A fourth Dorking battle report; Cumwinton part the second

OSHIROblog
Jul 30
3 min read

waWith the volunteers retreating into Cumwinton and the sound of marching feet in the distance I present the fourth game in our Dorking campaign.

The volunteer units have moved further into Cumwinton on the Trickle and have finally been reinforced by units from the 31st foot and the Naval Brigade along with some much need steam tech in the form of a steam tank and another scout neff. Also some replacement artillery crews have been moved up. The Prussian have seemingly been reinforced with more tech and troops...

The British left was held by the 31st and the right by the Naval Brigade and replacement artillery. The steam tank was also on the left as that's where the main Prussian attack was expected to come from.

The scout neff was stationed with the Naval Brigade in order to flank any Prussians that would make any 'clever' moves.

The Prussians started with a lighting move forward of their steam tank with infantry in support but the British give some withering fire and the Prussian tank was soon immobolised (but not without suffering some damage itself).

The 31st move up to take advantage of the situation whilst the Naval Brigade hold fast.

The 31st move rapidly up to the damaged Prussian tank in order to kill it off but to their surprise, a Prussian walker, that was hiding behind a tree, lurches out of cover and attacks the infantry. Fortunately, the 31st see off this new threat, with help for the British tank and continue their initial attack on te main tank in front of them.

Unbeknown to the British, a group of Prussian heavy cavalry are sneaking up on them...

The Prussian heavy cavalry manage to wipe out the unit of the 31st and turn to attack the British tank but are routed by the second unit of 31st that were waiting behind some barricades on the edge of the village.

Prussian infantry slowly moved up to the village outskirts but came under fire from the waiting Naval Brigade and artillery.

One of the artillery positions was quickly out gunned but the remaining one, with help for the Naval Brigade started to whittle down the advancing Prussian infantry in rapid succession.

The scout neff also laid down withering fire from it's mounted maxim and unlike it's predecessor, managed to stay aloft long enough to cause some serious damage.

With the Prussians taking a heavy beating and the Naval Brigade starting to turn their flank the Prussians decided to retreat in good order as Cumwinton was too heavily defended.

What does this mean for the Prussian invasion plans?

Will they retire back to Prussia?

It's very doubtful :-)

Here endeth the fourth instalment of our little campaign. With the Prussians in retreat it will give time for the British forces to consolidate ground and take stock of resources. This was the last game we played (last year) but we do have plans for plenty more in the near future. 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