A foggy day at Germantown
This was our second annual “big” 15mm 2 day refight event following on from Brandywine last year. As always, most of the players were in the dark about the scenario until the day although a couple made educated guesses. Having read one write up of the scenario fought out I did do a couple of tweaks to the scenario rules but as the game didn’t follow the historical pattern few came into effect.
The game opened with Washington’s column arriving in good order despite the night march and fog with Conway and Hampton’s brigades below Mount Airy, poised to attack.
Most of the British brigade commanders were emerging from their camp trying to work out what the scattered firing to the north could mean.
Musgrave could see a substantial number of American battalions through the gloom and as his pickets were driven in ordered his brigade to disengage and fall back into the cover of the fog. The 2nd LI battalion stayed on the hilltop, with Musgrave to cover their withdrawal as Spencer’s regiment advanced briskly forward.
Washington could neither see, nor more likely hear, any evidence of the arrival of Greene’s divisions to his left.
As the fog rolled briefly back Spencer came under sustained heavy accurate fire as they pushed up the hill from the 2nd LI, taking casualties, then a furious volley that caused the regiment to break and disperse. Problems were also occurring back down Washington’s column as Hartley and Maxwells brigades took a long time to start moving forward causing a log jam as the Americans tried to advance down the road, the only clear landmark to them.
Howe had been busy giving his brigadiers their orders which, in the absence of any visible enemy, were limited to move orders to take up defensive positions. Grey to a position below the hill his artillery were sited on, Agnew to rest his left flank on Chew House then along a fence to the creek where it would meet Grants brigade holding a line going east to the road junction. Howe kept Matthew with him until he could see what was actually going on whilst the rest of the battalions formed columns to advance to their positions.
As Conway continued to advance up the hill the 2nd LI fell back behind the fence below the hill taking some casualties as they did so but time had been gained for the artillery to withdraw, the pickets to regroup and some companies of the 40th to barricade Chew house under Lieutenant William Harris.
With Maxwell still holding up his advance Conways orders were changed to hold Mount Airy and as Hampton was supporting him the American attack stalled. Washington was still unsure of whether Greene had arrived, let alone Smallwood, and were there redcoats in the fog just ahead of his Maryland brigades as they started to deploy off the road to the east of Germantown?
Grant, for one, was still some way off, peering through the fog himself as his battalions marched to take up their positions in a slowly forming British line.
As the 2nd LI rallied behind the fence and started trading shots with the 3rd/6th Pa on the hill above them Greene finally arrived. Like Washington using the road to guide them in a single column led by McDougal’s brigade, unaware that in the fog ahead of them a British line was developing.
Having sent Matthew off with orders to hold Grant’s right flank Howe now headed over to Grey whose brigade was now in a position at the foot of the hill holding his artillery. Grey, normally a very accommodating chap, confused the repeated orders of his chief and using his own initiative advanced toward Mount Airy in support of Musgrave. Just as more American brigades were starting to arrive on the other side of the hill including Maxwell’s artillery! Was Grey about to bite off more than he could chew?
Washington had now formed his own line of DeBorre and Stones brigades east of Germantown in open order hoping, as they slowly crossed the fields ahead of them, to link up with Greene off to their left. At this point there were definite signs that the fog was starting to thin and visibility was starting to improve. This was certainly true for Greene as the fog parted briefly as he continued to deploy off the road to reveal Grant ahead of him.
After a few ineffectual volleys from both sides Grey was starting to realise he may have pushed too far forward and Howe had got himself briefly lost in the fog. With McClanes troop hovering just outside Germantown Musgrave’s pickets had taken positions inside various buildings and were ineffectually sniping at the Americans.
Unexpectedly for Washington Smallwood’s militia now arrived down the road Matthews was straddling as he supported Grant’s right.
The fog now lifted completely.
Howe immediately spotted the danger Grey was in, that in having advanced so far he had masked his own battery on the hill which could not fire in his support now that the enemy were visible. However, luckily for Grey, Howe managed to get his orders across first time and Grey started to disengage. Musgrave and the 2nd LI once again providing cover for the withdrawal, this time under artillery fire from Maxwell’s battery.
At least part of the British artillery could fire in their support causing casualties that should have warned the rebels what might follow.
Greene was continuing to deploy as the British waited in the distance. McDougal having ridden forward now pushed his 1st Ct regiment into the woods hoping to get around the end of Grant’s line but without realising the Guards were making their way through the woods toward Smallwood’s militia. With a particularly crisp American volley the skirmishing Queens Rangers were driven back in some disorder to reform behind the regulars.
As Grey’s 44th fell back Maxwell’s artillery got the range and inflicted quite severe casualties which caused the unit to retreat, only being rallied just below the Royal Artillery’s position. Maxwell’s leading battalion was now making its way past Conway who was still hotly engageg with the 2nd LI doggedly holding their ground below them.
In fact after one particularly good volley the 4th/5th Pa broke and dispersed taking Colonel Hampton with them as they fled the field.
Washington despatched one of his ADC to rally the brigade just as one of his battalions, engaged in long range volleys with Agnew’s brigade started to get low on ammunition.
As Maxwell and Hartley advanced McClanes troop crossed the fence to their front and then charged the 2nd LI who failed to get an effective volley off and unexpectedly crumpled from the charge of the cavalry. They retreated but were pursued and dispersed by the elated American horse who now, however, found themselves perilously close to the British artillery and Grey’s reformed battalions as well as Musgrave’s artillery now effectively positioned to cover any American advance.
In the centre Washington, as even more of his battalions ran low on ammunition, continued his long range duelling with Agnew hoping that Greene and Smallwood could overwhelm the British right. However, the British line was holding and on the whole firing effectively wounding Greene and then McDougal who had a slight loss of nerve and his brigade went to hold. Two of his battalions, however, were already engaged in a hot fire with the 49th on the extreme end of the British line who were getting the worst of the exchange and after a particularly good volley the 49th broke when Grant was absent having a wound treated.
The loss of two British battalions marked the high point for the Americans and things now started to swing inexorably against them as Cornwallis arrived on the Philadelphia road with two hard marching Grenadier battalions. Never destined to get into action they at least provided a boost to British morale.
Conway and Hartley had pushed forward with Maxwell but now came under fire from the artillery unmasked by the retirement of Grey’s battalions who added their volleys from the fence line as well as Musgraves 6pdr. McClane suffered 25% casualties and retreated then the 3rd/6th Pa soon accumulated a significant number of casualties and broke carrying Conway himself and McClane’s troop off in the rout that followed. Hartleys battalions also came under fire, retreated and then the brigade broke when the 1st Pa routed. This left Maxwell now holding the American right with the killing fields to their left effectively cleared of American troops by the artillery.
Still holding the centre Washington’s last hope was a breakthrough by Greene and Smallwood.
McDougal went into the assault with the 2nd Ct, low on ammunition, charging the outnumbered 55th who flung them back then kept up a galling fire at the retreating Americans.
Smallwoods militia had been proving quite stubborn, their larger units absorbing some punishment from the steadily advancing Guards. The 1st NJ were dispersed by volleys from the 1st Guards, the Marylanders retreated but were rallied by Smallwood but the 1st NJ collapsed in the face of a bayonet charge by the 1st Guards
Rather embarrassingly the 2nd Guards lost their bottle and failed to charge home but continued to pour a devastating fire into the hapless militia who resolutely stood their ground.
The end of the battle was reached in a series of incidents.
McDougals brigade broke as the 7th Ct dispersed from a series of heavy volleys from Grant’s battalions and Grant himself was wounded again. Agnew’s brigade had not suffered a single casualty in the long range musketry duel with Washington’s battalions but in a cruel twist of fate he was fatally shot just as the battle was petering out. Revenge was swift as with the last shot of the game the 33rd fired a volley that so startled Washington’s horse that it bolted into the British ranks and he was captured.
Smallwood’s militia broke on hearing the news but the rest of the American stood firm as Greene prepared to disengage and retire from the field praying the British and Howe would be too exhausted to pursue.
A definite British win in an, as usual, much bloodier affair than the real thing.
British losses some 280 killed and just under 600 wounded or missing.
American losses 1300 killed and over 2500 wounded or missing.
The brunt of the American losses came from Hampton, Conway’s and Hartley’s brigades that almost ceased to exist as well as McDougal and Smallwood.
Most British casualties came with the loss of the 49th and the 2nd LI caught out by the cavalry.
Washington’s Continentals remained intact as they mainly served to keep Agnew occupied, especially when a number of battalions went low on ammunition.
The British were put under pressure on both wings whereas the centre was not troubled at all. If Wayne had not halted his attack when they reached the summit of Mt Airy and Alexander had not taken so long to deploy then Grey’s rash move forward could have meant the destruction of his brigade. As it was this mistake was rectified in time and then the Americans dashed themselves to pieces as they advanced, once the fog had lifted, in the teeth of the British artillery.
Similarly on the other side the Americans found it difficult to deploy quickly( Green’e die rolling was appalling) and exploit their advantage in numbers. Once Smallwood arrived it looked like the British were going to be overwhelmed, especially after the loss of the 49th but a successful bayonet charge tipped the balance back.
Washington was also very unlucky in that three of his better battalions all went low on ammo which restricted their role to holding Agnew.
Having read a previous write up of this scenario I was concerned about how easily the 40th might be bundled out of Chew House but in the end it never came into consideration as the Americans never advanced that far. I was also pretty strict about players not discussing their planned actions unless their command figures were in contact, due to the fog. Notes were freely exchanged with the umpire deciding how long it took for said notes to arrive, or not.
The large number of American commanders were offset by the huge amount of work they had to do with so many units being 2nd Line, or worse, and advancing so much. Once in proximity to the British of course removing DP became even more difficult.
We got through 42 turns in about 12 hours of game play over the two days. Most people had not played much BG but picked it up quickly or remembered it from last year. I could quite happily leave some sectors to be managed by at least one player familiar with the rules and everyone had QR sheets courtesy of one of the players.
All in all a good time had by everyone and my thanks to everyone who played and especially those who helped toward a good weekends gaming.
Stephen Alexander Grey a civilian Wayne
Grant Washington Howe
regards
Paul
This was our second annual “big” 15mm 2 day refight event following on from Brandywine last year. As always, most of the players were in the dark about the scenario until the day although a couple made educated guesses. Having read one write up of the scenario fought out I did do a couple of tweaks to the scenario rules but as the game didn’t follow the historical pattern few came into effect.
The game opened with Washington’s column arriving in good order despite the night march and fog with Conway and Hampton’s brigades below Mount Airy, poised to attack.
Most of the British brigade commanders were emerging from their camp trying to work out what the scattered firing to the north could mean.
Musgrave could see a substantial number of American battalions through the gloom and as his pickets were driven in ordered his brigade to disengage and fall back into the cover of the fog. The 2nd LI battalion stayed on the hilltop, with Musgrave to cover their withdrawal as Spencer’s regiment advanced briskly forward.
Washington could neither see, nor more likely hear, any evidence of the arrival of Greene’s divisions to his left.
As the fog rolled briefly back Spencer came under sustained heavy accurate fire as they pushed up the hill from the 2nd LI, taking casualties, then a furious volley that caused the regiment to break and disperse. Problems were also occurring back down Washington’s column as Hartley and Maxwells brigades took a long time to start moving forward causing a log jam as the Americans tried to advance down the road, the only clear landmark to them.
Howe had been busy giving his brigadiers their orders which, in the absence of any visible enemy, were limited to move orders to take up defensive positions. Grey to a position below the hill his artillery were sited on, Agnew to rest his left flank on Chew House then along a fence to the creek where it would meet Grants brigade holding a line going east to the road junction. Howe kept Matthew with him until he could see what was actually going on whilst the rest of the battalions formed columns to advance to their positions.
As Conway continued to advance up the hill the 2nd LI fell back behind the fence below the hill taking some casualties as they did so but time had been gained for the artillery to withdraw, the pickets to regroup and some companies of the 40th to barricade Chew house under Lieutenant William Harris.
With Maxwell still holding up his advance Conways orders were changed to hold Mount Airy and as Hampton was supporting him the American attack stalled. Washington was still unsure of whether Greene had arrived, let alone Smallwood, and were there redcoats in the fog just ahead of his Maryland brigades as they started to deploy off the road to the east of Germantown?
Grant, for one, was still some way off, peering through the fog himself as his battalions marched to take up their positions in a slowly forming British line.
As the 2nd LI rallied behind the fence and started trading shots with the 3rd/6th Pa on the hill above them Greene finally arrived. Like Washington using the road to guide them in a single column led by McDougal’s brigade, unaware that in the fog ahead of them a British line was developing.
Having sent Matthew off with orders to hold Grant’s right flank Howe now headed over to Grey whose brigade was now in a position at the foot of the hill holding his artillery. Grey, normally a very accommodating chap, confused the repeated orders of his chief and using his own initiative advanced toward Mount Airy in support of Musgrave. Just as more American brigades were starting to arrive on the other side of the hill including Maxwell’s artillery! Was Grey about to bite off more than he could chew?
Washington had now formed his own line of DeBorre and Stones brigades east of Germantown in open order hoping, as they slowly crossed the fields ahead of them, to link up with Greene off to their left. At this point there were definite signs that the fog was starting to thin and visibility was starting to improve. This was certainly true for Greene as the fog parted briefly as he continued to deploy off the road to reveal Grant ahead of him.
After a few ineffectual volleys from both sides Grey was starting to realise he may have pushed too far forward and Howe had got himself briefly lost in the fog. With McClanes troop hovering just outside Germantown Musgrave’s pickets had taken positions inside various buildings and were ineffectually sniping at the Americans.
Unexpectedly for Washington Smallwood’s militia now arrived down the road Matthews was straddling as he supported Grant’s right.
The fog now lifted completely.
Howe immediately spotted the danger Grey was in, that in having advanced so far he had masked his own battery on the hill which could not fire in his support now that the enemy were visible. However, luckily for Grey, Howe managed to get his orders across first time and Grey started to disengage. Musgrave and the 2nd LI once again providing cover for the withdrawal, this time under artillery fire from Maxwell’s battery.
At least part of the British artillery could fire in their support causing casualties that should have warned the rebels what might follow.
Greene was continuing to deploy as the British waited in the distance. McDougal having ridden forward now pushed his 1st Ct regiment into the woods hoping to get around the end of Grant’s line but without realising the Guards were making their way through the woods toward Smallwood’s militia. With a particularly crisp American volley the skirmishing Queens Rangers were driven back in some disorder to reform behind the regulars.
As Grey’s 44th fell back Maxwell’s artillery got the range and inflicted quite severe casualties which caused the unit to retreat, only being rallied just below the Royal Artillery’s position. Maxwell’s leading battalion was now making its way past Conway who was still hotly engageg with the 2nd LI doggedly holding their ground below them.
In fact after one particularly good volley the 4th/5th Pa broke and dispersed taking Colonel Hampton with them as they fled the field.
Washington despatched one of his ADC to rally the brigade just as one of his battalions, engaged in long range volleys with Agnew’s brigade started to get low on ammunition.
As Maxwell and Hartley advanced McClanes troop crossed the fence to their front and then charged the 2nd LI who failed to get an effective volley off and unexpectedly crumpled from the charge of the cavalry. They retreated but were pursued and dispersed by the elated American horse who now, however, found themselves perilously close to the British artillery and Grey’s reformed battalions as well as Musgrave’s artillery now effectively positioned to cover any American advance.
In the centre Washington, as even more of his battalions ran low on ammunition, continued his long range duelling with Agnew hoping that Greene and Smallwood could overwhelm the British right. However, the British line was holding and on the whole firing effectively wounding Greene and then McDougal who had a slight loss of nerve and his brigade went to hold. Two of his battalions, however, were already engaged in a hot fire with the 49th on the extreme end of the British line who were getting the worst of the exchange and after a particularly good volley the 49th broke when Grant was absent having a wound treated.
The loss of two British battalions marked the high point for the Americans and things now started to swing inexorably against them as Cornwallis arrived on the Philadelphia road with two hard marching Grenadier battalions. Never destined to get into action they at least provided a boost to British morale.
Conway and Hartley had pushed forward with Maxwell but now came under fire from the artillery unmasked by the retirement of Grey’s battalions who added their volleys from the fence line as well as Musgraves 6pdr. McClane suffered 25% casualties and retreated then the 3rd/6th Pa soon accumulated a significant number of casualties and broke carrying Conway himself and McClane’s troop off in the rout that followed. Hartleys battalions also came under fire, retreated and then the brigade broke when the 1st Pa routed. This left Maxwell now holding the American right with the killing fields to their left effectively cleared of American troops by the artillery.
Still holding the centre Washington’s last hope was a breakthrough by Greene and Smallwood.
McDougal went into the assault with the 2nd Ct, low on ammunition, charging the outnumbered 55th who flung them back then kept up a galling fire at the retreating Americans.
Smallwoods militia had been proving quite stubborn, their larger units absorbing some punishment from the steadily advancing Guards. The 1st NJ were dispersed by volleys from the 1st Guards, the Marylanders retreated but were rallied by Smallwood but the 1st NJ collapsed in the face of a bayonet charge by the 1st Guards
Rather embarrassingly the 2nd Guards lost their bottle and failed to charge home but continued to pour a devastating fire into the hapless militia who resolutely stood their ground.
The end of the battle was reached in a series of incidents.
McDougals brigade broke as the 7th Ct dispersed from a series of heavy volleys from Grant’s battalions and Grant himself was wounded again. Agnew’s brigade had not suffered a single casualty in the long range musketry duel with Washington’s battalions but in a cruel twist of fate he was fatally shot just as the battle was petering out. Revenge was swift as with the last shot of the game the 33rd fired a volley that so startled Washington’s horse that it bolted into the British ranks and he was captured.
Smallwood’s militia broke on hearing the news but the rest of the American stood firm as Greene prepared to disengage and retire from the field praying the British and Howe would be too exhausted to pursue.
A definite British win in an, as usual, much bloodier affair than the real thing.
British losses some 280 killed and just under 600 wounded or missing.
American losses 1300 killed and over 2500 wounded or missing.
The brunt of the American losses came from Hampton, Conway’s and Hartley’s brigades that almost ceased to exist as well as McDougal and Smallwood.
Most British casualties came with the loss of the 49th and the 2nd LI caught out by the cavalry.
Washington’s Continentals remained intact as they mainly served to keep Agnew occupied, especially when a number of battalions went low on ammunition.
The British were put under pressure on both wings whereas the centre was not troubled at all. If Wayne had not halted his attack when they reached the summit of Mt Airy and Alexander had not taken so long to deploy then Grey’s rash move forward could have meant the destruction of his brigade. As it was this mistake was rectified in time and then the Americans dashed themselves to pieces as they advanced, once the fog had lifted, in the teeth of the British artillery.
Similarly on the other side the Americans found it difficult to deploy quickly( Green’e die rolling was appalling) and exploit their advantage in numbers. Once Smallwood arrived it looked like the British were going to be overwhelmed, especially after the loss of the 49th but a successful bayonet charge tipped the balance back.
Washington was also very unlucky in that three of his better battalions all went low on ammo which restricted their role to holding Agnew.
Having read a previous write up of this scenario I was concerned about how easily the 40th might be bundled out of Chew House but in the end it never came into consideration as the Americans never advanced that far. I was also pretty strict about players not discussing their planned actions unless their command figures were in contact, due to the fog. Notes were freely exchanged with the umpire deciding how long it took for said notes to arrive, or not.
The large number of American commanders were offset by the huge amount of work they had to do with so many units being 2nd Line, or worse, and advancing so much. Once in proximity to the British of course removing DP became even more difficult.
We got through 42 turns in about 12 hours of game play over the two days. Most people had not played much BG but picked it up quickly or remembered it from last year. I could quite happily leave some sectors to be managed by at least one player familiar with the rules and everyone had QR sheets courtesy of one of the players.
All in all a good time had by everyone and my thanks to everyone who played and especially those who helped toward a good weekends gaming.
Stephen Alexander Grey a civilian Wayne
Grant Washington Howe
regards
Paul