French and Indian Wars: Raid on Mainwaring's Farm

Old Man Maniwaring sat warming his feet on the stove while his wife and daughter prepared their evening meal. Things were good here at the farm- the harvest was in, and they had plenty of food for everyone, and even had enough to sell some at market. He could by his daughter that dress she wanted after all. who would have thought that when the left Portsmouth five years ago he would be here now, head of a thriving little village surround by fertile fields. He was a man of distinction, respected as the village leader. 

He looked over to the rifle propped up by the doorway. It was, as always, loaded. Things hadn't always been as easy as they were now, and Old Man Mainwaring had learned the hard way that he had to be ready for anything. Of course he has heard rumours last week of Huron scouts in the valley, but they were a long way from the valley here; a peaceful little idle far from the busy towns and the dangers of the frontier. Old Man Mainwaring's reward for a lifetime of hard work.

Pulp Citizen and I got together for a game of Songs of Drums and Tomahawks last week. We used the Musket and Tomahawks mission generator and rolled Slaughter and Defend. Pulp Citizen took the role of the attackers-  A Huron Indian raiding party, and I took the part of English Settlers defending their womenfolk and homes from the natives. The Huron brief was simple- Kill or drive off all six on the villagers (the unarmed women figures) and the Settlers brief was to drive off the Huron.

English Settlers 

Old Man Maniwaring       Q3+ C3 Pistol, Leader

11 Settlers                         Q4+ C2 Rifles, Wavering

6 Villagers                        Q5+ C1 Unarmed

Huron Raiders

War Chief Tecumshee      Q3+ C3 Strong, Woodsman, Leader,                                                                Tomahawk, Scalper, Musket

8 Braves                            Q4+ C2 Strong, Musket, Woodmen,                                                                 Scalper

1 Young Brave                  Q4+,C2 Woodsmen, Musket, Scalper

Villagers muck out the stables, unaware of an imminent attack

Maniwaring's Farm, with the Indians advancing form the south and up the western River bank

Huron Warriors advancing Indian file though the  forests towards Mainwaring's Farm

The villagers spot the warriors and try to run for cover. One is shot in the back and killed as she runs away. 

The Huron warriors work their way up the river back to out flank the settlers. They provide difficult targets as they shoot, then disappear back into the forest to reload. 

The Settlers emerge from their homes to protect their farms and families

The Huron, fearful of the settlers long range hunting rifles, move in close, using the cover of the farms stone walls to advance safely. 

One brave dashes out form cover to attack a settler. A desperate battle ensues, until finally the settler is killed and the brave takes his scalp!

The Huron War chief takes aim and shoots Old Man Mainwaring from across the farmyard. 

With Old Man Mainwaring dead the remaining villagers and settlers flee

The Huron scalp the dead and dying English, loot their farms and leave it a burning ruin!

French and Indian Wars: An Engagement at Yellow Tree Farm- A Battle Report

Pulp Citizen and I got our first game of Muskets and Tomahawks in this week- it was a (just over) 200 point game, and featured British army vs French Militia. 

For the British Lieutenant George Whittington-Smyth led 9 Regulars, 6 Light infantry and 6 Mohawk scouts.

For the French-Canadians Achille Bonhomme, a well known fur trader, led 7 Couriers de Bois, 8 Canadian militia and 5 Huron warriors.

The British Army scout out the farm for signs of enemy activity

We rolled randomly for the mission, and both got scout- basically we had to scout out all four quarters of the table top, then get back of the board the way we came in, with ant least 1/3 of our models. It was also a night-fight, meaning spotting ranges were drastically reduced. 

Achille Bonhomme lead his men through the dense forest, avoiding the open ground as much as possible, while Wittington-Smyth moved his regulars confidently through the farmland, while his Indians and light infantry covered his flanks. 

British Light Infantry searching the farm buildings

The Indians got stuck in first, with the Mohawks running  into  the Huron in the depths of the forest. A protracted fire fight broke out between the two native forces, which was fairly inconclusive for a long time, as both tribes are adapt at using the forests as cover. 

The Canadian Militia advancing towards the light infantry

Upon hearing the crackle of musket fire from the woods, Bonhomme's Canadian militia worked their way forward to scout the farm buildings, where they ran into the British Light Infantry, who drove them back with some accurate musket fire. 

Lieutenant George Whittington-Smyth ordered his Line Infantry to advance 

Meanwhile Bonhomme and his Couriers de Bois took up position amongst the rocks to the south of the farm to ambush Whittington-Smyth the British Regulars. The exchange took place at quite long range, and given that the Frenchies were hiding in the rocks, and that it was very dark, the British Line Infantry had a hard time hitting anything, while the French hunters whittled down the British Regulars. After a few rounds of inclusive musket fire the British Line advanced towards the Frenchies. For some inexplicable reason Whittington-Smyth did not advance with the rest of his infantry- something that was later to prove to be his undoing...

At shorter range the British musket fire proved more successful, and the British drove the Couriers de Bois out of the rocks. The Couriers de Bois rallied and retuned to the rocks, only to be driven back again by the Regulars- the Couriers de Bois just didn't have the fight in them that day. 

Bonhomme being a fleet footed little bugger, made it across the open ground to the farm building and completed his objectives of scouting the British forces- while Whittington-Smyths men did likewise. Now all both forces had to do was disengage and make it back to their lines without taking too many casualties. 

The Huron Scouts drive off their hated Mohawk enermies

At this point things took a turn for the unexpected, as the Huron managed to break the Mokawks will and they fled. Deciding that there was no point in staying in the fight with the mission complete the remaining Mohawks withdrew. The British Light Infantry fired off another volley at the Canadians, wiping them out,  before withdrawing in good order without loosing a man. 

The Britsih Regulars drive the Couriers de Bois out of teh rocks for a second time

Bonhomme and his Couriers de Bois began to fall back, determined to get the intelligence he had acquired back to the French Army. It was at this point that the Huron, excited by their victory over the hated Mohawks, spied Lieutenant Whittington-Smyth on his own. They raced to the tree-line and fired a volley of shot into the English officer, cutting him down. The Huron, whooping like gleeful children raced into the open and scalped the officer, much to Achille Bonhomme's horror.

The Light Infantry start the withdraw in good order. 

The shock of loosing their officer caused the remains of his Regulars to loose heart and they routed off the board in disarray. Nothing remained to stop both sides withdrawing. 

Both sides had achieved their objectives, but at a cost. The Canadian Militia was destroyed, and the British Line Infantry was broken and routed off the board. The death, and subsequent mutilation, of the caddish George Whittington-Smyth will certainly have repercussions. 

This being our first game we made a few mistakes which might have impacted on the game play- but I felt that in general it was a fun game, easy enough to learn, with an interesting initiative system. It certainly felt right for the period and style of warfare it is meant to portray.  I think a bigger game would be a lot more fun- but I will need to prepare better next time. I also need to make some hidden markers and some smoke markers too. Pulp Citizen remains unconvinced (being a 'historical wargaming' scheptic) but I think with a few more games he will come round- though I doubt I will catch him painting a Mohawk warband any time soon-mores the pity.

French and Indian Wars: The British Army

Introducing Lieutenant George Whittington-Smyth, An officer in the British army posted out to the Americas, to keep the unruly Indians in line and the sneaky French out of the King's lands. George is something of a cad, and a spy to boot: Unlike many of the other officer he doesn't object to skulking about gathering information on the enemy movements. The one thing he is not, however, is a coward. 

Whittington-Smyth with his men, and a few local  women attracted to his caddish charm and looks. 

French and Indian Wars- British

It's been a bit quite on the blog front of late- part in thanks to getting a bit fatigued with Zomtomber's marathon slog, but I am back on target and am working hard to finish the 2013 projects- namely WW2 Burma and the French and  Indian Wars.

To that end I have rebased my F+IW British on round bases- now this goes against the advice in the Muskets and Tomahawks rulebook, which recommends square bases, but I can't help it, I just happen to think everything looks better on a round base. 

Over on Lead Adventure Forum there are a few other guys working on M+T armies, and they all use round bases, and so I thought 'why not join them'. It was a bit of a hassle to rebases them, but I am glad I did as they look cooler now. 

Also note that I have added three Mohawk Indians too as allies to the British- local scouts I guess. I need to paint a few more to make it 'game legal' but they are in the pipe line. 

PS- sorry about the disgusting green hue- the lighting was poor and so I was forced to use electric lighting. You might need to turn you monitor display down a bit.