Welcome

A Warm Welcome to my Blog




Wednesday 24 July 2019

The Boucharde Raid, 1750's French Indian Wars – My Trial Game for DevLAM 2018

The game is based on a scenario devised by Steve Hezzlewood and published a long time ago in a Wargames Magazine, can't remember which one but I think it was a special edition. I have the scenario as a jpg somewhere and if I can find it I will publish it and be damned, presumably there is some copyright on it. - OK  I have found it and it came from this blog http://unfashionablyshiny.blogspot.com/2010/02/hezzlewood-writes.html

This was one of the games I put together for DevLAM 2018, the lead up to the game is on my blog https://vagabondswargamingblog.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-boucharde-raid-10th-of-may-1758.html

To make the most of this game report you should really read the introduction but I know that’s not always possible, but you will miss out on the plot if you don’t, it’s up to you.

This is the small village of Boucharde part way down Lake George in Canada, the French have created a forward magazine of arms, powder, and equipment and there is a detachment of French Regular Infantry stationed here as well as some Franche de La Marine as well as a few Canadian Militiamen.

The ammunition magazine and powder store is located in the large building in the centre of the village, the main barracks are the two buildings on the far side of the village in the centre and left hand side as we look at the picture, but troops are billeted in most of the buildings in the village.

A detachment of Rogers Rangers has been tasked with destroying the magazine, they have a few Native Allies with them but are heavily outnumbered. They can not fight their way in, it has to be a “sneak in and run like hell operation”, especially if they blow up the powder store.

Silas Hugget is leading the Rangers and has decided to make a two pronged attack, in the distance you can see the 1st prong, they have spotted one of the sentries, the chap in the red woollen hat on the left but he is more interested in the pheasant in front of him than any possible enemy creeping up on him and doesn’t see them.

The chap in the red coat is one of two Engineering officers assigned to the Expedition, Silas has split his force in two and attached an Engineer to each one.

 
The sentries move using a dice to give a random direction and distance and this one is moving through the cabin yard away from the main thrust of the attack. There are four sentries, in the far distance is one of the Franche La Marine and the guy with the red hat is one of the Canadian Militia.

These figures were painted many years ago and research was much harder than it is today, I can’t remember how accurate I think their uniforms are and to be honest I don’t care, so if there any button counters reading this please bite your tongue.


 
The 2nd prong led by Silas himself is creeping around the corn field, there is a sentry over by the powder store walking away from us, but what you can’t see very clearly because it’s a crap picture is that the 4th sentry is just the other side of the corn field, you can maybe see the blue feather in his hat.


 
Randomly he turns the corner and comes face to face with the leading Ranger.


Who reacts first and manages to rush the Frenchman, knock him to the ground before he can raise the alarm. The rest of the Rangers had full confidence in him and are already moving through the corn field.

It’s supposed to be Maize, and it has been marijuana plants in one of my Granny and Pops games but is really a small Christmas tree cut into short pieces and planted in hardboard. It cost me a pound and I’m very pleased with it, but close-ups like this don’t really do it justice. The thing I like, is that I can remove a base and fit a figure in the field rather than as you usually see with them walking on top of the plants.

The majority of the 1st prong has taken up firing positions around a small cabin, they will provide covering fire if necessary, for the Engineer and his escort if they need to beat a hasty retreat.

The Militia sentry is wandering around aimlessly and hasn’t seen the small fracas with the other chap now lying down, he’s just enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning, that is until Silas Huggett jumps over the wall and rushes him.

My apologies for the dice in the photo, either the Continuity Girl or the Cameraman will get it in the neck for that lapse. I've noticed there are a few other dice appearing in the photos later, there will be vacancies to fill in my studio.

Silas has a big claymore and kills the poor sentry out of hand. I’m not sure though why Silas is lying down, there’s nothing in my notes that explains it, but I suspect that the sentry sounded the alarm before dying.

The 1st Prong moves from their position by the log hut, to a more commanding one looking down what passes for a main street in the village. This proves to be a mistake because the sentry at the far side of the village sees them and also sounds the alarm.

A close up of the demolition party from Prong 1. They are running hell for leather to get to the Powder Store before the French troops are awake and ready to intercept them. They make it but have to break down the locked door, there is a variable time (dice roll) to see how long it takes to lay the fuse and then a variable time (dice roll again) before it blows up. There is the possibility that the defenders may get into the powder store and put out the fuse, basically a slow match before it blows up.

It took a little while for the Rangers to break down the door into the powder store and this gave the garrison time to wake and form up. I took each group of 6 men plus NCO and rolled dice to see how long it would take to form up and they had an amazing run of low dice.

Here they are already in a fire fight with Prong 1.

At this point Prong 1 are holding their own, but there are very few of the French Regulars firing.

At this point the guys in the red caps defending the parapet had got one man into the Powder Store and he had defeated Silas in melee and stunned him, you can see he is lying down again but the other Ranger has pushed the Canadian back into the store and they are engaged in a desperate fight, blocking the doorway, no one else can get in. Other Rangers have advanced from the corn field and are engaged in a fire fight with the Militia on the parapet.

The troops in the street have got their act together and opened up with volley fire, and another company have emerged from the stockade tower and also opened fire. Sheer weight of numbers is overcoming the log wall protection and Prong 1 is taking heavy casualties.

So much so that these 2 desperados are doing a runner, their morale failed big time.

Just a pretty picture, mainly to show the new barracks I built especially for this game. The log stockade tower is very old but also got a repaint as did most of the other buildings.

Another pretty picture showing the other half of the building.

The guys in blue waistcoats and forage hats are the Franche Marine troops, not sure if that’s their correct title and the guys in Grey are one of the 6 regular regiments that fought in Canada, I can’t remember now which one they are but blue facings shouldn’t be hard to place them.

Inside the powder store things are getting a little fraught, the 1st floor has been removed to show the action. Silas is back on his feet and defending the door on the right where a horde of Militia are trying to get in, if 7 men can be called a horde. On the left upstairs a Ranger is defending the other door and in the central room the Engineers are laying the fuse, this is going to take 2 turns before they can light it.

It’s lit shouted the Engineers and they rushed out the door.

You know I’m sure the guy back right has the determined look of our good Queen Elizabeth, not sure why but what do you think.

Bugger thought the Ranger upstairs but a couple of lucky shots from his mates, took down the remaining Militia on the parapet and he was through the door like a flash. Bugger thought Silas as the militia bust through the door downstairs, pushing him back half way across the room. As you can see the fuse blows in 4 turns.

If Silas runs he will probably get killed by the Militia as he turns his back, if he doesn’t run he will almost certainly get killed in the explosion. Decisions, decisions.

The overall situation outside is looking pretty bleak, the French are loaded and pushing down the road, on the right from Prong 1 the remaining Rangers had already fled but the Native Americans have taken 50% casualties and also pulled back. There is still a defensive line of Prong 2 on the left and the Engineers will probably reach them but overall it looks like the attackers are down about 50% casualties, many of them wounded, they are going to be left behind.

This chap jumped off the parapet and hurt his leg but was still mobile enough to make it out with help.

3 Moves later there was a large explosion as the Powder Store exploded and no one has heard from Silas Huggett since.

I’ve played this scenario 3 or 4 times over the years, It was published in the 1983 and this is a scan of the original article, I hope no one minds me posting this but it is one of my wargamming highlights and I want to share it with anyone who might be interested, The scenario would translate to many different genres and rule sets.




You can see that my powder store is a copy of the one in the story and I have derived as much pleasure from my games over the years as I suspect the originators did when they first played it.

We didn’t get to this game until late on the third day of DevLAM and we were all completely buggered in the nicest possible sense, we set the game up and after the evening meal, we drank a little more and then I went and moved the figures around taking some photos. The Mad Lord Snapcase had bought some scenery from Silent Invader from the Lead Adventurers Forum and we were using that for the game, it looked absolutely brilliant and I’m going to post the photos on the LAF when I can but here are just a few to wet your appetite.









It just goes to show what a professional base board can do for the look of the game.


Well it just remains to say thanks for reading, like all bloggers I like to hear if you have enjoyed reading this or have any other comments or observations to make, no one likes to talk to an empty room.
Cheers

40 comments:

  1. Brilliant! Looks and sounds great, as always.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Fitz, I'm glad you liked it, I've not had this many figures on the table since the Vikings raided Argonors Mead supplies.

      Delete
  2. Absolutely wonderful, staged to perfection and played brilliantly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Michael, I think it was reading the article in 1983 that changed my gaming from Armies and Battles to Skirmishes and smaller scale warfare. It's been down hill ever since.

      Delete
  3. Simply wonderful, John. I thought the board, the buildings and the other scenic items looked superb and your figures weren't far behind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bryan, I think to be honest it was looking at your early Vampifan boards with the printed buildings that re-defined how I wanted to see my games look and I've put quite a lot of effort into that side of things. I'm no where near a competent modeler but have tried. The figures were mostly painted in the 1980's, in my black lining and oil paint period, a bit Gothic. Some of the Dixon figures though are much more recent, the Rangers and the French in the big grey winter coats and I'm quite pleased with them.

      Delete
  4. Well to answer your question John yes I did enjoy the read, but this don't forget is the movie business & I fear the critics are going to pull you apart, such sloppy work having dice in not only in one but multiple shots, shame ;)

    Set & stars as always first class combined with a wonderful script made for an entertaining tale keep up the good work mate :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dice in the shot lol! That's brilliant Frank!!

      Delete
    2. Frank you're quite right, it's just not good enough, the Cameraman has been sent to a set in Siberia and won't be back for a while and the Continuity Girl, well what can I say, I gave her a damn good thrashing. We both enjoyed it and may have to repeat the process if it happens again.

      Delete
  5. Absolutely fantastic John! That felt like it was straight out of Wargames Illustrated :) Great stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ivor from you that's a great compliment, mind you I've not seen Wargames Illustrated for years so maybe their standard has fallen to reach mine. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great report John, looked like a fun tense game and loads of fun

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dave, each time I've played the scenario it's been tense. Hope things are well with you.
      Cheers

      Delete
  8. Superb, glad to see it play out. The 'prongs' did well! Great result!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Mi Lord, I'm sure if you and Sir Douglas had been in command of the prongs they would have done even better.

      Delete
  9. What rollicking romp and a veryenjoyable read. The scenario is very well honed too, with just the right amount of randomness and luck. It's not wonder that you've played this scenario several times, no doubt with very different experiences and outcomes.
    Great looking terrain and scenics and verygoodlooking figures too, despite your reservations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Joe
      I'd been on the LAF and some of the painted figures on there are just outstanding, mind you I console myself with the thought that they probably never get to use them because it takes so long to paint them to such a high standard that theres no time left.
      Cheers

      Delete
  10. Excellent post in every aspect John. I'd only be repeating everyone else's observations if I commented further - which will teach me to get in quicker in future! (Sorry I am so late, but hey, I'm late with my own blog too buddy)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Greg I guess you are busy in the real world and time just seems to run away with us, it's taken me 8 months to get this post out and the other game I put on ended up so complex I doubt I'll ever untangle it, although some of the pictures of the scenery were pretty special.
      Anyhow i appreciate you taking the time to let me know you read it, i know that my posts are almost always a long read.
      Take care

      Delete
  11. Another batrep like a movie. Awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Skully, you are so encouraging :) Cheers and thanks for letting me know you read it, I appreciate that.

      Delete
  12. You take gaming to a new level. Superb.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Cheers Stephen that's much appreciated and I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very much indeed. Your whole site is rather darn impressive :-)

      Delete
    2. It's just a series of games I've played, I've been writing the stories for a while and that gives me almost as much enjoyment as playing the game. Once I took the plunge and started the blog I became more conscious of the scenery aspect and tried to sharpen up my act, re-photographing some stories because of it.

      Apart from Becky there are no ongoing campaigns driving things, usually 1 game leaves an opening for a 2nd one depending on what happened, so things maybe a bit stale as I suppose my style of writing is pretty much the same each time, light hearted and irreverent.

      I did try and be a bit more serious for the Gothic Horror game series the Hunt for Mary Scroggins, but only about half way through which probably spoiled the tone ;)

      Anyway thanks for letting me know you read the game, it's always encouraging.
      Cheers

      Delete
    3. Oh absolutely. Skimming and saying "very nice" is just not on hehe. Always been an avid reader and really appreciate the good work that goes into other people`s things. It`s nice to take a little effort to sit and read it all :-)

      Delete
  14. Excellent, as usual! I like the scenario, and I'll try to find some use for it in any of my settings. Shouldn't be impossible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Joakim.

      The scenario is very one sided, the key as you will know is timing, if it works right it is a very exciting game, but if it's off tben it's unwinable. Ive been reading about D&D recently and tailoring encounters to match the ability of the group. Its a bit like points systems so both sides have the same chance of winning of course it makes for an even but maybe boring game.

      Delete
    2. I don't mind an un-even game, as long as it is fun. Well, it's fun to win, of course, but the story is more interesting than the end result (win/lose)

      Delete
    3. There is talk in our household of driving up through Norway to see the northern lights, we could maybe detour on the way back to see Stockholm again. Its almost 40 years since I cycled across Sweeden to your capital, we almost made it about 3 years ago but I started having double vision in Denmark and we turned back.
      If ever you're seriously ill I can recomend the Danish hospitals. :)

      Delete
    4. That's a good plan. There's a gaming table here waiting for you. :)

      Delete
    5. We'll give it a bit of thought, when do you think is the best time for the Northern lights, winter sounds good but Im not sure about the snow and roads and cold.

      Delete
    6. Not much of an expert as I've only seen northern lights once or twice. It obviously needs to be dark, so summer is unfortunately out. October to March is probably best, and the closer to winter solistice the better, as you got more darkness. But then you got that snow and cold... tricky.

      Delete
    7. Well that's not altogether good news, I quite like snow but not when I'm in the campervan, it has very little traction on the front wheels at the best of times.

      Delete
    8. in that case... Stockholm first, THEN those winding, slippery Norwegian roads with a precipice on one side ;-)

      Delete
    9. You're not really selling Norway and the Northern Lights;)

      Delete
  15. I remember that article and the magazine..brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Jim, thanks for letting me know you were here, it appears as if I've been Tangoed again.

      Brilliant scenario, I really enjoyed it over the years.

      Delete