THE HONORED DEAD of THE SNOW DAY BATTLE

 A very short post with an additional bit of eye candy. In a rather bloody battle, the Empire lost 63% of their forces compared to the Allies 25%. 

Empire Loses. An Artillery Battery, Lord Colliesworth's Battalion, Strongpaw's Battalion, Lord Basset's Battalion and Whine's Battalion. The Poor Whiner's Have Been Broken in Every Battle This Campain. 

For the Allies of Von Mutts and UPC each Lost a Converged Grenadier Group. While Far Fewer it is the Elite of Their Respective Armies. 

The Green River. It Looks Less Teal in Real Life. 

A project I have been working towards for a long time is to convert my rivers from blue to green. I have finished the first three feet, so only another fifteen feet to go. One other goal of this is to create sections of fords. These will act for the most part like bridges, except that shallow fords can be crossed by cavalry and infantry while maintaining their present formation. Deep fords cannot be used by artillery, and require cavalry and infantry to form column, but otherwise do not slow movement. 

SNOW DAY

 Up until this Wednesday the weather has been unseasonably mild. That changed as winter got back to normal and dropped a bit of snow and ice, enough that my normal player turnout went from twelve down to two. Needless to say, the regularly scheduled game was a no go. Instead, we slimmed things way down to only eight units per side in a simple meeting engagement. The good news was I got to play in my game for the first time in over four years. 

The Armies Fanout into Battlelines with the Allies of Von Mutts and UPC on the Left, Empire on the Right. Objectives were the Road Intersection and the Hill. That's What Those Fire Hydrants Indicate. 

Both Sides Press Forward in Almost Identical Formations. All the Allies Generals are Dashing, while Only Half of the Empire Are. The Odd One Out is General Howlden Who is Dithering, which is Why the Empire's C-in-C is Hovering Nearby. 

Both The UPC and Von Mutts Gain Double Moves and Slips Their Grenadiers to the Far Flank. At This Point Casualties are Light and About Even on Both Armies. 

To Keep from Being Outflank the Empire Grenadiers Form Column and March to the Side. To Buy Time the Nearside Empire Line Slowly Pulls Back. On the Other Flank the Von Mutts are Using Their Artillery to Great Effect. 

When the Lightning Struck it Struck Hard. In Combined Volleys by UPC and Von Mutts Lines and Grenadiers They Each Rout an Empire Line Unit from Both Commands. 

The Onion City Guard is Now Completely Separated from the Rest of General Howlden's Forces and Things are Looking Grim. On the Other Flank the Empire While Down is Better Concentrated.  

Howlden's Forces Continue to Give Ground and Try to Get into Support of One Another. On the Opposite Side of the Battlefield the Von Mutts Begin Turn the Empire's Flank. 

While Down, the Empire Still has Teeth. The Onion City Guard Fire an Extremely Accurate Volley, Dropping Near Half of the UPC's Grenadier and so Unnerving them that Their Return Volley Fails to Cause Damage. On the Opposite Flank Not Waiting to be Simply Shot Down the Empire Launches a Desperate Charge Against the Von Mutts. Sadly, This Sees Their Second Line Unit Rout from the Defensive Fire, but the Grenadiers Crash Home Against the Von Mutts Grenadiers and Drive them From the Field. 

Things are Now on the Brink of Disaster for the Empire. UPC Combined Artillery and Small Arms Fire have Taken a Severe Toll of the Last Empire Line Unit, while the Grenadier and Guards of Each Side are Now Both Struggling to Remain on the Field. On the Opposite Flank the Empire's Grenadiers Charge Has Taken Them Out of Harm's Way for the Time. 

The End Came Quickly as the UPS Fire Routed the Last Empire Line Unit and Their Supporting Artillery, thus Breaking the Empire's Army. The Victory was not Without Cost as Both the UPC and Von Mutts had Lost Their Grenadiers. 

That was a fast but fun little game. The whole battle was done in under an hour and a half. The Allies really got the drop on the Empire with a lot of double moves that lead to some well-timed and devastating shooting. 

So, how did I do? I was the hapless Dithering Empire player. I managed not to get into much trouble, but in the end, I lost both my line units and a battery of artillery. The one serious bad decision I felt I made was sending off the C-in-C to help the right flank when I should have used him to shore up my Line unit in the center. The Allies deserve do credit for being very well handled. 

Being in the cockpit so to speak, taught me somethings I had only seen from the sidelines. The change to the rules we now use where a unit's damage takes effect before it can do anything to fix it is very lethal. A little artillery prework, and an opportunity to use combined line fire can rout a near intact Line unit in a turn. I'm not sure this is what I want but will leave this up to the group to decide when we move forward in the Fall Campaign Season. The chance to combine fire is also too high under general conditions. I wanted this rule to help artillery and infantry to combine to stop assaults and instead it is being used to great effect to win firefights. Reducing the opportunity of infantry alone being able to successfully fire on a single target is likely the solution I want. This will create a higher risk and reward decision that I am always in favor of. 

Now, if the weather will not work against it the next battle in the Sugar Wars will be at the end of February. 

THE FANCY RIVER BRIDGES - EYE CANDY

 One of my regular player John B., who has a much better eye and talent for photography took these at our last game. This is the first posts to show off his work. 

Thanks John

The Game about mid battle

Empire forces Southern flank early in the battle. 

The backs of the Allies. UPC light infantry ahead of the Von Mutts face the Empire forces across the river.

The Southern flank bridge. 

UPC cavalry having crossed the Northern bridge. 

Empire dragoons poised on the hill ready to attack. 

The opposing cavalry in action. The UPC on the left, Empire to the right. 

The orange markers on the dead trooper tokens show the number of hits inflicted. 

The Empire's General Arfer's Brigade. Yowler's Battalion of the Line, the Onion City Grenadiers in their red miters, and the Converged Empire Grenadiers on the right, all supported by a field battery. 

The face of the enemy. UPC's Pack's Commonwealth Guard battle against the Empire's Lord Basset's Battalion of the Line. 

The face of the enemy. Empire's Lord Colliesworth's Battalion of the Line Vs the Von Mutts Converged Grenadier. 

The massed array of the UPC. In the foreground is General Woof's Brigade with the Husky's Battalion nearest and the Houndstooth's Battalion with the red cuffs, with the Pack's Commonwealth Guard top right. Adjacent to them is General Growling's Brigade with the Snarler's Battalion in white cuffs, Wolfingham's Battalion in grey cuffs and the UPC Converged Grenadier in the lead. 

The Northern flank of the battle near games end.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these pictures, and if so, will leave a comment.

THE HONORED DEAD of THE BATTLE OF THE FANCY RIVER BRIDGES

 This week's rolls include an unusual honor, the capture of the Empire's Sharpeyes Rifles Light Infantry by the UPC Whinestein Battalion. This is especially an odd moment as it also included the wounding of General Hunter by the Sharpeyes. 

The Empire's Line Infantry Loses were From Left to Right Strongpaw's Battalion, Lord Basset's Battalion North County Militia, Whine's Battalion, and Sir Sniffsalot's Battalion. 

The Other Losses are Beggin's Regiment of Dragoons, the Captured Sharpeye's Rifles, and Pawsworth's Regiment of Dragoon. 

The UPC Line Infantry Loses from Left to Right were Stalker's Battalion, Snarler's Battalion, and Whinestein Battalion. The Last were the Forces that Captured the Sharpeye's Rifles. 

The Remaining Allies Loses were the UPC's Woofington's Regiment of Cuirassiers, and Von Mutts "Mutts the Whelp's" Own Line. 

General Hunter

At day's end there were a number of other forces near to collapse. A very close and bloody battle.  

GOING SOMEWHERE FANCY

 The Allies of the Kingdom, Von Mutts and United Packs Commonwealth (UPC) having been seriously delayed at the pass outside of Halfway Tree Town were now confronted by the reinforced Empire Army. The clash took place along the Fancy River where two key bridges crossed. Control of these would allow or deny accesses to the Capital of Saint Bernads. This was a battle the Allies had to win, or they would not have time to take the island before additional Empire reinforcements would arrive. 

Both Sides Quickly Arrive at the River. On the South Flank the Empire's Grenadiers Storm Across the Bridge. 

To the North the UPC Cavalry Rapidly Cross the Bridge Unleashing a Massed Charge Against the Empire's Horse. 

Back in the South the Empire has Taken the River Line and is Pushing Across Against the Slowly Advancing Von Mutts. 

The UPC Cavalry Quickly Defeats the Empire Opponents by Pressing Their C-in-C into Rallying Their Dragoons. Behind Them can be Seen the Empires Cuirassier Trying to Stem the Tide of the Allies Advance. 

Supporting the Cavalry Advance are Waves of UPC Infantry Moving up to Cross the Fancy River in Force. 

To the South the Empire has now Crossed the Fancy and is Pressing Back the Von Mutts. All is not Going Their way as the Grenadiers have been Forced Back at the Bridge. 

In the Center both Sides Light Infantry Clash Looking for any Advantage along with Their Supporting Line Troops Pressing Forward to the River's Edge. 

As the Battle Rages the Von Mutts are Beginning to Halt the Empire's Progress, but at a High Cost. Undaunted by This the Empire Continues to Feed Troops Forward. Both Sides are Suffering High Casualties. 

The UPC's Dragoons Having Driven Off the Empire's Dragoons are Looking to Crush the Remaining Infantry in the North. Their Infantry has Captured the Bridges and is Pressing Over the Fancy all Around. The Empire's Hopes are now With Their Cuirassier Who Have Defeated Their UPC Opposites. 

With the UPC's Infantry in Front of Them and the Dragoons Behind, the Empire's Troops are Forced to Fight Back-to-Back. The Empire Cuirassier Trying Everything They can to Keep Their Friends from Annihilation.   

In the North the UPC Juggernaut Looks Unstoppable.  

While in the South the Empire has Firm Control Over the Bridge. 

As the sun sets the battle slowly came to an end with both sides controlling one of the two bridges. During the night the Allies broke camp and returned back to their ships before the Empire grew strong enough to defeat them in detail. 

The ebb and flow of this battle on each flank was thrilling. In the cavalry battle the UPCs willingness to commit its Generals, including their C-in-C, changed a close-run fight into a decisive win. Their ability to reorganize their disrupted units kept them strong, while the Empire cavalry commander never seemed to be able to keep up. 

One of the wildest incidents of all the campaigns occurred when the Empire's Sharpeyes Light Infantry was captured by the UPC's Whinestein's Battalion of the Line under the command of General Hunter, yet in this moment of glory while attempting too personally capture the unit the General was cut down by a well-aimed rifle shot. Gerneral Hunter holds the distinction of being the most wounded Officer of the entire war. Over the years his Brigade also has earned the highest honors for its battlefield heroics. 

General Hunter on his current horse Bucephalus.

Next games are the battles for Saint Kats.