What do I do now?
I’ve been fighting at Brandywine with the Rebel army. I made a stand further forward. Stirling’s brigade defended forward on the Osborne’s hill to the left. I held the woods with Nash’s reserve brigade and the Pennsylvania militia. Both my brigades were thrown back in Total Defeat. Stirling fought a controlled withdrawal back to Birmingham Hill here on my left.
By the time the British advanced and formed up for a new attack, I was able to reorganize my troops and bolster their strength with a battalion of Sullivan’s Marylanders and some 6 pound artillery.
In the center, the British regulars have been watching and threatening to attack but they must have chickened out. They are just sitting there.
On the left, Stirling was attacked by the British Grenadiers and Guards several times. He was lucky and able to drive them back. The British were brave and fell back in good order but took horrendous casualties in devastating musket fire laid down by Stirling. Reminds me of the slaughter at Bunker Hill! Yes, those are the best troops the British have on our left but they’ve been defanged now.
The Hessians and Abercromby’s Light infantry attacked Sullivan’s battalion holding our right twice. We were very lucky and repulsed them both times.
Fine except that Abercromby’s Light shifted to our right. Our far right was screened by our dragoons but Abercromby struck them with the support of the Hessian Jaeger dragoons. That sent my dragoons reeling back.
Now the trouble is my exposed baggage trains: that dark line of blocks on the road. :/
Any way I can salvage this situation? I’ve been doing just fine till now but this looks really bad.
I could launch my dragoons forward in a suicide attack. Maybe they’ll give the baggage train the time they need to escape.
I could attack Abercromby’s Light with Sullivan’s battalion. (2 right blocks) That might distract them enough to save the dragoons but then my artillery will be exposed! Seeing that, the Hessians will attack and wipe them out. So, I’ll have to pack up the guns and send them to the rear.
Ok but then that still leaves my center line of Nash and the militia with an exposed right flank and no artillery support. Those patient British regulars will probably attack my center with artillery support while the Hessians hit my right flank. Just in time for me to get the terrible luck I am about due for. :/ Even with good luck, I probably won’t win that fight.
If I do all of that, I can most likely get out my baggage and artillery, while the rest of my army takes a beating and then routs from the field.
Is that worth it? What’s the alternative? Any other ideas out there? My main MSR runs down that road to the right by the dragoons. I can’t retreat to the left off map. The enemy is attacking from that direction also.
It looks so peaceful and secure right now but all hell’s about to break loose. I hate it when that happens.
Glad to see you posting these again!
Thank you, good to hear from you again!
We’ve been working a lot with Kriegsspiel here lately. Running several games and working on a manual / book!
The more I work with Kriegsspiel and learn about it, the more I like it. There is a lot going on with this system. Fantastic material here.
We’ve been thinking a lot about how best to get it out there more.
An history example of this particular case.
During the Froeschwiller-Woerth Battle in august 1870, around Morsbronn, General de Lartigue’s 4th Division was in danger of being turned by Prussian infantry units. The 8th and 9th cuirassiers regiments and two squadrons of the 6th lancers regiment of General Michel’s brigade were assigned to clear it, and they moved at high speed towards Morsbronn.
General Michel attempted a rescue action, haranguing his troops: “Comrades, we are needed, we are going to charge the enemy; let’s show who we are and what we can do, long live France!
Then they charged, their sabers drawn … and by the time of Dreyse rifles and Chassepot, they were all shot down…. their bodies covered with cuirass on the battlefield. This was the Reichschoffen charge. Very famous in France last century.
They saved the infantry. Could the continental dragoons do the same to save the day ? I will try because I can’t see another solution.
These are light, colonial dragoons. I don’t think they did Napoleonic charges like that. I think they were more like screens and scouts. Fighting more like the dragoons in the American Civil War. They only have 2 squadrons of 150 men each. Those infantry blocks are 450 men each.
I suspect the result would be about the same. They’d get mowed down in a valiant effort. To what end? Buy some time for the baggage and artillery to escape? I don’t know.
This is another topic almost never brought up by wargames: What do you do AFTER the battle has been won / lost? Game over. Pack it up. Well, for real officers in the field, the game wasn’t over!
This could be a very interesting game for Kriegsspiel. This is the beginning. The first turn of the game starts here. Your side has just lost the battle. Your mission now is to survive and evacuate as much of your army as possible safely. How can you minimize your losses from pursuit? What are the most important army assets that need to be saved? Which can be sacrificed? Which are irreplaceable?