Neil Thomas One-Hour Wargames Scenario 21

Okay, this one was from a little while back, but it is the next in the series of scenarios from Neil Thomas' One-Hour Wargames. This one is very loosely based on the Battle of Lobositz.

The Forces:

The Franco-Jacobites: 5 bases of Infantry, 2 bases of Cavalry, 2 bases of Guns

The Hanoverians: 3 bases of Infantry, 1 base of Dragoons, 3 bases of Cavalry*

Here the Franco-Jacobites must clear both the town and the hill to win the battle.

*Somehow I gave the British an extra unit, it should definitely have been 2 bases of Cavalry. I want to say it made no difference to the result...but unfortunately, it probably did!

The Set-Up:

The Franco-Jacobites approach from the South-East (bottom-right), whilst the Hanoverian defenders are split between town and wood, with the Horse positioned in their centre (top-left) to support against the Franco-Jacobite main effort, wherever that should be made.

Dismounted British Dragoons in the cover of the trees prepare to give the attackers a warm reception.

The (surprisingly over-strength!) British Cavalry

And the British Foot Brigade defend the town and its environs.

The Franco-Jacobites approach en echelon

A different overhead perspective

The Irish Brigade in the van, supported by the Jacobite Horse (Fitz James' and the Lifeguards)

Whilst the Royal Ecossais and a Swiss regiment guard the left

The Battle:

Things go wrong very quickly for the Franco-Jacobites, as the Swiss infantry is routed by devastating flanking fire from the dismounted British Dragoons!

The remainder of the French brigade pivots to face their attackers in the woods

Meanwhile, the superior British Cavalry charge their Jacobite opponents

The cavalry melee is fierce!

Eventually, the Jacobites retire, having had the worst of it

Meanwhile, the Irish infantry face off against their British opponents (Seymour's Marines and the 5th Foot)

The Franco-Jacobite left reforms to face the British Horse and Dragoons

The more numerous Irishmen charge their opponents with the bayonet...

Whilst the British cavalry puts heel to spur and sabre to hand, charging once more into the Jacobite Horse...

Already shaken, the Jacobite Horse are routed

On the other flank, the British infantry is pushed back slowly, but retain their good order

The remaining Jacobite Horse are attacked...

...and put to flight

Some very smart shooting sees off the Scottish soldiers of the Royal Eccossais

Whilst the 5th comes under increasing pressure, the British infantty has not buckled, and both Clare's and Dillon's regiments have suffered heavily...

Dillon's regiment is charged in the rear by the returning victorious British Horse

The combined pressure all over the field is too much for the surviving Franco-Jacobites, who flee the field.

Game Notes:

Good fun, if a little one-sided: entirely my fault, as I accidentally gave the British too much cavalry. This meant a counter-attack was a very obvious strategy, and fairly likely to be successful, since the Franco-Jacobites had too much to do and too little to do it with. Combined with the astonishing shooting of the British Dragoons, the Franco-Jacobites were on a hiding to nothing throughout the game.  Even when they won, they won small and so there was never a gap for them to exploit, really. They have a lot to do and not lots of time to do it! A better strategy might have been to concentrate the artillery against the hill - especially since the rules generally 'reward shooting' - and clear that first. But hindsight is wonderful, and the Franco-Jacobites were always going to struggle to concentrate sufficient force in one place and not be vulnerable to a counter-attack in another, given the odds. Apart from that, not too much to say about this one. I need to work on my marshes a little more!

Rules were Polemos Ruse de Guerre, figures were from Baccus 6mm, the buildings from Leven I think.