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Wednesday, August 11, 2021

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?
It 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. 

46 comments:

  1. An excellent read, as you say the battle could easily have swung the other way. In the heat of battle one tends to forget other options other than giving the British an hard time and making them pay for every yard of ground. Great stuff and utmost respect for running these scenarios and in such close succession.

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    1. Thank you, Phil! The battle could have gone either way, no doubt. Fate played a hand in this outcome. Darren's dice were at times hot. Steve's dice not.

      If replayed, we might see a different game from Darren an Steve.

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  2. Great write up, Jonathan! This covered the grit and suspense from the game well. Next time I'll have to be more conscious of the victory conditions. This was a very fun and challenging scenario!

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    1. Glad you approve, Steve! It was great fun having you and Darren participate in the game.

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  3. This read as I am sure it was, see-saw from turn to turn. Hat's off to the players...and to you, Jonathan, for showing the usefullness of the remote game. Even the eons long problem of table clutter has been banished!

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    1. Joe, the battle was back and forth throughout. THe turn sequence of FoH aids in developing that ebb and flow feel.

      I appreciate your kind comments. Thank you!

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  4. Great looking game and another hard fought encounter!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you and indeed it was a hard match for both players.

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  5. Seems like the two results were quite similar, a tactical British win but at heavy cost...it seems quite a reasonable and historically accurate outcome....that's basically what happened in a lot of the British victories in the AWI....Guildford Courthouse is a good example, as is Bunker Hill.

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    1. Keith, the two results were similar, for sure. The British game on in similar fashion but the American initial defense was different. In Game 1, the American focus was on covering the bridge and the road exit offmap to the east. In Game 2, the American focus was on holding the high-value hill upon which Shoemaker's Farm sat.

      The outcome in both battles seemed reasonable and plausible. That result is a big plus in my book.

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  6. When that sea of red swept onto the table and came into camera view, I am imagining the American player's morale dropping .... closely followed by the morale of his troops :-)

    A nice action packed game.

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    1. Pleased you enjoyed the battle report, Norm. It would be interesting to see the view of British approach from the American side of the table. There is a sea of red, for sure. Perhaps the American players in the three games will command on their morale when the Red Hordes streamed onto the table?

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    2. Can't say my morale dropped I was encouraged by the big juicy red targets🙂 Perhaps that was my downfall, way to cocky after my initial successes🙄

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    3. Phil, your first round of artillery fire in Game 3 was something to behold. I bet Matt's morale dropped after that devastating blow.

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    4. A bit disheartening I can assure you! Only my steadfast devotion to liberty kept me from running off that day.

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    5. 'This bickering is pointless. Now Lord Vader will provide us with the location of the hidden Rebel fortress. We will then crush the Rebellion with one swift stroke.'

      Wait ...wrong genre entirely, doh! :)

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  7. Excellent looking game sir!
    Pleasure to read :) best regards

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  8. That's a lovely looking game and once again one that could have gone either way. Another bloody victory for the British who are in danger of victoring themselves to death! Well done to all involved for such a great game:)

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    1. Thanks, Steve! Glad you enjoyed this battle report. Still one more game to chronicle in this Shoemaker trilogy. The British will not be able to withstand many more costly victories like this.

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  9. Great to see this narrative and story of the game from your perspective Jon.
    You know, I had no idea how hefty the butcher's bill was in the end - that's a lot of troops not making it to the next battle. Epic stuff.

    You can tell, that despite Steve and I being more than polite on the day, we were inevitably trying to spill as much blood as possible in taking that hill HA!

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    1. This battle was a very bloody fight. You both took very heavy losses especially in the fight over the Shoemaker Hill. I enjoyed watching the action from my seat!

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    2. As for perspective, I can move the roving cam around the table to provide similar perspectives any time during the game.

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    3. All true! "Make them pay for every hex" were my orders from Washington!

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    4. Certainly did ...I can see two battered guards battalions, and very little else, making it to the main battle.

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    5. I agree, Darren. Another victory like this and the British army will be destroyed.

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  10. Excellent game and report, Jonathan! It seems like the rebels were close to defeat redcoats, at least they were more closer tha in previous game, didn‘t they?

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    1. Thanks, Dmitry! Measuring degree of victory is difficult. Casualties were much higher in Game 2 and the difference between Victory Point Totals was not significant. I say the Rebels lost by about the same margin but took out a lot from Redcoats in the loss.

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    2. Perhaps more aggressive style with counter attaks looks like that.

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    3. Aggressive counter attacks might be key to victory. We should try it.

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  11. Another exciting encounter. Something I have only just thought about is how are you handling the dice in live remote games like this Jonathan - are you doing the rolling?

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    1. Glad you liked it. The players roll the dice themselves and tell me what they roll. I then adjudicate the result.

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  12. Very enjoyable report. Look forward to the 3rd battle

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    1. Thank you, Neil! If you want to see a teaser from Matt's British perspective on Game 3, visit,
      https://wargamesinthedungeon.blogspot.com/2021/08/shoemakers-farm-battle-of-long-island.html.

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  13. Time to move on and crush the Rebel Alliance and then The Empire's victory will be complete! (Hey, wouldn't that be a great line in a movie?)

    Excellent looking game and agree that with that kind of butcher's bill the British can ill afford many more victories.

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  14. It's very exciting to read how close your games are and I love it, when the battles can go differently. The British had their chance to break the enemy. The nice number of photos are helping to follow the events perfectly. Thank you for your nice report.

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    1. You are welcome, Andre! I am glad you enjoyed the photo journal of the second battle. One more game in this series to report.

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  15. Great looking battle, looks like everybody had a good time, especially whoever commanded the rebel guns!

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    1. Much appreciated, Paul! The rebel guns hung in there much longer than expected. They fought like lions repelling several direct assaults upon their position. I think the players enjoyed themselves.

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  16. Wow, those guns certainly took a toll on the British.

    Another great report to read and interesting to see a different battle fought even though the scenario was the same.

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    1. The Rebels guns definitely gave more than they got. They paid dearly for their heroics, though.

      Glad you enjoyed the report! Two down and one to go.

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  17. How interesting. The same result of a Rebel withdrawal arrived at quite differently. It looked like a British right-hook, but in the end it was their left that did the most damage. Great stuff.
    Regards, James

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    1. Yes. Same battle, same result but different means of reaching that point. This is scenario I find having lots of possibilities.

      Thank you!

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