Sunday 30 December 2012

Liberators Game using Fire & Fury Rules.

After six months away from the gaming table Mr. Ireland & I finally got together for our customary seasonal game in the "armpit of the year".

The initial set up was as follows:

Patriot forces on left hand baseline, Royalists to the right.


Patriot left wing looking toward Royalists.

Patriot centre.

Patriot right wing.
The object of the game was for the Patriot forces (me) to break the defending Spanish (Paul) and open the pass in the centre of his line.
In view of this objective the first & subsequent turns saw me pushing forward hard across the board to achieve this.
On my right flank the Venezuelan & Colombian cavalry brigade advanced at their fastest pace to attempt to outflank the opposing Royalist Aragon & Cantabria Regiments whilst my sole artillery piece offered long range support.



The 3 shots above show the advance of the Patriot Cavalry to break the  Royalist left wing over 4 turns, having caught the two infantry regiments disorganised by cannon fire.
In the centre things went less well for the Patriot forces, accurate gunfire from the Royalist howitzer on the hill & a spoiling charge from the FernandoVII Hussars slowed down the Colombian Santander & Caracas Battalions, the latter of whom was then shattered by musket fire from the Spanish Burgos Regiment.




A sequence showing the steady attrition of the Patriot centre.
Fortunately the day was recovered to a degree by the charge of the Peruvian Hussars de Junin who in a sharp action broke the Fernando VII Hussars, whilst in the right centre the Bogota Battalion advanced to help mop up the Royalist left.

Clash of the Hussars de Junin & Fernando VII Hussars


The Bogota Battalion pushes forward.
Meanwhile over on the Peruvian flank the 1st Peruvian Battalion & the Peruvian Legion also advanced aggressively to engage the Royalist Talavera Regt & the supporting Hussars de la Concordia, with ultimately mixed fortunes.




A confusing fight on this wing to say the least. The Peruvian Legion & the Talavera Regiment engaged each other in musket fire that would eventually rout the Peruvians but leave the Talavera shattered. While this firefight continued the 1st Peruvian kept the Royalist hussars disorganised with musketry so they were unable to position themselves for a charge. though they did eventually break off to help rout the Peruvian Legion.
At this point we mutually agreed that there was little more the Royalists could do to continue the fight in any meaningful way, with only the Burgos regiment still intact but hopelessly out of position. As the Hussars de Junin (also intact) had a clear route off the Royalist baseline it was agreed that the Patriots had won a minor victory, though with such huge losses that any subsequent campaigning for the year was likely to be out of the question.
All in all a very enjoyable & well balanced game. We keep returning to the Fire & Fury ruleset as we both find it easy to interpret although we were a bit rusty through the first couple of turns, but that is to be expected after a 12 month lay off.
Happy 2013 everyone & thanks for all your kind remarks during 2012.

3 comments:

  1. Nice looking game there, HGA. Very impressive terrain boards too. Best wishes for the New Year to you too. Dean

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  2. Very nice scenario, figures and terrain. It's great to see interest in the Liberator's period growing. Looking forward to more of your posts on the subject in 2013. Best for the New Year etc. Mark

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  3. Many thanks both, I may just give Liberators a short rest as I swear painting all those straps & lace is sending me blind. But rest assured I will return.

    Best Regards HGA

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