Peninsular War - SP2 - We Didn't Start The Fire ...

SP2 - Peninsular War

After what seems like an eternity, there was time for a longer game of Sharp Practice. This game features a few scenario ideas for when a "live" group event can take place again. Hopefully not too far away?

This was a sort of "Sweep the Table" affair focused on the little-known hamlet of Larderado, a location best enjoyed with a fine rioja and olives. The French were tasked with burning down the small church which had harboured dangerous guerrillas, munitions and wandering minstrels in recent months. Once the blaze was set, the French had to get at least one group of line infantry back to their deployment point (with the agreement that these line troops had to at least reach the outskirts of the hamlet rather than hang around the deployment point all day!)

The British did not know what the French objective was, but they knew that they wanted to do something in the hamlet and they were aware of the final dash to the deployment point. The British also had a side-plot of rescuing the mad padre and guerrilla informant, El Cura Loco, who was in one of the hamlet buildings. The British had a delayed deployment following the rules in the book.

Here's a few shots of the battlefield before the game began.

The basic French and British lists from the rulebook were used (around 54 points plus a limited support.) 

The sparky French had 2 formations of 16 line each, one led by the indomitable Major Volte Face (level III, force leader) and the other commanded by the indescribable Capt Cliche (level II). They were joined by 2 groups of Voltiguer skirmishers led by Capt Blase who wasn't impressed by the scenario which he presumably had seen before.

As supports, the French opted for:

- 2 sets of fire-making kit (given to Cliche's groups and the skirmishers)

- Level I big man to lead the 2nd group of skirmishers (Sergeant Grippeur, a notable thief)

- Bernarde the veteran cantiniere (a "holy woman" who could rally D6 shock once per game.)

The British hoped to dampen French spirits with 3 groups of Swiss line (de Roll's) led by Capt Raclette (Level III, Force Leader.) They were accompanied by Lieutenant Maycock-Etupp (Level II) and his 2 groups of British line (Cumberland Regt.) This brave little army was rounded out by 1 group of Light Infantry Skirmishers led by the young Lieutenant Shattenkirk.

For supports, the British chose:

- a doctor (Alejandro Flamengo)

- upgrading Shattenkirk to Level II

And the game was afoot. We join the action at the deployment time. It was a murky morning (the flash setting was off) at first.

Cliche arrives to march down the road towards the Church.

Bernarde is waiting at the deployment point for further instructions.

Volte Face arrives to instruct Bernarde. Sergt Grippeur's light-fingered Voltiguers also deploy. 

The French dash up the board. Cliche's unit in the background also moved with the road-column bonus.

The British force finally arrives!

Thankfully for them, everyone gets onto the board before another Tiffin.

French couldn't care less. 

Cliche is within spitting distance of the Church. 

He's an old-school Jacobin so burning Churches is really his "thing."

French reach the Church.

British start to line the hedge.

Traffic jam - Swiss Raclette's bigger unit gets stuck.

Meanwhile Volte-Face and Bernarde control the centre of the board.

Capt Blase's skirmishers arrived late but scoot towards the main house in the hamlet.

First shots - British lights kill a couple of French arsonists.

Overview - as the British advance towards the farm in search of El Loco.

Cliche's men are stumped by a locked door.

You have to excuse them, they didn't bring a key.

Takes a while to get the required task roll to kick it down!

Random Event: this likely Voltiguer has slipped away to "present his cards"

Game's first big volley.

Must be aiming high?

Volte Face is standing on the veg patch. 

If the voltiguer wasn't in the farmhouse, an angry landowner would've fired his blunderbuss at them.

The French snipe back - voltiguers hit Maycock-Etupp. 

Luckily doctor Flamengo is on hand to heal him.

Maycock-Etupp was later shot in the backside for his pains.

Random Event - bonus move of D6 for the last unit to move.

Ehu, it is Volte-Face who is now standing in a courtyard at close range.

But the French draw a 4th command flag ... bonus activation!

Charge!!!!!

Hmm. Double 1. Nope.

"Stand in the middle of the courtyard" does sound a lot like "charge" in French.

Bernarde has done her duty and removed some shock.

"Merde," stated Volte-Face with grim constipation, as he casually tossed his cigar over his shoulder.

He is vaguely aware of a crackling sound as the stables catch light.

Or maybe a random event after a British volley did the trick?

Cliche works out how to open a church door. Not easy when you're moulded to a sword.

One group stumbles in to the church stamp up and down in hope of starting a fire through friction.

Must've been reading Clausewitz?

Bang! That's quite a lot of shock building up on Volte Face

Bernarde is looking worried as her dress is now soiled.

El Loco was in the church. Who'd have believed it?

He harangues Cliche who simply holds his sword in the air in silence until the mad priest gets bored and moves on.

Volte-Face, doing a volte-face. 

I gave him the name for a reason, you know.

He gives the order to advance backwards at top speed to avoid a slaughter.

French line are admirably quick at this sort of thing.

Meanwhile, Cliche's men worked out how to set fire to the church.

A picture tells a thousand stories.

Which is lucky as we didn't take snaps of what happened here!

Raclette's Swiss-British benefited from a bonus activation and positively gallumped around the burning church, just as Cliche's men tumbled out of the front door.

The French group were engaged in the derriere 

(never nice, not even Bernarde recommends that course of action.)

Cliche fought gallantly. 

Raclette (who had stood in the poop a while back) wandered off to inspect a tree.

Two rounds of fisticuffs and only one Swiss remained standing from the front group.

He disappeared sharpish!

The French, including dear Cliche, were somewhat massacred.

Now the French force morale was close to collapse which added a nice twist.

Would Volte Face reach the deployment point in time?

Would the French morale collapse to end the game?

Would Raclette reach the French deployment point first?

Funny things, walls.

They look innocent enough,

But damn'd hard to get your formations over them.

Volte-Face is now heading off towards the deployment point.

Top-left, the British line and French voltiguers in the house engage in a firefight.

Raclette measures the distance to the French deployment point (in his mind's eye.)

He opts to obliterate the French morale with controlled volleys.

Raclette's policy of "shoot first, manoeuvre later" is paying off.

Both the remnants of Cliche's French Line and Grippeur's Skirmishers recoil.

Volte-Face's card (and French flags) stubbornly refuse to emerge.

Raclette permits himself a smile and a jam roly-poly of success.

Volte Face's card comes out.

And 4 French Flags - I sniff a bonus activation!

Raclette opts for more volley fire.

French are retreating/broken.

French down to 2 morale.

Volte Face picks up another bonus move in the gloom.

Almost there!

Flag, Flag, Tiffin.

Hmm. Knife edge.

The British will go first as they have the higher morale. 

Another Raclette volley. That could wipe out the French morale.

Nasty volley.

These French chaps are heading for the hills.

French force morale on 1.

Thank Cliche's ghost that skirmishers count open ground as soft cover.

The volley doesn't do a thing to them!

Even Volte-Face can roll 2 on 2d6.

The French win!

Back at the farm, the old witch is selling free flags in return for a human victim ... 

But as usual no-one wanted to speak to her.

Post-match review.

Volte-Face (slapping out Bernarde's smouldering backside):

By Napoleon's piles, that was a close one! It took forever to get into the church, let alone set it on fire. But the plan to divert British attention away from the church worked. Maycock-Etupp engaged in a pretty pointless musketry duel with Volte Face and Blase instead of dealing with Cliche's mob.

Bernarde was superb. It doesn't quite appear in the photos above, but she rallied off 6 shock just before a British volley which would have eviscerated us. I've never seen so many random events! All the classics were there. Stepping in poop, being shot in the behind, throwing a cigar into the stables (?), running off to find a pretty girl in the farmhouse, a rousing extra move towards an enemy in line with muskets presented, a witch looking to make a deal. Apparently there was a bear in the woods too but thankfully we took a different route home.

Cliche bravely sacrificed himself and his troops for la gloire. What's that moaning sound? Cliche? Fell asleep in a vat of wine before the battle you say? So who was the chap leading your troops then? Ah of course your twin brother. What do you mean "Convenient plot armour"?

Raclette refused to be interviewed as he was busy cleaning poop off his boots. However Simpleton Shattenkirk offered the following words:

Scenarios that require a fair bit of legging it about are always tough, but evenly so for both sides given that the Froggies needed to get across the board and back again. Once Cliche headed for the church we worked out that they needed to get inside but it was hard to get our troops into a position that could cut them off. Mind you, Raclette nearly managed it. One more French skirmisher casualty or shock at the and and I reckon we'd have won. 

It seems nigh impossible to kill voltiguers by shooting them when they are in a house. We also completely forgot about finding the mad priest. I wonder what that would have done [ed: in this scenario, raised your morale by 1 - so nothing game-changing.]

Doctor Flamengo was handy - saving Maycock-Etupp's bacon. Then again, that unit was drawn into a long firefight with the voltiguers etc instead of focusing on Cliche's arsonists. And then he was shot in the backside anyway.

So we head back to camp with half our skirmishers dead, a group of Swiss destroyed, no mad priest and two of the main buildings in the hamlet burned to the ground. If we had the time over again ... at least the donkey was saved. That was an objective, wasn't it?