It's my birthday this weekend. I'm old enough to know better, wise enough to give advice (and have it shunned whilst walking away with a knowing smile), yet humble enough to have my army destroyed in Field of Battle, by a complete newbie...and still congratulate my cackling opponent.
ACW action with FoB ...follows after the b.s. interlude
What's this? Well, my daughter said to me: 'it's your birthday. How about a game of Battlelore (TM). We haven't played it in years?'
Yes - this one. First ed; the original and the best (2006) ...and yes it had lots of Scottish dwarves.
Truth be told, we last played Battlelore (TM) when she was 11, and she had started at age 7. The same young lady is now 24; and no, I don't know where that time went either!!!
'AHA!' I said. 'Well, you should try 'Field of Battle' instead,' I barked. She picked 'American Civil War' purely at random.
Of course, she could not react with the standard 'wait...isn't that something to do with Piquet, which means I will automatically shun it ?' No (though that would have scared the hell out of me if she had). So, she agreed!
Yay!
...and not 'Battlelore' - the Finnish metal band, with far too many members, inspired by Tolkien's fiction, though they will of course get a suitably weird track at the end now just to tie up the loose plot ends...
I had set up the game, and briefly went through the 'opposed rolling' concepts of the game. Though of course, inevitably, there would be some cries of 'you never told me that bit' later.
It would be a Confederate assault on Union positions, with a view to taking the crossroads. Sides were roughly equivalent in size, though the Rebs had significantly better Commanders and a better deck. Let's see how much difference that would make.
She made good use of the fence line, and movement cards, forming a decent defensive position, which the Confederate tide would get smashed upon.
Rebs did lack decent guns, and had some horrible rolls when they could get a shot in.
Early on, my opponent decided that her D10s were simply not good enough, and thus accessed dice from the 'horde bag' at random for the rest of the game. I suspect some D10s are for the chop later.
The Rebs charged on their right, using artillery to shoot into the position - but the ensuing melees did not go their way.
Reb centre and left, showing fierce fighting on the flank, with movement toward the objective in centre.
...quickly getting to grips with the vagaries of the movement cards, she reinforced the centre
Jonny & Billy meet in the centre. Fighting here was viscious
...with Rebs being pushed back from sustained Union fire, and losing badly in the melees
Rebs go in again
...but they have taken a lot of hits against their army morale
'One more time boys! One more time!'
The Union line is an incredibly tough nut to crack, and eventually, the Rebs survive one army morale card, but sustaining the attack simply falls apart, as their morale runs out.
The Union never really needed their flank cavalry unit...but worth a pic
Despite my opponent's insistence that this was a game of 'luck not skill', and my protestations that she had used good manoeuvre and defensive principles to gain the upper hand and win, and therefore the point was moot :) ...it was a great birthday bash.
Another game of this famous Irish battle, which we first played over four years ago with Field of Battle. Same rules this time - though with 3rd edition, and a few historical tweaks.
Again. FoB gives a fantastic game and result. As army morale melts down, you are challenged to make command rolls, and manage resources, in order to hold things together.
As things started to go awry in this game, two army morale rolls in succession were very tense moments. Both sides were very close to collapse - just as in the real battle.
It's also worth repeating some of the accounts which detail events in battle, which I used in the last post - which are nicely replicated in the rules:
These quotes are from Hates-McCoy's superlative account. 'The boggy ground...proved a serious obstacle ...and forced him to confine operations to the two wings'.
(Any troops in the bog were 'out of command' - down dice for firing, down movement etc - a real pain in the allied centre - but they could still launch desperate melees when they reached the Jacobite lines.)
'They had not been under unified control; indeed, some of their commanders had exceeded orders.'
We saw this in detail when some commanders rolled better on move cards,
and surged forward, leaving flanks open, rather than conserving linear
mass.
'Sheldon and Luttrell, should have intervened to the full extent of their ability to hold Mackay back.'
In the previous game they held back - inactive for the most part, though here they were fully engaged when there were supply problems at Aughrim Castle. Sheldon would be killed in this version - so he wasn't holding back. '(General) St Ruth was decapitated by a cannonball.' Any brigade commanders whose troops are in contact, or who rally, are
subject to risk under the Army Morale card. a 1 in 12 in rules as
written. Sheldon was shot from the saddle today on the Jacobite left - and it had a disastrous effect.
Early moves across the ford on the Allied left
A huge bog to cross in the centre. This will grant all the disadvantages of units being 'out of command', with ledership rolls required upon exiting, though with the ability to melee out into solid ground (at a disadvantage - really tough).
slow movement in the centre
Ginkel watches his troops cross, committing most of his reserves early.
There seems to be an ammunition supply problem on the Jacobite left - 'right...who's been paid off by Billy's boys?'
Crossing the ford - the 'bloody hollow' to the left of pic.
Patrick Sarsfield moves the Jacobite reserve in early - clearly less than concerned this time, about the path of retreat (that was the excuse anyway).
The causeway glutted by Allied cavalry - though there is only sporadic fire from the ruined castle - have they run out of ammo I wonder???
Slow movement in the centre
Cavalry battles on the Jacobite right would last all day
View from the Jacobite infantry positions in the centre
Sheldon is shot by a stray ball - this would actually cause horrendous command problems on the Jacobite left, and is largely responsible (combined with some fine Allied cavalry tactics *ahem*) for an Allied incursion on the flank.
Danish troops are first to engage along the fence-line and enclosures - defended by Jacobite skirmishers and guards.
The Jacobite left is now under extreme pressure, with Allied dragoons dismounting to take on Jacobite skirmishers.
On the Allied left - a massive cavalry action, slow movement in centre, and pressure on the Allied right against a failing Jacobite defensive position.
Savage fighting at the wall.
'Pikes front!'
'Here they come!'
Dragoon action at the ruined castle
Dorrington takes personal responsibility in trying to hold the line - moving troops off the hill.
Enniskilleners assault the guns
Enniskillen Horse engages Galmoy's horse ...these boys have previous with each other... a long story.
Red on Red - as English and Irish troops engage in ferocious hand to hand combat at the wall
Danish charges get into the enclosures - casualties are horrific
Dutch & Danes are slowly forcing the Jacobite right - there are none of Pat's cavalry left
.
The Jacobite right will cave - just too many fresh troops on the way in.
Even the centre is begining to falter now.
The Jacobite left is failing - under severe pressure now.
One Army Morale test is passed..a second, not so much. Having said that, the Allies were also only a few cards from testing. So close...so very close.
A great game. I still think these rules give the finest battle, an eminently sensible result, and fantastic gameplay. It plays like a historical account. What else is required?
