OHW: Seize the Hill and The Battle of Cowpens

I got in another couple of solo games this weekend, starting with another One Hour Wargames jaunt to the American War of Independence.  

I have fiddled with the rules some more, dropping the command die rolls.  They did not seem to add much to the game except more fiddling, so I added Fog of War cards as suggested in the rules, except the British and Patriots have separate decks.   The British tend to have more beneficial cards, and the Patriots more negative effects.  See below for the new QRS and the card breakdown.

FILES GO HERE

I printed up and laminated a the cards, including picture of re-enactors I pulled from the web.

The first scenario I played was from the OHW book, Seize the Hill, I forgot which number it is.  Both sides are trying to seize a prominent terrain feature.  The British are advancing from the south and the Patriots from the north.

 You can see my improved sponge forests, I cut them down so they are not so tall and repainted them in less garish colors.  I am rather pleased with the effect.

Here you see the main struggle for the hill, with the Legion Cavalry trying to flank the hill.

Here you see the critical final moments of the battle.  The British have actually surrounded the Patriots on the left flank and they decimated the 2nd Maryland Continentals with some brisk volleys helped by a Fog of War card.

Meanwhile, the US Postal Service delivered another package from Cigar Box Battle mats, this time one of the non-plush Open Grasslands mats.  I ordered it, as I wanted some smaller mats that could fit my table better, but the amazing plush mat I have looks like it might fray if I cut it.  So, I took the new mat and cut it making a 50" x 38" mat and two 25" x 19" mats. I will still use the plush mat, especially for "away" games where I have access to a larger table.

On a whim I set up something that looked sort of like the battle of Cowpens.  I have been thinkinng a good convention game might be "Cowpens in an Hour," a small game that I can run once an hour and folks can cycle through it without having to commit to a 4 hour mega-game (not that I don't like those) and still have time to hit the vendors.

Anyway, here is what I came up with, Tarleton on the left and Morgan on the right...

I set up the terrain and troops using the Black Powder "Rebellion" scenario book and the deployment diagram from With Zeal and Bayonets Only. As in "Rebellion," I assume the woods are fairly open and everyone is in some sort of loose order, so the forest chunks are decorative only

Reversed view, Patriots on the hill to the left, with skirmishing riflemen in front starting to pick off the British.

The riflemen fall back

The British advance on the main Patriot line on the hill. At the top you can see what turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt by the British Legion cavalry to turn the flank.

The Patriots held the line, routing the 7th Foot and British Legion Infantry, and seriously mauling the light bobs and Legion cavalry.  The 71st highlanders were in pretty good shape,probably good enough to fight a rearguard action and a few more British / Loyalists may have escaped than did historically.

The rules worked well, but i am anxiously awaiting the new rules from Baccus Miniatures, Ruse de Guerre.

Until next time, happy gaming!