Sunday 5 May 2013

Bloody Run 1763 - a Muskets & Tomahawks scenario

This is a scenario for Muskets and Tomahawks based on the Battle of Bloody Run.

The Battle of Bloody Run was fought during Pontiac's Rebellion on July 31, 1763. In an attempt to break Pontiac's siege of Fort Detroit, about 250 British troops attempted to make a surprise attack on Pontiac's encampment. Instead they were ambushed and forced to retreat back to Fort Detroit.

For a full account see Haughty Conquerors: Amherst and the Great Indian Uprising of 1763 by William Nester - from page 134 onwards.

The Forces

British force

2 Regular officers
2 units of 10 Regular infantry

1 Irregular officer
2 units of 5 Rangers
Indian force

2 Sachem
5 units of 6 Warriors

Standard Traits apply to all units

Extra Traits, Talents and Sub-plots for Officers and Events are optional but may skew the scenario.

Ignore the Objective Deployment in the rules and use the deployment given below

Terrain

I played this on a 2 x 4 table using 15mm figures but keeping the 28mm ranges and movement

The table is split into 4 equal sections, South, South Central, North Central and North

All of the fields have wooden fences with the exception of the field by the river which has stone walls - the one east of  "B"

The river can only be crossed at the bridge

The fort and the entire Northern Section is only accessible by the British

British Deployment

The 2 Regular units deploy in column at A & B heading south. Unit A must be on the bridge.

The 2 Ranger units can deploy in the buildings or fields anywhere in the South Central section

British Objective - Scouting Mission

The British have to scout each section of the table. A section is scouted if there is at least 1 model in the section at the end of a turn. Note that the South section has a thin strip of land on the northern bank of the river.

The British leave the table by entering the fort. If at least 1/3 of the British, 11 figures, leave the table after scouting  all sections then they have completed their victory conditions

Indian Deployment

Indians deploy a unit at location 1,2,3 & 4. All Indian units must start more than 6 inches from a British unit but can be in Linie of Sight .

The 5th unit is kept off table at the start. Every time an American Indian card is played then roll 1 dice. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the Turn number then the 5th unit can appear anywhere on the east or west edges of the 2 Central sections. Therefore the 5th unit gets 4 chances per turn of appearing.

The Indians are NOT allowed in the Northern section of the table - if an Indian unit enters the Northern section it is immediately removed from play due to overwhelming musket and artillery fire from the fort

Indian Objective - Engagement

The Indians have to kill 2/3 of the enemy, 22 British figures, in order to complete their victory conditions.

The Card Pack

The pack comprises

2 British Regular cards
4 British Irregular cards
1 British Forward Boys card

4 American Indian cards
1 American Forward Boys card

On the 1st turn remove one of the American Indian cards before shuffling. This card will be the first card played and represents the initial ambush by Pontiac's force. On subsequent turns all cards are included in the shuffle.

Notes

I have played this several times and honours have gone to both sides. It can be a very tight game and a lot depends on how the initial ambush goes. The points are unequal but this hasn't affected play.

I would be interested to hear your comments

I will post an AAR of one of the games next.


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