After action report

To commemorate St. Patrick's day we tried to have a themed battle. The following is a short write-up. Unfortunately the majority of my pictures were effected by the liquid refreshment we enjoyed with the game.

On the border between Canada and Fenian American territory is a little no mans land of a town that has a brewerey, simply known as Rorke's. It has had a reputation of sorts as a truce zone between the two terretories since it is the only beer for miles.
In the early part of 1887 the British parliment passed a liquor tax to be imposed upon her Canadian colony to aid in covering the cost of the increasing presence of British troops there. Upon recieving word of this new tax the local British colonial government decided to annex the terretory occupied by the brewery and town as a new source of tax revenue.
Obviously unhappy with this decision the workers at Rorke's have formed a union in order to better resist the British Government and perhaps gain some help from their Irish and American customers to the South.

They have barricaded and fortified the brewery complex for the inevitable conflict to come and have sought the aid of local Irish and other allied troops. They refused to pay the tax and have vowed to fight to the last man in the defense of Rorke's Draft.

Fenian force

Four units of Fenian colonial infantry from a nearby Garrison.
Three units of Brewery Irregulars.
Two units of dismounted American cavlary.
The Iron Kelly, a steam powered walker armed with congreve style rockets. The Brewery defenders had a hastily erected defensive wall and were using a small sloop drawn up on the beach as part of the wall. The sloop happened to be mounting a pair of small guns which the workers were able to serve after a fashion.

Four units of Prussian allied rifles.
One unit of Prussian Jagers
Light Field piece and one Klankentrupper

British Forces

Two units of Highlanders;
Four units of British Regular Infantry;
Four units of British Colonial troops;

The British troops were supported by a steam powered velocipede mounting a Gardiner gun and a small steam tank mounting a light artillery piece. A sidewheel river patrol boat with a light gun also made an appearance.

The Battle

As this represented a force march on both sides part we mixed things up a bit by having units show up on the boards edge as determined by the drawing of cards for the first three turns with all other troops showing up on the fourth turn.

The cards seemed to favor the defenders. A large part of the Prussians as well as the Americans showed up on the right flank on turn one and marched forward to establish a firning line even with the defenders wall. The Prussian jagers established a strong point at the corner of the compound and were the first troops to come under fire. A perfectly aimed shell from the tankette burst right in their midst aking out more than half the unit.
Irish troops came over the wall on the back side of the compound and moved forward to support the workers on the walls. The single unit of Fenian Light Rifles worked their way up to the top of the brewery where their longer range rifles would make things hard on the approaching British gunboat.

The Highlanders advanced on the British left, supporting the tankette which parked itself at the edge of the woods and commence to shell the Prussian and American units. The American skirmishers were able to force the screen of Colonial troops in front of the Highlanders into routing but that really only server to bring the Allied lines under some serious fire from the Highlanders. The battle on this flank became a shooting match of attrition that wore both sides down steadly throughout the day. Shell fire from the Iron Kelly's rockets, the Prussian gun and the British tank took a serious toll amongst those units they paid their favors too.

The first fire from the beached sloop obliterated the British velocipede as it came steaming up the road. Following the steam car six units of British infantry advanced and fired upon the fort; forcing the workers to pull back from the walls as their Fenian allies stepped up to take their places. The boat crew sustained serious casualties as the British gunboat made its appearance and began shelling th deck of the sloop. Fenian riflemen on the roof of the Brewery made manning the deck gun on the gunboat difficult but they were unable to totally silence it.

Several hard hitting volleys from the Fenian troops at the wall made it plain to the British commander that he wasn't going to be collecting any taxes today. He withdrew his troops in good order intent upon returning soon.

All in all it was a very fun time. Plans are under way for our next battle. Perhaps the Fenian commander will take it upon himself to aquire his own river gunboat.

Photos of the battle:

The Brewery compound just before the British start shooting. Prussians move up on the left while several units of Irish troops come ove the low wall to assist in the defense of the compound. The Commitees for Armed Conflict and Rough Justice have taken up positions at the front wall. Fortified with strong drink they provide an impressive but nearly inneffective series of rifle volleys. They did manage, with cannon fire, to destroy the British scout velocipede just as it cleared the woods on the road leading to the brewery.

The Prussian advance is stalled by volley after volley from the Highlanders and other local militias. Here you see the American skirmishers and the front line of Prussians falling back to rally while being relieved by more Prussians. The Prussian gun and the steam tank just visible in the woodline fought a dule which eventually ended in the destruction of the Prussian gun.

On the road is all that remains of the three leading British units. Serious volley fire from the Irish gave the remaining three units much to think about as they withdrew from the field shortly after this picture was taken. Seeing the right flank withdraw, the Highlanders begin a fighting withdrawal as well.

American and Prussian troops continue to fight the Highland line. Caulaties on both sides were heavy. Highland determination almost carried this flank but the commander thought better of it when Irish troops, having pushed the right flank back, started coming out of the fort to take up a flanking position on the Highland right. The Scotsmen withdrew in good order, supporting the steam tank as it backed through the woods.