Back to the AWI

For our game last week Steve organised an AWI game based on this post (https://paintingshed.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-battle-of-fonteytown-1777.html) from the Painting Shed blog.

Looking up the battlefield from the Crown right wing

The photograph shows the battlefield before the Crown forces deploy.  On their right and centre the Crown have two brigades (each of 4 units) of British troops; on their left a third brigade which are all Hessians, consisting of 5 units: 3 battalions of line infantry, one unit of jaeger and one light gun.  Their task is to drive off the rebel forces and allow the road to be used by supply wagons.

Opposing them are two rebel/revolutionary brigades, each of five units.  They have formed quite a strong defensive line, but have few reserves.   A roll of the dice allocated me command of the Crown forces and Bob took command of the opposition.

My intention was to get forward as quickly as possible, ie advance in column and then deploy into line once I was in musketry range.  This plan was in the wastepaper basket by the end of the first move as my best unit, the British grenadiers were targeted by the opposition artillery and having failed a morale test routed back to the baseline.

The grenadiers rout

Other British units made slow and stately progress, suffering the odd casualty on the way.  On the left flank the Hessians also had problems.  After a reasonable start, they seemed to be unable to coordinate their advance, allowing the defenders to concentrate their fire on first one unit and then another.  The brigade commander was soon scurrying around the battlefield rallying his men. 

It all started so well

Then this happened

On the flanks the light infantry were trying to push back the enemy riflemen from the woods.  The British light infantry were making heavy weather of the operation; their fire seemed to be having little effect and when they advanced they began to suffer casualties.  A bayonet charge managed to force the enemy to fall back but it was all too late.  One line unit had been advancing and also covering the artillery which was moving forward into effective range.  However, the line infantry had taken quite a few casualties from the riflemen and when targeted by the enemy artillery their nerve broke and they routed.  This left the British artillery exposed to a volley from a unit of Continental infantry and as men fell the remainder left their guns and ran for cover.  They were rallied but the British artillery was fated to play little active part in the action.

For all their problems, the Hessians were the first to break through the enemy lines.  The jaegers charged their opponents, who instead of falling back, stood their ground.  In an unequal melee, where the jaegers had bayonets and they did not, the riflemen inflicted severe casualties before they routed.

Success for the jaegers

Once the riflemen had been driven off, the jaegers could move onto the flank of the line infantry holding the defences.  Their harassing fire, combined with volleys from the weary Hessian line troops eventually forced one of the defending units to rout.  

Success at last

The opportunity was there for the Hessian brigade to move forward, but they were just too weak.  The jaegers were at half strength, the artillery had expended all of its ammunition and one of the musketeer regiments had routed from the field.  The two remaining Hessian infantry units were on the brink of following them, each having only one strength point remaining.

For their part the British had neared the defences, but had not yet tested them and we had run out of time.  The rebels/revolutionaries were adjudged the winners, but later, Steve played a few more moves and the British actually managed to break through the defences and open up the road.