CapnJim's AWI Stuff: Freeman's Farm Complete AAR - Page 3 (09 Jul 24).

[CapnJim]

Freddy, it's a Cigar Box battlemat.  It's gotten plenty of use in several time periods...

And here is game 2...

Game 2

In the afternoon game, the British commander used a similar plan to that used in the first game.  The Americans, however, tried something different.

As in Game 1, the British sent Lt. Col. Webster and the 23rd and 33rd Regiments across the west ford.  The Americans, though, sent 2 battalions of Continentals north toward Springs Mill, and 2 toward the west ford.  The British also had their Lights and Grenadiers come on the field down the main road from the north.  The Loyalist Dragoons again crossed the bridge to try to hold up the Continentals heading toward Springs Mill.

As those units continued on their respective ways, the Hessian/Loyalist Brigade come down from the north heading straight for the east ford, as in Game 1.  And the American Militia Brigade came up the Springs Mill Pike.  They sent 2 battalions to support the attack on springs Mill, and the other 2 veered west to support the Continentals' attack on the British Regulars near the west ford.  The Loyalist Dragoons charged the Continentals, but were again eventually repulsed.  They once again held up the Continentals enough, however, to buy time for the Hessians and Loyalist Infantry to cross the east ford.

This time, the British Lights and artillery headed toward the west ford, while the Grenadiers headed toward the bridge.

The battle again devolved into 2 fights.  The British 23rd, 33rd, artillery, and Lights versus American Continentals and Militia below the west ford, and the Hessians, Loyalists, Grenadiers and artillery against the Continentals and Militia at Springs Mill and the Bridge.  The Continental Dragoons appeared early in this fight, but again (and inexplicably) had no real effect on the battle.  Both fights swung in favor of the British, and the Americans conceded the field before nightfall.

One interesting thing happened in Game 2.  An American Militia battalion did manage to cross the bridge in good shape, but the Grenadiers went in with the bayonet and sent them on their way back across the bridge.

Both games went to the Crown forces.  Fun was had by all involved, though, so it was a win-win!

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

Those Airfix figures brought back memories of the Bicentennial (which they were released to commemorate).  I had boxes and boxes of them - still do somewhere in the loft!  Nice games.

[Freddy]

Great pictures again!
Thanks for the info regarding the mat, it looks really useful, I will check their store.

[CapnJim]

Thanks, guys!

Thanks for the info regarding the mat, it looks really useful, I will check their store.

Not sure they still sell that one anymore..... 

[Freddy]

Thanks, guys!

Not sure they still sell that one anymore.....

They have a lot of other cool stuff.

[CapnJim]

They have a lot of other cool stuff.

Yes, they do.  I have 3 or 4 of their mats...

[CapnJim]

This week's scrum (played earlier today) was a 28mm AWI affair.  We decided to play the Battle/Massacre (depending on who's side you were... ) of Paoli in September 1777.  We used the Liberty or Death rules for the first time.

My place and terrain, and Ted's figures (and scenario).  I played the Americans, Gene played the British, and Ted GM'ed.

Here are the scenario-specific rules we used:

1.  As the attacker, the British had initiative each turn.
2.  All American units started the fight Disordered.  Since the British had intitiative, the Americans would have to fight the first British phases as such.
3.  The battle happened at night.  No firing was permitted beyond Effective range, and all firing was treated as firing at units In Cover.
4.  Save for the Light Bobs, all British infantry units started the game with their flints removed from their muskets (thus, no firing).  Depending on when the 40th and 55th regiments showed up, they could replace their flints.
5.  To account for American confusion, any American unit that wanted to do anything besides fire had to pass an Orders check, regardless of their unit state.  If an American unit failed an orders check, and had another American unit in their front arc, they had to fire at it (to account for the possibility of friendly fire, as happened in the real battle).

Here are the Orders of Battle we used:

British Forces
MG Grey
     Light Infantry battalion (Large Unit) (Independent, Drilled, Skirmish)
     42nd Regiment (Black Watch, a Large Unit) (Drilled, Tough Fighters)
     44th regiment (Standard Unit)(Drilled)
     16th Light Dragoons (Small Unit)(Independent)
LTC Musgrave (reinforcements - starting on Turn 2, roll 4 dice far an Orders Test.  4 successes would see them arrive on Turn 2, 3 successes on Turn 3, and so on...)
     40th Regiment (Standard Unit)(Drilled)
     55th Regiment (Standard Unit)(Drilled)

American Forces
MG Wayne
     1st Continental Dragoons (Small Unit)(Independent)
     2nd Continental Dragoons (Small Unit)(Independent)
     3rd Continental Artillery battery (3-pdrs)(Independent)
COL Hartley
     4 battalions of Pennsylvania Line (3 Small Units and 1 Standard Unit)
     Hartley's Additional regiment (Small Unit)
COL Humpton
     4 battalions of Pennsylvania Line (Small units)
BG Smallwood (reinforcements, if needed)
     5 battalions of Maryland Militia (Small Units)

The pics below show the battlefield.  The first is pre-deployment looking north.  You can see Warren's Tavern in the top center, and the American encampment in the middle.  The second pic shows the initial deployment, with the 2 brigades on Pennsylvania Line formed up in their camp facing NNW.  The guns are limbered.  All units are disordered.  The British are deployed, with the Light Bobs in the lead, followed by the 42nd and the Dragoons, and trailing them is the 44th.

I will post the AAR within the next few days (Higher HQ has tasked us with putting out Christmas decorations this weekend, so it might not be until this coming Monday...)
 

[CapnJim]

And now for the battle report!  One note is that Ted doesn't have any Highlanders painted up yet, so we've used standard British infantry. They are differentiated from the Foot Regiments by the chaps with the round hats.

The attack started off well enough.  The British Light Bobs hit the right of the forward Continental Line, driving them back.  As the Light Bobs pressed forward, they were met by a battalion from the rear Continental Line.  Both units took casualties, while the Light Bobs recoiled.

But then, the 42nd Highlanders went in, sending one continental battalion fleeing and causing heavy casualties on a second.  They continued their attack, with the 44th reinforcing them.  Another Continental battalion was then broken.

In the meantime, Gen. Grey sent his 16th Light Dragoons west on the White Horse Tavern road, to try to get around the left flank of the Americans.  Gen. Wayne countered by sending his 1st and 2nd Continental Dragoons up that way to head them off.

The American right was reeling back through their camp, as the British pressed their attack.

Then, after a bit of a delay (during which we decided that the 40th and 55th replaced the flints in their muskets), LTC Musgrave arrived, leading the 40th and 55th over from the east near the Paoli Tavern.  Just in time too.  Due to some VERY GOOD orders tests, the Americans were beginning to recover from the initial British attacks.  The Americans were able to break the 42nd and 44th (though losing COL Hartley in the process), just as the 40th and 55th were taking their place in the line. 

And, the Continental Dragoons caught up with the 16th Dragoons.  The 1st Continental Dragoons broke, and the 16th Dragoons recoiled back toward the British lines.  The 2nd Continental Dragoons followed them.

By now, 3 units of Continentals had broken, COL Hartley was down, another battalion was shaken (almost broken), and 3 other Continental battalions had taken significant casualties.  Things were looking grim for the Americans.

Unfortunately, massed Continental musketry and cannon fire broke the British Light Bobs first, and that was that.  The British then had half their units broken, and that ended the game.

It was a close-run affair, and the first half of the battle looked a lot like the historical battle.  The British attacks had broken some Continental battalions, and had bent the American line back away from the right half of the camp.  But the American officers had been able to regain control of the situation (for which COL Hartley paid the price), and were ultimately able to break the British attack.

This was our first time playing Liberty or Death, and we enjoyed it.  With our scenario rules, it started the Americans out on the back foot.  But they were able to recover just in time.  Had their Orders Tests not been so effective in the 2nd half of the fight, the British would likely have carried the day, as they did historically. 

[Freddy]

Another great looking battle!

[CapnJim]

Thanks, Freddy! 

I'm thinking of playing it using Black Powder next...

[CapnJim]

Well, it's been a while since our regular gaming group played an AWI battle.  That is no longer the case.  2 Fridays ago (07 June), we played a fictional battle ostensibly set in the days following Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina in 1781.  We pondered what might have happened had the British been more aggressive in pursuing Greene's army after Guilford Courthouse.  So, we played a scenario Ted came up with.  Ted's 28mm figures and terrain, played at my wargames building.  We used Henry Hyde's Shot, Steel & Stone (2023 edition).  It was our first time playing these rules...



Here's the set-up.  The board was about 6.5' (north and south edges) x 4.5' (east and west edges).  A river meandered about a foot or so in from the west edge.  A road went east to west about 15" in from the north edge, and crossed the river at a bridge, then veered to the NW corner.  Another road came up from the south edge, more or less paralleling the river, and met the east-west road just east of the bridge.  Snake-rail fences lined the roads.  The SE quadrant of the board was light woods, and there was a copse of trees just south of the bridge, on the east bank of the river.

Ted GM'ed.  I played the British.  I had 2 brigades.  One brigade had 3 battalions of Foot (one - the 71st Foot - bigger than the other 2 - the 23rd and 33rd Foot) and a section of light guns.  The other had 2 battalions of Foot (the Foot Guards battalions, who had been roughly handled at Guilford Courthouse, both by the Continentals and the British guns...), and a battalion of Light Bobs.

Gene played the Americans.  He had 2 brigades as well.  One was stationed at the east approach to the bridge, and had 3 battalions of NC Militia and a battalion of Virginia Militia (the Virginia boys were former Continentals).  His other brigade would appear on the south road at some point (on turn 5, as it turned out), and had 3 battalions of Continentals, 2 more battalions of NC Militia, and a section of light guns.     

The Americans mission was to hold onto the bridge, and get as many of their troops across to the west side as possible.  Of course, the British mission was to prevent that...

The British came on from the east.  The right brigade (the 3 battalions of Foot) advanced right of the road, with the 71st in front in line, trailed by the 23rd and 33rd in line abreast.  The other British brigade advanced left of the road, With the 1st Foot Guards leading, following by the 2nd Foot Guards, and then the Light bobs, all in column of regiments in line.  The British stepped out smartly.



The Militia at the bridge waited for the inevitable.



The British continued their advance, but the left brigade fell behind a bit...



...but they caught up.  As the British guns deployed on the road, their left brigade began to deploy the 2 Foot Guards battalions in line abreast, as the Light Bobs headed into the woods.



The American Militia brigade made some adjustments as the British approached.



The British left brigade made it into line abreast, as the Light Bobs advanced through the woods in open order.  The British plan was for the right brigade to attack the Militia at the bridge, while the left brigade moved to intercept any Americans the came up from the south.



Just as the British right brigade began trading volleys with the Militia at the bridge, the 2nd American brigade came up the road from the south.   American Militia lined the fences, while the British battalions advanced.



The 2nd American brigade marched up the road, their Continentals in march column.  Their 2 Militia battalions and their guns turned to face the British.



The British right brigade pressed their attack on the Militia at the bridge.  Both sides took casualties...



...while the British left brigade advanced to the fence.  The Continentals reformed to face them.  Musketry and cannon fire was now general, up and down the lines.



At the bridge , the 71st Foot assaulted the Virginia Militia, and sent them retreating across the bridge.  The NC Militia backed up to the relative safety of the fence.  Control of the east approach to the bridge was now in debate. 





The 71st Foot assaulted a NC Militia battalion at the bridge, and sent it retreating across the bridge.  But the 71st had spent itself, having taken the brunt of the fighting at the bridge this far.  The 71st Foot fell back, while the 23rd Foot took their place.



Meanwhile, on the road from the south, the British Light Bobs had charged and captured the American guns, and British musketry had sent a unit of Continentals fleeing toward the river. 



The east approach to the bridge was still contested, but the remnants of the 2 American brigades were trapped on the east side of the river.  Lord Cornwallis would soon come down the raod with the rest of the British army, and the gig was up for the Americans.   Thus, we ended the battle there.

It was a hard-fought affair, and the American Militia acquitted itself fairly well, but British aggressiveness to cut the approach to the bridge paid off.   The 71st Foot took considerable casualties, but Greene would lose too may of his Continentals...a loss he could ill afford.

This coming Friday, we will replay this scenario with my 20mm figures and using the AWI lists and rules for Valour & Fortitude.  Of course, I'll post an AAR afterwards...

[CapnJim]

We did, in fact replay the prior scenario this Friday past.  But we used my 20mm/1-72 figures and terrain, and the Valour & Fortitude rules with AWI army lists (available through the Perry Miniatures website).  As a reminder, the (fictional) scenario takes place in the immediate aftermath of Guilford Courthouse, in North carolina in the Spring of 1781.  It presumes the British were more aggressive in pursuing Greene's army as it retreated.

Here is the battlefield:



Ted played the Americans (his choice), and I played the British (again).  Ted had a Militia Brigade on the field to start near the east approach to the bridge (as you can see on the above pic).  It consisted of 3 battalions of North Carolina Militia (all rated as Militia in game terms) and a battalion of Virginia Militia (rated as State Line Infantry, as they were mostly time-expired Continentals).  On turn 5, his other brigade would appear on the south road.  It had 3 battalions of Continental Infantry (rated as such), 2 more battalions of NC Militia (rated the same as their sister battalions in the other brigade), and a section of 6-pounders (Field Artillery).

I had 2 Brigades, as in the first game.  One Brigade consisted of 2 battalions of Foot (rated as Line Infantry), a battalion of Highlanders (rated as Grenadiers), and a section of 3-pounders (Light Artillery).  The other brigade had 2 battalions of Foot Guards (rated as Line Infantry, as they were not treated nicely, by either the Continentals or the British 3-pounders, at Guilford Courthouse), and a battalion of Light Infantry (rated as such).  Both British Brigades entered the field from the east board edge on Turn 1.  I deployed them in the same manner as the first game.  Both Brigades advanced toward the bridge.  The British guns unlimbered on the road and opened fire on the lead Militia battalion.



The Militia Brigade waiting for them made some adjustments to their deployment.  As they did so, the Highlanders, who were leading the British right Brigade, stopped and volleyed.  The Militia battalion was rattled by the musket and cannon fire., but their return fire felled some Scotsmen.



Another volley by the Highlanders, though, and the Militia battalion broke and fled.  The other 3 Militia battalions had redeployed.



The British left Brigade had advanced, as well, with the Lights going into open order, and heading into the woods.  The Virginia and the Highlanders traded volleys, after which the 2 Foot battalions advanced through the Scotsmen.  Musket fire and cannon fire forced a 2nd Militia battalion to break and run.





One British Foot Guards battalion advanced toward the Militia at the fence, while the other Foot Guards battalion kept an eye on their left flank.



The remaining 2 Militia battalions at the bridge weren't going down without a fight.  Volleys from the Militia felled more redcoats.



But for the Virginia Militia, their time was up.  The Highlanders advanced through the Foot battalions, leveled the bayonets, and went in to the Virginia militia.  That was enough, as the Virginia boys broke and ran before the onslaught.  The pendulum had swung in the direction of the British...

 

But then, the 2nd American Brigade appeared on the scene, marching up the south road.  They began to deploy.



As the British left Brigade reacted to the appearance of the American Continentals and artillery, their right Brigade began to turn the American left flank.



The American Continentals went on the attack, climbing over the fences and heading toward the British Lights and Foot Guards with bayonets firmly fixed.  The American 6-pounders opened fire on the British Lights at the edge of the woods.

 

The British right Brigade kept up the pressure on the American left.  But the Continentals went into the Lights and Foot guards with musket and bayonet.  The Lights in the woods fired volleys at the Continentals, but they kept advancing.  Other Continentals struck the Foot Guards, and once again the Continentals were roughly handling the Foot Guards.  Both Foot Guards battalions were shook up, and one retreated back hoping to regroup.  The Militia in the American 2nd Brigade moved to shore up their left flank.



The Continentals and the Lights traded volleys.  But then one battalion of Foot Guards had had enough - they broke and ran from the Continentals!  And the Militia was holding on to the American left!  After brushing most of the Militia at the bridge aside, the arrival of the Continentals looked like it was changing the tide of the battle...that pendulum was swinging back toward the Americans.



Musket volleys and cannon fire were traded up and down the line.



And the Continentals stood firm against the Foot Guards and Lights, causing them both to break and run.  The British left Brigade had been shattered!  The pendulum had indeed swung.

But the 2 Continental battalions who had chased off the Foot Guards were not unscathed themselves.  As they advanced toward the British right Brigade, musket fire caused them both the break and run.  Was that pendulum swinging back toward the British already?!



Musket fire from the Highlanders finally drove off the last battalion from the American Militia Brigade.  It had finally been shattered, and the British right Brigade now firmly held the bridge.

 

But Scotland the Brave was tired and depleted.  One last volley from a Militia battalion was too much, and they broke and ran.  But the 2 British Foot battalions advanced, and within a few minutes had driven off the last American infantry, leaving the American 6-pounder all alone on the field. 





While under fire, they promptly limbered up and retreated.  The British held the field, and had shattered 2 American brigades, including 3 battalions of Continentals.  But it was another expensive victory for the British, one they could likely ill afford....

[vtsaogames]

Looks great, Capn Jim.
And now: which rules do you favor so far?
Of most import for my crew, which plays fastest? 3 hours is about tops, since someone invariably has to take off for various valid reasons.

[CapnJim]

Looks great, Capn Jim.
And now: which rules do you favor so far?
Of most import for my crew, which plays fastest? 3 hours is about tops, since someone invariably has to take off for various valid reasons.

Well, as you can see, we've played AWI with a number of rules, including Black Powder; Saratoga Soldiers; Liberty or Death; Shot, Steel & Stone; and Valour & Fortitude.

As far as fitting a game (with a tactical conclusion) into a 3-hour period, all will do that with the possible exception of Shot, Steel & Stone.  The other 4 rulesets did that quite well.  The problem (in our minds, at least for the AWI) with Shot, Steel & Stone was that units become "disrupted" under a whole slew of circumstances, reducing unit's combat abilities and morale.  As the battle wore on, it tended to result in units getting embroiled in extended desultory firefights.  While that was a feature of some "horse & musket" periods, it was not the case in the AWI, at least as we understand how battles in the AWI went.

As far as which one we liked the best, we liked most of them quite well (see above), but we really liked Valour & Fortitude with its AWI army sheets.  We are even thinking of adapting it to the War of 1812, and maybe even the "pike & shotte" period. 

Does all that help?

[vtsaogames]

Very helpful indeed. I shall peruse the V&F lists for the AWI. I worked on game testing for the Napoleonic rules and then fell by the wayside. I have been looking for the right AWI rules for my crew.