War in the Woods Game 5: Another Afternoon in Eden

As the sun rises over the vast forests of the valley, Florian Vanderventer sits by the fire in his shirt-sleeves and studies a hastily penned message. Despite the roving bands of hostile natives and Frenchmen in the area, a courier managed to arrive with the note, having been dispatched from Albany a few days before.

The militia captain notes with annoyance that the letter is addressed to "Capt. F. Venderventer," — these English colonists never could spell the Dutch "Vandeventer" correctly, and his father usually dictated his business correspondence rather than penning the dispatches himself.

And it was a message from his father, one about business, at that. Requesting his input in a pending transaction concerning the fair rate for fur trappers in his father's employ, as well as the relative market prices and how the fighting with the French had affected them. Florian's father expressed concern at the fighting north of Albany, without asking after his son's well-being in that conflict.

It was, after all, his parents' idea for him to be here, among the torched settlement of Little Eden, where the threat of death by musket or tomahawk lurked behind every tree. Even his father's accumulated wealth couldn't convince the provincial regulars to tender an officer's commission to an inexperienced merchant's son. The local militia, however, were more easily swayed.

The young captain's eyes flit to the edge of the woods, where Jim Morgan and a few militiamen are escorting some scared and dirty settlers into the relative safety of the militia camp. Florian runs his hand along his short-cropped hair as Morgan approached, musket hefted over his shoulder.

The two regard each other. The militiaman thinks that he's rarely seen the officer without his wig on. The captain remembers faintly that the Welshman, a fur trapper, has done business with his father before.

"Sergeant Morgan, roust the men," Vanderventer says, clearing his throat and tucking the note away. "I would have the company positioned along the road up ahead, that we may check any advance by the French and their savages. And fetch me my coat, man."

Vandeventer bends to adjust his shoe, which hasn't weathered the hardship of frontier militia life well, and as his gaze is turned away, Morgan regards him skeptically. "Aye sir," Morgan responds curtly, and steps off to get the garment — a lavish and colorful gift from Florian's father — while the captain stands and goes to find his wig.

Although the French and Huron raiders managed to evade the Anglo-American retaliation near Stag's Head, the arrival of more experienced troops has tipped the initiative toward the defenders in the valley. Having failed twice to achieve a decisive victory at Little Eden, the demoralized French and Huron under Hardheart and Sergeant Marleau prepare themselves for another attempt at wiping the remnants of the little settlement off the map.

Highlanders have yet to arrive to reinforce the defenders here, but and advance party of colonial rangers under Sergeant Bill Hackett made a forced march to the scene and now lie in wait for the next attack, bolstering the morale of Venderventer's militia defenders.

The two sides meet near two small farmsteads, one already burned, the other standing for the time being. This time, the French and Huron are focused on driving the enemy from their positions rather than burning buildings.

Little Eden mayor Jeb Reddin and his frontier militia comb the woods for interlopers, making use of a mobile deployment point.

As it turns out, the skirmishers are acting as scouts for Florian Vanderventer's militia line, who deploy ahead for Reddin on the edge of the woods as they see the coast is clear.

The attackers stay cagey, moving a moveable deployment point up toward the other flank as the militia advance.

Reddin's colonists move up to screen the militia line's left.

The French and Huron pass up several more opportunities to deploy, but it's the arrival of the green-jacketed rangers in the cornfield that finally prompts them to show themselves. A group of skirmishers under War Coat lines the edge of the forest.

A second group of warriors under Tonsahoten backs them up on the left, while Huron under Dutch Peter arrive to reinforce the rangers. He kicks off the clash at the cornfield by opening fire on Tonsahoten's Huron.

The fire is accurate, laying out two Huron raiders in the forest underbrush. Not an auspicious start for the raiders.

As the fighting develops and the rattle of musketry fills the valley, Reddin's men high-tail it across the road to the cover of a fence. They haven't seen any foes yet, but it's a hot day and their scouting work has taken a toll on them, making them sluggish. That is to say, a random event has reduced their movement.

They're closer to danger than they know. Just out of sight in a small grove, a group of French light infantry approaches through the brush, directed onward by the tomahawk-wielding "Mad" Marleau.

With Tonsahoten taking accurate fire and the corn stalks obscuring the Mohawks, War Coat shifts his skirmishers around. They take some ineffective fire from Dutch Peter's warriors, and the Mohawk leader orders his men back to avoid the return fire.

Skirmishers under Hardheart appear out of the thick forest to Reddin's right and open fire on the colonists, with the vengeful Hardheart exerting his command prowess to add to his warrior's firepower.

Miraculously, all the colonists survive the ambush, but the fire from their flank puts six points of shock on them. Reddin commands them back across the road, an order they follow with zeal.

Hackett's rangers advance to the edge of the corn field and fire at Tonsahoten, but they have no effect. This may have something to do with us incorrectly using the wrong statline for them. They were intended to be played as crack light infantry, but instead sere pretty much on par with the run-of-the-mill militia skirmishers elsewhere in this campaign. This was remedied in future games.

French militia troops under the experienced woodsman and fur trader Sebastian Pelletier. He holds the rank of sergeant in the militia, but his comrades know his experience and intuition hold more value than any officer's commission.

The Canadiens pour more fire on Reddin's battered skirmishers, and although the colonists still manage to cheat death, the additional shock they take forces them into an involuntary withdrawal back into the woods. It will take a lot of goading from Reddin to get them back in the fight at this point. Their flight drops British Force Morale by one point, to nine.

Fortunately for them, the garishly attired Venderventer rises to the occasion. Leaving his militiamen in the care of Jim Morgan, who has been pressed into the role of militia sergeant today, Vanderventer confers with Reddin's rattled skirmishers, managing to restore their spirits. Vanderventer, a Level II leader, pulls five points of shock from the group.

Across the battlefield, Tonsahoten's men try to exact some form of revenge on the rangers, but their fire is ineffective.

With the aid of Vanderventer, Reddin has pulled all but one shock from his men. They've taken no casualties, so they're nearly ready to get in the fight again already.

With the remaining British out of sight across the road, the Canadiens move to a place where they can see the rangers and open fire. Unfortunately, their volley has no effect.

Another volley from Tonsahoten's skirmishers likewise has no effect, but a second volley triggered by a random event manages to kill one of the rangers.

Fire from War Coat's skirmishers has a little more effect, killing another ranger and inflicting a point of shock (evidently placed down after the photo). The French and Huron shooting has been poor, but in this three-on-one fight the rangers may be in trouble.

Venderventer's men, under Morgan, are finally on the move, although they seem to be leaving him behind. They're trying to get into a firing line on Hardheart's flank, but at the moment are struggling through the underbrush.

The Mohawk are back, and they pick off another of Tonsahoten's warriors. Musketry from the rangers inflicts a shock on War Coat's men.

The rangers fall back into the corn to reload under the concealment of the crops.

Jim Morgan orders the militia to fire at Hardheart's Huron, killing one of the skirmishers. Hardheart is also wounded and temporarily knocked flat, stunned. French Force Morale falls one point, but is still high at 10.

Marleau's light infantrymen advance to the cover of the rail fence outside the torched cabin, looking to put pressure on Reddin's skirmishers and the militia.

With Hardheart out of action for the time being, and the firefight over in the cornfield stagnating, the French appear to have lost the initiative. If the colonial militia is able to get stuck into the fight decisively, they have the chance to deal a devastating blow. Vanderventer, at this crucial moment, is still off with Reddin, who has managed to pull the last of the accumulated shock off his skirmishers.

Militia shooting puts another point of shock on Hardheart's men, but Morgan doesn't seem to want to risk an advance without Vanderventer's presence and approval. Vanderventer rejoins his men shortly after, hopefully he hasn't missed a golden opportunity.

The skirmish in the cornfield rages on. War Coat's skirmishers kill one of the Mohawk warriors, and Dutch Peter's men kill one of Tonsahoten's group, whittling them down. Neither side has a clear advantage, it seems.

Hardheart's warriors manage some desultory fire at the militia, putting one point of shock on them, and then they retreat into the trees, trying to get out of sight with their injured leader in tow.

Marleau's lights advance, hoping to put some pressure on the colonists and keep the center of the loose French line from collapsing.

It's an action that Reddin's skirmishers quickly chastise with a volley that kills one of the French colonial troops and puts a point of shock on the survivors. A measure of payback for the earlier gunfight that Reddin's men lost.

Over in the cornfield, War Coat's skirmishers finally seem to get the upper hand on their Mohawk foe, killing two of the enemy skirmishers.

With Hardheart still reeling, Pelletier, who can speak to the Huron in their own tongue, takes the initiative. He orders the Huron men to reload and stay in the cover of the trees while the Canadiens go charging into the cornfield to flush out the weakened Mohawks and the rangers.

Dutch Peter loses his nerve and flees from the cornfield first, with the rangers deciding to leave as well rather than stand and fight alone. Both groups retreat with unloaded muskets.

Although Tonsahoten's skirmishers have been roughly handled and reduced to less than half strength, the young warrior demonstrates his bravery, or perhaps foolishness, but surging forward with his white allies in pursuit of the fleeing enemy.

The rangers get to the cover of the woods and reload. The Mohawk are still falling back, but are slowed by some poor movement rolls.

Marleau's men and Reddin's men continue to trade fire, with each of them putting a point of shock on the other.

Vanderventer's militia, instead of putting more pressure on Hardheart, move off toward the intact cabin and the cornfield. They are hampered by a random event roll that has two of their less disciplined men lured off toward the cabin by the prospect of loose women, but the group manages to form up across the road from the cornfield. The remaining French and Huron still have a considerable obstacle on the table in the form of the militia.

Nevertheless, Pelletier keeps up his chase, likely hoping to finish off the Mohawk before withdrawing. War Coat's group, which has taken no casualties yet, follows along.

The shrewd Canadien frontiersman gets his wish. Another volley from the skirmishers catches the fleeing Mohawks in the open and from behind, killing two of them and sending the surviving man breaking off the table with Dutch Peter. The British lose two points of Force Morale, one for the group breaking and another for the leader routing. They're still at FM 7, though, so it seems unlikely that the whole force will break.

The rangers reemerge to try and shoot up the Canadiens, but they fail to have any effect.

Marleau's men surge forward slightly, trying to close the distance, but this skirmish seems hopelessly bogged down.

The militia are in a good position and catch War Coat's warriors slipping into the cornfield. Their fire on the Huron flank inflicts four shock, a serious threat to their ability to move and fight.

Vanderventer dispatches Jim Morgan to collar the two shirkers at the cabin and bring them back into line.

The Huron spend some time repositioning. Tonsahoten gets his few men to the edge of the corn where they can fire at the rangers, War Coat gets his skirmishers into the corn fully, and one of Hardheart's men leads the group to where they can hopefully fire at Reddin's men.

Dusk starts to settle on the battlefield, the bright flashes of musketry sending sparks into the night as weary men fire at the dark shapes of the foe. The Canadiens prove better in this uncertain light than their foe, picking off another ranger and placing two shock on the dwindling group. They start to withdraw in short orders.

Utilizing the last of the light, Vanderventer's men put a final volley into the cornfield, killing one of War Coat's men as he attempts to rally his shocked skirmishers.

Before long, both sides use the cover of darkness to withdraw and lick their wounds. The French attack has clearly failed, but the colonists don't have much to crow about either. Little Eden remains contested, as the two warring groups chip bitterly away at each other.

---

This flank of the campaign continues to frustrate both sides. Although Hardheart is something of a force of nature on his own, the French and Huron haven't seemed to be able to get their act together since their loss of Dujardin. The raiders' casualties are one man from Marleau's compagnies franches de la marine skirmishers and six Huron. The French have more native allies to call on than the British, but that doesn't make them disposable. The losses here will hurt, particularly considering they gained practically nothing.

The colonial defenders, who lack any of the regular reinforcements who have turned up near Stag's Head, did well enough defending, but failed to exploit some of the weak spots the French left them at times. Reddin and Dutch Peter both deserve some credit for stemming the tide against more and better-quality troops, and Vanderventer was no slouch either. Their losses are five Mohawk and three of the newly arrived rangers, who underperformed compared to their dashing reputation. The two militiamen who wandered off to pursue personal interests among the settlement's womenfolk are recovered later that evening.

Truthfully, as I wrote this with many more games of Sharp Practice under my belt and the benefit of hindsight, I was appalled at the lack of maneuver in this game. My choice to advance into the cornfield to drive off the Mohawk and rangers should have come sooner, and my opponent probably should have crossed the road with his large and undamaged militia line to wreak havoc in my center. With some luck, he might have finished off or captured Hardheart, which would have severely weakened this flank for the entire campaign.

Both of us have been playing very cagey so far in the campaign and doing all we can to avoid melee combat or fighting in the open. However, these long drawn-out gun battles can prove equally fatal and are probably much less interesting to read for you.

Despite the stalemate here, the British have managed to win the initiative, meaning they'll get to pick where the next battle takes place. As it happens, my opponent chooses to use some newly arrived reinforcements to take the fight to the raiders near Little Eden. Tune in next time for that.