Monongahela 1755 scenario

All internet images removed from this post, sorry.

We tested this scenario on 11/29/2018. I didn't get around to posting the report until early December. It uses the work-in-progress Simple Seven Years War Rules by Keith Flint. Due to the reduced scale and the game being entirely in the woods, we used the original movement and ranges for 25mm figures even though we use 15mm figures.

Monongahela July 9, 1755

History: an expedition under Major General Braddock was sent to capture Fort Duquesne the year after young George Washington’s failed attempt sparked an undeclared war. Struggling with supply problems, the force advanced through the wilderness, cutting a path as it went. As the British neared the fort, the French and Indians sallied out to meet them. Both columns collided in the woods. Gage’s advance guard shot and killed French captain Beaujeu (who seems to have gone native); the Canadian militia recoiled at first. The Colony regulars (Troops de la Marine) engaged Gage’s troops while the Indians moved around both flanks. 

Braddock rushed his main body up to assist the advance guard but fell into disorder as Gage’s men retreated through them. The French and Indians closed in a semi-circle, firing from cover into the disorganized mass. Many accounts say that British troops fired on each other in the confusion. Officers went down one after the other. When Braddock was mortally wounded the troops began to give way. Then the Indians attacked with tomahawks. In the general collapse, Washington put together a small rearguard. The panic stricken survivors ran back to their camp and the large body of troops there were infected with panic and retreated. The fort would not be taken until the Forbes expedition of 1758. This battle is often described as an ambush, but it was a meeting engagement that went terribly wrong for the British.

A map here.

And my version of this on the table: 

and poorly focused:

French and Indians each unit = 150 troops or Indian warriors
6 units, breakpoint = 3

French
Captain Beaujeu C-in-C KIA
Troops de la Marine	1 light infantry unit
Canadian militia	1 light infantry unit (Beaujeu attached)
Indians
Ensign Langlade attached to Chippewa band
Chippewa	1 light infantry band (Langlade attached)
Huron	1 “ in command within 3” of commanded band
Chief Pontiac attached to Ottawa band
Ottawa	1 light infantry band (Pontiac attached)
Delaware	1 “ in command within 3” of commanded band

British and Colonials each unit = 150 troops or 2 guns

11 units, breakpoint = 5, British -1 for initiative due to inexperience in wilderness combat 

Major General Braddock C-in-C KIA	Attached to 12 lb guns
Lt. Col. Gage WIA advance guard	Attached to one of the two units below
Grenadiers	1 line infantry unit, superior morale, melee
“Grenadiers”	1 line infantry unit
6 lb guns	1 section independent
12 lb guns	1 section independent
Col. Halkett KIA	Attached to a 44th Foot unit
44th Foot	3 line infantry units
Lt. Col. Burton WIA	Attached to a 48th Foot unit
48th Foot	3 line infantry units
3 wagons	each wagon lost counts as a unit lost
Colonial (Provincial) infantry	1 line infantry unit, inferior morale, melee

Scenario rules: 

The British were cutting a trail. The trail negates terrain penalties for troops moving in column. Wagons (inferior in all respects) may move on this trail at infantry speed. They may not move off the trail. Wagons may not pass through other wagons. Wagons that are weakened, retreat or routed count against British break point as though they were a combat unit. Wagons may not fire or fight back in melee. If a wagon routs, the teamsters have cut the traces and ridden off with the horses, leaving the wagons to block the trail. Mark the wagons as burning and a unit lost. Same if wagons try to retreat through other wagons. Wagons are out of command unless attached to Braddock. Wagons need to be able to advance towards enemy to move at all, even to retreat.

French and Indians all count as superior moving through woods. The militia has inferior morale. Indians who are weakened (4+ hits) have inferior morale. Indian light infantry who are not weakened may charge weakened line infantry. Indians who take hits from artillery must check morale.

Except for the trail, all terrain is wooded and visibility and weapon range is restricted to 6”. One unit may fit on the hill. That unit gets +1 when firing. (Accounts mention the deadly fire from the hill)

Langlade may command Chippewa or Ottawa bands. Pontiac may command the Ottawa band. Other Indians within 3” of a commanded band count as in command control. They may only be rallied by Beaujeu.

All officers must be attached to a unit, due to the small scale of the game, the restrictive terrain and the high mortality rate among officers in this fight. If an officer is badly wounded or worse, the attached unit must check morale with a -1 modifier. Officers who are wounded badly (or worse) are not replaced, with the exception of Braddock. If Braddock is badly wounded or worse, he will be replaced after a turn by Washington, who is bullet-proof. If hit, his horse is hit instead and Washington will be out for a turn while another mount is found. (He was never hit during this war or the next, and he was shot at plenty of times.) Officers (and chiefs) on foot treat horse shot as aide is hit instead, same procedure.

Edit: checked my map, moved the hill a little closer to the trail. Too lazy to go back and redo the photos.