Warlord Games have produced a supplement to their Black Powder rule set called ‘The Last Argument of Kings’. In it they have provided neat campaign for the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, something I really fancied trying out. One weekend I decided to give it a bash, starting with the opening battle of Preston Pans. It turned out to be a very useful exercise as I learnt a great deal about the Black Powder rule system along the way.
The scenario makes the Highland player dice for the number of units that answer the call to arms, so they can have an interesting time during this first battle. The player can opt to re-roll but is stuck with whatever is rolled, even if it is a worse result. The English are given a more regular sized force but of a more basic make up.
In reality the battle was over in something like twenty minutes with the English being routed by the wild Highland charge; lots of casualties and prisoners. I didn’t expect this game to last too long. Playing solo I set the English troops out in a simple line with the infantry battalions supported by light guns and a two unit brigade of cavalry holding one wing. What else could I do with such a force with no terrain cover? The Scots rolled a six and ended up with the maximum number of units, six infantry and two small cavalry. In the first game I divided the Highlanders into four brigades each with two units, in the hope of attaining some flexibility attacking the English line. It seemed simple enough, given the historical encounter, and I did not expect the game to run differently.
The highlanders attacked, receiving some artillery fire in the process but nothing like enough to cause any concern. The Highlanders have a higher melee factor in lieu of a regular shooting factor, so it is in their interest to assault as quickly as possible and make best use of their skills. The first Highland brigade crashed into and English one consisting of two infantry units and a gun in close formation. The closing fire wasn’t too effective but enough to cause some damage so, when the melee took place and the Highlanders took further casualties they were forced to take a break test. Any unit losing a melee must take such a test adding any casualties to the score. In this case the Highland unit failed this test with an appalling die roll made worse by the excess casualties and fled the field. And it all went wrong from their in a matter of seconds...literally.
In the Black Powder rules, when a brigade is reduce to 50% it breaks and must leave the field. The same system works for higher echelons and so the wing was reduced to 50%; you can see where this is going I am sure. The wing was forced to withdraw leaving the army at 50% meaning that it too had to withdraw, and all of this in a single move! The Highland army was routed in the blink of an eye purely because of the way I had organised their command structure. A serious lesson had been taught.
I replayed the battle a second time, giving the Highland brigades three units each; a simple and incredibly effective stratagem compared to the previous debacle! This time the Highlander charge would be more robust and the charge was made with some confidence. This time the English guns were more effective at the longer ranges and inflicted a casualty on several Scottish units, this would cause problems later on. When the Highlanders charged into the English brigades they held and melee followed. The artillery caused some serious closing fire casualties and the English troops, incredibly, saved many of their own casualties. The Scots were not so lucky and once again came of worse in these fights. Break tests took out Highland units and, whilst the stronger brigade structure slowed the process, the army was once again repelled in a history twisting defeat.
This was a very interesting couple of games and I realised the usefulness of guns in closing fire when supporting the line, the importance of a solid brigade structure and the sheer fun of fighting battles with a result in good time. Damn, I love Black Powder!
Iwade Village Hall,
