Sharp Practice 2 AAR

I finally got round to clearing up my gaming table so I could get my new AWI figures on for a go. While tempted to go all out and put out as many units as possible, I controlled myself and settled on a rather small affair so I could get a better handle on the rules. This was a wise move on my part.

The objective of the engagement was for the American force to keep the British from crossing a bridge at their end of the table.  They had three different formations to accomplish this: one of three groups of Continentals and a medium gun, one of two groups of State Line troops, and the 3rd was a group of light infantry. The British force was identical, except it didn't have a gun. It did have an extra officer to help out with its regulars, though.

American main entry point

American secondary entry point

British entry point

Overview of the table

It took a bit for things to get rolling, but soon all six formations were on the table and things picked up quickly.  The British regulars were the first to arrive and wasted no time in marching toward the bridge. This proved to be very important as the Americans found themselves bottled up at the bridge with little room to maneuver.  The American light company picked its way through some woods to harass the British flank, but the regulars had already passed by the time they made their way to the forest's edge. They had to settle for taking some shots at the British auxiliaries.

Once the two sides were within range of each other, the British had the good fortune of having their chip come up first. Two groups of the regulars unleashed a first volley at the state troops to their front. 21 dice were rolled and only ones missed. Despite this fact, when the smoke cleared the British commander was dismayed to see only two casualties inflicted along with two point of shock on each group. The Americans leveled their muskets and also fired a controlled volley at the disciplined ranks before them. One dead, two points of shock on each of the two groups.

The Americans inflict some damage

Behind this action, the American light company fired at the provincial companies, but only managed to ring up one point of shock on each.

Firing at phantoms in the wood

As I wrapped things up for the day, one group of British regulars broke off with its NCO to work its way around the American flank. The British light company was trying to make up some time and was hurrying to join the battle. The American Continentals were having a very rough time getting into a position where they could make a difference.

The British lights survey the action from near the church

Confusion at the bridge.

It was good to see all of my hard work in painting these figures finally pay off.  They look really good on the table.  My scratch made movement trays worked out rather well. I left the table with some questions to look up in the rule book, but for the most part I think I had a pretty good handle on things. Initially, I was afraid that with so many dice being thrown in the early volleys that formations would be blown off the table.  But having to roll saving rolls proved to make inflicting damage much more difficult than it first appeared.  I will need to pay closer attention to the use of the flag tokens as well, as they can make a huge difference.

All in all, it was a fun little skirmish and I am eager to move on to the next one.