restore order.

Stand off on the Imperial left

In the centre, the Ottoman skirmishers had managed to find gaps in the obstacles and were now sniping away at the Austrian infantry, waiting for the rest of the front line to advance and clear the cheveau de frise.  They fulfilled their task of taking the fire from the defenders which would otherwise have been directed at the dense masses of levy.  However, inevitably, they had to fall back to rally due to the level of casualties. By then the main assault was ready and the levy swept down on regiment Metternich which was holding the centre of the defences.  The first push was held, but as more levy piled forward the Austrians began to waver.  Lowenstein advanced from the second line to support them, but it was too late, the Austrian regiment was forced to retreat disordered.  

Battle is joined in the centre

And the right is threatened

The levy surged over the barricade and pursued them, forcing the Austrians further back, they were only saved from destruction by Lowenstein charging into the Ottomans.

On the right, Furstenburg, supported by the light artillery were trying to hold against another levy unit.  The commander of the rearguard had ordered forward the cuirassiers to support the infantry, but they  found that the position was deteriorating.  

On the other side of the hill the Ottoman commander was having problems of his own.  His second line was lagging behind the first and his cavalry simply refused to move.  In exasperation, he galloped from his command position on the hill and over to the cavalry commander.  He explained in clear and concise language what the result of further delay would entail for the health of the said cavalry commander.  Clearly inspired, the commander ordered the advance and the light cavalry moved forward.  However, the sipahi remained rooted to the spot.

A rather terse exchange

In the centre, the Imperial commander was getting nervous.  Lowenstein had charged the levy unit which had broken through, but they were repulsed with heavy loss.  The only thing which saved the Imperials at this point was that the levy had taken heavy casualties and needed to rally before they could advance again.  This gave Lowenstein just enough time to rally and then fire a volley which sent the levy running back in rout.

This was only a temporary relief because on the Imperial right, the Metternich regiment, having dispersed the Ottoman skirmishers was now charged by the third unit of levy.  They fired a good volley as the Ottomans charged home but it was not enough to stop them.  Perhaps disheartened by this and events to their left, they began to give ground and this gained pace.  The commander managed to rally them but this left the cuirassier unit trying to hold off the levy.

Metternich rout

On the opposite flank the charmed life of the Herberstein regiment came to an end as a unit of janissaries added their fire to that of the levy and the tufecki.  This volume of fire proved too much and Herberstein routed.  Erbprinz were now faced by the janissaries who charged them.  Again a volley was not sufficient to stop the Ottomans and a brutal contest took place over the barricade.  The Hessians were isolated and had taken heavy casualties and failed their break test, routing.

Herberstein rout

As do Erbprinz

The defences had now been breached along their entire length.  The few Imperial horseman could not stop the Ottomans, the only hope was to retreat.  The Ottoman levy cleared the remains of the barricade away and the Ottoman light cavalry flowed through the gap. 

When Steve and I discussed the game afterwards we both thought that the levy units were given too many melee dice on our factor sheet.  Even with bonus for held cover the Imperial infantry struggled to hold their ground.  This will be looked at before we play another game involving the Ottomans.  An interesting twist was that in the previous two or three "Pike and Shotte" games blunders had been noticeable by their absence.  In this we had half a dozen, one of which sent Herberstein out of the defences.  Another curio was the inactivity of the Ottoman cavalry; the sipahi failed to pass a single command test all game and therefore remained rooted to the spot.  This is obviously an extreme result, which caused some hilarity (and perhaps a little frustration), but is unlikely to occur again soon.  However, they say the same about "once in a century floods/droughts/heatwaves" don't they.   

  

IT problems

Last week, after several years of acceptance of this blog, the security software I had installed on the computer took it into it's head to decide that my offerings were "highly dangerous" and blocked access.  I could override the block, but if I did this, any attempt to get to the admin pages and monitor comments, or even add another post was also blocked.  To say the least this was irritating.  There was however a link to the security software administrators " re-evaluation" procedure.  I dutifully filled in my details and suggested that even a cursory glance at the contents of the blog would satisfy them that classifying it as "highly dangerous" was going a bit far.  Their automatic response was that the process could take up to two weeks; with little choice I settled down for a long wait.  I was surprised therefore that in a mere three days I received a reply to say that following a re-evaluation the block had been lifted and my blog had been accepted as safe.  Gratified as I am by this change of heart, I wonder in the back of my mind if the fact that my subscription to the said security software was due for renewal in a couple of weeks time played any part?

 

Weathercash: an ECW scenario

 This small action revolves around the search for a missing Parliamentary pay chest.  The original wagon and escort had been attacked by a Royalist patrol and the officer in charge had sent two trusted men to hide the chest while the rest of the escort occupied the Royalists.  Once the chest had been hidden the two Parliamentary soldiers attempted to make their way to camp.  Unfortunately, they were spotted and although one man escaped, the other was wounded and fell into enemy hands.  Naturally both armies wanted the chest and so each one sends a force to secure the chest which is said to be hidden in the hamlet of Weathercash.

A view of Weathercash, Tunstill's Farm at the top left, Nether Barn in the centre and Allsop's on the right.  Both forces have:

1 Brigade of horse (3 standard regiments, 2 trained 1 raw,  and 1 small trained unit)

1 small trained unit of dragoons

1 standard trained unit of commanded shot

1 wagon and crew for the chest

One extra unit will be added as determined by rolling a d6

1/2. Standard unit of cavalry (trained unless roll was a 1, in which case they are raw

3/4. Small, trained unit of dragoons

5/6 Small trained unit of commanded shot

In the event both commanders rolled a 5/6 so each had an extra unit of commanded shot. The 'intelligence' was that the chest was hidden in a building.  To search a building a unit needed to spend a full move doing nothing else; combat, firing, or even supporting another unit meant that a search could not be carried out.  The location of the chest was designated by the Ace of Spades.  Before the game began, I asked my wife to remove the Jack, Queen, King and Ace of Spades from a pack of cards, shuffle them and then place one card under each building, the fourth card being returned to the pack.  Once a unit had completed one complete turn searching a building, the commander could look at the card.  It would then be replaced under the building ready for the other commander to complete a successful search.

As Royalist commander, I deployed on the table edge on the top right of the photo.  I sent my both commanded shot units towards Allsop's (the nearest dwelling), the dragoons to Tunstill's and placed all the cavalry in the centre in a position to block any Parliamentary cavalry moving past the barn.  The Parliamentarians also sent their commanded shot towards the nearest building, in their case Tunstill's.  Their dragoons moved towards the barn, while the cavalry moved up on both flanks of the dragoons.

At first, both forces moved rather sluggishly, wiith the exception of the Parliamentary dragoons who advanced quickly, reaching the barn and dismounting.  However, they then failed a command test to advance into the building, rather spoiling the effect of their earlier rapid movement.

The first cavalry clash took place in the area between Nether Barn and Allsop's.  Shuttleworth's charged forward and were met by the Royalist Molyneux's regiment.  A tough struggle took place with serious losses on both sides, but when Livesey's regiment added their numbers the Parliamentary cause prospered and Molyneux's were routed.  The brigade commander tried to rally them, but he was swept up in the rout, being carried away in the rush.

Molyneux's rout

Shuttleworth's were shaken by their efforts and before they could recover they were charged by Forbes, the Royalist reserve cavalry.  In a rather one-sided melee Shuttleworth's were routed, flowing through Livesey's, their support.  Forbes' surged forward and caught Livesey's at the halt.  However, Livesey's stood their ground and held the Royalists and were then reinforced by Cunliffe's, the Parliamentary cavalry reserve.  After a prolonged fight, both sides fell back to recover.

A pause to recover

On the Parliamentary left, the commanded shot had now reached Tunstill's, but became disorganised  crossing the hedge and again when entering the building.  The Royalist dragoons had the potential to have reached Tunstill's first, but they had failed their command roll several times and the Parliamentarians were already in the building before the dragoons reached the hedge line.  The dragoons began firing, hoping to disrupt the search, but the second commanded shot  unit approached and fired a volley which inflicted heavy casualties.  The volley was followed up by a charge and the dragoons fell back shaken and disordered.

Meanwhile the Parliamentary dragoons in Nether Barn were fully occupied shooting at the Royalist cavalry and supporting their own cavalry in the melees adjacent to the building.  Their help was particularly useful to Cowburn's regiment, which was under-strength.  They were charged by the full strength Tyldsley's and the support from the dragoons enabled them to survive the onslaught and inflict sufficient casualties to force Tyldsley's to fall back.  Both sides needed to rally, but it was the Parliamentarians who recovered first, aided once again by the dragoons who fired at Tyldsley's and inflicted casualties just as they were rallying.  When Cowburn's charged Tyldsley's quickly dissolved, routing from the field.

Tylsdley's rout

The large cavalry melee on the Parliamentary right had now resumed.  Livesey's regiment was in the process of rallying when they were charged by Clifton's, a small unit, but fresh.  Caught at a disadvantage, the Parliamentary regiment was routed, but behind them, Cunliffe's retained their order and defeated Clifton's who also routed.  They then charged the last remaining Royalist cavalry unit and swept them from the field, though they took heavy casualties in the process.

By now the Royalist large commanded shot  unit had reached Allsop's and carried out a search.  When I looked at the card it was the Jack of Spades, so no chest at Allsop's.  With Parliamentary cavalry in total command of the field there was little hope of reaching Nether Barn to carry out a search there.  In any case the Parliamentary dragoons, no longer needing to support the cavalry, had now carried out a search themselves and Steve knew the result.  With all his troops now moving towards Allsop's, it was clear that he thought that the chest was there.  To avoid bloodshed, my force retreated, leaving Steve to find out the truth: the chest was not at Weathercash, indeed it may never have been there.

This scenario provided an enjoyable evening's gaming, even though neither of us managed to secure the pay chest!