AWI Game at NBHW

So my second Friday back at the club, now with added face masks, saw a 28mm AWI game with a scenario cobbled together from a few sources.

The rebellious american forces had located a Hessian encampment and decided to attack with the element of surprise afforded by the foggy conditions with the aim to do as much damage as possible before reinforcements from a nearby British encampment could be brought to bear.

Looking through the Hessian encampment towards the crossroads. 

The officers returning to camp after a night in the local "establishment".

A Hessian jaeger picket at the crossroads would detect the advancing Americans on a successful dice roll and fire off a warning shot to alert the camp, failing that a shot would be fired as they were overrun.

Once alerted the German battalions could start to form up within the tent lines, taking two turns to go from disorganised to unformed to formed. The jaegers to the right of the road started from unformed due to their elite status. My artillery started and remained unlimbered and would not be visible to the Americans until they got closer.

My picket seemed to be suffering from an excess of sauerkraut and the rebels got in two turns of movement before they were spotted and a warning shot was fired to alert the camp.

My large line battalions roused from their tents and hastily fell in towards the edge of the camp nearest the village. The jaeger, being of higher quality, started to form a skirmish screen to the right of the camp. Unseen by the Americans my artillery started to manhandle their guns into position.

A messenger was also dispatched to the British camp in case the warning shots had been muffled by the fog.

Taking advantage of their surprise appearance the colonials rapidly advanced to the edge of the camp, deploying their artillery at the crossroads, and started to poor fire into the reforming Hessian units, the centre unit of fusiliers suffering particularly from these guns.

My jaegers' accurate rifle fire soon started to take a toll on the approaching opposing rifles as did my artillery when in opened up on this flank.

Once fully formed my line battalions began trading musketry with the enemy and it was at this point that the British reinforcements began to arrive to my rear.

Musketry fire through the camp as the British start to arrive.

The american artillery was beginning to inflict serious casualties on my fusilier battalion, but they shook this off passing all morale tests. The jaeger were coming under increased pressure from greater number of assailants and so refused their left flank for a more defensible position, however together with the artillery they did force the opposing rifles to retreat.

With British troops now streaming up the roads to their rear the German line battalions decided enough was enough and so marched off, bayonets glistening in the weak early morning sunshine, towards the enemy to their front, trampling tents before them as they went.

More British arrive as the jaegers pull back to a more defensive position.

View from the mule train.

They advanced in splendid formation, preparing to charge the upstart militia and colonials. However at this point I goofed. Overestimating the distances I only charged in one battalion, believing in error that the other was out of range, a fatal mistake as it turned out.

Hessians advance through the tent lines.

Charge!

In with the bayonet.

Now came the time for the dice gods to desert me. A large battalion of trained German regulars vs militia and colonials should have been relatively easy but fighting disordered due to moving through the tents and some very poor dice rolls from me as opposed to the exceedingly good rolls from my opponent saw my battalion falling back in rout. As my other battalion was not in melee, due to my distance estimating error, they had to take a morale test for a friendly unit routing, and yes, promptly failed it too. The jaegers seeing this also rolled and got a retreat result, so not as bad.

View from the rebel artillery.

Last ditch action.

With the Hessians either in rout or retreat and the British beginning to form up in strength, the Americans decided their work was done and prepared to withdraw. As time was also getting on the game was called at this point as a win for the upstart colonials.

Another great AWI game at the club, just need to sort out better dice next time!

Tony.