Battle of The Alma; The Game

 This past weekend was the Trumpeter's Salute gaming convention in Burnaby British Columbia; our game - The Battle of The Alma - was Friday night (which freed us up to play games over Saturday and Sunday).

The Battle of the Alma was fought September 20, 1854. The Allies, led by Lord Raglan and Mareshal Jacques Arnaud, landed troops and supplies over 5 days from the 14th to the 19th near the port of Yevpatoria, 45 KM north of Sebastopol. The Russian Commander, Prince Alexander Menshikov was suprised by the allies, he had not expected them to attack so close to winter and therefore had not reinforced the Crimea. What he had available, he rushed to the ridge above the Alma, a naturally defensible position, where the Russians deployed numerous guns in two hastily built redoubts. The force was intended to delay the allies as they headed towards Sebastopol, however, preservation of the Russian force - especially the guns- was utmost in Menshikov's mind. 

Our game focuses on the British attack across the Alma, and up the ridge towards the redoubts, with the French potentially appearing on the western flank (as they did in reality). The British are deployed north of the Alma (the left of the photo), with the French in reserve (unbeknownst to the Russians) and the Russian forces are on the plateau, top right of the photo:

Our host, Nate briefing the players on their objectives and the rules of the game:

The Allies objective is to claim the heights so they can continue their march on Sebstapol.  The Russian objective is to extract a heavy toll from the allies, though not at the cost of losing the artillery, which the Russian commander, Menshikov considered invaluable. 

The Russian defenders in the greater redoubt (the red beads denote that the Russian guns start the game a little spooked; the green dice are the command pips available to the commanders).

The British line becomes somewhat disjointed crossing the Alma:

The Highlanders on the eastern flank make good progress, leaving their compatriots behind:

Gunfire from the 42nd sees off one Russian battery but pays a heavy price. The 2nd Division on the right struggles to catch up:

As the 2nd Division cross the Alma near Bourliouk, the Russians prepare to attack . They were ultimately successful, pushing the British back across the Alma.

A second wave Highlanders reaches the lesser redoubt...

... with predictable results for the Russian gunners:

Almost too late to be any use, the French have scaled the cliffs and appear on the Russian flank, catching them by suprise:

With the arrival of the French, the Russian forces - despite their success in holding off the 2nd division- find themselves outflanked. The lesser redoubt was lost, and the greater redoubt found itself between two enemy forces: Nate called the game as an allied victory, much like the historical battle.

The rules were Nate's own, the figures are all from Eureka's 18mm Crimean War range.