The Battle of Hooks Farm

 

First an apology - I have managed to lose/delete most of the photos I took of this battle in an 'Spring clean' of my computer - this can only be blamed on yours truly , however these three photos were on my phone so I have managed to publish these . The battle went 'Blue' armies way from the start as they drew a series of court/face cards which allowed their infantry to make 'Brigade/group' moves in the centre and on the left flank their Jaegers eliminated Red's Riflemen and pushed through the woods .

The battle from 'Red' armies side of the table the two centre regiments were driven off with heavy loses and the Hussars had to be sent off to the left flank to prevent the 'Blue' army cavalry flanking maneuver so this left only the Artillery to hold the centre . On the right the Highlanders were caught in a flanking fire and routed, the Volunteers tried to hold that flank and the new Naval Gatling gun deployed only to have the crew shot down by the 'Blue' Jaegers in the woods - with about half the army casualties or in rout the 'Red' General called it a day . 

There were two newly painted units on the table and both suffered the 'newly painted Toy Soldier syndrome' - the Naval Gatling gun crew on 'Red's side was wiped out and on 'Blue's side these newly converted  Grenadiers - this unit took forever to cast, convert and paint up - hit by a close range volley and artillery fire they routed and failed to rally - better luck next time . It was an enjoyable game but luck was not with 'Red' army from the start .