Portable Waterloo - The Prussians

 

Les Prussiens sont arrivés!

The French reacted quickly to the arrival of the Prussian leading elements. Now, placing the formations on the edge of the board constituted the first move of any Prussian formation. This, aided by the French 'winning' the next initiative roll relative to the Prussian Corps, enabled the latter quickly to react to this incursion into their deep right flank. Closest to hand, Milhaud's cavalry corps at once engaged Prussian IV Corps Reserve cavalry, their weight and training compensating for their deficiency in numbers. Very soon they would be joined by Pajol's Lancers, and General Lefebvre-Denouette's Light Horse of the Guard - some 7000 horsemen opposing 9000 Prussian in equal numbers of horse and foot.  

French counter-action against the Prussians

Right on the edge of the battlefield, between Maransart and the Paris Wood, the French horsemen strove to contain the Prussian breakout into the open field - a struggle that, however prolonged, could have had but one outcome.

The battle elsewhere carried on uninterrupted. Lobau's leading Division (19th) had by now reached the Imperial Guard gun line, and the action around Hougoumont continued unabated. True, the assaults by 5th Division upon the chateau were repulsed with loss.  At this point, to keep back the British line, the French 3rd Cavalry Division charged the 1st Brigade of the King's German Legion (KGL) which had been detached from Clinton's 2nd Division to form line with the Guards Brigade behind Hougoumont..   

Fighting around Hougoumont.  Third Cavalry 
Division charges 1st KGL Brigade.

West of the chateau, the clash of horse and foot had developed into a general battle. Jerome Bonaparte was forced to extend his Division into a line to the left, in order to contain the attacks from British light horse and foot. The flank was covered by Kellermann's heavy horse, his 3000 troopers taking on not only 6000 Dutch-Belgian foot, but 2500 light dragoons and hussars as well. For reserves in this sector, the French had only 2nd Cavalry Division, 1500 horse, at that moment taking a breather. The Allies had the whole of 4th Infantry Division, a good 6000 strong, unengaged, in reserve. From the French point of view, this was taking a lot upon themselves.

French west of Hougoumont 
try to push ahead, but numbers are against them

It was probably fortunate for Napoleon's army that the Allies' assaults upon Frichemont had been thrown back, although 3rd Division was still locked in combat with 2nd Dutch-Belgian. With the I Corps flank for the moment unthreatened, General Milhaud felt himself able to switch front to deal with the menace that had appeared to the right rear. Already, 'Napoleon', possibly over-reacting, was directing elements of VI Corps to the right. The fact was, I was expecting the Prussian threat to develop far more quickly than it did. But it might have been better to let Lobau carry on up the road with his whole force, probably with a Division of the Guard (the Chasseurs) and the Guard Heavies, and entrust the defence of Plancenoit to the Young Guard and the Guard Grenadiers.  

General view of the east end of the field...

The injection of 3 foot divisions, the Guard heavy cavalry and the VI Corps artillery park might well have proved a real test for the Allied centre. As it was that particular test never quite materialised.

General view of the west end of the battlefield

Eventually, the entire VI Corps available (a whole infantry Division and a cavalry Brigade had been detached to Grouchy's command, several miles distant) was directed eastwards. The Young Guard, meanwhile, entered the Plancenoit village, where they began to prepare its defences.

The Young Guard entering Plancenoit to 
prepare the place for defence.

The battle to the west carried on. Their horses blown (retreat results on the combat dice), Kellermann drew his troopers for the moment out of the fight, leaving 2nd Cavalry Division to take up the unequal fight on the flank. For all that 3rd Dutch-Belgian had by this time lost a quarter of its strength.  Jerome's Division was scarcely in better shape.  At the chateau itself, the assaults of 9th Division continued as those of 5th Division were renewed.  The garrison remained unmoved.

The back-and-forth battle rages on...

... both sides scoring successes.

Mixed fortunes attended the west flank fighting.  The French light horse unexpectedly threw back the Allied cavalry, but a lunge down the road by 2nd Division threw back one of Jerome's two brigades away from the chateau.  

On the east flank it was proving impossible to contain the pent-up force of the Prussians entering the battlefield.  The 14th Brigade, filtering though Maransart village unhinged the Guard light horse, who retired a short distance.  It seemed likely that the rest of the French horse would soon also be forced back.

Inexorable push as the Prussians press onto the field.
The Guard light horse have been forced back

The pressure there was compounded by sinister developments on the I Corps front.  Recuperating from their earlier repulse, 5th Infantry Division once again flung itself into Frichemont  village. This time the impetus was too much for the garrison, which fell back out of the village - just as the 2nd Dutch-Belgians to their right were falling back from the encounter with the French 3rd Division.  The action was becoming more confused and scattered.

Allies storm the French line and carry the 
Frichemont village.

Into the gap left by the retreat of the Dutch-Belgians, thundered Uxbridge with the Household Cavalry and the Union Brigade.  Here the French Corps Commander, Count D'Erlon had placed himself - this was to be a duel between commanders.  In the ensuing clash, Uxbridge got somewhat the edge, driving the French infantry back alongside the former Frichemont garrison.  

Frichemont changes hands...

 

These Allied successes open up the right flank of the whole of I Corps, and hence, the Army.  Into the uncontested defile between Frichemont and the Paris Wood rode the 4th and 6th Cavalry Brigades, to strike the right front of the embattled 4th Division.  At the same moment, Uxbridge's heavies seemed about to break through and ride down 3rd Division.  The fate of nations seemed to hang in the balance... though not for the last time!

...4th and 6th cavalry Brigades hit 4th Division as
it evacuated the village.

At that moment, the I Corps artillery happened to be on the flank, and at close range, of the Union Brigade. Hastily drawing out of the danger, the gunners left a gap into which 1st Division closed in upon the right front of the Allied mounted elite.

1st Infantry Division appears on the flank of the 
Allied elite horse.

Back went the crack British cavalry; forward once more drove 3rd Division, forcing them back well beyond the villages. At the same time 2nd Division counter-attacked from Papelotte, and followed up the Allied 6th Division as it in turn drew off from its sustained assault. The hard fighting around Frichemont had also exacted a serious toll upon the Allied formation. Having borne the brunt of the fighting, 8th Brigade was reduced to a handful of scattered survivors (all 4 of its SP having been lost), leaving the Highlanders only to hold the place.   

Unfortunately this bad photo was the only pic I had 
if this phase of the action...

So now, again, to the Prussians, battling to clear the Maransart-Paris Wood defile. The IV Corps cavalry were finding their heavier and better trained adversaries too tough to handle.  The leading unit of uhlans were soon scattered in charge and counter-charge (these being represented simply by vagaries of the initiative rolls in an otherwise IGoUGo game system). In the thick of the fighting, Generals Milhaud and Pajol were bearing charmed lives.  

The lead Prussian uhlan unit has been wiped out,
for no material loss...

The Prussians could not remain bottled up forever. Facing far superior numbers of infantry, the Guard light horse drew off, leaving the remaining 4000 horse far too few to contain the 12,000 Prussians forcing their way into the field.

Returning to the west flank, the to-and-fro battle continued, with heavy loss on both sides. The Dutch-Belgians had lost almost half their strength, but the French cavalry had also be worn down by a third of theirs.  And still the Hougoumont held out, against assault after assault by two whole Divisions.  The whole situation seemed deadlocked - which suited the Allies far more than it did their enemy. They had the numbers.

After a prolonged resistance, hope began to rise in French hearts as there seemed a perceptible falling off in the resistance the Hougoumont garrison was putting up. At last the attackers scored a hit that halved the defenders' strength. Surely they could not hold out for much longer?

VI Corps moving over to deal with the Prussians

Now might have been the time for a general advance up the Mont St-Jean road. But by now the VI Corps was being fully committed to the flank, and the Imperial Guard grenadiers and chasseurs were a long way off from putting their weight behind a final push...

To be continued... The Battle for Hougoumont, Prussians emergent, and plenty more action to come!

Portable Waterloo - Opening action

 

Opening clashes on the French right

The Battle of Portable Waterloo began traditionally, with assaults upon the Allied left, and the Hougoumont strongpoint that acted as bastion defending the Allied right. The first attacks upon the plantation south of the chateau itself were carried out by 9th Division from the southeast and the leading brigade of 6th Division from the southwest. The defenders there were fairly shortly driven in, whereat the 9th Division entered the wooded enclosure to assault the chateau itself.  

6th and 9th Divisions attacking the Hougoumont 
plantation

Seizing the initiative (higher initiative roll), the 2nd and 4th French Divisions of I Corps quickly occupied the hamlets of Papelotte and Frichemont.  Third Division took up the space between, while 1st Division remained echelonned to the left rear of the line.  The I Corps artillery took up a battery position behind Papelotte, from which position they brought La Haye Sainte under fire.  The Allied reserve artillery there were quickly compelled to abandon the position, which was soon taken up by the British/Hanoverian 3rd Division. Henceforth, all formation identities will be colour coded: French Blue, anglo-Dutch Red, Prussian Black.

General view, looking west from Paris Wood

The seizure of Frichemont gave the 1st Cavalry Division the opportunity to swing through the defile between that place and the Paris Wood, to fall upon the Allied Flank. However, the 5th Division commander had detached betimes his trailing brigade, the 5th Hanover, which, hastily forming square, stood off the French light horse. The Cavalry of 4th and 6th Allied Brigades waiting overlong to respond, left the inexperienced Hanoverians on their own, not only against the French light horse, but also the cuirassiers of Milhaud's leading Division.

General view looking SW.  

As the 5th Hanover Bde fought its private little battle against heavy odds, the rest of the 5th Division, together with the 2nd Dutch-Belgian and the 6th Divisions, began a series of assaults upon the French positions about the villages. This had the effect of stalling the French attack altogether, the Allies unable for a considerable time to break in, but the French unable to break out.  

The battle on the east flank.  In the hands of 5th Hanover Bde 
lies the safety of the Allied left flank.  Where are 4th and 
6th cavalry brigades?

About the Hougoumont,  9th Division, having cleared the plantation, was beginning its assaults upon the Chateau complex itself.  On the road to its left, a brigade of Jerome Bonaparte's 6th Division was also engaged in the same emprise.  The prolonged fighting tended to draw in the 5th Division as well, so that the beleaguered garrison was for a time facing adds of at least twelve to one, almost the whole of the II Corps infantry.  That not all II Corps could assault at once reduced the odds to seven to one, but that simply meant the attackers had plenty of reserves available.

Two and a half French Divisions attack the Hougoumont
at odds of at least seven to one

This did not, of course, account for the large bodies of Allied troops unengaged behind the Hougoumont, available for reinforcement or counterattack as the Allied chose.  They were not long choosing.

For the moment the action looked deadlocked along the whole front. Then the 4th and 6th Cavalry Brigades lurched into motion, and thundered down upon the French 1st Cavalry Division. Stuck in a salient hemmed in by the Paris Wood, Milhaud's Cavalry and the Hanoverian square; already having taken heavy losses, and now facing odds of five to one into the bargain, Jacquinot's light horse stood no chance. They were scattered to the winds.

Allied cavalry - 4th and 6th Brigades - charge a 
much depleted French 1st Cavalry Division

Having taken so long to get going, the British light dragoons were now hard to stop.  On they went, straight for the 13th Cuirassier Division, led by General Milhaud himself.  The heavy weight of the French horse was enough to bring the lighter Allied to a standstill.  They fell back, alongside the relieved Hanoverians, both congratulating themselves that, for little loss (1SP lost to 5th Hanover)  they had smashed an enemy cavalry Division, and shored up the open flank. For their part, the cuirassiers also drew back where they united with the 14th Cavalry Division.

Charging ever onward...

The Allied left now safe, the opposing horse there 
fall back to regroup and keep watch and ward

I should probably mention at this point that were I to do this again, I rather think I would place the Hougoumont two hexes closer to the western edge of the table. It seems that there was historically very little action west of the place, the chateau and its grounds practically forming the battlefield's boundary on this flank in the same manner that the Paris Wood formed one on the other flank. So it was, in this incarnation of the battle, that on the French side, Jerome was to detach a brigade from his Division, whilst the whole of Kellermann's III Cavalry Corps would join 2nd (Light) Cavalry Division to protect the flank of the assault upon the Hougoumont.  With Milhaud's heavies also drawn to a flank, there would be no charge of the heavy horse upon the Allied line between Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte.  And yet, a mounted French attack would eventually be directed thereto, late in the day...

Kellermann's Cav Corps moving off to the west flank...

The allies were already in motion.  The inexperienced but numerous 3rd Dutch-Belgian Division (12SP in 2 Brigades) were moving up from Braine d'Alleud, to join counter-attacks by 3rd and 5th light cavalry Brigades, and 2nd Infantry Division.  It was not long before Jerome found himself fighting off the attentions of Allied horse and foot, and no time for the Hougoumont.  In any case, surely the place must fall soon, even without his Division?

The fighting on the flanks left rather a vacuum in the centre.  The rival artilleries settled down to what was largely a counter-battery duel (much to my annoyance: I hate counter-battery!).  I and II Corps largely syphoned off to the flanks, General Count Lobau's VI Corps, weakened by detachments to Marshal Grouchy's command, began moving slowly up to fill the space between the Guard artillery in action along the road up from Maison du Roi, and the right flank of II Corps.  A lucky salvo from the Allied II Corps artillery gave a check to the trailing 20th Division - a gap opened up between the columns, and Lobau was finding it difficult to get the Corps united again (a really bad activation die roll).

For their part, the Imperial Guard remained motionless in and about Maison du Roi, when they might usefully have moved forward even a short distance, that it's masse de rupture might be thrown in in a timely fashion.  Only the Guard artillery were in action - at least for the time being.  The only other move was to bring in the Guard heavy cavalry closer to the main body of the Guard infantry.

So matters stood, perhaps a couple of hours into the action, the opposing forces heavily engaged on both flanks.  D'Erlon's I Corps continued to cling on to Papelotte and Frichemont, without being able, yet, to force their way beyond.  Allied attempt to wrest the villages from the enemy were proving equally fruitless, as losses mounted on both sides.  The garrison of the Hougoumont refused to be shifted, and II Corps was equally stuck fast.  The French build-up in the centre was proceeding much too slowly.

General view, just before...

So matters stood.  But now a dark cloud began to appear in the east, a shadow spilling over the ground between the Paris Wood and Maransart Village.  It might have been Marshal Grouchy's command, so far south along the battlefield edge did the shadow appear.  But Marshal Grouchy this was not.  The lead elements of the Prussian Army had arrived.

... the arrival of the lead elements of the Prussian 
IV Army Corps...

To be continued - The Prussians

Portable Waterloo - The set-up

 

The Waterloo battlefield, looking from directly 
behind Wellington's position.

I thought I would begin here by describing the set-up, special rules and any administrative matters that cropped up in the course of this little project. Just by the way, the hardest part of all is turning out to be this write-up! I have decided upon a series of instalments to narrate this battle, rather than go for a very long single posting. I hope this will better engage their readers.

First of all, allow me to refer you to the beginning of the project, with the orders of battle in my posting of over 2 months back: Waterloo PW Orbats

As it happens I added 2 units to the Anglo-Dutch army, namely the defenders of the Hougoumont and the plantations attached to it, one stand of 2 figures at each of the 2 hex-grid areas, each with 2 Strength Points. It would not have been a bad idea to make them elite into the bargain, though, as it happened, the French assailants were to find chateau garrison very hard to shift. These stands represented not only the garrisons, but also of the reinforcements filtered through during the course of the battle.

Reille's II Army Corps, Kellermann's III Cavalry 
Corps, with the leading Division (19th) of 
VI Corps, and the Guard Heavy Cavalry

Summary of Armies

Anglo-Dutch:
Army Command (Duke of Wellington) = 6SP
Cavalry 'Corps' = 30SP (Includes Corps command @3SP)
I Army Corps = 45SP (Includes Corps command)
II Army Corps = 28SP (Includes Corps command)
Reserve 'Corps' = 40SP
Garrison of Hougoumont and grounds = 4SP

153SP total, exhaustion point - 51SP

If we exclude the 15 command SP, leaving 138SP, at c.500 men per SP, the army's strength comes out at 69,000 - pretty close to the generally accepted strength of the army at Waterloo.  Note that the Reserve 'Corps' seems to have had no commander, so I have supposed that Wellington retained that corps under his own hand.  The Anglo-Dutch army fielded 155 cannon - represented by the three on the table (c1:50)

D'Erlon's I Army Corps ready to go, supported
by Milhaud's cuirassiers and Subervie's lancers

French:
Army Command: Emperor Napoleon/ Marshal Ney = 6SP
Imperial Guard = 36SP 
I Army Corps = 42SP
II Army Corps = 43SP
VI Army Corps (-) = 21SP
I Cavalry Corps (-) = 6SP
III Cavalry Corps = 9SP
IV Cavalry Corps = 9SP
(All Corps include 3SP corps command)

172SP total, exhaustion point, -58SP

Excluding the 27(!) command SP, leaves 145SP.  At 1SP:500 men, the army's strength comes out to about 72,500  - again, pretty close to the usual figure for the French army at Waterloo.  At 1 gun representing 50, we get an artillery park of about 250 - very close to the actual number.

I have conflated the command of the army into one figure, Napoleon himself, though it is true that Marshal Ney's played possibly an even greater role than his emperor in the conduct of the battle.

Anglo-Dutch right wing.  Genl Hill's 2nd and 4th 
Divisions ready to hand though II Corps artillery
is just out of the picture to the Footguards' left.

Prussian:
Army Command: Generalfeldmarschall Blucher = 6SP
I Army Corps = 45SP (Includes Corps command @ 3SP)
IV Army Corps = 52SP (ditto)

103SP total, exhaustion point, -35SP

Excluding the 12 command SP, leaves 91SP, that is 45,500 counting 1SP to 500 men. The 2 cannon allotted to each corps represents the 88 piece inventory of both. - a slight over-representation only.

French Imperial Guard, with elements of 
VI Corps moving off to the right of the pic.

The sapient reader might observe that the French army is blessed with a lot of commanders, especially amongst the cavalry.  This had some interesting effects.  During the course of the action, Divisions and Brigades were activated according to their proximity to or distance from their Corps or Army Commander.  The French Cavalry corps being so tiny - one or two stands apiece - there was very rarely any occasion in which any of their Divisions had to test whether they received their orders.  For the sub-formations of the Army Corps, this was more of a consideration.

The Hougoumont, and environs.  Probably using riflemen
to represent the plantation defenders wasn't quite the right choice... 

It was an even greater consideration for the formations on the Anglo-Dutch side. Lt-Genl the Earl of Uxbridge's cavalry was scattered all over the field. In fact, only 'Daddy' Hill's II Corps presented any kind of coherent formation. This proved something of a problem for the Allied side, with Divisions frequently having to roll for activation, and failures were not at all infrequent. The French enjoyed, therefore, considerable advantages in terms of command in this refight.

Early clashes on the eastern end of the line - the 
struggle for Papelotte and Frichemont

The arrival of the Prussians was determined by a die roll, IV Corps leading.  A roll of '6' at the beginning of a turn brought the first elements of IV corps in the 2-hex defile between Maransart village and the 'Paris Wood' to its north.  If for any reason the two hexes were occupied, then reinforcements could pass through the north end of the village itself.  I Prussian Corps would not arrive until all of the IV Corps was on the table, whereat it would arrive along the clear table-edge northeast of Frichemont.  As it was, it took a good four turns to bring the whole of IV Corps into the action... 

French I Corps attacking the villages, whilst
1st (Light) Cavalry Division and Milhaud's 
cuirassiers threaten the allied flank.

As usual, I used my dice initiative system, in preference to the standard card draw.  The French received a White die, the Anglo-Dutch a Red.  The Prussians upon arrival rolled a separate die for initiative: theirs was Green. Their separate die seemed reasonable, as the IV Prussian Corps could scarcely have been in touch with their allies.

To be continued - The beginning of the action.

Waterloo...

 

The Waterloo table set up

Some time ago, I made some noises about a Waterloo battle to be set up on my little hex-table. That battle was fought out a couple of weeks back, setting up late one evening, and being fought out in fairly leisurely fashion over the next two days. I took some 99 pictures, of which maybe 90 survived the 'first pass' quality control. The rest I've listed and captioned on paper. I'm still undecided how I am to report this - a blow-by-blow with nearly all the pictures, or a broader brush narrative with a selection of, say, a dozen or so.

Waterloo, early developments

In Darkest Aithiops - the Corsairs of the Coast

The Oportonovo garrison stand in readiness as
the Corsairs approach through the brush

It seemed to Capitao Ferdinand da Gama, the Commandant of Oportonovo,  that no sooner had his town seen off one emergency, than another followed hard on its heels.   The m'Butu raid had been driven off without too much difficulty, but had led to the loss of half his specialist artillerymen.  It would take time to train up more.  The Corsairs of the Coast were not going to give him that time.

The campaign system Paul and I are using is derived directly from Bob Cordery's simple 'generator' laid out in the Portable Colonial Wargame.  This is card driven, with one colour (RED) being assigned to the Azeitonian colonists, and the other (BLACK) to the three 'native' peoples: the indigene m'Butu, the Touaouin denizens of the desert, and the Corsairs of Zanzingabar.  In effect this is supposed to be colonists' story, with the three 'native' peoples the three OPFOR.  However, I find I'm telling the story from the 'natives' point of view.  What that green rectangle at the confluence of the Limpopo River and Kofi Creek portends (see map), I don't actually know.  Is a force of troops marching on the trail, or Azeitona river boats, or...?

Situation after 10 days of campaigning.

The run of successes that brought the Azeitonians to the Kachinga market town was due to a lengthy string of red cards, interrupted by a single black. But since then, the 'natives' had several useful, if shorter, strings of black cards. Barra Kuta had put some distance between himself and the Azeitonians at Kachinga; the sub-Chief, Yavuyavu had not only sped back to Rutintutin Kraal, but chased away a patrol and conducted a raid upon the small outpost town, Oportonovo, and now, here are the Corsairs.

Meanwhile, Coronel Relaxado's expedition was busy arranging matters to his satisfaction in Kachinga, and preparing a further advance up the north branch of the Limpopo River. At the same time he had cause to worry about the presence of a band of m'Butu some 15 miles to the south of his conquest, talk of the Touaouin at a similar distance from Bonbasa, and unsettling rumours coming up from the coastal settlements. Altogether his position was not as comfortable as he would have liked.

During this while, the other 'native' peoples had also had a chance to move. Though still some distance off, the Touaouin were from the north leisurely descending the Bootbustin Trail towards Bombasa. But the rumour of Corsair activity suddenly came reality.  The draw of the cards permitted a sudden descent from the north by sea. The original plan was to strike the colonial capital, Vertiginus, but a change of mind of the Wazir Yezdi, commanding in person, brought the fleet past that place to the coast just north of Oportonovo. Fact was, I was a bit concerned that what might be found at the larger settlement would be too large a morsel to chew, and figured that the smaller place would be a more promising target. This, by the way, before I discovered (in my role as Yavuyavu) that the garrison there was a deal larger than I had anticipated.  

Dawn broke, and the garrison drew up in a defence based upon the stockade and the stout administration building with its stone walls. After the losses of the day before, da Gama could count on some 170 regulars and civilian militia, 40 cavalry and a rifled artillery piece with a reduced crew.

Oportonovo Garrison:

Command: Commandant, Capitao Ferdinand da Gama = 6SP
1 regular infantry, rifles, average = 5SP
1 regular infantry, rifles, average = 4SP
2 civilian militia, rifles, poor @4SP = 8SP
1 regular cavalry, rifles, average = 3SP
1 regular cavalry, rifles, average = 1SP
1 artillery rifled field gun, average = 1SP

Totals:
8 units, median = 4
28 SP, exhaustion point, -10SP

Having landed his fighting men on the beach north of the town, Wazir led them down the coast - some 360 men armed with swords and smoothbore muskets, and 40 more dragging a couple of 8-pounder ship's cannon to serve as medium smoothbore field artillery.  As the landing force set out, he ordered the fleet, led by two gunboats to keep pace along the sea coast.  

Corsairs of the Coast:

Command: Wazir Yezdi = 6SP
9 corsair pirate bands, smoothbore musket, average @4SP = 36SP
2 smoothbore medium artillery @2SP = 4SP
1 Sail gunboat Sakuu (Skua) 5SP/FP; CC=5SP (carrying capacity)
1 Sail gunboat Ghaq (Cormorant) 4SP/FP; CC=4SP
4 Sail transports Baje, Alcatris, Alnuewris, Alkhurnasat (Pelican, Albatross, Seagull and Tern)
    @3SP = 12SP; CC@8SP = 32SP

Totals:
18 units, median = 9
67 SP (21FP), exhaustion point, -23SP 

By mid-morning the whole force was lining up in the brush and scrub north of the town, the guns being hauled up by the good road.  The garrison watched with trepidation as a pair of sailboats ghosted into the bay.  Although by then a considerable sea breeze had arisen, and the tide was still on the make, there was no real danger of their becoming embayed on a lee shore. It was a fine day, with not a whisper of  foul weather in the offing.

Corsair gunboats, Ghaq and the xebec 
rigged Sakuu.

As his men arrived, the Wazir wasted no time in ordering the attack - not even waiting for the trailing 'field' gun to come up. The main target was the stockade, where Capitao da Gama led the defence, but the Wazir also ordered the attack upon the strong looking building on the other side of the road. As his fighters closed in, the gunboats opened up with their cannon. Their practice could not have been better - their first broadsides at once scoring telling hits (both rolled 'sixes' to hit in their first salvos!).  The gunboats, by the way, counted the same as the single guns on land, it being supposed that the quantitative difference would be offset by the qualitative - a none-too-large seagoing vessel not being the steadiest of gun platforms. All the same, the Corsair gunnery was superb, and remained so all day.

Corsair ships' cannon serving as medium artillery

The lead artillery were also effective, but suddenly found themselves under a telling rifle fire from the stone building.  Hastily they drew the piece back out of range, redeploying at the edge of the scrub, and making way for the second gun to drop into action on the road.  That, too, had its hazards, as a lucky shell burst from the undermanned Azeitonian cannon felled a good half its crew (minus 1 from 2SP).

The first attacks go in...

A band of 40 men approaching the town along a low ridge to the north west of the stone building were driven back a short distance by rifle fire from the building itself and from the cavalry guarding that flank.  The main effort, however was against the stockade, supported effectively by the gunboats.  The leading wave of fewer than 50 men was soon brought up to near on 200. Some scrambled to secure a foothold within the fieldworks, whilst many contented themselves with pouring in a steady volume of musketry.  Outnumbered five to one, the stockade garrison were barely hanging on as losses mounted on both sides.

Corsair fighters hurrying into the fray

It could not be said that the Corsair attack was a model of coordination.  Throughout the morning more corsair fighters drifted in from the scrubby bush land, to join the fun.  

Gunboats make good practice against the stockade

As the pressure mounted upon the stockade, soon just ten men (1SP)  remained with the commandant, still grimly fighting off the assailants. A  depleted platoon of regulars - maybe 20 men joined them just before an overlapping group of corsairs could leap over an unmanned section of earthworks. The commandant himself bore a charmed life, not a scratch or bruise upon his person. The Wazir himself was equally lucky on more than one occasion. Having installed his person with one of the guns, the occasional counter-battery from the town placed that person in some danger of his life and limb.

Desperate fighting at the stockade;
the corsairs storm the stone building

The corsairs' confidence grew with the unexpected capture of the stone building. The galling fore from the corsair artillery and the musketry from the nearby ridge, were too much for its garrison to endure. Twenty survivors evacuated the place. A band of thirty corsairs entered, and promptly began to fire upon the buildings and troops visible in the cemetery beyond.  

The stockade garrison's handful of survivors flee
as Capitao da Gama falls into the hands of the corsairs

This really was the beginning of the end. Although the corsairs in the open were taking considerable losses, it was becoming plain that, against this foe, the Colonist garrison was simply not strong enough.  A band of corsairs burst into the southern end of the stockade, chasing out the scant remnants of the regular platoon. Surrounded, the civilian militia defending the north end finally succumbed. Still the gallant commandant wielded a stout sword, but as more corsairs swarmed over the earthworks, he had perforce to surrender.

Azeitona defence of Oportonovo about to 
collapse

The stockade in corsair hands...

This 'surrender' seemed to me the only solution, but we brought it about this way.  The rest of the stockade defenders having fled or been put to the sword, the Capitao had been left, unwounded, on his own, enemies to his front and rear.  Paul and I agreed that he could have one round of fighting.  If he was hit, he was wounded or killed, but if he forced a retreat on one of the enemy, he would be held to have cut his way out of the press and escaped.  From memory, though he might have 'taken an enemy with him', he neither escaped nor was killed.  So, a prisoner he remained in the hands of the corsairs.

By this time, the town's garrison had long since passed its exhaustion point in losses. Although they had given as good as they had received, even discounting the sea-going transports (only one of which arrived during the battle), but including the gunboats, the corsairs' losses fell  short of their exhaustion point.  

End of the battle.

Overall losses were: 

Azeitona:
Capitao da Gama MIA/POW 6SP
Infantry: 14SP
Artillery: 1SP (gun silenced)
Note that in determining returns and replacements, the Commandant's 6SP is not included, as really an ad hoc command figure (unlike Colonel Relaxado, Great Chief  Barra Kuta, or Wazir Yezdi).  So the Azeitona garrison find 5SP permanently lost; 5 replaced after a certain interval (one of these may be artillery); and 5 return immediately after the battle as stragglers, lightly wounded, knocked out  etc.

So the battle casualties are 'estimated' to be some 100 men plus the commandant himself.

Corsairs: 
Musketeers: 15SP
Artillery: 2 SP
Returns: 6 permanently lost (1 of them artillery); 5 replaced after a certain interval; 6 return immediately: 5 musketeers and 1 gunner.

So the Corsair battle casualties came to about 110 men. 

Having driven the garrison to the southern end of the town, the Corsairs turned their attention to taking as much booty and other prizes a relatively small and new settlement might yield.  During the discussion about this, I suggested that the non-combatant townsfolk might have been taken to the jungle fringes in the hex south of the town, and even suggested a 'man of his hands' to command this little troupe. Then I looked at the map. The hex south of the town is ocean, where the coastline trends westward. But in hex-1912, there would have been the recently encountered band of m'Butu. So the non-combatants might have come in for some attention after all.

Nevertheless, the pickings were bound to be fairly slender, apart from a few trinkets recovered from the church, an interesting safe from the admin building, some invaluable military equipment - especially rifles and ammunition - and a few persons that one way or another might liven up the slave markets of Zanzingabar. The commandant himself might well be worth something in ransom... 

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Kachinga, Coronel Relaxado decided to resolve at least one of the worries that had been exercising him.  Gathering together as much force as he could risk, he set out southward.  That m'Butu band at Getmai had to be eliminated, and that right soon...

* * * 

To be continued... The Battle of Getmai Drift.