AWI in a box (actually, two boxes)

Following last year's spate of "army in a box" posts, here's a quick look at my two forces for the American War of Independence (AWI).

click to enlarge

The units are intended initially for Neil Thomas's One Hour Wargames (OHW) with the chance to expand them for other rules.  The basing is 4 men on a 4cm square MDF base, so that 3 bases would make a unit of 4"-6" frontage in OHW.  Other rules will work better with 4 bases to a unit, e.g. British Grenadier or a variant of any of Neil Thomas's other books (maybe starting with Wargaming: an Introduction).

My first scenario was Bunker Hill, a battle which actually took place at Breed's Hill, but this post is not going to be about all the myths and inaccurate history of the conflict.  The choice of units was focused on that battle, rather than a more generic set.

The crown forces comprise the 63rd, 43rd, & 5th foot, 4 bases of each plus a base of 2 light infantry skirmishers for their light companies.  The centre companies are Revell / Accurate / Imex redcoats, and the light companies are A Call To Arms 1775 light infantry.  The 5th are Airfix grenadiers, although their fusilier caps soon wore out and were replaced by regular hats as the conflict went on.  There's also a light company for the 38th foot; the centre companies of the 38th are still on my painting table.

A combined grenadier battalion with assorted facings was painted by someone else (OBE=Other Bloke's Efforts), as were the Hesse-Kassel Leib grenadiers.  The Hessians weren't at Bunker Hill, but I'll want them for later actions.  The 17th Light Dragoons and the 6- to 8-pounder gun were my own work.

In terms of an OHW scenario for Bunker Hill, the numbered reqiments and the grenadiers provide 4 units of infantry, the combined light companies 1 unit of skirmishers, and there is 1 unit of artillery on Moulton's Hill.

The rebels consist of 2 units of formed militia in their everyday clothes (mostly Revell / Accurate / Imex), 2 units of skirmishers in open order (mixed Revell & Airfix) and 2 regiments who have been (mostly) issued with uniforms: Colonel Sargent's Massachusetts (in green) and Stark's 1st New Hampshire (in brown with red facings).  These two units include a handful of Italeri figures, which are taller by a head than Revell (and the old Airfix models are smaller still).  I've tried to position them so that the height difference is less obvious.

In terms of an OHW scenario for Bunker Hill, Stark's men were there (although they didn't receive their uniforms until November 1775), along with a number of troops with no uniform.  There's also a 3-pounder gun with the Bunker Hill flag for the redoubt on Breed's Hill.  I think that's a Revell SYW Austrian gun on an Airfix Napoleonic French carriage.

The paintwork on these models is nothing to shout about. I have taken up miniature wargaming (and therefore the painting of toy soldiers) just as my eyes have started to need reading glasses.  Also, these are the "wrong" models (the AWI is not well covered in 1/72) and I'm using the wrong paints (cheap craft acrylics).  The fashionable scale would be 28mm or else 15mm or even 6mm.  I make no attempt at highlights by drybrushing; just a base coat and a wash of raw umber to darken the recesses.

As armies in a box, these are almost complete.  The rebels need a squadron of continental dragoons and there should be enough to play any of the scenarios in the book.  OHW has the player dice for the forces available (essentially a brigade or division), which can include up to 4 line battalions, 2 skirmish battalions, 2 cavalry and 2 artillery units.  The player will field four to six units from this selection in each scenario.  The AWI was notable for having a smaller proportion of cavalry or artillery than other conflicts, so I follow other bloggers in ruling that the second cavalry unit or second artillery unit is replaced by something else.  This approach also allows the replacements to represent something specific to this conflict, such as elite grenadiers, weaker militia, native warbands or riflemen.

KBO