"Recover those stores" : a Sudan scenario using Black Powder rules

 For our latest game Steve set up this scenario where a force of Egyptian troops (3 brigades of foot and 1 of cavalry) were given the task of recovering a cache of arms and stores which Emir Khat had 'liberated' from several defeated Imperial forces.  Information received suggested that the arms and stores were located in a village deep in enemy territory.  The Dervish had a small force protecting the village, but reinforcements could be expected.  The time and point of entry of each element of the reinforcements was the subject of a dice roll and so was unpredictable.

After a hard march the Egyptians were nearing the village.  After several battles in which the Imperial troops had been surprised by hidden enemy troops catching their extended lines, the Egyptian commander decided to hold one infantry brigade back as a reserve, to meet contingencies.  His cavalry were to carry out a sweep around the enemy left to check for concealed enemy units.  The remaining infantry brigades were to advance to two hills and use their firepower to reduce the enemy numbers before a general assault was launched.

The Egyptian cavalry move off to the right

The cavalry brigade set off to the right and for the first two turns met no problems.  On the next turn, as they crested a low hill the were met by the sight of a mass of Dervish infantry moving towards them.  As the cavalry commander looked around the landscape he saw a second mass of enemy infantry to his left.  There was no way he could tackle such numbers, his job was to get back and report the weight of numbers heading towards the village.  He ordered his rear unit to turn around and head back, to be followed by his other two units in quick succession.    Unfortunately, his rear unit did not receive, or misunderstood his order and remained where they were.  To buy time he ordered his leading unit to attack the Dervish troops in front of the brigade.  Gallant though they were, they could not make any headway against the mass of enemy troops and as they struggled, the second regiment of cavalry was charged in the flank by a unit of Hadendoa from the second group of Dervish.

The Hadendoa strike

By now, the rearmost unit of Egyptian cavalry, the Bashi Bazouks had turned to retire towards the centre.  However, they saw that a unit of Dervish was swinging round on their left hoping to prevent any escape for the cavalry.  They charged them and manage to keep the way back open, at least for the moment.  

Behind them all order was breaking down.  The leading unit, unable to hold the mass of enemy infantry routed after the brigade commander was killed.  Then the unit hit in flank did the same.  At least the efforts of the Bashi Bazouks had left open an avenue of escape but the victorious Hadendoa now charged into the back of the Bashis sealing their fate.

The rout of the Egyptian cavalry brigade

As the mayhem was unfolding on the Egyptian right, the leading infantry brigades continued forward.  The left hand brigade established itself on their hill, put out a flank guard, deployed the artillery and then deployed two infantry units forward to fire at the defenders of the village.  In the centre, the second brigade was almost in position, ready to cover the village and the compound.

The infantry brigades move into position

Perhaps encouraged by the rather ineffective fire from the nearest house one unit of infantry charged forward and tried to force their way in.  They met stern resistance and had to fall back to lick their wounds.

Egyptian infantry attack the village

In the centre the second Egyptian brigade had reached its position.  As the leading unit crested the ridge they were charged by enemy cavalry.  Their fellow units were still in column so it was vital that they hold their ground.  This they did, driving off their attackers.  

The second brigade comes under attack from cavalry...

Other units of cavalry swept around the hill heading for the remaining Egyptian formations.  This gave the rest of the centre brigade to form up facing outwards and the left hand unit was just in time to receive a charge from one of the Dervish units in the village

and infantry

On the left, the situation was deteriorating. The unit which had attacked the village had fallen back to regroup, but took further casualties from enemy rifle and artillery fire.  This caused their nerve to break and they routed. To their left, their supporting unit had run low on ammunition and as their rate of fire declined an emboldened enemy attacked them.  Perhaps shaken by their lack of ammunition the Egyptian infantry faltered as the enemy charged.  They could not hold their ground and had to fall back.  This meant that the supply mule sent forward to resupply them fell into enemy hands.  The brigade commander moved forward to steady the wavering unit and the Sudanese, who had been covering the flank, took up position behind them offering support.  It was to be in vain.  The enemy charged again, totally routing the Egyptians and killing the brigade commander in the process.

Surging forward, the Dervish then took on the Sudanese.  These proved to be made of tougher stuff and not only held their ground but forced the Dervish to retreat.  At the same time a unit of cavalry was charging the brigade artillery.  Fortunately, the artillery fire was enough to stall the charge and save the brigade.

The left hand brigade under severe pressure

As all this was happening the final act in the drama that was engulfing the Egyptian cavalry was played out.  Attempting to restore some order, the Egyptian C in C galloped over and rallied one unit of cavalry.  With no other commanders available, the other units continued their rout and left the battle.  The rallied unit was still reforming when it was hit by the pursuing Hadendoa infantry.  Carnage ensued with many of the cavalry and the C in C falling beneath the swords and spears of the enemy.  Only a few cavalry remained to follow their comrades who had left the battle.

The end of the Egyptian cavalry

Behind the Egyptian cavalry, the commander of the reserve brigade had formed up his men in a firing line to drive back the approaching enemy.  The Hadendoa charged the unit on the right of the line, which refused to stand and fell back in disorder.  Fortunately, the other units held and prepared to fire.  However, something was amiss with either the ammunition or the supply held by each soldier because the two battalions and the artillery all fired and found that not only had they had inflicted no casualties, but they had all gone low on ammunition as well.  The brigade still had its supply mule, but it would be a nervous time before all were resupplied.

At this point we had to end play as we had run out of time.  Victory was given to the Dervish, because the Egyptians did not really have the strength to push forward and capture the village.  Added to that the C in C and two brigade commanders were dead, and, two more supply mules had been captured to further boost the supplies available to Emir Khat.

A most enjoyable game.  Thanks to Bob for handling the Dervish so well and to Steve for devising the scenario.

Battle of Lindenau 1813, a scenario using General d'Armee

 It has been some time, but I have eventually sorted out a further test run for the General d'Armee rules.  This Lindenau scenario came from Steve Shann's book "Lets fight Leipzig".  A review of this book can be found on the Yarkshire gamer you tube channel .  The scenarios in the book provide all you need to play the game, a map, order of battle, objectives and terrain detail.

The Austrian General Guylai was attacking the village of Lindenau which sat astride Napoleon's line of retreat from Leipzig.  His troops were in three separate columns and he planned a concentric attack which would overwhelm the defenders of the village ( a small independent division under the command of General Margaron).  Some redoubts had been erected to strengthen the defence, but Margaron's troops were stretched.  Fortunately for the French, reinforcements were on their way.  Bertand's IV Corps  consisted of the infantry divisions of Morand and Fontanelli and the cavalry brigades of Quinette and Jett. These are on the table as the Austrian columns arrive.  On the Austrian left is Hessen Homburg with 6 battalions of infantry and a 'streifkorps' of light cavalry and cossacks.  In the centre is the column commanded by Guylai  with 5 battalions of infantry and two regiments of cavalry.  Finally on the right is Csollich with 9 battalions of infantry and a 'streifkorps' of light cavalry and cossacks.

Csollich prepares to advance on Plagwitz on the French left

The Austrians' objective for a complete victory is to hold at least half of Lindenau by the end of the game; holding Plagwitz and the three redoubts will give them a tactical victory.  Failure to achieve either of these objectives gives victory to the French.

The scenario special rules create the chance of a uncoordinated attack by the three Austrian columns by making them dice to see if they arrive.  In our case this worked and it took Hessen Homburg three turns to arrive giving the French right ample time to prepare themselves and also meaning that the French commander could concentrate his Adc's on helping Margaron and the artillery.  Csollich's skirmishers took heavy casualties from  Margaron's skirmishers and also the artillery facing them , meaning  he had to deploy one of his light battalions to bolster the line.  nevertheless his battalions moved forward.  In the centre Gyulai was also making progress, though his troops were also taking heavy casualties from the artillery in the redoubts.  His skirmishers tried to pick off the gunners, but suffered severely from the volleys of canister.  The infantry battalions began to engage Margaron and Morand's battalions but made little progress, both sides losing their fire discipline.

Morand's troops move through Lindenau

Hessen Homburg's troops had now arrived and deployed to attack Fontanelli  and Quinette.  

Csollich's leading battalions moved to the left of Plagwitz, pushing back the French skirmishers, but this opened them up to attack by Jett's light cavalry  This caused them to halt and form square stalling the advance.

The Austrian right flank Plagwitz

The developing attack on Lindenau

Csollich at last deployed for attack and  stormed the redoubt to the right of Plagwitz.  His men captured the redoubt but were disorganised in the process and were vulnerable to counterattack.

The Plagwitz redoubt falls

The village of Plagwitz was also attacked and after a prolonged struggle the Austrian infantry forced their way in and ejected the French defenders.

Plagwitz falls

As Hessen Homburg advanced he was attacked by Quinette's dragoon brigade.  Von Mensdorf's light cavalry tried to hold them off but were defeated.  Quinette wanted to push on, but the serried ranks of the  Austrian squares deterred him.

Quinette's dragoons drive off the Austrian cavalry

Gyulai had also managed to capture a redoubt in the centre so the Austrians were edging towards a minor victory.  However, there were still several game turns to go and their gains were vulnerable to counterattack.

It was at this point we ran out of time so a draw was declared.  In retrospect the scenario as I put on was perhaps too big for a 6 x 4 table.  The Austrian deployment areas in particular being too cramped.  Once again the rule mechanism regarding Adc's caused severe problems.  All too often a brigade would advance one turn and then the next would become hesitant.  Now I appreciate that the Napoleonic battlefield, with all its smoke and noise could cause confusion; but once an order to advance had been received and initiated, why would the troops stop, especially if they were outside musketry range and were not threatened by cavalry?  Just getting the adcs in the first place proved difficult for both sides; then there is the additional hurdle of  managing to roll 3+ on a d6 once you have managed to get your adcs.  Both commanders had multiple occasions when a brigade would go hesitant in successive turns, even with an adc attached to give a re-roll.

It will be interesting to see what GdA 2 is like when it is published.