G Troop is in trouble - A Plains War Skirmish

Delighted to report that the games are now back on in the shed full time and to make up for lost time I am now hosting a couple of nights a week. 

The latest report to hit the blog see a return to the Plains Wars and a simple scenario called G troop is in trouble. Once again we used the rules laid out in the Black Powder v2 scenario.

Scenario Background

Whilst on route from Deadwood to Fort Wayne  G troop of the 7^th Cavalry  was ambushed by a large party of renegade Indians. Unfortunately the wagon train was carrying the Fort Wayne's paychest and the Soldiers want their money. Fortunately a rider in the column escaped and informed the Fort Commander where the ambush took place. It is understood that the column’s horses have been driven away and that the remnants of G troop are facing a massacre unless help arrives.

Captains Kestrel and Captain Tennents have been tasked with retrieving the paychest and rescuing what remains of G troop. Both Captains decided that in order to ensure success they would approach the Wagons from different directions.

Dismounted unit

US Cavalry Command - Mark K & Stuart

Each troop has its own officer/nco and has a command rating of 8.

The troops will enter the table on a successful command roll – one troop may come on with a roll from the captain.

Each of the three troops is commanded by one of the Captains – these have a command rating of 9.

The Captains can perform one of following

1.     -   Brigade Order: Command any/all troops provided they are within 9” of figure

2.      - Take command of one unit as a follow me order

3.      -  Offer a reroll to the troop commander provided they are within 9” of troop

4.       - Join troop and rally

In addition a Captain may move 18” per turn (unless with a follow me order)

 

Captain Kestrel is an aggressive individual prone to making bold yet sometimes foolhardy decisions in the fields. He is not the best Leader and as such any rally orders are commanded with a -1 penalty. However he commands a degree of loyalty from most of the men and as such any follow me order is done with a +1 modifier. Captain Kestrel adds +1 die to the HTH in attacks.

Captain Tennents is a more sensible chap with a knack of being able to delegate orders efficiently and succinctly to his men. As such any Brigade Order receives a +1 modifier. Captain Tennents adds +1 to HTH rolls.

The US Cavalry will win the game if they can

a)     -  Recover the paychest (takes one turn to load onto a horse)

b)      - Rescue any members of G troop

c)       - Drive off the Indians - over half of all the Indian units that appeared on the table during the game (for example if the Indians had a total of 9 units during the game the US cavalry would win if 5 were destroyed)

 

 

The Natives  - John and myself

The Natives are commanded by two Brothers – Lone Rabbit and Walking with Snails. These Chiefs are out to inflict as much damage on the Blue Jackets as they can. They are not particularly interested in the pay chest.

Each Warband is activated by the random table unless issued a follow me order by the chiefs (comm rating 8). The Chieftain adds +2 to the HTH roll. Should the Indian unit with an attached unit be routed it is assumed the Chieftain dies. No replacement Chieftains are available and the loss of a chieftain counts as one unit to the break of the Indian forces.

The Indians will win if

a)      They wipe out G troop and ….

b)      They Shake/force 4 of the other troops off the table.

At the start of the game the two Chiefs have two foot Warbands each and two mounted Warbands. Two of the foot Warbands will be within 9” of the wagons in light cover.

The other two Warbands can be placed anywhere on the table but must be at least 24” from the wagons. The Mounted Warbands will be positioned along the edge of the table.

Each turn the Indian generals must roll a d6 on a 6 a further mounted Warband will appear. Should they fail to receive one that turn a +1 modifier (cumulative) is added each turn until the Warband appears

A maximum of 14 Warbands can be used by the natives. Should they all come on the US Cavalry will need to rout/shake 8 warbands.

The Battle

Within a turn both Cavalry commands were on the table pushing towards G troop.

G Troop was held up behind their wagons against a number of Indian warbands

As the Cavalry tropps advanced passed the rocky outcrops Natives opened fire on the columns

Swiftly one troop dismounted and poured carbine fire into the outcrops driving back the locals.

However damage had been done with the lead troop now carrying casualties

A brave warband charged the barricades - driven back by determined resistance

More cavalry troops rushed to the sound of G troops trumpeter

Over on the far left two troops were pinned down and soon routed by mounted warbands

Falling into disorder the Cavalry minus their mounts awaited their fate.

More Indian warbands sallied forth on to the table

Indians in the rocky outcrops continued to harass the approaching blue jackets

More warbands joined the fray and charged the lead patrols

 

The Cavalry troops were starting to suffer they were becoming isolated from friends and their foes were growing in confidence 

One patrol could now see the beleagured G troop

A second patrol quickly took the gorge and it looked like G troop might survive

With a whoop the Indians massed their warbands and charged the redoubt quickly wiping out G troop and their rescuers

It was at this point wearealised 4 of the six troops were now shaken and with G troop overwhelmed the remnants of the cavalry force had to retire - a victory for the Natives.

Great fun - it played swiftly and the random mechanic for movement of the natives works a treat...

more soon