Get Off My Land!

 Fresh from our trip to Kyushu, we set up a game using the scenario 'Get Off My Land' from the Men Who Would Be Kings rule book for our regular Tuesday night session.   Under this scenario, an attacker has to move across a table plentifully supplied with cover trying to capture objectives while holding off enemy forces that may spring out of ambush.  For our game we had a smaller force of regular infantry and cavalry from the pro-Imperialist domains of Choshu, Satsuma and Tosa moving into territory defended by Shogunate loyalists, most of whom were irregular or tribal.

The terrain was set up on a 6' by 4' playing area containing 6 2' by 2' zones.  Each zone contained one objective for the attackers.  The defender would have to start by placing any regular troops on the table and recording the zone within which each unit of irregulars would appear.  The attacker could choose any side of the table as their entry point.  A river crossed from one long edge to the other.  There were two bridges offering unobstructed movement over this and it was deemed a fordable obstacle along its whole length.

Overview of the table.  Stars mark the position of objectives.  The two units in woods near the centre line either side of the river are the defender's two regular rifle units.  The figures on the right edge were attacking troops waiting for deployment.

We started by rolling for the quality of the officers commanding each unit, beginning with the Imperial supporters.  These did very well.  All units got 5+ leadership ratings, so would activate easily.  The Commander of the Chōshū sharpshooters was rated 'Brave', allowing him to clear one level of pinning automatically - making this unit with its long range rifles very powerful.  The two Satsuma rifle unit commanders were 'A Sporting Umpire' - he would direct fire against any unpinned enemy units, if in range, rather than continue to beat up pinned units - and 'Bald as a coot' (no effect).  The Tosa cavalry commander was a 'Weakling', giving one less die roll per melée (which we forgot to apply in the heat of the moment!)

The Imperial forces get ready for battle.  Chōshū sharpshooters in front, Tosa cavalry to the left, one of the two Satsuma rifle units to the rear.

All in all, some very good rolls for the Imperialist side.  Their men would be easy to move and hard to pin down.  Not a good outlook for the defenders.

For their part, the Sogunate force's regular units - both Aizu riflemen - came out of the rolls fairly well.  The first had a 5+ leadership rating and an Officer with a pleasant manner, the second had a 6+ rating and the Officer was the Major-General's favourite, allowing a choice between improving their firing quality or improving their discipline, the latter being selected.

Rolls for the irregular and tribal units were mixed.  The Yugekitai irregular sharpshooters managed a leadership rating of 6+ and an Officer rated 'Keen Shot', allowing them to re-roll one missed die per firing turn.  The Shinsengumi tribal unit ended up being led by a drunkard who gave them an 8+ leadership rating, making them quite hard to activate and to shake off pinning.  Finally, the Samurai, tribal cavalry, were led by a 'Bullet-proof Bumbler', giving a leadership rating of 9+ and little chance that the incompetent commander would be shot!

Detachments from the Shogunate force : Samurai tribal cavalry to the left; Shinsengumi in light blue with the big banner in the centre rear; Yugekitai irregulars in front of them and Aizu regular rifles to the left.

Then we drew for sides. I ended up paired with my son as the joint commander of the defending force, giving to Gareth the honours of leading the attack.  He decided to enter by one of the short sides that seemed to give the shortest distance to three of the objectives, the minimum he needed to secure victory.

Starting positions for the Imperialists : Chōshū to the left with cavalry next to them, followed by the two Satsuma units.  One Aizu rifle unit awaits them in the wood in the centre on the same side of the river, another is well away on the other side.  The location of irregular and tribal forces is not known to the attacker (We had designated the Samurai cavalry to appear in the right centre zone - beyond the red bridge - while the Shinsengumi and Yugekitai would be in the left centre zone where they might come on the near side of the other bridge).

In the opening turn, all Imperial forces advanced.  The Aizu defenders opened fire on the Chōshū sharpshooters who were screening the cavalry and managed to kill two of them but could not get a pin because of the 'Brave' leader for this unit (we only remembered late in the game that we should have been testing for officer casualties during fire)

The sharpshooters move into cover while the cavalry sweep round onto the flank and one unit of Satsuma infantry opens up on the Aizu riflemen as the other takes position inside the building.

Concerned that the isolated Aizu unit would be subject to fire from three sides in the next turn, the Shogunate command decided to put the Shinsengumi and Yugekitai into play, having them emerge in the bamboo grove next to the second bridge.  The Shinsengumi warriors should be more than a match for the Tosa cavalry.

The Imperial commander directed his sharpshooters to fire on the Shinsengumi.  The volley only killed one of the men but the unit then failed its pinning test so would remain halted in the bamboo grove, blocking the unit behind it.

Before the sharpshooters fired, the Tosa cavalry decided that the view to their front was not encouraging and moved back behind the grove in which the sharpshooters were placed!

Both Satsuma units fired on the Aizu riflemen in the wood but killed only one man and did not pin them.  The second Aizu unit can just be seen at the top of picture, slowly making its way towards the stream.  It showed marked reluctance to get stuck in, consistently rolling 1s on its 'At the Double' movement.

In their next turn the Shogunate commanders decided to pull back the exposed Aizu unit, bringing it back to the river but keeping the wood between it and enemy rifle units.  The second Aizu unit finally made it to the other side of the stream while the Yugekitai move out into a firing line across the road.  The Shinsegumi managed to shake off their pin.

To counter the renewed threat from the Shinsengumi, the Chōshū sharpshooters again fired on them, killing another man and pinning them once more.  The Satsuma infantry, with no targets to fire on (they have less range than the sharpshooters) were ordered to move up to the two nearest objectives while the cavalry moved around behind them.

Satsuma Infantry go for the first two objectives.

Yugekitai and an Aizu unit fire on the Satsuma men on the objective by the fence (a big barrel of Sake).  They kill three but cannot get a pin.   So, the Imperials cannot be stopped from getting the first two objectives.  The Shinsengumi manage to unpin themselves again!

In the next turn, Imperial fire is ineffective.  The cavalry start to move back towards the left again, the commander clearly uncertain what to do with them!  In reply, the Aizu fire on the centre Satsuma unit, killing more but still not pinning them.  The Yugekitai fire on the sharpshooters to no effect and the Shinsengumi advance out of cover to threaten the sharpshooters.

The Chōshū men recover their aim, drop two of the Shinsengumi and pin them down while the cavalry move round the grove to the left to threaten a charge.

On the other flank, Aizu fire manages to pin the right hand Satsuma unit.  Seeing an opportunity, the Samurai cavalry break cover and advance up to the red bridge.  No enemy can fire on them and the enemy cavalry are far away!

Supported by fire from the Aizu rifles, the Samurai charge home and win the first round of melée comfortably.

The Bumbler strikes!  With their backs to the wall in the second round of melée the Satsuma survivors kill one of the Samurai while losing only one of their own.  A draw, so the Samurai have to fall back while the gallant Satsumas live to fight another turn.

Meanwhile in the centre, the other Satsuma unit was wilting under fire from the enemy, but still could not be pinned down!

On the left, the gallant Shinsengumi took down 3 of the Tosa cavalry but had been reduced to a mere handful of men around their banner in the first round of melée.

The Tosa followed on, winning a second round but being reduced to a single man themselves, who would be shot down before he could retire with dignity.

As he surveyed the field, the Imperial commander could see no prospects.  While the surviving Satsuma men on the right had made it into the building and managed to pin down the bumbling Samurai cavalry, and the threat of the Shinsengumi was now passed, his numbers were too few to prevail against the solid firing line that the enemy had now established.  He ordered a general retreat.

Pre-game pie, sausages and coleslaw courtesy of Mr Marks and Mr Spencer.  Post game apple and banana muffins came courtesy of Mrs Gareth and were much enjoyed during the post-mortem discussion.

Despite signs of possible alternative loyalties on the part of one half of the Shogunate command, all had gone well for them this time.  The Imperials had been given a good learning experience.