Some years ago David Barnes gave me 40 very well painted 15mm U.S. Cavalry figures and about 70 Apache Indian figures requiring their war paint to be applied so to speak. Well as a means of relaxation I finally got around to applying the war paint to these who were added to with some ACW Indians. I then sat to ponder what to do with them feeling in need of a wargame that didn't involve computers. They were too few in number to play Pony Wars by Ian Beck, which is an excellent fun game for solo play. I then thought of a stagecoach that Kenn had given me years ago, which was painted in dark blue and was waiting for some action though it is strictly supposed to be Union ACW. With a little further thought this became the paymaster’s coach and then the scenario began to unfold. So here is the report of the events which occurred and in the next episode I will highlight some of the mechanisms that I used. Scenario Colonel Hiram Longuinetooth has received reports that the local Apaches led by Wily Coyote are gathering in the hills and that there is a strong possibility that raiding will commence shortly. A message was received by telegraph that the paymaster’s coach and escort had left Sweetwater at first light this morning and should arrive late this evening - then the telegraph went dead. You, Captain Armstrong, have been summoned to the Colonel’s office and volunteered to take 'C' troop for a horse ride. Objective Your main objective is to go out and find the coach and then escort it back to the fort. Unconfirmed reports have been received that gun runners were spotted leaving Dry Forks two days ago so if these are spotted then you can take them into protective custody. The coach will use the dirt road that runs through the lowlands and the gorges named Devil’s and Dry. Forces All Cavalry and Apaches are represented on an 8:1 ratio. The cavalry troop has 20 mounted troopers and 16 dismounted with 4 horse holders. 'C' Troop composed of 'E' and 'F' companies of 2nd U.S. Cavalry: Troopers + Officers 160 Nominal Seasoned Scouts 3 Veteran Pay Detail. Six horse stagecoach. Driver and paymaster. Veteran Escort 8 troopers Veteran Troopers armed with single shot carbine, colt revolver and sabre. Scouts armed with Henry repeating rifle, colt revolver and Bowie knife. Driver and paymaster armed with colt revolver. Apache Indians Randomly generated 480 figures Veteran Armed with an assortment of weapons from bow through to repeating rifles as dictated by the dice. Mounted / dismounted as dictated by the dice. What Happened The troop duly set out under the able command of Armstrong heading down the road to find the coach and the paymaster. The force had scouts out in front, then an advance guard, then the main body. For the first three turns, no Indians put in an appearance. On the fourth turn, the scouts spotted a dust cloud off to the left. The action table dictated that a scout investigate and report back next turn. This was duly done and the cloud of dust turned out to be buffalo. Still no Indians on this turn. The next turn an Indian was spotted on a rise. The Action table dictated that a section (8 men) be sent to investigate with a scout and that at the start of the next turn see what they found. The column in the meantime continued a little more warily. On the next turn, the section found that it had bumped into 50 Apaches and was surrounded. After a short but valiant fight, the section ceased to exist. The firing had been heard by the column and Armstrong had to decide what to do. With due regard to the main objective, he pressed on leaving 2 sections and a scout detached to the rear to see if the Indians were following. All went well for two turns with Devil's Gorge being negotiated, no Indians encountered to the rear or in the Gorge, and no more casualties. Then the coach turned up complete with its escort blissfully unaware of any problems at all. So now it was about face and head for the fort. Having turned the rearguard into the advance, it was time to go back through Devil's Gorge. Well I made it in not spotting anything. The next turn an ambush card was drawn for the Indians. This force, thanks to the dice, turned out to be 200 of them hiding on the slopes of the gorge being entered. Further dice gave 70% of them rifles! Like I really need this. So the failure of the remaining scout to actually spot anything amiss or for that matter the advance guard to spot anything, had placed me right in it. The other Indians adding to the numbers would prove to be embarrassing to say the very least. 'C' troop did manage to survive for a whole three turns despite atrocious dice throwing by yours truly {except when throwing for the Indians}. The advance guard managed to evade the 50 Indians, a tactical withdrawal I think you call it or “cowardice is the better part of staying alive.” The main body fell where it stood, lost the money and ended a failure but that's the way it goes. Well that's about it but I will be having another go and next time I will explain some of the mechanics that I used. ‘C’ Troop Goes for a Horse Ride II: Or, Find the Stagecoach - Some Mechanisms (LW137) Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #136 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com