The afternoon game at Steel Lard November 18th 2023. Having lived close to the Combahee river I had a fair idea of what to expect in the morning game. In contrast your author had close to zero knowledge of Mentana or Pickett’s Charge Rules. Pretty much limited to knowing that Garribaldi is more than just a biscuit and that the wars of Italian Unification led to Italian unification. Pickett’s Charge rules were described as a variant of General Brigade, a Napoleonic set that I had owned and read but sold off as too much like hard work. No surprise that Pickett’s Charge is for the ACW but there will be some modifications here as the French have their new fangled chassepot breech loaders. Luckily I left the rules crunching to the umpire and stuck to moving models and rolling dice. Most combat is 2D6 (1 roll per battalion unit or artillery stand, score modified by circumstances), except skirmisher fire with 1D6 per stand (needing 5s, close range, or 6s, circumstances modify the number of dice rolled). High rolls are good. The nature of maths and 2D6 vs 1D6 makes volley fire somewhat less predictable than skirmisher shooting.
This was a 3 hour game with 4 players and an umpire. One player seemed to know his way around the rules or was a top shot blagger. The forces are in Brigades each of roughly 4 battalions each plus attached artillery and the Papal troops have some cavalry.
The game flow is of each player rolling 1D6 per brigade (and a bonus D6 for Garribalidi himself). A 3+ yielded a die that could be used to aid or hinder a Brigade’s activation by granting or forcing a re-roll. All the brigades from both sides then check in turn for activation with a 3+ needed unless the brigade had taken heavy losses (a 5+ required) . Failure would prevent them moving closer to the enemy and reduce their shooting to effective ranges only. We did get some failures which messed up our plans. Initiative was diced on 2D6. Next came charges, which we muddled through; first the advantage player handling charges then the other with the target shooting on the way in. Afterwards the first player moves everything else , followed by the second, then all remaining shooting from the first then second players. Losses are marked as coloured counters except for blue markers that note poor fire control (and limited shooting), a consequence of rolling very low on the fire table. Shooting almost always causes at least one loss and these gradually mount up but bases are not removed. After high enough losses units are removed, partial losses will reduce shooting effectiveness. Being shot back or moving through poor terrain can disorganise a unit making it less effective for a turn.
Based on the limited knowledge that Garribaldi was going to Rome and that the Papal forces were in the way we opted to attack. In reality the outclassed redshirts were on the defensive. We also decided to concentrate against the Papal troops as the French chassepot sounded worrying and we assumed the Papal troops were only good for standing around and attending mass. Another error as we learnt that the Papal troops were pretty good. From a historical point of view these were not unreasonable assumptions and we did come close to pulling it off.
Here we see the initial line up. 1 of Garribaldi’s brigades (3 units) is deployed forward in the buildings and walled garden. The rest are formed up on the start line.
The Garribaldi left moves up. The lads in the buildings take a dreadful pounding from skirmish fire and the odd cannon shot. They deal out very little damage in return. The plan to hold on the right is helped by the whole brigade refusing its initial order to move. Later it does manage to throw forward skirmishers who duel with their French counterparts.
The boys finally get into combat and push back the Papal defence. At the top of the picture a unit of Garribaldi infantry heads for the rear having suffered from an adverse papal cavalry charge. Their inability to get off any useful shooting on the cavalry’s way in did not help. The folks in the far building with the red roof have already left for home. The French line sat on their ridge throughout the game. Possibly not a good plan as they might have gone through the Italians facing them like a knife through butter.
A close up of the fighting beside the houses. Most of the models were metal with a scattering of converted plastics.
It all worked out in the end although the game could of run on for quite a bit longer it was starting to look squiffy for the redshirts. Mentana is a relatively small battle with only 1 unit of cavalry involved. It seemed about right for the detail required by Pickett’s Charge rules and would probably whizz through with a less involved game system.
Gaming in Blackshaw Head 