My planned sunken road scenario turned into a bit of a rout and ended quite quickly. So, since we had plenty of time left over, I decided to run a second scenario. Everyone was game, so I made some adjustments to the terrain. Basically, I just laid down a canal and a bridge and moved a few bits about.
This was an equal point scenario of twenty four points, so I let both sides steak their lists as desired, using the troops I brought. For the British, it was a mix of regulars and highlanders. For the French, the force was Courier Des Bois and Iroquois.
Both sides set up their forces in road column on opposite sides of the canal. Each had to exit the road on the opposite corner of their set up. The British were on their way to relieve another garrison and were not expecting to run into trouble. The French were on their way to take a position behind the British fort to block and raid supplies. Each force would stumble onto the enemy and would need to brush them out of the way to fulfill their mission.
We rolled off to see who would set up first and they had to set up one of their units at the road junction to the bridge. The other side would do the same and they would go back and forth, until their column was all set up. So, the decision, was about the order of the troops in each force.
Victory conditions were based solely on units exited off the opposite road edge. A unit above half strength would be worth three points and one at half strength of less would be worth one. There would be no turn limit, so it was all about casualties and getting off the table.
The French started the party and both sides deployed their columns. The British got the first turn and we were off to the races.
The French decided on a strategy to spread out the field and move their forces to each flank and the center. The idea was to use the superior mobility of skirmishing and try to pick off the British on the flanks and then to drift off the road.
The British plan was to concentrate and push through the center and exit to road, taking out as many French as they could along the way.
Both sides executed their plans as laid out. The British decided to forgo sending their units across the bridge and deviated to crossing the canal. While in the canal, units were reduced to half movement and could not fire.
It turned out that this was a mistake. The French continued skirmish fire into the British units, as they crossed the canal. The British pushed forward, forgoing fire, to just get more movement and get across.
The French fire started to take a toll and the British casualties started to mount. The British started to fire back, but with their forces closely scrolling the canal, this effort was limited. The did cause a few casualties though.
The British finally managed to get a majority of their force across the canal and tried to beat feet for the exit, but the French continued to pile in the fire. A few late game charges by Indians were enough to turn the run, into a rout.
The casualties had piled up and we called the game, as it was clear that the British had taken far too many casualties to counter the number of points the French would get for exiting!
It turned out to be a bad day for the British, as they just kept piling up the losses. We will see what happen the next time!
- Manteuffel