The Hysterical Wargammer, Vol 1,  No. 4

             For our monthly Saturday night game at John Cox’s house, on July 8, fellow wargamers Bill, Pete, Josh, and yours truly, recreated a British raid on Danbury Connecticut in April 1777 for another Rev. War game.  Victory conditions called for the British Column, having burned Danbury, to get as many men as possible off the far end of the table.   Pete and Bill handled troops under General Benedict Arnold, while myself and Josh handled the British under General William Tryon. 

             The basic British tactic was to march down the road with units in line to the front, flanks, and rear, as the remaining units in column beat a withdrawal down the road.  Almost immediately, the British plan was stymied.  Hessians moving through a timbered area towards the flank of solitary Colonial line regiment were surprised by rebel militia hiding in a barn.  Then an attack on the flank of the Colonial unit blocking the British withdrawal came to naught and permitted the colonials to initially hold them at bay.  A fortified redoubt within range of the Hessian firefight and the main road had to be reduced.  British Cavalry, whose assignment it was to get into the rear of the fortified Colonial position became bogged down in some heavy timber, and before they could get through, militia fired into their rear causing several casualties.  Though after some hard skirmishing, British Grenadiers forced the Colonials away from the redoubt, die rolls went in favor of the Colonials, who were able to reoccupy the redoubt.  Finally the Grenadiers took the position with a line unit which had come into the colonial rear.  Well placed early shots by colonial militia to the British rear crippled their artillery, which eventually were all captured.  As the British became bogged down on the road next to the redoubt, the British allowed their artillery to fall behind.  Good die rolls by the Colonial and lousy ones for the British also contributed the misfortunes of the Redcoats.  One bad die roll by them had the Brits to drunk to do anything for one turn.  A contingent of British marines sent from the British fleet some twenty miles away did not arrive in time to satisfactorily save the British from heavy losses.  Though the game was called due to time, the British suffered higher losses than they did in the actual engagement.  It was said that the British failed to utilize the full offensive power of their infantry.