Jungle Ambush

The Trail

 As noted before this game was a small game following the exploits of Captain Gout and a detachment of Madnas Goblin Infantry as they pursue raiders from Eyesore.

All is not as it seems however as the Eysorians have left behind a party to ambush their pursuers.

PEF (Possible Enemy Force) 1 The Flank Attack

 Three Possible Enemy Forces have been deployed on the table.  PEF 1 is positioned to strike to the Orc Captain's right flank as his forces cross the table. PEF 1 might be a figment of tattered nerves though and may not yield any troops.

PEF 2 (The Reserve)

PEF 2 is positioned in a nullah that bisects the table. An enemy here would be well protected ad blocking Captain Gout's route. 

Such a well placed foe could hold up the advance of the Madnas party indefinitely.

Like PEF 1, however, this too may just be a case of Gout's overwrought senses.

PEF 3 (The Ambush Party)

PEF 3 is the ambush party. Whatever else may happen, this PEF will yield enemies.

The only question is how many and would they be able to lie in wait long enough to inflict maximum disruption to Gout's crossing.

This PEF was placed in a bend of the trail about halfway across the table to the left of Gout's line of march.

I would be taking on the role of Captain Gout leading a detachment of MGI with Havildar Shazbag as my second in command. The detachment consisted of 17 goblins drawn from the light and grenadier companies of the battalion. As such my goblins were a nice mix of Rep's 4 and 5, armed with standard smooth bore muskets. We also had a Commissariat Sergeant leading two pack lizards with rations and additional food.

The Encounter had my scouts, two goblins detached for this purpose, starting out halfway across the table near the ambush party. 

The rest of my command was strung out behind me in two files, barring the final two goblins who were tasked with guarding the rear and the pack lizards. Quite naturally I rode at the head of the goblins. Wouldn't due to have the goblins think their orc officer was skulking about the rear eh?

PEF 3 Revealed

The Eyesorians proved stealthy but  ill disciplined and they opened fire as soon as my scouts were abreast of their position.

The ambush party resolved into a mixed group of 12 otters and goblins armed with an assortment of missile and melee weapons.

Out of the undergrowth came a barrage of arrows and musket balls punctuated by the Boom! of a rather large blunderbuss wielded by the Eyesorian leader.

Both of my scouts were dropped by the initial fusillade  although how badly they were hit I was as yet unable to determine.

Ambush!

 Wasting no time I had the goblins double up to the point of contact, where  Havildar Shazbag and I paused to shake them into line.

Havildar Shazbag leads the troops...

 During this time the goblins showed great discipline and restraint, calmly carrying out their evolutions all the while under a sporadic fire of shot and arrows from a foe barely glimpsed through the underbrush.

I thought one controlled volley and a spirited charge ought to be enough to drive off these villains and allow me to tend to the scouts..

...and pays the price

It was as this time that a ball hit Havildar Shazbag. The valiant goblin clutched at his chest and fell to the ground, all the while encouraging his "lads" to be steady.

At this point one of the otters let out a, well,   I trust you will not think less of me for saying so, a positively bone chilling cry.

Brandishing a wicked looking tulwar and followed by two similarly armed goblins the otter crashed out of the brush and straight for us!

The enemy charge!

I well thought the scouts were done for as one goblin made for their prostrate forms while the other two Eyesorians charged headlong towards our line.

By Sentinel! One of the scouts rose from where he lay and set too with the goblin, protecting his comrade from harm.

This, along with the gleaming row of bayonets my detachment presented soon saw the Eyesorian charge repulsed!

The enemy fall back with loss

The wounded scout even managed to drop his goblin with some deft bayonet work!

I could fell the spirits of the goblins buoyed up by this turn of events.

Demned fellahs looked fit to cheer so I promptly quietened them down, calling for quiet in the ranks.

A controlled volley

 Decided to help the retiring Eyesorians along with a controlled volley! Could barely see the rotters for the smoke and the undergrowth.  'Od's Fish though the sound of shot singing through the trees was lovely. Even heard a whelp as one of our missiles struck home.

Charge!

 "Now me fine Goblins, at them with the bayonet!" I cries spurring Gobbers into a trot.

Well if any of the Eyesorians still thought to contest the matter, this advance of 15 fighting goblins made an end of it. They broke and ran and that was the last we saw or heard of them.

Driving them off

Nullah scouted...

 There was a dicey moment or two when the scouts stumbled upon this steep, what they called, "nullah". Thrice Demmed country has more folds and creases than that Miggens womorc old Rogipoos keeps on about!

...and crossed

 Fortunately for them, no Eyesorians were anywhere about so on we trudged on  looking for a good spot to camp for the night.

The detachment on the march

Bringing up the rear

So there you have it. A short, sharp, action that must have been repeated thousands of times throughout history and yet rarely considered worthy of inclusion when the histories are written.


Final losses were one Eyseorian goblin killed, and at least two other Eyesorians wounded based on the blood evidence.


Honorable East Valonian Company losses were three other ranks wounded. Both scouts were well enough to carry on with their duties having suffered only minor injury. Poor Havildar Shazbag had to be pensioned off to live out his days as best he might.


The new volley rules worked splendidly and I am excited to carry on with this project. That project being "Muskets and Mohawks II".


The tweaks I made to the ambush encounter were less spectacular but repeated play will see if they have value.


Seems to me that you can't really do a Colonial  American game without ambushes as they were such a feature of the small fights that sprang up all along the east coast of the continent.


Yet the challenge is to make it exciting to play through. A perfect ambush where one side delivers a crushing stroke with well concealed yet overwhelming forces may be the operational objective but would lack a certain entertainment value...for the ambushed player at any rate.


In any event hope you enjoyed the report and thanks for stopping by!

Next up wiii either see Giglamps attempt to redeem himself after the loss of the Colours at Fugitive's Drift, or a thorough testing of the artillery and mine rules as the Albion orcs assault the Ferach held city of Badajobz.

A note on terrain: Much of the terrain used in this game was purchased from Battlefield Architect, with additional items from The Terrain Guy, Warzone GTS and Lemax, as well as the odd bit of Dwarven Forge.