Doomed at McElvoy creek

So we had a second play test game using Fistful of Lead Bigger Battles. For this game we have 2 extra players so I did a slight re-organisation of the troops, borrowing a few figures from Robbo to make up the numbers. We also tried some random deployment using a spare template, we still ended up with Natives on one side of the table and the US cavalry on the other. So the forces were organised as follows,

Sean - 3 troops from 3rd cavalry
Robbo - 3 troops from 7th cavalry
Thom -2 troops from 2nd cavalry, Crow and Civilian scouts.

For the Natives, they were split between Neil G, George and Mitch. Each with 4 bands of Crow warriors. So the Natives had a slight advantage in numbers.

Not a battle report as such, just a few pictures to share. The game took its name from Sean and 3rd cavalry, they were on the right of the US cavalry line when they approached the village. They formed up along a creek with A troop dismounting They faced the brunt of the Natives counter attack, facing both the bands of Little Beaver and Cunning Fox. There was much laughter from everyone as 3rd cavalry made their stand as they swarmed by the Natives before eventually pulling out (running away).

In the centre, Thom with the 2nd cavalry quickly moved into the village trying to scatter the villagers. They were met head on in a fierce fight with Big Beaver who was also using some of his warriors to hold Robbo on the heights to the left of the village.

Robbo with the 7th cavalry moved to take the heights and then deployed 'A' and 'B' troops in a skirmish line. They spent most of the game exchanging fire with some of the warriors from Big Beaver. They remained quite secure on their hill.

A Band of Big Beavers warriors returning to the village

7th cavalry moving into position

Crow scouts skirmish with Souix warriors

More of Big Beaver's warriors arrive

The fighting in the village intensifies

The warriors of Cunning Fox and Little Beaver begin to skirmish with the 3rd cavalry at McElvoy Creek

3rd cavalry begin to deploy but already the natives are at their flanks

2nd cavalry struggle to get control of the village

3rd cavalry are under heavy pressure

7th cavalry repulse Souix warriors

With 3rd cavalry repulsed, the Natives begin to fall on 2nd cavalry

More native warriors swarm over McElvoy creek

It's getting hot for 2nd cavalry

A very fun game, though we need to make an amendment on the use of the lance by the Native Americans. Currently the rules allow all missed hits in combat to be re-rolled. This was devastating to the US cavalry troopers. As these bands of warriors are armed with mixed weapons we have decided to limit the re-roll to only a single dice. Still effective just not quite as devastating.

We have a 3rd play test next week and may need to get a few more figures painted up,

Blood on the plains

Last night at the club the collection and rules got their first run out. I kept the scenario simple as it was mainly an exercise in testing how the rules work and if the abilities provided to the various troops were realistic to simulate  how they fought. The American forces needed to eliminate the Natives camp and check on a trading outpost, while the Natives needed to defend their camp and destroy the supply wagons. Each side was made up of two commands as follows -

Sean

3 troops of US cavalry with the steady ability to simulate veterans

1 troop of US cavalry

1 troop of Crow scouts with Skirmisher and agile abilities

Robbo

1 troop of US cavalry

1 troop of civilian scouts

3 companies of US infantry

3 supply wagons.

The Native Americans were commanded by Neil and George, they each had 5 bands of mounted warriors, all with the Skirmisher, Agile and slippery abilities. 

The leaders on each side were also given abilities which could be used by any unit that they were attached to. Now to the photos I remembered to take as I don't have a blow by blow account. We did make some amendments to the rules around firing and shock, keeping all changes to the start of a new turn.

Souix warriors approach the trading post

The US column gets on the move, both commands sticking close together

Crow scouts across the creek first

More Souix warriors begin to approach the column

The first sounds of gunfire

Crow scouts engage the Soiux, inflicting plenty of shock on their opponents

The rest of the column struggles across the first creek

More Souix warriors begin taking shots at distance on the column

The fighting intensifies at the head of the column

In the distance more Souix warriors are approaching

The Souix Warchief Little Beaver leads his braves in an unstoppable charge, they dispatch 'C' troop before falling on 'B' troop

'A' company of the 9th infantry deploy to protect the wagons from the approaching Soiux wariors.

So next week the battle will continue, we will also have an additional two players, one for each side, should be easy enough to incorporate them. So far the rules have worked well, it helped with combining the two gaming tables to give us an 8x6 playing area, plenty of room giving a nice fluid battle.

Bits & pieces for Pony Wars

So another batch of figures crossed the painting desk. First up was 5 bases each of the mounted and dismounted cavalry. These will be split to form 2 more troops for the 2nd Cavalry. I'm just awaiting some command figures and extra troopers. These figures are all from Tabletop, they are a mix of US cavalry and Confederates. The dismounted figures are mainly Peter Pig.

Next up was a 3rd wagon, this one is metal from Freikorps. It's slightly smaller than the two I have from Peter Pig but will not be an issue.

I also did a couple of bases of mounted civilians. Always useful to have as they can take on the role of civilian scouts are simply guards for the mule train. There were quite a few armed civilians that accompanied Crook at Rosebud Creek. These are all Tabletop miniatures. I have enough for 2 bases of them dismounted.

The last thing I painted up was some Native American villagers. These were painted up for Robbo, it was the price for the 40 free figures he gave me. Lovely figures but I got the better of the deal I think. These are from Freikorp I think. Nice and easy to paint up and Robbo is very happy with them.

Today I received my order from Peter Pig with some more Crow Scouts, a mule handler and some buffalo. Will keep adding packs of buffalo to future orders as six don't make much of a herd. I'm also awaiting orders from Hovels and Alternative armies, these are the US cavalry command and troopers I need along with an artillery piece and limber. I also added a couple more tepees and a smoke signal set which should look good as a deployment point. In the meantime I still have plenty to paint up, a troop of US cavalry, 2 companies of US infantry, both native and 'white' villagers and enough figures for 11 bases of mounted native Americans.

I also have some ideas on expanding the collection. I quite fancy some longhorn cattle with cattlemen for the Natives to attack or perhaps some settlers with wagons moving across the prairie.

Lovely weather for painting

I've been taking advantage of the lovely sunshine in the North East of England and getting lots of stuff completed. In this heat I can get the bases all completed with the quick drying times compared to the normal 24-48 hours it usually takes.

First up is some extra Native Americans, the 3 bases of cavalry and the casualty figures that I was waiting on the bases for. The riders are a mix of Tabletop, Friekorps and Peter Pig. The casualty figures are all from Peter Pig.

The other figures I completed for the Pony wars were two more companies of US infantry from the 9th regiment, 'G' and 'H' companies. These are all from Friekorps.

In a bit of a change I bought myself a single sprue of the Town Watch for Guards of Traitors Toll. They are lovely figures from Wargames Atlantic. Neil G and Thom from the Club are putting a display game for Border Reiver, so I thought I better learn the rules and what better way than using your own figures. I went for a simple sky blue/white for their tabards.

For the bases I used some air drying clay as I want to represent cobblestones that would match Thom's gaming mat. I'm quite happy with how the bases turned out for the first attempt Now back to getting some US cavalry finished over the weekend.

US Infantry and extras

The Infantry played a significant role in the Pony wars, garrisoning the frontier forts and supporting the cavalry. Looking at the Order of battle for Rosebud creek, there were 5 companies present, so I needed to paint some up. These are 'A' company from the 9th US Infantry. The figures are all from Friekorps. I've kept them to my standard 5 bases for a unit.

After these were done I realised I had run out of the appropriate bases for both the cavalry and native Americans. I had painted up 6 mounted warriors for the natives. So I switched tack and added another wagon and some casualty figures as I'll need these for the game (I even ran out of these bases) I still have the eight for the Native Americans to base.

With a game against Mitch on Tuesday to work through the rules he asked to see what he would be commanding so I took the opportunity to photograph the completed figures so far for both sides.

US cavalry column

Native Americans

Lakota and Oglala warriors

With a larger game planned for Thursday I am painting up two more companies of US infantry, I also have the loan of part of Robbo's collection, providing another three troops of US cavalry and 20 bases of Native Americans. Should be a good couple of games.

To further expand the collection I have the following for the Native Americans, 6 more bases of cavalry, villagers, 2 more Tepees, casualty figures and a smoke signal set. For the US army I have 2 more troops of cavalry, 2 more companies of infantry, a wagon, 5 more bases of Crow scouts, armed civilians and more casualty figures. Should keep me busy over the next few weeks.

'A' troop, 2nd Cavalry

In preparation for a run out of the rules next Tuesday, I completed a 4th troop of US cavalry. The mounted figures are all from Warrior miniatures and the dismounted troopers are Peter Pig, a mix of Pony Wars and ACW figures. These were leftovers from my ACW forces. At 15mm I think the ACW figures are a close enough proxy.

The guidons are home made and represent 'A' troop from the 2nd cavalry. The other three troops I have are all from the 3rd cavalry. The main reason these are a different regiments is because the figures are slightly larger than the Peter Pig figures. So going forward the 3rd cavalry will be Peter Pig and 2nd cavalry will be a mix of Warrior and Tabletop. This works for me as I'm basing the collection loosely on Crook's force at the Rosebud Creek