Trimsos River

This game was played via Google Meets, and was my first remote game. Since I've already been playing with larger figures on a grid, it was pretty easy to shift to remote gaming (I added letters and numbers to the grid so orders and questions could be more easily understood).  The set up (the map and the number of units) was based on the Trimsos river game from Donald Featherstone's War Games, and the rules were my Charge! variant (with important updates of (a) no diagonal fire or movement, (b) cavalry can move 5 square, and (c) the two retreat moves for a unit at or under half strength are on that unit's turn only.

Starting setup.

There were 58 figures per side so the game would stop when one side had lost 29 figures.  The Empire (red) (me) won the toss and moved first. Would the Allied (blue/green/grey) (Pete) continue its string of victories?

After the first turn. Action is already looking to focus on the stone bridge on the left, where the West Surreys and Irish Guard are readying to cross. 

Allied artillery. This particular piece was quite reliable and critical in the game.

On the other side of the table, neither side ever seriously contested the old wooden bridge, probably because of lack of cover and exposure to long range artillery field. The Imperials most kept to the heights of River Ridge or behind it. 

At the top you can see the Scots Guards motioning towards the old wooden bridge. After taking one casualty from long range Allied fire they pulled back.

Allied Turkish infantry fords the Trimsos.

The Imperial West Surreys crossed the stone bridge and were able to take up positions behind the walls of an old ruined enclosure, with the Irish Guard following up from behind.  Fierce rifle fire was exchanged between these units and the allied Cheshire Riles and 2nd Bulgarian Infantry, with the Imperial units faring poorly. 

Firefight between Imperial and Allied infantry, Cheshire Volunteers in the foreground.

The Allies having softened up the West Surreys with additional support from from the Royal Marines and the artillery, the Allied charged the Surreys with the 13th Lancers (Bombay), and successfully destroyed the Surrey's entirely.

The situation after destruction of the West Surreys by the 13th Lancers.

As above three photos clearly show, the situation is not ideal for the Empire - the Irish Guards stand quite alone against over half of the Allied forces at the stone bridge.

Meanwhile, the other half of the Imperial army has waited perhaps too long at the western edge of River Ridge to provide meaningful assistance to the right flank... 

On the following turn, Imperial artillery were able to route the 17th, and the Irish Guards came across the Trimsos at full strength and fired a mighty volley at the 2nd Bulgarian - and caused no effect! On the Allies turn the Guards were then subjected to a deadly cross fire from three Allied units!

The Irish Guards under a withering triple crossfire!

Trying to save a poor situation - the Imperial Life Guards have moved to the right flank.  The 6th Dragoons threaten from the stone bridge. 

The Irish Guards were able to get into position behind the ruined enclosure, and the Scots Guards and  from the opposite flank began to shift into range.  The Imperial cavalry tried to keep out of rifle range in hopes of drawing Allied infantry closer...

Imperial cavalry trying to position for a counterattack. The Irish Guards deliver more ineffective volleys from the ruined enclosure.

On the following turn, however, the Royal Marines dealt the Irish Guards the last casualty to put them at understrength and they began to fall back.  One of the Imperial guns also falls back. The Imperial army is close to the breaking point...

Irish Guards begin to fall back. The Allies are now presenting an impressive firing line dominating the stone bridge.

The Allies have dispatched the Governor General's Horse Guard (upper right center) from its right flank to support the attack on the stone bridge.

There were a few more turns as the Empire tried to set up long range fire to soften up Allied infantry for a mass cavalry attack, but the Allied Governor General's Horse Guards were able to sweep across thr bridge and finish off the disordered Irish Guards and end the game.

Situation just prior to end game. The allied cavalry at lower right will cross the bridge and destroy the remnants of the Irish Guards at upper left.  

Despite the lopsided thumping my Imperial army took (the Allies only suffered 9 or 10 casualties to my 29 - whoof!), this really was the best out thus far for my Charge! variant.  Dropping diagonal movement and measuring simplifies things and the retreating mechanics felt better. Cavalry moving 5 instead of 4 makes them very effective for finishing off units which have been softened up a bit.  Concentrating fire from several units and/or guns on a single enemy is the most effective strategy by far, which both feels right and lends itself to replicating a mid-to-late 19th century battle in terms of how the players move and deploy their units.

The remote game went very smoothly although it may have been aided a lot by Pete having played the Isted game earlier and being familiar with the system. Game took about an hour and 15 minutes. Will probably set up a second camera using an old smart phone, which can be down at table level and also to see dice rolling (I did all the dice rolling - the pips were not visible to the single web cam as it was set up on a ladder from the allied side of the table).  The game was also played over coffee at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday so it felt a bit like Saturday morning cartoons, to me! It also made me a little nostalgic for the first period of sleepy gaming on Saturday mornings at Enfilade.  

Blasthof Bridge

The next game was all set up for an action at Rezonville, itself a small part of the battle of Mars le Tour during the Franco-Prussian War.  Unfortunately my "wargaming germ pod" co-member bowed out as he had recently come in close proximity to positive Covid test results.  Thinking about smaller games that can be played via video conference, I reset the table and tried out the "Blasthof Bridge" scenario from Charge! Or How to Play Wargames (1962) by Charles Grant (1967) by Lawford and Young.  If you have ever searched for "old school wargames" or similar, it is highly likely you will find this game featured.

Starting positions, Allies at bottom, Empire at top.

In this game, my Imperial (red) troops played the part of the Electoral Army, and my Allied (blues, greens, and greys) that of the Imperial Army from the scenario.  Based on the number of figures stated in the scenario, I ended up with:

Allied army:

3 infantry units (5th Cheshire Volunteer Rifles, 2nd Bulgarian infantry, 1st Turkish infantry)

3 cavalry units (S.African Mounted Infantry, Governor General's Horse Guards, 13th Lancers)

2 artillery pieces

Allies in starting position.

Imperial Army:

Four regiments of infantry (Irish Guards, 7th Bengal, Scots Guards, West Surrey Line Infantry)

Two squadrons cavalry (2nd Life Guards, 5th Dragoon Guards)

Two artillery.

Empire army in starting position.

I used my Charge! rules variant, with the new additions of (1) no diagonal moves for movement or firing distances and (b) cavalry movement increased to 5 squares.  Taking away diagonal moves shortens firing ranges a bit, and the increased cavalry movement makes it possible for a cavalry unit to be out of range of rifle fire, and yet be able to close for melee on a charge. I hoped this prevented cavalry from being shot completely to pieces before doing anything.

After first moves.

So it was that both sides pushed their cavalry out on to their flanks at careful distances, while the infantry and artillery trundled more slowly forward in the centers. 

13th Lancers ford the river Blast.

Imperial line, 5th Dragoons in foreground.

After second moves.

The Imperials came to decide on the 7th Bengal infantry crossing the river, supported by the Scots Guard and West Surrey, while the Irish Guards and an artillery battery would take positions atop Blasthof hill.  The Allies clustered most of their forces around the farm while sending the 13th Lancers and Turkish infantry across the river.

5th Dragoons and Irish Guards move towards hill.

There followed some long range artillery and a little rifle fire, with a casualty or two on each side. 

After third move.

Fourth move.

However, both the allied artillery units were able to score long range hits on the Imperial artillery atop Blasthof Hill, reducing it to half strength.  This created a perfect opportunity for the Bombay Lancers, so they charged the gun.  This caused me to clarify the rules to say that an understrength unit must make two moves to its starting edge on its turn(s), otherwise players would not be able to exploit situations such as this.  Artillery always offers closing fire at close range, but the gun only threw 4 dice due, and scored one hit which was soaked (two hits required at close range to cause a casualty).  Artillery crews run when engaged in melee, the the gun was overrun.

13th Lancers take the Imperial gun....

The lancers, still at full strength, used their follow-up attack to slam into the Irish Guards (also at full strenth).  Units engaged from a follow-up attack do not get closing fire (its chaos!), so it was 10 dice vs 10 dice.  Cavalry hits on 4+ and infantry at 5+.  Infantry also needs to two hits to cause a cavalry casualty, so the result was great slaughter, with 8 Guardsmen slain (actually 7 slain and 1 taken prisoner) to one lancer. 

...and sweep into the Irish Guards...

So, at the cost of one lancer, the Allied cavalry were able to take out a gun and an entire unit of infantry!

...and the Irish Guard take heavy casualties and fall back.

On the following turn, though, the remaining Imperial artillery scored a good hit on the Turkish infantry (2 casualties), allowing the 5th Dragoons to risk a charge.  The closing fire dice were crap so the Dragoons hit the Turks at full strength, routing them. 

Dragoons attacking the Turkish infantry.

This moved the focus of the battle to the bridge and the farm. The West Surreys gained the bridge and opened fire on allied artillery batteries, while the 7th Bengal fired into the Cheshire Volunteers at close range.  Unfortunately Imperial dice rolls were not very good and all this small arms fire did little to the Allied line.

 

Having too much fun, stopped taking an overview pic at end of each move.

Allied counterfire then reduced both the West Surrey and 7th Bengal to half strength and they fell back. 

West Surreys fall back from the bridge over the Blast river.

7th Bengals fall back.  Cheshire Volunteers in the foreground.

7th Bengals falling back where Life Guards wait in reserve.

View from opposite. Turkish infantry are temporarily mounted on cardboard squares that used to be markers for D&D games.

The Scots Guards advanced onto the bridge and put more fire into the Allied line, while the Life Guards charged and dispersed what was left of the Cheshire Volunteers, and then engaged the South African Mounted Infantry on its follow-up, routing them as well. This caused Allied lost figures to go over half their starting number.  Time to tally points using HG Wells allocations from Little Wars.

End game. The tents on the back lines are where prisoners are guarded.

End game.  I'll be making proper artillery crews soon and then batteries can become named accordingly.

End game.  Governor General's Horse Guards.

End game. Lone Imperial gun and the understrength West Surreys.

End game.  Scots Guards on the bridge.

The end result was that even though the Imperials had been first to reduce their opponent to half strength or less, they did not get to tally 10 points on account of having an unmanned gun. This cost them the game and awarded victory to the Allies, which made sense given that the Life Guards and the Allied Governor General's Horse Guards would probably have cancelled each other out, and the two Allied guns and Bulgarian infantry would probably have easily dispatched the Scots Guards.  The Allies would probably have had an easier time of it if they'd bothered to occupy the farm and use it has cover - but I forgot that was even an option! As pleased as I was with the game, I was especially happy with the small rule changes, which did make cavalry more decisive without over powering them. 

Isted (or something like it)

Fresh on their defeat in the Sweipwald Woods, the Imperial army received intelligence that the Allies were encamped at the town of Isted.  This game is premised on the battle of Isted (1850) during the first Schleswig War of 1848-51 between Denmark and its rebellious, German-majority Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.  The Imperials (red, commanded by me) are taking the Danes and the Allies (blue) the Duchies (commanded by Pete).  This was also a first try of a mix of the Charge! rules with a few parts of the Men Who Would Be Kings rules, but played on a grid. The Charge! parentage included no activation roles, a move and shoot action with only a half-movement penalty, and units under half strength retreating two full moves then only being capable of firing and defending. From TMWWBK came the shooting and melee dice mechanics.  Movement rates were based on those from Charge!  

Imperial infantry deployed from the NE

A larger Imperial army (6 infantry, 3 cavalry, 2 guns) has launched a pincer attack on the town of Isted, where the smaller Allied army (5 infantry, 2 cavalry, 2 guns) is encamped.  Two allied infantry units (Gurkas and the Westminsters) and a gun began the game in or near Isted, with the remainder at the table's edge directly south.  Three allied units began off table and would come on board in turn 2.  The Imperial army had 3 cavalry units, after a long night's ride, coming on board from the NW corner, 1 on turn 1, with the other two coming on board on turns 2 and 3.  The infantry began in NE corner, with about have coming on in turn 2. The off board starting positions were to keep the starting board a little less cluttered.

Allies move to defend Isted.

The Imperial cavalry came on board bit by bit but massed in the NW and kept out of rifle range.  The Imperial infantry advanced in waves towards Isted, supported by artillery fire.  

Allies in Isted, with additional forces advancing to the SE.

With the Gurkas and Westminsters infantry firmly ensconced in the houses of Isted, the Allies made a perhaps unwise decision to throw the Horse Guard, supported by Zouave and Bulgarian infantry, across the open ground at the advancing Imperial infantry.  Since Charge! allows closing fire, the Horse Guard charge dispatched the Irish Guard infantry but the Horse Guard was destroyed as well. 

Imperial line infantry and fusiliers lay heavy fire into the Allied Gurka infantry.

The Zouaves and Bulgarians exchanged fire with the Welch Fusiliers and Scot Light Infantry but did not markedly slow either.  Meanwhile, the Fusiliers and Imperial line infantry poured steady fire into the Gurkas in Isted, while the Bombay infantry slowly moved to the north approach to the town from the safety behind them.

Allied Zouaves and Bulgarian infantry attack from SE (upper left).

With the Imperial infantry advance going well, the Empire made a dire decision, which was to commit its now superior cavalry (3 squadrons vs. the lone allied unit of lancers). 

Imperial cavalry begins its advance from the west.

The reason for this was that the Gurka infantry had fallen back from its position in Isted, which meant that the Imperial assault on the town would begin in full in a turn or two. 

The Allied Gurkas have fallen back from heavy fire.

Imperial advance upon Isted.

The Imperial cavalry quickly skirted around to the SW side of Isted, perhaps too aggressively, as they were exposed to heavy fire from the Westminsters in the town as well artillery and infantry fire south the town.

Cavalry battle on eastern outskirt of Isted.

Bulgarians are moved further upon Imperial flank...

The result was that while the outnumbered Allied lancers were easily dispatched, the entirety of the Imperial cavalry took heavy fire and withdrew in disarray.  These heavy losses (15 figures!) pushed the Imperial army over 50% casualties, even though they had Allies on ropes (the allies were only a few figures removed from 50% themselves), with the Zouaves and Gurkas understrength and the Bulgarians under heavy fire from Imperial artillery. 

...which exposes them to heavy artillery fire, sending them into retreat.

Imperial Scots Light Infantry has secured part of Isted.

The over-aggressive charge of the Imperial cavalry thus cost the Empire the win. Another turn of steady rifle and artillery fire would have probably won the town for the Imperial red.

End game.

Streets of Isted.

The hybrid/mutant Charge!/Men Who Would Be Kings ("Charge Kings"?) rules were fast and refreshing with their absence of dice rolls for activations and morale.  Players made their moves and had to live with the consequences, as seen in the foolhardy committal of the Imperial cavalry, which had previously been doing a fine job of simply being a threat to the Allied left.  They need a little codification, as they are current simply the two rule books and one page of notes. The slowed rate of casualties from shooting (as set forth in prior games using TMWWBK) continues to give the correct feel of a slow trickle of casualties, unless several units are able to concentrate fire in which case an also correct feel is achieved.  Cavalry is extremely weak against rifle fire, which is correct from a late 19th century perspective, but makes their presence on the table a little hard to justify.