Last Thursday we got around to playing a rematch of our
skirmish in the Vendee. The previous game report can be found
here. The rules
are Rebels and Patriots. After that game I decided to get rid of the wheat
field and all green unit ratings (except the free unit) to speed the game up.
In truth, there are quite a few units on the table for R&P, which usually
has 24 points a side or less.
I had wished to play the Whites last game and did so here,
planning on showing how to play the angry peasants armed with a mix of muskets
and pole-arms. But then my last attempt to demonstrate proper cavalry tactics
during our Seven Years War game didn’t quite work out.
The defending Whites, Catholic royalist peasants, are led by
their noble, Sangre Bleu. His character trait is “familiar face” which allows a
free line infantry unit of locals who join the cause and have no effect on
force morale.
6 Natives, Vendee Rebels
|
12 figures each
|
@ 4 points each
|
1 Skirmisher
|
6
|
@ 2
|
1 Line Infantry, green, timid, poor shooters
|
12
|
Free
|
Total
|
90
|
26 points
|
The attacking Blue revolutionaries are led by the townsman
Parvenu, said by the Whites to be a Huguenot. His trait is “blessed”, strange
for the chap leading the atheist side. Perhaps he is a secret believer. It
makes him harder to kill. Parvenu gained 6 honour points in the last game. The
Blues are tasked with taking the hamlet of Sacre Coeur and teaching the locals
a lesson.
7 Line Infantry
|
12 figures each
|
@ 4 points each
|
1 Skirmisher
|
6
|
@ 2
|
1 Medium Artillery
|
4
|
@ 6
|
Total
|
94
|
36 points
|
The attackers deployed half of their units within 6” of
their table edge, followed by half of the defenders at least 16” away from the
attacker’s edge. Then the remaining attackers deployed followed by the
remaining defenders with the same restrictions.
Victory points: 3 points for control of the hamlet of Sacre
Coeur at the end of the game, 2 points for losing less than 1/3 of your force’s
points, 1 point for causing at least 1/3 point loss to the enemy.
A short recap of the fight is that we spent the early part
of the game trying fancy footwork, skirmishing up to the hedgerows and then
falling back. We got shot to ribbons for our efforts. Late in the game we
discovered that charging the enemy was our strong suit, but found out too late
to turn the tide. Pictures follow. (Line infantry units with dried cherries have not yet fired or been in melee.)
Rolling boxcars during an activation gets you good things;
rolling snake eyes punishes you. Andrew arrived after he got off work and got
command of a reinforcement unit that arrived from a boxcars roll. He promptly
attacked and destroyed Blue skirmishers who had infiltrated past the hamlet;
they failed to evade. We broke for dinner, a fine chili verde prepared by my
wife. After dinner Ken said he would be going soon, so Andrew switched sides.
He’s been away for a while, with his kids taking turns with colds and such. He made
up for lost time with aggressive play and some hot dice.
Jay and I had been pressed back towards Sacre Coeur, taking
losses from Blue firepower as we went. My theory about using skirmish mobility
to offset Blue musketry was failing badly. With our backs against the wall, we
launched charges and found the native troop type quite formidable with cold
steel. One of our units gained a discipline advantage termed “fighting cocks”
via a boxcars roll and got a vivandiere figure as a marker. One of Andrew’s
also got one. I looked for the plastic rooster my wife gave me when we were
playing games of Marengo but could not find it. Andrew’s unit was marked with a
plastic mouse my wife had given me. Andrew roared about the ferocity of said
mouse, causing hurricane gusts of laughter. Bill now rolled an activation snake
eyes and fired on one of his own units, causing a couple hits and more
laughter. We laughed too soon as a similar result saw our unit in the hamlet
fire on friends.
Andrew’s fierce mouse unit was driven back twice in a turn
by angry rebels who then failed a morale test with truly lousy dice and routed
off the table.
In the ensuing turn the Blues opened fire on the rebel units
that had cut their way into Blue lines. Some routed, causing more morale tests
and a general collapse. We escaped ignominy for our leader on a snake eyes roll
because he had already been carried from the field wounded. We threw in the
towel.
The game took about three and a half hours during which we
played 13 turns. Jay suggested that a time limit of some sort be put on the
scenario. It has none at this time. Since the rebels have lost both games, he
may have a point.
Royalist losses were 3 native units and 1 skirmisher lost
for 14 points of 29, over 1/3 points lost, the CO wounded, 34 figures shot and
another 32 ran away (including 9 “free” ones). The Blues lost a line unit and a
skirmisher unit for 6 points of 36, 24 figures killed or wounded and 9 ran
away. A couple of the last were likely taken prisoner.
The Blues took the town, lost less than 1/3 points and
caused more than that to the enemy for a total of 6 honour points, giving CO
Parvenu a campaign score of 12. 8 more will see him promoted and gain a new
trait. Poor Sangre Bleu recovered from his wound but gained no points. His
score remains zero. Perhaps next time he can do better. A new scenario might
help. Perhaps a raid on Blue supplies…
I intended to teach a lesson in how to use the Vendee rebels
and instead was taught one. They need to close with the enemy as quickly as
possible with a minimum of musket fire. I don’t know enough about the actual
fighting to know if this represents the way they fought, but certainly seems
like the way Highlanders of the ’45 rising fought.
Rules details for game geeks: a native unit in good order
that charges a line infantry unit in the open will roll 12 dice, needing 4+ for
hits, 2 hits per figure loss caused. The odds call for 6 hits, 3 figures
removed. The line unit rolls 12 dice needing 6 for hits. Odds call for 2 hits,
one figure lost. The line falls back and both check morale. if the natives
pass, they can follow up and do it again. That’s pretty strong stuff.
If the natives charge a line behind an obstacle (like a
hedgerow) they roll 12 dice as before but need 3 hits to remove a figure. They
should cause 6 hits again, removing 2 figures. The line as before should cause
2 hits, removing 1 figure and thus lose the fight. Again, if the Natives pass
their morale check they can follow up and hit the line in the open, unless the
line manages to fall back behind another obstacle.
Getting into position for a charge without being hurt by
superior enemy firepower remains a problem. I knew natives had an advantage in
melee but didn’t realize how strong until we charged in desperation near the
end of the game.
