End of Week One

Well, week one of my miniatures class is in the books. It was a terrific group of kids! It appeared that they all had a good time right up to the end. Here are several shots of the second game we played.

This time around there was no question that the Americans were the clear winners. By the end, the British had given up the town and lost control of the bridges that led to their retreat. The battle turned on some unbelievably poor luck on the British side.

The turning point came when the Americans launched an attack. A British regiment protecting the flank of the brigade had to take a moral check and rolled snake-eyes! This left the entire brigade's flank open and resulted in the destruction of the entire defense. And then, just for good measure, on the second to last turn a British general rolled snake-eyes not once, but twice, followed by a three. This saw his entire brigade flee from the table and left no doubt as to who the victors were.

Some discussion between turns.

The American commanders. Well done, lads!

The stoic British generals. I wish adults could show as good sportsmanship as these young men did. They never took the game too seriously which allowed all of us to enjoy it all the more.Thanks for a great week, guys. I hope you'll take my class again next year.

Day three

The town is quite adequately defended. This British brigade was given a severe beating by the entrenched Americans!

The lads showed up bright and early to conclude the week's first battle. It was an action fought on two different tables. On table one, the Americans beat back a British attack, routing elite unit after elite unit. "I kept rolling snake-eyes" one of the King's commanders lamented. But on the other table, the King's men did a masterful job of thrashing the rebels attempting to come to the town's relief. At the end, it was decided that the battle had ended in a draw.

Camp VIP day two

Day two of our AWI battle is now in the books. The Brits were able to gain some ground on the Americans, but only with a bit of luck and some pretty bold moves. On the other hand, the Americans have a very solid defense set up for the Brit's primary objective, and it will take some very hard fighting to break through.

There were some very exciting moments. A disordered British light unit was attacked in the flank by a militia unit and was able to withstand the attack and drive of the part-time soldiers. On the other table, a routing unit forced other red clad units to have to check theirs, and of course one unit rolled snake eyes, resulting in their flight from the table.

Day three should be captivating. A winner will emerge one way or the other.

Camp VIP begins

Today I began my eighth year of sharing my hobby with an excited group of young people. 11 of the 14 who signed up were present for a week of wargaming the American Revolution since our nation's birthday was yesterday. I tried something different this time around, two tables as opposed to one big one. The shot on the right is of the first table. It features a town that needed to be held by the Americans. Their reinforcements would be arriving via table 2, which is to the right of this picture.



This is picture of table 2. The British would be allowed to place four brigades on the two tables as they chose after the Americans placed two brigades into the town. Reinforcements would arrive in a predetermined manner which the players were not aware of. After a brief overview of the rules and a discussion of the objectives the game was set in motion. We got through 8 turns in the first day, as there was a lot of maneuvering that took place. But tomorrow things should heat up considerably. It appears the Americans are off to a good start as the Brits were distracted by a rather brash advance by American dragoons. However, it's very early in the contest.

Here is a picture of some of the kids moving their troops in the early portion of the game. The more experienced players were very good about helping out the less experienced ones. And as is often the case, the youngest players have turned out to be the most enthusiastic. As the session ended they were already plotting their strategy for the next day!

I am getting ready for my summer class. The first week will center around the American Revolution. In this little practice battle, an elite force of British and Hessians are trying to push back a division of Americans. This picture shows the starting position of the two sides.








The Brits and Hessians advanced and took an opening volley from the colonists. They sustained casualties, but didn't flinch at all.











On the next turn, the Hessians also engaged with the same basic result. But the Guards managed to rout an American unit, leaving a gaping hole in their line!

The First British Guards lowered their bayonettes and charged home, driving back the extreme left American regiment. But the unit that routed the previous turn rallied (double sixes) and so there is hope that the flank can hold.

On the American right, muskets continue to blaze away, but neither side is willing to give any ground.

Summer class filled!

The director of the summer camp I teach at just let me know that all three sections filled up almost immediately. Apparently the class has developed quite a following. Unfortunately, some of the kids from previous years won't be able to attend unless I allow more students per class, but that diminishes the experience for everyone, so I am extremely hesitant to consider that. However, it's encouraging to know that there are a lot of potential wargamers out there!

Gemioncourt continued

The battle has continued on, with the French proving to be very successful in their efforts. A British brigade entered the fray on the allied left, which initially seemed that it would dramatically turn the tide. However, a brigade of French lancers also arrived at the same time and more than checked this advantage. In the shot below (click on the image to enlarge) the lancers have crushed a square and are now poised to destroy a battery of foot artillery. To the French left of the above action, a combination of infantry and cannister has driven off the Orange Nassau battalion with heavy losses, uncovering the other flank of the British brigade. Still another column of French infantry has successfully stormed the Gemioncourt farm complex, driving off the Dutch militia that occupied it.

And finally, after sustaining heavy losses, the French were able to drive off a Dutch foot battery, uncovering a line of Belgian infantry. A battery of French heavy guns has made short work of them. Unless additional forces arrive soon, the situation will be irretrievable for the allies.