Sunday, 14 June 2026

Scenario 4: Take the High Ground (2nd go)

 Both combatants are desperate to occupy some high ground that dominates the strategically important North-South Road. Army Black has succeeded in getting a small force on to the hill, however the rest of Black's Army is yet to arrive.

The Battlefield
This game was played using The Portable Wargame rules. Armies were created using the random method in One Hour Wargames (Table 1). As has been mentioned before, the scenarios were written for the OHW rules that allow for a fight to the last man; I therefore modified the PW rules slightly, changing Exhaustion Point (EP) from 30 to 50%.

The Battle in Pictures

A part of Army Red confront the enemy

Red's attack has begun by the time Black's main force arrives


Black feels the full might of Red's cotton wool fire
(Thanks to MaudlinFX)

Dwindling numbers of defenders. Black's Lancers are redeployed 

Black's Lancers tilt with The Guards on the left.
On the right, Red's Rifles emerge from the wood and move to join the attack.


Another successful volley takes its toll on Army Black

Black is under pressure, though his cavalry on both flanks keep the enemy occupied 

Army Red can taste victory!

Black's Cuirassiers have cut their way through the Regular Infantry on the road
 and now set their sights on the Rifles 

Red's advance is cautious, perhaps a little too cautious

With the demise of the Rifles, both sides reach EP

As neither side had unopposed occupancy of the objective (the hill) the game was a draw. Well that didn't sit too well, so I let play continue. Neither side could move however combat could carry on for two more turns...

Victory for Army Black


25 comments:

  1. Fun looking game. Nice figures too.

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    1. Thank you - they're mostly Irregular Miniatures 28mm, now sadly out of production

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  2. Good to see both PW and OHW back on the table. Nice one! πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌ

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    1. Cheers Martin - agreed, it's been a long time since the last one!

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  3. Nice looking game and battle report. Good to see you get a game in! I was inspired by your mini armies for my own projects. 3-4 foot and 2-3 horse figure units look good and do the job, and a 20-30 or so figure army is a doable project for me before my attention starts to wander. 😁

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    1. Thanks and I agree - small units are the only ones I can manage to get painted

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  4. A simple, but entertaining scenario which I enjoyed reading. I really must sort out my 10mm Imaginations armies and set up a similar game when I have time. Although the black and white photograph had old school atmosphere, it is so much easier to distinguish the two armies when they are in colour.

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    1. Thankyou Arthur. I hope you do get time for a game.
      Agreed, B&W looks nice but colour provides more intel

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  5. A splendid little battle that show that you don’t need a table that is groaning under the weight of thousands of figures to have fun. Nicely painted figures, some simple rules, and a believable scenario wins every time in my mind!

    All the best,

    Bob

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    1. Cheers Bob - thanks for inspiring me to get these fellows back out of their box

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  6. Lovely looking game! Has met thinking about how long (probably years, but i like to pretend otherwise) it would take to paint up two little horse & musket forces to do something similar. It's also probably one of my most played scenarios from OHW - when using OHW rules at least, eras where shooting is dominant play quite differently than those where melee rules the day.

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    1. Thanks John - it took me a while to paint these guys; that was 10 years ago and I'm even slower now!
      True about the difference the era can make, and it makes these scenarios even more interesting

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  7. Love how the hill looks looks kind of innocent, until both forces bloody themselves trying to take it.
    Great setups - always great drama in these battles.

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    1. Thanks again, and yes indeed these scenarios always give a good game

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  8. A real toy soldier feel to the game.

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    1. Thanks Peter. I originally bought these figures inspired by Joseph Morschauser's games with old 54mm "Britains", and Ross Mac's Blog posts featuring his Dominion of Faraway.

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  9. Nice looking set-up and game - and, did the leaders of Blackland and Redland fail to reach some kind of accord, perhaps the prelude to a fine campaign. Although I like the spectacle of my 'thousands' (well, hundreds) of soldiery, these battles of the dozen or so tend at least as effectively to draw in and engage the reader (this one at least).

    More, please!
    Cheers,
    Ion

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    1. Thanks Ion. The box of 28mm toys has been purposely left out to remind me to use them more!

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  10. Terrific fun!
    Alan Tradgardland

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    1. Thanks Alan. There's not enough fun around so I'm trying to grab it when I can!

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  11. Nice battle report Maudlin Jack. The Exhaustion Point is what I particularly like with the Portable Wargame rules.

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    1. Thanks Roger. Sometimes a "battle to the last man" can scratch an itch, but generally some sort of morale system is required, in my opinion.

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  12. Nicely done. I dunno how I managed to miss this battle report πŸ€”πŸ€·‍♂️
    This is further proof that an interesting, exciting battle can be fought with a relatively low number of miniatures. Well done πŸ‘πŸ‘
    Cheers,
    Geoff

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    1. Cheers Geoff - when I started wargaming in the early-mid 1970s the aim was to have units of at least 10 figures. I'd never manage to paint that many now

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