David Bickley's Wargames Blog

The occasional ramblings of an average gamer, journeyman painter, indifferent modeller, games designer, sometime writer for Wargames Illustrated and host of games in GHQ.



Friday 30 December 2011

A Mere Matter of Marching...

Phil and I played a Black Powder game last night, set in the War of 1812. Phil opted to command the British and Canadian forces, leaving me to handle the American 'invaders'. I rather hope you might like to see a few shots from the game, especially as I managed to win in the end ~ thanks to dogged performances by my Infantry, especially the 1st United States Infantry; poor dice throwing from Phil in crucial mellees; startlingly good saving dice by yours truely; and the eventual arrival of my reinforcements on Phil's shattered right flank.
A general view of the battlefield at the opening of the game.
The British & Canadian forces.
The Americans, who found marching anywhere somewhat problematic in early moves..
Phil's right flank advanced steadily, supported by his artillery.
While the centre and left flank faired less well.
However, only the US Rifle Regiment moved forward early in the game to oppose them...

Finally, the US Generals managed to make their Command Rolls and the attack moved off...
The midpoint of the game, with both sides finally closing for the serious business...
Despite being disordered and shaken, the 1st US Infantry stood firm and repulsed the attacks in the centre...
While on the US left flank the 17th US Infantry engaged the Canadians and a unit of Regulars...
Four moves later the British and Canadian Right and centre were broken and Phil threw in the towel and admitted defeat!

More than a mere matter of marching of course! More like dogged resistance and determined attacking when it mattered most. The figures are from my collection, all by Foundry I think ~ some from their War of 1812 range the British Regulars from their Napoleonic range. The buildings in the foreground were by Dave Paddock as Architectural Heritage and the trees are by the Last Valley. Phil and I made the fences, many moons ago now.

All in all a great evening and a most enjoyable game... The Battle of Rawnsley Lane was a thoroughly enjoyable way to pass an evening.


2 comments:

  1. Brilliant! The War of 1812 doesn't get enough exposure on wargames tables, so it's great to see this write-up.

    Hope to see another report soon - perhaps with some conflict-specific ratings for Black Powder as well?

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  2. Great looking game. Where did you get the US flags from?

    Regards,
    Matt

    ReplyDelete