Dahara strikes! Battle of the Six Peaks, including the death ride of the Cossacks.

 It was an amazing sight. After months of dawdling and delays,  the climatic battle of Daharra's expedition to punish Fuddland played out. 

  The brave defenders of Fuddland

The Story so Far

After the village of Kirkland (20B24)was captured the Fuddland commander set about deploying in the wild mountainous district called the Six Peaks.  A river's watershed and three rocky hills made a formidable position for the outnumbered  Fuddland force (20B19). 

Theater of War. 

 Today's battle is in lower right province,  small square 19. Sorry about the orientation but it happens a lot. the real prize is the Fuddland port just a few days march to the south.

Anyone following the campaign wondered what the heat aborted game last year finally resolved.  In fact, nothing, as effectively a pause in play in the sector occurred while we pursued other interests.  We were determined to test fate and try again ...on July 5th no less! 

Saner heads prevailed ( thanks Greg ) and our favorite store provided a table in the luxurious air conditioning environment.  We arrived 10 ish with terrain and troops, set up and played,  broke down and packed up by 4pm.  The epic tale now begins.

  Rare sighting of the Daharan potentate at rest....usually he's plotting the schedule of torture for defeated opponents or listening to the wailing of their widows and orphans.

Important to note for the day is the deployment, the Daharan "wall of steel" which has brought  many enemies to ruin.

  

A closer look at the left flank of the Daharan field force.  Four to six infantry units in a brigade, stiffened with artillery .  Without style nor remorse, the lineup looked similar down the invader's line.

We started the battle at 9:00 with a possible 10 turns of play, each representing an hour.  The passage of time in Piquet is marked by either one side exhausting its sequence deck or the rolling of ties in the initiative roll. One of the more remarkable events was   no less than three initiative ties...making it 2pm on the battlefield before the forces got to close.
 

Of course, the fun is to explain in the narrative  what transpired in the battle, not the perversity of the cube gods.

The Daharan commander kept a watch for the signs that his flanking force would be entering the table. The other eye made sure the line of guns and battalions stayed intact. The headwaters of a river produced some rough ground to navigate between two steep, rocky hills. Both sides traded some long range artillery shots, to little effect it seemed.  

It was during this period that no matter how low Roger rolled for initiative, Greg managed one pip less....four roll offs in a row, with Roger rolling as low as a three.

   Fuddland's glorious charge at start in upper portion of photo.

Greg had finally won an initiative and managed to win by ten pips. The rest is history.

 Suddenly the Fuddland light and irregular cavalry sounded the charge and there were suddenly there were some four regiments, nearly two thousand sabers and lances closing with the iron wall of Daharra.   It is reported that Col. Excorceesti, had been given command of the cavalry wing and supposed to recreate the collapse of opposing forces similar to his prior raids. 

The dash and speed of the assault was met mostly by grapeshot and musket fire. On an open field with flanks protected, most artillery and infantry units can withstand at least one attack. The results destroyed the irregular and light horse units in the charge with small loss to the Daharans.

    

The great disappearing Cavalry trick. Even the Daharan leader is aghast at the carnage.

 

Another view of the game,  the left Fuddland flank cavalry charge at the 'moment of impact '.

 

During the right flank engagement, the Fuddland heavy batteries finally put enough damage on the iron wall of the enemy to have two infantry units become withdrawn as spent.

After the dust of the right flank action cleared, it could be seen the Fuddland  commander had ordered a withdrawal. Because of the terrain the defenders could retire unhindered by the Daharans. The battle quickly wound down, the tired flanking force arriving too late to have an effect on the battle. 

The  forces have moved off the fields to regrouped some. 

The aftermath. Note the lack of dead horses and riders. Realism? I think not!

The table looking down at the shining expanse of my chrome dome. The scene is one of the myriad times I needed to consult the rules. Last time we'd used the rules, ahem, was awhile ago.What you can see is the expansiveness of the store behind me. Big as this looks, there is as much space chock full of stock to buy, from Card game packs to paint, minis, board games and rpgs.

 

Shortly there will be a second post concentrating on the imagination personalities and some idea of the flanking column's story.  I am grateful to note we 'missed' the 88 degree (Fahrenheit) 85% humidity of an outdoor venue that day.

 

Keep playing, have fun.