Skirmish battle report (Long Rifle, Two Hour Wargames)
The morning mist still clung to the trees as a British patrol pushed cautiously through the wilderness. Five red-coated soldiers, led by a Highland scout attached to the column, advanced into a narrow woodland clearing, unaware that a band of Iroquois warriors had been shadowing their march for some time. The forest suddenly came alive.
Hidden among the trees, six Iroquois warriors revealed themselves almost at once, spreading out across the treeline to envelop the patrol. Realizing they had stumbled into an ambush, the British quickly formed a rough firing line while the Highlander moved forward to direct the defense. [game mechanic – the Iroquois failed a "Concealed" move and were spotted at range).
First Clash
The warriors seized the initiative.
Moving swiftly from cover to cover, the Iroquois closed the distance before the British could properly react. Muskets and trade guns erupted almost simultaneously, accompanied by piercing war cries.
The first volley was devastating.
Two British soldiers fell almost immediately, one collapsing where he stood while another spun to the ground mortally wounded. The disciplined redcoats answered with controlled musket fire. Their return volley found its mark, dropping two warriors before they could disappear back into the trees.
Smoke drifted through the clearing as both sides paused only long enough to reload and judge their enemy.
[THW rules use a reaction system, so when figures act their enemies will react. In this case the British soldiers' reaction was to return fire immediately based on the Shooting result -- they didn't have to wait for "their turn" to do something).
Losses after the firefight
British: 2 casualties.
Iroquois: 2 casualties.
The Charge
Once again the Iroquois gained the initiative!
Rather than continue exchanging fire against disciplined muskets, the remaining warriors launched themselves forward with tomahawks and war clubs raised high. Their sudden charge gave the British little time to recover from the first exchange.
The Highland scout met the attack head-on while the surviving redcoats fought desperately with bayonets.
The melee was savage and confused. Steel clashed against tomahawks as warriors darted between the soldiers. One more British regular was cut down during the furious hand-to-hand struggle, but the discipline of the remaining soldiers slowly began to tell.
Bayonets drove home, and one warrior after another fell beneath the determined British defense.
Last Warrior Standing
Within moments the clearing fell silent. Only a single Iroquois warrior remained standing. Seeing his companions lying dead around him and faced with several determined redcoats still able to fight, he melted back into the forest before he too could be surrounded.
The battered British patrol held the field, but at considerable cost. Three of their five men lay dead or dying, leaving only the Highland scout and two exhausted regulars to continue their mission.
Result: British Tactical Victory. Although the patrol suffered heavy casualties, they survived the ambush and ultimately drove off the attacking warriors.
Casualties
British: 3 killed or incapacitated, 3 regulars and the Highland scout remained standing.
Iroquois: 5 warriors killed or incapacitated, 1 warrior escaped into the forest.
The engagement perfectly demonstrated the brutal nature of frontier warfare. The Iroquois exploited surprise and aggression to seize the initiative twice in succession, inflicting losses before closing for the kill. Yet British discipline under pressure proved decisive, allowing the small patrol to withstand the charge and emerge victorious from a fight that could easily have gone the other way.
From a rules stand point, the system resolves quickly and decisively. Melee can continue for several die rolls for tied results, but all combat is completed to a result in the same turn -- no figures left locked into combat into the next turn. The system also has a built-in campaign system so lost figures may return or be replaced by new ones, experience gained and new Missions assigned.
paints brigs for the British fleet.
