Defence in Depth: Sharp Practice v2 AWI

Defence in Depth: Sharp Practice v2 AWI

As Sharp Practice is still the "shiny new ruleset" in the Cook house we decided to break it out again this week.  This match will pit my Hessian force against a Rebel force from around 1776.

We set up a pretty standard board; some fences, fields, woods, a stream, road and two hills.  Kati rolled defender and decided to defend the side of the table(long ways) with the hills.  The scenario basically gives the defender two 12 inch bands to place deployment points in, to represent a two line defence.  the attacker gets two deployment points on the other end of the table.  

Objective is simple, the attacker needs to capture the rear deployment point.

Kati's rebel force including a glass of wine for the commander consisted of:

Leader 1 status II

2 groups of State line

Leader 2 Stat II

2 groups of Militia(ten men each)

Leader 3 stat II

1 group militia skirmishers

Leader 4 stat II

1 group militia skirmishers

Leader 5 Stat II

1 group continental line

and Leader 6 stat I

Light artillery 

A lot of guys 

Opposing them was my Hessian force of:

Leader 1 stat III(musician) 

3 groups of Hessian regulars

Leader 2 stat II

2 groups of Hessian Grenadiers

Leader 3 stat I 

1 group Jaegers(marksman)

Leader 4 stat I

1 group Jaegers

now to the game

Turn 1

The first  turn saw 2 rebel command cards drawn followed by my leader 3 with his Jaegers on my right behind a wood near the northern hill.

This was followed by the Rebels leader 3 who deployed at the rear deployment zone and then the tiffin card ended the turn

Turn 2

Turn 2 saw my second group of Jaegers deploy which for me looked awesome.  My Jaegers out ahead of the column scouting the ground.

And that was followed by both of my line infantry formations entering the table.

 Kati does get to deploy her leader 1 before the tiffin is drawn.

We both use command cards to move up our leader 3s and move on to the next turn.  This puts all the Hessians on the table.

Turn 3

 Turn 3 can be summed up pretty quick.  My Leader 3 and his Jaegers move up and fire missing all but one shot, they needed 2s (dice roll in picture) and Kati deploys some skirmishers on the other hill.

Turn 4

Turn 4 starts with my second group of Jaegers trying their luck at peppering the Stat line troops scoring 2 kills and a shock. Just as an FYI we use the cotton puffs to show the unit is unloaded.

 Kati deploys more troops, including the cannon and answers my peppering with a volley from the State line formation that kills a Jaeger and puts 4 shock on the group. Now my Jagers use 2 command cards to reload out of turn and when leader 3s card is drawn they fire back putting 2 kills and some shock on them.

Then leader 1 orders his men ahead 11 inches. Tiffin.

Turn 5

Turn 5 is a short one.  one command card is drawn for each of us, my grenadiers cross a fence and the tiffin card is revealed.  Kati then uses her Command card to have her State Line formation throw another volley into my Jaegers forcing them to withdraw.  I use my card to reload the other group of Jaegers.

Turn 6

Turn 6 sees my grenadiers go into column formation and 2 rebels units move forward. Then the State Line get one last volley into my Jagers before they move behind the wood to lick their wounds.

My Jaegers fire another inconsequential volley as the turn ends...but Kati has a command card.

The cannon fires at my Jaegers on the fence (hidden behind their smoke) surprisingly this only results in 2 shock.

Turn 7

Turn 7 is another turn with not a lot of action and a lot of moving (not a bad thing, it's what makes the game interesting).  My leader one takes fire as it nears the fence getting 4 shock from a great long range volley from rebel skirmishers. 

The turn ends with my plan starting to become obvious.  my men are all pushing south only problem is can my Jaeger continue to keep the rebel left in check?

Turn 8

Trun 8 sees me using a couple of command cards to make my leader 1 status 5 to remove shock and get over the fence.  While that is happening, my leader 4 and his Jaegers take the a volley that will basically put them out of the game.  My only plus at this point is that Kati loaded canister into her Cannon and I am still out of range.

If you have being keeping tabs on leaders you have have noted that rebel leader 2 has only moved once this whole game, poor guy just never got the luck of the draw.  But he finally formed up into column and prepared to move to a position behind the hill as a last line of defence.

The 2 groups of skirmishers lay down fire as my hessians trudge across the field.

Turn 9

Turn 9 starts with my grenadiers practically running down the road with a 13 inch move. 

Which is followed by every gun available pointing at my boys in the field.  11 shock shuts you down fast!

But the Hessians answered in kind with a controlled volley up the hill before the turn ends.

Turn 10 and 11

Turn 10 and 11 see my attack grind to a halt.  My hessians in the field build up 15 shock thanks in part to a canister shot, and I know that there is no saving them.  While I still have my grenadiers, night is fast approaching (10pm is my bedtime) and I have to call off the attack.  Leaving Kati and the rebels with the field in withdrawal.

This was a fun game that taught us a few things. First I think a second leader should accompany any formation larger than 2 groups just to control shock accumulation. Skirmishers are best keep as far away as possible as one good close range volley will put them out of serve. I also find is strange that Hessians to not get the Sharp practice characteristic. I actually used it then had to back track and unto loading my guys. The Hessians were pretty famous for their fire drill so this surprises me.

Sharp practice v2 first "real" game

 Prisoner Escort Ambushed 

 My copy of Sharp Practice v2 arrived about a week and a half ago and I wasted no time giving it a good read through.  Kati and I have been painting away on our AWI collection for just this occasion. The American Revolution/ American war of Independence(AWI) Is one of my favorite time periods.  I at one point (and maybe again in the future) did AWI reenacting.

Thats me playing soldier directly in the middle.

 

 But my love of the period did not translate into a love of painting the minis so I bought up a collection a couple of years ago painted 80% of the redcoats and packed it all away. But as times have changed and I enjoy painting so much more than I used to, SP2 inspired me to get the minis out and get to work.  And it didn't hurt that Kati was in the mood to paint up some of the rebels as well.

We actually played our first game last week but I only managed a few pictures in between a little dice rolling and a lot of looking things up in the book.  Of course that didn't surprise me one bit, the first few games of any system are a little rough.

Anyway, without further adieu here is the game we played today using SP2

We set up a pretty simple table with a road going down the middle cut in two by a creek.  I added a bunch of fence line as nothing screams wargaming colonial American like split rail fence.  Little did I know these fences would really come into play.

SP2 uses a point based system that is similar to Chain of Command in that you can take support options from a list after you see the mission.  Declaimer:  A lot of my men are based to be used for the Black Powder ruleset so you will see drummers and flag bearers mixed into the rank and file just pretend they are muskets. ;) 

Kati played a Continental force from 1778+.  The book basically divides the war in two for force selection with 1775-1777 as the first period and 1778 on as the other.  Its a good system, thanks to the training the Continental army received in  Valley Forge they were much more on par with their European counterparts. While on the over hand the British had fully adapted to fighting in the Americas by then with open order and cut down uniforms. 

The Continental force was as follows: moral 11

Leader 1 Status II

3 groups of Continental Infantry 1778+

Leader 2 stat II

2 groups of State Line Infantry 1778+

Leader 3 stat II

1 group Continental Light Infantry Skirmishers 1778+ ( with Moveable deployment point

Leader 4 Stat I

1 group Continental Light Infantry Skirmishers 1778+

The British force: moral 10

Leader 1 status III

2 groups of Regulars 1778+

1 light field piece 

Leader 2 stat II

2 groups of Light Infantry in line 1778+

Leader 3 stat I

1 group of Light Infantry Skirmishers 1778+

and a fixed secondary deployment 

The Scenario we selected was escort duty out of the book we decided that the Continentals would be escorting some big shot Hessian grenadiers.

The continentals arrived on the table with a 10 inch move before that game began.  We put them in column formation (about half way through the game we realized that the column should be 4 abreast so it may just change at one point, new rules) 

Then the British deployment markers were placed. and the game was one! . . . or was it?

The game uses a card draw system with 3 kinds of cards in the deck.  leader cards with the names of each leader which lets that leader go,  command cards which you use to influence the game, and the Tiffon card which when revealed ends the turn and the any unused command cards can then be used to move unactivated units then the deck is reshuffled and play continues.

Well turn 1 and 2 saw a couple command cards revealed followed by the tiffen card.  Leaving the british off the map and giving the escort the feeling that this was going to be a stroll through the park.

Turn 3 finally saw my Leader 3(L3) arrive with his lights and they deployed in some cover covering the road.

The was followed by the British L1 arriving and covering the road with his regulars and cannon. This made the road seem a little less appealing to the  rebels.

The rebels L3 with his lights made good use of the moveable deployment point and used their rifles with deadly efficiency,

knocking out 2 men from my lights in the first volley.

While my lights were being distracted the escort and L1 headed north to find a ford of the creek. 

Turn 4 saw the arrival of the brits L2 who deployed prepared to deal with the change of direction. and the rebels L3 ordered his men to start the slow process of loading those rifles.

My cannon decided to shoot a controlled shot directly at the escort column  throwing out some shock and slowing them down. My lights shot at the rebel riflemen with no effect.

Turn 5 is another short one seeing my L2 move off into the field and the cannon reload. Kati did have one command card to use before the turn ends.

Her lights kill two more of mine leading me to plan an exit strategy for the group.

Turn 6 sees L1 of the rebels start forming his men into a line.

The State Line and the last of the lights arrive as well.

Giving my gun something to shoot at!

The rebels work their way to the terrible fence and creek combo we will never put on a map again.

The Brits start sweeping north to watch them cross.

Turn 7 begins with the rebels L4 and his lights moving up and losing a man to my lights.

The state Line crosses the fence to start fording the creek while the Brit lights move up on the rifles.

L1 has his continentals follow suit.

The gun gets off another great round.

Great shot of the game at the end of turn 7.

Turn 8 starts with an uneffective volley from the rebel lights and the Brits getting in position behind a fence.  At this point I draw 4 command cards which gives me the ability to reactivate a leader. So I push L2 and his lights up then use the cards to go again.

This leads to a devastating controlled volley right into the State line formation.(which was hit by canister last turn)  they would be marginal the rest of the game.

Kati also gets 4 command cards and pulls off a very similar move with her Continental line against my regulars.

Turn 9 starts with a deadly bayonet charge to the  flank of the Continentals by my aggressive tomahawk brandishing lights.  These are the guys you really don't want to fight in hand to hand late war. My men had 16 dice in the melee to her 4...

Leaving the formation broken up

Kati's lights in the south would also close with my cannon and force a retreat

The next 2 turns turn into a slugfest as we pour fire into each other in the north.  While I had a great position to beat into the Continentals, I left my lights exposed to some fire to the rear from the rifles.

As we both needed to get volleys out as fast as we could the fire quickly turned into a series of uncontrolled volleys escalated by the ability Sharp practice which lets you get off faster volleys.   Kati made a mad dash with the prisoners to escape.

But the regulars cut her off and ended the game.

The final shot of the table.

All and all a fun game and a great  second game with the SP2 ruleset.  I am sure we made some mistakes as we played but I am prepping for another sit down with the rules.  SP2 feels like a Too Fat Lardies game, which makes sense as it is one.  A lot of their rule systems share common ground which makes picking up a new set now as overwhelming.