Battle of the Coalfields

 The following post documents the second battle to take place in Turn 5 of the campaign (The Illyrian invasion of Messaline). Two Illyrian Armies were occupying the objective of the invasion; the area of Messaline containing the Scampa Coalfield. In the first battle, General Cesario had defeated the Illyrian Army 1 and pushed it back towards the border. Would Illyrian Army 2 be more successful?

Position at the end of Turn 4
Two Messaline Armies (white) attempt to drive back the invaders

The Battle of the Coalfields

Messaline Army 1 under the dashing General Antonio (4 Infantry, 1 Cavalry, 1 Artillery) arrived from the South and occupied the high ground. Facing them was Illyria's Army 2 commanded by the cautious General Sir Andrew Aguecheek (4 Infantry 2 Artillery), that had recently been deposited on the West coast by the Illyrian fleet. Sir Andrew's orders were to hold the coalfields at all cost...

Early artillery exchanges, coupled with advances made by the Messaline army, saw the rapid destruction of Illyria's guns.

General Aguecheek committed his reserve Infantry began his attack.

By the middle of the day, both sides were looking exhausted

however, The Illyrians believed that they had the numbers still to drive forward and win the day. General Aguecheek advanced..

 was driven back...

advanced again (one last push lads)...

fought tenaciously...

and finally ceded victory.

The gallant General Antonio had won the day and the remnants of Illyrian Army 2 withdrew.

The situation at the end of Turn 5 looks difficult for the Illyrian invaders: all three of their armies are now seriously battered (as are the defender's forces of course), and Messaline has also got ahead in mobilizing their fourth army that will muster at the Capital at the beginning of Turn 6. Illyria's next moves are yet to be decided, however elements within the War Cabinet are pushing for a full withdrawal to allow time for more forces to be marshalled. 

Situation at the end of Turn 5

 

The Battle of Sainte Marie du Bois

 Turn 5 saw further action taking place in the vicinity of Illyria's war objective, the Scampa coal field of West Messaline. 

 Both sides had two armies in the area to the West of the town of Scampa, and it was Messaline's Army 3 (once again fighting Illyrian Army 1) that is the subject of this post.

In the opening battle of the Campaign, the experienced General Belch had defeated the young Messalinian General Cessario, the latter having prudently withdrawn and reinforced. Once again the two met near the small town of Sainte Marie du Bois, and this time the younger man was on the offensive.

The Battle of Sainte Marie du Bois

The two sides exchanged Artillery fire while establishing their positions.

The Messaline force threw its weight of infantry on the right flank seeking to wrest the little town from the enemy's grip.

The Illyrian's, their artillery destroyed, launched their own attack, pushing back the Messaline command and forcing a change of tactic.

Messaline was now on the defensive as General Belch himself moved forward with the Illyrian foot looking for a speedy end to the battle.

But it was not to be. The day wore on and both sides were being sorely reduced.

The Illyrians still held the town, despite the bombardment from Messaline artillery, but General Belch, his resolve like his army, badly weakened, called an end to the fight, and began a strategic withdrawal towards his own border.

A first victory for the young Cessario, though at great cost to both sides.

Two battles for Bellevue

 Having witnessed an Illyrian victory in the last post, attention now is turned to their Army (3) that has crossed the border into North East Messaline.

"The General sat, and the lines on the Map,
moved from side to side"

 On Campaign Turn 2, Illyrian Army 3 sought to occupy the village of Bellevue as a potential staging post on their way to Doclea. Messaline Army 2 marched to thwart this move. 

The First Battle for Bellevue

General Valentine led Illyrian Army 3, compring 4 Line Infantry units and 2 cavalry. He was opposed by a Messaline force of 3 Line Infantry, 1 Light Infantry and 2 cavalry under General Fabian.

Illyria quickly took control of the village however the Messaline force fought back with no lack of aggression.

Soon enough it was the defenders' turn to hold Bellevue. Illyrian cavalry finally sprung into action (as those of Messaline withdrew from their attack on the hill)...

but to no avail. 

Seeing casualties mounting, and knowing that the main objective of the invasion was further South, General Valentine resolved to withdraw and reinforce, leaving General Fabian in control of the village.

 On Campaign Turn 3, Illyrian Army 2, which had been transported by their fleet, landed to the West of the Scampa Coal Deposit, the invader's main objective.

The landing was unopposed. Messaline Army 1 was now marching North, as news filtered through, but had been late in starting.

 During Turn 3, General Valentine's subordinates had rounded up the dispersed, rearmed the walking wounded and brought up the reserve. Army 3 was ready for another go at Bellevue. Of course General Fabian had been doing the same...

The Second Battle of Bellevue

Messaline Infantry were well dug in amid the ruins of Bellevue, with cavalry support on their left and the reserve coming up to join them.

The Illyrian cavalry was joined by General Valentine himself in a bid to quickly remove their opponents and allow a flank attack.

In the meantime half the Line Infantry were engaged in a bloody assault on the village, whilst the remainder occupied the hill, looking to take advantage of the elevation.

Heavy casualties were witnessed on both sides, but the defenders held the line.

With both sides now exhausted and largely depleted, General Valentine was once more forced to retire. Neither Army would be a usable fighting force for some time. The North East sector had ground to a halt.

In terms of Campaign mechanics, Turn 4 saw both sides roll for their mobilization of a fourth Army - Messaline's will appear at Turn 6, Illyria's at Turn 7.

With troop movements in the South West bringing four armies into the Scampa locale, Turn 5 looks likely to involve two, possibly decisive, battles.

End of Turn 4 situation

Opening Gambit

 

The opening moves of the Illyrian invasion of Messaline have been made (and incidentally, no-one has yet tried to pretend that it was the latter's fault that they were invaded).

Following is the Campaign map before the invasion showing the positions of each side's armies (1-3) and fleets. Sadly for Messaline, their fleet has started (die roll dictated) on the Eastern side of the peninsula at Doclea, many moves away from the enemy.

Illyria won the initiative throw for Map move 1, and their Armies 1 and 3 pushed into Messaline. Messaline responded by moving their Armies 2 and 3, the latter coming into contact with the invader  just North of the town of Scampa.

The Battle of Scampa (PW 3x3)

Armies have been pre-generated (see Campaign Rules below) and the two forces that met in the first battle were identical in composition, both being made up of 4 Line Infantry units and 1 each of Cavalry and Artillery. General Belch, an old campaigner, led the Illyrians, while the Messaline force was under the command of the less experienced General Cesario.

Apologies for the poor picture quality! I hope to play the next game in daylight...

The map shows the battlefield to be used for each large square, so the Illyrians (Blue), arriving from the North found a dense forest on their right flank.

The Illyrian artillery, expertly directed by General Belch, took its toll early in the battle.

Later in the day the Messaline Army began to push back against the aggressor.

By midday it seemed that the battle could go either way...

but a sudden collapse in Messaline morale led to General Cesario's defeat and ultimate withdrawal from the battlefield.

 At the end of the first battle (and Map move) the position is as follows:

Following are the Campaign rules (as they currently stand, right click, copy and paste to read easily). Next time, Move 2... (unsurprisingly).

Background (or what you will)

 Back in October last I experimented with the Hare & Hounds mini-campaign set-up that Bob Cordery had posted. At the time I suggested that I'd like to do something similar but using a campaign board that more resembled a map. I'm now in a position to start just such a project and this post is an introduction to the setting.

The subject of this mini-campaign is the Illyrian invasion of Messaline and takes place in the mid Nineteenth Century. It's inspiration is the Trevor Nunn film adaptation of Twelfth Night which is set in an imaginary late Nineteenth Century Illyria, which is at war with a country named Messaline. The Campaign Map and notes on the setting follow as jpeg files - click to open and enlarge.

The next post will expand the notes with the Campaign rules and first map moves (and any resulting action).

The Campaign Board 

Notes on the Campaign Setting

Illyria's objective (hold all land inside the red oval at the end of hostilities)

Beginning 2025

 We left the latest mini-campaign (in 2024) at the end of Turn 1; The Vardian Empire had invaded the Salarin Caliphate and taken control of Marhacan Province by defeating the Salarin's Army 1 that was stationed there. A counter-attack by Salarin Army 2 had also been defeated by the Vard's (seemingly) unstoppable Legion I.

On Turn 2 Legion I took a rest and it was Legion II that took up the baton. Taking the sea route from Palezaro to Harasta without incident (dice roll, see rules in the first post here), Legion II landed and began their advance towards the provincial capital. Blocking their way, however, was Salarin Army 3. 

Once again the Vard started the battle with an impenetrable forest on their left flank; the Salarin General took up position on a hill on his left.

Impetuous Legionaries rush forward and take casualties

The Vard General, an ex-Captain of the Imperial Archers, set up a relentless archery attack on the Salarin force on the hill, trying to encourage them from their defensive position. Meanwhile, his enemy attempted a flank attack on the other side of the battlefield.

With spearmen on the hilltop falling around him, the Salarin General mounted a charge to break the Vard Archers

The Vard were given a bloody nose but held firm and the Salarin retreated back to the top of the hill

The fighting on the rest of the battlefield took a pause as the remaining troops reorganized themselves. 

What was left of Salarin Army 3 congregated on the hill, surrounded by the Vard...

Several (bloody) dice rolls later it was over

Once again the Vard Legions had conquered. The Salarin were invited to become a client state under the 'protection' of the Empire, with all the taxes that such support involves. 

Mark C's Peloponnesian War campaign concept worked well for me as a mini-campaign system and will definitely be used again. The 10mm Ancients will take a break now as I hope to be regaining a little space for painting, post-Christmas. Best wishes for 2025 everyone!