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Saturday 4 November 2023

Horse & Musket Action on the St. Jakob's Road

 Following his success at Pflattburg, Army Blue's General pushed on towards the strategically important town of St. Jakob, a major hub in Army Red's supply chain. His advance was blocked, however, by an approaching Red force that held some high ground controlling the St. Jakob Road. 

Blue's game objective was to have at least 4 units on the Western third of the board by the end of the game; Red had to make sure this didn't happen. The game is, of course, inspired by Tank and Infantry Action on the St James Road, from Donald Featherstone's War Games (1962).

The battlefield rises gently towards the West. The stream in the East can be crossed by all units; Infantry and cavalry lose one grid movement, artillery require a full turn to cross. Only Light Infantry may enter the dense wooded areas. Rott's Farm (the building) counts as a built-up area.

End of turn 1 - Red's cavalry trot down to head off Blue's approaching horse

Cavalry melee begins

Army Blue steadily advances 

As the afternoon wears on Blue's advance stalls as attrition takes its toll

Close to getting troops on the high ground, Blue reaches Exhaustion Point

The end of the battle with Army Red holding the objective

Red's Artillery earned the unit a special commendation for destroying a Blue Infantry battalion that was approaching fast along the St Jakob's Road. Blue, on the other hand, suffered the ignominy of some classic MJT dice rolling. 

17 comments:

  1. A great repurposing of an old scenario … and it seems to have resulted in an excellent little battle! What scenario will you explore next?

    All the best,

    Bob

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    1. Cheers Bob! Looking for that next scenario is a great excuse (if one is needed) to peruse the Wargames Library.

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  2. Great battle report. Imw looking forward to the next battle in the campaign.

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    1. Thanks Mark. Army Blue is going to need to recover first!

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  3. Thanks Emily, however I'm not really sure that you're going to reach the right demographic here

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  4. Beautifully fielded….😁

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  5. Another neat-looking game, MJT. Looking forward to the next πŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌπŸŽ²πŸŽ²πŸŽ²

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  6. Wonderful wargame which has old school classic vibe. Thank you

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  7. Lovely looking game as always. That rising of the battlefield to the west is very effective. Not something I've seen done with a grid often if at all. Might steal that :)

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    1. Cheers John. I was trying to figure out how to replicate the contour lines on Donald Featherstone's map of the battlefield without making a purpose built slope 😁

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  8. Nice one MJT.
    The Risk figures are just right for this sort of game/set-up πŸ‘πŸ‘
    Cheers,
    Geoff

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    1. Thanks Geoff - I like them; somewhere between a Boardgame and a traditional War Game.

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  9. Great game - looks wonderful old school love it. Thank you -

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