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| The river Shannon at Portumna - near where Sarsfield's cavalry are thought to have forded. |
What happened? I had originally started posting this seven parter back in 2016 but for some reason never posted the final three parts which I have just come across and realized they were finished!
So, picking up from Part 4 which you can link back to here:
Whiskey in the Jar-o Part 4
Here is Part 5 to be followed closely by Parts 6 and 7.
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| Jacobite raiders - Erin go bragh! |
The game is a large scale skirmish and so I have assumed that the ratio
of men to models is about 10:1. This makes the bodies of Horse about 60 men
apiece around the size of 2 troops or a small squadron. Any rules could be used
and logically I used the company level version of Beneath the Lily Banners.
Game length
The game has 14 turns.
Deployment
All troops begin the game mounted and in column of march. The start
positions are marked on the map. The Williamite Dragoons are in 3 groups of 2
squadrons and can be from different regiments or a single unit. Each dismounts
as 5 models and 1 horse holder who cannot shoot unless the horses are turned
away and not used again in the game. Players may place the officers with
whichever squadrons they wish up to the number available with each troop type. All
of the Williamite Horse begin together in a mass of 6 squadron columns. The
Jacobites begin in a similar way in 8 squadron columns
Terrain
The woods should be treated as impenetrable to mounted troops and so
will channel the cavalry towards gaps. The hills will provide an uphill bonus
in combat to those on the higher ground. They will provide minus D3 inches on
movement going up but have no effect on the downward slope. They will not cause
disorder. The high pass over the central hill should allow a squadron to pass
in line of battle through it without hindrance. The cottage should be
represented by an un-enclosed peasant dwelling that can house one dismounted
squadron. Dismounted dragoons may move through the wood at normal speed and are
not disordered when shooting from the woods. Visibility in and out of the woods
is as written in BLB3. The dragoons are assumed to be moving in open order as
per the rules covering loose order troops in BLB3 The War of Three Kings.
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| Williamite Dragoons challenges by a Jacobite cavalier |
The Shannon
The River Shannon is un-fordable except at the point known at the
beginning of the game only to ‘Galloping’ Hogan. The 6 potential crossing points should be
marked on the table with a small pebble at the side of the river. They are numbered
and shown on the map. The Jacobite player dices to determine the crossing point
using a D6 before the game begins and should write it down. He also has some
extra options under the special instructions for ‘Galloping’ Hogan. To cross at
the ford the Jacobites need to be in column of march once more.
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| The mighty Shannon at Thomond bridge Limerick |