Neil Thomas Horse & Musket Scenario 020: A Polemos Ruse de Guerre game

Okay, next scenario up is Scenario 20 from Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames (and again the tactical rules being used are the Polemos: Ruse de Guerre set).  This scenario is an adaptation of an old Don Featherstone scenario originally published in Wargamer's Newsletter. It covers the pursuit of a retreating army, with the retreating army having to retreat over a river and then hold a hill for a certain period of time.

 

 

The Forces:

British:

1st Brigade: 2 bases of Trained Infantry

2nd Brigade: 2 bases of Trained Infantry, 1 base of 6pdr artillery

3rd Brigade: 1 base of Trained Cavalry

The British must get all their forces across the river by the end of Turn 2 - any units not doing so are destroyed automatically.

Franco-Jacobites:

1st Brigade: 3 bases of Trained Infantry

2ns Brigade: 3 bases of Trained Infantry, 1 base of 6pdr artillery

3rd Brigade: 2 bases of Raw Dragoons (can dismount and fight as light infantry)

The French arrive on Turn 2.

The Set-Up:

The British forces are retreating in two columns over the river; they have to still be holding the hill (top) after 15 turns.

The right-hand column: two battalions (Fergusson's and Seymour's) and the guns, with Cadogan's Regiment of Horse in the rear

The smaller left-hand column (Lord North's and Leven's regiments)

The Battle:

(Sorry for this picture) The French Dragoons lead the pursuit: du Roi in the lead, la Reine behind - can they catch the British infantry before they can turn and face?

Royal Ecossais leads the Franco-Jacobite pursuit on the right; with Royal Italien and Surbeck behind

The British on the left do get in position in time, forcing the Franco-Jacobites to deploy

The British infantry brigade on the left has made it safely to the hill and is now moving into defensive positions

The Franco-Jacobites have been forced to deploy on the other flank too, but here at least their musketry is starting to tell on Cadogan's Horse

The British on the left have withdrawn into the woods

Unable to risk further losses from the French (okay, Italo-Scottish!) musketry, Cadogan's Horse retires to rally

The Franco-Jacobite column follows up

Ater quite an effective musket volley, the French on the left attack: du Roi is attacking in the woods, whilst Dillon's Regiment attacks Leven's regiment just outside it; Leven's regiment has already suffered heavily from the musketry

It pulls back disordered in the face of Irish bayonets..

...order is lost, and the redcoats run for safety!

The position at this point of the battle (halfway through)

Lord North's regiment saw off the French Dragoons, who have retired to reform; the Irish brigade then gets into position to attack the woods, but its right-hand regiment (Clare's) is coming under deadly artillery fire from the hill

Lord North's regiment evades a clumsy attack and regroups near the back of the woods

The Franco-Jacobite infantry on the right lumber forward towards the British, defending the hill in some strength

Clare's Regiment collapses after being subject to prolonged artillery fire

The French Right moves forwards: Regiment Surbeck takes heavy casualties from British musketry, but that of Royal Ecossais and Royal Italien sees off Cadogan's Horse...

...which bolts for the rear!

(forgive the poor image, but crucial for the narrative); despite causing heavy casualties in the fighting, Lord North's regiment breaks under the overwhelming odds in the fighting by the woods

Then suddenly, Fergusson's Regiment breaks too, as a result of French artillery fire!!

With just a few minutes to go, the British can hold no longer and retire in disorder...

The position at the end of the battle.

Game Notes:

There is no doubt about it, that lad Featherstone knew a thing or two about wargames scenarios! This looked a bit unpromising at the beginning, but it was one of the most thrilling yet, coming down to pretty much the last roll on the last turn...As far as the actual fighting went, honours were probably quite even (the British lost more units, but the Franco-Jacobites had suffered more shaken results).  Polemos Ruse de Guerre pretty much always gives a good game and this was no exception: the rules are characterized by morale, fire and generous move rates and thus favour infantry more than many other games.  Cavalry neeeds to be thrown in at the right moment...Cadogan's Horse was always playing a dangerous game, but it would have probably been better situated behind the brigade on the hill rather than on its flank - if it had been in a position to charge Surbeck when that regiment became disordered, that might have been just the change to give victory to the British. That is the way it goes...

Obviously one swallow does not make a summer but it was nice to see the Franco-Jacobites win this one for a change! I didn't notice any conscious bias towards the Franco-Jacobites to make that result happen, so I was pleased.

Figures by Baccus 6mm.