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One-hour Simplicity - Take the High Ground (scenario 4)

I played scenario four from the book One-hour Wargames, but resolved the encounter using another Neil Thomas' ruleset called Simplicity in Practice (SiP) that was published in issue 23 of the magazine Battlegames. The adaptation was straightforward: I used the movement distances as printed in SiP on a 2'x2' mat and using 6cm bases (2 Wofun bases per unit).  I only extended slightly musket range to 15cm because many scenarios are built on the assumption of a longer range. Cavalry acts as HC in SiP.

 

Situation at the start

The objective is to control the hill in 15 turns 

 The die wills that the two armies have an identical composition: 4 infantry units, 1 cavalry and 1 artillery each.

The RED army has 2 isolated units. 
Can they hold until the relief column arrives?

The BLUE general deploys with infantry and cavalry
in front of the hill, supported by artillery

The rest of the units will try to interdict the relief
column by advancing through the woods area

RED's relief column

BLUE artillery pounds the infantry on the hill.
RED cavalry wisely adopts a reverse-slope position

The relief column advances

BLUE artillery switches its priority:
from the hill to the road.

Fresh RED cavalry replaces the infantry on the hill
as the first element of the relief column arrives

A risky maneuver from BLUE infantry on the road:
they try to encircle the hill but in doing so
they expose their own flank

They hit the flank of RED's relief unit

Alas! BLUE is repelled and pushed
back to the road in a shambolic state ...

...where they are promptly destroyed by RED allies
 

The fighting in the woods is little more than a sideshow

BLUE Dragoons charge uphill

Although RED has more bonus factors,
BLUE rolls exceedingly well

Mayhem ensues on the hill with successive 
charges and counter-charges. Not many turns left

On the last turn a single BLUE unit manages
to step on the hill. Enough for a DRAW result

 

CONCLUSION

The game went to the wire although the BLUE plan was flawed. BLUE placed too much stock on interdiction and badly divided its forces. A better plan would have been to take the hill with overwhelming force from the onset and then face the relief column from a favored position. 

Simplicity in Practice worked very well with the scenario and the mat dimensions. It's a fantastic set of rules. Random events were used on the draw of a spade from a deck of cards. I used the common house-rule for SiP where the bonus factor is +2, not +2 dice. Units could also retreat from having lost a combat through a gap of half a base (this allows for rear support to be a factor).

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Comments

  1. Kaptain KoboldJuly 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM

    I've used SiP for some of these scenarios as well, and it works pretty well.

    For melee I roll 1D6 a side, and the factors simply give a +1 (the side with the best factors gets the balance as a bonus). It's quick and unpredictable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MMJuly 10, 2025 at 11:28 PM

      I've read your reports with the same combination! Very nice! Actually I think I got the idea for allowing rear support with a gap from somewhere in your reports.

      Delete
  2. Shaun TraversJuly 10, 2025 at 5:27 PM

    A great read - down to the wire! The OHW scenarios are so good. I keep meaning to get back to them and play some more but always get distracted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MMJuly 10, 2025 at 11:29 PM

      I agree, Shaun. They are very distilled down the essentials of a situation.

      Delete

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