Weitzell's Mill at Cannon, 30th March 2014

Hi all

I made it back from Retford where I had a great day. The demo game was one of those good ones where it turns out to look and play as well as you hoped.

Here are a few photos. As is often the case I struggled with lighting and camera shake. Even with the tripod and a timer the "bouncy" floors led to blurred images. I've cleaned up what I could in Photoshop.

These are in no particular order, so I'll give each one a brief description.

1. Towards the end of the game the 33rd foot storm across the main ford to engage the infantry of Lee's Legion. After two rounds of hand-to-hand, Lee brings his cavalry crashing in to the redcoats' flank while the British general looks on helpless:


2. The same events but seen from a different angle, showing the creek winding off into the distance:


3. Earlier in the day. Here the continental infantry sit on their hill while the cavalry off Harry Lee and William Washington prepare to delay the Crown advance.


4. The rebel commander awaits news:

 5. The Royal Artillery plods forward (they never did get to fire a shot):

6. After some hard fighting in the woods the redcoated ranks move into the open ground:

7. A view from behind the advancing Crown army

8. Similar shot, still blurry!

9. A close-up of the British commander riding behind the 33rd and in front of the fusiliers:

10. Casualties of war. Routing riflemen and light dragoons:

11. The continental infantry make their escape once the baggage has exited the table:

12. Another look at the critical work of Lee's Legion to hold back the 33rd Foot:

13. Back to earlier in the day. The 71st advance over the wooded ridge but the 23rd RWF remain held-up by some stubborn riflemen:

14. Meanwhile the Guards Light Company has made a cunning flank attack over the western ford and charged some seriously outclassed militia riflemen:

15. While Lee defended the main ford, the militia did a superb job holding the horse ford against the von Bose regiment and the 71st Highlanders. Despite being shaken they held their nerve and repulsed all-comers:

16. A look at that early advance against the riflemen holding the wooded ridge:

17. ...and the advance over the ridge and out of the woods:

18. The von Bose advance from the woods to engage some retreating riflemen, before failing to defeat the militia at the ford:

19. At one stage, Tarleton led his legion in a mad skirmishing charge over the main ford but accumulated hits left them "blown" and they were routed by concentrated musketry from Lee's light infantry and the continentals:

That's the best of the photos.

Weitzell's Mill provided a cracking scenario. While the rebel Americans can never "win" they achieved a victory by exiting all four baggage wagons and the prized continentals more or less intact. Lee's cavalry rescued their infantry with a brave last minute charge.

The rebels lost two units of riflemen, a unit of rifle-armed militia and most critically Washington's light dragoons, however they inflicted routs on Tarleton's legion, the hessian jagers and the Guards light company.

Overall we awarded the victory to the rebels and felt they had done slightly better than their real-life brethren by defending the fords more convincingly and inflicting a rout on Cornwallis's only unit of cavalry.

I'll probably use the same set-up for Partizan in June.

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