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.

Prussians at Quatre Bras.

Last weeks game was a Volley and Bayonet game played with mainly Prussians and French. A division of British turned up towards the end to help out though.

The French marching toward the crossroads.

The thin Prussian defence.

 Prussians began the game with a division holding the town and crossroads.

 As the French neared the town their cavalry encountered the first Prussian reserves coming up on the Prussian left.

 The first attack on the town saw the French force the Prussians back. Next move however and the Prussian were back in the town. More Prussians entered the battle, this time on the Prussian right.

 The French charged the town again driving back the Prussians for a second time.

 More counterattacks from the Prussian saw them regain the vital town at the crossroads.

 Quatre Bras changed hands almost every turn. Neither side was able to get a firm hold of it.

 Over on the French right the Prussians were forced back with some successful charges from their cavalry.

 Bossu wood was finally cleared of all Prussians and more pressure was being put on the town.

The Prussian line through the centre of the table held firm.

 Finally the French heavy cavalry arrived and were sent to break the Prussian centre.

 With the French once again in possession of the town the Prussians brought up their British allies to sort out the situation.....

 ... and they did. By now the casualty count was getting high on both sides, but for the French it was too high. Unable to move the British out of Quatre Bras the French began to withdraw.  If only d'Erlon's I Corps had turned up.

An enjoyable game with plenty of action.

Dark Age Bash.

The boys last get together was a Dark Age game using the Hail Caesar rules.

 

 

 Both sides lined up opposite each other. The largely Norman army behind the river.

 The mainly Saxon army had a few units in a rather advanced position near the bridge. The rest of the Saxon army began back at the base line.

 The Norman army moved off over the river to attack the exposed Saxons along with some of their cavalry.

 The Saxon cavalry charged towards the Normans. With neither cavalry commander wanting to fight in the river itself along with a number of "blunders" the largely cavalry wing of the battle did not come to blows until almost the end of the battle.

 Slowly the rest of the Saxon foot advanced up in support of their friends near the bridge.

 A couple of cavalry units from each side did meet in the centre of the table with the Saxons getting the upper hand.

 When the lines of foot troops finally clashed it was the Saxons that were to come out on top. The Normans were now in a rather poor state and were forced to quit the field,

Thanks to Chris for supplying all the troops and running the game.