1760 British vs French in India – A Battle Report

[All words from Adam Landa.]

Adam and Steven played the first game of Adam’s home brewed rules for Indian colonial warfare. Rules that are currently unnamed, suggestions welcome!

The rules cover the rough period of 1740-1820, with this particular game being set around 1760, around the time of the Battle of Wandiwash. Think Clive, Tipu Sultan, Wellington before he was the Duke etc. They represent the bigger battles in India during this period, although these were quite small by European standards.

The battle saw a British force trying to drive off some entrenched French astride a road. A river and a jungle enclosed the battlefield. Despite being nominally ‘British’ and ‘French’, both armies were chiefly composed of native troops.


India-1985 Gotta love those big turbans
India-1985 Gotta love those big turbans
turbans[/caption]


The armies

Steven commanded the British. The cream of his force were two battalions of European regulars (one of British regulars, one of East India Company troops). They were supported by four battalions of Sepoys (Indian soldiers in European service), and a small unit of native irregular horse. Adam had one unit of European regulars from the French East India Company, and four battalions of Sepoys – however, the French Sepoys were not trained to the standard of their British counterparts (nor did they have their snazzy red uniforms). He also had two big units of native irregular horse. Steven’s general was rated as ‘Gifted’ and Adam’s as ‘Ordinary’.

India-1982 Native horse in French service
India-1982 Native horse in French service
India-1983 French Sepoys hold the entrenchments
India-1983 French Sepoys hold the entrenchments
India-1984 French East India Company troops form the reserve
India-1984 French East India Company troops form the reserve
India-1986 Native horse in French service
India-1986 Native horse in French service

Deployment

Adam deployed conventionally – the entrenchments were held by Sepoys, with his elite European battalion and another Sepoy battalion in reserve and irregular horse on the flanks.

India-1990 Table from Brtish right rear
India-1990 Table from Brtish right rear

Steven placed his best troops on the right, with the intention of striking Adam’s left and avoiding attacking the entrenchments head-on.

India-1987 British Army
India-1987 British Army
India-1988 British left flank
India-1988 British left flank

Pre-battle manoeuvres

The rules allow the players to roll for pre-battle manoeuvres, with better generals receiving a bonus, allowing superior leaders to get the drop on their opponents. Steven won the roll, and took the opportunity to advance ‘in echelon’ towards Adam’s left – an effective (and historical) tactic. Frederick the Great would approve!

India-1992 British right flank steps forward
India-1992 British right flank steps forward
India-1993 British right within strking distance of the French
India-1993 British right within strking distance of the French

Turn 1

The rules use a DBA-like ‘Pips’ system to allocate orders to units, with a bonus for higher-quality commanders. For example, whilst on the first turn Steven rolled a 3 and Adam a 5, they were both left with 8 Pips to play with.

India-1995 Turn 1 PIPs
India-1995 Turn 1 PIPs

The turn sequence has each player move in turn, with shooting and melee then being resolved simultaneously. Steven, as the attacker, moved first, continuing his advance and ordering his British regulars to charge Adam’s native horse on the left.

India-1996 British turn
India-1996 British turn
India-1997 Charge anyone
India-1997 Charge anyone
India-1998 The British right attacks
India-1998 The British right attacks

In Adam’s turn, he retreated the threatened cavalry, and tried to move his reserve and some units on his right to support his threatened left. However, he had deployed his units too close together to manoeuvre easily, and his less-drilled units didn’t have the same flexibility of movement as Steven’s better-trained forces.

India-1999 French native horse evade
India-1999 French native horse evade
India-2001 French right tries to redeploy
India-2001 French right tries to redeploy

In the rules, units may move OR shoot, so the only units that could shoot were Adam’s entrenched Sepoys. Despite penalties for shooting to their flank, some lucky shots killed a base of Steven’s East India Company troops – first blood to the French!

India-2002 Casualties amongst British East India Company troops
India-2002 Casualties amongst British East India Company troops

Turn 2

Steven resumed the advance on the right. Additionally, seeing Adam’s right flank trying to redeploy, he also advanced on his left and centre (but keeping his central Sepoy battalion out of range of Adam’s entrenchments). Adam shuffled his European regulars into position on his left, and turned his horse to face the oncoming British.

India-2004 Turn 2 PIPs
India-2004 Turn 2 PIPs
India-2005 Movement
India-2005 Movement
India-2006 More British aggression on right
India-2006 More British aggression on right
India-2007 British aggression on left
India-2007 British aggression on left

Turn 3

Steven, not wanting a repeat of Adam’s native horse manoeuvres, spent a Pip bidding to move second this turn. This meant that, unlike turn one, Adam could not wait for Steven to declare an attack on his cavalry before fleeing – either he could stand and fight, or retreat and give Steven room to advance.

Adam chose to stand and shoot on his left, as well as turning back his troops on the right now that this flank was threatened as well. Steven opted to rely on British firepower on his right, but sent his Sepoys charging in on his left – “At them with the bayonet!”

India-2010 British and French East India Company troops square off
India-2010 British and French East India Company troops square off
India-2011 British Sepoys charge on the left
India-2011 British Sepoys charge on the left

On Steven’s right, his British regulars outgunned the native horse in the firefight, but failed to inflict casualties or impact morale. Also on the right, the rival East India Company units faced off, and the British came out on top, killing a French base and inflicting panic. In the rules, whilst bases can be killed, the real damage is done by inflicting panic and disorder on enemy units.

India-2012 French East India Company troops take losses
India-2012 French East India Company troops take losses

On Steven’s left, the defensive fire of Adam’s Sepoys was ineffective. The British Sepoys charged in, and drove back their opponents. Adam’s Sepoys were both panicked AND disordered – melee combat is very decisive in these rules, and they were lucky not to rout.

Worst still for Adam, at the end of the turn, panic spread to more of his units, although his reliable East India Company Europeans rallied. The lack of quality in the French forces was beginning to tell – despite appearing superficially similar to their British counterparts, the lack of drill among the French Sepoys would really hurt them. This is key to warfare in this period – troop quality was highly variable, and it was common for both sides to rely upon small numbers of elite troops. On Steven’s part, he chose to leave his native horse in reserve for the entire battle, trusting his disciplined Europeans and Sepoys to get the job done.

India-2013 The French right is driven back in disorder
India-2013 The French right is driven back in disorder

Turn 4

India-2016 Turn 4 PIPs
India-2016 Turn 4 PIPs

On Steven’s left, he kept up the pressure, taking advantage of the panic amongst Adam’s forces. He sent one battalion pursuing the disordered French units, and another wheeled to roll up the units defending the entrenchments. On the right, the British battalions kept blazing away, trusting in Brown Bess to get the job done.

India-2017 British Sepoys roll up the French right flank
India-2017 British Sepoys roll up the French right flank

Adam was in a desperate spot, and chose to throw his commander into the fray. This was a gamble – whilst attached commanders boost the effectiveness of units, they are forced in subsequent turns to spend 3 Pips only on the unit they are attached to, and can also be incapacitated.

India-2018 The French General tries to stabilise the right
India-2018 The French General tries to stabilise the right

The gamble paid off, as the French East India Company troops won the firefight against their counterparts, killing another stand. However, on the end of the line the British regulars finally got their act together, routing the native horse with disciplined volley fire.

On the other flank, Steven’s Sepoys were cutting through Adam’s lines, routing an entrenched Sepoy battalion. In the morale phase, two of Adam’s Sepoy battalions panicked at the sight of their fleeing friends – fear was proving as effective as muskets.

India-2019 British EIC troops take more casualties, but the British Regulars rout the French native horse
India-2019 British EIC troops take more casualties, but the British Regulars rout the French native horse

Turn 5

Steven sensed victory, and continued applying the pressure all across the line. On his right, he withdrew the battered remnants of his East India Company Europeans, replacing them with a reserve Sepoy battalion. He also wheeled his British regulars, preparing to hit the French East India Company Europeans in the flank next turn. Adam could only rally what units he could, and sent his general off to his right flank to try to stem the tide.

India-2021 Turn 5 PIPs
India-2021 Turn 5 PIPs
India-2022 The British pile on the pressure
India-2022 The British pile on the pressure
India-2023 British Sepoys take over from the battered EIC troops
India-2023 British Sepoys take over from the battered EIC troops
India-2024 The British left presses the retreating French
India-2024 The British left presses the retreating French
India-2026 The last French native horse are routed
India-2026 The last French native horse are routed
India-2027 The French right collapses
India-2027 The French right collapses
India-2028 The French EIC troops are in trouble
India-2028 The French EIC troops are in trouble

Turn 6

The end was near, with Steven’s forces closing in on Adam’s remaining troops from all sides. The French East India Company Europeans withdrew, at the cost of disordering themselves. The French had some success in the shooting phase, killing a stand of Sepoys on the French right, and panicking the Sepoys approaching the entrenchments – true to form, however, the panic did not spread, and the British Sepoys rallied in preparation of delivering the coup de gras next turn.

It was all over, and the players shook hands (or the 2020 equivalent…). It was a total British victory.

India-2031 The British attack from all sides
India-2031 The British attack from all sides
India-2032 British Sepoys mop up on the left
India-2032 British Sepoys mop up on the left
India-2033 French EIC troops retreat, but the remaining French Sepoys hold firm
India-2033 French EIC troops retreat, but the remaining French Sepoys hold firm
India-2034 The situation at the end of the battle
India-2034 The situation at the end of the battle
India-2035 British Sepoys shrug off their panic, and prepare to take the entrenchments
India-2035 British Sepoys shrug off their panic, and prepare to take the entrenchments

Conclusion and thoughts

Adam was very happy with how the rules had played, considering how early they were in development. The battle unfolded in a plausibly historical manner, and clocked in at under 2 hours – although Steven had never played before, and was not familiar with the period, he was able to ‘get’ the pattern fairly quickly, and make good decisions. There are still a lot of tweaks to be made, however.

It was clear that the scenario was not balanced – with such variation in quality between units this is a big challenge, and in setting up Adam didn’t give the defender enough forces (it’s a leap of faith for the GM to let the defenders outnumber the attackers, but under these rules it’s essential in some circumstances). Nonetheless, for the British a simple but effective plan paid off, and Steven was quick to exploit the disorder on Adam’s right as he sought to redeploy. For the French, Adam’s set up was too cramped, and he was too hasty to redeploy – for undrilled forces, it may be best not to try anything too fancy! He also was too passive with his cavalry. He was, however, very happy to finally get his toys on the table!

[Note from Steven: I’m grateful to Adam for bringing along his figures and rules. The figures were amazing. Adam has been sharing snaps of them as each unit came off the painting blocks. So it was great to get them on table. The rules might have been a bit raw but Adam is already tweaking for next time. Perhaps most of all I’m glad Adam has introduced me to another period and a new theatre – the Seven Years War in India is pretty cool.]

3 thoughts on “1760 British vs French in India – A Battle Report”

  1. A stab at naming the rules: Muskets & Tulwars. Or Cocked Hats & Turbans. Looks good, rules have me quite interested. Who makes those figures? Tell me more.

    Reply
    • I think I’ll ask Adam to explain how he built these armies in a separate blog post. It was quite well thought out and quite complicated.

      Reply
    • Thanks! I like the name suggestions, I’m leaning towards ‘Tricornes and Turbans’. It was definitely a bit of an odyssey finding figures for the period, and I’ll go into more detail on a blog post. But in short, it’s a mixture of QRF/Freikorps, Essex, Irregular, Minifigs, Two Dragons and Peter Pig.

      Reply

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