BATTLE OF BATAVIA HEIGHTS

 

Sadly, records of the Battle of Batavia Heights have been lost to history. Chroniclers are unsure of exactly how the battle played out, but what is known is that the UPC and Von Mutts Allies defeated the Empire army. 

Instead, here is a bit of eye candy of the UPC garrison at Road Town on the Sugar Islands.

 

Overview of Road Town.

Fort Echo on the Outskirts of Town. 

Houndstooth's Regiment Exiting the Fort.

The Garrison Marching Through Town. 

More of these buildings will be seen on a completely different front in the upcoming Quar Wars - Battles for the Eternal City. 

Maer Braech Crusader Squads

Coftyrans Crymuster 

ENCOUNTER AT MARENGO

 

The third battle of the Fall '25 Campaign sees the UPC in a well-fortified position seeking to halt the Empire's advance. The key to this battle was control over the crossroads and the high ground.  Whichever army could achieve at least two of these three goals would be the victor.  

Holding the Central Gap are the Stoic Von Mutts. Arrayed Against Them are the Empire's Well Disciplined County Troops.  

The UPC Forces Holding the Southern Gap, While Beyond can be Seen the Formal Defenses of the Crossroads. 

The UPC's Southern Hill Defenders and Behind the Crossroads.

The Head of the Empire's Elite Column Flanking the Northern End of the Allies Line.

All Across the Front Empire Forces Begin Their Attack.

The First Assault by the Empire Against the Southern Hill. 

The Slow Advance of the Flanking Force.

Empire Forces Pressing in Against the Gaps. The Von Mutts Having Needed to Pull Back to Faceoff Against the Oncoming Empire Flanking Forces.

The First Empire Hill Assault has Been Beaten Back. The Empire Southern Flank Begins Repositioning Its Artillery for the Next Assault. 

The Empire's Flanking Forces Continue to Mass but Unable to Build Their Attack Momentum. 

On the Southern Flank of the Key Hill the Empire's Assault is Making Progress.

Meanwhile in the Central Gap the Empire is Being Effectively Held Back.  

The Extremely Slow Progress of the Flanking Attack has Still not Engaged. 

Stymied by Stubborn Resistance by the Light Infantry in the Woods and a Lack of Addition Reinforcements and Artillery Support the Empire's Hill Assault is Checked.  

At the Northern End Little Progress has Been Made with Most of the Empire Forces Only Finally Getting into Range. 

Out Numbered and Battered the Southern Assault has no Choice but to Withdrawal. With This Loss the Empire Chooses to Break off to Lick Its Wounds.

An unexpectedly one-sided battle. In the first to battles the Empire had well thought-out plans, but here nothing seemed to work. Their flanking force formed into line well out of range and could not gain and momentum from its officer throughout the battle. On the Southern end indecision of where to position the artillery effectively removed it from the fight.  All across the lines the Empire seemed hesitant to advance, which simply allowed the Allies to dictate where and how the battle was fought. This victory gives time for the Allies to rest and organize themselves for the next battle.  

FALL CAMPAIGN '25 - FIRST ENCOUNTER: THE BATTLE OF NILES

 

A new campaign season has opened and in the first battle outside of the village of Niles the Wolfenstein Empire has dug in along a line of hills to halt the advance of the Allied United Packs Commonwealth (UPC) and Von Mutts advances towards Onion City, the Empire's Western Jewel. To get past this formidable obstacle the Allies need to reduce or capture the redoubts on Fairview Heights in the south and Howard Hill in the north. Additionally they need to cut the central road that is the Empire's main line of communication. 

The Plain River is a serious obstacle. While fordable along its length, its muddy bottom and high slopes will disrupt any unit crossing. The conditions mean that artillery will not be able to cross anywhere safely except the bridges. Using the fords will be a serious hazard. The Steepness of Fairview Heights is itself a major obstacle require great effort by any force trying to climb them.  

The Redoubts on the Fairview Heights Garrisoned by the Empire Infantry and Artillery. Across the Plains River are the Massed Ranks of UPC Forces.  

The Empire Defenses on Howard Hill. The UPC Line Advancing to Put Them Under Fire, While the Von Mutts Maneuver to Turn the Flank. 

UPC Cavalry Face Off Against Their Empire Opposite. Both Cavalry Arms are Maneuvering but Unwilling to Cross the Plains River. On the Right Can be Seen the Empire's Elaborate Defenses on Fairview Ridge.    

Advancing Across the Plains River UPC Massed Columns are Meet by a Barrage of Artillery Fire . 

In the North on Howard Hill the Empire's Defense in Depth can be Seen as the First Wave of UPC Troops Advance to Give Close Fire to the Defenders. 

In the Center the Massed Ranks of Cavalry on both sides Await for the Other to be the First to Cross the Plains River. The UPC Brings up Their Guns to Try and Coax the Empire Cavalry to Come to Them. 

The Empire's 2nd Brigade Begins to Shift to Act as Support to the Main Fairview Redoubt When it Becomes Obvious that the UPC is Bringing the Full Weight of Both the Guard Brigade and the 2nd Brigade Against the Works.   

A View From the North of the Battlefield Near Noon. The Assault on Howard Hill and the Von Mutts Advance to Turn the Flank can be Clearly Seen. 

The Battlefield as Seen from the South where the Fight for Fairview Heights Continues in Full Force. Again the UPC is Attempting to Flank the Position, but is Being Delayed by the Empire's Light Infantry.   

Here at Howard Hill the First Line of the UPC has Been Repulsed. In the Background the Cavalry Begins to Stir Looking for Some Opening to Exploit. 

Meanwhile the Empire Cavalry Continues to Hold Their Position not Yet Sure Which Direction to Support. 

At Howard Hill the Von Mutt's Launch a Successful Flanking Assault that Forces the Empire's Troops to the Rear. With Their Militia and Line in Place the Empire Prepares a Counter-attack. The Von Mutt's Succeses is Nullified Some by the UPC Frontal Assault Being Shot Down as They Advance.

In the Center Empire Cavalry Begins to Maneuver to Each Flank to Strengthen the Defenses.  

The UPC Assault on the Fairview Redoubt Suffers a Major Setback when the 2nd Brigade's Lead Battalion is Repulsed and Causes Cascading Morale Failure Leaving Only Their Grenadiers to Continue. 

Over on Howard Hill the UPC Line Presses Forward to Dislodge the Last of the Empire Defenders from the Redoubt. The Von Mutts Press Forward to Prevent the Empire Reinforcements From Interfering.   

With a Desperate Surge the UPC Grenadier Brigade Presses Forward in a Final Assault to Capture the Fairview Redoubt. Meanwhile the Empire Brings Forward Reinforcements to Relive the Troops Who have Been Fighting so Valiantly all Day.  

At Howard Hill the Empire Line Routs the First of the Von Mutts. While The Empire are Forced to Retreat Themselves They have Opened the Way for Their Militia to Strengthen the Troops Still Holding the Redoubt. 

While the UPC Grenadiers have Forced Out Half of the Fairview Heights Defenders the Empire still Controls the Rest of the Redoubt. With Their General Carried Off the Field Wounded the UPC is Unable to Rally Thier Forces Before the Empire Troops can Advance Back in to Seal Up the Weakened Defenses.  

With their forces exhausted the Allies need to fallback having failed to gain a foothold in either redoubt. While the cavalry of both sides never came to grips with each other the UPC's horse are in a fit state to prevent any serious pursuit of their infantry. With their forces broken the Allies offensive is at a end. The only question now is where will the Empire strike back?  

THE BATTLE OF GLENDALE HEIGHTS

 After a long hiatus we finally got back to playing Dog Wars. This is an independent battle, unrelated to a campaign, so I went with the main idea of getting as many of the figures on the table as I could. The Empire forces were located on a dominate hill and while outnumbered I expected them to have an edge from both being able to stand and deliver fire and get bonuses in Close Combat from the elevated position. The other advantage they have is the United Packs Commonwealth (UPC) needed to complete their victory conditions, while the Empire needed only to prevent this. 

The UPC's Right Flank Advancing Against the Thin White Line of the Empire. Both the Light and Line Infantry of the UPC are Already Suffering Casualties. 

The Start of the Grand Cavalry Melee. The UPC on the Right Charge Across the Carol Steam and are Meet by Their Opposite Number. The Flanking Infantry is Caught in a Hard Place Being Unable to Advance or Bring on Additions Units.

The Empire's Left Flank Under Heavy Pressure. Outnumbered Here Nearly Two-to-One They are Hard Pressed to Hold. This was Exaggerated by the GM's Omission of Bringing Forward the Guard that Should Already be in Place. The UPC's Incredibly Telling Fire was Rapidly Reducing Their Foe. 

The Ongoing Cavalry Melee. Despite Near Parady the Empire Kept Losing by the Narrowness of Margins to the UPC. Despite More Empire Cavalry Arriving all the Time They Could Not Hold the UPC Horse Back. General Hunter's Flanking Force can be Seen Entering. 

While the Empire's Center is Still Holding the Writing is on the Wall, with Nearly the Entire Empire Left Flank Having Been Driven Off. 

On the Empire Right Their Cavalry is Being Steadily Driven Back. The Empire was Losing Squadrons Faster than the New Ones Could Take Their Place. 

With both flanks having collapsed the Empire center was left with nothing else to do than attempting to save itself. Despite the numbers this was one of the quickest battles to date.  What I expected to be a long shoving match turned into a rout for the Empire. Despite the one-sidedness of the battle little fault could be seen of the tactics. 

The forces will be at it again with the Fall Campaign Season starting soon.