Napoleonic - Rank and File

Last weeks game was held at "The Mess". A Napoleonic game that had the Russians defending against a French army.

The French army was of top quality while the Russians were poor.

 The French had to get across a river and through a town leaving the table between the buildings but there were only two points to cross at. A bridge and a ford. The French split their force in two, sending the heavy cavalry off to cross at the bridge while the rest forced the issue at the ford.

 The Russians had a large force in the town but these were unable to leave the town.

Russians defending the bridge.

 The heavily defended town.

French columns advancing toward the ford.

 The French dragoons tried to breakthrough at the bridge but the Russian defence was up to the task. The dragoons being forced to retreat back over the bridge.

 The dragoons gave up at the bridge and went off to help their friends at the ford.

Into the second row of defenders.

 The French columns slowly but surely ground their way over the ford pushing aside the Russian defenders.

Now into the third row of defenders.

Almost there but next it is the Russian heavy cavalry.

 By the time the French got to the town their infantry units were all but gone and with stacks more Russians in the town they gave up on their quest and withdrew.

The rules were Rank and File.
French troops from Rodger and Wayne.
Russian troops and buildings from David.

Lion Rampant

Last weeks game was a Medieval game using the Lion Rampant rules.

The game involved two forces controlled by three players per side. The main commander of each side was attempting to find favour with the King by capturing the three criminals that had escaped from the dungeons of the castle dressed as monks.

The fugitives were known to be hiding out amongst the buildings of the local village.

So, simply enter the the village, search the houses, capture the dudes that look like monks and return them to the King and collect the rewards from the tower. Simple!
And if you see any other troops doing the same, kill them and take the monks that they have captured!

3 monks to be found. Side with the most monks at the end wins.

Knights searching a house

1 monk found.

The village

Our medieval troops have seen little action in the past. Now that we have enough for a game they might get used a bit more often!

Battle of Aughrim, Williamite War.

Our most recent game was set during the Williamite War in Ireland. The battle of Aughrim was fought between the Jacobites and the forces of William III on the 12th of July 1691.

The starting positions.

 The rocky hills and the hedges show the area that was a bog and made movement rather difficult!

A fantastic game that came right down to the wire. Having crossed the river and avoided the bulk of the bog the troops on the right took the church and then victory.

Thanks the Adrian again for the use of his wonderful 15mm armies and for running the game.

WW1 Bolt Action

Last Wednesday night's game was a WW1 action using the Bolt Action rules.

The British were in defence with the Germans attacking.

There were several objectives for the Germans including capturing a British gun battery, capturing the British command post and getting troops of the British side of the table. All of these were worth points to both the British and the Germans.

The British gun battery

 The British set up first and the Germans could enter anywhere along their base line or along either flank of the table.

The British command was marked by the tents.

 A short line of trenches had already been damaged and would only provide soft cover for the British.

 German artillery moving up using the hill as cover along with a couple of German infantry units equipped with flame throwers.

 Some of the Germans attacked from their right flank and quickly removed one British units stationed in the woods.

 More Germans advanced through the woods in the centre of the battlefield.

 Off table artillery did not help the British. They ended up shelling their own men and in fact , I think, they were more successful than the Germans were with their off table artillery at killing Brit's.( No Germans were harmed with off board artillery)

 With the help of the British artillery the Germans overran the advanced British units in the centre

 and were soon ready for an assault on the trench line. The Brit tank came under fire from the German mortar making the crew somewhat reluctant to do any firing.

On the British left flank, the Germans dispatched the defenders and quickly took the points for the guns and raced one unit of the edge of the table.

For the British the game was all but over. Unable to stem the tide any longer the British began to bug out.

A fun game even though the British were generally unable to roll the dice they needed.

Thanks to David for running the game and providing most of the troops.