Saturday's alright for fighting or AWI action at Kettle Creek

This past Saturday, Mark hosted another fantastic game of Sharp Practice. He ran the scenario "Kettle Creek" from "This Land Divided". The actual battle did not occur that far from Atlanta on February 17, 1779. The battle was joined when a force of South Carolina and Georgia Militia under Colonels Pickens and Dooly chased a large column of Loyalist militia through the South Carolina back country and into Georgia.

The Loyalists were from North and South Carolina. They were under the overall command of Colonel Boyd. The North Carolinians were under the nominal command of Lieutenant Colonel John Moore. Moore would not play any part in the action and would be among the few that reached the safety of Augusta.

I arrived a half hour late for the game after getting caught in traffic on I-285. When I arrived I was given command of Colonel Picken's force. The other two rebel players were commanding Major McCall's advanced force.

Mark's table was once again just beautiful. McCall's troops encountered a small patrol off of the main defensive line and exchanged fire with them for several turns.

Eventually, Pickens deployed to the table. Picken's force was four groups of 10 men each with two subordinate commanders. One of the commanders took the extreme left of the line and began a slow, slow advance that would get him to the fence line before the end of the game. But his unit stayed intact. The other three groups took quite a pasting. The second subordinate first received a card that he stepped in something that slowed his movement. Then he was killed by enemy fire. His group took three kills and a number of shock that effectively froze them in place. Pickens took the other groups forward and managed to drive off two enemy groups before his units had to withdraw due to accumulated shock. Pickens spent the last couple of turns removing shock and joining three different groups of survivors into a workable force.

The loyalists received several reinforcements late in the game. This would turn the tide. The Rebels received one group of 8 men as reinforcements with no leaders. Once spotted off their blinds they just stood there and exchanged ineffective long range fire with the loyalist reinforcements. The loyalists received not only troops but additional big men to supplement their forces. By the time we called the game, McCall's troops were very battered and unable to push the fight. Pickens had just gotten two groups together from the remains of three. There was one other group that was in good shape. The rebels had taken the ridgeline but could not hold it. The fresh loyalist troops would have swept them away.

At the top of the photo above, you can make out the loyalist column advancing. As you can see, the loyalists had been driven from the fence line but the rebels were too battered. It was great fun. One loyalist leader had a unit that ended up short on ammo for most of the game, then set the woods on fire and then started a cattle stampede. One of the greatest sets of bonus cards/random events I have seen in a long time.

Thanks Mark, for another great game.