Jessop and His Scoundrels Escape!

Photo courtesy Wargamesinthedungeon

Having taken the siege gun 'Old Molly' in the previous episode (see Action at Oak Tree Forge), Jessop Callahan and his merry band set off to fetch the gun back into friendly territory.  Unfortunately for the colonials, the woods are teeming with hidden enemy ready to pounce when the time is right.  Flush with his success in securing the gun, Jessop thinks little of security on his march through 'Indian Country' and has neglected to send out flankers.  What could go wrong?

The gaming table is laid out and poker chips scattered about the beautiful terrain.  Jessop's colonials will be in march column with the goal of exiting the table in the lower right of the game table shown in the photo below.  His order of march is randomly determined. 

Similarly, the British ambushing forces are randomly allocated to jump off points too.  The British, under the command of Archibald Watts, are set on recovering 'Old Molly' lost during the heated action at Oak Tree Forge.  Archie's objective is to prevent the Americans from exiting with the gun and to destroy the colonials' will-to-fight by scattering Jessop's column.  

For more scenario details, better in-battle photos, and Matt's perspective on this action, please visit Wargamesinthedungeon, AWI Campaign, 'Old Molly' Part 2.

Initial dispositions
Photo courtesy Wargamesinthedungeon

Once again, my battle report is viewed from the Zoom-cam and told from the American perspective. Descriptions of the action are embedded within each photo. White arrows show movement. Red arrows show fire or charges. Yellow arrows show retreats. For me, viewing as a slide show works well.  Now, on to the action!

This action was really a nail-biter from the get-go.  When I first saw my marching order nearly surrounded by a ring of British jump-off points, my confidence was not high.  The Americans got lucky in that 'Old Molly' was in the middle of the column rather than at the back.  The British were unlucky in that only Archibald's regiment was situated on the far side of the creek.  If the Americans could push hard down the road and cross the bridge before Archibald could be reinforced, the battle may be won. 

Early on, Archibald had difficulty getting the Natives to act in a timely manner.  When the Natives finally closed, the warbands cut through the green troops and colonial skirmishers like a hot knife through butter.  That success was short-lived, however.  At a crucial time in the battle where Archibald could have dispersed the Virginians and perhaps the Delawareans as they approached their objective, the British failed two activations.  That, and the Natives inability to crush Jessop allowed the Americans to slip away.  As Jessop and 'Old Molly' exited the table, Archibald was heard to exclaim, "Jessop and his scoundrels escape!"  Oh, did I mention that Matt's newly painted British light infantry skirmishers, seen here, attacked quickly and retreated just as quickly?

Thanks again to Matt for designing and GMing a very entertaining action.  It really was a near run thing.  What waits for Game three?