The Fate of The Eye

 For his monthly pilgrimage here to GHQ Paul had asked to play a SYW game. Ever willing to oblige a chum, I had decided on a follow up scenario to Tuesday's game. You may recall that gallant aristocrat the Comte du Merde drove off Lord Rawnsley 's force besieging Groß Bikelheim and thus saved The Eye! The defeat so affected the noble lord that he took to his tent with the vapours (and a bottle), passing command to Sir Paul Gornale, the younger brother of Lord Gornale. The newly emplaced commander immediately reorganised his force, determined to prevent the French Savants dismantling The Eye and carrying it off to safety.

As usual here in GHQ the game length is set at 12 Turns using Black Powder 2 rules. A D x 3 throw of 2 meant the French Savants took two turns to dismantle The Eye and prepare to move it by coach to safety. The British will win if they prevent the French achieving this objective. If the British do not succeed then the French win by default, regardless of outcomes elsewhere on the battlefield. Enough of the introductory waffle, a photomontage to convey a sense of the action as is my custom ~

Well, not the most auspicious of starts, a Blunder. I rolled a 1 and made a Rapid Retreat off the table! Not the best of omens for the outcome...

The Comte du Merde orders his second infantry Brigade to move to support the right flank where masses of British cavalry can be seen moving forward. French cavalry wait anxiously for their moment of glory, or not...

British cavalry surges forward in a charge, having some initial successes. The Horse Grenadiers fair less well than the Scots Grey's and are driven back in disorder by the fire if the Royal Deux Ponts regiment.

French cavalry has been roundly beaten, the Mestre de Camp's regiment being driven off table Shaken while the Orleans regiment just avoids sharing their fate...

With one Brigade bogged down on the base line and the assault Brigade still readying itself, the First Brigade of infantry closes with their French counterparts...

The British form up in line and exchange fire with the French. Supported by artillery fire the French enjoy the better of the exchange without Shaking their for. Amidst all the cacophony of battle the Hussards de Byklé wait their moment to charge the British infantry...

All along their lines the French position looks solid. The Eye is safely dismantled and stowed in the waiting carriage ready to depart...

The Assault Brigade is yet to move off into the attack, their supporting Brigade engaging the French infantry are in Disorder. It looking trés bon for les Français at this juncture...

The Assault Brigade finally gets underway. Two Small units of dismounted dragoons supported by three units of combined Grenadier companies...

The carriage transporting the Savants together with The Eye has left the town's gate and is making for the rear though threatened by the nearby dragoons...

The view from the French lines encourages du Merde in his belief that The Eye will be safe. A grateful king will surely reward him with estates and peasants to work them...

As the carriage left the town's security the Voluntaries de Soubais move forward to skirmish with the approaching Assault waves...

The British attack has finally come together, allowing a frustrated Gornale a moment's relief from the stresses of command...

Merde! One unit of dragoons evade the defenders and sieze the carriage, the Savants and of course The Eye...

Du Merde 's dream of riches and peasant workers toiling away on his new estates evaporates away to nothing...

The victory is to Gornale, avenging the defeat suffered earlier by Rawnsley. For we GHQ Irregulars the beauty of Black Powder encapsulated in one game where best laid plans and deserved victory were snatched from one set of expectant hands by the fickle dice gods and handed to another. Malheuresement, c'est la vie...

A Post Script to the week's unfolding events in GHQ. Here I am, on Wednesday, at the centre of the Heart of Darkness. My second exposure of 2022 in fact. I wonder if any of you can guess why?