Battle of Guilford Courthouse - rules, scenario, and game report

A couple of months ago I bought a pair of average dice (2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5) with the intention of using them in some One-Hour Wargames-style games instead of standard six-sided dice (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). This week I finally got around to setting up a game to try them out.

It feels like it has been a long time since my American War of Independence (AWI) forces last appeared on the tabletop. The collection is not particularly large, consisting mainly of old Peter Laing miniatures, with the cavalry being the only exception. Looking back, when I purchased them way back in 1978, I wish I had got more cavalry and along with some Highland troops.  Unfortunately, it was not until 2015, when I started dabbling in historical wargaming again, the figures were finally painted and based, many years after the miniatures had disappeared from the market.

Peter Laing 15mm miniatures back on the tabletop for the first time in a while.

My original plan was to select a scenario from the One-Hour Wargames book. I had my eye on scenario 26 - Triple Line. However, after browsing through a couple of books on the period, I decided instead to recreate the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, where an American force deployed in three lines. The main challenge gaming this battle is how to set it up so that the smaller attacking force has a reasonable chance of victory. Donald Featherston discusses this issue in his book when examining how to reconstruct the battle as a wargame.

The sources of inspiration for this game from  "Seven Steps to Freedom" by C. Wesencraft and "Wargamers Handbook of the American War of Independence" by D. Featherstone.

For this game I chose to modify the One-Hour Wargames Horse and Musket rules by adding a rally mechanism and allowing infantry units to charge. With these couple of additions, I hoped, would give the attackers a fighting chance. 

Here are the rules below followed by the scenario and battle report...

AWI Rules

Introduction

These simple rules are based on the One-Hour Wargames system, with additional inspiration drawn from the classic Charge rules. They use average dice (2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5).

The game uses the troop types:

• Infantry – The backbone of armies, fighting in line formations. Quality ranges from elite grenadiers, British regulars, and American Continentals to less reliable provincial and militia units.
• Cavalry – Limited in use and number due to transport difficulties and terrain.
• Skirmishers – Light troops, including light infantry and riflemen, trained to make effective use of cover and broken ground.
• Artillery – Mostly smaller calibre guns, but useful support for infantry.
• Generals – Commanders who can rally nearby troops.

These rules are designed for my 15mm armies, where: Infantry and skirmisher units have a frontage of 4", cavalry 3", artillery 2", and generals are mounted on 2" × 2" bases. Any basing system may be used, provided both armies are based consistently.

Sequence of Play

Each game turn comprises two player turns, where each player follows the sequence below:

1. Movement
2. Shooting
3. Melee
4. Rout
5. Rallying

Movement

All unit movement must be in straight lines unless following a road:

• Infantry and Artillery: 6”  
• Skirmishers: 9” (edit)
• Cavalry and Generals: 12” 

Effects of terrain on movement:

• Towns: Half movement. Impassible for artillery and cavalry except by roads.
• Marsh/Lakes: Impassable.  
• Rivers: Crossable only via bridges or fords. Halve movement.
• Hills: Half movement when moving uphill.  
• Roads: Add 3” to the movement.
• Woods: Halve movement for infantry and skirmishers. Impassible for artillery and cavalry except by roads.

Turning - Units may pivot on their central point to change facing. A turn may be made at the start and/or end of a move.  

Moving and Shooting - Units cannot shoot if they have moved (including any pivots).

Interpenetration - Units cannot move through other units.  

Enemy Presence - Units within 6” of an enemy unit may only retire directly away from the enemy or advance directly towards them.

Charges - A charge is made by moving a unit into contact with an enemy unit. Charges are subject to the following restrictions:

• A charging unit may make one pivot at the start of its move of up to 45 degrees.
• An enemy unit may only be charged by one unit.
• Melee is resolved during the Melee Phase.
• Charging units receive no road movement bonus.

Unit Restrictions:

• British Light Infantry may only charge enemy skirmishers. )Skirmishers who are not light infantry may not charge.) edit
• Infantry may charge skirmishers and infantry.
• Cavalry may charge any unit type.
• Artillery never charge, but all the above can charge artillery (edit)

Musket Shooting

The procedure for shooting is as follows.

• Adjudge Field of fire. Units may only target a single enemy unit within 45 degrees of their frontal arc providing there are no friendly units within 3” of the target. 
• Measure the range. Muskets have a range of 6”.
• Assess Casualties. All units roll an average dice (AvD) and apply the following modifiers in the order listed: 
• -1 if the shooting unit is a skirmisher unit. 
• +1 if the shooting unit is a British Regular unit or American Continental unit.
• +2 if the shooting unit is a British Grenadier unit.
• -1 if target in cover.

Artillery Shooting

The procedure for bombardment is as follows.

• Adjudge Field of fire. Units may only target a single enemy unit within 45 degrees of their frontal arc providing there are no friendly units within 3” of the target. 
• Check the range. Measure the range and calculate the number of 6” bounds to reach the target. For example, a unit at 20” range is at 4 bounds.
• Assess Casualties. Roll an AvD and deduct the number of bounds. If the unit is in woods or buildings subtract 1.

Melee

The procedure for resolving melees is as follows:

• Two Sided Combat. Both the defender and attacker roll for casualties.
• Assess Casualties. The unit rolls an AvD and apply the following modifiers in the listed order:  
• +1 if regular or continental unit. 
• +2 if grenadier unit or cavalry unit
• -1 if a skirmish unit.
• Double the result for flank and rear attacks. 
• Double the result if attacking  artillery.
• -1 if charging against units in cover or uphill.
• Melee Retreat. The unit with the most total hits (not just from the melee) must retreat directly away a full move and end up facing away from their adversary.

Rout

Infantry and Skirmisher units are routed and removed from play when they accumulate 13 or more hits. Cavalry and Artillery units are routed and removed when they accumulate 9 or more hits. 

Army Resolve - If a force loses more than half of its units, the remaining units immediately suffer 2 additional hits to represent the fatigue and reduced battlefield cohesion.

Rallying

Generals may rally their troops during the Rally Phase to remove hits. Each General may attempt one rally per turn and has a limited number of rally attempts available during the game. Artillery and cavalry may not be rallied.

The rally procedure is as follows:

• Check Command Range – The unit to be rallied must be within 12" of the General.
• Attempt Rally – Roll an AvD. Remove one hit from one or more units for each point scored, subject to the following limits:
• Grenadiers, Regular Infantry, British Light Infantry, and Continental Infantry: maximum of 2 hits removed.
• Riflemen, Cavalry, Militia, and Provincial Infantry: maximum of 1 hit removed.

A General's total number of rallies available during a game may be determined using the following guidelines:

• +1 rally for each Grenadier, Regular Infantry, British Light Infantry, or Continental Infantry unit in the force.
• +1 rally for an average General.
• +2 rallies for an above-average General.
• +3 rallies for an exceptional General.
• −2 rallies if the force is poorly supplied or has undertaken a forced march.
• +1 if the force is well supplied

The Scenario

This game is my take on the battle using the scenario ideas from the books "Seven Steps to Freedom" by C. Wesencraft and "Wargamers Handbook of the American War of Independence" by D. Featherstone.

Background

A British force of approximately 1900 troops commanded by Cornwallis are pursuing of the American army commanded by Nathanael Greene with an estimated 5500 troops. Greene has chosen to make a stand near Guilford Courthouse, deploying his troops in depth.

On 15 March, Cornwallis attacked the American position. The British drove back the first two lines but suffered heavy casualties in the process. Greene opted to withdraw his third line and remaining troops from the field, but the British victory came at a heavy cost. Cornwallis's army was so weakened that it would ultimately lead to his defeat later that year. A tactical British victory but a strategic American victory.

Forces

British:

1 x Grenadier unit

3 x Regular Infantry units

1 x Light Infantry unit (skirmishing)

1 x Artillery unit

1 x Cavalry unit

1 x General with 8 rally attempts during the game

American: 

2 x Continental units
4 x Militia units
3 x Riflemen units (skirmishing)
2 x Artillery units
1 x cavalry unit
1 x General with 4 rally attempts during the game

Tabletop

A 4x4 foot tabletop is used for the scenario, as this size works well for my 15mm armies.

Map of tabletop

Deployment

The American must be deployed in three lines and each line must have at least 2 infantry units of any type. The Continental units must be in the third line, and one artillery piece must be placed in the first and second line.

The British deploy their units within 6" of their table edge.

Deployment areas

Game Length and Turn Order

The scenario has 15 game turns and the American player begins.

Victory Conditions

American victory - Rout more than 50 percent of the British units.

British victory - Rout or force off the tabletop 1 of the American continental units.

Battle Report

The Americans deploy their first line of defence along the fence line, consisting of two militia units, two units of riflemen acting as skirmishers, and an artillery piece. A second line, positioned in the central wooded area, had two more militia units and another gun, leaving sufficient space for the forward troops to retire through the position should they retreat. The final and third line, consists of two Continental infantry units, cavalry and riflemen.

Both armies deployed.

The British deployed with their artillery covering the road. On the right are the Grenadiers and a unit of regular infantry, while the left has two units of regulars supported by a unit of light infantry.

The British advance on the first American line of defence.

The British advance commences without delay. Their line moves forward against the American troops lining the fence. After exchanging several volleys to wear down the defenders they charge whenever a militia unit shows any signs of disorder. Three of the four militia units gave way to charges and retreat, though one unit stubbornly maintained its ground. In the confusion of the withdrawal, the American gun is abandoned. The British left wing press on in pursuit of the retreating militia, while on the right the remaining defenders were finally routed with the support of the Grenadiers.

The first line of defense retreats.

Grenadiers help rout the last defenders of the fence line.

With the first line swept aside, British attention turns to the second American position amongst the central wooded area. This line had been strengthened by some of the retreating troops from the first line. The attack opens with the British left wing, where the light infantry work their way through the woods to threaten the American flank. 

Supported by artillery fire, two units of regulars advance once more and successfully rout several of the defending units. One unit of British regulars are lost in the process of clearing out the militia.

The British left wing advances taking losses in the process.

On the British right wing the remaining American gun finds its range, delivering accurate fire against the Grenadiers as they try to close with the second line. Determined to stop the troublesome gun, the British commander orders his cavalry forward along the road. Their charge successfully silences the gun, but they suffer heavily casualties and retire from the battle.

Cavalry charge down the road to silence the remaining gun.

As the American second line began to crumble, the Continental units and riflemen of the third line advance to meet the enemy. British units having gained possession of the wooded centre are now exhausted from the prolonged fighting. They exchanged a couple of volleys with the riflemen, but are not in a position to advance further without artillery support, which is yet to arrive.

The central wooded area is finally taken by exhausted British troops.

The Continental infantry are in good order and appeared ready to contest the field. However, with daylight fading no further assault would be attempted without the necessary artillery support. The British retain control of the central wooded area. 

The game ends in a draw with neither army achieving their victory conditions.

The British move up their artillery, but it would arrive too late to support their worn out infantry.

Wrap Up

This proved to be an enjoyable solo game, with American units focused entirely on holding their successive defensive lines for as long as possible. The game unfolded in a manner not dissimilar to the historical engagement, with the British forcing their way through the second line of defence but becoming too disorganised and exhausted to press on. Under the scenario's victory conditions, the result is recorded as a draw, which feels like a fair and fitting outcome.

From early in the game, the British commander was attempting to rallying units in order to keep them in the fight, the loss of any unit would reduce the army's firepower and slow its advance. By the time the British had secured the central wooded area, all the available rally opportunities had been used and most units were close to being eliminated.

The average dice also worked out well and I am tempted to experiment with them further with other One-Hour Wargames rules and rule variants.

Trying larger units and a Punic War game report

With an upcoming holiday later this week, I have not done any modelling or painting. Instead, I decided to get my 1/72 scale plastic Carthaginian and Roman armies on to the tabletop. I usually play variations of the One-Hour Wargames Ancient rules, often fielding 10–12 units per side rather than the six typically suggested in the book’s scenarios.

My units typically consist of two 4" x 3" bases with up to 12 figures per base for heavy infantry, around 9 for light infantry, and 4 to 6 figures for cavalry.

My usual ancient game setup on a 6 by 4 foot tabletop.

Not wanting a large battle, I decided to play a couple of One-Hour Wargames scenarios with the usual six-unit limit. As I was setting up for the game, I thought I would try doubling the number of bases per unit. This worked very well for the heavy infantry, forming a solid block of some 48 figures that look quite impressive and gave the unit a real sense of depth. However, doubling the bases did not work out so well for the light infantry, not only did the four-base blocks seem to look wrong, but the extra depth made it difficult to position them in front of the heavy infantry. In the end, I opted to keep them as two-base units and treated them as half-units, eliminated after taking half the hits of a standard unit but still retaining their full attack value.

A 4 base unit of Roman heavy infantry and a 2 base unit of light infantry.

Game Report...

One of the One-Hour Wargames scenarios I played using the larger units was Scenario #25: Infiltration, set up on a 4' x 4' table. In this game, a smaller Carthaginian force is attempting to break through a Roman army blocking their escape route. A portion of the Roman army holds a hill overlooking the road, while additional reserves are expected to arrive along the road from both the north (left) and south (right). The Carthaginians arrive from the north-west corner with the objective of getting at least two units off the northern end of the road to secure their escape.

The battle started with a Roman heavy infantry unit occupying the hill overlooking the road. Their orders were to hold until reinforcements could arrive from the north and south.

The Carthaginian cavalry vanguard advanced swiftly, pressing ahead while light infantry began  skirmishing fire upon the Roman position. Roman reserves were sighted approaching from the north.

Harassed by the enemy light troops, the Romans upon the hill advanced to drive them off, only to find themselves confronted by the Carthaginian war elephants. At the same time, additional Carthaginian formations moved forward to engage the arriving Roman reinforcements.

With little room for manoeuvre, the opposing cavalry found themselves committed against formed heavy infantry, both suffering casualties accordingly.

The Carthaginian cavalry are ultimately routed. Roman reserves were being slow to arrive and move into position.

The war elephants continued their destructive work, scattering Roman light troops and throwing the southern Roman reserves into confusion. To the north, the momentum swings with the Carthaginians as they rout the Roman cavalry.

The road north remained blocked, but the Roman infantry holding it were weary and attacked by persistent fire from Carthaginian light troops.

At length, the Roman blocking infantry broke, opening a path of escape, but Roman reinforcements press forward, seeking to restore the situation.

A unit of Carthaginian heavy infantry and light infantry seized the opportunity to break through and escape up the road.

Two units succeeded in escaping the Romans, though one was a 2 base unit of light infantry.

Two units succeeded in passing the Roman line, though one was a 2 base unit of light infantry. As to whether they should count toward the victory conditions I am uncertain. So I will call the game a draw.

The game was most enjoyable. The larger units certainly added to the look of the game, and who does not like pushing large blocks of troops around the tabletop?

Here are the rules used...

This ruleset is a variant on Neil Thomas’ One-Hour Wargames Ancient rules. They include additional unit types, movement activation, and differently sized units.

Units Types

The game is geared towards the 2nd Punic Wars and uses the following units types:

• Heavy Infantry (4 bases)

• Gaul Warband (4 bases)

• Light Infantry (2 bases)

• Cavalry (4 or 2 bases)

• Elephants (2 bases)

• Catapults (2 bases)

• Generals can be assigned to either a Heavy Infantry or Cavalry unit for the entire game.

The units need to be consistently based. A full unit is 4 bases and a half unit is 2 bases. Light infantry, elephants, and catapults are always half units. Cavalry can be either a full unit or a half unit..

Sequence of play

Each player takes a turn to move, shoot & melee with their units in the following sequence:

1. Movement

2. Shooting

3. Combat

4. Eliminating units (& berserk elephants)

After both players have had their turn, check the Army’s Fortune.

The game ends after 15 turns.

Movement

During the movement phase a player can attempt to move their units. The procedure is:

• The first unit moved each turn is free.

• After that, roll 1D6 each time you wish to move another unit. A 2+ is success, a 1 is a failure and no more units can be moved this turn.

• Each unit can only be moved once per turn.

A unit may move up to the distances listed below:

• Heavy Infantry - 6”

• Light Infantry, Veteran Heavy Infantry, Warbands & Elephants - 9”

• Cavalry  - 12”

• Catapults - cannot move, only pivot.

Turning - Units turn by pivoting on their central point. They may pivot at the start or the end of their move.

Interpenetration - Only light infantry may pass through other friendly units (and vice versa).

Moving and shooting - Units that have moved or turned may not shoot.

Terrain

Terrain has an impact on a unit’s movement and combat.

Woods - Only light infantry & warbands can enter

Towns - No effect on movement & treat as broken ground for combat

Marshland & lakes - Impassable to units

Rivers - Can only be crossed at bridges & fords

Broken Terran (e.g. Rocky, Fields & Streams) - Only infantry may enter. Provide cover to Light Infantry and Warbands in melee, but no cover against shooting.

Roads - Units moving all their move on roads add 3” to their move distance, but cannot charge.

Hills - Units defending hills are treated as being in cover.

Charges

Charges are resolved by moving the attacking unit into contact with its target. They are subject to the following restrictions:

• Elephants. Cavalry may not charge elephant units as they become spooked.

• Turning. A charging unit may turn once, at the start of its move. This evolution may not exceed 45 degrees.

• Limited Engagement. Only one attacking unit may contact each face of the target (these being Front, Left Flank, Right Flank, and Rear).

• Fighting. Combat is resolved during the Combat phase.

Shooting

Only light infantry and catapults can shoot. The procedure for shooting is as follows:

• Units may only shoot at a target within their frontal facing.

• Light infantry have a range of 12” & assess the number of hits by rolling a D3.  Half the number of hits (rounding up fractions) when the target unit is: in cover, heavy infantry, or elephants.

• Catapults have a range of 24” & assess the number of hits by rolling a D3. (There are no modifiers.)

Combat

Units only inflict hits during their own player turn. To assess the number of hits:

• Heavy Infantry - D6

• Warband (Gauls) - D6+D3

• Light Infantry - D3

• Cavalry - D6

• Catapults - cannot attack in combat situations

• Elephants - D6

Modification to the number of hits:

• All units, except elephants, halve hits when attacking heavy infantry

• Halve hits when attacking units in woods or defending a river.

• Roll 2 D6 and select the highest score if a general is assigned to the units.

• Double the hits for flank or rear attacks.

Catapults - Are automatically eliminated in combat.

Turning Within Combat - Units may turn to face an attack upon their flank or rear if they are not simultaneously being frontally engaged. 

Eliminating Units

Full units are eliminated once they have taken 17 or more hits, and half units after 9 or more hits. 

When an elephant unit is eliminated, check to see if it goes berserk. Roll a D3 and:

• On a score of 1 the elephant immediately charges the nearest friendly unit with 12” & inflicts D6 hits. After which the elephant unit is removed from play.

• On a score of 2 the elephant immediately charges the nearest enemy unit with 12” & inflicts D6 hits. After which the elephant unit is removed from play.

• On a score of 3 nothing happens & the elephant unit is removed from play as any other unit would be.

French and Indian War - Game 3 Setup

This week, I will be playing out the third and final game in my French and Indian War mini-campaign, which I began a few weeks ago. Details about the campaign and its progress can be found in my previous posts.

British units crossing the bridge.

The campaign had began with promise for General William Colchester, commander of the British forces in the region. With a surprise advance, his troops with naval support had secured the vital river crossing near the settlement of St. Paul, enabling British forces to march along the coast toward Fort Robert.

However, French General Lucien Duvall had used the available time wisely. Fort Robert had long fallen into disrepair, so the general had organised his men and oversaw the repairs and building of additional fortifications. When the British assault came, the French were ready and the attack which was repulsed. General Colchester was forced to withdraw.

Faced by this unexpected setback, General Colchester regrouped his battered forces. His original plan to march on Fort Orleans and lay siege to it was no longer feasible. Instead, he turned his attention inland, aiming to seize a strategic river crossing downstream from Fort Orleans, one that could serve as a foothold for future operations.

The campaign map show progress so far.

The game will be using scenario 5 (Bridgehead) from the book One-Hour Wargames (OHW) by Neil Thomas. During the game units from both armies will arrive on various game turns. The British from the south and the French from various points which are decided by the dice.

A close up of the campaign map.

The tabletop setup. French units will arrive in three groups at points A, B, or C depending upon a dice roll. The British units will arrive at point D.

Order of Battle...

British Forces:

• 6 x Regular Infantry Units
• 4 x Militia Units
• 2 x Artillery Units

French Forces:

• 6 x Regular Units
• 2 x Militia Units
• 4 x Indian Warrior Units

For the game I am using a modified version of the One-Hour Wargames horse and musket rules. Each side is has a trusted captain and a general, both of whom provide special re-roll abilities. The trusted captain is assigned to a single unit for the entire game and allows that unit to re-roll any combat dice. However, if a 1 is rolled on the re-roll, the captain is wounded in the action and takes no further part in the battle. The general is free to move between units and can force the opposing player to re-roll their combat dice if they are attacking a unit he has attached himself to. If a 6 is rolled on this re-roll, then the general suffers a mishap and must retire from the field.

Victory Conditions...

By the end of turn 15, the British can claim victory if there are no French units within 12 inches of the crossing. If there are any French forces are within that distance, then the victory goes to the French.

The game begins with two British units across the ford.

Everything is now ready for the deciding game of this mini-campaign.

Planning a French and Indian War tree campaign with a map

I have recently been playing a few French and Indian War games and made a scratch-built a ship with landing boats so I can incorporate some amphibious operations into my games. While I enjoyed playing the one-off games, I wanted to play a few games that were linked as part of a campaign. 

The question is what campaign approach to use? Any approach should:

• Keep the game count manageable, about 3 games sounds just fine.
• Provide a supporting narrative to keep the games engaging and with an objective.
• Have a map, as I like maps and the making of them.

This short campaign is designed to allow for one or two amphibious landings.

Step 1 - Find a suitable campaign approach.

I found an example of a simple tree campaign consisting of 3 battles in an old Warhammer set of rules I have.  

A simple tree campaign found in a Warhammer rule book.

Step 2 - Select suitable OHW scenarios.

For my tree campaign, I selected One-Hour Wargaming (OHW) scenarios for each battle, while attempting to create a cohesive narrative between the scenarios. This process took longer than expected because each scenario had to fit logically with potential outcomes, wins and losses from previous battles. I found myself looping through various options until I found the ones which fitted the narrative I had in my head.

Some of the initial planning for the campaign with OHW scenarios identified.

Step 3 - Making the map

Next, I needed to incorporate the scenarios into a map to add more context to the campaign. The map helps establish a connection between each battle, their terrain, and the broader campaign.

I sketched out each selected OHW scenarios on its own 2-inch by 2-inch pieces of paper which was cut out. With a rough idea of how I wanted the map to look, I arranged the cut out pieces of paper on a larger sheet to establish the flow between scenarios based on which side wins or losses. In some cases, I had to flip a scenario map to create a mirror image. Once satisfied with their placement, I began sketching the map to incorporating the scenario maps.

Not the best photo of the cut out scenarios as they were position on a blank A3 sized page.

Having sketched out the map it was a simple process of colouring in the map.

Final map showing each of the scenarios.

Step 4 - Double checking the flow with the tree campaign.

A final step was double checking the flow of the tree campaign with the scenarios.

The scenario maps in a tree structure

Campaign narrative using the map as a guide.

With reinforcements and support from the Royal Navy, the British plan to advance up the coast and capture Fort Orleans, leveraging their naval support to undertake amphibious landings. However, Fort Robert has onshore guns that prevent any naval operations. Capturing Fort Orleans would be considered a major British victory, requiring three tabletop wins within the campaign.

The map showing the planned attack approach of the British.

Minor victory is achieved by crossing the river further downstream to set up a bridgehead for future operations or the capture of Fort Robert. These can be achieved with 2 tabletop wins and 1 loss.

The circled areas would be considered a minor campaign victory if held.

Looking at the narrative for the first tabletop game.

An initial victory is crucial for the British forces at the start of their campaign. A loss would give the French time to reinforce Fort Robert’s defences, forcing the British to move inland towards Henry’s fram in search of a river crossing upstream of Fort Orleans. This inland route would expose them to counterattacks from the French and their Native Indian allies. While, a victory would allow the British to advance swiftly along the coastal road, isolating Fort Robert and cutting off any French reinforcements.

The British launch their first attack across the river from King’s Town and also land forces further down the coat. 

The scene is set for the first game.

The tabletop is setup for the first game, OHW scenario 19 - Blow from the rear. The British will be using their Naval support to land troops behind the French left flank. A slight modification to the scenario.

The tabletop is setup and the campaign begins!