The fact is that I am a lousy painter but that painting can, nonetheless, have a therapeutic effect. I also like little plastic toy soldiers and will sometimes get a box of something just to see what the figures are like. Also, people who know of my fondness for little plastic toy soldiers will sometimes give me some to took at. All this means that there are various odds and ends of figures in the guest house basement. Seeing the Prussians cuirassiers from Italieri at the local hobby shop was more temptation than I could resist and, one thing leading to another, I am now painting up the small armies involved in the southern campaigns of the American Revolution. The fusiliers happen to be Austrian grenadiers and the light troops Austrian fusiliers. Everyone's light dragoons are Napoleonic French dragoons (those Prussians cuirassiers are the brigadiers for both sides). The figures are Revell and Italieri and Esci and Imex and they all go together rather well. Things are still underway (even a small army takes me a while to paint), but I am looking forward to trying out the figures and scenarios with some rules based on the new Featherstone Napoleonic type. But this was not the first time I have ventured into the guest house basement looking for something to paint. Somehow I had been reading about Pontiac, either Parkman or Eckert. The differences between what happened to the unfortunate Braddock, Dalyell, Harmer and St. Clair and the somewhat better (but still difficult) results attained by Herkimer, Bouquet and Wayne got me to thinking. I would recreate Dalyell's action at Bloody Run. I had no map (there is one in Eckert which shows the general location of the action and one in Parkman which is a somewhat smaller scale, but more suggestive than illustrative). I put something together that looked likely to work (given what terrain I knew I already had at hand) and seemed congruent with the descriptions. There was a box (or most of one) of Esci 1806 Prussians & Austrians in the basement. From these I painted three regular British units: 55th, 60th & 80th foot (each of five figures with cocked hats and one with light infantry helmet) and two units of Rangers (each of three figures--all as light infantry). The Prussian officer waving his sword was designated Captain Dalyell. There were also a number of old Airfix plains Indians. Not a one of them was quite right and some of them were extraordinarily wrong but at least they could not be mistaken for anything but Indians. They came molded in a reddish brown plastic which would speed up the painting process by being proclaimed "Indian color." Rules are never a problem--or rather, rules are always a problem. I can grind out a workable set of rules for most anything depending on how generous-hearted the players are. The first thing I worked out was the ambush procedures, mostly based on ideas from Donald Featherstone that I have used in various configurations for over a quarter of a century. Little squares of cardboard were prepared, one for each of the nine (four figure) Indian units. Each counter was marked, one third of them with a zero, one third of them with a one and one third with a two. This meant that the total number corresponded to the number of units and that an ambush could be set up for a solo game. The ambush procedures worked out pretty well. My first mistake was in trying to be clever with the turn sequence. I am certain that somewhere out there in the wargaming world they are gamers who can manage something other than four phases in the following (invariable) sequence: Movement, Missiles, Melee, Morale. I am certain that they are out there, but they have never played a game with me in the monastery guest house basement because every time we have tried something else, we have messed it up. Fortunately, a small ambush is not so bad and we managed. From reading accounts of the battles that were basically ambushes (I know that Braddock's action was not technically an ambush but the intention of the French and Indians was to set lip an ambush and the action developed as if it had been planned as an ambush). it seemed to me that the desire of the British to decide things with cold steel was not a bad idea. The difficulty was in getting the men to charge. After all, the situation with smoke and screams and invisible enemies (who were known to torture captives for entertainment) could be terrifying. On the other hand, the Indians seem to have been quite happy to remain in cover and shoot. Scalps can be taken from dead men, thank you, at considerably less risk. Indians might rush forward, but it seems that this was not something under the leader's control (and therefore ought not to be under the gamer's control). As you can see from the map (in the style of Wally Simon, which I have always admired), the terrain was mostly wooded with a clearing to the west (where the British entered) and the east (the location of Pontiac's villiage) and bounded on the south by the lake shore. The counters indicating the location of the Indian ambush parties were placed at random in the woods to either side ofthe path. Not until this point did the young guest (who I am hoping will grow up to be a monk) agree to take a side and I was glad when he chose the Indians (who I expected to win and I like to start first time gamers out with a victory). Well, we got across the bridge and into the woods before the trouble began. Rogers' Rangers at point spotted one ambush but missed another. Not many rangers remained after the first shots rattled out, but they charged into the smoking woods while the other British forces scrambled to get off the road and deployed into some kind of line that could shoot back. By sheer good luck, the rangers cleaned out one Indian unit the melee and crippled another. The didn't last long after that, however. As for the rest of Dalyell's forces, they always seemed to be on the verge of accomplishing something but falling short. It was clear that they would have to close with the bayonet before more Indians gathered. The Indians had a significant numerical advantage and (since the Lancaster inverse square law works for firepower) they would win the fire-fight once all of them got into action. The king's troops would have to gobble them Lip piecemeal or lose. Since the word "lose" was not in Dalyell's dictionary, he kept trying, but in vain. Once again Pontiac triumphed at Bloody Run (though this time Major Rogers died and Captain Dalyell survived). Pontiac (Aelred Glidden's Skirmish Rules for the Conspiracy of Pontiac) AMBUSH: Indians units begin the game hidden. Their location is indicated by inverted markers equal to the number of Indian units. Each marker shows that it indicates 0-2 Indian units. The actual location of Indian units is not revealed until they move or fire or are spotted by scouting Rangers. Rangers spot ambushes at over0" to 3" on a 3-6, at over 3" to 6" on a 4, 5 or 6, at over 6" to 9" on 5 or 6 and at over 9" to 12" on a 6. MOVEMENT: The Indian player decides which side will move (or shoot) first each turn (other than forced movement from morale failure). Units may move 12" over open ground or 8" if crossing rough terrain or firing or 4" if crossing rough and firing or remain stationary to fire more effectively. MISSILES: Moving units f iring at targets in the open at over 6" to 12" hit on a 6 Moving units firing at targets in the open at over 0" to 6" hit on a 5 or 6 Moving units firing at targets under cover at over 0" to 6" hit on a 6 Stationary units firing at targets in the open at over 6" to 12" hit on a 5 or 6 Stationary units firing at targets in the open at over 0" to 6" hit on a 4, 5 or 6 Stationary units firing at targets under cover at over 6" to 12" hit on a 6 Stationary units firing at targets under cover at over 0" to 6" hit on a 5 or 6 Rangers may move and fire using the stationary category. Rangers who remain stationary and fire add I to the die toss. Individual targets may only be picked at 0" to 6" range and I is subtracted from the toss. MELEE: After morale checks, units in contact engage in melee, man on man. Two against one is the maximum odds permitted (the single figure is killed if the combined score of his opponents is greater than his but kills any figure whose score is less than his). Superior numbers cannot be claimed against a figure defending a door or window and such defenders win ties--otherwise: Rangers win ties against Indians and Indians wins ties against British Line Infantry. SAVE THROWS: Figures get save throws from musketry; toss I die per figure hit: 1 or 2 is a kill 3 or 4 is a save if behind cover (otherwise is a kill) 5 or 6 is a save MORALE: If units of both sides are in play, morale is checked. A unit must toss a die against its points value: Rangers are in units of 3 figures and count two points each. British Line Infantry are in units of 6 figures and count I point each. Indians are in units of 4 figures and count I point each. Each side has a commander worth 2 points. The commander does not check morale, but if he is with a unit, he adds his point value to the morale check score. Results: 1. If the score is more than one point over the unit's remaining points value, it must fall back. This counts as movement for the following movement phase. If the enemy is over 8" away, the unit will fire before falling back and fall back only a partial move (8" or 4" as described below). 2. If the score is more than I point under the unit's remaining points value, a British unit may (during the following movement phase), advance towards Indian units whereas an Indian unit must move toward the nearest British unit. 3. If the score is equal or with in I point of the unit's remaining points value, it may not advance but it may stand or fall back during the following movement phase. Back to MWAN #103 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 Hal Thinglum 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