Battle of Mount Rock - French Indian War large scale skirmish in 28mm

Once again I'm a bit late in reporting on this (covid-in-da-house) but now that I'm feeling a little better it's time to get this Battle Report written up. So a couple of weeks ago the Rejects gathered for a game in the Shed-o-War and this time El Capitano Postie was our umpire. His French Indian Wars rules are simple, fast to play and fun so when he runs a 'Skirmish' game it is usually on a massive scale. True to form this game used the whole of the 6ft by 12ft table and hosted five players fighting it out through a frontier town c.1757. Ray posted his battle report last week and it's worth checking it out here. 

The Setup & OOB

The British forces are a mix of Regulars, Light Infantry, provincials and civilians. They are dispersed across much of the table with the Line troops concentrated around the construction site for a new fort. They also have a unit of friendly Indians hiding in nearby woods. The French have a mixed force with Marines, Militia,  Coureur de Bois and a sizable Indian contingent. 

The British players (Myself, Ray and Mark) start the game not knowing where the French may attack from, and based on previous games, fully expecting to have to defend at various points around the table edge. I don't know if Stuart gave the French players (Steve & Surjit) much choice in deployment but they decided to attack with everything from one direction. The British had to wait a couple of turns to be absolutely sure that this was the only attack, before drawing reserves away from the other roads and this delay proved crucial for the outcome of the game. 

The setup (picture gratefully borrowed from Ray's blog, Don't Throw a 1)

The Action

The largest British unit on the table (not counting Militia) was the 44th Line, but they were concentrated around the Fort construction site, guarding several roads and a bridge into the area. When the French arrived at the other end of the table (twelve feet away!!) we had to decide whether to abandon this defensive position or wait to see what the French plan was. 

The French and their Indians emerge from the woods and move quickly to get across the river. Their movement was very swift and the British were on the back foot for most of the game...especially when the French kept winning Initiative turn after turn. 

French troops and Indians press forward sending British Militia and Civilians running for their lives. 

The 44th start to form up and move towards the battle, but having waited for two turns to be certain of the French attack, maybe it is too late?

The French press quickly into the town, with British stragglers ruthlessly cut down. Casualties are mounting and as the victory points for this game are purely based on kills, this is already a one-sided game for the British. 

One of the British Militia units has been pursued several turns and have lost all but two men. They decide they can't run anymore so bravely turn and charge the nearest Indians. Their attack, and 18 inches of British Steel on the ends of their rifles, kills a couple of pursuers but then the Indians rash in and finish them. 

Now the Indians start to funnel into the centre of town, shifting their attack more towards the left of the British defence. There was considerable confusion as units mixed (I'm pretty sure some movement distances were 'stretched' a little) but it was already clear this game was only going one way for the British. 

The British now see the direction of the attack and try to concentrate their forces. The 44th have reached the rear of the defensive line and started to consolidate into a formed unit blocking the road.

Formed up like this both lines can fire and with a bonus for volley fire...but only if they can get close enough to fire on the invaiders. 

Having swept through the outskirts of the town, the French forces reach a more open area and coalesce into a concentrated line. They are probably considering the wisdom of pressing across open ground (especially the Indians) but do they need to? They have already caused considerable casualties to the British for relatively light losses on their side. 

The British have a strong looking defensive line, but the light is fading and the French decide their raid has been a success. The Victory points agree! British 62 pts to a massive 132 pts for the French

The winners. Steve and Surjit after a well-deserved win. Steve's ability to roll hits was so impressive he won Man-of-the-Match, hence the happy look on his face. 

Conclusion

An excellent game, with some beautiful terrain and figures from Posties collection. As a British player, I was of course hoping for a different result, but the points at the end showed this as a clear win for the French, not least because they won the Initiative in all but one turn of the game. 

Bear Necessities

This week my painting has taken a brief turn away from WW2 and chain of command. Earlier in the year my mate Stuart (aka Postie) gave me a figure of a bear. It's a bit of an in-joke so I had better explain. Postie has often run some very large French Indian Wars games in the shed-o-war and in one notable game my leader figure woke up a very angry bear. The movement wild creatures in his rules are entirely random but I was unlucky and the bear ended up close enough to my troops to charge. The ensuing melee with my leader and his lieutenant was brief, bloody and decisively in the bear's favour. In short, my leader and two other characters were eviscerated. The incident has gone down in Rejects lore and is often referred to! 

The bear miniature was a very simple paint job and will no doubt feature in a future game or two here in the Operations Room. I was considering giving it a snowy base for use in my Frostgrave Game's, but in the end, I decided to give it a woodland base in hommage to the bear that it was inspired by. 

Talking of bears, I highly recommend watching The Revenant. This 2015 American epic Western action-adventure starred Leonardo DiCaprio and although it was set in the 1820's - some 60 years after the French Indian Wars - I felt it was very evocative of that whole frontier period. In the film, DiCaprio's character is attacked by a bear and whenever I see that scene, I always think of that fateful game in Posties shed. It makes me wince just thinking about it!

Donnybrook via Zoom

Yesterday something incredible happened...Ray put on a game! Actually, he put in a really good game and what is more amazing, he used the Donnybrook rules!! Still your beating heart, I know, we're all in shock as well. Seriously though, he ran a really good game last night with four Rejects dialling in via Zoom to join the action. The game lasted a little over an hour, was exciting and produced a cliffhanger type ending where victory could have gone to either side. Gripping stuff and we've arm-twisted him into running another game sometime soon. No doubt Ray will post something a little more detailed on his blog in due course but I wanted to share a couple of pictures I took during the game. 

Our Umpire for the game, veritable Master of Ceremonies, and all-round good chap, Ray.

A quickly grabbed shot of the game on my Laptop Screen. The picture quality wasn't too bad and Ray was able to move his camera around a little if we needed a better view. 

I won't give away the ending - I'll let Ray give you the details on his blog, but it was a cracking game and very enjoyable. Zoom worked really well, the sound and picture quality was fine and the usual banter ensued throughout the game. The only thing missing was Posties egg mayonnaise sandwiches, at half time! 

Battle of Goose Farm

The Rejects first game of the year took place over the weekend and what a game it was! Postie decided to play something a little 'lite' so he pulled out his French Indian War rules and we played a rather large skirmish battle. Surjit and I played the French and Indians, while Richard had to defend his position with the British. The game went on longer than expected but everyone - winners and losers - had a great day. 

The Setup

The French have approached the edge of a large clearing and across a wide area of open ground, there is a small British outpost consisting of a bridged river, a small farm and crucially a blockhouse. The French aim is to burn the two buildings down, but they have to get inside first! British reinforcements have been sent for but will they arrive in time to stop the French?


Orders of Battle
British
55th Howies Light Infantry (20)
Civilians (3 Rifles, 1 Musket, 1 Pistol)
1 Indian Character & 1 Messenger
   Reinforcements
   Mounted officer (Major)
   44th Grenadiers (16)
   60th Line (20)
   Gorhams Rangers (12)

French
Officer (Major)
  Quebec Militia (12)
  Indian Warband (12)
Officer (Captain)
  Coureur de Bois (12)
  Indian Warband (12)


The Action

The whole table was set up for this game, but in the end, we only used about a quarter of it, focused on the tower, farm and bridge. 

Surjit and I decided to set up on the forest edge and decided to cross the open ground as quickly as we possibly could. We knew this would mean taking fire without firing back (at least in the initial turns), eschewing firing back in favour of additional run moves.  

The British look very thin on the ground, but it didn't take a genius to know the Blockhouse must have been packed full of soldiers. 

Surj and I swarm towards the British positions. Richards shooting in this early stage was phenomenally accurate.  

Our main target. Victory would be defined as burning down the blockhouse and the farm beyond. 

As we close we finally get to fire back. Fortunately, our return fire was pretty good with my troops killing four of the defenders in the blockhouse. 

The British have quite a few rifles in their ranks and seem to be good at picking off our men at range. My Indians (closest in this picture) start to take casualties. 

Again the lack of British troops in the open suggests the Blockhouse and Farm are packed full of men with guns. 

 

My Indians get pushed back after losing three casualties, but my Militia gets right up to the walls and begin firing through the open window slots. Meanwhile, Surjit's troops get around the other side of the Blockhouse and push back the British defending their camp. 

Richard puts up a spirited defence of the camp but the men in the open are forced back by the weight of numbers. 

The French now swarm around the Blockhouse and are finally in a position to attack the door on the far side. We need to break down the door before attempting to set the building on fire. 

 

The first turn trying to break down the door with an Indian carrying a firebrand ready to toss inside. However, defeating the door is going to be tough. The defender rolls 2d6 while the attacker gets 1d6 +1 if supported by another figure and an additional +1 for each turn after the first that they continue to attack the door. Getting inside is going to take a while. 

Surjit has pretty much cleared the campsite and the few British troops that remain are trying to get inside the farmhouse. 

An aerial view shows the whole site is now under our control. 

Finally, probably 8 or nine turns into the game, the British reinforcements arrive. It will still take them at least three turns to reach the battle so the clock is ticking for the French to get inside the Blockhouse and complete our mission. 

Surjit battles the last British colonist defending the door to the Farmhouse while my Militia form up to defend the bridge against the British reinforcements. 

Back at the Blockhouse, the door is still stubbornly closed. We have by now been at the door five turns and Richard keeps rolling low for defending the door...and twice I roll a one and fail to break the door!! We are running out of time! 

The British reinforcements are moving into range with Gorhams Rangers (in white) taking the lead. 

My Militia poor fire into the Rangers then fall back and prepare to do the same again. I'm trying to buy time for the troops at the door to get inside the Blockhouse. 

The door is down! And inside there are two soldiers and a Character figure. Characters are very hard to kill by shooting so while we are able to dispatch the soldiers quickly the Character stands in the doorway blocking our path. 

The Rangers have taken severe casualties but still manage to cross the bridge. The French have decided that there is no longer time to try to destroy the farmhouse so we focus our efforts on holding back the British while we try to destroy the Blockhouse. 

The British Character inside the blockhouse is stopping us from getting in! Dammit, this building has been a pain in the bum! 

My Militia continues to fire back at the British Rangers but we are running out of time. Postie is hinting that night time is approaching. 

Most of the Rangers have now been killed but the Grenadiers are now crossing the Bridge. 

Eventually, one of my commanders gets stuck in and, with some lucky dice, manages to kill the character. At last, the way inside is clear...however our firebrand has been dropped when the Indian carrying it fled - his Warband had had enough casualties and failed a morale check. Can we not get a break! 

As the Grenadiers cross the Bridge, Postie calls the game to an end. Night has fallen and the French decide to fall back before they are overwhelmed. Without destroying any of their objectives this is called a British victory. 

Richards stalwart defence of the Farm and Blockhouse earned him a well
deserved Leadership Award. 

Analysis
This is the sort of loss I don't mind. Surjit and I played as well as we could have and by the end, we felt that we were beaten by bad dice and back luck as well as by Richards excellent defence. 

Battle of Fort Christopher

On Friday the Rejects gathered for a rare evening game featuring our special guest Christopher (aka Axebreaker) of Bunker Hill. Chris has been in the shed-o-war before but sadly I missed that game so it was good to meet him this time around. After his previous visit he had already joined the hallowed ranks of the 'Honorary Rejects' but the fact he came back for second helpings means we must be doing something right. Postie put on an excellent French Indian Wars skirmish, and equally excellent supper as most of us had to come straight from work in order to fit this rather large game into an evenings play.

Setup
Fort Christopher overlooks a colonial village and farmland, constantly under threat of attack by the French and their Indian allies.  They expect a raid could be imminent but have no idea where it may come from so at the start of the game, in addition to the garrison, there are several patrols of Light infantry and Rangers widely dispersed across the whole area. Meanwhile the French are using the enclosing woods to spring their attack from multiple points. Their mission is simple; burn, kill and plunder as much as possible.

Order of Battle
British/Colonial Forces
C/O General mounted (Christopher)
   44th Foot (24)
   80th Light Infantry (Gages) (16)
   55th Light Infantry (Howes) (16) 
   Indian Character
   Mountain Man/Adventurer + Mule
2ic Captain of Foot (Lee)
   Virginian Provincials (20)
   Rodgers Rangers (12)
3ic Captain  (Judge Hogg) Militia (Richard)
   Militia/Colonials (Civilians) (42)

French/Indian Forces 
   General on Foot (Ray)
   Indian Character
   Indian Torch Carriers (2)
   Guyenu Line (20)
   Indian Warband (12)
2ic Colonel of Foot (Mark)
   Compagnes French de la Marine (12)
   Indian Warband (12)
3ic Major on Foot (Surjit)
   Trois Revienes Militia (12)
   Indian Warband (12)


Action

As always I'll try to start with an overview picture of the initial setup. However as pretty much all of posties table was being used its hard to fit into just one picture. 

View down the table from Fort Christopher (bottom right) through the village
and onto the river and forest beyond. 

Chris had the 44th Foot inside the Fort and quickly decided it would be wise to bring at east some of these guys out to help defend the village. Out of shot toward the top one of his Light Infantry units was on patrol and the second Light Infantry unit was off table to the left beyond the river and would come on in the first turn. 

My troops were the Virginian Provincials (the blue unit on the road) and Rodgers Rangers (in green) ahead on the road approaching the river. Richard controlled the militia inside all the various buildings, although many of these civilians actually turned out to be unarmed! 

The Infantry in the fort quickly organise themselves to leave to help in the defence of the farmsteads. A handful of troops were left inside just in case those tricky French were foolhardy enough to attack the fort. 

One of the Light Infantry patrols. All the units out on patrol had to continue to follow their starting movement until the alarm had been raised or the enemy spotted.

My Rangers spread out when they spot the first Indian warband exit the forest and begin crossing the river. One of my men takes a shot in their direction. Unfortunately my target is just out of range but the gunfire alerts all the other British units that something is happening. 

A large Guyenu Line unit emerges from the forest and starts to cross the river. This is a big unit and will be very difficult to stop. They advance with the Indians ahead.

Meanwhile more French (in this case Marines) and Indians cross at the lower ford. 

With the knowledge that the French and their Indian allies are crossing in force at this end of the settlement I decide to pull back and take up a defensive position in the centre. My Rangers occupy the fenced yard around one building and the Provincials and some of the Militia occupy the ground around a farm in the middle. All my men are now behind hard cover although there are plenty of gaps the Indians could exploit if they decided to charge into melee. 

Meanwhile down the other end of the settlement more Indians have come out of the forest and quickly moved to attack the rear of the 80th Light Infantry who were patrolling the road. 

Christopher quickly moves these troops across the fences giving them some protection in the ensuing firefight. Non the less the first casualties go down with arrows in their backs and it looks like the Infantry may be in a precarious position. 

Fortunately Christopher's other Unit of Light Infantry (the 55th) have come onto the table and begun to pursue the noisy Indians through the forest. The 80th LI now return fire on the Indians and one of the first killed is their war-chief! Meanwhile the 44th Foot have also left the fort and are now marching as fast as they can into the settlement. 

While Chris fights off the Indians at one end of the town me and Richard are trying to defend the other end from the larger group of invaders. Richard has mustered a handful of Militia to take a few shots at the advancing Indian's and French Line regiment. They kill a couple but are soon peppered with arrows. There is little to stop the Indians plundering and burning the town. On my side of the table Mark moves his Indians and Marines wide of my position. I expected him to use the woods to advance into my weakly defended centre along the yellow lines indicated, but instead he hugs the edge of he table and swings around following the blue line of march. I'm not entirely sure what his plan is, but I'm grateful whatever it is. I've lost a few men but nothing my large Provincial Regiment can't handle.  

At this point its worth explaining some basic concepts for how Posties rules work. Turns start with initiative and then each individual soldier has two actions per turn. Moving, shooting and reloading cost one action each and can be used in any order. Running uses two actions. Crossing barriers or opening doors uses one action and troops that do this cannot use their second action to reload. Troops that fire must spend a whole turn reloading so in effect can only fire every other turn. The Indians are best in forests and suffer a penalty in the open, but they are still deadly in melee as most carry two weapons. Bow wielding Indians are nasty because they are accurate and don't have to spend a turn reloading. Troops in forests can move up to the edge and still retain a cover bonus unless they give their position away by firing. So I expected Mark to make full use of this by getting his troops right to the edge of the woods then waiting to win initiative to charge my soldiers while they reloaded.

Mark's Indians and Marines finally appear and in two turns have killed the small cohort of defenders I had put behind hard cover next to the fish house. The Indians then hide in close formation behind the wall (?!) ignoring the rear door to the building. Two Indian's then cross the wall and charge at my three Provincials taking cover behind a log across the road. The remaining Indians swing around the yard but are at least a turn away from being able to charge into melee. Meanwhile Mark uses his Marines to take pot shots at my men and my Rangers take a few shots back. Casualties mount on both sides. 

While all this is happening Chris has managed to bring his 55th Light Infantry through the woods and appear behind the French Indians attacking the 80th LI. The resulting crossfire was eye watering as Chris rolled 20 after 20 decimating the war-band. 

The Indians and Militia that remain are forced towards the centre of town. Despite being in this choice position they fail to steal a single cow or burn a single building!

Chris had been bringing up his 44th Foot (from the Fort) to support his Light infantry but now with the Indians effectively a spent force he decided to change their direction. A turn to reorganise and the 44th begin to run down the road towards my position.  

There is a lot going on in this picture. Chris's 44th Foot are running up the road to support me. Marks Indians have swung around the smokehouse yard while two have charged my Provincials across the road. I move up five men and fire at point blank range killing just one Indian! Meanwhile Mark moves his Marines along the forest edge presumably to launch a charge next turn. My remaining Provincial troops and Rangers are firing in all directions (denoted by the Red lines). I have moist success against Ray's Line unit advancing (around the top in this picture) killing most of his front rank of troops. 

Darkness is quickly forcing an end to this raid and with a final flurry of shots the game comes to an end. My Provincials and Rangers have been defending that triangle of land around the farmhouse the whole game, moving from one side to the other as the threat demanded. However in the final volley my Provincials drop to below 50% forcing a Morale check (my second of the game) and I fail miserably. Had the game continued they would have been forced to retreat for two turns but as this is the end of the game the failed check as little impact on the end result. 

So have the French/Indians done enough damage to win this game on points?


Analysis
The short answer to that last question is; No. The British ended the game on 108 points, mostly from killing Indians who are worth more points. The French forces did a lot of damage but they end the game on just 60 points so this was a decisive victory for the British! Tactics aside the reason this didn't work for the French is that this was a raid and they would have score points for stolen booty, destroyed crops and burned buildings. They failed to loot a single item and didn't so much as set fire to a haystack let along any buildings. They may have dealt a lot of casualties to the British/Provincial troops but they only did so by completely ignoring their mission objectives!

That was an excellent game and great fun for all involved I think. Once again Posties FIW rules proved simple and easy to understand and resulted in relatively fast play and decisive action.