Battle of Soggy Bend: Peter Pig AWI Skirmish

I had teased a version of this battle report in previous posts and finally got around to soloing a quick skirmish version of a larger battle that I play eventually. Using a modified version of This Very Ground: Victory or Death by Keith Stine. 

Battle

Skirmish at Soggy Bend, somewhere in the Kentucky Wilderness, 1781. 5 Turns. Objective: Kentuckians must hold their side of the river until the end of the game. If a leader is killed on either side, automatic victory.

Opposing Forces

Native American Allies: 10 "Red" Jackets and 6 "Green" Jackets led by Chief Bigcorn

Kentuckians: 10 Kentucky militia & 4 Mountain Men led by Militia Captain Hugh McGloin

AWI Native Americans Peter Pig

The Kentuckians won initiative and moved first, one block of Native Americans was spotted moving towards the river but the second smaller band of Green jackets is concealed, waiting to shoot. Hot rolls for the Kentuckians as they won initiative in turn 2 as well. The Shawnee drew first blood taking down a single Mountain Man from cover. The militia began shooting extremely well, causing two disorders and a casualty. I decided before the battle to roll for a council of war: the Kentuckians roll 2d6. On 6+ they decide to ford the river and take the fight to the enemy. 5 was rolled so we held up and waiting for the enemy to ford.

Shooting rolls have an interesting effect in these rules. A number of d10 are rolled every time a unit fires, 3 d10for normal muskets but just a single d10 for the long rifle of the Kentuckians. For each hit  another d10 is rolled as every weapon has casualty or disorder rating. Units also take smoke counters each time they fire, when 3 are accrued they must spend an action point to reload in order to shoot again. I love how this mechanic works, even in a short battle you're constantly worrying about it.

After reloading the militia poured on the fire, shooting at the Natives like fish in a barrel. Three more removed. The mountain men were of little consequence, only connecting on one shot that scored a disorder on the nearly hidden Green jackets. The last deluge of musket fire was too much and the main body of Natives broke. The frontier homesteads are safe, at least for now.

Mountain men preparing to Fire

Green Jackets waiting for their turn to strike

Keep Rolling those Crits...

 -15mm Dieter

Kentuckians AWI Peter Pig/Stone Mountain 15mm

Happy end of Summer to everyone. Near Labor Day in the states and I've been diligently working on several new and exciting projects. Most recent project finished was 15mm American War of Independence Kentucky militia. These miniatures are for an AWI skirmish game using the snappy ruleset, This Very Ground (Iron Ivan Games) which I first highlighted in the post British Rangers & Shawnee, Oh My! As previously mentioned these are great rules to play with a fun shooting mechanic that is effected by black powder smoke filling the battlefield among other factors. Highly recommended.

Peter Pig militia captain and mountain man armed with long rifle

Stone Mountain militia

These figures are a mix of Peter Pig and some vintage circa 1980s? Stone Mountain miniatures which were still on the original blister pack and purchased from eBay. Most of the rank & file are Stone Mountain but the Kentucky mountain men, the elite woodsmen, are Peter Pig's militia in buckskin. The details on Peter Pig's is the usual quality-outstanding but the Stone mountain figures look nice painted up as well considering their age and lack of ornate details.

Over there boys!

For an upcoming battle report, which I've dubbed the Skirmish at Soggy Bend, the Kentuckian militia will consist of one officer, irascible Major Hugh McGloin, 10 militia including a lieutenant, and 8 mountain men. Even though they will be outnumbered by the opposing Anglo-Native allied army 28-18, the mountain men shoot at longer range with a slightly better chance to hit.

Keep rolling those crits...

 -15mm Dieter

British Rangers & Shawnee, Oh my! Peter Pig AWI

Happy Summertime all. Here is a little peek at some very snazzy Peter Pig AWI Native Americans and their British & Canadian ranger allies. Painted up a small force to battle the locals in the colony of Kentucky circa 1782 during the American war of independence.

Calling this upcoming skirmish the Battle of Salt Lick Bend, loosely based on the real Battle of Blue Licks, a defeat nearing massacre for the Kentucky colonials near the tail end of the AWI. The Kentuckians remain on the To Be Painted table however. Led by the irascible “Dirty” Captain Girty, this force includes two units of 10 Native American allies, meant to represent an alliance of many different tribes but primarily the Shawnee and Wyandot, and one detachment of Anglo-Canadian rangers. I may expand to one more unit of Native allies eventually to outnumber the hapless Kentuckians even more.

Captain Girty

Really enjoying the Peter Pig stuff. I will definitely be purchasing more in several different periods because they are highly detailed, well proportioned, and have some great sculpts and poses. At the time of this post I purchased some English Civil War pikes, artillery, and a few cavalry + some Russian Civil War figures. Stay Tuned. I also picked up a few of the lucky piggy dice because, c’mon, look at them! After looking I found a Petey Pig dealer in California, Brookhurst Hobbies. I've been very happy with their selection and service so far.

Using the ruleset This Very Ground: Victory or Death by Keith Stine (2nd Edition, Iron Ivan Games). In my opinion, this is a really good ruleset for wargaming skirmish level battles in North America from the 1600’s-1800’s. The book itself looks nice, is well laid out with lots of pictures and tables for a bunch of different conflicts and eras. $25 USD for a hard copy. You can find the rules here. I altered some of the distances and tweaked some rules to make it friendly for 15mm scale on a 4x4 foot table or smaller. For combat and leadership each unit has three characteristics (d10), Marksmanship, Valor (Melee), and Courage. Officers hold the line, rallying off disruption and smoke counters after units have fired, or join in for extra chutzpah during the melee attack.

Shawnee warrior & Sachem Peter Pig 15mm

Anglo-Canadian rangers leading the way

Keep Rolling those Crits..

  -15mm Dieter