Shoemaker's Bridge: Game 2

Heroic Stand of the Continental Artillery

Game 2 in the three game series was fought out between Steve at Sound Officers Call and Darren at Warfare in the Age of Cynics and Amateurs.  Both have accounts of this battle on their respective blogs.  Be sure to see their thoughts on the game.  For a scenario refresher, please visit my Shoemaker's Bridge scenario.  Steve took on the role of the American Army.  Darren commanded the British.

 

Without further adieu, let's pick up the action in the battle pictorial.

Rebels opt to defend Shoemaker's Farm in force
covering the bridge with the rifles only.

Defenders of Shoemaker's Farm

British arrive in two columns.
  One on the road and the other to the right.

Lead British elements form up at the stream
 while militia moves off the hill to contest the crossing.

Redcoats stream onto the battlefield.

Rifles are driven back on the left as the British advance
 but American reinforcements reach the battlefield
to lend support.

As pressure mounts against the battery on the hill,
 American infantry quickly forms up into line.

Americans veer off to their right to contest
the rapid advance through the fields on the flank.

British are seemingly attacking EVERYWHERE!

Americans are driven back from the field on the right
while reinforcements snake their way to the left.
A second militia moves up to contest the stream crossing.

The high ground in front of Shoemaker Farm is taken.

Americans attack on the right a second time
 to drive the redcoats away from their LOC. 
The defenders of Shoemaker's Farm erupt in volleys,
crippling the lead Redcoat on the hill.
The Rebel column on the left deploys into line and advances.

Are the rebels planning a counterattack?

Its appears that is a possibility.

Continentals move up to support the guns.

Perhaps no counterattack yet. 
 The Rebels lose the contest for the field on their right
 and Heard's Brigade is being shredded.
Rebel losses show five militia regiments in the Dead Pile.

Redcoats hold the end of the heights for now
 but casualties climb.

The British fall back from the heights!
On the hill by the road, the guns fend off repeated attacks.

Is the Rebel defense stiffening?

The Continentals retake lost ground!

The Rebel guns are lost as the Redcoats carry the heights.

After the guns fall,
 the Shoemaker Farm defense is breached.

The Redcoats renew their attack on the hill.

With nine American regiments scattered to the winds, the American general orders a retreat from the field.  Back to the safety of Brooklyn!

At battle's end, the state of the armies are:

Butcher's Bill

Game 2 saw even heavier casualties than in Game 1.  The British lost six regiments to the American's nine regiments.  Very bloody engagement but the British are once again victorious.  Even in defeat, the Rebel artillery performed astounding service by repelling multiple British attacks throughout the day.  Outnumbered, they hung in there until the last.  How did the victory points count up?

For Victory Points, The British tallied 25 points against 20. A tactical victory for the British.  Congratulations to Darren for the win!  As the VP total shows, this was a close match and could have gone the other way with a bit more luck and recalling that exiting units earns points.

The game took about three hours to fight to conclusion and the time passed quickly.  Very quickly.  Play was smooth without incident.  It was hard to believe that I had been standing on my feet for three hours pushing lead across the table without a break.  I remembered to take a few more photos than last time too.  Great fun! 

Both Steve and Darren were exemplary players in all regards.  They picked up the rules quickly and seemed to enjoy themselves as their blog posts suggest.  I enjoyed myself greatly getting to know two more gamers from around the world.  There is talk of a rematch...

With two Shoemaker Bridge games in the books, one battle account remains to be told.  Perhaps, next time.  Please visit Steve and Darren's blogs to read their impressions of the game. 

Shoemaker's Bridge: Game 1

Game 1 of the planned Shoemaker's Bridge battle trilogy kicked off on Tuesday in the weekly MNG remote game.  Being a UK based gaming group, I had some difficulty finding a volunteer for the American command.  Gladly, Richard stepped forward to take command of the Rebels.  With only three players in attendance, Richard would command the Rebels alone.  It is a lonely fight, for sure.  Ian and Will took charge of the British forces on the day of battle.

The battle began innocently enough with the Americans deployed to cover the approaches to Shoemaker's Bridge.  Heard's Brigade of militia, a regiment of Continental Rifles, and a section of guns were the only speed bump to the numerous, oncoming Redcoats.  Help would be on the way or so Heard hoped.

The white cotton ball denotes First Fire capability while the red disk identifies a unit as being on HOLD orders.  Units under HOLD orders may respond during the enemy's turn. 

The Rebels wait

and wait for what they expect to see advancing up the road.

The Rebels need not wait long.

Matthews leading the two Guard battalions and Jones leading the 10th, 37th, and 38th foot, deploy into line and press on to the stream covering the bridge (Ian's commands).  Pigott and Smith deploy and advance toward Shoemaker's Farm (Will's command).

For the Americans, Nixon and Parson's Brigades begin streaming onto the field of battle from the direction of Brooklyn.

The British army approaches the stream

The British left splashes across the stream
 while the British right prepares to assault the heights. 

The British right wades through the stream
and readies for the attack.

On the left, lead elements of Jones' Brigade engage the rebels in the field as the rebels seek cover behind the fence.  On the right, militia defending Shoemaker's Farm are slowing the British advance upon the heights.  Casualties mount but the numbers and discipline of the British prevails.  The British are upon the heights!

Shoemaker's Hill is under assault!

Redcoats gain a foothold on the heights!

Success is short lived.  On the left, Jones is thrown back from the field while Smith sees a similar response from Shoemaker's Farm.  The British are tumbling back down the hill having suffered heavy casualties.

The British are thrown back!

After regrouping, the British Army launches assaults across its front a second time.  These extra efforts pay off.  The American right is driven back from the field with heavy casualties as the Guard is sent in to finish the task.  On the British right, heavy ranks of redcoats storm the farm.  Shoemaker's Farm falls!

British take Shoemaker's Farm

At this point following three hours of battle, we called the outcome inevitable as the American commander declares he will withdraw.  The ending position looked like this:

Positions at end of game

Clearly, with two separate British commands, the battle divided into almost two separate battles.  On the American right, the position was collapsing quickly once the Guard made its presence felt.  On the American left, the rebels still maintained a defensible position upon the heights.  For how long?  We will never know.

At the end of battle, the Butcher's Bill showed,

Butcher's Bill

Heavy casualties, for sure.  The British lost three regiments to the American's five regiments.  Many more regiments were only one hit away from destruction.  This was a costly battle but one the British may claim as a victory.

For Victory Points, The British tallied 19 points against 13. A tactical victory for the British.  Congratulations to Ian and Will!

Shoemaker's Bridge was a good introduction to Fields of Honor.  The players picked up the mechanisms quickly and play moved along at a respectable pace.  I could see tactics developing as the game progressed.  There was talk about a rematch.  

Sumerians and a Remote Gaming Trifecta

A second stand of Sumerian, shield-bearing spearmen departs the painting desk.  These dozen figures effectively double the size of this new project.  In work next for the project are enough bowmen to field two stands of nine figures each.  I have a long road ahead but I have made a start.  Figures are Newline Designs.

Before I can push any more Sumerians into the painting queue, other projects are requiring a bit of attention.  A fourth WotR Battle is in work with the billmen component finished and the archers nearing completion.  Remaining to start are the Men-at-Arms.  Those Perry plastics will be assembled this weekend.  After that, another 52 figure unit will be ready to take the field.  That's progress.  Also in work are two French SYW regiments as I kick off the build for a new French army.  The current figures are Blue Moon with several bags of Old Glory figures on the way.  I would really like to get the French into a regular rotation at the painting desk but we will see how I combat distraction. 

One, soon to be realized painting distraction is the need to go back to the Hittite army and work to add some skirmish troops into the mix.  Many of the Army Lists I use for a guide make little use of skirmishers so I avoided fielding many on the first push.  Now, that I am committed to playtesting a Bronze Age ruleset, I need to get some skirmishers into the mix.

Finally, on the gaming front, my game table is busy this week and will see three remote games hosted.  All three games will be playing the AWI Shoemaker's Bridge (scenario here) in 15mm.  The first game, played on Tuesday, is in the books with other sessions on Saturday (today!) and Sunday.  Each game has a different group of players, none of whom have played my version of Fields of Honor before.

No reports from any of the games until all three are in the log book.  I am very interested to see how each of the combatants tackles the tactical problems presented in the scenario, how each handles a new set of rules, and the application to remote play.  Without knowledge from the prior games in this three-game trial, each of the commanders will make decisions on the situation on the ground without any influence from the prior games.  Should be fun.  Oh, and wish me luck as umpire and figure mover!

The Maryland 400

The Rebel River Run
photo courtesy wargamesinthedungeon

Matt and I finished off our three-game Long Island battle trilogy on Sunday.  In this last episode of the Long Island campaign, Matt put together a scenario recreating the American race back to the safety of the Brooklyn fortifications before becoming completely enveloped by the advancing British.  For Matt's account of the battle and scenario background, please visit Maryland 400: Battle of Long Island.  Really, check out Matt's excellent battle account with terrific close-up photos and then return to enjoy my spin.

The American goal was to simply make it across a contested table and wade the river to safety.  Casualties mattered not.  How did the Americans fare?  Did they splash across the river to victory? To find out, please wade through my battle pictorial.

Maryland 400 stands alone against the enemy.

The '400' must sacrifice so the army can escape.

The Rebel escapees.

Fighting begins as my host (Matt)
takes some opening shots (literally!).

Redcoats advance to contest the path
 to the mill and freedom.

More redcoats arrive as fighting intensifies!

The Guards Attack!

and retreat...

British advance on the left to close off
the Rebel escape route to the river.

The Rebels are forced to halt and fire.
One British regiment breaks!

With one Redcoat regiment in retreat,
 the American push to the river continues.

View of the action from the other camera.

By luck, Rebel reinforcements arrive
as the Maryland 400 continues to shrink!

Rebels close upon the mill and the river crossing point.

View of the action from behind enemy lines.

British advance upon the enemy continues
in an effort to drive the rebels back from the river.

American progress is slowed
as they must stop to defend themselves.
The Maryland '100' fights on.

The Marylanders die to a man.
The annals will say they say
sacrificed themselves to save an army.

A British regiment breaks!

A second British regiment breaks!

A third British regiment breaks as the Americans
get two green militia regiments over the river.

Attrition thins the battlefield.

The fire from the cannon and guards is too great. 
 The Americans break to the rear and
 AWAY from safe harbor.

After three hours of hard fighting and barely a soldier left standing, we declare the battle a draw.  The Rebels managed to get two regiments across the river to safety for six Honor Points while the British tallied five Honor Points.  A draw seemed a fitting conclusion to the contest.

Another exciting action to end our Long Island trilogy.  This trio of battles witnessed one victory each plus a draw.  Can't get a much more closely contested match than this.

Great fun and thanks again to Matt for another terrific remote game.  Where do we go next in the continuing AWI campaign?  Perhaps Kip's Bay or Haarlem Heights?  We will see.