For the second game at the club I decided on a reversal in roles. This time the British and their Iroquios allies would be raiding into French territory. Their objective was a retaliatory strike and burn the village. The French were trying to prevent this. For this game we had hidden movement and event cards, which seemed to work quite well, though at the beginning of the game no figures were on the table as nobody could see each other.
The forces involved included for the British
1 Officer
2 units of Regulars, 8 figures each
1 unit of Rangers, 7 figures with the Sharpshooter trait.
The Iroquois
1 Sachem
3 units of Indians with muskets, 2 @ 6 figures and 1 @ 5 figures
1 unit of Indians with bows, 5 figures
The French
1 Officer with the light infantry trait
1 unit of regulars, 8 figures
2 units of Compagne de la marine , 8 figures each
The Canadians
1 Officer
1 unit of Courer de bois, 6 figures
3 units of militia, 2 @ 6 figures and 1 @ 7 figures.
The French had to deploy the regulars in the fort and 1 unit of militia in the village.
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| All quiet in the village |
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| The British attack hidden from view |
The British decided to attack down the river in canoes, disembarking under the cover of the wood to try and avoid being spotted. The British took the north bank while the Iroquois went south to the village. For the first turn the French sat, hoping the British would reveal themselves.
Eventually the lead elements of the Iroquois advanced into an ambush, a small unit of Canadian militia sprung their trap but fired high and wide, more damage to wildlife than Indians. The return fire from the Iroquois was deadly cutting down 3 of their opponents forcing the rest into flight back to the village. With a hoop and a holla the Iroquois pursued cutting down the rest. The villages at this point went into panic, fleeing from the blood thirsty Iroquois.
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| Canadian Militia spring their ambush |
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| Iroquois sweep through the woods |
At the sound of gunfire the French Officer dispatched a unit of Marines to investigate. The Rangers, meanwhile had moved up through the woods into a position to cover and moves from the fort. Their first volley cut down 1 of the Marines. A fateful event befell the Marines, they had forgotten ammunition and were given a black powder marker, all they could do was re load. The Rangers meanwhile gave them another volley from the woods, cutting down 5 more. The 2 remaining marines promptly routed from the field.
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| Forward dear fellows |
The British Regulars eventually struggled through the woods to support the Rangers, between them they began to exchange fire with the fort, keeping the Remaining French troops pinned in.
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| Form a line chaps |
The Indians meanwhile were running wild in the village, cutting down the civilians and firing the buildings, this flushed a unit of militia out, who charged into the Iroquois, they got the worst of it and beat a hasty retreat from the village. Their fate though was sealed as more Iroquois moved up and they wee cut down to a man.
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| Fleeing Militia as the village starts to burn |
The remaining Canadians from the safety of the wooded hills began to fire on the enemy, inflicting casualties on the Iroquois as well as the British Regulars who strayed to close to the edge of the wood. At this point the game was over, with mounting casualties in the fort and the village aflame the British had achieved their objective.
Overall a very enjoyable game. The hidden movement worked well adding a suspense to the game. The French cracked first and the poor unit of marines paid for it. Ambushes if timed right were deadly. Unfortunately for the Canadian Militia a single unit got swarmed by the entire force of Iroquois. The event cards also add a little fun, though not if you were the marines to forget your ammo. Cannot wait for next weeks game.
