04/25/2022
We put on a game of Redcoats in the Wilderness at Little Wars this past weekend. This year's theme was Fog of War.
The Battle of Rivière-du-Loup. This 1759 fictional battle was on the St Lawrence wherein the British, after their victory on the Plains of Abraham in September, descend on major towns in Quebec to destroy their ability to fight. This is a large scale raid where the British are to go in, destroy and get out.
At the start of the battle, the shoreline is covered in fog, which made this a double blind for the first turn. The Brits did not know where they were landing and neither did the French. The British goal was to destroy as many buildings and crops as they could but most importantly the saw mill and the grain mill and then get out.
The French commander on the far right flank masterfully had his way with three of the British commands skillfully creating an ambush with his few native allied forces and skillfully using his skirmishers to the very best of their ability. Unfortunately for him, there were more British, some of whom were tied up fending off cow stampedes, but the rest were able to destroy the French fort, which was under construction at the time of the battle.
The British far right flank and center was a real slug fest with the Brits beating back the initial French resistance. However just as they felt they were winning, the French relief column finally made it to the battlefield and very smartly stopped the British in their tracks.
The last turn sealed the French fate as the British torched a block house in town used by the French. The British did not know that this was used to store their gun powder causing a massive explosion, wiping out two complete units, one from each side.
This was declared a minor British victory as they had destroyed much of the town and the construction of the French fort. It was not a major victory as the Brits failed to destroy either mill and even had some of their landing craft burned by the enterprising French who rolled some incredible numbers to do so.
In short, thanks to the great people who played, we all had a great time, having to make the least bad decisions, unbelievable die rolls and dealing with dangerous cows.
Thanks to all who played and we look forward to next year.
And a special thanks to the Little Wars staff and volunteers who did such a good job and gave so much of their time and energy not only at the show but in background leading up to this event.
Cheers, Jim & Phil
