A fifth Dorking battle report; The retreat at Leggs Crossing

OSHIROblog
Dec 25, 2025
3 min read

The Prussian retreat continues apace ably helped along by the appearance of the second British battalion of the 31st.

The small hamlet of Leggs Crossing was the only thing in the way of the Prussian full retreat before they could get to the coast and the landing craft waiting for them. With the British regulars in hot pursuit and a contingent of volunteers and Naval Brigade waiting at the crossing, things did not look good for the Prussian remaining forces.

The remaining volunteer units and Naval Brigade took up position around Leggs Crossing, making such barricades as they could (much to the annoyance of the local populace) to help stall the retreat before the regulars could arrive from behind the Prussians.

The Prussians closed on the environs of Leggs Crossing en-masse (that's not Prussian!) hoping to punch a hole through the thinly deployed defenders.

The Prussian cuirassiers spurred forward down the centre towards the remaining Guildford Cricketers who gallantly held their ground... Until they didn't.

Unable to withstand the heavy Prussian cavalry, the Cricketers were soon swept from the field opening up the centre for the Prussian infantry to push forward.

On the British left, Prussian hussars charged down the rail line into the Naval Brigade and took heavy fire from their fusillades. The hussars were whittled down with alarming alacrity but more Prussians were coming up behind them.

Some Prussian jägers took the place of the recently deceased hussars and a fierce firefight took place between the Naval Brigade and the 2nd Surrey Royals Volunteer Regiment.

The main Prussian force advanced towards the centre of Leggs Crossing which was now rather sparse on defenders and open to push through.

The British regulars were in hot pursuit though and were hoping that the desperate defence of the crossing could hold up until they got close enough to engage the retreating Prussians.#

Unfortunately, the British Naval Brigade and remaining volunteers were hit too hard byt the Prussian onslaught and had to fall back but giving back as much as they could.

The Prussians, seeing the gaps appearing in the British lines started to push through in force, even leaving some units behind to keep the surviving British occupied as much as possible.

With the British regulars and tech now approaching the outskirts of Leggs Crossing, the Prussians forced their way through the remaining volunteers (with the Naval Brigade having been reduced to almost nothing) and made the long dash for the coast and waiting craft.

The British stayed in Leggs Crossing to mop up and take what prisoners they could, in the hope that some of them would give up the Prussian plans for the future...

This was the last game in this small section of the campaign and it will be started anew in 2026 with a massive beach landing of Prussian troops somewhere on the south coast. Rules used were Glorious Adventures in the Age of Steam from Wiley Games. The Bigger Battles version was used in this game as it allows for units and tech to be handled smoothly and Wiley Games rules always give a fun outcome. Scout neff and British tank are from the below OSHIRO link, Prussian tank is from Ironclad and the figures are all Perrys BIF for the Brits and Northstar, the old Helion & Co 1866 range for the Prussians.

VSF vehicles